Dugu Cheng did not participate in the next military discussion, and returned home on the grounds of old age and infirmity, counting his finances, and leaving with him some family heads and family representatives, Li Yuan agreed reasonably, and he didn't expect these people who had never been on the battlefield to give a good way to win.

Dugu's carriage was moving quickly in the rainy night, and the flickering lights shone on Dugu's face from the curtain of the car, making his thin and pale face very terrifying, Dugu sat on the thick blanket half-lying and half-leaning, his cloudy old eyes sometimes closed, sometimes opened, as if thinking about something.

Li Tang is well aware of the erosion situation, and understands Li Yuan's difficulties, but Li Yuan's rogue, hooligan methods are really not advisable, and now, everyone can't turn back, they can only follow Li Tang all the way to the end, if Li Yuan changes to a gentle, acceptable way for everyone, everyone will feel better, and there will be more or less hope for Li Tang, but Li Yuan's hand playing in the main hall is really too inferior, too inconsistent with the way of the emperor.

Dugu was depressed and unhappy, and Li Yuan's way of approximating forcible seizure made him think of the defeated Gao Shida, Zhang Jincheng, Lu Mingyue, Zhai Rang, Zhu Cang, Xu Yuanlang, Liu Wuzhou, these deceased grass kings, who started their homes and made a living by forcible seizure, which one could go to the end? It is true that Li Yuan did not exploit the common people like the Grass Head King, but once the blood of the family was drained, could the common people escape the treatment of knocking on the bone and sucking the marrow?

It would be nice if Li Yuan died in Nanyang. In this way, Li Tang can be replaced by a promising gentleman who can listen to good words, and lead Li Tang out of the predicament and towards glory, otherwise, Li Yuan, the independent and lone husband, will definitely lose Li Tang's family background one by one.

Suddenly, a thought that surged from the bottom of his heart, even Dugu himself was startled, but soon let him break it alive, Li Yuan deserves to die, but by no means now, once he dies in battle, Li Tang will fall into a chaos of dragons without a leader and kings winning the championship, which will only accelerate Li Tang's demise.

Thinking back to Yang Tong, who is in the middle of the day and has the blood of the Dugu family, Dugu sighed deeply.

He felt that he had seen two people wrong in his life: one was Li Yuan, who was strongly supportive, the Tang army had repeatedly defeated the hands of the Sui army, and he had long shaken Dugu's confidence in the Tang Dynasty, and his mood was like that of an investor, when he saw that his investment in the Li Tang Dynasty not only failed to bring returns, but also let him slip to the brink of bankruptcy, he was naturally very unhappy;

He had always thought that the other person he had misjudged was Yang Tong, but after thinking about it seriously, he felt that it was not Yang Tong, when he secretly planned to overthrow the Sui Dynasty, Yang Tong was not even a hairy boy, so naturally he didn't enter his own eyes? How can you count as looking at the wrong person? He felt that his other person was actually Yang Guang, who had always intended to be overthrown. In view of the erosive situation at that time, Yang Guang deliberately ignored it in order to protect this excellent heir, and pushed Yang Qi into the eyes of the world, not only for Yang Qi to marry the Pei family in order to obtain the support of the Kwantung clan, but also to replace the position left by Yang Dong in the eastern capital. Everyone was dazzled by Yang Guang's series of means, coupled with Yang Qi's outstanding performance, yes and firmly believed that Yang Qi was the heir of the Sui Dynasty, and Yang Tong completely lost the hope of entering the center, but in fact, Yang Guang did not treat Yang Tong badly, although he was miserably 'distributed', but took away all the military resources and grain and grass hoarded in Luoyang, and the rare treasures of Ziwei Palace were also looted, and all this was caused by Yang Guang's order. It's just that the world thinks this is compensation for Yang Tong, who has made great contributions. But after Yang Tong's victory in Jizhou, Yang Guang rewarded him continuously, not only gave Linshuo Palace to Yang Tong as the palace, but also sealed Zhanlu Sword and Seven-Star Longyuan Sword as the two swords of the Son of Heaven, so that Yang Tong used Zhanlu Sword to suppress the army and use Seven-Star Longyuan to deter government, and in the end, he gave Yang Dong the right to appoint and dismiss Jizhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou, and gave him the right to cut first and then play...... Yang Guang: What is this support and cultivation for the heir? It's just that everyone has preconceived ideas, and they are confused by Yang Qi's shield.

