Chapter 163: Han Yuan Pai Tianlang (Part 1)

Zhang Huan had already left, Pei Jun stood alone in front of the window, silently looking at a century-old willow that had turned green outside the window, and Zhang Huan's last talk echoed in his mind.

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"Only Duan Xiushi stayed in Lingwu, can we form a three-legged tripod in Helong area, making Wei Yan dare not act rashly, and I can also develop westward with all my might. Although it seems that my father-in-law has lost a Ministry of Rites, my father-in-law has obtained the favors of Cui Xiaofu and Duan Xiushi, and has also laid the foundation for his future involvement in Shuofang. During this loss and gain, I think that with my father-in-law's vision, we should not be unable to see it!"

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"I am already the son-in-law of the Pei family. The rise and fall of the Pei family is closely related to me. I believe that the rise of Hexi is also in line with the long-term interests of the Pei family. I hope my father-in-law can help me."

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What Pei Jun is thinking now is not a dispute over interests between the two major families, but Zhang Huan's true identity. He is the son of Prince Yu and one of the heirs of the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Ruohao planned to help him ascend the throne and then feed back to the Zhang family. Unfortunately, he failed. What about himself? He supported him so fully that his wings gradually became full. Will he really ascend the throne one day? The answer is that there is a very possibility. If he ascends the throne, what can the Pei family get, the queen? Or should he replace Cui Yuan's right prime minister?

Pei Jun couldn't help but remember a conversation that Choi Yuan asked Cui Yu to specifically talk with Pei You not long ago, meaning to prevent Zhang Huan from rising, his rise must be the enemy of the aristocratic family.

But Pei Jun didn't think so. On the surface, the ascension of a powerful king would inevitably compete for power with the aristocratic family, which is inevitable, but he could not truly destroy the aristocratic family. He needed the support of the aristocratic family to hold the throne. Excessive methods would only lead to both sides being defeated.

In the end, a balance of power between aristocratic families and kings will gradually form. Aristocratic families will restrict the dictatorship of the king, and the king in turn prevents aristocratic families from separating one side. This should be the norm in the Tang Dynasty. After all, the autocracy of the major families formed after the Anshi Rebellion will not last long. Sooner or later, conflicts will break out due to the intensification of conflicts between each other, causing local separatism, and the chaos in the world will appear again at the end of the Han Dynasty. As a visionary power minister, this must be avoided.

Cultivating oneself, governing the country, and pacifying the world are the ideals pursued by every scholar and official since ancient times, and it is also his ideal of Pei Jun. How can the Tang Dynasty be stable for a long time, how can it achieve a prosperous era of great harmony, and how can it integrate family interests into this prosperous era of great harmony? This is the issue that Pei Jun has been considering for so many years. Although the interests of the family are important, a prosperous Tang Dynasty is also important.

The answer is two words: balance, the balance between the power of the monarch and the power of the aristocratic family. It is not advisable to go to any extreme. Of course, Pei Jun also has a strong selfish desire, that is, how can the interests of the Pei family be maximized in the power reorganization between the king and the aristocratic family?

If he fully supports Zhang Huan, the Pei family may indeed lose some benefits for the time being, but the help Zhang Huan will help the Pei family after his rise is something that cannot be exchanged for by the Ministry of Rites. Even if he cannot ascend to the top position in the end, his strength can completely help him replace Cui Yuan.

At this moment, Pei Jun's eyes gradually became ethereal.

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If Pei Jun is a traveler who is struggling to find a way out on the dark road, then he is not alone. At least another person is looking for the same way out on this road to family, country and world.

He is Cui Yuan, the first ruler in the Tang Dynasty, also faced a painful decision to abandon the Wei family and share the Ministry of Rites with the Pei family, or accept Wei Er's conditions and use the person he recommended as a candidate for the Left Minister of Rites.

This is undoubtedly a dilemma. Cooperating with the Wei family does not mean that one plus one equals two. It does not mean that Cui and Wei can overwhelm Pei Jun by joining forces. No! Instead, it will break the just stable balance of the stalemate, the division map of the powers in Hedong with staggered teeth, and the large area where the ownership is still unclear. These are the consequences that Cui Yuan needs to carefully consider.

But if Wei Yan did not agree to Wei Yan's conditions, Wei Yan's vote would most likely vote to Pei Jun in revenge on his revenge on the bloody revenge of Kaiyang County by borrowing the hands of the Uighurs last year, which made Pei Jun win the Ministry of Rites with four votes to three votes. Cui Yuan suddenly regretted it. He agreed to Lu Qi as the Minister of Rites in exchange for Taiyuan. Is it a bit unsuccessful to lose?

