The sky was dark and it was raining heavily. The entire majestic Daxing City was shrouded in a vast curtain of rain. The green trees and red flowers in the rain revealed a fresh and vibrant air. Raindrops as big as an arm fell on the ground along the ridges of the roofs.

, the rising water vapor soaked the Zhang Mansion in Yongxingfang, making it cool and pleasant.

Although it was raining heavily, one carriage after another stopped in the tent in the square in front of Zhang Jin's residence. A famous official got out of the carriage and walked on the carpet towards the main entrance of Zhang's residence.

Today is Zhang Jin’s mother’s sixty-seventh birthday. Zhang Jin decided to celebrate her mother a few days ago. However, since it was not her sixtieth or seventieth birthday, the birthday banquet was not large and only more than forty invitations were sent out.

, and the guests of the banquet were only relatives, friends and important Guanlong nobles.

Zhang Jin's eldest son, Zhang Xiangxiang, and his second son, Zhang Dashu, were greeting visitors in the tent in front of the mansion. At this time, a carriage stopped inside the tent, with the word "Dou Mansion" written on the unlit lantern hung on the shaft of the carriage.

Zhang Elephant and Zhang Dasu thought Dou Wei, the head of the Dou family, had arrived, so they hurriedly greeted them together. Unexpectedly, it was Dou Kang who came out of the car, not Dou Wei. Dou Kang bowed his hands to the Zhang brothers and said apologetically: "Two

Dear brother, the master of the house was already ready to go. Unexpectedly, the ground was slippery. The master accidentally fell and sprained his foot, so he had to order me to come to celebrate his birthday. I hope you will forgive me for my rudeness."

Dou Kang was suspected of following Yang Liang in rebellion. After being captured by Yang Ji, he had been idle at home, silently waiting for the opportunity to come back. However, Yang Guang seemed to have forgotten his old cousin, and instead took good care of his younger brother Dou Qing.

As for what he said now, it was naturally just an excuse. Dou Wei actually wanted to come to the door in person to congratulate him, but thinking about the delicate relationship between the three factions of Guan and Long, he temporarily changed his mind and asked Dou Kang, who had no official or position, to take his place.

He came to celebrate his birthday. Dou Wei made this arrangement not only to avoid misunderstandings from the Dugu Sect, but also to push Dou Kang into the position of the Dou family's "spokesperson". In the future, he would represent the Dou family in contacting and playing games with the various members of the Guanlong noble family.

"It's a blessing for the Zhang family that my brother is here, so how can I be so forgiving?" The Zhang brothers heard the implication. Although they were very disappointed in their hearts, after all, they were well-educated and well-informed children of aristocratic families, so they remained calm.

We exchanged a few pleasantries.

"Isn't this the head of the Li family? I heard that your son was seriously ill yesterday, is he feeling better today?" Hearing this, the three people who were chatting with each other unanimously went out to greet them, but it was Yuan Shou and Li Yuan who arrived. The person who spoke was undoubtedly

It is Yuanshou.

Yuan Shou glanced at Li Yuan coldly, the contempt in his eyes clearly revealed: The important officials of the Wuchuan League quietly met at Qinglong Temple in Xinchang yesterday for a meeting. All the heads of the family were gone. Only the Li family asked Li Shentong to come forward. Everyone was disgusted with this.

Out of dissatisfaction, when questioned, Li Shentong said that Li Xuanba was "critically ill" and Li Yuan really couldn't leave, so he asked him to represent the Li family.

No one would believe what Li Shentong said; they knew that the reason why Li Yuan made excuses not to come was simply because he was afraid that Yang Guang would misunderstand him and take away his position as a young eunuch in the palace and the title of Tang Guogong.

He has pretended to be sick many times and is a cowardly and useless person, and he is very looked down upon in his heart.

