Chapter 56 Persuasion
When Mu Qi knocked on the small door of Yan Mansion, the young cabinet minister had just finished dinner. Seeing the prince coming in, he quickly stood up to greet him. But then he saw Gao Suqing, a scholar dressed as a servant, coming out from behind the prince, and his fat face immediately became interesting.
Judging from the current situation, Yan Donglou is the number two figure in the Yan party, and Gao Suqing is the number two figure in the Qingliu party. Now the two factions are like fire and water and attacking each other, but the number two figures of both sides are meeting secretly away from the eyes and ears. How can this be explained?
Gao Suqing wore a blue robe and Yan Donglou wore a casual robe, both of which were private and casual attire that they would only wear in front of their most trusted people. Now the two of them were looking at each other in their private clothes, but the atmosphere was weird and stagnant to the extreme. If the diehards of the two parties were to see this absurd scene, they would probably be shattered and insane on the spot. The radical ones might even spread all the earth-shattering news in one go and accuse Yan Donglou of having an affair with Qingliu in public, saying that he had violated the rules and regulations and was guilty of a crime that should not be punished!
Even the young minister could not bear such a minor crime, so after being stunned for a moment, he just greeted him and then slowly sat down to show the appropriate distance.
The situation was so urgent that Mu Qi didn't bother to worry about etiquette. He explained the current situation clearly and pointed out the purpose of this trip directly:
"Prince Yin is rubbing his hands in anticipation, and it seems that he is determined to take the throne. If he wants to take the throne, he must disrupt the court. From a public perspective, we are all ministers of the court, and we cannot watch such a person rise to prominence and cause chaos in the court; from a private perspective, if he wants to take the throne, he has to step on others to get ahead, and who wants to be a stepping stone? As for now, only if everyone understands each other can we stop this trend!"
In short, if political trends suddenly arise in the future and there really comes a day when swords are drawn, there is no need to ask the Yan party and the Qingliu to work closely together and share the same hatred of the enemy. As long as they do not help the royal family to take advantage of the situation and stab the enemy in the back, it can be regarded as a favor for the overall situation.
In Mu Qi's mind, this condition was already quite relaxed and would not affect the actual interests of either the Yan Party or the Qingliu Party. But he probably ignored the feud between the two sides that had lasted for more than ten years. Even after he pointed out the current dilemma frankly, Elder Yan was still hesitant and remained silent.
Even if there is a practical need for cooperation, emotional suspicion is difficult to eliminate. According to current political practice, such a major event cannot be handled hastily. The two sides will probably have to exchange quotations from classics for a long time, test each other to confirm their sincerity in cooperation, and then delay for a few more days to convince their confidants, and barely reach a gentleman's agreement for a temporary truce. Considering the efficiency of the ancients in doing things and the time spent on roundabout word games, it is not difficult to drag it out for more than half a month - and then one can only watch as Prince Yin makes a big move immediately after entering the capital, and be beaten to a big move by someone so fast that even the overnight meal will be knocked out!
At this point, Mu Qi no longer had time to go through the formalities, so he spoke directly:
"Young Master, don't you want to agree?"
The young minister did not reply, but the implication was already very clear.
The prince was not angry at all, and his tone was still calm:
"If the young minister has really made up his mind, I can't say much. But I just want to ask the young minister to imagine a situation - after Prince Yin arrives in Beijing, the cabinet ministers will definitely visit the prince's residence to express their condolences. If during the conversation, Prince Yin suddenly gets angry and brings out some hard-to-explain evidence to accuse Minister Yan of being authoritarian and domineering, what should Minister Yan do? In other words, if Prince Yin suddenly bursts into tears at the banquet, saying that the Zhu family has been bullied by the civil servants over the years, and all the mistakes made by the cabinet over the years are fabricated as a sinister move to cover up the emperor, what can Minister Yan do?"
Yan Donglou: ...Ah?
He was stunned with his eyes wide open, and was unable to react for a moment. In fact, if you think about it carefully, the various assumptions in the prince's words are not impossible, but this kind of behavior of throwing tantrums and biting directly is no different from that of a mad dog.
He couldn't help asking:
"Why did King Yin do this?"
After all, he is a prince of a very high generation in the royal family. Could he still act like a mad dog? The prince's speculations are too unbelievable!
"Because I put myself in their shoes, because I judge others by my own standards." The prince said calmly: "If I had the unrivaled golden ticket of immunity from death like King Yin, I would immediately go crazy and throw a tantrum as soon as I entered the capital, and use my status to poke a hole in the sky first. If I can do this, why can't he?"