There is another detail, which is also a strong proof that Yang Tong is Yang Guang's preferred person, that is, Yang Guang's different arrangements for his three grandchildren: Yang Qi, the emperor's eldest grandson, has always stayed by Yang Guang's side, and his name is beautiful: Training, in other words, is actually Yang Guang who does not give Yang Qi the opportunity to contact the local military and politics and form gangs; Yang Yu stayed in Chang'an and sat in Guanzhong, which is indeed a training exercise, but don't forget, the number one minister who assists Yang Yu is Wei Xuan, and Yang Tong is Wei Xuan's grandson-in-law, which is completely to let Wei Xuan look at Yang Yu and help his grandson-in-law restrain Yang Yun's development.

As for the people who assisted Yang Dong, Yuan Wen was the representative of the Guanlong group, Wei Jin was the representative of the Guanlong clan, Lu Chu was the representative of the Kanto clan, Huangfu Wuyi was the representative of the Hanmen, and Duan Da was the representative of the army...... Everyone has their own origin and background, these people seem to form a complete 'small court', as the leader of various forces, Yang Tong needs to balance the forces of all parties, isn't this exactly what the emperor should do? In other words, Yang Guang's cultivation of Yang Tong is permissive on the surface, but in fact, he is allowed to recruit talents and form a system of his own. Facts have proved that Yang Tong is another Yang Guang, and the policy program cannot jump out of Yang Guang's three core ideas of eliminating the Guanlong clique, erasing the privileges of the scholars, and supporting the poor family, but Yang Dong is more radical, but it is also in line with the convention of being blue out of blue and blue out of blue.

Up to now, Dugu feels that Yang Tong is just walking along the road paved by Yang Guang, of course, Yang Tong's excellence is undoubted. At some point, Dugu Quang suspected that Yang Guang faked his death and buried his name, and was willing to be an inconspicuous green leaf beside Yang Tong, because no one saw Yang Guang really die in the fire of Jiangdu Palace, and Jiangdu Palace was built by Yang Guang's order, and it is normal to have any secret channels, but these are not important, in terms of brewing their Guanlong family, Yang Tong is very effective, and he has done better and more ruthlessly than Yang Guang.

As soon as he thought of this, Dugu sighed for a long time.

The support of the family for Li Yuan to overthrow the Sui Dynasty and establish a new dynasty that dominates the world is precisely from his handwriting, and in the current situation, he is not only worried about the fate of Li Tang, but also worried about the future of the Dugu family, for fear that the family that has flourished for nearly a hundred years will fall into his own hands, so he is really shameless to face his dead father, and the many deceased brothers who made an exception and entrusted the family to his youngest brother.

If he was twenty years younger, no, as long as he was ten years younger, Lonely would have the confidence to fight with Yang Tong, but not now. He is old and frail, and his energy has long been unable to deal with various emergencies, so he unloaded the burden of the head of the Dugu family a year ago, and officially pushed Dugu Cheng to the forefront, but all kinds of disadvantages of national and family affairs, how can you let him enjoy his old age with peace of mind?

He has always paid attention to the current situation, knows that Xiao Milling in the south is recuperating and accumulating, and he knows that Dou Jiande is struggling to defend the three counties of Qingzhou and do a dying struggle; also knows what Du Fuwei, Lin Shihong, Shen Faxing, and Li Zitong did; I also know that Li Mi has the ambition to plot the south of the Yangtze River, compared with the other princes above, Li Mi has brains, vision, skill, and strength, and he soars above the nine heavens, driving half of the southern country to resist the strong enemies in the north.

Dugu felt that he couldn't hang himself on Li Tang's tree, no matter how much he supported Li Tang, he had to find a way out for Dugu's family, not to mention, Li Tang's prospects really made him not optimistic. Multi-party betting is also the tradition of the Dugu family, isn't this the case with my father Dugu Xin? I'm just continuing this tradition.

……

"Old master! It's here! ”

Just when Dugu thought about the countermeasures, the carriage had slowly stopped, and the guards reported softly.

"Good!" Dugu let out a long breath, got out of the carriage, and found that between his thoughts, the sky was bright. The heavy rain that had been dancing for many days finally became scarce.

"Providence is still on Li Tang's side!" Thinking that the army went out today, the heavy rain for many days suddenly showed signs of stopping, Dugu's mood was much better, he had a lot of dissatisfaction with Li Yuan, and he was ready to contact Li Mi, but he still hoped that Li Tang would win, not only because he had invested too much in Li Tang, but also because Li Tang was a nephew and a family of his own family, Li Tang won, and the Dugu family continued to be glorious.

Dugu shook his head to stop a servant who came with an umbrella, climbed the steps in the drizzle, glanced at the family members who were cleaning the water in the courtyard, and said lightly: "Is the head of the house here?" ”

This is the mansion of the head of the Dugu family, and it is also the mansion of Dugu before the whole family, he gave up after he stepped down as the head of the family, but Dugu Cheng did not move in, in order to show respect and respect for the old master.

