The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 319 Seizing Power
The council hall of Tang Kuo's family is a typical Chinese building with a rectangular layout, covering an area of ​​about 100 square meters, which is not very large.

Upon opening the main gate, one encounters a large screen, designed to block the wind, ward off evil spirits, and enhance privacy. It is intricately carved with landscapes from various locations, including depictions of pine trees, cranes, and waterfalls, and is inlaid with ivory and jade.

Passing the screen, on the wall directly opposite are couplets, plaques, and hanging screens, all imitating the layout of the Han people, but the writing is all in incomprehensible bronze script. Against the wall is a long table, in front of which is a square table, with a grand master chair on each side of the square table.

These two armchairs were usually reserved for the head of the household. In the past, when Madam Wen held meetings, she would sit at the head of the table. Tang Kuo Shanying, who performed well and gained Madam Wen's approval, was allowed to enter the council hall to listen in and learn about family affairs when he was 15 years old.

As the future head of the family, Tangkuo Shanying held a high position and always sat on the right-hand side of the grand master's chair.

At this moment, Wu Chengyu was sitting upright in the grand chair at the head of the left, with his legs crossed, looking smug and humming a little tune.

On the square table next to him were several small dishes, even a roasted leg of lamb, a small knife, and a pot of wine. The gamey smell of roasted lamb filled the entire council hall, instantly making the originally serious council hall somewhat frivolous and less proper.

In the middle of the council hall were several square tables and more than twenty armchairs, all prepared for the family's managers. Generally, having a chair in the council hall meant being able to participate in the family business and having a certain status within the family.

His lackeys were standing on both sides of the council chamber, none of them standing properly.

Wu Chengyu pretended to close his eyes and hum a tune, but in his heart he was thinking about his meeting with Yan Chunyu and Madam Wen yesterday. Yesterday he was just making a scene outside to ruin Tang Kuo Shanying's reputation, but that would not affect Tang Kuo Shanying's status in the family.

So today's move is to stir up trouble within the family, causing these stewards to continuously accumulate resentment towards Tang Kuo Shan Ying.

Wu Chengyu's mind echoed with the words Madam Wen had said yesterday.

"For the nobles of the Jin Kingdom, it was not a big deal for their family members to cause trouble and tarnish the family's reputation outside; almost everyone did it."

Today, the Chengyu brothers are disguised as Tangkuo Shanying, bullying Han gentry who are dependent on the Jin dogs. These people can only swallow their anger when they are bullied.

As for the Jin nobles, bullying Han people was never a big deal. Even if it temporarily affected their business, the Han families would eventually back down, since the Tangkuo family was no ordinary noble family.

The fact that Cheng Yu and his brothers bullied men and women today will not really affect Tang Kuo Shan Ying's status in the family. Even if everyone complains in their hearts, they will still regard him as the young clan leader and support him to succeed as the head of the family.

The real purpose is to make everyone realize that everything this guy did in the past was a pretense. Now that he is about to become the head of the family, he has completely stopped pretending, his personality has changed drastically, and his true colors have been revealed. He is a guy who has deceived everyone, and people's trust in him will be shaken.

Therefore, everything Cheng Yu and his brother did was a prelude to their next move. While making people less trusting of Tang Kuo Shan Ying, it prevented them from questioning Tang Kuo Shan Ying's sudden change and thus from suspecting that Tang Kuo Shan Ying had been replaced.

The second step is to truly influence Tangkuo Shanying's position within the family, preventing him from gaining support from other family members.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the door. A group of more than twenty members of the Tangkuo family, led by the uncle Tangkuo Nan, and his stewards, filed in, all muttering about why Tangkuo Shanying had suddenly convened a meeting.

They had no objection to Tangkuo Shanying sitting at the head of the council hall. After all, with Madam Wen under house arrest, Tangkuo Shanying was the de facto head of the family, only lacking some formalities.

Tang Kuonan still harbored anger towards Tang Kuo Shanying. Without greeting him, he found a grand chair and was about to sit down. His seat was always in the front row. In terms of status, Tang Kuonan, who controlled the family's private army, had always been the third most important person in the family.

Just as he touched the armchair, Wu Chengyu, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them upon hearing the others enter and shouted, "Move!"

The sound was sudden, and everyone stopped moving instantly. Tang Kuonan thought Tang Kuoshanying was going to do something again, so he stood up again.

Before he could even ask a question, Tang Kuo Shan Ying's lackeys suddenly came over and moved all the eight-immortal table and grand master chairs from the council hall.

The entire council chamber immediately became empty, with no seats left except for the two grand chairs at the head of the room.

"Shanying, what are you doing?" Tang Kuonan's face turned ashen again. He had a vague feeling that Tang Kuoshanying was about to do something.

“I feel that it is really disrespectful for everyone to sit like this during family meetings. I am now issuing an order that from now on, only I can sit in the meeting hall. No matter what your seniority is, you must all stand.”

