I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 354 My successor can only be Zijia

Yuan Feng was very pleased with Cheng Li's statement.

He was truly proud of his eldest son's ability to manage his subordinates, as he had such a willing subordinate to share his burdens.

The two then began to discuss how to proceed.

While it's not impossible to abolish the temple names of four emperors of this dynasty, the reasons must be sufficient, convincing, and have enough supporters.

Furthermore, we must be prepared for anticipated opposition and be able to handle their attacks.

Yuan Feng was not good at fighting, nor did he particularly enjoy it, so he placed his hopes on Cheng Li.

Cheng Li was very good at fighting and enjoyed fighting, so he immediately analyzed the current situation for Yuan Feng.

He believed that most of the power in the court belonged to the Yuan family, and only a small number of forces were not under the Yuan family's control, such as the group of ungrateful party members.

As long as Yuan's power is basically recognized, then even if the party members do not agree, there is nothing they can do, because Yuan's people are more numerous and they occupy the majority of power positions.

Cheng Li could guarantee that all factions belonging to Yuan Shu would support this decision.

If they knew this matter concerned Yuan Shu's achievements, they would have spared no effort in supporting him.

Within the Yixin Group, almost everyone puts Yuan Shu first. Everyone agrees that without Yuan Shu, they have no future. They are deeply bound to Yuan Shu, and even if it comes to a change of dynasty, Cheng Li dares to guarantee 99% support.

Of that remaining one percent, probably ninety-nine percent are neutral; as for the opponents…

It can only be said that the screening mechanism of Yixinhui Group is not 100% effective, and it is not necessarily a strange thing if there are opponents.

However, for a political group, the cohesion and unity of the Yixinhui Group are truly at the T0 level.

Next up is Yuan Feng's side.

Whether Yuan Feng's former protégés and associates in Runan would support this decision was a matter of concern regarding his control over the forces associated with the Runan Yuan clan.

This power group is too large, especially after Yuan Shikai took control of the government, and its power and size have expanded significantly, making it completely different from what it used to be.

Yuan Feng was very confident that as long as he spoke and made preparations in advance, his former students and officials would definitely support him, but Cheng Li did not think so.

"Lord Yuan, since this concerns the change of dynasty, we must be cautious. The fact that the Yuan family has disciples and former officials all over the world is certainly an advantage, but whether they are willing to help the Yuan family change the dynasty is hard to say. I'm afraid there will be more people who don't support them."

However, this is also a good thing. This matter can help the Yuan family filter out those who are absolutely loyal to the Yuan family and those who harbor ulterior motives and are unwilling to follow the Yuan family. It is very necessary for the young master to eliminate such people as soon as possible.

Yuan Feng did not quite agree with Cheng Li's statement.

“The Yuan family has been kind to these students and former subordinates, and they are all where they are today because of the Yuan family. If they don’t follow the Yuan family, do they still have a future? I don’t think they would do something so foolish.”

“They are following the Yuan family, not just the young master.”

Cheng Li said softly, "Lord Yuan, you have two sons. Besides your son, you also have your eldest son, Yuan Taipu. If what you are doing is only for the Yuan family, then the Yuan family's disciples and former officials will naturally not object. But if you are doing it for your son, do you think anyone will question it?"

Upon hearing Cheng Li's question, Yuan Feng immediately fell silent.

He realized that Cheng Li was right and made sense.

Regardless of whether there are other smaller branches within the large and unstructured Yuan Group, the existence of two groups is certain.

There were supporters of Yuan Shu and supporters of Yuan Ji.

Yuan Feng knew that over the years he had openly and covertly expressed his intention to depose the eldest son and establish the younger son in favor of Yuan Shu instead of Yuan Ji. He had many supporters, but he was not without opponents.

There were quite a few people who questioned whether his decision to depose the eldest son and establish the younger son would bring disaster. The concept of the difference between elders and juniors was too deeply ingrained in people's minds. No matter how capable Yuan Shu was or how mediocre Yuan Ji was, they could not persuade these people to change their stance.

