The princes finally took control of Luoyi, and the morale of the soldiers in the three armies was high.
The princes did not waste a moment, and immediately summoned their old confidants to discuss the next matter of becoming king.
"Your Highness, now that the overall situation has been decided, we can immediately tell the world clearly, handle the matter of offering sacrifices to heaven, and according to King Jing's order, ascend the throne as the emperor!"
Luo Luo has always been outspoken, and now he spoke freely.
Wang Zichao hesitated for a moment:
"Although it has stabilized now, Shan Qi, Liu Di and others have already established another King of Zhou. It seems inappropriate to be king at this time!"
Yin Buxie said again:
"Your Highness, Prince Gai is still young and cannot be independent. What's more, he is a puppet supported by Dan Qi and Liu Di. Moreover, King Jing and King Mou died successively, so he must be inseparable from them. It is justifiable for His Highness to ascend the throne! Now that he has entered Luoyi and everyone is united, I think there is nothing wrong with it!"
Nangong Ye also spoke out at this time:
"Your Highness has now settled in Wangji, and you deserve your title. Please don't put the overall situation first! Otherwise, the Zhou Dynasty will be unstable, which will be detrimental to me! I hope that Your Highness can succeed to the throne!"
In fact, if the prince is so troubled, how can he not have the ambition to become the king? Now that everyone is saying this, I feel even more excited. But he also has another concern, that is, although the situation has been stabilized now, they are only the so-called "King Master" who defeated Shan Qi and Liu Di.
The fact that Jin never participated in the war was the key to their victory this time.
And if he becomes king, will the Jin Congress send troops again? It’s hard to say what the situation was like at that time.
The prince looked at Zhao Gong Ji Huan, and Ji Huan also knew that he still wanted to express his position.
"Your Highness, since ancient times, if your name is not correct, your words will not go smoothly, and if your words are not right, things will not happen! Your Highness's actions are called 'chaos' by some outsiders. Just this word 'chaos' explains everything. If If His Highness wants to gain justice, it would be a good idea to disclose King Jing's will and succeed to the throne!"
These people who followed Wang Zichao naturally hoped that he could ascend the throne.
There are indeed some among them who hope to revitalize the Zhou family, but most of them are just choosing sides. To put it bluntly, they are blocking everything and seeking the best interests for themselves and future generations.
After the success of the prince's court, he will not treat these followers badly, and it will be a matter of course to grant him the title of a noble.
In fact, although King Jing intended to establish Wang Zichao as the crown prince, he did not leave any edict. This so-called "public announcement of King Jing's edict" is, to put it bluntly, a forgery.
"Yin Bu Cheng, I will leave it to you to find out the will! When it is done, I will give you another reward!"
Wang Zichao received Zhao Gong's encouragement and immediately made up his mind. If this matter is implemented, then it will no longer be a dispute between the emperor and the emperor, but a real orthodoxy battle!
This time, Li Ran was not among the discussions between Wang Zichao and his old minions. When he learned that Wang Zichao was preparing to become king, he became anxious and immediately met with Wang Zichao.
Of course Wang Zichao knew what Li Ran was doing. It just so happened that he also wanted to hear Li Ran's true thoughts.
"Sir, now that the situation has stabilized, I have to think about it carefully. If I want to make further progress, the only way is to ascend the throne and become king!"
"Your Highness, you think this move is inappropriate! At the moment, although the situation seems stable, it is actually not under full control. Although the Jin Kingdom has withdrawn its troops, it is still watching from the other side. Your Highness is now king, but you think , On the contrary, it will be true. The world will say that His Highness is just coveting the throne, and not really to help the Zhou Dynasty. What people say is terrible, this is a big taboo!"
The prince remained silent, then picked up the cup of water on the table and drank it all with a look of displeasure on his face.
"According to your opinion, Sir, Chao can't become the emperor now?"
"Your Highness, we are not in a hurry to become king at this time. I am not against His Highness becoming king, but I feel that it is inappropriate to become king now! As the saying goes, 'the right way will help you, but the wrong way will have few help'. If your highness continues to fight in the name of 'Qing Jun Side' Shan and Liu's abuse of the Zhou Dynasty will win the sympathy of the people of the world. If he rashly claims to be king at this moment, I am afraid it will chill the hearts of the people of the world!"
