Chapter 69

Before Pang Jun walked into the living room, he saw Dugu Lianhuan already sitting in the pavilion in the yard, waving at him.

　　Pang Jun walked into the pavilion and asked, "Brother Dugu, why are you here instead of in the living room? Also, Brother Dugu, what advice do you have for Liu Jun?" Dugu Lianhuan said straight to the point, "Ziye, I'm here for the matter of Songzhou."

　　"Songzhou?" Pang Jun was extremely confused. How could a nobleman like Dugu Lianhuan be interested in Songzhou?

　　Is the Dugu family planning to extend their influence into Liaodong Province?

　　"That's right, Songzhou, I want to go to Songzhou, and I hope you can accept me. I was in Shenzhou for some time before, and I just got the news five days ago, and I immediately rushed to the capital to find you." Dugu Lianhuan's request made Pang Jun feel very surprised. The runner-up in the imperial examination, the second heir to a noble family, a young man with unlimited prospects, actually wanted to follow him, a child of a small family who was half-exiled and half-promoted, to an unknown and bitter cold place?

　　Pang Jun didn't think he had the natural arrogance of a king that could make this noble young man, who was like a smiling tiger, bow down to him. What was his reason for doing so?

　　Before Pang Jun could raise any questions, Dugu Lianhuan said, "Do you know who those people were at Chunfeng Tower this afternoon? They were all assassins sent by my eldest brother. My eldest brother is the future head of the Dugu family, Dugu Liancheng."

　　"Is this the old drama of aristocratic families fighting for power? What does this have to do with your trip to Songzhou?" Pang Jun asked.

　　"It's very simple, because I want to become the head of the Dugu family," Dugu Lianhuan turned his head to look at Pang Jun and said with a smile, "I am now the magistrate of Dangtai County in Shenzhou, a seventh-rank official. If nothing unexpected happens, it will take at least ten years for me to be promoted to the position of governor of Shenzhou. Then, if I make achievements in Shenzhou and get promoted to a higher official position, it will take at least another ten years. What's more, my eldest brother will definitely not let me have my way. He will constantly create trouble for me and make it difficult for me to climb up easily. Also, I believe you also know about the conflicts between the current emperor and the local wealthy families. It's good enough that he doesn't suppress me, a child of a wealthy family. Instead of suffering suppression in Shenzhou, I might as well try it in Songzhou." Dugu Lianhuan explained.

　　"You are going to Songzhou because it is still an unowned land, and the Dugu family cannot reach it. You can just fly freely in the sky. As for your merits and achievements, with your ability and wisdom, there is no problem in doing a few major things that will impress the court. The best thing is to drag me, who has entered the vision of His Majesty, into the water. In this way, not only will I be your shield, but you can also continue to make meritorious contributions and be promoted. In the end, through me, an external force, I can help you get the position of the head of the Dugu family, right?" Pang Jun looked at Dugu Lianhuan with burning eyes and said leisurely, "Do you think I will agree to your use of me like this?"

　　"Zi Ye, you are a smart man, but you lack foundation. You need a large number of capable people under your command to realize your ambition. I can help you. Although I cannot use all the resources of the Dugu family, I have some connections of my own, which will be a great help to you. Rather than using them, it is better to say cooperation. Didn't Mr. Cheng Chaolun come to you with the same mentality?" Dugu Lianhuan did not deny his intention. Instead, he laid out all his cards and proposed to Pang Jun.

　　Because they were both from Qingzhou, Pang Jun had made a point to learn about the Dugu family, a prominent family in Qingzhou. The Dugu family began in the previous dynasty more than 300 years ago, and prospered because of helping the Jin Dynasty's Taizu Emperor Yang Tuo to dominate the world. It reached its peak more than 20 years ago because of its decisive support for the current emperor to become the emperor. The current head of the family is named Dugu Chong, who holds the title of Governor of Lianghe Province and is a third-rank official. His status is second only to the Governor of Lianghe, Qin Xiucheng. His son, Dugu Jing, is the commander-in-chief of Qingzhou and is a fifth-rank official. His eldest son, Dugu Liancheng, is the chief officer of Qingzhou and is a fifth-rank official. Although the Dugu family's ancestral home is in Qingzhou, the wealthy families in the entire Lianghe Province also follow their lead.

　　Pang Jun was worried that if he accepted Dugu Lianhuan, he would be implicated. After all, it would be a foolish act to accidentally offend the first heir of a prominent family because of him. However, Dugu Lianhuan's words hit Pang Jun's soft spot. He was too short of available people now. If he accepted Dugu Lianhuan, although it would offend Dugu Liancheng, he would have an outstanding subordinate. If he did not accept him, Dugu Liancheng would not thank him, and he would lose an excellent subordinate. He had no choice. Therefore, even if Pang Jun's intuition told him that there must be other reasons for Dugu Lianhuan to join him, he still had to choose to accept him.

　　So Pang Jun said, "Brother Dugu, I, Songzhou, can accept your arrival. You just said you want to cooperate, so I want to see your sincerity. I want to know, where is your sincerity?"

　　Dugu Lianhuan smiled and shook his head, looking like he was "defeated by you". He took out a stack of silver notes from his arms, handed them to Pang Jun and said, "This is sincerity. Here are 100,000 taels of silver notes. All of them are at your disposal, but there is one condition, that is, I must know the full purpose of these 100,000 taels of silver notes."

