Chapter 154 Dugu Balang

Late at night, accompanied by Chai Shao, Jialan met with Dugu Zhen, the prefect of Wei County.

Dugu Zhen's qualifications are too old. He and the late emperors, Gao Bing, Yang Su, Su Wei, Pei Shiju, etc. are all peers. Today, Shang Shang and Duke Li Yuan of Tang are his nephews, and Chai Shao is his grandson and son-in-law. Such a prominent royal relative, he was actually surrendered to the position of local prefect, and the profound meaning behind it is very complicated, making it difficult to guess.

Galan was circulating in the northwest with the upper class of powerful people, and he saw many great figures. He was calm and calm in front of Dugu Zhen, without any fear and fear. This gave Dugu Zhen a deep impression. He felt that he was different from others, not only calm, confident, and persevering, but also as calm as a mountain. This calm Yuezhiyuan Zai contains infinite power. In addition, the legend about the northwest wolf and the golden wolf head that had been circulated in the past two years has invisibly added a lot of mystery, making people full of speculation about his strength and a kind of inexplicable fear and alert.

Dugu Zhen's hair was gray and his calm face naturally flowed out the reserve of a noble person. His majesty became a part of his body because of his innate power. Even if he sat leisurely, the heavy pressure that hit him was suffocating.

Jialan greeted him respectfully and said a few gorgeous words of praise. As soon as she sat down, Dugu Zhen's amiable voice came from her ears, "Which family are you from?"

Galan looked at Dugu Zhen, and a trace of sadness and confusion flashed across his face. After a moment, he wanted to speak, but facing Dugu Zhen's eyes full of wisdom and vicissitudes, he felt as if he was wandering in the golden poplar forest. After three thousand years of years of reincarnation, he had lost his self, and lost the memories of sadness and tears written every year.

"Did you forget it? Don't know? Or has anyone ever told you?"

Jialan shook his head and didn't say anything. He already knew the answer from Dugu Zhen's inquiry, but he didn't want to know the answer, so he instinctively refused.

Dugu Zhen looked at him, stroking his beard and sighed for a long time, "The old men are very cautious, too cautious, no one seems to care about your life and death, but you survived, survived in a wilderness such as Nishibona. You proved your ability with your merits, you have controlled your future, and you are using your own hands to rebuild the glory of your ancestors." Dugu Zhen sighed again, "The old men are far-sighted and thoughtful. Before the last moment, who can see the victory or defeat on the chessboard?"

The god Galan was so depressed that he didn't say a word.

Chai Shao looked at Dugu Zhen, looked at Jialan with concern, and secretly guessed the story behind the old man's words.

The hall fell into a long silence.

Dugu Zhen's eyes were deep and immersed in distant memories. His thoughts were clear with the gentle night wind and the swaying candlelight, and he left infinite reverie.

"Garan, is the Eastern Expedition over?"

Dugu Zhen's voice seemed to come from the distant darkness, filled with a desolate atmosphere, impacting the hearts of Jialan and Chai Shao, making the two of them feel a little chill involuntarily.

Dugu Zhen asked not about Galan's opinion, but Pei Shiju's plan. Like everyone else, he believed that Galan was Pei Shiju's absolute confidant and a key figure sent by Pei Shiju to Hebei to implement a series of plans. All signs prove that this speculation was correct, so Galan took the initiative again and again in the development of the situation in Hebei.

Galan thought and planned, and after a long time, he told the truth, "Maybe there is a third expedition."

Dugu Zhen's expression froze instantly, his pupils contracted instantly, and his mind suddenly stirred up a shocking wave. The third Eastern Expedition? What does the third Eastern Expedition mean? It means that the second Eastern Expedition returned in vain, which means that the emperor's prestige was severely damaged after quelling the rebellion, and the process of reform was hindered. The central government's control over the localities was rapidly weakened. With no choice, the emperor had to carry out the third Eastern Expedition to regain prestige. The series of policies implemented in the third Eastern Expedition and the sharp changes in the situation in China-Turkey caused by these policies will become increasingly unfavorable to the development of the entire empire.

Why must the Third Eastern Expedition be carried out? Who insists on the Third Eastern Expedition? Is it the emperor and reformist ministers, or the conservative forces in the court? Is it a need to continue reform or an hinder reform?

Galan's message must have come from Pei Shiju, and Pei Shiju's idea represents the entire reformist force of the empire. It is not difficult to infer that the Second Eastern Expedition and Yang Xuangan's mutiny were both continuations of the bloody struggle between the two major forces "advance" and "conservative" in the court during the first Eastern Expedition. The goal of the struggle is reform, that is, the direction of reform is whether the central government is highly centralized or maintains stability during the late emperor's period. If the central government is highly centralized, it will inevitably weaken and deprive the interests of the powerful families. This is the fundamental reason why the current reform is blocked and the struggle for power is fierce.

It is obvious that in order to continue to promote reform, to achieve the central government's high centralization, and to further weaken and deprive the powerful and wealth of the nobles of the aristocratic families, the emperor and the reformists must take advantage of this storm to launch crazy killings on the conservative forces of the empire, and the entire Guanlong noble group was severely damaged.

This is an unchangeable fact. The reason why Yang Xuangan was determined to launch a mutiny was because he saw this. The emperor and the reformists had to face the entire Guanlong aristocratic group, so it was difficult to predict which one wins and who would lose in this battle.

