At dawn the next day, Yang Gao led Liu Bowen, Yuwen Chengdu, Hong Niangzi and others to leave Dingtao County. No longer hiding their whereabouts, they joined the large group of people led by Nan Jiyun and headed for Xingyang in a mighty way.
On the other hand, the two imperial edicts written by Yang Gao in Dingtao County were also quickly sent to Jiangdu. Xiao Yu was granted the title of Grand Tutor and given the title of Duke of Song Dynasty, and his eldest son Xiao Rui was granted the title of Doctor Yinqing Guanglu. On the surface, it seems to be a glorious place, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is not a reward for Xiao Yu at all, but a punishment. Although the Taifu was higher in rank than Duzhi Shangshu, he was just a retired official and had no real power at all.
On the other hand, Yu Yunwen was ordered to inspect the Central Plains. Using the account books that Yang Gao obtained from Yang Xi of Dingtao County, he successively dismissed Jiyin County Magistrate Shi Zhengkuan and Guancheng County Magistrate on charges of corruption and abuse of power. Yu Yan, Zheng Zhang, the magistrate of Dong'e County, and other children or disciples of the Zheng family. When the news spread back to Xingyang County, it immediately caused an uproar among the Zheng family in Xingyang.
. . . . . . . . . .
In the Zheng family's house, Zheng Renji, who is currently the head of the Zheng family, sat at the head of the table with a gloomy look. He looked around at everyone in the hall and gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't expect that Yang Gao's son would be as iron-clad as his single-husband father. He wants to go against our aristocratic family, does he really think that a few reckless men and humble disciples can help him conquer the world?"
After Li Tang established the country in Guanzhong, Zheng Shanguo, the head of the Zheng family, felt that the general trend of the world was determined, so he rushed to Guanzhong with most of the Zheng family elites to join Li Tang. Because of the Crown Princess Zheng Guanyin, she became Li Jiancheng's major influence in the court. Help.
However, the Sui Dynasty rose strongly in the south, defeated Li Mi, Dou Jiande, Li Jiancheng and others one after another, regained the Central Plains, pacified Lingnan, and became a comparable opponent to the Tang Dynasty.
Only then did Zheng Shanguo realize that the Sui and Tang Dynasties were equally powerful, and it was still unclear who would win. Then he ordered Zheng Renji to take some of the Zheng family's children back to the Central Plains and serve as officials in the Sui Dynasty, hedging his bets to prevent unexpected events.
After Zheng Renji returned to Xingyang, he used the prestige of Qi Wang, the fifth surname of the Zheng family in Xingyang, and his little friendship with Xiao Yu when he was an official in the court to persuade Xiao Yu, and successfully arranged for several children of the Zheng family to enter the officialdom. But the good times did not last long. In less than a year, most of the disciples and disciples who had finally been arranged to serve as officials in the counties of the Central Plains were dismissed.
"Hmph, Yang Gao'er is so arrogant that he dares to underestimate our Zheng family in Xingyang. Since he is so shameless, we don't have to talk nonsense with him. We will immediately use all our power in the Central Plains to mess up the Central Plains again. The world is turned upside down!" A middle-aged man sitting in the back row stood up and said loudly.
This middle-aged man was Zheng Kuan, who had just been dismissed from his official position. Not only did he lose the long history he finally obtained, but he also failed to keep his original position as county magistrate. He just became a commoner after all. This made him hate Yang Gao. Hate to the core.
Zheng Renji sighed after hearing this: "When Yang Guang, that single man, suppressed the family, our Zheng family was severely damaged. In recent years, the family leader has brought a large number of children to the north of Guanzhong. Now in the Central Plains, except for a group of people with five surnames and seven looks, we have There is nothing except the brand, and it is impossible to cause chaos in the Central Plains."
An old man sitting on Zheng Renji's left stood up and said slowly: "In that case, let's return to Guanzhong. Staying in the Central Plains is a waste of time."
"no!"
