Jiuxi

Chapter 366 Chapter 364 [General Trend]

When the round table collapsed, Guo Congyi was even in a trance.

He had been in officialdom for decades, and he had never seen a freak like Lu Chen who refused to take hard work.

Facing Fu Yangzi's ill-intentioned solicitation, Lu Chen's reaction, although a little extreme, was within the understandable range.

So when Lu Chen took the initiative to ease the atmosphere, Guo Congyi accepted it and did not let the conflict get out of hand.

But who would have thought that Lu Chen would still choose such a direct and fierce response when faced with Hou Yu's strong accusation.

Hou Yu is not Fu Yangzi without official status, but a general with rich experience and solid military achievements. Regardless of his title, military position, or status in the court, he is not inferior to Lu Chen, but is far superior to Lu Chen in terms of qualifications.

This was also the reason why he dared to accuse Lu Chen face to face. Who knew that Lu Chen would not accept that trick at all.

When he slapped the round table with one palm and collapsed, the hall fell into a dead silence, which was almost breathless.

The maids' faces were pale. Although they did not dare to scream loudly, they subconsciously hid in the corners for fear of becoming a fish in the pond.

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "No need to say more, if you want to fight, just fight."

At this moment, the Marquis of Nan'an looked quite embarrassed.

The second prince's expression was very anxious, and there were faint beads of sweat on his forehead. It was obvious that he came in a hurry after receiving the news. However, he was very aware of Guo Congyi's position in the army. He quickly supported the privy envoy's arm and said: "How dare I accept this?" Courtesy of the Privy Council."

Hou Yu gritted his teeth and said: "I have heard that Shanyang Hou is a master of martial arts and can easily kill an enemy and seize the flag on the battlefield. Tonight, Hou wants to learn your skills. This competition does not involve anything else, it is just a personal grudge between you and me."

Lu Chen's palm was just to show his attitude, and he had no intention of directly attacking Hou Yu. However, the table was full of cups and dishes. Stirred by his tyrannical inner energy, some of the dishes and soup inevitably splashed forward. Naturally, it fell on Hou Yu.

Guo Congyi's pupils shrank, he took a few steps forward and bowed his hands in salute: "See His Highness the Prime Minister!"

Hou Yu said indifferently: "Privacy Guo, this is a private matter between me and him. Please don't interfere."

After a brief silence, Hou Yu suddenly stood up, with a violent look in his eyes.

Hou Yu stared at Lu Chen, his voice as cold as thousand-year-old ice.

Hou Yu said word by word: "The Privy Council's words are serious. How dare the generals privately mobilize their troops. Tonight Shanyang Marquis behaves like this, so I have no choice but to use the most direct method in the army."

Lu Chen stood up unhurriedly, looked at Hou Yu who was getting ready to go opposite, and said calmly: "So what?"

"Okay, very good. I have learned the temper of Marquis Shanyang tonight."

Over there, Lu Chen and Hou Yu, who were standing opposite each other like fighting cocks, also turned around and saluted: "See you, Your Highness, the Prime Minister!"

The maids quickly bowed and saluted: "Greetings to Your Highness!"

"stop!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Guo Congyi quickly stood in front of Lu Chen and said helplessly: "Don't be impulsive and calm down! You are all nobles and high-ranking military commanders. How can you act like a ruffian? If word spreads, everyone in the world will laugh out loud! Besides, His Majesty will definitely hold him to account!"

The visitor was none other than the Second Prince and Prime Minister Li Zongben, who was also the real owner of this Mo Garden.

An energetic and anxious voice sounded outside, and then a young man in rich clothes strode in, followed by several Moyuan stewards.

Guo Congyisheng laughed angrily and said: "Nonsense! Men in the army have upright temperaments. It is common to argue a few words when they disagree. What else do you want? You go back and take Hu Wei and other troops, Lu Chen goes back and takes Zhenwei and other troops, and then in Will the land of the capital be destroyed? Do you take His Majesty seriously? Do you still have the thought of being a subordinate?"

Guo Congyi immediately understood what he meant, but for some reason at this moment, he just moved his lips and did not directly stop him.

Guo Congyi's mouth was humble, but his eyes were much softer.

The second prince stepped forward, looked around, and then looked at the mess on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh: "Both of you are my father's arms, and you are also powerful generals with heavy troops, why is it such a mess? "

Lu Chen and Hou Yu could only remain silent.

The second prince turned to look at Guo Congyi and said: "I learned that you guys are gathering in Moyuan tonight, so I asked someone to keep quiet so as not to disturb your interest. Just now, the manager urgently reported that this guy Lu Chen was angry because of a trivial matter. , I felt uneasy and rushed over. Unexpectedly, as soon as I arrived at Moyuan, I heard someone said that he and General Hou were having a quarrel. I was so anxious that I wished I could have wings. Fortunately, I didn't come a step late."

Guo Congyi smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, it's actually just a misunderstanding."

The second prince asked slightly confused: "Misunderstanding?"

Guo Congyi briefly recounted what had just happened. Of course, some of the descriptions were a bit evasive, but generally they were fair.

"Just...just this?"

After hearing this, the second prince had an expression of disbelief on his face, but when he saw the cold and awkward postures of Lu Chen and Hou Yu, he had to believe Guo Congyi's statement.

