Chapter 98: The Troubled Times Arrive

"Heh!" Su Fan sneered, not caring at all about Yuwen Huaji's angry glare and reprimand.

Although the two were father and son, in reality, Su Fan's predecessor and Yuwen Huaji had a very poor relationship.

Su Fan naturally knew from his memories that it was because of the original body's mother; the original body's mother had died because of Yuwen Huaji, and later Yuwen Huaji had taken a new wife, which made him hate him even more.

Therefore, in the Yuwen family, although the two were father and son, they were like enemies. Of course, it was the original body who hated Yuwen Huaji.

As for what Yuwen Huaji felt, his mood must have been very complicated. As for hating his son, that was absolutely impossible; even if he were evil, a tiger would not eat its own cubs.

After Su Fan descended, he did not hate Yuwen Huaji; he just treated him as a stranger.

That was why his tone was like this.

"Pfft! Father actually still respects Yang Guang."

"Heh! It's a huge joke. Do you really think I don't know anything?" Su Fan sneered repeatedly.

By now, the Yuwen family had long since taken action. Yang Guang had brought tens of thousands of elites, and it was likely that one-fifth of them were already under the control of the Yuwen family.

"He, Yang Guang, has long since become a joke. A master of the Great Sui, now reduced to running to Yangzhou to feel safe—what kind of master of the Great Sui is he?"

"He is ambitious but lacks talent. If he had one-tenth of the ability of Emperor Wen, he wouldn't have fallen to this point. The Yang clan has abandoned him, and as far as I know, the Demonic Sect has also abandoned him."

"And Father, you are probably also pondering how to raise an army and rebel, right?"

Su Fan's words left Yuwen Huaji shocked.

"You..."

"You rebellious son, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Although Yuwen Huaji had thoughts of rebellion, he had not fully acted on them yet. He did not know how Su Fan knew, and for him to just say it out loud like that made him look around repeatedly.

"Heh! Now the whole world is rebelling. Does Father having this thought really require guessing?"

"Not to mention the Yuwen Clan, which of the Li Clan or the Song Clan doesn't have this idea? Otherwise, how could Lin Shihong, Du Fuwei, and Wagang have such great momentum?"

Lin Shihong was in the south; if not for the connivance of the Song Clan, could he have made such a name for himself? Even if he was a disciple of the Yinkui Sect, so what? Would the Song Clan fear the Yinkui Sect?

Of course not.

It was merely to use Lin Shihong to strike at the dignity of the Great Sui imperial court.

It was just like the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty. For several years before Zhang Jiao started the uprising, could so many capable people not see the danger of the Taiping Dao?

If they couldn't see it, then they were truly too useless.

It was just that many people saw it but didn't say anything, while some said it but were suppressed firmly, all for the sake of letting the Yellow Turban uprising happen.

The Great Sui today was the same. Many of the various rebel armies were able to develop so quickly because those aristocratic clans had deliberately caused it.

If it were during the time of Emperor Wen, anyone who dared to act sneakily behind his back would certainly have suffered a great blow.

Some of these aristocratic clans did it for their own ambition, while others did it for profit.

Su Fan's words left Yuwen Huaji and the others speechless. They all understood; not to mention the distant ones, Du Fuwei was able to develop so quickly because, in addition to his own ability, the Yuwen family had also given him a push behind the scenes.

Previously, Yang Guang had sent people to suppress him, suppressing him several times. Sometimes Du Fuwei had even been defeated and destroyed, but he just wouldn't die. After surviving, he would gather a group of subordinates again and recover quickly.

It was just that now, Du Fuwei's strength had expanded to a point that even the Yuwen family found surprising; they had played it a bit too recklessly.

Of course, Yuwen Huaji would certainly not admit it.

"Chengji, you don't favor the Yang clan?" Yuwen Shang suddenly said. Even if Yang Guang was a waste, the Yang clan was not finished.

"Favor them? So what if I don't? What does it have to do with me? Besides, the Yang clan is indeed still there, but the foundation of the Great Sui has already been pried open. All sides of the world are restless. Unless the Yang clan produces another Emperor Wen, the world will fall into a state of contention for hegemony. Whoever can reach the top will depend on whose methods are superior and whose strength is stronger."

Su Fan said indifferently.

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Shang fell silent. He knew that Su Fan's words were indeed true. Now the Yang clan's territory was still there, but all other sides were restless. He knew that the Li Clan in the north had long since had such thoughts.

Yang Guang being trapped in the north—wasn't that caused by the Li Clan and those aristocratic clans of Longyou?

Yuwen Shang even knew clearly that the Buddhist Sect had already made contact with the Li Clan.

There was no need to mention the Song Clan. Even during the time of Emperor Wen of Sui, with his heroic talent and bold strategy, he could not suppress the Song Clan and eventually had to grant them a dukedom, allowing them to secede in Lingnan.

It could be said that among the four great clans, in terms of strength, the Song Clan should be the most powerful. The Song Clan itself had previously been a regional warlord.

For so many years, although the imperial court had intentionally or unintentionally suppressed them, it had not had much effect on them.

Because Lingnan was too far from the center of the imperial court. Besides that, there were some aristocratic clans that had also entered the fray; some supported them in secret, while others were preparing to enter the fray themselves.

"Then what do you think our Yuwen Clan should do?"

Yuwen Shang naturally understood Yuwen Huaji's ambition, but deep down, he did not favor this son of his.

Although Yuwen Huaji's strength was not bad, in the entire Jianghu, it really did not count for much. As for ability, Yuwen Shang did not favor him even more; he was no different from that Yang Guang.

In Yuwen Shang's eyes, Yuwen Huaji was no different from Yang Guang—empty ambition and mediocre ability.

In the original timeline, the reason he did not take action to help Yuwen Huaji was that once he took action, it represented the entire Yuwen Clan supporting Yuwen Huaji. Then, if they failed, the Yuwen Clan would receive a thunderous blow, and might even be destroyed.

If he did not take action, even if Yuwen Huaji failed, they would only lose a portion.

As for this grandson of his, Yuwen Shang had paid a lot of attention to him over the years. He understood the changes in Wu Jun better than Yuwen Huaji and the others.

He knew that this grandson of his had much greater ability than his father.

His grandson had developed in Wu Jun using almost none of the Yuwen Clan's power; at most, he had borrowed the Yuwen Clan's name to act like a fox assuming the majesty of a tiger.

Now, in many places in the south, the prosperity of Wu Jun was no worse than that of Jiangdu.

The reason he asked was also to see what this grandson of his thought. If his grandson wanted to contend for hegemony over the world, then he would support him.

After all, there was already a foundation in Wu Jun. If they added Jiangdu and other places, then the Yuwen family would use this as a foundation, and it would absolutely be no worse than the Song Clan and the others.

Regarding the Song Clan and the Li Clan, although Yuwen Shang was wary of them, he was not afraid.

"Hmm!" Su Fan glanced at this old man. In his eyes, if one were to talk about the greatest ability in the Yuwen family, it was absolutely this old man. Don't look at how he didn't stand out during the time of Emperor Wen; he was absolutely not to be underestimated.

He was usually very low-key.

"Grandfather! You should ask my father this question, whether he wants to replace Yang Guang in his heart."

Su Fan curled his lips.

"Presumptuous!"

Bang! ===== CHAPTER 99 =====