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

Chapter 468 The Fire of Revenge
Dou Jiande waited patiently, and Dou Jiande's "test" was soon known to everyone.

This is not a difficult thing, but rather very simple.

京都
When Yu Wenzhi saw Dou Jiande's behavior, he was shocked and admired this brave man: "In thousands of years, this is not the first person to provoke Chen, but he is the first one who is so brave."

He handed the memorial to Pei Ju who was standing beside him: "Take a look, wow, this is truly admirable."

"I just don't know how Chen will react?"

How to react?

Pei Ju didn't even look at the memorial in front of him. He just sighed and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten how Emperor Yang of Sui got the explosives?"

He raised his head, temporarily put down the government affairs in his hands and sighed: "It has been too long, and Chen is also a person who does not take credit for himself, which led to another thing."

"Everyone has forgotten that dynamite was originally brought out by Mr. Chen to implement the policy of 'employment instead of labor'."

"The Chen family has had explosives for decades longer than the others, or possibly even longer. They were able to research the use of gunpowder, so why can't the Chen family?"

"Has the Chen family just been watching gunpowder and eating nothing for so many years?"

Yu Wenzhi was stunned, and then he also thought of that incident.

Emperor Yang of Sui summoned them all to the imperial study, and very seriously showed them Chen Gong's memorial on the policy of "employment instead of labor service", and also said: "Try to meet Chen Gong's needs as much as possible."

The word "try your best" actually means "definitely".

"How will Chen react?"

Thinking of this, Yu Wenzhi became even more curious about Chen's actions. He wanted to know how Chen would "deal with" someone who had offended their bottom line.

Taiyuan
Li Yuan and Dugu Jian sat there with some surprise on their faces: "We didn't expect that when we were worrying about how to deal with Dou Jiande, he had already started to seek death."

"Next, let's see how he will die."

Dugu Jian and Li Yuan both knew the origin of gunpowder, especially Li Yuan. When gunpowder was developed, his relationship with the Chen family was not as stiff as it is now, so he had seen "gunpowder", and he also knew another thing that the public did not know.

Nowadays, it is generally believed that gunpowder was developed by disciples of the Mohist school. Although it is related to the Chen family, the relationship is not very close.

But Li Yuan knew that the real "inventor" of gunpowder was actually one of Chen's disciples. That disciple was a typical Chen family dandy. He didn't like poetry or songs, nor did he like studying technology. He only liked "Taoism".

Yes.

This descendant of the Chen family is a "alchemist".

He spent all year searching for the "fairyland" of his dreams in the "Xunxian Cave" he built. During one time when he was refining an elixir, his furnace exploded.

If an ordinary alchemist saw a furnace exploding, he would probably just think that he was unlucky.

But this kid is different.
He was not only a Taoist priest of Huang-Lao school, but also a fan of the mechanical arts of the Mohist school. So he began to study why the furnace exploded and why the furnace explosion was so powerful.
Is this a hint from God or our ancestors?

then
He devoted himself to research and finally came up with a "formula", which was the original "gunpowder" formula.

After seeing the power of the gunpowder, the Chen family member quickly realized one thing - gunpowder was of no help in achieving longevity or becoming an immortal, so he immediately gave up researching this thing and handed it over to Chen Zhan, the then head of the Chen family.

After that, he continued to study his own "longevity technique".

It was only after that that the disciples of the Mohist School developed the thing called "explosives".

From gunpowder to dynamite, it was an obvious progress, but from dynamite to the so-called "fire gun" and "rocket", it was not a big progress.

Because this is just a further use of explosives.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan laughed sarcastically, then looked at the person in front of him and said, "Just wait, I think it won't be long before Chen's revenge comes."

He smacked his lips and said, "The Chen family is not like other noble families. The Chen family never waits for revenge."

"I just don't know what kind of method Chen will use?"

"How to take revenge on Dou Jiande?"

Dugu Jian shook his head: "I can't guess this either. If I could guess it, Chen's deterrent power wouldn't be so great."

“It’s like dynamite.”

"In fact, it was only when Dou Jiande used explosives for the first time that we were shocked. His subsequent uses did not bring much improvement. The other separatist forces should have realized that explosives are nothing more than piling up "lives."

