The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 886 Undercurrent
The candles flickered lightly, and the house was as bright as day.

Although the furnishings in the house are simple, they are extremely luxurious.

But in this huge house, there are only four people sitting in it.

The youngest of the four seems to have passed the year of destiny.

It's just that although they are not young anymore, they have a power and influence in every gesture, which makes people feel awe.

All the delicacies placed in front of the desks of the people in the house were delicacies, but none of the four people looked at the table full of delicacies from mountains and seas.

Among the four people in the house, none of them was simple.

In this discussion, they did not represent the four of them, but the clan behind them.

The four belonged to the Xun family of Yingyin, the Chen family of Xuxian County, the Zhong family of Changshe, and the Han family of Wuyang.

"The guards and servants are all far away, and there is no idler here."

The first to speak was an old man sitting on the right hand. The old man was wearing a jade crown, a red robe and a silver belt around his waist.

"Any words spoken in this house today will not go up to the sky, nor will they go down to the earth. If you have something to say, it's okay to say it, and you don't have to cover it up."

The other three people in the house are all human beings, and two of them exchanged glances with each other, and each of them had a little understanding in their hearts.

After a moment of silence, an old man with long beard wearing purple satin brocade embroidered gown and gray-white fox armpit fur was the first to ask.

"I heard that Chen Du summoned all the soldiers from all over the world to fight against the Ming army in Pengcheng. How is this true?"

He didn't wear any ribbons on his body, and he didn't seem to be very well informed about the news from the court.

The old man in red robe nodded.

"That Chen Du issued an imperial edict to the world. This matter is not a secret. Although you are already out of work, don't tell me that the Yingchuan Zhong family has no knowledge of this matter."

"Humph."

The purple-robed old man snorted coldly.

"The question I'm asking is whether the emperor really wants to fight the Ming army in Pengcheng, or whether there are other arrangements."

"Although Chen Du is young, if someone treats him as a child, he is probably a real idiot."

"It has been more than two years since the Zhangwu reform, and the changes in the middle school have changed three times a day."

"Chen Du's thoughts, can you guess through it?"

"The Embroidered Clothes Emissary has been developing in Chendu for several years, but who knows about our four families? Didn't the news about the Embroidered Clothes Emissary come slowly after the war broke out?"

The face of the red-robed old man froze obviously, and then became much more gloomy.

Just as the red-robed old man was about to speak again, another old man wearing an iron crown spoke softly.

"Nowadays the situation is changing and the overthrow is imminent. If you have time to make noise, it is better to think about the future."

"Taipingdao doesn't have a good color for people of my status."

The atmosphere in the house fell into silence for a while because of the iron crown old man's words.

The red-robed old man sitting in the first seat condensed his face slightly and let out a long sigh.

"It's really time to think about the way out..."

The purple-robed old man who confronted him also frowned tightly, and didn't say anything to refute.

"The way out?"

"Could it be that you want to surrender to Ming Court?"

While the three were silent, the last old man in the house who had been silent for a while finally spoke.

This person is wearing a dark red brocade jacket and a long blue tassel ribbon on his waist. His beard and hair are half white, but they are combed extremely neatly, without any messy hair.

Gong, Hou, and general purple ribbons; Jiuqing, Zhong Erqianshi, and Erqianshi green ribbons.

Nowadays, wars are frequent and there are many generals. It is no longer the time when Zhonglang General was already a high-ranking military officer, so generals can no longer wear purple ribbons.

But the green ribbon has not changed, and only important ministers with more than two thousand stones can wear it.

Among the four, only he was wearing a ribbon.

His words caught the eyes of the other three people in the house in an instant.

"In the world of life, loyalty and filial piety are the foundation of one's life."

"When our ancestors lived on Hanlu and the country was in danger, not only did we not want to serve the country, but instead wanted to find a way out, collaborating with the enemy and treason?"

"Surrender in this matter is worth living, but aren't you afraid of being ridiculed and despised by the people of later generations?"

The words of the old man with the green ribbon did not change the thoughts of the other three.

"Loyalty?"

The old man wearing the iron crown snorted coldly, as if he heard something extremely funny.

