Chapter 543: Li Yuan divided Guanlong
The Guanlong Group is a combination of interests that unites and divides due to benefits. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, it gradually divided into two factions, one headed by the Dugu family and the other headed by the Yuan family. With the decline of the Yuan family
, the prosperous Dou family became the leader of this faction, and the Guanlong faction was also renamed the Dou faction. Li Yuan's Longxi Li family also belonged to the Dou faction.
However, both the Dugu sect and the Dou sect experienced the purges of the civil and military emperors of the Sui Dynasty. Especially under the violent attack of Emperor Wu Yang Guang, the powerful Guanlong Group declined. It's just that a camel is bigger than a horse.
The Guanlong Group is only weaker than before when it dominated the world. In the past, the Guanlong Group monopolized high-level positions in the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties, and then used their power to acquire countless assets, with land and industries all over the world. However, they were overthrown
After Sui Yang decided to 'betray' the Guanlong Group, his industry was inevitably devastated by the war, and they all shrank their industries to Guanlong and Bashu, which had always been relatively stable. More than 90% of the fertile land in Guanlong was occupied by Guanlong's powerful people, and various
All profitable businesses are monopolized by them.
The Tang Dynasty was able to quickly take root in Guanlong and calm the turmoil because of the joint support of the Guanlong Group. Without the sudden emergence of Yang Tong, Li Yuan could have relied on the strong family background of the Guanlong Group to impoverish and kill all the heroes.
It is a pity that the Tang army was repeatedly defeated by the Sui army, and the people of the imperial court were shattered. The Guanlong Group, which had lost its roots, was left with only Bashu, the last back garden. Many people had long been afraid. When they heard that the Sui Dynasty wanted to reconcile with the aristocratic family, they sent troops one after another.
People inquired about it, and before Yang Tong made any statement, he couldn't wait to make many promises.
Dou Cong, the No. 2 figure in the Dou family, came to visit the Dugu family because the interests of the Dou faction headed by Dou family were seriously threatened.
Although they also sent representatives to contact the Sui Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty emperor never gave a certain commitment. After several discussions, Dou Gui, Dou Cong and other core members of the Dou faction agreed that Yang Tong was not satisfied with the price given by the Dou family.
They never expressed their stance. However, they were not willing to be blackmailed by Yang Tong, and compared with Yang Tong, Li Yuan was better able to guarantee their interests. Therefore, they had high hopes for the Sui-Tang War and did not send anyone to Luoyang again to 'negotiate'.
But as Li Shimin's army defeated Zhuyang Pass and Li Yuan returned to Xiangyang, the heads of the Dou faction finally lost their stability. Once the Sui army captured Jingxiang, entered Bashu, and destroyed Li Tang, their fields and property would be destroyed in the next step.
Take away every bit of it.
The Dou faction felt that they could not sit still and wait for death, so they decided to reconcile with the Dugu faction, merge the two factions into one, and use a complete Guanlong group to negotiate with the Sui Dynasty. This way, the power and persuasiveness would be higher.
The head of the Dou family, Dou Gui, was following Li Yuan and was unable to do anything, so the second-in-command Dou Cong came to visit. By the way, he listened to the Dugu sect and saw if Li Tang could be saved. After all, they had invested too much in Li Tang.
He was unwilling to give up on Li Tang until the last moment.
The door of the Dugu family opened, and Dugu Cheng came out quickly, followed by Dugu Huai'en, who was the minister of the Ministry of Industry. It can be said that two important figures from the Dugu family came out, which made Dou Cong feel a little flattered.
He quickly bowed and saluted. "It would be a great honor for my two uncles to come out in person to greet you!"
Dugu Cheng and Dugu Huaien are both the grandsons of Dugu Xin, and they are very senior among the powerful people in Guanlong. Dou Cong is the elder, but he can also call the Dugu brothers Shishu.
"It's an honor for me, Dugu, to come to the house in person, Mr. Dou. Please come quickly!" Dugu Cheng did not regard himself as an elder, and said "Mr. Dou" to give Dou Cong enough face.
"please!"
After exchanging a few words of greetings, they entered the mansion together and came to the reception room of Dugu Mansion that was specially designed to receive important people. The three of them sat down separately.
Dou Cong got straight to the point: "Your Majesty retreated to Anyang, I wonder what the two uncles think?"
Dugu Cheng felt the anxiety and impatience in Dou Cong's tone, but he also understood that after all, everyone was facing the same problems, and he mused: "To be honest, we were also talking about this just now. We think that the Holy Emperor has been living in the deep palace for a long time and has left the palace.
The battlefield was too long, and he did not know how powerful the Sui army was. The consequence of misjudgment of the situation was a hasty personal expedition. He had no idea of the series of consequences that would follow the failure of the imperial army."
