Yi Jing, Gu Mansion
Because it coincided with the fiftieth birthday of Gu Zhongshi's wife Liu, so in order to celebrate the mistress, the Gu family also invited many guests to attend the party... ···
The Gu family, which has lived in Yuyang for generations, is a traditional family in the Youyan area. It has been married to other wealthy families for generations. You are among us and you are among us. They are very influential in the three-acre land of Youyan. Otherwise, it would be impossible to win over so many local forces to join the Fengwu Army.
And precisely because they took the lead in defecting to the Fengwu Army and took advantage of this opportunity, the Gu family's influence reached a new height when the Fengwu Army reciprocated their favor. Not only did Gu Zhongshi himself become the deputy chief envoy of the Chief Secretary of Youyan. , his son Gu Shouting became the general of the Fengwu Army, and even his student Zhang Chengzhong became the deputy inspector of the Imperial Examination Division!
Although these appointments were not approved by the emperor and were illegal according to the laws and procedures of the Great Zhou Dynasty, with the strong position currently maintained by the Fengwu Army in Youyan, the three people of the Gu family still have actual power in Youyan. Yan's chief secretary, press secretary, and commanding officer all hold high positions, which will affect Youyan's next trend!
It is precisely with this momentum that although Gu Zhongshi only serves as the deputy chief envoy of the Chief Secretary, many people in the government already regard him as the leading figure of Youyan's local forces in the Fengwu military regime!
Therefore, this time it was the fiftieth birthday of Gu Zhongshi's wife. For the sake of the Gu family, many people came to congratulate her and gave her expensive birthday gifts. For a time, there was an endless stream of guests, and the flowers were cooking in a blazing fire. What a lively scene.
"Mrs. Liu from Shanggu is sending you a pair of glass vases from Ru Kiln. I wish the old lady good fortune like the East China Sea and longevity as long as the Southern Mountains!"
"According to the experience of the Chasi, Zhang Kangyi presented a three-inch golden Buddha. I wish the old lady good health and may the house be filled with gold and jade!"
"Chief Secretary and Governor Nie Jinyuan presented a pair of jade bracelets to wish the old lady all the best and all her wishes come true!"
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As the master of ceremonies sang, Gu Zhongshi and his wife Liu, who were the protagonists, appeared in everyone's sight. Seeing the arrival of the principal, the guests who came to celebrate his birthday immediately stared at them. Some of them had identities. The one in his position was still very reserved, while other small officials directly gathered around him, hoping to become familiar with the deputy chief envoy and get on the Gu family's boat.
Amidst the compliments and compliments from everyone, Gu Zhongshi, who was glowing with red face, nodded frequently and greeted the people around him, seeming to enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by others.
Just then the master of ceremonies started singing again;
"The chief envoy Cui Shao sent his nephew Cui Ke to present a scroll of the Eight Immortals!"
Hearing the name "Cui Shao", Gu Zhongshi's eyes flashed with an imperceptible strange color, and then he said calmly to Cui Buxian who was standing aside:
"I didn't expect that my wife's birthday banquet would disturb the Chief Envoy. What a sin!"
Cui Ke, who was ordered to come, said respectfully:
"Master Gu joked that your wife's birthday party is a great event. My uncle originally wanted to come to congratulate him in person, but unfortunately he caught the cold last night and had to order me to come in person... ··········”
Although he knew that he could not be the chief envoy and Cui Shao, it was because of Ye Mingsheng's will, but Gu Zhongshi still had an instinctive resistance to Cui Shao. Even so, after all, he had been involved in officialdom for decades and had some face. You still need to work hard, so Gu Zhongshi continued:
"Master Cui's thoughts are appreciated by Gu. Go back and help me bring a message to Master Cui, asking Master Cui to take care of himself. The Chief Secretary cannot handle this matter without him!"
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Gu. Cui Ke will definitely bring it to you!" Cui Ke said with cupped hands:
Perhaps he sent Cui Shao's gift because he knew that as a member of the Cui family, he was not welcomed by Gu Zhongshi. Cui Ke drank two glasses of wine and then left on the pretext of being too drunk.
The small episode of Cui Ke's arrival did not affect the progress of the entire banquet, but just as the banquet was coming to an end, a person who shouldn't have come arrived late... ······
The servant outside the venue said loudly:
“Think twice about participating in politics!”
After the servant's words fell, Gu Sansi's thin and simple figure walked into the flower-filled venue. At the same time, the originally warm atmosphere of the venue suddenly cooled down. Many people looked at him coldly. Gu Zhongshi, who came in, thought twice, while Gu Zhongshi, who was enjoying the flattery, changed his expression slightly.
