Yinshan Record

Chapter 628 Chaos and Turmoil (Part 1)
After the Middle Ages, the Central Plains fell apart, with various states constantly fighting each other. Each powerful family used its own methods, eventually forming a situation where two powerful forces, one in the south and one in the north, were in opposition.

The Langya Wang clan had already crossed the Yangtze River to Jiankang at the beginning of the Southern Dynasties, supporting different families to take the lead, and always managed to gain a foothold in the ever-changing political situation of the Southern Dynasties.

Regardless of who the emperor was, the Langya Wang clan was always ranked second or third among the powerful families in the court.

It is precisely this enduring legacy that has allowed the Langya Wang clan to maintain a somewhat aloof position in the court, even in its current state of decline.

In fact, for the Langya Wang clan, whether the Great Liang Dynasty existed or not was not important. What was important was that no matter who replaced the Great Liang Dynasty, the Langya Wang clan should have a place in the new dynasty.

In a small building in the Yaqing Villa, a middle-aged man dressed in a Taoist robe, with a wooden hairpin casually stuck in his hair, slowly turned the pages of a scroll of the Huangting Jing in his hands.

Opposite him were several prayer cushions, upon which sat five elderly men with white beards reaching their chests. Although they were all old and frail, the sharp light in their eyes still indicated that they possessed powerful cultivation.

Inside this small building sat six Core Formation cultivators.

"Four are at the Void Step stage, and eighteen are at the Elixir Return stage."

An old man slowly spoke, "These are all the experts that can be mobilized in the family at present."

"Wei Huaiwen's army is in Gushu, and Jiankang is right under their noses. We must find a way to transfer him away."

“It’s simple. Provoke a border conflict. If the Northern Dynasty makes a move, Wei Huaiwen will have no choice but to act. When armies clash, all forces will move, along with the allocation of provisions and the distribution of weapons and armor. Since Old Su is in charge of the central government, we can use these matters to distract him.”

"I heard that Old Su and Yuwen Rui have a gentleman's agreement that they will no longer fight each other and will each manage their own internal affairs."

“Then find someone else. If Yuwen Rui doesn’t want to move, the emperor of the Northern Dynasty definitely will. If Grand Tutor Yuwen doesn’t send troops, the Prince of Zhongshan can lead his troops south, which is the same.”

"With Wei Huaiwen gone, Jiankang City will inevitably be empty. Send one Bu Xu to suppress the palace's great formation, and another Bu Xu to lead troops to directly attack the Imperial Guards. The Jingye Division and the Censorate should each send people to inform them."

"To restore order, the most important thing is to uphold justice and legitimacy. Old Su has held power for so long that many people are dissatisfied with him. We should use the pretext of welcoming back the retired emperor."

"The retired emperor has lost all popular support. This time, we cannot use the pretext of restoring order. We must still get His Majesty to stand with us so that we can be ordered to punish the traitors."

"The Yu family of Yingchuan will remain untouched, but will the emperor abandon the Su family? His position as crown prince has been secure for so many years entirely thanks to Old Su's efforts in mediating and defending against foreign aggression; otherwise, he would have been replaced by the retired emperor long ago."

"Times have changed. Back then, how many favored princes did the retired emperor replace to coerce the crown prince? Naturally, he still clung to Old Su, treating him like family. Now that Old Su has established his power, what do you think the emperor will think of him? The same reasons he was good back then will lead to a falling out now."

"The emperor is the key. If we can get the emperor's edict, we should be able to stabilize the Censorate and the Night Watch. The only ones we need to deal with are the Imperial Guards."

"Two Bu Xu might not be enough to deal with Old Su, right?"

The middle-aged man who had been reading the Huangting Jing suddenly spoke up.

"Old Su's martial arts cultivation has reached the strongest level in this world. Stepping over it will open up a new path. His cultivation is the same as Yuwen Rui's, both standing at the peak of the Central Plains' Void Step. In terms of purity, he is even above that Northern Wei Grand Tutor who entered the Dao through martial arts."

His name is Wang Muzhi. He is the pillar of the middle generation of the Langya Wang clan and is considered the most likely genius in the clan to reach the Buxu level.

Compared to the other five Core Formation cultivators in the building who were nearing the end of their lifespans, Wang Muzhi's aura was more restrained, like a tortoise and snake coiled together, with complete control over all movements and states. In terms of Dao Foundation alone, the other five combined could not compare to him.

