Faced with the series of tricks performed by the King of Chu, Li Ran was able to see things clearly.
First, the Shen Di Hui detained Xu Zi, and now the county magistrate, who named himself Zhongli, put him on the stove griddle.
King Chu had clearly made up his mind to make it impossible for him to go back.
But can he, Li Ran, just give in?
Obviously not.
"Your Majesty, in terms of emotion and reason, all of you here have made greater contributions. What's more, how can I, a foreign minister, take away the credit of all the ministers and ministers of the Chu Kingdom and take it as my own?"
In this battle of Zhu Fangcheng, in addition to the coach Wu Ju, there were actually dozens of other generals.
Their contribution in this battle was definitely no less than that of Li Ran. In addition, as they were nobles of the Chu State, Li Ran, the Duke of Zhongli County, should not have his turn.
Although Li Ran didn't say clearly who they were, his words "everyone here" brought everyone together, and he was able to get everyone to fight back against the words of King Chu just now.
As the saying goes, if there is not enough success, there is more than enough failure.
What else can you do to a person who doesn't want to put money on his face at all?
When Wu Ju and other Chu officials heard this, they all nodded secretly.
They recognized it, naturally not because of Li Ran's "deep understanding of righteousness." But because of course none of them wanted to see Li Ran become the Duke of Zhongli County.
After all, the weight of this Zhongli County Duke is too important, both for the Chu State and the countries in the Central Plains.
Everyone of them hoped that they could become Zhongli's county magistrate, instead of letting a foreign minister who only wanted to leave Chu take advantage.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Li Ran finished speaking, King Chu waved his hand and said with a smile:
"Of course I know your merits, but my reward is not a transaction, sir, please don't refuse it anymore."
"In addition, all of you here have also received rewards. How can I favor one over the other?"
These five words, "rewarding is not a transaction" completely set the tone for Li Ran's determination to reward Li Ran and become the Duke of Zhongli County.
In other words, what King Chu meant is: I give it to you, you take it, there is no room for bargaining at all.
Speaking of which, isn't it obvious?
Today you, Li Ran, have to accept it or not. There is no third way to choose.
As for the ministers, these words were obviously meant for Li Ran. But at this point, now that the tone has been set, what else can others say?
Of course, perhaps because today was in public, King Chu did not want to speak too directly. He didn't want to fall out with Li Ran directly, so he chose a relatively gentle way to express his meaning.
Li Ran also knew that King Chu Xiong Wei was a person who always liked soft things but not hard words. Therefore, for him, confronting the King of Chu is definitely not the best option.
After all, people have to bow their heads when they are under the eaves.
So, with his half push and half push, the position of Zhongli County Duke fell on his head.
It's a blessing, not a curse. It's a curse that cannot be avoided. Li Ran can see through it.
But in fact, the reason why the King of Chu arranged for Li Ran to become the Duke of Zhongli County seemed to be to dig a hole for Li Ran to jump out of, but in fact? However, King Chu also had his own considerations.
First of all, how could he not know that the Zhongli Kingdom did not originally belong to the Chu Kingdom, but was a viscounty kingdom granted by the Zhou royal family. Therefore, if the Chu people were allowed to directly rule, it would inevitably arouse public anger.
And Li Ran was born in the Zhou royal family. With this identity as a cover, it was obviously more appropriate to let Li Ran manage this place than to directly appoint someone from Chu.
Furthermore, of course King Chu himself knew that he was playing with fire.
How could this series of operations such as conquering Zhongli and moving the capital to Qianxi be hidden from the eyes and ears of the world?
These actions all revealed a clear signal-Chu State was back.
Therefore, how could the countries in the Central Plains not be wary of Chu?
Coupled with the willfulness of the King of Chu, before the war, he first took control of Xu Zi and then the official of the Song Dynasty. This series of cunning operations would only make the Central Plains countries more wary of the Chu State.
Therefore, Chu State now needs a buffer zone that can make everyone in the world feel ambiguous.
Moreover, in addition to the external environment of Chu State, Chu King Xiong Wei also needs to consider, of course, the turbulent current situation in the country.
Why would he make Li Ran, an outsider, a high official who could guard the country?
Because, after all, Zhongli is far away from the core of Chu State, so even if he, the King of Chu, is unable to suppress the domestic turmoil, Zhongli will be a good place of refuge.
The reason why he asked Li Ran to help guard this place was to prepare for future emergencies.
These are the pros and cons that he really considers.
Therefore, as for taking the opportunity to let Li Ran completely cut off all contacts with the Central Plains countries, it could only be regarded as an unexpected gain for the King of Chu.
The King of Chu obviously considered this calculation extremely carefully. Even Li Ran, a man of unparalleled intelligence and scheming, could not figure out the reason for this.
After Li Ran accepted the reward from Zhongli County Duke, as usual, he said to the King of Chu:
"The king has generously rewarded me today, and I should be grateful."
"However, I have made an agreement with the king in advance. After the three things have been completed, I will leave. At that time, please don't be offended by the king."
Saying ugly things first is also an indication of Li Ran's attitude, although after saying this, it will directly destroy his popularity in Chu State.
But Li Ran couldn't care less about this. He had to express his attitude to the King of Chu, and he couldn't let the King of Chu dig a hole for him!
Of course, the King of Chu also knew Li Ran's determination. He just nodded and said nothing.
"Then, since I will leave Chu sooner or later, it will be inconvenient for me to go to Zhongli on weekdays."
"I can recommend someone to your Majesty to take up the post of County Yin on your behalf, and I would like to ask Your Majesty's approval."
I can accept the position of Zhongli County Governor, but if you want me to really go to Zhongli, that's not realistic.
You dug the hole, and now I'm filling it in. You can't refuse, right?
"Oh? Who do you want to recommend, sir?"
King Chu frowned when he heard this, and asked with a hint of displeasure.
Li Ran replied directly without thinking:
"Yu Yin Shen Wuyu."
Yes, Li Ran recommended none other than Shen Wuyu who he saved that day. ("Yu Yin" is his official position)
In fact, Li Ran did not have many friends in Chu State. Apart from Wu She, the only one he could recommend was Shen Wuyu.
And Wu She is the son of Wu Ju. Wu Ju is now the county magistrate of Jiao County, so naturally Wu She can no longer be a high official.
Therefore, Li Ran could only recommend Shen Wuyu.
First of all, he really had no other choice.
Secondly, Shen Wuyu is indeed worthy of recognition. He is upright, brave, upright, and extremely loyal to the King of Chu. He is the best candidate for Yinfang County Yin.
But King Chu didn't understand.
Of course, he also had a very deep impression on Shen Wuyu. Just because of his "straight talk" with him in this camp that day, the King of Chu still remembered how powerful he was that day. The embarrassment.
But although Shen Wuyu was eloquent and daring, he was upright and would rather break than bend. But in terms of seniority, how could the huge Chu State not be able to rank him?
How could Li Ran recommend him?
Of course, what King Chu is even more suspicious of is that you, Li Ran, have given such an important position to Shen Wuyu. Could it be that Shen Wuyu has become your accomplice, Li Ran?
