Wu Zetian and Li Zhi had very different methods of doing things. Li Zhi would always leave some leeway. Even if someone was not liked by Li Zhi, at most he would lose his job, and it would not be a big problem to save his life.
As for the family, although it will suffer huge losses, there is no need to worry about its survival.
However, Wu Zetian's methods were much more cruel, and she would often confiscate property and exterminate the entire clan.
Shangguan Yi thought hard for a long time, and in the end, instead of leaving the palace, he moved into the inner garden and then came to the Grand Steward's Mansion. Now he placed his only hope on Wang Zheng.
Although Wang Zheng, the chief steward, does not take care of things, Shangguan Yi believes that it is just due to Wang Zheng's indifferent nature. After all, a saint does not ask for anything. Nothing in the world can attract Wang Zheng anymore. Pursuing the great way is what a saint should do.
But Wang Zheng's words are definitely effective, so Shangguan Yi plans to come to Wang Zheng for help.
As a gentleman, all he needs to do is save face. But at this critical moment, face is not as important as actual benefits.
It's not that Wang Zheng had not given them guidance before, and he had directly expressed his attitude in the court. He was unwilling to get involved in the affairs of the central government. The responsibility of the Yuzhou faction was in the borderland, not in the court.
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As soon as Shangguan Yi entered the courtyard, he walked up to Wang Zheng, kowtowed, and cried, "Master, save me! Master, save me!"
"I did that for the sake of the country and the people!"
"The queen is tyrannical and overbearing. For the sake of the country, I asked Your Majesty to depose her. But the queen had spies in the palace. My actions were not discreet and the queen knew about it. Your Majesty was too quiet to say anything. I am in imminent danger. Please save my life, butler."
Wang Zheng smiled unmoved and said, "I don't quite know what happened, nor do I quite know your purpose, but I can more or less guess a thing or two. In the end, it's just a matter of interests.
Wang Zheng was sitting on a stone bench holding an encyclopedia and flipping through it carefully. The encyclopedia had been updated to date, and even though it was printed in small print, there were already more than a hundred copies. This was still a large volume that was one foot long and seven inches wide with a hundred pages.
This was the request that Wang Zheng and Li Zhi made to the booksellers. For this, Wang Zheng gave up half of his royalties and Li Zhi gave up half of his taxes, but it was worth it.
Wang Zheng waved his hand to stop Shangguan Yi from continuing to sell his character, and said with a smile: "We are all not little kids anymore, and at this time, Lord Shangguan should stop saying these high-sounding words, after all, there is no point in saying these things.
But ordinary people don’t need to buy it. After all, the country has given a set to every village, and each village will be replenished with each update.
Since it's for profit, it's the same as doing business. In the end there will always be winners and losers, profits and losses. It's actually a bit unfair for Lord Shangguan to come to me to seek capital preservation.
A set of small books like the one Wang Zheng was reading, which was four inches wide, seven inches long and fifty pages, contained more than three hundred volumes. Even now when paper and ink were widely available, it would cost a lot to buy a complete set of encyclopedias.
In the past, villagers liked to gossip about other people in their spare time. Now that villagers have free time, it is mostly the village chief or students from Yuzhou who read the encyclopedia to everyone, and villagers can always gain something from it.
Some clever people even discovered a lot of wealth points directly from the encyclopedia. At least 20% of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty in recent years was due to the encyclopedia.
Wang Zheng didn't want to pay much attention to these politicians. If it weren't for Shangguan Yi's old age, Wang Zheng would have wanted to kick him out directly.
"Master Shangguan, please stand up and talk first. Let's discuss the matter. If I can help, I will help you. If it is impossible, I can do nothing about it."
Wang Zheng paused for a moment while holding the encyclopedia, then slowly put it down, sighed, and said, "Shangguan, please stand up and sit down to talk. No matter what, such a great ceremony is a bit excessive, and my Yuzhou family is not as polite as your Confucian school."
Things are hopeless now, why are you coming to me for help?
Do you think you are easy to talk to? You should not cram at the last minute.
Hearing the unhappiness in Wang Zheng's tone, Shangguan Yi had no choice but to stand up and sit opposite Wang Zheng. He still looked at Wang Zheng with a pleading expression, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
After all, even if you make a profit, you can't share the profits with me. Sir Shangguan, do you think this is the truth?"
Looking at the old man in front of him who was crying, Wang Zheng was speechless. How stupid must you be to ask the owner to kill his dog before stealing?
Wang Zheng's tone was somewhat cold, which made Shangguan Yi's heart sink into an icy cave. He wondered in his heart whether Wang Zheng knew something, but he continued to kowtow.
In recent years, the popularization of encyclopedias has helped the people of the Tang Dynasty to reduce many unnecessary losses, and has also brought many benefits to many ordinary people.
However, these guys were blinded by greed and would not listen to what he said at all, or they did not want Wang Zheng to get involved. After all, although there were dangers, there were also benefits.
Now is not the time to save face. Besides, now that you have already knelt down, you have to show an attitude of not giving up until you achieve your goal, otherwise people will think that your matter is not important at all. Wouldn't that be a waste of time?
Lord Shangguan, do you need me to listen to my words of comfort?"
Looking at Wang Zheng's half-smile, Shangguan Yi fell silent, and finally sighed and said, "I am being pretentious, but I really can't get over this hurdle this time, so please give me some advice, Chief Steward.
At least let me save my family. I am old now, and it is not important for me to live or die. But if the younger generation of my family is implicated because of me, I will never forgive myself. "
What were you doing earlier? Since the tribesmen have enjoyed the fruits of your victory, they should naturally bear the risks you bring. In fact, they are not innocent at all.
Wang Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "I don't have a clear way, but I do have a stupid way. It's hard to say what your family is like, but your clansmen can have a way out."