Wang Shichong said excitedly, stood up, and said loudly: "I, Wang Shichong, are different from him, although I also want to take advantage of the chaos to get the world, but I don't want to be too cruel to the people, so if I lose the hearts of the people, I will lose the world, and I don't count." So I don't want to let this evil tiger enter the pass, I just want to keep him out of the pass, which requires him to have strong other forces around him to contain him. ”

Yang Xuangan smiled: "So you thought of the wealthy family in Guzang City?" As far as I know, there are Han and Hu living here and wealthy families standing side by side, and when it is really time to get up, can you guarantee that there will be a leader? Even if there is a leader, with their strength, can they pose a threat to Xue Ju? ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "I am most familiar with the situation here, I think my grandfather is full, he is doing business in this Guzang City, but he offended the wealthy families in the city, was jointly squeezed, and finally the business went bankrupt, and he was driven out of Guzang City almost penniless." ”

Although Yang Xuangan had checked Wang Shichong's details before and knew that his ancestor was a bankrupt Hu merchant in the Western Regions, he never thought that this person had also had such an experience in this Guzang City, and he couldn't help but be silent.

Wang Shichong sighed, and the green light in his eyes began to dim: "Grandpa's experience told me one thing, this Guzang City will never be monopolized by a certain family, he just made the mistake of being in a hurry, and wanted to ascend to the sky in one step and monopolize the business of this Guzang City, but he was attacked by the wealthy clans in this city. ”

"Brother Yang, you haven't done business, you don't know the trick, if you want to break down a family's business, there is a way, in the territory of the Northern Dynasties, you can buy officials and checkpoints along the way. Trouble you everywhere. This is from Laiming. In the Silk Road of the Western Regions and the Qiang area around Jincheng. You can directly hire horse bandits to rob your caravan, or even find a way to hide weapons in your cargo to accuse you of bad intentions. ”

"In addition, these wealthy families can also use their many years of connections and connections to unite with local families in Kanto and Jiangnan, markets where you want to make a lot of money, so that your goods cannot be sold there."

"Miss my grandfather. It is also the accumulation of several generations of wealth, I am also eloquent, this is what I want to do in this Guzang, as a result, in just two or three years, they were destitute, and finally they can only sell their real estate, live in the Central Plains to make a living, and leave ancestral teachings before dying, so that my descendants can no longer do business, and must be officials. ”

After Yang Xuangan heard this, he suddenly felt some sympathy for Wang Shichong. But soon the hatred for him outweighed the sympathy, and he said, "But you don't seem to have listened to your grandfather." Isn't this still here to do business? ”

Wang Shichong smiled "hehe", and a trace of cunning flashed in his eyes: "I am now surnamed Wang, not Zhi, and I have not disobeyed my grandfather's words." Besides, I'm still an official now, as for this business, it's just a means for me to plot big things, not the main business, do you understand? ”

Yang Xuan didn't expect him to say this, and he was dumbfounded.

Wang Shichong continued: "Now I have changed my identity, and even changed my surname and come back, those wealthy families who pit my grandfather back then are still standing here today, they can have the ability to squeeze my grandfather out of Guzang back then, and they will have the ability to drag Xue Ju's tiger and wolf army in this Liangzhou in the future!" ”

Yang Xuan sighed "oh": "What fierce generals and masters are among these wealthy families who can stop those wolf-like generals of the Xue family?" Or can a well-equipped army be recruited here and destroy the Xue family before they raise troops? ”

Wang Shichong suddenly laughed, looked directly into Yang Xuangan's eyes, and said slowly: "Brother Yang, let me send you a message: "'The general is victorious, how can he be on the battlefield?'" ’”

Yang Xuangan smiled slightly: "What do you mean, you mean that these wealthy businessmen in Guzang can win without spending money?" ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "Yes, do you know how much money the four major families of the Li family, the Liang family, the Cao family, and the An family have in this city?" The money of each of their families is only a lot more than that of your Yue Guo Mansion. ”

Yang Xuan's heart was surprised, and his face changed slightly: "No, although they do business, each family is richer than our family?" I'm not convinced. ”

Wang Shichong smiled: "You have to know, how many years have these families been on this Silk Road, from the Western Han Dynasty when the city was built here to today, there are five or six hundred years, and Liangzhou has not experienced so many melee like the Central Plains. ”

"Of the four I mentioned, the first three are all wealthy families in Liangzhou who have settled here since the founding of this city, you can imagine their strength."

