Chapter 148 Please Call Me Principal Wang
If the cheese in their bowl is touched, the noble families in the world will certainly not surrender. In order to resist, they may even support other princes to wage war against Wang Jing.

But Wang Jing obviously didn't care. Since it was a struggle, he was naturally prepared to fight to the end.

Revolution is never about treating people to a meal; it requires bloodshed and sacrifice.

After learning about Wang Jing's true purpose and firm attitude, Huang Wan fell into despair and even felt a little regretful.

He originally thought that he could cooperate with Wang Jing, or even lie dormant first, and then slowly use various political means to manipulate Wang Jing and take over his position.

Unfortunately, Huang Wan only realized now that he had underestimated Wang Jing, so he sighed and said, "Marquis Qi has such great ambitions, but please think twice about the reform."

Wang Jing is a very opinionated man. How could he give up so easily just because of Huang Wan's words?

"What the commander means is that the noble families in the world will never surrender, right? Actually, you don't have to worry. I have enough patience. I can start from Luoyang. As long as I have enough strength, no one in this world can stand in my way."

In response, Huang Wan could only smile bitterly, his eyes filled with despair.

Just when Huang Wan was feeling discouraged, Wang Jing spoke again: "In fact, I have no prejudice against Confucianism. It is not that people who study Confucianism cannot be officials. I just don't accept monopoly. Can you understand the difference, Taiwei?"

Wang Jing spoke so bluntly that Huang Wan naturally understood.

If the Anlu Huang family wants to maintain their status, they must cooperate with Wang Jing, otherwise they will have no foothold in the new order system.

Huang Wan was weighing the pros and cons in his mind, and an expression of distress and conflict kept changing on his face.

Wang Jing was getting a little impatient and issued an ultimatum: "I will cooperate with those who are willing to cooperate, and I will eliminate those who refuse to cooperate. So, Taiwei, will you, the Anlu Huang family, choose to cooperate with me, or be eliminated by me?"

Seeing Wang Jing's extremely tough attitude, Huang Wan finally had no choice but to stand up and bow, making a gesture of submission: "The Huang family is willing to serve Marquis Qi."

Finally, after a verbal confrontation, Wang Jing successfully defeated Huang Wan's Confucian forces, and the new party's ranks grew even stronger.

After personally seeing Wang Jing off, Huang Kui returned to the courtyard and asked Huang Wan with a puzzled look on his face: "Father, why did you agree to cooperate with Marquis Qi? Can Marquis Qi's reforms really succeed?"

"Qi Hou Wang Jing is indeed an extraordinary person."

Huang Wan sighed and looked at his son. "The Yuan family of Runan tried their best. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu even deployed half of the world's troops to besiege the capital, but they were still defeated by Marquis Qi. Do we have to entrust the continuation of our Huang family's bloodline to them? Looking at the current situation in the world, Wang Jing is dominating the capital and looking at the world with an invincible momentum. Therefore, joining the New Party is the only option available to our Huang family. Any other way is a dead end."

Huang Kui suddenly realized: "I understand now."

"From now on, you will be loyal to Marquis Qi. Remember, you must work for him with all your heart and strength, without any laziness."

"Yes, father."

In this way, Wang Jing dealt with the Anlu Huang family.

Huang Wan was indeed very sensible in his work. The next day, he proposed in the court to Liu Xie that Wang Jing be promoted to the rank of General of the Imperial Guard, so that Wang Jing could legitimately take charge of the military power in the capital.

In fact, Wang Jing has now completely taken control of the capital, but his previous official position has always been General Du Liao, which is not legitimate.

Now that the Northern Army has won a great victory outside Hulao Pass, the Allied Forces have suffered a crushing defeat and are no longer able to stop Wang Jing and the New Party.

Therefore, it was only natural for Wang Jing to be promoted to a higher position, but the fact that this matter was raised by Huang Wan, one of the pillars of the old party, still shocked all the civil and military officials.

In exchange, Wang Jing also appointed Huang Kui as the magistrate of Luoyang, as a way of returning the favor.

After retiring from court, Wang Jing walked out of the palace in a very excited mood. He had finally gotten the position of General Wei. From now on, the Northern Army would be in charge of the defense of the capital. Moreover, the rank of the official position was also higher than that of General Du Liao, with a gold seal and purple ribbon.

The General of the Guards, like the General-in-Chief, the General of the Cavalry, and the General of the Chariots and Cavalry, had the power to establish his own government, and could openly appoint officials, hold military power, and even be informed of government affairs.

