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

Chapter 417 Trap
The Wang and Xie clans of Jiangnan were famous, while the Ye clan of the two ridges were the most prominent.

The "Ye family" mentioned here is the Lingnan Ye family. The Lingnan Ye family has been prosperous since the reign of Emperor Muzong, and until now they have controlled the appointment of officials in various parts of Lingnan and various channels for making money.

Such as salt and iron.

The state-run salt and iron industry has been a policy that has been implemented since the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. Even Deng Tong, the most favored minister during the reign of Emperor Wen, died under this system.

But in Lingnan, the salt and iron business was entirely handed over to the Ye family.

In other words, the shadow of the Ye family is behind all these businesses.

This is also the reason why the Ye family was able to dominate Lingnan.

At that time, when Emperor Muzong was compromising and colluding with the ancestor of the Ye family, who was still the leader of the Kyoto Imperial Guard, for the throne, he made these promises to the Ye family.

Once something is promised, it is difficult to take it back.

Therefore, from the death of Emperor Muzong until the current Majesty came to power, the court has always tried to take back the salt and iron business rights in Lingnan but all failed.

Ye clan.

The weather in Lingnan is hot, so even in the cold weather of September, cartloads of ice were pulled out of the cellar and sent to Ye's mansion.

In addition to ice, countless wealth was also brought into the Ye family in truckloads.

Pearls from the South Sea, colored stones from the Western Regions, and all kinds of rare treasures went into Ye's pocket, just like they went into the belly of a Pi Xiu and could not get out at all.

But today, a large number of troops gathered outside the Ye’s mansion, which was once magnificent and majestic.

Countless troops surrounded this vast manor. Anyone inside who wanted to break out was warned directly. When the warning failed, they were killed directly.

Ye's concierge is such an example.

The bright red blood on the ground today is the blood of the doorman, and the head next to the blood is the head of the doorman who wanted to break out and thought he could still be as arrogant as before.

Ye clan.

In the dark room of the study

Ye Ping frowned in thought, his face showing fatigue and solemnity. Beside him sat his sons, who were walking back and forth in the room in a somewhat anxious manner.

"Okay, Third Brother, stop walking back and forth here."

There was impatience on Ye Xin's face. Ye Fu's walking back and forth made his mind confused and he couldn't concentrate at all.

Ye Fu sneered: "I walk back and forth?"

"If my brother hadn't insisted on teaching that governor a lesson, how could we have fallen to this point?"

Ye Xin's expression became even more angry: "Yes, you think it's nothing, after all, it's not your son who died!"

"Besides, isn't that person okay?"

"It's just some high-concentration Wu Shi San. Who knew Chen's reaction would be so dramatic?"

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Ye Ping slowly raised his head and said in an old but firm voice: "Okay, it's come to this, what else do you have to argue about?"

He stood up tremblingly, with a look of helplessness on his face.

"Let's go."

"Let's go meet that Chenzhou Mu and see what he wants to do."

Ye Ping looked calm. He felt that even if Chen was angry, he only wanted to kill a few ringleaders. As for the imperial court?
To put it bluntly, Ye Ping does not take the imperial court seriously.

Reception Hall

Ye Ping and his three sons had just sat down here when they heard footsteps coming from the door. The footsteps were noisy, but vaguely approaching.

But after a moment, the footsteps became more and more obvious, and then a figure appeared at the door.

It was Chen Jiaozhou.

Chen Jiaozhou looked at the four people sitting in the room with a surprised smile on his face. He said in surprise: "Oh, are you all here?"

"I thought you were going to run away."

He didn't hesitate to sit on the main seat, then looked at the four people, and without waiting for them to speak, he said to himself: "Actually, I really didn't intend to kill you all. After all, although what you did was really not something that humans would do, at least you made some contribution to Dayu."

This means that during the time of Emperor Ming, one of the ancestors of the Ye family served as a general under Dong Zhongying in Liangzhou at that time and made considerable contributions.

"But what you did is indeed intolerable to the court, His Majesty, and our Chen family."

Ye Fu couldn't help himself at this moment, he always had a bad temper.

"That sounds nice, but isn't the reason for all the fighting today because of your son?"

