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

Chapter 422 A brilliant idea
The visitors were none other than the patriarchs of the two major clans in Jiangnan, and also "Xie An" and "Wang Xizhi" who had previously given up their positions as Da Zhong Zhengguan.

A few days ago, there were rumors in the capital that Wang and Xie of Jiangnan had given up their positions as Da Zhong Zheng Guan. Later, people from the Wang and Xie clans wrote to the emperor saying that the two were not in good health to continue serving as Da Zhong Zheng Guan, which further confirmed this matter.

There were people in Beijing who laughed at them and there were also those who admired them. Of course, there were more who just wanted to watch the fun.

They really wanted to know what would happen to the Wang and Xie clans after they gave up their positions as Da Zhong Zheng Guan - after all, the Guo Dynasty had been around for nearly a hundred years, and these aristocratic families were not considered powerful when the Guo Dynasty was first established. It was only because the Ye clan seized the opportunity and nominated a prince who had no chance of becoming the emperor that these aristocratic families became useful.

What really allowed these aristocratic families to gain a foothold in the imperial court was, of course, the position of "Da Zhong Zheng Guan".

This position allows them to place their students and former officials there, so that their power will not collapse.

And now that someone has given up this power, it is naturally considered ridiculous in the eyes of those dignitaries.

To please the emperor?

But the subsequent developments made the people from the aristocratic families somewhat amazed.

The Shangshutai, a huge organization second only to the Prime Minister's Office, was divided into three parts, and then the patriarchs of the Wang and Xie clans actually became the "chiefs"?
You know, the current dynasty is different from the previous Han Dynasty.

There are a total of three top positions among civil officials in this dynasty, and these three people can actually be called "prime ministers" - but now there are five.

First, the prime minister; second, the clerk in the prime minister’s office; third, the director of the Secretariat; fourth, the director of the Chancellery; fifth, the director of the Palace Attorney.

These five people can actually all be called "prime ministers". Generally speaking, there is no distinction between high and low. It's just that the prime minister is still the head of all officials in name, but he cannot command or control the other officials.

It is only because the "prime minister" of the current dynasty is the head of the Chen family, so there is a gap between these five prime ministers.

After all, the head of the Chen family was not only the prime minister of the imperial court, but also the king of Dayu Town, and was granted many honorary titles such as Grand Tutor, Sikong, and Zijin Guanglu Doctor - and he was also the teacher of the current emperor.

And originally there was no distinction between the top and bottom among the remaining four prime ministers - this was originally.

But who could blame him for the fact that the man who served as the internal clerk in the prime minister's office was also a member of the Chen family - and he was the eldest son of this generation of the Chen family, and his title sounded even more frightening than that of the prime minister.

After all, all emperors since the previous dynasty have had a routine.

The current head of the Chen family is King Zhenguo, and the eldest son of the Chen family is "King An". This is actually a very awkward thing. After all, the eldest son should inherit the position of King Zhenguo and serve as the crown prince of Zhenguo.

But the Chen family did not play by the rules. Sometimes, the head of the Chen family was not the eldest son of the Chen family, but the emperor had to confer titles on the eldest son.

This is how the current weird situation came about.

The head of the Chen family is the King of Zhenguo, and the eldest son of the Chen family is the King of An. If the eldest son of the Chen family is confirmed as the head of the next generation, he will be given the title of "Crown Prince of Zhenguo". After he ascends the throne of the Chen family, he will drop the title of King An and inherit the throne of Zhenguo. The cycle will then repeat.

Therefore, this clerk in the prime minister's office was ranked second among the five prime ministers.

Of course, if Chen had not served as an internal clerk in the Prime Minister's Office and as Prime Minister, it would be uncertain as to which of the five prime ministers would have greater power.

Relying on the two official positions of "Zhongshu Ling" and "Menxia Ling" - and the emperor's obvious favoritism towards the Wang and Xie clans, meaning that the emperor not only appointed Wang Xizhi and Xie An as the heads of these two prefectures, but also let their sons serve as deputies, the reputation of Wang Xie did not decline at this time.

The three of them sat in the backyard, enjoying the breeze and bright moon, and seemed to be in quite a good mood.

Chen An had a smile on his face: "I am surprised that you two made such a decisive decision to give up the position of Da Zhong Zheng Guan. This is a big blow to the reputation of the Wang and Xie clans, right?"