It was expected that Cui Shao sent someone to celebrate his birthday. After all, they both served as Chief Secretary and never looked up. They had been in the officialdom for half their lives and were decent people. Although they didn't like each other in their hearts, they still showed good intentions. to do well
But this Gu Sansi is different. Although Gu Sansi nominally holds a political position in the Chief Secretary, in fact everyone knows that he is a "close minister of the emperor" in the Fengwu Army. Although his official position is not big, he is in the Fengwu Army. The actual power in the system, not to mention him as the deputy chief minister, even Cui Shao, the official chief minister, and Ye Mingsheng's uncle are not as powerful as him!
Didn’t you see that Ye Mingsheng gave Gu Sansi the task of implementing the New Deal that he was most concerned about?
And Gu Sansi did not live up to Ye Mingsheng's trust in him. In the Youyan territory controlled by the Fengwu Army, he launched a public-private partnership in key basic industries to stabilize prices and people's livelihood. This undoubtedly infringed on the interests of many local snakes. Gu Shouting, as the leading figure of local forces in the Fengwu military regime, naturally the vast majority of people at his wife's birthday banquet were locals. Naturally, Gu Sansi hated the implementation of the New Deal and harmed their interests. ·················
The Gu family also suffered some losses due to the New Deal. The salt and grain that they originally hoarded to sell at high prices were forced to sell them at low prices and made tens of thousands of taels less. This also made Gu Zhongshi feel disgusted with Gu Sansi. , but for the sake of the true god behind Gu Sansi, Gu Shouting still forced a smile on his face to greet him and said:
"Mr. Gu, you are really a rare visitor. There were magpies chirping at my door in the morning. I knew that an important guest was coming, so I waited for you, Mr. Gu!"
Feeling Gu Zhongshi's sly smile and the cold looks and glares of the people around him, Gu Sansi, who had been prepared for this, didn't pay too much attention and just said:
"Mr. Gu, you are serious. Your family is holding a birthday banquet and I am busy. I have to come over and ask for a drink!"
After saying that, Gu Sansi congratulated Ms. Liu next to Gu Zhongshi:
"Mr. Gu sincerely wishes you, Madam, that you will display pine trees in Nanshan and that the sun and moon will shine forever!"
After that, Gu Sansi took out a scroll from his sleeve robe, handed it over with both hands and said:
"Mr. Gu's house is full of friends today. I didn't think twice about any good gifts, so I chose this picture of pine and crane and hoped that Mr. Gu and his wife wouldn't dislike it!"
Mrs. Liu was a kind woman. She smiled and nodded her head when she heard Gu Sansi congratulating her and said very kindly;
"The ancients sent goose feathers thousands of miles away, and the courtesy was light but the affection was heavy. Sir Gu, it is enough for you to have this distraction..."
, and after some pleasantries, Gu Sansi was invited by Gu Zhongshi to sit at the table in the middle, and sat with him to show his importance to Gu Sansi. Sitting on the chair, Gu Sansi drank Youyan in one sip. Famous wine Beihe Village, but he was silently calculating in his heart.
The people present at Gu's birthday banquet today are almost the same. They are all prominent figures in Youyan's local forces. The commander is indeed right. At such a critical time, Gu Zhongshi suddenly summoned so many local people to come to him. Madam’s birthday wish is really a meaningful and thought-provoking gesture.
After three rounds of drinks and five-flavored dishes, Gu Sansi said goodbye without waiting much longer in the cold eyes of so many people. Gu Zhongshi, who had expected this, made a symbolic attempt to persuade Gu Sansi to leave. With the departure of Gu Sansi, the thorn in the side, the atmosphere of the banquet reached a climax again. At this time, Gu Zhongshi left the banquet with the help of his servants in the name of changing clothes.
After leaving the banquet and returning to the backyard of the mansion, he saw that he was surrounded by his cronies. Gu Zhongshi, who was trembling a second ago and needed help from others to walk, immediately returned to normal and walked directly into a very secluded secluded room. room.
Several people in the side room, including Zhang Chengzhong, were silently waiting for Gu Zhongshi. They were all representatives of local power. Each of them had deep roots in Youyan and had great influence. Seeing Gu Zhongshi finally arrived, Zhang Chengzhong wasted no time and took the lead in reporting:
"Teacher, everything in Yuyang is ready! As soon as they arrive, we can start taking action..."
