Zhang Huan had already left, and Pei Jun stood alone in front of the window, silently looking at a century-old willow that had turned blue outside the window, and Zhang Huan's last eloquent talk was still echoing in his mind.

"Only if Duan Xiushi stays in Lingwu, can he form a three-legged trend in the Helong region, so that Wei Ge does not dare to act rashly, and I can also go all out to develop westward, although it seems that my father-in-law has lost a Ministry of Rites, but my father-in-law has gained the favor of Cui Xiaofu and Duan Xiushi, and it has also laid the foundation for getting involved in Shuofang in the future.

"I am already the son-in-law of the Pei family, the rise and fall of the Pei family is closely related to me, I believe that the rise of Hexi is also in line with the long-term interests of the Pei family, and I hope that my father-in-law can help me."

What Pei Jun is thinking about now is not the conflict between the interests of the two families, but Zhang Huan's true identity, he is the son of Prince Yu and one of the heirs to the Tang Dynasty. With such full support for him and his wings gradually full, will he really ascend to the throne one day? The answer is very likely, if he ascends the throne, what can the Pei family get, queen? Or is it the right phase that replaces Cui Yuan?

Pei Jun couldn't help but think of a conversation that Cui Yuan asked Cui Yu to have with Pei You not long ago, which meant to prevent Zhang Huan's rise, and his rise would inevitably be the enemy of the family.

But he Pei Jun doesn't think so, on the surface. The ascension of a strong king to the throne will inevitably compete with the family for power, which is inevitable, but he cannot really eliminate the family, he needs the support of the family to sit on the throne, and excessive means will only hurt both sides.

Eventually, a balance of power between the family and the king will gradually take shape, with the family restraining the king's dictatorship, and the king, in turn, preventing the family from dividing one side of the family. This should be the normal state of the Tang Dynasty, and the dictatorship of the major families formed after the Anshi Rebellion will not last long after all, sooner or later one day because of the intensification of contradictions between each other and the outbreak of conflicts, resulting in local separation, and the chaos in the world at the end of the Han Dynasty again, as a far-sighted minister, this is to be avoided.

Self-cultivation, governing the country, and leveling the world are the ideals pursued by every scholar since ancient times. It is also his Pei Jun's ideal. How to make the Tang Dynasty long-term stability, how to achieve a prosperous era of Datong, and how to integrate the interests of the family into this prosperous era of Datong, this is the problem that Pei Jun has been considering for so many years, the interests of the family are important, but a long-term Datang is also equally important.

The answer is two words, balance, the balance between the power of the monarch and the power of the family. It is not advisable to go to any extreme, of course, Pei Jun also has a strong selfishness, that is, in the reorganization of power between the king and the family. How can we maximize the interests of Pei's land.

If Zhang Huan is fully supported, the Pei family may indeed lose some benefits temporarily, but the help that Zhang Huan will help the Pei family after his rise cannot be exchanged by a Ministry of Rites, even if he can't ascend to the throne in the end. But his strength can also help him replace Cui Yuan.

This moment. Pei Jun's gaze gradually became ethereal.

If Pei Jun is a traveler who is struggling to find a way out on the dark path, then he is not alone. On this road of family and country, there is at least one other person who is also looking for the same way out.

He is Cui Yuan, the first ruler of the Tang Dynasty, who is also faced with a painful choice, whether to abandon the Wei family and share the Ministry of Rites with the Pei family, or accept Wei Gedi's conditions and use the person he recommended as a candidate for the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites.

This is undoubtedly a dilemma, cooperating with the Wei family does not mean that one plus one equals two, it does not mean that Cui and Wei can overwhelm Pei Jun together, no! On the contrary, it will break the balance of the situation that has just been stabilized, the staggered division of forces in Hedong, and the large area of Xingyang and Chen Liu, which is still unclear, are all consequences that he Cui Yuan needs to consider carefully.

But if you don't agree to Wei Ge's conditions, then Wei Ge's vote is very likely to vote for Pei Jun, in revenge for his blood washing away the revenge of Kaiyang County by borrowing back the hands of the Su people last year, so that Pei Jun won the Ministry of Rites with four votes to three, Cui Yuan suddenly regretted a little, and he promised Lu Qi to be the secretary of the Ministry of Rites in exchange for Taiyuan.

Cui Yuan paced back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back, he had been thinking about it for almost half an hour, it was getting dusk, and he had to make a decision.

