The meaning of the last sentence Dr. Zishi said to him was really obvious.
The state of Lu is the state of Lu, and the state of Zheng is the state of Zheng. The current main contradiction of Zheng State is completely different from that of Lu State. The main problem of the Lu Kingdom before was that the official position was weak and the power of the three Huan below was unbalanced, which made the Ji family dominate and the monarch was in danger.
Zheng Guo's problem is obviously more complicated. Not only does it have Qi Mu who is similar to Sanhuan of Lu State, but it also has a more complex international environment. Therefore, for Zheng Guo, stability is the foundation of everything. As for whether the office is public or not, it has become a secondary issue.
Therefore, since Li Ran is now in the state of Zheng, no matter how capable his guest is, he cannot usurp the guest.
Moreover, once something is exposed and brought to the table, it cannot be argued clearly in just a few sentences. If something goes wrong, naturally this is not the outcome that everyone wants to see.
In other words, whether it is Yin Duan in front of Li Ran or Zichan and other high officials of Zheng State, their attitude towards Li Ran is actually consistent. That means you, Li Ran, can come to Zheng Yi to seek an official career, and you are welcome to make suggestions for the state of Zheng. These are what they are happy to see.
But if you, Li Ran, want to stir up trouble like you did in Lu State, or even deliberately provoke a fight between wealthy families, then they will have no choice but to send guests away.
The Zheng Kingdom has been in turmoil for nearly a hundred years. Needless to say, it was before the Alliance to Annihilate the Soldiers. Then it went through the Xigong Disaster, the Gongzijia Rebellion, and the Boyou Rebellion. Now it has just been peaceful for only a few years. Internal affairs measures and external affairs Diplomatic relations are at a relatively peaceful point. Therefore, whether it is Yin Duan or Zi Chan, they naturally hope that this "balance" can continue to be maintained.
Therefore, today's Zheng State can be summed up in one sentence, that is, "stability and unity are paramount. Unless it is absolutely necessary, anyone who wants to wantonly destroy the hard-won balance in the country is the enemy of Zheng State!"
Li Ran was indeed talented, but in their opinion, this kind of ability to control wind and rain was not what Zheng Guo needed at the moment. This is why Zichan only tried a few things in Jin before, but did not force or even further persuade him to come to Zheng.
Moreover, this was also the main reason why Zichan asked the priest to test Li Ran first but did not make any arrangements for the time being.
After all, he hasn't figured out the purpose of Li Ran's visit to Zheng yet, nor has he figured out how to make good use of this chess piece. If it is done too hastily, it will turn Zheng's country upside down. If Zheng's fragile balance is broken again, won't history be reversed again?
Zichan knew in his heart that if someone like Li Ran wanted to control him and manipulate him, he would never be able to follow the rules and would definitely have to cause some trouble.
Li Ran actually understands this very well.
That day, he asked Ji Xian in front of Zi Chan in the Ji family courtyard whose idea it was to transport grain to Weiguo for sale. In fact, he was also testing Zi Chan. He wanted to see how Zi Chan thought about these big people. What is the attitude of the family?
And Zichan told him with practical actions that even he could not easily offend someone as powerful as Ji Shi.
What Dr. Yin Duan said today further confirms this point.
The Ji family has deep roots in Zheng Yi. In addition, they have been friends with other princes and ministers all year round. They are not only wealthy but also well-connected. Even if the Ji family is really doing something secretly, the Zheng court can only turn a blind eye. Close one eye.
However, Li Ran was still a little worried about the clues about the Ji clan's grain truck that he discovered today. After all, it was related to the safety of the Ji Le clan. After thinking about it over and over, he always felt that something was wrong.
…
In the other courtyard, Sun Wu was seen hurried back from outside. When he saw Li Ran, he said:
"Finally we have an idea."
"When Shu Niu met in Pingqiu, he had indeed been to Qufu."
After so long of secret investigation in Zheng Yi, Sun Wu finally made some substantial progress.
Li Ran was startled when he heard the sound and murmured:
"Oh? Did you go to Qufu during the Pingqiu meeting? At that time, everyone's eyes were on Jin. Why did he go to Qufu at that time?"
"This vertical cow is really not easy."
