In the huge vestibule of the front hall of Dugu Mansion, Dugu Shun was dressed in fine clothes, silently waiting for Yang Ji's arrival. Soon, I saw Dugu Zheng welcoming a handsome young man who was as graceful as a jade tree in the wind.
Not only do Dugu Shun and Yang Ji have a gap in age and seniority, but Yang Ji used to be a playboy king, and there is no communication between the two. When Yang Ji defeated Bujia Khan and rose to power, the Dugu family was in danger of assassinating Yang Ji with He Ruobi, collaborating with the enemy and leading Bujia Khan into Liangzhou. Although Dugutuo was sacrificed in the end. The chess piece came to protect the Dugu family, but the Dugu family and Yang Jiliangzi were considered to have become friends. So this time, it was the first time the two faced each other.
"King Wei is here. It's a great honor to bring glory to this humble house." Dugu Shun stepped forward to greet him, saluted Yang Ji with a smile, and introduced himself by the way: "I have met King Wei before."
Yang Ji also met Dugu Shun, one of the three leaders of the Guanlong aristocracy, for the first time. Dugu Shun was tall, burly, and handsome. Judging from his graceful demeanor and heroic temperament, he must have been a handsome man with infinite grace when he was young.
When he saw Dugu Shun saluting a junior of his, he quickly stepped forward, bowed and returned the salute: "Junior Yang Ji has met Dugu Sikong. Today, the junior came uninvited and disturbed the senior's Qing Dynasty. It is really a sin. I still hope that the senior will Forgive me."
When Dugu Shun heard the word "Qing Xiu", the smile on his face couldn't help but stiffen. If there was a chance to become an official and hold real power, who the hell would be willing to "Qing Xiu"? Who the hell wants to be a powerless Sikong?
He thought that Yang Ji was laughing at him, so he tried his best to put away his displeasure, bowed his hands to the side hall next to the main front hall, and said with a forced smile: "King Wei, you're welcome, please."
"Please!" Yang Ji followed the Dugu brothers into the side hall.
As soon as the three of them sat down, a delicate maid brought a pot of tea, poured a cup for each of them, and bowed before leaving.
Dugu Shun picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and said to Yang Ji: "Speaking of which, I have to thank the king. I used to drink sencha without tea flavor. It was not until the king promoted a new way of drinking tea that I started to try bubble tea. Once you drink it, you will be mesmerized by the fresh and timeless aroma of tea.”
"In medicine, tea has the functions of refreshing the mind, clearing away heat and detoxification, improving eyesight and refreshing the mind, etc. However, in the past, too many condiments were put into the sencha tea, which not only concealed the fragrance and fragrance of the tea, but also greatly reduced the effectiveness of the tea. Reduced. In addition, the younger generation prefers the essential taste of tea, so they try to drink simple tea." Yang Ji said with a smile: "It's just that sencha has become a kind of culture and literacy, and everyone's The taste is different, so it is difficult to generalize it. The younger generation is flattered and honored that Sikong can accept this tea."
"The 'essence' mentioned by King Wei seems simple, but it contains a kind of realm. Just because many people once became rich and powerful, they forgot their original intention of learning and becoming an official. He has completely forgotten his original essence." Dugu Shun glanced at Yang Ji and said with a smile: "King Wei suddenly had an epiphany and became the most inspiring example among the young people of the Sui Dynasty. A few days ago, I used King Wei as an example to warn the clan. Young men, don't be greedy for pleasure and play with things all day long. Instead, you should learn from King Wei and be ambitious, study hard, and strive to become a useful talent in the Sui Dynasty."
"Sikong is over-praised." Yang Ji said modestly: "This junior is only in the entry-level stage of exploration. He cannot be said to be an 'inspirational model'. He is still far from the supreme third realm of life."
After hearing this, Dugu Shun couldn't help but asked curiously: "But I don't know what the three realms of life are?"
Yang Ji was stunned for a moment and had to say: "The first state of a person is 'The road is long and long, I will go up and down to search for it.' This is learning and searching; the second state is 'The belt will get wider and you will never regret it. The third level is "my heart is at home", which means achieving success and leaving freely, which can be called letting go. In the life of a great sage, letting go is undoubtedly the most difficult thing. .”
