"Zihou's words make sense."
Gao Gong was enlightened when he heard this. He stood up excitedly and paced back and forth in the study room. "According to the current situation, Zhongfang is bound to be imprisoned. If Yan Song and his son want to divert the disaster to Prince Yu, they will definitely have to go through Lord Lu Binglu."
At this point, Gao Gong's head twitched involuntarily, and he suddenly raised his head and turned his burning gaze to Xu Jie, saying earnestly and anxiously: "Brother Xu, we have to get Master Lu before Yan Song and his son do."
Before Xu Jie could speak, Gao Gong shook his head and denied it, "Not appropriate, not appropriate..."
"Brother Suqing, what's wrong with it?" Zhu Pingan asked.
"Zihou, Brother Xu, Lu Bing and Yan Song's father and son have a close relationship. They are tied together. How can we compete with Yan Song's father and son? Yan Song and Lu Bing are in-laws. Last year, Yan Song asked for a marriage between Yan Shifan's second son, his grandson Yan Shaoting, and Lu Bing's daughter. In addition, to be frank, because of the case of Xia Yan, the old man, the two have been tied together..." Gao Gong sighed.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and shook his head.
"Oh? What did Zihou say?" Gao Gong's eyes lit up again when he saw this.
"May I ask, Brother Suqing, does Lu Bing have a better relationship with Yan Song and his son, or with the emperor?" Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and asked softly.
"Of course it's His Majesty... ... He's the best. When it comes to loyalty to His Majesty, no one can match Lord Lu." Gao Gong blurted out, and then a flash of inspiration passed through his mind, causing a wave of waves in his mind.
Indeed, Lu Bing and Emperor Jiajing had been playmates since childhood. Lu Bing's mother was Emperor Jiajing's wet nurse, and the two grew up drinking the same milk. Their relationship was much closer than that of Yan Song. In addition, in the 18th year of Jiajing's reign, when Emperor Jiajing was on a southern tour, the palace caught fire. All the ministers, guards, and eunuchs ran away, but only Lu Bing risked his life to rush into the sea of fire and carry Emperor Jiajing out. So, in terms of relationship, how can Yan Song compare with Emperor Jiajing
"That's right. That's why I think we have a great hope of winning over Lord Lu. When the time comes, we just need to explain the pros and cons to Lord Lu and make him clear that if this impeachment involves Prince Yu and Prince Jing, then it will be a big deal and will endanger the country. Moreover, if Lord Lu intervenes, it will be involved in the dispute between His Majesty and the prince. I think that with Lord Lu's loyalty to His Majesty and his talent, he will think twice before acting." Zhu Ping'an said slowly.
"That makes sense." Gao Gong couldn't help but knock his palm excitedly and nodded repeatedly. Zhu Ping'an is right. In terms of relationship with Lu Bing, we can't compare with Yan Song, but Yan Song can't compare with the emperor. As long as we come out from the emperor's perspective and explain the pros and cons to Lu Bing, there is still hope this time.
Then, Gao Gong looked up at Xu Jie.
Xu Jie nodded, understanding Gao Gong's look, and stood up and said, "There is no time to lose. I will go to Lu Bing's house and explain the pros and cons to him. I guess Yan Shifan will leave soon."
"Thank you, Brother Xu."
Gao Gong looked grateful and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your hard work, teacher." Zhu Ping'an maintained the formation and, along with Gao Gong, also bowed deeply to his teacher Xu Jie.
"Su Qing, Zi Hou, please stand up quickly. Hey... I'm going to visit Lu Bing this time, and I hope Lu Bing can look after Zhong Fang for my sake... Zhong Fang, hey... As a teacher... I feel ashamed..."
Xu Jie helped Gao Gong and Zhu Ping'an up, and thought of Yang Jisheng, and couldn't help but sigh. Although he knew in his heart that even if he greeted Yang Jisheng this time, Lu Bing probably wouldn't be able to protect him, but he still wanted to give it a try.
