After Fan Zigai passed away, Yang Guang left Dugu Zhen in the capital to assist King Yang Tong of Yue. However, Dugu Zhen did not take over the power, but was assisted by five people, including Dugu Zhen, Duan Da, Guanglu Dafu, Wei Jin, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Huangfu Wuyi, General of Right Guard, and Lu Chu of Right Guard, Dugu Zhen was only one of the five assistant ministers. All government affairs were discussed and decided by the five people, and the military power was controlled by King Yang Tong of Yue.

When Yang Xuangan made a comeback and the news of conquering Guanzhong reached Luoyang, the capital was in chaos. Yang Dong urgently sent the Hu Ben Lang General Song Laosheng to lead 20,000 elite troops to Hedong County to prevent Yang Xuangan from going out of Guandong.

Dugu Zhen finally couldn't hold back his anger. On the night when Yang Xuangan's news came, Dugu Zhen arrived at Dou Mansion in a carriage.

Yang Xuangan's occupation of Chang'an completely disrupted Dugu Zhen's steps, causing his long-planned plan to face the danger of failure, making Dugu Zhen anxious. Now he can only discuss solutions with Dou's family.

Dugu Zhen's carriage slowly stopped in front of the Dou Mansion. This was the mansion of Dou Wei, the head of the Dou family. Dugu Zhen got off the carriage, Dou Yun, the son of Dou Wei, came up, "Du Gu Shishu, the visit of Du Gu, made the Dou family unhappy. My father ordered me to wait for Uncle Shi here. If there is any rudeness, please forgive me!"

Dugu Zhen smiled and said, "I came here without invitation and disturbed your father. Can he be in the mansion now?"

"Waiting for Uncle Shi in the study, please come with me!"

Although the Dou family was not one of the Eight Pillars, it gradually became one of the important families among the Guanlong nobles because of its many talents. Because Li Yuan's wife, Dou, was the daughter of the Dou family, so the Dou family was also one of Li Yuan's most important supporters.

The Dou family and the Dugu family are both supporters of Li Yuan, but the two families are not convinced and have no contact with each other. They both support Li Yuan in their own way. This time, because of Yang Xuangan's accident, the two families came together. Dou Wei was about to invite Dugu Zhen, but he did not expect Dugu Zhen to come by himself.

Dugu Zhen walked into the study and Dou Wei was extremely enthusiastic. He asked Dugu Zhen to sit down and ordered someone to go to tea. Dou Wei is over 60 years old this year, two years older than Dugu Zhen. Most of the Dou family are brave in martial arts, but Dou Wei is beautiful in literature and knowledgeable. He has been in the officialdom for decades. Because he is too close to Shu King Yang Xiu, he has never been used by Yang Guang. He was dismissed from home the previous year.

After a few greetings over the past two years, Dou Wei directly pointed out the topic, "Yang Xuangan rebelled again. He occupied Guanzhong, and I wanted to send someone to invite the Dugu head, but I didn't expect the Dugu head to come by himself. It was also because we were anxious, and I wonder what countermeasures Dugu brother had?"

Although Dugu Zhen was anxious, his face did not show. He said calmly: "Our countermeasures should be divided into two. Let's talk about Guanzhong first and then Shude, is that okay?"

Dou Wei laughed, "If you want to talk about Guanzhong, then let me talk first! I just received an urgent letter from my nephew Dou Qing this afternoon. I know the latest situation in Guanzhong."

Dugu Zhen was overjoyed, "Brother Dou, please speak!"

Dou Wei took out a letter and said, "Although Yang Xuangan occupied Guanzhong, I think the problem is not too serious. Although Yang Xuangan has obtained the land of Guanzhong, he has not won the hearts of the people in Guanzhong. Most of the officials in Chang'an fled, and the major Guanzhong clans also purified their family traditions. Watch the changes, most of the people who defected to Yang Xuangan were hungry people and Guanzhong bandits, as well as treacherous and slandered people such as Yinshishi and Guyi. Yang Xuangan sent the people to take charge of the army. They are also his clan members. This shows that although Yang Xuangan has a good place, he has no time, and no peace, and we still have a chance."