Because everyone prefers stability and dislikes change.

Yuan Shu is clearly that variable.

Therefore, among the senior members of the Yuan family, as well as among some powerful family leaders who were closely related to the Yuan family, a considerable number of people were quite dissatisfied with or even disgusted by Yuan Fengyou's tendency to depose the eldest son and establish a younger one in favor of the younger.

Generally speaking, the higher the position in politics, the more conservative people tend to be, while those who like change are a very small minority. Right now, if Yuan Feng wants to depose the eldest son and establish a younger one in his place, he doesn't have many supporters in high-level circles, and there will definitely be a large number of opponents.

The families that followed him were also worried that Yuan's decision to depose the eldest son and establish a younger one would cause a series of chain reactions, and that the order of their respective families would be affected.

However, Yuan Feng was quite clear about this point.

During the years that Yuan Shu was away from Luoyang, Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao returned to Luoyang one after another to take up positions. Yuan Ji became the Grand Master of the Palace, and Yuan Shao also became a mid-to-high-ranking military officer. They each had their own careers and were stationed in Luoyang.

So Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao would occasionally bring gifts to visit Yuan Feng, chat with him about everyday things, or tell him some funny stories from their childhood, in order to win Yuan Feng's favor.

Of course, this is useful.

Yuan Feng was, after all, their father. How could Yuan Feng not care about their attempts to please him?

Therefore, Yuan Feng intentionally or unintentionally ignored Yuan Ji's activities with the partisans, as well as Yuan Shao's position and interpersonal relationships.

However, at this time, the correspondence between Yuan Shu and Yuan Feng played a significant role. In each correspondence, Yuan Shu would deliberately add a phrase such as "Greetings to my elder brother" or "Greetings to my second elder brother" at the end to express his greetings to Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shu's move was particularly cunning; calling him a scheming guy wouldn't be an exaggeration. He never mentioned Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao in any of his sentences, yet he would always add a couple of greetings at the end. Not only that, Yuan Shu would also send gifts to Yuan Feng from time to time, and then also send some gifts to Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao, presenting them to all three of them together.

Yuan Shu was well aware that if his two elder brothers wanted to exploit any loopholes in the power structure, they would most likely target him, which would inevitably have some impact on him, or lead to intentional or unintentional attacks.

That doesn't matter. I'll just greet you, send you gifts, and play the emotional card more intensely, more frequently, and more purely than you do, without any ulterior motives involved.

They were all laid out before Yuan Feng's eyes.

Although I am not physically present, my heart is always with you.

Therefore, when Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao intentionally or unintentionally revealed their "concern" about Yuan Shu's excessive power and wanted to "share the burden" for Yuan Shu, it would arouse Yuan Feng's vigilance. He would instantly understand everything and remember his promise to Yuan Shu and his future arrangements.

Therefore, Yuan Ji wanted to secure positions in the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice for some of his confidants and sons of his faction, but Yuan Feng refused.

Yuan Feng also rejected Yuan Shao's plan to secure the position of Colonel of the Yueqi Cavalry for his confidant.

No matter how much the two brothers try to please each other or play the emotional card, they will eventually end up pursuing their own interests. Once they do, Yuan Feng will immediately become vigilant.

His youngest son's greetings were all sincere and heartfelt, without any strings attached.

The greetings between Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao always carried a hint of utilitarianism.

Yuan Feng naturally forgot the fact that Yuan Shu had already obtained enough, while Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao had nothing.

So after a while, Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao realized with dismay that their sugar-coated bullets were no longer effective. Yuan Feng, being very cunning, licked off the sugar coating and threw the bullets back, refusing to accept them.

How can a father act like this?
Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao had some reservations about this, and gradually reduced the frequency of their flattery and respect for Yuan Feng, which further fueled Yuan Feng's dissatisfaction.

