Chapter 703 Choosing a Camp

Changan

The emperor was willing to die to protect Xie Zhan, so the noble family could not send this letter of surrender.

This made Pei and others uncomfortable, because they received a letter that the family's work in Pingzhou was progressing well. If Xie Zhan didn't die, wouldn't Governor Lu think that they were unreliable?

For the noble families like Wang Yun who were not progressing well, it didn't matter. Their progress in Pingzhou was very slow.

Pingzhou's attitude was too cold and the requirements for them were too harsh! You know, after joining Pingzhou, they did not not work hard! Is it necessary to set such a high threshold?

This Lu Songli has not become the master of the world yet, but he doesn't take their several major noble families seriously at all. He is really arrogant.

On this day, Sang Baiqing once again hosted a banquet for the noble families in the mansion.

Some of the people attending the meeting were relaxed, and some looked solemn.

"Is your Pei family's progress in Pingzhou going smoothly?" Wang Yun asked Pei Zheng unhappily.

Pei Zheng asked him back, "Why are you so angry? Is Wang's family not doing well in Pingzhou?"

Wang Yun snorted.

Pei Zheng smiled and didn't care about Wang Yun's attitude. He knew that Wang's family had hit a wall in Pingzhou.

But he felt that Wang's family and other families deserved it. If they really believed in Pingzhou, they should not care about the gains and losses. After all, if Pingzhou won the final victory, the whole Dali would have to reshuffle under the general trend. It is difficult for the aristocratic families to be completely preserved, but as long as they don't hurt their foundation, they can slowly develop in the new dynasty.

He has studied Pingzhou and is very optimistic about Pingzhou. He probably guessed a little about the reason why Pingzhou is now restricting the aristocratic families who have surrendered. After Pingzhou conquered the country, with the ability of Pingzhou think tank or Lu Songli, the entire country can be developed to the extreme. It is normal that they don't want others to take more of the gains.

After everyone arrived, Sang Baiqing also invited a guest in. This person was none other than Fan Yang.

Wang Yun and others were in a bad mood. When they saw him, they asked him bluntly, "Fan Yang, why are you here? Where is your Grand Commander Xie?"

The people present were from various aristocratic families, either the head of the family or the young master. He, Xie Zhan, did not come in person, but asked his subordinate Fan Yang to come. Did he look down on them?

Fan Yang begged for mercy, "Young Patriarch Wang, please forgive me. Our Grand Commander is ill and cannot go out, so I came here to say hello to everyone."

Yes, Xie Zhan was still claiming to be ill.

At this time, Sang Baiqing asked, "I heard that you came here this time because Xie Zhan has something for you to bring to us?"

Fan Yang bowed his hands and said, "Lord Sang, all the clan leaders and young clan leaders, this is it. Before, our Grand Commander remembered the feelings of everyone being from the same family and never took action against you. Now that our Grand Commander is in trouble, please show mercy to him."

"What you said, Xie Zhan hasn't taken action yet, who is the one who 'measured the land and searched for hidden households'?" Wang Yun said sarcastically.

As soon as this was said, everyone present looked unhappy. Because of what Xie Zhan did, the loss to the noble families was huge. The hidden population was gone, and they had to pay a lot more taxes every year.

The noble families were all big and powerful, and they dominated the local area.

Xie Zhan's action was equivalent to shrinking their assets by 20% to 30%.

Later, silver depreciated, and the large amount of silver stored in their family depreciated, and their assets shrank by another 20%.

Xie Zhan and Lu Songli did it all, so that their noble families had a hard time.

"Our Grand Commander admitted this, but he did it for Dali. Your families all depend on Dali for survival, and you should know the truth that 'if the skin is gone, where can the hair be attached'."

"In fact, our Grand Commander has more powerful means, because he took into account the feelings of being a noble family, he did not take action. If you don't believe it, just look--" Fan Yang handed out a piece of paper from his arms for everyone present to circulate.

The person closest to Fan Yang was Li Jing. He took it and looked at it. After reading it, his face changed, and then passed it to the next person.

Others passed it around and their faces were also very unhappy.

Wang Yun didn't understand why, so he took it and looked at it. He saw that the note said: To solve the problem of aristocratic families, the only way is to recruit officials through the imperial examination and appoint children from poor families.

