Chapter 18 Variables

The night of March still carries a slight spring cold, which makes the beam, which is a little uneasy because of the chaos of the government and the opposition, even more gloomy. In this silent night, the remnants of the families that several dynasties have been struggling to find gathered together again.

Tianbao Temple is a famous Buddhist temple in Daliang City. During the day, many believers always come to worship Buddha for the blessing of the Buddha or spiritual stability. But by this night, this pure place of Buddhism has become a place for some ambitious people who are uneasy about the status quo to discuss major events. And who in the court would have thought that such an indisputable famous temple would be the place where the remnants of those families gathered to discuss countermeasures?

This is a secret room behind the Daxiong Hall. Several men in tight clothes gathered together to discuss the current situation in a low voice.

"I didn't expect that our raid would end in failure, which also made some people in the court reveal their hiding." The tall man said bitterly, "For good, we have moved our residence before we took action, otherwise it is really possible to fold in this scene."

"Yes, we still underestimated Xu Jinghong and his Guoan Division. Such a careful arrangement still can't be eradicated, let alone save several family owners, but let them fall into the Jedi. Ye Chao's face turned whiter: "Obviously, you already know the news spread by the court recently, right?"

A thin young man nodded and said, "Yes, they have given us an ultimatum. If we don't stand up automatically, they will kill their opponents. What do you think about this?"

"Are you talking about it? Are they really going to do this, or are they just talking about it and forcing us out?" Ye Chao also added a sentence later.

"It's really hard to say, but with Xu Jinghong's previous style of acting, I'm afraid he will really do such a thing..." The tall man said uneasily: "Now that I think about it, the Fang family on that day may also be his killer."

"Our Ye family said that what happened that day had nothing to do with us, but none of you believed it. Now you should be able to see that there must be an emperor in it. At the beginning, we didn't take him seriously so much that we gave them so many opportunities. As a member of the Ye family, Ye Chao is still worried about the previous contradictions.

"That's all in the past. What's the use of mentioning it now?" The thin man snorted, "Let's focus on the current trouble now. Should we stand up as they said or do something else?

"Come forward? That's no different from death." A dark man who had never said anything said softly, "Although the head of our Cui family is in their hands, I don't believe they really have the courage to attack our head. Aren't they afraid of our revenge for this? You know, now we are in the dark, and they are clear that the initiative is in our hands. But once we go out, we will put life and death in his hands.

"There is indeed some truth in Cui Fu's words, but do we still have a choice now?" The tall man sighed: "My head of the Wu family is in their hands. I'm afraid that the head will fall to the ground in three days. Do we have any chips to stop them?"

"Brother Ye, what do you think?" However, the thin man dropped his eyes on Ye Chao. Among these people, Ye Chao's mind is the most useful, and the Ye family has the greatest power in several families. Therefore, once there is anything difficult to make a decision, everyone will consult him, the current master of the Ye family. Until this declining moment, there has been a little cooperation and trust between these families.

Ye Chao looked at several people and then said, "What you are worried about is reasonable. So whether it is bright or dark, it is very unfavorable to us. So I think, why do we have to choose between these two choices that are unfavorable to us? Why can't we take the third road?

"The third way?" Several people were stunned, and they really couldn't think of any other way for them to choose.

Ye Chao did not immediately say his thoughts, but asked a question that was not too related: "How many people do we have now?"

"This... There are still 37 good hands in our Cui family. They are hidden among the people in various identities, so they can be preserved when the court takes action. However, their loyalty to my Cui family has not changed because of this..." Cui Fu said first. Then, several other people also said their strength. At this time, they understood the importance of cooperation, so they no longer hid their own strength. According to them, there are 37 masters in the Cui family, 51 good players in the Wu family, 23 people in the Chu family, and 78 people in the Ye family, a total of nearly 200 people can be made up.

These people obviously have no problem in loyalty and ability, otherwise these loyal people from various families would not have said it. But obviously, it is even more unrealistic if they want to rely on this manpower to attack Guoan to save people, because the other party must be fully prepared. If the last raid does not work, they will be sent to death. Since there is no possibility in this regard, what is the intention of Ye Chao's raising this question?

Everyone had such an understanding, so they looked at Ye Chao after reporting the numbers and waited for him to answer. Ye Chao calculated, "Do you remember how our families fell?"

