Marquis Lu knew that there was no way out at this time. If he wanted to secure this position, he must rely on Shusun Bao and Li Ran.
On the second day, Marquis Lu proposed the idea of joining Jin in the court, and immediately sent someone to Jin to inform him of the news.
For Ji Sunsu, Marquis Lu's mission to Jin and his pilgrimage to the Marquis of Jin were exactly what they wanted. They wished that Marquis Lu could leave the court. After all, although the puppet is a puppet, there are some things that can be done in front of a puppet like Marquis Lu, which is always a bit embarrassing.
And since the Marquis of Lu himself was willing to go on a mission to other countries, wouldn't it just allow him to have a free hand?
However, Marquis Lu's pilgrimage to the Jin Dynasty after he ascended the throne was a major diplomatic matter, so it naturally had to be properly arranged. Especially choosing a good day. In this era when everything needs to be determined by divination, for such a big event as sending an envoy to the Jin Kingdom, it is natural to ask a fortune teller to calculate it carefully.
Then, under Shu Sunbao's arrangement, the time for the mission was set on the third day of the next month, and the divination result was: Zhen.
Li Ran still lives in the Jishi Villa. This place can be said to be a quiet place in Qufu, and it is relatively safer.
With nothing to do in the past few days, Li Ran put together the entire plan for his mission to Jin several times. After making sure that nothing was missing, he felt relieved.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Shusun Bao was still a little worried. Li Ran's plan seemed to be perfect, but once it was actually implemented, it would inevitably be frightening.
"Currently, the most critical thing is to weaken the Ji family's reputation among the people. We must first spread the news that the Ji family is opposed to tax reduction. Every city must do this. Only in this way can we fundamentally weaken the Ji family's reputation in the Lu country. reputation.”
"In addition, the auspicious thing must be made flawlessly, and the Ji family and the Meng family must not be able to see any flaws."
Before going to Jin as an envoy, Li Ran had no intention of just leaving. Although the Marquis of Lu could leave, the people's support could not be lost.
After all, he had just ascended the throne and was on an envoy to Jin. If the Ji family and the Meng family secretly made some small moves, I am afraid that by the time he comes back, his already small imperial authority would be even more depleted. A veritable puppet.
Spreading the news about Ji's opposition to the reduction of taxes can suppress Ji's prestige on the one hand, and gain a wave of popular support for the Marquis of Lu on the other hand. These bad things are enough for Ji to drink in a short time.
As for auspicious things, this will naturally be of great benefit to Marquis Lu's prestige among the people.
This kind of trick has been common in all dynasties. Even in the distant future, there will still be a market.
"Brother Ziming is really a good plan. In this way, even if we leave temporarily, Ji and Meng will definitely be very busy!"
Sun Wu leaned against the door frame, with a meaningful smile in the corner of his eyes. His already heroic face looked even more radiant for a moment.
Sun Su saw his nephew talking nonsense here and was about to tell him to shut up, but unexpectedly Li Ran laughed and said:
"To deal with old and cunning people, it is natural to use this sophisticated strategy. The so-called changes vary from time to time and from person to person. This is the golden mean."
This was a reminder of Sun Wu. Li Ran had always had great expectations for this future military sage.
"Hmm... 'According to the circumstances of the time, it varies from person to person, the golden mean' does have some truth... Wu Shou has been taught."
As he spoke, Sun Wu bowed to Li Ran, his face full of respect.
Upon seeing this, Li Ran quickly asked him to get up, and then said:
"Brother Changqing spares me the courtesy. Brother Changqing has saved me several times, so I am very grateful. Since Changqing has called me 'brother Ziming', there is no need for such a big courtesy between you and me."
As soon as the words fell, everyone burst out laughing.
Only Uncle Sunbao was nearby, but he just sighed when he heard the sound:
"After the incident at the wine shop, Mr. Ji has probably given up on recruiting. At this moment, he must be planning how to kill Zi Ming. In the future, you need to be careful when doing anything. You must be careful, and you must not be taken advantage of by Mr. Ji. Come in."
This was naturally meant for Sun Su and Sun Wu. They were both nominally Li Ran's bodyguards, so they would naturally be responsible for Li Ran's safety in the future.
After Shusun Bao finished instructing the two of them, he turned around and discussed with Li Ran again:
"As for the Marquis of Lu's tax reduction and the auspiciousness from heaven, once the news comes out, Ji will definitely know that we did it secretly. With Ji Sun's old man's style, I don't think he will leave us too much." For a long time, he will deal with it with thunderous means."
"Doctor Shusun is right. Although Brother Ziming's plan is good, we are in a foreign country after all. How can we intervene in domestic affairs? Even if we are cautious, there is always something to be prepared for."
After all, Sun Wu was just Sun Su's nephew here and had no other identity. Therefore, as soon as these words came out, Sun Su immediately shouted:
"The doctor is discussing with the lord, why are you interrupting!"
"Hey, Sun Su, what Chang Qing said makes sense."
Li Ran waved his hand to stop Sun Su.
I saw his expression was indifferent, a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes, and then he said:
"A war is never tiring of deceit, and I have no intention of hiding it from the Ji family this time. What I want is to keep the Ji family busy so that they are too busy dealing with the domestic affairs of the Lu State, so that they have no time to take care of us who are in the Jin State asking for help."
"But... what if it is true as Dr. Shusun said, and the Ji family sent people to chase us to the Jin Kingdom because of this incident?"
