The study room outside Yuan Mansion was in a mess. Books, papers, and pieces of ceramics were everywhere on the floor. There were even cracks from the sword on the table... All of this showed that Yuan Shou had just lost his temper here.
Yuan Shou was angry that Yang Ji had done bad things to the Yuan family, but it was not the main point that made Yuan Shou lose his temper. Moreover, although the emperor rejected Yuan Hongsi's proposal to be the governor of Youzhou, the Yuan family "compensated" and named him Yuan Shou as the governor. Minister of Taifu Temple.
This conferment was a promotion on the surface, but he lost his position as General Zuo Yiwei and became an out-and-out civil servant. From a practical point of view, there is no comparison between the two.
Yuan Shou thought that the Yuan clan's efforts had not only yielded nothing but also lost military power. How could he not be furious? How could he not be furious?
Of course, this is not what makes Yuan Shou angry. The key is that in less than half a day, rumors spread in Luoyang that Yuan Shou obtained the position of Minister of Taifu Temple because of his daughter-in-law Yuan Wei's contribution.
Zhang Jin, who was sitting in the guest seat, didn't know where to start. Whatever he said at this time was wrong. The only thing he could do was stay silent with Yuan Shou and wait silently for him to calm down.
He can understand Yuan Shou's rage, such disgusting things that make Yuan family embarrassed and helpless. Yuan Shou, the father-in-law, and Yuan Min, the husband, did not vomit blood and died. They are already determined. What else can be expected from them? calm?
In fact, the affair between Yuan Weishi and Yang Xian was an open secret among the powerful people of the Sui Dynasty. As one of the parties involved, how could the Yuan family not know about it? However, this scandal not only concerns the face of the Yuan and Wei families, but also involves the dignity of the royal family, so the Yuan family cannot help but endure it.
If it had been the case in the past, it would have been fine. Yuanshi would have just pretended that there was no such woman in the family, but today, someone actually revealed the matter, and even said that Yuanshou was promoted because Yuan Weishi slept with Yang Xian, and then passed Yang Xian through it. acquired.
However, Yuan Shou lost his temper and gradually calmed down. Although there were some things he couldn't accept, he had to face reality. Faced with these rumors, the Yuan family should remain quiet. Instead of punishing Yuan Weishi or killing her adulterer, the Yuan family must praise Yuan Weishi to the level of a chaste and martyr woman. Only in this way can we let Yuan Weishi live in peace. The incident slowly unfolded.
"To deal with Yang Ji, we can no longer follow the same path as before." Yuan Shou said to Zhang Jin: "Yang Ji is too insidious. He is good at taking advantage of emergencies and using some conspiracies to lure opponents into his trap. Wait until the opponent loses sight of one thing. , Tired of responding to orders, and then give the opponent a fatal blow."
Zhang Jin nodded when he heard this. Yuanshou's words were actually the same old tune, but Yang Ji had tried it repeatedly. In the final analysis, one is that Yang Ji has no flaws worthy of criticism; the other is that he always takes advantage of the truth, but his opponents' butts are not clean, so he knocks them down and kills them one by one.
The Guanlong nobles wanted to deal with Yang Ji, and Zhang Jin emotionally agreed with it, and Yang Ji was the emperor's sharp knife to attack the Guanlong nobles. If he could be eradicated as he wished, the Guanlong nobles would gain more in their struggle against the emperor. A great victory that played an immeasurable role in uniting people's hearts.
However, the Guanlong nobles' side had been defeated by Yang Jian and Yang Guang successively, and they had already become a mess. In particular, the major clans invested a lot of money in Yang Yong and Yang Liang. Unexpectedly, the two brothers failed to live up to their expectations. Not only did the Guanlong nobles lose their money, but they also suffered a bloody liquidation afterwards. This also made some people start to cringe. .
At this critical moment, how can the Guanlong aristocracy unite the hearts of people who have their own thoughts without charismatic and responsive leaders like Yang Jian and Yu Zeqing?
