LFHYB -Chapter 185 Yang Daoxuan, Trapped by a Scheme

Before leaving, Li Xuanba gave Li Shimin a huge jar of preserved meat and pickled vegetables, telling him to eat them with his dry rations.

To people of later generations, preserved meat and pickles were unhealthy. But for Li Shimin, who had an enormous daily workload, they were just right.

After leaving Shu, they mostly relied on local supplies. With the country in chaos and transportation disrupted, even salt was scarce in Hubei and Hunan. Even Li Shimin didn’t know where Li Xuanba had stored such a huge jar of preserved food. Hugging the jar, he smiled so widely that his teeth were showing.

After leaving Xiangyang Commandery, Li Xuanba first went to Hongnong Commandery, then to Hedong Commandery.

When he was nearing Hongnong, Li Xuanba set up camp and had a good meal first, preparing himself to enter the city in high spirits.

After Yang Xian proclaimed himself emperor, he claimed descent from the Hongnong Yang clan.

In reality, because the Hongnong Yang clan had repeatedly failed in political struggles during the Eastern Han and Wei periods, it never became a major aristocratic family during the Wei, Jin, and Northern–Southern Dynasties era.

Just as Li Xuanba’s mother, Dou Huiming, falsely claimed descent from the prestigious Fufeng Dou clan, Yang Xian’s “Hongnong Yang clan” lineage was also fabricated.

Still, once the emperor said the Hongnong Yang clan was an imperial lineage, it became a “great clan since ancient times.” Naturally, Hongnong now had many scholars of the Yang clan, most of whom were related to Yang Xian.

As the officially designated “ancestral land” of the Sui imperial family, and located between the Eastern Capital Luoyang and the Western Capital Daxing, Hongnong nominally remained under the control of the Sui court in Luoyang after chaos broke out. Many imperial clansmen who failed to flee to the capitals gathered there, and real power was in their hands.

When Luoyang was besieged, Yao Jun-su of Hedong attempted to rescue it. However, he was blocked by Li Yuan, while Li Yuan was also entangled with him. If Yao Jun-su left Hedong, the region would fall, so he was unable to act.

Hongnong, on the other hand, stood by and did nothing, as if the young emperor in Luoyang were not one of their own.

As soon as Luoyang fell, the Sui clansmen in Hongnong immediately defected to the newly appointed Prince of Qin, Li Shimin.

When Li Xuanba passed through Hongnong on his way to persuade Hedong to surrender, he accepted their submission along the way.

The man chosen to surrender the city to Li Xuanba was Yang Daoxuan, son of Prince Cai, Yang Zhiji.

Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Xian, had two full brothers—Prince Cai Yang Zheng and Prince Teng Yang Zan—and two half-brothers—Prince Dao Yang Song and Prince Wei Yang Shuang.

Yang Zheng died early, and his son Yang Zhiji inherited the title of Prince Cai. However, his life was far from smooth.

Even without fighting his brothers for the throne, Yang Xian—like his son Yang Guang—had poor relations with his siblings.

His two full brothers were on bad terms with him. Before Yang Zheng died, both he and his wife, Lady Yuchi, disliked Yang Xian and his wife. Yang Zan repeatedly obstructed Yang Xian during his rise to power.

Yang Xian had better relations with his half-brothers. Yang Song died young and never conflicted with him. Yang Shuang, who was raised like a son, led armies against the Xiongnu many times, but unfortunately died young at twenty-five.

A brother who dies young is the best kind of brother.

Yang Song left no heirs, and his adopted heir also died early. Yang Shuang’s son, Yang Ji, inherited the title of Prince Wei and was favored by Yang Xian.

However, anyone favored by Yang Xian was disliked by Yang Guang, who was especially wary of imperial relatives.

Thus, the closer one was to the emperor in the Sui royal family, the more miserable their fate.

By the time Yang Zhiji realized what was happening, all his uncles were dead. He could only comfort himself that they had died of old age. His cousins were either executed or exiled to frontier regions. In the end, he alone remained as the original Prince Cai.

Yang Zhiji was cautious and talented. To survive, he loyally governed Hongnong for Yang Guang. Whenever he fell ill, he even imitated Yang Su and refused medicine. Finally, he died in the twelfth year of Daye.

On his deathbed, he wept with relief and told his son Yang Daoxuan, choking with emotion, “At least I managed to keep my head and be buried properly.”

Throughout his life, Yang Zhiji committed no major faults. He was not even given a posthumous title. His son Yang Daoxuan also failed to inherit the title of Prince Cai, as if Yang Guang had simply forgotten this branch of the family.