Young cabinet minister: …………
Mr. Gao: …………
The two adults were shocked, the two adults were stunned, the two adults couldn't say a word!
——No, it turns out you also know that you are a lunatic?
——So you know that you are throwing a tantrum and going crazy?
——So you are so self-aware? !
It is said that it is important for a person to know himself, and that honesty is the most lethal weapon. When the Prince of Duke Mu confessed to this extent, the two core members of the Qingliu Yan Party could only stare blankly, and even if they racked their brains, they could not squeeze out a word of evaluation. Only thousands of complaints surged in their chests, almost suffocating them to death.
"So, you should be able to imagine the power of these moves." The prince ignored the two people's wonderful expressions very familiarly, and his tone did not fluctuate at all: "Of course, these moves are a bit excessive, but in the court, only winning or losing matters, who cares about right and wrong? For the indestructible princes, wasting energy on intrigue is simply inferior. Relying on status to crush the enemy all the way is a good way to defeat ten with one force. This is the so-called dimensionality reduction attack, to suppress others with power - in fact, if Prince Yin can put aside his face, the moves he can come up with may be more than ten times more powerful than mine."
Having said this, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Obviously, because Prince Yin had been smiling but showing a sharp knife in his heart for too long in the court, both the Qingliu and the Yan party had seriously misjudged the situation. They probably thought that Prince Yin was also a normal power-seeker who valued decency and propriety, and would play the game honestly according to the court's fixed rules. But only Mu Qi had seen the information from later generations and knew what an incredible humanoid creature King Yin of this generation was, so he never had any unnecessary fantasies.
——Besides, the two memorials from Prince Yin swept across all officials, clearly showing that he was taking the route of a tool and cruel official like Jiang Chong, who cut off his own retreat and flattered the imperial power. How could such a person care about etiquette? When Jiang Chong humiliated Prince Wei and the Grand Princess, did he ever consider the situation of the country?
What does “playing by the rules” mean? If you try your best to think about the chess moves and review the game, others will immediately pick up the chessboard and hit you with two hammers - is political struggle like treating someone to a dinner? How can you keep procrastinating!
Of course, Master Gao and the young minister didn't understand what "dimensionality reduction strike" meant, but they quickly grasped the key word "ten times" - if you use your imagination a little, imagine an invincible character whose degree of madness and destructive power are ten times more than that of the prince rampaging in the capital, that kind of effect...
Both of them shuddered at the same time!
The terrifying prospect quickly overwhelmed the boring dispute of will, and Yan Donglou finally spoke:
"There are too many people in our Yan family, and it's not something that can be decided by my grandfather alone."
This is an honest expression of one's difficulties. The Yan family is the Yan Party. Although it is called a "party", it is just a loose and temporary alliance. There is no iron discipline between them. Although Yan Fenyi, the Lord Yan, was the nominal leader of the Yan Party, it was actually difficult for him to command those allies who depended on power. Those who gather for profit will disperse because of profit. The Yan Party is composed of despicable characters who are blinded by money. How could they suppress their desire to attack and force themselves to remain dormant for an illusory possibility? Even with Lord Yan's prestige, this matter would be difficult to accomplish.
In a sense, this is probably where the Yan Party is far inferior to the Qingliu Party. No matter how hypocritical, insidious, shameless and despicable the Qingliu are, at least they can pretend to have some ideals and beliefs. Facts have proved that even pretended ideals and beliefs are much stronger than blatant and undisguised corruption. The Confucianism that the Qingliu faction believes in naturally has the belief of suppressing the interference of princes in politics. It was not difficult for Gao Suqing to convince his colleagues; on the contrary, the Yan party was scattered and it was difficult for them to reach a consensus on such matters.
From this perspective, it was actually quite natural that the Yan party was defeated in the party struggle in the future, and was unable to make a comeback after the tree fell and the monkeys scattered.
Mu Qi frowned:
"What is the young master's plan?"
Yan Donglou sighed: "We have to spare some time for us father and son to sort things out."
Judging from the Yan party's usual behavior, it is estimated that they will engage in some kind of exchange of interests, coercion and inducement in private, and if things go wrong, something bad will happen - the smoking ground that was just peeled not long ago is an example. But at this point, Mu Qi has no intention of indulging those fools in the Yan party who are insatiable in making money; the so-called impeachment of "evil possession" is still fresh in his mind, and no matter whether the other party intends to do so or not, he will definitely not tolerate this risk. He said decisively:
"In that case, please forgive me for being blunt. I may have to say something unpleasant to the ear."
