Dou Gui paced back and forth in front of Dugu Mansion with his hands behind his hands. Although he rarely came to Dugu Mansion, his thoughts at this time were not on the Dugu family.
After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the Guanlong nobles gradually divided into two factions. One faction was headed by the Yuan family, and the other was headed by the Dugu family. After the Yuan family fell, the Dou family took over the leadership of the Yuan faction. This
The Guanlong faction was renamed the Dou faction, and even the Li Yuan family belonged to the Dou family.
But whether it is the Dou sect or the Dugu sect, after experiencing the purges of the two emperors of the Sui Dynasty, especially the repeated attacks by Yang Guang, the originally strong Guanlong nobles gradually weakened.
It's just that a starved camel is bigger than a horse. The weakness of the Guanlong nobles is only compared to the previous power in the world. In the past, the Guanlong nobles had all over the world in terms of land and industry, but now they have retreated back to their old home in Guanlong.
But in the Guanlong area, they still have strong power. Almost half of the fertile land is occupied by the Guanlong nobles, and all kinds of profitable businesses are monopolized by them.
The reason why Li Yuan's Tang Dynasty was able to quickly take root in Guanlong was closely related to the full support of the Guanlong nobles. The Guanlong nobles not only supported Li Yuan morally, but also provided money, food and troops, helping to quickly create an army of 200,000 men.
Sharp army.
Without the new Sui Dynasty established by Yang Yuanqing, with the support of the Guanlong nobles, the Tang army could have conquered the world and established a powerful dynasty. However, it was a pity that the Tang Dynasty was repeatedly defeated by the Sui army, and the hearts of the Tang Dynasty were shattered.
The Guanlong nobles also began to think about leaving.
Dou Gui came to visit the Dugu family because their interests were facing serious threats.
Although the Dou family was also secretly connected with the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty also involved their interests, and the Dou family would not give up easily until the last moment.
The door opened, and Dugu Zhen came out quickly, followed by Dugu Liang. The two leading figures in the Dugu family came out to greet him in person, which made Dou Gui a little flattered. He quickly bowed and saluted. "My nephew dare not bother Uncle Shi to go out in person."
welcome."
Dugu Zhen is the son of Dugu Xin, he has a very high seniority, and the Dugu family and the Dou family are also married to each other. Dou Gui's uncle is Dugu Zhen's brother, so it is natural to call him uncle.
Dugu Zhen chuckled and said, "It's an honor for the Dugu family to be able to come to the door in person. Nephew Dou, please come in quickly!"
"Uncle Shi, please!"
Dou Gui exchanged a few words with Dugu Liang, then entered the mansion and came to the distinguished guest room of Dugu Mansion. The three of them sat down separately. Dou Gui stopped greeting and said straight to the point: "My nephew came here uninvited today. It is true that there is something wrong."
It's a big event. Your Majesty is preparing to tour the south of Bashu. I wonder what Uncle Shi thinks?"
Dugu Zhen knew that he was here just for this matter. From Dou Gui's tone, he could hear his anxiety and impatience about this matter. Dugu Zhen couldn't help but secretly smile. Even someone like Dou Gui could not calm down.
Are you angry?
"My dear nephew, to be honest, we were also discussing this matter just now. We think that the Holy Emperor has misjudged the situation, or that he lives deep in the palace and does not know the consequences of bringing this matter up."
Next to him, Dugu Liang also sighed slightly, "Ever since the city of Chang'an was destroyed, people in both the government and the public have been in panic, and everyone in Chang'an City is in danger. At this time, the Holy Spirit should be trying to stabilize the people's hearts and boost their morale, but he just made another request.
Touring the south, lest the world be in chaos, I really don’t understand what the Holy One is thinking about. Does he have to wait until everyone’s confidence is gone before he is willing to give up? I heard that many courtiers now have secret contacts with the Sui Dynasty. No wonder others
This is really the result of the Holy One’s missteps.”
The two important figures of the Dugu family introduced each other and took the topic to a deeper level step by step. They wanted to know what kind of tacit understanding the Dou family and the Sui Dynasty had reached.
But Dou Gui is the prime minister after all, and he knows very well what should be said and what should not be said, so naturally he will not fall into the trap of following their ideas.
He also sighed, "I think this matter may be that the Holy Emperor is testing the courtiers. He intends to move the capital, but is afraid of arousing strong opposition from the courtiers, so he uses the southern tour to test. If everyone lets it go and has no objections,
I am worried that he will really move the capital to Bashu. What should we do then? We have supported him for so long, but in the end he ruthlessly abandoned us. What I mean is that our two factions must unite and have a clear attitude.
The ground opposes his southern tour."
"Does the wise nephew mean that the entire Guanlong nobles will unite to oppose his southern tour?" Dugu Zhen asked silently.
Dou Gui nodded solemnly, "That's exactly what I meant."
........
Dou Gui said goodbye and left. Gu Guzhen kept thinking silently. At this time, Du Guliang came back after seeing off Dou Gui and asked: "Does the head of the family think the attitude of the Dou family is a bit strange? Since he is also secretly contacting the Sui Dynasty, why is this so?"
Are you firmly opposed to Li Yuan moving the capital?"
“Aren’t we also opposing the relocation of the capital?”
Dugu Zhen sighed, "After all, I have paid so much for the Tang Dynasty, and no one would be willing to just move the capital like this!"
"What is the head of the family going to do? Join forces with the Dou family to oppose the southern tour?"
