Chapter 231: Preparing for war (IV)

On this day, a group of people came from afar on the official road in Xinfeng County, Chang'an. All of them were riding horses, about dozens of people. Everyone's face was dusty and full of fatigue. There was a carriage in the middle of the team. The curtain was halfway, revealing a haggard and pale face. If Zhang Huan saw her, she would be shocked. She was no one else, but Mrs. Wang, the wife of Zhang Ruohao who went to Xiangyang.

When he was in Taiyuan, Mrs. Wang had a uniform figure and delicate skin. Although she was nearly forty years old, she had a unique charm, like a young woman. However, at this time, Mrs. Wang was just forty years old, but her skin was covered with wrinkles, dry and dull, just like an old woman in her fifties.

After the Zhang family declined, Mrs. Wang took her son back to her parents' home, and some members of the Zhang family also depended on them to Xiangyang.

She had hoped to survive with the support of her parents' family, but the world was cold and the Wang family did not welcome the mistress of this decaying family. Especially Wang Ang's wife hated her, which made Mrs. Wang's family become a living room. In addition, Zhang Xuan was not good at fighting and ate, drank, gambled in Xiangyang, and spent all the money brought by Mrs. Wang in a few years. Seeing that there was no hope of relying on them, the Zhang family left one by one. Even their second son used the excuse to go to Guangling to do business, and never returned.

In the end, the wife of the former Minister of Rites was so embarrassed that she secretly copied scriptures for the temple at night to make a living. At this moment, the left prime minister Pei Jun suddenly sent someone to find them and expressed her willingness to help them rebuild the Zhang family.

Although Mrs. Wang knew that Pei Jun just wanted to use them as puppets, she had already experienced the vicissitudes of the world and still resolutely agreed to go north.

"Xuan'er, do you know why Xinfeng County is called this name?" Mrs. Wang saw that her son was listless, and asked him with a smile.

Zhang Xuanhe had not changed much in the past, but his wife and Wang Ang's daughter had remarried to the Shannan clan. However, the concubine Hua Erniang was deeply in love with him. She never left him when they were in the most difficult times. She washed away the dew. At night, her mother-in-law copied scriptures, and she washed clothes to support this useless son and husband together.

Zhang Xuan was tired all the way, and the only carriage was seated by his mother and daughter-in-law again. He was angry. When his mother asked him, he looked down and said angrily: "You know I don't understand, but you still come to ask me. Do you want to make me ugly?"

Mrs. Wang sighed in her heart and said softly: "The Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was from Feng County, Pengjun. When he saw his father miss his hometown, he built a Feng County that was exactly the same according to the original appearance of his hometown, so it was called Xinfeng. I remember what your father told you before."

"My father has been dead for hundreds of years, how can I remember it?" Zhang Xuan said back with a harsh voice.

"You!" Mrs. Wang was so angry that she shook her whole body. She brushed the floor and pulled the curtain down. She couldn't help but shed tears in the car. When Hua Erniang next to her saw it, she hurriedly comforted her mother-in-law, "Xuanlang has never walked such a long way. He is tired, so he is in a bad mood. Don't be angry."

Mrs. Wang shook her head gently, "This is my retribution!"

At this moment, a rapid sound of horse hooves came from afar, and thousands of people seemed to be rushing towards him. Then the envoy who picked up Mrs. Wang and sent Mrs. Wang to report urgently: "Mrs. Wang, Prime Minister Pei is here to welcome you in person."

Mrs. Wang was shocked and quickly wiped her tears, applied a thin layer of powder to her face, tidied up her clothes. At this time, the carriage had stopped and the door was opened. The messenger said outside: "Please come down, Madam!"

Mrs. Wang walked out of the carriage and saw yellow dust rolling in the distance. More than a thousand cavalrymen galloping towards a carriage. She looked at her son again. He also got off the horse. His face turned yellow and his legs were trembling. He moved quietly backwards.

"There is no future!" Mrs. Wang gritted her teeth in hatred. She raised her head and strode forward to Pei Jun's team.

Pei Jun discovered Cui Yuan's abnormality when he was sending troops to Longyou, and he did not give up. On the contrary, he had been quietly investigating the truth about Cui Yuan's abnormality. In the end, he got the truth from Cui Xiong. Cui Yuan could no longer mobilize the Qinghe Army in Shandong. This discovery made Pei Jun ecstatic. A plan to remove firewood from the cauldron immediately jumped into his mind. After patrolling for a long time, his eyes were locked on Mrs. Wang in the down-and-out Xiangyang.