Cui Yuan paced back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back. He had been thinking about it for almost half an hour. It was already dawning, and he had to make a decision.

Cui Yuan slowly walked to the desk. He picked up his pen and wanted to write something, but he couldn't write a word. He couldn't help but sigh softly. After the Anshi Rebellion, the decline of the Tang Dynasty royal family, the Uighur cavalry took advantage of the situation to drink horses from the Central Plains, and the people in the world were determined. Such a coincidence of the right time, place, and people had created a situation where the aristocratic families were in power since the Wei and Jin Dynasties. How long can this situation last? This is what Cui Yuan devoted himself to.

As the first family in the world, occupying Shandong, Central Plains and Hedong half, these are the essence of the Tang Dynasty. How could the Cui family spit them out again?

As the first prime minister of the imperial court and the most powerful person in the Tang Dynasty, he had already experienced the beautiful scenery at the top, and the high places were extremely cold, and the vulgar colors on the flat and shallows were no longer visible to him.

Therefore, maintaining the long-term government of this aristocratic family became a lifelong career that Cui Yuan fought for and spent his hard work. For this reason, he suppressed the imperial power of the Li clan and his successors and suppressed his own sister as the empress dowager. For this reason, he broke the custom of the Tang Dynasty to test the scholars and allowed a large number of aristocratic families to enter the officialdom. All of this was to prevent the monarch from turning back and allow the aristocratic family to continue for generations. Without a king's one-man rule, without the king's life and death of the court officials and sentient beings, everything was implemented within the scope of the Tang Dynasty's laws. This was the prosperous era of great harmony in Cui Yuan's eyes.

Of course, more importantly, Cui Yuan, as the crafter and perfecter of the Tang Dynasty's laws, was the biggest beneficiary of such aristocratic family affairs. He could not allow signs of threatening the aristocratic family affairs to appear.

Cui Yuan couldn't help but think of Zhang Huan again. This newcomer who suddenly emerged last year, made his mark with his aggressive aura. If he was really just an ordinary illegitimate son of a noble family, Cui Yuan would not care too much about him, but his sudden identity as the world forced Cui Yuan to be frightened. If this momentum continues.

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Cui Yuan didn't dare to think about it any more.

Regarding Zhang Huan, Cui Yuan has always held a very contradictory attitude. On the one hand, he is afraid that he will threaten the affairs of the aristocratic family after he becomes strong, but on the other hand, his rise will inevitably challenge the Wei family's sphere of influence. This seems to be the most effective blow to the Wei family after the Uighurs massacre.

It was like a balance, with fish on one side and bear's paw on the other. Both were beneficial. It was this kind of worrying about gains and losses that made Cui Yuan's attitude sway. But today, the desire for the Ministry of Rites was like a very heavy weight, pressing heavily on the other side of the bear's paw.

With a 'Click!', the pen was suddenly folded into two pieces in his hand. At this moment, Cui Yuan finally made a decision. He immediately ordered in a deep voice: "Go and invite Cui Yu to our mansion immediately."

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Just as Cui Yu went to Wei's mansion again, Yuan Zai, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites, also quietly came to Pei You's mansion. At the same time, Cui Xiaofu also discussed in the palace with Li Fanyun, who had just returned, the countermeasures of tomorrow's dynasty.

On this night, under the cover of the heavy night, planning and transactions of all sizes were performed in Chang'an City, which was destined to be a night that countless people could not rest.

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At the fifth hour, the sky was still dark, and the rumbling drums suddenly surging over Chang'an City. This kind of drum sound, as dense as rain and as thunder, only occurs every three months during the Great Dynasty, but the people of Chang'an have not heard it for half a year.

Today is the New Year's Day in the second year of Xuanren. Officials above the fifth rank in Beijing must attend the court meeting and meet the new emperor and the queen mother. Today is the second day of the imperial examination. More than 100,000 scholars from all over the country made their final efforts for dozens of Jinshi places.

As the drum sounded, the lights lit up one after another in the dark night, like the stars in the night sky. Especially in the Chongrenfang, which is densely populated by Jinzouyuan and Pingkangfang, which is full of inns, the lights have been connected into a long piece, which complements the jade belt in the night sky.