Yang Zhiji had always served as governor of Hongnong and rarely left the region. Naturally, Yang Daoxuan also remained there.

When he went to welcome Li Xuanba, he looked at Li Xuanba’s commandery prince attire and smiled bitterly.

Li Xuanba had just been granted the title of Prince of Jin, but his ceremonial robes were not yet ready, so he still wore the robes of a commandery prince when receiving the surrender.

Meanwhile, Yang Daoxuan, as the son of Prince Cai, was now worse off than ordinary noble youths. He was still a commoner and could not wear any official robes.

As Prince Cai’s heir, he should have inherited the title. But Yang Guang had “forgotten” him.

Suppressing his bitterness, Yang Daoxuan bowed humbly and said:

“This commoner, Yang Daoxuan, respectfully welcomes His Highness the Prince of Jin into the city.”

Seeing Yang Daoxuan’s submissive manner and hearing him call himself a “commoner,” Li Xuanba was startled.

Even if Yang Daoxuan had not inherited the title, his status as Prince Cai’s heir had never been revoked. He should still have held official rank.

So why was he calling himself a commoner?

Yang Daoxuan had learned the art of reading people’s expressions to perfection from his father. The moment he noticed a trace of unease on Li Xuanba’s face, he hurried to speak first, explaining before Li Xuanba could say anything, so as not to put him in an awkward position.

“Although I was once the Crown Prince of Prince Cai, my late father has passed away, and our title has been revoked. I am now nothing more than a commoner.”

He bowed again to Li Xuanba.

“I am only temporarily overseeing Hongnong Commandery as a commoner. I have been walking on thin ice, trembling with caution. Now that Prince of Jin has finally arrived, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

Li Xuanba: “…”

Usually eloquent, he found himself at a loss for words.

The Yang family of Hongnong that he knew consisted of Yang Guang, Yang Zhao, and Yang Liang. Even someone as gentle as Yang Zhao possessed a hidden sharpness and pride beneath his mild exterior. Yet Yang Daoxuan, once the heir to Prince Cai, was even more humble than ordinary noble youths.

No wonder Hongnong had not rushed to aid Luoyang. It seemed that the Sui imperial clan truly had no desire to remain an imperial clan.

“Brother Yang, there’s no need for such formality, nor for you to keep calling yourself a commoner,” Li Xuanba said sincerely. With a warm and approachable attitude, he helped Yang Daoxuan up from his bow. “Since you have governed Hongnong well, you may continue as its administrator.

“Although the late emperor treated you coldly, you stood up in these chaotic times and protected the people of an entire commandery. That is a great merit. You are a man of high virtue.”

Yang Daoxuan’s eyes flickered slightly. He lowered his head and said, “I dare not accept such praise. My home is in Hongnong, and I only did what I could.”

Li Xuanba praised him further. “If there were more people in this world who did what they could, would we still be living in chaos? Brother Yang, doing what one can is precisely what it means to step forward. Excessive humility is not a virtue.”

Though nearly ten years younger than Yang Daoxuan, he spoke with the tone of an elder brother, sounding mature and experienced.

Patting Yang Daoxuan on the shoulder, Li Xuanba said, “Our most urgent task now is to pacify the realm. In the future, there will certainly be many opportunities for you to display your talents. I hope you won’t hide them.”

Yang Daoxuan: “…”

He was starting to feel afraid.

His head throbbed.

The tears of joy his father had shed when he was slowly dying had become Yang Daoxuan’s nightmare.

Even now, he would occasionally dream of the delighted expression on his father’s face before death.

His father had died smiling. It should have been considered a “happy funeral.” Yet that “happiness” was nothing but a nightmare.

Because of this, Yang Daoxuan had stopped those who wanted to memorialize Yang Guang and have him inherit the title of Prince Cai. He deliberately concealed his presence, pretending to be nothing more than a common scholar.

After all, though his father had lived in constant fear, he had still received the stipends and rewards befitting a prince—enough to sustain three generations.

After three generations, their blood ties to the emperor would be thin enough that his descendants could serve as ordinary scholars, no longer needing to live in fear.

Who would have thought that before three generations had passed, Yang Guang would ruin the Great Sui dynasty?

At first, Yang Daoxuan was terrified. Then he suddenly realized that perhaps he didn’t need to be.

No matter who became emperor next, they would surely not care about a former Prince Cai heir whom Yang Guang had neglected. So long as he continued to minimize his presence and let the new emperor forget about him, his son could enter officialdom without waiting until his grandson’s generation.