Zheng Kuan's face was livid and he shouted: "If we go back in such a dejected state, our Zheng family will become the laughing stock of all the famous families in the world. We must not go back like this!"
The old man suddenly showed displeasure after being contradicted by Zheng Kuan, and said in a deep voice: "Then what else can you do if you stay in the Central Plains? Are you going to continue to be humiliated by Yang Gao'er?"
Zheng Kuan's eyes suddenly burst out with terrifying murderous intent, and he said loudly: "Who said we have nothing to do? Yang Gao'er has now moved to Xingyang. If we can kill this Huangkou child, then we will do it for him." The Emperor of Tang has made an unparalleled contribution, and his status in the Tang Dynasty will skyrocket, and he may even surpass the Dugu family and the Dou family to become the largest aristocratic family in the Tang Dynasty."
After hearing this, the old man immediately said with disdain: "It's easy to say that after so many years of war, our Zheng family's private soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, and there are simply not enough manpower in the Central Plains. And when Yang Gao came to Xingyang, he not only had a large number of elite armor He is accompanied by warriors and is protected by the unparalleled general Yu Wen Chengdu. Killing him is simply harder than climbing to the sky."
Zheng Kuan snorted coldly: "How do you know it won't work if you haven't done it yet? If you are afraid of death, then go back to Guanzhong now with your tail between your legs. I, Zheng Kuan, can't afford to disgrace that person anyway!"
When the old man heard Zheng Kuan insulting him, his face turned red with anger, he pointed at Zheng Kuan and cursed loudly: "You beast, I am also your elder after all, how dare you insult me in public, I...I Beat you to death, you beast!"
As he spoke, the old man picked up his crutch and threw it at Zheng Kuan. Upon seeing this, several other Zheng family members hurriedly stepped forward and pulled the old man back.
Zheng Renji, who was sitting at the top, saw that the people below him were getting more and more noisy. He frowned and slammed the table: "What are they making noisy about? Get out of here!"
Seeing Zheng Renji's anger, Zheng Kuan and others turned pale with fright. They hurriedly handed over their hands and left in a hurry.
Looking at the retreating figures of these disciples from the same sect, Zheng Renji stood up slowly, smashed the teacup in his hand to the ground angrily, gritted his teeth and cursed angrily: "A bunch of losers, incompetent people. If you hadn't been embezzling money and not knowing how to restrain yourself, how could you have done this? So simply let Yang Gao be dismissed from his official position? I really didn’t expect that our Xingyang Zheng family, one of the most prestigious families with five surnames and seven hopes, would actually have children like you."
Zheng Renji cursed outside for a while, and then the anger in his chest calmed down a little. He shook his head helplessly, and strode out of the main room, strolling, and unknowingly walked into the back garden of his home.
Zheng Renji walked straight into the back garden. Although there were flowers on both sides, he was worried about the future of the Zheng family and had no intention of admiring the flowers. He only sighed and sighed along the way.
"The adoptive father seems to be in a bad mood. I don't know what is troubling him. Can you tell Wan'er, maybe Wan'er can share the worries of the adoptive father?"
Zheng Renji was walking on the road when a very pleasant voice suddenly came to his ears. He immediately looked sideways and saw a woman in a white dress. She had a dignified appearance, a graceful figure, a voluptuous figure, and a graceful bearing. It's Shangguan Wan'er, the adopted daughter he adopted half a year ago.
This Shangguan Wan'er is naturally the female Prime Minister of the Wutang Dynasty who was thrown in and out when Yang Gao summoned Zhou Tong. The implanted identity is the daughter of Zheng Renji's friend. Unfortunately, her father died in the hands of bandits due to the war, leaving her alone and helpless. So he defected to Zheng Renji.
When Zheng Renji saw that Shangguan Wan'er was dignified and beautiful, and looked like a fairy, he started to have evil thoughts. She pretended to accept Shangguan Wan'er as her adopted daughter and treated her as if she were her own child, but in fact he planned to wait until the time was right to dedicate her to a noble official to pursue an official career for himself.
