Jiuxi

Chapter 802 Chapter 800 [Where to send your heart]

"His Majesty."

Yuan Yuji walked into the pavilion and came to Li Zongben's side, bending over and being cautious.

The young emperor had already sat back down at this moment. He looked at the flowers gradually blooming outside the pavilion with a gloomy look.

Yuan Yuji was very worried about this situation.

Although he had not heard the conversation between the emperor and his minister clearly outside the pavilion, he could roughly guess the emperor's thoughts and then infer Lu Chen's answer.

Li Zongben's situation was undoubtedly much different from that when Li Duan just ascended the throne. Even though the civil and military officials still had their own plans, at least no one dared to disobey him, the emperor. However, Lu Chen not only rejected his proposal, he even openly threatened to kill Han Zhongjie in front of him.

How domineering.

Li Zongben looked ahead with cold eyes and said quietly, "If you had taken action just now, how confident would you be that you could have killed Lu Chen?"

It was like a thunderclap exploding in Yuan Yuji's mind. He suddenly knelt on his knees and said in panic: "Your Majesty, if the Duke of Shanyang died in the palace, Jiangbei would be in chaos, and even the court would be in turmoil. Please think twice!"

"Why are you panicking? Stand up."

Li Zongben said with a fake smile: "I'm just asking."

Yuan Yuji stood up and said nervously, "If we don't care about the consequences, as long as I and the secret guards can surround the Duke of Shanyang, we can definitely kill him. But the Duke of Shanyang is a skilled martial artist, Your Majesty must not appear in his sight, otherwise there may be an accident. In fact, even if the Duke of Shanyang is not in the palace, as long as he is still in the Jiangnan area, we can always kill him by dispatching a group of elite soldiers to ambush and kill him. But... Your Majesty, I dare to say that a little impatience will ruin a big plan."

"Of course I know."

Li Zongben laughed at himself and said, "Just thinking about killing people won't solve the problem."

Yuan Yuji was still a little worried and confused.

From his point of view, there is indeed a conflict between the emperor and Lu Chen, that is, the conflict between the royal power and the ministerial power, but at least under the current situation, this conflict has not reached the point of life and death.

The emperor still needs to rely on Lu Chen to lead the border troops, whether it is to resist the enemy or to march north to recover the homeland. Apart from Lu Chen, only Xiao Wangzhi has this ability and prestige. And these two people are one and the same. If the emperor takes action against Lu Chen, he naturally will not dare to hand over the power of the border troops to Xiao Wangzhi.

On the other hand, Lu Chen was still a minister of Da Qi. Although it was not in line with the way of a minister to contradict the emperor in a moment of desperation, it had not reached the point of usurpation of power. At the same time, he also needed the court to provide stable logistical support for the border troops.

It is normal to have conflicts, but it is not necessary to overturn the table.

Li Zongben turned his head and glanced at Yuan Yuji, then slowly said, "In addition to various considerations, I asked Lu Chen to support Han Zhongjie's reinstatement for another very important reason. As long as Lu Chen agrees to me, his prestige in the hearts of the border soldiers will be weakened, but it won't shake the foundation. Lu Chen's tough attitude shows that his loyalty to me is far from as firm as he appears, and this is why I am angry."

Yuan Yuji was not stupid. He came to his senses after thinking about it carefully.

In the matter of Han Zhongjie, the meanings of Lu Momo's consent and active support are completely different. The former at most shows that he has no choice, while the latter means that he betrays the Jingzhou soldiers for fame and fortune, which will deal a great blow to his prestige in the army.

After realizing this, Yuan Yuji couldn't help but feel complicated.

Li Zongben seemed to know what he was thinking, and whispered, "I know it's shameless to do this. Those soldiers didn't die for Han Zhongjie or Lu Chen, they died for the safety of the country of Da Qi, and for the foundation of me and my ancestors. Now I want to use their death to plot against an important official who also contributed to the country's defense."

Yuan Yuji said in panic: "Your Majesty, why do you say that?"

To be honest, he didn't dare to listen any further.

The emperor's statement in person was naturally a sign of his trust in this old acquaintance of his, but the problem was that this trust was too heavy, and Yuan Yuji felt that he could not bear it on his shoulders.

"But what can I do?"

Li Zongben obviously didn't care about Yuan Yuji's mood, and continued: "Lu Chen is not Xiao Wangzhi or Li Tianrun. I can see that he is different from them. Such a young and prominent minister, in his twenties, holds the power of the border army. He has countless loyal and brave generals under his command, and they all follow his lead and only know the commander's orders but not the emperor's decrees."

"Everyone told me that Lu Chen is a true loyal minister and will definitely be loyal to me and Da Qi. Old Prime Minister Li said so, Prime Minister Xue said so, Prime Minister Zhong said so, Duke Wei said so, and Duke Rong also said so. I don't believe that they haven't read history books. Even if Lu Chen is a great loyal minister, are the people under him willing to be a commander-in-chief for their entire lives? There are many such examples in history books. Perhaps they don't have a good way to solve this problem."

"What's more... human hearts are the most unreliable thing. A once pure and honest minister may become a corrupt official, a once fearless general may become scared and surrender to the enemy, and a once evildoer may find his conscience. Is there any unchanging human heart in this world?"

