Yang Zhao and Crown Princess Wei didn't stay in the Zhang Mansion for long. The couple first issued an edict and presented congratulations to Mrs. Zhang, then congratulated Mrs. Zhang on her birthday, had a few glasses of wine, and then left. However, the imperial decree given by Yang Guang and accepted by Zhang Jin and his family was like a thorn piercing into everyone's heart.
As for the assassination and death of Li Yuan's second son, not many people cared about it; after all, the matter had nothing to do with them, and the death rate of children these days was extremely high, so if one or two died, it was not a big deal.
Seeing that the business was disrupted and Yuan Shou left with a dark face not long after, Zhang Jin knew that it was no longer appropriate to talk about business, so she took the time to have an urgent discussion with Yu Zhongwen in a room.
Zhang Jin, who was sitting on the throne, had an extremely ugly face. He first explained the conspiracy behind Yang Guang's imperial edict to his mother, and then said that Yang Guang was using it to divide and alienate the Guanlong nobles. Finally, he looked worriedly to Yu Zhongwen said: "Brother Yu, do you think this is possible?"
Yu Zhongwen and Zhang Jin were family friends and relatives. Hearing this, he sighed: "Since ancient times, the emperor's heart has been unpredictable. Today's saints who keep a low profile and their forbearance and wisdom are no less than those of the late emperor. I have no idea what his intentions are." It’s easy to say! But not only did the saint take over the Sui Dynasty from the late emperor, but his attitude and policies towards the Guanlong nobles were also inherited from the same origin."
After a pause, he said with a wry smile: "Brother Zhang, I think the saint is waiting for an opportunity to attack the Guanlong noble group again. Judging from the past grievances and the current appointment of the old head of the Dugu family, the next key target of the attack is definitely us. Yuanpai.”
Zhang Jin nodded silently. Judging from the recent political trends, he felt that if Yang Guang attacked the Guanlong nobles again, the target would be either Yuan Shou or himself. After a while, he still asked the unavoidable question: "Is our plan just dead?"
"Other than that, there is no other way." Yu Zhongwen nodded with some difficulty and gave Zhang Jin a very affirmative answer. Seeing the unwillingness in Zhang Jin's eyes, he secretly sighed in his heart: Zhang Jin is the think tank of the Yuan Sect and the military advisor of the Wuchuan Alliance. Since the founding of the Wuchuan Alliance, he has worked hard to lobby the three major factions and resolve the differences among the major clans. He said that he definitely put in as much effort as Yuanshi, but Yuanshi couldn't help Adou, which was so disappointing.
Zhang Jin was silent for a long time and said painfully: "Brother Yu, I'm not willing to give in!"
"You are not willing to accept it, and neither am I, but the question now is not whether we are willing to accept it or not." Yu Zhongwen glanced at the noisy lobby outside, and said quietly: "The saint's move of granting the old lady the imperial edict is very clever. , has successfully made all the powerful officials suspicious of you, even Yuan Taifu Qing is no exception, otherwise he would not have left early. Now people are scattered, doubting each other, and people can no longer unite. At least these days, It’s not appropriate to talk about this matter anymore.”
"Hey!" Zhang Jin let out a long sigh: "That's all."
Yu Zhongwen breathed a sigh of relief and changed the topic: "The southern nobles are the enemy of the Guanlong nobles, but Xiao Xiangguo has the support of saints, so the opponent cannot be solved overnight. Our first task now is not to capture the opponent. Instead, we try to protect the naval generals heading north, stabilize this situation before starting over. Otherwise, we will only benefit Shandong, Central Plains, Hedong and other forces."
"It is true that everyone has temporarily misunderstood Brother Zhang because of the saint's award, but all the great sects have interests in the navy, and this, this tie, is also an opportunity to unite people's hearts." After looking at Zhang After looking at Jin, Yu Zhongwen suggested: "If Brother Zhang and Yuan want to make a difference in the near future, they might as well start from here."
Hearing Yu Zhongwen's vague intention of removing the Yu family from the Yuan sect, Zhang Jin suddenly felt cold and asked anxiously: "Brother Yu, are you going to abandon the Yuan sect?"
Yu Zhongwen didn't answer but asked instead: "Brother Zhang, what else do you think is worthy of following the Yuan family?"
Behind every family head is a huge family, and every family head is responsible for this family. No one will blindly follow someone just because of their in-law relationship. Yu Zhongwen has long been disappointed with the Yuan family.
He no longer wants to be with the stupid and selfish Yuanshi. If he continues to follow stupidly, he will be killed and tricked by Yuanshi sooner or later.
