Among them was Lu Daolin, who had resigned from his post as the Minister of Rites a few years ago. He was the old master of the Lu family at Lake Pavilion. At the same time, he was the older brother of the former Minister of War, Lu Baijie. In a short ten years, the Lu family had produced two Ministers. It was indeed worthy of the former Emperor's praise of "the Lu family's children are a dazzling array of dazzling jewels." Although Lu Daolin had retired to the mountains and forests and Lu Baijie had quietly left the capital, it did not diminish the Lu family's transcendent status in Jiangnan that suppressed the other three families. There was also the old head of the Xu family, Xu Yinsheng. After his eldest son, Xu Gong, was conferred the title of Longxiang General, this old man peacefully lived out his remaining years. Although a few years ago, Xu Shufei suffered an unexpected mishap and was banished to the Changchun Palace, causing the entire Xu family to suffer a great loss, fortunately Xu Gong did not disappoint. He entered the capital to serve as the assistant minister of the Ministry of War and supported the family. Xu Yinsheng, who had previously closed his door and refused to receive guests, finally appeared. Sitting beside the old man was his youngest daughter, Xu Huipong. Dressed as a yellow-crowned Daoist nun, she and Tangxi Sword Immortal Lu Baijie had a grudge that was not fated to be together. Everyone in the Jiangnan Taoist Forest knew about it. The middle-aged Confucian scholar, Yuan Jiangyan, was not only the mainstay of the Yuan family, but also a famous talker.
Beside the old man with the white cat on his lap sat a spirited young man. He lowered his head and bent his waist, gently waving the folding fan in his hand. However, he was not fanning his family's ancestor, but the lazy white cat. Behind the young man stood a green-robed swordsman who did not touch a drop of wine. When everyone was drunk, he was the only sober one.
The four Gangnam-do families, the Lu family, the Yu family, the Yuan family, and the Gumu Xu family were the main forces in the south that contended against the scholars in the north. Once, the Green Party in Qingzhou was a natural ally of the four families. Unfortunately, they were not successful and were easily destroyed by the former Minister of War, Zhang Julu. Although the four surnames fought over every detail in the Jiangnan Circuit, and generation after generation continuously fought both openly and covertly, in Great Peace City, in the imperial court of Liyang, the four surnames were incomparably united. Xu Gong was able to enter the capital from a local place and forcefully take down the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, the elderly head of the Yu family who raised a white cat, and Yu Jiankang, who had not hesitated to personally make a trip to the capital, were all extremely important.
Xu Yinsheng looked at Yu Jiankang, who was a generation older than him, and sighed softly, "Elder Yu, chaos is everywhere now. Take Yuan Guo for example. He finally made a comeback and became the Minister of Revenue in charge of money, but in just a few days, he was sent to Guangling Circuit next door to us to be a provincial governor. Because it is under the jurisdiction of a vassal king, he is only a deputy. If it weren't for the Grand Chancellor and Tantanon speaking up for Tang Xi and suppressing it, it probably wouldn't have been Cai Nan but Tang Xi who would have been the provincial governor of Lianhuai. Elder Yu, although Tang Xi is still the Minister of War, His Majesty has clearly moved his mind to change the position. In Elder Yu's opinion, where should Tang Xi go from here? We also have a target and can plan for the long term. "
Yu Jiankang smiled and pointed at Lu Daolin. "The Minister's brother is not in a hurry, so why are you, Xu Yinsheng, in a hurry?"
Lu Daolin said helplessly, "It's not that I'm not in a hurry, it's that there's no use in being in a hurry. Fortunately, Cai Nan has already gone to Lianhuai Circuit and Yuan Guo has gone to Guangling Circuit. As long as Tang Xi isn't sent to Nanjiang, she probably won't be doing too badly. "
Yu Jiankang stroked the white cat's head and said calmly, "In the past, there was a battle between civil and military officials from the capital to the ground. Now, both sides have become a thing of the past. Next will be the battle between North and South. Grand Chancellor Qi of Zhongshu Province is a classic Southerner. Deputy Zhao Youling is a Southerner. Tantanon is a Northerner. Chen Wang is a Beiliang. They have fought to a draw. Let's count the six ministries of the Minister of State. The new Minister of Appointments, Yin Maochun, is a Southerner. The two successive Ministers of Revenue, Wang Xionggui, and Yuan Guo are all Southerners. If we add in Lu Daolin, the former Minister of Rites, and Lu Baijie, the current Minister of War, don't you feel that there are too many of us southern scholars at the front of the court? In this way, if Xu Gong is allowed to take control of the Ministry of War and the former Assistant Minister of Justice, Han Lin, takes over as Minister of Justice, how will the northern scholars survive in the future? Moreover, the number of scholars in recent years has been dominated by southerners. Thus, Han Lin went to Ji Zhou and Yuan Guo went to Guangling Circuit. These are all reasonable matters. There is no need to make a fuss. In the future, even if Tang Tieshuang becomes the Minister of War, Xu Gong can only continue to be an assistant minister for another four or five years, there is nothing strange about it. "
Yu Jiankang paused and smiled. "What is interesting is that there is a new power in Taian City that cannot be underestimated. Grand Scholar Yan Jiexi, Left Chancellor Yao Baifeng of the Imperial College, Chen Wang of the Menxia Province, Assistant Minister of Rites Jin Lanting, Minister of Yellow Gate Yan Chiji, and the temporarily dormant Sun Yin are all from Beiliang without exception. However, they all have good reputations in the officialdom. There are not many of them, but each of their words carry a lot of weight, especially that Chen Wang. He is an extraordinary person. Even compared to Bi Yan's career back then, he is not inferior in any way. This is somewhat similar to the Green Party that interfered between Zhang Lu and Gu Lu. However, compared to the Green Party, this group of officials that can barely be called the Cold Party have never formed a party. Have you all noticed that although these people all come from Beiliang, their loyalty to His Majesty is something that none of the other civil and military officials in the imperial court can compare to? In the future, I am guessing that Chen Wang, whose future is limitless, will lead them and form a tripartite balance of power with us northern and southern scholars. "
Yuan Jiangyan sighed ruefully, "Could it be another Bi Yan?"
Yu Jiankang shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's more than that."
Lu Daolin raised his head and gazed at the moonlit night, lost in thought.
For some reason, Xu Huipu's expression was rather sorrowful. Perhaps she was thinking of Sword Immortal Tang Xi who was far away in the capital, or perhaps she was thinking of a certain woman surnamed Xu who liked to wear red and was already separated by yin and yang.
Yu Jiankang smiled slightly and said, "What our four families need to do now is take a step back. If Liaodong's Peng Clan and the other northern families want to seize the seats in the capital at this time, we will pretend to be reluctant and give them all to them. As for when we will take a step forward, it's very simple. Wait, wait until the Peng Clan and the others are full of people. At the same time, we must wait until Chen Wang, Sun Yin, Fan Zhanghou, and the others have truly matured before we act. Right now, let those northern barbarians and those young people have their own conflicts. Ah, they might be able to make things difficult for those juniors in the next few years, but sooner or later, they will suffer greatly. In this period of time, you people should take a step back. It's not like you really don't care about anything. You might as well add flowers to the brocade for those young people of Great Peace City who have a bright future. Help them make a name for themselves in the literary world, boost their reputation, and occasionally sing poems. Treat it as sowing good karma. "
Yuan Jiangyan laughed and said, "What's so hard about that!"
Then Yu Jiankang did a strange action. He raised his wine cup, turned to face the northwest, and toasted from a distance.
I, Yu Jiankang, represent the Central Plains in toasting your Beiliang.
Toasting you and your father.
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