Jiuxi

Chapter 841 839 [Millennium Family]

After the wedding, Lu Chen enjoyed a seemingly very comfortable life.

The so-called blessing of having a lovely wife and a beautiful concubine is so beautiful that it is difficult to describe in detail, not to mention that Li Bingxue is bright and refreshing, and Gu Wan'er is gentle as water, which complements each other and adds to the elegance.

While Lu Chen was with the beauty, the details of the grand wedding banquet gradually spread in the capital.

The world admired the emperor's regard for Lu Chen and envied the dignity of all the ministers who gathered in the court. At the same time, their admiration and expectations for Lu Chen reached a new level.

For most ordinary people, restoring the old mountains and rivers is always a proud thing. If Lu Chen can really do this, he will definitely leave a brilliant record in the history of Da Qi, and he will also become a famous general of the revival who will be remembered and praised by countless future generations.

In this lively and high-spirited atmosphere, a middle-aged man came to visit the Duke's Mansion.

The man had a gaunt face and an elegant temperament. One could tell at first glance that he was a well-read man. His calm expression also revealed the demeanor of a man with long experience. He was none other than Wang An, a scholar of the Secret Cabinet of the current dynasty, whose courtesy name was Anzhong.

He has another identity, the uncle of Lady Wang from the Duke's Mansion.

The chief steward Chen Shu was naturally aware of this relationship and would not make a common sense mistake. While sending someone inside to report, he directly invited Wang An to the main hall of the front house for tea.

After a while, Lu Chen, dressed in casual home clothes, walked into the main hall.

This detail made Wang An's heart slightly moved, but he still stood up and greeted, "Greetings, Duke."

Lu Chen smiled and lifted his arm, saying calmly: "Uncle, you are embarrassing me."

Wang An shook his head slightly and said, "National etiquette is more important than family etiquette, how can we neglect it?"

"That being said, I'm worried that Cho-long will be unhappy."

Lu Chen's explanation warmed Wang An's heart, and he stopped insisting. The two of them sat down as host and guest.

Of course, this was not Wang An's first visit. He also came to celebrate the wedding banquet that day. However, like most officials, he just stood by and watched Lu Chen welcome the emperor and entertain important officials in the court. He did not take advantage of his relationship with Wang Chulong to show his face. After all, he was only Wang Chulong's uncle and not her biological father.

Another point is that Lu Chen’s attitude towards the Wang family is the source of Wang An’s low-key and humble attitude.

There are many talented people among the Wang family's children. Some of them held important positions in the former Pseudo-Yan court. There is no shortage of smart and capable people. However, up to now, the status of the Wang family's children in Jiangbei is mediocre, and very few of them can stand on their own, because Lu Chen did not give them this opportunity.

In other words, apart from Wang Chulong, the Zhailin Wang family, a noble family with a history of thousands of years, has never been able to enter Lu Chen's core circle.

Wang An knew that this was Lu Chen's gentle reminder, so he was willing to be lonely and be an idle scholar in the secret pavilion in the capital, while doing his best to appease the resentment in the hearts of his clansmen.

After the greetings, Lu Chen said frankly: "Uncle, I must have some advice for you. Please speak frankly."

"Don't take it seriously."

Wang An was humble and continued, "The wedding banquet at the Duke's Mansion a few days ago was a feast of flowers and brocade, with great wealth and honor, and everyone in the capital envied it. Especially the golden armor that His Majesty awarded in public, which was the first time in the history of the Great Qi Dynasty. It can be said that it is an unprecedented honor. But in my opinion, this golden armor is dangerous, and the Duke must be on guard."

Lu Chen pondered for a moment.

He was not looking down on the head of this aristocratic family, but he had already thought about the other party's concerns.

On the night of his wedding, he told Li Bingxue that no matter whether the emperor bestowed golden armor or all the ministers came to congratulate him, it was essentially to put him in a very high position. If they made some demands that did not seem excessive on the surface, Lu Chen should not continue to act so willfully and arrogantly.

The reason is very simple. Even if Lu Chen doesn't care about his reputation among the people and how the people of Jiangnan view him, he still has to take into account the attitudes of most officials in the court.

You should know that not all officials are against Lu Chen. From the prime minister to the minor officials, only a small number of officials truly envy and suspect Lu Chen. Most people do not have a bad impression of Lu Chen. They are the silent majority and the backbone force to maintain the operation of the court.

Previously, Lu Chen had openly walked out of the court meeting, leaving the emperor and more than a dozen important ministers there, which had already aroused suspicion from some officials in the capital. If he continued to act recklessly in the court as a duke, completely disregarding the rules and the opinions of others, then under the premise that the emperor and his ministers treated him with great courtesy, he would inevitably become the public enemy of all officials in the court.

When the situation develops to that point, how will Lu Chen gain a foothold in the court?
The most important thing is, how should the border troops deal with themselves?
If the emperor wanted to control and divide the border troops for no reason, it would actually be a very difficult thing to do. This is why he controlled his temper when facing Lu Chen. However, if he had the support of all the court officials, the situation would naturally be different.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen calmly asked, "I wonder why my uncle taught me?"

Hearing this, Wang An knew that this young and distinguished nephew-in-law was not lost in the land of gentleness, and he was obviously very aware of his own situation.