"We can also invite the Xie family of Chenjun and the Wang family of Taiyuan..."

"They are all untrustworthy."

Wang Muzhi put down the Huangting Jing in his hand and looked at the old men in front of him.

"The Xie family of Chenjun is on our side against Old Su. The odds are evenly split. If we lose, there is a possibility of our entire clan being wiped out. But if we help Old Su, we are guaranteed wealth and honor."

They're all useless.

He's clearly just an ordinary person who only reached the Core Formation stage thanks to his family's nurturing, yet he really thinks highly of himself.

Perhaps their lifespans were nearing their end; these fellows had lost all their senses and wanted to drag their entire families down with them to their deaths.

If it weren't for the need to control these unreliable old devils and prevent them from doing anything wrong in their dazed state, Wang Muzhi wouldn't have bothered talking nonsense with them.

"We can't count on outside help. Even if we manage to kill Old Su by chance, there's still Wei Huaiwen outside. What will we do then?" Wang Muzhi sneered, "Another Fangtou match?"

"Then let's do Fangtou again."

"If we go to Fangtou again, what if the Northern Dynasty attacks? With Wei Huaiwen and Su Gui gone, who among you will stand against Yuwen Rui's army? Are you all going to strip naked and lead sheep in front of that villain?"

Wang Muzhi reopened the Huangting Jing.

"Even if we succeed, how many Void Step cultivators and how many Rejuvenation Pills will we have to sacrifice to deal with Old Su? In the end, either Yuwen Rui will benefit, or the Xie family of Chenjun will be well-fed. We'll always be working for someone else's benefit. If we fail, we'll be ashamed before our ancestors. Death and extermination of our clan are secondary; who will offer incense to our Langya Wang clan?"

"Our family reveres the Celestial Masters sect, and we also have disciples in our family who are disciples of the Celestial Masters sect."

"The Su family also worships the Yellow Heaven, so what? If that other branch from beyond the heavens wanted to interfere in our affairs, they would have done so long ago."

As Wang Muzhi spoke, he looked at the group of old men in front of him.

These guys are better off dead sooner rather than later. They were once important figures who held high positions in the court and were prominent in the provinces. How could they have become so worthless in their old age?
“Muzhi, it’s time for you to step out of seclusion. If things continue like this, our Langya Wang clan will be swept out of the country. Go to court. Yu Ze has already said that if you are willing to serve as an official, you will definitely be at least a fifth-rank official…”

"Pointless."

Wang Muzhi turned a page of the book.

"Even if he were to become a prime minister, what would the esteemed Attendant-in-Ordinary Yu Ze be considered in the court today?"

"Then just look at it like this?"

An old man said indignantly.

"If Old Su were to achieve martial arts immortality, then..."

"Then let them succeed."

Wang Muzhi said, "I remember you all once taught me that the reason why our Langya Wang clan is where it is today is because we have always stood on the side of the victor."

“If the Su family of Duling wants to win, then let them win. We can also learn from the Xie family of Chenjun. They always marry off their daughters if they can’t win a fight. Even though they are from a powerful family, no one has mentioned it in recent years.”

"Ok?"

"The Su family of Duling is small in number. Apart from Su Qingdi, there are two other families. They married several daughters into the family, and that is the maternal family of the Su family of Duling."

As he spoke, he looked at the several old men in front of him whose faces had turned red.

"They are merely members of the Yongzhou Martial Clan, this..."

“We also come from a martial arts background. Back then, we crossed the Yangtze River to the east, and Yongzhou was our hometown. I remember one of our ancestors led troops down the river, preparing to depose and install the emperor.”

Wang Muzhi closed the Huangting Jing.

"We're all newcomers. Before the world fell into chaos, wasn't the Wang family of Taiyuan more illustrious than us?"

The old men looked at each other in silence.

"Mu Zhi understands what the elders are thinking, but the situation is beyond his control."

He stated directly and decisively, "Maintaining good relations with the Su family is not only my intention, but also the intention of our ancestors."

Once that person was brought out, the others had no choice but to keep quiet.

Looking at the group of old men with bitter faces below, Wang Muzhi reopened the Huangting Jing.

So what are the high-ranking families? They're nothing special.

(End of this chapter)