Chapter 63 The Downfall of the Fang Family

The cold night in late autumn is as cold as water. Fang Yuanshan, dressed in a wide robe, seemed to feel the coolness at all. He stood in the bleak autumn wind and looked at the leaves falling from the sycamore trees with thousands of thoughts. At this time, the chill in his heart was colder than the autumn wind outside, so cold that he didn't know the coolness of his body.

"Father, it's getting late. Let's take a rest." Fang Jingshou's voice sounded behind him, but Fang Yuanshan, who had been distracted, had no response, which made the former couldn't help coming forward a little more and came to his side and said, "Father...Father, why..." Suddenly, the words that had already appeared turned into an exclamation.

This trembling cry finally brought Fang Yuanshan back to his senses, and he frowned slightly: "What?"

And his bowing his head made Fang Jingshou more able to see his father's changes and make him change suddenly. He has always been energetic. Looking at Fang Yuanshan, who is only four years old, he is old and exposed. Not only his black and shiny hair is gray, but there are many wrinkles on his face. Compared with before, he is nearly 20 years old. How can such a change not make Fang Jingshou lose his color? He said again, "Father...your hair..."

Fang Yuanshan has been aware of his own changes for a long time. He is over half a hundred years old, and his body will naturally not be as strong as before. In the past, the reason why I couldn't see the real age was that everything was going well and there was no need to be too worried. But this time, it has been frequently hit. Under the heavy heart, the aging of the body naturally accelerates.

After a wry smile, Fang Yuanshan said slowly, "My father is old..." There was endless bitterness in his voice.

"Father... Our family will not fall down like this. We must have a way to survive this." Originally, Fang Jingshou also wanted to ask his father how to deal with the current difficulties, but after discovering his father's changes, his eldest son suddenly realized that he should share some difficulties for his father, at least giving him a belief.

But Fang Yuanshan shook his head: "No, our Fang family is completely going to withdraw from the court this time, otherwise I'm afraid there will be a disaster of destroying the family." At this moment, the choice that had been bothering him finally had an answer. The Fang family had been in the Song Dynasty for nearly a hundred years, and it was time to quit.

But Fang Jingshou didn't think so. He immediately said, "Father's words are too pessimistic. Although our Fang family lost this game, we still have a chance to turn over. There are still many available people in states and counties. As long as they unite their strength, they are not afraid of not being able to keep our current position!"

Fang Yuanshan slowly walked to the sycamore tree with falling leaves and stroked the trunk with his hand: "Is this tree a hundred years old?"

"Yes, this tree was planted in this yard after our ancestors came to the beam. It has a history of 100 years."

"Then tell me, if we cut off his tree trunk, can it still live?"

"This... naturally can't live." Fang Jingshou hesitated for a moment and didn't understand what his father suddenly led the topic to this tree. But he quickly gave his own answer.

"Our family is like this century-old sycamore tree, and now it's time to be cut off. On the surface, we still have a lot of available people in places, just like this tree still has a lot of branches and leaves. But when the tree trunk suffers a fatal blow, can these branches and leaves bring the tree back to life?

"This... tree can't come back to life by branches and leaves, but we can, because those places are people, not unimportant branches and leaves." Fang Jingshou still adheres to his own opinion.

"No, the local power attached to our family is actually not as good as these branches and leaves. At least, even if the branches and leaves of the trees are cut down, they will only float separately and will not hurt the trunk itself, but the power of these places is likely to turn around and hurt our family. Fang Yuanshan said with a sastic smile on his mouth.

"The children don't understand what father said. How can they hurt us? We fell down, which was also very harmful to them. They wouldn't do such a thing, would they?

"They will. Haven't you noticed that now some officials in the court who were originally attached to us have begun to change their doors? Now they dare not do too much because of the prestige of our family, but once they find it difficult for us to get well, they will do something against us in order to show loyalty to their new master.

"The officials in the court are like this, and the local government is naturally ordinary. Moreover, because they are in the place and have less taboos, their betrayal of us * will be more thorough, even directly against us. This is why the final outcome of the rich family has not been good since ancient times.

Fang Jing kept silent. He was not a confused person. After his father's words, he could feel the taste, which made his heart even more difficult: "Father, is our family over? Are we going to be bullied by these despicable people who are flattering us?

"This is what the father is thinking about. How can we really save the people of our family? Now it seems that there is only one way to protect the safety of hundreds of people in our family.

