Chapter 1348: The Great Family's Atmosphere

By the end of the year, Wang Yan had truly become busy, and in fact, the entire household had become busy.

It wasn't just Princess Yu and others visiting; many other prominent, wealthy families had sent their top representatives, taking advantage of the year-end grand audience to come and engage in shady dealings with Wang Yan.

Some came to build rapport and curry favor, while others came to ask for favors. These were all secondary; there were even a considerable number of scholars from humble backgrounds who didn't return home for the New Year, instead running over to recommend themselves to Wang Yan, hoping to gain his appreciation, become retainers of the Wang family, and work for him.

This was, of course, due to Wang Yan's good reputation, as he had hired many scholars from humble backgrounds as teachers to train the children of his tenant farmers, promising them opportunities to become officials in the future.

Even though Yang Jian was already implementing the imperial examination system, the power of the wealthy, prominent families remained very strong. The imperial examinations only selected a portion of officials, and the remaining quotas were still controlled by these wealthy families, who could still recommend and arrange appointments.

Wang Yan was not from a wealthy, prominent family, but he was already a truly wealthy man, a firm lackey of the Imperial House, the Crown Prince's top aide, and the War God of the Great Sui. Naturally, he also had the qualifications to arrange positions for people.

As for those scholars from humble backgrounds whom he had previously tricked into teaching the tenant farmers, after the destruction of the Tujue, he had arranged for them to become officials in the grasslands. Firstly, to fulfill his promise, and secondly, to deepen his control over the grasslands.

With this, plus his influence over the Tujue troops and the Great Sui border armies, to a certain extent, he had considerable influence over military and political affairs from Bingzhou to the grasslands.

To put it bluntly, things he agreed to might not necessarily succeed, but things he disagreed with would certainly not succeed. However, he was a lackey of the Imperial House, so there was never a time he disagreed, but that influence was simply there.

To be more specific, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang in Taiyuan, also had to rely on the breath of Wang Mou...

It was also because he truly got things done and arranged for so many scholars from humble backgrounds that his reputation among them was quite good. In estates everywhere, scholars from humble backgrounds would take the initiative to come and apply for teaching positions.

Among them, the direct and courageous ones came straight to Daxing to recommend themselves.

Wang Yan's attitude toward them was still very good; he met with everyone who came, invited everyone to eat, drank a couple of cups with them, and chatted for a while. He arranged work for some, while for others, he didn't, explaining that positions were limited and they would have to wait a little longer.

The number of positions he could actually influence was not large, and the number of places he could arrange was also very small, as the wealthy, prominent families were all restricting his development. However, he could always arrange a few; for those he couldn't, he still had his commercial enterprises, and he could spend money to build schools in the localities, letting these people go and be teachers, and arranging positions for them when there was an opportunity.

In general, it was impossible to satisfy everyone, but the scholars from humble backgrounds also knew Wang Yan's situation and were, for the most part, understanding.

They actually also knew that even if they became officials, the road ahead would not be easy and would require bowing and scraping all the way. After all, Wang Yan was a ready-made example; of course, Wang Yan didn't bow and scrape, but that was exactly why Wang Yan was collectively ostracized by the wealthy, prominent families.

Fortunately, Wang Yan himself was awesome and had a value that made his existence necessary, and at the same time, neither dark nor underhanded tricks worked on him, which was how he maintained his transcendent status in the imperial court—he feared no one, dared to provoke anyone, and yet remained unscathed.

However, it was precisely because of this that scholars from humble backgrounds who defected to Wang Yan could at least guarantee their safety. There would come a day when Wang Yan would hold the reins of the central government, and there would also come a day when they would rise to prominence.

Even for those who weren't arranged with work, the treatment Wang Yan provided was known to be good. To sum it up: no matter what they did, as long as they followed Wang Yan, there would be meat to eat.

And that was still the saying, meat to eat in the literal sense. After developing for so many years, regardless of how the wealthy, prominent families slandered Wang Yan, the meat supply for the entire Great Sui was in Wang Yan's hands. The prices of chicken, duck, goose, pork, beef, and mutton were falling year by year...

