"Grandmother, why do you always speak such plain truths!"
Since the masks were off anyway, Ding Yun didn't mind adding insult to injury. Just as the Empress Dowager finished speaking and Dugu Xiao's expression grew even more grim.
She chimed in at a most opportune moment.
The Empress Dowager, playing along, immediately agreed: "Ah Luan sees things more clearly than you. You've only been emperor for a few days, and you've already forgotten our family's ancestral teachings. If this had happened two years ago, how would you have punished them?"
"Attempting to seize the property of clan siblings and employing unlawful means should be met with thirty lashes. Direct descendants shall be demoted to collateral branches, and over ninety percent of personal assets shall be confiscated by imperial decree."
Although Dugu Xiao might not always adhere to his family's ancestral teachings, he remembered them quite clearly. As soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, he recited the punishment by rote. The teachings were so familiar to him that they had almost become muscle memory.
However, after saying it, he fell silent.
If they were to follow the ancestral teachings, the punishment today had undoubtedly been exceedingly lenient. This was why Dugu Xiao found himself speechless and began to ponder.
"The Dugu family has flourished for over three hundred years, spanning ten generations. This ancestral teaching has only been invoked twice. How long have we been the royal family now? Do you still consider this a minor matter?"
The Empress Dowager continued, her tone carrying a hint of interrogation. She had clearly discerned some underlying issues and hoped Dugu Xiao would also be vigilant.
"But how can that be the same? Our family was merely a noble clan before, and now we are the imperial family. Those ancestral teachings were established because we worried that their internal struggles might violate laws, be exploited by others, and thus affect and implicate our entire clan. But now we are the imperial family. Why should we still worry about anyone impeaching us? If it weren't for Ah Luan, this matter wouldn't have happened at all. Moreover, the old ancestral teachings are no longer suitable for the current situation. For instance, demoting direct descendants to collateral branches – they are all my sons. How would you demote them to collateral branches? Surely, you can't adopt them all out to collateral branches, right? That would be too embarrassing. Besides, they didn't succeed at all. Didn't Dugu Luan's assets suffer much loss?"
After becoming emperor, Dugu Xiao's thoughts and principles of conduct had clearly undergone some changes. His former caution and wariness had been completely discarded. He had become more concerned with face and more protective of his own. At this moment, he was even directly denouncing his family's ancestral teachings, deeming them outdated.
Noble clans have their rules. The imperial family, naturally, has its own dignity.
"You are truly incorrigible!"
If she knew fashionable phrases, the Empress Dowager would undoubtedly think of the term "气抖冷" (qi dou leng - enraged and trembling with cold anger), but even without it, her current state could be described as such. Angered by her son, she trembled with fury and a chill in her heart. "Do you perhaps want to abolish the ancestral teachings as well? Do you think our ancestors established those teachings solely out of fear of impeachment? The ancestral teachings impart principles of conduct, the wisdom for the family to prosper and endure. You have truly disappointed me."
"Mother, do you not understand the principle that the inner palace should not interfere in state affairs? I have already said, our Dugu family is now the imperial family, no longer the Dugu clan of the past. Therefore, our family does not need an old matriarch sitting at the top, constantly dictating. Noble clans can have an old matriarch offering suggestions. But the imperial family does not need it. I hope you understand!"
After a few exchanges, Dugu Xiao grew impatient. He was tired of listening to his mother lecture him on matters that were entirely unrelated to his own thoughts and desires. He was even more displeased that he, as the dignified emperor, was being openly criticized and lectured. Therefore, his tone became somewhat disgusted. At the same time, he even explicitly stated that he disliked his mother offering unwelcome advice, believing he was doing a perfectly fine job and didn't need others to interfere or dictate.
With the conversation having reached this point, what else could the Empress Dowager do? She could only angrily flick her sleeves, declare, "Fine! Fine! You are truly excellent. I shall see what chaos you can stir up. The Dugu family's foundation is not enough for you to squander!" With that, she stormed out.