As soon as these words came out, Ye Ping felt something was wrong.

Chen Jiaozhou didn't care at all and just smiled faintly.

"You're right."

"But to be honest, I'm not really angry about my son taking the Wu Shi San."

Chen Jiaozhou seemed very frank: "First of all, my feelings for my son are not as deep as you think. Secondly, my son is not so stupid as to really take all of your Wushisan."

In order to avenge his son, Ye Xin ordered one of Wang's sons to put a dose of Wu Shi San in Chen Qilang's wine. The dose was enough to make Chen Qilang unable to return to Guandu, so he knelt down and wanted to take Wu Shi San.

Chen Qillang was smart and saw something, so he only got a little bit of it.

Chen Jiaozhou turned his gaze away from Ye Fu and looked at Ye Ping with an indifferent expression: "Old man, you should know that since I am here today, the glory of the Ye family should end here."

"It's not that the Chen family can't tolerate you, nor is it that the court can't tolerate you."

"But all the people in the world cannot tolerate you."

Ye Ping just sneered: "The people of the world can't tolerate us? It sounds nice, but it's just you and your Majesty who can't tolerate us."

"What's the matter with the people and the livelihood of the people? The Ye family has ended up like this only because they failed in the political struggle."

Chen Jiaozhou said humorously: "Just like the prince back then."

He looked at Ye Ping, his voice mocking and cold: "Back then, your Ye family's ancestor was the leader of the Kyoto Imperial Guard. On the night when the emperor passed away, he controlled the entire Kyoto."

"Crown Prince Zhang Lin wanted to quietly leave the capital and go to Guandu to ask Chen for help, but he was killed on the way."

Chen Jiaozhou closed his eyes, and the smile on his face grew more and more intense.

"When the situation calms down and Emperor Muzong ascends the throne, we will define this incident as the Crown Prince's attempt to rebel."

"But even Emperor Muzong did not want to be known as the one who killed the crown prince, so you said the crown prince died on the way, not because he was killed, but because his carriage fell off a cliff on a rainy night."

"Afterwards, the prince's family members all died within the next six months."

"Because of the environment in Yeyouting, although many people suspected that Emperor Muzong and Ye Shi did it, there was no evidence."

"But the ancestor of the Ye family and Emperor Muzong each had their own evil intentions, so they hated each other - because whenever they saw each other, they would think of the wailing sound on that rainy night."

"So, Emperor Muzong promised the ancestors of the Ye family the land of Lingnan, but at the same time he also required that the Lingnan Ye family would never be able to serve as officials in the court."

"Old sir, is what Chen said correct?"

Ye Ping's expression had become calm at this time. He just looked at Chen Jiaozhou coldly, with a hint of thought in his brows. He seemed to have thought of something and said hesitantly: "I seem to remember that there was a rumor back then." "In fact, the Crown Prince Li had a young daughter who was living among the people."

"Then he disappeared."

Chen Jiaozhou smiled, he stood in front of Ye Ping, opened his arms and showed off his robe.

Today, Chen Jiaozhou was wearing a plain white robe instead of an official uniform. Even the crown on his head was plain, which made him look very quiet and elegant.

When Chen Jiaozhou first walked in, Ye Ping actually didn't feel anything.

Until this time, Ye Ping stared at Chen Jiaozhou's face, but no matter how he looked, he could not see a similar face in it.

Chen Jiaozhou watched Ye Ping's changing expression and finally laughed.

"You don't think I'm the descendant of that prince's orphan, do you? You really have wild ideas."

He shook his head and said, "Back then, the young girl was stranded among the common people. After going through numerous hardships, she finally came to Guandu City."

There was a hint of sigh in Chen Jiaozhou's voice.

"She told the then head of the Chen family all about her experiences and the things her father had entrusted to her before he left, and then hanged herself one night."

"She left a suicide note in which she described the hardships she had experienced along the way and said she could not accept herself as she was, a dirty person."

Speaking of this, there was still a hint of gloom in Chen Jiaozhou's brows.

"In fact, the head of the Chen family didn't care about these things at the time. The so-called filthiness was just the perspective of others."

"After reading the letter, the then Chen family master understood everything, but it was too late for everything."