Yang Xuangan's heart moved, and said, "Wait, wasn't it when the Northern Wei Dynasty attacked and destroyed Beiliang, and all the rich families in this city were moved to Guanzhong?" So how did these people stay? ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "You know this, it's not simple." At that time, Liangzhou was in turmoil for many years, and the Later Qin, Southern Liang, Northern Liang, and Hu Xia, one after another, barbarian countries attacked Guzang as the national capital. ”

"From Later Qin to Hu Xia, after these countries conquered Guzang, the rich people would secretly take out some of the money from the treasure and present it to the new conquerors as a sign of respect, so that the new conquerors would also be happy to sit back and enjoy the success, anyway, the rich people had to pay taxes to them for doing business on the Silk Road, and everyone had to make money."

"Only the Taiwu Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Tao, that barbarian, in order to start a war with Rouran, raised military funds, and did not hesitate to threaten forced migration to force the rich people in the city to hand over half of their property, but these people refused to pay, and openly and secretly funded Rouran to attack the Northern Wei Dynasty."

"In a fit of rage, Tuoba Tao moved all the more than 10,000 wealthy families in the city to Guanzhong, but these people still secretly controlled the Silk Road business with the servants and housekeepers who stayed in Guzang."

"When Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty revitalized Buddhism and built Buddhist temples across the country, these rich people who moved to Guanzhong took the opportunity to send Emperor Xiaowen a large amount of gold fees for Buddha statues, and the Northern Wei Dynasty court no longer supervised these rich people, and they also took the opportunity to return to their hometowns and re-control the ancient city of Liangzhou."

"In the decades that these wealthy families have been in Guanzhong. Business was not affected at all. Since the Later Liang period, Lü Guang reconquered the Western Regions. After opening the Silk Road, their business is getting better and better, and it is getting bigger and bigger, think about it, how big is it to buy Rouran Khan to send hundreds of thousands of troops to attack the Northern Wei Dynasty year after year? ”

"For hundreds of years, the only truly new family that has risen here is the Hu Ren An clan with the surname Zhaowu Jiu. Originally, our family could also become a wealthy family, but unfortunately my grandfather was in a hurry and wanted to dominate Guzang, and he underestimated the real strength of those rich families, so he would fall short! ”

"Brother Yang, you must know my father's real name, why did he take this name, it should be clear now."

Yang Xuangan nodded: "Your grandfather must want your father to be a low-key person, an official, and a businessman, know how to be restrained, and don't be sharp." so as not to bring harm to themselves. ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "That's what it means." If these wealthy families face an external threat, they will definitely rise up and rebel. Just like with my grandfather, he elected a leader. ”

"The money of the Han magnates can buy the enemy army, and they can hire the Turks in the north and the Tuyuhun in the south, as well as the Qiang people; And the Hu people's settlement can not only do these things, but also directly contact the relatives of the Yue clan in the Western Regions and Central Asia, and within a few days, tens of thousands of fierce nomadic cavalry can be requisitioned. ”

"And if Xue Ju attacks the Longxi forces of one side, then they can directly buy Xue Ju's subordinates, and the soldiers are fighting for nothing more than benefits, they can give Xue Ju practical benefits that Xue Ju can't give, and they are naturally not afraid of exterminating Xue Ju all at once."

Yang Xuangan smiled: "So what you value most in this Liangzhou is the rich people of this Guzang, if one day when everyone has an incident, do you want to support these rich people to destroy your big brother Xue?" ”

Wang Shichong's eyebrows jumped, and he waved his hand: "No, the soldiers of Liangzhou are brave, the rich in this Guzang City are also rich and rich, but they have never seized the world, do you know the reason?" ”

"I want to hear about it!" Yang Xuangan suddenly became interested.

