Under the eyes of everyone seeing them off, Li Ran and Confucius got on the carriage and left Yunyi, headed for the Kingdom of Jin, driven by Zilu.
Because Fan Yang has been protecting Ji Sun Yiru, and Fan Yang is now the de facto ruling minister of Jin. Therefore, both of them knew that this trip would be extremely difficult and might even be dangerous.
Although Confucius had never been to Jin before, after all, Confucius had a natural talent for socializing, and his character of "being happy when friends come from afar", plus he had many students. Therefore, Confucius knew a little bit about the situation in Jin.
"Sir, after the death of Zhao Wenzi, Han Qi became the ruling minister, but I heard that he also retired from office a few years ago. Wei Shu is now in charge of the government. However, because Wei Shu is not familiar with political affairs, Fan Yang has always been in power. . And Fan Yang had previously sent troops to put down the Hua Xiang Rebellion and the Prince Chao Rebellion in the Song Dynasty, which made him famous and became the de facto leader of the Jin Kingdom!"
"I recently heard that Han Qi also died of illness. His son Han Xu took the name of Ding You and led his people to move to Pingyang. It seemed that he also wanted to avoid Fan Yang. This also shows Fan Yang's power. Moreover, when Qiu was in Lu State, , I heard that Fan Yang was the most protective of Ji Sun Yiru when it came to the affairs of the Lu State! There must be some connection between the two of them, so our trip may not be easy!"
Li Ran knew this, sighed, and couldn't help but think of Zhao.
"What about the Zhao family of Jin now?"
"After Zhao Wenzi passed away, his son Zhao Jingzi inherited his throne. However, Zhao Jingzi did not live long and died young, leaving his son Zhao Yang with a weak title. If Han Qi had not promoted him before taking office, I am afraid that his six ministers would His position is no longer guaranteed."
"Zhao Yang..."
Regarding Zhao Yang, Li Ran had also heard Sun Wu talk about this person.
At that time, he led the Jin army and fought against Sun Wu. Sun Wu could hardly resist. Although Sun Wu was ordered to face danger at that time, and his fighting spirit was not good, the fact that he could fight Sun Wu back and forth shows his bravery.
Moreover, according to the respected teacher Changhong, Zhao Yang, for some unknown reason, put pressure on Shan Qiming several times after entering Luoyi, asking him to ensure that he, Li Ran, was protected.
In addition, after Zhao Yang led an army to assist King Zhou in seizing Luoyi, he also came to see Li Ran. It's a pity that Li Ran was in a bad mood at that time and didn't see anyone, so the meeting between the two of them was missed.
In fact, Li later realized that Zhao Yang was actually kind enough to save him.
Therefore, after Li Ran calmed down, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful about this past incident.
However, when it comes to Zhao Yang, Li Ran's first impression at that time was that he was not a sage, but a completely reckless man. It can be said that there is more than enough force and strength, but not enough city government.
How can you see it?
Just because Zhao Yang failed to meet with Li Ran, he directly threatened to set fire to the house, and later he was able to compete with Chu Dang in a brute force competition. This incident alone is enough to show that he is fierce and short-sighted.
Li Ran couldn't help but think of the Yangyan clan, the Yangyanji with whom he had a friendship as well as a teacher.
So, Li Ran asked about the current situation of the Yangyan clan.
When Confucius heard this, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh:
"Uncle Xiang, doctor, this is truly a legacy from ancient times."
"It's a pity, maybe it's destiny. Uncle Xiang's wife is the daughter of Shen Gong Wuchen, a traitor in Chu State, and Xia Ji. She has a son named Sheep Tongue Eat Me. Just because Sheep Tongue Eats Me Later, I was inexplicably implicated, so that the Yangtou clan was defeated by the three Yi clans, and the ancestral sacrifice was cut off..."
Li Ran couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this. He could hardly believe his ears.
It turns out that the reason why the Yangtou clan was wiped out was actually related to the Qi clan of Jin State.
At least, that's what it seems on the surface.
That year, the Qi clan was headed by Qi Ying, and a scandal broke out between his two chiefs, Qi Sheng and Wu Zang. They openly engaged in wife-swapping and fornication.
You know, the Qi family in the Jin Kingdom is also a family of highly respected and virtuous officials. Now that such an immoral thing happened in the family, Qi Ying was extremely ashamed and angry.
Therefore, he wanted to arrest Qi Sheng and Wu Zang and engage in family affairs.
After Qi Sheng learned of this situation, he immediately found Xun Shu and bribed him, hoping that he would help.
