Several major operations led by the Yuan family ended in disastrous defeats, causing the major families of the Yuan sect to suffer huge losses and disintegrate their hearts. As a result, the Yu Zhongwen family, the Li Zhongwen family, and the Doulu family were alienated. , had their hearts set on leaving, and when they saw the emperor pressing harder and harder against the Yuan family, the attitudes of these three families became very ambiguous; and the remaining Zhang family, Wang family, Wang family, Xin family, and Liang family of the Yuan sect The strength of the Waiting family is only at the middle and lower reaches among the major sects of the Guanlong nobles, and is simply unable to cope with the encroachment of the Dugu Shun and Dou factions. This is also an important reason why Yuan Zhou rushed to the Dou family for a meeting. He hoped that the Dou family would put the overall situation first and never return to a hostile state of internal strife and internal strife.
Before Yuan Zhou could wait for Dou Wei to express his position, the head of the Dugu family, Dugu Zheng, had already made it clear that if they were united, they would be stronger, and if they were divided, they would be weak. This made Yuan Zhou overjoyed; once they had the support of the Dugu family, the Dou clan wanted to withdraw from Wuchuan Alliance, we have to think carefully about it.
After he got what he wanted, he smiled happily and said: "Bo Yuntian, the Dugu family, I thanked each family, and then I said goodbye and went back to explain the Dugu family's intentions to each family, and try my best to win the agreement of each family, so that the three factions of ours can cooperate more closely. "After that, he asked Dou Wei again: "But I wonder what the head of the Dou family has in mind?"
Although Dou Wei was unwilling to do so, in order to gain the trust of the Yuan family, he was also worried that the Dugu sect and the Yuan sect would join forces to suppress the Dou sect, so he smiled and said to Yuan Zhou: "Master Yuan family, you can rest assured, since the Dou family is the same The Guanlong noble lineage will naturally follow everyone, and will never do stupid things that will hurt relatives and make enemies happy. This is also my promise to the head of the Yuan family. Moreover, my Dou family has always believed that the three factions of the Guanlong nobles are united. When we are strong, we are weak when divided; if we fight on our own, it will be difficult for any faction to cope with the oppression of the royal family and the noble family. However, I, the Dou family, have a request, and I hope that the head of the Yuan family can take it seriously."
Yuan Zhou was overjoyed and cupped his hands and said, "Master Dou, just say it doesn't matter!"
"Although the Shandong nobles have faded away from the court, they have a legacy of nearly a thousand years and are powerful and deep-rooted. However, the saint's actions such as returning to school and taking the imperial examination seriously violated their interests, making the Shandong nobles very dissatisfied with the saint and each has his own thoughts." Dou Wei said: "I think the Guanlong nobles should be cautious about haste and be patient now. Only by careful preparation can they grasp the overall situation and not rush for quick success. If they continue to challenge the imperial power, they will only benefit the Shandong nobles in vain."
"The words of the head of the Dou family are also the attitude of my Dugu family!" Dugu Zheng, who was standing next to him, also said to Yuan Zhou: "The territory of the Sui Dynasty is vast, and the interests of the court and landlords are countless. Not only one family can take care of them, but also feed them." After all, only by sincere cooperation can we, the Guanlong nobles, control the power and manipulate the current situation."
Yuan Zhou also understood that the Dugu family and the Yuan family were very dissatisfied with the performance of the Yuan family. In addition, there were many conflicts within the Yuan sect. He pondered for a long time and then said seriously: "Two family heads, please don't worry. The Yuan family has also realized that before We are quite eager for quick success; next we should adjust our tactics instead of confronting the saint head-on like before. On behalf of the Yuan family, I also promise to the two family heads that no matter what major decisions the Yuan family makes in the future, we will discuss it with you two in advance."
"That's great!" Dugu Zheng glanced at Dou Wei and said, "Master Dou, I came here uninvited and took the liberty to come to your door. I really want to hear your opinion on something." After that, he said to Yuan Zhou: "I I plan to go to the Yuan family tomorrow to ask the head of the Yuan family, but coincidentally the head of the Yuan family is also here, so let’s talk about it together.”
