Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 419 Hustle
The struggle between the aristocratic families and the imperial court has lasted for nearly a hundred years.

Since Emperor Muzong, this kind of struggle has almost all come to the surface. Court officials, children of aristocratic families, and even ordinary people can see this struggle.

But on the one hand, the people don’t care about these things, and on the other hand, they feel that it wouldn’t be of much use even if they cared, so they no longer care.

Luoyang City is the capital of Dayu and is also the most magnificent city in Dayu after Guandu City.

The development of a city is always like this. When it is the capital of a dynasty, its development will be very rapid. Similarly, when it is no longer the capital of a dynasty, its development will quickly slow down, and even decline.

Luoyang and Chang'an are typical examples of this.

Chang'an City was the capital of the Han Dynasty, not the capital of Dayu, so the current Chang'an City is not even close to Luoyang City.

The only place that can escape this "ideological cycle" is "Guan Du City".

Wang Xianzhi sat in the carriage, his body swaying with the swaying of the carriage, but he was leaning sideways, looking at the scenery outside.

He couldn't help but sigh and said, "I always heard about the grandness of Guandu City before, but now I know that it is well-deserved. In fact, the Guandu City in the rumors is not even one-third as prosperous as the real Guandu City."

In the carriage, Xie Xuan was also looking outside like Wang Xianzhi.

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Wang Xianzhi helplessly.

He entered the capital in accordance with the imperial edict, but Wang Xianzhi did not do the same. Wang Xianzhi was supposed to come to the capital on the way by riding in Chen Xiao's carriage.

Xie Xuan knew that Wang would not give up so easily, but he did not expect that Wang would use such means to "get ahead".

He turned his head, looked at Chen Xiao and asked, "Brother Yaoyou, are you going to worship at the Chen family's ancestral hall when you return to Guandu this time?"

"I wonder if I am qualified to go and pay homage to the Chen ancestors?"

There was excitement and surprise in Xie Xuan's eyes, but other than that there was nervousness.

In fact, Xie Xuan regards the current head of the Chen family, Chen Xiao's father, as his "idol", and he has almost a "respectful" attitude towards Chen An.

Of course, after arriving at Chen's, he also wanted to visit Chen's ancestral hall.

After all, many historical figures are enshrined there.

The first king of the Chen family, King An, and the Five Gentlemen of the Chen family - the second generation of the Chen family.

Chen Xiao sat in the carriage with his eyes closed. He felt that his head was about to become dizzy from the shaking of the carriage, so he could only try his best to maintain a state of "closing his eyes and resting his mind" to keep himself a little more awake so as not to fall asleep in the carriage or vomit directly.

Hearing Xie Xuan's question, Chen Xiao didn't react, but just nodded casually: "Of course."

The Chen family's ancestral hall is not a dangerous place, and it does not prohibit others from entering.

It was just a small matter for Xie Xuan to go in and worship.

As Chen Xiao left Jiangnan, everything that happened in Jiangnan was laid out on the table for everyone in the world to know.

It was at this time that people's attention turned completely to "Lingnan", and thus saw the demise of the Lingnan Ye family.

A huge aristocratic family, a world that could be called the "King of Lingnan" was wiped out so easily and indifferently with all its traces, and the person responsible for this matter was "Chen Jiaozhou" of the Chen family.

Not all secrets will be kept strictly confidential. For example, Chen Jiaozhou's son was once framed by Ye's people.

This matter was certainly serious, but some people seemed to have found a suitable excuse and reason. They began to blame Chen, accusing Chen of destroying a great family for his own selfish desires.

The purpose of the person who spread this news was simple.

The Chen family’s reputation is too good now, so they want to destroy the Chen family’s reputation. Only when the Chen family’s reputation is destroyed will they have a chance to “fight” the Chen family.

As for this matter, Chen had almost no reaction.

The person at the center of the storm - Chen Jiaozhou, the Chenzhoumu who was rumored to be angry for his son, was much calmer. When tourists asked him questions, he would ask the person who asked the question in return.

Are you questioning the imperial edict?
He had a clear imperial decree to thoroughly investigate the Ye family's case of treason, and he had a lot of evidence to prove it. He didn't feel guilty at all, so he didn't want to hide anything.

As a result, the whole world was in turmoil, but Chen was the only one who remained quiet.

Kyoto, Luoyang.