"Perhaps Chen will behead him? Send someone to kill Dou Jiande directly?"

"After all, facing a weapon as lethal as gunpowder, even if the Chen family wanted to target it, they could only use a policy of capturing the leader first to reduce the number of casualties."

Li Yuan said subconsciously: "If this is the case, Chen's "deterrent power" will probably be much less."

Youzhou
Li Shimin stood in the yard, directing his son to climb up the tree to pick fruit.

The autumn scenery is bleak, but it is the best time for fruits to ripen.

The fruits hanging on the branches make people feel extremely happy just by looking at them.

"Hurry, hurry, throw down everything you picked first, before your Uncle Lin'an sees it."

He chuckled and said, "Don't dawdle. Hurry up. Your uncle Lin'an will be back soon."

As he was speaking, footsteps suddenly sounded at the door.

Li Chengqian was picking fruits. He subconsciously looked back and saw Chen Linan walking towards him from a distance. He wanted to come down immediately, but he lost his balance and fell down.

Li Shimin caught Li Chengqian smoothly, and then the father and son stuffed the fruit on the ground into their sleeves and pretended nothing had happened.

"Cough-cough-"

Li Shimin cleared his throat, looked at Chen Linan who walked in with a confused look on his face and said, "Qilang, why are you coming back so late?"

It was only at this time that he noticed the "young man" following behind Chen Linan. He could not be considered a young man. This person was about the same age as the two of them, almost thirty years old.

Chen Linan looked at Li Shimin and smiled helplessly: "It just so happened that I met Brother Dugu. Brother Dugu also happened to want to see you for something, so I came here with him."

"It's you."

Chen Linan looked Li Shimin up and down, and felt that Li Shimin was a little strange today: "What's wrong with you? Why do you seem so honest today? Did you do something wrong?"

Li Shimin laughed awkwardly and changed the subject: "What do you mean by honest? Isn't that how I behave normally?"

He laughed and said, "Brother Dugu, why did you think of looking for me? What's the matter?"

Dugu Zhi's expression remained unchanged, still so "gentle": "Li Junshou, I came here today to discuss something with you."

He seemed very humble.

After he was separated from his family in Kyoto, he had been studying in the old house. Although there were not many gold and silver treasures in the old house, they were enough for him to use. Under his "methods", those treasures gradually increased. Now he has not much less wealth than Dugu Jian. After all, he is the orthodox of the "Dugu family".

This was the preparation that had been made when Dugu Xin divided the family.

Sometimes, wealth is not just the superficial gold, silver, and power, but also "connections". If there are two Dugu, who will these connections recognize? Naturally, the one with greater power, status, and prospects.

but.
What if they are similar?

Of course, that is orthodoxy.

This is the "wealth" attached to the property of the old house, which can never be compared with gold, silver and power - some stubborn people, after receiving the great kindness of the Dugu family, will only recognize the Dugu family and not anyone else.

In the courtyard, Li Shimin and Dugu Zhi went into the house to discuss things, leaving only Li Chengqian and Chen Linan in the yard.

Chen Linan sat there and picked up a book casually.

Li Chengqian was attracted by the book in Chen Linan's hand. He walked over quickly and looked at the book in Chen Linan's hand with curiosity on his face.

Chen Linan did not think Li Chengqian was troublesome, but instead recited the principles in the book to him word by word.

Autumn wind and falling leaves.

The chaos in the world seemed to have little to do with this remote courtyard; they just waited quietly.

Waiting for the day when the wind of "Dapeng" rises.

辽州
When the world was in turmoil and Yu Wenzhi was plotting a rebellion to usurp the throne, Li Shimin retreated from his base in "Liaozhou" to Youzhou, and today Liaozhou is occupied by Zhongsun Xie.

At this time, Zhongsun Xie looked at the two people beside him and sighed, then stood up and said, "Let the brothers get ready."

He seemed to have been certain of Chen's reaction, and also certain of Dou Jiande's fate after Chen's revenge.

"After Chen's swift revenge on Dou Jiande, it will be our chance to truly dominate the Central Plains!"

