Chapter 199 Fable: Sheep and Shepherd
"Gulu gulu..."
In the wine pot on the table, green plums were sinking and floating in the turbid wine.
At the table, Zhao Duan only smiled:
"Li Xiang is joking. I am a small member of the Zhao family. I am only willing to serve Your Majesty, but I have no intention of becoming a nobleman."
Well, he only wants to be a royal family...
Li Yanfu didn't know what he was thinking, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care. He leaned back in his chair, looking very casual, and sighed: "Sometimes, when you reach a certain position, many things don't matter. You can decide whether you want it or not.
If you want to start a family like this, you may not want to branch out. If you don't want to, can you guarantee that your family won't? Don’t your relatives want it? People, it is easy to control yourself, but it is difficult 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 Mr. Li understands. Just like this time, Mr. Li can control himself, but he can't control Mr. Ling."
This is where we get to the point.
Li Yanfu's expression remained unchanged and he said "oh" in a questioning tone:
"Could Ying Long be looking for trouble with you again?"
Zhao Duan sighed and said with a wry smile: "Prime Minister Li wrongly blamed me. I didn't come here to ask for punishment. Although Mr. Ling and I have some quarrels, the matter has passed, and I am not a villain who will take revenge." people……"
Hearing the next sentence, the corner of Li Yanfu's mouth twitched, thinking that young people today are indeed more shameless:
"Then why is Zhao Jisi coming here?"
Zhao Duan pretended to be surprised: "Don't you know, Mr. Li?"
Li Yanfu was calm and composed, as if he really knew nothing:
"What should I know?"
"Alas," Zhao Duan said with great regret: "Well, then I came just in time. In fact, today is also a coincidence... I, Lihuatang, was hunting down a traitor in an ambush, but I didn't want to , I didn’t find the traitor, but I accidentally bumped into Mr. Ling and met a woman. It’s really..."
Li Yanfu frowned and interrupted, not wanting to listen to his nonsense:
"Is the imperial office now too busy to care about the affairs of men and women?"
Zhao Duan's tone was sincere, but his posture became more and more casual: "If it was just an ordinary woman, I wouldn't be surprised. After all, Mr. Ling likes to have concubines and is sexually romantic... I have heard about it for a long time. But, this woman The identity of the person is a bit tricky...it's that..."
As he spoke, he raised a finger pretending to be mysterious and pointed at the top of his head. The name that came out of his mouth made Li Yanfu, who was pretending to be calm, suddenly change his expression.
"The late emperor's widow, Yuan Ru, Yuan Guifei!"
Woohoo!
In the wine pot, a burst of white gas was sprayed out at the right time, the lid of the pot was opened, and a low scream was emitted.
Wearing a crimson official robe and with bushy sideburns, the important minister of the country was extremely good at nourishing Qi. At this moment, his pupils suddenly narrowed and his heart skipped a beat!
Concubine Yuan!
Yinglong, having a private meeting with Concubine Yuan?
Li Yanfu's first thought was that it was impossible, but in a flash, he vaguely remembered that he seemed to have indeed heard that Concubine Yuan went home to visit her relatives a few days ago.
As for the old relationship between Li Yinglong and Yuan Ru that was cut off and hidden, outsiders don't know it, but Li Yanfu knows it.
Because back then, when Li Yinglong learned that Yuan Ru was going to enter the palace, he asked his father to plead for mercy, but it was Li Yanfu who suppressed the matter.
Then think of the accidental "crash" of Lihuatang and Xu Hanlin's betrayal...
In the room of lightning and flint, the old man who had dominated the Yu Dynasty for twenty years looked at Zhao Duan with eyes as cold as a knife.
At this moment, the slight admiration for the young man in front of him had disappeared and turned 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 is supposed to be at home at the moment to visit her relatives. How could she disguise herself as a man and meet Mr. Ling in an inn?
The people below vaguely heard the title "Li Lang"... Hehe, I probably heard it wrong...
It's also my fault that I wasn't strict with my subordinates. The people underneath were neither light nor heavy, so they rushed in directly, causing the son to jump out of the window and escape.
In this way, I wanted to control the situation, but failed, so I had to invite your son back to the imperial office first..."
Zhao Duan always smiled when he spoke.
It seems that he is not the mastermind at all, but an innocent passerby: "Of course, I definitely believe that your son is innocent. Although the late emperor has passed away, no matter how greedy for beauty Li Shilang is, he will not end up with Concubine Yuan...
Oh, there must be a misunderstanding, so I hurriedly came to ask, I think Li Xing must know why. "
At this time, the sun was already setting in the west, and its golden light shone on the lake outside the building.
Li Yanfu stared at him with no expression, no joy or anger.
This look... reminded Zhao Duan of the old Prime Minister's look back at him on the day he was so angry with Pei Kai that he vomited blood at the Meridian Gate.
a long time.
In Li Yanfu's sleeves, he slowly loosened his grip on the armrests of the chair and said calmly:
"I don't know anything about this. I'm afraid you're asking the wrong person."
This means:
Don't try to set a trap for me. If you ask, you just don't know. Cut it off resolutely with Li Yinglong to avoid getting burned and the father and son falling into it together.
Are you so cold-blooded... You are so cunning... Zhao Duan felt disappointed when he saw his attitude and said without giving up:
"As the saying goes, it is better to know your son than your father. Prime Minister Li should know that your son took a new concubine some time ago. It is said that his facial features are quite similar to those of Concubine Yuan."
