"Great-grandfather, Yang Langzhong is here."
"Hehe, invite him in!"
Yang Fan dusted his clothes and walked into the hall.
The hall was very big. This was Yang Fan's first impression.
There were many people in the hall. This was Yang Fan's second impression.
In the spacious hall, there were many couches and small tables. Nowadays, only high officials and nobles would tirelessly adhere to the ancient system of separate meals.
Every table was filled with sumptuous food and ancient utensils. Wooden lacquered goblets, bronze wine goblets, wooden ladles …
Behind every table, there was a guest dressed solemnly and solemnly. Most of them were old people. The youngest already had white hair on his temples, which matched well with the ancient wine utensils.
This empire was ruled by a 70-year-old old woman, and these millennium-old aristocratic families were controlled by these white-haired old men. No matter if it was their wisdom, experience, or experience, they were all accumulated and settled over the years. No one dared to look down on them. Yang Fan did not fear their status and power, but he maintained sufficient respect for these wise and farsighted elders.
Li Mubai had already changed into a burial robe and was smiling as he sat on the seat of honor. Yang Fan stepped forward and used a steady and powerful voice to wish the old man a happy birthday.
The old men all knew that Li Mubai admired this young man in front of him and had the intention to promote another young man after Shen Mu. However, this required them to have a common ground. As long as they nodded their heads, this young man in front of them would immediately possess an inexhaustible amount of wealth and endless resources. Although this power was far from Young Master Jiang's.
The 'Succession Hall' originally didn't have any Obvious Sect or Hidden Sect. The 'Succession Hall' was the only representative of the aristocratic families elected by the aristocratic families. However, no one expected Shen Mu to pull up a force that was enough to contend against Young Master Jiang from the 'Succession Hall'. He turned the 'Dark Shadow', a peripheral organization of the 'Succession Hall', into a Hidden Sect that was on equal footing. As a result, the 'Succession Hall' was split into two.
Now, they agreed to Li Mubai's suggestion and were willing to build another force outside of Young Master Jiang and Shen Mu in order to stabilize the structure of the 'Succession Hall'. However, with Shen Mu's previous example, they naturally wouldn't give Yang Fan a huge force that had the hope of splitting into a third sect. Even so, such a force was what countless people dreamed of.
Although they believed in Li Mubai's foresight, they also needed to further evaluate Yang Fan in order to confirm this person's ability. Today, they were only going to meet this person first. Yang Fan was neither servile nor overbearing. His well-behaved performance left a very good first impression on these old fellows.
At this moment, someone tiptoed in from the side door. It wasn't just one person. They were barefooted and separately walked towards their respective masters. After whispering in each other's ears, the elders looked at Yang Fan with a slightly strange gaze. It was obvious that they already knew about the scene that happened in the garden just now.
"Thanks to the heavens, this old man is already over seventy years old. I'm already eighty-eight this year, but I'm still alive and kicking. Hehe, I originally thought that there wouldn't be a birthday celebration. It would be fine if I just invited a few close friends for a few cups of wine. However, the children didn't agree, which is why many of my relatives and friends were disturbed. "
Grand Elder Li's face was glowing as he said, "In this hall, everyone is this old man's close friends of many years. They are all old fellows. This old man's close friends have all heard of Erlang's reputation. Why don't you sit with everyone? Everyone wants to meet you and get to know you. Erlang is a young man. If he sits here, I'm afraid he won't be able to drink to his heart's content. In a while, this old man's grandsons will accompany Erlang to the front to drink. You can drink to your heart's content, hehe … "
As Grand Elder Li spoke, the emcee walked to Yang Fan's side and led him to his seat. Yang Fan's seat was at the bottom. In terms of age, except for Dugu Yu, the youngest of the people present could be his grandfather, so there was nothing to be unconvinced about. Yang Fan came to the back of the table and meticulously knelt down according to the ancient etiquette. He tidied up his robe and then raised his head.
Before looking for Dugu Yu or the appearance of the others, Yang Fan first glanced at Li Mubai and was surprised to find that Miss Ning Ke was sitting beside Li Mubai. She was wearing a long tunic with big sleeves and dark cyan clothes. If one looked at it from a slightly different angle, he would find that the clothes were faintly glowing. He didn't know what kind of material it was, but it added some redness to Ning Ke's overly white and tender face.
Her beautiful black hair was combed into a 'swan bun', which looked like a startled bird spreading its wings and about to fly. Because she was an unmarried woman, she kept a hair tail hanging behind her shoulders, like a swallow's tail, which looked very elegant. Seeing Yang Fan looking at her, Ning Ke nodded to him gracefully.
A white-haired old man suddenly asked, interrupting the exchange between Yang Fan and Ning Ke, "I heard that Erlang is from Jiaozhi?"
Yang Fan didn't know these people, and Li Mubai seemed to have no intention of introducing them. Today was originally a test of Yang Fan by the aristocratic families, and the important thing was Yang Fan's performance. Yang Fan glanced at him and nodded, "Yes! I grew up in Jiaozhi and came to Luoyang when I was an adult. "
Jiaozhi had been the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty since the Qin Dynasty. Although there were changes during the period, in the hearts of these old men, it was always the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty, so they didn't regard Yang Fan as a foreigner. It was just that Jiaozhi was a little remote, which inevitably gave people a feeling of being uncivilized.
The old man nodded and said, "Erlang is so young and has no connections in the capital city. It's admirable that you can make such great achievements in just a few years."
