Li Ran shook his head resolutely:
"When we go to Qi State, the situation is extremely complicated, and I'm afraid there are many situations. So I have to make this trip."
"Moreover, I, Li Ran, am someone who is feared by everyone in Qi State, so only if I go to Qi State, I can get twice the result with half the effort!"
Confucius sighed:
"It's just that... to my benefactor, Qi is like a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. Once something unexpected happens, no matter how powerful my benefactor is, I'm afraid he will still be doomed!"
Li Ran smiled slightly again and sneered:
"Haha, Li used to seek the side of King Chu Ling. That was the real "dragon pond and tiger's den". But how can the Qi State today be as dangerous as the Chu State back then? "
"Zhongni, don't worry. This trip to the Qi Kingdom may seem dangerous, but in fact, for me, Li Ran, it is as safe as Mount Tai! Moreover, Li has made an agreement with Zhongni here that I will definitely call him the Marquis of Qi. I will personally return these two lands to the State of Lu!"
When Confucius heard this, he was still a little embarrassed. In his opinion, it was really regrettable to let Li Ran risk his life on behalf of Lu.
"My benefactor went to Qi State this time. Could it be that he still had some backup plans?" Li Ran nodded and said:
"Haha, that's natural. I have contacted Guan Ziyu before and asked him to represent the emperor on my behalf. I said that I, Li Ran, would go to Qi to collect folk songs, compile a collection of poems, and ask the Marquis of Qi to take more care of me. In this way, it is more or less possible Save yourself some trouble of not showering.”
"Zhongni, you are not as relaxed as I am, Li Ran! Gong Lianyang, as well as Guan and Chan, must be dealt with carefully!"
"Although they have their own agendas and are watching each other, it's hard for them to make any moves for a while. But in general, it's always better to be careful!"
Confucius, the governor, had reached this point and it was difficult to persuade Li Ran, so he had to say: "My benefactor is kind, Qiu Zi should take it into account!"
Later, Li Ran asked again:
"Also, Sanhuan...Zhongni also needs to be comforted. They all have their own needs now, especially Meng Sunheji. His attitude...is probably the most difficult. It’s a test, I’m afraid...he doesn’t even know how to do it himself.”
"So, Zhongni, don't let your guard down before I come back!" Confucius cupped his hands again and replied:
"promise."
Then, Confucius said to Li Ran without doubt:
"In addition... Qiu plans to send a hundred soldiers to follow his benefactor to Qi State. How about that?"
Li Ran waved his hand and said with a slight smile:
"There is no need for so many, only twenty people are enough! Too many... haha, it will only cause trouble."
When Confucius heard this, he immediately bowed and agreed.
In fact, he also knew that no matter whether there were a hundred people or twenty people, once something happened in Qi State, no matter how many people there were, it would be useless.
Before leaving, Confucius found Fan Li again and said to him:
"Young uncle... Qiu knows that you are always quick-witted, so I will accompany you here this time. If you find that the situation is critical, please make sure to revise the book immediately and send someone to let me know!"
Just listen to Fan Li reply:
"Please rest assured, Sikou, Li will do his best!
...
By the way, just when Li Ran was about to leave for Qi State.
Gong Lianyang on the Chengyi side first learned that Qi Division had occupied Guan and Chan before returning. Later, he left and returned again, and continued to increase the number of troops stationed there.
However, during this period, the Qi and Lu armies were always in peace. There was no fighting at all, so there were no casualties!
Gong Lianyang knew this very well, so he couldn't help but sneered and wrote another letter to Qi Guoxiu, saying that he was really unable to send troops at the moment and only hoped that the Qi army could enter Chengyi as soon as possible.
Of course, this was never his intention.
After all, he just wanted to see what kind of medicine Master Qi was selling in the gourd. If the Qi army wants to advance to Chengyi, it will inevitably go to war with Lu.
Therefore, Gong Lianyang now wishes that both of them would suffer, so that he could reap the benefits!
And the correspondence took time, and it took several days to come back and forth... And the Marquis of Qi never gave any reply to Gong Lianyang's request.
In this way, the three forces of Qi Shi, Lu Shi, and Chengyi seemed to have reached a delicate balance while checking and balancing each other!
And Li Ran, under such circumstances, went to Qi as an envoy.
At the same time, Qi Hou Chujiu also received the edict from Zhou Zong, as well as the Lu document written by Confucius himself.
He had already known about Li Ran's upcoming situation.
Of course Qi Hou Chujiu understood Li Ran's purpose, but he had no idea how Li Ran would respond.
Therefore, the Marquis of Qi asked his ministers in the court:
"This Li Ziming was very eloquent during the last meeting in Jiagu. Moreover, Kong Zhongni was very close to him! I'm afraid that behind Confucius, Li Ziming was there to give him guidance. !”
Qi Hou Chujiu was unusually sober at this time.
And his current state is like this, sometimes confused and sometimes sober, but he doesn't know whether it is true or false.
Therefore, Tian Qi naturally did not dare to make too many mistakes against such a Qihou.