Dugu Huaien next to him sighed slightly, "Since Li Xiaogong's entire army was wiped out in Xiangcheng, the barbarians in the Tang Dynasty have been panicked, and prices have been getting higher and higher day by day. The Holy Spirit should try to stabilize the people's hearts and boost morale, but he is afraid that the world will not be in chaos, so he insists on
I really don’t understand what he was thinking about the imperial commander’s personal expedition. Now it’s better. He ran back without fighting, and also lost the territory that Li Xiaogong worked hard to gain. Does it mean that everyone has to lose their fighting spirit and rebellions are everywhere before they are willing to give up?
Is it? I heard that many aristocratic families are now secretly communicating with Yang Tong. It is no wonder that others are doing this. The Holy Lord is really disappointing. Not only did he not come up with a policy to calm people's hearts, but he also made mistakes every step of the way."
The Dugu brothers brought the topic to a deeper level. They first wanted to know what the Dou family thought, otherwise they would easily fall into the blame.
But Dou Cong is not stupid, and naturally he will not follow the rhythm of the Dugu brothers. However, he also knows that the other party will not take the initiative to propose a secret alliance with the Sui Dynasty. After all, the two factions have been fighting for too long and have deep feelings for each other.
On guard, he thought for a while and decided to put aside the topic for the time being and talk about it again when trust was established. He sighed and said: "My brother asked someone to send a message from the front, saying that the Holy One had reduced his troops, adopted a secluded policy, and moved the capital to Shu.
United with the Wei Dynasty to fight against the Sui Dynasty."
"Moving the capital? Is this serious?" Dugu Cheng said with an emotional expression.
Dou Cong nodded and said solemnly: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he wanted to create a stable rear area. However, Xiangyang is no longer safe. It is normal for the Holy One to want to move the capital. However, he was afraid of opposition from the courtiers, so he asked the Crown Prince to
This is a way of testing my brother. If we just let it go, the Holy Sage, who is frightened by the Sui army, will really move the capital to Bashu."
Although Dugu Cheng was extremely shocked, he knew very well that Li Yuan's consideration of moving the capital was not just a moment of enthusiasm. There must be reasons unknown to him. The Dou family and the Dugu family had been fighting secretly for a long time, and the two sides had been competing for the dominance of the Guanlong nobles.
Quan, the Dou family may be using the Dugu family as a weapon. Naturally, they cannot express their stance rashly until it is fully understood. He asked calmly: "Does Mr. Dou mean to gather all the powerful people in Guanlong to oppose the relocation of the capital?"
Dou Cong nodded solemnly: "Bashu is the remaining capital of our Guanlong dignitaries. If the capital of the Tang Dynasty is located there, war will soon sweep across. What will we do then? Even if the Sui army is temporarily
If we can't get in, how can the Holy One satisfy the demands of the Guandong gentry and Jiangnan nobles? Isn't it better to sacrifice us? So what we mean is that the Guan and Long factions should unite and clearly oppose the relocation of the capital."
"When that day comes, I, the Dugu family, will definitely follow up." Dugu Cheng also expressed his stance and thought for a while: "It's just that this is too passive."
"Uncle Shi, does he have any good ideas?"
"I think we can turn passivity into initiative. Before the Holy One proposes to move the capital, in the name of national justice, we propose the ambition to stick to Jingxiang!"
Dou Cong's eyes lit up and he praised: "This method is very good!"
"That's what we'll do?"
"I think it works!"
Dugu Cheng and Dou Cong looked at each other and smiled. They knew that this cooperation seemed insignificant, but in fact it was of great significance. It was the first step for the Guan and Long factions to cooperate again and the starting point for establishing trust.
............
The imperial palace in Xiangyang was named by Li Yuan as Taiji Palace, Taiji Palace, Wude Palace, and Chengqian Palace. Even the gates of Xiangyang were the same as those of Daxing. This was the most obvious manifestation of his obsession with Daxing, and it also hinted at the relationship between the two.
Li Yuan, a powerful man in Long, always had the ambition to regain Guanzhong.
In the imperial study room of Wude Palace, Li Yuan was sitting on the imperial couch, his face extremely gloomy. He never imagined that yesterday he asked the prince to speak to Dou Gui about stabilizing Bashu, and today he responded as soon as he arrived in Xiangyang, and this
The response was so tough and fierce.
There were eighty-three memorials piled high on the imperial desk in front of him. They were collectively submitted by the heads of the eighty-three Guanlong aristocratic families. The contents were all about requiring the imperial court to concentrate all its forces to defend Jingxiang. Each and every one of them said:
You have to be impassioned and all of them are strong-willed.
Staring at the pile of memorials in front of him, "please serve the country", Li Yuan's eyes flashed with uncontrollable anger. Of course he knew what these people meant. He was afraid that their interests in Bashu would be affected, and he firmly refused to agree to move the capital.
Shu, any insistence on defending Xiangyang is all fake.
