Affection?
Lu Chengyan was at a loss. Of course, she understood the importance of affection. There were thousands of ways to control people in the rich and powerful families. To put it bluntly, it was a combination of kindness and power. Since kindness was first followed by power, it naturally meant that affection was important. However, when it came from the Old Ancestor's mouth, the weight seemed to be much heavier than she had imagined.
The old consecrator of the Green Party, who had seen the vicissitudes of life, turned his head to look at the plum green incense burner. Its shape was like a spiral mountain range, engraved with the three celestial mountains of Penglai, Bo, and Yingzhou. Three wisps of purple smoke curled up from the hollow mountain, creating a mysterious scene. Lu Chengyan had been with the Old Ancestor for many years. When she realized that the aroma had faded, she immediately ran to add more charcoal. The incense in the burner was made from ambergris imported from the South Sea. It was sandwiched with the unique water grass of Qingzhou and made into a fragrant cake. Therefore, the aroma was moderately rich and lingered for a long time. The smoke was not heavy and did not choke the nose. Lu Feichi retracted his gaze and said softly, "Accompanying the Emperor is like accompanying a tiger. The smart people around the Emperor can be divided into three levels of intelligence. The great talents help the people and are the best people who help the country. The blue-eyed Zhang Julu is undoubtedly this type of person. The middle ones can guard a province and control several counties. If they are used too much, they will cause chaos and bring disaster to the country. If they are used too little, it will be a waste of talent. Our Qingzhou's Wen Taiyi and Hong Lingshu are all in this category. If your father, Lu Dongjiang, can train himself in the future, he can also barely be considered. The lowest are those who only know how to flatter the Emperor. Their talents are average, but they are born to be observant. Yan 'er, do you know why the great talents who have assisted the Emperor in the past have not ended up as good as the little talents? "
Lu Chengyan whispered, "Great merits intimidate the Emperor?"
Lu Feichi did not comment and said indifferently, "Isn't it true that the King of Beiliang, Xu Xiao, has great merits intimidated the Emperor? Why can this butcher live to this day, divide the land and seal the border, and have 300,000 elite soldiers in his hands? There is no other reason than affection. When interacting with the Emperor, affection far surpasses talent. Why can the eunuchs participate in politics and why can the relatives of the Emperor hold power? Wasn't it because of the Monarch's sentiments? The relationship between Xu Xiao and the late Emperor was less than that between father and son, but more than that between brothers. It was not easy. Therefore, even after the late Emperor passed away, this friendship was more or less passed down to the current Emperor. When they fought for the throne, Xu Xiao just looked on coldly from the sidelines. This was not a merit, but a friendship that ordinary people did not know. Later, when Empress Zhao Zhi wanted to recruit the Crown Prince of Beiliang as her son-in-law, Wen Taiyi and the others felt that the relationship between the Emperor and Xu Xiao was over. They were anxious to hit Xu Xiao when he was down, so they joined Sun Xiji and the other old thieves in the court. Zhao Zhi's breadth of mind wasn't simple. In my opinion, half of it was because she wanted to test Xu Xiao's bottom line, and the other half was because she wanted to protect Beiliang and the Xu family. Even if Xu Xiao refused, she wouldn't really get angry. This time, Xu Xiao came to the capital, how was it? Didn't he still get it and inherit it? If it was someone else, even if it was the King of Yan, would he have succeeded? "
Lu Chengyan carefully said, "Old Ancestor, how much of the relationship between ruler and subject that the King of Beiliang painstakingly accumulated in his military life is left?"
Lu Feichi smiled and said, "There isn't much left. No matter how much affection there is, it can't withstand Xu Xiao's repeated torment. It's just that the King of Yan, the King of Guangling, and the other vassals are still alive. The late Emperor didn't let Gu Jiantang rush to Beiliang to become the King of a different surname. Gu Jiantang was too slick and didn't want to make enemies. How could the late Emperor be at ease to let him go thousands of li away to become the King? Xu Xiao, this cripple, is clumsy in his sharpness. Gu Jiantang's maturity can't compare. In the past, there were people in the dynasty who said that if Xu Xiao's troops were handed over to Gu Jiantang, he could still destroy the six states. These words weren't false. It's just that in the end, he couldn't escape being cooked after the cunning rabbit has been caught. "
This old consecrator who had lived in Qingzhou for a long time smiled slightly and said, "I'll tell you some more things. The reason why we took the risk to come to Spring God Lake was because the Qi that our Green Faction had gathered for two generations with great difficulty had dissipated. That Bi Yan was amazing. He had only been in power for a few years and he had already made Old Man Wen obedient. If that was all, it wouldn't be so bad. But Hong Lingshu, this old bastard, originally wanted to push a few of his useless sons to the top before he came down. One of them would enter the capital to become the Big Yellow Sect, another would become the County Chief, and the remaining one, who couldn't read or write, would go to Wei and ask for the Qingzhou Navy. Everything was ruined by Bi Yan and he even handed Yangling County to Old Man Wen's favorite disciple. Hong Lingshu was good at everything, but he was too narrow-minded. Although he could see that this was Bi Yan's overt scheme, he still couldn't help but be angry. After a while, he completely distanced himself from Old Man Wen. The remaining few old fellows in Qingzhou who could speak in the imperial court also refused to stop. They were either secretly roped in by Gu Jiantang or flirting with people like the Grand Preceptor of West Chu, Sun Xiji. Actually, anyone could see the future of the Green Faction, but when it came to themselves, they couldn't care about the big picture. Our Qingzhou has long been condemned by the ancients as forgetting righteousness for the sake of profit. "
Lu Chengyan giggled, "If the Old Ancestor was still in the capital, he wouldn't have allowed them to act so recklessly."
Lu Feichi rubbed his great-granddaughter's head, squinted his eyes and smiled, "You little bootlicker."
The old man sighed, "How am I not a person who forgets righteousness for the sake of profit? I can only laugh at these old farts in front of you, little girl. Who knows, it might be their turn to silently criticize me tomorrow."
Lu Chengyan snorted, "How dare they! Yan 'er will let Lu Dou kill their whole family tomorrow! "
Lu Feichi stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "There are very few truly smart people in this world, but there are also very few truly stupid people. Your father's so-called descendants of wealthy families don't really understand this principle. It's just that the world is peaceful now, and they can't bear to see the tragic people's hearts stirred during troubled times. The Lu Family's aides and officials who wish they could dig out their hearts and organs to call themselves loyal are not that important in my opinion. Scholars from poor families only study for food and clothing, while nobles only study for a bright future. Those who study for righteousness and wisdom are few and far between. It's a pity that so many history books that recorded the bloody lessons of our ancestors have been lost. "
Lu Chengyan nodded, "Of course, scholars who study for nothing are useless. Only those who study for a living can be considered inferior in all aspects. Only by studying for a living can one be considered superior."
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