From afar, Pei Jun had already seen Mrs. Wang get off the carriage. He turned over and got off the horse and smiled and greeted him, "Madam, we haven't seen each other for several years."

Mrs. Wang stepped forward and gave a gentle polite greeting, "I have met Prime Minister Pei."

At this time, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a long time, and finally walked forward slowly and bowed to Pei Junshen, "See Pei Xiangguo."

Pei Jun looked at the mother and son, then smiled and said, "This is not the place to speak, there is Xinfengyi in front of you, you can follow me."

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Soon, the group came to Xinfeng Post and found a quiet room. The three of them sat down. Pei Jun pondered for a moment and said, "I have always had a deep friendship with Shangshu Zhang. I can't bear to see the decline of the Zhang family. I had wanted to make a statement for a long time, but I was plagued by mundane affairs and have been delayed until today. I brought my wife this time in the hope that the wife and the young master can revitalize the Zhang family's momentum so that my old friend can restorate his eyes in the nine springs."

"But the Taiyuan family has been occupied by Zhang Ruojin, so we can't go back." Pei Jun's gentle attitude gradually increased Zhang Xuan's courage, and he suddenly interrupted.

"Zhang Ruojin is just a dog of Cui Yuan, so where is the head of the Zhang family?" Pei Jun looked very angry. He squinted his eyes and looked at Zhang Xuan and said, "And you are different. You are the eldest son of Shangshu Zhang. With your noble bloodline, who is more suitable to be the head of the Zhang family than you? I will buy you another mansion and give you the money and Lumi on a monthly basis, so that you will replace Zhang Ruojin."

Pei Jun said while staring at Zhang Xuan's expression. Seeing him ecstatic, he couldn't help but feel proud. At this moment, Mrs. Wang, who had been silent, suddenly said: "We have recognized the kindness of Pei's prime minister, but the Zhang family has been destroyed. It is meaningless to add a storefront. It can only let Pei's prime minister down."

"Mother!" Zhang Xuan was anxious. How could his mother refuse? Isn't it too poor enough? He was about to refute, but Mrs. Wang waved her hand to stop him and continued: "This time we came east to go to Longyou to join Zhang Huan. My husband was kind to him. I think he would give Xuan'er a future."

Pei Jun secretly called out that although Mrs. Wang was a female, her eyes were vicious. She saw Pei Jun's eagerness and took advantage of the situation to bargain. He laughed dryly and said, "Mrs. Pei doesn't know anything. I heard that Zhang Ruojun and Zhang Can and his son were officials in Longyou, especially Zhang Can also set up the Zhang family in Wenjun. Where can you have your seat? Taiyuan is your Zhang family's family. Wouldn't it be better to go to Taiyuan? In this way, in order to allow the mother and son to live in Taiyuan with peace of mind, I would give a thousand-acre farm to serve as a wife's care for her. It's better to live under someone else's roof in Xiangyang. What do you think?"

After saying that, his eyes turned to Zhang Xuan and suddenly became stern. Zhang Xuan was frightened by Pei Jun's stern gaze. He instinctively pulled his mother and asked her to agree, but Mrs. Wang was not moved at all. She gently slid her hair and smiled faintly: "Isn't the ancestral home of Pei Xiangguo also in Hedong? But now the Pei family is in Hebei alone. It can be seen that where to develop is not important. The key is to have a chance. Although Xuan'er is stupid and unable to inherit his father's ambition, the chief of the minister still has this ability to be a county magistrate. I heard that Zhang Huan had just taken over Hehuang. If he didn't even give Xuan'er this opportunity, he would really be in vain."

Speaking of this, Mrs. Wang stood up and saluted Pei Junshen, pulling Zhang Xuan and saying, "Xuan'er, let's go!"

It was not until now that Zhang Xuan understood his mother's thoughts. He didn't dare to interrupt anymore, and followed her and walked out. Pei Junze silently looked at Mrs. Wang coldly, watching Mrs. Wang about to strode out of the room. He sighed secretly and said helplessly: "Okay! I can recommend Mr. Zhang as the county magistrate of Qingyuan County."

Mrs. Wang stopped, she turned to Pei Jun and smiled slightly, "It was not until now that I felt the friendship between Pei Xiangguo and his husband."

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After seeing off the Zhang family and his son, Pei Jun lowered his head in the room with his hands behind his back. The Zhang family and his son were just the first link in his series of plans, just an introduction. Now the introduction has been laid, but the next step cannot be waited too long. Once Cui Yuan knows it, his plan will be broken. The key is to catch it quickly. Once the new Zhang family opens a mansion, they must act immediately. Thinking of this, Pei Jun immediately ordered: "Order Yang Lie's troops to be ready to enter Taiyuan at any time."

