Chapter 216: Four major families

The Guanlong area has always been a place where the family members of the Tang Dynasty were concentrated. Since Wu Zetian severely cracked down on the family members of the Guanlong area, the families in the Guanlong area have gradually declined. However, after Anshi and the subsequent Uighurs' chaos in China provided the soil and environment for the rise of the family members, after several changes, the current valve families in the Longyou area are mainly represented by the four major families of Wei, Xin, Ma and Li, and are referred to as the four major families. Among them, Wei is the Wei family in Kaiyang County, which was once the largest family in Longyou for the fifteenth year. With its powerful army and influence, it has trampled other major families in Longyou.

Following closely behind is the Xin family of Jincheng County, which is the Xin Yunjing family. The Xin family has always been a great Helong clan. It is also a representative of the local family. It once competed with the foreign Wei family based on Wuwei County in Hexi. It was not until the Uighurs invaded in the 15th year of Qingzhi that it was finally defeated by the Wei family. Xin Yunjing was deprived of military power and lived in Jincheng County. Until Zhang Huan's sudden emergence, Xin Yunjing suddenly found an opportunity to eradicate the Wei family. He joined forces with a group of veterans such as Ma Lin, Li Fei Yuanli, Bai Yuanguang and others to surrender to Zhang Huan under the pretext of the old subordinates of Prince Yu. Xin Yunjing himself was invited by Zhang Huan to serve as the chief of the Hexi Military Academy. Several veterans were also hired as instructors.

The third largest family among the four major families is the veteran Ma Lin. He was originally from Fengxiang and was born in poverty. However, he was deeply trusted by Emperor Suzong during the Anshi Rebellion and made many outstanding achievements. He was named Prince of Anding County and was rewarded with a large number of fertile land in Anding County. His brothers and sons were numerous. Among the five counties of Anding County, the county magistrates were all his tribe members. However, Ma Lin has always been low-key, and his family does not own an army. He is famous for his wealth in Longyou.

The fourth-ranked family is actually a royal family, King Li Qiao of Hue. He was originally the son of Li Yan, the fourth son of Emperor Xuanzong. He was granted the title of King Li Yan of Hue County. As a royal family, he kept a low profile like other royal families after he was in power. After fifteen years of accumulation, Li Qiao's wealth expanded dramatically. He owned more than 20 large and small manors in Hue County and Yan'an County, and had more than 10,000 slaves alone. Although he had no army, he had two thousand armed families.

The four indicators of army, land, slaves and wealth have become the symbol of these four major families standing out among the major families of Longyou. Land alone occupies 60% of Longyou. Among them, the Wei family occupies the most land, with nearly 100,000 hectares of fertile land in Kaiyang County, Longxi County, Anding County, Xinping County and other places. During the fifteen years when Wei family controlled Longyou, the structure of the entire Longyou Longyou area was in a strong situation and had stabilized. However, since the third year of Xuanren, the situation in Longyou has undergone major changes. The Wei family was cleared out of Longyou and Zhang Huan from Hexi has entered strongly, causing countless people to suffer from insomnia, doubt, confusion, surprise, anxiety, expectation, and various contradictions and complex emotions.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, near noon, a carriage quietly drove into the south gate of Jincheng County under the escort of nearly a hundred knights and stopped in front of the gate of Xin Yunjing's mansion. Soon, a middle-aged man got out of the carriage. He was wearing a white brocade robe and a golden crown on his head, looking noble and arrogant. As soon as he got off the carriage, Xin Yunjing welcomed the gate and took this special guest into the mansion.

This guest was Li Qiao, the King of Hue who came from Hue County. Li Qiao was one of the few direct royal families in the Tang Dynasty who lived outside Chang'an. During his long leisure life, he devoted all his energy to expanding wealth. He hoarded only the grain in each manor was more than one million stone, but the increase in wealth also brought him a huge sense of insecurity. There were many Dangxiang people living in Hue and Yan'an. In the past fifteen years, many of his manors have been attacked by Dangxiang people, causing considerable losses, which made him spend a lot of grain and money every year to contribute to the Longyou Army in order to obtain the protection of the military.

After the Wei family was cleared out of Longyou, Li Qiao, like all the Longyou families, was eagerly paying attention to the changes in the situation in Longyou. He was particularly concerned about land changes. It had been a month since Zhang Huan, who occupied Longyou, had never made any official statement. However, the people's calls for the implementation of the military land system were rising and falling, which made Li Qiao restless. He finally couldn't hold back. At this moment, he received an invitation from Xin Yunjing and took the opportunity to find Xin Yunjing to discuss countermeasures.

"I thought the prince would not arrive in a few days, so I didn't prepare anything. If there is any inconvenient reception, please take care of him." Xin Yunjing smiled and invited Li Qiao to the guest hall.

Li Qiao seemed to have not heard him, and he seemed very worried. Seeing that there were a few Xin family guests sitting in the living room, he whispered to Xin Yunjing: "Is there a place for Yunjing to speak elsewhere?"

Xin Yunjing understood and immediately pointed to the side, and ordered the two servants to say, "Go and clean up my study."