Besides these people coming to find Wang Yan, there were also some of Wang Yan's old subordinates and some people who had been helped by him, all coming to express their loyalty.

In addition, there was the Wang family's massive commercial empire, scattered throughout all parts of the Great Sui. The shopkeepers selected to be responsible for various different regions also came to Daxing City to pay their respects to the head of the family, listen to the latest instructions, make plans for the coming year, and so on. Of course, it was mainly Xiao Mei who was in contact with these people; Wang Yan merely showed his face to eat and drink with them and offer some encouragement.

The work of intimidating and disciplining people was all done by Xiao Mei, and she had deep control over these people. When it came to playing mind games and manipulating people, Xiao Mei was an expert...

With people coming and going to pay their respects to the Wang family, for a time, the Wang family truly had the atmosphere of a great family.

Others saw all these things in their eyes; it was also their first time witnessing the Wang family being so lively, and they also felt the power of the Wang family today.

Because of Wang Yan's own strength, people were always accustomed to ignoring the forces Wang Yan controlled. Wang Yan was a super-wealthy merchant and an invincible War God. To the commoners, the humble scholars, and the soldiers in the ranks, he was a figure like Lord Mengchang; he was willing to spend money, he risked his life to save his soldiers, he gave many people opportunities, and he led many people to live good lives.

At this moment, they finally realized that Wang Yan actually already possessed such might...

However, Li Yuan had realized this very early on.

On this day, Wang Yan was summoned to the Eastern Palace, where he met Li Yuan and Li Shimin.

"Ziyan has come."

"Greetings to the Duke of Danyang." Li Yuan greeted him sensibly, and Li Shimin, who was by his side, also bowed.

Wang Yan returned the greeting with a smile and said, "You are a Duke of the State, and I am a Duke of the Commandery; it should be me paying my respects to you."

"The Duke of Danyang is joking. You are brave and invincible, having destroyed the Tujue; your merits are great. Reasonably and logically, it is I who should pay my respects to the Duke of Danyang."

"Alright, you two don't need to be so polite." Yang Guang waved his hand and said with a smile, "I called you over because the Duke of Tang also wants to participate in maritime trade. You take them along to play; is there any problem?"

Wang Yan bowed his hands decisively and replied, "Your Highness is scolding me again. Just give the order; whatever Your Highness says, I will do. Speaking of maritime trade, there is another piece of good news recently that I haven't reported to Your Highness yet."

"Oh? Have you found new land again?"

"Your Highness truly holds all affairs of the world in your grasp." Wang Yan nodded with a smile. "Just to the east of our Divine Land, at the end of the East Sea, there is a new piece of land. It is said that they found gold mines and iron mines, and the land there is flat. They also brought back many seeds, which have already been arranged for trial planting when spring arrives."

"Good." Yang Guang clapped his hands happily. "Is there any country there that can rival my Great Sui?"

"No, my Great Sui is invincible in the universe." Wang Yan said categorically.

"Hahaha~"

Yang Guang laughed wildly, and so Wang Yan, Li Yuan, and Li Shimin all accompanied him with laughter, and Li Yuan even said nice things to flatter him.

He waved his hand with satisfaction. "Send people over quickly to see what the situation is there, and if there is anything else that can be used by me."

"Yes, Your Highness. After the New Year, I will gather the wealthy, prominent families and let them accompany us to set out and build ports there. At this time, they should contribute more; we can't be the only ones bleeding and suffering."

"Exactly, exactly. It is time for them to play their part. Isn't that right, Duke of Tang?"

Facing Yang Guang's smiling inquiry, Li Yuan nodded repeatedly. "It should be so. Duke of Danyang, once my family organizes a fleet, we will act together with the Duke of Danyang's fleet. We don't ask to earn much; we only ask to be able to expand the territory for my Great Sui and bring all the good things in the universe back to the land of my Great Sui."

"You are wrong, Duke of Tang. As the saying goes, 'Under the vast heaven, there is no land that is not the King's; to the borders of the earth, there is no one who is not the King's subject.' Where is there any land that is not the land of my Great Sui?"