"What method?" Fang Jingshou has actually thought of the answer to the question, but he still hopes that his father will say it himself.

"That is to take the initiative to remove the official position before they are in trouble. In this way, it will be difficult for the forces in the court to kill us, and those young people who want to please the new master by persecuting us will not have this opportunity to attack us.

"Father..." Hearing his father say this last method, Fang Jingshou has burst into tears: "Is there really no other way?"

"No more. If there is still a little chance, I will not hand over my power and official position, but now it is irrevocable. After this incident, the other six families have been calculating about us and have regarded our family's position in the court as the delicious food on their plate. Do you think they will spit out the delicious food in their mouths?

Fang Jingshou was silent again, and he had to admit that everything was indeed irreparable. But then, he couldn't help saying, "We are all family forces. Why do they force each other so much? Aren't they afraid that they will respond to themselves one day?

"In officialdom, I never believe in retribution, only about interests! What's more, what do they have to worry about now that the family power is like Japan? However, they are also blinded by the pride in front of them. Now I find that there is something hidden in it. Maybe it won't be long before they will follow in our family. Fang Yuanshan smiled again: "It's a pity that when I found this, everything was too late."

"Does the father mean that Xu Jinghong?"

"No, he is just a knife that has been used by others. It's nothing. Behind all this, there is a force that wants to uproot our family. Fang Yuanshan shook his head: "But this has nothing to do with me. Early tomorrow morning, I will submit my resignation to the court and blame the resignation.

"Is it blamed?" Fang Jingshou asked puzzledly.

"Yes, the Ministry of Criminal Justice has too much evidence now, but all this has not been found on me. If I don't resign first, they will think that I am also guilty. So leaving now is the best time, at least to stop those people in the court from pressing each other step by step.

"Since the father has made up his mind, the child will obey. But did my father think that once we lose our position in the court, how should we deal with ourselves next?

"Let's go back to my hometown Huizhou and be a rich man. The government there is most closely related to our family. As long as the Chinese forces no longer intend to kill us, we can live in peace after returning to our hometown. The only thing to worry about now is Xu Jinghong, who has been doing things unruly, so at the same time as I resign, I must also eradicate him!" Fang Yuanshan said, with a deep hatred in his eyes. It was this guy who brought the Fang family to such a desperate point.

"Yes, we can't take advantage of him!" Fang Jingshou also nodded repeatedly: "What can father do?"

"Well, we don't have to worry about this. The Ye and Wu families will not keep him to continue to do bad things in the court. They should also guard against becoming the second Fang family." After saying this, Fang Yuanshan exhaled and then went to his bedroom, leaving Fang quietly under the tree to think about his thoughts.

In the 90th month of late autumn, great turmoil occurred on the Song Dynasty, which was shocking. The Fang family, which has an extraordinary position in the dynasty and is known as one of the seven great masters, suddenly collapsed in this steep autumn day.

Fang Yuanshan, the head of the Fang family, suddenly resigned to the court and was willing to remove all his official positions to offset the sins of conniving his family to bully the people. In this regard, the court first retained it and did not accept it for its crimes in his family rather than Fang Yuanshan himself. However, Fang Yuanshan went on a series of twists and turns, and finally went on a hunger strike. After all kinds of persuasion in the court but still persisted, he was finally able to become an official and left the officialdom that had struggled for a lifetime.

With Fang Yuanshan's resignation, some sons and nephews of the Fang family in the court also resigned from their official positions under one or another pretext, making this century-old family truly leave the imperial court officialdom and become a big family in the wild.

Of course, all of the above is just an official statement, but in private, there are several other statements about the rapid collapse of the Fang family.

One is that the six people in the court united to force a group of officials led by Fang Yuanshan to leave the officialdom by various means because they saw the Fang family's power slowly growing.

Second, Xu Jinghong, a famous figure in the capital recently, was mentioned. It was precisely because of his various means that it was difficult for the Fang family to gain a foothold in the court and was finally removed from the title of seven people.

Obviously, for the people of the capital, the third statement is more credible than the previous two, because they have seen the power of Guoansi. Moreover, more importantly, two days after the collapse of the Fang family, the newly established government, Guoan, was also closed. This also seems to confirm the second statement from another aspect - it must be that the bigwigs in the court were worried that Xu Jinghong and Guoan Si beg for the people and let themselves repeat the mistakes of the Fang family, so they rushed Xu Jinghong out of the court first.