Cui Yuan slowly walked to the bookcase, he picked up the pen and wanted to write something, but he couldn't write a word, he couldn't help but sigh softly, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty royal family declined, Hui Tieqi took advantage of the situation to drink the horse Central Plains, and the people of the world were determined, so the time, place, people and chance created the situation that the family was in charge again since the Wei and Jin dynasties, how long can this situation last, this is what he Cui Yuan is thinking about.

As the first family in the world, occupying Shandong, the Central Plains and the eastern half of Hedong, these are the essence of the Tang Dynasty, how can the Cui family spit them out again.

As the first minister of power in the imperial court and the actual supreme power of the Tang Dynasty, he has already appreciated the beautiful scenery at the top, the high places are unbearable, and the vulgar color of the flat and shallows is no longer difficult for him to see.

Therefore, maintaining this kind of family government can last for a long time, which has become his lifelong career for which Cui Yuan fought and exhausted his efforts, for which he suppressed the imperial power of the Li family and his successors, and suppressed his own sister who was the queen mother; For this reason, he began to break the custom of the Tang Dynasty to try to get scholars this year, and let a large number of children of the family enter the officialdom, all in order to prevent the monarchy from turning over again, so that the family government can continue from generation to generation.

Of course, what is more important is that he, Cui Yuan, as the formulator and perfecter of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, is the biggest beneficiary of this kind of family government, and he can't allow the signs of threatening the family government to appear.

Cui Yuan couldn't help but think of Zhang Huan, a newcomer who suddenly appeared last year. With his aggressive momentum, if he was really just an ordinary concubine, Cui Yuan wouldn't care too much about him, but his identity suddenly became clear to the world, so that Cui Yuan had to be frightened, if this momentum continued, Cui Yuan didn't dare to think about it.

For Zhang Huan. Cui Yuan has always held a very ambivalent attitude, on the one hand, he is afraid that he will threaten the family government after he becomes strong, but on the other hand, his rise will inevitably challenge the Wei family's sphere of influence, which seems to be the most effective blow to the Wei family after the Hui Massacre.

It's like a scale, with a fish on one side and a bear's paw on the other, both of which have their advantages. It is this idea of gain and loss that makes Cui Yuan's attitude always waver. But today, the desire for the Ministry of Rites is like a weighty weight, and it is pressed down heavily on the side of the bear's paw.

Click! With a bang, the pen was suddenly folded into two sections in his hand, and at this moment Cui Yuan finally made a decision, and he immediately ordered in a deep voice: "Go and invite Cui Yu to my house immediately." ”

At the same time that Cui Yu went to the Wei Mansion again, the Ministry of Rites Shilang Zhong Yuanzai also quietly came to the house of the household servant Pei You, at the same time. Cui Xiaofu was also in the palace to discuss with Li Fanyun, who had just rushed back, about tomorrow's countermeasures.

On this night, under the cover of the night, Chang'an City deduced large and small plans and transactions, and it was destined to be a night that countless people could not rest in.

Five watches. The sky was still dark and dreary, and the rumbling drums suddenly stirred over Chang'an City, this kind of dense rain, thunderous drums only had every three months, but the people of Chang'an had not heard it for half a year.

Today is the New Year's Day of the second year of Xuanren, and all local officials above the five grades in Beijing must attend the court meeting as observers. Meet the new Emperor and the Queen Mother. Today is the second day of the imperial examination, and more than 100,000 scholars from all over the country are making a final struggle for dozens of jinshi places.

With the sound of drums. In the dark night, the lights are lit up one after another, like stars in the night sky, especially in the dense Chongrenfang of the Jinjuyuan and the Pingkangfang where the inns are all over the place, the lights have been connected into a long piece, and the jade belt galaxy in the night sky shines brightly.

Pei's family began to get busy as early as the third watch, boiling water, feeding the horses, preparing breakfast, and the concubines were busy waiting for the master to change clothes, in the small courtyard where Zhang Huan lived, Pei Ying got up as early as the fourth watch and was busy, and the two maids also followed to help her, preparing to gather new clothes from the third grade, Zhang Luo breakfast, and grooming and changing clothes for her husband, Pei Ying was so busy that her hands and feet did not stop, and when she was just done with these, the thrilling drum sounded.

"Come back early after the meeting, and we'll go see my grandfather." Pei Ying instructed while helping Zhang Huan put on the formal gauze hat.

"I know, I guess today's court meeting will be very long, and I won't come back for lunch."

