In the Sui Dynasty, warriors in the world had no status. There was only one way to rise, and that was to rely on a big family.
Because of this, the influence of clans in various places is pervasive, ranging from local government offices to small streets and lanes.
Cen Zhong was born in Hebei and was considered a well-known figure in Hebei Green Forest. He was the leader of a local gang. Because he offended the Cui family of Qinghe, he had no choice but to come to Daxing. Under the recommendation of his friends, he became a warrior under Yang Ke, the king of Xiangcheng.
He was chained away like a dog by Pang Ben, and no one dared to stop him.
Because Pang Ben has a formal establishment, and Cen Zhong is just a temporary worker under Yang Ke.
Inside the camp, Yang Ke sat down in frustration as he watched people being locked away.
He was afraid, afraid that Yang Ming would really find out something from Cen Zhong's mouth.
On the contrary, Yang Yan, the king of Changning, acted as if the matter had nothing to do with him. After all, they were not born from the same mother, and Yang Yan was happy to see Yang Ming and Shangshufu falling out.
The more ferocious they fight, the better, with no harm to themselves.
In fact, even as fierce as Pang Ben, he didn't ask anything from Cen Zhong.
I tried torture, coercion and inducement, but nothing worked.
Cen Zhong is a smart man and knows that his only hope of survival is to keep his mouth shut.
Yang Ming came to the camp where Pang Ben was executed, looked at Cen Zhong who was covered in blood, and left without saying a word.
On the contrary, Yang Zhen was afraid that things would get worse, so he ordered Pang Ben to let him go.
"Why is the second brother so careful?" Yang Ming asked with a smile on the way back.
Yang Jian shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Before coming to Daxing, my father told me not to have any conflict with Dong Gong. Although you did a great job tonight, third brother, and you really made a fuss for my brother, but in the long run, we are Don’t offend those in the East Palace, otherwise there will be no good fruit to eat in the future.”
Yang Ming nodded, and the other party's concerns were reasonable.
Prince Yang Yong is the crown prince and will inherit the throne in the future. When that day comes, Yang Ming's little head will probably be chopped off by Yang Yan and played as a ball.
"Now that the East Palace regards us as enemies, there will be no good fruits to eat in the future," Yang Ming said lightly.
Yang Jian sighed: "So what can we do? We can only live with our tail between our legs."
.......
"You really didn't say anything?"
In the camp, Yang Ke looked coldly at Cen Zhong who had returned.
"The villain never said a single word from the beginning to the end," Cen Zhong said weakly, enduring his injuries.
Yang Ke's eyes narrowed: "Then why did they let you back?"
"This..." Cen Zhong broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that his master was suspicious, and for someone like himself who knew the inside story, he was afraid that this would be a disaster.
He quickly explained: "The villain guesses that His Royal Highness King Yuzhang does not want to be with the master..."
Before he could speak, Cen Zhong looked at his chest in shock,
I saw a white blade passing through his chest, and then, his mouth was tightly covered by a big hand, and he couldn't help but scream out.
"Whether you say it or not, I can only feel at ease if you die."
Yang Ke waved his hand, turned the handle of the black samurai sword, shattered Cen Zhong's heart, and dragged the body away.
The next day,
All the major families spread out over a hundred-mile radius of Nanshan sent their convoys to the same destination to meet a big-shot figure.
Yang Lihua, the empress dowager of the old dynasty, the eldest princess of the current dynasty, the spiritual leader of the elder faction, the Yuwen family's biggest supporter, and the host of this spring outing, finally arrived.
The royal family, nobles, and wealthy families all stood respectfully with their heads lowered, looking at the honor guard that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The eldest princess's camp is located at the center of this spring outing, with two thousand imperial guards stationed in the east, west, north and south directions.
According to etiquette, everyone will go to the princess tent to meet Yang Lihua according to their status.
Yang Ming followed the procession of royal family members, stepped on the long red carpet, and first entered the huge palace-like tent, saluting and bowing.
On the main seat, Yang Lihua lay lazily on the chair, her eyes always on the white cat in her arms, and she waved her hand downwards without raising her head:
"Okay, please step back and tell the people outside that there is no need to come to see you again. I have been traveling for a day and am already exhausted."
Yang Shuang, the leader of the clan, hurriedly said:
"Wei Chen takes orders!"
Just as everyone was slowly retreating, Yang Lihua suddenly said:
"Yang Ming stays."
Yang Ming's heart skipped a beat and he swallowed subconsciously.
Yang Xian and Yang Chan could only cast sympathetic glances...
As the second most powerful woman in the Sui Dynasty, even the prince Yang Yong did not dare to offend Yang Lihua at will.
After all, at the beginning of the founding of the country, Yang Jian once said: The eldest daughter Lihua was the first contributor to the founding of the Sui Dynasty.
During the Northern Zhou Dynasty, without the efforts of Queen Yang Lihua to protect their family, Yang Jian and his wife would have been swallowed up by the political whirlpool.
Yang Ming stepped forward cautiously and said respectfully:
"I wonder why my aunt left her nephew alone?"
Yang Lihua's appearance has inherited all the advantages of Yang Jian and Dugu Jialuo. Even though she is nearly forty, her overwhelming appearance is still unforgettable for a lifetime after just one look.
His husband, Emperor Xuan of Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Yun, was also a famous tyrant in history.
You can deny everything about tyrants, but you can never deny how they look at women.
This shows how beautiful Yang Lihua is.
Bright eyes looked up and down Yang Ming. The eldest princess of the Sui Dynasty raised her lips slightly and said:
"I heard that your grandmother has chosen a marriage for you?"
Why did she ask? Women, after all, can't change their gossipy nature. Yang Ming said honestly:
"Yes, grandma prefers girls from the Dugu family."
Yang Lihua nodded. She had a deep conflict with her mother, Dugu Jialuo, and basically had no contact with her, so she only found out about Yang Ming later.
After a long silence, Yang Lihua said lazily:
"I feel...it's inappropriate."
Amazing... Yang Ming was not surprised. Except for Yang Lihua, no one in the world dared to say that the marriage arranged by Dugu Hou was inappropriate.
Yang Lihua said: "The Dugu clan is already a relative of the emperor, and now they have a big tree with deep roots in Luoyang. If they marry you again, won't they go to heaven?"
Yang Mingliang said: "My nephew is just a small county prince, how can he be so capable?"
"It's hard to say," Yang Lihua always spoke softly, giving the impression that she would never be angry. She put her chin on her face and frowned:
"The strong suppress their power, and the weak support their branches. I think it would be more suitable for you to find a family outside Guanzhong for your marriage."
After saying that, Yang Lihua smiled sweetly: "Of course, I'm just a suggestion. It's up to you whether you want to or not."
Okay, okay, it’s just a suggestion, so I can ignore it...
Yang Ming said: "My nephew must think carefully."
Looking at Yang Ming's leaving figure, Yang Lihua sighed softly.
Maybe others were belatedly aware of it, but she had already sensed in advance that the war between the North and the South was imminent.
A key figure like her who had experienced the turbulent political struggles of the Northern Zhou Dynasty had a natural sensitivity to changes in the political situation.
What's more, Yang Yong and Yang Guang are both her biological brothers, and he knows them better than anyone else.
She heard that some time ago, Shangshu's right servant shot Yang Su and scolded Prince Yang Yong in front of the Second Sage. This was a bad sign.
"If you don't pay attention, I'm afraid I won't be able to defeat Ah..."
