Liu Hansan had once commented on Zhang Liang and Zhang Zifang. They were able to strategize and win from thousands of miles away. Li Zhi had truly experienced the pleasure of hiding behind the scenes and controlling the entire situation.
"Even though I don't see you in the martial world, there are rumors about you everywhere.”Crossing his legs, Li Zhi looked coquettishly at Wu Meiniang, who was sitting beside him and reading a book.
Li Yexu, Fang Yizhi, Xiao Ling, and the others looked at each other helplessly. They looked at Wu Meiniang, who was focused on reading and was as quiet as a virgin, with admiration."Sigh, the heavens have no eyes. The third party benefits from the fight between the snipe and the clam. Forget it, let him be happy to his heart's content. His wife is a living Zhuge, how can she not be happy?”
Thinking of this, the few of them could not help but smile at each other. Their thoughts unconsciously returned to last night. It was really thrilling.
The lovely dividing line.
"Husband, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?”Li Zhi, who had just returned from the Imperial Palace, sat in his room with a livid face and did not say a word. His usually gentle gaze was now as sharp as a knife, as if it would fly out and stab someone at any moment.
Li Zhi put down the wine glass in his hand and smiled coldly.""Just now, Li He reported that this king's fourth brother and father's words made mother sick from anger. This king was shocked and quickly entered the palace.”
Wu Meiniang covered her mouth in shock. Li Zhi heaved a sigh of relief." Fortunately, I used all my means to keep Sun Simiao in Chang 'an and finally saved my mother. However, before I left the palace, Priest Sun told me that if such a stimulation were to happen again, I'm afraid there would be no way to turn the situation around. Even this time, my life was hanging by a thread.”
At this point, Li Zhi stood up and smashed the wine glass in his hand on the ground. He said in a low voice,"If mother is really angered by that bastard Wei Wang, I will personally chop off his head.”
The King of Wei, Li Tai, was Li Zhi's elder brother. At least on the surface, Li Zhi, who maintained a gentle appearance, was now so fierce that he wanted to kill his elder brother with his own hands. It was obvious that Li Zhi was furious.
Wu Meiniang had always been a smart woman, and she had the potential to be a fierce and ruthless person. When she heard Li Zhi's complaint, not only did she not go forward to comfort him like other women, but she was secretly pleased in her heart. However, she asked calmly,"It seems that His Majesty hates the King of Wei to the extreme this time.”
Li Zhi subconsciously nodded and replied,""Benwang heard it happily. Imperial Father was so angry that he tore up half of Gu Kaizhi's 'Painting of the Grand Cloud Mountain'. That was one of Imperial Father's favorite calligraphy sections. He was so scared that Lai Xi is now hiring a craftsman to mend it. This time, Fourth Brother has really angered Imperial Father.”
Wu Meiniang's phoenix eyes lit up when she heard that. She then looked at the angry Li Zhi and said decisively,"Husband, our plan can be brought forward.”
"What?" Li Zhi did not react for a moment.
"Our plan can be brought forward.”Wu Meiniang enunciated each word clearly and slowly. She did not have the slightest impatience to repeat herself a second time. Her smile was quiet and elegant, and her voice was very calm.
However, Li Zhi's body suddenly stiffened. His originally angry expression was gradually replaced by a gloomy one." The time has come?"”
"We're here." Wu Meiniang's eyes slowly narrowed, and her red lips curved into a beautiful yet dangerous arc.
He didn't doubt Wu Meiniang's words. This was the foresight and means that Wu Meiniang had shown over the past four years.
Wu Meiniang suddenly leaned against Li Zhi and hugged his right hand in her arms. She smiled and said,""This is also a good lesson for the King of Wei.”
Scratching Wu Meiniang's tall and fair nose, Li Zhi laughed and said,""What kind of person do you think husband is? Pass on the order. Let those guys take action. I want Fourth Brother to get out of Chang 'an. Out of sight, out of mind.”
"Understood." Wu Meiniang smiled mischievously. Her charming eyes became even brighter, as if there was a raging flame burning. The Crown Princess Consort.
The lovely dividing line.
Fang Manor, study, father and son.
Fang Xuanling looked at his two sons who were standing in front of him with solemn expressions, and the doubts in his heart all these years were completely resolved.
In the past ten years, these two kids had been hanging out with Prince Jin every day. They had even formed a so-called "World Party" with the other rich sons of the ministers. They had been fighting cocks and walking dogs all day and had never done anything serious. This made the old masters shake their heads and laugh. It was just a joke to form a party with such a situation.
But now, these rascals, who usually did not enter the eyes of these old masters, had truly shocked this old man who had held the position of Prime Minister of the Great Tang for more than twenty years.
In front of him was a name list. Although this name list was only one-tenth of the name list, it still scared the old master. This was something that could turn the sky upside down.
The list was full of names of officials from both the military and the government of the Tang Empire. There were thousands of them, from the middle to the top. If there were only one-tenth of them, it meant that the Tianxia Party controlled tens of thousands of officials of the Tang Empire. It was truly a net of the world. Among them, there were many officials from the Seven Sects and Five Families. It was enough to turn the world upside down.
