Chapter 199 Fable: The Sheep and the Sheepdog
“Gurgle gurgle…”
In the wine pot on the table, green plums float up and down in the turbid wine.
At the table, Zhao Duan just smiled:
"Prime Minister Li, you're joking. My Zhao family is a humble one, and we are only willing to serve Your Majesty like dogs and horses, but we have no intention of becoming a noble family."
Well, he only wants to be a member of the royal family...
Li Yanfu didn't know what he was thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He leaned back in his chair, looking very casual, and sighed:
“Sometimes, when you reach a certain position, many things are not decided by you whether you want to or not.
Take this family for example. It's not necessarily that you want to expand. Even if you don't want to, can you guarantee that your family members don't want to? Or your relatives don't want to? It's easy to control yourself, but it's hard to control the people around you."
Zhao Duan agreed deeply, pretending not to hear the metaphor in the other party's words, and said:
"It's good that Prime Minister Li understands. Just like this time, Prime Minister Li can control himself, but he can't control your son."
This brings us to the point.
Li Yanfu's expression remained unchanged, and he said "Oh" in a questioning tone:
"Is Yinglong looking for trouble with you again?"
Zhao Duan sighed and said with a wry smile:
"Prime Minister Li has wrongly accused me. I'm not here to accuse you. Although your son and I have some grudges, it's all in the past. I'm not a vindictive person..."
Hearing the latter part of the sentence, Li Yanfu's mouth twitched, thinking that young people nowadays are indeed much more shameless:
"Then why did Mr. Zhao Ji come here?"
Zhao Duan pretended to be surprised: "Prime Minister Li doesn't know?"
Li Yanfu remained calm, as if he really knew nothing:
"What should Ben know?"
"Alas," Zhao Duan said with great regret:
"Alright, I've arrived just in time. Actually, today was all a coincidence... I, Lihuatang, was originally laying an ambush to track down a rebel, but unexpectedly, instead of finding him, we stumbled upon your young master meeting a woman. It's really..."
Li Yanfu frowned and interrupted, not wanting to listen to his nonsense:
"The imperial court is now so idle that it has to intervene in the affairs of men and women?"
Zhao Duan's tone was sincere, but his sitting posture became more casual:
"If it were just an ordinary woman, I wouldn't be surprised. After all, your young master likes to take concubines and is a playboy... I've heard about that a long time ago. However, this woman's identity is a bit tricky... She's that..."
As he spoke, he raised a finger in a mysterious manner and pointed at the top of his head. The name he uttered made Li Yanfu, who was pretending to be calm, suddenly change color.
"The late emperor's widow, Yuan Ru, Imperial Concubine Yuan!"
Woo woo!
A stream of white gas spurted out of the wine pot at the right moment, pushing open the lid and making a low whistle.
The important minister of the country, wearing a crimson official robe and with thick hair, even though he was very good at cultivating his Qi, at this moment, his pupils suddenly narrowed and his heart skipped a beat!
Concubine Yuan!
Yinglong, having a secret meeting with Princess Yuan?
Li Yanfu's first thought was that it was impossible, but in a moment, he vaguely remembered that he seemed to have heard that Princess Yuan had returned home to visit her family a few days ago.
As for the old love between Li Yinglong and Yuan Ru that was severed and hidden, outsiders did not know about it, but Li Yanfu knew it.
Because that year, when Li Yinglong learned that Yuan Ru was going to enter the palace, he went to his father to plead for mercy, but it was Li Yanfu who suppressed the matter.
Then think about the Lihua Hall's accidental "explosion" and Xu Hanlin's betrayal...
In a flash, the old man who had dominated the court of Dayu for twenty years looked at Zhao Duan with a gaze as cold as a knife.
At this moment, the slight admiration he had for the young man in front of him had disappeared, turning into anger and... disbelief.
"Haha, why does Prime Minister Li look at me like this? I didn't believe it at first. After all, Concubine Yuan should be visiting her family at home right now. Why would she be disguising herself as a man and meeting your young master in an inn?
The people below even vaguely heard the name "Li Lang"... Oh, they probably heard it wrong...
It's also my fault for not controlling my subordinates well enough. They didn't take things lightly and rushed in directly, causing your son to jump out of the window and escape.
In this case, I want to control the situation, but it is impossible, so I have no choice but to ask your son to return to the imperial court first..."
Zhao Duan always had a smile on his face when he spoke.
It was as if he was not the mastermind behind the incident at all, but an innocent passerby:
"Of course, I absolutely believe in your son's innocence. Although the late emperor has passed away, no matter how much Minister Li lusts for beauty, he would not commit adultery with Concubine Yuan...
Oh, there must be a misunderstanding. This is why I hurried over to ask. I believe Prime Minister Li should know why.
At this time, the sun had already set, and the golden light was reflected on the lake outside the building.
Li Yanfu stared at him intently, without any expression, showing no joy or anger.
This look... reminded Zhao Duan of the old prime minister's glance back at him that day when he was at the Meridian Gate and made Pei Kaizhi so angry that he vomited blood.
a long time.
Li Yanfu's hands, which were tightly gripping the armrests of the chair, slowly loosened their grip and said calmly:
"I know nothing about this. I'm afraid you've asked the wrong person."
What this means is:
Don't try to set a trap for me. I don't know anything if you ask me. I must cut off all ties with Li Yinglong to avoid getting into trouble with both father and son.
