Chapter 249 The Yang family is destroyed
Yang Shu looked at the ordinary-looking envoy from Southern Liang with some distrust.
This messenger suddenly appeared a few days ago.
The powerful families in Hanzhong have long been jumping back and forth between the north and the south.
It is also a tacit knowledge that the Yang family in Hanzhong has connections with the south.
This envoy from the Southern Dynasty who came to the Yang family with a Southern Dynasty talisman was similar to the envoys from the Southern Dynasty that the Yang family had received in the past.
The envoy claimed to be the envoy of the governor of Yizhou of Southern Liang and took out a complete set of official seals of the Southern Dynasty.
Yang Shu had doubted the identity of this envoy from the Southern Dynasty as he came at such a sensitive time. However, what he described about the customs of the Southern Dynasty and the main officials of Yizhou were all the same as what the Yang family knew.
Yang Shu relaxed his vigilance.
The envoys from the Southern Dynasty came to Liangzhou to persuade the Yang family of Hanzhong to raise an army and surrender to Southern Liang.
Yang Shu just wanted to keep this envoy from the Southern Dynasty and extract some benefits from the South.
Generally, it means trading privileges on certain goods from the Southern Dynasty and receiving some financial support from the Southern Dynasty. The Yang family has done so in the past.
But after Su Ze took back Shitian this time, Yang Shu had new ideas.
Upon seeing the Southern Dynasty envoy, Yang Shu said:
"You said last time that the Prince of Nanping has deployed his troops on the Shu Road and is ready to enter Hanzhong at any time?"
Prince of Nanping Xiao Wei was Xiao Yan's younger brother and also the governor of Yizhou in Southern Liang.
Among the royal family members of Southern Liang, this Prince of Nanping was considered brave and good at fighting. He once led his troops into Liangzhou, but was later defeated by Northern Wei.
After that, Xiao Wei moved to Jingzhou and was responsible for the most important Yangtze River defense in Southern Liang, and was highly valued by Xiao Yan.
However, a few years ago, Xiao Wei was seriously ill, and Xiao Yan took him back to Jiankang for recuperation. After he recovered, Xiao Wei took the initiative to ask to be stationed in Yizhou in order to make up for the regret of not being able to occupy Guanzhong in his youth.
In the years since Xiao Yan ascended the throne, the situation has been one of attacking the south and defending the north. The Southern Dynasty has also enjoyed good weather and the national strength has grown rapidly.
Everyone in Liangzhou knew that Xiao Wei wanted to capture Hanzhong.
The "Southern Dynasty envoy" bowed and said:
"Your Highness the Prince of Nanping has made full preparations to attack Hanzhong. As long as Lord Yang raises his arm and leads our Daliang army into Hanzhong, Su Ze can defeat them in a snap!"
Yang Shu glanced at the envoy and it seemed that the envoy from Southern Liang also knew the news that Su Ze had taken over his land.
For these powerful families, it is not shameful to jump back and forth.
During the three hundred years of chaos during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, scholars experienced the most painful era ideologically after experiencing the Five Barbarians Invasion.
The Confucianism of the pre-Qin and Han dynasties could no longer explain why the world had become like this.
Those scholars in the Han Dynasty who had their hearts set on their country and the world turned into walking corpses who only cared about their own families. There was no such thing as loyalty and righteousness in their hearts. They would side with whichever side could offer the best bargaining chips.
However, in recent years, the main attack direction of the Southern Liang Dynasty was still in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and it rarely exerted its strength in the direction of Bashu. The Yang family of Hanzhong had no chance to surrender to the enemy even if they wanted to!
Yang Shu asked again:
"What benefits does the Prince of Nanping promise to my Yang family?"
The "Southern Dynasty Envoy" immediately said:
"The prince said that if the Yang family can lead the royal army into Hanzhong, he will allow your Yang family to be the most prominent family in Liangzhou and the governor of Liangzhou."
Yang Shu asked again: "Where is the land?"
The "Southern Dynasty Envoy" said: "We in Daliang do not prohibit annexation. With the prestige and wealth of the Yang family, do you still worry about not being able to buy land?"
Yang Shu thought about it and felt that it made sense.