"The time has come! I'm reading a book in the study, and I ask the old man to come with me. The porter hurriedly walked towards the house with Dugu.

Dugu Cheng Xu heard that when they arrived in the backyard, they were already waiting in front of the courtyard gate, and after the salute meeting, the uncle and nephew did not say much to each other, and walked into the study with a tacit understanding.

Dugu Cheng consciously let Dugu sit on the main seat, he sat down, in front of this uncle, he never put the head of the family on the shelf, can become the head of the big family, naturally not the lawless second ancestor, on the contrary, they are humble and polite, respect for teachers, respect for the elders, unless the elders rely on the old and sell the old, offending his interests, this is not only good conduct, but also for the clansmen, for the younger generations to set a good example.

A maid came in with a tea tray, and when Dugu moistened his throat, Dugu Cheng said worriedly: "Seventh uncle, how is the discussion in the court?" ”

Dugu Cheng has been running the family, so he did not serve in the Li Tang Dynasty, although he has a title and a vacant position, he has never participated in the early dynasty and discussed state affairs.

Dugu Zhen sneered: "The emperor decided to loot the soldiers who could fight in Xiangyang and gather 100,000 for him to drive." ”

Dugu Cheng was taken aback: "In this way, there will be no soldiers to fight in Xiangyang, if our army is unfavorable in the front and falls into a stalemate, Xue Wanjun will raise troops along the Jiashui River Valley from Shangluo Shangjin, avoid the heavily guarded Wuguan and Waiwuguan, and attack Xiyang Xunxiang, and come straight to Xiangyang, what will Xiangyang resist?" What's more serious is that if Xue Wanjun makes a dangerous move, after capturing Fengli of Xicheng County along Jiashui, he will penetrate the entire Fangling County that is empty inside, and finally occupy Badong Zigui, then Jingshu will be cut in two by the Sui army, and fall into the dilemma that the end cannot be connected, and it will be impossible to retreat into Bashu at that time. Such a simple thing, even if the emperor can't think of it, will no one see through thousands of civil and military forces? ”

"Hey, hey!" Dugu smiled brightly: "Don't you think it's incredible? ”

Dugu Cheng pondered for a while, and suddenly said: "Is the seventh uncle saying that the emperor is not worried about Li Deliang and Dou Rail, who are in charge of military affairs, who are staying in the imperial capital, so he will take all the soldiers who can fight with him?" ”

"The emperor already values military power, so the main generals of the major forces are not Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, Li Xiaogong, Li Shentong, Li Deliang, Li Daozong, these Li clan relatives, or Chai Shao, Feng Shaoshi and other concubines, and even he is not at ease with his clan relatives, it can be seen from this Eastern Crusade that Li Yuan has always controlled the entire army in the overall situation, although this so-called overall situation led to the annihilation of Li Xiaogong's entire army, but Li Yuan's means are good, and he threw the responsibility to Li Xiaogong...... Now that the Eastern Expedition failed, not to mention, it also provoked fire and burned the flames of war to the country, and the situation of the Li Tang Dynasty was quite bad. The emperor was worried that when he went on the expedition, the people who held the military power would have different intentions at this time, so he disregarded the national conditions and drew up all the soldiers in Xiangyang! Speaking of this, Dugu Quan's uncertain guess: "I suspect that the emperor has long had the heart of pro-conquest. ”

"How so?"

"I'm not sure either!" Dugu shook his head and expressed his suspicions: "I guessed from the prince's actions to help the king of Jin, the prince has no experience in leading troops, and there is a battle for the throne with the king of Jin, isn't the emperor worried about the prince harming the king of Jin?" But he still did this, which shows that the emperor is quite dissatisfied with the military, and the voice of 'the imperial court interferes too much in the military', not only did not make the emperor let go of military power, but also angered him, so that he had the ambition to directly control the army. And the royal conquest is the best excuse to seize military power, but he is not worried about the prince in the imperial capital, so he is to take the prince away. ”

Dugu Cheng gasped: "If it's just like Uncle Seventh said, he doesn't even believe in his sons, then who else does he believe?" ”

"He only believes in himself." After Dugu made up his assertion, he recalled: "This may be related to his personal experience. When he succeeded to the title of Duke of Tang, the emperor was less than ten years old, if it wasn't for Emperor Wen and Empress Wenwen's love, which would be his turn? Despite this, his situation in the Li family is actually very bad, and he has been restrained and humiliated by the elders of the clan for a long time, which has also developed his very cautious character. ”

Dugu Cheng was silent for a moment and said, "Where does Uncle Seventh think our clan's hope is?" ”

"I think Li Mi is a good choice, we might as well have a secret contact with Li Mi, if Li Mi can satisfy us, we can let the forces hidden in the south give him support! If he occupies half of the southern country, even if he can't defeat Yang Dong, he will have more than enough self-preservation, and from then on the world will reappear the trend of confrontation between the north and the south, and we can follow the clothes of the Eastern Jin Shi clan and move to the south to recuperate. I think you can go to Jiangdu and Dongning to buy some industries now, what do you think? In terms of major family decisions, Dugu Cheng has always given the new head of the family face, and also attributed some of his good strategies to the other party, and worked hard to help Dugu Cheng establish the authority of the head of the family, so that the Dugu family, which has a great cause, has achieved the replacement of the old and the new.