Dou Wei and Yuan Zhou looked at each other and said in unison: "Master Dugu, please speak!"
Dugu Zheng said in a deep voice: "In the fourth year of Renshou, before the saint ascended the throne, he tried his best to build Luoyang, the capital of the East, in an attempt to get rid of our Guanlong nobles. We opposed moving the capital at first. First, we were worried that the saint would reuse the Shandong gentry and the southern gentry to balance the dynasty. The purpose is to eventually marginalize us Guanlong nobles; the second is to worry that after the saint leaves Guanzhong, he will unscrupulously push us to a dead end."
"From the current point of view, the saint is heading in the direction we are worried about: ever since the imperial court moved east to Luoyang and the Political and Legal Affairs Department was born, he has been ruthless against our Guanlong nobles, causing panic among all the noble families. He is in danger. Moreover, at this time, the north is devastated by drought and insect infestations. The saint should stay in Daxing City and find ways to stabilize the people's hearts and improve their popularity. However, he is afraid that the world will not be in chaos and insists on the stubborn Northern Patrol. I I really don’t understand what he was thinking about. And what is the profound meaning of his move?"
"To be honest, our Dou family opened a few days ago
A clan elders meeting specifically discussed the Northern Patrol. Dou Wei paused for a moment and said in a deep voice to Dugu Zheng and Yuan Zhou: "We believe that in addition to what he said on the surface, the saint also has temptations."
"Testing?" Yuan Zhou raised his thick eyebrows and asked doubtfully, "But I wonder what the Dou family leader thinks he is testing?"
"Test the courtiers, test the nobles of Guanlong." Dou Wei was not sure at first, but when he saw Yuan Zhou, he became confident and said, "The saint waited until King Wei defeated Tuyuhun and the army returned to court. After setting the specific time for the northern tour, and looking at his actions of letting the prince stay in Daxing and King Ande in Luoyang, we suspect that the saint hoped that the Guanlong nobles would cause trouble in Guanzhong and Luoyang during his northern tour, so that He caught us all in one fell swoop."
He glanced at Dugu Zheng and said meaningfully to Yuanzhou: "It is said that a large amount of private money appeared in Luoyang. When this private money poured into the market, prices skyrocketed and the people complained. However, there were many big grain merchants hoarding goods. Juqi is trying to disrupt the lives and democracy of the people in Luoyang; if anyone accuses these big grain merchants of plotting evil and stirring up trouble in the capital of Beijing, these grain merchants and the people behind them will undoubtedly die."
When Dou Wei became the head of the family, he bought several grain trade routes from the Dugu family. This was indeed a very profitable business. However, not long after, he finally came to his senses and slowly realized that he had been cheated. Dugu Shun and Dugu Zheng are old.
The reason why the Dugu family suddenly ceded their very profitable grain business was because they understood that controlling grain was too easy to hand over to others. In a year of grain shortage, someone deliberately caused a riot, but in the end the responsibility was put on the big grain merchants. Can't afford it either.
However, although Dou Wei was plotted by the Dugu family, he had no way to blame the Dugu family. After all, the Dou family did make a lot of money from it, and it was a business that he and the Yuan family fought hard for; afterwards, he quietly I quietly divided up the grain business and sold it step by step, little by little. After several years of hard work, I finally succeeded in getting rid of the grain business.
Nowadays, who is the largest grain merchant in Sui Dynasty? Of course, it was undoubtedly the Yuan family who first bought from the Dugu family, and then successively bought from the Dou family. However, the Dou family was very secretive compared to the Dugu family. Even if the Yuan family suffered a big loss, it was no wonder that the Dou family At home.
Dou Wei planned to keep the huge crisis in the big grain merchants and the sinister intentions of the Dugu family silently, and then explain it to the Yuan family at the critical moment to deal with the Dugu family, but Dugu completely destroyed the two families and the two factions reached a tacit understanding and peace. Consensus actually wooed Yuan Zhou in front of him. In order to prevent the two families from deepening their cooperation and secretly dealing with the Dou faction, he took this opportunity to "accidentally" reveal it and let Yuan Zhou know who the Dugu family was and whether it was worth cooperating with.