"Thanks to Yuantai Mansion's concern, although Quanzi Xuanba was born with deficiencies and was seriously ill many times, everyone in the Mansion was very aware of his condition. With the doctors' full rescue efforts, he was out of danger in the middle of last night. Today he has improved a little, and he is with Zhuo

Jing Qian went to Kuzhu Temple to fulfill his wish." Among all the nobles of Guanlong, Li

Yuan's family is very weak in terms of economic strength, talent base and official power. In addition, Li Yuan's age, position and rank are not as good as Yuanshou's. As a result, when facing Yuanshou who has a huge Yuan family behind him, Li Yuan is always in a kind of situation.

Due to his weak position, his speech and behavior naturally lacked some confidence.

Yuanshou glanced at Li Yuan, who was respectful and smiling, and the smile on his face froze. It was like punching the flowing water. Not only did it not hurt the opponent, but the splash made him feel uncomfortable all over.

, He thought for a while and said with pretended concern: "Oh? That's great. But I don't know if Mrs. Li has brought a doctor? If the son can't stand the bumps and gets sick midway, it will be dangerous."

After Yuan Shou's "kind reminder", Li Yuan's face turned pale. If he remembered correctly, the doctor who specialized in treating Li Xuanba seemed to be at home.

Seeing that Li Yuan could no longer hold back that disgusting smile, Yuan Shou felt relieved and said with a smile: "Master Li, I just care about my nephew, I have no other meaning. Since ancient times, Ji people have been blessed by heaven.

, my nephew is also a blessed person, nothing will happen to him."

Having achieved his goal, Yuanshou left Li Yuan, who was distraught and pale, and walked towards the Zhang brothers with a cheerful smile.

The relationship between Dou Kang and Li Yuan can be said to be inextricably linked, with constant cutting and confusion. He is both Li Yuan's elder brother and brother-in-law, and the friendship between the two brothers can be said to have started from wearing pants

It lasted until now; later Dou Kang had a name

Dou gave birth to a concubine, and Li Yuan had a concubine who was about the same age as Dou Dan, so the two of them got closer and became in-laws. Seeing that Li Yuan's expression changed greatly due to Yuan Shou's stimulation, Dou Kang quickly stepped forward and expressed concern.

He asked: "Shude, are you okay?"

"Thank you for your concern, brother, I'll be fine!" Li Yuan saw Zhang Dashu greeting Yuan Shou, and Zhang Xiangxiang was walking towards him. He reluctantly calmed down his trembling mind, exchanged greetings with Zhang Dashu for a while, and then went to Zhang Mansion with Dou Kang.

Go to the main entrance.

The two walked around the screen wall with the sculptures of the sacred beasts that guard the house. They saw that no one was walking on the corridor on the right, which represented the lower position, and Yuan Shou, who was walking on the left, walked slowly and leisurely, as if he was waiting for them on purpose.

Then they looked at each other understandingly and walked silently along the corridor on the right. Seeing that there was no one around and the sound of rain was heavy, Li Yuan asked softly: "Didn't you say that uncle (Dou Wei) came to congratulate you?"

"【Note】

The implication is that Li Yuan came because Dou Wei was coming; otherwise, he would have either pretended to be sick like before, or said that a relative was sick.

Dou Kang glanced at Yuan Shou in the distance opposite him and saw that he had already quickened his pace. He curled his lips disdainfully and said: "As the leader of the Wuchuan Alliance and the leader of the Yuan Sect, the Yuan family is short-sighted and selfish.

It failed to play a leading role. Not only did it lead to the Wuchuan Alliance being more formal than actual, but even the Yuan faction was in trouble because of the incompatibility of Yuan's virtues.

There are many contradictions. The Yuan family is aware of this, and also knows that the major officials are disappointed with them and are very dissatisfied. Although the Yuan family is now working hard to seek change and stabilize people's hearts, their prestige and appeal are far less than before, which will inevitably lead to the Wuchuan Alliance and the

The Yuan faction fell apart, so they decided to go all the way to the end to find a powerful enemy for the Guanlong noble group."

