Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 485: Peace exists through struggle.

Gao Shilian actually knew one thing very well, which was how he could win.

The answer is simple. He can win if he does nothing but stay at home and recuperate for a while. Because everyone assumes that he is the head of the Southern Family Alliance, with strong abilities, seniority, deep background, and far-reaching influence. He is definitely the hero of a cool novel.

He had followed the late emperor's father, his teacher was the emperor's great uncle, and he co-created the Hongbao rule with the late emperor. He was a veteran of three dynasties and was one of the three highest officials. He was the in-law of the Li family, the best family in the world, and he was also the spiritual leader of the Jiangnan gentry.

As long as he is not thinking about starting a business or maximizing the interests of his family, he will be a winner just by lying down, because no matter what the outcome of the reform led by Xia Lin will be, at least Xia Lin's demands seem reasonable at the moment, including more promotion opportunities and a fairer examination system.

No matter how many twists and turns there are, as long as their core demands are resolved, things will soon be settled. Then all that will be left is to deal with future matters. For now, both sides will work together to prosper China.

Gao Shilian is still Gao Shilian, he will still be the spokesperson for his family, and he will still be one of the Three Dukes. At the same time, he will still be a good man who promotes reform and sympathizes with the common people, and he will get both fame and fortune.

Under this premise, why should he fight back?

But it is hard to say for other families. They do not have the foundation of the Gao family. Giving up part of the power is equivalent to weakening their influence in the court. In the future, when the family becomes big and powerful and their children and grandchildren start to compete with others, those who are not capable will naturally be eliminated after a long time.

You know, didn't Liu Xuande, the descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, end up making shoes and selling them? And now, what they saw before them was a Great Wei Enfeoffment Order.

After a few generations, probably only one in ten of the aristocratic families will remain.

Are there any mentally retarded people in the aristocratic families? Actually, there are, and the proportion is not low. But most of them are the younger generation, because they have lived too well since childhood and enjoy a life without any competition. When they get old, they can use the power of their own family to get a position. If they are not stupid, who else can be stupid?
But if you ask whether there are powerful people in the noble families, of course there are. Fighting does not only exist between different classes, but also within the class. Just as people at the bottom are good at making things difficult for people at the bottom, the one who is best at making things difficult for the noble families is another noble family.

If a family is inherently stupid from top to bottom, they will soon be divided up. Never overestimate the moral bottom line of these people. They have no bottom line at all.

And the smartest group of these families are aware of what is possible now and what may happen in the future.

The problem is that it is really scary now. If you agree to the other party's request, it would be chronic suicide. Either their children and nephews can really roll up, and their family's financial and material resources can ensure that their children have innate advantages, but innate advantages cannot roll up a huge base.

Eventually they will move from the light to the dark, and although they will still be able to live a life of luxury, their privileges will become less and less, and will eventually vanish into thin air.

But if they disagree, the stupid things they do will cause the situation to get completely out of control. The emperor is not at home, and now there is no one in the entire Jinling City who can make decisions for them.

And even if the emperor were still alive, he would probably be happy to see the power of the aristocratic families weakened.

When you have the strength, everything you do is an open conspiracy. This is really unsolvable. The aristocratic family has been stable for two hundred years, and now it is finally their turn to have a headache.

Of course, there is also the question of whether to hand over the person as Gao Shilian mentioned. Choosing not to hand over will trigger the plot of the evil spirit demanding his life. If you hand over, the family's united front and credibility will drop to the bottom. In other words, Zhang Zhongchun's assassination was a huge mistake for the family. He directly handed over the initiative to others, and at the same time planted a huge hidden danger for himself.

"We should put pressure on him, moral pressure."

"Put pressure on?" Gao Shilian turned his head to glance at his old friend beside him: "You still want morality? What have you done? You still want morality? Well, go ahead and put pressure on us, you want morality, and see if the people in the city will think you have morality. Open your eyes and look at the people outside the city, see what they are doing, they wish we were dead!"

The words "I wish we were dead" had already made everyone present lose the motivation to speak.

"Hand in."

At this moment, an old ancestor of the sect said something in a deep voice, and now Gao Shilian spoke again: "Uncle Zheng, it's easy for you to say hand over the people, but after that, how can people gather? Won't the hearts of the major families be shaken? Will they think that one day they will do something for us, and then we will sell them to others? We are all prosperous families and big households, and your words have caused us to fall apart."

"Then what can you do?"

"A way..." Gao Shilian smiled softly, twisting his beard and sighing, "Times have changed, uncles and uncles. Now the raging waves are about to hit us, and you are still thinking about how to cover it up. If you ask me, it's possible. Then we old people will be useless. Now we go out and hang ourselves in front of the city gate. Even if it's an apology to the people of the world, this matter will be over. What do you think, uncles and uncles?"