Wang Xizhi nodded slightly: "It is indeed not small."

He sighed and looked at Chen An and said, "If it weren't for Zezhi's face, we would never give up this position of Da Zhong Zheng Guan. After all, even if His Majesty comes up with another trick, with the position of Da Zhong Zheng Guan in hand, Wang Xie can still retain some glory and confidence in the future."

This is indeed true.

As long as the position of Da Zhong Zheng Guan still exists, even if the power is not so great in the future, they can still place people in the court. As long as they have this power, even if the descendants of Wang and Xie are not ambitious, they can still survive and wait for someone who is ambitious to appear.

Xie An glanced at Chen An calmly, pointed at him and scolded him jokingly: "You old fellow, you seem to be innocent, but you are actually very cunning. Yi Shao and I should not have traveled with you to the south of the Yangtze River. In the end, we were deceived by you."

He let out a long sigh, as if he was on a pirate ship.

"Bitterness."

Wang Xizhi laughed out loud at Xie An's expression. He looked at Xie An and said, "I say, what are you pretending to be? On the way to Kyoto, weren't you still lamenting that you could finally see Zezhi again?"

Chen An also covered his mouth and laughed secretly. At this time, he no longer looked as gloomy as he did in the palace. His temperament changed several times and finally he did not look like a dignitary in his forties or fifties who had been living in Kyoto for many years. Instead, he looked like a playboy from a Jiangnan family.

He sat up straight and chuckled twice.

"Look, I said it back then, that among the three of us, only Anshi is the most stubborn. Even if the sky falls, don't worry, Anshi will be able to hold up!"

When Xie An's true face was exposed by his good friend, he no longer pretended to be unwilling and angry. Instead, he picked up his wine glass and burst into laughter.

"Alright, alright, it's a great blessing for the three of us to meet again in Kyoto."

He said with emotion: "In fact, if there is a choice, who would want to be trapped in that corner of Jiangnan for the rest of their life?"

Xie An shook his head: "It's just that in the past, because of the Ye family, His Majesty was unwilling to trust the Jiangnan family, even if the Xie family was willing to hand over the power in their hands."

What is the position of Dazhongzhengguan?
Find a way for future generations to survive?

This kind of thing might be what other noble families would love to have, but for the Wang and Xie families, it is a shame, and they would rather give up this so-called method.

The Wang and Xie families never built their families on extravagance and power. They are not much different from the Chen family. They are both true aristocratic families that pass on poetry and literature!
There may be people in this world who are born stupid, foolish and bad, but there are definitely no people who remain stupid, foolish and bad after receiving truly good education, being truly influenced by their surroundings, and going through layers of screening.

Why are there more stupid, foolish and bad people in aristocratic families?
Because some of them are powerful, they refuse to be “good people” or “normal people”!
They are reluctant to discipline their own children, unwilling to take the effort to teach their children, and cannot bear to deal with their children when they make mistakes!

Over time, they become real bad guys!

Why are there fewer children in ordinary families who seem to be born stupid, foolish and bad?
Because these people have no means to protect their children!

After those children have been taught a lesson, they will naturally be "detained" or "dealt with"!
Therefore, there may be such born fools in the Wang and Xie clans, but there are not many born bad people. Chen Xiao's trip to Jiangnan was just the result of discussions among these three people.

The Ye family’s power is too rampant!
It was so rampant that even the Wang and Xie clans, who were famous all over the world and seemed to be the top families in the south of the Yangtze River, did not dare to easily investigate the scourge within their clan!
So Wang Xie needed a knife, an extremely sharp knife.

The emperor and Chen are the knife.

Chen and the emperor were also well aware of this.

The three of them chatted and laughed, even talking about the old friendship between them in the past. Three, or four, of the five prime ministers reached a consensus on this moonlit night.
After Xie An and Wang Xizhi left Chen's mansion, they both felt a little relieved.

The two of them sat in the mansion, looked at each other, and then sighed again.

"It seems that His Majesty does have a backup plan, but I don't know what it is."

Wang Xizhi didn't care: "No matter what it is, it has nothing to do with us. We have already given up our positions as Da Zhong Zheng Guan and have become "imperial party" all over. Besides, haven't you and I made our decision?"

Xie An narrowed his eyes slightly, and the smile on his face became more pervasive.

"You and I?"

"I didn't expect that Master Yi would also think of going with me."

