Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1705 I don't really believe in loyalty!

Seeing his son's matter-of-fact expression, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Jingren, do you believe in loyalty?"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Jingren was stunned, seemingly not expecting his father to ask such a question.

Faced with such a profound question, Jingren fell into thought. Although his intuition told him that the answer to his father's question was most likely no, Jingren still followed his heart and said:

I believe in loyalty!

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and then said:
"I've heard it said that loyalty is merely a price not high enough for betrayal!"

"I personally think there is some truth to this statement. The vast majority of people in this world are driven by self-interest and the pursuit of power, so interests are very important. Many things can be resolved by exchanging interests!"

"But this statement is not absolute. Over the years, I have seen many opportunists. Give them a little benefit and they will flock to your side. I have also seen some loyal people who remain unmoved even if you offer them wealth and honor, and some even insist on dying. It's just that the former are far too numerous and the latter are far too few!"

"So from my personal experience, I don't believe in loyalty most of the time. I believe more in the bonds of interests, emotions, and human nature!"

"Take the examples of the Duke of Qi and the Marquis of Changning that you gave, Jingren, for instance. Let's analyze each case specifically, as their situations are different..."

"Duke Yuan Song of Qi was a common soldier who fought his way up from a lowly soldier on the battlefield, rolling around in piles of corpses countless times before finally becoming a squad leader. But even so, because he had no connections, he couldn't advance any further. In fact, due to friction with his superiors, he was ostracized and made things difficult for them!"

"That's why I promoted him and gave him important responsibilities. So he's grateful to me for recognizing his talent, but even so, he still harbors resentment towards me!"

"Does the Duke of Qi harbor resentment towards your father?" Jingren asked in surprise.
"This is a very normal thing, don't make a fuss here. Not to mention the Duke of Qi, even your mother, your grandmother, or Consort Bai, Consort Murong, and Consort Shen, which one of them hasn't resented me in their hearts?"

"what!"

Seeing Jingren's shocked expression, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Jingren, have you ever resented your father?"

Jingren shook his head and said:

"I never complained!"

"You really never complained?"

"real!"

Seeing Jingren's extremely serious expression, Ye Mingsheng reached out and patted his head before continuing:
"Everyone has their own selfish desires and wants to use power to satisfy them. In fact, I am no exception. But as an emperor, as the one who wields power, you can't please everyone. If they are all satisfied, the people will suffer, and then a dynasty will be on its last legs!"

"What I need to do is to maintain a balance and keep the situation under control in a way that everyone can accept!"

Jingren nodded as if he understood, but Ye Mingsheng continued:
"Speaking of Yuan Song, he rose from humble beginnings and spent twenty years in the army. Therefore, compared to He Jingyun, he was more shrewd and calculating. At the same time, he felt that his talents were being wasted and longed for a wise ruler who would appreciate and value him!"

"Father, since you value him, appreciate him, and allow him to fully utilize his military talents, shouldn't Yuan Song be even more grateful for your recognition and support?"

"Jingren, that's a good question. The fact that you can ask such a question shows that you've learned to use your brain. And actually, I've already told you the answer!"

Recalling what his father had just said, Jingren suddenly blurted out:
"Father, you don't believe in loyalty?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction and said:
"That's right, that's the significance of the Joint Operations Office. The Joint Operations Office is located in Yuan Song's home, and there are spies among Yuan Song's subordinates who are always keeping an eye on him for me. Of course, this is not only targeting Yuan Song, but also He Jingyun, Lin Huaiwu, and others!"

“Yuan Song is a very meticulous person, so he was the first to discover the existence of the hidden agent. However, he never did anything to the hidden agent, nor did he say anything in public. But when he chatted with his wife in private, he said a lot of resentful things!”

"Yuan Song longed for a monarch who would trust him absolutely, but unfortunately I am not that person, and that is the root of his resentment towards me!"