"Yes, yes, yes, the Duke of Danyang is right; the whole world is the land of my Great Sui."

And so Yang Guang laughed loudly again, extremely satisfied.

There was no doubt that Li Yuan had come to submit to Yang Guang, and Yang Guang had accepted Li Yuan's submission, which was why he had called Wang Yan over to take Li Yuan along to earn money overseas.

Yang Guang had always been dissatisfied with Li Yuan. During the destruction of Chen, Li Yuan had killed Zhang Lihua, which Yang Guang had taken to heart. So he found an opportunity to frame Li Yuan, drove him out of Daxing, and sent him to Taiyuan, while also sending people to intercept and kill him, only for him to be saved by Qin Qiong.

At present, the Great Sui was in its prime, and Yang Guang's prestige was growing daily. Li Yuan felt like he had a bone stuck in his throat and thorns on his back, sitting and standing in unease. Plus, Yang Jian's health was deteriorating day by day, and Li Yuan finally made up his mind to come and bow to Yang Guang.

In fact, Yang Guang calling Wang Yan over had another meaning, which was to tell him not to make things difficult for Li Yuan in Taiyuan in the future.

Yang Guang had stayed in Taiyuan, and Wang Yan had also served as a General of the Agile Cavalry there. Don't look at the fact that the Prince of Han, Yang Liang, was also there; none of them were capable. The power there was still held in Yang Guang's hands to this day. Wang Yan's prestige had not dissipated to this day, and those there were all his old subordinates.

Even if the troops were scattered after the war and the officers were sent to other units, there were always some who remained. Moreover, Wang Yan's influence did not come from the officers, but from the soldiers in the ranks. Even without officers, if he sent someone over, he could incite the soldiers to mutiny, not to mention that there were still quite a few officers there who were loyal to him.

Therefore, Li Yuan's days there were not good either; he was truly walking on thin ice, trembling with fear.

Now that he had run over to bow to Yang Guang, Wang Yan could see that although Li Yuan was still quite unaccustomed and awkward, he had already relaxed.

Li Shimin didn't say much on the side; he smiled when others spoke, laughed along when others laughed, and had been silently observing the whole time.

Wang Yan could feel that Li Shimin was analyzing and judging, studying what kind of players Yang Guang and he, Wang Mou, were.

Unfortunately, the current Li Shimin was still very immature, and even if he were the Heavenly Khan of the future, he wouldn't be able to analyze Wang Yan. And Yang Guang was like a dog's face, his joy and anger unpredictable, and Li Shimin couldn't tell the difference either.

Wang Yan stayed for a meal, and everyone engaged in mutual flattery. The matter passed just like that, and everyone would be on the same front in the future...

A few more days passed, and it was finally time for the year-end grand audience.

The vassal kings from various places, except for those with official duties, basically all came if they could. It was also at this time that Wang Yan saw Yang Jian after a long absence.

He was the Minister of the Court of Agriculture, so of course, he had to participate in the grand audience on the first and fifteenth of every month. However, it was precisely because he was the Minister of the Court of Agriculture that he used official business as an excuse to take a large group of children out for inspections for quite a while, and after taking office as the Minister of the Court of Agriculture, he had basically never seen Yang Jian.

Others were also happy that he didn't come to court, saving him from expressing any opinions or pointing at anyone's nose and scolding them again. Although when attending court, everyone would engage in physical altercations if they got anxious, it was clear that Wang Yan was different.

Coupled with the fact that there were no military actions on ordinary days, and even if there were, it hadn't reached the point of mobilizing Wang Yan, so everyone had tacitly ignored Wang Yan.

It was only when the end of the year arrived and the residence of the Duke of Danyang was bustling like a marketplace that everyone remembered him again and began to inquire about and study Wang Yan's current power.

Of course, when they met Wang Yan, they were all smiling.

Wang Yan's position was already very high now, but at the grand audience, he still fell into the middle position. Because all the various kings from outside had come, his position as a Duke of the Commandery was not very conspicuous.