　　Pang Jun had earned a lot of money in his previous missions. Last time in Xichuan, when he made a big fuss in Fanzhou, he also took some money. But all the money added up was not enough for only 20,000 taels of silver. Now he was going to Songzhou to develop Songzhou into his own base. In addition to people, he also needed money. Now Dugu Lianhuan sent him a silver note of 100,000 taels, which was undoubtedly a timely help. In this way, he would be able to perform better. Dugu Lianhuan knew Pang Jun's most urgent needs clearly, so Pang Jun could not refuse.

　　"What position do you want to be after you arrive in Songzhou?" Pang Jun asked, indicating that he had accepted Dugu Lianhuan's invitation for cooperation.

　　Dugu Lianhuan smiled and said, "I won't make things difficult for you. One county under the jurisdiction of Songzhou will be enough. But I want the county magistrate and the county lieutenant to listen to me. If you have suitable people, you can send them to help me. If not, I will take control of the power of the county myself." What he meant was to directly abolish the original team of that county.

　　Pang Jun thought for a long time, stretched out his hand, and said to Dugu Lianhuan: "It's a deal. I hope you won't let me or yourself down."

　　"Don't worry, I will never let anyone down except my ruthless elder brother." Dugu Lianhuan stretched out his hand, and the two of them clapped their hands three times, indicating that their cooperative alliance had been initially reached.

　　After the initial alliance was reached, Dugu Lianhuan left Liu's house soon. Sitting in the carriage on the way back, a middle-aged man sitting next to Dugu Lianhuan asked, "Second Young Master, there is something I don't understand. Liu Jun is just a governor of a remote place with no foundation. Why do you have to spend 100,000 taels to cooperate with him? There are many forces in the court who are willing to cooperate with you. Why don't you go to other major forces in the court?"

　　Dugu Lianhuan narrowed his eyes and looked at his men, smiling and said, "One hundred thousand taels, in my opinion, this is already the smallest price. Why don't you think about it? Those deep-rooted forces will have more or less interests with the local nobles. Will they suppress the Dugu family for me? Even if there are forces willing to help me and allow me to ascend to the position of patriarch, they will inevitably interfere in the internal affairs of the Dugu family or require me to pay a heavier price. By that time, the losses caused by these problems that are difficult to solve will definitely be much greater than one hundred thousand taels of silver."

　　He thought for a moment and then said, "No matter how big the external forces are, they still belong to others. Do you think I would do it for a puppet patriarch who relies on the power of others? The big forces have a lot of resources, talents, and money, while Pang Jun has almost nothing except a little money. It is better to give timely help than to add icing on the cake. The recipient will remember it in his heart, and once he succeeds in the future, he will benefit more."

　　"But Master, is it possible for Liu Jun to succeed? Although he seems to be very talented, he has no foundation and is suppressed. He seems to be the King of Zhao's man, but it seems that the King of Zhao doesn't care much about him. He wanted to be a lone minister, but it seems that many forces in the capital are suppressing him intentionally or unintentionally."

　　Dugu Lianhuan snorted coldly, "Prince Zhao is just a blind man. He relies on his mother's family and the help of Princess Shanyin, but he has not yet sat on the throne of the crown prince. This shows his ability and vision. Although he is a little clever, he can't accomplish anything. If I want to win Liu Jun's heart, I will not watch him being exiled to the northeast. Even if I can't change the result in the end, your performance will be seen by others. Your Majesty will not let such a person who seeks profit and avoids danger and is ungrateful and heartless ascend to the throne of the crown prince. After all, to lead a country, it is not based on cleverness, but on a big picture and a far-sighted vision. Prince Zhao does not have these two points."

　　"But Prince Zhao is indeed very powerful now. After all, his grandfather is the Minister of Rites, and his students and former officials are spread all over the world. His mother is Concubine Nan, who is deeply favored by Your Majesty. Your Majesty will not fail to consider these things." Dugu Lianhuan's subordinates continued to persuade.

　　"Because of this, it is even more impossible for him to be the crown prince. Think about it, he is only a prince now, but there are so many people cheering for him, including the emperor's sister. If he really becomes the crown prince, wouldn't he have to directly ask Your Majesty to abdicate? Therefore, too much is as bad as too little. The King of Zhao has acted too recklessly, and Your Majesty has already begun to consider taking back power." Dugu Lianhuan shook his head and continued, "What is missing now is an opportunity, an opportunity for Your Majesty to take back his power." At this time, the middle-aged man looked as if he had suddenly realized something and stopped talking. The carriage fell into silence. On the silent street, only the sound of "da da da" of horse hooves remained, gradually fading away...

　　After Dugu Lianhuan left, Pang Jun did not go to find the beauty in the backyard to sleep with him, but returned to the study alone. The lights in the study were on all night. Although the beauties in the backyard were curious, no one dared to disturb Pang Jun until early the next morning. Pang Jun ran to Yunlai Inn again and found the old shopkeeper Sun Chenggao who had just got up, and asked him to pass a secret letter to "Yaoguang" among the Seven Stars of the Exiled Immortal Sect and the old gambler "Nine-fingered Dice Demon" - Lu Tao.

　　After finishing his business, Pang Jun was planning to go to the Shenyi Guard Mansion to see Guard Supervisor Ling Buxu. After all, Ling Buxu himself had helped him, so he should visit him. However, when he arrived at the Shenyi Guard Mansion, he was told that Ling Buxu was not there. As soon as he left the gate of the Guard Mansion, he was stopped by two people. One of them said respectfully, "Sir Liu, my master wants to see you." This person had a shrill voice and a white face without a beard. Pang Jun looked at this person and a charming face appeared in his mind. He sighed in his heart that what was coming would come, so he walked towards the carriage pointed by the visitor...