He glanced at Ye Ping and said, "I'll say it again, something that no one in the world would believe. The Chen family is not the kind of family that controls the government and the world and treats everything as nourishment for the Chen family."

"Although Emperor Muzong took the wrong path and went astray, he did lead the entire Dayu toward prosperity."

"The Chen family cannot wipe out the world that was on the path to prosperity at that time just for their own selfishness."

Ye Ping remained silent. After a while, he spoke up: "Why is it selfish? Didn't you say that Emperor Muzong took the wrong path?"

Chen Jiaozhou shook his head: "No one could make a complete judgment at the time whether the road was correct or not. Judging from the situation and scene at the time, it was indeed a correct road."

"It's only now that everyone can see it clearly."

“That’s not the right way to go.”

Chen Jiaozhou shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's why the current ruler is so ruthless and wants to deal with you noble families. The purpose is to correct the wrong and deviated path again."

He stood up, stretched, took one last look at Ye Ping and said, "Okay, I've said everything I need to say."

"I'll take the old man on his way."

On the road?

Ye Ping, who had originally had a calm expression, suddenly became ferocious. He looked at Chen Jiaozhou with a panicked expression for a moment, and then calmed down.

"I know you have found out something."

"Don't you want to catch the fake 'Emperor of the Han Dynasty'? With him around, Dayu will continue to be in turmoil."

"Don't you want to know the identity of that 'Son of Han's Emperor'?"

Identity?

Chen Jiaozhou sneered: "You mean, the remnant of the Sima family?"

Ye Ping's expression suddenly changed.

How did Chen Jiaozhou know that the man was a remnant of the Sima clan?

Yes.

The man who pretended to be the "Emperor of Han Dynasty" was the descendant of a member of the Sima clan who was not killed by lightning.

After all, not all members of the Sima clan were involved in that incident.

There are also some people who are upright.

This is called good bamboo shoots coming out of bad bamboo.

Chen Jiaozhou turned around and looked at Ye Ping with a playful look: "Actually, I didn't want to tell you so much, but you are going to die soon, so it doesn't matter if I talk about it."

He waved his hand, and the servant beside him understood, then went out to pass on the message.

Chen Jiaozhou was accompanied by several attendants and guards.

He sat there, holding a teacup, as if reminiscing or in deep thought.

"Where should I start?"

Chen Jiaozhou seemed to be lost in memories: "The story probably started from the time of the previous emperor."

"The late emperor had some minor problems, but they were not serious. He just liked to have fun, but he knew who he could trust, who he should trust, and who he should not trust."

"He also understands that if the power of the Ye family and the aristocratic families continues to expand, there will definitely be chaos."

"So he came up with a brilliant idea."

Chen Jiaozhou looked at Ye Ping, even with a hint of pity in his eyes.

"What can be done?"

"A way to get rid of the Ye family legitimately."

Ye Ping looked at Chen Jiaozhou's expression and listened to what Chen Jiaozhou said, as if he had fallen into some kind of strange silence.

His body trembled slightly, as if he understood what the solution was.

At this moment, screams were heard outside the reception hall.

Some are short, others are sprawling.

Chen Jiaozhou's voice continued to ring out, like a ruthless demon.

"There is only one crime that can uproot a noble family, a family that dares to call itself the "King of Lingnan" in secret, without damaging its reputation - that is treason."

"When the Ye family helped Emperor Muzong ascend the throne, Emperor Muzong's reputation must not be ruined no matter what - even though the late emperor disliked him very much."

"So it can only be that something is wrong with the Ye family now."

"So, a man who claimed to be a descendant of the Sima clan went to find Ye Ping, the then head of the Ye clan, that is, you, old sir."

"This descendant of the Sima family promised Ye Ping countless benefits, and even said that if he could become emperor and sit on the throne, he would be willing to divide the river with the Ye family and rule the country separately - the entire south would belong to the Ye family, and the north would belong to the Sima family."

"Yeping was actually unwilling at first, because he felt that the Sima clan had almost been killed, so how could they have the strength to seize the throne?"

"But this Sima clan member came up with an idea that he couldn't refuse."

"So, Ye Ping was moved."

“So, Ye Ping fell into a trap that had been prepared for him.”

(End of this chapter)