Wang Shichong hasn't been so relaxed with people for a long time, and for some reason, in front of Yang Xuangan, he always unconsciously confided in his heart: "The fundamental reason is that the end of the Silk Road is Daxing, and the Guanlong area is also the gate valve for many generations, and has always refused the power of the rich people in Liangzhou to enter the east of Dasanguan." Before Xue Ju appeared, these hundreds of miles in Longxi were considered buffer zones on both sides. Therefore, the wealthy families here in Liangzhou only want to divide one side, and they have no intention of entering the world. ”

"During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Zhang Liang, the assassin of Liangzhou in the Jin Dynasty, established an independent state here, but he just wanted to defend the border and secure the people, and he didn't think about taking advantage of the chaos to seize the world, just because all the sources of wealth in Liangzhou relied on the trade of the Silk Road, and there was no need to enter Guanzhong for a small benefit and offend the powerful Guanlong family."

"What the former Liang Emperor didn't do back then, it is even more impossible for these wealthy families who are now divided and hindering each other, and they don't even want to control Liangzhou, because there are too many poor and fierce Qiang tribes in the eastern section of the Silk Road in the Jincheng area, and they don't want to pay that money, they would rather give up that section of the Silk Road, and specialize in Guzang City, which is relatively safe and quick to make money."

"So the rich people in Guzang City, more than self-preservation, lack of progress, if Xue Ju comes, they can form a group and hold on to Xue Ju, as for annexing Xue Ju, it is very difficult, you can buy some of Xue Ju's generals with money, so that they can not work hard when they fight, but if you want to buy the entire army of the Xue family, it is impossible."

"Brother Yang, now you understand what I mean, I just need to let the Xue family and these rich people in Guzang City compete in this Liangzhou area, and when the time comes, I will first destroy this elite army land and wealth center of the Sui Dynasty, so that it will not be able to levy the elite soldiers of Liangzhou and the huge taxes of the Silk Road trade, and the places where the two of us really start are the Central Plains and Guanzhong."

Yang Xuangan said softly: "Your family has no foundation in the Central Plains, and there are more or less some foundations laid by your grandfather in this Guzang City, since you have the ability to buy Xue Ju, you should also have a way to deal with the rich people of this Guzang, why do you want to go to the Central Plains to toss Liangzhou, which is within easy reach of your Wang Shichong?" ”

A resolute look flashed on Wang Shichong's face: "Because I'm afraid that in this Liangzhou, I will become as enterprising as these rich people." Forget about the ambition of the world. ”

"History has proven it countless times. Partial and unsafe. After the lord pacifies the Central Plains, he will definitely conquer the Quartet and eradicate these separatist forces one by one. Even if it is as strong as Liangzhou, it is impossible to fight the world with the power of one state. Rather than being destroyed sooner or later, it is better to take a long-term view from the beginning. ”

Yang Xuangan was silent in his heart, he admired this Wang Shichong a little, in the face of such an attractive big cake, he could be indifferent. Giving up Liangzhou, which is easy for him to get, and fighting for the whole world, this mind and pride, even if he is destined to become an enemy in the future, even if he is extremely disgusted with this person's character, he is still worthy of his respect.

Wang Shichong also realized that he had said a little too much, and laughed: "Brother Yang, I know that you also have actions in Xiazhou, so it's good!" Hetao and Longyou are the northern and western barriers of Guanzhong, once the Great Sui lost these two places. The military pressure on Guanzhong will increase a lot. ”

"At that time, the elite Xiaoguo Forbidden Army and the left and right garrison troops of the Great Sui are only afraid that they will be pinned down in the pass and will not be able to get out of the pass. At that time, it will be possible to raise troops in the Central Plains of the Kwantung region and capture Luoyang. ”

Yang Xuangan heard Wang Shichong say his true thoughts for the first time, and asked by the way: "What do you want is Luoyang, the eastern capital?" ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "If you don't come to fight with me, I want Luoyang, if you also want Luoyang, then I will find a way in Guanzhong." Anyway, when I leave this Liangzhou, it is impossible to have my own armed forces anywhere, only when I find a way to quell the rebellion or conquer the Quartet, it is possible to have an army, and it is still the army of the imperial court, whether I will listen to me or not has to put a big question mark. ”

