There is no businessman who does not speculate. Big officials and businessmen like the Zheng family actually care more about politics than politicians. The direction of the imperial court is not only about their profits and wealth, but sometimes it is life and death. Although they are rich and rival the country, they are on the wrong side in the affairs of the imperial court, and the outcome is likely to be broken without suspense.

Politicians may be able to retreat bravely or be neutral and wise to protect themselves, but the Zheng family is a family that eats according to the direction of the imperial court, which is a bit like a farmer who is looking forward to the wind and rain. A strong wind or heavy rain may blow down a few tiles on the house for others, or at most it will be a flood and the house will collapse, and these can be rebuilt without it; For a farmer, it can mean starving to death without a year's harvest.

Zheng Anshun is a very smart and cautious person, but no matter how he hides it, Qin Mubai also clearly feels his urgent mood - the clouds and waves above the court are treacherous, and the direction of the wind is uncertain, and his Zheng family is confused for a while and doesn't know how to stand in line, this feeling of burning his butt is something that others can't feel.

Therefore, he rashly stayed in Xiangyang and waited to meet Qin Mubai, and invited his family to the villa without avoiding suspicion, and he couldn't avoid Wu Meiniang.

A character like Zheng Anshun will definitely not do something nonsensical without a purpose. To put it bluntly, he wanted to ask for some "internal references" from Qin Mubai, or ask some questions. After all, Qin Mubai is now a big celebrity in front of the emperor and a member of the imperial family.

At the same time, Qin Mubai thought deeper than Zheng Anshun. To be honest, the survival of the Zheng family, compared to the major events above the court, Qin Mubai really didn't take the former seriously. Without the Zheng family, the richest man, there will be a second richest man on top.

Looking at it from another standpoint, the Zheng family has a deep relationship with themselves, and the wealth in their hands can also be used for themselves?

Today's banquet seems to be breezy and calm, but there seems to be an undercurrent between the two men who are the protagonists, each with their own thoughts.

Qin Mubai didn't discuss much politics-related things with Zheng Anshun in public, and in front of these women, they showed more ease and indifference. Silk and bamboo music, wine and fruit plates, enjoy the mustard.

It's just that the careful-minded Wu Meiniang noticed the subtle emotional changes of the two men early on. At first, she thought that the two of them were secretly competing because they were jealous, but after distinguishing clearly, she was secretly frightened, secretly thinking that today's meal was unusual, and it was probably related to the rise and fall of several big families.

After the meal, Qin Mubai asked Pang Fei to take a hundred horses and accompany the excited Princess Gaoyang and Shuang'er to hunt birds in the Houshan bamboo forest. Qin Mubai was invited by Zheng Anshun to enjoy an ancient chessboard in his private small bamboo pavilion, saying that it was the only instrument that Zheng Anshun treasured.

Appreciating antiques, Qin Mubai did not have the slightest interest. After the two sat down, they immediately cut to the chase in less than a minute.

Zheng Anshun didn't pretend anymore and said, "Brother Qin, don't tell lies in front of real people. Now you and I are talking, out of the king's mouth into a certain ear, not up the world or the ground, but it doesn't hurt to speak bluntly. Zheng confessed that he intersected with his life and hoped that Brother Qin would believe it. ”

"I believe it." Qin Mubai smiled and nodded, "Thanks to Brother Zheng, it doesn't hurt to say anything you want to say directly." ”

"Actually, what Zheng wants to say, Brother Qin must have counted it in his heart." Zheng Anshun's expression was rarely grim and dignified, and he said, "Zheng just wants to know, in the future, who will inherit the unification of the Tang Dynasty?" ”

After Qin Mubai heard this, his eyebrows twisted and his lips curled in a paradoxical arc, and he kept this expression for more than a minute, and shook his head helplessly, "To be honest, I don't know too much. ”

Zheng Anshun didn't seem surprised by this answer. Today, I'm afraid no one can give an accurate answer. Including the emperor, maybe not.

He asked: "If the scope is narrowed down a little, Zheng thinks that there are no more than four people." Prince Chengqian, Wei Wangtai, Jin Wangzhi, and Wu Wangke. ”

"Hmm." Qin Mubai nodded lightly, what Zheng Anshun said was purely nonsense known to the world, but it was essential in the current language environment.

"Then Brother Qin thinks, who is more likely?"

"What do you think?" Qin Mubai asked rhetorically. It's not to unload the burden, he really wants to hear the opinion of Zheng Anshun, a bystander.