The prince smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth, but it was obvious that he was not satisfied with Li Ran's answer.
"In your opinion, sir, when will I be able to claim the title of king?"
"Get rid of the two thieves Shan Qi and Liu Di, properly deal with the king of Zhou, and wait until the world is settled, and then make him surrender peacefully. Only in this way can the Zhou family be stable and the people of the world be convinced. By then, all the princes will also I bow my head and proclaim myself a minister. If I rush to proclaim myself king now, I’m afraid it will be detrimental to His Highness!”
"Then...what if I insist on taking the throne?"
Li Ran looked at Wang Zichao, and suddenly there was a hint of King Chu Ling in this man who looked like Prince Jin.
"I hope Your Highness will think twice! Make the best judgment and don't let others interfere..."
"Okay, sir, I already know what you mean. There is no need to say more about this matter. Since you have to do it sooner or later, why not do it as soon as possible? Things are unpredictable, and maybe it is not necessarily a bad thing."
Li Ran sighed secretly in his heart. In this situation, it was inconvenient to say more, so he had to hold his hands and said:
"In this case, I only hope that His Highness can get what he wants, but after taking the throne, you must not be content with the status quo, nor can you be complacent. You must first appease people's hearts, and then proceed step by step, build walls high, and accumulate food!"
"Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and slowly become king." This was the strategic policy set by Zhu Sheng when Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world. Li Ran said it at this moment, which is appropriate, but it is a pity that "slowly becoming king" seems to be impossible to implement. .
When Wang Zichao heard this, he smiled and said:
"Sir, this is very true!"
But deep down in Li Ran's heart, he suddenly felt that the prince dynasty was going to make the same mistake as King Chu Ling. But he had secretly made up his mind before to assist Zuo Zichao to fulfill the long-cherished wish of Prince Jin, but now there was no room for turning around?
In the past, when he was in Chu State, he could still think of quitting because King Chu Ling was at odds with him. But now that he has recognized his master, how can he just leave?
Even if he had to leave, where could he go in such a big world?
…
Soon, Yin Buli forged a copy of King Jing's will. The prince issued an imperial edict to the world and ascended the throne in Zhuang Palace. Li Ran saw that the matter had become a foregone conclusion and did not make any rash suggestions.
After taking the throne, the prince was full of fighting spirit, and there were good news ahead.
Yin Yu defeated Liu Di one after another, took Xi Wei, the city on the west side of Dong Yu, and took advantage of the momentum to attack Kuai Yi. Kuai Yi's defenders were also directly defeated.
When Wang Zichao received this battle report, he was overjoyed and full of confidence. At the same time, he was even more convinced that he had made the right move in becoming king.
But Li Ran became increasingly worried about this.
The current situation is exactly the same as that of King Chu Ling back then.
The momentum is overwhelming and unstoppable. The more so, the easier it is for problems to arise.
Wang Zichao was obviously a little complacent. After ascending the throne, he started to ennoble and ennoble the people around him.
Li Ran took great credit, and Wang Zichao wanted Li Ran to be the Grand Master.
But Li Ran was not interested in this.
"Your Majesty, I am dressed in white, but I feel relaxed and at ease. Now I have no intention of joining the imperial court as an official. It will be enough if I can get rid of the leader of the thieves and regain my position as a collector of history!"
Wang Zichao was slightly startled.
"History of the Collection Room... But this would be too unfair, sir!"
"When I left Wang Ji, I took up the post of collector of history. When the official resumes his post, it will be considered as his wish. Moreover, Ran's temperament is also suitable for this position. This is a person who makes the best use of it, and there is no grievance!"
——
Chapter 473_Recruiting Surrenders and Rebellions
When Wang Zichao heard this, he couldn't help but narrowed his eyes.
"Even if Sir has this intention, Gu Zi will not object, but now we still need Sir to make suggestions by Gu Zi's side! As for this matter, we can discuss it in the future."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Ran heard the sound and bowed his head to thank him.