Seeing this Tian Qi, he suddenly said:
"What your Majesty said is true. This Li Ziming... chose this time to send an envoy to our country, Qi, for fear that the person coming would be unkind. In my opinion..." 33
Tian Qi faltered at this moment. After all, he always showed kindness to others, but now he was about to kill someone, and it was the famous Li Ziming. After all, these words were not in line with his "personality".
At this time, Tian Qi’s henchman Bao Mu said:
"Your Majesty, Li Ziming is a wise man who is close to a demon and is extremely harmful. If he is allowed to cause trouble in the Lu Kingdom again, it will really make people feel uneasy. It is better to take this opportunity to kill him directly to avoid future troubles!"
Qi Hou Chujiu sighed and said:
"This man is a virtuous person in the world. Wouldn't it be a pity to kill him like this?" Bao Mu replied:
"Your Majesty, you must not think like this. This person is currently in the Lu State and is the great enemy of our Qi State! If we continue to fight against him, we will surely suffer chaos, Your Majesty!"
When Qi Hou Chujiu heard this, he felt a little embarrassed about it.
"It's just... Zhou Zong just sent an edict, asking us to take more care of Li Ran who came to Qi State to collect folk stories. If we kill this person... I'm afraid it won't be easy to explain to Ji Zhou. ah......"
Bao Mu, however, disagreed with this, and took a step forward and whispered: "Your Majesty, collecting wind is an act of going into the countryside, and there will be many accidents..."
At this time, Tian Qi was heard echoing:
"Your Majesty, I also think what Bao Mu said is reasonable! I hope Your Majesty can make a decision as soon as possible!"
After Qi Hou Chujiu heard this, he certainly understood the implication of Bao Mu and Tian Qi's words. While thinking about it, he stroked his own beard:
"Well... let's wait until I see this person first... before we make any arguments." Then, Qihou Chujiu turned around again and glanced at the prince sitting under him. Tea.
Seeing that Prince Tu remained silent today, he couldn't help but feel a little strange, so he asked:
"Tu'er, why are you silent today?" --
Chapter 722_Qi Hou Chujiu’s special skills
At this time, Prince Tu was actually deep in thought.
At this moment, when he heard Jun's father calling him, he came back to his senses and replied:
"Father, my son and I were actually thinking just now. What does Li Ziming want to do when he comes to our country of Qi?"
When Tian Qi heard this, he said rather disdainfully:
"He currently holds the post of Taishi of the Zhou Dynasty, but over the years, he has been living in the State of Lu as a guest, and he often makes suggestions for Kong Zhongni! This time, he must have come to recover Guan and Chan! "
Hearing this, Prince Cha also nodded:
"What Mr. Tian said is reasonable. However, since these two places, Guan and Chan, are in our hands, how can we, the Qi State, be willing to give them back easily? If he really has such ability, if he were to kill him, it would be a bit unavoidable. pity!"
"How about we find out the true purpose of his trip and then look at his talent. If he is really talented, why didn't your father trap him in Qi? I heard that in the past, King Ling of Chu left Li Ziming in Chu. King Ling of Chu With his help, I can still dominate for a while!"
"As for our Qi State, which is a great state with the surname Jiang, how can it ever be inferior to the Chu State? Why don't you, your father, treat me like a minister? If you can keep it in Qi State, will your father still worry about failing to achieve your great cause?"
After hearing this, Qihou Chujiu couldn't help but nodded: "Well... what Tu'er said makes sense!"
Seeing this, Tian Qi knew that now was not the time to talk, so he asked aside:
"Then... when Li Ran comes to Linzi, arrange to stay at Guanyi first and then test him out?"
Qihou Chujiu was silent for a while, nodded and said:
"Well, Tian Qing, I'll leave it to you to entertain Li Ziming! Tu'er, just go and try Li Ran's talents! I hope you two can work together to get this done!"
This is the first time that Qi Hou Chujiu asked Tian Qi and Prince Tu to handle something together.
Obviously, Qi Hou Chujiu also had good intentions. Because, he also knew that he was about to reach an old age. Time is running out!
Therefore, of course he wants to help Prince Tea gain a foothold as soon as possible.
Tian Qi was also a cunning man. After hearing what Qi Hou said, his face suddenly lit up with joy:
"I am determined to live up to your Majesty's trust!"
As for Prince Tu, perhaps he is really young and energetic. In fact, he more or less looked down upon Tian Qi.
Therefore, he replied with great reluctance: "No! I accept the order..."
After he retired from the court, Prince Tu still served Chujiu, the Marquis of Qi. Qi Hou Chujiu glanced at Prince Tu and sighed:
"Tu'er, are you... still dissatisfied with Tian Qing?"
When Prince Tu heard this, he hesitated for a moment. But in front of your father, you don’t want to hide anything:
"Yes... I really don't like Tian Qi!" But seeing Qi Hou Chujiu put his hand on his forehead:
"Hey... Tu'er is confused! You are young and energetic and can't tolerate others. If things go on like this for a long time, you will suffer a big loss in the end! Although Tian Qi has many shortcomings, if he can do a good job Even if you use him, this person can be regarded as Sasuke's power!" Prince Tu said angrily:
"The reason why Tian Qi's affairs are so smooth is because he goes around to buy people's hearts in our country of Qi. He lends out big dendrobium and earns from small dendrobium. He is stealing the kindness of your father and giving it to the people of the country!"