However, Wang Yan didn't care. He folded his hands in his sleeves, sat cross-legged on one side, and happened to have a good spot with a pillar of the great hall right beside him, so he leaned lazily against the pillar.

In the field, reports were being made, talking about the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people's livelihood, boasting about Yang Jian's achievements.

And Yang Jian was sitting high on the dragon throne, overlooking his empire.

Wang Yan had good eyesight and could clearly see Yang Jian's complexion; it was an abnormal flush, his eyes were already quite sunken, he had become much thinner, his lips were dry, and his breathing was uneven.

It was said that in the summer of this year, Yang Jian had favored the Princess of Chen, that is, Lady Xuanhua. Because of this matter, Dugu Qieluo had a conflict with Yang Jian, and Dugu Qieluo's health was also not good.

Wang Yan hadn't seen his mother-in-law for a long time, but Qionghua often brought the children into the palace to talk. She told Wang Yan that Dugu Qieluo's health was also deteriorating day by day, and her stubborn illness was hard to cure.

According to Wang Yan's judgment, this couple, Yang Jian and Dugu Qieluo, basically wouldn't make it past next year.

Dugu Qieluo's death was no problem, but Yang Jian's death was purely Wang Yan's fault. After all, he had helped Yang Guang ascend to the position of Crown Prince three years early, and Yang Guang was also ruthless, directly starting to poison his own father, which led to Yang Jian also dying a bit earlier.

Of course, the main reason was still Yang Guang's fault, and it had nothing to do with Wang Yan. He, Wang Mou, was loyal and devoted, absolutely a loyal official of the Great Sui...

After participating in the grand audience, there was the imperial banquet during the New Year, followed by the grand audience on the fifteenth, plus lantern viewing and other activities. After all this, the new year began.

The vassal kings from various routes left, the Great Sui court continued to operate, and Wang Yan's life returned to its original track once again.

He devoted himself to leading the Court of Agriculture, which had expanded a bit, to conduct agricultural research, planting crops such as chili peppers, peanuts, potatoes, and corn brought back from across the ocean, and also improving other seeds.

In order to carry out the work, he also transferred a portion of his own family's manpower over, rather than researching in two separate places. He still had a good understanding; there was no need to divide it so clearly, after all, they would all be his in the future.

The country was still considered peaceful, and the lingering prestige of the destruction of the Tujue remained, but the four barbarians were hard to change their evil nature and began to test and look for trouble again. Some small-scale conflicts broke out on the border, but they were not taken seriously by the Great Sui, which just sent Shi Your Majesty, who went bitterly to the west to fight the Tuyuhun.

At present, they still had to solve the Baiyue and Lingnan in the south. Once the south was stabilized and the country had accumulated enough money, grain, soldiers, armor, and military equipment, that would be the time for another war in the north.

At present, the court officials still had an understanding of this. As long as Wang Yan ate well, drank well, and kept his body in good shape, once the country had saved enough money, just sending Wang Yan to the battlefield would be enough. He might not necessarily destroy the country, but he would certainly win a great victory.

Therefore, the country was stable again, with only waves of political struggles, mainly Yang Guang stirring things up to exclude dissenters and suppress the wealthy, prominent families.

These storms couldn't reach Wang Yan; his existence was already the trump card in Yang Guang's hands. As long as he was given military power, the four directions would immediately submit, and whatever Yang Guang said would be the law.

However, it was clear that in view of Wang Yan's might, Yang Jian and Yang Guang were also tacitly suppressing Wang Yan.

Wang Yan didn't care; he honestly did business, farmed, raised pigs, and secretly fenced off land everywhere. The wealthy, prominent families also pretended not to see it, following him to make a fortune overseas and earning back massive wealth, which made everyone happy.

The peace lasted until September, when Dugu Qieluo died.

However, the feigned grief of everyone hadn't lasted even two months when, on the evening of November 10th, Yang Guang urgently summoned Wang Yan, ordering him to lead his subordinates, don armor, and hold weapons to go to the Eastern Palace.

On this day, Daxing had a heavy snowfall...

?? Daily thanks to the good brothers who tipped, voted with monthly tickets, recommended tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support!

? (End of chapter)