Wang Jing's previous position of General Du Liao sounded impressive, but in essence it was just a miscellaneous general position, appointed for emergencies and removed when the mission was over. To put it bluntly, he was just a high-level temporary worker within the empire.

But things are different now. Not only is the General Wei in a high position and has great power, but he is also a permanent position with the power to establish a government. He can openly cultivate his followers and build up his power.

After Wang Jing took up the post of General Wei, the first thing he did was to open classes in Luoyang, transform Xiyuan into a military academy, and then serve as the principal himself.

Once this military academy is completed, he will be able to promote outstanding young talents from the army, teach them military knowledge, and break the generals' monopoly on military knowledge. At the same time, he can also give lower-level soldiers the opportunity to be promoted and inspire their courage.

Of course, the most important thing is to strengthen the influence on the military through this kind of military academy and as the principal.

In April, flowers are in full bloom and spring is in full swing.

Inside the Situ Mansion, the atmosphere was bleak and lonely.

Yang Biao frowned, his expression was conflicted. Huang Wan's sudden defection caught the Hongnong Yang family off guard. As an aristocratic family at the level of "three officials in four generations" in the imperial dynasty, the Hongnong Yang family and the Anlu Huang family obviously belonged to the same political faction, and they had long agreed to help each other.

But now that Huang Wan suddenly sided with Wang Jing, the Yang family became very embarrassed.

After Huang Wan recommended Wang Jing as General Wei, Wang Jing naturally took over the defense of the Luoyang area and legitimately controlled the imperial guards.

The chess pieces that Yang Biao had placed with great difficulty were all removed one by one, and the local officials of the 21 counties under the jurisdiction of Luoyang also underwent a major reshuffle and were replaced by members of the New Party.

Although Wang Jing had not yet moved to the imperial court, he had lost control over the local area, and the so-called "three officials in four generations" was nothing more than an empty title.

If you can't command the place and allocate resources, what good is it even if you are the Situ of one of the three palaces?

If Wang Jing really wanted to take action against the Hongnong Yang family at that time, how much more difficult would it be than killing a chicken?
Yang Biao felt a deep sense of crisis because of this. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. Soon Yang Biao secretly summoned officials and staff from Situ Mansion to discuss the matter.

Everyone was talking about it, cursing Huang Wan for being a good-for-nothing. Many people even cursed the Yuan family of Runan, angrily criticizing Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu for being two pieces of trash. They said that even with ten times the number of troops, they were defeated by Wang Jing. It would be better to find a pig to lead the troops.

Yang Biao was overwhelmed when he heard his men swearing constantly.

Don’t I know how to curse?

I asked you to come here to give me some advice!
But the people under Yang Biao were either helpless or tried to protect themselves. They either scolded Huang Wan for being despicable or scolded Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu for being incompetent.

Only Yang Biao's son Yang Xiu had a smile on his face but said nothing.

Yang Biao watched from the sidelines and naturally saw his son's uniqueness, so he asked him, "Dezu, what do you think?"

Yang Xiu was only fifteen years old this year. Although he had not yet reached adulthood, his elders had already given him a courtesy name, Dezu, which showed that they had high hopes for him.

As a genius, Yang Xiu relied on his natural intelligence and wisdom to look down on all the heroes in the world. When he heard his father Yang Biao asking him about it, he laughed sarcastically in front of everyone: "What can I do? Just treat it as a joke."

here we go again! here we go again!
Yang Biao felt quite helpless. His son was extremely intelligent and talented, and few people in the world could match him.

But he likes to talk nonsense, and his ability to cause trouble is unique in the world.

This was indeed the case. Yang Xiu had always been disgusted with the group of good-for-nothings around his father. Seeing them not putting in any effort, he was even more furious: "You all gathered in our Yang family just to make us stand out, but is Marquis Qi so easy to deal with? If you really have the ability, why don't you do it yourself?"

"Yang Situ, Dezu has really gone too far this time, you have to take care of him!"

"That is to say, if you are so disrespectful to your elders, how can you survive in the future?"

Yang Xiu defeated a whole group of people with one blow, which immediately aroused the public's anger and they all turned their guns on Yang Biao.

Yang Biao was helpless and had to apologize and persuade the matter to be over.

But with Yang Xiu's interference, the meeting naturally could not continue, and it had to disband and everyone went home.

After the guests left, Yang Biao returned to the mansion, with a gloomy face, and called Yang Xiu to the study room with a worried look, obviously a little angry because of the farce just now. Yang Xiu walked into the study room as if nothing had happened: "Father is looking for me?"