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On June 18, the third year of Xuanren, Mrs. Wang, who went to Xiangyang, returned to Taiyuan with his son Zhang Xuan. They reopened Zhang Mansion with Pei Jun's support, attracted many Zhang clans scattered in Hedong to join. But three days after Mrs. Wang established the Zhang Mansion, Yang Lie, the former Taiyuan envoy from Hedong, suddenly led 20,000 people to Taiyuan, and kept supporting the former leader in rebuilding the Zhang Family in Hedong. When the three thousand Cui family troops stationed in Taiyuan saw the great momentum of the coming army, they evacuated south and sent 800 miles to Chang'an to report the drastic changes in Taiyuan to Cui Yuan.

The news of Zhang's high-profile rise shocked the calm government and the country, but many people knew it well. They saw the murderous intent hidden in it, and their eyes were all turned to Cui Yuan.

Cui Yuan, who was retreating behind the scenes, leaned on the soft chair, staring blankly at the white clouds in the sky as they gathered. He had been sitting like this for half an hour, and his son Cui Xian stood behind him, not daring to disturb his father's thoughts.

It is obvious that Pei Jun had discovered the clues, so he occupied Taiyuan on the excuse of the rise of the Zhang family. This was him testing himself. If he ignored it, it proved that his speculation was correct. He would definitely be more and more advanced and move southward step by step. Pingyao, Linfen, and Shangdang finally occupied the entire Hedong territory. Not only that, he would also completely control Guanzhong. At that time, the core areas of the Tang Dynasty would be the Pei family!

The only countermeasure is to transfer the Shandong army into Hedong, but Cui Qinggong has already grasped the military power. He will not leave Shandong, nor will he take the initiative to hand over the military power, and he can only rely on seizing his military power.

Cui Yuan was unable to make up his mind to return to Shandong to seize military power. He planned to slowly win over Cui Qinggong's side and then seize power before snatching him. But when something happened in Taiyuan, he had no time.

It seems that I have to go back to Qinghe. What excuses can I use? Yes, Zhongyuan worships ancestors!

Just as Cui Yuan was thinking carefully, a soft little hand held his rough and old palm. Cui Yuan lowered her head and saw that her sensible grandson Cui Yao was standing in front of him. He touched his head lovingly and asked hoarsely, "Why is the get out of class over now?"

"Master has replied in advance, and the grandson left behind has finished the questions. I will come to visit my grandfather."

Cui Yuan spared no effort to train this smart and polite grandson, invited great scholars and professors for him, and sometimes even taught himself himself, and allowed him to study in his inner study. Everything was hoped that he would become a pillar of the Cui family's great cause in the future.

"Grandfather, grandson asks for something."

"Tell me! What's wrong with you?" Cui Yuan smiled.

"My grandson has been reading "Records of the Grand Historian" by Grand Historian. In Gan Mao's biography, it is said that Mao had Sun Ganluo, who ran thousands of miles away, wandered between Qin and Zhao, and made great achievements that were unprecedented. His grandson was eager to do so. He thought that he had never left Chang'an for five miles, and wanted to build a car in a closed door. He asked his grandfather to go out for half a year to study and enjoy the magnificent mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty. If my grandfather was interested, he might as well go with me."

"Nonsense!" Before Choi Yuan could speak, Choi Hyun shouted sternly from the side: "Grandfather is in a bad mood. Don't make any more trouble, why don't you retreat quickly."

Cui Yuan turned around and glared at her son fiercely, and smiled at her grandson and said, "I just happened to go out. I wonder where you want to take your grandfather?"

Cui Yao stared at Cui Yuan, with a sophisticated expression that was completely inconsistent with his age, and said slowly: "My grandson wants to visit Qinghe's family, is he interested in going with him?"

Cui Yuan's eyes suddenly widened.

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On June 20, the third year of Xuanren, the same day when the Empress Dowager's Special Envoy Li Fanyun arrived in Longyou, Cui Yuan took his grandson to travel around the mountains and rivers as an excuse to take his grandson Cui Yao out of the capital and headed east. The government and the opposition were talking a lot, and they didn't understand why Cui Yuan left Chang'an at the sight of Taiyuan's occupation of the joint. However, the verdict of the government and the opposition had not yet subsided. Suddenly, a news came from the Longyou that made everyone stunned. Zhang Huan, the governor of Longyou, opened the palace without authorization and appointed himself to the Hehuang officials.

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To be continued...