When Xiao Yan first ascended the throne, he also implemented the Tuduan method and wanted to suppress the powerful families.
But soon Xiao Yan gave up insisting on carrying out the land decision-making and instead began to condone clan officials to annex land.
In addition, the Southern Dynasties were also very liberal in terms of land transactions. A large amount of land among the people was owned by temples that had tax-exempt privileges. Local officials ignored this and were busy occupying government land.
So when the envoy from the Southern Dynasty said that Xiao Yan did not prohibit annexation, Yang Shu also nodded. This was also the reason why the Liangzhou nobles had always been secretly colluding with the Southern Liang. Which noble family would not love such an emperor?
But Yang Shu still frowned and said:
"These are all benefits for the Yang family. Have you forgotten that the Patriarch of the Yang family rejected you?"
"Did you swallow the benefits that the Prince of Nanping gave me?"
The "Southern Dynasty Envoy" immediately said:
"What are you talking about, Mr. Yang? How could I possibly swallow your kindness?"
"The Prince of Nanping also said that whoever can welcome the royal teacher will be the direct descendant of the Yang family."
After saying this, the "Southern Dynasty envoy" said:
"In addition, there are forty pieces of top-quality Shu brocade. These will be given to Lord Yang as soon as the Prince of Nanping enters Hanzhong."
Yang Shu shook his finger and said:
"First, bring over 20 pieces of Shu brocade. I need to contact the Hanzhong nobles to welcome the royal teacher. I can't do it without some money!"
The "Southern Dynasty envoy" looked hesitant, but finally agreed.
-
In the next few days, Yang Shu traveled around Hanzhong, trying to win over the Liangzhou nobles to join him in "welcoming the royal army."
It’s a pity that Su Ze’s military performance was so outstanding that most families ignored Yang Shu’s hints. They did not report to the Governor’s Office, but they did not join Yang Shu either.
Yang Shu was helpless. Finally, he made up his mind and decided to do it himself if it really didn't work!
The Yang family is the most prominent family in Liangzhou and has the largest number of servants. The problem now facing Yang Shu is how to seize the exit of the Shu Road.
At this time, there were two passages from Hanzhong to Shu.
One is the Jinniu Road, which goes southwest from Mianyang County, passes Jianmen Pass and Mianyang, and directly reaches Chengdu.
This is also the Shu Road mentioned by Li Bai in his later work "The Difficult Shu Road". Su Ze's large army was near Wuxing, and the Yang family had no way to control this road.
What Yang Shu had in mind was the Migang Road connecting southern Hanzhong.
This road was built in the early Han Dynasty, later than the Jinniu Road, but it was easier to travel than the Jinniu Road and gradually became an important channel for merchants to enter Sichuan.
The specific route is to start from Nanjiang, south of Hanzhong, go south to Enyang, and then enter Shu.
The Nanjiang entrance to Hanzhong on Migang Road is exactly the area controlled by the Yang family of Hanzhong.
The reason why Su Ze had to deal with the Yang family was not only because the Yang family was the most powerful family in Liangzhou, but also because the Yang family controlled Nanjiang, which was also the reason why Su Ze had to deal with them.
How could such a gateway to Hanzhong be controlled by the Yang family, who was so cautious?
Of course, there is a third channel to enter Sichuan, but it had not been built in this era. It was not until the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang that it was completely dug. It was from Xixiang in the east of Liangzhou, through the mountain road into Fuling and into Sichuan.
This road is called Litchi Road, which was specially built by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty to transport lychees from Lingnan to Chang'an.
After Yang Shu got the Shu brocade sent by the "Southern Liang envoy", he used it to bribe the leader of the Liang family's private army, and led a thousand private soldiers of his family to attack Nanjiang overnight.
When Yang Xu got the news that his cousin had brought his family's private soldiers to control Nanjiang and lead the Southern Liang army into Hanzhong, he collapsed to the ground. He quickly sent his trusted sons to chase Yang Shu, but before dawn, he heard the news -
Yang Shu's rebellion was suppressed by the troops led by Yang Kan, the deputy governor of Liangzhou.
