The rise of the poor

"Zihou, harmony is the most precious. You are excellent, too excellent. But to be frank, it is unwise for you to be an enemy of my adoptive father Yan Song. First of all, it is about power. The disciples, old friends, confidants and like-minded people who gather around my adoptive father and Donglou, well, that is, what many people call the Yan Party, have a great influence from the various departments of the court to the local counties and even the inner court. You are the enemy of such a huge force, which means that you have enemies everywhere from the inner court, the outer court to the counties. This is not "harmonious"; secondly, how old is my adoptive father, Lord Yan? To be disrespectful and unpleasant, he is half buried in the yellow mud and is about to die. Why are you enemies with him?"

Zhao Wenhua stood up with the teapot, poured a cup of tea for Zhu Ping'an, patted Zhu Ping'an's shoulder gently, and spoke slowly.

Zhu Ping'an pretended to listen attentively, but he was not moved at all. The reason why he chose to be the enemy of the Yan Party was precisely because the Yan Party was powerful, from the imperial court to the prefectures and counties. The power was great and the influence was great. The scope of your harm was also wide, bringing disaster to the court and the people, sucking their blood out of their bones and exploiting the world. You have become a cancer in the Ming Dynasty, and we have to get rid of you.

In addition, although Yan Song was old, he could still live for many, many years. He was a rare long-lived person in history books.

"Zihou, my adoptive father is the chief minister of the cabinet. The emperor relies on him and trusts him. He has so many disciples and ministers that he cannot count them on one hand. There are also countless officials from the court to the local level. Do you think it is realistic for you to overthrow such a huge force by yourself?"

Zhao Wenhua tapped the table lightly with his fingers, looked at Zhu Pingan with burning eyes, and asked seriously.

"I don't mean that." Zhu Ping'an said calmly.

Of course I won't overthrow the entire Yan Party by myself. With my chief commander Xu Jie and a group of people hiding behind him, how can I fight alone?

Zhao Wenhua misunderstood Zhu Ping'an's meaning, thinking that Zhu Ping'an meant that he had no intention of overthrowing the Yan Party, and nodded with a warm look.

Children can be taught.

"Zihou, the reason why I dare to forget Donglou's instructions is because I have enough confidence and ability to resolve the grievances between you and my adoptive father. Although you helped Yang Jisheng revise his memorial to impeach my adoptive father, I have this confidence and ability. Do you believe me?"

Zhao Wenhua stared at Zhu Pingan and asked.

"Of course I believe in Master Zhao." Zhu Pingan replied insincerely.

Zhao Wenhua was very satisfied with Zhu Ping'an's answer. He took a sip of tea, squinted his eyes and asked with a smile, "Zihou, do you know why I am so confident?"

Zhu Ping'an shook his head. He really didn't know that he had helped Yang Jisheng to revise the memorial impeaching Yan Song (unfortunately Yang Jisheng did not adopt his opinion), and was banished to a small county in the south of the Yangtze River by Yan's party. Before Zhao Wenhua left Beijing, Yan Shifan had asked him to deal with him. They had already torn their relations apart, and the two sides were in a situation of a life-and-death struggle. He really didn't know where Zhao Wenhua got the confidence to resolve this dispute.

"Because my adoptive father Yan Song has the same hobby as Cao Cao." Zhao Wenhua pulled the corner of his mouth and revealed a confident smile.

"Do you like your sister-in-law?" Zhu Ping'an blurted out almost subconsciously.

"Pfft, Zihou, what are you thinking about?" The tea in Zhao Wenhua's mouth suddenly sprayed out.

Hu Zongxian on the side couldn't help spitting tea. How could an old guy in his seventies or eighties have such a hobby?

"My adoptive father is already old, how could he have such a hobby? Bah, bah, bah, even when he was young, he didn't have this hobby." Zhao Wenhua pointed at Zhu Ping'an speechlessly, asking Zhu Ping'an to be more careful with his words, "Don't talk nonsense, my adoptive father, Lord Yan, has the same hobby as Cao Cao, which is 'cherishing talents'. Because of cherishing talents, Cao Cao let go of Guan Yu, the Martial Saint, and Zhao Zilong of Changshan, and let go and reused Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu who killed his eldest son and his beloved general Dian Wei, and reused enemy generals Zhang Liao and Gao Lan..."

"My adoptive father, Lord Yan, also has this hobby of 'cherishing talent'. Your master Xu Jie has repeatedly opposed my adoptive father before, but my adoptive father cherished his talent, so he repeatedly gave Xu Jie opportunities and promoted him to the cabinet. And you, Zihou, are also very talented, very talented. My adoptive father, Lord Yan, admires you very much. Really, he said it in front of us. He admires you very much and said that you will be a pillar of the court in the future. A long time ago, Donglou proposed to bring you down many times, but my adoptive father Yan Song stopped him. He said that you are still young, famous at a young age, immature in mind, and easily blinded by outside opinions. He said that you have talent and can be trained to become a pillar of the court."

Zhao Wenhua then spoke slowly, mentioning the secrets within Yan's party to show how much Yan Song valued talent.

"Don't you realize that even though you helped Yang Jisheng to commit atrocities, my adoptive father Yan Song banished you to Jiangnan. What he did was not to kill you, but to discipline you. He has always been giving you opportunities. He values ​​your talent."

Zhao Wenhua gently patted Zhu Ping'an's shoulder and said in a tone of advice, "So, as long as you turn back from your wrong path, I don't even need to say anything nice to your adoptive father, you can turn hostility into friendship."

Zhu Ping'an listened attentively but remained silent.

"Zihou, you should know that my adoptive father, Lord Yan, is the chief minister of the cabinet, second only to the emperor, and his disciples and former officials, or followers, are all over the world. You have been appreciated by him, which is an opportunity that many people dream of. It is no exaggeration to say that the door to a meteoric rise is open in front of you. As long as you take a step, you can walk in. You have your adoptive father Yan Song to protect you from the wind and rain, and your followers all over the world to support you. Any firearms and gunpowder, any food and military pay, are all a matter of a word. If you make a mistake, there are people who cover it up for you, settle it for you, and speak for you; if you make a contribution, there are people who applaud you, praise you in front of the emperor, and fight for benefits for you."

Seeing that Zhu Ping'an was unmoved, Zhao Wenhua stopped beating around the bush and explained the various benefits of joining the Yan Party one by one, trying to persuade him with earnest words.

Zhu Ping'an just curled the corners of his mouth.

"Perhaps you have different political views from my adoptive father, Lord Yan, and have opinions about him. But have you ever thought that my adoptive father is already very old. To be unfilial, how many more years can he devote to the Ming Dynasty?"

"Who will take over the huge power of the Yan Party after my adoptive father passes away? Haha, why can't it be me, Zhao Wenhua? I won't hide it from you. I do intend to take over this huge power. Yes, it's true that Donglou is smart and capable, and he is the legitimate successor of my adoptive father, but he has too many shortcomings and deficiencies. He is not suitable to take over this huge power."

"I am much older than you. After a hundred years, who will take over this huge power? It will be your generation. And in your generation, in terms of talent, achievements, and official positions, who can compare with you?"

"This means that decades later, you will be the leaders of this huge force, Zihou."

“It is better to lead this force than to overthrow it.”

Zhao Wenhua persuaded him earnestly. (End of this chapter)