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

Chapter 466: Fat Deer in the Central Plains
It was still a dark rainy night.

Just like the rainy night when Yang Jian forced the emperor to abdicate, everyone was immersed in a peaceful sleep on this night.

History seems to be repeating itself.

The eyes of each soldier were bright and there was excitement on their faces.

They looked expectantly at Yu Wenzhi who was standing in front of them, waiting for the general who was about to ascend the throne to make a promise to them.

And Yu Wenzhi did not disappoint their expectations and promised them countless wealth and glory on the spot.

These soldiers had also received favors from Yang Guang and the Sui Dynasty, but in the face of interests, the so-called favors were no longer worth mentioning.

Yu Wenzhi and Yang Jian are different.

Yang Jian would settle accounts afterwards, because the "wealth" and "power" he promised to those soldiers were too much, and it was obvious that he was planning to settle accounts afterwards - except for those given to Su Wei and others, because he really intended to keep them as they were.

Yu Wenzhi gave these soldiers only some grassroots official positions, the highest of which was no more than the fourth rank, and they did not even have military power, but they could enjoy wealth and glory.

The rainy night continued.

Yu Wenji straightened his clothes and walked into the palace.

The soldiers behind him followed his footsteps and moved forward with serious expressions. Everyone was ready - ready to kill the emperor.

This time, Yu Wenzhi will not be branded as a regicide - because it was definitely not him who killed the emperor.

In the storm

Yang Guang sat in the main hall, the candlelight flickering in the strong wind outside.

The pain in his forehead was unbearable, and the "burning incense" around him penetrated into his nose, making it impossible for him to concentrate.

"bump--"

Yang Guang smashed the things on the table to the ground. The lightning outside suddenly tore through the sky and illuminated the dim hall.

"Someone come -- someone come --"

Yang Guang roared almost ferociously, but it seemed as if there was no one around.

The silence is terrifying.

In an instant, Yang Guang raised his head suddenly, and he saw a figure standing there and walking slowly towards him. In this dark night, countless thunders sounded, and the faint smell of blood lingered in his nose, entangled with the smell of "incense".

His mind suddenly became clear. This scene, this scene, this scene was so familiar!

"His Majesty."

Yu Wenzhi stood there, his face full of respect, and he didn't look like he had the slightest intention of offending anyone.

He did not even dare to look up at Yang Guang, but just said: "Your Majesty summoned me, I dare not not come, so I rushed back to the capital from Suzhou and Hangzhou day and night, and received the imperial edict, so I entered the palace overnight."

"Your Majesty has summoned me, but what is the important matter?"

Summoned?

Yang Guang was clear-headed at this time. He stood up straight despite the pain. He looked at Yu Wenzhi and said in a deep voice: "Summon? When did I summon you?"

Both of them knew the truth at this time, but Yang Guang still tried hard to maintain the last bit of dignity and decency of the emperor.

He questioned Yu Wenzhi, but was thinking about a solution in his mind.

The fact that Yu Wenzhi appeared here today could only mean that he had made preparations for rebellion and forcing the emperor to abdicate. He subconsciously glanced at the rain outside the window. Was it also such a stormy night when his father rebelled?
Yang Guang turned around and looked at Yu Wenzhi who was standing there: "Yu Wen, don't make a mistake."

"Treason is a crime of great disrespect."

Yu Wenzhi said in surprise, "So Yang Shi also knew that treason is a crime of disrespect? Then did your father, the then Grand Commandant Yang Jian, also commit treason?"

He walked forward a few steps, came to Yang Guang's side, and sat down on the seat that belonged to the emperor.

"It's true that sitting in this position is not very comfortable, but I just don't want you to sit there."

Yu Wenzhi's idea, which he had been looking forward to for many years, has finally come true, and now he is very excited and happy.

He looked at Yang Guang: "By the way, do you know?"

"Why do you have constant headaches?"

Chronic headaches?

Yang Guang narrowed his eyes: "Did you do this?"

Yu Wenzhi shook his head: "Of course not, Your Majesty."

He said quietly, "It was made by your most trusted attendant. He used the secret medicine "boiled crane" handed down from the palace during the Han Dynasty. It was the same medicine that Emperor Ai used for Emperor Zhaolie."

"Unfortunately, after so many years of improvement, the efficacy of boiled crane has changed."

"You can't sleep well every day because of this boiling crane."

Yang Guang's eyes were filled with anger. He lowered his voice and asked, "Why?"

