The Fufeng Dou family started in the Han Dynasty and established their clan through military exploits. They are a typical family with a Han surname.
After the wars in the late Jin Dynasty, many Xianbei, Xiongnu and other clans in the north changed their surnames to Han surnames and claimed to be descendants of the Fufeng Dou family, which made the Fufeng Dou family's reputation grow stronger again.
By the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the pre-Sui Dynasty, the Dou family had become one of the top wealthy relatives in Kansai. Compared with the Gao family, Chen family and other families, their vitality was obviously more powerful.
There are many high-ranking officials, and there are many handsome sons. In addition to the strong trunk, the branches and leaves are also extremely lush.
Dou Cong didn't have many opportunities to come to his ancestral land, but every time he came here, he didn't dare to act presumptuously, because the younger members of the clan knew how strict the Fufeng Dou family was.
There have been more wars in the past few years, but neither the bandits nor the officers and soldiers who followed Xue Ju passed by and never stepped foot into the Dou family's main residence.
The deterrent power of powerful people is evident.
Li Po asked Dou Dan that day, if the Dou family's house in Fufeng was still full of flowers? In fact, Dou Dan could reply with confidence, the bricks and tiles of the Dou family's ancestral land were still in good condition, and no one dared
Move every plant and tree here.
Well, it’s just that the disciples all ran away to take refuge elsewhere... to avoid being captured by Xue Ju if they were defeated...
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Nowadays, it is not the New Year, and most of the children are working as officials outside, leaving only the old and weak, so the Dou family's house is quite quiet.
According to the ancestral teachings of the Dou family, they were not allowed to make friends with officials in the county or serve as officials in Fufeng. The main reason was that they were afraid that unscrupulous descendants would roam the countryside and seize the county property, creating a situation where one clan formed a county, but it also eliminated a lot of troubles for the descendants.
Of course, generally speaking, families like the Fufeng Dou family are famous all over the world, and they don't care what local officials do to them, let alone bully the villagers for no reason. In that case, do they still need reputation?
The local tyrants and bullies who make people angry and resentful have nothing to do with the aristocratic families like them with a long history. Most of them can still be praised by the villagers and are proud of the Dou family's neighbors.
They did not make friends with local officials, but the officials did not dare to provoke them. When the governor of Fufeng County took office, he had to come to pay homage to them.
That night, several elders of the Dou family hosted a banquet for Dou Cong. These people were all retired high-ranking officials. Even though they were very old, they were profound and thoughtful in their words.
What they are most concerned about is the situation in the court, whether the new emperor has ascended the throne or their neighbors. Their attitude towards the Fufeng Dou family is particularly important.
Dou Cong's face turned green when he was asked... An elder even asked about the emperor's genealogy, probably thinking that since the emperor was born in Fufeng, it was impossible that he had not dealt with the Dou family, and he might have some connection with it.
How could Dou Cong know so much?
The emperor's family background has always been the focus of attention of the nobles, but if the emperor himself doesn't say it, who can know which family he comes from? Now everyone almost knows that the emperor's ancestors are from the Li Guang lineage, and there is probably no need to delve into the rest.
My family background is too low, so it’s hard to tell it openly...
Fortunately, the elders at home were not stupid and stopped asking after Dou Cong said it, because they were very aware of the danger involved. Looking at the emperor's behavior, it would be terrible if any of his ancestors had been a slave to the Dou family.
After the banquet was over, Dou Cong hid in his dormitory with sweat on his face. There were too many Dou family members in Chang'an City, scattered everywhere. How did he, Dou Cong, know what everyone was doing and what they were thinking?
It is even more difficult to say how the emperor felt about Dou. How many times had he met the emperor?
As for the current situation of the Dou family, there is no need for him to explain it. Being so close to the Li family in Longxi, if there were no consequences at this time, he would have to sincerely praise the emperor for his kindness.
In fact, the main house had much better information than he did. Hearing the elders talk about it, Dou Guangda, Dou's son, had been promoted to Minister of Household Affairs. Even though he was from the same clan, Dou Cong also vomited some sour water.
Dou Guangda was Li Yuan's son-in-law, so he was promoted so quickly? He really couldn't understand what kind of relationship Dou Guangda had with the emperor.
When Dou Cong returned to his dormitory, he was full of worries, but he still drank a lot of water. He felt that he had said everything he had said all year long at the banquet. He had never talked so much.
It seems that it would be better to visit the ancestral home less often in the future. Of course, if his brother Dou Gui had not written to him and asked him to take time to visit the ancestral home, he would not have come.
Given the current situation, these side branch disciples really need the support of the main branch...
It was getting late, and Dou Cong was going to have a good night's rest to replenish his energy. He would have to rush to Jinzhou tomorrow, and then he could return to Beijing.
Dou Cong sighed. No matter how much credit he got from this trip, the hard work would not go away. He hoped that there would be a better position waiting for him when he went back.
However, the soldiers came in to report that someone wanted to see him. Seeing that he was a little impatient, he had to explain quickly that someone from Qianniu Beishen Mansion came to see him for something he wanted to see.
Qianniu Beishen Mansion...the emperor's personal army, Yu Lin's guards, Dou Cong immediately cheered up, these people will never appear in front of you for no reason.