Dugu Zhen nodded. Dou Wei's knowledge was no less than his. He was worthy of being the head of the Dou family. He also smiled and said, "Dugu also has tens of thousands of fake sons and servants in Guanzhong. I also know that the Dou family also has countless servants, but I suggest that now is not the time to use them. We must not only guard against Yang Xuangan, but also guard against Yang Guang. Now we can use the official power of the Sui Dynasty in Guanzhong to fight against Yang Xuangan, so that he cannot calm down to consolidate Guanzhong. From time to time, the imperial army will arrive and use the imperial army to destroy Yang Xuangan's rebellion for us.

This is the main purpose of Dugu Zhen coming to find Dou Wei. Dou Wei's two nephews held important positions in Guanzhong. Dou Kang was the prefect of Honghua County and Dou Wen was the prefect of Fufeng County.

Dou Wei understood what he meant, and he sighed slightly, "This Dugu head reminded me that I had already thought that I had ordered Dou Kang to lead the army into Fufeng County, and asked Dou Kang and Dou Guan to recruit tens of thousands of troops to resist Yang Xuangan's attack. In fact, what I was most worried about was Yang Yuanqing. If Yang Yuanqing led the army south and attacked Fufeng County from behind, then Fufeng County would be over. Moreover, the elite Fengzhou army and the imperial army might not be able to defeat it. This is my most worrying thing. Once Yang Yuanqing's army enters Guanzhong, there will be no chance for us in Guanlong."

Dugu Zhen smiled slightly, "I dare to assert that if Yang Xuangan rebels again, Yang Yuanqing will never send troops to participate. He will definitely draw a clear line with Yang Xuangan."

Dou Wei pondered for a moment and said, "You mean, the last time Yang Xuangan rebelled?"

“That’s exactly that!”

Dugu Zhen smiled and said, "He has declared Yang Xuangan to the world a rebellion and cut off the father-son relationship. Now he helps Yang Xuangan again. How can he explain to the world? Moreover, during the battle of Yanmen, the emperor just recognized him as a minister of the Sui Dynasty and recognized Fengzhou Army as a Sui army. If he sends troops to Guanzhong, he will definitely break his trust in the world. If no one has trust, he will not establish himself. He will definitely consider this consequence. So I dare to assert that he will never send troops to help Yang Xuangan. Of course, he will not help the court. He should be holding troops and waiting."

"If this is the case, then we have a chance. Brother Dugu, do you think Shude is making an excuse to advance to Guanzhong on the pretext of suppressing Yang Xuangan this time?"

Dugu Zhen walked a few steps behind his back, and he shook his head, "Although the emperor went to Jiangdu, he can still control the situation. Although the Sui Dynasty was already full of holes, it did not fall down and had not yet formed a trend of disintegration. Now that the army is on the rise, I think the time is not yet ripe."

"When will the time be ripe for Brother Dugu?"

Dugu Zhen said lightly: "When the world's rebellion is a little more intense, the influence is a little more, such as the Central Plains and the South."

...........

Dugu Zhen said goodbye and left. Dou Wei sat in the study and pondered. At this time, his son Dou Yun behind him said, "Father, I think the Dugu family is too selfish, and he is not fully helping the Li family."

Dou Wei glanced at his son and shook his head and said, "You can't say that. Who has no selfish intentions? Everyone is for their own interests. Isn't our Dou family the same? Dugu Zhen is already good. As soon as the news from Chang'an reached Luoyang today, he hurriedly ran over, indicating that he cared about Yang Xuangan's rebellion. He hoped that Li Yuan would succeed. After all, Li Yuan is his nephew. The reason why you feel that he doesn't feel attentive is actually just a matter of face. He is unwilling to show his inner things, at least he doesn't want to reveal them in front of the Dou family."

