Jiuxi

Chapter 977 975 [An Eternal Question]

At this moment, Jiang Hui finally experienced firsthand the sharpness and ferocity of the famous general of the time.

Putting himself in Lu Chen's shoes, Jiang Hui felt that Lu Chen's question was really difficult to answer.

If he denied it directly, Lu Chen would be able to take the initiative in the conversation. No matter what request Xu Zuo made afterwards, he could refuse it without any scruples, without any psychological pressure, and without having to bear any invisible constraints and shackles.

Because Xu Zuo is not an ordinary person, he is the Right Prime Minister who can represent the palace and the court. His statement is enough to give Lu Chen the confidence to fight against the world's criticism.

In short, Xu Zuo's denial of the rumors was tantamount to certifying that Lu Chen was a true loyal minister.

Since he is a loyal minister, of course he can refuse the order.

On the contrary, if Xu Zuo admitted that he also suspected Lu Chen of having rebellious intentions, then Lu Chen would have to rebel.

The reason is very simple. Even a prime minister like Xu Zuo who takes the overall situation into consideration thinks so. Will other important officials in the court still believe Lu Chen?

Once this kind of suspicion arises, no matter how great Lu Chen's contributions are, he will not be able to escape death. He has never been a man who would submit to being killed, not to mention that he has 200,000 soldiers under his command. Instead of being deprived of power and killed in the name of being a traitor, why not lead his troops south to take Yongjia directly?
Jiang Hui felt quite bitter.

Through the layers of fog, he finally saw the murderous intent hidden in it.

At this moment, he had no time to care about his own feelings, but was very worried about his mentor. He wondered if he could calmly resolve Lu Chen's direct attack.

After a brief silence, Xu Zuo met Lu Chen's gaze without fear and said calmly: "A ruler should treat his subjects with courtesy, and a subject should serve his ruler with loyalty."

Jiang Hui's temperament has always been calm and reserved, but when he heard this brief answer, he almost couldn't help but applaud.

The beauty of this sentence lies in that it does not avoid the issue of Lu Chen, but cleverly changes the perspective, changing the core of the issue from whether Lu Chen is loyal to the court to how the court treats Lu Chen.

This made Lu Chen change from active choice to passive response, so that he did not have to bear too much pressure, and thus eliminated the murderous aura in the hall as much as possible.

This means to retreat in order to advance, and to fully understand the art of using a small force to achieve a great result.

Lu Chen tilted his head slightly, as if in deep thought. After a moment, he looked at Xu Zuo and asked, "What do you mean?"

Jiang Hui was slightly stunned.

It was only then that he remembered that the invincible young prince in front of him had never read any books of sages, let alone taken the imperial examinations. It was rumored that Emperor Gaozong had said more than once that he was unlearned but had skills.

In other words, Lu Chen was not pretending, and it was possible that he really did not understand the deeper meaning of the sage's words.

Xu Zuo didn't take it seriously and explained calmly, "This sentence means that if the monarch trusts his subjects, treats them with courtesy, and gives them due trust and respect, the subjects will certainly be loyal. As the saying goes, when serving a minister, one should not worry about his disloyalty, but about his lack of courtesy; when serving a monarch, one should not worry about his impoliteness, but about his lack of loyalty. The loyalty between monarch and subject is definitely not blind loyalty. If the monarch is impolite, the subject will also be disloyal."

"Xu Xiang."

Lu Chen had to interrupt him and said with a slightly awkward smile: "I almost understood it, but you made me a little confused again."

"Please forgive me, Prince."

Xu Zuo smiled slightly, and then said bluntly: "In fact, the truth of the words of the saints and sages is very simple. The saying that the minister must die if the monarch wants him to is ridiculous. The relationship between the monarch and the minister is never one-sided. This is the true meaning of the subtle words. The monarch and the minister are two sides of the same coin. If you feel that this court is not worthy of loyalty, then whether to rebel or not is entirely up to you."

"I see."