Zheng Anshun smiled slightly, as if he expected Qin Mubai to ask this question, and said: "If the scope is narrowed down a little more, Zheng thinks that Prince Chengqian and Wei Wangtai can be ruled out." ”

"Oh?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile in surprise, "This is strange. Nowadays, the highest voice is the King of Wei, but you have a clear eye and say that the King of Wei can be ruled out. Tell us your reasoning? ”

"It's simple." Zheng Anshun said, "Those who are bright are easy to stain, and those who are Yao Yao are easy to break." King Wei was too eager to attack and gain quick profits, and he wanted to get it too much, which was overkill, but it backfired. This is the same as doing business, the more you want that goods, the more you have to pretend that you are not interested. Otherwise, the seller will think that the odd goods are good to live in and sit on the ground with you. ”

"It's kind of interesting." Qin Mubai couldn't help laughing and said, "King Wei is indeed very hard working and very attentive, and he can even be described as hollowing out his mind and doing everything. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, His Majesty listened to the opinions of Wei Zheng and others, hid soldiers and governed the academy, and governed the world with literature. So the king of Wei worked hard to revise the literature, gathered the bachelors to edit the anthology, the people of the door are like the carp crossing the river, and he is also talented in the world; His Majesty misses the late Empress Changsun, and the King of Wei advocated the construction of the Great Ci'en Temple to pay tribute to the Empress Changsun; His Majesty loves calligraphy, and King Wei practiced hard day and night; His Majesty advocated frugality, and the King of Wei put on his old clothes and went to the Wude Palace to face the king. He managed it very carefully, and it was all to the emperor's liking. ”

Zheng Anshun smiled and said: "But His Majesty the Emperor today is not a faint monarch who decides the world based on his own likes and dislikes. Although he likes King Wei very much, he will not make him the prince because of King Wei's favor. As the saying goes, if things are abnormal, there must be demons, and the king of Wei is carrying the emperor behind his back in front of the emperor, and one day the incident will happen in the east window. His speculative management and hypocrisy will sooner or later fall into the eyes and ears of the emperor. At that time, he was even worse than the crown prince. ”

"Secluded." Qin Mubai nodded in approval and said, "Therefore, I am also very optimistic about King Wei. If the crown prince is a real villain, then he King Wei is a hypocrite. Sometimes, I'd rather work with real villains than get too close to hypocrites. The real villain is hateful, but also pitiful; Hypocrites are hateful, but terrible. ”

"Brother Qin really hit the nail on the head." Zheng Anshun took a long breath, slowly exhaled it, nodded sincerely and smiled, "It's rare for Brother Qin to say such heartfelt words to me, Zheng is really grateful!" ”

"It's nothing." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Actually, everyone knows what we just said, but few people are willing to say it." The emperor may have a promise in his heart, but he thinks more than us and is more comprehensive than us. If the emperor does not want to make Li Tai the prince in his heart, it is absolutely a lie. Although he has flaws in his character, from a comprehensive point of view, Li Tai does meet the standards of a gentleman who keeps his success. Jin is barefoot, no one is perfect, and the emperor must have a spectrum in his heart. But what he thought about more was probably something else. ”

"What?" Zheng Anshun asked softly, but his mind was tightened.

The next words may be the golden rule that he Zheng Anshun is willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to ransom!

Qin Mubai smiled, picked up a cup of tea and drank it slowly, and said, "Brother Zheng, you better go downstairs first!" ”

Zheng Anshun got up very obediently, and hurriedly ran to the stairs like a little girl, and was stunned: "Mei Niang......"

Qin Mubai smiled: "Forget it, let her come up." ”

Wu Meiniang went upstairs, her face was a little red, but she didn't mean to be ashamed, but smiled calmly and said, "I know that you are talking about national affairs, I shouldn't have eavesdropped." But ......"

"It doesn't have to be explained. Explanation is disguise. Qin Mubai smiled, "You should care about this kind of thing, come and sit down." ”

Zheng Anshun shook his head and smiled, simply went downstairs, sent all the people in the building out, and then sealed the stairs with a few bamboos before sitting down peacefully.

"There won't be ears to the wall now."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "You should have known that I was down there, right?" Deliberately said it to me. ”

"I really don't know." Zheng Anshun smiled and said, "Zheng has no power to restrain the chicken, of course, he is not as bright and deaf as Brother Qin's martial arts practitioners. ”

Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said, "It doesn't matter. Mei Niang just doesn't ask, I'll tell her these things. After all, it is a family, you are still my virtuous helper and wise man, if I don't tell you, who will I tell you? ”

"Hehe......" Wu Meiniang chuckled a little proudly, glanced at Zheng Anshun inadvertently, saw that his expression was calm, and her heart gradually felt at ease, and her hand under the table unconsciously put it on Qin Mubai's knee, gently stroking it.

Qin Mubai said casually like a nobody: "Actually, His Majesty the Emperor wants to establish a prince, and the things to consider are nothing more than these layers. One is the ability of the prince. On the surface, this seems to be the most important, but it is not. The emperor laid down the country, cured the country, the Zhenguan Dynasty's military, political and civilian science system has been perfected, and there are a large number of loyal and pure courtiers who are determined to serve, and there will be no big problems with who such a team and family background are handed over. Even if he is a mediocre person, as long as he doesn't mess around, the Tang Dynasty will not be bad for a while. In other words, the emperor's expectations for his successor are not high, as long as he can be a king. ”

"It's really a word to wake up the dreamer, really know it!" Zheng Anshun exclaimed, "This is really the first time Zheng has heard of such an opinion!" ”

"But it's not just Qin who knows. It's just that no emperor's close ministers or court officials would say such heart-wrenching and murderous words to Brother Zheng. Qin Mubai smiled indifferently.

