Chapter 95. The Lion and the Sheep.
Birds of a feather flock together, and people flock together. In the same way, the kind of master you have will breed the kind of servant you have. [No pop-up novel website]
Zhao Junchen had met the stewards in Wen Guanliang's house before. Like Wen Guanliang, they all had the same temperament that regarded wealth as life.
As for Xu Qingyan's arrogant and domineering villain temperament, it is also in the same vein as the former Zhao Junchen. Although Zhao Junchen today has become stiff and his temperament and methods are completely different, Xu Qingyan's temper has been fixed and cannot be easily reversed. This is a It's a pity.
The same goes for Guanshi Li in Zhou Shangjing's mansion. Although it is just his first contact, his demeanor and movements have some traces of Zhou Shangjing in every detail.
"Li Cheng, the steward of Lord Chief Assistant, has met Lord Zhao."
After being led to the study, Manager Li bowed to Zhao Junchen in a polite manner and said in a deep voice.
Although he came on behalf of Zhou Shangjing, he did not show any pretentiousness. His expression was humble and restrained, but his eyes were half-open and half-closed, making it impossible to easily detect his mood swings.
Looking at Li Cheng's demeanor, and thinking about Xu Qingyan's usual arrogance of "the emperor is the boss, the master is second, and I am the third in the world", Zhao Junchen sighed secretly in his heart.
Comparing people with each other can be frustrating. Zhao Junchen’s current talent accumulation cannot be compared with Zhou Shangjing’s. The Li Cheng in front of him is just an ordinary steward in Zhou Shangjing’s mansion, but when he first met, his demeanor and demeanor were already far higher. Xu Qingyan was beside him.
While thinking secretly, Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "Manager Li, please don't be too polite. I wonder if the Chief Assistant has sent you to see me, but what's the matter?"
Li Cheng raised his head and glanced at Xu Qingyan who was waiting aside. Seeing that Zhao Junchen had no intention of letting Xu Qingyan avoid him temporarily, knowing that Xu Qingyan was Zhao Junchen's confidant, he stopped covering up and took out a secret letter from his sleeve, holding it in both hands. He handed it to Xu Qingyan who was standing aside.
After Xu Qingyan handed over the secret letter to Zhao Junchen, Li Chengcai said in a deep voice: "Master Zhao, according to my master's wishes, the situation in the temple has been decided, and all plans have been prepared, and we are ready to go. And it’s time for you, sir, to take good care of your health and return to the temple.”
"Oh?" Zhao Junchen opened the secret letter with a chuckle, looked at it carefully, and said casually: "Is it time for me to recover?"
Li Cheng didn't say much in response to Zhao Junchen's inquiry. He just lowered his head and waited for Zhao Junchen's reply.
After Zhao Junchen read the secret letter, he looked strange and seemed to sigh vaguely.
After a long silence, Zhao Junchen slowly said: "Go back and tell Mr. Chief Assistant that I'm used to being idle these days, and my body and mind are also lazy. I want to rest for a while again, until half a month later." , that is, before the beginning of spring, he will return to the temple. During this period, all kinds of plans are left to the Chief Assistant and the two pavilion elders Shen and Huang to take care of. Now that the plan has been decided and the preparations are complete, the next thing , with or without me, there is no difference. I will just continue to hide in the back and watch the show."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Li Cheng, who had always been introverted, couldn't help but have a flash of surprise in his expression, and asked: "Sir, are you really not planning to come back? Now that the time has come, don't you plan to deal with His Highness the Crown Prince yourself? "
Zhao Junchen waved his hand and said with a smile: "The Chief Assistant, Mr. Huang Ge and Mr. Shen Ge are here. One more of me is not more, and one less of me is not more. Whether or not you personally participate does not make any difference. I trust several seniors. I think they will be able to handle it properly even without me."
After Li Cheng was silent for a moment, he bowed to Zhao Junchen and said: "Since you have made up your mind, I will repay my master with your original words. I just hope that you will think twice. According to my master's wishes, this time is still It’s better to advance together and retreat together.”
………
After Li Cheng left, Zhao Junchen picked up the secret letter from Zhou Shangjing again and read it carefully.
Then, there was a sigh.
This secret letter was Zhou Shangjing reporting the progress of the plan to Zhao Junchen. It described in detail the various disasters caused by the preparations for the southern tour from the capital to Jiangnan and various places along the way under the auspices of Prince Zhu Heyu.
Simply put, these kinds of disasters, which harmed the country and the people, and the people's losses were far higher than Zhao Junchen's original imagination - after all, he underestimated the wanton behavior of local officials in the Ming Dynasty.
Although the prince's party is still ignorant, in fact, due to the preparations for the southern tour and the private actions of local officials, the people are now complaining. Even under the government's persecution, many tragedies occurred, with families destroyed and people displaced.
According to Zhou Shangjing's plan, such public resentment will soon converge in the capital, explode, and point the finger directly at Prince Zhu Heyu.