Listening to Zhang Chengzhong's answer, Gu Zhongshi nodded slightly, then looked at the others and said:
"How are you preparing?"
Faced with Gu Zhongshi's inquiry, Zhu Gaosheng, a middle-aged man of moderate stature and dressed in cyan clothes, said very calmly:
"Our Zhu family can start taking action at any time if there is no problem!"
With Zhang Chengzhong and Zhu Gaosheng proofing in front, others also said:
"Don't worry, Mr. Gu, we are already ready, just waiting for your order!"
"Yes! Fengwujun's bullshit New Deal has made our family earn tens of thousands of taels of rice and salt from hoarding rice and salt. Now Fengwujun and the others are so proud that they should be taught a lesson. Let them know how great we are!"
"I heard that in Liaoyang, in addition to the public-private partnership, the Fengwu Army also had a more ruthless strategy to redeem the land. With just a few pieces of paper, they could take the land away with nothing. How about we let Ye Mingsheng know about it now? It’s so powerful, will You Yan still have a way for us to survive in the future?”
Feeling the high fighting spirit of everyone, a look of satisfaction appeared on Gu Zhongshi's face. Although joining the Fengwu Army had brought many political benefits to the Gu family, because he failed to win the position of Chief Envoy as he wished, he would not be able to win the position of chief envoy again. In addition, the Fengwu Army's implementation of the New Deal brought economic losses to the Gu family, and from a long-term perspective, the Fengwu Army's repressive attitude towards family members like them made Gu Zhongshi secretly reflect on his original move to join the Fengwu Army. , is it right or wrong?···············
Although there was some regret in his heart, Gu Zhongshi knew that he had already done what he had done, and there was no regret medicine to take. At the moment, he could only take one step at a time, but with Ma Hongde's arrest, it made him unclear about Ye Mingsheng's situation. Got an idea.
At first, he despised the New Deal in his heart. He thought that the so-called New Deal by Ye Mingsheng, a reckless martial artist, was actually a way to usurp the industries of these powerful families. It was just a euphemism and a nice name. It is better to change the soup without changing the medicine.
But as he learned more about the New Deal and Ye Mingsheng himself, Gu Zhongshi realized that he was wrong. Ye Mingsheng's situation was bigger than he imagined. Ye Mingsheng not only wanted to dominate the world, but also wanted to conquer the world. The establishment of a peaceful age changed the social dilemma that had developed over the past hundreds of years.
After understanding this, Gu Zhong really admired Ye Mingsheng's ideas, but also felt a little uneasy. Like everyone else, the Gu family also had many business dealings with Ma Hongde, and quite a few of them were invisible to the public.
As Ye Mingsheng forcibly promoted anti-corruption in the government, many officials who still did not know how to restrain themselves have been dismissed, and they have been reduced from high-ranking officials to prisoners.
Although the current anti-corruption campaign has not been too extensive, it has begun to worry Gu Zhongshi. If Ye Mingsheng, who strongly promotes anti-corruption, obtains evidence and account books from Ma Hongde and learns about their dealings with the Ma family, what will happen to him? He will hold back for a while, and then wait until the Fengwu Army's regime has been completely consolidated in Youyan and the Gu family is no longer needed like now, and then suddenly take out this excuse and clean up the Gu family and eliminate dissidents... ·············
It was under such worries that Gu Zhongshi decided to cooperate with Ma Hongde's plan, because he knew that the Coordination Office was pervasive and he might have been targeted by them, so Gu Zhongshi carefully arranged this birthday banquet to hide it from others. The backbone of these plans was called in to quietly coordinate the deployment of forces.
After explaining the details of the plan again, Gu Zhongshi emphasized to everyone again with a very serious expression:
"Everyone, I still want to say it one last time. What we have to do is to show our strength and oppose Fengwu Army's new policy, rather than oppose Fengwu Army's rule in Youyan. We must master the degree of this well, and there is no need for me to Everyone knows that Ye Mingsheng is a ruthless person who kills people without blinking an eye. If we cross the line, we will be in big trouble!"
In response to Gu Zhongshi's warning, everyone nodded seriously, indicating that they understood and made all the preparations. Gu Zhongshi only felt that everything was ready and he only needed Dongfeng, so he was also ready to dissolve this secret meeting and let everyone present Everyone returned to the banquet hall in batches, and just when Gu Zhongshi changed his clothes and was about to return to the banquet hall, what he didn't expect was that the servant handed a secret letter to his hand... ···············
