Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5009 Audacious
Because of the implementation of the imperial examination, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River were very angry and complained about the central government. Under such circumstances, it was hard to guarantee that no one would take risks and try to sabotage the imperial examination. Even if Xiao Yu was willing to stand up and call on the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River to ensure the smooth implementation of the imperial examination, he was still unable to do so.

Maybe they all obey his call in public, but not necessarily in private.

If something unexpected went wrong, everyone would be suspected and it would be difficult to investigate. By then, he, the "leader of the Jiangnan gentry", would be in trouble...

Gao Kan took a sip of tea and said calmly, "I know Duke Song's concerns, but there is no need to worry about it. All I need is Duke Song's promise. As long as you are loyal to His Majesty and the empire, even if the situation fluctuates, it has nothing to do with you."

Xiao Yu understood that what the court wanted was his attitude and his position.

Jiangnan is the Jiangnan of the Jiangnan gentry, but it is also the Jiangnan of the empire. The imperial examination is a sharp weapon to break the control of the Jiangnan gentry over Jiangnan. However, in the process of transforming the Jiangnan of the Jiangnan gentry into the Jiangnan of the empire, there needs to be a turning point. If he agrees, he will be an especially important key in this turning point.

This means that the Lanling Xiao family will passively choose their own position.

Without thinking for long, Xiao Yu made a decision: "I entered the Tang Dynasty during the chaotic period at the end of the Sui Dynasty, determined to pacify the world and benefit the people. Fortunately, I was favored by three generations of emperors, and I was highly honored. I will dedicate my life to the country, work hard, and die for it."

He knew that Gao Kan was not the Majesty's confidant, and that the reason why he was able to lead his troops to sit in Nanjing and intimidate Jiangnan was because of Fang Jun's support and trust. To a certain extent, both parties were "insiders". The fact that he could speak frankly to his face and express his position and stand on the side must be because the other party had already noticed something. In order to avoid the loss of trust between the two sides due to unexpected events, they met today.

As expected, Gao Kan nodded and whispered, "If the situation changes and Duke Song needs to raise his arm to make a call, I hope you won't make mistakes."

Xiao Yu quickly asked: "But something happened?"

Gao Kan took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and said calmly: "There are always some people who cannot see the world clearly, and are trapped in the glory of the past. They vainly think that they can fight against the power of heaven with their own strength, but they don't know that the interests of the empire cannot be violated by anyone."

Having grown from a mere soldier to the commander of a guard, he is no longer a humble man. Although he is indifferent at the moment, he is filled with murderous aura and is untouchable.

Xiao Yu had a headache: "I wonder which one it is?"

The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River was not a monolithic entity. One part was the Wujun aristocratic families that developed since the Han and Three Kingdoms periods, headed by the "Four Surnames of Wuzhong" Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang. The other part was the immigrants who migrated south in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, mainly Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao. One side was a local aristocratic family, and the other was an alien family. They had lived and multiplied in the south of the Yangtze River for hundreds of years, and had been both in conflict with each other and connected to each other.

There are deep conflicts of interest and involvement.

If something happens to one family, who knows how many families will be involved...

Gao Kan laughed and said, "How can anyone tell how many bugs there are in the sand pit? We can only catch whoever pops out of the hole."

Xiao Yu heaved a sigh of relief and nodded, "Killing one person as a warning to the rest, it's not bad."

Although he would not underestimate Gao Kan's ability, this man was from a branch of the Bohai Gao family and could barely be considered a child of a noble family. However, he had lived in poverty since childhood and had not been able to study hard. He had also started as a small soldier and fought his way to the top, so it was inevitable that he was murderous. If he was too violent and selfish and tried to pave his way to success with the corpses of the Jiangnan gentry, then the land of Jiangnan would be in danger of a bloodbath.

With tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the Right Guard, the navy ships will replenish supplies along the waterways throughout Jiangnan, and it is very likely that they will sweep across Jiangnan and be unstoppable...

However, it is obvious that Gao Kan is not a violent person. He is not reckless even though he has a large army. He is responsible for intimidating the south of the Yangtze River, but he knows that he cannot rely on the might of the army to kill people indiscriminately. Instead, he chooses the leader of the Jiangnan gentry and uses coercion and inducement to open a gap.

Is a character.

There was a rush of footsteps outside the window. The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man in brocade robes walking quickly along the path between the bamboo forests. When he reached the front yard, he saw the two people looking at him. He stood still and bowed, then walked into the house more steadily: "Grandfather, you are polite. General Gao, you are polite..."

Xiao Yu frowned: "How can you be so flustered?"

Xiao Shougui, the eldest grandson, was loved deeply and was very strict with his duties. Although his eldest son Xiao Rui had several other sons who were older than this one, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children could not be abolished, and the future fortune of the Xiao family in Lanling would eventually fall on him.

However, although Xiao Shougui possessed extraordinary talent and literary talent, he was frivolous and erratic in character, and it seemed that he would be unable to shoulder the burden of the family.

But Xiao Shougui is not only his eldest grandson, but also the son of Emperor Taizong's eldest daughter, Princess Xiangcheng. He has noble bloodline and a high status...

Must have high hopes.

Xiao Shougui hurriedly said, "It's not that my grandson doesn't know the seriousness of the matter, but something serious happened in the examination room of the Shangshu Province. A student stopped taking the exam, slandered mathematics in the examination room, and even called on other students to boycott the exam in public to protest!"

Xiao Yu looked at Gao Kan.

Gao Kan sat calmly, holding the kettle and filling the teacups in front of the two with tea. He then took a sip from the cup and said in a deep voice, "No hurry. Since he jumped out so impatiently, let him act arrogantly for a while and see if there are any accomplices."

Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment and said worriedly, "If there are accomplices, they should be punished for the same crime. But if an unintentional person is instigated by them, it would be unfair."

Gao Kan raised his eyebrows and said disapprovingly: "If you were not weak-willed and had an uncertain stance, you would be able to distinguish right from wrong. How could you be instigated by them?"

Xiao Yu frowned: "Since we want to kill one person as a warning to the rest, why add to the chaos?"

Gao Kan said: "We should severely punish the main culprits and forgive the accomplices. We should use a combination of leniency and severity, and use both kindness and severity. Only in this way can we serve as a warning to others and set an example for others."

Xiao Yu sighed: "Young people are to be feared."

In troubled times, heroes emerge; in peaceful times, capable ministers emerge.

The famous ministers of the founding of the country are getting old, the meritorious officials of the Zhenguan period have not yet declined, and the younger generation has emerged in the Renhe period. The Tang Empire will inevitably become stronger and more prosperous under the governance of these capable ministers.

The current situation is the key to everything.

The power is at the center. The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are trying to counter the center with their own strength. Going against the trend, how can they not fail?
On the side, Xiao Shougui was a little confused when he saw the two men sitting still and not changing their expressions. He hurriedly said, "The troops under martial law in the entire city have begun to gather towards Taicheng. I wonder how to deal with this matter?"

That would be disrupting the examination room and trying to stop the imperial examination, a huge crime!

How can one remain unmoved and turn a blind eye to all these?

Gao Kan glanced at the impatient Xiao Shougui and smiled meaningfully at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu sighed and looked at his grandson: "Did you participate in it?"

Xiao Shougui was stunned, a little flustered, and shook his head hesitantly to deny: "It has nothing to do with my grandson, it's Lu Yanyuan and the others!"

Gao Kan raised his eyebrows: "Wujun Lu family?"

"Exactly."

“Haha,” Gao Kan said with deep eyes, “The Marshal was too soft-hearted back then and didn’t kill them all.”

Xiao Shougui only felt a murderous aura coming towards him, as if it were real, and his back suddenly felt cold and his heart was trembling with fear.

He naturally knew about the grudge between Fang Jun and the Wujun Lu family. Although the Wujun Lu family was prosperous and had many branches, all of them had a blood feud with Fang Jun. This time, the Wujun Lu family's children disrupted the imperial examination and slandered mathematics, which was tantamount to openly challenging Fang Jun, who formulated the imperial examination reform.

As Fang Jun's henchman who led the army to guard Nanjing, would Gao Kan raise his butcher knife and target the Wujun Lu family, killing all the Lu family members who Fang Jun failed to kill back then?
Xiao Yu had already stood up, straightened his clothes, and said in a deep voice: "Let's go over and take a look first. If the commotion is too fierce, we will have to take severe measures."

Xiao Shougui became more and more frightened. He lowered his head and dared not speak.

……

Sima Rui crossed the sea to Jiankang and established the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Jin, the Jiankang Palace was destroyed during the Su Jun Rebellion. After the war subsided, in September of the fifth year of Xianhe, Emperor Cheng of Jin ordered Shangshu You Pushe Wang Bin to build a new palace on the site of the old Yuancheng. In November of the following year, the new palace was completed and named Jiankang Palace, also known as Xianyang Palace.

"Tai" refers to the central government office at that time, with the Shangshu Tai as the main body. Because the Shangshu Tai was located within the palace city, the palace city was also called "Taicheng".

In the ninth year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty, the Sui army invaded Taicheng and destroyed the Chen Dynasty, razing the palaces in Jiankang to farmland. Only the area centered on the Secretariat was preserved, which was also the core of Taicheng.

However, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the central government has been suspicious of and suppressed the south of the Yangtze River. Although Nanjing, which was almost razed to the ground during the war, was rebuilt, it is far less prosperous than the Six Dynasties. Taicheng has also been desolate for a long time. This time, it has been slightly renovated as an examination venue for the imperial examinations, but weeds can still be seen everywhere between the walls and houses, and the city is dilapidated.

Entering Zhengyang Gate to the north, you will see that the Taiji Hall, which was once magnificent and splendid, has collapsed walls and is in ruins, with the ruins hidden among the lush vegetation. Go out of Yunlong Gate on the east side, climb the steps, stop and face south, and you can see the whole picture of Taicheng.

Although this place has been abandoned for a long time, you can still see houses with towering roofs. Teams of soldiers in helmets and armor are blocking the outside and strictly prohibiting entry and exit. Going around the court and to the back door of the Shangshu Province's official residence, you can see that the spacious courtyard surrounded by official residences on both sides is crowded with people and noisy.

In the examination rooms set up in the government offices on both sides, candidates would occasionally peek in.

Xiao Yu and Gao Kan walked over quickly, and the personal soldiers accompanying them rushed forward, shouting loudly, dispersing the chaotic crowd and stopping the riot.

Xiao Yu walked leisurely with a calm expression, as if it had nothing to do with him and he looked on indifferently.

Gao Kan held the sword at his waist with his hand and asked loudly, "The examination room is a key place. Why are you gathering here and making trouble? Don't you want to take the exam?"

One candidate shouted: "The test questions are biased and the exam is unfair. We would rather not take the exam than to set things right. We would rather break than bend!"

The soldier was about to step forward and arrest him, but Gao Kan waved his hand to stop him. He took a few steps forward to confront the candidate, and saw that there were several people standing shoulder to shoulder with him, all with righteous and indignant expressions...

How audacious.