Chapter 112: The picture is revealed

The direct benefit of the dispute between the head of the Zhang Mansion in Taiyuan was naturally Zhang Ruohao, while the indirect benefit was the left prime minister Pei Jun. Pei Jun never attacked head-on. What he was best at was indirect attacks to gain the benefits of the fisherman. This time Cui Yuan finally returned in vain, which had a lot to do with his cutting off the firewood at the bottom of the cauldron in Taiyuan. Like the Wang family in Xiangyang, the ancestral land of the Pei family was Jie County, Hedong. Taking Hedong and connecting Hedong and Hebei into one has always been Pei Jun’s biggest dream.

At this moment, in Pei Jun's study, Pei Jun was bowing his head and pondering, knowing that the Zhang family is deeply rooted in Hedong, and this cannot be achieved by just one or two strategies. This requires a major incident in the Tang Dynasty. More importantly, Cui Yuan needs to block him in front of him, and the Zhang family itself needs to have civil strife. The right time, place, and people are indispensable.

On one side of the study, Pei Mingyuan stood with his hands down, not daring to disturb his father's thinking. After returning from Hedong, his father summoned him three times in a row, asking the details of what happened in Hedong this time, without giving up any details. Finally, he encouraged him to go to Hedong more to understand the customs and customs there, and make friends with wealthy families. This gave Pei Mingyuan a little more enlightenment. Did his father mean that he wanted to become an official in Hedong?

Indeed, Pei Mingyuan is Pei Jun's fifth son. In terms of etiquette, he cannot compete with his elder brother for the heir of the head. He has been sick and taciturn since childhood. He is the worst performer in the school. He is often beaten by his husband's ruler. In the eyes of the elders of the Pei family, he is equated with stupidity, but he is not stupid. He is just different. He cannot memorize an article in "The Analects of Confucius", but he can memorize the thirteen chapters of "The Art of War" as if he is;

By the age of eight, he could not understand the forks of the road in his mansion, but at the age of twelve, he could travel to Silla alone. In the next ten years, he traveled east across the ocean to Japan, and westward to Jerusalem, Nanzhao, Tubo and Uighurs, all left his footprints. He inspected the folk customs of various places along the way and wrote nearly one million words of "Travels of the Tang Dynasty", which finally made his father and even the entire family look at him differently.

After returning to the capital, he only took two years to complete the homework that others had to finish after ten years. He passed the imperial examination in one fell swoop, but he was disdainful to be a small and medium-sized official in Beijing, and traveled through the beautiful rivers and mountains of the Tang Dynasty with one sword and one horse.

Now his father's increasing emphasis on him has inspired his ambition to become a superior person in the family.

"Mingyuan, I want to betroth your sister Ying to Zhang Huan. What do you think?" Pei Jun suddenly asked after thinking for a long time.

Pei Mingyuan was slightly stunned, but he did not answer immediately. He knew that any of his father's decisions were far-sighted. Pei Ying was his own sister and the lifeblood of his father. She and Cui Ning were called the two most difficult women in the capital. Even Cui Yuan and Wei Yan came to propose marriage, but their father did not agree, but now he wanted to promise her to Zhang Huan.

Pei Mingyuan never underestimated Zhang Huan because he was born in a vassal. On the contrary, in Taiyuan, he saw Zhang Huan's skills with his own eyes. While admiring them, he also had the idea of ​​being shorter than Zhang Huan. However, his father wanted to betroth his sister to him. There must be a deeper reason. He didn't know what it was and did not dare to guess. Pei Mingyuan honestly replied: "If you say to your father, you don't know."

Pei Jun glanced at him, with a look of praise in his eyes. He had not even considered mature yet, so how could his son answer?

"I'll ask you, if you asked you to be the heir of the head of your family for your father, would you refuse?"

Pei Mingyuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No!"

"It's right, most people won't refuse."

Pei Jun stood up and patted his shoulder, walked to the window with his hands behind his back. He said with some emotion: "But Zhang Huan refused. The position of heir to the head of the family meeting was within reach, but he refused. It was really impressive!"

Pei Jun had already guessed Zhang Huan's identity. He was accompanied by Zhang Huan's biological father to watch the lanterns at Shangyuan Night. He remembered clearly that Chu Wanlan was appreciating the famous lanterns offered by his suitors at Zhaixing Tower that night, but Zhang Huan's biological father used the Milky Way as the handle and the full moon as the lanterns. He won the championship in one fell swoop and also won Chu Wanlan's heart.

Zhang Huan is his only son who stayed in the world. Zhang Ruohao must have the evidence he left behind, so he thought of making him the heir of the head of the family, trying to support him as the throne with the power of the Zhang family, and finally let him feed back to the Zhang family. This is definitely the case.

Unfortunately, Zhang Ruohao made a big mistake. He shouldn't have designated Zhang Huan as his concubine's son at the beginning, which caused his passivity today and eventually failed. Although Zhang Ruohao tried to restore this decline, he had no time.

Pei Jun suddenly laughed. Since the Zhang family has lost this opportunity, what about himself?