Although the Yuan family ascended to the position of leader of the Wuchuan Alliance as they wished, the Yuan family's selfishness made the Dugu and Dou sects extremely wary. In addition, the abilities and prestige of the Yuan family leaders Yuanwei and Yuanshou were not convincing. . Therefore, since the establishment of the Wuchuan Alliance, not only has it not been able to obtain any real benefits for the Guanlong nobles, it has become a tool for the Yuan clan to suppress other families. Others are not stupid, so how can they continue to trust Wuchuan led by the Yuan clan? Alliance?
With the Yuan clan and the Wuchuan Alliance in their current state, how could they defeat the rising Yang Ji?
Thinking of this, Zhang Jinsurong said: "I understand what Brother Yuan means, but our Wuchuan allies are divided and have their own ideas. For example, the eldest grandson family who has married King Wei is no longer reliable. And Wei Not only is the king himself extremely powerful, he also has the full support of the saint behind him. Does Yuan Gong think we can defeat him?"
Yuan Shou looked at Zhang Jin and said coldly: "Brother Zhang, you mean...give up?"
"Brother Yuan, it's not about giving up, it's about avoiding the strong and attacking the weak." Zhang Jin stared at Yuan Shou without showing any weakness and said word by word: "The Guanlong nobles are just a defeated army. The morale of the whole army is low. Everyone is thinking about self-protection strategies. Faced with such a defeated army, the coach does not go to the powerful to fight to the death, but to win over people's hearts and restore the morale of the army; instead, he uses small-scale victories to boost morale and establish the coach's authority. If the coach If they go against the general trend, the soldiers will betray their relatives, cut off their commander's head, and demand credit from the enemy."
Speaking of this, Zhang Jin added: "There are hundreds of families in the Wuchuan Alliance, and even if there are no saints among them, there are still people who want to use our heads to claim credit. If our enemies are weak, these two types of people can be profitable. , maybe there is no tip; but if the enemy is a strong man that makes people look up to them and makes them unable to resist, what do you think they will do?"
In the scene where Dugu Tuo cursed Queen Dugu, Zhang Jin's family was afraid of being implicated, so they drew a clear line with the Dugu family and defected to the Yuan family. This move was certainly due to circumstances. However, within the Guanlong nobles, Zhang's behavior was tantamount to rebellion, and he is still spurned, disliked and wary of many families. Therefore, for the sake of future reputation, the Zhang family must follow the Yuan family.
The Zhang Jin family and the Yuan family already have a relationship of honor and disgrace. In addition, he and Yuan Shou are close friends, and he does not want the Yuan family to fail again. However, as the "spokesperson" of the Yuan family, Yuan Shou listened to what he said in his heart. If Youzi was stubborn, he would have no choice but to think otherwise.
"But I don't know who Brother Zhang thinks is the weak one who avoids the strong and attacks the weak." Yuan Shou took a deep look at Zhang Jin. In fact, Li Zhongwen and Yu Zhongwen also expressed it in a vague way before. It can be seen that these three people are not alone. After seeing him and listening to the 'rumors', I was worried that Yuanshi would do something drastic and eventually implicate them, so I reached a consensus in advance and put pressure on Yuanshi one by one, hoping that Yuanshi would stay calm.
"Yang family, Yang Su's Yang family!" Zhang Jin cheered up and said: "Yang Su assisted the saint to secure the position of prince, and was the saint's minister, but his glory is based on the greatness of our nobles. At the cost of sacrifice, and in addition to the fact that many people have been cut off by him over the years, there are also many families who hate him."
"If the Holy Scroll was there, it would be difficult to start. But not long after Yang Su passed away, the idiots of the Yang family completely consumed the friendship between Yang Su and the saint. If this is not an opportunity for the coach to regain his prestige, what is it? "
"I understand! Thank you Brother Zhang for the pointer." Yuan Shou's eyes lit up. Yang Su was not only Yang Su's family, but also many of Yang Su's old subordinates during his lifetime. If the Yang family could be eradicated, Yang Su's influence in the army would be greatly reduced. The forces will also be purged. Isn't the vacant seat the best way for the Yuan family to explain to the various nobles of Guanlong?
