It turned out that at the end of Li Ran and Ji Le's visit to Yang Yangui, they chatted with him about Han Qi. After all, as a high-ranking official, Yang Yangui had always had a good relationship with Han Qi.
So what kind of person is Han Qi?
Li Ran’s choice of words is very appropriate:
"On the outside you love righteousness, but on the inside you have lust."
According to the oral narration of Sheeptongue, here is a story that illustrates all this:
Once upon a time, Han Qi, as a good friend of Yang Yangui, complained to him during a drinking session. He said that he was one of the six ministers of the Jin Kingdom after all. Although he had the status of a minister, he did not have the wealth and honor of a minister. Instead, he was very poor, even too poor to socialize with his colleagues.
In fact, everyone knows that Han Qi is in Versailles.
Of course, Yang Tongue knew that he was in Versailles, so he also pretended to congratulate him jokingly.
Han Qi was also very surprised. He asked himself: "Why are you congratulating me when your hair is almost falling out from worry?"
Sheeptongue took this opportunity to advise him:
"In the past, Luan Shu (Luan of the Jin Dynasty, who was once one of the six ministers of the Jin Dynasty) was so poor that he had no land for one soldier and no sacrificial vessels. However, he was able to promote his virtues, observe etiquette, and spread his reputation throughout the princes. But later, his son Luan Xu was arrogant, extravagant and greedy. He should have been punished, but because of Luan Shu's virtue, he actually got a good death. But when he came to Luan Ying, he changed Luan Xu's evil deeds and re-established Luan Shu's virtues, and finally But because of Luan Xuan's evil deeds, he was tragically implicated and exiled to another country."
After hearing these words, Han Qi not only did not quibble, but seemed to suddenly wake up. He immediately bowed to the sheep tongue and said:
"Oh, thank you sir for saving my Han family!"
…
From this story, we can find that Yang Yangui is indeed a gentleman who can persuade people to do good. And Han Qi's image seems to be that of a person who accepts advice with an open mind and is good at making corrections.
But is this really the case?
What Yang Tongue told Li Ran later was very insightful:
"Han Zhongjun is a person who hides his secrets. He seeks profit internally but knows the depth of advance and retreat. He is open-minded externally but cares about everything."
Yes, Han Qi is a person who is very good at disguise. He is greedy for money, but he can also conceal his greed for money. And the image of greed for profit is itself a disguise. He is even very patient and knows how to exercise restraint.
Such a person is truly remarkable. Because no one can clearly know when to satisfy his greed, nor can he judge whether his greed is true or false.
But through close contact with Han Qi today, Li Ran also gained a more precise understanding of this person.
If yesterday he was not sure whether Han Qi would help them at the Pingqiu Summit, then now, he was completely sure that Han Qi would definitely help them.
Why?
Because this meeting in Pingqiu can be regarded as the release point of Han Qi's greed. He does not want small profits, but wants to be greedy for big gains.
"what for?"
Marquis Lu asked in confusion.
Li Ran looked at Ji Le, a smile flashed on his face, and then said:
"What Han Qi wants is nothing more than to balance the six ministers of the Jin State and at the same time make his Han family gain authority among the princes so as to earn more benefits. Now he is using the Pingqiu Meeting to achieve this goal , is obviously the most appropriate. And using some reasonable excuses to threaten is the best way."
"So the benefits that Han Qi can get from being friendly with us are obviously greater. He met with us alone just because he didn't want to break up with the Ji family before the alliance, so he pretended to give the Ji family a chance to repair Let’s talk about the relationship between them.
But if this was really the case, why would he let Ji Le go with him? "
"As I said just now, this man is very good at disguise. He deceived Ji Sunsu, but he couldn't deceive me."
Two bright rays of light burst out from Li Ran's eyes.
Because everyone knows that Ji Le's uncle is Shusun Bao. In other words, sacrificial music also represents the Shusun family. This is the most obvious signal.
Han Qi is the most cunning person he has ever seen so far, the kind of person who pretends to be true and false to the core. If you only look at any one side, it will make people mistakenly believe it.
But dealing with such people, in Li Ran's opinion, is a very interesting thing.
Fighting with the sky, fighting with the earth, fighting with people, the fun is endless.
Fighting with smart people is even more fun.
"If that's the case, that would be great! Brother Ziming is really smart!"
Ji Le stood aside like a little fan girl, with Li Ran's eyes full of intelligence.
"Then it seems that sir, are you sure that you will give the Ji family a fatal blow in this alliance?"
Marquis Lu was very calm. He was not as happy as he imagined, and his tone was very calm when he spoke, as if he didn't seem to care much about this matter.
Li Ran turned around when he heard the sound, glanced at Marquis Lu, and immediately bowed and said:
"You can rest assured, the Ji family will fall, and the revival of the Lu family is expected. To revitalize the country of Lu, you must be the king!"
This was the first time Li Ran said this.
But he could feel that the current Luhou was no longer the young master who pretended to be crazy and acted like a fool. The former Gongzi Chou was only good at pretending, but now the Marquis of Lu has also learned to be suspicious and fearful.
People change.
Marquis Lu waved his hand slightly, indicating that Li Ran did not need to draw such a big cake to satisfy his hunger, and then sighed:
"Both my father and elder brother died at the hands of the Ji family. I am so weak that I dare not fight with them. If I had not received the help of my husband, I would have been helpless."
After the words fell, Marquis Lu turned around and went straight into the inner room.
Ji Le glanced at Li Ran, as if asking:
"What's wrong with Ah Chou?"