When Yuan Zhou heard what Dou Wei said, he realized the harm of hoarding food. At the same time, he finally realized that the Dugu family had secretly plotted against the Yuan family and the Dou family a few years ago. Unfortunately, the two families had foolishly competed with each other at high prices. , it turns out that everything is the Dugu family passing on their own crisis.
After looking at Dugu Zheng, who was indifferent and had nothing to do with him, Yuan Zhou could hardly hold back the anger in his heart. Today, the Yuan family controls almost 80% of the grain business in the two capitals. Now that the Dugu family has dumped the grain business, the Dugu sect, including the Dugu family, will definitely not buy it back; and Dou Wei has clearly reminded himself in front of Dugu Zheng, so naturally he will not accept this fatal decision. Business.
Yuan Zhou took a deep breath and suppressed the anger that was about to burst out. He thought about it quickly and felt extremely lucky again. He felt that he came at the right time tonight.
If he hadn't barged in, he wouldn't have known about the fatal crisis that existed in the Yuan family. Although the grain business all over the world couldn't be sold out for a while, after Dou Wei's reminder, the Yuan family at least wouldn't hoard grain at high prices. It's a stupid thing to sell. As long as you get through this difficulty, it's not too late to think about selling it. Of course, more importantly, the secret fight between Dugu Zheng and Dou Wei made him know that the seemingly united Dugu family and the Dou family also had huge conflicts; in this case, the Yuan family would also have a way to deal with them.
He was eager to go back to discuss countermeasures and did not dare to stay longer. After saying a few words, he left.
After Yuan Zhou left, Dugu Zheng faced Dou Wei alone. Although their Dugu family arranged for Dou and Yuan to be together, Dugu Zheng
There was no trace of embarrassment in his heart; after all, the grain business transferred by the Dugu family was not a mess, but made the two families a lot of money. Moreover, what they were worried about did not happen, and it might not even happen in the future, so he had no guilt.
He glanced at Dou Wei and asked, "Master Dou, the head of the Yuan family was here just now. Why didn't you propose Li Yuan as the deputy leader?"
According to repeated discussions between the two families, they finally decided to promote Li Yuan to the position of deputy leader of the Wuchuan Alliance. First, the two families were worried that the Yuan family would continue to be self-willed and bring the Guanlong nobles into dire straits, so they planned to let Li Yuan speak on behalf of the two families and represent the two factions. Restrict the Yuan family; secondly, Li Yuan has now become Yang Guang's confidant. Both families are worried that Li Yuan will betray the Guanlong nobles like Yu Wenshu did, and the Wuchuan Alliance is an anti-Sui alliance. If Li Yuan becomes this If they are the deputy leaders of the alliance, then Li Yuan will have an extra layer of scruples in the future and will not dare to betray everyone. Otherwise, the first ones to be unlucky will be their chief and deputy alliance leaders.
Dou Wei did not delve into his talent. He thought deeply for a long time and said somewhat casually: "The primary enemy of the Guanlong nobles is the Wei Wang clan who represents the interests of the royal family and the Wei Wang who speaks on behalf of the saints. Looking at the various gates of the Guanlong nobles , the one who hates King Wei the most is the Yuan family, and the one who has the strength to deal with King Wei is also the Yuan family. In the future, it is more suitable for the Yuan family to deal with King Wei. I think our two factions can just follow behind and use our strength. Similarly, King Wei's The main target of attack must be aimed at the Yuan family, not our two factions, because this is in the interest of both our factions."
After a pause, Dou Wei slowly said to Dugu Zheng: "Master Dugu, you saw the expression of Master Yuan just now. If we announce Li Yuan as the deputy leader prematurely, we will definitely arouse strong opposition from the Yuan family. This will only It has caused internal discord among the Guanlong nobles, and now the Yuan family is extremely important to the Guanlong nobles, so we must not provoke them too much."
