Chapter 434: The Third Strength
Chapter 434 The Third Power
Unlike Xiao Xia, Prince of Qi Yang Ling's Palace of Prince of Qi and the General Administration Office of Hebei Province were separate. His Palace of Prince of Qi was in Luoyang, the Eastern Capital, and his General Administration Office of Hebei Province was in Anyang County, Weijun.
The Palace of Prince of Qi, Yang Ling, the Prince of Qi, had two institutions, one virtual and one real. The virtual one was the institution set up by the imperial court, which included positions such as Prince's Tutor, Chief Clerk, Sima, and Military Officer.
These officials were all appointed by the imperial court and had nothing to do with Prince of Qi Yang Liang. The power institution founded by Yang Liang himself was the Shenlong Palace. The officials of the Shenlong Palace were the people that Yang Liang took over from Prince of Han Yang Liang, including Wang Yu, Qiao Zhongkui, Wang Long and so on.
Currently, most of the officials of Shenlong Palace are in Weijun, and only Shenlong Palace Sima Wang Long is in Luoyang, responsible for handling Yang Ling’s various interests in the capital.
At night, Yuan Wendu came to visit Wang Long again.
In the VIP Hall, Yuan Wendu smiled slightly and said, "We have received accurate information about the Crown Prince's current condition."
Since the prince returned to Chang'an, he has not appeared in public and has cut off all contact with the outside world.
It’s just that the palace would periodically release some relevant news, saying that the prince was recuperating from his injuries and would need a few years to recover.
The ministers were all very concerned about the prince's situation. Fortunately, the emperor was in his prime, so although they were concerned, it did not cause too much worry.
But it was different for Prince of Qi Yang Liang. The status of the crown prince was directly related to Yang Liang's core interests. He sent people to urge Wang Long every few days, asking him to find out the true situation of the crown prince. This made Wang Long extremely anxious and complaining.
It is obvious that the Prince of Qi could just ask the Queen Mother and find out, but he refused and insisted on finding out on his own. How could he find out?
There was no other way, Wang Long could only ask his old backer, the Yuan family, for help.
Wang Long was overjoyed and asked quickly, "Is the prince still alive?"
Yuan Wendu nodded, "The man is alive, but he has become a fool."
Wang Long was stunned. "No way! My slow-acting medicine attacks the heart, not the brain."
"The imperial physician must have found a way to block the poison from attacking the heart, so the poison attacked the brain instead, and the person became a fool."
"How stupid is he?" Wang Long asked hurriedly.
"It is said that he would stare at something stupidly for a whole day, drooling uncontrollably, and he would not recognize his parents, wife, and children."
Wang Long was overjoyed, "So, the King of Qi will become the Crown Prince, right?"
Yuan Wendu smiled faintly and said, "It can only be said that there is hope, but he may not necessarily become the crown prince. He has competitors."
"You mean...King Jin?"
Yuan Wendu shook his head. "Not only the King of Jin, but also the Crown Prince. The emperor is only in his early forties now. Twenty years later, the emperor will still be around, and the Crown Prince will be in his twenties, just in time to succeed him. Besides, the emperor can definitely have a few more sons."
Wang Long was silent. He suddenly realized that the crown prince was the most likely candidate.
"Wen Du came to see me, he wouldn't just talk about this!"
Yuan Wendu said calmly, "I said last time that if the King of Qi had the support of the Guanlong nobles, he would definitely become the crown prince, but the King of Qi never responded. Does the King of Qi look down on us? Or did Sima Wang never mention this matter at all?"
Wang Long shook his head quickly. “How could I not mention it? I also want to be a bridge between the King of Qi and the Guanlong nobles. I must have persuaded him.”
"Then why didn't the King of Qi respond?"
Wang Long sighed and said, "It was the Wei family who wanted to monopolize the King of Qi and didn't want the Guanlong nobles to take a share of the spoils. Wei Chong assured the King of Qi that the Wei family and the Pei family would join forces to ensure that the King of Qi would ascend to the throne as the crown prince. In addition, the emperor required the King of Qi not to have too many disputes with the Guanlong nobles, so..."
"Are you saying that Wei Chong and Pei Yun have teamed up?"
Wang Long nodded and said, "Pei Yun was able to become the prime minister because he was recommended by the King of Qi, and Wei Chong was the mastermind behind the scenes." Yuan Wendu took a breath of cold air. They had no idea about this news. Pei Yun and Wei Chong actually joined forces?
He had to report this matter to the head of the family immediately.
