Coming out of Xinde Hall, Meng Shulan was completely confused.

The history of the origin of Wu'an that he thought was false. There was no such thing as the five great families of the previous dynasty, and there was no such thing as overthrowing the tyranny in one year.

The entire uprising spanned ten years.

Only the compromise between the five families at that time is true. There is an agreement among the five families of Wen, Xu, Li, Yan, and Guo that has been passed down orally from generation to generation.

It was this agreement that created the current power distribution situation in Wu'an, which encompasses four frontiers and one hinterland.

For a hundred years, this agreement has been restricting the five families. However, as time goes by, the power of each family develops unevenly, which also leads to some people becoming greedy.

The Li family supports Wen Zhemao.

The Xu family who supports Wen Zhehan is another one.

"The Xu family has been the prime minister for generations, and all officials are headed by the prime minister. There are supporters and disciples of Prime Minister Xu both inside and outside the court."

The emperor warned Meng Shulan solemnly, "Xu Xiangfeng, it seems that he is strictly abiding by his duty as a minister, but if he wants to act one day and orders all the ministers with one word, the harm will be more serious than any of the four border princes."

!”

"If you weren't afraid of the pen in the hand of the historian, do you think the Xu family, which has been operating in the court for hundreds of years, would be willing to submit to others?"

"If the third child really becomes the emperor, Xu Xiangfeng will really be the best among ten thousand people. With the temperament of the third child, how can he motivate Xu Xianfeng, that old fox? By then, the Wen family's royal family will really become him.

Xu family’s puppet!”

"The ancestors of the Xu family seemed to be at a disadvantage and did not want the territory back then, but looking back now, it turns out to be a very clever plan!"

Of the five former families, the Wen family became the emperor but lost all power, and the Yan family's descendants withered away. Now only Yan Qing is left as a descendant. If the Li family rebels, they will eventually end up killing the Nine Clan.

The remaining Beijiang Zhenbei Marquis Guo Youning and Xu Changfeng are all supporters of Wen Zhehan. It is unknown what the relationship between the Guo family and the Xu family is.

Dongjiang borders Daliang and is a prosperous and peaceful area. Although it is managed by the royal family, the current Marquis of Zhendong was recommended by Xu Xiangfeng.

Nowadays, the situation in Western Xinjiang and Southern Xinjiang is unstable, and Zhendong Marquis must not be replaced at will. I don't know how deep his friendship with Xu Xiangfeng is.

Looking at it this way, two of the five families were defeated, and only the Xu family was the biggest!

No wonder the emperor was so afraid of Xu Xiangfeng that even though he knew Wen Zhemao was unkind, he still refused to appoint Wen Zhehan as his heir apparent.

Or maybe the emperor just took a fancy to Wen Zhemao's unkindness and knew that if he ascended the throne, he would never be soft on the Xu family, let alone control the Li family.

Arriving at the palace gate, Meng Shulan immediately saw Wen Zhehan waiting at the palace gate.

He was talking with the emperor from dawn to sunrise, but Wen Zhehan was still waiting here. He really hoped that he could see Xiaoliu.

Xiaoliu died unexpectedly and could not be buried in the imperial mausoleum, so he had to choose another cemetery.

He probably also buried Xiaoliu himself.

Meng Shulan thought so.

I have to wait for myself to go with him, but I also want to see Xiaoliu again, right?

Without this excuse, the Queen would have interfered with him according to her temperament.

An emperor needs to be kind-hearted, but he must not be too affectionate.

Wen Zhehan was impeccable in talent, learning, and political management, but he was not a good candidate for emperor, especially since he relied on the Xu family.

Thinking of this, Meng Shulan felt a little regretful.

If Wen Zhehan could be the emperor, he should be a good emperor by fully displaying his talents and ambitions.

It's a pity that when the king is weak and the ministers are strong, it will be difficult for him to make a decision if he is trapped by emotions.

It is difficult for a person who is indecisive to become an emperor.

Knowing this, Meng Shulan finally understood why the emperor favored Wen Zhemao wholeheartedly and ignored Wen Zhehan, who clearly had better political talents.

The measurement of power and the restrictions of family background destined Wen Zhehan to be only a minister and not an emperor.

Remembering that before leaving, the emperor mentioned that he wanted to summon Wen Zhexian back to Beijing, Meng Shulan felt even more sorry for Wen Zhehan.

As he approached, Meng Shulan calmed down her emotions, pursed her lips and said to Wen Zhehan: "Let's go, let's go see Xiaoliu."

Wen Zhehan noticed that Meng Shulan's expression was different, so he asked him: "Why, what did your father say?"

Meng Shulan said perfunctorily: "It's nothing. I just want to deal with the matter in the south as soon as possible to avoid being taken advantage of by the rebels and causing trouble again."

Wen Zhehan saw that Meng Shulan was perfunctory, but Meng Shulan didn't want to say it. It would be useless for him to ask, so he could only agree: "That's natural. But I'm afraid we need to handle matters in Beijing properly first, and those who should be rewarded and punished should be properly dealt with.

Only then can we decide who to send to take charge of affairs in southern Xinjiang. For now, we can only let people go there and keep an eye on them."

With that said, Wen Zhehan asked him again, "Do you really rely on the military information that Yan Qing taught you? You must know that it is the time to hire people now. Yan Qingduo has so much credit, and it is almost certain that he will go south. If you are lucky, let alone be a suppressant.

It should be no problem for me to be the Marquis of the South and grant me the title of general and commander in charge of the troops and horses in Southern Xinjiang."

When Wen Zhehan talked about this, Meng Shulan was obsessed with lawsuits and muttered: "I haven't said it yet. Even if I say it, I can't really say it according to Aqing's meaning. How can I take away her credit?"

At the end, Meng Shulan suddenly remembered that she had been talking to the emperor all morning and had not explained anything, which was too unreasonable.

Seeing Wen Zhehan, fearing that he would ask more questions, Meng Shulan added: "This time I can be considered as leading the troops back privately. Although I came back to serve the king, there is no edict or oral instructions. I left so many things in Western Xinjiang to lead the people by myself.

There is still something wrong with coming back. According to my uncle's wishes, just let Suifeng bring the people back. I should be in charge of the overall situation in Western Xinjiang, lest those people in the west take advantage of the chaos to come to the border to make small moves."

"Anyway, I was dragged along and lectured for a long time. I didn't even get a chance to interrupt, let alone report any military information."

Meng Shulan made a sad face, as if she had really been reprimanded by the emperor, "I originally thought that reporting military information would be more cumbersome, so I kept talking. I wanted to reduce Ah Qing's burden, but I never thought that my uncle would not do anything.

Don’t give me a chance.”

"I'm afraid he will have to find Ah Qing to understand the situation later. When he comes back, he will have to remind his uncle not to let Ah Qing pass the credit to me."

Seeing the reluctant look on Meng Shulan's face, Wen Zhehan couldn't help but laugh at him: "Others want this credit, but they can't even ask for it. Why don't you want it for free?"

Meng Shulan glanced at him and sighed: "You don't understand, Ah Qing is so understanding. She wants to give me the credit because she feels she owes me and wants to return the favor. Once she is asked to return the favor

, she won’t feel any concern anymore. When the time comes, she can leave without saying a word.”

Wen Zhehan was a little surprised when he heard this: "Yan Qing is leaving? Where? How did you know? Did she tell you?"

Meng Shulan smiled bitterly: "If she really told me where she was going, I wouldn't be hesitant about whether to take the credit or not. The tree is big and windy, so she can feel more relaxed if I carry her around, but seeing her act recently, she always gives me a kind of trust.
Chapter completed!