No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 774: Three Strategies for Returning to Beijing
Ouyang Rong started with a sentence.

This made Li Guoer silent and everyone frowned.

The identity of the sword holder and the fact that he held the Ding Sword were revealed.

Although he said it lightly, everyone on the field knew clearly what it meant.

Even in a moment, I guessed a lot.

Ouyang Rong's subsequent explanation of the situation further confirmed all of this.

Even so, when he finished speaking, everyone had a look of shock on their faces.

The main thing is... Ouyang Rong's experience and his ability to adapt to changing situations are enough to make one's scalp tingle just by listening to it... This morning, he was moving cautiously over there, and if he made a wrong move, he would lose everything. There is no way he can retreat calmly with the Ding Sword.

Although Ouyang Rong seemed to focus on the scheme set by Wei Wu, Duan Quanwu, and Nanny Song, as well as his judgment and breaking of the situation at several key points, he did not say much about a certain female historian with the highest status, or rather, he did not talk about the specific details, nor did he talk about how she persuaded Ouyang Rong. However, everyone present could guess the attitude and position of Female Historian Rong Zhen in this matter with just a little thought… It can only be said that if Ouyang Rong had hesitated or wavered a little at some points at that time, the fate of Xunyang Palace would have been completely different, in line with the phrase "like falling into an ice cave."

Li Xian, Wei Mei, and Li Dalang's Adam's apples moved, and their mouths were dry. The father and son of the Li family, who were already soft-hearted, were filled with guilt and emotion.

Xie Lingjiang tightly grasped the hand of her senior brother; the sweat from her hands had wet both of their palms.

The young man in Confucian robes glanced at the little junior sister, smiled a little, and gave her a comforting look.

Xie Lingjiang's nose turned red and he turned away, not wanting to look at him again, who looked so calm and composed and was even trying to comfort others.

It's really heartbreaking to watch.

Li Guoer pointed to the Xunyang Grottoes and sighed:
"Well, you really messed up that lady."

Ouyang Rong glanced at her.

After Li Xian digested it, his face was as dark as water, and he trembled with anger:

"As expected, they are involved in this pirate incident! They were all bribed or bribed by the Wei family. They turned a blind eye to these fake pirates and made a real show without caring about my life or death. I am the vassal king of the Great Zhou Dynasty. These people are just sitting there doing nothing but eating and drinking. Is there any law in the world..."

"Wang Fa?"

Xie Lingjiang raised the corners of his lips, chuckled, waved his hands and said:

"Isn't the so-called king's law the 'king's law'? Whoever is the king has the final say. Obviously, the completion of the Four-sided Buddha and the Great Zhou Songde Tianshu has made many people in the court begin to believe that the Wei Wang Mansion and the Liang Wang Mansion can take the throne. Some fence-sitters have already started to place their bets, and those who are not firm in their neutrality are also indulging them."

Wei Mei cast a grateful look at Ouyang Rong.

"My nephew Wei Mi must have been isolated by them. Fortunately, Tan Lang reported the news, otherwise he would have been surrounded. Who knows, he would have been ostracized by them and accused of some false crime. These people are really, really chilling."

Li Guo'er's reaction was not so intense, her pretty face remained calm:

"As expected, there is nothing new under the sun. What if we are facing a powerful enemy and a critical moment? We have to fight among ourselves and even kill each other. It is useless for us to wish for a concerted effort to protect the Buddha. They don't think highly of us at all.

"This group of pirates from Hukou County have been planning for a long time, and they have been targeting us from the beginning. It's ridiculous that we were thinking of working together to help eliminate the pirates."

Li Dalang's focus was on something else. He whispered:
"That Lady Rong Zhen, whose real name is Wei Rong, is some kind of True Immortal Princess. She is of the same generation as Wei Jisi... Doesn't that mean she is also of the same generation as my father? She is... a cousin? Wow, she is a generation older than me. Who would have thought of that?"

Li Xian shook his head and said somewhat dejectedly:

"I have heard of my mother's sister, but I have not heard of this so-called 'cousin'. It should be a later story. Counting from the day of her demotion, I have not returned to the Divine Capital for more than 20 years."

Wei Mei raised her eyebrows and said:
"No matter what, this Zhenxian Princess definitely has no family relationship with Qilang and our family. So what if they are cousins? Aren't Wei Jisi, Wei Sixing and Qilang also cousins? They didn't show any mercy when they attacked."

Li Dalang sighed and nodded, saying casually:
"That's true. I guess her relationship with our family is not as deep as her relationship with Tan Lang. She even came in person to Madam Zhen's birthday party last time and gave her a gift..."

Having said that, he gradually shut up.

However, Xie Lingjiang, Li Guoer and other girls all turned their eyes to Ouyang Rong.

Falling on his face.

Ouyang Rong seemed not to have seen it, and said with his eyes downcast:
"If friendship is useful, then why do we need to fight for the throne?"

He raised his head, glanced at the sky, and said solemnly:
"Pack your things immediately and leave the city immediately. Let's go north and return to Beijing!"

