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

Chapter 491: Friends and Enemies

The praise came so quickly that before anyone could react, merchants all over the world had already started promoting Chen as their real father.

One thing must be said here - never underestimate businessmen.

Merchants may not be able to fight against the "court" in this era or in any era of "iron fist" rule, but as long as they do not want to fight against the "court" itself, their power is very strong.

For example, when promoting something.

No one in the world can spread "news" faster than them, especially news among the people.

Taiji Hall
Li Shimin smacked his lips and spat out the slightly bitter tea in his mouth. Then, with a puzzled look on his face, he said, "Is this what Mr. Chen meant by the 'enemy and friend theory'?"

"To attract those businessmen in advance?"

He said in confusion: "But what's the point of attracting them? They don't seem to be of much use, on the contrary."

Li Shimin frowned: "On the contrary, they may waver at the critical moment."

He actually doesn't like businessmen, nor does he want to win them over to his so-called camp because there is no need.

But whether it was Chen Zhan, Chen Ruohan, or Chen Yu, who were relatively consistent with him on other issues, their opinions on this issue were exactly the opposite of his.

Chen Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, what we want is their 'wavering'."

The camps in this world are not black and white, and the divisions are not very clear. Some people are born "speculators". They are indecisive and like to seize opportunities and find any "speculation" opportunities to invest.

The merchant class is obviously born with some "speculation" attributes.

Chen Yu smiled faintly, and the inexplicable look in his expression became even more serious: "We must use everything we can use, use all the power we can use, and unite all the people we can unite."

"What we are going to do is to make the world our enemy, and in this case, there is a lot we need to do."

Chen Ruohan added: "Yes, we need to do a lot."

He looked at the azure blue sky and said softly, "There are many things that need to be prepared."

"The scourge of the aristocratic families has lasted for too many years. Over the years, these aristocratic families have been sucking blood from the people of China's nine provinces, and even swallowed up all their interests."

"They occupied most of the land, interests, and even gold and silver in the world."

Chen Ruohan's voice was cold, and he looked like a sword drawn from its sheath.

"Hundreds of years ago, the Chen family started the "Family Sorrow" and taught those aristocratic families a small lesson, but this lesson did not make them remember one thing: what can be taken and what cannot be taken!"

"This time."

There was a hint of warmth in Chen Ruohan's look when he looked at Li Shimin.

In the past, when dealing with aristocratic families, the Chen family also had to be wary of another natural enemy, that is, the "Emperor". The Emperor would naturally not stand with the Chen family, but now.
Chen has help.

The emperor unexpectedly stood beside Chen and judged the aristocratic families together with Chen. What made Chen Ruohan feel more relaxed was that this time, the emperor's purpose in judging the aristocratic families was not for his own "power" and "interests". He stood against all the interest groups just to give the people a clearer world.
There was a gentle smile on Chen Ruohan's face, but the words he spoke were cold and ruthless!
"This time, Chen is going to turn many things in the world upside down!"

Moreover, the timing was just right.

The new dynasty has not yet begun to distribute the "fruits of victory", so no one will be surprised if a new distribution method is implemented at this time - no one will be surprised if a new round of benefit distribution is carried out at this time.

Because this is what should happen, this is what they have been looking forward to for a long time!
It’s a pity that many people who are waiting may not be able to get the benefits that belong to them. Not only that, they may even be eliminated from this distribution of benefits.

Li Shimin looked at the smile on Chen Ruohan's face, thought about the problem and angle they were going to start with, and had a somewhat wanton and unrestrained smile on his face. He looked at Chen Ruohan and said, "Cheng Tao, I feel much more relieved when you say so."

He looked indifferently in the distance, with a slightly inexplicable look on his face.

"I just hope that none of my old friends will let me down."

There was a hint of disappointment in Li Shimin's voice. In fact, through the all-pervasive information investigation of the "secret guards", he had already received news that some of his old friends had colluded with interest groups such as Gao Shilian.