He suddenly turned around, took a copy of Zhang Huan's information from the desk, and handed it to Pei Mingyuan and said, "You are responsible for this person and try your best to pull him to our side. I will take action in person if necessary."

Pei Mingyuan hesitated and asked, "What if he refuses in the end?"

Pei Jun kept his hands behind his back and didn't say anything for a long time. Suddenly, he smiled coldly, "Then kill him!"

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Autumn is a season full of people. The drooping sun shines warmer than spring. In the cheerful and clear air, everything shines, making people dazzling. Breathing this refreshing air makes people feel excited and comfortable.

That afternoon, a soldier on duty at the gate of Dongneiyuan hurried to find Zhang Huan, holding an invitation or something in his hand.

"General, someone just sent it."

Zhang Huan took it and it was indeed an invitation, which was printed very beautifully. He opened it and looked at it. The words inside were like flowing clouds and flowing water, and it was very skillful. When he looked at the signature, it turned out to be an invitation written by Yan Zhenqing, who invited him to the mansion to attend the banquet tomorrow night.

Zhang Huan pondered for a moment, then ordered his personal soldiers and said, "You go to Yongjiafang and invite Taoist Li."

Although the entire Chang'an and even the Tang Dynasty were crazy about the upcoming polo competition, the power struggle would not stop. The matter of the Zhang family had already fallen into the ground, but Zhang Huan became a rootless duckweed. The Emperor Li Shi had obviously neglected him. I believe anyone with a heart can see that it was calm at this moment, but Zhang Huan knew very well that he controlled the extremely sensitive Daming Palace. How could some people remain indifferent? Some people would win over and some would fall into the rock. This would be a crisis against him.

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Can he grasp this undercurrent hidden under the polo competition?

Thinking of this, Zhang Huan slowly walked back to his residence. Far away, beside several big trees, he saw his washed clothes floating in the warm sunshine. In front of the window, a bunch of golden osmanthus flowers were placed in a vase, making a peaceful autumn day full of vitality.

Zhang Huan shook his head gently, with a smile in his eyes. Although he didn't like to have a maid to serve him, he had to admit that the arrival of Hua Xiaoniang did change his life.

There are new quilts, hot water burning feet, and the wicks are neatly trimmed, and the lights will never burst out suddenly. The room is always clean and tidy, and there is a faint fragrance of osmanthus, which was unexpected by those thick-handed and thick-legged personal soldiers in the past.

"General, early!"

Hua Jinxiu showed half of her face from behind the drying sheets, and her shy smile was still a little tender. She was only eleven years old this year, but her hard childhood made her mind far more mature than her age.

"Good morning!" Zhang Huan smiled at her gently, and suddenly asked in surprise: "Didn't this bed sheet be washed yesterday? Why did it wash again today?"

Hua Jinxiu twisted her hands crampedly, lowered her head and said nothing. Zhang Huan stopped asking when she saw it, and walked into the room with a smile. The room was full of light, and a large area of ​​sunlight shot into the open window. There was a soft rattan ring chair next to the window. This was made of dry rattan ring chairs imitated by the Western Regions ring chairs, which were very comfortable.

Although the chair was introduced from the Western Regions to the Central Plains as early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was only used by poor and lower-level families. This indecent sitting posture with two legs hanging down on the ground was never accepted by famous families. However, Zhang Huan had a special plot about the ring chair. Sitting on it could help him think calmly and rationally, just like in the water before. So he specially ordered people to find craftsmen to weave a ring chair with wisteria and place it in the place where he sat most often.

"General, Mr. Li is here."

Zhang Huan was slightly stunned. He had just sent someone to find him, so why did he come?

"What a coincidence, I happened to meet your personal soldiers at the gate." Li Mi walked in with a smile.

Hua Jinxiu also followed from behind. She held two seat cushions that had just been washed and dried, and quickly spread them on the two of them. She poured two more cups of tea, one for Li Mi, and the other for Zhang Huan respectfully.

"Okay, go!"

Zhang Huan took the tea, took a sip, and waited for Li Mi to speak first.

"The general is still worried about the matter between Changsun Nanfang yesterday!" Li Mi said with a smile.

"I'm not worried, but I'm a little confused. What is the intention of sir?"

Li Mi walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and a large scattered sunlight shone on his face. He seemed to be immersed in his memories of the past. "Mrs. Zhang had frequent contact with the generals in the capital, and the signs of a coup had appeared. I advised the prince to take action first and ascend directly to the throne with the convenience of the prince's reign. However, he was worried that this would stimulate the seriously ill emperor, and he refused to take action for a long time, and finally lost the opportunity. He took into account the so-called benevolence and lost his life."

Speaking of this, Li Mi suddenly turned around and stared at Zhang Huan with bright eyes, "The same is true for you. Do you think your situation is safe now? Since you have given up the backer of the Zhang family, you are a sapling in the storm. Once Cui Yuan, Pei Jun and Li Shi reached a tacit understanding, a single edict can seize your military power, and even Zhang Potian can't protect you. Therefore, instead of letting them make a calm arrangement, it is better to take the initiative to launch a storm, fight in the storm, and use the conflicts between them to break out a bloody path in the cracks. This is my intention to show my head."

