As night fell, Yang Shidao appeared in front of Cui Junsu's mansion under the escort of more than a dozen followers. Cui Junsu was appointed as the Minister of Personnel of the Sui Dynasty, and was appointed as the Prime Minister of Ziweitai. At the same time, he was also named Duke of Qinghe County and was entitled to be a high-ranking official.

Cui Junsu was born in the Cui family of Qinghe, but was not the head of the Cui family of Qinghe. It was slightly different from the Cui family of Boling and the Lu family of Fanyang. Although the Cui family of Qinghe is also one of the five surnames and seven hopes in the world, because the Cui family of Qinghe is located in the center of the two major rebellion storms, Gaojipo and Douzigang, the Cui family of Qinghe suffered a heavy blow.

Its clan power was almost gone and it was impossible to form a new clan interest group. Compared with the powerful Fanyang Lu family and Boling Cui family, the Qinghe Cui family had a very small influence in Hebei, and was even worse than the Bohai Gao family. It is precisely for this reason that Cui Junsu did not become a member of the Hebei system. He had a very good relationship with Du Ruhui, so they were called Fengzhou system by the court.

In fact, the Fengzhou Group is just a general idea. Most of the officials have stayed in Fengzhou, but they have nothing to do with the Fengzhou Group. At that time, one of them served as the prefect of Wuyuan County and the other served as the chief of the Fengzhou General Administration Office. They have always been Yang Yuanqing's confidant, so the Fengzhou Group is actually Yang Yuanqing's direct descendant.

When he heard that Yang Shidao was visiting, Cui Junsu met him in person and laughed from a distance, "Dear guest! Yang Xiangguo Ling's despicable house is full of glory. No wonder the magpies called the branches early in the morning, it turned out to be the response to this scene."

Yang Shidao also bowed and said, "I didn't make an appointment in advance, I feel uneasy. I hope Cui Xiangguo forgives Yang for taking the presumptuousness."

In terms of home visits, the same has been done in ancient times and modern times. There are many taboos, such as the owner cannot come to the door when entering the toilet, and should avoid these times during meal time or late at night, so someone should be sent to send a prayer post in advance. If the owner accepts it, he can come at the agreed time, which is convenient for everyone.

Especially when visiting between senior officials, it has a lot of political sensitivity, so you must make an appointment in advance. For example, today, Mr. Yang came uninvited, and Cui Junsu welcomed him politely. But he felt a little uncomfortable, so Mr. Yang claimed to be nervous and expressed a sense of apology.

Since you are here, Cui Junsu must also receive grandly out of etiquette. There are two meanings of grand reception. One is high-standard, such as all the main tribes come out to welcome them. Open the door, please enter your guest room, etc. It is just a kind of grand reception in etiquette, giving the other party enough.

Another meaning of grand reception is to attach importance to visiting, without opening the door or tribe members coming out to greet them, but instead invite them to enter the study to speak. The study is a secret place for men to cultivate their minds and nature, and will never be easily allowed to enter. If you are invited to enter the study, it reflects the importance of guests.

Cui Junsu is undoubtedly the latter. He knows that it is as simple as Yang Shidao coming to him to brag and chat, and there must be important things. In fact, Cui Junsu also knows what Yang Shidao comes to him for.

The two went into the study and sat down. A concubine served them tea and then retreated. The only two of them were left in the study. Yang Shidao and Cui Junsu had a good relationship. Many years ago, Cui Junsu was a clerk under Yang Xiong's tent. At that time, he was familiar with Yang Shidao.

Later, Yang Shidao was ordered to serve as the prefect of Wuyuan County, and Cui Junsu was the chief minister. The two worked together for several years, cooperated and had a deep friendship, so Yang Shidao came to find Cui Junsu. Cui Junsu would not deliberately welcome him solemnly or neglect him, but instead invited him into his study.

Although they had a good relationship in the past, they are now both prime ministers and are coated with a layer of golden light of power. This golden light of power covers their former friendship. The two sat opposite each other for a while, silent, trying to find friendship from the past, but they can't find this feeling of friendship.

Finally, Master Yang sighed, "I have decided to resign from the position."

Cui Junsu did not speak. As Yang Shidao's identity, he said it in the meeting hall and said it the second time here. This shows that he has been thinking carefully and will not change it easily. It is meaningless to ask him to think twice, but Cui Junsu still wants to discuss it with him on a case-by-case basis.

"I can understand Brother Jingyou's mood. There is indeed something wrong with His Highness the King of Chu killing officials this time, but Brother Jingyou wants to resign from his position for this. Isn't it a bit of a big deal?"

"You can say that I am a big deal. I know very well that this matter is not big. A dignified King of Chu, the actual creator and controller of the New Sui Dynasty, and the future Emperor, His Majesty, does not even have the power to kill a corrupt official. It sounds a bit incredible, but if this matter is not serious and he can do what he does, then how will the monarchy be controlled in the future, how can the power of the minister be extended, and how can the monarchy be checked and balanced with each other?"

At this point, Yang Shidao sighed again, "The fall of the old Sui Dynasty was because the late emperor was stubborn and unwilling to accept advice, and unwilling to listen to ministers' advice. I learned my lesson and gradually realized that refusing to listen to advice is actually human nature, and loyal words are unheard of. Few people are willing to listen to advice. The key to the fall of the old Sui Dynasty was that there was no power to check and balance the power of the monarch. In all matters in the world, the late emperor had to take it with one hand. If there was power to check and balance the power of the monarch, then he could not have launched the Goryeo War again and again, and the death of the second generation of the old Sui Dynasty was profound!"