That was someone he couldn't believe.
He was also a person who made him feel very painful when he heard his name.

He couldn't imagine that person betraying him, but he could also "guess" about that person's betrayal.

In short, it’s just about two words: interest.

In the face of power and interests.
He sighed, looked at Chen Ruohan and said, "Cheng Tao, my brother-in-law has been on leave these days, saying that he is not feeling well. I am very busy here, why don't you go and check on him for me?"

Taking leave at home?

Chen Ruohan looked at the expression on Li Shimin's face and instantly understood what Li Shimin meant. He nodded immediately and said, "I understand. I will hand in the visiting card after I return today, and then go to visit Zhangsun Pushe."

Li Shimin nodded, and then remained silent for a moment before speaking again: "Besides."

He looked at Chen Ruohan and said, "No matter what happens this time, life must go on. Among my many sons, only Cheng Qian can inherit this huge empire, and his character is pretty good."

Li Shimin smiled as he looked for a backer for his "eldest son".

After all, if something happened to "Changsun Wuji", then if "Li Chengqian" wanted to secure his position as the crown prince, he would have to have another strong enough backer to support him.

The only one who could hold such a status in the entire court was the Chen family.

So Li Shimin had planned to let Chen Ruohan be Li Chengqian's teacher. However, he had planned to make Chen Linan, not Chen Ruohan.
Li Shimin pondered, thinking of the unreliability of Chen Linan, and finally chose the more reliable Chen Ruohan.

Chen Ruohan was not surprised. When Li Shimin mentioned Zhangsun Wuji just now, he had some guesses.

"I have no objection to this, but I need to test and see if there is fate when I accept a disciple. If there is no fate, I can accept Cheng Qian as a student. If there is fate, I can accept Cheng Qian as a disciple."

Li Shimin waved his hand indifferently. In his opinion, there was actually no difference between disciples and students.

Anyway, Chen Ruohan would not be perfunctory with his son. He would definitely teach him what he should teach. As long as Chen Ruohan did not accept other princes as disciples, Li Chengqian's position would be stable.

Then why does he care so much?

He immediately smiled and said, "Just do as you say. Don't worry about my face."

Cheng Yaojin sat there in the mansion of Duke Lu, with a somewhat indifferent look on his face. He squinted his eyes and looked at the few people who were calm and composed beside him. For a moment, he felt a little helpless: "I say, everyone, after the court meeting, why are you all gathered here instead of doing your own things?"

"Do you still expect to eat my rich family?"

These words were said with a hint of sarcasm and a rather nonchalant temperament, which also stirred up the atmosphere.

Fang Xuanling sighed, pointed at Cheng Yaojin and said, "Do you think we want to come here? Isn't it to avoid idleness?"

He pressed his forehead and said, "Ever since Yi Guang came to Chang'an City some time ago, the outside of my mansion has been a mess. There are always people visiting me with all kinds of messy excuses."

"and"

Fang Xuanling's expression became a little more serious. He looked around at the people sitting here with an unprecedented seriousness in his eyes.

Those who can sit here are all their close friends.

Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Jingde, Qin Qiong, Li Jing, Wei Zheng, Du Ruhui and a few others.

Some of them I knew when I was in Liaodong, and some I met halfway. In short, everyone is familiar with each other and they are all trustworthy friends.

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That was why Fang Xuanling dared to gather together a group of people who controlled the most powerful forces in the Tang Dynasty at such a sensitive time.

"Besides, have you heard from your eldest grandson recently?"

Everyone fell silent. Then Li Jing, who had been silent and calm, opened his eyes and said slowly, "I haven't heard from him for a long time. Under such circumstances, I don't believe that Chang Sun is really sick."

He sneered: "In this case, there is only one possibility."

Li Jing's sigh was so long that everyone present felt a sense of inexplicable tension.

"The eldest grandson is dissatisfied with His Majesty."

Silence. After hearing these words, everyone remained silent.