This name list is now on the old master's table. I believe that the same name list will also appear on the tables of other ministers. It's extremely arrogant. I'll tell you clearly that these people are my people. So what?
Yes, so what? If these tens of thousands of officials were to be replaced, hehe, not to mention the various interests involved, even if they were really eliminated, the Great Tang would immediately collapse. It would be another chaotic era at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and the world would change hands.
Among them were many of his own family's disciples, who were now in high positions. Old Fang compared Li Tai and Li Zhi in his heart. The difference in their methods was too great.
"This old man is very curious. This is almost a quarter of the officials in the world. How did you control and absorb them into your World Party? This is also what this old man is most curious about.”Fang Xuanling frowned. This method was too heaven-defying.
Fang Yi 'ai smiled proudly, but Fang Yi Zhi said,""Father, the party leader said that the words of the sage were pure fart, and it was a smelly fart. At that time, my son was angry and disgusted. Later, the party leader said something to my son and made a bet with my son. In the past ten years, his son had accompanied the party leader to manage the World Party. He had seen many things and had seen through many people's hearts. Although he did not say it, he knew that he had lost.”
"Oh, what made you praise him so much?”Fang Xuanling asked curiously. He didn't even care about Li Zhi's slander of the Sage.
Fang Yizhi smiled and said,"The party leader said that men don't care about loyalty. Loyalty is because the chips of betrayal are not enough. A woman doesn't care about being decent. Being decent is because she hasn't been tempted enough. Kindness was the epitaph of the kind, and meanness was the pass of the despicable. If the Buddha did not save me, I would become a demon. In the past, he always felt that these words were too extreme, but after seeing too much filth, he regarded them as wise words.”
Fang Xuanling looked at his son in disbelief. His impression of his son was that he was a little honest and pedantic. However, he had conquered the entire Tang Empire with Li Shimin. The dirty dealings between the upper class and the big and small things that had happened in the past twenty years had made Fang Xuanling understand too much. Sometimes, he could not agree with the words of a sage.
"Father, don't you want to know why His Highness Jin Wang could obtain the loyalty of so many officials? It was very simple. Prince Jin would tie all these ministers to his chariot. When the chariot charged forward, they and their families behind them would gain great benefits. On the contrary, if Prince Jin failed, they would also suffer heavy losses.
For example, the glass business that had spread throughout the Great Tang and was sold to Persia and Rome overseas. Among them, nearly 100 aristocratic families in the West had invested in it. The annual sales were close to ten million taels.
There was also Prince Jin's fleet, in which more than thirty great clans of the south participated. Every year, they benefited tens of millions of taels, far more than the annual taxes of the Great Tang.
There were also other silk, liquor, grains, porcelain, and so on. Sometimes, he really admired Prince Jin from afar for being able to gather those families together.
Of course, there were also some who were disobedient, but they all disappeared. In Prince Jin's words, they pulled a group, neutral a group, and attacked a group. There was even the shadow of His Majesty among them. For example, alcohol. Just this alone was enough to bring in millions of cattle and sheep every year, as well as countless wealth. What they didn't know was that because of this alcohol, dozens of families had been wiped out. On the grasslands, the generals who joined the World Party became the most loyal guards, fought bloody battles, and killed more than ten thousand bandits because twenty percent of them belonged to these generals.
His Highness had never monopolized any business. In the past ten years, he had always tied more people to the chariot of interests. Even the seven sects and five families, which had been in the royal family for thousands of years, were not lacking in figures in his camp.
Rather than saying that they supported His Highness, it was better to say that His Highness was the spokesperson for their interests and became the link between them.
Without this bond, they would never be able to work together. This was the greatest achievement His Highness had achieved over the years.”
"Just like that, using money as a link?”The old man shook his head in disbelief.
"Of course, it's not just that. Power, status, and honor are always indispensable. In terms of high-level generals, His Highness did not have many, but he had no less than ten thousand mid-level generals in the past ten years.
They might only be county officers of a county, and even they themselves didn't know that they were the subordinates of Prince Jin. However, once Prince Jin gave an order, there would be someone who could make them listen obediently. Father, the hierarchy of the world's party organizations is very strict. In the past ten years, their influence has been great. The interests of all parties involved are even more complicated than you can imagine.
Even though his son had been there for ten years, he was only a gold-level party member. There were still platinum-level and gemstone-level party members above him. He did not know everything, but he had seen the young party members who had been successfully 'brainwashed' by His Highness. Their worship for His Highness was unimaginable.”
Fang Yi Zhi and Fang Yi 'ai were shocked.
Back then, when Li Zhi brought them to the place, the party members all over the world looked at Li Zhi with incomparable fanaticism. They simply treated Li Zhi as a god.
"Then how did he do it?" Fang Xuanling asked as if he was listening to a story. He really couldn't believe that someone could build such a large organization under his command in ten years.
"I don't know. His Highness only said that a mysterious person once gave him a 'multi-level marketing' divine art that could make people go crazy.”Fang Yizhi shrugged. "Father, it's not without reason that our Fang Clan's business has grown over ten times in the past ten years.”