"Alas, Dezu, you really shouldn't have said that just now. If the news gets out and the Grand Tutor hears it, I'm afraid he will have a problem with our Hongnong Yang family."

The Yuan family of Runan and the Yang family of Hongnong were not only political allies, but also relatives. Yang Biao's wife, Yuan, was from the Yuan family of Runan and was of the same generation as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others.

Therefore, Yang Biao and Yuan Wei were colleagues in the officialdom, and in terms of seniority, Yang Biao was Yuan Wei's junior.

According to etiquette, if Yuan Wei got angry and scolded Yang Biao, Yang Biao would have no choice but to accept it.

But Yang Xiu still did what he wanted: "They are just a bunch of rats. Why should father take them seriously?"

Historically, Yang Xiu, who was 45 years old and in his middle age, dared to speak wildly and make fun of Prime Minister Cao's son Cao Zhang in front of him, which shows his arrogance. Not to mention that Yang Xiu was only 15 years old now, which was the rebellious period of youth.

What is the Yuan family of Runan? He doesn't even take them seriously.

Yang Biao had no idea what to do with his son who was so arrogant because of his talent. He couldn't bear to beat him, but if he didn't beat him, it would be too unreasonable. In the end, he could only scold him lightly: "If you don't change your temper, you will die from this 'mouth' sooner or later."

They say that if you don't listen to the advice of elders, you will suffer the consequences.

However, Yang Xiu ignored his father's words and did not take them to heart at all.

Yang Xiu wanted to disrupt the secret meeting today, and at this moment he even persuaded Yang Biao to surrender to Wang Jing: "Father, Marquis Qi built a college, trained a new army, and arranged for his trusted men to cultivate land in various places to accumulate food and armor. All these actions show his ambition and aspirations. This man will definitely be a great leader in the future. Looking at the world today, I am afraid no one can surpass him."

After hearing this, Yang Biao did not comment, but his expression changed slightly.

After hesitating for a long time, Yang Biao moved his eyelids slightly and looked at his son Yang Xiu, with a puzzled tone: "It's rare to see you praise someone so much, what's wrong, have you changed your personality?"

Being teased by his father, Yang Xiu smiled bitterly: "Father, I am just arrogant, not stupid. How can I dare to look down on a strong man like Qi Hou?"

Yang Xiu seldom admired anyone because his IQ was too high. He would find clues in everything he saw and then get a glimpse of the secrets behind the truth.

In his opinion, most of the strategies and tactics recorded in history books are nothing special. If they were in each other's shoes, he would be confident that he could do the same thing.

The only thing was that he could not understand or guess what Wang Jing's deeds and actions were. Especially Wang Jing's speed of cultivation, which was far beyond the reach of even this Confucian genius of cultivation.

For several times in a row, the Northern Army won great victories under extremely unfavorable circumstances. Yang Xiu was completely convinced by Wang Jing and became his little fan.

At this moment, Yang Xiu was even more determined to persuade Yang Biao to join the New Party: "Father, the Qi Marquis has already won the world. Although the Yang family is noble, can they resist the world's trend? Rather than accompanying the Runan Yuan family into the abyss, it is better to withdraw and throw a stone to test the waters."

Yang Biao was somewhat unwilling to accept the fact: "Alas, it is not that my father is stubborn, but that Marquis Qi is full of hostility towards Confucianism. Now he is vigorously supporting the Mohist school and shaking the great cause of Confucianism. This is really hateful."

"Father, what you said is wrong. Confucianism is Confucianism, and the Yang family is the Yang family. What does the rise and fall of Confucianism have to do with our Hongnong Yang family? Even if father devotes himself to Confucianism, once the Hongnong Yang family is destroyed, even if Confucianism can continue its glory, what benefit will it bring to our Hongnong Yang family? Father, although those who do not consider the overall situation are not qualified to consider a region, the premise is that the interests of the overall situation are consistent with the interests of our Yang family. Now that troubled times are approaching, what the Hongnong Yang family needs is not to glorify the family name, but to survive."

Yang Xiu was not like Yang Biao, who had damaged his brain by reading too much. Or it could be said that Yang Xiu was still very young and his ability to accept new things was far greater than that of Yang Biao, who was already 48 years old and had read the Book of Documents for most of his life. Even his thoughts had been transformed into the shape of Confucianism from the inside out.

These outrageous words made Yang Biao's heart waver and he was at a loss.