"Back then, the Censorate tried to use this to do Yuan Song's homework, attempting to turn him against them. They told Yuan Song that the Grand Secretary Shangguan greatly admired his talent and was willing to offer him the title of Duke, and even make him the Governor-General of Youyan!"

"To be honest, this price isn't low, but those people in the Censorate are underestimating Yuan Song. Yuan Song is a smart man; he wants absolute trust, but he knows very well that he won't get it from me, and he certainly won't get it from Shangguan Hongyuan..."

"As far as Shangguan Hongyuan is concerned, if Yuan Song can betray me, he can betray me too. So even if Yuan Song surrenders, he will only be more wary of Yuan Song than I am!"

"Secondly, the title of Duke and the position of Governor-General of Youyan are complete nonsense. There are a lot of nobles in the Luo'an court. These nobles are proud of their status and look down on generals from commoner backgrounds. These nobles are the foundation of Shangguan Hongyuan's rule, so they will definitely not allow Yuan Song to be granted the title of Duke!"

"To be honest, being granted a marquisate is relatively more likely. To be granted the title of Duke of Qi like this, Yuan Song can only get it by working for me. As for the Governor of Youyan, if Shangguan Hongyuan really kills me, he will never let Yuan Song become the second Ye Mingsheng!"

"So the Censorate went a bit too far in trying to win over Yuan Song. Yuan Song is a smart man, and he has been working his way up in the Imperial Guards of Luo'an for so long that he knows all too well what kind of people these nobles in the Luo'an court are like!"

"So when the Inspectorate came up with this price, I think he understood that the Luo'an court had no sincerity towards him at all, only wanted to play along, and had no intention of fulfilling its promises to him!"

"And I also made promises to Yuan Song and the others. I told them that if I became emperor, each of them would be a founding father, and Yuan Song would be a duke. At the same time, I did not mistreat Yuan Song financially!"

"Moreover, at that time, the Fengwu Army had already controlled Liaoyang, Youyan, Qilu, Jiyu, and half of Yunbing. In terms of actual territory, the Fengwu Army was not much smaller than the Luo'an court, and it also had a great hope of unifying the world. Yuan Song held a high position in my court, so there was no need for him to go to the Luo'an court..."

"Of course, the most important point is that I have always maintained a kind and friendly image in the army, and I have paid my subordinates well and the soldiers have good treatment, so the soldiers don't have many complaints about me!" "At the same time, I have also transferred Yuan Song many times, which means that there are not many of Yuan Song's own people among his subordinates, so even if he wanted to do the opposite, not many people would follow him if he raised his arm and called on others!"

"So, weighing these pros and cons, Yuan Song, being a smart man, made the right choice and sent the person from the Censorate who had come to persuade him to come to me!"

Hearing his father's analysis, Jingren seemed to understand, and then continued to ask:

"Father, has the Luo'an court's supervisory department contacted He Jingyun?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng recalled the past, smiled, and nodded, saying:

"The Supervisory Department most wants to win over He Jingyun!"

“Back when I was in Luo’an, I met many sons of noble families, but most of them were born out of wedlock. Jingren, do you know why?”

Jing Ren thought for a moment but shook his head. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng said directly:

“I already told you, these noble sons, especially the legitimate ones, are all incredibly arrogant. They look down on us commoners. In their eyes, the Great Zhou Dynasty belongs to them, and we commoners are nothing but their servants!”

"Moreover, they not only look down on us poor families, but also on their half-brothers..."

"Therefore, officials from humble backgrounds and sons of noble families born out of wedlock are generally disliked, so they tend to stick together and support each other!"

"Therefore, I have come into contact with many of these illegitimate sons of noble families. I understand their thoughts, and I know what they want!"

"Back to He Jingyun! This man is definitely someone special. Because of his status as an illegitimate child, he was bullied in the He family from a young age. Many illegitimate children are just lazy and irresponsible."