"I think it's doable!" Dugu Cheng nodded and said with a smile: "I have a piece of good news or bad news to tell Uncle Seventh here." ”

"You say!"

"The children of the Bu Zai Yecheng family came with a message as quickly as possible, if this matter is true, we may not need to cross south in the future."

"When has it been, and it's still going on and on?" Seeing his nephew playing tricks, Dugu glared at him with great dissatisfaction.

Dugu Cheng said slightly excitedly: "Wei Kuangbo, the head of the Wei family, did not give up on the Sui Dynasty, and let the second son Wei Siqi stay in Yecheng, constantly lobbying the Empress Dowager Wei of the Sui Dynasty, and Wei Yunqi, a servant in Shangshu...... However, Wei Siqi has repeatedly hit a wall, not to mention Empress Dowager Wei, even Wei Yunqi's face can't be seen......"

This is a fair secret, it is not uncommon, many family spies are staring at this son, and Dugu is no exception, as soon as he heard his nephew say this, Dugu knew that there must be a following.

I only heard Dugu Cheng continue: "The news said: Wei Yunqi suddenly met Wei Siqi in the middle of the night and took him into the Shenwu Palace...... I think Weskey, who represents Merriam-Webster, has succeeded. ”

Dugu's eyes sparkled: "I think so too." ”

Dugu Cheng nodded, and said in disbelief: "But Yang Tong regards the world family as an enemy, and has suppressed it all the way to this day, does Uncle Seven think he will change?" What was the original intention of the change? ”

"At the beginning of Yang Tong's family, the Guanlong family supported Li Yuan, the Guandong family supported Yang Qi, and the southern scholars were scattered around, Yang Tong knew that no matter how good he was, he would not be able to get the power of the family, so why waste time on the family? So he made a desperate bet and fell to the cold door in an all-round way, becoming the leader of the cold door, and the support of the cold people in the world... Let him achieve today's hegemony... But that's no longer the case...... As Chai Shao said: Yang Tong divided his troops everywhere, and he was weak in follow-up, so he took a steady offensive, which was seriously different from his previous style. He can't be defeated, he doesn't dare to be defeated, and the situation is also difficult to ride a tiger, and he needs to unite all the forces that can be united in order to fight this battle to unify the world. Besides, even if all the current families are annihilated by him, those civil and military ministers under his command will grow into wealthy families in a few decades. ”

Dugu saw that Dugu Cheng was thoughtful, and continued: "I always think that people who don't know how to compromise can't become a big climate, Yang Tong is obviously not such a person!" He was in a bad situation before, and he needed to shout some slogans to win over talents, but now that the general situation is in hand, he is ready to do what the emperor should do. It's just that he behaved quite cautiously, for fear of chilling the hearts of his courtiers, so that Empress Dowager Wei came forward! ”

"Who should we go to? The Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces, or the Empress? Dugu Cheng smiled bitterly.

"That's a problem!" Dugu also had a little headache, judging from Wei Siqi's incident, Yang Tong obviously didn't want to come forward, so let Wei Siqi take the harem route, if he was stupid to find the wrong person, so that Yang Dong's plan was ruined, then Dugu was completely doing things like stealing chickens and rice.

After thinking for a long time, Dugu suddenly thought of someone, raised his head and said: "I remember that you and Fang Xuanling traveled to Liangzhou together and admired each other, Fang Xuanling won Yang Dong's trust, and now he is one of the important figures in the Central Plains, you simply go to Luoyang to explore the wind." By the way, it is said that Fang Xuanling is gentle and elegant! But the vision is extremely high, so so far there is only one wife, you might as well pick ten of the best singers from the clan and bring them with you. ”

"Okay!" Dugu Cheng thought about it, and also thought that Fang Xuanling was a breakthrough, and also felt that it was very reasonable to send beautiful women, although the 'jealousy' case caused a sensation in the world, but he didn't believe it...... In these years, what man with a future is not three wives and four concubines? Look at Yang Dong, thousands of beauties ask for it!

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