Chapter 576: Chapter 1
Chapter 576 Refusal
In Si Shun Fang, Luoyang, Yang Xuangan established the Yang Wu Society in the square, where he made friends through martial arts and studied military tactics. This was naturally Li Mi's idea. Everyone knew the idea of gathering like-minded people in the name of an association, and in just a few days, more than 20 people gathered, including Li Mi, Han Shiye, Yang Chen, Hu Si Zheng, Wei Lian and other noble sons.
That afternoon, a guest came to Yang Xuangan's Yangwu Society, the envoy of the Wagang Army, Xu Shiji.
Yang Xuangan was surprised, but still politely asked Xu Shiji to sit down.
"I wonder what the Wagang Army wants from me?"
Xu Shiji handed a booklet to Yang Xuangan and said with a smile: "I heard that Envoy Yang wants to do something big. If Envoy Yang doesn't mind, our Wagang Army is willing to fully support you. This is our little token of appreciation."
Yang Xuangan was really annoyed. How come even the Wagang Army knew about his plan to rebel? If everyone in the world knew about it, how could he rebel?
He opened the booklet and took a look. It was a batch of armors and weapons. There were not many of them, only about 3,000 sets. Who was Yang Xuangan? He was the eldest son of Yang Su, a founding hero, and a powerful official of the Sui Dynasty. He looked down on the Wagang Army and other rebel armies from the bottom of his heart.
He didn't want to get involved with the Wagang Army and lower his status, so Yang Xuangan smiled faintly and said, "I don't know where you heard the news that I want to rebel, but I can tell you clearly that this news is wrong. I am now in Luoyang, at the foot of the world. If everyone in the world knows that I want to rebel, will the emperor let me go? This is just a rumor. Please go, Master Xu!"
Seeing that the other party was unwilling to cooperate, Xu Shiji could only smile bitterly and said, "I am rude. Goodbye!"
Xu Shiji immediately called Yang Wushe and got on the carriage. Yuan Wendu was sitting in the carriage. Yuan Wendu smiled and said, "You came out so soon?"
Xu Shiji smiled bitterly and shook his head. "They looked down on peasants like us and dismissed me with a single sentence saying that I had no intention of rebelling."
Yuan Wendu smiled and said, "It's okay. There are still some misunderstandings in the middle. If we explain it clearly, it won't be like this anymore. Let's talk about it in the restaurant next time."
The Guanlong nobles had no connection with Yang Xuangan. They controlled Yang Xuangan through Li Mi, but it was the Dugu family that was in contact with Li Mi, and the Yuan family did not show up.
Yuan Wendu found Dugu Huai'en, and there was some dissatisfaction in his tone, "Today, the Wagang Army representatives went to see Yang Xuangan, but were turned away. Didn't Li Mi talk to Yang Xuangan?"
Dugu Huai'en smiled bitterly and said, "Of course we have discussed it, but Yang Xuangan is much more stubborn than we thought. Li Mi has repeatedly persuaded him, but he doesn't want to have anything to do with the rebel forces in various places."
"Yang Xuangan is hard to control!"
Dugu Huai'en nodded. "He is indeed difficult to control. He is very opinionated and stubborn. He doesn't listen to advice."
Yuan Wendu sighed, "But even so, we still have to help him with all our strength. I got news that the emperor will go to war against Goguryeo again next year!"
Dugu Huai'en's eyes widened. "He wants to go on another expedition. Does he think the country is not collapsing fast enough?"
Yuan Wendu shook his head. "The emperor is so stubborn that no one can persuade him to make a decision. He thinks that everyone is dissatisfied with him because he lost the war. He thinks that as long as he can defeat Goguryeo, all problems will be solved."
Dugu Huai'en sighed, "Misfortunes sent by heaven can be avoided, but misfortunes brought upon oneself cannot be avoided!"
At night, Yang Xuangan met Li Mi. Yang Xuangan suppressed his displeasure and said, "The representative of the Wagang Army came to see me today. Did you know, my dear brother?"
Li Mi asked after a while: "Brother, are you unwilling to cooperate with the Wagang Army?"
Yang Xuangan shook his head. "Who am I? If I were to mingle with the Wagang Army, how would people in the world view me?"
