Chapter 4090 Betrayal
Kong Yingda looked shocked and a little unbelievable.
Naturally, he would not be unaware of the confrontation between the civil and military parties within the East Palace. This is determined by the core interests of both parties and no one can eliminate it. But now that Yi Chu's situation has long been irreversible, these people still cling to their extravagant hopes of power and interests, trying to provoke a new round of civil and military battles... It's simply stupid.
If the East Palace is secured, it would be understandable for everyone to fight against each other for their own interests. But in such a situation, shouldn't they be trying to protect the prince's life and maintain the integrity of the empire?
A true man stands in this world, and has certain things not to do but also certain things to do. When he reaches such a position, how can he care so much about the honor, disgrace, blessings and misfortunes of his family and his family name that he does not care about the whole world?
……
Yu Zhining looked ugly, opened and closed his lips several times, but did not utter a word to refute.
Lu Deming also understood Li Chengqian's attitude, and he had obviously given up all thoughts of keeping the reserve position, so he could only say: "The situation is critical now. It is inevitable that everyone has different positions and opinions. A slight dispute is acceptable, but we are members of the East Palace. Officials should put the interests of His Highness first and never do anything to hurt their relatives and please their enemies. Brother Zhong Yuan does not need to be so aggressive."
"Zhongyuan" is Kong Yingda's name. With his current status and reputation, even the best among his peers cannot ignore the title. At this moment, Lu Deming casually calls it, obviously he is also dissatisfied with Kong Yingda...
Kong Yingda laughed angrily: "In the final analysis, it's me who is being aggressive? You have no righteousness in your heart, you only know that you are just like a dog and a dog, and you put your family's fame and fortune above your moral integrity. You are really stupid, ignorant and selfish, and you will one day eat your own food." The consequences are too much to regret, and the title of 'the great scholar of the world' is not worthy of the reality."
Yu Zhining and Lu Deming's expressions changed drastically. They were so humiliated by Kong Yingda that they wanted to die from shame and anger.
Li Chengqian saw the internal strife among several great scholars under his command, and quickly changed his words: "You are all highly virtuous and highly respected people, deeply respected by the world, and respected and admired by me. Why do you need to speak so harshly to each other? No one can be ruthless, since we are not just grass and trees. It is normal to have concerns about your financial future, and you must not hurt your harmony.”
Deep down in his heart, he sighed. Although these great scholars have long been integrated with the interests of the East Palace, once a disaster strikes, they are absolutely unwilling to live and die with him and never leave him.
This aspect is far inferior to Fang Jun...
*****
After coming out of the East Palace, Yu Zhining took a look at the gloomy sky, declined Lu Deming's invitation to have a small gathering, and got in the car and drove straight home.
After returning home, I showered and changed clothes under the service of the maid, had lunch, and then sat alone in the flower hall drinking tea. Thinking of Kong Yingda's unkind words earlier, I felt more and more irritated...
The Yu family is a common surname in Xianbei. Their ancestor is Yu Jin, the Taishi of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, who was Huanghuang Xuanhe and Guanlong Zhongjian. When he first served in the Sui Dynasty, he was just a county magistrate. He failed to revive his family business. He often felt that his talents were not being recognized, and he was often depressed. When Emperor Gaozu Jinyang raised troops to attack Guanzhong, he immediately predicted that there would be great potential, so he went to Changchun Palace to pay homage to Gaozu Li Yuan, and was appointed as the secretary of the Weibei Road Marching Marshal's Mansion to assist the King of Qin.
In the fourth year of Wude, the King of Qin conferred the title of General Tiance and opened a literature hall. He was awarded the title of doctor in the Tiance Mansion and concurrently served as a bachelor of the literature hall. He was one of the "Eighteen Bachelors of the Prince of Qin's Mansion" and was the first class of the Prince of Qin. A close confidant. It's just that compared to Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Yu Shinan and others among the "Eighteen Scholars", their power is greatly inferior.
It wasn't until he was appointed as the crown prince Zuo Shuzi and given the responsibility of teaching the prince that he realized the shortcut of "overtaking on a curve". He only had to work hard to assist the prince. When the prince ascends the throne in the future, he and the Yu family in Luoyang will naturally become the world's most important people. A wealthy family, with great power and unparalleled power.
Therefore, although the prince has always been in the crisis of "deposition" in recent years, he has also tried his best to assist the prince and try to protect the prince, thus establishing the merit of following the dragon.
Unexpectedly, since Fang Jun suddenly emerged and became the pillar supporting the East Palace, his influence and ability in front of His Royal Highness are far inferior. It is getting worse and worse, and it is difficult to calm down...
And being humiliated by Kong Yingda today made him feel even more ashamed and angry.
The most serious thing is that the prince himself has given up on fighting for the throne. Once he is deposed, more than ten years of his hard work will be in vain. The entire Yu family in Luoyang will inevitably be implicated in the Guanlong Rebellion. What future will there be?
I feel depressed and unhappy.
The eldest son, Yu Lizheng, pushed open the door and entered, bowed and said softly: "Father, the Song Dynasty official bus arrived at the gate of the backyard and said that he had something to do and asked to see my father."
Yu Zhining was taken aback for a moment, then stroked his chin and pondered.
Nowadays, it is known to both the government and the public that the clans in Jiangnan and Shandong fully support the King of Jin. As the one with the greatest chance of winning the throne, the King of Jin and the Prince of the East Palace are naturally in a state of hostility. This is not according to the will of the King of Jin or the Crown Prince, but It is the principle of exclusivity of interests.
