Chapter 483: Secrets of the Dou Family

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On the Wuguan city wall, Jingzhou Shepherd Dou Rui Guang bowed to Dou Wei.

This Head of the Family of the Dou Family, who held the noble position of Prime Minister of the Great Song, had resided in Jingshi for many years.

Although he did not often return to Jingzhou, everyone in the Dou Family always kept in mind that he was the Head of the Family.

They were respectful and reverent toward him, not daring to overstep their bounds in the slightest.

This included him, the Prefect of Jingzhou.

"Send a trusted subordinate to the Beidi encampment tonight and say that I, Dou, have arrived." Dou Wei looked toward the Beidi army that was still stationed outside Wuguan.

The encampment, which stretched as far as the eye could see, was like white snow extending to the edge of the horizon.

The peace talks had been settled, and it was estimated that the Beidi army would withdraw from Wuguan in these next few days.

He had rushed over in such a hurry precisely to test the intentions of the Beidi.

He believed that the Beidi setting the Border Market at Wuguan was certainly not an unintentional act.

The lucrative profits of the Border Market were not at all inferior to maritime trade.

Although once the Border Market was opened, anyone could participate as long as they obtained the permission of the Imperial Court.

But setting the Border Market outside Wuguan was undoubtedly most beneficial to his Dou Family.

After all, those near the water are the first to see the moon.

"Yes," Dou Rui Guang replied.

As night fell, he dispatched his trusted Personal Guards out of Wuguan.

Although Wuguan was within the sphere of influence of his Dou Family, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

It was best to be careful; this was also the reason Dou Wei chose to do it at night.

The Personal Guards were gone for about an hour before returning from outside the pass.

He immediately brought the message from the Beidi people to see Dou Wei.

"Head of the Family, the Beidi have already sent people to Xiangcheng; Tiemuta will be coming over in these two days," Dou Rui Guang said.

Dou Wei was reading a book under an oil lamp.

He nodded slightly and gestured for Dou Rui Guang to sit down below him.

"At present, the situation is severe for our Dou Family. Yan Wang has risen in Yanzhou and now controls the entire Yanzhou Seven Commanderies."

"The Liang Family dominates the southeast, their ambition is beginning to show, and they have the intention of supporting the Fifth Prince to compete for the throne. The Han Family has formed a private alliance with the Ma Family to assist the Second Prince, and they are not of one mind with our Dou Family."

"Besides this, there is the Xie Family, who have brought in Yan Wang as an external aid. Therefore, although our Dou Family has the support of the Xiao Family, we may not necessarily win steadily among the heirs," Dou Wei said slowly.

Dou Rui Guang nodded. He was a cousin of Dou Wei and deeply trusted by him, which was why he could sit in the position of Prefect.

He was fully aware of Dou Wei's plan to support the Third Prince in ascending the throne.

It was just that in the past, when the Third Prince was still a normal man, supporting him was simple.

In any case, the Third Prince was also a candidate for the heir.

By employing some schemes, it was not impossible to let the Third Prince enter the Eastern Palace.

But now, the Emperor Zhao Heng could no longer appoint the Third Prince as the heir.

If the Dou Family still insisted on letting the Third Prince take the throne, they could only take a risk and launch a coup.

But the problem was that if the Emperor appointed an heir, other powerful clans might be unwilling, but they might accept it.

If they forcibly pushed the Third Prince onto the throne, other powerful clans might have to contend with their Dou Family.

Moreover, there was still Yan Wang.

At that time, I fear that once his Dou Family made a move, the heroes would rise, and the world would be contested.

"Brother, your cousin speaks boldly, but your cousin truly does not understand why you must choose the Third Prince," Dou Rui Guang hesitated for a moment and addressed Dou Wei as 'Brother'.

He decided not to discuss official business with Dou Wei anymore, but to ask about this matter as a member of the Dou clan.

In his view, this matter was truly inappropriate and would place the Dou Family in great danger.