Yang Ji and Yang Su have a very good relationship. If the Yang family falls, won't there be another chance to deal with Yang Ji?
The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time. At this time, Yuan Min's voice came from outside the door: "Father, Master Li is here!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jin quickly whispered: "Brother Yuan, Li Yuan is the bridge between us and the Dugu family and the Dou family. You must be polite."
In the past, the Yuan family was very disgusted with Li Yuan because of the competition for the alliance leader. In addition, he had two major backers, the Dugu family and the Dou family. The Yuan family was afraid that the two families would contradict each other, so they attacked the Li family's business more than once, causing the Li family to suffer heavy losses. .
After strong pressure from the Dugu family and the Dou family, the Yuan family reluctantly gave up. Then, Li Yuan asked Li Shentong to express his goodwill to the Yuan family one after another. At that time, the Yuan family calmed down from the joy of becoming the leader of the alliance and accepted the Li family's overtures.
However, when the Yuan family tried to deal with Yang Ji again, Li Jiancheng had an insight into the Yuan family's sinister intentions. He knew that the Yuan family had three sinister motives in name: to use the power of the Guanlong nobles to avenge their family; Not long after he became the leader of the alliance, he was eager to show his presence, hoping to use "overthrowing" Yang Ji as an opportunity to win over the losers in the Dugu and Dou factions; the third point was to tie the Guanlong nobles to the Yuan clan's chariot. If Yang Ji cannot be defeated, the Guanlong nobles can only follow the Yuan clan to the end to avoid being defeated one by one by Yang Ji.
At that time, the Yuan family, as the leader of the Wuchuan Alliance, issued orders to the Li family. If the Li family was killed, the Yuan family would not only eliminate a threat, but also successfully arouse everyone's hatred. Li Jiancheng knew very well that the Li family spoke lightly and if they did not act, they would be isolated by the Guanlong nobles, so he told Dugu Zheng and Dou Wei of the Yuan family's intentions.
How can the two families and two factions be willing to be Yuan's knife? As expected, he opposed Yuanshi at the "meeting", causing Yuanshi's plan to go bankrupt.
Although the Li family escaped disaster, when Li Jiancheng, Dugu Zheng and Dou Wei asked Li Jiancheng to tell the heads of each family about their powerful relationship, the news spread like wildfire that "Li Yuan" was behind the instigation of the Dugu family and the Dou family's opposition. .
When the Yuan family knew that "Li Yuan" was up to something, new and old grudges suddenly came to mind, causing the two families to embark on the path of open and covert fighting again.
To this day, Yuanshi has greatly disappointed all the great clans, and they no longer believe in Yuanshi as much as they did before. Forced by the situation, the Yuan family did not seek merit but no fault, so they had no choice but to change their strategy of suppressing the Li family to contact to prevent other clans from becoming disloyal.
It can be said that since the birth of the Wuchuan Alliance, the Yuan and Li families have been fighting endlessly. The Li family is weak and far inferior to the Yuan family. The reason why they persist is because of the great efforts of the Dugu family and the Dou family.
Because of this, Zhang Jin reminded Yuanshou emphatically, hoping that he would put the overall situation first and not embarrass Li Yuan.
Yuan Shou also understood what Zhang Jin meant, nodded and promised: "Don't worry, I invited Li Yuan here because I value this. However, he must show substantial sincerity."
"That's good!" Zhang Jin nodded with a smile.
"Please invite Li Shaojian to come in and talk!" Yuan Shou stood up and said loudly to the door.
The door was pushed open by Yuan Min from the outside, and Li Yuan followed closely. He stepped forward quickly, bowed his hands to Yuan Shou who stood up to greet him, and saluted, "I'm here to see you, Taifu Qing. It turns out that the general is also here. I'm glad to meet you! I'm glad to meet you!"
"Brother, please sit down!" Yuan Shou was very enthusiastic today.