When the Tang Dynasty was founded, the big guys in Shandong were suppressed and bullied by the Guanlong Clan, so they had to hide back home in despair to avoid their influence, lest the Guanlong Clan take the opportunity to kill them all. Although Guan Long is now in decline, those big guys have maintained their identities and are stable at home, and have not rushed to Chang'an to try to become officials. Now, as the leader of Jiangnan, Xiao Yu is one of the spokespersons of the two places in the court - the other is the British Duke Li Ji.
Xiao Yu came from the back door at this time, what could be important?
It’s so obvious...
So whether to see or not, Yu Zhining hesitated for a while.
But after a while, he nodded and said: "Go and invite yourself to the study."
Yu Lizheng hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth to speak, but finally turned around and backed out.
He is now the servant Shaoqing, and can be regarded as a prominent figure in the court. He naturally knows a lot about the tensions in the court and can predict Xiao Yu's intention to visit.
But even if he objects to his father approaching the King of Jin, how can he persuade him to give up his mind? Moreover, it is impossible to predict the direction of things, good or bad, at the moment...
……
"Brother Wen came to visit and made my family happy. I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky! Come, come, please take a seat and have a sip of tea to quench your thirst."
Yu Lizheng introduced Xiao Yu into the study. When he saw the two of them greeting each other and chatting with each other, knowing that they had confidential matters to discuss, he left and stood guard outside the door to avoid hearing through the wall.
In the study, the two of them exchanged friendly greetings and sat down separately.
Yu Zhining took a sip of tea and looked at Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu did not hesitate and got straight to the point: "Brother Yu came here today because he was entrusted by the King of Jin. The situation has been tense recently, and many people in the government and the public are staring at His Highness. Your Highness is very busy, and he does not want to cause trouble for you, Lord Yan. So I ordered Brother Yu to make this trip.”
He didn't say why he came, but the meaning was obvious.
Yu Zhining frowned in thought, subconsciously holding the tea cup in his palm...
He understood that the King of Jin was eager to recruit the Yu family in Luoyang.
As the leaders of the civil servants of the East Palace, he, Lu Deming, and Kong Yingda were all great Confucians of the time, well-known and highly respected throughout the world.
However, the circumstances are different.
Lu Deming was born in the Lu family of Wu County, far away in the south of the Yangtze River, and the imperial court was unable to control it; Kong Yingda's ancestral home was Hengshui, Jizhou, but the entire Qufu Kong family stood behind him. Both of these families are hairpin clans with a long history and rich literature, far beyond the comparison of the Yu family in Luoyang who was born in Xianbei.
Therefore, among the three families, the Yu family in Luoyang ranked last.
However, those two families are famous for being the most famous in the world, but they are also burdened by their reputation. They cannot easily give up the East Palace and switch to the family.
As long as the Yu family in Luoyang can abandon the prince and turn to the King of Jin, it will be self-evident that it will help the King of Jin's reputation. If one thing goes down, the other will go up, and the situation will become more and more favorable to the King of Jin.
Yu Zhining didn't need to think too much. Since Xiao Yu came in person, it showed the sincerity of King Jin. As for the detailed conditions, they could be negotiated slowly in the future, so he quickly made up his mind.
"The King of Jin is benevolent and filial. We all know that the Yu family in Luoyang can do the work of dogs and horses. Even if he dies, he will not regret it!"
Yu Zhining was full of sincerity and decisive.
On the contrary, Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment. He thought that he would have to spend all his energy to do this, but he might not be able to succeed. After all, Yu Zhining was one of the emperor's teachers whom the prince trusted very much...
But Xuan was overjoyed and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin must be deeply touched by Duke Yan's loyalty, and he will definitely rely on the Yu family in Luoyang in the future. The day when the Yu family in Luoyang will stabilize the court and regain its prestige is not far away, maybe it can Become the leader of the Guanlong clan. ”
However, Yu Zhining was not confused. Although he accepted King Jin's solicitation, he still had one thing that puzzled him: "Your Majesty's national policy is to suppress the powerful families and support poor families, and he does not want the powerful families to monopolize the government. If His Highness the King of Jin tries to use Isn’t it contrary to His Majesty’s national policy to fight for the foundation of the family? ”
Since the beginning of Zhenguan, His Majesty Li Er has been pursuing a national policy of weakening the family, and the most worrying thing for any emperor is "the death of people and the restoration of political power." If the successor king completely overturns the previous national policy, it will have a huge impact on the reputation of the former emperor.
After all, the implementation of any national policy cannot escape the guidance of public opinion. "Exclusion of dissidents" is inevitable. If you want to implement the new policy, you must label the old emperor's old policy as wrong and abolish it.
His Majesty Li Er is a Holy Lord of a generation, with great talent and great strategy. How can he be willing to be the one who is "changed" and confirmed to be wrong?
Xiao Yu smiled slightly and was full of confidence: "The facts that Duke Yan is concerned about are necessary, but this time is the same as that time. In the past, His Majesty suppressed the clans because he did not want the imperial power to decline and the government to fall into the hands of the clans, so as to avoid the recurrence of the past. An old story from the Sui Dynasty. The prince was indecisive. Even if he didn't have a powerful family, there would still be powerful officials, so he wanted to give it to him. But if the King of Jin wants to take over the Eastern Palace, how can he not rely on the power of the clan? Therefore, as long as His Majesty appoints the King of Jin as the prince, it is equivalent to acquiescing to the power of the clan to regain control of the court. After all, the clans restrict each other. It can be controlled by the emperor, but the disaster of powerful ministers is far greater than that of the clan! ”
The old story of the Sui Dynasty was not far away. Yang Jian bullied the orphans and widowers of the Northern Zhou Dynasty as a powerful minister and replaced him. How could His Majesty Li Er not remember this?
Rather than indulging powerful ministers and putting the imperial power in danger of destruction, it is better to allow the nobles to return to the court... (End of this chapter)