After Xun Shu accepted the bribe, he immediately went to the Marquis of Jin and said that Qi Ying had illegally detained his subordinates.
At that time, Duke Ping of Jin was dead, and his grandson, Marquis Qiji of Jin, was in power.
Just because after Jin Pinggong, the Jin Dynasty's royal family was declining day by day. At this time, the Marquis of Jin had already been dismissed. Therefore, in the end, it was the Marquis of Jin who gave the order to directly arrest Qi Ying.
The people of Qi Ying's clan were also quite upright, so when they saw this situation, they directly expressed their anger towards Qi Sheng and Wu Zang. And he killed the two of them directly, which was regarded as clearing up the family.
However, their killing was not a big deal, but in the end, they directly confirmed Qi Ying's guilt.
And the "Marquis of Jin" actually used this as an excuse to directly kill Qi Ying.
Among them, the strangest one belongs to the Yangtian clan.
It stands to reason that the turmoil of the Qi clan has nothing to do with the Yangyan clan. But in the end, my uncle Xiang's son, Yang Shi, ate me, and he was inexplicably involved.
As a result, the Yangyu clan was convicted and the three clans were directly barred!
Confucius said that "there is destiny in the world", which means that when the sheep's tongue first appeared on the stage of the Jin Dynasty in the early years, it was because of Qi Xi's advice that it was able to survive the Luan family's rebellion. survived.
Until now, his son Sheeptongue eats me, but because of the family affairs of Qi Xi's grandson Qi Ying, he suffered a genocide!
Therefore, it can be said that things are really unpredictable.
After Li Ran heard this, he knew in his heart that the secret gangs must be involved in these vicious things.
After all, if he was just detaining a servant, he shouldn't have been punished with such a heavy crime. What's more, as the head of a family, rectifying the family tradition has nothing to do with state affairs.
What does it mean that the "king of a country" actually intervenes?
Obviously, this is just an excuse. Its essence is clearly a kind of liquidation!
Liquidate what?
What is being liquidated is the power of the Jin Dynasty's official office!
As the Gongfu sect with the clearest stance in the Jin Kingdom at that time, it was natural that the underworld hated him.
As for the Yangyu clan and the Qi clan, as the only remaining Jin royal families, it was only logical that they would eventually be taken over by Jin's secret agents and eradicated completely.
It can also be seen from this that since Uncle Sun Bao of Lu State, Zi Chan of Zheng State, Yang Yangui of Jin State, as well as the relatively milder ruling ministers Zhao Wu and Han Qi of Jin State, when these big figures have passed away one after another, And after losing the Chu State, the only force that could balance the world, it can be said that the dark warriors no longer have any scruples, and they have become more and more unscrupulous.
The entire world is now shrouded in the dark clouds of the Dark Walkers.
Li Ran also knew very well what kind of chaotic situation he would face.
"I never thought that the Yangzi family and the Qi family would end up like this..."
When Confucius heard this, he also shook his head:
"It is indeed a pity... By the way, it is said that this incident is actually the same as the Luan family's rebellion back then, in which the Fan family of Jin State was also there to hinder it. Hey... Fan family is like this, maybe it will happen in the future. A Ji family from the Lu state!"
Li Ran sighed:
"By the way, Zhongni, are you familiar with Fan Yang?"
"Qiu has a low status. Although he has never met this person, it is obvious that this person and Ji Sun Yiru are a gang of foxes and dogs! But as for what his purpose is, it is difficult to figure out. However, now, he is a member of the Jin Kingdom As the person in charge, if we want to use him to plan the return of Marquis Lu, I’m afraid it will be very difficult!”
When Li Ran heard this, he nodded slightly thoughtfully, and said helplessly:
"Now the Fan family is a member of the Zhongjun in the Jin Kingdom, and has good relations with the Zhongxing and Zhi families. Its power can be said to be at its peak. As for the Han and Zhao families, their clan leaders are both young and weak, and Wei Shu has lost power, so we are here After Jiangcheng, how to convince Fan Yang in public is still crucial!"
Confucius nodded.
"Indeed, no matter what, Fan Yang is always a hurdle we must take and cannot get around."
At this time, Li Ran had already vaguely felt that Fan Yang might be a member of the secret army, or even the leader of the seven masters of the secret army! According to Qingfeng, the leader of the Dark Walkers is now in the Jin Kingdom. Could this person be Fan Yang?
If this is the case, then everything Confucius said before would make sense.
However, this also means that their trip is very likely to come to nothing.
Li Ran couldn't help but feel a little confused, thinking in his mind, how to "persuade" or "coerce" the Jin State to intervene in the return of Marquis Lu?