Li Yuan nodded and said solemnly: "Shen Tong also told me last night. It is said that this enemy is the southern nobles headed by Xiao Xiangguo, and the opportunity is the northern navy."

"The head of the family believes that the southern gentry and the northern navy are just the beginning. The Yuan clan is very likely to attract the royal family and the Shandong gentry to join in the next step." Looking at Li Yuan, Dou Kang said in a deep voice: "The head of the family has taken this into consideration, as well as the relationship with the world.

The serious consequences of being an enemy will simply not come, lest Yuan Shou, Zhang Jin and others take the opportunity to force him to submit."

Li Yuan was shocked when he heard this, but he believed in Dou Wei's judgment and believed that Dou Kang would not deceive him. He quickly said: "This is an enemy of the world. Is the Yuan family crazy?"

Dou Kang sneered and said: "The Yuan clan has already gone crazy, so after discussion, our Dou clan elders council unanimously decided to sit back and watch the success or failure. I think most other clans also have this mentality."

Li Yuan pondered for a long time and sighed: "It is right not to participate, otherwise you will get into trouble."

"That's right!" At this point, Dou Kang lowered his voice and reminded: "The head of the family said that once the Yuan clan has identified the enemy, and the major sects stand by and watch, they will most likely take some desperate measures, and then the thieves will cry out to catch the thieves.

, and put the blame on others. With the combination of the two, the various sects have to continue to unite under the Yuan clan because of the enemy's strength and ferocity, and have to continue to obey the Yuan clan's orders. You should also be careful yourself."

"Thank you for the reminder, brother. I'm very grateful." Li Yuan knew that Yuan was capable of such a thing. When he thought of Yuan Shou's 'kind reminder' in front of the house, he felt a little more uneasy than before.

Seeing that the main hall was in sight and there were more guests in front of them, they changed the topic to a more relaxed topic and walked towards the main entrance of the lobby.

.....

The main hall of Zhangjia was packed with more than thirty people. They were all distinguished guests invited by Zhang Jin. However, as Dou Kang said before, all the powerful officials suspected that the Yuan family and the Yuan faction had impure motives.

, so most of the people who congratulated were representatives, not the family heads who came personally. Of course, there were some family heads, but the number was quite small.

Zhang Jin was accompanying Yu Wenbi and Yu Wenkai to talk, while Yuan Shou was chatting and laughing with Li Zhongwen and Yu Zhongwen in a low voice. The thoughts of the Dugu family were similar to those of the Dou family. The old head of the family, Dugu Shun and the head of the family, Dugu Zheng, did not attend.

Dugu Shan's son Dugu Cheng came.

The Wei family came to Wei Xiaokuan's fifth son, Wei Ji. Wei Ji's official worship was Taixue Shaoqing, and he was granted the title of Duke of Yiyang. He was also the head of the Wei family; there was also the son of He Lou Ziqian, Bo He Loujiao of Si'an County; and his eldest grandson.

Chizhi, Changsun Ren, Daxi, Changru, the fourth son, Daxigao, Doulukuan and so on.

Nominally, everyone came here to wish Zhang Jin's old mother a birthday, but everyone present knew that this was going to happen, and everyone came here for their own purposes. Some people really wanted to join the Yuan family and borrow money from the north.

When the Navy was reorganizing, they expanded the battle, which at worst would hurt the southern nobles and seize some positions from the southern nobles to prevent other factions from underestimating the Guanlong nobles.

Although some people want to deal with the southern gentry, the direction is not military, but they want to make a difference in the political arena and win several sons of the southern gentry to serve as governors; the most typical representative who holds this view

It is the Jingzhao Wei family. Although the Wei family prospered because of Wei Xiaokuan, in a strict sense, they did not belong to the Guanlong aristocracy, but belonged to the Guanzhong gentry like the Su family of Suwei and the Jingzhao Du family.