Inside the Geunjeongjeon Hall
Zhang Wan looked at the memorial in his hand, and a look of helplessness involuntarily crossed his face.

What do these people do all day?
He sighed and pressed his forehead, then looked at Liu Fu beside him and asked, "How is the situation at Tiangongsi?"

"Is there any new progress on that thing?"

Liu Fu came forward and poured tea for Zhang Wan while whispering, "Your Majesty, the Tiangong Division reported that the item is almost ready, and only the last part is left."

Zhang Wan's brows then revealed a hint of excitement, and it was obvious that he had been waiting for that thing for a long time.

Then, the person sitting on the chair seemed to relax a little: "That's good."

"Things in Jiangnan have been almost dealt with. I heard from the Taoists that they are all coming back soon. Why hasn't Chen Xiao come back yet? Could it be that he has really fallen in love with a girl from Jiangnan and is planning to settle down there?"

This was naturally a teasing, but Liu Fu didn't dare to respond. After all, not everyone could tease the object of this teasing.

Your Majesty is the emperor, the supreme ruler, so he can say that.

Liu Fu seriously suspected that if he followed suit, he would definitely be the next to die.

He just made a joke and passed it by, while serving tea to Zhang Wan, he whispered: "The scenery in Jiangnan is beautiful, it's normal for Chen Siqing to like to stay a little longer."

Liu Fu whispered, "It's just that I heard that this time, the two from Wang and Xie also came with them."

Wang and Xie?
Zhang Wan raised his eyebrows, not really minding: "But what about Wang Xianzhi and Xie Xuan?"

A hint of interest flashed in his eyes: "I have heard of their reputations long before I ascended the throne. It is a good thing to meet them now."

"That little fellow of Wang's has not yet been appointed by the court, right?"

After a brief thought, Zhang Wan said directly: "Let him go to the Honglu Temple to be a Shaoqing."

Liu Fu lowered his head and replied in a low voice.

Zhang Wan's thoughts drifted for a long time.

Of course he knew that Wang Xianzhi and Xie Xuan's purpose of coming here was definitely not to see Kyoto. Even Zhang Wan knew the real purpose of these two people, or the people behind them.

But Zhang Wan didn't care.

He is playing a game of chess.

As we all know, playing chess requires an opponent.

Zhang Wan’s opponent is this “aristocratic family”.

The prosperity and bustle of Kyoto made Wang Xianzhi and Xie Xuan very envious. After following Chen Xiao to the capital, they began to visit everywhere in Kyoto.

Most of the aristocratic families know each other. It doesn't mean that you have no face in Kyoto just because you are from a Jiangnan family, but the aristocratic families in Kyoto have no face in Jiangnan.

In some places that ordinary people cannot see, these families are actually one and the same.

Soon, the two of them were immersed in the prosperity and bustle of Kyoto, and they could almost be said to be reveling every night.

They even seemed to have done nothing serious.
Chen Xiao sat opposite Zhang Wan with a lazy smile on his face. He didn't look like a young man from a noble family, nor a high-ranking official in the imperial court. Instead, he looked like a sloppy playboy from a noble family.

"I said, can you do something normal all day long?"

Zhang Wan pressed his forehead, feeling his temper flare up as soon as he looked at the boy in front of him.

He is actually much older than Chen Xiao. When the late emperor asked Chen Xiao to be his study partner, he was actually very unwilling. But later, as he got to know Chen Xiao better, he began to think that Chen Xiao was a good person.

After hearing what Zhang Wan said, Chen Xiao just yawned and said, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with this?"

"I've been busy for so long, I just wanted to have a good rest, but I haven't even had two days of rest when you pulled me here."

He sat up straight, a curious look on his face.

"By the way, what on earth did you call me here for?"

"I haven't done anything lately, have I?"

Zhang Wan just glanced at Chen Xiao, and then he became even angrier. He waved his hand and asked the attendant beside him to hand the letter in his hand to the person in front of him: "This is what the Taoist has recorded these days about "Xie Xuan" and "Wang Xianzhi."

"Take a look and see if you can see anything."

Xie Xuan? Wang Xianzhi?

Chen Xiao didn't even look at the memorial, he just took it and put it aside: "They came here, probably because they heard some rumors, so they came to test on behalf of the children of the noble families."

"If nothing unexpected happens to them these days, they should be in some noble families in Kyoto?"

“I hope to connect all these families together.”

"Or I want to see what they are planning."