The one thousand private soldiers supported by the Yang family were usually good at oppressing the people and fighting with other powerful families for land, but when they met the regular army led by Yang Kan, they completely collapsed with just one blow.
Moreover, the government troops had already laid an ambush and knew Yang Shu's assembly and marching route very well. Yang Kan suddenly rushed out and raided Yang Shu's assembly while he was gathering.
Yang Shu had never been on the battlefield. When his clansmen were pulling him to escape, Yang Zhihui led the Di cavalry and rushed in, capturing Yang Shu alive on the spot.
Finished!
Yang Xu had never expected that his cousin would be so bold as to drag the family into an irretrievable disaster.
At this moment, Yang Xu's sons rushed in and said in tears:
"Grandpa! The government troops have surrounded the village!"
"It's over, it's over!"
-
Upon hearing the news of the demise of the Yang family in Hanzhong, Su Chao, who had rushed from Hezhou to report on his work, and his brother Su Liang were both in Su Ze's tent.
The Su brothers more or less knew about Su Ze's involvement in the downfall of the Yang family, but the two brothers had completely different reactions.
Su Liang congratulated Su Ze:
"Congratulations, General. Liangzhou has been settled!"
But Su Chuo frowned and said:
"General, this is a trick, it's not easy to use it too often."
Su Liang looked at his brother and said:
"How can it be called a trick to eliminate the Yang family in Hanzhong without offending the nobles of Liangzhou?"
Su Cho said:
"Isn't what the general is doing just like when Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty measured the land and used political tactics to kill a few officials and nobles who jumped out? But will the problem of Liangzhou change because of the fall of the Yang family?"
"If the Yang family isn't there, there are other families. Will the general use trickery to eliminate them all?"
Su Ze looked at Su Chuo and said:
"I understand what Lingchuo means. Do we still need to reform the law and solve the problem of the wealthy families annexing land from an institutional perspective?"
Su Chao nodded, but Su Liang objected:
"Now the world is about to be in chaos, and it is too late to win over the hearts of scholars and nobles. Isn't it too big a step to reform now? Moreover, since ancient times, there has been no law that will last forever. Today's good laws may be bad laws in the future. Emperor Xiaowen has only been reforming for twenty years."
Su Ze looked at the two brothers who were arguing. Neither of them was a Confucian scholar in the traditional sense.
Su Liang is good at planning and adapting to circumstances, and prefers to use strategies to solve problems.
Su Cho prefers to look for solutions from an institutional perspective, hoping to solve the problem with standardized systems and strict implementation.
It is no wonder that Su Cho became more famous than Su Liang in later generations. There are many wise counselors, but there are few reformers who can carry out reforms.
However, Su Ze was now just a Pingxi general fighting on the border, and there was no talk of any reform.
Su Ze said:
"What Ling Chuo said is correct. Just solving the Yang family is only a temporary solution to Liangzhou's problems. Other families will emerge in the future."
"The most urgent task is to continue to adhere to Emperor Xiaowen's "Land Granting Order" and establish more Sanchang villages in Liangzhou."
It was naturally impossible for Su Ze to carry out reforms, but who could blame him for the fact that there was still an Emperor Xiaowen in the Northern Wei Dynasty?
The idea of Emperor Xiaowen was good, but the people who carried out the reforms were all powerful families, so the reforms could not be implemented.
But Su Ze now has a lighter burden than Emperor Xiaowen, and he does not need to face the powerful aristocratic forces in Hedong and Shandong.
Once the Six Garrisons Rebellion breaks out and the foundations of those powerful families in Hedong and Shandong are destroyed, won't that make it a blank slate for painting?
But no one knows how many ordinary people will fall into the abyss along with these aristocratic families.
Su Ze sighed. He had also been to the Six Towns and knew that the chaos in the Six Towns was inevitable. This was the total outbreak of conflicts in the Six Towns that had accumulated to a certain extent, and it could not be stopped by one or two people.
Su Ze looked to the north. He had already received the report from Luoyang.
When the Six Garrisons were hit by a white disaster and the situation was precarious, a new round of coup d'état began in Luoyang.
I will go back today and resume 8k tomorrow. This chapter was written on the train. I will correct the typos when I get back.
(End of this chapter)