Shen Mu wasn't annoyed and smiled. "My Hidden Sect's foundation in the bureaucracy is indeed shallow, but the other clans are different. If you want to pursue relentlessly, will the other clans agree?"
Yang Fan spread his hands at Cui Lin and said, "Bo Ru, you saw it. The Hidden Sect is obviously using the emperor to command the nobles. They are forcing me to be cautious and forcing the other clans to be used by them. Are the various clan heads willing to be used by the Hidden Sect?"
Gu Zhuting pursed her lips and wanted to laugh. Yang Fan seemed to have noticed it and lifted his eyes slightly. He saw two deep pools waiting there with tender affection. His aggressive eyes couldn't help but turn gentle.
Cui Lin had a bitter expression as he said to Shen Mu, "Brother Shen's request is a little unrealistic. I hope that both of you can show some sincerity. Both of you, the more powerful a person is, the more they need to learn to compromise. An overly greedy person will forever be short-lived! "
When Cui Lin spoke until here, he silently sighed in his heart.
The reason why the seven clans couldn't come up with any strong measures to deal with the Obvious and Hidden Sects was because of the compromise towards the Succession Hall and the unbalanced internal opinions.
The Hidden Sect was developed by Shen Mu alone, and his men were all at the bottom of the hierarchy who couldn't enter the core of the clans. Thus, these people were undoubtedly loyal to Shen Mu, and the clans' interference was limited.
The clans had a stronger control over the Obvious Sect, but it was hard to completely stop their actions. Furthermore, as long as the Hidden Sect didn't stop, could they force the Obvious Sect to not retaliate and allow the Hidden Sect to attack? This wasn't in line with the benefits of the various clans.
Furthermore, even though the seven clans were dissatisfied with the Obvious and Hidden Sect's intense fight, the seven clans weren't completely united. Behind the Hidden Sect was Longxi Li and Xingyang Zheng, and they hoped that the Hidden Sect would have the upper hand. Behind the Obvious Sect was Boling Cui and Zhao Junli.
Originally, there was still the Fanyang Lu Clan, and the Lu Clan had the dominant position among the three clans. However, because of Young Master Jiang's repeated mistakes, the Hidden Sect grew stronger under his watch until they were on equal footing with the Obvious Sect and even defeated him. As a result, Young Master Jiang was ousted. For these two years, the Lu Clan's influence in the Obvious Sect had been deteriorating.
The current situation was that the Hidden Sect was backed by Longxi Li and Yangzheng, while the Visible Sect was backed by Boling Cui and Zhao Commandery Li. Taiyuan King and Qing He Cui were actively getting involved, but they were also clear that the sects were already supported by two great clans in the dark, so it would be very difficult for them to get involved. Even if they could get in, they could only follow the footsteps of the other clans.
Therefore, their wishful thinking was to mediate between the Obvious and Hidden Sects and work hard to force both sides to reach a balance. Only when the Obvious and Hidden Sects were evenly matched and the four aristocratic families behind the Obvious and Hidden Sects were evenly matched, would they be able to highlight their usefulness. No matter which faction wanted to achieve something, they would have to win the support of the Obvious and Hidden Sects. Only then would they be able to intervene.
As for the Fanyang Lu Clan, Young Master Jiang was jointly kicked off the throne by the other six aristocratic families. As a result, the Fanyang Lu Clan's interests were greatly damaged. Now, the Fanyang Lu Clan did not trust the other six aristocratic families. They had not made contact with any of the parties and had been watching from the sidelines. Obviously, they were waiting for the right time. They would stand out when the battle situation was clear, or when both sides had suffered heavy losses.
Think about it, how could a group of aristocratic families, each with their own schemes and plans, form a strong control over the Succession Hall? This time, it was only because the Obvious and Hidden Sects had gone too far that they stood out to restrain them. In reality, they did not wish for the Obvious and Hidden Sects to be in harmony.
The aristocratic families behind the Obvious and Hidden Sects hoped that their side would win, and the aristocratic families that wanted to intervene hoped that the two sects would continue to fight. It would be best if not only the Obvious and Hidden Sects suffered heavy losses, but the four aristocratic families behind them would also suffer heavy losses. Then, they would naturally become the dominant faction.
However, they hoped that in the arena that they had set, the Obvious and Hidden Sects would be the two gladiators that they would decide the winner and the loser, fighting to the death and not implicating the spectators sitting on the spectator stands. In this kind of situation, their usefulness could be imagined.
Yang Fan and Shen Mu listened to Cui Lin's words and immediately compromised.
Shen Mu said straightforwardly, "Alright! Then our Hidden Sect will be more magnanimous and take a step back. In the future, the Obvious and Hidden Sects will be on equal footing. However, the Obvious Sect's monopoly of the salt channel business must be shared with us. "
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Since Bo Ru is mediating, I have to give this face. I agree that the Obvious and Hidden Sects will be on equal footing in the future. The Longyou trade route that your Hidden Sect controls will be completely open to us!"
Who would be willing to give up their vested interests? Even if the two of them were willing, their subordinates wouldn't be willing. Even if their subordinates were willing, the four aristocratic families behind them wouldn't be willing either.
Not only were there the results of their many years of operations, but they also had already formed transportation and sales channels. They also had a network of relationships that took countless generations of manpower and resources to build. Furthermore, in this era where transportation was inconvenient, the domains that they controlled relied on their geographical advantage and were controlled in their foundations.
