Trying to win over the people of Xunnan Zhao family
Zhai Huan naturally understood the meaning behind these words.
He said, "I wanted to marry you to Zhao Sanniang before. She admires you, and you won't let her down. It's a win-win situation. But after experiencing what happened with Ajing, I realized that some things can't be forced... Compared to the help of Xunnan Zhao, Ale, I hope you can get what you want."
“Life is short, don’t leave any regrets.”
Zhai Le frowned in thought.
There was no immediate answer.
But we do need strong allies now.
The former uncle of the king handed over his military power, but his soldiers came from all over the country, from all factions, and with all kinds of positions. They were a mixed bag. Previously, he relied on his status as the uncle of the king and a group of his cronies to barely control them.
Now that the holder of the national seal has changed, it is equivalent to breaking the balance and suppressing the core of these soldiers.
They were all restless and not very cooperative.
If you are not careful, they might collude to riot and retaliate against my brother... Although the possibility of success is small, it will make the situation further chaotic, which is not what Zhai Le wants to see.
In the past few days, he has promoted a group of his trusted followers. Although their positions are not prominent, they can obtain first-hand intelligence at the slightest sign of trouble. He also used the name of the former king's uncle to disrupt the original organization, making it impossible for them to stick together.
But this is not a long-term solution and it is still not enough.
The current calm is ultimately just an illusion.
It can be easily broken by external or internal forces.
Brother also has to divide his energy to argue with those old foxes - these old foxes care most about their own interests rather than who the king is or what his surname is. They all want to take advantage of Zhai Huan's unstable power to bite off a piece of flesh and blood.
Zhai Le saw it and was worried.
"Ah Le, do you really want to marry Zhao Sanniang?"
Zhai Le didn't think much about it.
He said with a firm look, "Yes, I think so."
Although it was not out of love but a weighing of the pros and cons, a two-way relationship may not be perfect, and a one-way relationship may not be regrettable. Zhai Le paused and said, "Or... ask her what she thinks first? If she doesn't want to..."
He said, "Then please find another one."
Zhai Huan was silent for a moment and patted his cousin on the shoulder.
Sigh: "Okay."
Before leaving, Zhai Le did not forget to remind Zhai Huan to use his scholar's way as little as possible. Although his brother did not say how much of a burden the perfected scholar's way would be on him, judging from the great success of its first appearance, the price must have been high.
Zhai Huan said with a smile: "Well, I know my limits."
In Zhai Huan's opinion, the effect of this scholar's way can only be described as "chicken ribs", which is tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away.
If you rely too much on it, you might die without knowing how.
Indeed, it can plant a real memory in a person, and even if the person knows there is a problem, it is difficult to avoid it. If you think that the way of the scholar is invincible... then you are too naive, because the real confrontation is still outside the way of the scholar.
Take the example of the former king’s uncle.
If the false identity that Zhai Huan set for himself was not "the real king who was lost abroad", but the confidant/biological son of the former king's uncle, could he still persuade the other party to borrow troops to force the emperor to abdicate
Impossible, because the benefits brought by the latter's identity are far less than the former's, and it is not worth it for the other party to risk killing all nine clans for a huge fortune... Rather than saying that the way of the scholar made the other party betray and be used by Zhai Huan, it is better to say that the blueprint benefits given by Zhai Huan touched the other party's insatiable greed deep in his heart, and this is why they hit it off...
To give another example, if Zhai Huan was dealing with Qi Shan and pretended to be a relative, and then instigated Qi Shan to kill Shen Tang, then what he would probably get was not Qi Shan's sincere cooperation, but the other party's butcher knife.
The real difficulty of this scholar's way lies in the fact that it requires precise understanding of the opponent's human weaknesses - if one values family, one should start with family; if one values material things, one should start with interests; if one values fame, one should start with reputation...
There is another type of people who are the most special.
They are people who worship the moral integrity as a god. Such people are often difficult to deal with and extremely difficult to deal with...
The situation in Shen State is changing rapidly.
Even Zhao Sanniang, who was living in the boudoir, was affected.
When she heard that the boy she had liked for many years was going to make a marriage alliance with Shuji, she was unhappy for several days, and her thin body became even thinner. Her parents, brothers and sisters tried to persuade her, and her younger brother even deliberately acted strangely to make her laugh.
Zhao Sanniang was never truly happy.
She is not unaware of the seriousness of the problem.
That Shuji's name was also well-known in the boudoir circle. Whoever she liked, no matter whether the other person was married, unmarried or engaged, she would use all means to snatch him/her away.
She can covet a married man, but she is not allowed to let others think about her man, or she may get killed.
If Shuji had not been so cruel and merciless, killing innocent people and breaking up other people's marriages, thus causing the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people... Zhao Sanniang was vaguely envious of her - it was rare for a woman to live so willfully.
