Chapter 1268: Terrible Fix (2)
With a sigh, Rong Xuan said, "There is no making without breaking. After a long period of peace, corruption will easily breed in the world. We all know about these issues, but who dares to bring them up to discuss countermeasures with the officials?"
Historically, there had been times when the interests of the ruler and officials were compatible, and times when their interests were in conflict. The relationship between a ruler and the ministers was not as simple and pure as the books described.
Even for Rong Xuan, if the Emperor hadn’t treated him as well as before, and he indeed didn’t have much ambition, he would have changed long ago.
When Yan Du was invited by the Emperor to take up the position back then, he was so grateful, and he did work hard for the Emperor and Great Qi in the first few years. Alas, people changed. After being the Right Prime Minister for two years, his thoughts became complicated.
In Rong Xuan’s position, he couldn’t help but feel a little tired sometimes, after seeing so much.
If it weren’t for Qi Haoran, Fan Zijin and Mu Yangling’s unchanging attitudes towards him, and if it weren’t for the fact that he often recalled the difficult days in the north from time to time, he would probably also have changed.
It was too difficult for a ruler and minister to be united. It was better to rely on the law as Ah Ling had said. With the law to rely upon, it didn’t matter as much if the human heart was unreliable.
Qi Xiuyuan didn’t know what Rong Xuan was thinking and only said anxiously, "But she’s too direct. Can those words be said in court? I can muddle through the matter by saying that it’s the opinion of a mere woman and thus doesn’t count."
Of course, Qi Xiuyuan knew that it was impossible for the courtiers to be on his side since everyone had their own selfish motives. Since he was guarding against them, they were naturally guarding against him too.
However, these discords and precautions could only take place in private. How could they be made public?