How could they allow others to sleep soundly beside their beds? They could expand into new domains, but they couldn't possibly give up the interests that were already in their control. Thus, Yang Fan and Shen Mu only acted modest for a moment before they were ready to fight again.
Shen Mu sneered and threw out his trump card. "Erlang Ran has been in seclusion all this while. I believe there are some things that you are still unaware of? The current Emperor has the intention to move the capital! You should understand what it means to move the capital of a country to Chang 'an. Although you have the upper hand for now, when the time comes … "
Yang Fan shook his head and said disapprovingly, "Brother Shen, you are not in the imperial court, so you don't know what is going on in the imperial court. Do you think the capital of a country can be moved at will? Even if the Emperor makes a decision immediately and really takes action, it can't be done without a year's effort. And a year's time is enough for us to utterly defeat you! "
Right under Cui Lin's eyes, the dignified masters of the Obvious and Hidden Sects seemed to have turned into two small merchants who had to compete with each other. They were arguing over the gain and loss of every copper coin, or perhaps they had turned into envoys sent by two countries, fighting over every inch of territory, not giving in an inch.
But in Gu Zhuting's eyes, her man was very magnanimous. Only that Shen Mu was petty. Look, Ah Lang had already said that he could use his influence to prevent the imperial court from carrying out a more thorough purge of the Guannei Dao's officialdom. How generous was that? The price he asked for was only for Shen Mu to open up the western region's trade route.
Ah Lang had also said that this matter had already reached the imperial court and attracted the attention of various forces in the imperial court. Therefore, it was hard to guarantee how effective his efforts would be in the end and whether he could stop the Emperor from continuing to investigate. But didn't this mean that Ah Lang was open and aboveboard? Otherwise, why would Ah Lang say such ugly words first? But Shen Mu was petty and refused to agree.
In addition, Ah Lang said that as long as the Hidden Sects gave up on attacking the Obvious Sects' influence in the salt tents, he would use the officialdom he controlled to urge the imperial court to pass the proposal of dredging the Hebei Province and opening up the Horse Cheek River.
This proposal was pushed by the aristocratic families behind the scenes and had long been reported to the imperial court by the Ministry of Works. But due to the depression after the war in Hebei Province and the huge cost of dredging the river, the relevant departments had been evading the responsibility. At present, it seemed that there was no hope of it being passed.
Once this river was opened, it would directly reach the Bohai Sea. From then on, it would become an important river that could be used for irrigation in drought and drainage in flood. This would have a great effect on the fertile farmland along the river controlled by the aristocratic families in Shandong.
Moreover, after it was opened, the imperial court might use it to transport the salt tents. Ah Lang had already generously expressed that the Obvious Sect would not interfere with the operation of the salt tents. But Shen Mu insisted on getting a share of the salt tents controlled by the Obvious Sect. It was obviously unreasonable.
Shen Mu and Yang Fan were opposing each other with equal harshness and refused to give in. They were like a pair of martial arts experts fighting to the death. If you put forward a request for benefits in one aspect, I will immediately put forward a compensation measure in another. If you put forward a request for restrictions, I will immediately put forward a countermeasure.
Cui Lin, who was dizzy from listening, had completely lost all hope. He thought that it was impossible for the two sides to reach a settlement. He could only report this matter to the various clan lords and ask them to personally come forward to mediate. Otherwise …
But just at this moment, there was a turn of events. The two sides actually reached an agreement.
The two sides decided to put aside all disputes and stop all attacks. After all, this crisis had already reached a stage where it was out of control. If it was allowed to continue, it would be disadvantageous to both sides. Thus, the two sides had to work together to minimize the impact of the imperial court's investigation of the corruption case in Yanzhou on the aristocratic families in Guanzhong.
Because the Obvious Sect currently held the initiative in this matter, they would be playing a greater role. Thus, the Hidden Sect had to make some concessions in order to appease the people on the Obvious Sect's side. The Hidden Sect promised that the Obvious Sect could return to Chang 'an, and the Hidden Sect would not use the enormous power they had in Guanzhong's officialdom and people to obstruct the Obvious Sect's return.
Of course, Yang Fan also returned the favor and expressed that he would use the Obvious Sect's power to support the Hidden Sect in the matter of opening the Horse Cheek River. He wanted the imperial court to pass this proposal. However, this matter was originally the most beneficial to the aristocratic families in Shandong and the commoners in Hebei. It actually had nothing to do with the Hidden Sect. For some reason, Yang Fan had pushed it into a sea tents that might not have been realized, and it became a great favor to the Hidden Sect.
In regards to this, Lady Gu, who always sided with those close to her, thought that it was because her Ah Lang was smarter than others.
Putting aside disputes meant that there would be a day when disputes would arise again. However, at least this fire that was about to go out of control would be controlled. Young Master Cui secretly sighed in relief. After the two sides finally established the agreement, Cui Lin left with Shen Mu in satisfaction.
"Xiao Ting, help me up!"
Yang Fan didn't send the guest off. He waited for the guest to leave before speaking to Gu Zhuting.
When Gu Zhuting heard him call her, she felt sweet inside. This pitiful and cute little woman finally obtained the love that she thought was purely an extravagant hope. She wanted to become a little dog that could wag its tail, as long as she could make her master happy. The words "Xiao Ting" made her feel like she had drunk a jar of honey.
… …
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