Wu Jifeng said: "This elder of Xiaguan is Xiaguan's distant cousin. He used to work in the Ministry of Justice, but now he is working at home. After Xiaguan completed the entry procedures at the salt farm, he went to visit his uncle. After meeting him, he After talking to me a lot, I finally understood the specific situation."
Liu Haojia said with great interest: "Oh, what did he say? Can you tell me about it?"
Wu Jifeng said: "There is nothing I can hide from Mr. Hou! After Uncle Tang analyzed Xiaguan's current situation, he told him that there were not many choices he could make now. The first option was to resign and not do anything. , to show my determination to make a complete break with you!"
Liu Haojia nodded and said: "This is a method, but there are hidden dangers! After all, you have been marked with the mark of 'Mei Shang', and it is difficult to get rid of it with this action alone!"
I felt like I nodded and said, "The Marquis is right, Xiaguan said the same thing at the time! My cousin said at that time that if Xiaguan did this, he might get a minor official in the future, but he would never get it. It’s time for promotion!”
Liu Haojia said: "It is indeed the case. They will make it seem like they will accept you and recommend you to be an official, but they will set you as an example for others to see! Let everyone see that, even those who surrender to the emperor, we It can be accommodated, so those who follow the emperor should come back as soon as possible, and don’t follow the emperor away! Hehe, let’s not mention this for now, what is the second method your cousin said? "
Wu Jifeng said word by word at this time: "The second way my uncle said is to let the subordinates surrender to the Marquis! He also said that with the support of the Marquis, he might be able to achieve a position above the fourth rank in the future! "
After hearing this, Liu Haojia's eyes flashed for a moment and he smiled slightly and said: "Well, what your cousin said makes sense! Let's do this. I will return to Beijing soon. After returning to Beijing, I will report your matter to Your Majesty. Then I will see Your Majesty. What arrangements will be made?"
At this time, Wu Jifeng said eagerly: "Master Marquis, that's not what happened! Uncle Xiaguan told me to let him go directly to the Marquis, not His Majesty!"
A hint of understanding flashed in Liu Haojia's eyes, and then he said: "How can I compare with Long Live Lord! Well, you and I are considered acquaintances, why don't I say a few nice words for you in front of Long Live Lord, you see how?"
Wu Jifeng smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "Master Hou, please don't amuse me. My uncle has said some things about the difference, and I have also thought about it. I have already thought it through! So I came here tonight." I want to beg the Marquis to accept me! The Marquis can rest assured that since the official has decided to serve under the Marquis, he will never betray me!"
At this point, he smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid there's no chance even for betrayal! In this case, it's better to follow the Marquis all the way to the dark side!"
Liu Haojia burst into laughter upon hearing this! After laughing, he said: "Why didn't your cousin give you some advice earlier? He only came to give you some advice when the situation was about to happen!"
Wu Jifeng said: "Xiaoguan and my cousin are two generations apart, and their relationship is not that close. Moreover, my cousin has a son who will take the imperial examination soon, so he will naturally focus on his cousin! And I guess my cousin Uncle and Xiaguan said so much, but they also meant hedging their bets!"
Liu Haojia nodded with emotion and said, "It seems that you have matured a lot after this time and can think through many things!"
Wu Jifeng smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know why, but when I was at my uncle's place, I was told that I was confused, but after I left the house, I suddenly became sober! There were many things that I couldn't understand before. , or things that I had never thought of suddenly become clear to me! So this is why I made up my mind!"
What Wu Jifeng said was very clear, that is, he wanted to seek refuge with Liu Haojia, not Emperor Wanli! It is estimated that his cousin also understood clearly that considering his status, wanting to seek refuge with Emperor Wanli was just a joke!
Although Emperor Wanli lacked civil servants, he also lacked high-ranking civil servants, who had to be at least third-grade or above to be worthy of attention! And a little person like him who had just entered the officialdom was not in the eyes of Emperor Wanli at all!
Even if he was introduced to Emperor Wanli, I'm afraid he wouldn't be taken seriously! What's more, would Liu Haojia really be so kind as to introduce him to Emperor Wanli? He likes to set up a rival for himself so much? this
It’s simply impossible! Read the book
And considering Liu Haojia's status and position, he may not be able to help others, but it is too easy to ruin someone's affairs! What's more, his cousin was also a serious civil servant, so he subconsciously felt that it would be best for the emperor to hide in the palace and give birth to a son, and leave other matters to his ministers!
It cannot be said that this idea is extreme, but in fact, from the perspective of Chinese history, most of the emperors were just mediocre people, far inferior to the civil and military officials who worked their way up from the bottom!
The reason is that the emperor is basically determined when he is born, and there is no need to work hard at all! And those civil and military officials who have left their names in the history books, all of them came up from the bottom step by step! All those who can reach the top position have corpses at their feet! The character born from such a fight is naturally much stronger than the emperor who was born with a golden key in his mouth!
Especially at this time, Emperor Wanli was young and was double suppressed by Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng. He was simply a decoration in the court! There is no future in taking refuge in him! It was impossible for him to directly promote Wu Jifeng to a first-class official in the imperial court!
Because Emperor Wanli could not go beyond Zhang Juzheng and others to support a low-ranking official of the sixth or seventh grade, that would be unrealistic! Moreover, what Emperor Wanli did would attract Zhang Juzheng's attention and get rid of Wu Jifeng early! Especially when Zhang Juzheng made the mistake of looking down upon Liu Haojia, he would not let himself make the same mistake again!
But Liu Haojia is different. A person who won a title for himself with bare hands is definitely not an easy target to fool, and he must have strong skills! Especially since he has a lot of money and honor as his backing! If Wu Jifeng joins him, with his support, he can quickly move from a low-level official to a mid-level official!
And only then would he be meaningful to Emperor Wanli and be able to enter his sight. But by that time, he had already been firmly marked by Liu Haojia! Betrayal will be criticized by thousands of people! Therefore, in terms of comprehensive judgment, instead of taking refuge in an emperor who cannot rely on his strength and creating a powerful opponent for himself, it is better to take refuge in Liu Haojia from the beginning and turn this possible opponent into his own help!