Yang Xuangan used the mutiny to drag the entire Guanlong noble group to his own ship, but some Guanlong nobles who were curbed and hit were also curbed and attacked. When the situation was still unclear and the outcome was not decided, great families such as Dugu were unwilling to be "kidnapped" by Yang Xuangan and unwilling to "live and die together" with him. However, standing by and watching the changes was full of too many risks, and even directly harming their own interests. Therefore, it is crucial to learn about the plans and secrets of the emperor and the reform ministers and establish correct countermeasures early.

Dugu Zhen first brought Galan to a desperate situation, and then asked Chai Shao to use the Northwest Agreement to win Galan's trust, and pulled him into this interest group. Then he won Galan with his elder status and the intimate relationship between the two families, and then carefully knocked on Galan's secret hidden deep in his heart. Dugu Zhen succeeded, and Galan chose to trust him and told him the secret, thus helping Dugu Zhen strengthen his determination to "partition" with Yang Xuangan.

Yang Xuangan's mutiny will inevitably lead to a larger and faster division of the Guanlong nobles, which will inevitably lead to a fatal blow to the entire aristocratic group. However, if some nobles learned about the secrets of the emperor and the reform ministers in advance, and quickly made a split move and took the initiative to attack him while Yang Xuangan's mutiny, the situation will be completely different. The Guanlong nobles cannot be destroyed or collapsed. This is the premise for the existence of the empire. Therefore, the Guanlong nobles who are determined to maintain the existence of the empire must do their best to protect the strength of the Guanlong nobles to the greatest extent.

Dugu Zhen was very angry and angry, and hated the actions of the emperor and the reform ministers. He could no longer tolerate the emperor's betrayal of the Guanlong noble group, and could no longer allow the reform ministers to curb and attack the Guanlong noble group. This is a matter of life and death. It has reached a critical moment. If he does not take action, not only the Guanlong noble group is in danger, but even the empire is facing the danger of overturning.

Dugu Zhen sat upright, his body was solemn and powerful without anger.

"Galan, tell me what you know."

Galan hesitated and weighed the pros and cons. Considering the dangers in the northwest and the lives of hundreds of thousands of hungry people in Hebei, considering the destructive blows caused by the Yang Xuangan mutiny to the empire, he could not continue to retreat in fear. He had to seize Dugu Zhen's "life-saving straw" and try his best to "turn the tide". Even if he failed, he would do his best. He had plans for others and accomplish things in heaven, without any regrets.

"The people involved in Yang Xuangan's rebellion include Lang Huosizheng, General Li Zixiong of the Left Guard, General Zhao Yuanshu of the Left Guard, and Yuan Hongsi of the Honghua left behind..."

Jialan told Yang Xuangan what he knew about him, including Wang Zhongbo, Zhao Huaiyi, Wei Yuanwuben, etc., and many other great scholars such as Hu Shidan and Kong Yingda. Finally, he also mentioned local tyrants, especially the area of ​​Liangjun, Henan where Yang Xuangan once served as the local administrative officer. According to his judgment, even if the Yongji Canal was ensured to be smooth, the local tyrants in Henan would raise troops to respond to Yang Xuangan and cut off the Tongji Canal waterway, and ultimately, they could not guarantee the needs of the Liaodong battlefield.

"According to some confidential speculations, Yang Xuangan's overall plan should be to attack east and west, first take down Dongdu and Xijing, then gather the soldiers and civilians of the two capitals to fight decisively with the emperor and the expeditionary army that returned to the army to fight in the Central Plains."

To the west is the Northwest Army led by Yuan Hongsi, Honghua left behind, and to the east, Li Zixiong was expected to control the imperial naval army. There were a large number of Yang Xuangan's accomplices in the east and west capitals. If nothing unexpected happens, once Yang Xuangan's mutiny plan is successfully implemented, the possibility of changing the world is still very large. At present, the emperor and the center are trying to control Yuan Hongsi and Li Zixiong first, in order to destroy Yang Xuangan's attack on the east and west. Next, relying on the Dai Wang Yang You and Yue Wang Yang Tong who stayed behind, can stabilize the situation and win a long enough time for the emperor to return to his army to quell the rebellion.

"It is crucial whether the Dongdu can be defended. If the Dongdu loses it, the situation will become more complicated, drag more people into the storm, and cause greater and deeper damage to the empire."

Jia Lan frowned, and a sense of helplessness and anxiety appeared in her hoarse voice. "Before arriving in Hebei, she never expected that hundreds of thousands of hungry people would follow her. The danger caused by this was terrifying. The hungry people were used as tools for game by some people with ulterior motives. If they died and starved everywhere, who would bear the crime was second. What is important is that they would definitely anger Shandong people and cause greater violence. The more mobs, the more lucid the situation, and the more conflicts between the parties were, the empire would be in danger of overturning."

"So..." Jia Lan looked at Dugu Zhen and said anxiously, "It is the active attack on Li Yang, take down Li Yang's warehouse, and use opening the warehouse and releasing grain to save hungry people in exchange for support from Hebei people. This is directly related to the survival of the empire."

Dugu Zhen did not reply, he fell into long-term thinking and remained silent for a long time.

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Chapter completed!