Li Guoer asked: "Which way should we take? By water or by land?"

Ouyang Rong pondered and said:

"I asked Pei Shisan Niang to prepare for the land route first, and continue to take the Kuanglu Mountain route. The water route to Longcheng is a backup option, but now the situation has changed. The pirates have been dealt with by the old Taoist priest, so we can make peace."

After the topic changed, Xie Lingjiang stopped asking about Rong Zhen. She focused on the present and said calmly:
"Before leaving, the old Taoist calculated for us that it would be safer to take the water route. The original words were: there is no danger."

Ouyang Rong pondered and said:

"Okay, let's listen to the old Taoist priest. Let's go to Pei Shisan Niang's house first and meet up with Auntie, Xiu Niang and the others. I've asked them to pack their luggage, and they should be here soon."

After a pause, he turned to look at Li Xian and Li Guoer and asked:

"Your Highness, Princess, what did the old Taoist priest say to you before he left? Can you please tell me? You didn't tell me just now."

Li Guoer turned his eyes away, looked into the distance and said:
"Nothing, just interpreted a dream for me, some weird and supernatural things."

As she spoke, she noticed from the corner of her eye that her father had taken out a piece of paper from his sleeve, smiled at Ouyang Rong and the others, and said:

"My father was not in good health back then, so the old Heavenly Master asked me to learn from his mistakes and taught me a set of Five Animals Fist techniques, as well as a tonic recipe, so that I could recuperate well. Haha, I will try to survive Wei Jisi and the others."

Li Xian said this later as a joke.

Li Guoer glanced sideways, and everyone was relieved to see that he was still in the mood to make a joke.

Ouyang Rong nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Li Xian and Li Guoer:

"Okay, you guys listen to the old master, it's not a bad thing after all."

In fact, when he heard Li Guoer's dream interpretation, he remembered what happened before.

Was the dream he interpreted the "bright moon" dream? Li Guoer had confessed this to him once before.

But it was not convenient to ask more questions at the moment, so he held it in for the time being.

Li Xian put away the prescription, rubbed his hands, and asked impatiently:
"Tan Lang, let's rush back to the capital. Should we take advantage of today's incident with pirates to attack Wei Jisi? We can say that the fire was set by pirates, and then reveal the identities of these pirates and Wei's assassins, and let the officials in the court try Wei." Li Guoer also looked at Ouyang Rong.

She frowned slightly. In fact, she had just asked about this, but Ouyang Rong did not answer at that time.

Ouyang Rong glanced at everyone and asked a question that stunned them:

"If simply being fair is useful, if in the imperial family, crying children can also get milk, then would the prince have been exiled for so many years? Would Wei still be reused by the saint for so many years?

"Your Highness, there are some lessons that we only need to learn once. We need to understand the rules and follow them in the future. The Wei family is very cunning, but we good people have to be more 'cunning' than them bad people."

"What do you mean, Tan Lang?" Li Xian was puzzled, but he still smiled awkwardly, restrained his expression, and saluted Ouyang Rong in a proper manner: "Please teach me, Tan Lang."

Ouyang Rong looked calm and raised three fingers in public:

"Pretending to be a victim and going to the capital to file a complaint is the worst option. There are also the middle and best options."

Li Guoer frowned and asked, "What is the middle strategy? Is there a better strategy?"

Ouyang Rong put down a finger:
"The middle strategy is to continue pretending to be sick. However, this time, we can use the pirates' excuse of setting fire to the Xunyang Palace as an excuse to rush back to the capital and report to the emperor. We can say that the prince has suffered another seizure and is unconscious. Anyway, he had a seizure once and finally had a seizure in Xunyang City. This time, we can have a second seizure, go to the capital, and then enter the palace. Isn't it reasonable? If you can get sick once, you can get sick a second time. It's such a simple truth that everyone in the world will agree with it.

"Once the prince is in bed in the palace, he can stay there and not leave. In other words, we don't have to stay there at all. No one can force the prince to leave. When that time comes, how long he can stay in the palace depends on when the prince recovers from his illness. It all depends on our mood."

Li Guoer lowered his head and thought carefully, while Li Xian, Wei Mei and others looked at each other.

Li Dalang whispered: "Go to the palace to recuperate? Will the Empress Dowager allow my father to stay in the palace?"

Ouyang Rong asked in a strange tone:

"Why not? The prince is a legitimate prince. His title was restored after he presented the auspicious sign. The whole world knows that the saint and the prince are a loving and filial couple.

"Besides, staying in the palace means staying under the eyes of the saint. When the prince was deposed, the successor, Prince Xiang, abdicated the throne and changed Qian to Zhou. Wasn't he placed under house arrest in the palace? Wasn't he kept at the saint's knees.

"This time, the prince offered himself up, took the initiative to enter the palace to recuperate, and then took the initiative to stay and take care of the queen mother in front of the emperor. Why did the saint refuse? Could it be that she was afraid that the prince, the former deposed emperor, would be able to gather old ministers and servants in the palace where she had ruled for decades and regain the throne?"

