Jiuxi

Chapter 784: 782 [Xu Zuo's Choice]

It was already mid-December when Lu Chen returned to Ruyin.

After coming out of Baotai Mountain, he walked westward. On the one hand, he inspected the military situation in various border areas, and on the other hand, he had secret talks with his trusted generals such as Song Shifei, Liu Jiangdong, Pei Sui, and Duan Zuozhang.

After leaving Qingliu Pass and turning south, he met the two generals Xu Gui and Huo Zhen, as well as generals at all levels of the newly formed Fengfu Army and Ruyin Army.

As for the Rui Shi Battalion and Dingbei Army stationed in Ruyin, these two elite troops are Lu Chen's direct subordinates from top to bottom. They can be said to be the most trusted among the trusted ones, so naturally they do not need his additional care.

At noon, when Lu Chen rode into Ruyin City with hundreds of his personal soldiers, light white snowflakes were floating in the sky.

After walking into the Governor's Mansion and hurriedly getting rid of the snow, Lu Chen quickly returned to the backyard to see his wife and children whom he had not seen for over a month.

Then he was covered in boy's urine by Lu Jiusi.

Lu Xinyi stretched out her pink hands, babbling something with an exceptionally sweet smile, her big round eyes fixed only on Lu Chen's face, which was neither crying nor laughing.

While helping Lu Jiusi pack, Lin Xi smiled and said, "You've been gone for a month. Look how much your son misses you."

"Yes."

Of course Lu Chen didn't dare to refute, and said honestly: "This gift is too heavy."

Wang Chulong covered her mouth and smiled, while Song Pei stepped forward and said gently, "Master, the bath is ready."

"Wait a moment, I'll tell you a story."

Lu Chen uttered a few words and slipped away in embarrassment under their smiling gazes.

But he still couldn't enjoy the pleasure of the harem. Just after he finished bathing and changed his clothes, Song Pei came to report: "Master, Governor Xu is here and is waiting in the front hall."

Xu Zuo?

Lu Chen couldn't help but sigh and shook his head, saying, "Forget it. Go tell them in the back that if the governor doesn't come, it's fine. But if he does, he'll probably take a long time. Tell them not to wait for me to eat. I'll prepare a meal myself later."

Song Pei agreed and looked at Lu Chen's back. She suddenly lowered her head and touched her belly, and a blush appeared on her cheeks.

When he arrived at the front hall, Lu Chen saw Xu Zuo sitting upright like a pine tree.

"Hello, sir."

Xu Zuo stood up and saluted, then took the initiative to explain: "I didn't mean to spy, it just happened that one of my subordinates saw the master returning to the city, so he came to visit."

"Old Xu, you're not the kind of person who would try to get close to you for no reason."

Lu Chen had calmed down by now. He smiled and asked him to sit down. He asked the servants to serve him some fragrant tea, and then asked, "Tell me, what advice do you have for me that has brought you here in such a hurry?"

The servants were very well-behaved and had already left the front hall.

Xu Zuo said solemnly: "My Lord, you know that the Right Prime Minister has resigned and returned to his hometown."

Lu Chen's right hand, which was reaching for the teacup, paused for a moment, then continued forward.

He took a sip of tea slowly to moisten his throat and said calmly, "You are well-informed."

Xu Zuo did not explain too much. Although he was now the governor of Dingzhou and far away from the central government, he had been in the court for more than 20 years and was one of the most trusted aides of the late emperor. He must have his own channels of information.

Lu Chen put down the teacup, rubbed his brows and said, "I know that the Right Prime Minister started to submit a petition to beg for his remains three months ago, but I don't know the latest news. I have been inspecting the border recently. Maybe the news has been sent to the Governor's Office, but I haven't had time to check it."

Xu Zuo remained silent.

In fact, there was no need for Lu Chen to explain this to him, and he didn't want to ask whether Lu Chen knew about it.

Now it seems that this news really surprised Lu Chen, and it was a bit more verbose than usual.

At this time, Lu Chen frowned slightly and said, "I thought that even if the emperor was just pretending, he would not allow the Right Prime Minister to resign. At most, he would let him return home to recuperate and still retain his position as the Right Prime Minister. I didn't expect this tug-of-war to end so quickly, and I didn't expect that the emperor would actually send the Right Prime Minister back home."

