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Snowflakes are flying, flags are fluttering, and the army in black armor is like a torrent of steel. The Zhou army returned triumphantly with the annihilation of Li Mi and the glorious achievements of the region north of the Huai River. The city of Beiping almost became a sea of joy, and after learning that the king of Zhou had exterminated the Wagang army, the most powerful peasant rebel army in the former Sui Dynasty, many surnames spontaneously welcomed them at the city gate.

In the past two years, Yuming's various measures, especially the policies of supporting commerce, agriculture, reducing land rent, and encouraging trade, have benefited the surnames of Hebei, Liaodong, Shandong, and Hedong. If they still had some doubts about Yu Ming, now that they have completely eliminated it, they support this young King Zhou from the bottom of their hearts.

What is being talked about more in Beiping City now is when Yuming officially ascended the throne and changed the name of the country to Zhou. After all, it always feels a little strange to always use the name of the great cause of the former Sui.

The two brothers and sisters, Yu Ming and Yu Yuqing, walked at the front of the army, and they had already seen from a distance that Li Jing and his wife, the eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wei Chi Jingde and other important ministers of the DPRK and the central government were waiting at the gate of Beiping City, and everyone's faces were filled with joy.

"Master! Mrs. Yu Ming and Yu Yuqing immediately galloped in front of Li Jing and his wife, and then bowed and saluted.

"Ming'er, Yuqing, get up quickly! Now that you are all princes and county lords, how can you still give us such a big gift! The Red Whisk Girl said politely from the side.

"A teacher for one day, a father for life! My brother should respect Master and Master and Mother! Even if the younger brother has a higher status in the future, it will not change. "Yu Ming is colorful.

Li Jing nodded after hearing this, he felt that the most right thing he did was to accept this apprentice.

At this time, the four masters and apprentices began to walk towards the city, welcoming them along the way, and the cheers were endless.

"Look! At the front is King Zhou! He was so young and handsome, I thought the prince was a bad old man with gray hair. ”

"The beautiful girl next to her is the lord of Yuqing, I didn't expect her to be wearing a suit of armor, she looks really heroic, beautiful, I think it should be the first beauty in our Beiping City, right?"

"That's not necessarily, I heard that several princesses of Zhou are also top beauties, not necessarily worse than the lord of Yuqing, but they don't come out often, so they don't usually see each other."

"Alas, in the past, those officials of the Sui Dynasty only knew about conscription and rations, forced conscription, where did they care about the life and death of our surnames. It is still the king of Zhou, not only is he exempted from conscription, but he can also have a salary as a soldier, and he also has a pension for the death of the war. The farming government also has to provide seeds and farm tools, which is really our savior! ”

In the praise of the surnames, several richly dressed and white-skinned men knew at a glance that they were rich people, but their faces showed resentment.

One of the brocade-clothed men spat on the ground fiercely and said: "This Yuming is really good at buying people's hearts and turning these Diao people into his own supporters." And for us, the brothers of the family, it is lukewarm, it is really putting the cart before the horse! ”

A horse-faced man standing beside him was startled, and quickly covered his mouth and said, "Cui Zhuxiu, don't pay attention to what you say." See what the occasion is! If you let people report it, I'm afraid the head of the family won't be able to protect you! ”

"Pei Xingjie, you are also cowardly! What if someone reports it? Didn't the imperial court say it before? You can comment on current affairs, and you are welcome to give your opinions, even if you are dissatisfied with the officials and the court, will you not be convicted for it? The brocade-clothed man named Cui Zhuxiu said with disdain.

The horse-faced man named Pei Xingjie sighed and said, "Cui Zhuxiu, you really believe the words of the imperial court." Whoever is an official does not say that he will serve the country and the people, but in fact, there are countless people who have embezzled and accepted bribes. Yuming announced that he could put forward opinions to him and the imperial court, who knows if it was a pretense and a reputation? Or is it really Corporal Ken Lixian? And how can you just be dissatisfied with him on a policy basis? It is only said that Princess Zhou's red sleeves have a group of killers under them, who specialize in assassinating hostile important people. You died one day, don't blame me for Pei Xingjie didn't remind you! ”

Pei Xingjie's words obviously made Cui Zhuxiu restrain a little, although he was still dissatisfied, but he didn't dare to say more. A few moments later, they were approached by two men who looked like housekeepers, saying that the head of the house had told them to go back and discuss the matter. The two of them took their leave, and then went home.

Cui Zhuxiu returned home, and as soon as he entered the gate, he heard a fierce quarrel in the courtyard. Curious, he turned his head and found that it was his father, Cui Ting, the head of the Cui family, who was arguing with several young side brothers.

A young man in white blushed and said indignantly: "Family master, why do you have to stop us from participating in the imperial examination? My classmate and friend Liu Yu asked not as good as me, but this time he became the first in Zhuo County in the imperial examination, and the queen of heaven can go to the palace to meet King Zhou. Even if he can't get into the first grade, he is expected to enter the court as an official...... If I, Cui Zhujian, also participated, I don't expect to be worse than him......"