"I'm not bad to him!"

"When he was being bullied, it was me who saved him!"

Yu Wenzhi smiled and said, "Yes, you saved him when he was being bullied, but do you know why he was being bullied? Do you know who he is?"

Yang Guang's expression froze, and his "family background" as described by Fu'an quickly flashed through his mind.

"I was born into a wealthy family, but my father was convicted, so I was forced to be a slave in the palace. Those people knew I had no one to rely on, so they bullied me as much as they could."

Yu Wenji was admiring the change in Yang Guang's expression, and he smiled as he revealed the mystery of the matter to Yang Guang.

"Fu'an's real name is "Wang An". He is the second son of Wang Wen, the Minister of the Central Secretariat. He was spoiled by his family. Later..."

"Your Majesty should know what happened later."

"Your Majesty plotted treason, but pinned the blame on Wang Wen, causing Wang Wen's entire family to be almost wiped out, while Wang An was saved by someone Wang Wen had done a favor for. It is better to live a miserable life than to die."

"Later, she entered the palace for unknown reasons and was rescued by His Majesty."

He touched his chin and said, "By the way, Your Majesty, you also know the man who saved Wang An."

Yang Guang frowned and thought, searching for someone familiar in his mind who could and would save Wang An. Subconsciously, he said, "Is it Ying'an?"

Yu Wenzhi nodded: "Yes, it is Ying'an, the most capable and trusted attendant of the Wansui Emperor."

Yang Guang expressed his doubts. At this time, he knew that the situation was beyond redemption, so he immediately sat aside and chatted about these things as if he was chatting with a friend.

"This is impossible."

"When my father took action, he did not purge the harem, but only killed some of the emperor's diehards."

"There are many people in the harem who are still old people from the time of Emperor Wansui. How could Ying'an's people be bullied after entering the palace?"

Before Yu Wenzhi could say anything, Yang Guang reacted. His expression was gloomy. "So, the so-called bullying was fake. It was just for me to see, right?"

He said mockingly: "The Emperor Wansui also used this trick to deceive Lord Chen at that time. I didn't expect that this trick would work again and actually deceive me."

Yu Wenzhi nodded: "Not bad."

"Fu'an, why don't you come out and meet His Majesty?"

A figure walked out from the back hall. He was tall and slender, with a calm expression, and looked quite peaceful.

He was no longer wearing the dragon robe of the attendant, but a royal blue gown and a silver hair crown on his head, looking like a handsome young man.

"Your Majesty." Fuan tried his best to make his voice sound normal and not so shrill.

He whispered, "After all these years, I finally got to see this scene. It's worth my life."

Yang Guang looked at Fu'an standing there, with mixed feelings in his heart, and finally he just sighed: "In all these years, have you ever had any true feelings for me?"

After hearing this, Fuan just lowered his head and remained silent.

Yu Wenji looked at Yang Guang and laughed, "This is ridiculous. Your father killed someone's entire family, and you are the one who caused him to become what he is now. How dare you ask others if they have any true feelings for you?"

Yang Guang ignored Yu Wenzhi and just looked at Fu'an, determined to get an answer.

Fu An just raised his head and said word by word: "What is true love and what is false? To lie to others, you must first deceive yourself. Over the years, the real has become false, and the false has become real."

After finishing speaking, Fuan turned his head and looked at Yu Wenzhi: "General Yu Wen, time is running out."

Yu Wenzhi sighed and said, "Don't rush me, don't rush me. We must let His Majesty know the truth of all the things, so that he can be a clear-headed ghost."

He looked at Yang Guang and continued, "Your Majesty, let's continue."

"Do you know why the world has become what it is now?"

"Do you know who else contributed to this?"

Yang Guang sat there, and his headache didn't seem to be aching anymore. He thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid Zhang Shian, Pei Ju, and Chen Ruohan are all part of this, right? And Li Erlang."

Yu Wenzhi was not surprised that Yang Guang had guessed the truth of the matter. He just smiled and said, "Your Majesty is really smart."

"Zhang Shi'an and Pei Ju were both disciples of Ying'an. Zhang Shi'an was the second son in the family and was not loved by his father. He lived even worse than a slave. When he was reduced to living on the streets, Ying'an took pity on him and accepted him as a disciple, teaching him poetry and prose."

"The same is true for Pei Ju."

"These two are both born geniuses."

"Initially, Ying'an had no intention of letting them get involved in this matter - he had the same problem as the Wansui Emperor, which was that he was soft-hearted."

