Chapter 737: Wrong Team
Chapter 737: Wrong Team
When Yuan Xiaoju turned around, he was really surprised. It was Dugu Wudu. Dugu Wudu was the second son of Dugu Luo and currently the fourth most important person in the Dugu family, second only to the head of the family Dugu Tuo, the deputy head of the family Dugu Zuan, and Dugu Huai'en, the military officer of the Prince of Tang's palace.
Yuan Xiaoju nodded and smiled, "My dear nephew, are you also coming to Luoyang to take care of your business?"
The Dugu family also had many shops in Luoyang, which had been confiscated by Wang Shichong before and also returned to their original owners by Xiao Xia. Dugu Wudu was in charge of the entire Dugu family's business, so Yuan Xiaoju naturally thought that Dugu Wudu came to Luoyang to take care of the business.
Dugu Wudu stepped forward and saluted, saying, "My nephew arrived in Luoyang early this morning. I just went to Yuan Mansion to visit my uncle. The housekeeper said you might be here, so my nephew rushed over and happened to see my uncle."
"Oh! Are you here just to see me?"
"Exactly!"
Yuan Xiaoju narrowed his eyes and said, "Then sit upstairs!"
The two of them went to a special elegant room on the third floor and sat down. The shopkeeper came to serve them wine and food and carefully closed the door for them.
Dugu Wudu respectfully filled a glass of wine for Yuan Xiaoju. Yuan Xiaoju stroked his beard and asked with a smile: "What is the situation in Chang'an now?"
Dugu Wudu smiled bitterly and said, "The Dugu family has also withdrawn from the Wuchuan Association."
Yuan Xiaoju asked with a smile: "Why did the Dugu family suddenly figure it out?"
"Don't mention it. Three days after the Yuan family left Chang'an, the Houmo Chen family and the Dou Lu family withdrew from the Wuchuan Association. Later, the Li family, the Zhao family, the Da Xi family, and the He Ruo family also withdrew. Since everyone felt that the Wuchuan Association was meaningless, the Dugu family also withdrew."
Yuan Xiaoju raised his glass and squinted his eyes, saying, "My dear nephew, you must tell the truth in front of me. My heart is as clear as a mirror. If you don't tell the truth, then there is no point in you coming to me."
Dugu Wudu said awkwardly: "In fact, the King of Tang imposed 3 million strings of military expenses on Wuchuan Association and asked the members of Wuchuan Association to share the burden, but before that, he imposed 1 million shi of grain, which means that all the harvests of everyone's manor this year were donated to the King of Tang, and the Dugu family was responsible for 300,000 shi.
It had only been a few days, and another three million guan of military expenditures were pressed down. Everyone was furious and quit the job. That night, everyone withdrew from the Wuchuan Society. In the end, only the Dugu family, the Li family, the Dou family, and the Yu family were left. With only four families left, the Wuchuan Society had no meaning to exist. The next day, it was completely disbanded, and even the Wuchuan Tower was returned to Xuandu Temple. The Wuchuan Society no longer existed. "
Yuan Xiaoju nodded and asked, "Then how did you solve the problem of the three million guan military expenses?"
"In the end, the King of Tang talked to several families, and they pooled together two million strings of cash. The Dugu family contributed 800,000 strings of cash, and the remaining 1.2 million strings of cash were shared by several other families."
Yuan Xiaoju smiled slightly, "Then what is nephew Dugu doing in Luoyang?"
"The head of the family asked me to ask my uncle, now that the Dugu family has withdrawn from the Wuchuan Association, what will be the final outcome?"
"What ending?"
Yuan Xiaoju smiled and said, "Have you already determined that the King of Tang will surrender in the end?"
Dugu Wudu sighed, "The salt supply is already blocked, how can we talk about independence? There is no land for the 200,000-man army, so we can only pay them military salaries, two strings of cash a month, which is 400,000 strings a month. The two million strings we just got are only enough to support us for five months. Even a fool knows that the Dugu family will fall apart in the end. Is the Dugu family worse than a fool?" Yuan Xiaoju nodded, "Since we have withdrawn from the Wuchuan Association and met the minimum requirements of the King of Jin, we should not be implicated or held accountable in the future. It won't be a problem for us to be an ordinary aristocratic family."
