A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

What plan do you have?

"The most painful thing is to lift someone up to the highest point and then drop them."

"The most painful thing is to fail when you are closest to success."

"Since Wang Yun is planning this, why not turn the tables and lure out these vanguard members who oppose the Prime Minister? When they are about to succeed, filled with joy and already fantasizing about their own glory, the Prime Minister can then step forward and slap them in the face."

"To send them plummeting from the clouds to the depths of hell would be a blow worse than death."

Jia Xu remained expressionless, as if he hadn't been the one to come up with this wicked plan.

Dong Zhuo gasped in astonishment; this was truly a talent.

This is absolutely... amazing!

"Do as you say. You are in full charge of this matter. If you do a good job, I will recommend you for a position among the Nine Ministers."

"Thank you, Prime Minister, but I only wish to serve as an advisor to you and have no interest in court politics."

Jia Xu's words made Dong Zhuo glance at him a few more times. In this era, are there still people who don't want to be officials?

But those words really do sound comforting.

"No need. If I say there are nine ministers, then there are nine ministers. I, Dong Zhuo, have never mistreated any meritorious official."

Jia Xu saw through Dong Zhuo's thoughts and sighed inwardly. This was the best strategy he could come up with that would attract Dong Zhuo's attention and provide him with better protection, but without being too conspicuous.

Even so, he still obtained the position of one of the Nine Ministers. Was his talent really that dazzling? Was it really that undeniable?

……

As soon as Wei Ya left Dong Zhuo's residence, someone delivered a visiting card. When Wei Ya opened it, he was surprised to find that these were all important figures.

The Yang family of Hongnong, who produced three high-ranking officials for four generations; the Sima family of Henan; the Geng, Xin, and Cui families of Jizhou; the Wang family of Taiyuan…

Wei Ya received this group of people at his home. They immediately asked Wei Ya to persuade Dong Zhuo to completely block Cao Cao's edict seeking talented individuals.

When Wei Ya took a look, he realized that the Geng family of Jizhou was a family that produced a lot of fools, and it was a miracle that they had survived to this day.

The members of the Yang, Sima, and Cui families stared blankly at the group led by the Xin family, as if they were complete idiots.

Who did they think Dong Zhuo was?

How much better could he be than Cao Cao?

fart!

To be honest, he's not even as good as Cao Cao!

They had already agreed on the price to pay, but he came here and tried to get something for nothing. He's not willing to pay even a little bit. I'd better stay away from him in the future, for fear that stupidity is contagious.

Wei Ya chuckled and said, "I will report your opinions to the Prime Minister. Please return now."

"Wait a minute."

The heads of the three families stepped forward.

"We have discussed this matter. If the Prime Minister is willing to completely stop the decree seeking talented people, and issue an edict to remove all of Cao Cao's official positions and titles, denounce him as a traitor, and send troops to punish him."

"We are willing to pay 2 billion coins, one million shi of grain, and 100,000 sets of weapons and armor as the military supplies for the campaign against Cao Cao, in exchange for the position of Prime Minister."

Because of the behavior of these fools, they had no choice but to reveal their hand right away.

These idiots still hate them for so easily revealing their trump card and giving up the largest amount of supplies.

A terrible teammate.

Seeing such generous military funds, Wei Ya finally smiled sincerely. "I will go to see the Prime Minister now. Please rest assured, gentlemen."

Back at Dong Zhuo's residence, Wei Ya and Li Ru had a big argument over the matter, and Wei Ya stormed off, smashing his cup in anger.

Back at his residence, Wei Ya covered his face with his wide sleeves, saying, "I have no face to see you patriarchs. Please return."

"What? These resources aren't enough!"

"Isn't Dong Zhuo afraid he'll choke to death?"

"Those barbarians of Xiliang are barbarians indeed! They're greedy for money and will try to raise prices on the spot!"

The head of the Xin family said with dissatisfaction, as if Dong Zhuo should be grateful to the point of tears and be at their beck and call after they provided so many supplies.

If Dong Zhuo refused, then he would have made a grave mistake.

The head of the Cui family felt a wave of dizziness. He had tried his best to stop him, but this guy's mouth was too fast, and he couldn't stop him.

"Lord Wei, what has happened? Does the Prime Minister complain that the military funds are insufficient? This is already the amount of resources that several of us could scrape together!"

"If you encounter any difficulties, please tell us directly, and we will think of a solution."

Sima Lang from the Sima family stepped forward, first keeping his distance from those fools, then bowing to Wei Ya and speaking slowly.

"It was Li Ru. When I arrived, he was requesting the Prime Minister to issue a similar decree seeking talented individuals. After all, he was the Prime Minister's son-in-law and the strategist who helped the Prime Minister rise to power, so he was trusted by the Prime Minister even more."

"He is currently drafting a decree for the Prime Minister to seek out talented individuals for the Chang'an court, which will be issued directly to all parts of the country in His Majesty's name."

Wei Ya explained.

"He dares!"

"Li Ru, a peasant by birth, where did he get such audacity!"

"How dare Dong Zhuo oppose our aristocratic families? Doesn't he fear a gruesome death?!"

They didn't know if Dong Zhuo would die without a burial place, but they knew that these fools and their families would die without a burial place.

Do you really think Dong Zhuo is a philanthropist? Or some kind of righteous hero?

How can someone be insulted at will and not retaliate?

Have they forgotten the countless lives Dong Zhuo slaughtered in the early days of his rule? How long has it been? He hasn't even begun to cultivate his character yet! The Weiyang Palace still reeks of blood!

"We'll take our leave."

"We will come to see you again after we have discussed it."

The Cui, Sima, and Yang families exchanged glances and decided to sell these families for a good price.

With the accumulated wealth of these families over generations, they should be able to satisfy Dong Zhuo's appetite.

As for Li Ru's refusal, a huge argument broke out between the two sides. Just listen to this kind of thing; anyone who believes it is a fool.

Thinking of this, they looked at the others and realized there really were some fools who believed it.

After the other family heads returned, they took a stroll outside and then returned without prior arrangement.

"What if we add all the resources from those other companies?"

Wei Ya could tell that these were all intelligent people. "I'll go talk to the Prime Minister again."

These family heads waited at Wei Ya's residence. An hour later, Wei Ya brought back Dong Zhuo's decision.

"The Prime Minister can issue a decree seeking talented individuals without pushing it forward, but the Prime Minister is currently lacking in scholars. Among your families, there are many sons of concubines who are outstanding in talent, but due to a lack of resources, they cannot enter officialdom."

"The Prime Minister hopes to recruit the sons of illegitimate children from various families. I urge you all to be lenient. This would be a way for you to expand your family's influence, and it would be a good thing."

The family heads remained silent; unlike those fools, they were all shrewd and calculating.

It's clear that there's a trap hidden behind this. It's indeed an opportunity to expand the family's power, but it's also a trap that will lead to the family's division and decline.

It is precisely because they control a large amount of political resources that they are called aristocratic families. When illegitimate sons leave, they will inevitably take away resources, which cannot be reduced subjectively.

This is no different from the Edict of Grace, except that one is aimed at relatives and the other at their aristocratic families.

However, compared to the edict seeking talented individuals, choosing the lesser of two evils was the best option, and Dong Zhuo had accurately grasped their weaknesses.