"Thank you, Taichang Qing." The Li family has been suppressed miserably by the Yuan family in recent years. Li Yuan hated everyone in the Yuan family, including Yuan Shou, but the etiquette on the surface was quite thoughtful. When Yuan Shou returned, The main person sat down and just took his seat.
Yuanshou waited for Li Yuan to sit down and said slowly: "Brother Li Xian, you also know the situation of our Guanlong clan. Over the years, we have been working hard to regain the position that should belong to us! It's a pity that we have tried our best to infiltrate a group of people. This This group of people was lost in the political struggle. Not only this group of people were lost, but even those who were close to them also fell from power."
"At present, the emperor introduced the state, county and county system, and reduced the county officials to several levels. The ones who suffered the most were the Guanlong nobles with a large business and many children."
"I don't know what other means the emperor has waiting for us, but I know that if we do nothing, we will lose everything we have."
After saying that, Yuan Shou looked at Li Yuan and asked, "Do you think so, dear brother?"
"Of course!" Regarding this point, Li Yuan had no reason to object. Since the Sui Dynasty defeated the Turkic Khanate and surrendered, the late emperor began to wield the butcher knife against the Guanlong nobles. The current emperor is even more afraid of the Guanlong nobles who once opposed him. If the Guanlong nobles do nothing like they do now, they will be weakened by the emperor sooner or later.
It's just that although Li Yuan had this awareness and roughly guessed Yuanshou's intention, his official career had just become smoother. Whether he could go further depended on the emperor's thoughts. No matter how stupid he was, he couldn't ask for trouble. Do things that displease the emperor.
What's more, Li's calves and arms couldn't withstand the slightest torment or the emperor's anger. If the emperor is wary, there may not be anything he can do against the Dugu, Dou, and Yuan families, but the Li family will definitely become the chicken that kills the chicken to scare the monkeys.
As for the true faces of the Dugu family, the Dou family, and the Yuan family, he has finally seen clearly, and none of them are reliable at all.
Therefore, regardless of his personal interests or the needs of Li's survival and development, it was impossible for him to openly oppose the emperor.
But Li Yuan also knew that Yuan Shou exercised the power of the leader of the Wuchuan Alliance on behalf of the Yuan clan, and he could not bear the responsibility of splitting the Wuchuan Alliance, so he handed over his hand and asked, "Young Lord Taifu has come to find a humble position. What are your orders?"
Yuan Shou had come into contact with Li Yuan's cousin Li Shentong, and he knew that these brothers were very skillful. If you beat around the bush, they would pretend to be dumbfounded, look at him, and then find a reason to run away. He simply said straight to the point: " Brother Li Xian, we plan to work together to deal with the Yang Su family, so we invite you to discuss it."
Li Yuan was secretly surprised, but facing the gazes of Yuan Shou and Zhang Jin, he made his position clear without hesitation: "As long as the elders of the Wuchuan League agree, there is nothing wrong with holding a humble position."
This high-sounding promise made Yuan Shou very dissatisfied, and he pressed further: "Brother Li Xian, I hope you can come up with real solutions instead of dealing with officialdom."
"This matter is too sudden. Please allow me to think about it."
"I wonder how much time Li Xiandi will need?"
"Before dark tomorrow!" Li Yuan said helplessly: "I have been working abroad for a long time because of my humble position. I don't know much about all the forces in the capital. This may ruin the plan. I have to think about it carefully."
"Well, Brother Zhang Xian, Head Yu, and Head Li (Li Zhongwen) and I will visit tomorrow and listen to my good advice together." Yuan Shou looked at Li Yuan and said with a smile: "This matter concerns me about the life and death of the Long nobles. I hope you can Dear brother, please don’t blame me.”
With the hat off, Li Yuan felt extremely bitter and said, "This is a blessing for my humble position. How can I blame you?"
"Is that settled?" Yuan Shou nodded with satisfaction.
"The humble minister will go back and make arrangements immediately. He is waiting for you to arrive."