Li Ran pulled her out of the official post and returned to his room before saying:
"In the future, there are certain things that you must not say in front of Marquis Lu."
"Why? I've known him since we were children. There's nothing we can't say."
Ji Le was a little unhappy when she heard this. After all, in her eyes, even if Marquis Lu had ascended the throne, he was still her little brother.
But what she didn't know was that her former little brother was obviously no longer what he used to be.
Power is something that can swallow up people's will. It seems to have a magical power that can make people continue to work hard for it regardless of their own safety. Once you get involved, you won't hesitate to be shattered into pieces. This has been true since ancient times.
Today, the feudal princes are constantly fighting, and powerful ministers in various countries are forcing each other. Some countries are rising and others are declining. Changes of power are a common occurrence.
This is a rope that can never be loosened. Once it breaks, everything will be lost.
"He is the Marquis of Lu, the future ruler of the Lu Kingdom..."
Li Ran's current idea is very simple, that is, to take back the power that originally belonged to Prince Ji Ye and hand it over to the current hands of Marquis Lu.
This is also the fundamental reason why he supports Lu Hou.
But when he said this, a trace of shame appeared on his face involuntarily. It seems that I did something that I shouldn't have done, and now it's too late to regret it.
Ji Le doesn't understand. Although she understands what Li Ran means, in her opinion, the change of power can indeed bury some facts, but will the original beauty hidden deep in the heart also be buried?
They have known each other since childhood!
Brothers and sisters who have played in the mud together and gone down to the river to catch fish together!
"Get some rest, you can't miss tomorrow's highlight."
Li Ran didn't want to answer Ji Le's question because the answer was cruel.
...
On the other side of Guanyi, in Ji Sunsu's room.
After returning from his meeting with Han Qi today, he was very happy. Because on the surface, his goal of repairing the relationship with Han Qi should be considered achieved.
Han Qi was very friendly towards him today, which was naturally a good sign for him.
As long as he can handle the issue of this meeting in Pingqiu, the Ji family will have no worries in the future.
"Lord, a messenger has arrived."
Just when I was happy, a servant sent me a letter.
Ji Sunsu opened it nonchalantly. He originally thought it might be some written greetings from the Jin Dynasty's powerful people, asking about hello and invitations to the banquet.
But when he opened it and took a look, his expression suddenly changed.
"Father?"
The person who came to Jin with Ji Sunsu this time was his other son, Ji Sunhai.
Ji Sunhai, Ji's family name, Hai, word Ruo. He is not famous in Qufu, and he is not even a figure within the Ji family. The reason why Ji Sunsu brought him here was entirely to balance the internal conflicts of the Ji family.
Seeing his grandfather's expression change dramatically, Ji Sunhai immediately asked.
Unexpectedly, Ji Sunsu closed the slips fiercely and asked:
"Where are the kings of Ju and Zhu now?"
Ji Sunhai thought for a while, shook his head and said:
"We haven't received any definite information from them yet."
The next moment, Ji Sunsu's hand holding the letter creaked, and the muscles on his face kept shaking, obviously angry and mild.
"Ju, the two countries of Zhu are so bold! They suddenly launched an attack while I was away from home!"
"What?"
Ji Sunhai was also shocked when he heard this, with a look of disbelief on his face.
It turned out that the content on the tablet was none other than that Ju and Zhu had launched a counterattack on the land occupied by the Ji family, and the two countries had changed their past appearance of low morale and low combat effectiveness.
This time the two countries marched forward hundreds of miles in a day. In less than three days, they had advanced to Xianyi, and now they were actually launching a siege on Xianyi.
"Send people to Ju and Zhu now to find out who is secretly supporting them! Uncle Sunbao, an old man who has never been knowledgeable about military affairs, will never use such methods!"
"I want to find him out and punish him with death! Death with death!"
Ji Sunsu was very angry.
When he left, his fiefdom was actually besieged by Ju and Zhu. It was obvious that someone was commanding them from behind.
In the past, he was fine with petty quarrels in the Qufu court, but it was about the foundation of the Ji family and the interests of the entire Ji family, how could he not be angry?
Ji Sunhai immediately retreated after receiving the order.
Ji Sunsu thought for a while, then suddenly turned his head and shouted to the servant outside:
"Call Zi Fujiao to come and discuss matters!"
Not long after, a middle-aged man dressed in the attire of a Lu State official appeared in front of Ji Sunsu.
"Jiao, it seems you have to go see Han Qi in advance."
Ji Sunsu looked at Zi Fujiao in front of him with helplessness in his eyes.
Because he knew that in the face of the strong attacks from Ju and Zhu, if he could not deal with Han Qi as soon as possible, he would probably lose completely in the Pingqiu meeting.
At that time, not only will they lose the cities they have already occupied, they will even lose face in front of the princes of the world, and the Ji family will become the laughing stock of the world.
This is definitely a result he cannot bear, so Han Qi must be dealt with!
Zifujiao was his only choice.
He originally planned to ask Zi Fujiao to lobby Han Qi one day before the meeting in Pingqiu, so that Shusun Bao and Zheng Guoji's clan, and even Li Ran's overall plan would fail. But now that the situation was critical, he had to arrange for Zi Fujiao to go in advance.
When Zifujiao heard the news that Ju and Zhu had entered the palace, he was slightly startled at first, then nodded and said:
"Jiao Jiao has observed Li Ran several times along the way. Li Ran is a man who hides his secrets and has many good ideas. I guess this matter was probably done by someone Li Ran entrusted, and it is indeed necessary to guard against it."
"Well... without further ado, I'm going to meet Han Qi right now and ask Dr. Ji Sun to wait for the good news."