"Of course I can treat Lu Chen with sincerity, but the question is how can I guarantee that as time goes by and the power in his hands becomes more and more solid, he won't have some thoughts of letting things take their own course?"

"Before leaving, Prime Minister Li once told me to think about the late emperor's attitude towards Lu Chen and Lu Chen's return to the late emperor. But this old Prime Minister seems to have forgotten how I can compare with the late emperor? And how similar is Lu Chen now to Lu Chen back then?"

"When the late emperor was alive, Lu Chen was immature and weak. All his power came from the grace of the late emperor. How could he have the courage to have the slightest rebellious heart? If he was really such a fool, how could he stand at the height he is today." "Some problems are there. They will not disappear if you pretend not to see them. Instead, they will become more and more serious until there is no room for maneuver. Of course, I don't have to think about anything and put my life and death and foundation on Lu Chen's loyalty, hoping that he will be satisfied with being a powerful minister, and I can be a comfortable and leisurely emperor."

He finally stopped his long confession, turned to look at Yuan Yuji, and a bitter look appeared on his face: "Otherwise, what do you think I should do?"

Yuan Yuji felt a strong surge of grief and guilt in her heart, and bowed her head and said, "I am a humble servant who does not understand the overall situation of the court, but I am willing to die for your majesty, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

Li Zongben did not expect this eunuch who had followed him for many years to suddenly become a counselor, so he said with some relief: "I know your loyalty, as long as you do what I ask you to do."

Yuan Yuji said solemnly: "I will never let your majesty down!"

"good very good."

Li Zongben sighed lightly, but soon his melancholy faded away. His eyes regained their composure and he said, "Tomorrow afternoon, summon Xue Nanting and Li Shizhi to the palace."

"The slaves obey the order."

Yuan Yuji responded respectfully.

……

A carriage slowly left the palace, followed by dozens of elite knights.

Even when walking on the Imperial Street, Qin Zilong's eyes as sharp as an eagle would not miss any details.

This time Lu Chen returned to the capital to be conferred a title and discuss state affairs with the emperor. All parties had their own plans, some welcomed his arrival and some were afraid of his halo, but the most nervous person must be Qin Zilong.

Ye Jitong led 3,000 elite cavalrymen from the Ruishi Camp to station outside the city. They would not move unless it was absolutely necessary, so Lu Chen's safety fell on Qin Zilong's shoulders.

According to common sense, Lu Chen should not be in any obvious danger in the capital this time, but how could Qin Zilong dare to be careless? After all, Lu Chen had encountered two assassination attempts in the capital before, one by Jing Lian's spy and the other by the conspiracy of the third prince Li Zongjian.

Compared to the guards outside who were on high alert, Lu Chen in the carriage seemed very relaxed.

He leaned back on the soft pillow, his eyes slightly closed as he rested.

Today's imperial banquet ended in a bad mood, destroying the harmonious atmosphere that Li Zongben had created in the early stages. It was certainly not that Lu Chen intended to show his rebellious side in front of the emperor.

Li Zongben wanted to kill three birds with one stone, that is, to re-employ Han Zhongjie without any negative impact, then use Han Zhongjie to complete the thorough integration of the Beijing camp, and at the same time dig a not-too-small pit for Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was well aware of these calculations, and he also hoped to make the emperor understand his bottom line, so he chose to confront them head-on.

In fact, he could have expressed his attitude in a more tactful way, and Li Zongben had no way to force him to support Han Zhongjie, but Lu Chen was ultimately unable to completely suppress his temper.

Regarding the Northern Expedition, Li Zongben's exclusion and suspicion of him, Han Zhongjie's petty mind, and the instigation of some important officials in the court. After tens of thousands of soldiers were buried in Kaocheng, an extremely strong feeling of grief and indignation weighed on Lu Chen's heart. Even the defeat of Jing's army did not allow Lu Chen to vent. Finally, it broke out under Li Zongben's repeated requests.

Things have already happened, Lu Chen will not indulge in that emotion. What he needs to think about now is how to deal with the emperor's next move.

Four days later will be the day of the grand court meeting.

The carriage returned safely to the Duke's Mansion. Lu Chen spent a long time in deep thought in the study that night. The candlelight was not extinguished until the second half of the night, and figures came in and out from time to time.

The next morning, when Lu Chen was thinking about taking time to visit Xiao Wangzhi, Tan Zheng and Qu Zhong came together.

The two confidants who truly belonged to the core strength of the Lu family bowed together, and Tan Zheng said respectfully: "Sir, I would rather not return to see you."

"Ning Bu Gui?"

Hearing this unfamiliar name, Lu Chen was a little confused.

Qu Zhong quickly explained, "This man is the illegitimate son of the Ning family in Changle who broke out of the house. He is also the mastermind behind threatening Minister Gao with the imperial tomb assassination case. We were ordered by the Lord to subdue this man and let him settle down in the mixed area of ​​North City."

"Assassination case..."

Lu Chen smiled slightly and nodded, "Please ask him to come in. I want to meet this grassroots hero."

(End of this chapter)