After that, Xu Jie got up and went out to visit Lu Bing, and Zhu Ping'an and Gao Gong followed Xu Jie out. Since Xu Jie was out, it was not good for the two of them to stay in Xu's mansion any longer, and they had to go back to Prince Yu's mansion to report to Prince Yu about their visit to Xu Jie.
On the way out, Zhu Pingan thought for a moment, and then asked Xu Jie, "Teacher, after visiting Lord Lu, would it be better to visit Lord Yan?"
"Visit Yan Song?" Gao Gong looked puzzled.
Gao Gong thought that they had just analyzed it in the study room, and it was useless to persuade Yan Song. Emperor Jiajing did not trust his son, but Yan Song trusted his son Yan Shifan. Yan Shifan wanted to drag Prince Yu into the water, and we outsiders tried to persuade Yan Song not to do it. Who do you think Yan Song would listen to? ! He must listen to his son Yan Shifan. Since persuading Yan Song was useless, why did they have to visit Yan Song again? It would be useless.
"Oh, Zihou, what do you think?" Xu Jie asked as they walked.
"Teacher, Brother Suqing, this is what I think. Elder Yan is over seventy years old, and he is very old. The older people get, the more conservative their thoughts become. Psychologically, they are more willing to seek stability and are more unwilling to take risks, especially big risks. Elder Yan is not like Yan Shifan, who is young and ambitious, dares to take risks, and seeks wealth and honor in danger." Zhu Ping'an explained softly.
Xu Jie's heart moved, "Zihou, what do you mean?"
"I'm wondering if we can use Yan Song's conservative and risk-averse mentality as an opportunity to dissuade Lord Yan from dragging His Royal Highness Prince Yu into this." Zhu Ping'an replied softly, "Your Majesty only has two princes, Prince Yu and Prince Jing. If Lord Yan and his son really drag His Royal Highness Prince Yu into this, is it possible that Your Majesty, out of consideration for blood ties and the country, will only hold the court officials accountable in the end, rather than His Royal Highness Prince Yu accountable?"
Zhu Ping'an proposed this idea based on Yan Song's conservative mentality of seeking stability and not daring to take risks. In fact, it was also a way of persuading Yan Song, that is: the emperor only has two sons. Will he really punish the prince for the impeachment of Yang Jisheng? In the end, it is very likely that the emperor will only punish the court officials, not Prince Yu. So, Yan Song, do you have to publicly make enemies with Prince Yu because of this matter? You have offended a large group of court officials in vain. Do you need to take this risk
Then, Zhu Pingan cited two more examples to illustrate his idea. "During the Spring and Autumn Period, when Shang Yang was carrying out reforms, the crown prince Ying Si once violated a ban. According to Shang Yang's decree, the crown prince Ying Si should be punished by tattooing. In the end, although Qin Xiaogong said that the implementation of the rule of law should start with the crown prince, in the end, he still used the excuse that the crown prince could not be punished by tattooing, and finally punished his master with tattooing. In addition, Cao Cao's cutting off his hair instead of his head... are all typical examples."
“So, even if Lord Yan and his son hold on to ‘Or Ask the Two Princes’ and pursue the matter relentlessly, they will not gain anything, because in the end, they will most likely only hold the court officials accountable. On the contrary, they will make enemies with the two princes for no reason and offend a future emperor. This will not be worth the loss,” Zhu Ping’an concluded.
Gao Gong nodded repeatedly after hearing this, "Well, if we persuade the old man from this angle, there is hope..."
Xu Jie also nodded, looked at Zhu Ping'an, and praised, "Young people are still quick-witted. Zihou made a good point. However, it won't work today. Elder Yan is angry now. If we bring it up now, the effect will not be ideal, and it may even add fuel to the fire. It's better to wait until after tonight, when Elder Yan has had a good sleep and his anger has subsided, before persuading him."
Zhu Pingan nodded when he heard this. It was indeed true. He then bowed to Xu Jie and said, "Teacher, you are right. Pingan did not expect this."
Xu Jie smiled slightly, "Zihou, you are already very good."