However, the closure of Guoansi can only be said a few words after tea and dinner under the major impact of the collapse of the Fang family. For ordinary people, the affairs of the Fang family are the most critical.

At this time, on a teahouse in the capital, a tall man was telling the "exact news" he knew to the people around him: "Why did the Taoist family collapse because the people in their family were too greedy. Not only did he take advantage of his power to raid in Beijing, but he didn't even let go of the local money. Have you ever heard of Lingzhou? It is a border state in the southwest. In terms of the situation there, it is far worse than our beam. In such a poor border, his family refused to let go. Their people searched the people there, so that the people had no way to live.

When the people around heard this, they all showed hatred: "Such corrupt officials should have been dismissed long ago."

"It's more than recall. I said it should be killed." The one who had been bullied by the official immediately said angrily.

"Who said no?" The tall man continued, "But now everyone has heard about the situation in the court. The power of the Fang family is not something that can be taken. Those families have also become a front line. They only know how to protect their own interests and do not pay attention to the interests of the Song Dynasty and the people.

"Fortunately, God blessed me, the Song Dynasty, and there was a real hero who didn't care about his own gains and losses and was dedicated to begging for the people. That was Xu Jinghong, who had made countless contributions in the southwest. After coming to Beijing, he took action to destroy the underworld of my beam. After he learned about the evil deeds of the Fang family through various means, he decided that he would never allow them to continue to harm the people, so he came up with a plan to drive the Fang family out of the court with the help of the other six families.

"In fact, this Fang family is powerful in the dynasty. If no one exposes the shady things they have done, how can they resign from the official position that can bring them countless benefits? Just because they found that they had no way out, these guys were willing to lose their lives.

These words made the people present know a general idea of what happened in the court, and everyone despised what the other family did and scolded the Fang family for being despicable and shameless.

"Oh, what you said is so right, but where did you get this news?"

"I'm ashamed to say that I was originally a government official in the National Security Department. Just because I didn't see good people doing good deeds, I had to lose my official, so I told you about the doorway and secrets." The man did not hide it and generously reported his identity. This calm attitude has won the trust of more people. In their opinion, Guoan has indeed done something that is beneficial to the country and the people. Now it is not worth being an official because of the Fang family.

The tall man said so much, drank a few sips of tea, and then left. Soon after, he appeared in another restaurant and told the people here the same thing.

"Mr. Sun, do you think it really works?" In the original compound, Xu Jinghong asked Sun Zaiyuan, who was sitting aside. Because the National Security Department was shut down, they had to return to the yard, but during this period, they were not idle, but constantly sent people to spread the previous news according to Sun Zaiyuan's intention.

"For now, this news can't help the master. After all, the court has made up its mind to let the lord leave here to avoid another wave. It can't be changed by a few rumors. Sun Zaiyuan paused and said, "But in the long run, the benefits of doing so are still obvious. The people remembered the benefits of the lord. If you can come back in the future, at least your reputation is not weaker than that of the six masters.

"Jinghong, what are you going to do in the future?" Wang Liehai also asked.

Xu Jinghong was stunned, and he really didn't think about it carefully. Now that Wang Liehai asks, it is naturally difficult to give an answer. He, who has been removed from the position of Guoan Division, is no longer a court official, but how should he develop? It is obvious that there is nothing to do if you just stay in Daliang City.

"I have an opinion. I don't know if you want to go."

"Please tell me."

"This is also what you told me before about the north. Why don't you go to the north with me and fight with the Hu people? In this way, you can make new achievements and maybe go back to the court.

"Hm?" Xu Jinghong thought of his words that day. The threat of the Hu people in the north has always been there, and it is indeed a good place to make contributions. However, his current identity is so embarrassing that can he really enter the northern border army?

But then, Xu Jinghong became confident again. It must be not difficult for him to put himself into the northern army in the position of Wang Chong. Once there is a war, with your own ability, coupled with the assistance of these brothers, it should not be too difficult to stand out from the northern border army.

This idea regenerated his pride, and the depression of losing his official position because of being calculated by the six people was swept away: "Yes, when a man establishes his own achievements on the battlefield, I can make some achievements in the southwest, and I can also make great contributions when I go to the north."

The two also showed joy when they saw Xu Jinghong cheered up again. Xu Jinghong added, "But before I go to the north, some things still need to be done first. Fang family, I won't let them go back like this. There are still several times I want to plot my Ye family secretly. This time I also want them to know what it's like to be tricked!" With that, his hand was already on the Baisheng knife on his waist, full of murder!