Zheng Anshun's expression changed, and he immediately bowed his hand: "Brother Qin is heavy, Zheng is heartfelt!" ”

"It doesn't have to be this way." Qin Mubai still smiled indifferently and continued, "The second layer of considering the prince is morality. There is a saying that when a country is opened, anyone who has a skill can use it; To start a business, you need to have both ability and political integrity. Therefore, it is even more difficult to defend the country than to open the country. No one understands this better than the emperor. The choice of the prince will probably also be due to this consideration. Therefore, the unethical prince will never live long, and it is difficult to say who will eventually ascend to the throne. But I think the emperor's moral requirements for the new prince, among the four items of courtesy, righteousness, benevolence and filial piety, he values the most - filial piety! ”

Zheng Anshun glared in amazement, and was shocked in his heart. Qin Mubai didn't say this thoroughly, and he couldn't say it thoroughly. Do you want to force him to say that the emperor is afraid of the repetition of the former Xuanwumen? - Especially after the rebellion of Li You in Dengzhou, the emperor showed more obvious in this regard! He hated the father and son against the brother, and worried that after a hundred years, if one person called the emperor and the other sons and nephews were not left, it would be the biggest disaster for the Li family and the biggest failure in his life!

After all, Li Shimin is also a human being, not a god, not a saint. If his own son killed each other and splashed blood in the court, how could he be embarrassed? In this way, the stain of his initiator will be infinitely magnified, and his life pursuit of being a wise man will completely become a laughing stock. And...... Parents in the world, who wants their children to die? Tiger poison still doesn't eat children, what about people? While he is still alive and in power, avoiding this tragic appearance as much as possible is probably Li Shimin's most urgent and intuitive wish now!

After Qin Mubai's words, Zheng Anshun woke up like a dream, and he was cheerful - according to this analysis, the harder Li Tai of the city government worked, the farther away from the dragon chair he dreamed of. What the emperor wants is not a son who is capable, loyal, and good for his father to be the prince, but a true and filial master!

Thinking of this, Zheng Anshun couldn't help but be stunned in his heart, and inexplicably thought of Li Ke! ——For so many years, Li Ke has been assisted by Qin Mubai, and he has always paid attention to filial piety. For example, when he was in Jiangzhou, he would rather be criticized and punished, but also conceal the involvement of the prince with Shengnanhou; At that time, the emperor was openly and secretly praised him, and after completing the Jiangzhou case, he did not give a reward and scolded him in public, but later he generously rewarded him with a fat shortage of Xiangzhou Thorn History; Among the many incidents in Xiangzhou that followed, Li Ke traveled thousands of miles to return to the princess, personally returned the jade seal, but his father's long-cherished wish, and then warmly entertained the unworthy prince for more than a month, although he was extremely impatient, he was still lenient and did not report to the court. These can be regarded as cover-up in terms of law, but they have secretly won the praise of the emperor's filial piety. Finally, there was Li You's rebellion. This is one of the most heinous sins. In the face of such a major event, Li Ke still put love first, and spared no effort to persuade Li You to return to Beijing to admit his mistake to his father, instead of holding him to ask his father for a reward.

The list goes on.

There is no doubt that when it comes to filial piety, Li Ke's impression in Li Shimin's mind is definitely thousands of times better than that of Li Chengqian, who is immoral, and Li Tai, who constantly undermines his brothers.

Moreover, Li Ke is capable, talented, ambitious, and open-minded......

Zheng Anshun couldn't help but shudder secretly, and when he looked at Qin Mubai again, there was a sense of surprise and awe in his eyes-could it be that he, Qin Mubai, had been helping Li Ke to manage and win the heir from the beginning?!

Qin Mubai was still indifferent, and drank some tea slowly.

Smart and clever as Wu Meiniang, I don't know what these two men are playing for a while, and I am suspicious in my heart, and I don't want to ask openly. In the face of such a major event, she knows best how to be silent and low-key in a timely manner, which is why Qin Mubai likes her the most - to know the current affairs and the general situation.

"There is also the most important reason, which accounts for about half of the chips, to determine who will eventually be able to take the position." Qin Mubai smiled and said lightly, "Brother Zheng, as smart as you, you must understand the strangeness." It's like, when you do business with a rich family, what do you value most about him? ”

"Strength." Zheng Anshun also answered concisely.

"Yes. Saying a thousand things and ten thousand is actually an auxiliary. The most important thing is strength. Qin Mubai smiled slightly, and a fierce light in his eyes was like a star in a cold night, scorching and shining.

Wu Meiniang raised her eyebrows slightly, and said as calm as water as Qin Mubai, but she threw out the words that Qin Mubai was thinking but didn't say, and the words were like thunder in the air-

"What bloodline, descendants, are all tricks and deceptive cloaks. Whoever has the strong support behind him, and who represents the side that wins, will be able to take the position in the end. Even if he is just a side royal family of the Li family! ”

Qin Mubai looked sideways, gave Wu Meiniang an approving look with a slight flick of his eyebrows, and took a sip of tea, "Overwhelming a hundred skillful." That's it. ”