Yan Donglou: …Actually, since you came in, not a single word you said was pleasant to hear. There’s really no need to pretend to be polite.
He could only speak dryly: "Please speak, my lord."
"Then I will speak my mind directly." The prince said, "Now that Elder Xia has retired from the court, only Elder Yan and Elder Xu are fighting each other, and each is good at winning. The two factions each divide the world, and the competition is still uncertain. As for the nobles, relatives, and favored people like me, we are just marginal figures in the political situation. But why are these two factions occupying the key positions in the court? The status certainly comes from the emperor's favor, but we must also consider the actual needs. In a nutshell, the court needs someone to be the inside, who gives up his face to work for the upper level and make money; it also needs someone to be the face, so that the glory and prosperity can be brought out to the hall. Both sides are indispensable, and this is the foundation for the two factions to gain a foothold."
Facts have proved that when the prince said that his words were unpleasant to the ear, they were truly unpleasant to the ear, without any falsehood. Although it was concealed in the explanation, it would have been better if it had not been concealed. The two bosses immediately heard the hidden meaning. What is “inside” and “outside”? Isn’t it just that one is shameless and the other is trying to be virtuous?
The shameless young cabinet minister and the scholar who was standing at the memorial archway both turned green in the face, but they had something to say and could not refute it, so they could only stare blankly:
——Why are you telling all the truth out there?
The prince didn't care about the mood of the two bosses, and his expression remained calm:
"After Prince Yin comes to the capital, he will certainly stir up the waters. Who will be affected the most when the storm comes?" The prince said calmly, "Young Lord, I am only a nobleman. Even if I can't stand the court anymore, I can just go back to my hometown in Nanjing and have a meal with my parents. The lords of the Qingliu faction cannot just watch the royal family and the vassal states waste their time. There might be some conflicts. But after all, there is no fundamental conflict between the two sides' positions. The Qingliu faction is there to give face to the court, and their conduct and reputation must be impressive. What about Prince Yin? Can the court push Prince Yin out to be a memorial?"
What level of monster is King Yin? During his twenty years as a vassal in Luoyang, Henan, he seized the property of no less than a thousand people and abused their wives and daughters! If the imperial court dares to put forward such people as its own, then it is truly like leading beasts to eat people and sweeping away moral principles. They can almost be compared with Jie and Zhou!
——If that day really comes, Mu Qi will have to send Lao Deng away first even if he has to give up the mission!
Obviously, such a person can never come to the stage. He can only lurk underground and do dirty work for the emperor, acting as a glove that cannot be seen in the light, in order to seize power and consolidate his position. He can be a cruel official with no bottom line, but he can only be a cruel official with no bottom line. As long as Lao Deng hasn't had the heavy metals from the elixirs he took enter his brain, he won't allow these monsters to get out and run wild.
Of course, being able to do dirty work for the emperor is a situation that countless people could never imagine in their dreams... But now, this ecological niche of being a white glove and doing dirty work for Lao Deng has been occupied by someone.
The deepest hatred is between colleagues. In order to give himself room for improvement, would King Yin be lenient?
Being Lao Deng's white glove is much more dangerous than sitting on Lao Deng's archway. After Hai Gangfeng submitted the "Public Security Memorial", Lao Deng still had to be wary of his reputation in the future and tolerate some of it; but once the Yan Party collapses, except for Lord Yan who can still survive by relying on the old friendship of decades of licking his boots, it is basically impossible for everyone from the junior Lords to the trusted party members to preserve their lives and property in the subsequent political hunt. A struggle of this level is bound to be a life-and-death struggle.
Moreover, after the fall of the Yan Party, it would be fine if they could come to their senses, reform politics, and make a fresh start with the world; but if the new leaders are a group of more vicious and terrifying humanoid creatures, it would be better to keep things as they are.
People should always have a little imagination and not be too bound by reality. When you see the Yan party doing all kinds of evil, you think that this is the absolute political floor; but when you see the Zongfan clan in the future, you will understand that there is hell beneath the floor. And what about King Yin? Prince Yin's is the eighteenth level of hell, an ultimate boss that even Lord Yan would find too extreme!
Choose the lesser of two evils; this is why Mu Qi is willing to lend a hand to the Yan Party. But to lend a hand someone has to be willing to move, so Mu Qi looked closely at the person opposite, his expression clear as day.
Obviously, the young minister knows what is right and what is wrong. He was stunned for a long time, and finally nodded slowly:
"...I will try my best to persuade you."
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