"What the head of the Dou family said is absolutely true." Although Dugu Zheng heard that Dou Wei was not sincere in what he said, he knew that it was not appropriate to talk in depth tonight, otherwise it would only turn the two families and factions against each other. He stood up and said, "It's getting late, so I won't disturb Master Dou's rest. I'll do something some other day so we can sit down and have a chat."
"Okay!" Dou Wei also stood up with a smile and sent Dugu Zheng away from the side door. When he returned to the study, the young man who had been responsible for bringing tea to the three masters bowed: "Aye, the Dugu family master has left?"
This young man's name is Dou Yun, and he is the eldest son of Dou Wei. Most of the Dou family are famous for their martial arts and military skills, such as Dou Gui, Dou Cong, Dou Kang, Dou Qing, Dou Jing, Dou Xi, and Dou Yan. They are all outstanding figures who are good at military affairs. However, Dou Wei and his son are opposite to them. Their family has beautiful literary talent, profound knowledge and specializes in literature. This is also in line with the style of the aristocratic family that pays equal attention to civil and military affairs and complements civil and military affairs.
"Let's go!" Dou Wei glanced at his son, sat at the table and pondered Dugu Zheng's performance just now. Looking at Dugu Zheng's face just now, Dou Wei knew that the tacit understanding reached by the two families was in vain.
Although it is said that there are no eternal friends between aristocratic families, only eternal interests, the performance of the Dugu family really chilled Dou Wei. Just now, Dugu Zheng didn't even pretend to be, and went back on his word to win over Yuan Zhou. When he was beaten by him After the sinister intentions of the Dugu family were pointed out in person, they didn't even move their expressions. It can also be seen that the Hu people's concept of putting interests first has already penetrated into the bone marrow and soul of the Dugu family, and has become the tradition of the Dugu family.
According to the past character and practices of the Dugu family, as long as the Yuan family provides enough benefits, they will join hands with the Yuan family in an instant to deal with the Dou family and the Dou sect; therefore, in Dou Wei's eyes, the Dugu family Definitely not the best person to work with and cannot be trusted.
This understanding is also the fundamental reason why Dou Wei did not nominate Li Yuan as the deputy leader. He was worried that after Li Yuan came to power, he would become the scapegoat of the Dugu family and the Yuan family.
Dou Yun was silent for a while, then sat down under his father and said in a low voice: "Aye, I think the Dugu family is more terrifying and has no limits than the Yuan family. Their selfishness is too serious. In my opinion, the Dugu family has no limits at all. I never thought about helping my sister-in-law Li Yuan with all my strength."
"Everyone has selfish motives, and everyone is doing it for their own benefit. There is nothing we can do about it! Aren't our Dou family plotting against each other?" Dou Wei shook his head, and then said to his son: "You have no contact with Dugu Shun. However, if you know how Dugu Shun behaves, you will know that Dugu Shun is pretty good
Yes. "
Dou Yun frowned and said, "Even so, my sister-in-law is the nephew of the Dugu family after all!"
"What does a nephew mean? The saint is also a nephew of the Dugu family, but when the late emperor and Queen Wenwen were alive, the Dugu family had evil intentions. Don't expect them to have feelings and humanity!" Dou Wei sneered: "The Dugu family The reason why they were unwilling to fully help Li Yuan was because their other nephew was in the ascendant. Not only did their nephew control the world with great power and wealth, but he also gave Dugu Shun the position of Minister of Justice; they had a better choice and a better life. After taking the position, they were ecstatic. Now they are just thinking about how to go further and how to let more children enter the official career, so how can they support Li Yuan? "
After saying that, Dou Wei told his son: "Tomorrow you go to see Jiancheng and tell him what happened tonight in detail. At the same time, ask him to tell Li Yuan: Be a confidant of the saint in the future, and don't be the leader." , let alone have any hope in any deputy leader, otherwise, you will die without knowing."
"My child understands. We will go look for Jiancheng tomorrow." Dou Yun bowed and immediately left the study.
. . . . .