At this time, Wang Long said slowly: "There is a way for the Guanlong nobles to enter Hebei or influence the King of Qi."
"How do you say this?"
Wang Long narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Guan Long should not show up, hide behind, and let someone else show up. For example, I can represent the interests of the Yuan family, and then find some talented people, and I will recommend them to the King of Qi, or Wang Yu, Qiao Zhongkui, Xiao Moke and others can be bribed by the Guan Long nobles. Brother Yuan, do you understand what I mean?"
Yuan Wendu nodded, "I understand!"
Yuan Wendu turned back and reported to the head of the family, Yuan Xiaoju. That night, Yuan Xiaoju brought Yuan Shou to visit Dugutuo.
Dugu Tuo was also shocked, not because of the fact that Wei Chong and Pei Yun had joined forces, but because he realized that the aristocratic family that they had never taken seriously was actually a terrifying force.
Yuan Xiaoju said slowly: "In fact, the noble families have been taking action. The Cui family of Boling bet on the crown prince and the Prince of Jin. Now that the crown prince is no longer capable, they continue to bet on Xiao Xia. The eldest son of Cui Hongdu, Cui Fengxian, was appointed as the governor of Jiangdu, and we can see the clues.
Now the Cui family has bet on the Prince of Jin, the Wei family and the Pei family have bet on the Prince of Qi, and Wei Yue has been appointed as the governor of Qinghe County. I guess Wei Chong wants to win over the Cui family of Qinghe.
The situation is not good now. I am afraid we have no chance with the King of Qi and the King of Jin unless we can re-support the former emperor Yang Yong."
Dugutuo pondered for a long time and said: "It is obvious that Emperor Yang Guang wants to break away from us, and his son will not cooperate with us. We should not place our hopes on Yang Guang's faction anymore.
As for the power of the aristocratic families, they are too scattered and fragmented. They cannot work together and are doomed to be nothing. We can pay attention to them, but we should not take them too seriously.
We still have to build our own power to overthrow Yang Guang. This is our main line. As for Wang Long's suggestion, it can be considered as a secondary line, which is to disintegrate Yang Guang and his son from within. The former emperor Yang Yong can also be used as a secondary line. We bet on many sides, let the Sui Dynasty fall apart, and finally we ourselves will deal a fatal blow to the Sui Dynasty. "
Yuan Xiaoju and Yuan Shou looked at each other and said together, "Brother Dugu's plan of one leader and multiple assistants, we firmly support it!"
Fengqiao in Wu County is the northern city of Wu County. The most famous place in this area is Hanshan Temple.
Not far from Hanshan Temple, there is a mansion covering dozens of acres by the Jiangnan Canal. The owner of the mansion is Liu Kun, a descendant of Liu Yikang, the fourth son of Emperor Wu of Song, Liu Yu, and a famous tyrant in Wu County.
The powerful are not the aristocratic families. The powerful focus on business, while the aristocratic families focus on farming. The powerful value military force, while the aristocratic families focus on literature. The powerful live in the city, while the aristocratic families mostly live in the countryside.
The two can be mortal enemies, but they can also live in harmony.
Basically, the Liu family has no connection with the four major families of Lu, Zhu, Gu, and Zhang. It can only be said that they keep to themselves.
During the Southern Dynasties, the south was ruled by aristocratic families, who controlled most of the resources, whether it was farming or commerce. Local tyrants could only engage in some despicable industries, such as brothels and gambling houses, and survive under the halo of the major aristocratic families in Jiangnan.
But since the demise of the Southern Dynasty, the northern forces began to stir and wanted to enter the south of the Yangtze River. However, Emperor Yang Jian was worried about provoking a civil uprising in the south of the Yangtze River, so he restrained the major northern forces.
Seeing that it was impossible to enter Jiangnan directly, the northern forces changed their approach and entered indirectly, looking for agents in Jiangnan.
The local powerful people became the targets of the major northern forces and became their agents. The spring of the powerful people finally came.
The Wujun Liu family is the agent of the Wei family. Of course, this Wei family is not the same Wei family that sold the Chongrenfang Restaurant for 4,000 strings of cash. Although they belong to the same big family, they are not from the same branch, and the family finances are also managed separately.
At four o'clock in the morning, which was also the quietest time, twenty-five tugboats sailed out from Liujia Wharf. The first ship was a carriage ship with a statue of the water god standing at the front. The sound of the carriage ship's wheels and oars rumbled, and it towed twenty-four tugboats fully loaded with cargo to the north under the cover of night. But what the Liu family didn't know was that their every move had already been watched.
(End of this chapter)