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

Chapter 435: Coup d’état (Part )
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and many people in the court saw the hidden shadows of history from this "noise".

What happened in Cao Wei during the Jian'an period left a deep impression on everyone.

The aristocratic families and the emperor carried out their own calculations with the help of the power of folk Confucian scholars. The final result was that the aristocratic families accepted the olive branch extended by the emperor - the Nine-Rank System, thereby helping the founding emperor of Cao Wei, "Cao Pi", to complete the threat and coercion against the Han Dynasty and help Cao Wei establish the country.

And this time, everyone felt that it was just a "variation" of that time.

But they couldn't see what the emperor could gain from it, so almost everyone began to doubt Yang Jian, Dugu Xin and others, and the ministers in the court began to suspect that these two people wanted to launch a coup.

As the students in Kyoto were "making noise", the atmosphere in Kyoto became more and more tense day by day.

Yang Jian's Residence
Yang Jian and Dugu Xin sat opposite each other, with a hint of anxiety in their eyes.

They certainly didn't do this, nor did they order it. When they saw this happen, both of them were in extreme anxiety and wanted to make amends.

But it was as if there was an invisible hand behind this matter, which was completely beyond their control.

Yang Jian even suspected that the person who was manipulating all this behind the scenes was no longer able to control the development of all this. After all, sometimes "public opinion" was really an extremely terrifying thing.

"Taishan, who do you think is behind this?"

There was some hesitation in Yang Jian's expression, he couldn't figure out the beneficiary behind this incident.

People always need reasons to do things, right?
It can't be that this time the push for things was just a "gust of interest", right?

That is really too ridiculous.

Compared to Yang Jian, Dugu Xin was much more indifferent. He just looked at Yang Jian and said, "Don't worry about it. This incident was not done by you or me, so the innocent will be innocent."

"No matter what the person behind this wants to do, as long as he has a 'purpose', it will be exposed in the end."

Dugu Xin smiled and said, "As long as his purpose is exposed, we can start from his purpose and see who is the person behind it."

"It's still the same old saying, no one gets up early without profit."

“Everyone has a purpose for everything they do, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.”

Yang Jian nodded and put his worries aside.

"How are our affairs going?"

Hearing this question, Dugu Xin subconsciously frowned, with a sigh and embarrassment on his face: "It's not easy to do. The Prime Minister has already handed over most of the tasks to others before he left."

"Fang Sheng is indeed the most outstanding of this generation of Chen's disciples. Even though it was only a few days, he managed to make everything airtight."

He pressed his forehead and continued, "But fortunately, our Majesty is not of the same mind as Fangsheng. When we were "taking advantage of the loophole", I found that another force belonging to His Majesty was also taking advantage of the loophole."

"Our business will probably only take a few months, and it should be finished before the New Year."

Yang Jian nodded, his expression still serious: "All our plans depend on this "plan". If we can't return to those two positions, everything you and I have thought about will become a castle in the air."

Dugu Xin didn't care. He just looked at Yang Jian and talked about another thing: "I heard that Fang Sheng came to you before he left. Did you discuss the matter of his village head?"

He smiled and looked at Yang Jian: "I did hear Jia Luo talk about your views on Zhuangtou, but I don't quite agree with some of your views."

Dugu Xin stood up and walked slowly in the yard: "Specific matters still need to be analyzed and handled according to the specific situation. This is what a former head of the Chen family once said."

"Except for some bottom-line issues that cannot be crossed, everything else can be negotiated."

Dugu Xin's voice slowly echoed in the yard, leaving footprints on the ground.

At this time, tiny raindrops began to fall slowly from the sky to the ground. The two were sitting in the yard. Rainwater had begun to gather on the eaves and then slid down rapidly from the eaves, turning the patio into a waterfall.

Dugu Xin returned to the eaves and sat there: "Your situation is still different from Chen's."

"The village head of the Chen family relied on nothing more than the reputation of the Chen family. All the rights he enjoyed were also given to him by the Chen family. So the Chen family could take them back or deal with them at will - because he did not participate in the process of building the Chen family's foundation, but only enjoyed it in the end."

"And you might be different."

He shook his head and sighed, "I also know about your family's situation. The Hongnong Yang family was a little lonely back then. The village heads in your family have been with you through hard times. Why do you have to be so heartless?"

"Isn't it possible that the current Yang family business is the result of the hard work of those village heads?"

Yang Jian's expression remained unchanged, he understood what Dugu Xin said.

It's nothing more than a warning.

He smiled and said, "Ga Luo told you this, but didn't tell you more?"

Yang Jian's expression was filled with emotion. The rain continued to fall under the eaves, but he seemed quite calm. "In fact, that was a test from Chen. I suspect he saw something. If my answer was the opposite, I'm afraid that when he leaves the position of prime minister, Yang and Dugu will suffer a terrible blow."

"It's just a perfunctory remark."

Dugu Xin sat up straight, looked at Yang Jian, and asked again: "So, are you also perfunctorily treating me today?"

Yang Jian turned around and looked at Dugu Xin, who was sitting there with a peaceful expression but overall aggressive. A feeling of dissatisfaction arose in his heart, but he suppressed this emotion in his heart. After all, he still needed Dugu Xin, or the Dugu family.

"of course not."

He looked solemn: "Jia Luo and I have been married for many years, and my father-in-law has been very kind to me. How could I do something ungrateful?"

"These words are by no means perfunctory, but come from the bottom of my heart."

Dugu Xin smiled and lay back down.

He actually didn't believe what Yang Jian said, but what he needed was not Yang Jian's promise, but Yang Jian's attitude.

