Chapter 27: The Emperor's Mind is Hard to Fathom (Part 2)

  On the road, Xiao Shouren couldn't help but ask about Pei Ju's background. Although he knew this person, he didn't know much about his character and deeds.

  "Yu Dage, I'm also new to the officialdom and don't quite understand some things. Can you tell me what kind of person Pei Ju Pei Shilang is?" Xiao Shouren asked, not understanding and eager to learn.

  "Oh? You're the one who heard that Huang Gonggong say that your poem was told to the Emperor by Pei Wei, and he also said that you would be beheaded, so that's why you're suddenly interested in him, right?" Yu Shinan heard Xiang Shouren ask himself this way, his eyes rolled around and he knew what was going on, a sly smile spread across his face as he asked Xiang Shouren.

  Yu Ge is indeed a role model for me to learn from, and my little thoughts are simply transparent in front of you, being seen through by you at a glance." Xiao Shouren smiled awkwardly.

  "Let's go, we'll talk as we walk. The story of Pei Wu is complicated." Yu Shunan nodded and agreed to tell Xiao Shouren about Pei Wu's affairs, then slowly walked forward with a stride, while Xiao Shouren followed closely behind him like a little tail, the two chatting as they went along.

  "Pei Ju, styled Hongda, currently holds the positions of Shangshu Left Censor, Deputy Minister of Personnel, Imperial Secretary, and Right Gentleman-in-Attendance, among others. He is one of Your Majesty's most trusted officials at present. Do you know why?" Yu Shen Nan asked Xiao Shouren.

  "Why?"

  "Those who don't know say it's because Pei Wei can accurately guess Your Majesty's thoughts, knowing what you think in your heart, so he's good at flattering you. But the older generation knows how terrifying this person is." Yu Shinnan stroked his somewhat long beautiful beard.

  "Isn't that right? The masses' eyes should be bright and clear, shouldn't they?" Xiao Shouren was using his past life's experience to look at the problem.

  "Haha, this is what you young people think. Among the older generation, there are still many who can't sleep at night when they mention Pei Wu. Do you know who our greatest enemy is?" Yu Shunan shook his head, as if recalling something, and then asked a question that seemed to have nothing to do with Pei Wu, leaving Xiao Shouren confused.

  "Huh? Is there any other question? It's undoubtedly a sudden attack." Xiao Shouren was speechless, although he said that he wasn't very clear about the situation at this time, but he still knew that the biggest enemy of the Sui Dynasty was the Turks.

  "That's right, it's Turkic. But do you know how the modern Turks and Western Turks came to be? Originally there was only one Turk, so why are there two now?" Yu Shinan seemed to know that Xiao Shouren would respond in this way, and continued to ask.

  "Huh? This isn't very clear, I just know that some things in here are strange, and not many people should know the reason. Is this related to Pei Wu and Pei Shi Lang?" Xiao Shou Ren asked curiously.

  "That's right, this achievement of subjugating the Western Turks is all thanks to Pei Ju and Changsun Wuji. One effort that will last forever! The merit is so great that it can be compared to that of a great general who expands the territory. You say such a great merit, how can Your Majesty not reuse him, respect him, and favor him?" Yu Shanan explained slowly, with the latter half of his sentence seeming to carry a hint of sourness.

  "Hmm? So you're saying that this Pei Shilang is a good official, having made such great contributions to our Great Sui?" Xiao Shouren asked with much skepticism.

  "Hmph, a good official? Whether he is a good official or not, I don't know, but after I say one thing, you'll know whether he is or not." Yu Shinnan sneered.

  "Hmm? Brother Yu, please go on. I'm all ears." Xiao Shouren was very curious and wanted Yu Shiniang to continue speaking.

  "Xiao brothers, do you know that this time's Goguryeo war, who is the mastermind behind the conquest of Goguryeo?" Yu Shinan asked with a cold smile, his eyes fixed intently on Xiao Shouren.

  "Huh? Why is Yu Ge asking this way? Could it be...?" Xiaorong suddenly had an idea, a bold idea.

  "That's right, it was Pei Kuai, it was Pei Kuai who stirred up trouble. Originally, the four seas were calm and the people lived in peace and prosperity, who would have thought of going to war? Your Majesty didn't want to either, but because of Pei Kuai's schemes and provocations on the side, a fierce and intense war against Goguryeo broke out like this." Yu Shinnan was now gritting his teeth with anger, hating Pei Kuai so much that he wanted to kill him.

  "What?!" Xiao Shouren was really confused at this time. How could the conquest of Goguryeo still be related to Pei Ju? Wasn't it initiated by Yang Guang?

  "Alas! This all started from the time when Pei Ju followed Your Majesty on an inspection tour to the north of the Great Wall, and arrived at the camp of Qimin Khan of the Turks. At that time, Goguryeo had sent envoys to the Turks beforehand, and Qimin introduced them to Your Majesty. Pei Ju was by Your Majesty's side at the time, saying that since ancient times, Goguryeo was originally part of the Central Plains, and it was time to take it back. So Pei Ju advised Your Majesty to treat the Goguryeo envoys severely, ordering them to tell the King of Goguryeo to submit to the Great Sui, or else face military conquest. Your Majesty adopted his suggestion, but Goguryeo refused to obey orders. After returning, Your Majesty began planning to conquer Goguryeo, and it's been several years now, only breaking out this year." Yu Shinnan sighed, shaking his head in dismay.