Lu Chen nodded and said with emotion: "So when I heard the late emperor's chaotic order, Prime Minister Xu was willing to stand with me, and later persuaded the governor of Huaizhou, Song, to allow the Lu family's business to intervene in various livelihoods, just to ensure that the border soldiers would not be constrained under the premise that the late emperor and the court continued to act recklessly. This is the righteousness between the monarch and the minister that you follow."

Jiang Hui was surprised.

He didn't expect that his master would actually do this.

You must know that before the death of the previous emperor, although Lu Chen's power and reputation could not be compared with now, he already had a great influence in Jiangbei. What he lacked was the actual support from government offices at all levels. To be precise, as long as the Jiangnan court controlled the logistics, the more than 100,000 border troops under Lu Chen's command would be unable to move.

At that time, Xu Zuo was the governor of Dingzhou. He persuaded Song Wan, the governor of Huaizhou, to allow Lu's business to cooperate directly with the government and extend its tentacles into the people's livelihood, which was equivalent to making up for Lu Chen's biggest shortcoming.

Jiang Hui forced himself to calm down. Today was the first time he saw with his own eyes the sharp blade hidden under Lu Chen's gentle appearance. It also gave him a more comprehensive understanding of his master.

Xu Zuo glanced at Jiang Hui without leaving a trace, and then said to Lu Chen: "Although what I did that day was forced by the situation, I have no regrets in my heart. Even if I had to do it again, I would make the same choice. However, I also want to ask the prince, has the current queen mother made any mistakes?"

Jiang Hui knew that this was a gentle but powerful counterattack.

Lu Chen went straight in and Xu Zuo fought back at the same time.

The right prime minister had previously made it clear that he would put the interests of the people first, so when the king was incompetent, he would not be unconditionally loyal, even if he would be criticized for it.

For example, if the things he had done when he was the governor of Dingzhou were to be spread at that time, the good reputation he had cultivated for twenty years would not only be destroyed, but would at least be tainted with a thick layer of dirt, and people would inevitably think that he and Lu Chen were in cahoots with each other and had ulterior motives.

However, the previous emperor was dead, and although some unpleasant things had happened in the court, Queen Mother Ning had dealt with them decisively, leaving no room for leniency, just to give the greatest support to the soldiers fighting hard on the frontier. Over the past year or so, the court had always done its best to solve most of Lu Chen's needs in the rear, and Queen Mother Ning, the two prime ministers, and most of the officials in the court had a clear conscience on this point.

Empress Dowager Ning is not Li Zongben. Her trust in Lu Chen is known to the world, and she has also fulfilled her duties as a person in power.

This is the reason why Xu Zuo is willing to go north, and it is also the true meaning of his question.

As Jiang Hui waited anxiously, Lu Chen said calmly, "Without the consistent support of the Queen Mother and the court in the rear, it would be difficult for me and the border troops to achieve today's victory."

Even if he was a military genius, he couldn't lead a group of hungry soldiers to fight the enemy.

Admittedly, this is what Queen Dowager Ning should have done. However, if we look through the glorious history books, are there not many kings who did things that made their loved ones sad and their enemies happy?

Such a king is naturally not worthy of loyalty. This is what Xu Zuo meant when he said it before.

Xu Zuo stared into Lu Chen's eyes and said sincerely: "The prince is a sensible person."

Lu Chen smiled and calmly changed the subject: "Prime Minister Xu is personally going north this time. I'm sure the Queen Mother has a lot of instructions. Please tell me clearly."

Xu Zuo then told him the two things that Empress Dowager Ning had told him. One was that the court had decided to put the plan of moving the capital on the agenda, but the tax-collecting area of ​​Jiangnan could not be neglected. At a time when the imperial guards had to protect the royal family and all the civil and military officials in the court were heading north, Lu Chen needed to transfer a group of elite troops to form a Jiangnan camp. This would not only ensure that Jiangnan would not be in chaos, but also continue to deter the Nanzhao Kingdom that was attempting to invade the territory of Da Qi.

