Chapter 113: Past Events in Kuaiji

"Yi... Yixing Branch Genealogy?" Dai Zhigao had never heard of it, but judging from the name, this should be the genealogy recorded by the branch of the Langya Wang family that moved to Yixing.

Not to mention how obscure such a book is, if it were really a genealogy privately recorded within the family, he wouldn't be able to see it even if he wanted to!

If he had the ability to go to the Wang family to see private genealogies, he wouldn't have to go to such trouble. He would just go to Jiankang, ask the heads of the Langya Wang family for the total genealogy of the entire clan, and then check the branch genealogies according to the map. Then everything would be clear. Would he still need to search for historical materials and verify them painstakingly?

Wang Yang had made it up in the first place. He didn't know if the Wang family in Yixing had compiled any branch genealogies, but anyway, biting the bullet and saying there was such a thing was the right move. Being so far away, and it being the Wang family's internal genealogy, it wouldn't be easy to check even if one wanted to, right? If one could really check every Wang family in Yixing, he would just say it was a genealogy compiled by his own family or an ancient genealogy from the previous dynasty...

No, if one could really check every Wang family in Yixing, then it seems there would be no need to use a genealogy to determine his true or false identity...

The most important thing right now is to make this lie sound plausible!

Wang Yang looked down at Dai Zhigao and asked, "Do you know who the second son of my ancestor Wang Youjun is?"

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes full of contempt and arrogance.

Under the pressure of Wang Yang's momentum, Dai Zhigao became increasingly restless, and his voice lost its previous confidence: "It's... Wang Ning—"

"Hmm?" Wang Yang's eyes turned cold.

Dai Zhigao did not dare to call his ancestor's name directly, changing to Wang Ningzhi's courtesy name: "It's Wang Shuping."

"How many sons did he have?" Wang Yang's voice was majestic.

"This..."

Dai Zhigao could not answer.

Although he studied genealogy, he was not an expert on the Langya Wang family. Although he had specifically verified it to check Wang Yang's identity, as far as he knew, Wang Ningzhi and his sons were killed in the Sun En rebellion. Since they were killed, they had no descendants, so they were naturally not in the scope of his investigation.

But others did not know this. His stuttering was inevitably suspected of being unprofessional.

This was the effect Wang Yang wanted. He said with contempt, "You can't even answer this? What kind of genealogy are you studying?"

Dai Zhigao wiped his sweat and hesitated: "It seems there is a daughter, married to the Yingchuan Yu family."

Wang Yang sneered: "I asked you about his sons, and you tell me about his daughter. Forget it, I'll tell you directly, he had four sons."

Dai Zhigao vaguely remembered the scattered information and immediately said: "Yes, it seems there were four sons."

His intention was to prove that he was not completely ignorant, but he did not know that in the eyes of others, it confirmed the reliability of Wang Yang's statement.

Wang Yang continued to lower Dai Zhigao's status: "Since you remembered, then I'll ask you again, which four sons were they?"

*Heaven knows which four sons they were! *

Dai Zhigao unconsciously pinched the corner of his clothes with both hands and stumbled:

"Sun... Sun En's rebellion, broke through Kuaiji City, Wang... Wang Shuping and his... four sons were all harmed by the thief soldiers..."

Wang Yang sneered again: "You are indeed an ignorant person! Listen carefully! Shuping Gong had four sons. The eldest son's name is Yunzhi, the second son's name is Pingzhi, the third son's name is Hengzhi, and the fourth son's name is Enzhi, who is also my ancestor..."

Wang Yang avoided reading the ancestor's name in full to avoid taboos. Although everyone was dizzy listening, they felt more and more that Wang Yang's identity as a member of the Langya Wang family did not look fake.

And Dai Zhigao had fine beads of sweat on his forehead, forming a sharp contrast with Wang Yang's confidence.

"In the eleventh month of the third year of Long'an of Jin, Sun En broke the city. Shuping Gong and his eldest son Yunzhi, second son Pingzhi, and third son Hengzhi all died for the country! Only my ancestor went out of the city to hunt and escaped a disaster, and was captured by the thief soldiers two days later. At that time, the Jin court sent the Beifu Army to quell the rebellion. Sun En abducted more than 200,000 men and women and retreated to the sea island. My ancestor was also among them."

Wang Yang's tone was painful. He sighed and continued slowly:

"After Sun En died, the rebel army was headed by Lu Xun. Lu Xun liked to play chess and often played chess with my ancestor. My ancestor moved among them. Although he was not released, he was not killed. Later, Huan Xuan's rebellion broke out, and the Jin court had no time to look south, so they appointed Lu Xun as the Prefect of Guangzhou. Lu Xun wanted to get my ancestor's help, but my ancestor firmly refused, and took this opportunity to persuade Lu Xun to return to goodness."

Wang Yang held his head high, looking like he was proud of his ancestors:

"My ancestor was among the thieves for a long time, and protected many people!! Former Prefect of Guangzhou Wu Yinzhi and Wang Dan, the great-grandson of Wenxian Gong (Wang Dao), were released, and my ancestor had a hand in it!! When Emperor Wu of Song quelled Lu Xun, my ancestor was finally able to return north. It was the spring of the seventh year of Yixi, twelve years since the fall of Kuaiji City!"

Wang Yang looked at Dai Zhigao, his tone slightly pitiful:

"My ancestor was saddened by the old events in Kuaiji and moved to Yixing, settling down for generations. Although he did not communicate with the court officials, many people knew about it! Genealogy, household registration, paintings, and historical biographies all have evidence! You only collected a few old genealogies, yet you dare to talk nonsense and sort out the genealogy of my Langya Wang family! You are truly looking at the sky through a tube, ignorant and fearless!"