"When the time comes, we will take over Beiping, Taiyuan and other places not far from Liaozhou, and then approach Kyoto! As long as we can take Kyoto, we will occupy Kyoto!"

"At that time, with Kyoto as the center, we can conquer Liangzhou to the northwest, conquer many coastal cities to the east, and then confront those separatist forces in the south from north to south!"

"Then great things can be accomplished!"

Lu Weihong and the other man also nodded, expressing their agreement.

"promise--"

"I'll have my men get ready right now and wait for Chen's revenge to be over!"

After finishing speaking, Lu Weihong looked towards the distance, where Guandu City was located: "Brother, how long do you think it will take for Dou Jiande to be destroyed by the Chen family?"

how long?

Zhongsun Xie frowned slightly: "Half a month?"

"I think, half a month at most."

This is the instinctive intuition of a "military strategist". Although he doesn't know how Chen can wipe out Dou Jiande's main force in half a month, Zhongsun Xie feels so.

Everyone was looking forward to Guandu City’s reaction, but "Chen Zhan" and Guandu City, who were at the center of the storm, seemed to be still calm.

After Chen Zhan sent away a man who wanted to go to war on behalf of the Chen family, he slowly stood up. Beside him, Chen Ruohan's eldest son "Chen Yu" helped his grandfather up.

"Grandfather, the outside world is now waiting for our Chen family's response."

"If you don't react, I'm afraid..."

Chen Zhan smiled cheerfully: "Reaction?"

"Lin Yuan, you are still young and don't understand the truth behind this."

"They don't want to see Chen's reaction, but to see if Chen still has the strength to quickly suppress the world as in the past."

He looked at the sky and said slowly, "Now the land of Kyushu is like a piece of fat meat on a chopping board. Many spectators and gluttons are waiting to eat this piece of fat meat."

"But they don't dare. They don't dare to really treat the common people as prey."

"Do you know why?"

Chen Yu nodded: "Because Chen is here."

Chen Zhan sighed with regret: "Yes, because of Chen's presence, they dare not do this. They are not afraid of Chen, but the "power of thunder" that Chen showed in past tests. It seems that no matter what happens, Chen has the confidence to easily solve this big thing."

"And if the Chen clan shows signs of 'exhaustion', or if they still manage to eliminate the 'offenders' but show signs of being unable to do so, or are even slightly 'tired', the Taotie will immediately attack the Chen clan first."

"Because in their hearts, Chen is no longer sacred and unattainable, but has become a "human". As long as he is a human, he will have weaknesses, and as long as he is a human, he will be exhausted. As long as he is a human, there is a way to deal with him."

Chen Zhan's voice gradually became serious and sharp: "How many years?"

"How many years has it been since anyone dared to test Chen?"

Chen Yu raised his head and whispered, "It's probably been several hundred years."

Chen Zhan smiled and said, "How many years has it been since someone dared to test the Chen family by means of "massacre of the city"?"

Chen Yu answered again: "Since the time of Cao Mengde at the end of the Han Dynasty, no one has dared to use means such as massacring a city to test the Chen family."

Even Cao Mengde paid a heavy price after the massacre in the city - this is something only a few of the top aristocratic families knew.

Chen Zhan nodded: "Then let's turn Dou Jiande into ashes."

"Pass on the order from the head of the Chen family."

"Order the soldiers and guards near Dou Jiande to leave immediately. The deadline is seven days."

"Within seven days, wipe out all of Dou Jiande's main forces!"

Chen Zhan's voice was grim: "Dou Jiande was hung on the tower of the city where he massacred people. He was not given any food or water. After he died, he was exposed to the sun for three days. Then his skin was peeled off and stuffed with straw. The straw man was placed in front of the tower, in a kneeling position."

"All nine clans of Dou Jiande will be exterminated and all will be executed."

"His wife and children were all tortured to death in front of him!"

"All those who participated in the massacre will be executed by lingchi! All the gold and silver they obtained will be confiscated! The descendants of the clan will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examinations for three generations!"

"I hereby proclaim to the whole nation that anyone who recruits the descendants of the criminals who participated in the massacre as an official, clerk, soldier, or soldier will be punished by the Chen family!"

(End of this chapter)