"What? The Governor's Mansion is going to form a marriage alliance with the Mingyi School? Governor Ma's daughter, Miss Ma Linglong, is going to marry the White Blademaster, Lu Shaoyou?! "
No matter what kind of world it was, the spreading speed of gossip and rumors were always neck and neck.
After entering Qinlingjun City and reporting to the Wu's headquarters, Junior Leopard and his companions stayed at the Yuelai Inn, which was one of the Wu's properties. In the past month, because of the Wu's Selection Contest, all the inns in Qinlingjun City were full. Wu's properties like the Yuelai Inn had long stopped doing business with outsiders. It was only responsible for receiving the Wu's disciples who came from all over to participate in the Selection Contest. This was the usual practice.
After returning from the Wu's headquarters, Junior Leopard and his companions were already exhausted. There were still 10 days before the Selection Contest began. Everyone wanted to have a good rest and recharge their energy for the upcoming Selection Contest.
However, just as they returned to the inn, before they finished eating, they heard the gossip.
Junior Leopard just smiled at the gossip. Whether it was Governor Ma or the Mingyi School, they were too far away from a small figure like him. They were so far away that he didn't bother to pay attention to them.
But there was no doubt that once the gossip spread, it caused an uproar. This uproar not only affected the people related to this matter, but also affected the bottom level of Jianghu, including the Yuelai Inn where Junior Leopard and his companions were staying.
Junior Leopard didn't care, but it didn't mean that others didn't care. Others cared, discussed, and some information naturally passed to Junior Leopard's ears.
"I really don't understand why these guys care so much about this kind of thing. However, this gossip sounds quite interesting. It's just a marriage alliance. How can it have such a big effect?"
Junior Leopard couldn't figure it out. However, whether it was true or not, the information revealed by the marriage between the Ma family and the Mingyi School was definitely not simple. The news of this marriage faintly revealed the trend of the whole Jin, which made people ponder deeply.
Ma Tianchang was the Governor of Yunzhou and the favorite general of the current Emperor. This was beyond doubt. Without this relationship, he couldn't have been the Governor of Yunzhou. His ability and means were also recognized by the world. In just 10 years, he had turned the barren Yunzhou into one of the richest places in the world. He had reached Northern Yuan, opened a trade route, reduced taxes, and increased the population. All these showed his extraordinary means. But because of this, a series of problems.
"People in Yunzhou only know about the Governor Mansion, but not the imperial court. They only know about Governor Ma, but not His Majesty."
This sentence was one of the words in the memorial written by the Imperial Censor Yan Wenchou to impeach Ma Tianchang three years ago. This memorial was kept by the current Emperor, but for some reason, it leaked out and spread far and wide. At that time, the Emperor was furious and sent Yan Wenchou three thousand li away to Lingbei to be an Imperial Censor. Ma Tianchang then submitted another memorial to suppress this matter. However, after this incident, anyone with a discerning eye could see that between the Emperor and his subjects, who appeared to be harmonious on the surface, there was already a slight crack that appeared to be visible.
In fact, people with discerning eyes knew that this crack had already existed. Yan Wenchou was just the first unlucky person to pick out this crack. In other words, he himself was a chess piece.
When Ma Tianchang first took office, everyone thought that the Emperor's confidant would first deal with the wealthy Wu family in Yunzhou. This was because the Wu family monopolized the entire Yunzhou and even the smelting industry in Jin. Not only was it rich, but in a sense, it was also choking the necks of most of the Jin army. This was because a large proportion of the standard equipment in Jin was provided by the Wu family.
And the Wu family was a vassal of the Tian Long Taoism.
Unlike the Mingyi School, although the Tian Long Taoism was one of the three biggest sects in Jin, its relationship with the imperial court was not as harmonious as imagined. Although it was not like the Sect of Flame and the imperial court, it was not like the Mingyi School, which maintained the orthodoxy of the imperial court of Jin. The Tian Long Taoism had a close relationship with the aristocratic families everywhere and accepted their worship. They did not have much respect for the imperial court, which was not very pleasing to the imperial court of Jin. In fact, in many cases, the imperial court of Jin hated the Tian Long Taoism even more than the Sect of Flame. Although the Sect of Flame and the imperial court were like fire and water, they incited some civilians. Civilians were weak and could be bullied. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they would never take the risk of being killed to rebel, even if it was for the sake of their beliefs.
Over the years, although Jin could not be said to have good weather every year, it had not encountered any major disasters. Several emperors had made some achievements. Under such circumstances, the Sect of Flame could not make any big waves at all. Instead, the Tian Long Taoism mixed with the aristocratic families everywhere and helped them to train talents. In recent years, the aristocratic families had produced talents in large numbers and were becoming more and more arrogant. The aristocratic families, big and small, united together to control the local government. Some local officials were appointed. If they did not go to the docks, they would not be able to keep their position at all. There were even some local officials who offended the aristocratic families and died mysteriously. These were not uncommon. Although many of them were just the beginning, if they were allowed to develop, in a few years, there would be an Emperor who did not know what was going on. Then, the government order of Jin might not be spread beyond a hundred miles out of the country.
