The entire Tang Dynasty had a few days of peace. No one, including the Tubo Prime Minister Lu Dongzan, caused trouble during these days. He also heard the news that Li Xiang was going to fight with several aristocratic families. It was said that he was defeated very badly this time, so he had a few rare days of peace.
The other major families were celebrating their victory, believing they had finally won their first victory over Li Xiang. "Haven't you always plotted against us before? Now we've finally outmaneuvered you. While you possess a large quantity of high-quality salt, without salt permits, you can't market it. If you dare break the rules, we'll wage war on all fronts, and the imperial court won't be able to control you."
Unlike the other major families, the three people from the Cui family basically did not go out. Except for Cui Yunzhu who went to the yamen to do business, the three of them were at home thinking of solutions, or how to make a choice.
Li Xiang's ultimatum has been issued. According to their understanding of Li Xiang, there must be a result in the next few days. If there is no result, that guy will probably make new moves, and we may not be able to withstand it by then.
"Our Cui family is truly wronged. In this matter, we are purely a subordinate position, and we are not the main force. But why did His Royal Highness choose us? We really can't explain it even if we jump into the Yellow River."
After thinking for a long time, Cui Yunzhu's head was about to explode, but he didn't know how to choose. Both options seemed to have disadvantages. Maintaining the current situation was the best, but Li Xiang came in person and made such a big fuss. Can he let you maintain the current situation?
"It's normal for him to come to us. If I were him, I would choose to negotiate with the strongest. Among the Five Clans and Seven Families, we are the most powerful. Even if he finds other partners, if we raise our arms, their alliance will collapse. Only the combination of us and them can intimidate the old families."
Cui Yuncheng's words were tenable. Although he also wanted to cooperate with Li Xiang, there were not many people in the family who supported him at the moment. After Li Xiang left that day, they wrote a letter back to the family about the situation here. The three of them also wanted to see what the family's attitude was, and they estimated that the letter should have been sent back.
"So you're inclined to cooperate with him? But didn't you say before? If you cooperate with him, he'll eat you up completely in the end."
Cui Yunzhu said cautiously that in terms of intelligence, no one in the family is as good as his cousin. Master Cui San is the brain of the previous generation, and the brains of two generations of the Cui family are here.
"But if you don't cooperate with him, I'm afraid you'll be spineless before that day comes. Look at all the things he has done. Is there even one thing he did that showed his softness?"
After Cui Yuncheng finished speaking, Cui Yunzhu also nodded. Anyone who is an enemy of Li Xiang will not have a good ending now. First it was King of Han Li Yuanchang, then it was King of Wei Li Tai, and later even the emperor's people were beaten. You can imagine what kind of character this kid has. If we don't cooperate with him, his olive branch has been extended, and you don't accept it, it's your fault.
"Third Master, someone from the Eastern Palace has sent a letter saying that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to meet you outside the city."
When the three people were thinking about the problem, Li Xiang made his second move. They originally thought that there would be results in the next few days, but there were no results. So they had to put some pressure on them.
Going out of town?
The three of them looked at each other in confusion. It was normal for a man and a woman to go out of the city for an outing and horseback riding. What were we going to do there?
If you want to go hunting, you have to make arrangements in advance. If there is no one to hunt, you won't be able to find a single wild animal outside the city of Chang'an. How could there be so many wild animals for you to hunt? They were all caught in advance and then released.
"To go or not to go?"
Mr. Cui San looked at his two nephews.
"We should go. We only have limited information right now. If we follow him out, whatever he says or what we see will give us more basis for judgment."
They must go, and Cui Yuncheng also reached a consensus with Cui Sanye. Cui Yunzhu next to him did not say anything and immediately arranged for the strong men in his family to follow.
In Chang'an City, no one dared to act recklessly, after all, there were rules and regulations. But if they were outside the city, the experts around Li Xiang were no joke. In addition, these people had been trained on the battlefield, and there were many cases of killing people over a disagreement.
Originally, Li Xiang did not want to reveal his trump card so early, but if he did not expose it, the Cui family would not be able to reach an agreement in such a short time, let alone cooperate with him. While they hesitated, he had to increase the weight on the scale and make them turn over as soon as possible. While the social public opinion is not serious now, Li Xiang must use the salt permits in the hands of the Cui family to defeat the other major families.
Li Xiang did this for another reason. He also knew that it was impossible to defeat the major families in the matter of salt, but he had to crush their fighting will and let them know that there would be no good results in confronting him. After this incident, perhaps these people had an idea in their minds, that is, not to regard Li Xiang as an enemy.
In order to achieve this result, Li Xiang was ready to take out his trump card and let the people of the Cui family see clearly what cards he had in his hand.
The farm of the Eastern Palace?
When they arrived at the meeting place, Master Cui San and the other two looked at each other. They were not going to some beautiful place with mountains and rivers, but to the largest farm outside the city of the Eastern Palace. Part of it was given by the emperor, and the other part was bought by Li Xiang at a high price, making the farm almost 30,000 acres.
The trump card in Li Xiang's hand is food. Among the five surnames and seven families, almost all the major families have their own strong industries. The strong industry of the Cui family is food. Food is the first necessity of the people. Although the Cui family knows that the profit of food is not high, they have the greatest say.
"Your Highness."
Mr. Cui Sanye was still the same, and a slight bow was considered a salute. Cui Yuncheng had to bend a little deeper, and as a court official, Cui Yunzhu naturally had to kneel down, otherwise Li Xiang could use this as an excuse to dismiss him at any time. This was also one of the reasons why the core children of the major families did not serve as officials in the court.
"The conversation we had the other day wasn't very pleasant, but today I have time, so I'd like to invite you all to visit my farm."
Li Xiang pointed to the farm behind him that looked like a military fortress...