Of course, I only envy the other person's freedom rather than his behavior. But on second thought, Suk-hee's freedom was given to her by her brother as the king, because of her bloodline rather than Suk-hee herself, so I feel a little regretful...
Let’s get back to the topic.
Once Zhai Le and Shu Ji get married, if the narrow-minded Shu Ji knows that he had proposed to Zhai Le, even if he has his family to protect him, he will still be bullied and bring trouble to his family.
Thinking of this, Zhao Sanniang became depressed again.
You can't just let go of someone you've loved for many years. The feeling is much more bitter than the medicine brought by the maid.
She closed her eyes and drank it all in one gulp. On Zhai Le's wedding day, she tossed and turned until late at night before she fell asleep from exhaustion.
I woke up feeling weak at noon.
The news that came one after another left her confused again and again.
Zhai Le and Shu Ji's marriage was ruined, Shu Ji died, and the king died, all because of Brother Zhai Huan...
When her mother told her this, she said with envy: Zhai Yuewen is a man of affection and righteousness.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zhai Huan's ambitions were not so great as to overthrow the royal court, but rather he wanted to assist the royal court and restore order. But Shu Ji killed Zhai Huan's fiancée, so Zhai Huan killed her.
A man is so angry that he loses his temper for the beauty he loves.
Isn’t this more romantic and moving than the stories told in the market
Zhao Sanniang thought casually, since Zhai Le’s marriage failed, didn’t that mean that she still had a chance
Her mother saw through her thoughts at a glance.
Dao: Don’t do stupid things.
Zhao Sanniang said: My daughter just thought so...
As a girl, begging her parents to take the initiative to go to Zhai's house to propose marriage was the most outrageous thing she had ever done in her life. How could she have the courage to do it again? Zhai's house was in a whirlpool, and Zhai Le probably had no intention of talking about marriage.
Her mother smiled and said: Just wait patiently.
Zhao Sanniang: Wait
When Zhai came to propose marriage, your father told me that Zhai Yuewen killed the king in front of the palace. He killed him quickly and happily, but he also had to deal with the mess he left behind. Zhai was short of manpower and could not control the situation, so he naturally had to seek allies. What allies could be more reassuring than in-laws? Not to mention Zhai Le, you can choose any other unmarried man in Zhai.
Zhao Sanniang's heart moved.
She felt a little disgusted with herself for taking advantage of someone else's misfortune, but she also had some vague expectation - would Zhai Le really come to propose marriage
She stayed in her own yard, tending to the flowers and plants, and occasionally feeding the fish in the pond, but time passed slowly.
A few days later, Zhai Le really came to the door.
But I didn't ask her parents for marriage proposal.
But to see her.
Zhao Sanniang was anxious and nervous.
Through a screen, she could vaguely see a figure on the other side of the screen. It was a boy who had grown into an adult.
The servants were waiting outside the door.
Zhai Le took a deep breath secretly to relieve the inexplicable tension.
"Mrs. Zhao San..." Zhai Le was not comfortable calling her by her nickname, so he asked hesitantly, "I heard... that you like me?"
Zhao Sanniang: “…”
His face turned red and white, and he was so embarrassed that he wanted to crawl into the ground.
But he still endured the embarrassment and said, "Yeah."
Although he knew the answer, it was still quite novel to hear the other party admit it in person. Zhai Leguang still had a deep memory of being beaten up by his father when he offended the other party when he was a child. He never thought that the other party would like him. How could he have thought of this
"Then I want to marry you, are you willing?"
Zhao Sanniang's face was no longer pale, but only red.
So red that blood could drip.
"Marriage is an important matter... it should be decided by parents..."
Zhai Le was puzzled: "...Huh?"
Didn't they already come to propose marriage? Zhao Sanniang's parents should have agreed, so why did they have to reconsider
On second thought, although he and Shuji were not real husband and wife, the ceremony was completed, and Zhao would indeed dislike a second marriage.
Zhai Le scratched his face. A remarried widower whose "wife" died on the same day didn't sound like a good match.
Seeing that Zhai Le didn't respond for a long time, Zhao Sanniang felt annoyed. She didn't know what she said wrong, and then she heard: "The title of a second-married widower is really not nice... Sorry for disturbing you..."
After that, while Zhao Sanniang was stunned, he bowed and said goodbye. He stood up and walked to the door, but was stopped by a pretty girl who ran out in a hurry. The girl said angrily, "Zhai Xiaofang, why are you leaving?"
Zhai Le: “…”
The personal maid who was guarding outside the house heard the noise and stuck her head out. Zhao Sanniang's cheeks turned red and she hid behind the screen.
"Who dislikes you?"
Zhai Le: “…”
It turns out that he didn't dislike her. I breathed a sigh of relief.
But some true words still need to be said.
