Chapter 1635: The Essence of Power is Checks and Balances

"Oh! You have a different view; let me hear it." Marquis Pingjiang was quite interested.

Chen Guanlou always had whimsical ideas, yet he could justify them, which was quite reasonable.

He wanted to hear where this "not necessarily" came from and what the logic was.

Chen Guanlou made a gesture. "Ten years! Ten years later, the eldest imperial son will only be in his teens. If he ascends the throne as Emperor, it will still be many years before he can rule in his own right. During this period, as long as Xie Changling tries his best to win over the Hou Fu, the possibility of his policies being abolished after his death can be avoided to the greatest extent. The premise is whether the Hou Fu is willing to play along with him."

What a bold statement!

Not afraid of death!

He actually predicted that Emperor Yuan Ding only had ten years of life.

Emperor Yuan Ding was so young; how could he only live for ten years?

The implication was self-evident.

How the Emperor died would be recorded in history books, and future generations would research and speculate in various ways. However, those living in the present only cared about whether power could be successfully transferred.

A very crazy idea.

Marquis Pingjiang laughed and commented unhurriedly, "You really dare to say anything! Emperor Yuan Ding is, after all, my granddaughter's husband; how could I allow outsiders to bully him?"

Hearing this, Chen Guanlou laughed out loud, unable to stop himself.

Saying this to outsiders who didn't know the truth was fine, but saying this in front of him was very meaningless.

If he truly cared about Emperor Yuan Ding and truly thought for the Emperor and Empress, the Hou Fu could not have watched coldly as Emperor Yuan Ding was suppressed by the Secretariat. They would have stepped forward long ago to speak up for Emperor Yuan Ding, help the Emperor fight for power and profit, and counter the Secretariat.

With the foundation of the Hou Fu, as long as they wanted to do it, they could instantly win over a large group of people. At the very least, the nobles and military generals would follow the footsteps of the Hou Fu and fully support the Emperor.

The Emperor was the orthodox ruler, and with the Hou Fu as a guarantee, the nobles and military generals had no reason not to support the Emperor. They were eager to go against the Secretariat.

Unfortunately, the Hou Fu did not take the lead and chose to handle it coldly, so the nobles and military generals naturally watched the show coldly.

If the proper father-in-law of the country wasn't in a hurry, why should they be?

Submitting a letter of allegiance to the Emperor and taking the initiative to defect to the Emperor?

They had to see if they had the life to enjoy it.

The Emperor looked like a weakling; defecting to the Emperor might not have a good ending.

Not to mention being a vanguard and charging into battle for the Emperor.

There were no fools in the capital region; no one would place a bet easily.

As for opportunists, there were some, and quite a few. Unfortunately, they had no chance to get close to the Emperor and no chance to show their loyalty to the Emperor. Any movement made in private was extinguished in the blink of an eye.

Speaking of this, it was quite sad.

The Great Gan dynasty had lasted three hundred years; although the channels for upward mobility were not completely closed, it was difficult for ordinary people to seize the opportunity. Those gaps were left for the talented children of poor families.

For example, Sun Daoning, properly speaking, came from a poor family. His family in the local area was just a small landlord. It wasn't until Sun Daoning became an official and rose to the position of Minister of Justice that the Sun family rose from a small landlord to a local powerhouse.

But compared to proper noble families, they were nothing.

For a poor family with a little wealth to want to speculate, show loyalty to the Emperor, and protect themselves, the difficulty was comparable to passing the imperial examination.

Moreover, Emperor Yuan Ding currently had no intention of collecting poor scholars to form his own faction. The reason he said this was because he had never taken any action.

He would rather use people from the Jixia Academy than start a new stove.

His brain not working well was one aspect, but he probably also had an inherent laziness in his bones.

These sons of Emperor Jian Shi, one by one, all had very average qualifications, very mediocre averages.

Emperor Yuan Ding also had a flaw: stubbornness!

Stubbornness appearing in a smart person is called unique insight. Appearing in a mediocre person, it is called pigheadedness!

"Marquis is quite boring." Chen Guanlou complained casually. "You are guarding against me; is it necessary? My mouth has been tested by time; it is tight-lipped."

Marquis Pingjiang laughed. "Are you angry?"

"That wouldn't happen. It's just that I dislike you treating me like a fool." Chen Guanlou complained fiercely. "If you don't trust me, why name me to arrange this meeting?"

The address for this meeting was decided by Chen Guanlou himself, and he was the one who went to notify them.

It was inconvenient for the Hou Fu and the Xie Fu to interact, and it was inconvenient for the women to interact, which easily invited criticism. This job fell to Chen Guanlou, who avoided ears and eyes, personally sneaked into the Xie Fu, and notified Xie Changling.

He acted as a middleman, running back and forth between the two sides, which led to this brief meeting.

"It is my fault. Whatever you want, just ask; consider it my compensation to you." Marquis Pingjiang was also very straightforward, intending to use money to coax Chen Guanlou.

Chen Guanlou sneered. "You haven't told me what your plan is?"

"Don't want benefits?"

"I don't lack that little bit of benefit from you."

He held the "As if the Emperor were present" seal; mere wealth could no longer move him.

He had higher-level pursuits.

"I am also taking one step at a time. Plans cannot keep up with changes; I can only say that the plan is beautiful, but people are not puppets. Emperor Yuan Ding is even less of a puppet; he has his own ideas. I can only say that cooperating with Xie Changling now is the best choice."

"Are you planning to ride a donkey to find a horse?" Chen Guanlou asked casually.

Marquis Pingjiang nodded, not denying it.

The Hou Fu chose to handle Emperor Yuan Ding coldly, not getting close, but not deliberately staying away.

The key lay in Emperor Yuan Ding's attitude; Emperor Yuan Ding didn't have much ability, but he was full of pride, unwilling to take the initiative to ask the Hou Fu for help, and had repeatedly neglected Empress Chen. His attitude toward the eldest legitimate son could only be said to be neither meritorious nor faulty, and he was not partial.

With such an attitude, the Hou Fu naturally had to weigh things.

On the other hand, Xie Changling was active and proactive, making various concessions.

The Hou Fu could not press its hot face against Emperor Yuan Ding's cold backside; it wasn't worth it. The Hou Fu had stood for hundreds of years, and today, it was no longer a family that relied on flattering imperial power to develop.

The essence of power lies in checks and balances.

What the Hou Fu needed to do was checks and balances, becoming a force that could not be ignored and could not be swallowed. It seemed dangerous, but in reality, it was not safe.

However, the Hou Fu was willing to give it a try.

The Hou Fu could afford to play; they were putting their nine clans out to play, so there was nothing to fear.

Now was not the right time to be a rebel, but that didn't mean there would be no opportunity in the future.

Chen Guanlou saw it; Marquis Pingjiang's heart was not dead. It was just that he was trapped by age and timing, so he chose to lie dormant and be a loyal official.

He was very curious. "Will you return to the capital?"

"The capital is nothing good; I don't miss that place."

The implication was that he would not return to the capital and would continue to lead troops outside.

"Once the war ends, what reason do you have to continue staying in the Northwest?"

Marquis Pingjiang said frankly: "The end of the war does not mean that the Northwest will be peaceful from now on. The Northwest needs someone to guard it. I am loyal and willing to share worries for His Majesty and the imperial court! I am also willing to cultivate new generals for the imperial court."

This had been planned long ago.

Without this premise, the cooperation between him and Xie Changling would be out of the question. ===== CHAPTER 1636 =====