Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4352 A Promise

"Oh, Liu Zhongshu is now a prosperous official, in charge of the Wenzong of the world, and even a minister of His Majesty's humerus. It can be said that he is a high-ranking and proud man. Why did he condescend to come to this vulgar place like ours? It is full of splendor, haha!"

Cheng Yaojin greeted him out of the tent, grabbed Liu Ji's arm with a big hand, pulled him into the tent with "enthusiasm", and seated him, Liu Ji hurriedly avoided, the commander-in-chief was respected among the army, How dare you steal a high position?But Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but press him on the seat, and then accompanied him horizontally. The rest of the generals were accompanied only by Niu Jinda sitting behind Cheng Yaojin, and the rest stood on both sides...

Liu Jie was overwhelmed by the flattery, and said again and again: "Although the lower officials came here by the emperor's order, the army respects the commander. Duke Lu treats each other like this, and the lower officials are terrified."

He was indeed terrified, who doesn't know Cheng Yaojin's temper?Among the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, Cheng Yaojin and Fang Jun are generally recognized as the most difficult to deal with. The former is called the "devil king of the world", who only takes advantage of the advantages and does not suffer losses, and the latter is called the "stick". What the two of them have in common is that turning their faces is like flipping a book, the more they smile at you, the less affectionate they will be when they turn their faces...

With Cheng Yaojin's usual way of doing things, don't say that it's him, the new Zhongshu Ling, even if Xiao Yu came here in person, he might not be able to get such kind treatment, so how could he not be vigilant?

Cheng Yaojin laughed loudly, and while serving tea, he said: "Why should Liu Zhongshu be modest? Now that the Duke of Song is getting old, he should have abdicated the throne long ago. The British Duke is indifferent and doesn't care much about the affairs of the court. You Zhongshu The order to inherit His Majesty's edict, and to initiate the government affairs of hundreds of officials, can be said to be the No. 1 in the imperial court, we old Cheng can count on you to take care of us a lot in the future, haha."

As soon as this remark came out, Liu Ji didn't care whether the other party's flattery and compliments were hidden. His eyes were bright, his voice was sonorous and powerful, and his expression was solemn and solemn: "Lu Guogong's words are very kind! We are the ones who eat the king, and we are the ones who are loyal to the king." As for the matter, Your Majesty is the seat of Zhengshuo of the Empire, under the command of the heavens, and rule the world, even if there are petty troubles and covets for great treasures, in the end, it will be difficult to defeat Your Majesty's destiny and the will of the people!"

As long as Cheng Yaojin regards His Majesty as Zhengshuo in his heart, even if he is waiting for the price, he will be biased, then the matter will be easy to discuss.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yaojin revealed a sentence of affirmation for the emperor, whether intentionally or unintentionally, in his words, but now faced with Liu Ji's temptation, he did not express his opinion. In front of him: "In the mountains and fields, where the army is marching, the conditions are really rough and simple. Liu Zhongshu has always been pampered and respected. Don't dislike our mountain spring and wild tea."

Liu Jie said with a smile: "The taste of tea lies in nature. It is inspired by the sky and born as the times require. Even if it is born in a wild rock, it is also the essence of the sun and the moon. It opens the way of tea rhyme. If you are looking for those famous mountain origins , wanting to be metaphysical, but falling behind.”

Some things must be believed in the destiny. Even if the destiny is born in a mountain where no one can see, it will be full of fragrance, mellow and natural. On the contrary, if the will of heaven is not, even if it grows in a famous mountain, it is rare to be the god of nature. marrow.

A pun, easy to understand...

Cheng Yaojin picked up the teacup and took a sip, narrowed his eyes like copper bells slightly, tsk-tsk his mouth to savor the aftertaste, and sighed: "Tea is nothing but leaves and grass clippings. People endow it with all kinds of flavors. In the past, it was cooked with sheep oil and spices. Everyone praised it as good, whether it was a sage in the mountains or a famous official in the temple, he regarded it as an extraordinary thing. When Fang Er created a new method of frying tea, he found a unique way to return to the original and return to the original. The true taste of natural hair... Which of the two is better and worse, the world has no consensus, and who can tell which is better?"

Don't say whether it is upright or not, the essence of the past is now regarded as dross, how can the dross of today not become the essence in the future?As time goes by, right and wrong are not so absolute, so we should put aside the right and wrong of things themselves, and talk about their essence.

What is essence?

In the past, the skill of making tea was regarded as an elegant thing, which was not allowed to be enjoyed by traffickers and pawns, which meant status and power; now tea has entered thousands of households, and even the lowest porter can drink a bowl of low-grade inferior tea in his spare time. Tea, tea is no longer a symbol of status, but it has earned Fang Jun and tea merchants all over the world a mountain of wealth, and created countless taxes for the empire.

In the final analysis, it is still a benefit...

Liu Jie took a sip of his tea, raised his eyebrows, and said flatly: "Mr. Lu, it's too late. Listen to the official and let's stop it."

You won't be pleasing to those who have the right and wrong, and even if you have to agree to some outrageous conditions due to the situation, it may not end well in the future.

Cheng Yaojin chuckled, disapprovingly: "When rare goods are available, it is natural to ask for a high price. Many people will never have such an opportunity in their lifetime, how can they do it casually?"

Liu Ji frowned: "Your Majesty came here today at the Emperor's order. The situation is urgent, and you must go back to report to His Majesty as soon as possible. Your Majesty has the courage to ask Lu Guogong. You can make any request. Your Majesty will consider it."