"How can these be loyal ministers? They are all clearly rebellious ministers and traitors. How dare they threaten me with public opinion? Don't all of them want to live?" Li Yuan's anger could no longer be suppressed. He stood up suddenly, pulled out his giant sword, and struck fiercely.
He slashed at the pile of memorials and roared: "Do they really think they are so great? With a little support, they can ride on my head and dominate me? I am the master of the world, do they have any
Do you understand?"
Li Yuan was angry in his heart, but at the same time he also felt fearful and uneasy. The foundation of Li Tang was the powerful people of Guan and Long. It was precisely because of the full support of the powerful people of Guan and Long that Li Tang was able to grow rapidly and coexist with Yang Tong's Sui Dynasty to this day.
Although Guanzhong has been lost now, Bashu still belongs to the powerful people of Guanlong. More importantly, most of the military generals are the children of the powerful people of Guanlong. Therefore, the importance of the powerful people of Guanlong to the Li and Tang Dynasties is self-evident.
Li Yuan knew that moving the capital to Bashu must get the support of Guanlong's powerful people, but now he did not move the capital, and did not even mention moving the capital. He just said that Bashu would be stabilized and managed into an iron-clad country, which actually led to the death of Guanlong's powerful people.
The righteousness of Sheji came to hold him hostage, and their response was not only the eighty-three memorials, but also encouraged the people of Xiangyang to discuss the withdrawal. The public opinion directly smeared Li Yuan as a coward.
"Have the powerful people of Guanlong decided to abandon the Tang Dynasty?"
This flash of thought made Li Yuan feel like he was falling into a cold cave. Then, he thought about the representatives of various aristocratic families sent to Luoyang. Suddenly, most of his anger disappeared, and cold sweat rolled down his face.
Feeling Li Yuan's growing murderous intent, Li Jiancheng on the side said in a low voice: "Father, the two factions of Guanlong and the powerful are joining forces to attack. The power is huge. If we want to weaken it, we need to consider the long term. The reason why Yang Guang made people rebel and alienate is that he acted too hastily and was too eager to seek help."
As the saying goes, we must learn lessons from Yang Guang’s mistakes.”
With a 'bang' sound, Li Yuan kicked Yuan down. After a long while, he said bitterly: "Of course I know not to rush for quick success, so I have always tolerated piles of rubbish and mediocre people occupying high positions. But this time they are too
It's too much, and they actually came to hijack public opinion and interfere with my military deployment. If I continue to indulge them, I'm afraid they will overthrow me as the emperor next time."
Li Jiancheng sighed: "It should be that they were forced by the Sui army step by step, which made them disappointed with the court. At the same time, they were afraid that the Sui army would enter Shu and damage their interests, so they used this tough way to warn us."
Li Yuan's face was as dark as water. He knew that the influence of Guanlong's powerful people was extremely powerful in the military, the court, and the local government. Especially after the fall of Guanzhong, the annual payment of money and grain by Guanlong's powerful people accounted for 70 to 80% of the court's annual taxes.
Fully possess the strength and confidence to challenge.
After a long time, he slowly said: "It's not that Yang Guang can't eliminate the powerful people of Guanlong, but Yang Guang knows that the middle and high-level generals in the army are the children, disciples, and former officials of the powerful people of Guanlong. If he takes action rashly, then
He was the first to be destroyed by the powerful people of Guanlong, so he adopted roundabout tactics and conquered Tuyuhun, Linyi, and Liuqiu in the name of national justice, and used national war to annihilate the army controlled by the powerful people of Guanlong.
Once, he found that the enemy was too weak to waste troops in battle, so when it came to the battle of Goguryeo, he issued an extremely absurd order. If he really wanted to destroy Goguryeo, it would not be Yang Tong's turn to become famous. Likewise.
, I can also kill all these Guanlong dignitaries, but I can't eliminate their influence in the army. Moreover, our Tang Dynasty has only been established for a few years, and the foundation is still very weak. In addition, our situation is not good. If we forcefully eliminate them,
, the price is too high, we cannot bear the risk of civil strife, and at least more than 70% of the county guards, county magistrates, county magistrates, and county magistrates are their people. Once they are suppressed forcefully, civil war will probably break out immediately.
.They may even turn to the Sui Dynasty, which lifted the ban on aristocratic families, and then we would be completely finished."
Li Jiancheng nodded and said: "Father, what should we do?"
"As you said, long-term planning is necessary to weaken the powerful people in Guanlong, but the policy of advancing southward must be implemented. You go to the Dou family in person to announce the decree. I will confer Dou Gui as the Minister of Yizhou Daoxingtai and let him be in charge of the government affairs of Bashu."
"I understand!" Li Jiancheng praised in his heart. In this way, the two factions of Guan and Long would break up due to the issue of Bashu's interests. He was amazed by his father's power and tactics.
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Chapter completed!