Li Yanfu closed his eyes, as if he was old and sleepy, and sighed:
"As the saying goes, a child should never be left behind until he is old. The true nature of Yinglong's family has never been known."
Don't fool me, isn't it true that female students are not allowed to stay in college?
... He is really quick to throw the blame away, the old loach, he is so slippery... Zhao Duan also sighed, straightened his robes, stood up and said:
"The Prime Minister has asked three questions and he doesn't know." , I had no choice but to report the matter, after all, the matter involved is huge, and I, a mere sixth-rank official of Lihuatang, do not dare to make rash decisions."
With that said, he walked away, counting one, two, three silently in his heart...
Li Yanfu had no expression on his face and did not get up to chase him. He only watched Zhao Duan reach the stairs and then said calmly: "Forget about such little tricks. If you really want to stab him, why bother to find out the truth?"
Zhao Duan paused, and when he turned around, he was already smiling.
With silky movements, he returned to his seat and glanced at the boiling wine pot:
"Mr. Li is entertaining guests and not inviting anyone to drink?"
Li Yanfu said: "If you want to eat, you can take it yourself."
Zhao Duan also smiled and shook his head: "Don't dare to drink the prime minister's wine indiscriminately."
A sneer appeared on Li Yanfu's lips: "Are you afraid that the truth will poison you?"
Zhao Duan sighed:
"I come from a humble background and am not as good as Li Xiang's family. But when I was young, my father would teach me some simple principles, such as eating people with a short mouth and being soft on others."
These words make it clear.
If you want him to be "short-tongued" and "soft-handed," pick it up high and put it down gently, then feed his mouth and fill his hands.
Li Yanfu understood.
In other words, after Zhao Duan painstakingly designed and successfully tricked Li Yinglong into the conspiracy, he did not report it immediately, but ran to him and said, "There must be a misunderstanding."
He understood that this cunning little fox was here to discuss business with him.
Politics is the art of compromise.
Talk about anything.
From Zhao Duan's perspective, does he want to get rid of Li Yinglong? Knock it down in one fell swoop?
Think.
But no.
As the old supervisor Sun Lianying said, it depends on the current situation.
The current state of affairs in the court is not suitable to use the knife on the Li family and his son. Once he does, it is very likely that everything will be lost.
Even if Zhao Duan really handed over this evidence of guilt, the Empress would suppress it, because at least at this critical point, Li Yinglong could not be abolished.
That would only arouse the hatred of the nobles.
Therefore, from the beginning to the end, Zhao Duan never thought about destroying Mr. Xiao Ge with just this small plan.
His goal has always been Li Yanfu.
It's Li Dang.
It's the New Deal.
This is a political storm that has swept through the entire Yu Dynasty and has been going on for some time, attracting the attention of countless people.
He, a little chess player in a leeward port on the edge of the storm, wanted to do something big with a little effort at a certain node.
Therefore, this meeting was actually a negotiation between two people.
But at this moment, Li Yanfu, sitting on the other side of the negotiation table, didn't know what Zhao Duan really wanted.
But even so, the former cabinet minister who had suppressed the court for twenty years still read a key message from Zhao Duan's twinkling eyes:
This little wolf has a big appetite!
I'm afraid it won't be enough to pass away with "a pot of wine".
Thinking of this, Li Yanfu suddenly changed the topic.
He didn't ask Zhao Duan what he wanted, but used the topic just now and shook his head and said: "Although I was born in the Huaishui Li family, to be able to reach this day, what I have learned and applied is the same as you. The simplest principles in some fields.”
Change the topic? What kind of medicine does the old fox sell in his gourd...
Tsk, is it possible to lower the price... Zhao Duan showed a curious expression:
"Oh? For example?"
It was as if he was a young man who was sincerely asking the Prime Minister for advice on how to serve as an official.
Li Yanfu leaned back in the armchair, and the red official robe seemed to swallow him up. The white-headed old man said:
"Have you ever herded sheep?"
Zhao Duan shook his head.
Li Yanfu said: "When I was young, I followed my elders in the family to visit Zhuangzi in the fields and saw a shepherd boy herding sheep.
It's quite interesting. There are dozens of sheep in the flock, but a little shepherd boy can indulge himself freely.
I was confused and asked the elders for advice. The elder pointed to an old ram among the sheep, and then pointed to a strange-looking one in the grass, which looked like a native dog from the Western Regions.
He told me that farmers shepherding sheep all rely on one sheep and one dog. "
"He said that sheep are very stupid animals. They have short vision, stupid minds, and no independent mind. So how can they survive? It's very simple, just follow the 'leader sheep'.
Every flock has a leader sheep. Whatever the leader sheep does, the sheep will follow suit.
Even if the leader of the sheep jumps off the cliff, the other sheep behind him will also jump down like a fool. Do you think it's strange? "
"So, the shepherd boy doesn't need to drive so many sheep. As long as he drives one sheep, the whole flock will follow.
The elder told me that the sheep raised by farmers have to be sold and slaughtered after they become fat. Therefore, except for the ewes, which are better, the rams cannot live too long...
The exception is the leader sheep, because the leader sheep can help look after the sheep, so it will be stabbed later. "
…
Update first, typesetting later
(End of chapter)