"If the other family talks about loyalty and filial piety, I have nothing to say, but what the Xun family has done doesn't seem convincing?"

"You, the Xun family, were a big promoter of the Wuchen change. Without the support of your Xun and Yuan families, He Jin would have obediently accepted the edict and honored Dong Hou as emperor, and there would be no subsequent palace chaos that made Dong Zhuo enter Beijing. , take control of the government."

"When the Son of Heaven first arrived in Chendu, I didn't see any of you from the Xun family coming to see him."

"The Zhangwu reform, you, the Xun family, also raised a lot of objections, and even secretly obstructed the reform."

The old man with the iron crown didn't continue talking, just stopped.

"The Ming army now occupies seven prefectures and nine provinces. There are countless elite soldiers and strong generals. There are millions of men in armor. They coerce all directions and send troops to the eight wildernesses. They have opened up thousands of miles of territory. It is hard to beat it."

"Qingxu's defeat is enough to prove that the Han Dynasty is exhausted."

"Qingxu's [-] elite coalition forces were wiped out in one day, and the Ming army suffered no more than a thousand casualties. The difference in combat power is as great as the difference between heaven and earth."

"We have already done what should be done, so why should we be buried for the Han Dynasty?"

"Could it be that the former party has been forgotten by the world?"

The red-robed old man sitting in the first seat stared at the green-striped elder with his eyes narrowed.

"We have never obstructed the reform, and everything is carried out according to the emperor's will."

"We need food for food, people for people, but the situation is irreversible now."

"Xun Zhongyu, don't forget, we are not alone, behind us are our respective clans..."

The man who wears the green ribbon and has half a hundred hair and beard is none other than Xun Yue and Xun Zhongyu.

During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the eunuch was in power, and Xun Yue lived in seclusion. After Liu Xie entered Chendu, he re-entered the official career and was promoted to be the servant of the Huangmen. middle.

The red-robed old man sitting in the first seat is the current Patriarch of the Changshe Zhong family.

But at the very beginning, they spoke tit for tat. The person wearing the iron crown was an elder of the Wuyang Han family, and the other person in the purple robe was from the Chen family of Xu county.

Xun Yue's face froze, and he clenched his fists.

Just as the red-robed old man said, they were not alone, and they were all from their own clans. He came here this time because of the orders of the clans.

"Anyone who is rebellious and stubborn, confiscates all property, fields, forest farms, mines, etc..."

"The Ming army will not listen to any explanations. Those who are unwilling to submit will be dealt with as resistance forces."

"Even if you surrender, if you don't have meritorious service, you still need to hand over [-]% of your furniture, [-]% of your land, all forest farms and mines, and forcibly abolish all slaves."

"The Ming army is powerful, Xu An no longer cares about our choice."

The red-robed old man paused, glanced at Xun Yue, and continued.

"What's more, Xu An didn't want us to surrender at all, as if he wanted to force us to resist, to force us to fight them."

"From Xu An's point of view, no matter what we think or what we choose, it will not change the overall situation."

"Xu An has decided...they will win the final victory..."

"Now, it is very rare to have a chance to surrender."

……

"Ninety percent..."

The old man with the iron crown shook the lacquerware in his hand.

"It's really too much..."

"Is there any way to keep more?"

The purple-robed old man condensed his eyes slightly and reminded.

"I advise you not to play tricks."

"Jizhou's Zhen family is in front, and those eagle wolf guards are like wild dogs that smell rotten meat. The so-called secret vault is no longer a secret vault."

"I suggest handing over all the money and land, and don't liquidate the Eagle Wolf Guard and exile the family directly, confiscating all the family wealth."

The old man in purple robe shook his head.

He is not alarmist.

Just in Jizhou, because of private possession of furniture, there are no less than [-] powerful families exiled to the northernmost province of Beijiang.

Some of them were even moved to the territory of the Anbei Protectorate, and exiled to the northernmost tip of the country - the extremely cold place!
The Zhen family gave up all their wealth and land, and with their three-inch tongue, they obtained the status of an official and businessman and were able to survive.

"The only way to leave more private property is to make meritorious service."

"About meritorious service... I believe you should understand without me saying what is considered meritorious service in the Ming army."

