Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 3954 Bargaining
The rain outside the window was pattering, and the sky was gloomy, just like Xiao Yu's mood at the moment.

In his life, he went from being a highly respected member of the Nanliang royal family to a downcast and precarious prisoner, and then to becoming a minister of a country in the Tang Dynasty. Cheng Tantu has always been able to control the situation in his hands.

But right now, Zhang Xingcheng's rogue-like shirking of responsibility makes him quite troublesome...

He stared closely at Zhang Xingcheng, saw the other party bowed his head drinking tea and remained silent, and said slowly: "Is the Shandong family going to break the previous oath?"

Zhang Xingcheng put down his teacup and sighed.

He has sighed too much these two days...

Looking at Xiao Yu, he tried his best to make his eyes sincere and his expression sincere: "I'm not afraid of your jokes, Mr. Song. Today, there are serious differences among the Shandong aristocratic families, and their wills cannot be unified. Many clans are doing their own thing, and many of them advocate giving up the relationship with the Jiangnan gentry. The covenant... Song Guogong wants all Shandong families to cooperate with you to rule the court and force the prince to submit, I am afraid that not only will it be difficult to do so, but some Shandong clans will resist."

This is a truth, but there is also a lot of water.

At any time, it is difficult for clans and clans to live in peace and share interests, even within factions, and even once disputes arise, it is more serious than outsiders.Shandong, Jiangnan, and Guanlong all united many clans within the scope of the region. Everyone huddled together for warmth, married each other, and traded with each other, making the connection between each other closer and achieving the goal of monopolizing a place.

But also because they are too close to each other, there will inevitably be differences in the distribution of interests between each other. Although differences will be suppressed because of unanimity, once they break out, they will often be endless...

When it comes to the trend of "involution", the Shandong aristocratic families are far more serious than the Guanlongmen clan.

At least in name, the Guanlongmen faction still has a common leader. The eldest grandson Wuji, the Guanlong No. 1, coordinates the various families and eliminates conflicts between them. Disagree with anyone, and no one can do anything to anyone. On the surface, they are united as one, but in reality, they are full of differences and contradictions.

For example, asking Cheng Yaojin to lead the army to Dayun Temple to try to wipe out the remnants of Guanlong this time is a helpless move of the Shandong clan's involuntary actions-Li Ji turned a deaf ear to the orders of the Shandong family, so what can he do?
Of course, even if Li Ji disobeyed the order of the Shandong family, the Shandong family also had different ideas, but it was far from being divided...

Xiao Yu's anger gradually grew, his face was gloomy, he drank a mouthful of tea, and remained silent, expressing his dissatisfaction in silence.

Although there is a competitive relationship between the Jiangnan gentry and the Shandong aristocratic family, they have a deep relationship with each other. When the "Clothes of Clothing" was crossing the south, the Shandong aristocratic family moved to the south of the Yangtze River on a large scale. Today, most of the Jiangnan gentry are related to the Shandong aristocratic family. "Lanling Xiao" He used to be a member of an aristocratic family in Shandong. Even though he moved to the south of the Yangtze River for many years, he still did not change the name of Junwangtang, and he never forgot his hometown accent.

Most of these clans who have been around for thousands of years are disciples of Confucius and Mencius. They study the Four Books and Five Classics, pursue benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith, and believe in "no one can stand without faith". Before entering the court, he encountered a backstab from a Shandong family...

It is clear that he has neglected righteousness for profit!
Seeing that Xiao Yu was dissatisfied, Zhang Xingcheng smiled wryly and said, "I dare not preside over this matter, I have to report it to the patriarchs, and after discussing it, I will give an answer to Song Guogong... But please rest assured that the Shandong families have no regard for the covenant with the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. He attaches great importance to it, and no matter how difficult the difficulties are and how much the interests are lost, he will not ignore the oath of alliance."

Cooperation must still be necessary. Together, the two will be stronger, and if they are divided, the two will be weak. What the two families want is to join hands to control the court, rather than being divided and broken down by the crown prince after he ascended the throne.

Xiao Yu was a little tired, and understood that Zhang Xingcheng's words and attitudes were only laying the groundwork for future negotiations, allowing him to see the toughness of the Shandong family. many benefits...

They are not honest people.

Although he is still dissatisfied, at least he knows what the opponent's bottom line is. In short, it is just a never-ending game...

Then he opened his mouth and said: "This time the prince went out of the city to welcome the holy driver, although he showed extraordinary courage, but it also meant that he felt out of control of the current situation, and he didn't have the confidence to control the court step by step. Brute force forced Li Ji to hand over His Majesty's body and swear allegiance to him as the crown prince... However, we have not yet fully accepted the benefits left by Guan Long, and we cannot sit back and watch the crown prince ascend the throne, otherwise the crown prince's prestige will greatly increase and the imperial power will be stable , we have endless troubles."

Li Chengqian's ascension to the throne is a foregone conclusion, and no one can stop him, unless someone can annihilate the Six Rates of the Eastern Palace and Youtunwei in one fell swoop.

Li Ji has this strength, but obviously Li Ji won't do that...