Wang Yang had prepared this story long ago.

The story took shape on the way to Jingzhou City for the first time. At that time, he was forced by Captain Xue and Wang Wenshu to visit Wang Tai, a nominal clansman in Shoukang Lane.

Wang Tai was a legitimate member of the Langya Wang family and could not be ignorant of the Wang family's lineage. If he couldn't say a bloodline inheritance that could withstand scrutiny, the exposure would be in the blink of an eye.

So Wang Yang decided to start from the gaps in history. Fortunately, the history he was most familiar with in the Six Dynasties was the Jin Dynasty, so he used the encounter of Wang Ningzhi's family during the Sun En rebellion as a breakthrough. Since it was a war and loss, life and death, rumors and misinformation were easy to make a fuss about. If there were any mistakes, there was room to find excuses to turn around.

At that time, the story was still relatively rough, but it was gradually perfected in Liu Zhao's library, and finally formed today's version.

The beauty of this version is that it is seven parts true and three parts false. Wang Yang seemed to say a lot, but most of them were real history. The fall of Kuaiji, the death of Wang Ningzhi and his sons, Sun En abducting people to the sea, Lu Xun continuing the rebellion, being appointed Prefect of Guangzhou, releasing Wu Yinzhi and Wang Dan, Liu Yu quelling Lu Xun, and even Lu Xun liking to play chess are all verifiable in historical materials.

Wang Yang only changed the fate of Wang Ningzhi's last son, from death to being captured, and then expanded a "Wang Enzhi's Escape."

He integrated his fake family history into these major real historical nodes, just like wrapping a small sand grain in a thick candy coat. Without careful chewing, breaking it apart and rubbing it, no one would know it was a sand grain.

Coupled with Wang Yang's sincere and convincing tone, the time points, place names, personal names, and event details were all clearly stated, and when he talked about "genealogy and household registration," he was even more confident! This made the scholar-officials present, especially those who knew a little about that period of history, compare the historical details they knew with what Wang Yang said, and under the verification, they naturally felt it was more real and credible, and even felt a bit of sigh.

At this time, Dai Zhigao's face was ashen, and his whole body felt like it was falling apart. He tried to straighten his posture, kneel properly, and find back that trace of remaining dignity, but his body simply would not listen to him.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Cheng could not care about his brother's warning of "not being able to take action personally" and stood up directly: "Your Highness, although Brother Wang's identity is reliable, someone has raised doubts after all. I suggest checking the files of Brother Wang's registration in the state and prefectural government, which can be considered as giving Brother Wang justice."

Wang Yang's heart sank.

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Note: ① Some scholars, based on the "Xie Wen Tombstone" unearthed in Sijiashan, said that Wang Ningzhi had another son named "Wang Jianzhi," which is actually not necessarily true. The "Xie Wen Tombstone" is unclear and has many missing texts. Seven characters are missing before "Father's name is Jianzhi," which cannot be used as evidence. The *Taikang Wang Family Genealogy* clearly records Wang Ningzhi's four sons, without the name Jianzhi.

② *Book of Jin: Biography of Wang Ningzhi attached to Biography of Wang Xizhi*: "When Sun En attacked Kuaiji, the aides asked him to prepare. Ningzhi did not follow, but entered the quiet room to pray, and said to the generals and aides: 'I have already asked the Great Dao, and allowed the ghost soldiers to help, the thieves will be broken by themselves.' Since he did not set up equipment, he was harmed by Sun."

*Book of Jin: Biography of Women*: "When encountering the disaster of Sun En, she was calm. After hearing that her husband (Wang Ningzhi) and sons had been harmed by the thieves, she ordered the maid to carry the sedan chair and draw the sword to go out."

*Book of Jin: Biography of Sun En*: "He abducted more than 200,000 men and women and fled into the sea at once. Fearing that the official army would follow, he abandoned treasures and children along the way."

*Book of Jin: Biography of Lu Xun*: "Lu Xun, courtesy name Yuxian... good at grass and clerical scripts, and the art of chess... At that time, the imperial court had just executed the Huan family, and there were many worries inside and outside, so he was temporarily granted the title of General of Conquest, Prefect of Guangzhou, and General of the Middle of the Pacification of the Yue."

*History of the Southern Dynasties: Biography of Wang Dan*: "At that time, the Prefect of Guangzhou Wu Yinzhi was also detained by Xun. Dan said again: 'The General is now keeping Wu Gong, which is not a plan for public or private. Did Sun Bofu not want to keep Hua Ziyu, but because one territory cannot accommodate two monarchs.' So Dan and Yinzhi were both able to return."

*Reading History and Geography: Guangdong 1*: "In the seventh year of Yixi of Jin, Liu Yu and Lu Xun were in a stalemate in Yuzhang, and sent another general, Sun Chu, to go straight to Guangzhou by sea, overturning his nest, and Xun was defeated and died."

What Wang Yang did was similar to the lie deception made by Kevin Spacey in *The Usual Suspects*, except that Spacey based it on the objects in the detective's office and the stickers on the wall, while Wang Yang based it on historical materials scattered in various books.

The reason why high-level deceptions can bewitch people is often that people are easily blinded by its 99% absolute truth, while ignoring the 1% falsehood hidden behind the truth. ===== CHAPTER 114 =====