"Is there no hope of gaining a place at court?"
This sentence is the core. Yuan Xiaoju became the Grand Councillor and Yuan Hongsi was appointed as the Minister of War by the King of Jin, which made the Dugu family extremely disappointed.
Yuan Xiaoju was silent for a while and said, "The truth is a bit hurtful, nephew, do you want to hear it?"
Dugu Wudu smiled bitterly and said, "My nephew doesn't want to hear it, but the patriarch wants to know the truth."
Yuan Xiaoju said slowly, "My nephew just told me that the Dugu family donated 800,000 strings of cash for military expenses and 300,000 stones of grain to the King of Tang. I knew that this was the threshold for the Dugu family to escape punishment. If your family cannot strike a balance and does not donate the same amount of money and grain to the King of Jin, then in the future the Dugu family will not have any titles, let alone honorary officials. It would be a foolish dream for you to enter the officialdom, and you will end up in exile."
Dugu Wudu's face turned pale, "It can't be that serious!"
Yuan Xiaoju sighed and said, "Why am I asking about money? This is actually taking sides. The Dugu family donated 800,000 strings of cash, which means they are actually taking sides with the King of Tang. It's the same for our Yuan family. How do you think Yuan Hongsi became the Minister of War? The Yuan family donated 1 million strings of cash to the court. Money is the key, and everything else is fake."
Dugu Wudu said in a trembling voice: "What if the Dugu family also donates one million strings of cash to the King of Jin?"
"I don't know, but it should be a good thing! However, if the Dugu family wants to redeem their mistake, they have to show their attitude first. The main ancestral temple of the Yuan family was built in Luoyang. Now we are called the Luoyang Yuan family, and we have nothing to do with Guanlong. This is the attitude."
After the autumn harvest, the day of Prince Jin's enthronement was approaching. This was also a huge pressure on Prince Tang Li Yuan. He also established the Sui Dynasty, made Li You the emperor, and set up the court. But everyone knew that this so-called Sui Dynasty was just a fig leaf for Li Yuan's actual power.
However, even if the imperial court was only in name only, it still had a certain shame-covering function. At least Sui generals like Qu Tutong, Yang Gongren, and Yuwen Chengdu felt at ease with surrendering to Li Yuan. After all, they were still Sui generals!
But once the Prince of Jin officially ascended the throne and established the real Sui Dynasty, the court established by Li Yuan would become a joke.
This is the most painful thing for Li Yuan. If Hedong had not been lost, Longyou was still there, and Bashu was taken, he would have established his own dynasty without hesitation. But now he only has Guanzhong and Guannei in his hands. The territory is so small. How can he establish a new dynasty and how many people will be loyal to his new dynasty?
But if he still kept the Sui Dynasty unchanged, the Prince of Jin could openly demand the merger of the two Sui dynasties. If he did not agree, the Prince of Jin would not even have to send troops, but could directly cut off the salt supply. Within a month, Li Yuan's soldiers would not even be able to move.
Li Yuan was under tremendous pressure. He sent someone to invite his chief secretary Pei Ji and his eldest son Li Jiancheng to come. Li Yuan told them about his concerns.
Pei Ji was silent for a moment and asked, "How many people currently support the prince's ascension to the throne?"
Li Yuan shook his head. "To be honest, I don't know either. I have never conducted any investigation in this regard. I want to hear the opinion of the Chief Secretary!"
Pei Ji sighed and said, "Like most people, I support the prince's abolition of the dynasty. Like most people, I also do not support the prince's eagerness to ascend the throne. Our top priority now is to try our best to win the battle in Longyou. Only by destroying the Xue family as quickly as possible can we obtain the salt-producing land in the West Sea and get rid of Luoyang's stranglehold on us. Before obtaining the salt-producing land, I suggest that the prince endure the humiliation."
(End of this chapter)