At this time, Cui Ting was so angry that he glared and said: "You are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination, this is a decision made by the meeting of elders in the clan, and it is also for the sake of our Cui family's younger brother." You don't just plan for yourself, think about the interests of the whole family......"

It's okay if he doesn't say it, Cui Zhujian listened to Cui Ting's words, and said even more angrily: "Family master, I just listened to your words and didn't go to the imperial examination, so I have achieved nothing so far." And Pei Xingyuan, the younger brother of the Pei family, did not obey the orders of the head of their Pei family, went to take the imperial examination, and will also participate in the palace examination in the future. I heard from my friend in the Yamen of Beiping Mansion that because the Great Zhou is now in urgent need of local officials, Master Fang intends to let the candidates who take the palace examination serve as officials. The ranking of the temple examination is related to the level of their position...... I, who have listened to you honestly, have now been idle at home, and those who do not listen to their masters are about to become court officials. The taste of my heart ......"

"Alright, alright! Zhu Jian, don't say any more. The old man must immediately gather a few elders to discuss and give you brothers who honestly follow the family rules some compensation. Rest assured! I think whether it is the Pei family, the Lu family, or our Cui family, they will not let honest people suffer......" Cui Ting hurriedly comforted.

Cui Zhujian and his entourage saw that the patriarch had already spoken to compensate them, so they lost a lot of anger and left with a scolding.

When Cui Zhujian and the others went out, Cui Zhuxiu stepped forward with an anxious face and said, "Dad, how can you tolerate Cui Zhujian and them blackmailing you like this?" These collateral brothers have always been unpopular in the clan, and they agreed not to take the imperial examination before. How can you compensate them now for making a fuss? If this goes on like this, where will the majesty of your head of the house? What is the difference between a direct brother and a collateral brother? ”

After Cui Ting heard this, he sighed and said, "Zhu Xiu, not only my father, but the patriarchs of several other families are also facing the same problem. It's not that their father is weak, but if they don't meet their requirements, I'm afraid that they will take the imperial examination by themselves, and in the end, if they become officials, they won't take the family's decision seriously. Our Cui family will be torn apart! ”

Cui Zhuxiu didn't know how to refute for a while, and after a while, he said hatefully: "One day, I will make this guy Cui Zhujian look good...... By the way, Dad, are you in a hurry to find me back? ”

Cui Ting nodded, and then asked, "I heard Cui say that you and Pei Xingjie, the second young master of the Pei family, went to see Zhou Jun's triumphant return to the city." How do you feel after you go to see it? ”

Cui Zhuxiu heard his father ask him about this, Fang snorted coldly from his nose and said: "Those Shengdou Xiaomin were all bought by Yuming's little favor and Xiaohui, and praised him as a rare Ming Jun throughout the ages, which can be called Yao Shunyu soup." Pei Xingjie was so timid that he didn't even dare to say a few bad words about Yuming......"

When Cui Ting heard this, he also sighed and said, "It seems that the old man and several family heads have miscalculated!" Originally, we thought that Yuming had no family backing, and he was born in Guanlongmen, so he could not gain a foothold in the area around Hebei. As a result, who would have expected that he would win successive battles, destroy Dou Jiande and occupy Shandong; then defeated Li Yuan and occupied most of Hedong; Now even Li Mi of the righteous army has been destroyed for him, and the land north of the Huai River has been recovered. Now Yuming's strength has swelled rapidly, and he is afraid that he is already the most powerful among the princes in the world. ”

Cui Zhuxiu said disdainfully after hearing this: "Dad, you can also afford that illegitimate child." You must know that the biggest forces in the world are the Guanlongmen valve, the Jiangnan Shi clan and our Shandong Shi clan. If you want to be the emperor, you can't do it without the support of one of our forces, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to do anything. Yang Jian, the founding emperor of the former Sui Dynasty, did not have the support of the Guanlongmen valve, could he usurp the throne so smoothly? Gao Yang of the Eastern Wei Dynasty would not have been able to establish the Northern Qi Dynasty if it were not for the support of our Shandong Shi clan. Not to mention the several dynasties of the Southern Dynasties, the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties are all behind the operation of several major Jiangnan families......"

After a pause, he said: "Although Yuming's troops are very strong now, he does not have the support of any of the gate lords. His original Yu clan had already decayed with the fall of Yuhuaji. The other Guanlongmen valves all supported Li Yuan. If Yuming is a little smarter, he should take the initiative to put down his posture and beg his father and the patriarchs of several other families to come out of the mountain. But he's good enough to ignore us. For such an arrogant person, the child never believes that he can sit in the world, at most it is just a flash in the world! ”

When Cui Ting heard him say this, Fang's expression softened slightly, but he still said with a solemn face: "Having said that, we can't be careless. Waiting for Yuming to fall? We don't have to count on this kind of luck betting. Right now, unless we surrender our identities and take the initiative to come to the door to show goodwill to Yuming. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the younger brothers of our major families to enter the imperial court as officials. ”

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