As the Empress Dowager left, Ding Yun did not wish to remain and become the target of their ire. So, she quickly stepped forward, took the Empress Dowager's arm, and accompanied her out. Dugu Xiao's expression, naturally, became even more displeased. Finally, he threw a parting shot at the Empress: "The children you raised! They have no sense of propriety and only cause trouble for me." With that, he too, stormed away.
Thus, the relationship Ding Yun had been trying to maintain essentially collapsed between her and her mother. However, her relationship with the Empress Dowager grew even closer. Instead of being angry with Ding Yun because of her son's attitude and words, the Empress Dowager genuinely felt that only she and her granddaughter remained clear-headed within the entire Dugu family. Everyone else had been blinded by the word "imperial family" and believed that becoming royalty meant having no concerns. Little did they know that just as they had considered the former imperial family insignificant, how could other major noble clans today consider their current Dugu family of any importance? What good outcome could a family have if they couldn't properly discipline their own offspring! Alas, it was useless for the Empress Dowager to be clear-headed when no one was willing to listen.
Of course, although Ding Yun had managed to offend her father and simultaneously her mother this time, her objectives had indeed been achieved. Not only had the four princes who had offended her been punished and effectively lost their chance at succession, but she had also deterred the other princes. While wealth was enticing, facing such a tough opponent would certainly make them hesitant. Therefore, from then on, Ding Yun's workshops finally experienced some peace, and schemes targeting her industries decreased significantly. It was at this time that Ding Yun began contacting some major merchants to collaborate with them.
The reason Ding Yun hadn't sought cooperation earlier was primarily her fear of not being a match for those old foxes. Furthermore, her status as a princess might not have been sufficient to completely deter those shrewd merchants from playing tricks on her. Added to that, during that period, her production and manpower had not kept pace, so there was no need for cooperation. Now, after another month or so of steady development, she had not only increased her production and manpower but also her previous actions had gradually spread throughout the land, earning her considerable respect from many and making it known that she was not to be trifled with. Thus, the opportune moment had arrived.
With the preceding conditions in place, Ding Yun's collaborations with those merchants proceeded relatively smoothly. For production techniques with higher profits and relatively easier access to raw materials, such as glazed mirrors, Ding Yun retained them in her own hands, only selling the finished products. As for soap, perfume, and essential oils, Ding Yun directly sold the formulas. The highest bidder would get them. She would sell the same formula to two or three parties, and then let those parties cooperate among themselves to discuss their respective sales territories and prices. Most importantly, Ding Yun didn't sell the formulas entirely, only parts of them. The most crucial, small, key component remained in her hands. For example, in the production of soap, Ding Yun controlled the alkali configuration process and would only sell alkali in the future. Even if those merchants acquired other soap-making processes, they would still have to purchase alkali from her. This not only brought Ding Yun a steady stream of income but also allowed her to establish relatively close ties with those merchants, rather than a one-time deal where there was no further relationship after selling the formula.
Through these collaborations with merchants, Ding Yun not only expanded her sales channels and reach but also obtained a large amount of wealth. Most importantly, through those merchants, she successfully learned about the customs, resources, and prosperity levels across the country, identifying which regions were more affluent and which were relatively backward. She also learned which areas were primarily influenced by certain noble families and which had few noble families or were largely ignored.
Furthermore, Ding Yun successfully found a justification for establishing a private security firm through her collaborations with those merchants. The reason was that she needed to transport her products to merchants who had placed orders across the country. Although even if she had asked those merchants to pick up the goods themselves in Chang'an, they would have willingly done so for profit, Ding Yun's primary goal was to use this as a legitimate excuse to establish a security firm and, thereby, collect information nationwide. She also wanted to possess a considerable hidden force. Therefore, she preferred to improve her services, reduce her profit margins, and offer door-to-door delivery. This did not arouse suspicion from others; instead, many merchants praised her, considering Ding Yun to be benevolent. Even though she was capable of transporting goods nationwide, she didn't practice exclusive dealings and was willing to share the profits with them. How could that not be considered benevolent?
