Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"To avoid chaos?"

Lü Yi's voice suddenly became sharp, his eyelids drooped, and he stared at Zhuge Jin's face like a hook: "What kind of rebellion could there be? The general is loyal, but who among the other generals in Jingzhou would cause rebellion? Would it be the general of the cavalry guarding Xiling, or the general of the chariot and cavalry who has been in Jiangling for many years? Or would it be the generals in the whole Jingzhou, in every county and city, who lead a thousand, five hundred, or two hundred troops?"

Even though Lü Yi was exaggerating, Zhuge Jin still maintained his gentlemanly demeanor. His expression was only slightly gloomy as he whispered, "Captain Lü has misunderstood. It's not the generals who will cause chaos, but the army and the fighting power that will be disrupted, which will be disadvantageous to the Great Wu!"

"If you follow my advice, let's talk about Yangzhou first. Didn't Your Majesty go to Wuhu first? Take the troops of Quan Zihuang and Zhang Zhongsi, stabilize it for about a year, and then slowly reform it, giving each army and general a breathing space. Take it slow, isn't it more appropriate?"

Lü Yi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, if you want to take someone's troops, can't you just do it? Why make it so complicated?"

Zhuge Jin was speechless for a moment.

Lu Yi's attitude was a bit arrogant, and Zhuge Jin was unwilling to confront Lu Yi head-on, more or less for the sake of Sun Quan's face.

And when Lu Yi said "I can take whatever I want" in front of Zhuge Jin, he also had his own confidence.

Theoretically speaking, as the emperor, Sun Quan's imperial decree should be obeyed by his subjects without any lip service.

In practice, many years ago, Sun Quan was able to redistribute the troops of Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng and others, and no one dared to say anything against it.

But the problem is, that was many years ago! In the past ten years, there has never been a case of taking away the troops of a living person. Most of the troops were transferred to others after the death of the general, rather than directly handed over to the general's descendants. When this order was issued, what did Zhu Ran think? What did Bu Zhi think? What did Sun Huan, a member of the royal family, think?
These people all have titles of generals and marquises, so it is natural for them to know the general situation. But what about those ordinary generals who only have hundreds of troops and no real power? These troops are all their personal power!
If there was a third person present, he would definitely be able to see that the corners of Lu Yi's mouth were raised at this moment, and with his narrow-minded look, he actually seemed a bit arrogant.

Lu Yi shook his head and said, "If His Majesty issues an order, will the general disobey? Of course not."

"Your Majesty has issued an order, will the Infantry Cavalry and the Zhu Chariot Cavalry disobey? Your Majesty has said that these two are the backbones of the Great Wu, so of course they will obey."

"The general obeyed the order, and the Infantry Cavalry and the Red Cavalry also obeyed the order. With so many generals in the Great Wu, who would not obey?"

Zhuge Jin opened his mouth slightly, wanting to persuade Lu Yi, but he held back.

In Zhuge Jin's opinion, it doesn't matter whether Lu Yi is arrogant or not, but this guy's brain is really not very useful!

I have said that this is a national affair, and we must proceed from the overall situation and stability. But Lu Yi is still here to make a fuss about whether the generals obey the order. Is that the case? The combat effectiveness of the army is the most important thing!
Zhuge Jin had already made up his mind to submit a petition to Sun Quan to make his point. He and Lu Yi had nothing more to discuss. He just shook his head and stated his position calmly:
"Your Majesty is in Yangzhou, and the Central Army is in Yangzhou. Let's use the Central Army and Yangzhou as an example this year. I will write to Your Majesty to present the strategy. How to select people to supervise and execute, how to pay the military pay and food, and how to maintain the combat effectiveness of the original troops, all need to be carefully studied before deciding."

Unexpectedly, Lu Yi, who was sitting on Zhuge Jin's left, shook his head again: "If I didn't know that the general was loyal to Your Majesty, I would have thought that the general had selfish motives! Your Majesty has already decided on something, why is the general still questioning it?"

There was also a hint of sarcasm on Lu Yi's face.

Even a pure, honest and loyal person like Zhuge Jin was angered by Lu Yi's words. How could a general of a country be so rude to a lieutenant?
However, Zhuge Jin's skill in cultivating his Qi was excellent. He only glanced at Lu Yi briefly, as if he was looking at a dead person, and even had a hint of pity in his eyes.

Sure enough, he finally saw it today.

These cruel officials and their lackeys are just like this. They have a kind of almost blind and pathological adherence to the imperial power psychologically, and they believe that all the problems in the world can be easily solved with just one edict from the emperor.

How can national affairs be treated as such a joke? A single move can affect the entire body...

Just when Zhuge Jin was still thinking about how to get rid of Lu Yi, Crown Prince Sun Deng arrived.

A burst of hurried footsteps came from outside, passing the courtyard and going straight into the hall without any sense of stopping.

Zhuge Jin certainly knew who this was. Lü Yi carefully identified him for a few moments against the light before he stood up from the table and bowed:

"Your Highness, Lü Yi, pays respect to His Majesty the Crown Prince!"