Zhang Wan frowned in thought. Although Chen Xiao did not read the memorial, he explained the contents of the memorial in detail. He frowned and said, "So what you mean is, just let them do it like this?"

Chen Xiao nodded: "Your Majesty."

He said softly: "You should know that once that thing is completely shaped, no one in this world can stop the progress of history."

"Just like the people who were oppressed to the extreme and rose up in rebellion, this is the course of history and no one can stop it. Those who try to stop it will be crushed by the rolling wheels."

Zhang Wan listened to Chen Xiao's explanation and fell into silence involuntarily.

After a long time, he finally sighed.

"That's fine."

"I'll listen to you."

"The Tiangong Division has given you the news, right? That thing will be completely manufactured by this winter at the latest, and then it can be used on a large scale."

"And that time will be the time to deliver the final blow to the Nine-Rank System."

Chen Xiao looked solemn.

"I understand."

on the street

The bright moonlight illuminated the street, and Chen Xiao sat in the carriage with a complicated expression on his face.

Whether it is to rectify the Jiangnan aristocratic families or to weaken the rule of the Ye family, they are actually preparing for the next thing, an event that will not benefit the aristocratic families and may even form another force for them to fight against the aristocratic families.

In fact, sometimes Chen Xiao felt that what he was doing was very "divisive". He was both the eldest son of the Chen family and an official of the imperial court. On the one hand, he weakened the power of the family, and on the other hand, he had to control the power of the Chen family.

His identity switched back and forth between the son of an aristocratic family, an official appointed by the imperial court, and the emperor's confidant. Sometimes, Chen Xiao even felt that he could not tell which one was himself.

He sighed.

"Go to Tiangongsi."

The coachman heard Chen Xiao's instructions and silently turned the carriage around without any doubt or hesitation, even though it was already so late in the day.

There is a curfew in Luoyang, but for Chen Xiao, this curfew is almost nothing.

In front of Tiangongsi

Chen Xiao stood here, looking at this government office that he had built with his own hands, feeling many emotions in his heart.

When he was seven or eight years old, he followed his uncle to learn "Mohist mechanical skills", or in other words, to learn the "technology" passed down by skilled craftsmen, and then continuously developed and improved them.

Until the current emperor came to power, he established the Tiangong Division at the emperor's instruction and devoted himself to studying various techniques that would benefit the country and the people.

Over the years, many agricultural tools that have improved people's livelihood, and even some "tools" needed on the market, all came from Tiangongsi.

The most important thing, or technology, that Tiangongsi has studied since its establishment until now is called "printing".

At the beginning of this dynasty, in fact, some forces in the country were relatively balanced. People from noble families, poor families, and even ordinary people could study, read and write, and then change their own destiny.

But later, everything changed.

During the reign of Emperor Muzong, the aristocratic families became rampant and began to continuously expand their own power.

Emperor Muzong was not a crown prince but an ordinary prince, and he was not even awarded the title of "king", so he played with many playboys. Later, when he became the emperor, he could not deal with those who were originally on good terms with him due to face.

In other words, it's not that he doesn't want to, but that he can't.

Because his throne was not obtained in a legitimate way and he could not get the support of the truly talented people, in order to consolidate his position, he could only indulge the aristocratic families.

Because the aristocratic family supports him.

Emperor Muzong reigned for twenty years, which is not a very long time, but it was during these twenty years that the channels for the poor and ordinary people in Dayu to rise in social class and to study began to be blocked little by little.

Take a very simple example.

Before Emperor Muzong, there were nine Da Zhongzhengguan and eighteen Xiao Zhongzhengguan.

Among the Da Zhong Zheng Guan, except for one who was the head of the Chen family, five of the other eight were from humble families, scholars, or people from poor origins, and there were even twelve such people among the Xiao Zhong Zheng Guan.

But during the reign of Emperor Muzong.

Among the nine Zhongzheng officials, except for one who was a disciple of the Chen family, seven of the remaining eight were from aristocratic families, and the remaining one was a poor man who had joined an aristocratic family.

Among the Xiaozhongzheng officials, eighteen of them were from poor families or small aristocratic families.

Emperor Muzong dug up the roots of the Dayu Dynasty.

Even after the three periods of Emperor Sukjong, the previous emperor, and the current emperor, this situation has not improved much.

"Squeak-"

Chen Xiao pushed open the door in front of him and slowly walked into Tiangongsi.

(End of this chapter)