Chapter 1571

"This old man knows very little about the Renzong reign. However, this old man has also heard that Emperor Renzong was peerless in both calligraphy and painting. Comparing the brushwork and technique of this painting to the calligraphy and painting Emperor Renzong appraised in the past, it shouldn't have caught Emperor Renzong's eye. It wasn't worth Emperor Renzong specifically stamping it with this 'As if I were personally present' seal."

The guest advisor bowed slightly, appearing quite respectful.

Chen Guanlou looked at the elderly guest advisor calmly; he looked a bit familiar. He remembered now; he had served beside Marquis Pingjiang before. This old guy had some skills, serving two generations of Hou Fu masters in a row.

Chen Guanfu laughed loudly, appearing very proud, "Looking at it this way, my judgment wasn't wrong. Emperor Taixing appraised this painting when he was young. Emperor Taixing was a person who loved grand achievements and liked to show off. Stamping this 'As if I were personally present' seal on the painting is his style. Someone, put this painting away and keep it well. Although the painting isn't worth much money, the seal is valuable. This seal hasn't appeared in the world for decades; what a pity!"

Chen Guanlou chuckled in his heart.

He thought, if you want the seal, just tell me!

You can stamp as many as you want!

He secretly enjoyed it for a while, savoring the feeling that no one else knew, and only he himself was having a good time.

Everyone could see that the Chen brothers had important matters to discuss, so several guest advisors took the initiative to take their leave.

Chen Guanlou sat on the chair with his legs spread wide.

The servant served tea, new tea from this year, which was a grade higher than the tea leaves offered as tribute to the palace.

He played with a gold and stone carved seal and said casually: "Last night, Xie Changling invited me to drink and chatted a lot. He expressed that he wanted to cooperate with the Hou Fu, for both sides to progress together and restrain the Emperor together, so the Emperor wouldn't act recklessly."

Chen Guanfu sneered, "Why does he think the Hou Fu would choose to cooperate with him? Doesn't he know that this official is the father-in-law of the Emperor, and the Eldest Imperial Prince is my own grandson?"

"What are you showing off in front of me for? If you want to show off, go find Xie Changling." Chen Guanlou retorted unceremoniously, very disdainfully.

Chen Guanfu laughed, "What else did he say? I heard you went to a pleasure boat and spent quite a bit in one night."

"Several thousand taels in one night. Expensive has its benefits! However, I definitely won't pay for it myself and be a sucker."

"You say expensive has its benefits, and you also say you won't be a sucker. Do you like it or not?" Chen Guanfu seemed more curious about Chen Guanlou's thoughts and seemed to have no interest in the cooperation Xie Changling proposed.

Chen Guanlou slumped in the chair, without any posture. In the Hou Fu, this wasn't allowed, except for him. He was the only exception.

He was very frank, "The girls are truly beautiful, and even the serving maids are of the level of top courtesans. It's just that those girls are too learned, speaking in literary phrases, and poetry and songs come easily to them. It makes me look like an illiterate. It's infuriating!"

"Hahaha..."

Chen Guanfu laughed out loud, seeming very happy to see him frustrated.

"Since you know you are illiterate, you should read more books when you have free time. At least when those girls are chatting about poetry and songs, you can echo them a few times."

"Don't! I'm not taking the imperial examination; there's no need to study that deeply." Chen Guanlou refused.

He had always read books, official history, unofficial history, he read all kinds of books, but he read them very broadly. It's just that he didn't read deeply enough, wouldn't delve into research, and certainly wouldn't specifically learn a certain skill, such as how to write poetry or how to write the eight-legged essay.

This act of imitating refinement didn't suit him.

He didn't even want to be a literary plagiarist; he was lazy, too lazy to memorize, so how could he possibly learn to write poetry and articles.

Chen Guanfu knew his temper and naturally wouldn't force him.

"Don't you want to know what conditions Xie Changling offered?"

Chen Guanfu asked in a calm tone, "What conditions?"

"He'll leave a seat for you in the Secretariat, continue the migration, and increase support by one million taels. However, he demands that the Marquis must end the Northwest war within this year, thoroughly defeat Xiliang, kill Guo Dachun, and hand over military power, but he can take three thousand troops south to suppress the rebellion. He said the national treasury is empty, expenditures exceed income, the burden on the common people is too heavy, and there is an urgent need to rest and recuperate. If the Hou Fu doesn't want the Great Ming empire to be completely finished and still wants to be a loyal minister of Great Ming, then please accept his conditions. He can do his best to raise a sum of military funds for the Marquis to win the final battle."

Chen Guanlou spread his hands; he had already conveyed it truthfully. The following matters had nothing to do with him.

Chen Guanfu weighed it for a while but didn't express his stance, "What do you think?"

"Don't ask me! I can't represent the Hou Fu." Chen Guanlou waved his hand to decline; he wouldn't participate in the discussion.

"If it were you, how would you choose?"

Chen Guanlou frowned, "That depends on what the Hou Fu wants? Do you want to be a loyal minister, a treacherous minister, or a rebel! Only with a goal can there be action. I don't even know your thoughts, so how can I make a decision for you? Don't make things difficult for me. I can't bear such a big responsibility."

Chen Guanfu chuckled, "Then do you think the Hou Fu should be a loyal minister or a treacherous minister?"

Chen Guanlou sneered, "Loyal minister, there's probably no need. According to my opinion, it doesn't make much difference whether the person on the throne is a human or a dog. For a person, the most important thing is to be loyal to oneself, and only then to the world. Being loyal to the Emperor is completely unnecessary. Let me clarify, to me, the world is the world, and the Emperor is the Emperor; these two cannot be confused."

Chen Guanfu understood, "I understand your meaning. The Hou Fu is naturally loyal to the world."

Chen Guanlou raised his eyebrows slightly and took a bold guess, "So you mean the Hou Fu won't be rebels?"

Chen Guanfu chuckled, "Do you think it's easy to be a rebel? Being a rebel means the Hou Fu has to bet all its chips and stake everything on one throw."

"You don't have the courage to stake everything on one throw?"

"Not at all! It's not that I don't have the courage, but sometimes doing things doesn't need to be so simple and crude."

"A change of dynasty that hasn't been baptized by war will always be a tiger's head and a snake's tail, and will eventually be bitten back by superficial peace! Don't be foolish!"

Chen Guanlou kindly reminded him.

If they really wanted to change the dynasty, people had to die. Controlling the killing didn't mean not killing.

If they didn't kill, the result would inevitably be endless trouble.

Even if they wanted to win people over, they had to kill a batch first before giving them a sweet date.

Chen Guanfu tapped the table lightly with his finger, "If I say the Hou Fu has no ambition to seize the world, do you believe me?"

Chen Guanlou was half-believing.

Chen Guanfu ignored him and continued, "Everything the Hou Fu does is to maintain the status quo. Starting from Emperor Taixing, the palace has increasingly pressured us, forcing the Hou Fu to fight back and act step by step."

Chen Guanlou sneered, disdainful of the other party's lack of frankness, "You don't need to tell me these things. Since you don't want to be a rebel, you can choose to be a powerful minister. However, if you make such a choice, you must be prepared for the day when people die and the lights go out. The Song family's problems can't be changed; Emperor Renzong doesn't have the ability to clean up the Hou Fu, but that doesn't mean the later emperors won't have the ability. If this stalemate continues, the Hou Fu will be finished sooner or later. I don't care; I can survive anywhere. The Chen clan, with over a thousand people, are they prepared for sacrifice?"