"Father, what are you hesitating about?"
Seeing that his father Cui Hong remained silent, Cui Erlang became somewhat anxious.
Cui Erlang has had a very difficult time these past few months.
He was once the commander of the Imperial Guard, and although he could not be said to be second only to the emperor, he still held real power.
The Imperial Guards were the emperor's henchmen, responsible for monitoring all officials.
They were directly loyal to the emperor and wielded immense power.
If you want to frame a powerful minister, you can basically succeed.
Although the reputation of the interior defenders isn't good, they have power.
For a man, especially a scion of a prominent family, the word "power" is incredibly important.
After Helian Jue ascended the throne, he took swift and decisive action, directly dismissing the Imperial Guards.
Cui Erlang originally intended to use the inner guards to carry out a major overthrow of the imperial power and gain greater power for himself and his family.
Who would have thought that his attempt to steal a chicken would backfire so badly!
Cui Erlang was completely rendered useless and abandoned by the Cui family.
yes!
He was a member of the Cui family, but for a top-tier aristocratic family like the Cui family, the one thing they never lacked was people!
Not to mention the entire clan, just in Cui Hong's branch, Cui Erlang had more than a dozen brothers (both biological brothers and cousins).
But that's all the family resources can offer.
With too many monks and too little porridge, competition is inevitable.
The reason why Cui Erlang disregarded the dignity of his aristocratic family and was selected for the Inner Guard as a member of a noble family was because he could not obtain better resources within his own family.
With the fall of the inner guards, Cui Erlang lost his power and was once again abandoned by his family.
Cui Erlang was unwilling to accept this; he couldn't bear the fall from a high place to a low place, so he began to scheme and plot.
He has become somewhat obsessed with power.
"The Yellow Sect is nothing but a rabble!"
Cui Hong, the Prime Minister, was of noble birth and held a high position of power. Naturally, he looked down on those who used superstitious tricks to deceive the people.
"Father, the leader of the Yellow Sect was from the previous dynasty—"
Before he could utter the words "royal family," Cui Erlang swallowed them back under Cui Hong's mocking gaze.
A member of the former imperial family?
Heh, they're just fooling the ignorant masses.
Of course, it could also be true.
But so what?
Over the past two hundred years, the world has been divided and countless ambitious figures have come and gone.
The speed at which dynasties changed was so fast that it was almost overwhelming.
It's common for emperors to change three or four times every fifty years.
To put it jokingly, there have been an unusually large number of so-called "veterans of three dynasties" in recent years.
It's not that there were many ministers who were healthy and long-lived and whose political careers lasted, but rather that the emperor died too quickly.
For example, in the Northern Dynasties, three dynasties had changed hands in less than a hundred years.
The Southern Dynasties were also very lively.
Both sides combined, there were several families of the "former imperial family".
"The Marquis of Anle! The Marquis of Yongle! There are two members of the former dynasty's remnants right here in the capital!"
Cui Hong's tone was clearly contemptuous as he spoke.
Compared to these "royal families" who rose to power through rebellion, these aristocratic families were the truly noble ones!
"..."
Cui Erlang himself was from a prominent family, so he could understand his father's pride and disdain.
He hesitated for a moment, but in order to persuade his father, he finally voiced his deepest suspicion: “Father, I... I suspect that the Yellow Sect has some connection with Marquis Anle or Marquis Yongle!”
Cui Hong: ...This counts as a secret?
They all claim to be "former royals".
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the only publicly known members of the former imperial family were the Marquis of Anle and the Marquis of Yongle.
One was the Chen family, the royal family of the Southern Dynasties, and the other was the Yuwen family, the royal family of the Northern Dynasties.
etc!
Yuwen clan?
Yuwen Hao?
Recently, Yuwen Hao, a renowned scholar, has been enjoying considerable success.
In July, a large-scale operation to enter Beijing nearly turned the city into a deserted city.
In August, he participated in the autumn imperial examination presided over by the Empress in a high-profile manner and won the top prize, becoming a veritable spokesperson for the imperial examination.
Now it's September, and the political landscape in the capital is shifting rapidly. The Yellow Sect is resurfacing. Is there a conflict between Yuwen Hao and the Yellow Sect—?
"Erlang, have you ever met the leader of the Yellow Sect?"
Cui Hong remained calm and continued to try to get information out of his son.
When Cui Erlang saw that his father was no longer "disdainful", hope immediately arose in his heart.
Perhaps this time, his family will see his potential and be willing to give him some support.
With the support of his family and the grassroots strength of the Yellow Sect, Cui Erlang might be able to regain control of the government.
Cui Erlang was so eager to return to his peak that he became impatient, twisted, and insane.
However, at this moment, facing his father, Cui Erlang still had to suppress all his negative emotions and try his best to show his best side.
He answered enthusiastically, "Father, if the Cui family is willing to form an alliance with the Yellow Sect, I can make demands of the sect leader!"
What he didn't say was that he had indeed met the leader of the Yellow Sect, but the leader always wore a mask.
At that time, he was just an abandoned son of the Cui family, with only a few loyal remnants of the inner guards by his side.
Although he became the leader, he didn't really have many trump cards up his sleeve.
If his father relents and agrees to cooperate with the Yellow Sect, then Cui Erlang will become the representative of the Cui family, and his status will be greatly elevated.
When they meet again, he can ask the leader of the Yellow Sect to be "frank" with him.
Cui Hong stared at his son, who had suddenly become excited, and sighed inwardly.
"Alright! Then you will represent the Cui family and make contact with the Yellow Sect!"
"I need to find out their entire plan!"
Cui Hong spoke casually, seemingly making a promise, but without saying anything substantial!
Old foxes like Cui Hong are like that; they won't act until they see the benefits.
He would never act rashly without absolute certainty.
The sage is probably in serious trouble.
However, based on nearly a year of observation, Cui Hong and other senior members of the council have also discovered that:
The Emperor and Empress, this supreme couple, were not easy to deal with.
Helian Jue is domineering and autocratic, while Xie Yuan is forceful and cunning.
This couple suddenly abandoned the entire capital city. Was it because the situation was truly dire and they were too busy to take care of themselves, or were they deliberately setting a trap to lure people in?
It must be said that Helian Jue and Xie Yuan's numerous clashes with the aristocratic families all ended in victory, which made the aristocratic families somewhat wary.
They might not submit as completely as the Fourth Prince, but they also wouldn't act rashly.
A single hair can affect the whole body.
They are not individuals; they are backed by a vast family.
In recent years, the capital has been in turmoil, and the powerful families have been sorted out time and time again.
Leaving aside the families exiled by the late emperor, there have been quite a few families sent by the sage to Chang'an to build a new city in just the past few months.
Although the Cui, Wang, Zheng, and Li families were all first-class noble families with large and prosperous businesses, they could not withstand the repeated "pruning" by the sage.
I want Erlang to go and scout ahead; if it's feasible, we'll give it a try.
If that doesn't work, then use Erlang and Huangjiao as a "pledge of allegiance" to get closer to the Emperor and Empress!
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