"Father, I still feel that only weapons and people should be given to the people, and you can't fake people! Tian Qi's personal ethics seems to be that of a great prince, and the people of the country are very happy. But what he has done should be to show the kindness of the king and father. .Now that Tian Qi is using your father’s kindness as a pretense, I’m afraid there will be disaster if things continue like this!”
When Qi Hou Chujiu heard this, he sighed helplessly:
"Hey... Tu'er, things are far from as simple as you think. Up to now, the hegemony of the few has not been achieved, and now we can only rely on Tianqi to stabilize the people of the country! If we don't let it go now, If Tian Qi behaves like this, then the people of the country will be resentful in the future, and it will be the widowed people! Then who can the widowed people rely on to restore the hegemony of Duke Huan?"
"So, what you have to do now, Tu'er, is to maintain a good relationship with Tian Qing. After a hundred years from me, when you succeed to the throne, you must first seek stability and secure your throne before you can talk anymore. Others!”
Prince Tu couldn't help but said:
"Is your father really prepared to leave Tian Qi alone?" Qi Hou Chujiu waved his hand gently:
"That's all! Now is the time to employ people, and I am old. Everything must be based on the country! Appropriate patience and humiliation are also necessary for a king!"
"Tu'er, do you know that when you became your father, you were not your legitimate son. Thanks to the support of all the ministers, you became the king."
"When I was a father, after experiencing the chaos of Cui Zhu and Qingfeng, Tu'er thought that the reason why my father was able to secure the position of king and still be able to do something today is really just luck?"
"Cha'er, you are the same now as you were when you became a father. You were both born as a concubine. Therefore, the ministers are already dissatisfied with you becoming the crown prince. At this moment, Cha'er should be close to all the ministers, especially when things happen. We must discuss it with the Guo and Gao families, and we must not have any grudges with the ministers!"
Prince Tu knew that his father's words were spoken from the bottom of his heart, and naturally they were all for his own good. So he immediately stood up, knelt on the ground, and said sincerely:
"My father's teachings, my sons and ministers should keep them in mind and never dare to forget them!" Qi Hou Chujiu also stood up and helped Prince Tu up:
"Okay! That's good! Tu'er, my father is also tired today. Cha'er, please help me go back to the palace!"
So, Prince Tu supported Qi Hou Chujiu all the way back to Qi Hou's palace, and helped him sleep before leaving.
However, when he left, he still had some complaints in his heart: "My father is old and can't do anything. This Tian Qi has such sinister intentions, how can I tolerate him?"
"Hmph! But for now, since Father Jun has said so... let's not argue with him for the sake of Father Jun!"
So Prince Tu left the palace and immediately came to Tian Qi's mansion. When the two met, they exchanged official clichés and exchanged greetings.
After some polite remarks, the matter of Li Ran's visit was agreed upon, and Prince Tu didn't waste any time, and immediately stood up and left.
At this time, Shu Niu came out from behind the screen and saw Tian Qi with a sad face.
When Zhu Niu saw this, he couldn't help being surprised: "Why are you doing this, sir?" Tian Qi snorted coldly:
"This son... is not simple! When I came here today, he actually became a lot more humble. He is in a superior position but he also knows how to treat others with humility! This makes me... a little uneasy. Na!"
Shu Niu heard this, but said disapprovingly:
"Isn't everything in Qi currently under your control? No matter how capable this boy is, he has no foundation among the people of the country, so why should you be afraid of him?"
After Shu Niu said this, he got back to the topic and said, "Sir, I recently heard that Li Ran and Li Ziming are coming to Qi State?" After hearing this, Tian Qi couldn't help but glance at Shu Niu:
"How do you want to do it?"
Shuniu couldn't wait to reply:
"Sir, this man has ruined my affairs many times. He is also a great threat to you! It would be great if you could kill this man!"
Unexpectedly, Tian Qi immediately shook his head and replied:
"No! Don't act rashly right now! If you touch this person, I will inevitably be guilty of dereliction of duty, and you will inevitably be criticized by others!"
"Haha, but... I understand the meaning of raising a cow very well. You can rest assured that this time, I will definitely tell this kid to never come back!"
It is said that Li Ran and his party went straight into the border of Qi State and successfully arrived in Linzi.
Unexpectedly, Li Ran stayed in the post house for several days, but Qi Hou Chujiu never sent anyone to summon him.
Li Ran was naturally prepared for this situation, so he was not in a hurry and just waited for the news silently in the official post.
Sure enough, a few days later, Prince Tu came to visit the post house.
In fact, Li Ran and Fan Li met Prince Tu at the Jiagu meeting.
However, Prince Tu was almost silent at that time, so it did not attract their attention.
Prince Tu entered the post house and met Li Ran. After they met and took their seats, Prince Tu smiled and said:
"I've heard about Mr. Ziming's name for a long time. I didn't have the opportunity to get to know him at the Jiagu League in the past. I'm lucky to see you again today!"
Some people died, but not completely...