He felt a chill, what a vicious plan!

Fan Yang was very satisfied with the reactions of the people present. After everyone passed it around, he asked, "Do you know where this sentence came from?"

Everyone: Isn't this the way Xie Zhan came up with to deal with them? It's just that it hasn't been used yet.

Fan Yang didn't keep it a secret and said directly, "This sentence came from the mouth of Pingzhou Governor Lu Songli."

Everyone present took a breath of cold air. From this sentence, they felt the deep malice of the speaker.

Hearing this, Wang Yun sneered, "No wonder."

"Everyone, our Grand Commander said that the dirty tricks between him and you were due to political differences. At least he didn't think of using this method to cut off the firewood of the noble families. And Pingzhou has been quietly cultivating children from poor families."

"Pingzhou has this foundation. Not to mention the cheap paper invented by Pingzhou, Pingzhou Academy and Pingzhou Wanshulou are not worse than the library in your homes, right?" Fan Yang said faintly.

Fan Yang's meaning was very straightforward, that is, Pingzhou had silently stabbed everyone present.

Fan Yang's words made everyone present look very ugly.

The reason why their noble families can produce talents and prosper for a long time is that the family monopolizes knowledge.

Pingzhou will gradually disintegrate the advantages of the noble families by doing this. Think about it, ten, twenty, or a hundred years later, Dali will be full of scholars. What advantages do their noble families still have?

Fan Yang only came here to deliver a message. After delivering the message, he planned to leave and leave the venue to the people present.

Before leaving, he finally said, "Everyone, Pingzhou cannot accommodate aristocratic families."

Now, Dali still has a chance, and it has not reached the point where it is hard to return. Let's stop fighting among ourselves and work together to help Dali defeat Pingzhou. Then all the aristocratic families can continue to play music and dance, and may even be able to reach the next level. layer.

He didn't say the latter part clearly, but everyone present was not a fool, and of course they understood the benefits of helping Dali to annihilate Pingzhou.

After Fan Yang left, not long after, they all dispersed. There was no way, the news that Xie Zhan threw was too explosive, they had to go back and discuss it with the elites of the clan.

Wang Yun still called Pei Zheng, "Lu Songli has the intention to destroy the family, and his intention is to be punished. Do you, the Pei family, still have a high opinion of Pingzhou and surrender to Pingzhou?"

Pei Zheng sighed, "How can we? Today's matter is too big. It requires the clan elders to work together and brainstorm before making a decision."

Wang Yun looked at him deeply, and Pei Zheng smiled lightly.

After the two parties separated, Pei Zheng turned around and boarded the carriage. After sitting down, he sighed.

Today's Pingzhou, according to the land of five states, has not yet completely conquered Qingzhou, but in Pei Zheng's view, isn't this a matter of time?

In short, Pingzhou has risen with an unstoppable trend, and it is evenly matched with Dali, which occupies seven states. Who will be the final winner? Currently, the odds are 50-50.

In Pei Zheng's view, Pingzhou's request was excessive, but not excessive.

If Pingzhou wins the final victory. Pingzhou's plan of "employing officials through the imperial examination and appointing children from poor families" would make it impossible to maintain the advantages of the family and make it more difficult for the children of the family to become officials and achieve success.

But once the emperor and the courtiers came, they had no choice but to adapt. Besides, in the old dynasty, the emperor used the method of balance to check the aristocratic families. Isn't it normal for Pingzhou to target the aristocratic families?

Unfortunately, the situation was different from that of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty. At that time, the aristocratic families could invest in many ways, such as the Zhuge family, Zhuge Dan defected to Wei, Zhuge Jin defected to Wu, and Zhuge Liang defected to Han.

But currently, there are three major forces in the entire Central Plains, Dali, Pingzhou and Xianbei.

It is impossible for Xianbei and the others to vote, so they can only choose between Dali and Pingzhou.

And now it has reached a situation of either choice, and they are not allowed to bet on both sides. Another point is that at this time, the point of placing bets has been reached, and they are not allowed to waver after buying and leaving.

It's time to make a decision.

Pei Zheng thought so, and so did everyone else.

From then on, several major families in Dali began to choose their own camps.