"Gao Jian! Can you really still say such sarcastic things at this point?"

Gao Shilian slammed the table and stood up: "I am making sarcastic remarks. You can't manage your own family members, but now you are making sarcastic remarks to me? You assassinated an official appointed by the imperial court? Well, you assassinated the leader of all scholars in the world, you assassinated the loved ones and relatives of the current number one warlord, and you assassinated the number one person who pleaded for the people. Now you accuse me of making sarcastic remarks?"

After saying this, Gao Shilian laughed loudly: "That's good, that's good. But it's too good. I want to see how to break this situation! The Po Lu army outside the city is waiting. If they kill us all overnight, it's just a matter of not governing our subordinates strictly. He will be punished with thirty sticks, stripped of his official position and go home to farm. What about you and me? The whole family will be executed! Isn't this just a sarcastic remark?" At this moment, General Gao's temper also came up. He slammed the table heavily: "I don't care who did it. If you dare to stand up and admit it, I will respect you as a hero. Don't let everyone suffer the consequences with you."

No one responded, and Gao Shilian didn't say anything else. He just stood up, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked out the door.

And where did he go after he left? He went to where Xia Lin was.

As the saying goes, if the mountain doesn't come to me, I will go to the mountain. Gao Shilian sat down and started talking to Xia Lin.

"General Gao's presence here today is a great honor to our humble place. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person." Xia Lin raised his teacup to toast Gao Shilian: "I wonder what General Gao can do for you."

Gao Shilian waved his hand slightly and said, "Daosheng, I have watched you grow up over the years. Although you and I have never been on the same side, I still want to save face for this matter."

"You are too polite, General Gao. But since you have said this, I will not waste words. I will draw a way out. If you can accept it, we can talk. If you cannot accept it, I will give you another seven days."

Xia Lin spoke directly as always: "What do you think, Commander?"

"please say."

What could Gao Shilian do? He had been too focused on confronting the imperial power in recent years. Who knew that his fourth brother would lay such a thing for the world a few years before his death? But now he had no choice but to accept it.

It is naturally impossible for Xia Lin to fight to the death, because the interest chain of the aristocratic family groups is complicated. If they really fight to the death, there will be a major change. Although this change will come sooner or later, it is not now. After all, Li Yuan is watching covetously, and several other families are also waiting for the right price. As long as the capital can stabilize the world for the time being, then the world can be stable for the time being. Otherwise, the script of the end of the Sui Dynasty will begin directly.

Any script with the word "end" in its title basically comes at the cost of more than half of the population, from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

It is certainly satisfying to see rivers of blood flow, but the right way is to defeat the enemy without fighting. The best strategy is to attack the enemy's enemy right now.

"Hold an official assessment and remove all unqualified officials. There is no need to keep the system of sons replacing their fathers in the court. In the future, we will use the assessment system. There will also be a three-year assessment mechanism for all new officials. If the three-year average score is not satisfactory, they will be dismissed. In short, the capable ones will be promoted, the average ones will be given way, the mediocre ones will be demoted, and the inferior ones will be eliminated. Isn't this too much?"

Gao Shilian lowered his eyelids and said nothing. In fact, what Xia Lin said was very reasonable. He did not even say how many positions the aristocratic families should give up, but instead used assessments to complete the reduction targets. This was probably the most convincing way to convince the public.

He couldn't refute it, nor could he come up with any other solution.

"Of course, no matter who it is, those who have made contributions to the country should be given priority. For example, if a general dies on the battlefield, his son can be given priority to serve in the army. For those who have worked hard for the country like General Gao, their family members will also be given preferential treatment."

"No need." Gao Shilian waved his hand and refused: "Gao doesn't want to become the target of public criticism."

Gao Shilian was indeed Gao Shilian. With just one sentence, Xia Lin's idea of ​​diverting the blame to someone else came to naught: "Tell me what else you have to say."

"That's all. I will investigate the case of the assassination of Mr. Zhang. The Sixth Bureau is also investigating the rest. These are all I want."

Gao Shilian half-closed his eyes for a long while before speaking: "Don't investigate anymore, just leave it at that. I'll give you an explanation within three days."

"Then I will wait here for Mr. Gao's reply."

Gao Shilian stood up and was about to leave. He took two steps and looked back at Xia Lin: "Da Wei, can you really survive?"

"It's hard to survive in the Great Wei." Xia Lin shook his head and then smiled bitterly.

Gao Shilian felt a little lost for a moment, and he sighed, "It's been a lifetime, so I have some feelings for her."

"Then please take good care of yourself, General Gao, and live a few more years."

"You..." Gao Shilian had the words on the tip of his tongue, but in the end he didn't say them. He just turned around and left silently, disappearing around the corner.

(End of this chapter)