My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 492 Young is better

The moon is very round tonight, and the wind is a bit noisy, which has dispelled some of the stuffiness.

Gao Yu sat at the table, on which sat a transparent glass filled with precious wine.

Besides him, there was another person, namely his trusted minister Yang Yin.

"Prime Minister."

Yang Yin bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

Gao Yu waved his hand, "Zunyan, why be so polite? We are just the two of us..."

Gao Yu paused before he could finish speaking.

He had intended to say that Yang Yin would soon marry Gao Ying, but then he suddenly realized that before he became his uncle, Yang Yin had already been his brother-in-law.

"What is it? Tell me."

"Prime Minister."

Yang Yin spoke directly, "In the past few days, various counties and prefectures in Xiangzhou, Dingzhou, Yinzhou, and Yingzhou have submitted official documents, stating that the agricultural tools that should have been distributed in Yinzhou and Xiangzhou have not been distributed in full."

"Why?"

Gao Yu frowned slightly, his voice tinged with anger, "Without farm tools, how can we cultivate the land and restore production? Didn't I repeatedly tell you to take this matter seriously?"

"This batch of iron farm tools was supposed to be shipped from Shandong..."

Yang Yin stopped speaking at this point, looked up at Gao Yu, and said nothing more.

Gao Yu finally understood.

This is a Shandong family trying to sow discord within themselves.

The powerful families of Hebei, especially those in Yinzhou and Xiangzhou, put forward Sima Ziru and Feng Longzhi, advocating for the complete establishment of the capital in Yecheng, the expansion of Yecheng, the renovation of palaces, and even the construction of new palaces.

Although Gao Yu was in Yanzhou dealing with the disputes on the grasslands at the time, the Shandong aristocratic families knew very well that Gao Yu couldn't possibly be unaware of what had happened.

However, Gao Yu did not express his opinion in the short term.

Sometimes, silence is ambiguity, and ambiguity is tacit consent.

How could they possibly tolerate allowing the powerful families of Hebei to reap the fruits of victory that should have been theirs at this critical juncture?

Gao Yu has not yet declared himself emperor, but he already holds the real power of the emperor.

The current situation is somewhat similar to 'moving the capital'.

Relocating the capital is fraught with difficulties for any dynasty. To say nothing of the distant past, Emperor Xiaowen had to use all sorts of tricks and go to great lengths to successfully move the capital from Pingcheng to Luoyang.

"Damn..."

Gao Yu gritted his teeth; these subtle and disgusting little tricks were really making him feel awkward and uncomfortable.

After all, since they didn't openly oppose Gao Yu, even if Gao Yu investigated, they could have a thousand reasons to shirk responsibility. If all else failed, they could just send out one or two scapegoats.

It's far from that point.

Shandong is Gao Yu's home base, so why would he go to such a distant place?

Take ten thousand steps back.

Gao Yu's greatest source of confidence and reliance was his government troops.

The Fubing (府兵) in Shandong was an elite force that he had built from scratch. Although Fubing was also implemented in Hebei and other places, he could not exert influence on every detail as he did in Shandong. Just like during the Sui and Tang dynasties, Fubing was mainly based in Guanzhong and then controlled the whole country. Gao Yu did not intend to implement Fubing on a large scale in Hebei.

There always has to be one side that is absolutely dominant. If the two sides are evenly matched, this is a ticking time bomb. Sooner or later, Shandong and Hebei will fight each other for interests.

He had enough prestige to prevent the bomb from exploding, but what about his own son?
If we compare Gao Yu's current territory to a company...

Gao Yu initially founded his startup company with the help of eight hundred Xuanjia soldiers. His core assets were his own bravery and the Xuanjia army, which were highly valued and attracted the favor of various angel investors, namely aristocratic families.

After arriving in Shandong, the Shandong Shijia became his first round of angel investors. Gao Yu also started to raise funds by holding 100% of the shares and partnered with the Shandong Shijia. Now, the Hebei Shijia has also joined the fray.

With the help of the government troops, Gao Yu still firmly controls 51% of the shares. He is the absolute majority shareholder of the company and has the power to make decisions on almost everything. However, he also has to consult with other shareholders on some major decisions.

He also needs to consider the thoughts and feelings of other shareholders.