He collected his thoughts and said in a serious tone, "Since the Duke returned to the capital, everything that happened in the past six months has a traceable history. The emperor initially insisted on reinstating Han Zhongjie, on the one hand because Han Zhongjie had considerable influence in the Beijing army, and on the other hand to use this opportunity to undermine the Duke's prestige among the border troops. Han Zhongjie's improper command led to the defeat in Kaocheng. If he was reinstated within a year, and at the time when the Duke returned to the capital, the border troops would naturally feel that this was a betrayal."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, his expression softened. He had realized this a long time ago, but Wang An had lived in the capital for the past two years, and he only had a bachelor's degree. He was able to see the doorway through some clues, which was enough to prove his vision and wisdom.

Wang An continued, "When the position of Minister of War was vacant, the emperor wanted to take advantage of the situation to reinstate Han Zhongjie, but Duke Rong pushed back very strongly. I have to say that Duke Rong grasped the timing very accurately to avoid further conflict between you and the emperor. In fact, by this time, the emperor's intention to suppress and weaken you was already obvious. Sending the former Minister of War Ding Hui to Dingzhou was a very direct way to plant spies around you. Ding Hui must have the responsibility of supervising the army."

Lu Chen asked calmly, "Uncle, what do you think the emperor wants to do next?"

Wang An replied, "If one plan fails, another one will surely come up with. Ding Hui will not be able to play a role in the short term, and Han Zhongjie has been blocked from the court by you and Duke Rong. Then the emperor will definitely make you pay a certain price, because your previous reaction proves that you are not a blindly loyal person. At the wedding banquet, the emperor gave you golden armor and all the officials came to congratulate you, just to put a restriction on you. To be precise, I think the emperor will force you to make a choice next."

"What choice?"

"Either you prove to the civil and military officials that you are still a loyal subject of the Great Qi, or you become a traitor despised by everyone."

"How to prove it?"

"Throughout history, any military hero who led troops outside the capital, as long as he was under the control of the court, would have to leave his family in the capital."

Lu Chen stroked the teacup beside him, looked at Wang An's calm and wise eyes, smiled knowingly and said, "Uncle has a keen eye."

Wang An smiled and said, "You have guessed the emperor's plan. It seems you have a plan to deal with it?"

To his surprise, Lu Chen shook his head and said, "There is no good plan."

Wang An was slightly surprised.

Lu Chen continued, "In fact, even if the emperor didn't do so much preparation, he would have asked someone to directly and openly report to the emperor, asking me to keep my father in the capital to be honored by the court. I think he would have received support from the court and the people, right?"

"That's true."

Wang An nodded and said slowly, "Duke Rong's family has always been in the capital, and his eldest son was sent to lead the army in Taiping Prefecture, while Duke Wei's relatives also lived in the capital before. Your situation is quite special. The Lu family has never taken root in the capital before, but now you have married Duke Wei's daughter, and your father and the Lu family have come to the capital again. It would be inappropriate to reject the emperor's kindness at this time, and it would be hard to find an excuse."

"So I'm prepared to exchange a portion of my military power with the emperor."

Lu Chen took over the conversation calmly and said with a smile: "He just wants to be reassured, I will just take a step back."

Wang An asked seriously, "I wonder how the Duke plans to retreat?"

Lu Chen said: "It's very simple. Follow the late emperor's will and implement the rotation of the capital army and the border army."

Wang An seemed a little puzzled.

Lu Chen briefly recounted the rotation strategy that the late emperor had devised in order to pry open the iron curtain of the Beijing army. When he talked about how he dug a hole in public, Hou Yu cooperated very well and jumped in, Wang An couldn't help but laugh when he heard it.

"I see. This is indeed a feasible solution."

Wang An brushed it off, then said with some concern: "But in my opinion, the greatest danger the Duke faces may not come from the Emperor."

Lu Chen was slightly startled.

Wang An's ability to keenly deduce the emperor's intentions through the recent confusing and complicated situation in the capital had already impressed Lu Chen. He did not expect that the other party could think even more deeply.

"To be honest, I have been watching the dispute between the Duke and the Emperor over the past two years, and I have a very strange feeling in my heart."

Wang An's expression gradually became serious, and he said softly, "It seems familiar."

Lu Chen asked: "What do you mean by this?"

Wang An said carefully, "Back then, when Yang Guangyuan was stationed at the Jinghe River defense line, the three northern kingdoms returned empty-handed several times. The Great Qi seemed to be impregnable, and the city of Heluo was filled with decadence and revelry. In the eyes of most aristocratic families, the northern foreign races were just a minor problem that could not shake the foundation of the Great Qi. To be honest, I also had this idea when I was young. For the aristocratic families, the unrestrained support and expansion of the border troops was the real threat."

"Yang Guangyuan's death was certainly due to Emperor Chengzong's stupidity and incompetence, but the root cause was the assassination by the aristocratic families. It's just that they hid it so well that it was rarely noticed."

"Therefore, I would like to ask the Duke, on the night of the rebellion in the capital three years ago, you led the elite border troops to help the late emperor quell the rebellion. Have you really killed all the masterminds hiding under the surface?"

(End of this chapter)