Xu Zuo's face was cold, and he nodded, "Yes, who could have thought it would develop like this? As early as when I learned that the Right Prime Minister was forced to resign due to being attacked, I wrote a secret letter to the capital to explain the pros and cons to His Majesty."

Lu Chen looked up at him, and said with admiration and helplessness: "Why bother?"

Xu Zuo said calmly, "Your Majesty's reply was quite mild, but he reminded me to understand my responsibilities, and said that those people had real evidence to impeach the Right Prime Minister. Although Your Majesty tried his best to keep him, the Right Prime Minister felt guilty and was determined to leave."

"hehe."

Lu Chen smiled expressionlessly, flexed his wrist and said, "You submitted a memorial to the emperor to advise against the Northern Expedition before, and now you are defending the Right Prime Minister. Even if the emperor has a good temper, he will think you are meddling in other people's business."

"I am just doing my duty as a subject."

Xu Zuo brushed it off with one word, then looked into Lu Chen's eyes and said, "Sir, you may want to reconsider returning to the capital."

Lu Chen asked: "Why?"

Xu Zuo was silent for a moment. In fact, he was torn between his conscience and his conscience at the moment, and was not as calm and composed as he appeared.

After a moment, he said, "I don't know why the court has become like this, but since those people dared to attack the right prime minister, even if you are famous, I am afraid it will be difficult to make them afraid. The safety of the border now depends on you. As long as you are in charge of the overall situation, the Jing army will not dare to invade easily. If you make a mistake, it will not only affect the morale of the border troops, but it is also likely to lead to the overthrow of the country."

Lu Chen looked at the middle-aged man's sincere face and was quite touched for a moment.

At first, his impression of Xu Zuo was not very good. Although he recognized the other party's talents, Xu Zuo's bad temper sometimes made it difficult to get along with him.

Times have changed, and I never thought that the iron tree will bloom one day.

Lu Chen did not give Xu Zuo a clear answer, but asked: "Old Xu, based on your experience, are those impeachments against the right prime minister groundless?"

Xu Zuo had worked in the Imperial Censorate for more than ten years, and had also been a censor for a period of time. As far as impeachment was concerned, no one was more knowledgeable than him. He said without hesitation, "With the Left Prime Minister watching personally, those impeachments are definitely not fabricated, but they are definitely not serious crimes. My Lord, it is impossible to be so clean as an official in the court. Even the Left Prime Minister cannot do this. As long as they are officials, they will have omissions. It is not difficult to find faults. There are two key points in this matter. First, your Majesty must acquiesce to this large-scale impeachment, and second, the Right Prime Minister's background must be turned upside down, otherwise it will not be possible to form a lasting offensive."

These words made Lu Chen more certain of his inference, so he said calmly: "You are right, there is indeed some chaos in the court."

Xu Zuo sighed and said slowly: "I am worried about one thing. Since the Duke defeated the Jing army, there has been civil unrest in the north, and the enemy will definitely adjust their strategy. They will not raise troops again in the short term. Instead, they will take a different approach to prevent our court from being united. Throughout the ages, sowing discord has been a very common method. Emperor Jing is particularly good at this, but the late emperor was not fooled. But your majesty does not have the steadiness and determination of the late emperor. I am afraid that after you return to the capital, you will soon become a target of the Jinglian people. After all, back then-"

Having said this, he suddenly stopped talking, his face full of melancholy.

The name Yang Guangyuan also appeared in Lu Chen's mind.

He thought for a moment and said calmly, "It's too late to say this now. Two months ago, the emperor sent Li Shilang of the Ministry of War to convey his order. I have promised to go to the capital after the New Year and leave on January 20th at the latest. If I disobeyed the order from the beginning, at most people would gossip about me, but if I go back on my word, I would definitely be accused of despising the emperor and not being a minister. Loyalty and filial piety are the foundation of the country. People in the world cannot see the inner world clearly, so it is common for people to follow the crowd and then attack others."

Xu Zuo was silent.

Of course he knew what kind of response would be caused in the north and south if Lu Chen played tricks on the court.

Being criticized by thousands of people is secondary. The key is to hand a knife to the court.

