In terms of age, Yang Ji can be said to be the least male here; in terms of seniority, he is ridiculously tall; in terms of status and reputation, no one can compare with him. Everyone, including Yang Zhao, thinks that he should sit here It was in the first seat on the left. However, surprisingly, Yang Ji didn't seem to have any intention of sitting in the seat specially prepared for him. He glanced at the seats and unexpectedly found Princess Nanyang and Princess Qinghe sitting in the second seat on the left. Qinghe The little princess was wearing a pink palace dress, and she knelt down under her sister in an upright manner. When she saw Yang Ji, she sweetly called out, "Uncle Wang!"
Yang Ji smiled at the cute little princess, then walked slowly to Yu Wenhuaji's side, smiled and said to Yang Zhao, who was following suit, "You're welcome, Prince, I'll just sit here."
With that said, Yang Ji said to Yang Gongren who stood up to greet him: "We may have to give the drinking order later, and the people sitting at the first table may also have to help. If I, the elder, pour the wine, the atmosphere of the banquet will be gone." . Kyongren, you are also the master, go to the front and help."
When Yang Ji, the most distinguished and honorable first-seat minister from the left, said this, he immediately became a handyman. After hearing this, Yang Gongren felt that there would be nothing wrong if he sat on it, not to mention that he was the minister of Zongzheng Temple and could sit on it. It didn't matter, he responded immediately and exchanged seats with Yang Ji.
Yang Ji bowed to everyone and sat on the seat vacated by Yang Gongren. The hairs on his lower body stood on pins and needles, as if there was a ferocious tiger coiled around him that might bite him to death at any time. He shuddered subconsciously, and moved his body uncontrollably downward, almost squeezing into a ball with his wife, but there was a space for one and a half people between him and Yang Ji.
Everyone: "..."
Yu Wenhuaji was Yu Wenshu's eldest son after all, and he was also the biggest bully in the past. However, Yang Ji was so frightened just sitting next to him. It was really unimaginable.
However, some smart-minded people also admired Yang Ji. He must have heard Yu Wenhuaji speak nonsense and speak unruly words. But as a person involved, if Yang Ji attacked Yu Wenhuaji at this time, he would not only lose his grace , ruined Yang Zhao's face, and also fell into the trap of listening to the wall, so he didn't say anything and sat directly next to Yu Wenhuaji, making him restless and frightened.
This effect and power are far stronger and more ferocious than shouting.
When Yuwen saw her husband being frightened like this by Yang Ji, she felt very sad for his misfortune and angry at him for not fighting. Since you are so afraid of others, why do you want to be quick and say bad things about others behind their backs? But he was still his husband after all, so he had no choice but to say to Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, my family is as good as Qin and Jin, so why should we be so overbearing and aggressive?"
Before Yang Ji could reply, the little princess Qinghe quit. The little princess pursed her lips, her little face tightened, and said very displeasedly: "Madam, are you still unreasonable? Aye always teaches us , let us "don't talk about other people's wrongs in small talk, sit quietly and reflect on our own mistakes." Yuwen Dalang said bad things about Uncle Wang behind his back, which is really not what a gentleman does. How come he still wants to falsely accuse Uncle Wang of being overbearing? "
The clear childish voice of the little princess echoed in the lobby, leaving all the adults speechless.
Yuwenshi couldn't refute, and her beautiful face suddenly turned red. And Yu Wenhuaji was so ashamed that his face was burning with pain.
Yu Wenhuaji also felt regretful in his heart. Their father and son had a quarrel with Yang Ji. Before his father went to Mozhou to take up the post, he had repeatedly warned him not to conflict with Prince Wei's Mansion, but he did not. Control your big mouth, but you talk about Yang Ji behind his back, and even let the other party listen to it. What should you do?
"Kid, don't talk!" Princess Nanyang patted her sister helplessly. Her husband Yu Wenshiji was still dealing with some affairs in Luoyang, so he didn't come today. It was difficult for her to behave in the middle. She didn't say anything when she saw Yang Ji. What, I thought it was the end of the story, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in my heart. I never thought that my sister was innocent and did not understand the adult world, so she directly pointed out the matter of "Yu Wen Dalang said bad things about Uncle Wang behind his back".
This time, it was really embarrassing.
"Oh!" The little princess understood that her sister was blaming her, so she quickly sat upright and did not dare to speak any more.
Yang Zhao was extremely tired, so he decided to
The banquet here was originally just to entertain members of the royal family, but then I thought about it and invited some powerful children. But who would have thought that the Yuwen family would be like this by Yang Ji, Yuwen Wenhua and this ** *You are still so mean-mouthed, aren’t you making yourself uncomfortable? He was afraid that the atmosphere would continue to be tense, so he had to disrupt the rhythm of the banquet, and asked people to serve wine immediately. He raised his glass and said, "Today we are just talking about friendship. Come, come, everyone, pick up your wine glass and drink this glass."