Feeling very clever, Yang Daoxuan was preparing to follow this plan when he received a letter from Gao Jiong.

Back when Gao Jiong was still highly trusted by Yang Xian, he had served not only as tutor to the crown prince but also as instructor to other imperial princes. Thus, he and Yang Daoxuan were fairly acquainted.

After withdrawing into semi-retirement at court, Gao Jiong continued to correspond with Prince Cai, who likewise wished to keep a low profile. They discussed how to reduce their presence before Yang Guang.

After Prince Cai Yang Zhiji’s death, Gao Jiong had also given Yang Daoxuan guidance, telling him what to do if he wished to avoid inheriting the title.

Yang Daoxuan had always held Gao Jiong in great respect. When Gao Jiong wrote asking him to safeguard Hongnong Commandery, Yang Daoxuan—who had originally planned to lie low—still followed his advice.

“If the skin does not exist, how can the hair attach?” His home was in Hongnong. If Hongnong fell, his family would become refugees.

Though he did not wish to enter officialdom, he still wanted to live the life of a wealthy, idle gentleman.

He resolved that no matter who conquered the realm, he would quickly have someone present the city in surrender and, in the name of being “a former dynasty’s imperial clansman,” request permission to retire into obscurity.

Then, he was pushed by the clan elders right in front of Li Xuanba.

Then, without even asking his opinion, Li Xuanba appointed him Prefect of Hongnong.

Then, Li Xuanba showered him with countless compliments, praising him to the skies. The surrounding clansmen nodded along, leaving him with no way to step down.

He could hardly say, “That’s not true,” while everyone was praising him. Excessive humility would only offend others.

Yang Daoxuan’s head hurt. He wondered whether he had made a wrong choice long ago.

Li Xuanba glanced at Yang Daoxuan’s supposedly well-hidden distress and thought of Teacher Gao’s letter: “Yang Daoxuan, heir of Prince Cai, can be put to use.”

When Gao Jiong had tutored Li Shimin and Li Xuanba in Daxing, he once spoke of how to deal with the Sui imperial clan in a way different from most people.

He believed that the Sui dynasty had completely lost popular support—both among scholars and commoners. Moreover, the Sui imperial clan had long been harshly treated by Yang Xian and Yang Guang. Even when the dynasty was strong, they had little real power. Thus, Li Shimin need not fear that employing them would lead to a Sui restoration.

On the contrary, making use of capable members of the former imperial clan would bring many benefits.

The only real obstacle to Li Shimin’s smooth accession lay in Li Yuan.

Although Li Shimin’s current position was extremely favorable, Li Yuan was his father and had proclaimed himself emperor first. Even if the realm had been won by Li Shimin, many people saw no difference between Li Shimin winning it and Li Yuan winning it. In a struggle for the throne, they might not necessarily side with Li Shimin.

If Li Shimin was unwilling to rely on his maternal relatives, then he should heavily employ the former Sui imperial clan. Once they were valued, former Sui officials would no longer fear being purged.

Furthermore, employing the former imperial clan could help cultivate a new group of aristocrats.

At court, factions would always exist—through marriage ties, regional bonds, teacher–student relationships, patronage, and old associations. Wherever there were people, there would be networks of connections. No matter how much an emperor disliked them, he could not eliminate them.

Since they could not be eliminated, the more factions there were, the better.

A competent emperor did not fear factional struggle. What he feared was any single faction becoming too powerful and undermining imperial authority.

Although Gao Jiong harbored some resentment toward the former ruler Yang Xian, he still greatly approved of Emperor Wen of Sui’s political tactics.

After listening to Gao Jiong’s advice, Li Shimin waved his hand and said, “Talented people shouldn’t be judged by their background. Even if my future nephews and cousins are capable, I’d still let them enter officialdom—let alone ordinary members of the Sui royal clan. Teacher, you don’t need to come up with so many reasons to persuade me.”

Gao Jiong: “???” Was my lecture about appointing Sui royal clansmen?! The key point was the logic behind it!

Li Xuanba thought of how his second brother had actually understood the lesson, but somehow misspoke, made the teacher angry, and was punished to copy texts—his expression back then.

He continued observing Yang Daoxuan’s expression.

Hmm. His second brother’s troubled look was very similar to Yang Daoxuan’s. Maybe Yang Daoxuan would get along well with his second brother in the future.

Come to think of it, besides their father and brothers, was there anyone who didn’t get along with Second Brother?

Li Xuanba fell into thought, then decided it was too troublesome.

Winning people over was something Second Brother was good at. Why should he worry about it himself?