The crisis of life and death is right in front of us. How can it be easy to die bravely and with dignity?
Yang Biao did not have such courage, otherwise he would not have turned a blind eye when Dong Zhuo caused chaos in the capital.

"Father, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Moreover, Marquis Qi did not ban Confucianism, but just broke the previous monopoly. As long as we join it, our Yang family may not have no chance. If we don't join, we will definitely have no chance!"

"Father, please think again!"

…………

A few days later, General Wei’s Mansion brought more good news.

In the conference room, Wang Jing clapped his hands and laughed, obviously in a good mood.

Beside him, three counselors, Xun You, Jia Xu and Li Ru, also congratulated him and said, "Congratulations, lord. If we take down the Hongnong Yang family, the situation in Luoyang will surely be as stable as Mount Tai."

In ancient China, it was difficult for imperial power to extend down to the county and township levels, and this was especially true during the Yan and Han dynasties.

Not to mention the numerous feudal states, even in the counties directly under the imperial court, local politics was often controlled by local wealthy families and aristocratic families through the system of recommendation.

Without the help of these local rich lords, what good would a powerful man like Dong Zhuo do?

Unable to collect taxes, without money or food, the only option left was to rob.

However, when the army starts to rob, it will lose the support of the local people and become a group of bandits without fighting spirit and honor. The final outcome will inevitably be a rapid defeat.

Wang Jing used various means, only threatening but not killing, because he knew that killing would not solve the problem.

In history, Dong Zhuo killed Yuan Wei's entire family, but it served no purpose other than venting his anger. Instead, it made the remaining members of the Yuan family more determined to rebel, and they tried their best to kill Dong Zhuo.

For example, Yuan Wei's eldest son Yuan Yin went to Yuan Shu after Yuan Wei's death, and then used the Yuan family's resources and did his best to support Sun Jian in defeating Dong Zhuo.

With the previous example of Fatty Dong, Wang Jing naturally knew that he could not easily touch court ministers like Yuan Wei, Yang Biao and Huang Wan. Instead, he kept putting pressure on them until they could no longer withstand the pressure and chose to surrender.

Now with the surrender of Huang Wan and Yang Biao, at least collecting grain and taxes from the land under the rule will become much easier. Otherwise, to support tens of thousands of troops, one really can only rely on burning, killing and looting.

With money and food, we can not only train troops, but also stabilize the court and develop the local economy.

Of course, it is impossible to make a country rich and strong by relying solely on farming. If you want to make money and develop, agriculture is only the foundation, and industry is the pillar.

Therefore, Wang Jing attached great importance to the development of handicrafts. It happened that a large number of craftsmen gathered in Luoyang, and Wang Jing's support for Mohism attracted a large number of Mohists to come and join him, which led to a rapid increase in workshops in Luoyang.

It just so happened that Qiqiao Pavilion had recently expanded and Lu Fang had just invested a large amount of money to build a new factory in Mengjin Port. Wang Jing had nothing to do, so he wanted to take a look.

He immediately called the guards and went to find Lu Fang in person.

At this moment, Mengjin Port is a scene of bustling prosperity.

Outside an iron workshop in Qiqiao Pavilion, there was a long queue of several hundred people formed in the hottest weather. Many traveling merchants in simple clothes gathered outside the door and looked inside with eager expectations in their eyes and a hint of anxiety between their brows.

The sun above was getting bigger and bigger, making people sweat profusely, but the waiting customers still refused to leave.

This bustling scene is enough to show how popular Qiqiaoge's products are among the people today. It can be said that the supply is in short supply.

"Next, card number 108, 80 pairs of scissors, please go to warehouse number 2 to pick up the goods."

The waiter who was in charge of receiving the guests stood in the crowd and shouted loudly at the top of his voice.

The one holding the number 108 was a middle-aged man in linen clothes. He was wearing a pair of leather boots with his toes sticking out. But at this moment, he jumped three feet high with joy, as if he had picked up money: "Haha, mine, mine! It's finally my turn!"

He excitedly followed to Warehouse No. 2 to pick up the goods he had ordered earlier.

In the large square wooden box, there was hay as a cushion, and on top of it were eighty pairs of iron scissors.

"After we have counted the items clearly, we will settle the payment."

"Yes, yes. I'll pay for it right away."

The customer paid the balance neatly and walked out of the door happily with the big box in his arms, muttering in his heart: "The quality of the scissors produced by Qiqiao Pavilion is really good, and they are sold so cheaply. As long as I work harder and sell them in the countryside, the profit can at least double or triple. This time I will really make a fortune!"

(End of this chapter)