.

But most people have a huge sense of crisis in their hearts when they see Yang Guang suppressing, dividing, alienating, and inducing the Guanlong nobles in recent years. They sincerely hope that there will be a Guanlong nobleman like Yang Jian and Yu Qingze.

He led the Guanlong aristocratic group to unite again and make it a

Instead of falling into the emperor's scheme and continuing to fight among themselves because of power and interests like now. Although this was the original intention of the establishment of the Wuchuan Alliance, the Yuan family does not have this ability at all, and there is nothing surprising about it.

They were convinced of justice, so they hoped to change the alliance leader.

However, due to the imminent reorganization of the Northern Navy, and the decision to attack the southern gentry during yesterday's meeting, many knowledgeable people have quietly withdrawn their intention to "impeach" the Yuan family; after all, everyone needs a leader at this time, if they first

After removing the Yuan family from the position of alliance leader, there will be no more suitable candidate to be selected in a short period of time, and there will be no one to lead everyone to fight against the southern gentry. In this way,

, how can the scattered Guanlong nobles defeat the southern gentry? What's more, the Shandong gentry, the Central Plains gentry and other large and small factions also covet important positions in the northern navy at all levels. Once they see that the Guanlong nobles are not united, they will definitely

will join the ranks of the southern nobles. At that time, the situation of the Guanlong nobles in the southern and northern navy will become more difficult and more precarious.

In a hurry, if you want to rashly replace an alliance leader, he may not be more experienced, dedicated, or better than the Yuan family; even if this person and his family can do a more dedicated and better job, he may not have the rich manpower and material resources of the Yuan family.

, personal connections, what kind of prestige does such a person or family have to summon the great lords of Guanlong nobles to start a war with the southern gentry?

In view of this, major sects have sent their brothers and nephews with higher status to test the reality of the Yuan clan/Yuan faction. If the Yuan clan/Yuan faction really has any convincing and wise plan, they might as well continue to follow the Yuan clan/Yuan faction.

If we win this battle, let Yuan continue to be the leader of the alliance.

"Everyone, please be quiet!" Seeing that the guests were almost all here, Zhang Jin stood up from the main seat.

The hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at Zhang Jin. Zhang Jin bowed and raised his voice: "Today is my mother's birthday, and I also want to take this opportunity to discuss with you the future of the various clans of the Guanlong noble family.

Zhang would be very grateful to you all for coming."

Birthdays are generally held for one day, and ordinary birthdays like the Zhang family only last for half a day. Except for a limited number of guests such as Li Yuan, Dou Kang, Yuan Shou, etc., the guests who came to the Zhang family all brought their family members. They were arranged at this moment

In the nave.

Since men all come with a purpose, they naturally talk about business first, and then go to the central hall to pay birthday wishes, eat and drink to the elders who have passed their birthdays. Zhang Jin was about to review the glorious past of the Guanlong nobles, but at this moment, the concierge was panicked.

Zhang ran in: "Alang, Alang."

Zhang Jin's speech was interrupted, and when he saw that the concierge was in a panic and lost the Zhang family's demeanor, he immediately asked unhappily: "What's the matter?"

The porter saluted happily and said: "Alang, someone from the palace has just sent a message, saying that the saint and the queen heard that the Tai Madam passed away. They were impressed by the Tai Madam's virtue, wisdom, and understanding of reason and righteousness, and specially appointed the Tai Madam as a follower.

Madam, I will give you the fish medal in court dress. In addition, I have specially ordered the crown prince and crown princess to come here to deliver the decree and wish you a happy birthday."

The late emperor ordered that only the wife of an official of fifth rank or above could be granted imperial edicts. However, this kind of canonization was not conferred together with the husband's promotion. There was often a long time lag in between for the emperor to use to add favors. And the way in which imperial edicts were awarded
To be continued...