So cold-blooded... so cunning... Zhao Duan was disappointed when he saw his attitude, but he still said:
"As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. Prime Minister Li must be aware that your son recently took in a new concubine. It is said that her features are quite similar to those of the Yuan Concubine."
Li Yanfu closed his eyes, as if he was old and sleepy, and sighed:
"As the saying goes, a child should not be kept when he grows up. The true situation of Yinglong's family has never been known."
Don't scare me, isn't it true that girls can't be kept when they grow up?
...He's really quick to pass on the blame, like an old loach, slippery and unrelenting... Zhao Duan also sighed, straightened his robe, stood up and said:
"Since the Prime Minister remains clueless, I have no choice but to report this matter. After all, the matter is of such magnitude that I, a mere sixth-rank official from the Lihua Hall, dare not make any rash decisions."
As he spoke, he walked away, counting one, two, three in his mind...
Li Yanfu had no expression on his face, and he did not get up to chase after him. He just watched Zhao Duan walk to the stairs, and then he said calmly:
"Forget about this little trick. If you really want to expose it, why bother looking for the truth?"
Zhao Duan paused and turned around with a smile on his face.
He returned to his seat with smooth movements and glanced at the boiling wine jug:
"Prime Minister Li is entertaining guests, but he doesn't offer them wine?"
Li Yanfu said, "If you want to eat, take it yourself."
Zhao Duan also smiled and shook his head: "Don't dare drink the Prime Minister's wine carelessly."
A sneer appeared on Li Yanfu's lips: "Are you afraid that I will poison you?"
Zhao Duan sighed:
"I come from a humble background, far less privileged than Prime Minister Li's family, but my father taught me some simple truths when he was young, such as being grateful for what you have received and being soft-hearted when you receive something."
This is a clear statement.
If you want him to be "short-tongued" and "soft-handed", to pick up this matter high and put it down lightly, you will feed his mouth and fill his hands.
Li Yanfu understood.
In other words, when Zhao Duan painstakingly planned and successfully tricked Li Yinglong into falling into his trap, he did not report it immediately, but instead ran to him, saying that "there must be a misunderstanding".
He understood that this cunning little fox came to him to discuss business.
Politics is the art of compromise.
Talk, you can talk about anything.
From Zhao Duan's perspective, did he want to get rid of Li Yinglong? To bring him down in one fell swoop?
think.
But no.
As the old supervisor Sun Lianying said, it depends on the current situation.
The current political situation is not suitable for taking action against the Li father and son. Once such action is taken, the consequences will most likely be a complete loss.
Even if Zhao Duan really handed over this evidence, the empress would suppress it, because at least at this critical juncture, Li Yinglong could not be deposed.
That would only arouse the hatred of the nobles.
Therefore, Zhao Duan never thought from the beginning to the end that he could depose the young cabinet minister with just this small plan.
His target has always been Li Yanfu.
It’s Li’s party.
It’s a new policy.
This is the political storm that has swept the entire Dayu court, has lasted for some time, and has attracted the attention of countless people.
As a small chess player on the edge of the storm, in the leeward port, he wants to put in a little effort at some point and do something big.
Therefore, this meeting was actually a negotiation between two people alone.
But at this moment, Li Yanfu, who was sitting at the other end of the negotiating table, still didn't know what Zhao Duan really wanted.
But even so, this former cabinet minister who had suppressed the court for twenty years still read a key message from Zhao Duan's glint in his eyes:
This little wolf has a big appetite!
I'm afraid it can't be solved with just "a pot of wine".
Thinking of this, Li Yanfu suddenly changed the subject.
Without asking what Zhao Duan wanted, he shook his head and said, taking advantage of the previous topic:
"Although I come from the Huaishui Li family, I have come this far because I learned and practiced the same principles as you do: simple principles from the countryside."
Changing the subject? What's this old fox up to?
Tsk, are they trying to lower the price... Zhao Duan showed a curious look:
"Oh? Like?"
It was as if a younger generation was sincerely asking the Prime Minister for advice on how to be an official.
Li Yanfu leaned back in his armchair, his red official robes seeming to engulf him. The old man with white hair said:
"Have you ever herded sheep?"
Zhao Duan shook his head.
Li Yanfu said:
"When I was young, I once followed my elders to a farm in the countryside and saw a shepherd boy herding sheep.
It's quite interesting. There are dozens of sheep in the flock, but a small shepherd boy can let them run wild.
I was confused and asked an elder for advice. The elder pointed to an old ram in the flock, and then pointed to a strange-looking dog in the grass, which looked like a local dog from the Western Regions.
He told me that a farmer's sheep farming depends entirely on this one sheep and this one dog."
"He said sheep are very stupid animals. They have short-sightedness, dull minds and no independent thinking. So how do they survive? It's simple: just follow the 'leader'.
Every flock of sheep has a leader, and the flock will follow whatever the leader does.
Even if the lead sheep jumps off a cliff, the rest of the flock will follow suit without thinking. Isn't that strange?"
“So, a shepherd doesn’t need to drive so many sheep. He only needs to drive the lead sheep, and the whole flock will follow.
The elder told me that farmers raise sheep that have to be sold and slaughtered after they become fat, so except for ewes, rams don't live very long...
But the head sheep is an exception, because the head sheep can help look after the flock, so they will be slaughtered later."
…
Update first and then typesetting
(End of this chapter)
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