At this time, in the main hall, there were envoys from other countries who came to express their condolences, as well as civil and military ministers from the Jin Kingdom in state mourning.
Fan Yang's words were so "bright" that it was impossible for everyone present not to hear them.
These people couldn't help but whisper for a while. Among them, most people also think that what Fan Yang said is indeed reasonable.
Yes, whoever has a bigger fist controls the truth. This saying will never go out of style.
Even this truth is very "high-sounding" upon closer inspection.
Li Ran and Kong Qiu could also faintly hear the comments of others, and couldn't help but look at each other, and both felt a little gush in their hearts.
At this time, Fan Yang struck again while the iron was hot and said:
"Furthermore, the Lu State broke its previous alliance and attacked the Ju State several times, and the widowed ancestor refused him entry many times. Unexpectedly, the Marquis of Lu did not restrain himself. Now he ended up like this. , isn’t it just a response to the responsibilities imposed by heaven? Since it is a punishment from heaven, how can it be spared even if there is another destiny? Therefore, if our Jin country rashly helps, wouldn’t it be an act against heaven?”
In fact, Lu Houchou did enter the Jin Dynasty several times, but most of them failed. The only one that succeeded was during the reign of Duke Ping of Jin.
At that time, he had only been on the throne for five years. At that time, his uncle Sunbao was still there, and the power of the Three Huan Dynasties was not broken, so he was not disturbed when he entered the Jin Dynasty.
At that time, Duke Ping of Jin saw that Marquis Lu's words, deeds, and diplomatic etiquette were all in place. I couldn't help but admire him with admiration, and even praised Lu Houchou in front of the ministers.
But Shu Qi, Shu Xiang's teacher, has another opinion on this.
At that time, the State of Jin actually had the same problems as the State of Lu. The State of Lu had three Huans, while the State of Jin also had six ministers, and their influence was already deep-rooted.
Therefore, the female uncle Qi once used the incident of Lu Houchou to warn Duke Ping of Jin that as the king of a country, if he only knows how to salute, this is not real etiquette. True etiquette means knowing how to defend the country, execute government orders, and protect the people.
If you only learn these tedious rituals but don't know how to strengthen your own strength, this is putting the cart before the horse and knowing etiquette but not etiquette.
At that time, what the female uncle Qi said was actually nothing more than using the events of the Lu State to warn Duke Ping of Jin that he should be wary of the Qing clan in the country becoming bigger and stronger.
However, unfortunately, after all these years, Lu and Jin, the pair of countries with the surname Ji, have really become brothers in distress.
Since the death of Shusun Bao, Lu Hou Chou has naturally never been able to come to Jin to "complain". Obviously, under the control of Fan Yang, the Jin State will definitely obstruct him in every possible way.
Back to now
The people present now naturally agree more with Fan Yang's words. Therefore, the situation became increasingly unfavorable for Li Ran and Kong Qiu.
Kong Qiu came to express his condolences on behalf of Marquis Lu, so he always chose not to speak. Naturally, he could no longer remain silent at this time.
"Fan Zhongjun, I think that if a gentleman doesn't talk about strange things and confuses the gods, it's better not to talk nonsense about such so-called punishment from heaven!"
When Fan Yang heard this, he couldn't help but chuckle:
"Haha, since you are here on behalf of the Marquis of Lu, it is not wrong to say so. However, I think of Duke Yuan of Song and his uncle and grandson Zhaozi, both of whom died fighting for the Marquis of Lu. I think of the Marquis of Qi, I'm afraid that because of this, I changed my original intention and just placed the Marquis of Lu in Yunyi, so I just ignored him."
"And your State of Lu has always been close to the State of Qi. Now that the State of Qi has no interest in this matter, how dare we, the State of Jin, risk the disapproval of the world? So, it seems that we have been disappointed!"
Fan Yang's words were originally very important in the Jin State. Now he stood on the Jin State's side and argued for his own country, but it was even more irrefutable.
And Li Ran had nothing to say at this moment, no matter how quick his wits were.