Zhai Le wanted to marry Zhao Sanniang, and his biggest purpose was to make use of the Zhao family's power, but after marriage he would definitely not let Zhao Sanniang down, nor would he do anything treacherous and heartless like kicking his original wife away once he gained power. He was willing to swear on this with his martial courage.
After hearing this, Zhao Sanniang was both angry and amused.
What a blockhead!
When he was young, he picked her favorite flowers, stole her favorite fish, and broke the tree planted on her birthday with one punch just to show off... Now that he has grown up and become more capable, he can say such things without hesitation.
As a result, she was forced to marry him just like Shuji.
It seemed like she loved Zhai Xiaofang so much!
Zhao Sanniang did not give a reply. She said a few words and then excused herself by saying that she was not feeling well. She went back to her room angrily and sulked.
When her anger subsided, she felt even more upset.
Well, she is rare.
At her age, if it weren't for Zhai Xiaofang, she would have been married long ago. She saw everything about the couples around her after they got married, and none of them lived in love. The better ones were just harmonious on the surface, and the worse ones were depressed.
Rather than marrying someone you don't like and being bullied, it's better to marry someone you like, so that life won't be too hard. If life is really not good, you can only blame yourself for your poor judgment. Besides, she got Zhai Xiaofang's heart first, so why worry about not being able to win his heart
She gritted her teeth and agreed to the marriage.
The two young boys and girls thought that their marriage was decided by them, but in fact it was decided by their parents.
Zhai Huan was in urgent need of help, but didn't the Zhao family want benefits? Zhai Le was never the best candidate for marriage. If Zhai Huan hadn't protected his fiancée for many years and remained steadfast, the Zhao family would have wanted to marry their daughter to Zhai Huan.
He is the real master of Zhai family.
In contrast, Zhai Le’s conditions are much worse.
This plan must not be known to outsiders, especially Zhai Huan - because Zhai Huan insisted on mourning for his wife for a year, and it was unknown what the situation would be like in this year. If Zhao wanted to be trusted and reused, he needed a marriage that would satisfy him.
It just so happens that both children are willing, which is great.
A marriage that was based on mutual attraction and benefit, with the illusion of a love between two young people, could be called a match made in heaven. With the Zhao family's entry, the restless old foxes finally settled down.
The Zhai and Zhao families do not have many outstanding scholars, but they have many outstanding warriors.
These old bones of theirs had no intention of testing how strong the fists of the two families were. Even the rebellions of the various factions in the military camp that could not be suppressed were suppressed bloodily, with blood flowing like rivers and corpses piling up like mountains.
The next step is to deal with those powerful warlords who took advantage of this period to cause trouble one by one!
The changes in the Shen Kingdom in the southeast naturally could not reach Shen Tang in the northwest of the continent. Unlike Zhai Huan and Zhai Le who racked their brains to fight the enemy and could not spend a peaceful New Year, she spent this New Year happily.
He Yin's high-quality pigs are sold at the price of five ordinary pigs, and yet they still keep coming in. The high-quality pigs are sold out and are now popular among He Yin's neighbors.
The common people who raised pigs also made a fortune.
Some common people even killed a fat pig and sent the best meat to the government office as a New Year gift, begging Shen Tang to accept it. If it weren't for Mr. Shen, how could they be where they are today? Shen Tang didn't hesitate to accept the New Year gift and took the opportunity to promote the knowledge of scientific and standardized pig farming, so that this idea would be deeply rooted in people's hearts!
In the government office, she was happily counting the small change.
Yes, she is rich!
"Alas, after working hard for a year or two, I finally see some savings..." A bag of small change, dozens of copper coins. Shen Tang put them back into the purse one by one and stuffed them into his arms.
Although the incident of refugees and bandits made He Yin shrouded in a cloud of panic, the common people believed in their Lord Shen.
As the Chinese New Year approaches, the lively atmosphere only increases, and many strangers with foreign accents appear in Fugu City.
Needless to say, these people all came from the three places in the south.
Come join in the fun.
As the opening ceremony of the second Fugu City New Year Sports Meeting began, the light from the fireworks in the sky illuminated everyone's face. Shen Tang and his friends were better than last year, and there was still a lot of literary energy left after the opening ceremony - well, after all, there was an extra Jiang Sheng.
"Happy New Year!"
"My Lord, Happy New Year!"
There are many tourists on the road.
There are more people than last year and it is more lively and festive.
"Everyone have fun together, don't be restrained, haha—"
Whenever Shen Tang met an acquaintance, he would greet them warmly and wish them a happy new year, treating everyone equally regardless of age.
When she met Jiang Sheng on the road, who was curious about everything, she took out a copper coin strung with a red string from her bosom.
"Come on, get on yours first!"
Jiang Sheng: “…”
A good lord should be a master at keeping things balanced!