Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

Zheng Jiangyou couldn't help but feel nervous.

The current Zheng family of Xingyang, although they have welcomed the Crown Prince's adopted daughter, Princess Xiyue, the only daughter of the Duke of Du, and their legitimate daughter has also married into the Eastern Palace, are still considered to have a respectable family background, even though they are only a concubine.

Even so, the Zheng family of Xingyang were all trembling with fear, as if walking on thin ice.

If any member of the clan abuses their power to bully others or humiliates the common people, Zheng Jiang, who already knows about it, will send someone to severely punish them according to family rules before the government even arrives to arrest them.

They were handed over to the authorities, and the parents of the young man were even severely reprimanded in front of the more than 800 ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall.

To outsiders, the Zheng family of Xingyang seems capable of restoring their former glory.

But only Zheng Jiang and the high-ranking members of the Xingyang Zheng clan knew that... the decline and even extinction of aristocratic families was a foregone conclusion.

"Didn't I tell you not to get involved in the messy affairs of the Lu family of Fanyang? Why won't you listen to my repeated warnings?!"

Zheng Jiang was so angry that his chest heaved violently.

Beside him, Zheng Wuyang's father, Zheng He, the head of the second branch of the Zheng family in Xingyang, anxiously apologized.

“Brother, please stop saying these things. What’s done is done. The imperial edict appointing Wu Yang as the Prefect of Pyongyang has already been delivered to your residence. You should hurry up and think of a solution… The Crown Prince only mentioned the appointment; the edict didn’t even specify how many soldiers Wu Yang would be given…”

"Soldiers?! Soldiers my ass!" Zheng Jiang was so angry he was about to go crazy.

My younger brother is a stubborn person. Apart from seeking help from our late father and his elder brother, the clan chief, after something happened, managing the small plot of land belonging to the second branch of the family is already his limit.

"Do you think the royal family would grant my aristocratic family military power after the rebellion of the three clans in Hadong Province?! Especially in such a remote place as Pyongyang Province!"

Zheng Wuyang knelt on the ground, his face filled with bitterness and frustration.

Zheng Jiang gritted his teeth and slammed one hand on the table.

"The Crown Prince wants the Zheng family of Xingyang to bleed themselves dry to destroy the Cui, Lu, and Li families! The imperial court is sending troops? Ha! The imperial court's troops are only used to exterminate aristocratic families like ours who do not obey the will of Heaven. Why would they be used by you or me?!"

"You! You've really brought back a great job for the Zheng family of Xingyang!"

Taiyuan Prefecture.

Around the same time, when Wang Ming returned home after a busy day at the governor's mansion, he saw his son, Wang Qingyun, kneeling upright in the ancestral hall.

He sighed, and without letting the other person stand up, he sat down on a chair to the side.

Physical exhaustion couldn't outweigh the mental exhaustion I felt at that moment.

"Speak, what appointment did the Crown Prince give you?"

Wang Qingyun, looking ashamed, handed the imperial edict to his father, who then opened it.

His aged face showed emotion.

“Prefect of Pyongyang Province… What a fine Prefect of Pyongyang Province.”

He murmured to himself, glanced at the ancestral tablets of the Wang family among the incense offerings, and sighed softly.

"Well, thankfully, His Highness still remembers the past favors we Wang family had. If I were to become a governor, although I would have to contribute some of my family's wealth, money is ultimately just an external thing. If I handle the Crown Prince's affairs well, I will eventually be able to return."

He felt relieved.

What they were most worried about was that the Crown Prince would give the Taiyuan Wang clan a military position but not a single soldier. This would not only require them to fund the recruitment of soldiers themselves, but would also inevitably send members of their clan to the battlefield.

The governor was different; his main duty was to stabilize local administration.

"Do you know what official position that young man from the Lu family got?"

Wang Qingyun nodded: "The military advisor of Pyongyang will serve as Zheng Wuyang's assistant."

Wang Ming immediately felt much better.

"Hahaha, that old scoundrel Zheng Jiang is in for a good time!"

He then glared fiercely at his son: "From now on, even while in office, you must never get too close to Lu Wenhu. If necessary... you must sever all ties with him, understand?"

