When Li Ran said this, his attitude was already obvious. No matter what the King of Chu or the officials of the State of Chu who were present thought, for Li Ran, he thought that he had done his best to benevolent and righteous.
Once upon a time, he admired the King of Chu, his courage and broad-mindedness, his lofty ambitions and his ability to know people well.
But now, Li Ran's heart felt cold, and there was only one thought left in his mind - to leave the Chu Kingdom.
After that, without any more words, he stood up and left.
The King of Chu actually had no intention of staying and just let him go.
Mainly because the King of Chu also knew very well that Li Ran was a man of righteousness, so he still had time to make up for it before the three things he promised were completed.
However, after Li Ran's appearance, the atmosphere of celebration in Zhanghua Palace was completely swept away. The ministers left and the palace became deserted again.
Li Ran walked out of the palace and was about to return to Xiangyuan, but unexpectedly, Prince Qiji chased him from behind.
He seemed to have something else to say to Li Ran.
"Mr. Ziming! If you don't mind, sir, can you come and talk to me next to me?"
Faced with Wang Zi Qiji's invitation, Li Ran couldn't help but be surprised.
What kind of trouble is this going to cause?
Prince Qiji was a person that Li Ran was extremely disgusted with. Logically speaking, Li Ran should have directly and sternly refused.
However, after experiencing the incident of "Xu Zi being detained", he could completely guess that this must be Wang Zi Qiji's behind the scenes.
So, what is his next step?
Strong curiosity drove him again and again. He wanted to see what kind of plans the prince Qiji in front of him was still planning?
So, Li Ran just nodded silently and agreed.
Not long after, the two of them took a car and arrived at the mansion where Prince Qiji was staying.
But you can see that here there are high buildings, water pavilions, rockery and pools dotted here and there. This does not look like the official residence of a courtier. Its level of luxury far exceeds the main palace of his brother Xiong Wei, King of Chu.
"Sir please."
The scented tea that King Chu learned from Li Ran also appeared in Prince Qiji's home. The scented tea served by the servant has a richer fragrance and brighter color. It goes down your throat and is refreshing and relieves the heat, which is just right for this hot summer.
This also shows the favor and trust that King Chu has for Prince Qiji.
"I heard that this thing is called tea. It was created by Mr. Zheng when he was living in Zhengyi."
"However, Qiji's scented tea has a great origin. To the south of here, there is a spiritual land called Yunmengze. There is a strange flower in it called 'leaf rue'. This flower is extremely rare. Qiji loves it very much. Because of this flower, people visit it all over the place, and only a few bushels of it can be harvested in a year, so they can make this flower tea according to Mr.'s method."
"How is it? Is this tea from Qiji comparable to my brother Wang's?"
Prince Qiji smiled faintly, but it looked very fake, giving people the feeling that he was smiling but not smiling.
Li Ran raised his glass and took a sip. As expected, the tea was fragrant and sweet, yet elegant. It was indeed of the highest quality.
However, at this moment, no matter how good the tea was, Li Ran had no intention of tasting it carefully.
"The fourth prince asked Ran to come here, isn't it just for drinking tea?"
Li Ran responded expressionlessly.
Just listen to Wang Ziqiji saying:
"Haha, I invited you here today because Qiji has something unclear, so I'm asking you to give me some advice."
"Oh? The Fourth Prince is too polite. I wonder if the Fourth Prince has any questions?"
Li Ran bowed his hands and was still indifferent.
"The battle of Chaoyi, the battle of Zhongli, and the alliance in Shendi, these are all the wonderful plans that Mr. Wang proposed for our Chu country. His wisdom and plan are far-reaching, and our Chu country is obvious to everyone."
"But I don't know why sir, you still have your heart set on the Central Plains? Is it possible that the people of Zhou can conquer this world, but I, Jingchu, can't?"
"I think back then, the Zhou people were far away in the northwest, but they decided the world with just one battle at Muye. This is all dictated by fate. Now that the Zhou people are weak, do we, Jingchu, have no chance?"
When smart people talk, they are coquettish and sloppy, which will only make people disgusted.
Prince Qiji was obviously a very smart man. How could he not know that there was no need to hide and tuck in when talking to Li Ran?