"Huh."

The second prince sighed and said to the two powerful princes: "Nan'an Marquis, Shanyang Marquis, for the sake of my king's face, how about you put aside your feud for the time being? You are both generals in the army, you should not argue with each other. I intervened to mediate, but this is Mo Yuan. If you fight here and make a difference, even if you are only slightly injured, how will I explain to my father?" Seeing that the two still did not respond, the second prince simply saluted and said: "I hope the two generals will show me some respect."

Lu Chen quickly turned sideways to avoid it, and Hou Yu did the same.

"Your Highness is serious. I and Marquis Nan'an are just impulsive and have no deep grudges."

Lu Chen spoke first, glanced at Hou Yu from the corner of his eye, and continued: "I was so reckless just now. Please forgive me, Marquis Nan'an."

Facing the second prince's earnest gaze, Hou Yu exhaled a breath and cupped her hands towards Lu Chen. Her attitude was still indifferent, but fortunately she did not continue to say bad words.

The second prince was overjoyed when he saw this, and said repeatedly: "Come, let's hold a new banquet and bring some fine wine. I want to invite the Privy Council and the two generals to have a few drinks. In addition, let someone prepare a place to stay. Since it's late at night, Okay, I’ll ask you all to rest in Mo Garden for the night.”

……

After the banquet was over, it was already around two o'clock in the morning.

Guo Congyi declined the second prince's request to stay, and left under the escort of a group of soldiers and generals. The second prince was naturally worried and sent a team of royal guards to see him off.

Lu Chen and Hou Yu, who was obviously drunk, were forced to stay by the second prince. He bluntly said that he was worried about the two hot-tempered Wu Xun leaving. If anything happened, the emperor would definitely vent his anger on him and Mo Yuan.

At least he had to rest in Moyuan for one night and wait until he sobered up before leaving tomorrow.

After Hou Yu and his soldiers settled down, the second prince came to Lu Chen's residence, and the two met in the side hall.

At this moment, the world is quiet at night, with the occasional sound of insects chirping.

Under the bright candlelight, although the second prince's face looked a bit drunk, his eyes were very clear.

After sitting down, he looked at the calm-looking Lu Chen, sighed softly, and asked slowly, "Does it have to be like this?"

This question has no beginning and no end, but Lu Chen knows why it arises. Naturally, it means that he had attacks one after another tonight, and did not give Guo Congyi and Hou Yu enough respect at all.

Lu Chen asked, "Your Highness, what do you think I should do?"

"To be honest, I have no chance of success."

The second prince looked troubled and muttered: "The Jiangnan family is standing behind Guo Congyi and Hou Yu. Everyone knows this, but their actions tonight are not too excessive. I just think that maybe you can be a little more tactful and don't say The situation is so tense. Lu Chen, I know that your foundation is in the frontier army, and I don’t really care about the opinion of the Beijing army coach, but strength is very easy to break."

These words can be described as heartfelt.

Seeing that Lu Chen did not answer, the second prince continued: "I know that my father has decided to change the status quo, at least not to let the Beijing army be controlled by the clan. You are doing your best for my father, and I am very grateful. But I The king is very worried about your safety. If you walk too hard, it will easily arouse murderous intentions in others."

Lu Chen finally spoke, with a calm and firm tone: "Your Highness, the imperial struggle is not a family affair, especially when it involves the struggle for military power. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as life and death. Your Majesty used Jing Guogong's reputation to tear open the gap between the upper echelons of the Beijing army and let the ministers Standing on the opposite side of those people, subsequent conflicts will inevitably occur. Perhaps in His Highness's view, tonight is just a test by them, but I don't think so."

The second prince nodded and said, "You are right, dragging the Lu family into trouble is indeed a ruthless tactic to sow discord."

"It's more than that."

Lu Chen looked indifferent, not affected by the previous events at all, and continued: "Your Majesty asked me to fight with them in the ring, and similar suppression and temptations will follow one after another until they push me down or let me become one of them. Members. Therefore, I will draw a line in front of them."

He raised his hand to draw a straight line on the table, and the second prince looked at it solemnly.

"They want to test my bottom line, so I draw this line under their feet. As long as they take a step forward, they will become my enemy."

Lu Chen's tone was calm, but there was a faint sound of wind and thunder.

The second prince suddenly understood. He looked at Lu Chen with more admiration and respect in his eyes, and said with emotion: "I understand, you want to make them fearful, so as not to push them too far."

Lu Chen didn't specifically point out that he had unknowingly changed his self-identification, and said with a smile, "Your Highness, I'll see you soon."

"Fortunately, you can be so decisive in killing. My father will definitely be very pleased."

The second prince breathed a sigh of relief, and then said with a smile: "It's late at night. You must be very tired today, so why not take a rest early."

Lu Chen stood up and saluted: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

The second prince stopped him from seeing him off and only gave him a meaningful look before leaving.

This look puzzled Lu Chen. He didn't know what kind of trouble the second prince, whom the emperor secretly favored, was going to cause.

After a while, the answer was revealed.

Lu Chen looked at Xue Susu, the courtesan of Moyuan, who was standing in front of him a little shyly, and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

(End of this chapter)