Once they suddenly come to your door without going through Zhongshu, Shangshu, or even the Husband's Palace, generally speaking, they must have a secret edict, and the possibility of it being for private matters is extremely slim.
The visitor soon appeared in front of him. A gloomy-looking guy, who looked like he was not in good shape at first glance. He was also quite old. From his appearance, he knew he had come all the way.
When they saw Dou Cong, the visitor knocked on his chest and saluted, saying: "The last general, Hu Da, has seen General Dou."
Dou Cong nodded slightly. He didn't know this person. He came to see him late at night in the name of Qianniu Beishenfu... Dou Cong looked at the person with a toothache and lost interest in talking.
Hu Da did not hesitate, straightened up and said: "The emperor's oral decree..."
Dou Cong was stunned for a moment, then immediately stood up and hammered his chest, "General Dou Cong will listen to the edict."
Hu Da felt a little proud in his heart. Once upon a time, a great general wanted to salute me, and it was not in vain for me to go here. He simply said: "I ordered Zuowuwei General Dou Cong to set off for Diaoyin immediately.
In the county, if there is a caravan that wants to leave the fortress privately from Diaoyin, it must be stopped.
All of them were taken and taken back to Chang'an and handed over to the responsible department for disposal. They must also have letters and other items with them, and they will be carefully searched and confiscated. If there is anyone who hides and refuses to report, Dou Cong is the only one to ask."
Diaoyin County? I just came back from there. It’s just a caravan. How can it be so mysterious? Let me, a general, do it myself?
Dou Cong was full of complaints and hit his chest twice fiercely, "I will obey the imperial edict."
Hu Dashi clasped his fists and said with a smile: "I've offended you so much, general, don't take offense. From now on, the general will have to stay with the general. If you have any orders, just give me the general's orders."
Dou Cong forced out a smile and said, "They are all hard-working people, so why should they not be surprised? Please tell me the reason for this trip, so as not to cause any trouble."
As for the identity of the other party, Dou Cong didn't even ask. It was impossible for anyone to dare to play with him like this...
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In Chang'an, Dou, the minister of household affairs, has a new house.
Ever since Dou Dan was promoted to Minister of Household Affairs, he moved out of the former Prince Consort's Mansion and moved into this villa, which was a break with the former Prince Consort Dou.
When I went to the Yamen today, Sun Shunde, the eldest servant of the family, sent a letter of greeting, hoping to visit him at his house tonight.
Dou Dan was a little surprised. He and Changsun Shunde were barely relatives, because Changsun and Duan Lun were related by marriage, and he and Duan Lun were brothers-in-law.
But such a relative relationship would not allow a servant to take the initiative to visit him.
Strictly speaking, Changsun Shunde is a backup candidate for the prime minister, and Dou Dan is still a few steps away from getting close to the prime minister. According to official rules, if there is no personal relationship, Changsun Shunde only needs to invite him to his house for a talk.
That’s it.
After Dou Dan replied, he immediately asked people to prepare wine and food, waiting for the arrival of his eldest grandson, Shunde.
Dou Dan's official career has stabilized, and the couple are no longer worried. At the same time, family affairs have begun to go smoothly.
The eldest brother Dou Yan's side has died down, and there is no movement anymore... Not long ago, Dou Dan even visited his younger brother Dou Shilun's house. The two brothers rarely interacted with each other. They felt very strange and had nothing to say.
But Dou Dan deliberately said something bad about his eldest brother Dou Yan, which immediately resonated with Dou Shilun. With the help of his eldest brother, the two brothers quickly found a common topic, and after drinking some wine, the two finally felt like brothers.
What made Dou Dan quite envious was that Dou Shilun did not care much about the change of dynasty, the political situation in the dynasty and other major issues, and he was secure in his position as Taifu Shaoqing.
Recently, he has been walking under the sect of Taichang Qing, He Chou, Duke of Pi State, thinking about letting He Chou accept him as his disciple. If it is spread, it can be regarded as an anecdote.
He Taichang also likes this junior who comes from a wealthy family and has excellent talents. He often invites him to chat and laugh with him. However, He Chou is too old. It is not impossible to accept a disciple, but he will never accept another disciple like Dou Shilun.
.
So He Taichang had a friend whom he had forgotten all his life...and with a friend like He Chou, at least for the moment, he didn't need to worry about anything.
In comparison, Dou Dan felt that his traveling around over the years was a bit redundant... Of course, his and Dou Shilun's ambitions were also very different, so there was no need to belittle himself...
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Today, his mother-in-law went to visit his sister Li Xiuning again. Dou Dan didn't pay much attention when he heard the servant's report. His mother-in-law didn't have much contact with her, and she looked quite complaining.
But after experiencing the turmoil last year, he became closer to that place. He didn't know whether it would be a blessing or a curse in the future. He then remembered that he heard that the emperor went there again some time ago...
Thinking of this, Dou Dan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Should he say that the Li family in Longxi should not die, or should he laugh at them for being embarrassed?
Logically speaking, it was inappropriate for the emperor to do this. After all, she was a married woman, but it was none of Dou Guangda's business. It was not his turn to talk too much. I guess other people thought the same way, right?
It wasn't until the servants reported that Changsun Shilang had arrived that Dou Dan gathered his thoughts and went out to greet him.