Dugu Zhen nodded, "I think we should really put pressure on Li Yuan and let him understand that the Guanlong nobles are not something he can crush at will."
Speaking of this, Dugu Zhen's tone became cold, "Even if he wants to leave, he must pay us back."
........
Li Yuan never dreamed that he would receive a response early this morning after he issued an order to visit southern Bashu at noon yesterday. The response was so tough.
Thirty-six resignation letters were piled high on the imperial desk in front of him. This was the collective resignation of thirty-six members of the Guanlong aristocracy, including two prime ministers, Dugu Zhen and Dou Gui.
Because of this, he proposed to resign from the post of Prime Minister.
In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was normal for a minister to resign, and the king would try to retain him. If he really couldn't retain him, he would give him a sum of money, and the minister would resign and return home, and then everyone would forget about each other.
But the collective resignation of thirty-six ministers is a major event no matter which dynasty it is in. It can only be regarded as a threat, a naked threat.
Li Yuan stared at the pile of resignations in front of him, with an uncontrollable anger flashing in his eyes. He certainly knew why these thirty-six members of the Guanlong nobles resigned. It was simply because he proposed to tour the south yesterday.
The anger in Li Yuan's heart could no longer be suppressed. He stood up, waved his hand heavily, and with a sound of "wow!", he swept all the tall stacks of resignations to the ground, pulled out his sword, pointed at the resignations and shouted angrily, "Where can there be anything else here?"
They are clearly rebellious ministers and traitors who dare to threaten me. Do they not want to live?"
Feng Deyi next to him was so frightened that he repeatedly advised: "Your Majesty, calm down, calm down!"
Li Yuan's face turned livid with anger, his chest heaved violently, and his eyes were fixed on a pile of resignation papers on the ground. He proposed that the southern tour was just a test, and it was reasonable to have any objections, but the opposition he imagined would be
Hundreds of officials collectively submitted a letter begging him to cancel his plan to tour the south. He could accept this kind of opposition.
However, he never expected that the Guanlong nobles would not give him any face and would threaten him with collective resignation, which made him extremely angry.
But at the same time, an inexplicable fear secretly arose deep in his heart.
The foundation of the Tang Dynasty was the Guanlong nobles. It was precisely because of the full support of the Long nobles that the Tang Dynasty developed rapidly and became orthodox together with the New Sui Dynasty.
The importance of the Guanlong nobles to the Tang Dynasty is self-evident. Li Yuan knew that if the capital was moved to Bashu, it would inevitably lead to the dissatisfaction of the Guanlong nobles. But now it is not moving the capital, but just a southern tour, which has led to the collective dissatisfaction of the Guanlong nobles.
Resignation, such a strong counterattack.
Could it be that...the Guanlong nobles have decided to abandon the Tang Dynasty?
This made Li Yuan's heart feel like falling into a cold cave. Most of his anger had disappeared, and he sat down dejectedly.
At this time, a eunuch reported at the door: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Qin is seeking an audience outside the palace."
Li Yuan didn't react for a moment, and Feng Deyi reminded him in a low voice beside him, "Your Majesty, this is His Highness the King of Qin."
Li Yuan was startled. It was his second son Shimin who came. Although Li Yuan had always been angry with his second son Shimin for leaving the capital without permission and running to Fufeng County to control the army, Li Shimin garrisoned troops in Fufeng County and effectively guaranteed the security of western Guanzhong.
, this made the nine points of hatred in Li Yuan's heart weaken to seven points.
More importantly, Li Shimin was his legitimate son after all. Letting his son control the army would also help suppress the Guanlong nobles. The hatred in Li Yuan's heart was reduced by two points to five points.
In addition, Li Shimin wrote two letters some time ago, pointing out that the Sui army's strategy was to destroy Li Mi first, and the troops in the pass were just to build momentum. Facts have proved that Li Shimin was absolutely right. The loss of Li Mi, a natural ally against the Sui Dynasty, made Li Yuan's heart
Somewhat regretful.
This further reduced Li Yuan's hatred for Li Shimin by three points. At this time, he only had two points of hatred for his second son Shimin left in his heart.
The Guanlong nobles threatened him with collective resignation, which made Li Yuan feel the importance of family ties. He sighed and said to the eunuch: "Announce his appearance!"
At this time, Feng Deyi had already packed up the pile of resignations on the ground and put them aside. He bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty, please step aside for a moment."
Li Yuan nodded, "Go! By the way, ask for me what other court officials think of my preparations for the southern tour."
"Wei Chen resigns."
Feng Deyi slowly retreated. Li Yuan looked at the pile of resignations on the ground next to him. He couldn't help but sigh...
Feng Deyi quickly walked out of the Wude Palace, and happened to meet King Qin Li Shimin in front of the steps. He hurriedly saluted and said: "Your Highness, King Qin, I need to remind you."
Li Shimin didn't have a good impression of Feng Deyi, but he didn't dislike him either. After all, he was his father's confidant and couldn't be offended. Li Shimin handed over his hand, bowed in return and asked, "What does Feng Deyi need to remind me?"
Feng Deyi looked around and said in a low voice: "Today the nobles of Guanlong submitted their resignations collectively, which made His Majesty angry. Your Highness must be careful not to offend His Majesty again."
Li Shimin sighed in his heart. He had already heard about this matter. He had to say that his father's southern tour of Bashu was a fool's errand. At a time when people were panicking, his father wanted to pour ice water again. How could he not
It chilled the hearts of the Guanlong nobles.
"Thank you for reminding me. I will be careful not to offend my father again."