Chapter 20 Xie Family Analysis
Chapter 20
Xie family
In the quiet room of the main courtyard, the father and son of the Xie family were playing chess, and all the servants in the room had left.
Xie Mingtang and Xie Zhan sat across from each other, Xie Zhan holding the white pieces and Xie Mingtang the black pieces. In the entire quiet room, there was no sound other than the clatter of pieces dropping.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Mingtang placed a black piece and asked his handsome eldest son across from him, "What do you think of what happened in the court this morning?"
Xie Zhan held a white piece and looked at the three suitable positions on the chessboard. He said nothing, his eyes fixed on the chessboard, as if he was troubled by something.
Xie Mingtang did not rush and waited patiently.
All the images in Xie Zhan's mind finally froze on that day when Lv Songli slapped the messenger in the face of the Zhao residence. He had finally decided on the position of his chess piece. He was still a little unsure when he made his move, but as the piece got closer to the board, the force of his move became more and more firm.
After the pieces were settled, Xie Zhan said, "The Zhao family has been doing well for too long and has underestimated their enemies."
Xie Mingtang nodded. Indeed, in the past, Lv Desheng, the big troll, had never touched anyone from the Zhao family, and of course, no one from the Xie family either. This was the first time Zhao Wenkuan had faced Lv Desheng's attack directly, and he was defeated miserably.
"The Zhao family underestimated the enemy, but isn't Lu Desheng too dangerous?"
Logically, the stronger the in-laws, the happier they would be, rather than more worried. Xie Mingtang's words were actually a test, a test of his own. He was also worried about how the Xie family would respond if the Lu family one day turned against them. As the saying goes, there are no permanent enemies, nor are there permanent friends.
In the past, when faced with similar questions from his father, Xie Zhan usually remained silent. He felt there was no need for discussion. Given Lu Songli's inherent personality, the likelihood of the Lu family breaking off the engagement was low. Since the Lu family would be his in-laws, he wouldn't allow the Lu and Xie families to turn against each other.
Xie Mingtang had become accustomed to his eldest son's silence. In the last few years before his death, his old father often told him that his eldest grandson, Xie Zhan, was the one who resembled him the most among all his descendants. He possessed many excellent qualities, was able to see the big picture from small details, was meticulous, and acted only after careful consideration. He was truly the unicorn of the Xie family. Today, he is well-read and learned, and it is only a matter of time before he is made a marquis and appointed as a prime minister. With Xie Zhan in the family, the Xie family will have no worries for at least three generations. This was not only said to him, but also to several elders who are currently in charge of the Xie family. Because of this, the family spared no effort in cultivating Xie Zhan.
Many people in the clan were dissatisfied with the fact that such a good person had such a marriage. However, since the marriage was arranged by his father, no one said anything.
As one of the family's leaders, Xie Mingtang knew more and was even more dissatisfied with the marriage. His son was so outstanding, and he hoped that he would also have an outstanding legitimate son in the future. He knew that his father had been forced to arrange the marriage for his son with the Lu family, and that he might not be truly satisfied with the Lu family.
In reality, the Xie family had plenty of ways to force the Lu family to break off the engagement. But upon realizing this, their eldest son, Xie Zhan, repeatedly stopped him and warned him to restrain his clansmen and not to attack the Lu family. He said Lu Desheng was very sensitive. A passing goose leaves a trace, and if he took action, there was no guarantee it wouldn't be discovered. He took all this advice to heart and acted accordingly over the years.
Now that the Zhao family had intervened, it had given the Xie family another option without damaging their reputation. When the Zhao family came, he had been tempted, but his son remained unmoved.
Just when Xie Mingtang thought he couldn't wait for his son to speak again, Xie Zhan spoke up, "Father, don't worry too much. To put it bluntly, Lv Desheng is just a knife in the hands of the emperor. The reason why Lv Desheng's impeachment was so effective this time is obviously because the emperor has long been dissatisfied with the Zhao family, and the emperor is simply using Lv Desheng's hand to take advantage of the situation."