As a wise man, how could Zhang Jin fail to see the nature of the Yuan family being strong on the outside but weak on the inside? But Zhang Jin is not a child. He has his own ideas, and there is no need for Yu Zhongwen to come here to dictate. The final choice made by the other party was simply not something that Yu Zhongwen could interfere with. He did not prevent the other party from overthinking it and did not even say anything like suggesting quitting. However, he informed Zhang Jin of his choice and secretly nodded.
"After this moment, think about it again!" After Zhang Jin finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something. He quickly glanced at the lobby outside and whispered: "Brother Yu, Li Yuan's second son was assassinated, do you think it will happen?" Was it done by the Yuan family?"
Yu Zhongwen was surprised: "Li Yuan has always been kind to others because his family's strength and power are inferior to others. Even though he and the Yuan family had conflicts over the competition for the position of alliance leader, it was recommended by the Dugu family and the Dou family. Now it has passed. After so many years, the Yuan family wouldn’t commit such a murderous act, right? And what good would it do to them? "
"Perhaps they want to put the blame on others so that everyone will obey Yuanshi's orders out of fear." Zhang Jin looked at Yu Zhongwen and said, "Yuanshi can do this kind of thing."
Yu Zhongwen frowned and said, "Why don't you go to Li's Mansion to have a look?"
"Asking rashly will only make everyone more embarrassed, and may even cause unnecessary trouble and misunderstanding." Zhang Jin sighed: "Let's wait a few days before talking."
. . . . . .
In the Duke of Tang Dynasty in Chongyifang, Li Yuan, who was all wet, broke into the front hall and side hall. As soon as he entered the door, his eyes were fixed on the couch in the middle. On the couch was Li Shimin's body. Mrs. Dou knelt in front of the bed, holding her son's body, face to face, and weeping sadly.
Li Yuan ignored the nephews and clan members who were saluting one after another. He walked forward in despair and knelt down next to Dou. He looked at his son's young and pale face, tears welled up in his eyes, and he cried bitterly beside his son.
Even though Li Yuancheng was very deep-seated and could not express his emotions or anger, the pain of losing his son was so heart-piercing that he couldn't bear to live.
After a long time, Li Yuan finally came back to his senses. He raised his eyes and glanced at his dull-eyed wife, who was only focused on crying. He then glanced at the family papers of his brothers and nephews who were standing in awe. He knew that he had to be strong, otherwise, This family is in chaos.
He suppressed the pain in his heart, wiped away his tears, then stood up like a tiger, stared at Li Jiancheng with beast-like eyes, and shouted sternly: "Dalang, what is going on, please explain in detail." Come."
"Here!" Li Jiancheng hurriedly explained what he knew in detail, and finally said to Li Yuan: "Ah, Sun Simiao and Xie Hong appeared too timely, and they concluded that my mother was in pain of losing her son. Could it be ..."
Li Yuan didn't expect his son to die so miserably. After listening to Li Jiancheng's explanation, his eyes turned red. He took a deep breath, tried to keep himself calm, and said firmly: "These two are both experts in the world, and I The Li family has no grudges, there is no way it could be them."
"Who does Aye think he is?" Li Jiancheng heard the implication and asked quickly.
Although Li Yuan had already determined that it was the Yuan family that had done it, but looking at the crying Dou family, he knew in his heart that if he told her, his wife would desperately seek justice for his son. After thinking about it, he finally stopped talking. Looking at Li Jiancheng, he said dejectedly: "I'm sure it's not the fault, but I think I can seek justice for Erlang and the Li family."
Li Shentong, Li Shenfu, Li Deliang, Li Shuliang, Li Xiaoji, Li Xiaogong and Li Jiancheng who were present heard the implication of Li Yuan's words: Li Yuan knew who his enemy was.
Without waiting for them to ask, Mrs. Dou, who was watching silently, carefully put down Li Shimin's body and asked Li Yuan coldly: "Lang Jun, do you know who the enemy is?"
Facing his wife's cold eyes, Li Yuan froze, and then remained silent. Although he believed that it was the Yuan family, and if the culprit who killed his son was standing in front of him, he would definitely cut his body into thousands of pieces to vent his hatred, but he now has no evidence at all, and there is no way to prove it. The murderer is Yuanshi.
"Are you talking?" Seeing her husband's silence, Ms. Dou asked in a tearful voice.
.
The Dou family has many heirs, but only Li Shimin has been favored by her since he was a child, and she personally brought up Li Shimin with his hands full of shit and urine; her feelings for Li Shimin are naturally not those of Li Jiancheng, Li Xuanba, and Li Shimin. Within the reach of Yuan Ji and Li Xiuning. Unexpectedly, it was her most beloved child who died now, causing her to end up with the tragic fate of "a white-haired person sending a black-haired person", which made her devastated and miserable. With her wisdom and understanding of her husband, she naturally saw that her husband had calculations and suspicions in his mind.
