Faced with the series of tricks performed by the King of Chu, Li Ran was able to see things clearly.
First, the Shen Di Hui detained Xu Zi, and now the county magistrate who named him Zhongli put him on the stove griddle.
The King of Chu had clearly made up his mind to make it impossible for him to go back.
But can he, Li Ran, just give in?
Obviously not.
"Your Majesty, in terms of emotion and reason, all of you here have made greater contributions. What's more, how can I, a foreign minister, take away the credit of all the ministers and ministers of Chu and claim it as my own?"
In this battle of Zhu Fangcheng, in addition to the coach Wu Ju, there were actually dozens of other generals.
Their contribution in this battle is definitely no less than that of Li Ran. In addition, as they are aristocrats of the Chu State, the Duke of Zhongli County should not be able to do anything to Li Ran.
Although Li Ran didn't say clearly who they were, his words "everyone here" brought everyone together, and he was able to get everyone to fight back against the words of King Chu just now.
As the saying goes, if there is not enough success, there will be more than enough failure.
What else can you do to a person who doesn't want to put money on his face at all?
When Wu Ju and other Chu officials heard this, they all nodded secretly.
They recognized it, naturally not because of Li Ran's "deep understanding of righteousness", but because of course none of them wanted to see Li Ran become the Duke of Zhongli County.
After all, the weight of the Zhongli County Duke is too important, both for the Chu State and for the other countries in the Central Plains.
Everyone of them hoped that they could become Zhongli's county magistrate, instead of letting a foreign minister who only wanted to leave the Chu Kingdom take advantage of them.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Li Ran finished speaking, King Chu waved his hand and said with a smile:
"Of course I know your merits, but my reward is not a transaction, sir, please don't refuse it anymore."
"In addition, all of you here have also received rewards. How can I favor one over the other?"
These five words, "rewarding is not a transaction," completely set the tone for Li Ran's determination to reward Li Ran and become the Duke of Zhongli County.
In other words, what King Chu meant was: I give it to you, you take it, there is no room for bargaining at all.
Speaking of which, isn’t it obvious?
Today you, Li Ran, have to accept it or not. There is no third way to choose.
As for the ministers, these words were obviously meant for Li Ran. But at this point, since the tone has been set, what else can others say?
Of course, perhaps because today was in public, King Chu didn't want to speak too bluntly. He didn't want to fall out with Li Ran directly, so he chose a relatively gentle way to express his views.
the meaning of.
Li Ran also knew that the King of Chu, Xiong Wei, was a man who always accepted the soft side rather than the hard side. Therefore, for him, confronting the King of Chu forcefully was not the best option.
After all, people have to bow their heads when they are under the eaves.
So, with his half push and half push, the position of Zhongli County Duke fell on his head.
It's a blessing, not a curse. It's a curse that cannot be avoided. Li Ran can see through it.
But in fact, the reason why the King of Chu arranged for Li Ran to become the Duke of Zhongli County seemed to be to dig a hole for Li Ran to jump out of. In fact, it was because of the King of Chu's own considerations.
First of all, how could he not know that the Zhongli Kingdom did not originally belong to the Chu Kingdom, but was a viscounty kingdom granted by the Zhou royal family. Therefore, if the people of the Chu Kingdom were to directly rule it, it would inevitably arouse public anger.
Li Ran was born in the Zhou royal family, and with this identity as a cover, it was obviously more appropriate to let Li Ran manage this place than to directly appoint someone from Chu.
Furthermore, the King of Chu himself certainly knew that he was playing with fire.
How could this series of operations, including conquering Zhongli and moving the capital to Qianxi, be hidden from the eyes and ears of the world?
These actions all revealed a clear signal - Chu State is back.
Therefore, how could the countries in the Central Plains not be wary of Chu?
Coupled with the willfulness of his King of Chu, before the war, he first took control of Xu Zi and then the official of the Song Dynasty. This series of cunning operations will only make the Central Plains countries more wary of the Chu State.
Therefore, Chu State now needs a buffer zone that can make everyone in the world feel ambiguous.
Moreover, in addition to the external environment of Chu State, Chu King Xiong Wei also needs to consider, and of course the turbulent domestic current situation.
Why would he make Li Ran, an outsider, a high official capable of guarding a party?
Because, after all, Zhongli is far away from the core of Chu State, so even if King Chu cannot suppress the domestic turmoil, Zhongli will be a good place of refuge.
And the reason why he asked Li Ran to help guard this place was to prepare for future emergencies.
These are the pros and cons that he really considers.
Therefore, as for taking the opportunity to let Li Ran completely cut off all contacts with the Central Plains countries, it could only be regarded as an unexpected gain for the King of Chu.
The King of Chu had obviously considered this calculation extremely carefully. Even a man as resourceful as Li Ran could not figure out the reason for it.
After Li Ran accepted the reward from Zhongli County Duke, as usual, he said to the King of Chu:
"The king has generously rewarded me today, and I should be extremely grateful."
"However, I have made an agreement with the king in advance. After the three things have been completed, I will leave. At that time, please don't be offended by the king."
Saying ugly things first is also an indication of Li Ran's attitude, although after saying this, it will directly destroy his popularity in Chu State.
But Li Ran couldn't care less about this. He had to express his attitude to the King of Chu, and he couldn't let the King of Chu dig a hole for him!
Of course, the King of Chu was also aware of Li Ran's determination. He just nodded and said nothing.
"Then, since I will leave Chu sooner or later, it will be inconvenient for me to go to Zhongli on weekdays."
"I can recommend someone to your Majesty to take up the post of County Yin on your behalf, and I would like to ask Your Majesty's approval."
I can accept the position of Zhongli County Governor, but if you want me to really go to Zhongli, that's not realistic.
You dug the hole, and now I'm filling it in. You can't refuse, right?
"Oh? Who do you want to recommend, sir?"
King Chu frowned upon hearing this and asked with a hint of displeasure.
Li Ran replied directly without thinking:
"Yao Yin Shen Wuyu."
Yes, Li Ran recommended none other than Shen Wuyu, who he saved that day. ("芋Yin" is his official position)
In fact, Li Ran did not have many friends in Chu State. The only one he could recommend besides Wu She was Shen Wuyu.
Wu She is the son of Wu Ju, and Wu Ju is now the county magistrate of Jiao County, so naturally Wu She can no longer be a high official.
Therefore, Li Ran could only recommend Shen Wuyu.
First of all, he really had no other choice.
Secondly, Shen Wuyu is indeed worthy of recognition. He is upright, brave, upright, and extremely loyal to the King of Chu. He is the best candidate for Yinfang County Yin.
But the King of Chu didn't understand.
Of course, he also had a very deep impression on Shen Wuyu. Just because he was in this camp that day, and with his fierce and angry "outspoken words", the King of Chu still remembered how much he felt that day.
of embarrassment.
But although Shen Wuyu was eloquent and daring, he was upright and would rather bend than bend. But in terms of seniority, how could the huge Chu State not be able to rank him?
How could Li Ran recommend him?
Of course, what King Chu is even more suspicious of is that you, Li Ran, gave such an important position to Shen Wuyu. Could it be that Shen Wuyu has become your accomplice of Li Ran?