Wang Qingyun nodded: "I understand!"

"Hmph, look at these memorial tablets, and you'd better kneel here obediently for one night and think it through... who are your relatives!"

"That fool Lu Wenhu, does he think the fate of the Lu family of Fanyang isn't bad enough... He should just honestly give up the prestige of the Lu family of Fanyang and accept a count's title. With the merit he gained in Tianzhu, his descendants can continue to enjoy its protection in the future... Lu Zhaojing, Lu Zhaojing, I wonder if you should cry or laugh after you come to Chang'an and hear this news?"

At the Duke of Wei's mansion, Pei Ji looked at the intelligence report brought back by a servant and couldn't help but shake his head and sneer.

Sitting across from him was Duke Xiao Yu of Song, who was holding a cup of tea and looking out the corridor at what should be the last spring snow of the year.

I gently inhaled the aroma of the tea in the cup.

"Hehe, he'll probably laugh, right? After all, Lu Wenhu seems like a filial son and grandson... even though he's not very bright."

Pei Ji threw the message into the charcoal stove where water was being boiled.

"The Zheng family of Xingyang... Hehe, there is a difference between getting on the train first and getting on it later."

Zheng Lizhen, a concubine of the Crown Prince, requests to serve him in bed.

Li Chengqian rejected him.

Today, Crown Princess Qian Yingying had her period, and the two maids, Wu Shun and Li Xueyan, helped with the accounting. In the end, Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, lay on the lap of Queen Kim Deokman of Silla.

Kindeman saw him half-closing his eyes, enjoying the head massage.

She spoke softly and slowly.

"My lord, news has come from Silla that the cultivation of the Heavenly Treasure Gold Seeds is progressing very well. The entire Chenhan region has already planted them, and judging by the time it takes, they should be ready to be transported to Tang Dynasty in another four or five months..."

"Um"

Li Chengqian casually responded, indicating that he understood.

The so-called Silla Jinhan region is the Gyeongsang Province region of South Korea in later times. The land there is fertile and suitable for developing agriculture.

Jin Deman obediently did not mention the matter again, nor did she take advantage of Li Chengqian's visit to her today to bring up the issue of grain purchase prices.

In her view, as long as she did enough to satisfy Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, she would be fine.

The other party wouldn't make things too difficult for her, a woman.

A ruler's heart is hard to fathom, as time goes by.

Li Chengqian's concubines, especially Wang Yuyan and Zheng Lizhen, whose status was the most sensitive, were able to understand what this word really meant.

Seeing Zheng Lizhen crying and sobbing in her presence, Wang Yuyan could only offer her some gentle words of comfort.

There's nothing else we can do.

The Wang family of Taiyuan was also implicated in this matter, but fortunately, the river only flooded their shoes, and they didn't drown.

If they interfere recklessly, it will displease Crown Prince Li Chengqian and even make him suspect them.

That would be the real end.

Princess Salmana of Sassanid Persia, who was standing to the side, was still a little inarticulate in Tang language. Zheng Lizhen was sobbing and speaking very quickly, so Salmana couldn't understand what had happened at all.

Seeing that he couldn't get a word in edgewise, he could only carefully get up.

"Sister Wang, His Highness the Crown Prince has summoned me to his bedchamber tonight. I need to go back and prepare..."

Wang Yuyan: "......."

"Waaaaah!" Zheng Lizhen cried even harder.

The Tibetan monk Zanmu Samaga shook his head slightly. This Salmana was the one who lived the farthest from home, but she was also the most carefree and the one who played the most new tricks with the prince.

She rose gently and said, "Consort Zheng, the more you meddle in these matters, the worse things will become. I think your father certainly doesn't want you involved. Perhaps you could leave the palace and go home for a visit sometime..."

The entire Tang Dynasty was quite sensitive to the connections between aristocratic families, especially the five surnames and seven prominent clans.

This point became even more clear after Lu Zhaojing and his companions nearly lost their lives on Zhenbei Road and finally managed to get back on their carriages and enter Bingzhou.