All benefits must be obtained from the perspective of "strength". If you blindly believe in the promises of others, you will eventually become a lamb to be slaughtered.

This is a truth that has been understood by all those who have stood at the top since ancient times, and Dugu Xin naturally would not be unclear about it.

In the twelfth year of Wansui, as time went by, things further fermented. Everyone was questioning and asking questions about the "Imperial Examination System". All of them expressed their dissatisfaction, even those who had nothing to do with the matter.

Since Emperor Wansui came to power, or since the reigns of the Dayu emperors after Emperor Jianwu, the people's opinions on the imperial examination system have never disappeared. After all, is a system that can be changed by the emperor considered a good system?

No one wants to study hard for ten years only to end up with no chance of advancement because he or she does not meet the emperor's preferences.

But the emperor in the deep palace still did not make any comment on this.

Guandu
Leaves fall with the wind.

Chen Zhan felt very comfortable and relaxed when he returned to Guandu. After all, this was the Chen family's old nest.

He was lying on a lounge chair in the yard, feeling the rhythm of his own life as the wind blew gently. There was also a person lying next to him, but there was a look of curiosity on this person's face.

"Who do you think is behind this incident?"

"I really don't see the deep meaning behind this."

The person who was speaking did not look very old, but he was very mature, as if he had experienced many hardships. He had a very unusual family background and a very ordinary name.

His name is "Li Yuan".

The head of the Longxi Li family of this generation is also the heir to the title of "Duke of Tang" bestowed by the imperial court.

He has been in Guandu studying for some time.

Chen Zhan swung his chair, looking very relaxed: "Who do you think will benefit from this?"

Li Yuan knew that this was a test from his teacher, so he fell into deep thought, trying to find the clearest "thought" among the countless threads, and then sort out this mess.

After a moment, he shook his head silently.

"I am an incompetent disciple. I really can't think of anyone who can benefit from this."

"According to the current situation, the emperor and Yang Jian are divided into two factions in the court, but neither the emperor nor Yang Jian can benefit from it."

"I even feel that this incident is not the same as the Jian'an Incident, but I have been unable to make a decision."

Chen Zhan sat up: "Don't look at the surface of a matter, but look at the reality inside."

"Or, don't look at those irrelevant issues."

“If you want to see the essence of things before others, then you must have a different way of judging from others.”

"For example, this matter."

Li Yuan showed great eagerness to learn, and behaved like a disciple in front of Chen Zhan: "Please give me some advice, teacher."

Chen Zhan sat up: "How to analyze something?"

“From the most fundamental point of view.”

"Take this incident as an example - you don't have to worry about who benefits in the end, because when the beneficiary's purpose has not yet appeared, you can't actually analyze anything from the beneficiary's perspective."

“It just makes things more confusing.”

"You have to see - who is capable of doing something like this."

"Who can push something like this in Kyoto? There are many people who can do this."

Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, then said, "Not much."

"That is, the emperor and Yang Jian."

He was a little confused: "Isn't this the same analysis method as before? We can only infer that Yang and the emperor are related."

Chen Zhan looked at Li Yuan helplessly: "That's because the matter this time was too obvious. What if it wasn't so obvious?"

He continued, “And then from the perspective of ‘who needs to do something like this?’”

"Yang Jian is currently at a stage of stable development. Does he need to do something like this to push himself forward?"

Li Yuan said without hesitation: "No need."

This is a very simple answer, because Yang Jian really does not need to do such a thing at this time. He has not yet returned to the official position he should return to. Even if things develop in this way, he will not be able to return to that position to control power.

Then this matter will do more harm than good to Yang Jian.

He shook his head in confusion: "But the emperor doesn't need it either?"

"Is it?"

Chen Zhan said noncommittally: "If a body of water is always calm, how can fishermen get the fish they want?"

"Only by muddying the waters can he have a chance to stop Yang Jian."

"It takes time for both of them."

"The emperor must muddy the waters before Yang Jian is ready, and Yang Jian needs to wait until he is ready before taking action."

"From this perspective, no matter whether the emperor benefits from this matter or not, he must do it."

Chen Zhan said with emotion: "Of course, the emperor must have his own "intentions" for doing this. I even suspect that he was ready to do this as early as ten years ago when he ascended the throne."

Li Yuan looked even more confused.

"Just watch."

Chen Zhan whispered, "The emperor's move is coming soon."

Year 12 of Wansui, autumn and winter.

As the first heavy snow of winter fell, there were movements in the palace just as Chen Zhan had expected.

Emperor Wansui expressed dissatisfaction with the boiling "rebellion" among the people, but endured it under the advice of many court officials. The result of the discussion in the court was that "the emperor needs to compromise."

Yes.

The first reaction of these people who let their butts decide their heads was to ask the emperor to compromise. Since those people were not satisfied with the emergence of Buddhism and the craftsmanship department, they should just cancel it.

That doesn't matter.

They even thought that the emperor would compromise, because weren't the emperor's hobbies "actors and actors" and "Taoists"?

Buddhism and craftsmen are not important.

However, when this resolution passed the review of the Secretariat and the Central Secretariat and was sent to the emperor, it was met with fierce opposition from the emperor.

Winter of the twelfth year of Wansui.

Imperial Palace

Zhang Annian threw the letter in his hand directly at the face of the person in front of him, and the sharp pages directly scratched the person's cheek.

"Look what this is talking about!"

"Let me compromise?"

"Why should I compromise? Just because of a bunch of untouchables?"

He sneered and said, "Summon the chief of the Secretariat and the Chancellery to come over here!"

"I want to ask them what is between the two ears!"

(End of this chapter)