Naturally, everyone remembers this problem: "Because of the Hu people's invasion and the tight war, the treasury and grain are very tight, and some people in the capital took the opportunity to raise food prices, and some people burned the food, making it unsustainable, which made the people suddenly rise up and attack my families. Otherwise, Zhao Zhe, the emperor who has no power, can't pose too much threat to our families anyway.

"Yes, it's the food crisis." A trace of determination flashed in Ye Chao's eyes: "Since they can use this to attack our families, now that they are in power, we can also use the same means to deal with them."

"You mean..." A tall man, Wu Qin, the representative of the Wu family, seemed to think of something: "Have you already known some news?"

"Not bad." Ye Chao did not hide it and nodded: "I have got the exact information that the grain shipped from Shu will arrive in Beijing in a few days. As long as we take it before it reaches the capital, the initiative will return to us. At that time, we can negotiate with the court to let them release several owners and others, otherwise we will destroy all the food. In that case, to see if Zhao Zhe can still sit firmly in his current position, the people will not care who burned their rations. Once their survival is threatened, they will definitely make trouble!"

"It's really a good countermeasure!" After being a little stunned, several others nodded and sighed one after another: "This counter-guest move will definitely make us regain the initiative. Moreover, the success rate of this matter is not low. After all, the court is only staring at the land of Daliang, and still turns a blind eye to the changes outside.

Of course, some people also raised the question: "This is the only manpower we can use, but the army that protects grain can be thousands. Are we really sure to take away the food?

"I have already had a plan for this. Although there are many people who protect grain, they take the waterway and can't play much role at all. And we also have reinforcements in this operation - the Cao Gang has been thinking about revenge because of the previous incident. This time they will be on our side!"

"Chao Gang? Did they stand with us again?" Several people thought of what had happened before, which made the Cao Gang depressed. Now they come back, which is indeed a good helper. After all, there are no more fighting people in this world than them.

"Yes, it is because of their information that we can accurately grasp the direction and route of grain in Shu." Ye Chao sneered and said, "He Zhao Zhe used those dirty methods to attack us. This time, we will give it back in his own way and let him know what helplessness is!"

"Since there are people from the Cao Gang helping us, we are more sure. Then follow this line. We will hand over all the deployment of our subordinates to Brother Ye for you to command!" Several people quickly made up their minds. Now at this juke, they must put their forces together, so once they have decided on the idea of grabbing food, they will not change.

Ye Chao was also very satisfied with everyone's reaction and said movedly, "Don't worry, we will definitely reverse this extremely unfavorable situation this time. And as long as we have food in hand, even if we really fall into the Jedi, we can come to the court to break the net, and they will not have any advantage!"

"That's good, that's it! I'd like to see if they dare to blackmail us with our landlord!" Everyone said one after another, full of righteous indignation and just wanted to have a showdown with the court immediately! At this time, a thin old monk appeared in front of the secret room: "Sarly benefactors, it's getting late. You'd better break up quickly."

"Okay, now everyone goes back and prepares separately. After this afternoon, we will transfer people to the outside of the city. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, it's time to know!" Finally, Ye Chao said.

After a long night, Guoan Si Yamen began a day's work as usual. In fact, there is not much they can do now. In addition to interrogating officials, they are interrogating those family criminals. But in a few days, all the questions that could be asked were asked, and the rest was grinding, so Xu Jinghong, as the head, was very comfortable. Most of them stayed behind to take care of Chu Lian'er.

After yesterday's treatment, the poison on her body has been greatly removed, and the next step is the process of continuous needle use. Although she has not woken up until now, looking at the confident appearance of Tianji Taoist, Xu Jinghong is very sure that she can wake up.

After noon, when Xu Jinghong was talking with the Taoist, a subordinate came in to report: "Lord Du Si, the old man who came the other day came to see you again."

"Old man?" Xu Jinghong was stunned and immediately thought that the other party was talking about Govich, so he nodded and said, "Take him to the study. I'll go and see him." At the same time, I muttered in my heart, why did this man come again? Did my grandfather have anything to tell him?

With doubts in his heart, Xu Jinghong did not delay much. He complained to the Tianji Taoist and went to see him. When I came to the door of the study, I saw Gwich standing in front of a picture of a tiger going down the mountain with his hands, as if he was enjoying the strokes in the painting.

"Let Elder Ge wait for a long time..." After Xu Jinghong entered, he arched his hand and said hello. Although the identity of the other party is not high, Xu Jinghong feels that he should have some respect just because he was a senior in the army.