As the night fell, Dugu Zheng's carriage drove slowly towards Yiyangfang, where Dugu Mansion is located. The dim lantern light shone into the car from the curtains and shone on Dugu Zheng's thin face, making his face a little more peaceful. However, from his deep brows, it can be seen that his heart is not as peaceful as his face.
Dou Wei's advice to Yuan Zhou ruined the reputation of their Dugu family. Although Yuan Zhou didn't say anything at the time, Dugu Zheng knew in his heart that Yuan Zhou was wary and angry towards the Dugu family. Since Dou Wei didn't mention Li Yuan's Judging from the performance, Dou Wei also had other thoughts at this time. The relationship between the Yuan and Dou families also took a huge turn for the better because of tonight's short conversation.
This made Dugu Zheng feel like he had shot himself in the foot, but the grudge had already arisen, and it was useless to say anything now.
Another thing Dou Wei guessed correctly is that the mentality of the Dugu family has undergone tremendous changes due to the position of Minister of Justice.
During the reign of the late Emperor, the Dugu family was in a predicament of being rich but not noble, rich but not powerful. They were not close to the late Emperor Yang Jian and Queen Dugu Jialuo.
For example, Dugu Luo, who was born to Luo family, was quite good. Not only did he inherit the title given to Dugu Xin by Yang Jian, he also successively became a general, the crown prince's right guard commander, the general manager of the military affairs of the three states of Lianggangua, the general manager of Liangzhou, and the governor of Liangzhou. After getting old, he finally entered the court and became a well-deserved and worthy general of Youwuwei. However, the sons born to the Guo family only had false high titles and casual officials.
Now that he has finally obtained the minister of justice that everyone is envious of, everyone in the Dugu family is full of joy and joy. Everyone thinks that the Dugu family has made it through. Many of the children are very encouraged and want to make great achievements in their official career.
It is true that both Dugu Shun and Dugu Zheng knew that Yang Guang had bad intentions, but Yang Guang gave too much. They could not refuse and did not want to refuse. At the same time, they did not want to disappoint their nephews, so they planned to make mistakes, do something, and then do something again. A handful of his children were brought into the official career, making the Dugu family a truly powerful family.
Nowadays, the whole family has unlimited expectations for the Sui Dynasty and Yang Guang. Coupled with the recent tense situation, the Dugu family has become a lot less interested in the cause of the Wuchuan League, which has a strong anti-Sui nature.
As for Li Yuan, who also has the interests of the Dugu family, they have not thought about giving up; but at this time, the Dugu family is all thinking about getting on the royal family's big ship and gaining more practical benefits, so they are not interested in supporting Li Yuan. The attitude is no longer as strong as before. Now the interests of the Dugu family are the most important priority.
In fact, this is human nature. If the Dou family is in the same situation as Dugu Min, and besides Li Yuan, there is a son-in-law who is the emperor, their mentality will definitely reverse like the Dugu family.
The question that Dugu Zheng is thinking about now is how to regain good relations with Dugu Luo's sons Dugu Zuan, Dugu Wudu, Dugu Kaiyuan, Dugu Kaiming and others.
Not to mention Dugu Zuan who inherited the title of Duke of Zhao, Dugu Wudu and Dugu Kaiyuan also rose up in the Liangzhou army. They made military exploits in the Tuyuhun battle and were canonized by Yang Guang one after another. Therefore, Dugu Luo Fang is now far more promising than the other brothers.
However, because these people and their fathers were suppressed by Dugu Shun, Dugu Zheng and others, they are now almost severing ties with the children born to Dugu Xin and Guo. If they were to suddenly find them, they really wouldn't know where to start.
"Perhaps, we can negotiate through King Wei. But asking Yang Ji to help will cost more food. Maybe we can buy back a few grain trade routes from the Yuan family." Dugu Zheng thought about this and thought with some hope. : "It would be better if Dugu Kai and Dugu Sheng could also return to the Dugu family. In this way, King Wei would also become the nephew of the Dugu family."
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[Brothers and sisters, Happy New Year! 】