Everyone is aristocratic children who have been educated by their families. Except for a few fools, they all know how to talk to others and talk to ghosts. No matter how many and big conflicts they have, they will not do it in public. The host of the banquet was embarrassed, not to mention that the current host was the prince. Now when the prince spoke, he raised his glass and drank happily. Before, everything seemed to have happened.
Even the person involved, Yang Ji, after drinking three glasses of wine, continued to persuade Yu Wenji to drink one glass after another.
Yu Wenhuaji made a mistake first. Of course, even if he was right, he didn't dare to stop drinking. In just a moment, Yang Ji drank him so hard that stars appeared in his eyes.
Next to her, Yu Wenshi looked at her husband who was trembling like a quail, knowing that Yang Ji was planning to make her husband lose his temper after drinking, and once her husband got drunk, he would really lose his temper after drinking. Yu Wen was afraid that her husband would be embarrassed after drinking, so she took advantage of the moment when Yang Ji was pouring wine and said with a smile: "I just heard from Li Dalang that Li Xiangguo wants to betroth his daughter to the king as a concubine. Congratulations to the king!"
After Yuwenshi said this, Yang Ji finally guessed the identity of the man brought by Gao Guanbo. This man was Li Dai, the eldest son of Li Ziquan. He put down his wine glass, looked at Li Dai, and asked displeasedly: "Young Master Li is absolutely sure that your father wants to betroth his daughter to me as a concubine, but why have I never heard of this?"
At this stage, the five surnames and seven sects paid more attention to practical benefits, and did not attach much importance to the blood of the man's family, or whether the man would marry him as a wife or a concubine. Take the Cui family for example, not only did they betroth their legitimate daughters to Yang Jun and Yang Zhao became his wife, and betrothed his legitimate daughter to Yang Guang, then King of Jin, as his concubine. He also betrothed his legitimate daughter, the mother of Queen Dugu, to Dugu Xin, a Xianbei native, as his concubine. Therefore, although the seven sects of the five surnames at this time were also very particular about family status, and women of the fifth surname were also in the "every family wants a good girl," the situation has not yet formed where everyone in the world is proud to marry a girl of the fifth surname.
This situation was not fundamentally reversed until Li Shimin ascended the throne in history: On the one hand, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Revolution and violently killed Li Jiancheng, the son-in-law of the Zheng family in Xingyang, which wiped out the investment of the Shandong gentry in Li Jiancheng, and many People were also liquidated, which made the Shandong gentry extremely dissatisfied with Li Shimin.
On the other hand, before Li Shimin, the aristocratic families had their own way of ranking and competition. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, in order to strengthen the influence of the royal family among the scholars, he ordered Gao Shilian and others to correct their surnames. The "Clan Chronicle" was revised and the Li Tang royal family was forcibly ranked as the first-class high-ranking family, Changsun Wuji and other relatives were second-class high-ranking families, and the Shandong clan was demoted to the third-class.
Li Shimin's move completely angered the five noble families, but they had to lower their arrogant heads under the oppression of power. But just when everyone dared to be angry and dare not speak out, Li Shimin, who was as narcissistic as Yang Guang, was extremely confident. He thought that everyone respected him as the emperor, so he stretched out his face to give Cui a slap, hoping to marry Cui and further enhance his status in the royal family.
However, this time, the Cui family quit. They said that they were the purest blood of China and the heirs of the "Chinese clothes", and that the Li and Tang royal family, who were mixed with the blood of the Hu people, were not qualified. They became in-laws with their children, and other surnames also followed this principle, causing Li Shimin's face to be slapped. When the news spread in Shilin, the Li Tang royal family, their relatives, and the so-called first and second-ranking sects all became the laughing stock of the world. However, the status of the five surnames and the seven sects was because they stepped on them. rise directly. And girls with the fifth surname have become superstars among women because of their beautiful qualities such as knowledge, courtesy, luxury and generosity. People all over the world are proud to marry a girl with the fifth surname, and everyone is proud to have an almost perfect girl with the fifth surname as their wife. So much so that Xue Yuanchao, a descendant of the Xue family in Hedong who later became prime minister, sighed before his death, "The only regret in this life is that I was unable to marry a girl with the fifth surname!"
The Xue family in Hedong, together with Wei, Pei and Liu, are known as the "Four Surnames in Guanzhong", and they are already among the top families in the country. Xue Yuanchao, who is a son of the Xue family and a prime minister, still looks up to the "Five Surnames and Seven Sects", and its influence is It can be seen.
Although Yang Ji knew that the political significance of marriages between aristocratic families and dignitaries accounted for 99%, and he knew that women with the fifth surname were also very popular at this time, Li Ziquan's strong and eager utilitarianism really made him People don’t like it. What made Yang Ji even more dissatisfied was that Li Dai was publicizing it in front of the public without even using his horoscope. Wasn't this using public opinion to force him to submit?
For such a utilitarian marriage and a woman from such a family, how could Yang Ji join the Yang family? And considering his situation, if he foolishly marries the five tribes and seven sects, it will do him no good at all; and considering his status, why does he need to marry into the five tribes and seven sects?