Govich turned around and smiled politely, "Xu Dusi is really killing old people. The old man is just a criminal fugitive, and he really can't bear such a big gift!"

"I can't accept the senior's words. Yesterday, my grandfather has told me everything about my predecessor. You have been wronged. How can you call a guilty person? I heard that you have also made some contributions in the previous army, so I should treat you so politely!" Xu Jinghong said compliments while guessing the other party's intention.

However, Govich was not in such a hurry to explain his intentions. Instead, he gossiped with Xu Jinghong and asked him about his current situation in the southwest and northern armies, as well as what was left of the veterans.

Although Xu Jinghong was puzzled by the other party's attitude, he still told him some of the information he knew according to his topic. Finally, Govich sighed: "There are only a few people left for these old brothers in the past. And they have never been reused in the dynasty, which really makes people feel unwilling for them.

"Yes, the soldiers were born and died on the front line to gain a little status. But in the eyes of those officials who came up by the shade or luck, these people are useless. Only when foreign enemies invade will they think of them, and more often, they will be treated as enemies. Whether it was before the family was in power, or now when several princes were competing, everyone never paid attention to the feelings of the border soldiers. Xu Jinghong replied concordably.

"In fact, all this is the root planted more than 30 years ago." Gwich suddenly said, "At the beginning, the status of generals was higher than that of civilian officials. It was not until the power of the family expanded that they used all means to deprive the generals of their power. At that time, the emperor was still young and completely at the mercy of these families, so many generals were added to various charges and ended up bleakly..."

"Is Elder Ge killed by them in that framing wave?"

"Yes, at the beginning, I was strong and thought that as long as I had outstanding military achievements, I was not afraid of slander in the court. But I was wrong. As long as the people in the court really want to attack you, no matter how much credit you are, it is useless. It is still difficult to escape the end of the destruction of the family. At the beginning, I was an example, and then Feng Shuai was the same!"

Hearing him mention the wind of his ancestors, Xu Jinghong's heart also had a shadow. Someone told him that in the matter of wind and air, it was all the scourge of the family that destroyed his family, but on second thought about it carefully, it was not the case. Because with his power and status at that time, how could he be framed to death so easily without the superior emperor? You should know that the power of the family was not enough to cover the sky at that time, otherwise they would not have used this method to deal with him.

Are you afraid that behind all this, there is the emperor's approval? As for why he acquiesced in using despicable means to eradicate the wind and air, perhaps because of his distrust, he was worried that his prestige in the army was too great, and finally he would shake his throne. Ironically, it is precisely because of the fall of the wind and air that the power of the family has been expanded crazily, and finally the imperial power will be completely suppressed by the family. And all this speculation can also be seen from Xu Jinghong's performance after the emperor regained power.

If the wind and air are really only framed by the family, the emperor can stand up to clean up their grievances when this family has disappeared. But what about the result? The court didn't say a word about the public case 30 years ago, which is not because they are guilty and dare not mention it.

"...It is because of the lessons learned from the past that the old man came to see you today. You are also a man of military achievements, and you are also quite famous in the northern and southwest armies. Maybe one day, you will encounter the same situation..."

Listening to the other party's words, Xu Jinghong's heart was even more difficult to calm down. Yes, although his current position can't be compared with Feng Liekong, except Wang Chong, no one in the army has more prestige than himself. And this time, if you really help King Jing sit on the throne, you will become the first minister. How will the emperor arrange himself at that time? I'm afraid that the idea of meritorious deeds will soon arise in his heart, and then his own end will be...

Thinking of this, Xu Jinghong's back was covered with cold sweat. But he still forced himself to calm down: "Did your grandfather ask you to warn me?"

"No, this is a person who has had tragic experiences, to remind you in my personal capacity." Govich said solemnly, "Because I don't want the same tragedy to continue.

"Okay, that's all I have to say, and the rest is up to you." Seeing that Xu Jinghong had some ideas he wanted, Gwich got up and left.

Xu Jinghong looked at the other party's back and suddenly shivered: "He is full of resentment against this court. Although on the surface, he has forgotten everything, but this is not the case! But what he said is reasonable. I don't want to be the next one, but what can I do now?

At this moment, Xu Jinghong has bred another thought in his heart, which will soon completely control his heart and put him on a completely different path from the previous plan!