"Brother, the Yuan family must be in danger, and seeing that our Li family is weak and can be bullied, so, therefore, he assassinated Erlang to frighten other families and force other families not to betray the Wu... Guanlong nobles." The person is Li Shentong.
In fact, Li Shentong was a man of resourcefulness and both military and political skills. He was by no means a mediocre man with mediocre talents, and he was definitely not a defeated general who was defeated but never victorious as unofficial historians said.
The reason why he has such an unpleasant nickname as the "Constantly Defeated General" in his opposition history is mainly because every battle Li Shentong fought was the most difficult task, with very few troops and horses holding back powerful enemy forces and containing them. The powerful enemy force made it unable to move.
Although the armies led by him ended up in defeat without exception, the entire battle and the entire battle were because of his "nail house", and the Tang army achieved glory in the end without exception.
Therefore, Li Shentong is a person who can do dirty work very reliably, a hard nut that no one can chew, rather than an ordinary mediocre person. Once he takes action, he can always hold back the main force of the enemy and change the situation. The general trend and direction of the war.
This is also the fundamental reason why Li Yuan always said that Li Shentong was the first in meritorious deeds in history, while others were always speechless. Now, Li Shentong is the spokesperson and "diplomat" of the Li family and Li Yuan. He knows things that others don't know, and naturally knows all the grievances between the Li family and the Yuan family.
After a pause, Li Shentong said sadly and angrily: "Brother, Shimin is a thousand-mile horse of our Li family, how could he die so unjustly? This matter must be the handiwork of the Yuan family. Brother, I should serve as a saint to serve the world." The people demand justice and let the Yuan clan pay with blood."
"Yes, this must be the work of the Yuan family." Li Shenfu also agreed.
Li Yuan was filled with grief and anger, his energy and blood attacked his heart, and his mind was no longer as calm as usual. He even believed that it was the Yuan family. However, he still felt that it might not be that simple, but he couldn't figure out the context for a while, so he had to say : "What's the use of reporting to the saint? Not to mention that we have no evidence, just based on his attitude towards the Guanlong nobles, we will just sit back and watch."
"Are the people of the world going to die in vain? If the country's laws cannot..." Li Shuliang looked around and saw that everyone inside was the Li family, with no outsiders or children. Then he lowered his voice and said, "Then we will simply retaliate with an eye for an eye. Eye, how did Shimin die, so we will deal with the direct descendants of the Yuan family."
"Shut up!" Li Yuan shouted angrily and said, "Shut up if you give me bad ideas!"
Everyone was suddenly speechless.
"The Li family cannot afford the consequences of acting rashly. Who knows if someone will frame him?" After all, it was his son who died. Li Yuan was angrier than anyone else. However, besides being Li Shimin's father, he was , or the head of the Li family. Not only does he shoulder the mission of revitalizing the Li family, but he also knows that the Li family is weak and cannot compete with the powerful Yuan family. If he is motivated by the death of his son and rashly kills to stop the killing, the Li family will end up even worse and dead. There are more people. He glanced around at the excited tribesmen and said coldly: "We must not act out of impulse and mess up the situation."
"Can't we just let it go?" Li Shuliang said unwillingly: "Brother, Shimin is not only your son and my nephew, but also a member of our Li family. If we don't avenge our grudges, how will others see my Li family? "
"I am more distressed and more indignant than anyone else, but we have to find out the truth before we can tell!" Li Yuan did not dare to provoke these extremely angry tribesmen, and did not speak out his conclusion. He said to everyone in a cold voice: "If the people of the world are really harmed by the Yuan family, I will never let it go."
This is a promise made by the head of the family to the living, and even more so to the dead.
Saying that, Li Yuan didn’t
He paid no attention to the clan members and walked directly towards his wife who looked forlorn.
While the men were chanting their filial piety, Mrs. Dou had already raised her head to listen. When she saw Li Yuan walking away, she asked with a sad expression and tears streaming down her face, "Lang Jun, is this the end of it?"
"Forget it? How could we just forget it? How can such a good thing happen?" Li Yuan's eyes were fierce and he raised his voice and said, "This hatred and hatred must be avenged."
As the saying goes, it is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge after ten years. Li Yuan knew that he must not be hasty or lose his mind. Although the current Li family is not as powerful as others, it is valuable that the whole family is united and united. The Yuan family seems to be strong and has connections all over the world. However, the Yuan family is now weak and weak, and the situation may not be much better than that of the Li family. . Once the Yuan family fails again in the control of the Northern Navy and cannot give satisfactory results to the Guanlong aristocracy, the Yuan family will surely end up being betrayed and separated from their relatives.
In the time before Yuan's madness, he could only continue as usual, and then silently collect evidence. One day it would come in handy and he would be able to recover this blood debt.