Of course, this did not mean that the aristocratic families would rebel and lead their troops to the capital to be the Emperor. Only a bastard would do such a stupid thing!
In this world, there were aristocratic families that had a millennium, but it was difficult to have a millennium dynasty!
The real aristocratic families disdained to sit on that chair.
Because although the power of that chair was great, it was also very dangerous!
Every time there was a change of dynasty, the royal family of the previous dynasty would be eradicated and their bloodline would be cut off. However, no one had ever heard of an aristocratic family disappearing because of a change of dynasty. Even if they were on the wrong side, they would at most be silent for a few decades. After a few hundred years, they would finally recover their vitality and pass on the bloodline of the family.
Aristocratic families were aristocratic families. The real aristocratic families would not covet that position, nor would they fight against the imperial court for some seemingly huge benefits. They would only fight for the greatest benefits for their families within the scope of the acquiescence of the imperial court. However, the scope of the acquiescence of the imperial court was very flexible and could be big or small.
Thus, there was a strange cycle in the world. When the royal family was weak, the aristocratic families' power would soar and they would control the imperial court. They would even abolish the Emperor and seek for huge benefits for themselves. When the royal family was strong again and they monopolized the power, the aristocratic families would be silent and very obedient. They would even sacrifice a large portion of their benefits in exchange for the compromise of the imperial court, leaving the imperial court with no excuse to deal with them.
For countless years, how many ambitious and wise emperors had tried to suppress the aristocratic families and weaken them. They even wanted to wipe them out. However, when it came to this, the aristocratic families would retract their heads very thoroughly. They were like a thousand year old turtle, shrinking their heads into a thick and heavy shell, making people unable to eat them.
There were also powerful emperors who tried to use bloody and cruel methods to suppress and massacre them without reason. In the end, the emperor died in the palace, in a thick soup cooked for him by his favorite concubine. Twenty years later, the imperial court was destroyed. The ones who destroyed the court were not the aristocratic families, but a group of rioters at that time.
No one knew how strong the combined strength of all the aristocratic families in the world was, but everyone understood that when all the aristocratic families decided to abandon a dynasty, no matter how wise and wise the dynasty's leader was, the country could not avoid the fate of destruction.
The aristocratic families could tolerate being suppressed and weakened. In their eyes, it was a matter of course. If the royal family was strong, they would take a step back. If the royal family was weak, they would take a step forward. No imperial court could guarantee that every generation of Emperor would be a wise and wise man. Similarly, no aristocratic family could guarantee that every generation of aristocratic families would produce talented people.
The general trend of the world was pushed forward under the influence of the royal family and the aristocratic families. It was like the stars of ancient times, eternally unchanging.
The current Great Jin belonged to the time when the royal family was strong and the aristocratic families' power was shrinking. However, it did not mean that the aristocratic families would not give up their interests without resistance. The powerful royal family did not mean that they could obtain the interests that originally belonged to the aristocratic families without effort.
Interests needed to be fought for with strength!
The Great Jin now had the strength to fight for the interests that originally belonged to the aristocratic families. However, no one knew how much they could get.
Ma Tianchang was a member of the imperial court. When he came to Yunzhou as the Governor, he naturally had to help the imperial court fight for the interests of the aristocratic families. As for the Wu Family, as one of the aristocratic families in Yunzhou and a vassal of Tian Long Taoism, they should be the target of Ma Tianchang's suppression. However, no one expected that Ma Tianchang would support the Wu Family after he came to Yunzhou. It was precisely because of his strong support that the Wu Family's power had developed rapidly in the past ten years. Their strength had increased by several times, which was far beyond everyone's expectations. Because of this, most people thought that Ma Tianchang had been bought over by the aristocratic families and stood on their side. However, what Ma Tianchang did next surprised everyone. In the process of joining hands with the Wu Family, the Wu Family's strength had increased. However, at the same time, the benefits that the imperial court obtained from Yunzhou far exceeded that of the Wu Family. Not to mention that the financial situation of Yunzhou was very good, which turned from a burden to one of the sources of income for the imperial court. Just the market and commercial routes opened between Yunzhou and Northern Yuan alone could provide Great Jin with nearly ten thousand excellent warhorses every year. In Great Jin, the strength of the cavalry of Great Jin had increased by more than ten times. The military force of the imperial court had greatly improved. Because of this, Ma Tianchang could sit as the Governor of Yunzhou for ten years. Moreover, it seemed that he would continue to do so.
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Many thanks to Pure Cloud and Blasphemous Demon for providing this group of readers!
In addition, I am very ashamed and ashamed …
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