But from the perspective of the interests of the clans in Jiangnan and Shandong, the premise for them to allow the crown prince to ascend the throne must be under their support, instead of sitting and watching the prince succeed in such a tough way, waiting for the Guanlong clan to support the prince. The next comeback.

Zhang Xingcheng nodded, and asked: "What is Song Guogong's intention? How do you need the cooperation of the Shandong family?"

Xiao Yu said in a deep voice: "Prevent the prince from going out of the city to meet the holy driver!"

Zhang Xingcheng frowned. He intended to use the strongest method to prevent the crown prince from quickly completing the process of state funeral and enthronement, so as to buy more time for the elites in Shandong and Jiangnan to arrange the court, and to hold more interests in the in hand

He thought for a moment, with a look of distress on his face, and said in a deep voice: "Chang'an is about to be rebuilt, and the Shandong family will spend more money and manpower to respond to the call of His Royal Highness when they arrive in Guanzhong. Therefore, the county magistrates of Chang'an and Wannian counties It must be a child of Shandong, otherwise there will be a little turmoil, and Shandong will suffer too much."

Above the court, sometimes they are just like merchants, they will return as much as they pay.The reconstruction of Chang'an and even the entire Guanzhong will inevitably require huge manpower, material and financial resources. When the national treasury is almost exhausted by the Eastern Expedition, it is reasonable for the Shandong aristocratic family to provide support nearby.This is not just a simple contribution. All the reconstruction projects participated by the Shandong family can get very considerable benefits, and if they are broadened to the entire reconstruction plan, the benefits that can be reaped are huge.

So many interests will not only become the coveted meals of all parties, but will even lead to internal struggles in Shandong aristocratic families. This requires local officials with great power to protect these interests.

Ma Zhou is the team member of the East Palace, and he has a close friendship with Fang Jun. No one can care about the position of Jing Zhaoyin, so the next best thing is, the Shandong family must take the magistrates of Chang'an and Wannian counties into their pockets, otherwise they will be huge. interests cannot be guaranteed.

But how could the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River be willing to give up such an important position?

Right now is the best chance to bargain...

Xiao Yu thought about it, although he was unwilling, but in order to win the trust of the Shandong family and get the help of the Shandong family, he had no choice but to admit it: "There is no problem with this matter, you will choose people to report to me later, Let me personally speak to His Highness, Prince Jiangxia."

The Shandong family has a deeper background and stronger strength, but Li Ji is obviously not in the same heart with the Shandong family. Most of the time he acts on his own and does not listen to the orders of the Shandong family. Yu.

Like Chang'an and Wannian county magistrates, which are not high-ranking but extremely important positions, without his approval, the Shandong family would never be able to hold them.

So Xiao Yu has always believed that in the process of cooperation between the two big clans, the Jiangnan clan always takes the initiative...

Seeing Xiao Yu's agreement, Zhang Xingcheng smiled happily and said, "The Lord of Song, Bo Yuntian, thank you on behalf of all the families in Shandong. Now, I will leave and go back to explain the intentions of Lord Song to each family, and try my best to win the agreement of each family, so that the cooperation between the two parties will be even stronger." close."

Xiao Yu served tea to see off the guests, and said meaningfully: "You and I are strong when we cooperate, and we are weak when we divide. Don't underestimate the end of Guanlong's end. They have been in Guanzhong for more than a hundred years, and their strength is strong and deep-rooted. How can they be uprooted overnight? Elimination? When you have to stop haste and use patience, and plan carefully, you can grasp the overall situation... let's encourage each other."

It is a last resort to unite with the Shandong family, otherwise it will be difficult for either of the two parties to control the situation in the court, and they can only be reduced to the prince's tool, until the birds are exhausted and the good bows are hidden in the future.However, the Shandong aristocratic family has a long heritage and a profound foundation, and its actions are the most far-reaching, insidious and cunning, and the slightest carelessness will be swallowed up...

I have to beat them from time to time. I hope that the Shandong family will focus on the overall situation and not do things like crossing the river and demolishing the bridge.

When the Jiangnan gentry gain a firm foothold in Guanzhong, they are naturally not afraid of the Shandong aristocratic family's rebellion...

Zhang Xingcheng got up, bowed and saluted, and said solemnly: "Shandong family inherited after Confucius and Mencius. Poems and books are passed on to the family, farming and reading. No matter the prosperity and chaos, they are clean and self-sufficient. They are also separated from the Jiangnan gentry and have a deep relationship. How can they be self-destructive?" Arms, to do such a stupid thing to wait for loved ones to hurt and enemies to be happy? Please rest assured, Song Guogong, as long as the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River follow the oath of the alliance, the Shandong families will never abandon it!"

Xiao Yu nodded again and again, with a look of relief on his face: "It's great if you can understand this. The territory of the Tang Dynasty has no boundaries, and the interests of the court are irrelevant. Only one family and one family can live and eat, and everyone can control it through sincere cooperation. Use power, manipulate the situation, and achieve great success."

After talking about it, the perfunctory in his tone was fully revealed, and he kept sighing in his heart—mother, just looking at Zhang Xingcheng's face, he knew that what he said was in vain, and there are really no allies among the aristocratic families, only interests, no one can trust...

(End of this chapter)