Chapter 351 The Changing Situation
In the deep night, in the inn room, a low and sad voice came from behind a screen, “Little sister, I’m sorry!”

The candlelight flickered, the shadows on the wall swayed, and Li Xiuning, who was sitting on the couch, had a look of helplessness and sadness on her bright and pretty face. After a moment of silence, she lowered her eyes, with a hint of determination, “Second brother, I don’t blame you!”

“Crack.”

Li Shimin clenched his fists until his fingertips turned white. Reluctance, humiliation and all kinds of other emotions lingered in his heart. Before the Li family started the rebellion, he had never thought that his family would end up sending his daughter to save the family. The failure on the battlefield would require his younger sister to be sacrificed. How ridiculous, how absurd!

However, when he thought of the bright sword light on the battlefield, his clenched fists couldn’t help but relax and he felt powerless. That man was so powerful that he despaired. Hundreds of thousands of coalition forces were wiped out in one battle. Hedong and Guanzhong could no longer resist the attack, and the Li family had to find a way out.

Finally he opened his mouth, but no words of comfort came out. He just said softly, “Have a good rest,” and turned and left.

Hearing the footsteps fading away, Li Xiuning behind the screen burst into tears. Ever since the Li family broke off the engagement with Chai Shao, she has been in tears and even thought about committing suicide. However, the future of the Li family and the lives of all the family members depended on her, and she could not be willful.

This is the responsibility of a noble lady and she cannot escape it.

A few days later, the convoy drove out of Tongguan and arrived in Luoyang.

……

On the attic of the palace, Su Ming and Pei Ju stood side by side, looking at the palace in the distance. “Zhao Deyan has indeed fallen into Zhu Yuyan’s hands. Her mind has not changed.”

Su Ming said calmly, “Would you take her seriously?”

Pei Ju smiled lightly, with a hint of disdain in his eyes, “Of course not.” The afterglow of the setting sun in the sky sprinkled on the palace city, making this Ziwei City extremely magnificent.

Yang Guang ordered people to supervise the construction of the Luoyang Imperial City, but he himself did not live in it for a few days. Instead, it fell into the hands of the Wu State intact. Now, even the capital was ready-made and there was no need to rebuild it.

“It is just around the corner that Wu will unify the world. Everyone will have to find their own place in this country. I wonder what position the Demon Sect will get.”

Su Ming raised his eyebrows and said calmly, “What position the Demon Sect can get depends on their next actions. Since the Western Jin Dynasty, the world has been in constant war. The previous dynasty was stable for decades, but it was never able to resolve the contradictions and complete its mission.”

“Conflicts between regions, differences between the north and the south, hatred between the Hu and Han, these are all problems that a new dynasty has to face. It is true that the Sui Dynasty was a unified dynasty, but the problems that the country brought with it were not from the womb.”

“Yang Jian is indeed a man of great talent and strategy, but he is only a paperhanger and cannot solve substantive problems. The country must be fought for to be stable. The new dynasty can accommodate all kinds of people and even the Hu people. What is a mere demon sect?”

Each dynasty has its historical positioning and mission. This is the trend of the times and the trend of humanity. It cannot be changed but can only be guided. Just like the Song Dynasty in history, it should have recovered Yanyun, expelled the Khitan, and completed the great unification. However, most of the Song Dynasty lived in humiliation. This mission was not completed until hundreds of years later in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang.

This is also one of the reasons why the tomb of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty is worshipped by emperors of all dynasties. Even if he was slandered, his achievements are beyond words. In contrast, the emperors of the Song Dynasty had no remains left and ended in misery.

When Pei Ju heard these words, a thoughtful look appeared on his face, and he nodded, “Brother Su, what you said is very true. I appreciate your advice.”

……

“Your Majesty, the people from the Li family have settled down at the post station.”

Late at night, the eunuch’s voice rang out in the hall. Song Que was still bent over the desk, writing with a red brush in his hand, his face solemn.

After an unknown amount of time, he raised his head slightly and said, “I understand. Withdraw.”

The eunuch thought of the gold in his sleeves, gritted his teeth and wanted to say something, but when he met Song Que’s heavy gaze, his heart trembled. He dared not say anything and could only retreat quietly.

Song Que continued to review the memorials. After a long while, he finished processing the memorials on the table. He stood up leisurely and went to the back hall. The palace lanterns were swaying and the air was filled with the scent of fragrance.

He walked without stopping in front of the screen and stared at it intently. If there were an outsider here, he would certainly be surprised. This screen was actually a map of the entire world, with grasslands and the Western Regions marked on it, but not in complete detail.

Song Que’s gaze passed over the north and finally fell to the north, where the three words DTZ were clearly written. Tuyuhun also occupied the Hehuang area near the Western Regions.

He no longer cared about the enemies in the Central Plains. The Battle of Luoshui made the world know the power of the grandmaster. The trend of Wu unifying the world was already established, so there was no need to worry about it anymore. What he was thinking about now was the future pattern of the dynasty.

If a man does not think ahead, he will have immediate worries. The same is true for dynasties. Any emperor with some ability would find it difficult to sit still when he sees so many enemies around him. DTZ, Western Turks, Tuyuhun, Goguryeo…

Not only is there such a threat from external threats, but Wu also has many internal problems. Aristocratic families and noble scholars can be a help to the dynasty, but they can also become hidden dangers in the future.

Yang Jian could not do anything about the Guanzhong clans, so he had to introduce four major clans to check and balance each other. However, he would not do that. The Wu Kingdom was built on the Song clans, and he would not allow the emergence of four new major clans.

The Wu Kingdom was different from all the previous unified dynasties because they started in the south and were naturally opposed to the north. This meant that their base was not in the north, even though the north was still the center of the world and a fertile land.

There is no other way. Not to mention being beaten militarily, Song Que is also inherently inferior to them politically. Of course he must seize this opportunity to divide them and accept them as dogs. Being a dog is giving them a chance.

So what if you have the background and strength? Can you withstand a few attacks from Song Que?

Some people don’t even have the chance to be a dog, and will definitely be crushed to ashes in the future, such as Yu Wenzhi at this time.

The politics of aristocratic families has been emerging since the Eastern Han Dynasty and has lasted for hundreds of years. It cannot be eliminated just by wanting to, unless Song Que, like Huang Chao and Zhu Wen, kills them one by one with the family tree.

But that is impossible. Killing them will not eliminate the conflict, it will only divert it. Besides, not all the aristocratic families are good-for-nothings. At least the second son of the Li family in the post station is quite good.

Song Que gradually had some ideas about the reform of these aristocratic families.

……

A few days later, Li Shimin stepped into Ziwei City with an uneasy mood.

What he is about to face is not only Song Que, but also Su Ming and others. What he represents is not just the Li family, but also all the large and small aristocratic families in the north. This meeting is related to the future pattern and their own position.

(End of this chapter)