Yang Xuangan suddenly laughed: "Wang Shichong, you are really a monkey spirit and a monkey spirit, everyone is your chess piece, including our Yang family, according to what you said, the elite soldiers of the imperial court, including the Xiaoguo guards, are all in Guanzhong, but you want me to take the fire for you in Guanzhong, so that you can mix well here in Luoyang?" ”

Wang Shichong's face turned slightly red, and said: "That's because Yue Guogong was born in the Hongnong Yang family, and has been an official in Guanzhong for generations, whether it is the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty or the Great Sui, your Yang family has always developed in Daxing City, even Brother Yang, you have also taken the Xiaoguo knights to the expedition many times, and it must be much easier than me Wang Shichong to master the troops in Guanzhong." ”

"If my expectations are good, then you will be appointed as the commander of Xiaoguo, defend Guanzhong, and then I will find a way to start an incident in Kanto first, if the eastern capital falls, presumably the left and right Tunwei armies in Beijing will be transferred to Kanto to quell the rebellion, and then the Xiaoguo Guards in your hands will become the force that directly protects Daxing, and you don't need me to teach you how to do it."

Yang Xuangan smiled and shook his head: "Wang Shichong, Wang Shichong, you gave me the idea as if the world was at your fingertips, not to mention that I would not have the opportunity to control the strong man of Xiaoguo, just say that if it is really as you imagined, then the first traitor to kill the king and seize the throne will become me Yang Xuangan, and all the heroes in the world can attack me in the name of revenge for Emperor Sui, and you Wang Shichong is only afraid that he will be the most active one to beat me at that time." ”

Wang Shichong didn't dare to look directly at Yang Xuangan's cold and lightning-like eyes, and a smile appeared on his face: "Anyway, it's still early, it's useless to talk about this now, we can discuss it slowly in the future." ”

Yang Xuangan snorted and continued: "I don't have the time to listen to your nonsense these days, to be honest, the only purpose for me to come to Guzang City to meet you is not to listen to you talk about these future things, but what did you mean by saying that something happened in Jincheng last time?" ”

Wang Shichong's face changed, and a pair of blue eyes suddenly flashed green in this gloomy cellar, he lowered his voice and whispered: "You don't know, I'm afraid the emperor won't be able to last this year." ”

Yang Xuan was so shocked that he stood up suddenly and said, "How can this be?" Could it be that you are poisoned by this bad thing? ”

Wang Shichong smiled bitterly: "How can I have this ability, the emperor's diet and daily life have been strengthened a lot since the cat ghost case, and more than three people must try each meal first, and it will be sent to the emperor after confirming that there is nothing to do, even fruit preserves." ”

Yang Xuangan breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and doubted: "Then why do you say that the emperor can't last this year?" Isn't he in the Daxing Palace every day, and he can still review and approve the folds normally. ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "Brother Yang, didn't Duke Yue tell you that the emperor's health has been much worse in the past few years?" ”

Yang Xuan felt that Yang Su had indeed said such things to him before, so he nodded and said, "Yes, although my father is not able to see the emperor every day as before, every time I see him, I will tell that the emperor is getting thinner and thinner." Wang Shichong, what the hell is going on? ”

Wang Shichong smiled "hehe", with a wicked smile on the corner of his mouth, and said: "Brother Yang, you are not married yet, and the Yue Guogong manages you strictly, so it's normal for you not to know." As the saying goes, wine is intestinal poison, color is a bone scraper, the emperor has been in charge of Queen Dugu for so many years, and the reason why she is healthy is because she doesn't touch these two. ”

"Now that Queen Dugu is dead, the emperor is completely out of control, and he begins to indulge himself, you must know that a person has been suppressed for more than 40 years, looking at the beauty can not be touched, looking at the wine is not allowed to drink, once he is completely out of control, what will be the result?" (To be continued......)