The rise of the poor

Chapter 2209 Success is hard-won, failure is easy

Yan Song remained silent upon hearing Li Ben's puzzled question. His seemingly cloudy but actually piercing old eyes fixed intently on Li Ben, making Li Ben unable to meet his gaze. Li Ben lowered his head, bowed, clasped his hands, and explained humbly:

"I was agitated and spoke inappropriately. Please forgive me, Your Excellency. I am not questioning Your Excellency, but I do not understand why Your Excellency supports Zhu Ping'an's offer of amnesty to Wang Zhi."

“I know that the Grand Secretary appreciates Zhu Ping’an. In fact, I also appreciate him, but we are still at odds. Even if the Grand Secretary appreciates him and wants to bring him under his wing to create a great success story, he will have to put him through some tests first. Zhu Ping’an is young and has already become the Governor of Jiangzhe, a powerful regional official. If he can grant amnesty to Wang Zhi and quell the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan, and if he is also favored by the Emperor and returns to the capital, he can rise rapidly in rank. A high-ranking official position in the Ministry of Personnel is not out of the question. With a little more experience, he might even enter the Grand Secretariat.”

"By then, even though the Grand Secretary's temple is large, it will not be able to contain such a great Buddha. The Grand Secretary will not only have to worry about bringing him under his command, but will also have to be careful of a young, strong and talented opponent."

Li Ben explained in a low voice while keeping an eye on his surroundings to avoid being overheard.

He is now too deeply intertwined with Yan Song to break free. When Zhu Ping'an returns to the capital and joins the cabinet, he will deal with Yan Song and his cronies.

Historically, there are countless examples of this, and often the party members are dealt with first.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he had no choice but to admit it; he was now considered one of Yan Song's henchmen.

Furthermore, if Zhu Ping'an returns to the capital with the credit for suppressing the Japanese pirates, he could very well accumulate seniority over a few years and be able to enter the cabinet.

There are only a few cabinet ministers, and each one has a specific position. If Zhu Pingan wants to enter the cabinet, someone has to make room for him.

Me, Yan Song, Xu Jie—who among the three of us should make room for me?!

Grand Secretary Yan?!

Forget about it. Grand Secretary Yan is highly trusted by the Emperor. As long as he doesn't become senile, his position is as secure as a mountain. Oh, even if Grand Secretary Yan does become senile, as long as he's not completely muddle-headed, with Yan Donglou handling things, he'll be fine. Currently, many matters are being handled by Yan Donglou on Grand Secretary Yan's behalf, in an orderly and exceptionally proper manner. Many matters entrusted by the Emperor that the Grand Secretariat cannot handle or has no clue about are always secretly reported back to Donglou by messenger. Donglou's answers always meet the Emperor's expectations.

Xu Jie?!

His abilities far surpassed his own, and he was favored by the Emperor. Moreover, he was Zhu Ping'an's mentor. No matter who Zhu Ping'an tried to take, he would never take Xu Jie's position. If Zhu Ping'an were to take Xu Jie's position, he would be drowned in public criticism.

Neither of them is possible, so the only choice is myself. Haha, now everyone outside says I'm just a figurehead prime minister.

And what he said was the truth!

He indeed followed Yan Song's lead, acting according to his wishes and daring not to disobey his orders.

When the time comes, I'll be the one making room for you!

However, after becoming the second-in-command, he enjoyed immense prestige. Even though outsiders said behind his back that he was just a figurehead prime minister, everyone who met him treated him with utmost respect and deference. How could he possibly let go of the benefits that came with power?

Therefore, suppressing Zhu Ping'an was not only for Yan Song's sake, but also for his own. That's why he worked so hard, and why he was so puzzled and agitated when he saw that Yan Song actually supported Zhu Ping'an's offer of amnesty to Wang Zhi.

"Ruli, you've been in the cabinet for quite some time now, yet your ability to read people hasn't improved much. Can't you really see what the Emperor means?"