At this time, Xun Shu, who was listening to the side, also echoed and said:
"Two distinguished guests, our country of Jin is currently in the midst of a national mourning period. It would be inconsistent with etiquette to talk about other matters. Since you two have come a long way, you should rest for a while, and then there will be a banquet for you to wash away the dust."
When Li Ran saw this, he could only curse secretly in his heart. But as of now, we can only say nothing about it for the time being.
Jin is the country of the uncle, and many people come to express their condolences. Therefore, banquets are set up in Lingtai Palace almost every day to entertain visitors from all over.
At the banquet, Li Ran and Kong Qiu looked around and found that Song Dynasty official Le Qili and Weiguo official Beigong Xinai were banqueting with them. Li Ran wanted to discuss the matter with them again.
However, the two of them were already disillusioned with the affairs of the Lu State, and they also knew what Fan Yang was thinking.
Now Fan Yang's meaning roughly represents the meaning of the Jin State. If so, how can they dare to say it again? As a result, they all had no choice but to shake their heads and refuse to discuss the matter further.
Li Ran and Confucius' trip was indeed as difficult as they had expected.
At this point, both of them no longer had any illusions.
So, after the banquet, the two went straight back to the post house.
When Zilu saw the teacher and Li Ran's expressions in the official post, he could make a general guess, so he went straight to the front and said:
"If Jin cannot succeed, then I wonder if there is a chance to go to other countries?"
When Li Ran heard this, he shook his head:
"Hey... Now, since the Jin State has this attitude, it is even more impossible for the other states."
Confucius also sighed and said:
"If it doesn't work out, Qiu is willing to go to Qi again. The Marquis of Qi was very concerned about Marquis Lu's affairs before, and Doctor Yan will also mediate, maybe he can let the Marquis of Qi take over the matter again!"
When Li Ran heard this, he just shook his head slightly:
"I'm afraid it's useless. Everything can be done once, but not one after another. Since the Marquis of Qi has stopped caring about this matter, it would be difficult for him to pick it up again..."
"But... for the present plan, we can only try to go to Qi State again. However, Yunyi is in danger now. We are wandering like this, I am afraid that time is tight... We will set off tomorrow, and we can only hurry up go!"
Therefore, Li Ran and Confucius agreed to go to Qi State to lobby.
That night, as soon as Li Rang lay down, he heard Zhong You's voice coming from outside the door:
"Mr. Ziming, there is a visitor outside the official post office. I would like to ask you to come over quickly."
Li Ran was quite curious, but he also knew that something must be going on. So he quickly got up, put on his clothes, and went out to Confucius' room.
I saw a young man sitting inside chatting with Confucius. When Li Ran came in, he stood up and cupped his hands and said:
"Zhao's retainer Dong Anyu has met Mr. Li!"
Li Ran returned the gift, still slightly hesitant. After all, he is really not familiar with Zhao Yang, the current leader of the Zhao family.
Confucius immediately gave Zilu another wink, and Zilu immediately withdrew knowingly, guarding the door alone in case there were ears in the wall.
"I've heard for a long time that Zhao Shangjun is brave and good at fighting. It's true and admirable! I wonder why Zhao Shangjun sent your master to visit late at night tonight?"
Dong Anyu couldn't help but smile when he heard this:
"Mr. Ziming laughed. Although the head of the family is unparalleled in martial arts, his mind is too pure and he does not know the deceitful plot. When the head of the family learned that Mr. Ziming had come to Jin, he couldn't wait to meet him. But...but I was stopped by you!"
Li Ran narrowed his eyes:
"Oh? Why is this?"
"Right now, Fan Yang is in control of the Jin Dynasty's affairs. The head of the family is new to the army, and his qualifications are still relatively low. If he comes to meet you rashly, he might be raising suspicion for Fan!"
"The head of the family already knows what happened in Lingtai Palace today. In fact... Sir, he also knows that Fan Yang will never agree to it easily. However... I am not very talented, but there is a way to send Marquis Lu back... country!"
Li Ran was extremely surprised to see Dong Anyu speaking so firmly.
"Oh? I wonder what Mr. Dong has in mind? Li is all ears!"
