"Don't worry, Mr. Shang made an agreement before he left that he would invite us to see him on a certain day." Mrs. Xiang answered Zhao Wu Zhengqing's question.
"I really can't believe that this young man is so sharp. We have wasted our years and spent half a life reading poems and books, but we can't find the true chapter. We are really worthy of being our elders!" Zhao Wu sighed. , very remorseful.
"Brother Zhao, why are you doing this? If we learn with an open mind, no matter whether we are young or old, we will be able to take a step closer to the true chapter!" Xiang Xu figured it out and comforted Zhao Wu by saying, "It's like Yan Zi, the father of Ji Yu, who always used his spirit to , Yu is my teacher, I have learned the art of accommodation, and I have taken the true and pure source, and used it in court and admonishment, and I have often seen miraculous results."
"Really? Why do you want to see him?" Zhao Wu was curious about what he could learn from a little kid that could be used in business.
"The year before last, Qi Linggong liked women to dress in men's clothing, and the people followed suit. Duke Linggong ordered officials to ban women outside the palace from wearing such clothes. He said: 'Any woman who wears men's clothing will have her clothes torn and her belt cut off.' "Even if a woman walks on the street every day and her clothes are torn, you can't stop her. When Yanzi came to see him, Duke Linggong asked him: "I have already ordered that women wear different clothes. There are many people who lose their clothes in the street, so you can't stop them?" Yanzi responded: "The king allows the ladies in the palace to wear men's clothing, but does not allow outsiders to wear different clothes. It is just like if I want to open a meat shop on the street, it is the cow head hanging on the door of our shop. What is sold inside the door is exactly the same as horse meat! The king only needs to know that "what goes up and what follows follows" and prohibits the wind in the palace can prevent the chaos among the people. Sure enough, according to his plan, the palace will be clear and the people will be clear. A month passed without any such violation. He could think of market meat as an example. This was because Ji Yu and Ji Ling, brothers and sisters, often went to the market to sell meat with their two servants. There is a saying 'hanging a cow's head to sell beef' to show its truth. Based on this, I briefly quoted it and persuaded Duke Lingying to understand that the law must take into account the fairness of the world. In fact, it is a downward fate. I use my hands to describe it, and the flaws can be seen!"
He told the young lady that he had heard Yan Zi’s two servants and his wife who were responsible for taking care of Ji Yu and Ji Ling often come to deliver meat in exchange for letters. This is what Yan Zi learned from the two brothers and sisters. It’s sold and used extremely well.
Yanzi, as described by the two loyal servants, never felt inferior because of his lack of height. On the contrary, he was particularly easy to play with and mingle with the children. He was truly a "minor"-like adult with a childlike innocence and extraordinary wit. When a person assumes the role of a powerful person in the country, he always looks confident, calm and steady, and is valued by the king of Qi.
"Yes! People in the street say 'hanging a cow's head and selling horse meat', so it's so outrageous!" Zhao Wu had also heard of such a saying circulating among the common people, but he didn't expect that it had such a origin.
"If there is a chance, we should also invite Yan Zi and my three brothers to sit down with each other to drink tea and pour out verses. It seems so exciting!" Xiang Xu suggested that the juniors have gatherings, and they, the heads of the family, should communicate with each other more often. If you move around more, you won't be abandoned too far by the juniors!
"Hey!" Mrs. Xiang also agreed, "I will tell Ji Yu that we will choose a good day for Brother Yan and three of your brothers to come together to sit down, drink, and admire the moon. Only the three of you brothers will do it." Set a date first, and I will let you know."
"However, Duke Linggong has passed away and Duke Zhuang has been established. On the Gengshen Day in the sixth month, the alliance between him and the kings of Lu, Jin, Song, Wei, Zheng and other countries has been completed. This is the busiest time for Brother Yan. Whether the new owner will reuse the old ministers or not requires careful planning!" Doctor Xiang thought of the recent political affairs and was worried about Yan Zi's current situation.
As a minister of the court, Xiang Xutong put himself in his shoes and could understand Yanzi's recent difficulties better than others. At the critical moment of the replacement of the old and new lords, there were still too many things that he had to deal with one by one. Not only did he teach Qizhuang Gong how to be the king of a country, but he also had to prevent his own position from being lost in the process of personnel changes. Not to be replaced by new blood, after all, the story of "one gentleman, one courtier" has been played out too many times. Prince Ya, ministers Su Shawei, Gao Hou and others have all fallen into the hands of this new king early on. Blacklist" and were killed one by one.
Besides, the process for Duke Zhuang to ascend to the throne was quite tortuous. When Duke Lingying fell ill last year, minister Cui Zhu secretly welcomed back the then Duke Guang, later Duke Zhuang, and took advantage of Duke Ling's critical illness. , and then made Gongzi Guang the prince. The mother of Gongzi Guang, Li Shengji, was the dowry concubine of Yan Yiji, a Lu woman whom Duke Lin originally married.
The battle for the crown prince has always been a "you die or I die" type.
Among Qi Linggong's concubines, there were Zhong Ji and Rong Ji, and Rong Ji was especially favored. Zhong Ji was the mother of Prince Ya, and she entrusted her son to Rong Ji. Rong Ji also had no children, so she asked to make Prince Ya the crown prince, and Qi Linggong agreed.
Zhongji knew the general idea and persuaded Duke Lingying not to do this. At that time, Prince Guang had been established as the prince and had already participated in the princes' alliance as the crown prince. Now, if you want to give up without any faults, it is against etiquette and law, and the king will definitely regret it.
However, Qi Linggong insisted on his own way and said: "It's all up to me to abolish the establishment!" So he moved Gongzi Guang to the eastern border, changed the name of Gongzi Ya to the prince, and appointed Gao Hou as the Taifu and Su Shawei as the Young Fu. , jointly assist Young Master Ya.
After this experience, Gongzi Guang later killed Rong Ji and showed his body in the court to vent his anger. Of course, this move has also been criticized as inappropriate.
Prince Ya was finally killed on the hill of Judou. From then on, Duke Zhuang had no one to worry about. When you are new to the throne, your thoughts are unpredictable. How could Yanzi not be trembling and thinking with all his energy?
In fact, the person who better understands Yan Zi's difficulties is undoubtedly Zhao Wu. Originally, in the era of Jin Aogong, he had already had a prosperous official career and a bright future. He was only in his early 30s, but he was only lower than Xun Yan and Shi Gai. Moreover, Xun Yan was approaching his twilight years and Shi Gai was over fifty. He and Han Qi, who was in his 20s, were already ready to assist the 27-year-old Duke Ao of Jin to realize his great strategy in the next half century and continue to maintain hegemony in the Central Plains. Unexpectedly, Duke Ao died early, and Duke Ping no longer reused Zhao Wu. The two powerful ministers who had a deep hatred for Qi State only now had the possibility to sit together and talk because of their similar situations or sympathy for each other. If not, Xiang Xu and Mrs. Xiang would definitely not dare to propose that the two sides who had been fighting could sit together and have a good time.
"Everything in the world is unpredictable! Don't force it, don't force it!" Zhao Wu sighed with emotion.
A big country has the majesty of a big country, but also has difficulties. As a powerful official of one of the two hegemons, Zhao Wu lived a cautious and cautious life during the Ping Gong era. Just like the time when he escaped from a difficult situation in his life, he was willing to reflect inwardly on many occasions to see if he had done the right thing. not good enough.
The Song Dynasty was a small country, and Xiang Xu only wanted to promote the second "Annihilation Movement", so he felt that he had a clear conscience. He did not have too many burdens of a big country, and lived a much more comfortable life.