For a moment, the hall was silent, and the Dugu brothers stared in deep thought. They were obviously touched by Yang Ji's words, especially the concept of 'letting go' touched them deeply.
yes! Everyone in the world wants to get something, and after gaining it, they want to get more. Who has ever thought about letting go?
However, every gain must come with a loss. How can we know that taking the initiative to let go is not another kind of gain?
As the head of the Dugu family, Dugu Shun felt a kind of truth that could be applied to the development of the Dugu family, but what it was, he himself could not explain clearly. He suddenly let out a long sigh and said: "It's ridiculous that I wasted decades and thought I was already great. Only today did I know that even though the road is long and long, I will search up and down. I haven't gone through it yet. How can I find it?" How can we talk about 'forging ahead' and 'letting go'?"
"The sea of learning is limitless, but life is limited, so life itself is a stage of seeking. I am afraid that only a saint can complete the stage of striving for progress and finally let go." Yang Ji smiled: "But ordinary people like this junior, Regarding the two realms of forging ahead and letting go, I’m afraid I can only look back and sigh.”
Dugu Shun nodded in agreement: "What King Wei said is absolutely true."
Although the two of them had grudges and hostility, they concealed each other very well. At this moment, they were like two friends who had forgotten their years and were talking about life and philosophy.
Even Dugu Shun himself has an unreal feeling. Yang Ji is so knowledgeable and experienced. No matter how you look at it, it has nothing to do with the ferocious deity and viciousness in legend and reality. What is this person? What kind of person?
But this atmosphere could not be maintained for long. Dugu Shun, who came back to his senses, knew that Yang Ji was definitely not here to talk to him about the philosophy of life, so he went straight to the point and asked, "I wonder why King Wei came to this humble residence?"
Yang Ji also answered very frankly: "I don't want to hide it from my seniors. I'm actually here for the Dugu family's food business all over the world." He glanced at Dugu Shun and continued: "Seniors also know that Liangzhou is invincible on three sides. Said, and with the influx of a large number of landless refugees, the problem of food has become the primary issue in Liangzhou. If the price of food remains high, the crisis contained in it is many times higher than that of foreign enemies. The younger generation, the Liangzhou herder, has the protection It is the responsibility and mission of ensuring the stability of Liangzhou and the stability of the Western Sui Dynasty. Therefore, I hope that the Dugu family will use their huge transportation capacity to transport the grain produced in Bashu, Huanghuai, Jianghuai, and Jiangnan to Liangzhou states. At the same time, I also advise the Dugu family not to make mistakes. Judge the situation carefully and don’t make Dugutuo’s mistake again for the sake of operating the Silk Road.”
As Yang Ji spoke his last words, the harmonious atmosphere in the hall disappeared and became tense and solemn.
Although they were not at war with each other like life-and-death enemies, they did not talk much, and Dugu Shun and Dugu Zheng began to dislike Yang Ji. Naturally, it was difficult to maintain the harmonious atmosphere.
"Are you threatening me? King Wei!" Dugu Shun looked gloomy, leaned forward slightly, and said coldly to Yang Ji at the guest seat: "You've found the wrong door."
Facing the 'suppressed' Dugu Shun, Yang Ji stood firm and said calmly: "Senior, you should know that I, Yang Ji, come here with sincerity. If I want the Dugu family to follow the Heruo family It can be said that following in the footsteps is easy, do you think I can do it?"
The Dugu brothers were all startled. They didn't understand where they could be so confident, and they didn't know what Yang Ji was referring to. Dugu Zheng, who had been listening, couldn't help but ask: "Since King Wei said he came with sincerity, how can he come here with sincerity?" Can you speak frankly and clearly?"
"Since ancient times, the price of salt and grain has been closely related to people's livelihood and the stability of the world. However, the Dugu family controlled 70% of the grain business in the Sui Dynasty and the salt business in Yongliang and other major states." Yang Ji said lightly: "This is a human being. Everyone knows this, but since I became the general manager of Liangzhou, the Dugu family has not transported a grain of rice or a tael of salt to Liangzhou. If I take Liangzhou as an example, I can tell the sage that the grain and salt the Dugu family has hoarded have been He controls the lifeblood of the entire world, and after moving the capital, he plans to use grain and salt as weapons to stir up unrest in the world by not selling grain and salt. But I wonder what will happen to the Dugu family?"