  Xiao Shouren would never have known the reason behind this if Yu Shinan hadn't told him. Who would have thought, really who would have thought, that there was someone with such great power, able to whisper a few words in Yang Guang's ear and get him to start a war? The depth of Yang Guang's favor towards Pei Ju is truly astonishing!

  On the way, Xiao Shouren and Yu Shinan kept talking. After continuous conversation, Xiao Shouren finally understood what kind of person Pei Wu was. His cleverness is not worth mentioning, especially his ability to guess people's thoughts has never been wrong. Since Yang Guang ascended the throne, he has always been deeply favored by Yang Guang, a favorite minister, and has never been neglected!

  "By the way, you were really close to disaster just now, almost lost your head!" Yu Shinan suddenly remembered a scene from earlier at Hu Xiaotang and reminded him.

  "Oh? But didn't Yu Dage just ask me about the poem that Your Majesty asked me earlier?" Xiao Shouren asked in surprise.

  "That's right, you just walked through the Ghost Gate, fortunately, you said it was not your doing, but the old beggar who saved you, otherwise, your life would not have lasted long, and your head would have been moved." Yu Shennan said slowly with a smile, looking at Xiao Shouren.

  "What does this mean? Why would I not live long if it's something I said myself, but it doesn't matter if it was said by an old beggar?" Xiao Shouren suddenly became suspicious.

  "If you say it's your own work, then it means you have great poetic talent, and it's even comparable to that of His Majesty. In that case, your death is not far away." Yu Shinnan explained slowly to Xiao Shouren.

  "Huh? Is it bad for a subject to have talent? The greater the ability, the better to share the emperor's worries and troubles, and can help the emperor with more things?"

  "Although that's the case, I once heard the previous emperor say that the most important thing for a ruler is to have tolerance. A ruler should not compete with his subjects for achievements. However, Your Majesty does not possess this quality. Take the recent campaign against Goguryeo as an example. It was not just the result of Pei Wei's instigation, but also because Your Majesty wanted to prove that you are a great emperor, who excels in both literature and martial arts, and is a ruler who can bring peace and prosperity to the country through his wisdom and bravery. Your Majesty has always thought of yourself as the Son of Heaven, the best in the world." Yu Shinnan said slowly.

  "Hmm? So Your Majesty cannot bear to see a minister who is smarter and more capable than him?" Xiao Shouren asked tentatively.

  "This isn't it, but those who are arrogant and rely on their talents to be reckless will often be deeply remembered by Your Majesty, then found guilty of a crime and executed. Do you know who your predecessor was?" Yu Shinan asked with a smile.

  "How would I know who the predecessor is? I've just arrived at Hongmiao Temple not long ago, and now people in Hongmiao Temple don't even recognize a few of them, let alone my predecessor?" Xiao Shouren replied honestly.

  "In those years, Xue Daohe, the former Shaoqing of Hongfu Temple (originally, in history, Xue Daohe was Neishi Shilang, but now, due to necessity, he had to be made Shaoguo Ren's predecessor; after all, it's a fictionalized history, and historical errors are also possible), was indeed elegant with his writing. Yu Shanan continued: 'He once wrote the poem "Flying Soul on the Same Night as the Magpie, Waking Up at Dawn to Think of the Morning Rooster". The dark window hung with spider webs, the empty beam fell with swallows' mud.' This poem was passed down among the people, and later he relied on his talent and became arrogant, offending Emperor Gao. He was sentenced to death by the emperor. To say that he was foolish would be an understatement; originally, during the struggle for the throne between the emperor and the former crown prince, he and Gao were on the side of Crown Prince Yang Yong. Now, although the emperor forgave him, he still pleaded for Gao, which naturally made the emperor unhappy. However, after the emperor sentenced Xue Daohe to death, he said with a smile: 'Can Xue Daohe still write "Empty Beam Falling Swallows' Mud"?' It seems that Xue Daohe's writing talent was also his path to death."

  Seeing Shaoguo Ren's stunned expression, Yu Shanan spoke with unusual enthusiasm: "Xue Daohe, who died because of his writing talent, is not the first in our dynasty. There was also Wang Jiong, a court official, who responded to the emperor's poem 'Yan Ge Xing' with the line 'The courtyard grass grows green without anyone's care.' The crowd cheered, but this angered the emperor. Not long after, Wang Jiong was beheaded, and the emperor asked him: 'Can you still write "The courtyard grass grows green without anyone's care"?'"

  Shaoguo Ren's face turned slightly pale; he remembered that Xue Daohe's four lines were indeed well-written, but they only described the scenery. If writing about scenery could lead to death, then wouldn't his own poetry be a path to destruction?

  "Now Chen Chuan comes to you every day to ask for poems," Yu Shanan said with a cold smile. "Don't think that he is infatuated with you. You love to show off in front of women and write poems for her all day long. I'm afraid that if you write two more lines, you'll be taking two steps closer to the underworld."

  Last night there was a power outage, so I missed the appointment at first. I admit that this is not good, very bad. So now one chapter, tonight there will be another chapter, and another at midnight, all of which are over 3,000 words. Today I have to write more than 10,000 words, so I'm begging for clicks on collections and votes, and it would be even better if you could leave a comment.