Perhaps it was only after he ascended the throne and became the supreme ruler, the "mandate of Heaven, may his reign be long and prosperous," that he could control more than 67% of the shares, making absolute decisions and absolute authoritarianism.

100% ownership?
Should the other shareholders be kicked out?
This is impossible.

In this world, those who try to monopolize resources are destined to go nowhere, and no one in this era can do that. As a product of the productive forces and social relations of this era, aristocratic families cannot avoid, nor can they be forcibly eliminated on a physical level.

Eliminate one batch, and a new batch will appear.

Classes cannot be physically eliminated, only replaced. Gao Yu understood this very well, so he wouldn't foolishly fight the aristocratic families to the death like Liu Yu did. Instead, he would exploit them to a certain extent for his own use, while continuing to grant them certain privileges, thus sustainably draining their resources.

To truly curb the power of aristocratic families, their monopoly on knowledge must be broken.

By using printing technology to make knowledge accessible to more people, and then using the imperial examination system to select officials, the monopoly of aristocratic families on official positions could be broken.

Gao Yu is pushing forward with all of these things.

In Shandong, the civil service examination and the imperial examination system are already running in parallel. Once Hebei becomes more stable and secure, the mature system already in operation in Shandong can be directly adopted there.

"This matter cannot be delayed any longer; we will discuss it at tomorrow's court assembly."

Yang Yin didn't ask any more questions, and didn't even try to find out what Gao Yu was thinking.

His position is rather special.

She was already related to the Gao family through marriage, and now she is even closer to them through marriage, and she is also extremely capable.

The essential……

He will not side with either the Hebei aristocratic families or the Shandong aristocratic families.

Hongnong is quite far from both of these places.

This is also one of the reasons why Gao Yu entrusted him with important responsibilities.

"Zunyan, you should go back and rest."

"Then I shall take my leave."

Yang Yin bowed respectfully and then turned to leave.

Gao Yu drank another glass of wine.

This kind of political struggle is indeed a headache, but he is much better than Yuwentai in history.

Historically, Yuwen Tai lacked core assets and had to rely on other shareholders to inject assets. The Eight Pillars of State were essentially using military power as capital. Yuwen Tai could not actually command all the Pillars of State, but Gao Yu had absolute control over the government troops.

Yang Kan, Yang Zhong, and others could not bypass him to command the garrison troops.

"Prime Minister, is something troubling you? Why are you drinking alone here?"

A girl's distinctive voice rang out, and Gao Yu looked up to see the Li Zuyi and Li Zu'e sisters walking slowly towards him.

How could Gao Yu's personal guards not recognize them?

When they came, they were not stopped and allowed to come and go freely without needing to be informed.

The two of them naturally came to Gao Yu's side, one on the left and one on the right, and then sat down.

"What brings you two here?"

"Has the Prime Minister already grown tired of my sister and me?"

Li Zuyi covered his face with his sleeve, looking very aggrieved.

Gao Yu wasn't unfamiliar with women, so he didn't say anything and just stared straight at her.

Li Zuyi was still young and inexperienced, so he was no match for Gao Yu. Just as he was about to secretly glance at Gao Yu, Gao Yu noticed his little action and saw the mischievous smile on Gao Yu's lips.

She couldn't hold back anymore and started to act coy, "Prime Minister!!"

Gao Yu chuckled twice and reached out to pinch her pretty face. "Do you think I'm some naive young man?"

Li Zuyi blushed and could only obediently massage Gao Yu's shoulders with her soft little hands, while Li Zu'e poured him a full glass of wine. "Then why does the Prime Minister seem so troubled?"

"It's just the trivial matters of the court that bother me."

Li Zu'e obediently flattered him, saying, "Even with a thousand troops and three hundred thousand soldiers outside Luoyang back then, they couldn't stop the Prime Minister. This trivial matter is surely something the Prime Minister can handle with ease!"

"You have such a sweet tongue, this glass of wine is for you..."

"really?"

Li Zu'e raised her glass and drank it all in one gulp, even though the wine was still a bit too strong for her.

A drop of wine slid down her lips, her fair skin making the reddish-brown wine stand out. It trickled down her neck and collarbone, dampening her clothes slightly.

She has a certain allure.

Gao Yu reached out and wiped the corner of his mouth.

Youth is an advantage; she's really young and inexperienced.

(End of this chapter)