Both of them have already made plans for their future.

Prime Minister?

Zhongshu Ling? Menxia Ling?
This is obviously an institution that is meant to control great power, and it was obviously set up by the emperor to check and balance the power of the Secretariat and the Prime Minister. Can the two of them be used in such positions?
That's bullshit.

This was just a test by the emperor because he was not completely confident in the two of them.

The two looked at each other and saw the deeply hidden smile in each other's eyes. The two old foxes reached a consensus at this moment: "Hahahahaha, okay, okay."

"When will you submit your letter?"

Xie An looked at Wang Xizhi and asked.

Wang Xizhi's expression and voice did not change at all, and he said directly and decisively: "Of course the sooner the better!"

He placed a chess piece on the chessboard. Between the black and white pieces, two chess pieces jumped out of the chessboard and settled down in a corner. There was no place left to fight for.

Naturally, you can enjoy your retirement with peace of mind.

early morning
Zhang Wan quietly drank a sip of strong tea on the stage, using his sleeves and the distance to cover it, and then ate a piece of cake using his sleeves.

The court officials could stand such an early morning court session, but he could not. He could only eat a little breakfast, so he could only take this opportunity to eat secretly.

"Cough-cough-"

He coughed lightly and looked at the ministers who were arguing fiercely about the allocation of officials in the two new offices of Menxia and Zhongshu: "Everyone, since you are arguing about this matter, why don't we discuss something else first?"

Zhang Wan looked around at the people in the audience and said, "Since Minister Kuang has brought up the matter of revising the book, I also think it's a good thing. Why don't we first discuss the candidate to preside over the revision of the book?"

All of a sudden, everyone fell silent.

Repairing books?
Ok.

Many clan members quietly took a step back. This was not an easy job - even if they could become famous throughout the ages, it was, after all, an idle job without any power in their hands.

Moreover, the affairs are very busy. If I go, I may not be able to hold both positions. Wouldn't that be like picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons?

So there was no response.

Zhang Wan was not surprised. After all, this was not an easy job. He had thought of this matter in the first place because he wanted to take the opportunity to squeeze in a few stubborn old men so that they would not bother him all day long.

Just as he was about to call out their names, two unexpected people stood up.

It even exceeded Zhang Wan's expectations.

How did these two people come to the fore? Do you have any recommended candidates?
Zhang Wan's mind was full of thoughts, but he didn't show it at all. He just asked kindly, "Do you two have any recommendations?"

Wang Xizhi nodded, looking respectful and polite: "Your Majesty, I do have two people to recommend you."

Xie An said the same thing. The two of them seemed to be cast from the same mold, which made others even more curious.

Zhang Wan was no exception and looked at Xie An and asked, "Who are the two ministers recommending?"

Wang Xizhi stood there, patting his chest and assuring, "Your Majesty will definitely be satisfied with these two candidates."

Xie An then continued, like a supporting actor: "These two are great talents of the time, well versed in the five schools of Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Mohism. If a book is compiled with these two people in charge, there will definitely be no mistakes."

Wang Xizhi then said: "Yes, and the status of these two people is also very high."

Xie An added: "Besides, they come from great families. If they take the lead, the others will not have any objections. Eighty to ninety percent of the great scholars and scholars in the world will obey them."

The two people singing in unison is even more curious.

Who could these two people be?
Some people subconsciously looked at the prime minister and the prime minister's eunuch standing in front. Aren't these two the only people in this hall who fit this description?

After all, in the entire hall, there are very few people who dare to say that they are well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge and proficient in the five schools of thought. Among them, there are only Chen's father and son, and Wang and Xie's four people who come from aristocratic families.

Wang and Xie would not nominate themselves to do this. After all, if they did this, they would lose the power in their hands.

Can.
Everyone looked at Wang Xie with a puzzled look, and some even showed admiration.

I've heard that Chen Xiao killed many members of the Wang and Xie clans during his trip to Jiangnan, but I didn't expect that revenge would come so quickly - aren't these two people afraid of Chen's revenge?
Just two commanders?

Yes, in front of Chen, even the prime minister, who is second only to the emperor, is nothing but a nobody.

Zhang Wan frowned as he looked at the two men and asked, "Who do you want to nominate?"

Wang Xizhi and Xie An looked at each other and spoke at the same time.

The words shocked everyone.

"It is you two!"

(End of this chapter)