Xie Mingtang was delighted by his son's softening or change in attitude. He knew exactly what it meant, but then he was filled with deep worry. "Lv Desheng's knife is too sharp. It's burning me."
He had to worry about this. Lv Desheng was like a raging fire, and it was very uncontrollable. He was worried that one day, this fire would burn the Xie family. Compared to the Zhao family, their Xie family was probably not much clean. If Lv Desheng turned his gun on the Xie family, it would be a disaster.
Xie Zhan shook his head and said, "Lü Desheng is nothing to be afraid of. The Lu family is like a rootless duckweed. They may seem powerful, but they only play an extraordinary role in a specific position. In fact, it is not difficult to get rid of him."
Xie Mingtang pressed on, "How do you say that? What method do you use?"
Xie Zhan casually spat out two words, "Praise to death!"
"Tell me more." Xie Mingtang motioned for him to continue. Didn't his son just say that? Lv Desheng was the sword in the emperor's hand. Now they wanted to destroy his sword. Would the emperor be happy with that?
Seeing his father like this, Xie Zhan frowned slightly. It seemed that Lu Desheng really put a lot of pressure on his father. This was not acceptable.
"Dad, have you ever analyzed the reasons why Lu Desheng is so powerful? If we address the reasons, it won't be difficult to get rid of him."
"Lü Desheng's power lies in his mouth!" Xie Mingtang said with disdain, but in his heart he had to admit that Lü Desheng was quite good at impeaching people.
"That's simply because his sword is sharp and easy to use. These are just superficial reasons. Another reason is that the emperor needs a sword that is loyal only to himself."
Xie Mingtang knew that his son was right. If the emperor didn't need it, then no matter how sharp the knife was, he wouldn't use it.
"Dad, there are many people in the court who hate Lu Desheng, right?"
"Even if I don't hate him, I don't like him either. If it weren't for the Emperor protecting him, he would have no place in the court."
"Those people must have belittled and suppressed him in front of the emperor, right? But no matter what they said, the emperor always protected him, right?"
“That’s absolutely right!”
Xie Zhan pointed out, "So, their intention to deal with Lü Desheng was wrong from the beginning."
Everyone has a rebellious mentality. So many officials in the court always want to move against Lu Desheng. For the emperor, the more you oppose my people, the more I will protect them. I don’t believe that I can’t protect a minister.
If Lu Songli were here, she would also agree with his point of view. The current situation of her father and the emperor is that the stronger the external force given to them by the court officials, the more they will unite to resist.
"Wrong direction?"
"Lü Desheng is now one with the Emperor. If you deal with him, you are actually dealing with the Emperor."
Xie Mingtang's brows relaxed after hearing this, "Son, I kind of understand." He suddenly realized, no wonder they felt a headache when dealing with Lu Desheng.
"So, the first step in dealing with Lu Desheng is to separate him from the emperor and take away his characteristic as a 'knife'. The second is not to ignore the emperor's needs and not let the emperor be without a knife. Once the emperor adapts to the new 'knife', dealing with Lu Desheng will be a piece of cake." Xie Zhan gently placed the last piece and ended the game.
"What a good plan!" Xie Mingtang clapped his hands in exclamation.
He had never expected that the problem that had troubled him for so long could be solved by his eldest son in just a few words. Looking at his eldest son sitting across from him, who was calm and sharp-witted, he couldn't help but feel full of pride. He was worthy of being his eldest son, whom he had placed great hopes on.
If Lu Songli and Xie Zhan heard each other's conversation with their fathers at this moment, they would be shocked and guard against each other.
Their analysis of Lu Yushi was equally insightful, and their methods of dealing with him were similar, almost hitting his weak spots. Lu Songli simply simplified it into specific steps, while Xie Zhan, with the intention of giving guidance, explained it to his father in a more profound way.
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