Chapter 67: The Flaws of the Aristocratic Clans

An invading dragon cannot crush a local serpent.

Aristocratic clans possess wealth, manpower, and vast estates, having rooted themselves deeply in their territories for centuries, with thick leaves and deep foundations. Even a marquis who rules a partitioned domain as a king must eventually conspire with these great families. Back then, when the Duke of Liang controlled Liangzhou, he still maintained an extremely close relationship with the Xiahou family.

Now, if Gao Changsheng wanted to establish his own sphere of influence in the northern frontier, he had no choice but to secure the support of the Xiahou family. Yet, he currently possessed neither troops nor personal connections in Liangzhou. Relying merely on the identity of the Sixth Prince would hardly be enough to win the favor of the Xiahou clan.

Fortunately, heaven favored him. Although Xiahou Ji was not the primary legitimate eldest son of the Xiahou family, he was deeply favored by the clan head. For Gao Changsheng, this at least provided a stepping stone. The primary task at hand was to subdue Xiahou Ji and make him genuinely serve his purposes.

"What do you mean by this?" Xiahou Ji looked at Gao Changsheng with utter vigilance. What future head of the Xiahou family? Could it be that Gao Changsheng intended to use him to strike against the Xiahou clan?

"Naturally, I mean what I say. Have you truly never thought of becoming the head of the Xiahou family?" Gao Changsheng asked with a faint, calm smile.

"Heh! What a joke. Since you know about the affairs of the Xiahou family, you should also know that I am not the legitimate eldest son. Furthermore, trapped in this prison as I am, the Xiahou family has likely abandoned me long ago. Reason and logic dictate that the position of clan head belongs entirely to my eldest brother, Xiahou Yu. I advise you to give up any thoughts of using me against the Xiahou clan!" Xiahou Ji sneered.

He was entirely different from Shen Cuo. Given the influence of the Xiahou family in Liangzhou, it was impossible for Gao Changsheng to threaten him through his family members. On this point, he could rest completely at ease.

"Deal with the Xiahou family? No, no, no. Although I am a prince, I am not naive enough to believe I can take on the powerful clans of Liangzhou with that status alone. All I want is to gain the support of the Xiahou family and secure provisions and funds for the army guarding the northern frontier," Gao Changsheng replied, shaking his head slightly.

Even trapped within these cells, these rebellious soldiers could not possibly remain ignorant of the current crisis in the northern realms. Northern Qi was mobilizing its entire nation to assault the northern frontier, and the imperial court's hundred thousand troops alone were simply insufficient to stem the tide. What Gao Changsheng wanted was for these rebels to believe he had come to Liangzhou merely to recruit forces.

"Ha! Respected Imperial Highness, have your brains broken down?"

***

"The Duke of Liang guarded the northern frontier for your imperial Gao clan for decades, only to lose his life at Jinyong City due to the Emperor's suspicion. And yet, we private soldiers are all former generals under the Duke of Liang, and you expect us to help your imperial clan resist Northern Qi? We can only pray that Northern Qi breaks through and slaughters every single one of you surnamed Gao!" Xiahou Ji blurted out with wild arrogance.

Bent on death, he cared nothing for offending the imperial family once more. Moreover, his logic was sound. Relying on the former subordinates of the Duke of Liang to defend the imperial realm—anyone would consider such a notion a sheer fantasy. It was no wonder Dou Yuan had repeatedly tried to persuade Gao Changsheng to give up. The difficulty of this endeavor was simply too immense!

"Others might refuse, but you, Xiahou Ji, just might not—unless you wish to watch the century-old Xiahou lineage wither into ruin," Gao Changsheng said with an unruffled expression.