Oh, so you only show me respect if I give you things, and you don't show me respect if I don't?
Wow, what a wonderful son!
With this thought in mind, Yuan Feng's resolve became even stronger.

"It's inevitable that some people will object, but on this matter, I will not change my mind. My successor can only be Zijia, and not anyone else. Stability is important, but compared to survival, is anything more important?"

Pretty!

Upon hearing Yuan Feng's words, Cheng Li knew that Yuan Feng had completely come to a realization and was extremely determined.

That's just how things are. Survival comes first, then order and inheritance. If we disregard survival and insist on order and inheritance, the only result will be that everyone perishes together.

No, perhaps the Yuan family will be the first to perish, while the others might receive preferential treatment.

Therefore, in such matters, one must never be swayed by public opinion, but must insist on one's own opinion and act unilaterally and decisively.

Ignore those who just talk the talk.

Those who want to take action will be resolutely suppressed!
Yes, as a leading family, it is necessary to consider the needs of the people below and to take the overall situation into account, but before that, the survival of my Yuan family is the top priority!
Yuan Ji is simply not capable of supporting the Yuan family in this position!

Only Yuan Shu can hold things together!

Yuan Feng has made up his mind and will not change it.

With that in mind, Cheng Li was relieved. Yuan Feng was a trustworthy teammate. As long as his will remained firm and unwavering, Yuan Ji would have no chance of turning the tables, and the forces under the Yuan family would eventually fall to Yuan Shu.

Therefore, Cheng Li further advised Yuan Feng.

"If you have already made your decision, you should establish the prince's position as soon as possible, so that others will put away their desire to play both sides and be indecisive, end the disputes and internal strife, and concentrate all their efforts on dealing with external enemies. This is the most important thing to do. Only in this way can we pave a good path for the prince."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Feng pondered for a moment, then had another question.

"In that case, I have two things to do: first, abolish the temple names of the four previous emperors; second, establish Zijia as the successor. Which of these two things should come first?"

Cheng Li smiled.

"Actually, there's no matter which order they come into. These two things are complementary and both are things you should and must do. Since that's the case, just treat them as one thing. They'll be the same sooner or later anyway."

Yuan Feng thought for a moment, then smiled self-deprecatingly.

“That’s true. These two things are intertwined and the same. We can’t avoid them either way. However… Minister Cheng, Zijia really has a discerning eye. He was able to choose a good advisor like you to devote himself to him and willingly put himself in danger. In this respect, I am far inferior to Zijia, let alone his elder brother.”

Upon hearing this, Cheng Li said solemnly, "Young Master is indeed discerning in recognizing talent. He can identify capable people regardless of their humble origins and promotes them. He values ​​talent more than family background, which is why so many people are willing to die for Young Master."

"I come from a humble background, as do many of my colleagues, but you, sir, have not cared. You treat us with respect and kindness, never being arrogant or condescending, which has won our sincere respect. This is not merely a matter of discerning character, but also of genuine sincerity."

Yuan Feng took a deep breath, deeply moved.

"With such magnanimity towards his subordinates, I, as his father, am inferior to my son. No wonder I aspire to be King Wen of Zhou, while Zijia is truly King Wu of Zhou..."

Cheng Li smiled upon hearing this.

"Although King Wu was brave, without the foundation laid by King Wen, it would have been difficult for King Wu to conquer Yin. King Wen laid a solid foundation for King Wu to conquer Yin, and Lord Yuan was able to lay a solid foundation for his son to deal with the overall situation. This is not only a father's love for his son, but also Lord Yuan's strategy."

"Hahahahahaha!"

Yuan Fengming knew that Cheng Li was flattering him, but the more he listened to these words, the more comfortable he felt, and the more willing he was to listen. He was even more impressed by Yuan Shu's ability to recognize talent and his sincerity in dealing with his subordinates.

(End of this chapter)