Yan Song looked at Li Ben, sighed with a hint of anger at his lack of ambition, and lowered his voice.

"Ah?! What does Your Majesty mean?" Li Ben was startled.

Then, reflecting on everything that had happened in the palace that day, he belatedly realized, "Yes, yes, this is His Majesty's intention."

How foolish! I should have seen it coming sooner. When I said I wanted to punish Zhu Ping'an for his unauthorized surrender of Wang Zhi, the Emperor said the punishment would be waived. He even said that Zhu Ping'an had submitted a secret memorial requesting this, and before the cabinet could even discuss it, Zhu Ping'an had already begun to implement it.

In fact, even though Zhu Ping'an had petitioned the emperor, the emperor did not grant his request, so his actions of offering amnesty to Wang Zhi were unauthorized.

However, the Emperor said the punishment would be waived, but from that sentence alone, I should have understood the Emperor's meaning.

His Majesty wants to quell the Japanese pirate raids in Jiangnan as soon as possible. As long as the Japanese pirate raids in Jiangnan can be quelled as soon as possible, it doesn't matter what methods you use.

Whether or not to grant amnesty to Wang Zhi was still undecided by the Emperor and required further discussion within the cabinet. However, the Emperor did not object to Zhu Ping'an's efforts to grant amnesty to Wang Zhi. Although he did not issue an edict authorizing the amnesty, he tacitly approved it.

No wonder Grand Secretary Yan supported Zhu Ping'an's offer of amnesty to Wang Zhi. He himself was echoing Grand Secretary Yan, and wasn't Grand Secretary Yan also echoing the Emperor?

Now that he knew the Emperor's intentions, how could Grand Secretary Yan object? Even if he objected in his heart, he would only express his support verbally.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Yan Song asked Li Ben.

"I've figured it out. Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency." Li Ben bowed to Yan Song in thanks.

"It's good that you understand." Yan Song nodded.

"His Majesty is willing, and the Grand Secretary cannot object. Therefore, the Grand Secretary has resorted to a less desirable option, suggesting that the court should not intervene at the moment and that Zhu Ping'an should continue to try." Li Benru suddenly understood Yan Song's attitude in the hall.

If the imperial court intervenes, Zhu Ping'an's decision to grant amnesty to Wang Zhi will be more righteous. With the court's support, it will be easier for Zhu Ping'an to grant amnesty.

Conversely, if the imperial court doesn't intervene and it's merely Zhu Ping'an's personal action, without the court's endorsement, securing amnesty will be difficult. Wang Zhi isn't a three-year-old child; without an imperial decree, could he easily secure amnesty?!

"Hehe, accomplishing something is not easy. It requires the right timing, location, and people, as well as strength and luck—all are indispensable. But destroying something is far too easy and simple. Don't you think so, Ruli?"

Yan Song smiled slightly, gently patted Li Ben's shoulder, and strode forward.

Li Ben suddenly realized.

No wonder, no wonder Grand Secretary Yan supported Zhu Ping'an in continuing to grant amnesty to Wang Zhi.

Accepting amnesty is not easy, but sabotaging it is all too easy. In just a few seconds, Li Ben came up with no fewer than ten ways to sabotage the amnesty.

If the surrender was successful, it was Zhu Ping'an's achievement. However, if the surrender failed, the responsibility would also lie with Zhu Ping'an. In fact, if the surrender failed and resulted in dire consequences, all the responsibility would also fall on Zhu Ping'an.

Wow, brilliant! No wonder you're Grand Secretary Yan!

Looking at Yan Song's retreating figure, Li Ben couldn't help but admire him. He realized he still had a lot to learn. By the time Li Ben came to his senses, Yan Song had already walked far away.

"Your Excellency, wait for me! Come with me, come with me!" Li Ben said, quickly chasing after Yan Song. (End of Chapter)