Dugu Shun and Dugu Zheng were already sweating on their foreheads after listening to this. They had realized a long time ago that controlling the world's grain and salt was too easy for others to take advantage of, and it was actually an unwise move. The reason why they worked step by step was to buy a very profitable salt business. The Dou family and the grain business were ceded to the Yuan family because they were worried that someone would one day use this to make an issue against the Dugu family.
"King Wei won't do this, right?" Dugu Zheng had told Dugu Shun before that he wanted to keep a few percent of the grain business, but in the blink of an eye he was taken advantage of by Yang Ji, and he felt deeply nervous.
"That's why I said that I came here with full sincerity. I also hope that the head of the Dugu family understands one thing. I, Yang Ji, was a complete victim in the He Ruobi incident. If it weren't for luck, I would have died in Dugu." The army of Bujia Khan led by Tuo' was in the hands of Dugu Tuo. As for Dugu Tuo's death, it was actually his own fault and had nothing to do with me, Yang Ji, and anyone with a little knowledge knows that Dugu Tuo was just the scapegoat of the Dugu family. " Yang Ji glanced at Dugu Shun and said in a neutral tone: "If I want to deal with the Dugu family, I will first let people create food shortages in Liangzhou and trigger riots. Then I will let the Dugu family help the former Qinzhou governor Yuanshan and the former Qinzhou governor. Li Yuan, the governor of Qizhou, the former governor of Jingzhou and other corrupt officials who made up for the shortfalls of their official warehouses will all be told to the saint. At that time, the saint's new and old hatreds will well up in his heart, and he will see the Dugu family and the Yuan family united. How do you think he will deal with it? Where is the Dugu family?"
What Yang Ji said about the Dugu family helping Yuan Shan, Li Yuan and others make up for the shortfall and tide over the difficulties is actually very easy to check. Firstly, their operation time was short and their transportation volume was huge. In the rush of the Dugu family, they still stayed There are some clues; secondly, the rice produced in the south was eventually transported to Ganzhou, but Qinzhou and Qizhou are not famous for producing rice. If Qinzhou and Qizhou are not in deficit, how can they use higher value rice? New rice replenishment amount? And in the world, except for the Dugu family who controlled the grain business of the Sui Dynasty, who could replace the grain in the official warehouse with mountains of new rice in a short period of time?
After sorting it out one by one, although Yang Ji had no conclusive evidence, he had made a close guess.
"Hiss!" The Dugu brothers took a breath and looked at each other, realizing that the situation in the Dugu family was really bad. In terms of Yang Guang's attitude towards the Guanlong nobles and the importance he attached to Liangzhou and the Western Regions, if Yang Ji really did this, the Dugu family would definitely not be able to withstand Yang Guang's anger, and would eventually be annihilated in the long river of history amid the applause of all the people in the world. middle. But Yang Ji did not do this, which shows that he not only came with sincerity, but also had the intention of reconciling with the Dugu family.
Dugu Shun was naturally not a stupid person, and he soon had a choice in his mind. He sighed and said in a deep voice: "Thanks to the great kindness of King Wei, my Dugu family was able to escape a great disaster. The old grudge between my Dugu family and King Wei , written off from now on.”
Yang Ji laughed: "That's great!"
As the Dugu brothers expected, he did have the intention to turn conflicts into friendship. Although he was loyal to the Sui Dynasty and took it as his mission to weaken the noble families, this did not mean that he was a purely loyal minister, nor did it mean that he was a foolish and loyal person who did not know how to adapt.
In his situation, the first priority is to ensure that he is safe and his life is not in danger. Only under these two prerequisites can he be qualified to talk about maintaining the inheritance of the Sui Dynasty. In order to survive, it is appropriate and hatred is not too big. The reconciliation of the Dugu family is actually a huge benefit without any harm. With the current dialogue, although the two parties will not become friends who talk about everything, it will at least allow the Dugu family, who has too much time to take care of themselves, to remain neutral and temporarily eliminate a major enemy.
Of course, the main purpose of his visit to the Dugu family was not for this temporary reconciliation, but to ask the Dugu family to transport food to Ganzhou. If the Dugu family could not do this, the situation would be completely different.
Dugu Shun not only understood this truth, but also knew that all the methods Yang Ji told him were actually an unavoidable conspiracy, so after Yang Ji left, he said to Dugu Zheng: "You also heard that this grain and salt business This must not be done, and it must be delivered as soon as possible.”
"I understand, little brother." Dugu Zheng nodded with a wry smile and asked, "How should we price the food Liangzhou needs?"
