A special thank you to all my patrons.
The List of My "Wandering Reader":
-Cain
-Goha21
-Splendid
-Varun Madhu
-Mp Gaming
-Aziz Makda
-Orion Chung
-Patrick Darmon
-SATIONAS
-Gonzalo Sumalavia
-Sethos
-Klip
You can read 50 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
—————————————————————
Fei Qian had indeed not paid attention to Cui Hou's father, Cui Yi, before, but for Cui Hou, this was a matter of deep concern.
This was an oversight on Fei Qian's part. Moreover, Fei Qian noticed that this time, those who had rushed to catch up with Huang Zhong's group and headed to Jingxiang were not just Cui Yi alone—there also seemed to be some women, family members, and children. This meant that the Cui family here had now only left behind able-bodied men.
It appeared that the massacre of the Yangren Chang clan had a significant impact on Cui Hou's family. Since the entire Chang clan had been inside their stronghold—old and young alike—even if they had wanted to break out, it would have been impossible to take their whole family with them. They could only hold their ground, and once the stronghold was breached, the entire family was wiped out.
Now, Cui Hou had taken the initiative to evacuate all the elderly, weak, women, and children from his family. This meant that if things went wrong, escaping would be a much easier task.
At the same time, Cui Hou's actions were also a way of expressing his determination to Fei Qian. By agreeing to send Cui Yi and the others to Jingxiang, the implied meaning behind his decision was even clearer.
Thus, Fei Qian cupped his hands toward Cui Hou beside him and said, "Brother Yongyuan's kindness is something I will remember in my heart."
Cui Hou quickly replied humbly, "I dare not accept such praise! This unworthy brother should instead thank you for your letter!"
It turned out that Fei Qian had realized he had not considered the issue of settling Cui Hou's family. Then, when Cui Hou brought it up in front of him, Fei Qian not only allowed Cui Hou to catch up with Huang Zhong's group but also wrote a letter for Cui Yi and the others to deliver to the Huang family's patriarch, Huang Chengyan, once they arrived in Jingxiang.
This way, even if the Cui family's foundation in Luoyang were completely destroyed, with the support of the Huang clan in Jingxiang, they would still have a chance to rise again. For the Cui family, this was nothing short of a reassurance.
Given the current situation in Luoyang, the massacre of the Yangren Chang family had also, in a way, pushed the Cui family to fully align themselves with Fei Qian. Originally, there had been some voices within the family complaining about the long and arduous journey. But once Cui Hou produced Fei Qian's letter, it immediately silenced many of those complaints.
After all, Fei Qian was now the only son-in-law of Huang Chengyan of the Jingxiang Huang family. Although Huang Chengyan was still in good health and the matter of succession was not yet relevant, Fei Qian still held considerable influence. Moreover, Fei Qian was also a disciple of Pang Degong of the Pang family. With this letter, it meant that the Cui family would be under the protection of two major local powers in Jingxiang. Even if they lost all their assets in Luoyang, they could still receive new financial support from the Huang and Pang families in Jingxiang, making a comeback far from impossible.
Because of Cui Hou's situation, Fei Qian also recalled something he had previously overlooked—the Fei family of Heluo. Fei Qian was still heavily influenced by his experiences from his past life, especially when it came to family matters. Unlike people of the Han Dynasty, he had not placed as much importance on family ties. The fact that he hadn't considered the arrangements for Cui Hou's family members wasn't due to a lack of intelligence, but rather because, in his past life, most people only cared about their own small families. The concept of a larger family clan was rare, let alone sacrificing oneself for the sake of the family.
Thus, Fei Qian had originally never factored the Heluo Fei family into his plans…
Interestingly, neither Pang Degong nor Huang Chengyan had ever brought up the matter of the Heluo Fei family. Thinking about it now, Fei Qian realized that, in their worldview, no one would abandon their own family to act alone. Naturally, someone like Fei Qian would have informed the Fei family. Whether the Fei family was willing to participate in this endeavor was a decision for the family head to make.
Yes, now he still needed to seek out the Fei family head, Fei Min. Of course, he would have to carefully consider how to phrase his proposal…
×××××××××××××
While Fei Qian was contemplating how to approach Fei Min, Li Ru inside Luoyang City was also suffering from a terrible headache, unsure of how to persuade Dong Zhuo.
In Li Ru's view, sending troops to massacre the Yangren Chang family held no strategic value whatsoever…
Just like when, a few days prior, Dong Zhuo had ordered the poisoning of the Prince of Hongnong Liu Bian—it was something done out of anger, but it had no positive impact on the overall situation.
Li Ru had done his best to keep Liu Bian's death a secret, but he knew that such matters could not be concealed forever. Eventually, the truth would come to light.
It seemed that Dong Zhuo's bloodlust had grown too strong lately?
The earlier incident at Yangcheng, where the gathering had been surrounded and slaughtered—that was because the Yuan family's rumor-mongers had been hiding among the crowd. Killing everyone was justified, first because it was impossible to distinguish who was spreading the rumors among so many people, and second, it served as a warning to the Yuan family…
But killing Liu Bian? That was truly…
Sigh.
Originally, in Li Ru's plan, at the necessary moment, Liu Bian could have been carefully maneuvered into the hands of the Hongnong Yang clan. If the Yang clan had supported Liu Bian's claim, then as another renowned scholar clan, they would have held him as a valuable asset. At that point, the Yuan family, who had raised the banner of righteousness, would have been caught in a dilemma—should they obey Liu Bian's orders or not?
If they obeyed, it would mean all the Yuan family's efforts had once again paved the way for someone else's rise. If they disobeyed, they would expose their selfish ambitions to the world…
At that time, the scholar clans outside the pass would have been divided into at least two major factions—one led by the Yuan family in Ji and Yu Provinces, and the other led by the Hongnong Yang clan in Sili and Yan Provinces. The two sides would have been locked in fierce conflict.
Perhaps there would even have been a third faction of fence-sitters…
But no matter how many factions the eastern scholar clans split into, it would have achieved Li Ru's goal. By then, Dong Zhuo in Guanzhong would still have held a relatively legitimate emperor in his hands. Once the eastern scholar clans had exhausted themselves in infighting, Dong Zhuo could have led the elite cavalry of Guanzhong out to suppress them. He wouldn't even have needed to think of a justification—it would have been perfectly righteous to quell the rebellion. After all, who told those eastern scholar clans to support a deposed emperor?
But all these carefully laid plans had turned to dust with a single cup of poisoned wine…
Sigh!
Now, without even informing Li Ru, Dong Zhuo had sent troops to exterminate the Yangren Chang clan, who had been refusing to hand over grain supplies. While this might intimidate the scholar clans around Luoyang for a time, what then?
Wouldn't this just push them toward the eastern scholar clans?
If killing everyone could solve all problems, then why had Li Ru bothered sending people to dig up gold in the first place?
The path they were on now was like walking along the edge of a cliff—every step had to be carefully calculated and taken with extreme caution. Yet at such a critical moment, Dong Zhuo had acted recklessly, disrupting Li Ru's plans.
Now, to fix the mess Dong Zhuo had created, Li Ru would have to readjust his strategy. But before that, he needed to persuade Dong Zhuo to stop resorting to the sword so easily. Even if he had to use force, he should at least pick the right targets…
Li Ru rubbed his temples—he was truly getting a headache.
*
T/N: Use this code "POLARIS" on my p@treon for 30%