"Brother will also recruit troops in the future. Without the support of these low-level soldiers, how can we conquer the world?"
Yang Xuangan said coldly: "I also have hundreds of servants in my house, but I will never allow them to eat at the same table with me."
Li Mi sighed inwardly, he was so arrogant even when he was rebelling, what great things could such a person accomplish?
"I understand. I will not arrange for my brother to meet with the Wagang Army again!"
Yang Xuangan said again: "My dear brother, remember this in the future. If you don't keep things secret, you will be harmed. If too many people know about our affairs, there will definitely be people with ulterior motives who will tell on us, and then we will be finished." Li Mi apologized: "I handled this matter improperly. I apologize to you, brother!"
Yang Xuangan waved his hands and smiled, "What happened is over. I heard a piece of news that the emperor is likely to attack Goguryeo a second time. I wonder if this news is reliable?"
Li Mi nodded, "The news is reliable. The emperor appointed Fan Zigai as the Minister of War, responsible for planning various material preparations. I think this is an opportunity. If brother seizes this opportunity, the time, place, and people will be right."
"Is there any solution?"
Li Mi pondered for a moment and said, "Let's get some advice from Yu Shiji. Leave this matter to me."
Of course Li Mi couldn't do it, but the Guanlong nobles could.
Xiao Xia finally returned to Yanling County. It was already September and autumn had arrived.
He had been away from home for too long this time and was really tired. It took him three days of rest at home before he slowly recovered.
In the morning, Xiao Xia was sitting on the large soft couch in the study. His two precious daughters were lying in their father's arms, one on each side, listening to stories.
"Once upon a time, there was a scholar at the foot of Mount Laoshan. He loved reading all kinds of fairy stories. As time went by, he also wanted to learn the magic of the fairy. He heard that there was an old fairy Taoist priest living on Mount Laoshan, so he decided to go and learn from him. Mount Laoshan was very high, so he climbed and climbed! After climbing for a long time, he finally found the fairy Taoist priest. Seeing that he was sincere, the old Taoist priest accepted him as his disciple and asked him to chop wood every day."
The eldest daughter Yang Junjun couldn't help but ask: "Dad, can you learn immortal skills by chopping wood?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Why not? For example, let the axe chop wood by itself. After chopping wood, the axe and the wood will go back by themselves. It doesn't need to be tired at all. Isn't this a magic trick?"
The two daughters clapped their hands in joy, "The scholar has finally learned the magic of immortals."
"Actually not!"
Xiao Xia smiled and waved his hands. "The old immortal asked the scholar to chop wood in order to test whether he could endure hardship. He found that the scholar could not endure hardship, so he did not want to accept him as a disciple and asked him to go home. The scholar said, Master, I have chopped wood for three years, you must teach me a magic trick! The old immortal asked him, what magic trick do you want to learn? The scholar said, I want to learn the wall-walking trick. Tell me, why does the scholar want to learn the wall-walking trick?"
The two little heads shook their heads together, and Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Because the scholar wants to! If he learns the art of walking through walls, he can go to other people's homes to steal money, and then he can make a fortune!"
"Oh my! This scholar turns out to be a bad guy!"
"Yes! He wanted to learn magic to do bad things. The old immortal told him that if he used magic to do bad things, the magic would not work. The scholar promised not to do bad things. Later, the scholar really learned the art of walking through walls. After returning home, he ran to the county government warehouse to steal money. As a result, he really walked through the wall into the warehouse and stole a lot of silver, but couldn't get out. Why do you think so?"
The two young ladies clapped their hands and laughed, "The old immortal said that if you use magic to do bad things, the magic will not work."
"That's right! Remember, after you two learn magic, don't do bad things."
"Daddy, tell us another story!"
"We'll talk about it next time! You guys are going to break Daddy's neck."
Xiao Xia stood up. At this moment, Xiao Mei came running over and said, "Husband, Liu Changshi is here and wants to see you."
"I understand. Two little guys, go play with your little girl."
The two little guys reluctantly held Xiaomei's hands and left. Xiao Xia then walked slowly to the VIP hall.
(End of this chapter)