Dugu Shun glanced at his brother and said slowly: "Take all the grain we have stored in various places in Guanzhong to Liangzhou. As for the price of grain! Of course it is a business negotiation." He thought for a while and said: "Just take this Sell it at the local price! If it can’t be sold out within a short period of time, sell it to the Liangzhou Prefectural Mufu at a low price.”
Dugu Shun has actually been regretting his original decision. At the beginning, he realized that the grain and salt business was easy to leave behind, so he decided to transfer it. However, these two hugely profitable businesses involved the interests of each house and branch, so he decided to replace it with the North Silk Road Road, which was exclusively owned by Dugu Min.
In order to get business on the North Silk Road, Dugu Shun did not hesitate to lead Bujia Khan to attack Liangzhou, with the purpose of killing Yang Ji in Liangzhou, in order to attack Dugu Min, who regarded his son as his life. Unexpectedly, in the end, he stole the chicken but lost the rice. Instead of achieving the purpose of attacking Dugu Min, it actually made Yang Ji famous. The important thing is that he also stayed in Dugutuo's room.
In this regard, Dugu Shun regretted and woke up more than once. If he had not underestimated Yang Ji and adopted such shady methods, but had turned the stumbling block into cooperation, today's Silk Road Alliance might have Dugu. A place at home.
As far as he knows, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Silk Road Alliance has been making money every day since its establishment. The annual profits shared by some participants and franchisees with large investments are greater than those of the Silk Road Alliance controlled by Dugu Min. There is not much missing from the North Road.
Yang Ji's sudden visit today and the goodwill he showed to Dugu's family made Dugu Shun ecstatic and saw the dawn of reconciliation and cooperation.
In order to get on board the huge money-making ship of the Silk Road Alliance, he decided to transport all the millions of stones of grain that the Dugu family had hoarded in Guanzhong to Liangzhou for sale, even at a loss.
After thinking about it, Dugu Shun said to Dugu Zheng again: "Since the Sui Dynasty, my Dugu family has been going smoothly. It's a pity that I misjudged the situation and underestimated King Wei, and wanted to kill him in a Turkic way. The attempt to seize the northern route of the Silk Road not only led to the death and relegation of the fifth brother, but also left an extremely bad and extremely bad impression in the hearts of the saints. This is really the responsibility of me, the head of the family. This impression now, It will be fatal to our Dugu family. Now, our Dugu family will stay dormant for a while, waiting for this impression to fade away. Doesn’t the Yuan family want to be the leader of the Wuchuan alliance? Doesn’t it want to be the only one in the forest? Let’s let That’s it with them.”
After hearing this, Dugu Zheng couldn't help but frowned and said: "Others are fine, but the position of leader of the Wuchuan Alliance has always been a sharp weapon for us to control the Yuan family. But suddenly we are relieved. I am afraid that Yuan Zhou and Yuan Shou will have doubts." .”
Dugu Shun twirled his beard and smiled, and said meaningfully: "The seventh brother's concerns are my decision as the former head of the family. What does it have to do with the seventh brother, the new head of the family? As long as you, seventh brother, become the head of the family, you can All my measures that were detrimental to the development of the Dugu family were overturned, including not allowing the Yuan family to become the leader of the Wuchuan Alliance."
Dugu Shun's decision shocked Dugu Zheng. He stammered and asked, "Brother, why is this?"
"The seventh brother is far smarter than Yu brother, and is more suitable to be the head of the Dugu family than Yu brother. In a few days, I will hand over the position of head of the family to the seventh brother on the grounds of old age and frailty." Dugu Shun looked at it deeply. Dugu took a look and sighed: "The fifth child can die for the Dugu family, so why should I cherish the position of the head of the family as a brother? From now on, you will be responsible for all the affairs of the family, and I will focus on family studies and work hard to teach future generations."
Having said this, Dugu Shun said earnestly: "Do you know what is the difference between us and the Dou family, the Shandong gentry, and the southern gentry? It is talent. Talent can rejuvenate a country and make a family prosperous, but mediocrity can only make a prosperous empire , a prosperous big family was destroyed in one day. Our Dugu family now lacks nothing, but what we lack is the foundation and the most critical and important countless talents. Only by reversing this fatal flaw can our Dugu family be able to thrive in the world. Be invincible in the great battles of the world.”
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