The two servants ran away, and Li Qiao and Xin Yunjing were chatting about some rumors about Longyou while walking. "I heard that the court has issued a transfer order to transfer Wei's governors from Longxi, Kaiyang, Anding, Xinping, Yan'an, and other Wei's children to Hanzhong and Henan, and did Yunjing hear that this matter?"

Xin Yunjing smiled and said, "The news about the prince is certainly faster than that of us, but some of my old friends in the court wrote to say that this is true, and we will not wait until April. It is estimated that there will be any movement after the Yuan Dynasty."

"The court has really made a move!" Li Qiao sighed and said, "A few governors of the Wei family have been growing for fifteen years and have been uprooted."

"The court is trying to protect them, otherwise the past events would have been revealed and no one could survive. How could it be the court's attack?" Xin Yunjing glanced at him in surprise and said, "The prince will not be able to see this even if he clicked it!"

Li Qiao blushed and said hurriedly: "Of course I understand this, but it's a bit cold and cold!"

"This is also impossible."

The two walked to the door of the study, and Xin Yunjing waved his hand, "Please, please!"

"please!"

The two walked into the outdoor room of the study. The room was clean and tidy. The charcoal basin baked the room very warmly. Xin and Li took off their coats and sat down with the guest and host. The two maids served them tea and then retreated. At this time, the only two of them were left in the room.

Li Qiao's worries were like chickens breaking out of their shells, and he couldn't bear it anymore. Without even taking a sip of tea, he said impatiently: "Yunjing, I have been dating you for more than ten years! This time you must tell me the truth, should the military farmland system in Hexi be implemented in Longyou?"

Xin Yunjing did not rush to answer him. In fact, he knew very well that Li Qiao was most worried about these days. Not only him, but many large families in Longyou were concerned about this matter. Yesterday, Ma Lin also came to ask himself about this matter, which was related to the core interests of everyone. If he said he didn't care, that would be a lie.

Xin Yunjing knew very well that Zhang Huan must implement the military land system. This is the most effective way for him to gather the morale of the army and control the army. The land was signed by him, Zhang Huan. If Zhang Huan fell, the land of the military land system would be very likely to be lost again. Therefore, after implementing the military land system, he would firmly control the soldiers at the bottom in his hands without worrying about the court pulling his subordinates.

Of course, Zhang Huan has no land to allocate in Longyou area. Although the government has some official land, local officials may not cooperate with him to implement the military land system that the court does not recognize. Therefore, Zhang Huan's only method is to ask for land from the large households. This is unquestionable. However, what he considered was not as simple as land. He was considering the long-term interests of the entire Longyou Group, which was why he invited Li Qiao.

Xin Yunjing pondered for a long time and finally nodded: "According to the reliable information I have received, next month, Longyou will start to implement the military farmland system. I heard that the details have been decided."

Li Qiao seemed to have stepped on the air, and his heart suddenly became cold and his face turned dead gray. He knew that Hexi implemented the military farmland system and the land system of dozens of wealthy families was confiscated, and the powerful people in Wuwei County disappeared. If Longyou implemented it again, he would not dare to think about his own farm.

"Things are not as bad as you thought!" Xin Yunjing saw his face change drastically, as if he was dead, and he really looked down upon him. These nobles of the royal family were usually pampered, but they couldn't stand it when they encountered some storms, and they would not consider the overall situation, but only cared about their own property gains and losses.

He resisted the contempt in his heart and comforted Li Qiao with a smile: "If I guessed correctly, the military farmland system will not endanger the interests of the prince."

Li Qiao was very energetic, and he asked excitedly: "Why is this? Can you please ask Yunjing to tell me a good talk!"

Xin Yunjing took a sip of tea, shook his head and smiled, "It's no wonder that many people don't understand what the military land system is. I only heard that all the large households in Hexi have died out, so everyone panics. Hexi is because there is too little arable land, so there is such a consequence. The so-called military land system is just a means used by Zhang Huan to conscription, not for everyone in Longyou. Only those who join the army are qualified to enjoy it. You can calculate it. Longyou and Shuofang's upper limit is the maximum of 140,000 troops. Even if Zhang Huan conscripts another 60,000 private troops, it will be only 200,000. Based on ten acres of land per person, two million acres of land is only 200,000 hectares. The entire Helong area is more than one million hectares of land. How much can this be used? The prince really doesn't have to worry."

Li Qiao thought about it carefully and found that it was indeed the case. He was frightened by Zhang Huan's cruel methods in Hexi and did not think about it carefully. Only 20,000 hectares of land were also required to be paid by people. How could this be allocated? He is one of the top major households in Longyou, wouldn't he bear the brunt? Thinking of this, his heart that had just been relieved was suspended again.

Xin Yunjing seemed to know what he was thinking, so he smiled coldly and said, "I think the prince is really confused. There is a family with a plump land of less than 100,000 hectares. When will it be our turn?"

Li Qiao slapped his forehead suddenly, and he let out a long sigh. He was really confused. He just mentioned that the court wanted to transfer Wei family officials away. Since Zhang Huan took away his foundation, how could he let them go? He was really smart for a lifetime and confused for a while!