Pei Ying nodded, she carefully admonished a few more words, and then took two maids to send Zhang Huan out of the gate, she stared blankly at the nearly 100 personal soldiers escorting the carriage and disappeared into the thin morning mist, and returned to the mansion with a little loss.

There are not many officials in Xuanyifang, where Pei's mansion is located, and only a few carriages escorted by Jiading occasionally drove towards Fangmen, but when they arrived at Suzaku Street, they suddenly became spectacular in front of them, and the mighty army entering the dynasty was like a torrent, speeding on the wide street.

Today is also the first day of the implementation of the family guard system, almost every official's carriage is guarded by less than a dozen, more than hundreds of fully armed family soldiers, making today's team unprecedented, one after another, the sound of horses' hooves knocking on the road like a torrential rain, this is the most spectacular time in the Tang Dynasty more than 100 years since the founding of the country.

When they arrived at the Danfeng Gate, the carriages and the guards and knights blocked the fifty-pace-wide avenue, and the officials had to get out of the car and walk through the armed escort group of swords and swords, which was more dangerous than usual.

Zhang Huan entered Danfengmen Square after a simple check, and at this time the sky had slightly turned the white of the fish's belly, and the morning breeze was cold and cold, cutting people's hands and faces like a knife.

"Eighteen Lang!" A low and familiar call sounded behind Zhang Huan, a milk name that was gradually forgotten with the decline of the Zhang family, and was suddenly aroused in the Daming Palace, Zhang Huan suddenly seemed to think of something, he turned around quickly, and stood quietly behind him about five steps Zhang Potian, who had not been seen for several months.

Zhang Potian's face is thin, his body is thin, as if he has just recovered from a serious illness, there is always a faint lingering sadness in his eyebrows, this tragic figure of the Zhang family, twelve years ago, he was kicked out of the political hall in less than a month, and half a year ago, he was in the field again in less than three months, and his son with high hopes also died in Taiyuan in vain, and the tragedy of life seems to always be staged in a cycle on him.

Today is also the first time he went to the court since he went into the wilderness, but he met Zhang Huan as soon as he entered Danfengmen, although Zhang Huan was the biggest suspect in killing his son, but Zhang Potian no longer had a hatred, the Zhang family was defeated, and all his hopes had passed away with the wind, maybe this is more mourning than heart death!

He looked at Zhang Huan calmly, counting that they had only been seen for three months, but it seemed that many years had passed, and the Zhang family concubine who was not afraid of tigers and dared to lead people to attack the county government had grown into a prince, and it had just been a year since they first met.

In the hazy morning light, Zhang Huan also silently stared at the former Zhang family member, the words he once wrote no longer existed, and a Zhang family supported by Cui Yuan with Zhang Ruojin as the head of the family still remained in the old mansion in Taiyuan; A group of dozens of children of the Zhang family with Zhang Can as the head of the family moved to Wuwei, Hexi; Another group with Zhang Ruohao's eldest son Zhang Xuan as the head of the family established the Xiangyang Zhang family in Xiangyang; But more of them are scattered all over Hedong and have become countless small households surnamed Zhang.

The nearly 100 Zhang families who stayed in the capital were scattered, and they hoped that Zhang Potian would come forward to form the Zhang family in the capital, but Zhang Potian lived in a simple place and had no ambition.

Maybe time is the medicine to heal the wounds in his heart, and gradually he also happened to go out to meet old friends, or go to the teahouse to stay for a day, to learn a little about the neighborhood gossip, today he came to participate in the court meeting, but it was at the request of Zhang Yun, his eldest son who was Sima in Danyang County, to listen to the future direction of the Tang Dynasty for him.

Zhang Potian slowly walked in front of Zhang Huan, looked at Zhang Huan, who already had a short beard on his face, and said with a smile: "I heard that you are married." ”

"Yes! It was simple, and I couldn't invite the fourth uncle to participate. Zhang Huan smiled apologetically.

"It's nothing if you don't participate, I just hope that you will have a son one day sooner, experience the feeling of being a father, and believe that your future means of acting will be much more tolerant."

After Zhang Potian finished speaking, he gently patted Zhang Huan's shoulder and walked away, leaving his faint words in the morning mist, "Thirty years in Hexi, thirty years in Hedong, I don't know if I can still see that day?" ”

While! A crisp bell rang in the sky above Daming Palace, and the New Year's party of Hanyuan Hall was about to kick off!