Yes
If I wasn't dissatisfied with Your Majesty, how could I ask for leave at this time?
Fang Xuanling then looked at everyone and said, "Also, I know that Brother Gao has contacted everyone during this period. I think he wants everyone to take sides."

He said softly, "I don't know what you think, but after so many years of friendship, I don't want you to go astray."

Fang Xuanling smiled bitterly: "You may think I am overthinking or whatever you think of me, but the reason I have gathered you all here at Zhijie today is to ask you questions."

"What is your attitude? What are your thoughts?"

Cheng Yaojin looked at Fang Xuanling in bewilderment: "In fact, sometimes I don't know whether to say that you are too smart or stupid. Do you think that if there are people here who want to be recruited by Duke Shen, will they still appear here?"

Wei Zheng, who had maintained his sharp tongue for many years, launched a vicious attack on Fang Xuanling.

"Haha, I guess he's been busy calculating this and that all day, and his brain has completely gone bad."

The other people also chuckled.

They were all Li Shimin's true confidants and supported Li Shimin's decision.

Cheng Yaojin even held his chin and said, "Sometimes, I really don't know whether Changsun is pretending to be confused or is really confused. He has been with Your Majesty through thick and thin and has been by Your Majesty's side since Liaodong. Although Your Majesty wants to carry out certain reforms, it will not cause much harm to Changsun. On the contrary, it may be beneficial."

“I really don’t understand.”

"Why did he make such a choice?"

Wei Zheng sneered: "Why? Because he wants the Changsun family to become the most powerful family in the world!"

"Some time ago, people from the Shangshu Province wanted to compile a list of aristocratic families - they summarized a so-called list."

"The ranking of the surnames was even summarized into a jingle."

"One is a noble family, two is unworldly, three is a royal family, six is ​​a noble family, five is a surname, and seven is a prestigious family."

Cheng Yaojin became interested: "From what this jingle says, I can probably guess which noble families it is referring to."

"Except for the Chen family, no one else can match the title of a 'high family', right?"

"As for the two transcendents, do they refer to the Kong family and the Zhang family?"

"The Kong family has relied on Confucianism to survive for thousands of years, while the Zhang family has relied on the "Tianshi Mansion" to survive for a long time. Both of them can be regarded as aristocratic families that are detached from the secular world. If you say that these two are otherworldly, you are right."

"Three royal families and six dignitaries."

Speaking of this, Cheng Yaojin became a little hesitant and conflicted.

"In theory, it should be the royal bloodlines of the Qin, Han and Cao Wei, all of which have been emperors. The bloodline of Qin was passed down to the Shangdang Zhao family and the Hanzhong Qin family. The Han family has three Lius, and although their sources are all Emperor Gaozu of Han, their ancestors are different. Add in the Cao family of Cao Wei, and they are indeed the "Six Nobles."

He looked at Fang Xuanling hesitantly and said, "The Five Surnames and Seven Aristocratic Clans should refer to the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats - the Longxi Li family, the Zhaojun Li family, the Boling Cui family, the Qinghe Cui family, the Fanyang Lu family, the Xingyang Zheng family and the Taiyuan Wang family. These five surnames and seven great families."

At this point, Cheng Yaojin looked at Fang Xuanling who nodded, and couldn't help but be dumbfounded: "No. How dare the people from the Shangshu Province? To rank your Majesty's "Li" among the five surnames and seven families?"

"Shouldn't they be ranked among the Three Royal Houses, and change the Three Royal Houses to Four Royal Houses and Seven Nobles?"

"That's not right. Even if that's the case, it's fine to put your Majesty's surname, the national surname of the Tang Dynasty, after Chen, but you put it after Kong and Zhang???"

"The people in the Chancellery have finally gone crazy?"

After hearing this question, Fang Xuanling sighed and said, "Are you crazy?"

“I’d rather they were crazy.”

"If he's crazy, just change someone else."

"But what if they did this on purpose?"

(End of this chapter)