They knew the rumor of the affair between Yang Fan and Princess Taiping, but Yang Fan's achievements were all based on his real ability. Even if he really had a relationship with Princess Taiping, it only provided him with an opportunity. The important thing was that he had the ability. In order to form an alliance and unite, aristocratic families often connected through women's marriage. But who would attribute their achievements to the credit of their children's marriage? Xue Huaiyi was the Empress's gigolo. The Empress had twice ordered him to lead troops into battle. He commanded an army of hundreds of thousands and had countless good officials as his assistants. What achievements did he make?
So although these elders had heard of the affair between Yang Fan and Princess Taiping and believed it was true, they didn't look down on him because of it. They also didn't attribute his achievements to the help of a woman. If the knowledge of these elders of aristocratic families was shallow and vulgar, they would be no different from the people in the marketplace.
Yang Fan bowed and said, "Elders, you flatter me. Although I have my own efforts, I also have the support of noble people and opportunities to make contributions."
This answer was not only appropriate, but also in line with the wishes of these old men. When people were young, they often felt that their lives were in their own hands, not in heaven. These people from aristocratic families had strong family backgrounds, so it was even more so.
But the older people were, the more they were in awe of heaven and earth, and the more they felt that there was a mysterious force that affected everything in the world. Yang Fan's words combined with their many years of experience made them quite agree.
All the elders nodded their heads. Seeing everyone's appreciation, Li Mubai felt as if a large stone had been lifted from his heart. Stroking his beard, he was happy.
At this time, another elder suddenly asked, "This old man has also heard of Erlang's heroic deeds. For example, in Xueyantuo, he played a trick on the Turkic Great Yabgu, stirring up a conflict between the Ashina and Ashina tribes. In Tubo, he used a small trick to provoke open and secret strife between the King of Tubo and the Great Minister Lun Qinling. This time, when Wang Xiaojie sent troops to Anxi, the King of Tubo refused to send Lun Qinling. Only then did our court succeed. Because of this, Lun Qinling became even more suspicious of the King of Tubo. The two sides are now like fire and water. Another example is the trip to the southern border … "
These people knew Yang Fan's deeds like the back of their hands. They knew even more than the Empress. It sounded frightening, but to put it bluntly, it was worthless. When Yang Fan did these things, he did not hide them from the aristocratic families. In fact, many of these things were done with the help of the aristocratic families. For example, understanding the situation of the Turks, infiltrating Xueyantuo, pretending to be Ashina Musi, and accompanying Xiao Fei, Zhang Yi, and the others were all members of the aristocratic families.
Another example was when he sowed discord with the Great Minister in Tubo. His previous preparations, including the fact that the merchant from the Central Plains acted as bait, were all members of the aristocratic families. In the southern border, other than when things happened suddenly in Yaozhou, Yang Fan could only rely on himself to fight. Later on, however, the aristocratic families began to participate.
In one breath, this person listed all the proud deeds of Yang Fan's life …
It might be an exaggeration to say that it was his life, but how old was Yang Fan? From a small commoner to a fifth-grade official, the great deeds he had done in this period of time were things that many people would struggle to accomplish in their entire lives. Just based on this, he was able to laugh proudly in the officialdom.
Finishing, this person said, "This old man has always observed Erlang's conduct. He is most skilled at using intelligence. A man conquers the world and loves to kill in all directions, sweep through all directions with his sword. His achievements are glorious, and his name shines in the annals of history. As for Erlang's conduct, although it is meritorious to the present and beneficial to the future, it is not well-known. Otherwise, the world would have heard of it long ago. Was it because Erlang did not have military power in his hands at that time, did not have the corresponding strength, and had no choice but to do so? "
Yang Fan knew that these old fellows were testing his style and method of doing things, so he answered seriously, "Intelligence and strength, if I can use both and achieve my goal, then junior will definitely use intelligence instead of strength. If I have no choice, and use intelligence to achieve my goal, then junior will choose strength. The reason is very simple, kill a thousand people, lose half a hundred. Although using strength is a shortcut to one's fame, the sacrifice is the lives of countless people. Moreover, the purpose of war is to obtain. If one can use intelligence to achieve one's goal, then why use force to ruin everything? "
Another old man chuckled and said, "In that case, when Erlang does things, both intelligence and strength can be achieved, he must choose intelligence and abandon strength. Then, in Erlang's opinion, intelligence is the best method to achieve your goal?"
Yang Fan spoke frankly with assurance, "In junior's opinion, intelligence and strength are only methods. To achieve one's goal, one needs cultural education. Wisdom, on the other hand, was only an external manifestation of cultural education. Emperor Gaozu of Han once said, 'The brave conquer the world, the strategist rule the world'. In fact, to conquer the world, above military force, strategy is also needed. Otherwise, in terms of bravery, who can compare to the bravery of a tyrant? Why was it Liu Bang who conquered the world?
Guan Yu passed through five passes and killed six generals, killed Hua Xiong while warming up the wine, galloped on the battlefield, and was frustrated and excited, but he still lost Maicheng. Strategists use intelligence, strategizing in a tent to decide victory from a thousand miles away. Wise like Sun Bin, he escaped from Daliang and avenged his humiliation at Maling Road.
Being a hero is only a matter of a moment. Those who can achieve great feats are all people who can borrow power, use strategy, use intelligence, and understand cultural education. Master Gui Gu once talked about swords in Gui Gu, "The sword of an ordinary man moves like the wind, taking lives; the sword of a general attacks cities and plunder lands, shaking the world, but once the sword of a king is used, it can subdue the feudal vassals and unify the world."
A white-haired old man suddenly asked with a smile, "Since Erlang despises strength but values intelligence, especially culture. Why did you mock those scholars in the back garden as' playing with mud '? "
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