Subsequently, Ding Yun's hidden forces gradually expanded from scratch, along with her security firm, reaching across the country within a few years. Due to the excessive expenditure of silver required, her security firm also undertook services like sending packages and letters, acting as a postal and logistics service. Of course, even so, to ensure she didn't lose too much, Ding Yun's security firm was limited to areas with relatively larger populations. For regions with very few people, she simply couldn't afford it and had to temporarily abandon them, or maintain only one or two outposts to ensure there was personnel.
As the personnel of the security firm spread throughout the land, Ding Yun's understanding of this world was no longer limited to hearsay or reading books. The relationships and influences within the imperial court and between noble families were for the first time clearly and comprehensively presented to her.
Looking at the information she had gathered over several years, Ding Yun in the secret chamber couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, based on the information collected so far, rebellion seems to be the easiest path. As long as I successfully capture Chang'an and control everyone in the imperial palace, ascend to the throne, and do not infringe upon the interests of the noble families, the world will not be unstable. However, these noble families have seized too much land and too many benefits from the common people. The class stratification is terrifying. If I don't touch their interests, how can I become a so-called emperor for the ages? Moreover, if I were to rebel and ascend to the throne, I would immediately be under the constant scrutiny of those noble families. At that time, it would be far less easy to do anything or make preparations than it is now. Therefore, even though I have the ability to take over all of Chang'an, I cannot act for the time being, because my target is not merely the Dugu family's influence, but all the noble families in the world. I still need to have troops in hand."
"Fortunately, it is still the era of cold weapons. Gunpowder may have appeared, but it has definitely not been used in warfare, otherwise, I would have heard about it. Therefore, even without this 'Emperor for the Ages' system, victory is not impossible. It seems it's time to send people to establish strongholds. Rebellion in Chang'an will certainly not be a problem. The most important thing now is to accumulate forces to deal with those noble families in the future. By the way, the main direction of information collection should also be adjusted. The core objective is to find where those noble families store their grain and centuries-old assets. We can directly seize them when the time comes. The problems of grain and military pay will be solved. Yes, that's what we'll do..."
Only after collecting sufficient information did Ding Yun truly understand the real situation of this world and realize that her greatest enemy was not the Dugu family, but the noble families. The former emperor's easy downfall was primarily because the last emperor of the previous dynasty attempted to move against the six great noble families. The reason the Dugu family could ascend to the throne was not only because they were the executors chosen by the other five great noble families to carry out the plan to overthrow the former imperial family, but also because their willingness to cooperate with the other five great noble families to maintain the old order was a core reason. This was the terror of the era of noble families. Even the succession of the throne depended on them. They occupied immense social resources, which also meant they could mobilize immense social resources, enough to stir up the entire world. These noble families were almost like local emperors in their respective regions. Even local magistrates and prefects might be their subordinates, or their families might have inherited those positions for generations. From this, one can see the terrifying nature of the noble families.
Precisely because she was deeply aware of their power, Ding Yun dared not act rashly. As her new plan was formulated, corresponding directives were swiftly transmitted from the Princess's manor to the temporary information relay points, and then from those relay points, they were disseminated throughout the country. As these directives were conveyed, corresponding changes immediately followed. For instance, the specific direction of information collection, the primary deployment direction of personnel in various regions, and the specific guidance of public opinion all underwent subtle changes under Ding Yun's instructions. The biggest change was that a portion of the personnel secretly gathered together, raised their banners, and began to establish strongholds. And they didn't just establish strongholds in one place; they occupied a mountain every few mountains. This was to ensure that when they were needed later, they could unite and advance together.
In Ding Yun's plan, if she were given another five years, she would have sufficient confidence and strength to directly rebel and ascend to the throne, and then begin to eliminate the noble families. However, plans often do not keep pace with changes. Less than a year after Ding Yun's new plan, specifically targeting the noble families, was implemented, her father, Dugu Xiao, was poisoned and murdered, dying suddenly. The eldest prince, in collusion with the Empress, took control of the imperial palace. Instantly, the situation in Chang'an descended into chaos.