"Even you ask this; it seems that quite a few people in the Dou Family are already dissatisfied with this matter," Dou Wei sighed upon hearing this.

Apart from him, I fear that everyone in the Dou Family was puzzled as to why he continued to support this prince who had lost the qualification to inherit the throne.

Emperors are like flowing water, while powerful clans are like iron; one could just choose another prince.

Back then, the Dou Family did not choose Zhao Heng first either.

Dou Rui Guang did not speak, but he tacitly acknowledged this fact.

At present, there were indeed many Dou Family descendants criticizing this matter.

Putting down the book, Dou Wei came to the door and looked at the deep, dark night. After struggling in his heart for a long time, he said: "Because the Third Prince is my own flesh and blood!"

"What!" Dou Rui Guang's expression changed drastically. He stood up from his chair with a start, his face full of disbelief. "Head of the Family, how could you... Noble Dou Guifei is your..."

"You are wrong. Noble Dou Guifei is not my biological sister," Dou Wei's eyes flickered. "This plan began when my father was still alive. Back then, my birth mother gave birth to a daughter, and my father ordered someone to secretly send her away and replace her with a baby girl. She was originally surnamed Leng."

"When she grew up, my father sent her into the palace, and that is how we have the current Noble Dou Guifei. As for the rest, there is no need to explain it to you too clearly."

"Yes, Brother," Dou Rui Guang was still in shock.

In this way, Dou Wei's affection for the Third Prince made sense.

It also made sense that he would risk placing the Dou Family in danger just to have the Third Prince ascend the throne.

So, as long as the Third Prince ascended the throne and Dou Wei revealed the truth, this world would belong to the Dou Family.

"Alright, now that you know this secret, you must keep it. Furthermore, I do not want to hear any more Dou Family descendants criticizing the Third Prince in the future," Dou Wei knocked heavily on the door frame.

"Rest assured, Brother," Dou Rui Guang bowed. "From now on, through mountains of blades and seas of fire, I will swear to follow you, Brother."

Dou Wei helped Dou Rui Guang up and nodded with satisfaction. "However, do not worry. I, Dou Wei, do not fight unprepared battles. Only when the time is ripe will I let the Great Song's throne change hands. At present, the most important thing is to make our Dou Family even stronger."

After a pause, he continued: "Therefore, you must continue to secretly recruit soldiers and buy horses, and intensify training. I will find a way to divide the other powerful clans and simultaneously deal with Yan Wang. If we can gain benefits from the Beidi this time, the future is promising."

Upon hearing this, Dou Rui Guang's expression became firm.

To him, this plan of the Dou Family could not be called anything but insane.

But once successful, the Dou Family would replace the Zhao Clan Emperor.

All of them would receive enormous benefits.

Following this, the two spoke more about the Dou Family's internal affairs, and Dou Rui Guang departed.

Two days passed, on a similarly dark night,

Dou Wei, under the protection of Dou Rui Guang, quietly entered the Northern Di encampment and met with Tiemuta.

"Prime Minister Dou, please sit!" Inside the tent, Tiemuta sat in the seat of honor.

Seeing Dou Wei arrive, he had Dou Wei sit at his lower right, "The success of this peace negotiation is thanks to the assistance of Prime Minister Dou."

Dou Wei sat down and laughed, "Great King Tiemuta is too polite. In the imperial court, my Dou Family has always advocated for peace and has no desire to meet the Northern Di with blades and weapons. Now that the Northern Di and Great Song have turned hostility into friendship, it is exactly what I desire."

Tiemuta said, "Actually, we Northern Di are not fond of war either, but Great Song has arrogant fools like Yan Wang and Yang Feng who repeatedly clamor to destroy our Northern Di. We Northern Di have no choice but to use war to stop war and intimidate these petty people."

"They are indeed detestable; they only want to secure military merit for themselves, disregarding the countless corpses on the battlefield." Dou Wei appeared filled with righteous indignation, "However, the Emperor is wise and understands the greater good; this time he did not heed them, and from now on, the Northern Di and Great Song can finally be as close as one family."