readsfreenovel Chapter 258 The Nanchuan family conspired
Chapter 258 The Nanchuan family conspired
Without paying any attention to the crowd, Patriarch Ouyang just held the teacup and sipped it.
The old head of the Ouyang family was also very helpless. Their Ouyang family had not developed smoothly in recent years, and there was even a sign of decline.
If the Nanshan Army had not captured Nanchuan, these people would have already joined in the feast of dividing up the Ouyang family, and how could they have been so polite to him.
Even if these people wanted to cooperate with him, they did not show any sincerity. It was obvious that they had already discussed and made a decision in private, and they came here to pretend to discuss something.
Thinking of this, the old master Ouyang felt very helpless.
The old master of the Ouyang family is nearly seventy years old this year. He has three sons and two daughters. The eldest son died of illness last year, the second son died in the war, and the third son was a good-for-nothing who became addicted to opium in his early years and was driven out of the house by him.
Among the three generations, only the eldest grandson Ouyang Yi is considered to be capable, while the others are either too young or have mediocre talents.
In this situation of transition, the old head of the Ouyang family can only do his best to maintain it. If he cannot find a way out of the situation, this huge family business may not be taken over by the government, but by the people present here.
Facing the people present, Patriarch Ouyang said, "Everyone, Nanchuan is now in a period of great development."
"You should know that the Zhao family in Nanshan is just a second-rate family, but now it is thriving in Nanshan, which is enough to show the government's tolerance."
Although he disliked these people very much, the old master Ouyang still showed a kind face on the surface.
The Nanshan Zhao family he was talking about had not only developed its business in the past three years and made it quite big, but the eldest son of the Zhao family, Zhao Anbang, also worked in the Nanshan government.
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.
They just want to find someone to take the lead. The benefits will be shared by everyone, and if any problems arise, the leader will naturally be held responsible.
Seeing that Patriarch Ouyang was not getting the message, Patriarch Li coughed and said, "Patriarch Ouyang, you can't say that. We need to understand the attitude of the governor, otherwise it will be a taboo."
"Yes, Nanchuan is not as good as Nanshan. We still have to find out what the governor will do." The head of the Liu family also echoed.
Old Patriarch Ouyang remained unmoved by the two men's persuasion. He just played Tai Chi with them and evaded them whenever he could.
Soon, the housekeeper and his servants brought in oil lamps to illuminate the dim room again.
After putting away the oil lamp, the housekeeper asked, "Master, it's already night, shall we prepare the meal now?"
"Everyone, it's getting late. I won't keep you here any longer." Old Master Ouyang did not answer the butler, but spoke to everyone in the hall.
After being ordered to leave, everyone looked unhappy, mainly because the deal was not concluded, which made everyone feel a little worried.
Patriarch Liu and Patriarch Li remained somewhat calm. They stood up, bowed, and said, "Then we will take our leave."
"Goodbye." Patriarch Ouyang said politely.
As Patriarch Liu and Patriarch Li left, the rest of the people also stood up and said goodbye. In a moment, only the housekeeper and old Patriarch Ouyang were left in the bustling lobby.
The housekeeper looked at the head of the Ouyang family and asked, "Master, what are these ungrateful people doing in our house?"
The reason why these people are called ungrateful wolves is because the old Patriarch Ouyang took good care of them many years ago. Ever since the death of the old Patriarch Ouyang's eldest son, they have been eyeing the Ouyang family.
Not only did they suppress the Ouyang family's business, but even the outbound merchant caravans were often tripped up by them.
"Don't worry about them, they are just a bunch of clowns." The old master Ouyang waved his hand and said indifferently.
The old patriarch Ouyang saw it very clearly. Nanchuan was now ruled by Fang Jian, and their big families had no choice but to obey.
In troubled times, only powerful military force can preserve wealth and safety.
Patriarch Ouyang sighed and asked, "Is Yi'er back?"
"Not yet. The young master just sent someone to tell you that he has to work overtime tonight and will be back later." The butler replied.
On the other side, everyone who walked out of the Ouyang family looked at the two Patriarchs Liu and Li: "Patriarch Liu, Patriarch Wang, Patriarch Ouyang won't step forward, so this matter will only trouble you two."
The two men couldn't help but twitch their lips and cursed their bad luck inwardly. They had gloomy faces and did not answer.
Originally, they wanted to use the righteousness of being fellow Nanchuan people to force old Patriarch Ouyang to express his position, but he was slippery and tried to evade the issue by saying that the governor would not make things difficult for them. This was really speechless.
It's like everyone says the wolf is coming, and asks the other side to organize themselves to fight the wolf together.
But the other party said they were mistaken, it was not a wolf but a cute pet, it would not hurt anyone. This made people crazy, unless they stopped the other party from leading the organization, what else could they do?
It's impossible to continue giving the other party a lesson, arguing about whether it is a wolf or whether it can eat people.
The two heads of the Liu and Li families looked at each other, as if they understood each other's meaning from their eyes. Both of them went straight home without saying a word.
The rest of the people didn't understand what was going on, so they could only disperse temporarily and make a decision tomorrow.
Inside the Governor's Mansion, led by Zhuang Jiwu, Fang Jian and his party took a rough tour of the Governor's Mansion.
At this time, the food had been set up in the side room. Fang Jian sat in the upper seat and looked at everyone and said, "Jiwu, Yu Nong, Han Zhou, Wang Hu, all of you please sit down."
Tao Yunong was the most impolite. This was more than the first or second time he had dinner with Fang Jian. Moreover, he refused the leader's request. Does this count as disrespect for the leader?
Wei Hanzhou and Wang Hu were still a little embarrassed, but under Fang Jian's insistence, they had to choose a seat and sit down.
Seeing all three of them sitting down, Zhuang Jiwu hesitated for a moment but finally sat down obediently. After all, he had to give face to his leader.
After sitting down, Zhuang Jiwu said, "The big families in Nanchuan are basically concentrated in Nandu City."
"Although their hometown has a large area of land, it is all managed by concubines and housekeepers, and most of the direct descendants live in Nandu."
"How many big families are there in Nanchuan?" Fang Jian asked.
Zhuang Jiwu: "There are three major families in Nanchuan, namely the Ouyang family, the Liu family, and the Li family. There are also more than a dozen families that are slightly weaker, but they should not be underestimated."
Fang Jian raised his eyebrows. A dozen weaker families, plus the three major families, might be stronger than the original five major families in Nanshan.
Although Francis Xavier did not have a good impression of these big families, he could tolerate them.
To put it bluntly, every change of power is just a reshuffle. The previous family may become stronger, or decline or even die out.
Even in the new era of Blue Star, there are still large and small groups emerging, and behind them there are various families.
From ancient times to the present, the rise and fall of families has always been common. Even if these are eliminated, the generals and officials under him will also form new families.
Eliminating them will not solve the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem lies in whether they can obey the laws and systems set by Franciscan.
Whether they are willing to take over Fang Ji'an's car or want to stop him from moving forward is the key to deciding how to treat these families.
Putting aside the thoughts in his mind, Fang Jian asked, "Are there any of these families that can be won over?"