He didn't have much time to play tricks with Cheng Yaojin here, and his previous idea of ​​persuading Cheng Yaojin to improve his status and voice, and to compete with the military has almost died down, this Cheng Yaojin is too slippery and it's not easy to start.

Cheng Yaojin seemed to know the urgency of the situation, and it is not good to continue to have both sides. He paused and said slowly: "I don't ask for high-ranking officials, I don't ask for fiefdoms, I just ask for a promise from Your Majesty."

Liu Jie raised his eyebrows: "The Holy Son of Heaven is on the throne, taking care of the world on behalf of the heavens, the Nine-Five Supreme Being, the co-lord of the world, thunder, rain and dew are all the grace of the king."

In the world, only the emperor bestows favor, so why did any courtier ask the emperor for a promise?
This is disrespectful.

Cheng Yaojin waved his hand, and said impatiently: "Just use such nonsense to fool those rotten scholars, why bother to mention it in front of me? Back then, Emperor Taizong led us to fight against the sky and change our fate from a dead end. I didn't think about anything Nine-five supreme, what is the son of heaven. It is up to man, and my life is up to me. Since I am about to contribute to your majesty's great cause of the throne, is it right to ask for something? Don't always take some illusory things of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, Confucius also said' If you take the gold, you will not be harmed; if you don't take the gold, you will not be able to redeem people."

Emperor Taizong is a holy lord who is rare in the ages, but even so, who would fight for Emperor Taizong for the well-being of the common people, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism?Even if there were such people, Emperor Taizong would still use high-ranking officials to reward them, so that there would be people who would go forward and live to death.

If you want someone to work hard for you, then talk more about benefits and less about ideals...

Liu Ji had no choice but to say: "Then tell me, what promise do you want to ask His Majesty?"

Cheng Yaojin said: "What happened in the past, don't blame the past."

Liu Ji was taken aback: "That's it?"

"That's it."

Liu Ji was a little curious, and said: "Mr. Lu, you have a heavy army in your hand, and you are also a minister of Zhenguan. There are not many ministers of Zhenguan who are still in power in the court and in charge of soldiers. It is not that whoever wants to move you can move you." Furthermore, everyone knows how generous your majesty is. Although you have disrespected your majesty, you have never really committed any treasonous act from the beginning to the end. How can your majesty hate you and settle accounts in the future? In the eyes of the subordinate, you are a bit unnecessary."

If you don't mention this request, your Majesty's generosity and the situation will not do anything to you; but if you have this request, it shows that you don't trust your majesty and question your majesty's character, which are two different things.

No matter how generous and weak His Majesty is, he is still the lord of the empire, how can he allow his subjects to slander and question him?

The dragon has reverse scales, do you have to poke it up?
Furthermore, even if His Majesty agrees now, who knows if he will go back on his word in the future?Even if His Majesty does not repent, what about the future emperor?

It is tantamount to planting a hidden danger, which is unwise...

Cheng Yaojin shook his head: "Your Majesty's generosity and benevolence are well known to the whole world, and I also deeply admire it. I definitely believe in His Majesty's reasoning. It's just..."

He pointed to the generals and school in this tent: "My honor and disgrace is a small matter, I dare not negotiate conditions with His Majesty, but this matter is related to the lives and futures of these brothers and sisters who have followed me for many years, how can we treat it vaguely? Your Majesty does not pursue my actions, but it does not mean that others will not use our heads to flatter you, only if Your Majesty publicly promises to let the past go, can these people's safety and future be guaranteed."

All the generals and school in the tent were moved, and they all said: "Marshal..."

Cheng Yaojin glared at him: "Shut up for me! This is a big matter, how can you talk?"

Liu Ji was stunned.

With His Majesty's temperament, as long as Cheng Yaojin is loyal and obedient today, it is indeed impossible to care about everything in the past.But others don't know what His Majesty is thinking, so they will inevitably flatter His Majesty by suppressing General Zuo Wuwei. When the time comes, the court will be enemies, these people don't say that their future is uncertain, even if they want to save their lives, it will be difficult.

The court struggle is extremely cruel...

And if His Majesty blatantly stated that he should let the past go, then others would have no reason to suppress the Zuo Wuwei soldiers. Otherwise, His Majesty's reputation would be abandoned, and His Majesty would not be happy, but would be very angry.

He got up and said: "Your Majesty understands, so I will go back to Chang'an and report to His Majesty, and I will definitely work hard to make this happen."

Cheng Yaojin didn't want to keep him, he cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll leave it to Liu Zhongshu, if it works out, I will count you as a favor from Zuo Wuwei."

Liu Ji's heart skipped a beat. He naturally knew the weight of Cheng Yaojin's promise. Now he was fighting endlessly with the army headed by Fang Jun, and he was in constant conflict. However, he was repeatedly humiliated because of the strength of the army. If he could get Cheng Yaojin With Jin's support, the situation is bound to change greatly.

So he said with emotion: "I have always admired Lu Guogong as a man. He is open and selfless, mellow and simple, and he is a model for us. Today's incident is not only the crisis of the country, but also the crisis of Lu Guogong. I will do my best to persuade Your Majesty to make it happen. This matter is not for other reasons, it is just to show loyalty and fulfill one's duty! Duke Lu, please stay here, the next official will take a step ahead, you can wait for the good news."

After speaking, he bowed to the ground, got up again, turned around and strode away.

(End of this chapter)