Chapter 200 I have been dealing with myself for a long time, I would rather be myself
Chapter 200 I have been dealing with myself for a long time, I would rather be myself
"Then?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
Li Yanfu's eyes were filled with reminiscence:
"Then, the elder pointed at the dog and said that it was a domesticated dog that farmers used to help herd sheep. Although the sheep were led by a head sheep, they were too large because of their large number.
Sometimes when passing by someone else's farmland, many sheep are attracted by the crops in the fields and will leave the flock to eat. If they destroy the crops, the owner will come to look for them...
The shepherd boy can only drive the head sheep, but he can't stop the sheep from stealing food, so it's the dog's turn to play a role. "
"Dogs run fast and look like wolves, so sheep are afraid of them. If there are sheep stealing food, the dog can run over and drive them away... Therefore, dogs have value and can also avoid being killed and eaten.
The elders finally told me that being a sheep is the most useless thing. The more you eat, the closer you are to death. Only by being the head sheep or a dog, being useful to the master, can you live a better life.
After a pause, Li Yanfu said:
"I asked again, is it better to be the leader of the sheep or the dog?"
Zhao Duan asked curiously, "What did the elder say?"
Li Yanfu said:
"He shook his head and said that none of them were good. The best thing was that when you were the leader, you could tie your life and death to the life and death of the flock, and live and die together, and advance and retreat together.
In this way, even if the head sheep is old and weak, the owner wants to replace it with a new one, he must consider whether killing the old sheep will cause the flock to panic and flee.
When being a dog, you have to find the right balance, neither too lazy nor too diligent. If you are lazy, the owner will replace you, but if you are too diligent, the whole flock will be obedient..."
At this point, Li Yanfu came back to his senses from his memory, stared at him meaningfully, and said:
"Then, what's the point of keeping the dog?"
Rustle...Outside the building, the lake is rippling with waves.
There was the sound of waves hitting the rocks on the shore.
In the wine pot on the table, the green plums have almost melted, and the turbid wine is gradually turning into clear wine.
Zhao Duan calmly listened to this short but meaningful story, and understood what the other party meant.
According to his understanding, the shepherd boy is the emperor, and the flock of sheep refers to the officials.
The leaders are naturally ministers such as Li Yanfu, Yuan Li, and Dong Xuan.
As for the sheepdog...it was undoubtedly referring to himself, and Ma Yan as well.
Of course, people are much more complex than just a flock of sheep.
This is why there are rules of multi-party struggles in the government and checks and balances between the emperor and his ministers.
Why couldn't the empress depose Li Yanfu with just a word?
In fact, it was this old leader who had tied up too many officials on the warship of "Li Dang".
Forming a clique is not just talk, but a series of means to hold each other's handles. Because the power of a single minister is too weak to fight against the king, they form a group.
This is why some powerful officials would often submit their resignations and return home.
The emperor had to keep her, a hypocritical drama.
This is what Sun Lianying meant when he said that Li Yinglong should not be overthrown at this time.
The Li Party can be weakened step by step, its power can be disintegrated bit by bit, its power can be gradually restricted, and Pei Kaizhi and Zhou Cheng can be toppled one after another...all in a way of weakening from easy to difficult.
Including this "Performance Evaluation Law", it is also transferring power from the Ministry of Personnel to the Xiuwenguan.
However, if the father and son of the Li family were attacked, it would inevitably lead to resistance from the officials on the entire "Li Party" warship.
If they resign collectively, the government will be paralyzed and unable to function.
What's worse is that it will cause this group of people and the nobles behind them to turn to the "Eight Kings".
Li Yanfu's words were a subtle reminder to him:
Don't think that you win just by holding Li Yinglong's handle.
The sheepdog metaphor that followed, to Zhao Duan, was nothing more than four words:
Keep the enemy at bay!
Li Yanfu reminded again:
The reason why you, Zhao Duan, can live a comfortable life is because of the existence of the enemy, the Li Party.
If the Li Party collapses, what value will you, His Majesty's henchman, have?
Before a negotiation, one always has to lower the price. Li Yanfu cleverly lowered the price twice by telling a story. He was not afraid even if someone was secretly "recording" the process.
Just like before, when Zhao Duan was talking with Feng Ju on the boat, the other party only "understood" but did not "express his ideas in words".
Li Yanfu has been in the officialdom for many years, and his level of caution is much higher than that of Li Yinglong.
……
"Crack, crack, crack..."
Zhao Duan clapped his hands lightly and said with a smile:
"It is said that a thorough understanding of worldly affairs is a great learning. Prime Minister Li is trying to warn me."
Li Yanfu did not comment.
But Zhao Duan just shook his head after laughing and sighed:
"But I have a different opinion."
"Oh?"
Zhao Duan raised a finger:
"If the year is good, the owner will not kill the head sheep. But if it is a year of famine, the sheep will eat up all the crops and people will die. How can they care about other things?"
Implication:
The officials have eaten too much and left too little for Your Majesty. If you want to survive, the key is not how many people are on the warships behind you, but to leave room for them.
He raised a second finger:
“If the sheep are obedient within the flock, the sheepdogs won’t die because there are wolves outside.”
Let me nurture the enemy and protect myself? Ha!
Not to mention that I had no intention of getting involved in officialdom with you guys.
Even if we take a step back, the current problem is that there are too many bandits.
Where else needs to be raised?
Even if the court is as solid as an iron wall, don't the eight kings and rebels outside exist?
Zhao Duan didn't finish his words, but took out a scroll from his sleeve. He didn't open it, but just gently pressed it on the table, slowly pushed it forward, and leaned back, folded his hands, and said:
"Let's be frank. I don't really like to play tricks. I never thought of hiding this from Your Majesty. I was beating around the bush with Prime Minister Li just now, not because I was afraid that what I said today would be leaked, but because you were afraid..."