Zhang Huan closed his eyes and pondered until Li Mi finished speaking all the words, and then he opened his eyes and smiled faintly: "I understand what sir means, but I still want to know why, as the sir was a commoner, a small general like me?"

When he was in Taiyuan, Li Mi talked in a casual manner and told him where he would go in the future. It seemed as if a gust of wind blew away the fog of the road ahead. Later, he was willing to live in a humble room and waited hard for his return, and then he took the initiative to attack with kindness. All of this made him feel that there must be some unsevere bond between him and Li Mi, which would make him return to the world for sixteen years after he was born, yes! He wanted to know, he longed to know, what was that?

Li Mi stared at Zhang Huan, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Now that the matter is now, he doesn't want to hide it anymore. He sat down. After a long time, he spoke slowly, his voice was low, as if he was narrating the sadness hidden deep in his heart. "It's your father's will I help you..."

Zhang Huan looked at Li Mi silently. He had already vaguely seen the answer. Although it was not clear, the curtain covering his life has been unveiled layer by layer.

"At that time, he was still King Guangping, only twenty-six years old, with a heroic figure and a broad mind. No matter how romantic and elegant disciples of aristocratic families were, they would feel ashamed of themselves in front of him. Your mother was unparalleled and beautiful. They met on the Shangyuan Night of the 14th year of Tianbao, and they naturally fell in love. But he had already had Concubine Shen and a crown prince. At that time, the dispute between Yang Guozhong and the crown prince had reached a heightened level. In order not to let Yang Guozhong seize the handle of King Guangping to raise a 'apart from the housewife', the crown prince forcibly broke up King Guangping and your mother. That winter, An Lushan rebelled and immediately attacked Chang'an. Emperor Ming fled in panic. After the Maweipo Incident, the crown prince ascended the throne in Lingwu. King Guangping led his army to fight against rebellion for the world's military and horse marshals. Your mother gave birth to you in Wujun, and then hid there."

Speaking of this, Li Mi sighed softly. Later, after the Anshi Rebellion was quelled, Chu Wanlan brought his children to Chang'an to find Li Yu, who was already the crown prince. However, in order to maintain the position of the crown prince, Li Yu always concealed this matter and let Chu Wanlan down for seven years of waiting.

Li Mi skipped this paragraph and continued: "The prince promised your mother that after ascending the throne in the future, she will be named the Yuan concubine and restore your mother and son. Unexpectedly, a palace coup broke out in just half a year later, and the prince was destroyed. In order to leave a bloodline for the prince, I found Zhang Ruohao overnight and entrusted you mother and son to him as the prince's instructions. Then I went to Hengshan, until I heard that Zhang Huan had defeated the capital of the Uighurs, I knew that the time for the mountain was coming."

The room was very quiet. Zhang Huan sat there without moving, his eyes as deep as the sea. I don’t know how long it took, but he finally asked slowly, “Does the head of the family know the truth?”

Li Mi nodded gently, "He knew that he had the will of the prince."

Zhang Huan walked to the window and stared at the magnificent Daming Palace in the distance. Inadvertently, his life experience suddenly changed. From a illegitimate son of a noble family to a illegitimate son of the former prince, it did not add any halo to him. On the contrary, it would add countless bloody winds to his future. However, it also means that he is qualified to win the mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty. Yes, he has never lacked the ambition to pursue power, and what he lacks is a glamorous excuse.

He suddenly remembered his mother's words, "You can go as far as your heart is." Now he understands the true meaning of his mother's words, and the head of the family. His real purpose is to hope that one day he can become the master of the Daming Palace.

Zhang Huan suddenly smiled faintly, why not?

"In fact, you have no way out."

Li Mi slowly walked behind Zhang Huan. His eyes were filled with endless expectations and whispered: "Even if you have no ambition, your identity will be found by Cui Yuan or Pei Jun sooner or later. How could the Li and the Empress Dowager tolerate you at that time? There are also the royal families who support the palace coup. How could they let the blood of the old prince live in the world? Although they have no power in their hands, they represent the orthodox of the Tang Dynasty. They have huge influence to make you the point of thousands of people, so you must fight a bloody path to establish your own foundation. Only in this way can you achieve the great cause of the deceased father!"

"I know!"

Zhang Huan smiled proudly with his hands behind his back, "Actually, I have always been longing for this day. I am longing for one day to lead my Tang soldiers to expel the Tartars, regain Hexi, take back our Anxi and Beiting, and put the Tang Dynasty's military flag back on the city of Talas. This has always been my dream. This is also the dream of every one of us Tang people. Rebuild the powerful Tang Dynasty, let the Uighurs, Tubo, Khitan, and Dashi crawl at our feet, so that our descendants will never be bullied by foreign races."

Zhang Huan suddenly turned around, and his eyes were filled with confidence and determination. He knew the difficulties of the future and even he would pay a price of bleeding every step. But he had made up his mind that no matter how violent the bloody storm was, he would not stop his progress. What Zhang Huan decided on would never look back.
Chapter completed!