“You… Shanying, how did you become like this? Don’t forget, you are not the head of the family yet. The matriarch is still alive. If you want to become the next head of the family, she must send a letter to the direct line of the Tangkuo family in Zhongdu and get the approval of the direct line of the family.”

"Alright, you old codger, it won't be long before I find a pretty boy to marry that slut, and then she'll no longer be the mistress of the Tangkuo family. As for the Tangkuo family members in Zhongdu, that's easy too. Without a mistress, you can all petition together; it's just a formality."

Then, if I give the higher-ups some benefits, my position as clan chief will be a sure thing. This is the rule of our Great Jin Kingdom, and even the emperor cannot change it at will.

Therefore, what difference is there between me and the head of the family now? From now on, no one in this family can disobey any of my words.

One by one, the tables and chairs were removed, and Tang Kuo Shan Ying's arrogance was on full display, causing the clansmen present to look on with displeasure, and the atmosphere became extremely tense.

However, Wu Chengyu was not wrong. According to the rules of the Jin Dynasty, the succession of the head of the family by bloodline was beyond doubt, especially for this branch in Tongguan County, where Tangkuo Shanying was the only head of the family.

This kind of thinking is so deeply ingrained that even if these people have grievances, they dare not easily rebel.

"Alright, I'll issue another order: from now on, the profit-sharing rights of the businesses you're in charge of will all be taken back by the main family. I'm a generous person, so I'll keep 30% of the profits you received in the past years, and you'll have to hand over the rest."

That bitch has been too good to you. Not only are you entitled to family stipends, but every year, those of you in charge of the family business also get to take two-tenths of the profits.

"Where in the world could you find such a good deal? I am the true master of Tangkuo Shanying's household; everything in this house belongs to me."

This was Wu Chengyu's real trump card today, and the fuse that ignited a complete break between Tangkuo Shanying and his family.

Although Madam Wen was placed under house arrest by Tang Kuo Shanying due to the suddenness of the incident, this woman was a ruthless character who was able to lead the Tang Kuo family to great success in Tongguan County and secretly support the righteous army for many years. Her words from last night were still ringing in my ears.

"After Tang Kuo Shanying tore off his disguise, I knew that he was extreme in temperament, extremely greedy, and had a strong desire for control. In particular, he had been suppressing his true nature for many years, and now he was very impatient."

He wanted to seize power, so he colluded with Tang Kuonan to control me first, and then used those disgusting methods to strip me of my status as the matriarch of the household.

However, the power of the family patriarch alone is not enough for him; his next step will inevitably be to take back all the power below him.

So we might as well act according to his personality, only we'll be more impatient, less compassionate, and more greedy.

When I brought Tang Kuo's family to Tongguan County, we immediately saw the potential in the iron and coal mines, and the business thrived.

But I am, after all, a Han Chinese, and it is not easy for me to gain the support of my entire family.

Therefore, I divided the family business into several parts and handed them over to several collateral branches, allowing them to operate independently. I promised them that if they managed the business well, they could receive 20% of the annual profit as dividends.

At the same time, I used my relationship with the Empress to cooperate with Wanyan Hongsheng, ceding some benefits in exchange for some of his resources.

These collateral families couldn't reach Wanyan Hongsheng, so they could only rely on me to do business with him. Gradually, even if they had any ulterior motives, they put them aside, and the family gradually stabilized. At least until Tangkuo Shanying came of age, no one dared to disobey me.

These people have made a fortune over the years, each one is rolling in money. They have always held power and those considerable profits. What if Tang Kuo Shan Ying asks them to hand them over?
Throughout history, money and power have been the greatest interests. Even if these people are very law-abiding, they won't allow Tangkuo Shanying to continue taking control of the Tangkuo family. They will inevitably remember the benefits I gave them when I was in power, which sowed the seeds for Tangkuo Shanying's break with the family.

Wu Chengyu sighed inwardly. This Madam Wen was indeed shrewd. Her move was a complete annihilation strategy. How could the people in Tang Kuo's family bear to part with their profits? This was no small amount; each family's annual dividends amounted to tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Most importantly, not only would they take back the right to receive dividends, but Tang Kuo Shanying would also take back all the assets they had accumulated over the years. How could they possibly tolerate that?

As soon as Wu Chengyu spoke, the crowd below erupted in uproar. Just as Madam Wen had predicted, they reacted violently to Wu Chengyu's decision, their faces turning red with anger, jumping up and down, and the crowd was in a state of high spirits.

Even Tangkuo Nan, who had always supported Tangkuo Shanying's rise to power, finally couldn't hold back any longer. Tangkuo Shanying had used some conditions to lure him into betraying the regime, but now, before he could even see any benefits, he was about to be taken advantage of. How could he bear it?

"In my opinion, it would be better to let our matriarch come back to manage affairs. The young clan leader is young and ignorant, and at least he is not qualified to be the clan leader of my Tangkuo family."

(End of this chapter)