If it were said that Shu Niu had only some business dealings with the Ji family, Li Ran would not believe it to his death.
But he really couldn't figure out what Shu Niu was doing in Qufu at the meeting in Pingqiu. After all, Ji Sunsu, the head of the Ji family, was already in Jin at that time. Even if Shu Niu had some secret dealings with the Ji family, what he could see was , only Ji Sun Yiru.
Could it be that it was really Ji Sun Yiru who secretly colluded with Shu Niu and the Ji family?
"By the way, Shu Niu mobilized a lot of people out of the city last night. I think they are all tall and strong people, but they don't look like laborers for the family. I don't know exactly what they did. But like this A large group of people left the city in the middle of the night, so there must be nothing good going on."
Sun Wu's tone was very determined, as if Shu Niu must have made some arrangements last night.
However, his words suddenly woke up Li Ran!
"last night?"
"Yes...Sir, this is..."
Sun Wu looked at him in surprise.
Unexpectedly, Li Ran rolled his eyes and immediately thought of what he found while inspecting the Jishi grain truck outside the city today, and he couldn't help but be shocked.
"Quickly, go to Ji Mansion and find Ji Le!"
"Go quickly!"
Li Ran's face looked very anxious.
This was the first time that Sun Wu saw Li Ran like this, and he immediately turned around and left.
…
Not long after, Ji Le came from Ji's house. When he entered, he asked what happened.
At this time, Li Ran had already figured out the clues to the grain cart and immediately said bluntly:
"If what I expected is correct, what you packed in the grain escort truck this time is definitely not grain!"
"What? How could it be? Those grains were clearly loaded onto the grain truck by the three brothers yesterday?..."
Ji Le looked at Li Ran in disbelief.
Just listen to Li Ran say:
"Although they loaded the grain onto the grain trucks, these grain trucks must have been tampered with again last night. That's why what we see today is that the weight of these grain trucks is obviously uneven. If it is said that they are just carrying private goods, , that would not cause all grain trucks to be like this. So I dare to assert that when Shu Niu sent people out of the city last night, they must have tampered with the grain trucks."
"Brother Meng? Did he send someone out of the city last night?"
Ji Le obviously didn't know about this yet, so Sun Wu immediately told her the information he had found out.
When Ji Le heard this, his expression suddenly changed, and a look of horror flashed in his bright and clear eyes, and he stared at Li Ran blankly.
"In fact, this matter is not difficult to understand. After all, Shu Niu is a concubine, while Ji Zeng and Ji Xun are the legitimate sons. Although Shu Niu is the eldest son, if the royal family wants to establish an heir, it will be done according to the clan law. There will only be one in the Ji clan. One of the two legitimate sons will be pushed out, and it will never be the turn of the ox."
"But in recent years, with Shu Niu's hard work, he has gradually taken control of most of your Ji clan's business, and he has great intentions of inheriting the position of the Ji clan leader. But this time, the old Ji clan leader suddenly changed the person in charge, and Shu Niu will Being removed from it is undoubtedly a wake-up call for him, so how can he not panic?"
"If you can use this trip to Weiguo to provide disaster relief, your other two brothers can be directly brought down, or even ruined... Then who in the Ji clan can compete with him in the future? Besides..."
At this point, Li Ran suddenly stopped, looking a little embarrassed.
Ji Le asked hurriedly:
"What else?"
Li Ran thought for a while, then shook his head and sighed:
"It's hard to say yet, but I'm sure Shu Niu must have done something secretly in order to drag Ji Zong and Ji Xun into trouble."
"Okay! Without further ado, I'll go back to find my dad right now!"
Hearing this, Ji Le already understood and knew that this matter was of great importance, so he immediately turned around and left.
After all, her three brothers were involved, and she couldn't make up her mind at this time, so she could only inform her father about the matter first.
Looking at Ji Le's hurried back, Li Ran couldn't help but feel pity. If he were in the Lu State, such a thing would definitely not require her to run back and forth as a girl. But now that he is in the Zheng State, the power he can use is still Too little.
So, he turned around and looked at Sun Wudao:
"Some things need to be put on the agenda."
Sun Wu naturally understood what he meant and immediately nodded heavily.