"Sir, Sima Wu has made great contributions. I want to reward him again and officially appoint him as the Great Sima! What do you think, sir?" (Great Sima: the head of Xia officials, in charge of military affairs)
Li Ran knew that Wang Zichao wanted to make him an official, but he had politely refused. So he wanted to find a balance, and granted Sun Wu the title, which was like giving a favor to himself. The Great Sima was in charge of the military affairs of the Zhou State. Although he was not as good as the Three Dukes and the Great Uncle, his status was still extremely high. It can be said that he is a very human minister.
But Li Ran didn't want to overshadow his master with his great achievements, so he had to say:
"Your Majesty, Sun Wu is currently on an expedition. I am afraid he has no time to take care of other things. The position of Grand Sima is very important. The former is temporarily appointed to his post. He is actually forced by the situation and has no choice but to do it. However, after all, Sun Wu, like the ministers, is not a member of the clan. After that, it was inconsistent with etiquette to be worthy of such an important task. Wei Chen thought that when the situation gets better in the future, it would be better to find someone else to take up this position!"
Hearing this, Wang Zichao nodded again:
"Okay, that being the case, let's think about how to deal with it properly..."
At this moment, Gong Zheng came to report that it was Nangong Xi who wanted to see him.
Wang Zichao summoned him immediately, and after Nangong Huo came in, he first performed the courtesy of a monarch and his ministers.
"Your Majesty! I would like to recommend someone, but this person has been at war with Your Majesty. I only hope that Your Majesty can ignore the past grudges and summon him to see him!"
When Wang Zichao heard that someone was coming to surrender, he was in a good mood and couldn't help but smile:
"Who is it that you are talking about?"
"Gangong Loach!"
Gan Loach was ordered by Dan Banner to attack when the previous prince dynasty had just reoccupied the capital.
After being defeated, he returned to Luoyi and was no longer taken seriously by Danqi. Gan Loach was a little unwilling to do so. Seeing that the prince was so powerful now, he came to vote.
Prince Chao was overjoyed to hear this and said with a smile:
"In that case, let him come in! I want to reward him greatly! By the way, there is still a vacancy in the position of Sikong, so let's make him Sikong!"
Nangong Luo looked happy.
"Your Majesty is wise, I will go and ask Duke Gan to come to see you."
Nangong Hao stood up and went out. Li Ran took a step forward. He could no longer remain silent at this moment. Even if Wang Zichao was in a good mood, he still had to pour cold water on him.
"Your Majesty! It may not be a good thing if Duke Gan comes to surrender today!"
The prince was startled:
"Isn't it a good thing? Doesn't this just mean that Shan Qi has betrayed everyone and is unpopular. This is really a good thing, how can you say it is not a good thing?"
"It is still unclear whether Mr. Gan is sincere in coming here. It seems that people like this can be allowed to live here temporarily, but they must not be entrusted with important responsibilities!"
"If I don't reuse it, how can other people who are waiting and watching sincerely come to invest? Sir, you are thinking too much!"
When Li Ran heard this, he couldn't help but shook his head sadly:
"Your Majesty, back then King Ling of Chu built Zhanghua Terrace to welcome the dead from all over the world, but he was ultimately deceived by him. Today, I am also recruiting surrender and rebels in the same way. I am afraid that I will be harmed by him in the future!"
Wang Zichao's expression couldn't help but change:
"He comes to surrender this time, and if Gu is not allowed to do so, wouldn't it hurt him and express his hatred? Why does such a good deed turn out to be a big fallacy in Mr.'s mouth? Besides, Mr. compares Gu to a barbarian king... It would be a gaffe!"
Li Ran knew that Wang Zichao was already unhappy, but there was something he had to say:
"Your Majesty! "The Great Oath" says, 'Zhou had hundreds of millions of barbarians, and they were also deviant from virtue; the rest had ten rebellious ministers, all of whom were of one heart and one virtue.' This is the reason why Zhou died and Zhou was resurrected. Today the emperor does not care about his virtue, I'm afraid I'm going to lose someone. It's not about the number of people, but about the quality! Although I'm lying, my heart is only for your majesty! I hope your majesty will worry more."