"Haha, that couldn't be better."
If the Ji family really dared to attack him in Jin, it would be a huge opportunity. Although the Marquis of Jin had not been involved in political affairs for many years, Han Qi was very "responsible". If an honored guest was attacked on his territory, how could he sit idly by and ignore it? How could we not investigate thoroughly?
When the time comes, what the Ji family will face is not just a small fight like him. Once Han Qi takes action, the power of the Jin Kingdom will collapse.
After hearing this, several people understood why Li Ran chose this time to expose Xiangrui's public opinion. I finally realized that this was Li Ran's plan to kill two birds with one stone. Everyone was stunned and nodded in agreement.
…
A few days later, Shusun Bao spread the news very quickly in the cities of Lu State. In less than five days, the entire Lu State knew that the Marquis of Lu wanted to reduce taxes for the people, but was blocked by Ji and Meng. Something that I strongly oppose.
For a time, both the Ji family and the Meng family were filled with complaints.
If these people were to rise up against the Ji family and the Meng family, they would not dare to do so, but if they were allowed to curse and curse in private, then they would definitely spare no effort.
Ji's family and Meng's family soon became vigilant. The people in their own feudal cities were filled with resentment, so they had to send people to deal with it in a hurry. They used conciliatory words to appease the people and sounded the alarm to Yeok-jae. Anyway, they would do whatever they could to suppress the public resentment for the time being.
But even if they don't consider giving some benefits to the people, they don't even mention tax reductions and exemptions. It seems that in their view, it is natural and right for the people to pay taxes and grain according to regulations, and they cannot change it even if the king of heaven comes.
And the common people were not fools. They saw that the Ji family and the Meng family were only competing to win over the governor's staff in various cities, but they did not care about their "natural demands" and turned a deaf ear to their grievances.
Suddenly anger arose in his heart, and evil grew in his courage. Not only were topics that were originally only discussed in private brought to the table, but some people who were not afraid of trouble came directly to the capital to ask for explanations. Therefore, public opinion arose all over the capital and discussions continued.
On the other side, on the south bank of Xialiu River, thirty miles away from Qufu. When a peasant woman was washing clothes in the river, she discovered a piece of jade, which was so ingenious that it seemed like a miracle. The farmer was horrified when he saw it and hurriedly sent it to the city.
Of course, Shusun Bao met this person and then got this "natural" jade stone from him.
"The king ascends the throne, auspiciousness descends from the sky, and the purple star moves eastward. This represents the rise of our Lu army!"
"Come, come quickly, bring this jade to Lu Palace and present it to the king!"
Therefore, this piece of "natural" jade that had been artificially processed was sent to the Lu Palace, and received countless compliments from the officials of the Lu Kingdom.
"Prospering with the public... Lu Sheng will come out... Could this be the newly enthroned monarch?!"
"It is indeed a gift from heaven. This jade is completely made from nature and is so ingenious. This line of distorted small characters is blurry, but you can see it clearly. God bless our country of Lu!"
"Yes, yes, the king is virtuous, and God is aware of it, so he bestows auspiciousness to show God's will!"
"The king is wise and prosperous when he succeeds!"
The courtiers of the State of Lu who were initially disapproving of the Marquis of Jin all went to pay their respects one after another. Their respectful manners were completely different from before. Those who didn't know better thought that the Marquis of Lu had promoted them to a higher rank.
Having said that, the symbolic meaning of this jade is very important, because this is a key node in the Lu Kingdom. The former prince died suddenly (in name only), the new king has just ascended the throne, and everything is a new beginning. And at such a new beginning, God gave a jade stone with the words "Yu Gong will be prosperous, and Lu Sheng will come out". Doesn't it mean that the new king's accession to the throne is more authoritative?
The king's power is granted by heaven, and he must obey the destiny!
On that day, after Uncle Sunbao came out of the court, he didn't even bother to return home. He went directly to the Jishi Villa to find Li Ran. When I opened the door and met Li Ran, he was greeted with a burst of laughter:
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"Ziming, didn't you see the faces of old man Ji Sun and Meng Sun Jie in the court today? They were quite ugly!"
"They walked back and forth by the jade stone several times but couldn't figure out the reason. When they thought that the new king they supported was actually the 'destined one', they were probably filled with regret at this moment. !”
"I heard that many people inside and outside Qufu spontaneously prayed for the Marquis of Lu. The power of the Marquis of Lu is gradually gaining momentum!"
The Ji family and the Meng family supported Gongzi Chu to ascend the throne in order to control the whole country of Lu and continue to strengthen their power. But who would have thought that God would give them such a warning just after Lu Hou ascended the throne, as if it slapped them in the face.
Now, whether in the court of Lu or among the people, the name of Marquis Lu has become synonymous with heaven and is highly respected. No one is as despised or disrespected as before.
And in this case, Ji and Meng really shot themselves in the foot, and they couldn't scream out, because they were staunch supporters of Marquis Lu at the beginning, but now that Marquis Lu is gaining momentum, they can only hold back their complaints even if they continue to complain. On fire.
"Haha, don't worry, Doctor Shusun. This is just the beginning. There are many good things waiting for them later."
Li Ran didn't feel much about this. Because he knew from the beginning how much influence "auspiciousness descending from heaven" could have on civilians.
After all, even the First Emperor couldn't avoid using vulgar moves, and the results can be imagined.