It just so happens that the local officials are being assessed for promotion.

Compared to Ashina Quli, who focused more on physically abusing Lu Zhaojing and his ilk, Hou Junji, the earliest and most cunning member of the princeling faction, preferred to kill by destroying their spirit.

The day the results of the examination for the first official school in Datong were announced.

The red notices were posted openly in front of the gate of the First Official School, attracting students and their families to rush up to them.

Hou Junji stood beside Lu Zhaojing and the others, and was much more polite to them than he had been to Li Zhen and Ashina Quli before.

Hand them a pair of binoculars.

"Those whose names are posted today are all students who passed the examinations and entered government agencies for internships. After their internships, they can choose whether to stay in the government and start as junior officials based on their performance and understanding of their positions."

"Or perhaps choose to pursue further studies at the Imperial University of Taiyuan Prefecture..."

Hou Junji gave a half-smile, and Lu Zhaojing and the others couldn't help but raise their binoculars upon hearing this. They had seen several Turkic generals wearing these when they were in Zhenbei Road.

I also know how to use it.

"Datong Prefecture Maritime Trade Office, Datong Prefecture Education Office, Datong Prefecture Legal Affairs Office, Datong Prefecture Transportation Office..."

The list was organized by department, with the names of the students who applied to and were accepted by each government office listed below them.

"Ma Zheng: Recruited as a Class A official and appointed as a clerk in the Education and Printing Department of Datong Prefecture."

Song Bai: Recruited as a Class A official, and appointed as a clerk in the Commercial Tax Office of the Maritime Trade Bureau of Datong Prefecture.

"Jiang Zhitong: Selected for Class A..."

Amidst the crowd, there were cheers and sighs of frustration.

besides......

"Why? Why wasn't I hired? I should have met the cutoff score!" A young man dressed in a scholar's robe that was more luxurious than the other young men around him shouted in despair.

Upon hearing this, before the official in charge of posting the results could even reply, a chorus of boos arose from the surrounding area.

"Oh~ Isn't this our young master He? Your grandmother is from the prestigious Li family of Zhao County. Now she's here to participate in the imperial examinations for us lowly people?"

"Hahaha, I thought he was just bragging before, but I didn't expect him to be rejected at the political review stage. Sure enough, tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect that Young Master He actually has this kind of identity."

"Hehe, it looks pretty high. His grandmother is said to have died four years ago after the turmoil in Hadong Province. Tsk tsk tsk."

Upon hearing the murmurs, Li Xing, the head of the Li family of Zhao County, froze.

He stared in astonishment at the young man surnamed He, whom he didn't even recognize, and was pushed out of the crowd with a frustrated and unwilling expression.

He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

“These people are quite capable, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard has also investigated very thoroughly. These people are indeed descendants of those who participated in the great cause of the kings back then... If Patriarch Li doesn’t mind, you can let them go back to Goguryeo with you and serve as subjects of Yeon Gaesomun.”

Hou Junji's face was full of malice and sneer, which made Li Xing tremble all over, but he dared not speak out against his anger.

He never imagined that those who were related to the Li family of Zhao County would one day not only receive no respect, but would also be targeted and suppressed on an equal footing.

Seeing his reaction, Hou Junji's smile grew even more vicious.

"Actually, it's not a big deal. Don't worry, as long as that kid has any brains and wants to get into officialdom, he'll find a way. For example, he could be adopted by a relative from an ordinary background, or simply... sever ties with his family."

"The esteemed families of you gentlemen are far beyond the reach of the Tang Dynasty. Let us lest someone in the future say, in front of His Majesty and the Crown Prince, 'The world belongs to the aristocratic families...'"

The feeling of the boomerang flying back and hitting their faces left the three who had brought it upon themselves speechless with bitterness.

But they all knew that their three surnames were likely to disappear from this land of China.

In the future, aside from the scattered historical records of the previous dynasty, their existence will probably only be recorded in the surrender document of Goguryeo.

Lu Zhaojing swayed, his face turning pale and then flushed, and after a couple of swaying movements...

A mouthful of blood suddenly spurted from his mouth.

"Brother Lu!!!"