After listening to Yang Ji's words, Li Dai pondered for a long time, and calmly raised his hands and said: "The good king knows that my father does have this intention. In my opinion, as long as we make it clear, this matter will be done, so There’s nothing wrong with telling it in advance, what do you think?”
Although his voice was very polite and the smile on his face was very warm, Li Dai's smile gave Yang Ji the feeling that he was like a giant looking down on all living beings, with a kind of aloof aura. It seems to be saying, "This is a gift from our Zhaojun Li family. Just accept it with gratitude and admiration!"
Yang Ji sat upright and said calmly: "I, Yang Ji, have little talent and limited knowledge, and have poor moral character. However, your Li family in Zhao County is a high-ranking family in the world. I, Yang Ji, cannot reach a higher level, nor do I want to. Please tell Mr. Li to tell you." Li Xiang said, don't mention this matter again, lest others really think that this happened and taint my innocence."
There was a sudden silence in the lobby. Even Yu Wenhuaji looked at Yang Ji in disbelief: Among the world's scholars, officials, generals, and Guanlong nobles, who wouldn't want to marry an orthodox and noble person like "Five Surnames and Seven Sects"? A woman from a Han Confucian family as a wife? The Li family of Zhaojun may not have betrothed their legitimate daughter to Yang Ji as a concubine, but even if she is a clan daughter, she can show off his glory. If you tell me, I don't know how many people will envy you! However, Yang Ji sternly refused in front of everyone, leaving no room for change. Could it be that he was stupid?
Li Dai has always had a gentle and elegant demeanor, but in his heart he is very proud and cares about the Zhaojun Li family. But at this moment, Yang Ji is so straightforwardly contemptuous of his proud family, especially because of Yang Ji's words "Dirty my innocence" even stepped on Zhaojun Li's foot hard, and his face turned blood red with anger.
But Qi returned to Qi, and Li Dai didn't know what to say to refute. The reason why he told the public that the Zhaojun Li family intended to marry their daughter to Yang Ji as a concubine was because he was afraid that Yang Ji would refuse, so he spread the news first. If Yang Ji really wanted to refuse, he would have to do it no matter what. Are you afraid of Zhaojun Li's face? But who knew that Yang Ji didn't act according to common sense at all, and completely ignored him in front of him, and he was still so fierce.
If he said that Yang Ji didn't know how to promote, he would be able to save some face, but his father Li Ziquan's words still ring in his ears: Yang Ji is not only the person who carries the cauldron of the royal family, but also the leader of Liangzhou Mu, Shangshu Ling, and Wei Wang. First of all, if the Li family of Zhao County wants to stabilize its foundation in the court, surpass the other six sects, and become the leader of the Shandong gentry, they must try their best to win over Yang Ji and gain Yang Ji's support. If he says it all now, how can he redeem himself in the future?
However, anger returns to anger and anger returns to anger, but the worry in Li Dai's heart is even worse than the anger! Just because the Li family of Zhao County has the Fanyang Lu family and the Boling Cui family to the north, the Qinghe Cui family to the south, the Xingyang Zheng family on the other side of the river, and the Hedong Pei family and the Taiyuan Wang family to the west of Taihang Mountain. Caught between many forces, it is difficult for the Li family of Zhaojun to get out.
Faced with this dilemma, some elders in the clan have decided to leave the land of Hebei, which is surrounded by enemies, and buy houses in Liangzhou and the Western Regions while maintaining their basic base, and open shops there, so that the Li family of Zhao County can take advantage of the Silk Road Transform this golden trade route. In fact, not only the Li family, but also the Lu family in Fanyang and the Cui family in Boling also had this idea.
However, what makes the Shandong nobles irritated and worried is that if the caravan wants to go to the Western Regions, it must first pass the Long nobles, so the best way is to set up one directly in Liangzhou, but here, Yang Ji must agree. , if Yang Ji does not agree, they will never even think of going abroad.
The Li family of Zhao County married their daughter to Yang Ji as a concubine for this reason; but now looking at Yang Ji's attitude, Li Dai knew that the plan of his father and the clan elders was probably going to fail. The strong prince is not that easy to win over at all. Thinking of this,
Li Dayton felt worried.
"Your Majesty, this is a beautiful thing!" Li Changya, the consort opposite, was one of the lobbyists. When he saw Li Dai choked by Yang Ji, he smiled and raised his glass and said to Yang Ji, "With your current power , rich and noble, it is not an exaggeration to say that you are the first person in the dynasty. If you marry the Li family of Hezhao County again, your status in the court will be as stable as Mount Tai. When the time comes, you will have to put aside your identity as a prince. , your mansion will also become a top wealthy family."
"I am from a wealthy family, so why do I need to marry someone else?" Yang Ji glanced at Li Changya and said with a smile, "Besides, since I am a prince, why should I pretend to be noble and put it aside?"
Li Changya was speechless upon hearing this.