The second is about the future defense of Heluo. Empress Dowager Ning hopes to use the elite imperial guards to guard the imperial palace, and the defense of Heluo will be jointly responsible by Lu Chen, Shen Yulai, Liu Shouguang and Chen Lanyu.

Lu Chen pondered for a moment, and said slowly: "The first thing is relatively simple. I will let Huo Zhen lead 20,000 troops to the south. The Imperial Army originally had 50,000 people, and they don't need to all go north. Prime Minister Xu can ask Shen Yulai to select 20,000 core elites to escort the Tian family to Heluo. In the future, these 20,000 people will guard the palace. In fact, the composition of the Imperial Army is very complicated. Shen Yulai is also aware of this. He can only grasp the core 20,000 people at most. The remaining 30,000 people can be transferred to the Jiangnan camp after eliminating some old, weak, sick and disabled people."

Xu Zuo did not refute, but nodded and said, "I will report this to the Queen Mother and discuss this matter with Lord Shen."

"As for the second thing..."

Lu Chen smiled faintly and said, "In principle, I have no objection, but Linjiang Marquis Chen Lanyu has another important task. Prime Minister Xu, you may not know that I have reported to the Queen Mother some time ago to set up a large camp in Qingzhou and at the junction of Weizhou and Lingzhou, respectively, to be led by Chen Lanyu and Fan Wending. I am not at ease to give such important positions to others. However, since this is the Queen Mother's will, I can't refuse it directly. How about this, let Zhang Xu replace Chen Lanyu and take charge of the defense of Heluo with us. What do you think, Prime Minister Xu?"

Xu Zuo couldn't object.

Although the Jing army retreated to the north of the Jing River, their advantage in cavalry had not completely disappeared, and they were still likely to cross the border to launch harassment. The importance of the border army camp was self-evident.

Under the premise that Lu Chen needs to preside over the overall military situation, Chen Lanyu is undoubtedly a trustworthy candidate for head coach.

Moreover, replacing Chen Lanyu with Zhang Xu might be a better result for the royal family.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xu Zuo agreed: "The proposal of the prince is very appropriate."

The two smiled at each other.

Jiang Hui was confused by this scene, as if the almost obvious confrontation before had never happened. The atmosphere that almost suffocated him was just an illusion. His master had a very pleasant conversation with the young prince opposite him, and the requests of Queen Dowager Ning were also implemented one after another. Everything went extremely smoothly.

The young official who was the top scholar in the imperial examination did not notice the worry in the depths of his teacher's eyes.

"Xu Xiang, Jiang Xiu compiled."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "I have someone prepare a place for you two to stay next door. Please take a rest. I will bring my wife and children to welcome you tonight. Don't worry, Minister Xu, it's just a family dinner. I promise I won't break your rules."

Since he said this, Xu Zuo naturally couldn't refuse, so he had to give up his original plan to have a more in-depth discussion.

But there is no need to rush, there is still plenty of time.

Thinking of this, Xu Zuo nodded and said, "It would be disrespectful for me to refuse the invitation of the prince."

The three of them then stood up and walked out.

When he was about to leave, Lu Chen suddenly turned around and looked at Xu Zuo, and asked, "Prime Minister Xu, it is said that people have no intention of harming tigers, but tigers have the intention of hurting people. But if this tiger loses its teeth and claws, will people give it a chance to live?"

Xu Zuo was silent.

Jiang Hui, who was following behind, suddenly felt his heart tighten.

Lu Chen laughed heartily and said, "It's just a joke, Prime Minister Xu, don't take it seriously."

Looking at his back, which was as straight as a pine tree, Jiang Hui felt a sense of desolation for some reason.

Xu Zuo certainly didn't take this as a joke, but he didn't continue. After a brief silence, the prime minister seemed to have made a decision and said slowly, "If the prince is free these days, can you take me around this ancient county?"

Lu Chen's smile remained, but now it finally showed a hint of sincerity. He nodded and said, "I couldn't ask for more."

(End of this chapter)