"Later, when he was sorting out the Wansui Emperor's manuscripts, Pei Ju and Zhang Shi'an saw them. They saw the existence of the truth of "Tao" and "faith", so they begged Ying'an to teach. After Ying'an told them the whole story, they volunteered to join the game."

"You and Yang Yong didn't have to fight to the point of bloodshed, but Zhang Shian and Pei Ju were involved. They wanted you to kill each other and end up with one of you dying in front of Yang Jian, leaving you in pain and regret."

Yang Guang just remained silent.

Yu Wenji looked into the distance and said, "Shi'an, come out."

Another person walked out of the shadows, it was Zhang Shian.

He looked at Yang Guang and introduced himself calmly: "Your Majesty, my original name is Zhang Zeduan, and my father's surname is Zhang Anyan."

Zhang Annian?!

Yang Guang raised his head abruptly and looked at Zhang Shian, or rather "Zhang Zeduan": "Are you the posthumous son of the Wansui Emperor?"

Zhang Zeduan just smiled and said, "Yes, I am the posthumous son of Emperor Wansui."

"So, Your Majesty, I have never let you down in all these years, because the source of everything is because of you and I, who have committed the murder of my father, and we cannot reconcile!"

Yang Guang fell silent again.

He just let out a long sigh. It was a plan that started not long after the death of the Wansui Emperor. It was a shocking conspiracy. Everything was done to avenge that man, the man called "Wansui Emperor".

This is as it should be.

"So, can you give me some respect?"

"White silk? Sword?"

Yang Guang knew that he had absolutely no chance of survival today, but he still wanted to die with dignity before he did.

At this time, neither Zhang Zeduan, Fu'an, nor Yu Wenzhi spoke. They just stood up slowly, looked in the distance, and bowed slightly.

They seemed to be welcoming someone.

In the distance, an old man, whose skin was so wrinkled that it looked like a skeleton wrapped in human skin, walked towards them.

He stood there like an oil lamp whose oil had burned out, but his eyes were full of anticipation and satisfaction.

"Decent?"

His voice was sharp.

"Did you treat His Majesty with respect back then?"

"what?"

Ying'an's voice was sharp, and he took out the dagger from his hand tremblingly.

"Today, I will avenge His Majesty!"

Before Yang Guang had time to say anything, several guards came out and carried Yang Guang there.

His entire body was controlled and he couldn't struggle or move.

Ying'an walked up tremblingly, and then thrust the dagger in his hand into Yang Guang's heart.

The next moment, blood spurted out.

Ying'an handed the dagger to Zhang Zeduan and said, "My son, you have to avenge your father yourself!"

Zhang Zeduan looked at Yang Guang, closed his eyes, and many years of memories resurfaced.

On that rainy night, a rainy night exactly like today, his father died here.

"Do you know why you are here tonight?"

Zhang Zeduan walked towards Yang Guang with a smile: "Because my father also died on a rainy night like this, in this hall."

"The cycle of nature brings unfavorable retribution."

The second knife pierced Yang Guang's heart. At this time, Yang Guang was already in the struggle and pain of death.

The third knife was raised by Fu'an. He looked at Yang Guang with a myriad of emotions in his eyes. He gently covered Yang Guang's eyes with his hands and whispered, "Your Majesty, the revenge for the murder of your father must be avenged. Let the friendship of many years be converted into this knife."

He first inserted the dagger into Yang Guang's chest, and before anyone could react, he inserted the dagger into his own chest again.

Yang Guang heard the sound of the dagger and slowly closed his eyes.

rainy night.

Many of Yang Guang's confidants in the palace were killed by the soldiers, and the rainwater on the ground turned into red blood.

The seventh year of Daye, late winter.

Emperor Daye was murdered in the palace by Ying'an, an old associate of Emperor Wansui, as well as Zhang Zeduan, the posthumous son of Emperor Wansui, and Wang An, the posthumous son of Minister of the Central Secretariat Wang Wen. The three were captured by General Yu Wenhuaji who arrived.

Later he confessed his crime in court and was executed.

The seventh year of Daye.

The ministers submitted a memorial, requesting that Yu Wenzhi ascend the throne.

In the eighth year of Daye, Yu Wenzhi ascended the throne and changed the country's name to "Jin" and the reign title to "Changde".

The whole world was in turmoil when it heard the news.

The first year of Changdeok
The deer in the Central Plains are fat, how can you sit still?
(End of this chapter)