Li Qiao finally let go of her heart. He quickly stood up and bowed to President Xin Yunjing, "Fortunately, Yunjing saw the sun, Xiao Wang was very grateful!"

Xin Yunjing waved his hand gently, his expression still serious, "Prince, please sit down, I'm not asking you for this matter, there's something else."

Seeing that he was speaking seriously, Li Qiao was a little surprised, so he slowly sat down. Xin Yunjing glanced at him and said slowly: "The prince must also know that the current situation in the court is Cui, Pei and the two prime ministers dominate the world's affairs, and the other five major families are each relying on them. After the revision of the branch Yin system last year, the entire world's officialdom was controlled by the seven major families. The cup of leftover soup that was accidentally divided was also divided by the Changsun family, the Chang family and a very small number of Jinshi. Where can we be the turn of small and medium-sized families? If we don't want to fight for it, we will sooner or later become fish on other people's chopping boards in more than ten years. The prince is a direct royal family, and this experience should be deeper than mine."

Xin Yunjing's words hit Li Qiao's worries. He lowered his head for a long time and sighed for a long time: "My Li family created the Tang Dynasty. How awesome is Taizong, Gaozong, and Xuanzong? Who would have thought that they would be so declining now? Even the Jin Dynasty, which was once a prosperous family, would be "the king and the horse share the world". At least half of the royal family still have the country. As Yunjing said, in more than ten years, who will remember the surname of the Tang Dynasty?"

Seeing that he had already stirred him, Xin Yunjing immediately stood up and pulled the curtains up, opened the door and looked outside, then sat down and lowered his voice to Li Qiao: "Now there is a chance. If you catch it, our Helong clan is likely to turn into the mainstream of the court. It depends on whether the prince dares to make this bet!"

Li Qiao suddenly understood what he meant and hesitated: "Are you talking about Zhang Huan?"

Xin Yunjing nodded slowly, "That's right!"

He took a deep breath and said, "He is the son of Prince Yu, but he ascended the throne and became emperor with a legitimate claim. Now his power has increased greatly, but there is no background behind him. If our Helong Group fully supports him, first support him in the cabinet and make him the spokesperson of our Helong Group, and then step by step push him to the throne. By that day, we will take Cui and Pei to replace him, of course, we will be us. Isn't that the case for Suzong ascended the throne in Lingwu back then?"

Li Qiao did not speak. His long-term frustration in the power field made him focus on making money, but his father's glory never disappeared in his heart. Deep in his heart, he had always longed to be able to reappear on the stage of power one day. This was a dream he never told others, and he never even mentioned his wife and children.

Today, Xin Yunjing's words seemed to open a window in front of him, and his heart suddenly became brighter. He seemed to see himself like his father, who was given the title of Prince, the title of Prince's Tutor, and the commander of the Longyou General of Hexi, far away.

Li Qiao raised her head and looked straight at Xin Yunjing. He solemnly expressed his opinion without any hesitation, "I firmly support it!"

At this moment, a 'pa!' applause suddenly came from the inner room of the study. Li Qiao jumped up in shock. He saw several people walking out of the inner room. He knew all the people behind him, Ma Lin, Li Fei Yuanli, and Bai Yuanguang. He had never seen one of them before. He only saw that this person was young and dark, but he was tall and had a terrifying aura in every move.

Xin Yunjing smiled slightly and introduced to Li Qiao: "This is the Duke of Tianbao County, the governor of Longyou, and the champion general Zhang!"

Ma Lin also smiled and said, "Prince Prince, don't blame Yunjing for concealing it. If the matter is secret, you must first test it."

Li Qiao stared at Zhang Huan in a daze. He couldn't say a word. Zhang Huan stepped forward and bowed and smiled, "Speaking of this, I am still a uncle and nephew, but I don't know if the prince is willing to help me."

Li Qiao smiled bitterly and quickly returned the tribute: "Since I have agreed, there is no reason to repent. Don't worry, the governor. I am definitely not a person who keeps money. I will do my best to provide for the governor!"

Zhang Huan was overjoyed. Not only did Li Qiao save grain in Longyou, but he was also a direct royal family. With him as a bridge, he could gradually open up the situation in the Li family.

Seeing that the four major families in Longyou were third, Zhang Huan was really happy, so he waved to everyone and said, "Come on! Please sit down and discuss slowly."

．

．

．

．

．

．

．

It was already late at night, and Zhang Huan left Xin Yunjing Mansion. He looked up at the night sky and took a long breath of fresh air. After the New Year, the air in Longyou was no longer so cold. A bright moon was hanging high in the sky, and the intermittent white broken clouds transformed into a river, floating in the deep blue night sky. A soft wind with a hint of warmth echoed around him.

Today is an extremely important step he has taken. Establishing the Helong Group is not just about getting the support of the Helong clan, but more importantly, he can thus undermine the local government and pass the Helong clan, so that the entire Longyou can be truly controlled in his own hands.

Although this is far from Hu Yong's strategy of suppressing powerful people and striving for small and medium-sized landlords, Zhang Huan knew very well that replacing a family with a group of power was his only way.
Chapter completed!