He smiled.
This time, his face was no longer pretending to be respectful, but rather had a hint of wanton arrogance, like a wolf in sheep's clothing:
"Originally, I thought Li Xiangruo was sincere enough, so there was no need to say too much. We should save some face for each other so that we can meet again in the future.
But Li Lian refused to listen to my conditions and kept preaching to lower the price. It seems that he is not sincere enough. Then I might as well make it clear. It is not difficult to find out what the relationship between your son and Princess Yuan is. The people who knew about it at that time are not all dead. They just kept silent tacitly and pretended to forget.
I have been investigating these days, and the evidence I have is more than what Prime Minister Li imagined, including the woman who was abducted by your son.
What was lacking was some conclusive evidence, but fortunately we have it now.
Li Xiang knew that once this matter was made public, His Majesty would have no choice but to kill people to maintain the royal family's reputation. Of course, you would say that His Majesty would not... but not now, what about in the future?
Li Xiang is old now, how many more years can he last?
If you don't consider yourself, you should also consider the family behind you. Should you retreat peacefully or force the entire Huaishui Li family to suffer shame? You say there is no choice, but I think there is a choice. "
Li Yanfu's expression changed, as if he did not expect that Zhao Duan would suddenly overturn the table.
He suddenly realized that he might have thought something wrong and underestimated the other party's appetite.
He thought that Zhao Duan was seeking personal gain, so he would not want outsiders to know about this transaction.
He also didn't think that Zhao Duan would have any "solid" evidence.
As long as there is room for maneuver, it is possible to work.
But at this moment, when Zhao Duan tore off the outer coat of gentleness, courtesy, frugality and modesty, the sharp claws inside were revealed.
The old leader sheep suddenly felt the fear buried deep in his blood as he faced a newborn sheepdog.
Yes……
The Prime Minister, at this moment, actually had a trace of...
fear!
"what do you want to say in the end?"
Li Yanfu did not look at the scroll, but just stared at him, like a rock that remained unmoved despite the eight winds.
Zhao Duan crossed his legs, twisted the stems of the green plum with his fingers, and said something earth-shattering in a casual tone:
"I want the Li Party to change its position and support the new policy at the court meeting tomorrow morning."
"impossible!"
Li Yanfu blurted out, his thick and white beard covering both sides of his cheeks trembling, and his hand bones gripping the armrest of the chair tightly.
He didn't expect that Zhao Duan would make such a request.
"Do you think the court is a joke? With just your..."
"Li Xiang!"
Zhao Duan's voice suddenly became heavy, and his expression turned cold, with indifference and sarcasm in his face:
"You don't have to act in front of me. I'm not discussing with you, but informing you."
"Or, you can also take a gamble and bet on whether His Majesty will take action against you. After getting this evidence, when the time is right in the future, he will not use it as a knife to chop off the heads of your Li family members."
"Or, let's bet whether I have the courage to publicize this matter without going through Your Majesty's hands?"
Li Yanfu said: "You dare..."
Zhao Duan interrupted him and sneered:
"Why shouldn't I dare? I'm just a small official of the sixth rank, and I don't have any family burdens behind me. If Li Yinglong wants to kill me, I should kill him. It's reasonable, right?
But you, if things get out of hand, do you really have the courage to drag the entire Li family into a war with His Majesty for Li Yinglong?
Oh, stealing the concubine of the previous emperor, even if you are the eighth prince, for the sake of the royal family's reputation, it cannot be tolerated.
Besides, why should I spread the word myself?
There are so many people who saw this today. If someone accidentally leaked it, such as Xu Hanlin? What does it have to do with me?"
Li Yanfu was silent.
Zhao Duan's tone suddenly softened.
With a flick of his finger, he threw the green plum in his hand into the wine pot, splashing a cloud of boiling hot wine. He sighed softly:
"Prime Minister Li, do you, the Huaishui Li family, really care about the small amount of tax silver lost under the new policy?
Or do you really care about the fat and bloated parasites under you?
Or in your opinion, can the new policy really be stopped?
Or can it just be delayed for a while?
Sooner or later, you will fall down? You are old now, it is time to think about yourself.
As long as you nod, today's incident will be a misunderstanding.
If you don’t want to, I won’t make it difficult for you.”
He stood up.
He didn't even take the scroll.
After tidying up his clothes, he looked at the wine flask that was almost dry with some regret, and shook his head:
"What a pity! It seems I won't be able to drink the Prime Minister's wine anymore."
As he said this, he slowly turned around and walked downstairs for the second time.
But this time, he was not sure what the answer would be.
one two Three……
Just when Zhao Duan thought that this old fox was as cruel and courageous as he was in the past.
Finally, a tired voice came from behind:
"Wait."
Zhao Duan paused, turned around, and asked in confusion:
"Is there anything else, Li Xiang?"
Buried in his crimson official robe, he seemed to have his eyes closed.
At this time, the setting sun slowly sank and hovered just behind him, shrouding the entire person in shadow, making it difficult for Zhao Duan to see clearly.
Li Yanfu looked at Zhao Duan who was standing in the light, and suddenly asked a strange question:
"How do you think you compare to Ben?"
Zhao Duan was slightly startled, then suddenly smiled and shook his head:
"I and myself have been dealing with each other for a long time, and I would rather be myself."
I would rather be me...
I would rather be me...
Li Yanfu chewed over this famous quote from another world, and he actually seemed to smile and closed his eyes.
His expression returned to its calm state.
The corner of the setting sun that appeared behind him was once again covered by dark clouds.
"it is good."
……
Help catch typos
(End of this chapter)