" I didn't expect this, I really didn't expect this," Fang Xuanling muttered to himself.
Fang Yizhi smiled." That's because you never paid much attention to business. In fact, business is the most important thing for scholars, farmers, businessmen, and merchants. Scholars, farmers, businessmen, and merchants should be called merchants, farmers, and scholars. What's the point of studying? It was still fame and fortune. Father, don't be angry. Father's decades of hard work, when he was able to display his talent, was it because of this that he was able to 'retain the Herbalist's Heart? This was momentum, Prince Jin's momentum was unstoppable.”
Fang Xuanling was silent. Without a doubt, if Prince Jin ascended the throne, it would bring great benefits to his family. His two sons would definitely become high-ranking officials in the future. It was not impossible for them to become the central authority. Suddenly, Fang Xuanling's heart skipped a beat. He asked,""Four years ago, His Majesty wanted to conquer Koryo, but the officials and the nobles all opposed it, right?”
Fang Yizhi shook his head, causing Fang Xuanling to heave a sigh of relief. He wasn't that monstrous yet.
"At that time, I was still a middle-rank Silver Party member, so I'm not too sure. However, now that I'm already qualified to look up some information, it's a wave of opposition launched by the party leader. The 900 aristocratic families that are cooperating with the World Party are working together for the first time. And this time, Prince Jin also gained a huge advantage from His Majesty.”At this point, Fang Yizhi recounted what Li Tai had said in Taiji Palace, as well as Empress Zhangsun and the Emperor's reactions.
Fang Yi Zhi finally finished speaking, and Fang Xuanling nodded his head silently. After a long while, he picked up the brush on the table and wrote his name on a contract-Fang Xuanling.
at this time
In Zhangsun Manor…
In the Du Residence…
In Li Jing's mansion…
In Li Ji's mansion
......
......
In Demoness Cheng's mansion
"Hahaha! Good! You're indeed my disciple! When the time comes, you must give it to my Gem Party member! No wonder you guys are so rich and claim that it's from Prince Jin! Hurry up and bring me the 'Five Grain Wine' that is worth ten thousand gold coins!
I also have shares in this wine. My monthly salary is not even enough to drink a few jars of wine. Hahaha.”
In the Duan Residence
......
......
The lovely dividing line.
Overnight, Li Zhi showed off his muscles without hesitation to those old foxes and people who had lived their entire lives. Li Zhi, who had been in this era for more than ten years, understood this era. He did not believe in the words of Emperor Taizong and the ministers and ministers a thousand years later.
Although these officials and generals were not as ambitious as Hou Junji, they had enough benefits to allow Li Shimin to rebel without even batting an eyelid.
The Seven Sects and Five Families had lasted for thousands of years. They would never be loyal to an emperor or dynasty. No matter how talented and wise the emperor was, it would not work. Everything depended on who was stronger.
After the Five Revolutions wreaked havoc in China, the Central Plains had also been in chaos for hundreds of years. Hundreds of years of loyalty, betrayal, submission, and betrayal had long made these aristocratic ministers prioritize the interests of their families. A prince who could bring them benefits was definitely not something that a king of Wei who only knew how to recite poems and Fu could compare to.
Therefore, what happened in the court yesterday was not strange. The rule of survival in this era was above the family. Even if you were the prime minister, you would never be able to leave the constraints of the family.
In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, those who fought for the world all received the support of the aristocratic families and even participated in the fight.
For example, Li Shimin of the Li family in Guanzhong, Wang Shichong of the Wang branch in Taiyuan, and Dou Jiande, who was supported by the Shandong family,
In this era, the aristocratic families ruled the world. The imperial family was only the number one aristocratic family. Therefore, the people of the Celestial Dynasty had slandered the previous dynasty for generations. However, whether it was Li Shimin, or the later successors of Tang Gaozong, Li Zhi, or Wu Zetian, they had to fully support the imperial examinations and destroy the aristocratic families.
The lovely dividing line.
They came back to their senses. Now that the imperial edict had been issued, the few of them were filled with admiration. Although they were not in the imperial court, the wind and clouds did not escape from their fingers. How elegant was that?
"Husband, tomorrow is the new year. How are the gifts prepared for Imperial Father and Imperial Mother?”
"Don't worry, when the time comes, this king will give everyone a surprise. As the saying goes, the new crown prince has three fires when he hurts others. "Wahahaha!" Li Zhi laughed arrogantly.
" Son of a Zhongshan Wolf. You're so arrogant after knowing that." Wu Meiniang glared at Li Zhi with dissatisfaction.
"It's a waste of a young man if he's not arrogant. Let's go, brothers, let's go have some wine." Li Zhi took the lead and strode out.
Li Yexu, Fang Yizhi, Xiao Ling, and the others also echoed loudly,""If people aren't arrogant, it's a waste of young people. Let's go.”A group of high-level silkpants of the Great Tang, led by the new crown prince, left in a carefree manner.
Behind him, Wu Meiniang muttered,"Isn't it a waste for a young man not to be arrogant? It was good to be young. Husband, wait for Mei Niang!"
A fragrant wind blew, and there was no one else in the back hall.
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