"Everyone has more or less been in contact with Eagle Wolf Guard in the past two years, and even established contact."

Xun Yue looked around the house, but there was no strange expression on anyone's face.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the situation is stronger than people, as family members, they really don't have many chances to live alone as individuals.

This time the clan sent him here and made it very clear that no matter how he thought about it, he needed to fulfill the clan's order.

The Xun family did have contact with the Eagle Wolf Guard, but it was a one-sided connection. They knew that someone was the Eagle Wolf Guard, but they didn't expose it, and they didn't take the initiative to contact him. They just locked that person and waited for the right time to use it.

Now it seems that not only them, but the other three families are also inextricably linked with Eagle Wolf Guard.

The extent of the relationship between the other three families and the Eagle Wolf Guard is intriguing.

"Now is the best opportunity to make meritorious deeds and reduce crimes."

And now is undoubtedly the most suitable time.

The emperor's personal conquest, the entire Han court put all its attention on Pengcheng, and the embroidered clothes envoys were fully mobilized, gathering in Pengcheng, and there was no time to take care of too many things.

Xun Yue took a deep breath, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart, he thought of a terrible thing.

If the four of them are like this, in the Han court, what are the other aristocratic families thinking in their hearts, and what is the situation.

Regarding Xuzhou, he heard a rumor.

Before the Ming army's proclamation arrived, the original fiery red Han army flag above the city had been lowered and replaced by the Ming army's ochre-yellow battle flag.

It stands to reason that it is impossible to dye the banner in such a short period of time, but things are so magical.

The changing of the king's flag at the top of the city was only a matter of a blink of an eye, as if the yellow flag had been prepared in advance, just waiting for the arrival of the Ming army.

In some places, there is even a situation of "eating pots of pulp to welcome the master of the king". Ironically, those who greet the master of the king are the powerful local families.

Xun Yue's body is slightly stiff, but his heart is like this, how can he be undefeated?

The survival of the country is not the first in the eyes of the aristocratic family, but the last.

How to preserve the clan and continue the inheritance is the most important thing for the aristocratic family.

When Qin died in the Han Dynasty, it was Da Qin who died, not the aristocratic family.

Betting separately is nothing more than a normal thing for aristocratic families. No matter which side wins, they will be able to preserve the clan in the end.

Betting separately is a nice way of saying it, but it's actually the two ends of the first mouse.

Xun Yue let out a long sigh. Between the righteousness of the country and the interests of the clan, he finally chose the clan, otherwise he would not have come here.

"Even if you make meritorious service, you still need to pay [-]% to [-]% of the furniture, and the property that can be left is extremely limited..."

"Enough is enough."

The red-robed old man sitting in the first seat spoke in a low tone.

"For us, money is actually not important, and land is actually not important..."

"You should understand what is most important to us..."

Xun Yue suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man in red robe.

He already had the answer in his heart.

"that power……"

The old man in red robe nodded slightly.

"The official selection system implemented in the Ming Court, as they said, is a 'test-based system'."

"There are government schools in various parts of the country, and local taxes are directly intercepted to fund the running of schools."

"Beginner studies, county studies, and national studies, one level after another, from bottom to top."

"Those who pass the exam will go up, and those who fail will go down, regardless of family background, family background, background, or even character, only ability."

"The biggest difference between active attachment and passive attachment is not the amount of family property that needs to be paid."

"It's about the right to education and the right to test."

"The right to education and the right to test?"

"good."

The old man in the red robe took a sip of his tea and continued speaking.

"Ming Ting preached that those who actively belonged have equal rights to education and examinations with others, while those who passively belonged, within three generations, were not allowed to participate in official schools, nor were they allowed to take any form of examination."

"That's why I said, we should really think about the way out..."

"You all know in your hearts that the overthrow of the Han Dynasty is inevitable, and there is no point in taking chances."

"and……"

The red-robed old man's eyes flickered and his expression was cold.

"After I carefully reviewed Ming Court's system, I discovered a major flaw in its system, which is extremely beneficial to us."

"Even if the land and property are handed over now, we will be able to get them back slowly in the near future."

"We have something that those ordinary people in Guizhou Province don't have now..."

(End of this chapter)