Cui Junsu pondered for a moment and said, "But at this point, Your Highness, the King of Chu, did a good job, don't you think?"

"Of course I understand that the King of Chu is willing to divide power with Ziwei Pavilion, and in addition to military and national affairs, he will be appointed from the third rank below the third rank, and will be decided by Ziwei Pavilion, and will also implement the rotation of administrative affairs to prevent the autocracy of one prime minister. These are all done well, but what if the king oversteps his authority? This is the key. If this cannot be settled, then can his descendants tolerate the power of the prime minister a hundred years later?"

Cui Junsu nodded silently. He finally understood Yang Shidao's good intentions, but he didn't want the New Sui Dynasty to repeat Yang Guang's mistakes. "You are right. Your Highness, the founding king of Chu is the founding king. If he sets a system, his descendants will not dare to violate it easily. It is indeed necessary to let Your Highness understand this. Brother Jingyou, I will support you, but I still don't want you to resign from the position of prime minister because of this."

Yang Shidao shook his head, "Actually, I don't want to resign from the position of prime minister. It is our luck to be prime minister in the New Sui Dynasty. But in order to maintain the long-term stability of the Great Sui Dynasty, I still have to argue for this statement. If Your Highness the King of Chu agrees to my request, I can refuse to resign. If Your Highness the King of Chu does not agree, then I will learn from my resignation and set a precedent for the future Prime Ministers of the Great Sui Dynasty."

Cui Junsu paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, thinking repeatedly, and finally he resolutely said: "Resigning is me, I also need your highness to give you an explanation."

Yang Shidao came to visit Cui Junsu in the hope of getting Cui Junsu's support, but he didn't expect that he was willing to resign with him. At this moment, Yang Shidao was full of gratitude and bowed deeply, "Thank you, Brother Cui and I, for jointly maintaining the system!"

Cui Junsu smiled slightly, "Didn't we often cooperate like this when we were in Fengzhou?"

Yang Shidao felt a warmth in his heart. They looked at each other and smiled, and the feeling of tacit understanding returned to their hearts.

Just as Yang Shidao visited Cui Junsu, Lu Yu was also invited into Cui Hongyuan's study in another Cui Mansion in Taiyuan City. Whether it was Lu Yu or Cui Hongyuan, they were not only focused on family interests. If they did not involve personal interests, they would also actively do their best for the Great Sui Dynasty.

But if the interests of the Great Sui Dynasty conflict with the interests of the family, the balance of interests in their hearts will naturally be biased towards the family.

Whether it is the Lu family or the Cui family, they have hundreds of years of history. They have experienced countless dynasties. Any court is just a stop in the history of the family. The interests of the court are short-lived, while the interests of the family are eternal.

But this time, they are not just for the benefit of the family.

"Brother Cui, I got the news that Zhang Jibei, the prefect of Zhao County, has been arrested and taken to Taiyuan. Do you know about this?" Lu Yu took a sip of tea and said calmly.

Zhang Jibei was a disciple of the Cui family of Boling, and his wife was Cui Hongyuan's sister. This news surprised Cui Hongyuan, "Is Zhang Jibei also involved in the charity grain case?"

"It should be! Xu Shouxin swallowed 6,000 stones of grain from Yi Cang. Zhang Jibei was his boss. He would get a piece of the pie. Can he get through this hurdle?"

"But if the evidence is conclusive, it will be troublesome." Cui Hongyuan said worriedly.

"evidence?"

Lu Yu sneered, "Of course there is evidence, but whether there is evidence is one thing, and whether or not it is convicted is another thing. If Brother Cui must do his business, then wait to collect the body for Zhang Jibei!"

The reason why Lu Yu had a sarcastic tone was mainly because Cui Hongyuan was a little timid and afraid of annoying Yang Yuanqing. He suggested that Lu Yu resign and force Yang Yuanqing to give up tracing the grain in the charity warehouse. He seemed not so willing.

It was just because they were both Hebei, Cui Hongyuan reluctantly agreed to cooperate with Lu Yu to act together, but Lu Yu could see that Cui Hongyuan would probably betray him as long as he was under a little pressure.

He had to find a way to tie Cui Hongyuan tightly to his side, and Zhang Jibei's arrest was the best rope.

Cui Hongyuan was silent, and after a long time, he sighed: "Head of the Lu family, the case of charity grain warehouse is not that serious. Not every county has problems. Maybe it is our guess. And even if there is a problem, it is just for them to make up for it. Why do you need to confront Yang Yuanqing? In the end, you may repeat the mistakes of the Wang family."

Lu Yu looked at Cui Hongyuan. He didn't understand why Cui Hongyuan was so timid and cowardly, and could he be the head of the family with such a personality?

"Brother Cui, you must understand that the so-called Yichuang Grain Case is just an excuse. Yang Yuanqing is going to take action against Hebei. He will take Hebei and start to deal with the Wang family. Then, if he takes the Central Plains, his target must be Hebei local officials."

After pausing, Lu Yu said again: "You must know that after the Hebei Battle, he almost did not touch Hebei officials, but that was just his temporary compromise. He could not do anything without cleaning. Now the time has come. His case of charity grain is actually a test. If we remain silent, then large-scale cleaning will definitely be inevitable. If we strongly oppose it, he will also be afraid to do it too much."

Cui Hongyuan sighed, "I understand what you mean, but I am really a little worried about repeating the Wang family's mistakes."

"snort!"

Lu Yu snorted disdainfully, "From ancient times to the present, which court has taken action against the Lu family of Fanyang and the Cui family of Boling for hundreds of years?"
Chapter completed!