Chapter 205: The Secret Meeting Before the Banquet
It turns out that in private, the patriarchs of these three families have very good personal relationships. It is not like the rumors outside that the Wang and Zhao families have been grudges for a long time. This is all an illusion created to confuse other forces in Taiyuan City.
However, Wang Tianyi's temperament was relatively calm. He said: "Let's go in first and have a look. Brother Gongsun will not joke with us."
While the three of them were talking, Gongsun Long had already opened the door in the secret room.
"Come in quickly, why are you hanging around outside?"
As the elder Gongsun Long, even Zhao Yuancheng stopped smiling when he opened his mouth.
The three of them entered the room together.
"Uncle Gongsun, why are you in such a hurry to find us? Why didn't Brother Gongsun say a word about this?" Wang Tianyi asked.
He noticed the young man Zhu Gui sitting on the only chair in the room, but he didn't pay too much attention.
"Hey, who is this young man? Why don't you understand any etiquette? Uncle Gongsun is so old, how can you let him stand while you sit alone?"
Zhao Yuancheng has a very bold and unrestrained temperament, and he never has any scruples about speaking in private.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Gongsun Long hit him with a cane.
"You bastard, why don't you kneel down quickly? How dare you speak to the prince like this?" Gongsun Long was startled, and Zhao Yuancheng almost got into trouble by not paying attention.
Zhao Yuancheng originally wanted to refute. He was clearly talking for the old man, so why was he beaten by the old man? But when he heard the word 'Prince', his face suddenly became shocked.
"Prince? Uncle, you didn't lie to me, did you? How could this young man be..."
Before he could finish his words, Gongsun Long and his son grabbed his arms and pushed him down to his knees.
"You bastard, are you looking for death? This is the acting king, why don't you kowtow and admit your mistake?" Gongsun Long scolded angrily.
"Ah? Dai, Dai Wang?" Zhao Yuancheng's eyes widened.
Fortunately, as the head of the Zhao family, his knowledge and vision are far beyond those of ordinary people. He also knows a little about some important things in Nanjing. In addition, the two people from the Gongsun family are so excited, so he is already seven points certain in his heart.
"I'm here to see you, the king. I was reckless and offended your highness. Please forgive me."
With that said, Zhao Yuancheng began to kowtow.
Obviously he also understood that what he just committed was very bad. If the prince was angry, he could use this reason to make the Zhao family disappear.
"Okay, I don't mind, and I have a friendship with your noble son Zhao Tian, so get up." Zhu Gui said with a smile.
But Zhao Yuancheng was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and did not dare to get up.
Wang Tianyi on the side also greeted Zhu Gui.
Both of them had puzzled faces. They didn't know why the King Dai, whose fiefdom was in Yunzhou, suddenly appeared in Taiyuan Mansion or at Gongsun's house.
So this time it was Gongsun Yun's turn to explain the direct matter to the two people. However, after the two people relayed it, many details had been 'tampered' beyond recognition, but Zhu Gui was too lazy to correct it.
After listening to Gongsun Long's words, Zhao Yuancheng and Wang Tianyi understood what was going on.
While they breathed a sigh of relief, they also realized that this was an opportunity for their family. As long as they could cling to the lap of King Dai, their future development could go further, even beyond the scope of Taiyuan City.
After the two of them digested the information, Zhu Gui said: "Just as Patriarch Gongsun said, I intend to cultivate your three major families and the descendants of your three families. Of course, you can also choose to refuse. I will not
Force you."
Zhao Yuancheng and Wang Tianyi glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes, and couldn't help but smile bitterly in their hearts. Don't 'force'? Is it possible for them to refuse?
The two said together: "I am willing to serve the prince with my strength."
Zhu Gui nodded, this matter had a good start.
Although he also knew that he was able to get the three clan leaders to agree to this matter solely because of his status, they would all be somewhat reluctant in their hearts.
But Zhu Gui doesn't care. As long as his plan can be implemented smoothly, he can 'kidnap' the three major families and let them see Zhu Gui's strength while also using their family's descendants as hostages, so that they have nothing to do.
Escape is possible.
So Zhu Gui told the three clan leaders the detailed plan, and then asked them to go back and prepare individually.
So today's grand banquet jointly organized by the three major families has been doomed from the beginning. The key lies in how Zhu Gui performs. Even if he wants to completely clean up other forces in Taiyuan City, they can't.
There is no way to compete.
It's just that what Zhu Gui wants is peaceful development and crackdown on diehards, and he doesn't want to do things too badly.
After doing this, Zhu Gui stayed at Gongsun's house and waited for the banquet to begin. At the same time, he chatted with Gongsun Long.
This old man is indeed a ruthless character who can prosper in Taiyuan City. Even Zhu Gui, who came from a later generation, was very impressed by his experience.
When Zhu Gui asked the other party what he thought of the King of Jin, Gongsun Long also had a very negative view of him, especially his scorn for the other party's coup.
In the words of the old man, the current emperor has great ambitions. As long as the emperor is alive, the Ming Dynasty will be very stable, just like Qin Shihuang back then. If the emperor does not die, the Qin Dynasty will not be in chaos.
This evaluation can be said to be very high, but Zhu Gui also agrees with this point because he himself felt suppressed by Zhu Yuanzhang in his many contacts with him.
It's just a pity that Zhu Yuanzhang was too old, coupled with his paranoia, which directly caused the flower in the greenhouse, Zhu Yunwen, to be overturned by the King of Yan Zhu Di in a good situation.
If Zhu Yuanzhang could live ten more years and be more open to cultivating Zhu Yunwen, then Zhu Di would have no chance at all.
It's a pity that there is no "if" in history, except Zhu Gui of course.
But precisely because of this, Zhu Gui still admired Gongsun Long for being able to see this clearly.
He even invited the other party to sit in Datong Mansion so that they could communicate more.
Zhu Gui knew that only by communicating more with these wise men could he better integrate into this era.
In this way, the old man and the young man chatted until the sky got dark and the servants came in to hold the lamp.
Then Gongsun Yun came in and invited the two of them to the banquet.
A huge courtyard in the Gongsun family's residence was already filled with tables, and at least a hundred people gathered inside.
And these people were only a small part of the people who attended the banquet this time, and the others were arranged in other courtyards.
This shows the prestige of the Gongsun family in Taiyuan, and no one dares to deny it.