The family of Pei's family began to get busy at the third hour, boiling water, feeding horses, preparing breakfast, and the concubines were busy serving the master to change clothes. In the courtyard where Zhang Huan lived, Pei Ying got up at the fourth hour, and the two maids also helped her to prepare a new official uniform from the third-rank official uniform, arranged breakfast, and washed and changed clothes for her husband. Pei Ying was so busy that she kept working hard. Just after finishing these things, the thrilling drum sounded.

"We will come back early after the court meeting. We will also go and see our grandfather." Pei Ying instructed while helping Zhang Huan wear a formal hat.

"I understand. I guess the court meeting will be very long today, so I won't come back to have lunch."

Pei Ying nodded, and she gave a few more careful instructions before taking two maids to send Zhang Huan out of the door. She stared blankly at the nearly 100 personal soldiers escorting the carriage disappeared into the thin morning mist, and returned to the mansion with a little disappointed feeling.

There were not many officials in Xuanyifang, where Pei's Mansion was located. Occasionally, a few carriages escorted by servants drove towards the gate. However, when he arrived at Zhuque Street, he suddenly became spectacular. The vast army entering the court was like a torrent, driving on the wide street.

Today is also the first day of implementing the escort system of escorts. Almost every official carriage has at least a dozen, and at most hundreds of fully armed escorts, making today's escorts unprecedented, one after another, and the sound of horse hooves hit the road like rainstorm. This is the most spectacular escort in the founding of the Tang Dynasty in more than a hundred years.

When they arrived in front of Danfeng Gate, the carriage and guard knights blocked the fifty-step-wide avenue, and the officials had to get out of the car and walk, passing through the armed guard group with swords and shadows, which was even more dangerous than usual.

After a simple inspection, Zhang Huan entered Danfengmen Square. At this time, the horizon had turned slightly white, and the morning breeze was bitter and cold, cutting people's hands and faces like a knife.

"Zebalang!" A low and familiar call sounded behind Zhang Huan. This was a nickname that was gradually forgotten as the Zhang family declined. At this time, he was suddenly called in the Daming Palace. Zhang Huan suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He quickly turned around and stood quietly behind him about five steps, Zhang Potian who had not seen for several months.

Zhang Potian is thin and has a thin body, as if he has just recovered from a serious illness. There is always a faint lingering sadness in his eyebrows. This tragic figure of the Zhang family was kicked out of the Political Affairs Hall less than a month after he became the Minister of Rites. He was the Minister of Rites half a year ago and his son, who was highly anticipated, died in Taiyuan in an unexplained manner. The tragedy of life seemed to always be repeated in him.

Today is also the first time he has been to court since he stepped down from the wilderness. Unexpectedly, he met Zhang Huan as soon as he entered the Danfeng Gate. Although Zhang Huan was the biggest suspect in killing his son, Zhang Potian no longer had a sense of hatred. The Zhang family was defeated, and all his hopes had passed away with the wind. Perhaps this is the greater sorrow than death of his heart!

He looked at Zhang Huan calmly. They had only been three months away, but it seemed that many years had passed. The Zhang family's concubine who was not afraid of tigers and dared to lead people to attack the county government had grown into a prince. It had just passed a year since they first met.

In the hazy morning light, Zhang Huan also silently stared at the old Zhang family elder. The word "Zhong" he wrote no longer exists. A branch of the Zhang family, supported by Cui Yuan, with Zhang Ruojin as the head of the family, still stayed in the old house in Taiyuan; a branch of dozens of Zhang family children with Zhang Can as the head of the family moved to Wuwei, Hexi; another branch of the Zhang family with Zhang Ruohao's eldest son Zhang Xuan as the head of the family established the Zhang family in Xiangyang; but more were scattered in Hedong and became countless small families with Zhang surnamed Zhang.

The nearly 100 Zhang families who stayed in the capital were in a mess. They hoped that Zhang Potian would come forward to form the Zhang family in the capital, but Zhang Potian lived in simplicity and no longer had the desire to compete for ambition.

Perhaps time is the best medicine to cure the trauma in his heart. Gradually, he went out by chance to meet old friends, or stayed in the teahouse for a day to learn about the neighborhood affairs. Today he came to attend the court meeting, but he was asked by Zhang Yun, the eldest son of Sima in Danyang County, to listen to the future direction of the Tang Dynasty for him.

Zhang Potian slowly walked to Zhang Huan, looked at Zhang Huan, whose face had short beards on his face and smiled, "I heard that you got married."
To be continued...