Wang Zichao stood up, paced back and forth, hesitated for a long time, and then said:
"Sir! Mr. Gan did have some issues with Gu before, but why didn't Gong Jian do the same? If Mr. can let go of Gong Jian, why do you want to let Mr. Gan not be used by me now? What's going on, Sir? "
Li Ran knew that Wang Zichao had become suspicious of him at this time:
"Your Majesty, I think that Gong Jian was nothing more than a failure to defend the city, and even after being captured, he refused to surrender. It is indeed what a gentleman did. If he surrenders in the future, it is not a bad idea to use it for his own purposes! But Gan Loach is a treacherous little kid. People, he once kidnapped refugees to attack, and he has already lost the hearts of the people. Now that he sees that the situation in Shanqi is unfavorable, he is in trouble. Such villains must not be placed around... Your Majesty!"
"Okay, Sir, you really think too much! No matter how bad the Gan family is, they are here to surrender! That Gong Jian was killed by Sir. After being silent for a period of time, he is now serving Gu Na Wang Di Gai again. Even more so. The flag was raised again. When my husband let him go, I had doubts, but I trusted my husband as a human being, so I agreed. Today, my husband insists on preventing Gu Zhong from using Gan Gong. Isn't it too unreasonable?"
Wang Zichao believed that Li Ran was suspected of usurping power, so he was dissatisfied and had some doubts in his polite words.
Li Ran couldn't help but feel depressed. According to his character, he should have kept silent at this moment. However, he was sincerely doing good for the prince. At this time, he could only remonstrate:
"Your Majesty... what I said is not truth, but the way to be a king! Gan Loach drives the refugees to attack the city and escapes in the middle of the battle. This is really not what a gentleman does! The post of Sikong is in charge of city defense, and it is related to your Majesty's safety. How can you allow this? A treacherous person is responsible?"
Wang Zichao said in a deep voice:
"When you are appointed to an official position, you have to worry about it. No need to say anything!"
While talking, Gan Loach was brought in by Nangong Gao, and Gan Loach leaned to the ground.
"The guilty minister Gan Loach pays homage to His Majesty!"
"Get up, there's no need to mention the guilt of the minister. Let's forget about the past. From now on, there will be no suspicion between you and me, the monarch and my ministers. I only want to allow you to hold the position of minister! I don't know what you want to do?"
When Gan Loach heard this, he sat down and burst into tears of gratitude, thanking his kindness and saying:
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. Your Majesty is kind and does not care about the sins of minor officials. Even if I am a mess, I will not be able to repay Your Majesty for your kindness!"
Seeing this situation, Li Ran was in an extremely bad mood.
When the prince saw this, he waved his hand.
"Mr. Ziming, you have worked very hard for me day and night. Please step aside and rest!"
When Li Ran heard this, he bowed and had to leave. After leaving the palace, Li Ran walked slowly, with heavy steps and a heavy heart.
Obviously, Wang Zichao could no longer listen to his words, and he was completely different from before.
Facts have proved that if a person becomes powerful, the most difficult hurdle is himself.
King Ling of Chu was like this, and so was the princely dynasty.
Li Ran knew very well that if Wang Zichao continued to act his own way, it would be extremely bad in the future.
The events of King Chu Ling were vivid in his mind. Li Ran looked around the vast palace, and recalled every detail of how he and Prince Jin had played and studied here since childhood.
Li Ran clenched his fist.
"To help the Zhou family...what's the point of just suffering some grievances?"
Li Ran returned to the official residence. He thought that after a while, he would be able to take Ji Le to live in Luoyi. However, because the situation was not yet clear and he did not want Ji Le to be in danger, he had to postpone it. idea.
While Sun Wu was outside, he didn't know what happened in Luoyi City. He still led the army to fight all the way, marching with great singing, and captured Xiayi and Xingyi one after another.
After this period of fighting, the entire Wangji land was almost under the control of the princely dynasty.
When Li Ran learned the news, he was not only happy for Sun Wu, but also a little worried.