Therefore, his two sentences are very straightforward and simple, and they are so straightforward that the opponent has no choice but to answer.
Since King Ping moved eastward, the Zhou royal family has declined day by day, and it no longer retains the name of its former sect leader. As a result, Wu and Chu became kings in the south, and Qi and Jin successively became hegemons.
The Zhou royal family has become a dispensable place, struggling to support itself only by its nominal status as the co-owner of the world.
However, even so, Wang Zi Qiji's words, "The people of Zhou can conquer the world, but I, the people of Jingchu, cannot" can actually be regarded as extremely rude remarks.
The king, the king, and the ministers, under the rule of Zhou Rites, the ministers can only be ministers forever, and the king will always be the king.
Regarding the following plan, they are probably the only people in Chu who dare to put it on the table so blatantly.
"Haha, the fourth prince is sure you want to talk to me about such rebellious words? If the fourth prince wants to commit suicide, don't take me with you. But I still want to live for two more years."
Li Ran didn't think twice and gave him a blank look.
But who knew that Prince Qiji sneered:
"Haha, I'm afraid it's still a question whether sir can leave Yingdu alive, let alone how many more years he will live? Please tell me everything you know."
Hearing this, Li Ran immediately cheered up.
Because he knew that King Chu would not kill him, but this did not mean that Prince Qiji and others would not.
"The fourth prince...what exactly do you want to know?"
"Haha, no one else. It's just that Qiji feels that the Zhou people have conquered the world for hundreds of years. Wouldn't it be too boring if only their family could monopolize this country?"
"Sir, you are an extraordinary talent. If you can help Qi Ji, you may be as good as Taigong in the future, right?"
Prince Qiji's recruitment method was really more direct than that of King Chu.
He even skipped the betrothal gift.
And listening to his tone, it seemed that there was another intention to force Li Ran to submit.
"Haha, Taigong Wang volunteered to assist King Wu to achieve his great cause for eternity. This move of the fourth prince is completely contrary to my way as King Wu."
Li Ran smiled and didn't want to say anything.
Prince Qiji heard the voice and said:
"That's why Qiji asked Mr. Sir what he meant at this time."
After the words fell, Prince Qiji's expression became extremely serious.
Some people may find it strange.
Why did Prince Qiji come to poach the King of Chu at this time, when the situation in Chu was excellent? Even threaten Li Ran in a way that is almost impossible to get Li Ran's approval, forcing Li Ran to become his?
In fact, this is not difficult to understand.
Because Wang Zi Qiji felt threatened at all times during his several confrontations with Li Ran.
Because he knew that there were only two people who could speak in the Chu court and influence the King of Chu's thoughts. One was Wu Ju and the other was Li Ran.
But for recruiting Wu Ju, first of all, since Wu Ju has been following the King of Chu for many years, it is almost impossible to get Wu Ju to betray the King of Chu. Secondly, he and Wu Ju had already had some disputes, but these things made Wang Zi Qiji completely give up on recruiting him.
As for what happened, we will explain it later.
As for Li Ran, as an outsider who is not deeply involved with the Chu State, that may not be the case.
As a result, he took action against Li Ran, which was both a woo and a threat.
This can be regarded as the consistent style of their Chu people: destroy it if you don't get it.
The king of Chu Xiong Wei was like this, and the prince Qi Ji was like this.
So at this moment, the look of fear on Wang Zi Qiji's face was not just for show.
He had actually made up his mind. As long as Li Ran dared to say the word "no", the suburbs of Yingdu would become Li Ran's burial place!
And Li Ran knew this very well.
How could he not know what kind of person this future King Chu Ping really is?
So, he suddenly laughed.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"
"Why are you laughing, sir?"
"Haha, Ran is laughing. The fourth prince and the King of Chu are really brothers! Even the methods of recruiting Ran are so similar."
At the meeting in Guodi, Li Ran faced the current King of Chu, Prince Yin, who was the commander of the Chu Kingdom at that time. The situation was the same as it is now.
"Oh? Is the answer the same sir?"
Prince Qiji still looked at Li Ran with a stern face.
Hearing this, Li Ran nodded without hesitation, and then said:
"yes"
"The way of Chu is not the way of nature."
"The way of Ran is not the way of Chu."