Although this plan was originally planned by Zhao Junchen himself and was one of the main promoters. Although Zhao Junchen had already been aware and prepared when he planned it, Zhao Junchen still couldn't bear it when he thought of the miserable scenes among the people today. I can't help but feel a little sad.
After all, he himself is one of the main persons responsible for causing these civil tragedies.
Although not much remains, Zhao Junchen still has some "conscience" after all.
Therefore, although I knew that if I came back at this time, I could intensify the attack on the prince's party and get some benefits afterwards, I didn't know how I should feel about the coming public grievances. , so Zhao Junchen still subconsciously did not want to continue to participate.
"After all, my mentality is still not good. I have been mentally prepared for a long time, but when the matter comes, I still dare not face it personally. I can't be like Zhou Shangjing and others who only have interests in their eyes, but no good and evil..."
While Zhao Junchen was thinking secretly, Xu Qingyan felt that something was wrong with Zhao Junchen's mood and asked: "Master, what are you thinking about?"
Zhao Junchen said leisurely: "I have heard some remarks before, saying that if a lion leads a group of sheep, the sheep will also develop a lion-like temperament, brave and bloodthirsty. If a sheep leads a group of lions, Lions will also develop the temperament of sheep, which is cowardly and cowardly. When the two compete, a sheep led by a lion can easily defeat a lion led by a sheep."
After a pause, Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "I thought this statement was quite reasonable at first, but now it seems that a lion is a lion and a sheep is a sheep. A sheep can lead a group of lions, or a lion can lead a group of sheep." , how can we change the nature of sheep and lions? When lions get along with sheep, sheep are destined to be eaten. It is like corrupt officials and upright officials. If an upright official leads a group of corrupt officials, he will only be punished by the corrupt officials below. On the contrary, the If a corrupt official leads a group of honest officials, he might actually drag all the honest officials below him into the water and eventually join in the corruption..."
Xu Qingyan seemed to understand Zhao Junchen's words, the argument between lions and sheep, but Xu Qingyan understood the argument between honest officials and corrupt officials very quickly.
Therefore, Xu Qingyan said of course: "This is natural. Greed is the natural desire of human beings. Although there are countless people in the world, nine out of ten people obey their desires. Those who have the perseverance and determination to resist the temptation of their own desires are the ones who Very few, otherwise how could there be so many corrupt officials in the world?"
Hearing what Xu Qingyan said, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but be stunned.
Such philosophical words are not something Xu Qingyan can say.
Turning to look at Xu Qingyan, Zhao Junchen suddenly realized when he saw Xu Qingyan taking it for granted.
To a villain like Xu Qingyan, these seemingly profound words are just the simplest truth in their eyes.
And the simplest truth is often the most unquestionable truth, even if such truth only exists in the eyes of villains.
After shaking his head and laughing, Zhao Junchen suddenly asked: "Qingyan, how much money is available in our house now?"
Xu Qingyan calculated secretly for a moment and said: "There must be more than one million taels. Master, do you want silver?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "Take out one hundred thousand taels of silver, and part of it will be used in the name of 'Yerongfang' to open some porridge shacks and free medical clinics in various places in Zhili. If what I predict is good, the next step is to Some refugees came to the capital with their families to complain. Regardless of their selfishness or their true intentions, they must let these refugees live. The other part was taken by others and traveled along the capital to the south of the Yangtze River. We are touring various places and trying to find ways to help the injured people. This time we have done a lot of wrongdoing. Although it is a bit hypocritical, it is better to make amends if we can."
………
Just when Zhao Junchen, with conflicting thoughts, was planning to do something to remedy the situation to comfort his remaining conscience, Li Cheng had returned to Zhou Shangjing's house.
In the Zhou Mansion, Zhou Shangjing was not the only one. Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao were also there, and the three of them were discussing something.
After hearing Li Cheng's report, before Zhou Shangjing said anything, Shen Changmao snorted coldly and said, "What the hell is Zhao Junchen doing? If he doesn't come back when it's time to come back, and hides aside to watch the show, do you still want to Can you treat us as chess pieces and charge into battle for him?"
Huang Yourong smiled half-smilingly and said, "Isn't it because Junchen is afraid that if he comes back at this time and then joins us in attacking Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, His Majesty will suspect him? Junchen is sometimes too cautious."
Shen Changmao said coldly: "If you are too irresponsible, how can you achieve success in the future?"
Zhou Shangjing sighed slowly and said softly: "That's all, with or without him, the plan will always go on. In fact, it doesn't matter if Junchen chooses to avoid it temporarily at this time. He can't disobey His Majesty's wishes now. If His Majesty forces him to support it, Prince Zhu Heyu, we will have more resistance."
After a pause, Zhou Shangjing added: "Since Junchen only plans to watch the show, then we will just let him watch the show. Let's act according to the plan."
"The first is the Metropolitan Procuratorate." Shen Changmao sneered: "The Metropolitan Procuratorate has caused us a lot of trouble since it was controlled by the prince. Now it is time to repay them."
With the final words of the three pavilion elders, the storm began in the center of the capital.
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ps: Today’s first update, there are two more to come. The second update is being checked and will be here soon.
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