Perhaps no one would force Lu Chen into a corner, but if that happened, the imperial court would have enough reasons to interfere in border military affairs.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged civil servant took out a folded paper from his sleeve, then stood up and handed it to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen did not open it immediately, and asked in confusion: "What does this mean?"

Xu Zuo turned around and sat down, saying slowly: "I have been an official in the court for more than 20 years. Although I have never formed a clique for personal gain, I still have some like-minded colleagues. If you encounter some troubles that are inconvenient to deal with during your visit to the capital, my close friends may be able to help. I came to Dingzhou to shoulder the responsibility of monitoring you, but in the past 500 days and nights, what I have seen and heard is completely different from what I originally imagined, which makes me very ashamed, so I will do my best to help you, and I hope you will not despise me."

Lu Chen looked at the gloomy expression on his face. How could he not know the struggle and difficulty in the heart of this middle-aged civil servant?

On one side is the mission of checking and balancing powerful officials, and on the other side is the safety of the people of the world.

As an important minister promoted by the previous emperor and left to the new monarch, God knows how many years of struggle Xu Zuo had gone through before he came up with this list.

Lu Chen sighed softly, placed the paper intact on the table, and said frankly: "Thank you for your kindness, Master Xu, but I hope I won't need it."

"Just to be prepared."

Since Xu Zuo had made up his mind, he would not hesitate and said seriously: "There is one more thing I want to discuss with you, sir."

"Please say."

"I know that the Lu Family Company has been trying its best to expand in Jiangbei in recent years, but without official support, it is difficult to reach a certain level. For long-term considerations, I suggest that the Governor's Office and the Lu Family Company work together to increase efforts to boost the people's livelihood economy and strive to enable Jiangbei to have the ability to support the operation of the border troops in the short term before the end of next year."

Xu Zuo looked into Lu Chen's eyes and continued, "I have already convinced Governor Song of Huaizhou."

Compared with the previous list, Xu Zuo's words were like dropping a bomb, causing waves of disturbance in Lu Chen's heart.

He asked solemnly, "Master Xu, do you know what would happen if the emperor and the people in the court knew your thoughts?"

Xu Zuo did not answer, but said calmly: "Logistics supply is the biggest constraint for the border troops. I do this just to ensure that in the worst case scenario, the border troops do not have to fight the enemy with empty stomachs. As for what will happen to me in the future and how my actions will be recorded in history books, it is not important."

"It does not matter."

He repeated it again.

Lu Chen was not overwhelmed by this sudden change. After thinking for a while, he asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Xu Zuo showed a little admiration and said frankly: "I only have one request, that the military and the government be separated and not interfere with each other, as before."

He didn't want Lu Chen to interfere, even though Lu Chen and the Lu family business were actually one and the same.

But everyone knows that it is impossible to completely sever the relationship between the Lu family father and son. In other words, his request is more like a gentleman's promise.

Lu Chen did not say anything. He said solemnly, "As you say."

Xu Zuo stood up and said goodbye very decisively.

"Master Xu."

Lu Chen suddenly shouted.

Xu Zuo stopped and turned to look at him.

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment, but finally asked bluntly: "Aren't you worried that I am really the powerful minister with evil intentions in the emperor's mouth?"

Xu Zuo had a complicated look on his face, and he turned around and said, "Thirty-two years ago, three states on the north bank of the Jing River fell. Nineteen years ago, two states on the south bank of the Jing River fell. Sixteen years ago, Heluo fell, and foreign cavalry ravaged the land north of the Yangtze River."

"Over the past thirty years, the Jing army has massacred forty-one cities, killing more than 1.3 million unarmed Da Qi people. This is only the recorded number, and many more unknown people have died under the Jing army's butcher knife."

"The whole world is in mourning, tears and blood are everywhere!"

"As scholars, we should uphold the principle of loyalty to the emperor, but what guilt have the people committed?!"

Lu Chen stared at the other person in a daze. Xu Zuo did not directly answer his question, but these words were enough to show his attitude.

"My Lord, that's all I have to say. Please take care of yourself."

Xu Zuo bowed and then strode away.

Lu Silently returned the greeting and bowed deeply.

(End of this chapter)