"But people like He Jingyun who don't give up often have very strong mental fortitude. So He Jingyun is very arrogant at heart. He thinks, 'Even if you are the legitimate son and I am the illegitimate son, I can still use my own efforts and struggles to trample you underfoot and prove that I am stronger than you!'"

"So although He Jingyun is exceptionally talented, he is somewhat obsessive at heart. He longs to return to the He family as a victor, taking advantage of the changing fortunes of life!"

"Shangguan Hongyuan also understood He Jingyun's thoughts, so when he attacked Jinzhong, the Surveillance Department secretly contacted He Jingyun. Through the Surveillance Department, Shangguan Hongyuan promised He Jingyun that as long as He Jingyun betrayed the family, He Jingyun could return to the He family, and he would also let He Jingyun inherit the title of Duke of Shen of the He family!"

"But He Jingyun still rejected Shangguan Hongyuan. Jingren, do you know why?"

Jingren thought for a moment and replied:

"The future of the Fengwu Army is bright. Father, you have a very good image among the ordinary soldiers and treat them well. Moreover, the Command and Control Department is keeping an eye on He Jingyun. Even if He Jingyun rebels, no one will follow him..."

Upon hearing Jingren's words, Ye Mingsheng waved his hand and said:
"While Jingren has these reasons, they are not the most crucial one!"

"To solve this problem, you need to grasp the key point! He Jingyun not only wants the title of Duke, but he also wants something else! I've already analyzed this for you, so think about what He Jingyun wants!"

Jingren pondered for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea after hearing this, but still shook his head with some doubt.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng sighed, saying with a hint of disappointment:
"I already told you, He Jingyun was bullied since childhood because he was born out of wedlock, which made him somewhat extreme in his personality. So after he succeeded, all he wanted was revenge! He wanted to trample those who bullied him under his feet!"

"He wanted to take revenge on the sons of the Duke of Shen who had bullied him and his mother. He wanted to get back at them for the humiliation he had suffered back then!"

"In fact, that's exactly what He Jingyun did. After our army captured Luo'an, He Jingyun secretly sent people to Luo'an to arrest seven members of the He family. These seven were all direct descendants of the He family, and all seven of them met tragic ends!"

"Three other people died before He Jingyun could take revenge, but even so, He Jingyun didn't let them go. He sent people to dig them up and whip them to vent his anger!"

Jingren was speechless upon hearing this:
"Father, is Marquis Changning really that ruthless? Why didn't you stop him?"

"Why should I stop him? This is exactly what I promised him back then, and it's also why He Jingyun chose to hand over the Censorate's lobbyist to me..."

“Father Jingren, let me ask you again: why am I able to hand over these direct descendants of the He family to He Jingyun for disposal, but Shangguan Hongyuan cannot do the same?”

"Don't rush to answer this question. Think about it carefully before you answer. I've already told you!"

Jingren thought for a moment and then said:
"Father, you said that the noble families of Luo'an are the foundation of Shangguan Hongyuan's rule, and the He family of the Duke of Shen is an important member of the noble families!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this;

"Jingren, you've finally decided to use your brain!"

“Those nobles are all important supporters of Shangguan Hongyuan. If Shangguan Hongyuan hands over the He family members to He Jingyun for disposal, what will the others think? Once He Jingyun uses those retaliatory methods, those nobles will definitely turn their hearts away from Shangguan Hongyuan!”

"They'll think, 'If you can hand the He family over to He Jingyun today, then you can betray me tomorrow!'"

"So for Shangguan Hongyuan, his promise to let He Jingyun inherit the title of Duke of Shen was already the limit. It was impossible for him to hand over the He family members to He Jingyun. If he did that, he would be waiting to be abandoned by everyone!"

“Jingren, when it comes to matters of loyalty and betrayal, you first need to understand human nature. You need to know what this person wants, what you can give him, and what he can give you in return!”

"Relationships based on mutual interests are relatively secure, but this security is only relative, not absolute. Therefore, personally, I am not very willing to believe in loyalty..."