Dou Wei wrote a letter and handed it to Dou Yun, "You ask the letter to hurry to Taiyuan and ask him to hand it to Li Yuan."

"Yes! The boy understands."

Dou Yun took the letter and bowed. Only Dou Wei was left in the room. Dou Wei was deep and meditating. Although he told his son that the Dugu family had no selfishness, in fact, he also felt that the Dugu family had selfishness. The most obvious thing was that he opposed his plan. He asked Li Yuan to wait for a while. In fact, the actual suppression of Yang Xuangan was a good opportunity. Why did he wait? Is it really because the time was not ripe?

Dou Wei believes that is not. The real reason is that the Dugu family has selfish intentions. Dugu Zhen wants to wait and see the situation again. He did not put all his bets on Li Yuan. Dou Wei knows the tradition of the Dugu family very well. Isn’t Dugu Xin like this back then?

Dou Wei sneered coldly, Dugu Zhen didn't understand Li Yuan.

...........

Dugu Zhen's carriage was walking fast in the cold night. The cold moonlight shone into the carriage from the curtains, shining on Dugu Zhen's face, making his face pale as jade. Dugu Zhen covered his body with a thick blanket, his eyes flashing, what was he thinking?

Yang Xuangan's outbreak disrupted his plan and shook his confidence in Li Yuan a little. Is it possible for Li Yuan to seize the country?

He knew that Xiao Liang in the south was ready to move, he knew that Li Mi of Wagang Village was in the limelight, and he also knew that Dou Jiande in Hebei was accumulating strength, but these people were not worth worrying about. The only thing he was worried about was Yang Yuanqing, who was smart, had vision, had wrists, and had patience. When he rose, he would fly into the universe, and lurk in the waves. When he was lurking in Fengzhou, he was also waiting for the opportunity.

Dugu Zhen felt that he could not hang himself on a tree. While supporting Li Yuan, he should leave a way out for the Dugu family. Just like the attitude of the Wei family, they publicly admitted that Wei Shiming and Wei Lun were children of the Wei family, but in fact they were showing their attitude to Yang Yuanqing, and they were also leaving a way out for the Wei family.

There should be a man named Dugu in the Fengzhou army.

...........

Dugu Zhen's carriage slowly stopped in front of Dugu Mansion. Dugu Zhen walked off the carriage and immediately ordered: "Go and find Dugu Lei quickly."

Dugu Zhen returned to his study. Soon, his family reported, "Master, Dugu Lei has arrived."

"Let him in!"

Soon, a man in his thirties walked into the study and bowed, "My nephew Dugu Lei met the head of the family."

Dugu Lei was the grandson of Dugu Zhen's brother Dugu Tuo. He had a low status in the Dugu family. He was the chief of the crossbow office of Shaofu Temple. He was just a ninth-rank official. However, he was skilled and was particularly good at making crossbows and could make extremely clever crossbows. At that time, Yuwen Kai, the Minister of Works, praised him for being the first person to make crossbows in the Sui Dynasty. Although he was very capable, Dugu Lei had no chance to make a name for himself in the Dugu family, which valued scholars and was less craftsmen.

Dugu Zhen thought of this person at this time, and he was attracted by his talent in crossbow making. Dugu Zhen smiled slightly and said, "There is one thing that concerns the rise and fall of the family. I want you to do it."

Dugu Lei was clumsy and not good at speaking. The head of the family actually handed him over the important tasks related to the rise and fall of the family, which made him frightened. He stuttered: "Head of the family...please give orders!"

"From now on, you can change your name to Zhang Lei, and you can take more than a dozen crossbow craftsmen to open a shop selling bows and crossbows in Jiuyuan County, Fengzhou."

Speaking of this, Dugu Zhen lowered his voice and said, "If you want to find a way to become a master of the Fengzhou Army, you must be valued by Yang Yuanqing. You must not disclose your Dugu family's identity unless you have to. Do you understand?"

"My nephew understands!" (To be continued)
Chapter completed!