At these words, the smile froze instantly on Xiahou Ji's face. Without Gao Changsheng needing to spell it out, Xiahou Ji immediately grasped the underlying meaning. Once the northern frontier defense was breached, the very first place to suffer the ravages of war would be Liangzhou. As one of the preeminent clans of Liangzhou, all of the Xiahou family's lands and enterprises were rooted right here. Unless the entire family surrendered to Northern Qi, their ultimate fate would be utterly tragic. Yet, would the head of the Xiahou family truly be willing to bear the stigma of treason and defect to a foreign power?

"Xiahou Ji, you are not a fool. You should know what the Xiahou family relies upon to entrench itself in Liangzhou for centuries. Wealth, power, and close ties with princes and marquises are merely external factors. The true foundation that allows the Xiahou family to stand unshaken for hundreds of years is its loyalty to the Dayong Dynasty. I recall that the Xiahou clan has quite a few members serving as officials in the imperial court. Minister of the Court of Rites, Xiahou De—a dignified official of the second rank—did not achieve such a position easily. Over the years, the Xiahou family expended a great deal of painstaking effort to propel Xiahou De through officialdom. Do you truly believe the head of the Xiahou family would be willing to sacrifice the foundation they have painstakingly cultivated within the Dayong Dynasty for centuries?" Gao Changsheng stated coldly.

Great aristocratic clans possess inherent advantages, but they are invariably bound by unchangeable limitations. That limitation is their foundation. Because these families rely excessively on landed property, they can only ever remain local serpents. Once lands accumulated over centuries are lost to the flames of war, the roots of the aristocratic clan are thoroughly severed. Even sitting upon mountains of gold and silver, they would eventually exhaust their wealth. Likewise, without the protection of the imperial court, aristocratic clans would ultimately be reduced to mere lambs awaiting slaughter. Therefore, Gao Changsheng had every reason to believe the Xiahou family would not casually betray the imperial court.

"Since Your Highness is so certain that the Xiahou family does not wish to see Northern Qi break through, you should go directly to the head of the clan. Why come to me, a condemned prisoner?"

Xiahou Ji was not someone to blindly swallow Gao Changsheng's rhetoric. He knew full well that he possessed virtually no value left. The only thing he could still brandish was the surname Xiahou. But so what? At present, his life and death hung in the balance, and carrying the label of a private soldier under the Duke of Liang made the Xiahou family desperately eager to sever all ties with him. Gao Changsheng was clearly taking a circuitous route instead of addressing the obvious.

"I told you, I want you to become the head of the Xiahou family. What I seek is not merely the support of the Xiahou clan, but other intentions as well. How about you and I make a wager? Tonight, members of the Xiahou family will abandon your eldest brother and come running to this prison to beg you to assume the mantle of clan head. Do you believe it?" Gao Changsheng said with a confident smile.

Silence descended upon the group. In less than half a day, Gao Changsheng possessed such absolute confidence that he could manipulate and conquer one of Liangzhou's top aristocratic clans. Where on earth did he find such audacity?

"What on earth do you want?" Xiahou Ji swallowed hard. At this moment, Gao Changsheng no longer looked to him like a pampered, naive prince, but rather like a terrifying, fathomless enigma. Dealing with such a person, he might even end up helping count the money after being sold out by him!

"When the Xiahou family acknowledges you as their head, I will naturally state my demands. You need only remember this: since I have the capability to elevate you to the headship of the Xiahou family, I also have the confidence to utterly overthrow them. The rise and fall of the Xiahou clan rests entirely in your hands!"

Gao Changsheng offered a cold smile and said no more. Afterwards, he ordered Zhou Wuji to summon Zhou Wuji into the cells and released Shen Cuo. Shen Cuo's family was thus reunited. However, this heartwarming scene was not allowed to last long before Gao Changsheng unceremoniously tore it apart.

"Shen Cuo, you must hate me bitterly, don't you? Then I will give you a chance for revenge. The conversation that took place between Xiahou Ji and myself in this cell today—I want you to leak every word of it to the eldest legitimate son of the Xiahou family. It would be best if you recounted every single syllable without missing a beat!"