Ouyang Rong shook his head and answered his own question:
"Your Majesty, let me say something disobedient... The Saint knows best what kind of character and ability his son has. If the Saint refuses the statement that Your Majesty has sent to him, then her current state will be worth pondering."

He looked at Li Dalang who was hesitant to speak and continued in a serious tone:

"Secondly, if the Saint rejects me, so what? Even if I am asked to leave the palace and find a house in the capital or the Imperial Medical Bureau to recuperate, it won't be bad.

"Besides, isn't this the result we have been striving for? Being able to enter the capital and stay in the capital is better than being locked up in Xunyang City like a bird in a cage. In the capital, there won't be such fake pirates who dare to come to the palace in broad daylight to commit crimes, right? Do they dare to do this under the feet of the emperor?
"As the saying goes, if you seek the best, you will get the middle; if you seek the middle, you will get the worst; if you seek the worst, you will get nothing... Let's just seek the best first, and then push a little further. If we succeed, we will make a lot of money; if we fail, we will not lose anything either. Why not do it?
“This is the middle strategy.”

When everyone heard it for the first time, they were amazed and exchanged glances. They all felt that it was very reasonable and highly feasible.

Wei Mei's mouth was dry: "Tan Lang's words are worth ten thousand gold!"

"Okay, okay, let's do it... By the way, Tan Lang."

Li Xian's face flushed, and he couldn't help but ask again:

"Shouldn't we report this group of fake pirates to our mother? If we make trouble in front of the emperor, we can deal a heavy blow to the Wei family. This is a good opportunity."

Before Li Xian finished speaking, he heard the young governor in front of him ask in a puzzled tone:

"My Lord, is it important whether the pirates are real or not, or what the truth is?"

Li Xian muttered: "No... not important..."

Ouyang Rong smiled:

"The truth is important. It is very important in people's hearts, but it is not important at all in the court. What is important is how to use it.

“Your Highness, the four-sided Buddha statues and the Great Zhou Songde Tianshu have been built, and the Tianshu formation surrounding Emperor Wen has been constructed. In the eyes of the saints, the Wei family is a meritorious official, and they cannot be brought down simply by the incident of pirates. It would be a waste to force the truth out.

"Why don't we just keep it to ourselves? This way, we will appear to be very sensible in front of the Saint, and he will think more highly of us. It will also keep our power intimidating the Wei family.

"We will make Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing unable to figure out our bottom line. They will not know how much leverage we have on them regarding the pirates. This will make them feel uneasy and as if they have a thorn in their back. Although they should also know that this matter will not bring them down, it is still a small sword hanging over their heads... It is best if it lasts a long time without falling.

"In this way, if the prince claims to be ill and stays in the palace, the Wei family won't dare to say anything. We have created a bargaining chip, which will make it easier for us to deal with them in the capital in the future."

Ouyang Rong said this and emphasized:

"Your Majesty, Prince, I must reiterate that we don't expose the pirates not because we are afraid of them, but because we know what's going on. Some things will take time, so let's stay in Beijing first."

Li Xian suddenly realized:
"I see. Thank you for your advice, Tan Lang!"

Ouyang Rong looked at him again and said softly:
"Your Highness, if you implement the middle strategy and can return to the palace, that would be a good result. At that time, you must pay attention to one detail."

"Tan Lang, please tell me, what are the details?"

"Once you enter the palace, no matter what official position the saint bestows upon you, no matter how great the benefits are or how tempting they are, you cannot leave the palace or the capital."

"Why?"

"The closer you are to the center of power, the better. This is a very simple and crude truth: if the prince is not in the palace, it will be difficult for you to defend yourself immediately if someone gossips about the saint. If you stay in the palace, the prince will be able to deal with these gossips as soon as they come out, and most of the gossips will not even exist. The reason is also very simple. Unless they are mortal enemies or idiots, most people will subconsciously not say bad things about others to their faces. As long as the prince stays in the palace, all kinds of villains who look down on or are unhappy with the prince will have to hold back...

"On the other hand, if we don't stay in the palace, even if the prince is sent out and promoted, what does it matter? A few words spoken in front of the emperor will affect our fate, and we may never be able to return to the capital. It's a promotion in name only, but a demotion in reality. Therefore, staying in the palace and in front of the emperor is the best way for a prince like us who has just been reinstated and has a shallow foundation. It is also... the most convenient way to seize the throne. Do you understand, prince?"

Li Xian nodded hurriedly.

Li Guoer was deeply moved. She looked around the ruins and sighed:

"As expected, chaos is a ladder. This time, the rebels in Tiannan Jianghu created a great chaos. Whether it was us or the Wei family, we were all showing off our magical powers in the Eight Immortals."

As if she remembered something, she asked curiously:
"Oh, so what is the best strategy? This strategy is already brilliant, it can be called a dragon-slaying technique. Is there a better strategy?"

Ouyang Rong didn't even raise his eyelids, and said succinctly:

"It's very simple. Offering the Ding Sword."

The whole audience was silent.

(End of this chapter)