Sun Deng did not stop for a moment, but walked straight to Lü Yi and suddenly asked, "Lü Yi! Let me ask you, what did the Prime Minister do that you have to interrogate him every day? Minister Lu was just writing to me, but he was taken away from the Secretariat and died in Jianye Prison that day? Why didn't you advise His Majesty at all?"

Lü Yi was a little confused by Sun Deng's question. After a few moments of silence, he continued to bow and said: "I ask the Crown Prince to calm down for now. This matter was assigned by His Majesty himself. I went to the Prime Minister's Mansion to inquire, and it was also in accordance with His Majesty's will. In addition, the arrest of Minister Lu was done by law enforcement officer Hu Weize himself, and I have nothing to do with it..." Although Lü Yi was arrogant, from his point of view, he was not wrong at all. Except for Hu Zong, the rest of the people did not know that Lu Mao was killed by Sun Quan. In heaven and earth, only Sun Quan and Hu Zong knew about it. Except for the official statement that Lu Mao committed suicide, the other court officials thought that he was tortured in prison, and transferred the blame and anger to Hu Zong.

Sun Quan brought Hu Zong with him on this tour, and it seemed that he also wanted to help Hu Zong avoid the limelight.

Before Lü Yi finished explaining, he was stopped by the furious Sun Deng: "Don't push the blame on others! I know you are involved in this matter, don't deny it. Can't you explain it for me, Captain Lü?"

Lü Yi bent even lower and said, "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I am really in a difficult situation."

Zhuge Jin just looked at the two of them indifferently without saying a word.

Sun Deng was furious. He pointed at Lu Yi's face and shouted, "Why is it so difficult to explain a few words? I heard that Minister Lu died because of my letter! It's just a letter. Why did it come to this? Why did it come to this?!"

Lu Yi's heart was filled with anxiety, and he said directly: "I am your Majesty's subject, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also your Majesty's subject, and even more so, your Majesty's own son. Your Majesty has ordered me to do something, so it is not convenient for me to explain it. I hope Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince will forgive me!"

Sun Deng was furious and almost wanted to draw his sword and chop this man down, but he stamped his feet and suppressed his anger. He turned his eyes to Zhuge Jin:
"General, didn't you see what happened here? Why didn't you say a word?"

Zhuge Jin bowed and said, "I understand, but I still want to ask Your Highness to calm down for now and return to the palace first. I will talk to Your Highness slowly later."

"You guys!" Sun Deng turned away without stopping.

As Sun Deng's back gradually faded away, Zhuge Jin stroked his beard and looked at Lü Yi: "Captain Lü, I already know the inside story of Jianye, and Your Majesty has told me everything. I will write to Your Majesty to discuss what I should say, but I also have something to ask Captain Lü today."

"When doing things, can't you slow down a bit? If His Majesty is angry, and you are His Majesty's confidant, how can you always help His Majesty vent his anger instead of trying to persuade His Majesty?"

Zhuge Jin acted like a loyal elder. Compared with Sun Deng, his attitude towards Lü Yi could be described as courteous. Lü Yi knew the difference between good and bad. After the comparison, he also felt a little sentimental:
"General, this is our duty. I hope you know this."

"Well, Captain Lu, please go now. If you have no other important business in Wuchang, you don't need to see me again. If you have any questions, you can go find my chief secretary and send someone to tell him. I won't see you off."

Lü Yi stood up and bowed: "I will take my leave. General, please take care of yourself."

Zhuge Jin nodded and said, "Captain Lu, go ahead."

Lu Yi turned around and walked away with big strides until he reached the gate of the General's Mansion. He stopped his hurried steps after seeing Xi Li, who was in charge of Wuchang school affairs.

Xi Li bowed and asked, "Captain, how is the general?"

Lü Yi and Xi Li got on the carriage together. After the carriage started, he lifted the curtain and looked around, then said carefully: "The general is a loyal and honest man, but he is a military commander who has led troops for many years and is also the governor of Jingzhou. He is very trusted by His Majesty, which is different from the prime minister in Jianye City. Remember, no matter what report you make, don't write bad things about the general. There are not many good people in the Great Wu now, and people like the general are getting fewer and fewer."

Xi Li nodded: "General, what about the prince? I just saw the prince rush into the general's mansion and come out in a rage?"

Lü Yi shook his head: "The prince is angry with me, but I am a subject, so what can I do? The prince is the heir to the throne, the son of your majesty, so noble, even if I am insulted and beaten by the prince, what can I do?"

"But..." Lu Yi squinted at Xi Li and said, "Go check who has close contact with the prince in Wuchang, especially those who have recently returned from Jianye!"

"No need to check." Xi Li said firmly: "It must be Jiangxia Governor Diao Jia who told the prince. His brother Diao Xuan is a guest of the prince. Apart from Diao Jia, I can't think of anyone else."

"Diao Jia?"

Lu Yi narrowed his eyes, and there was a hint of coldness in his eyes: "Diao Jia managed to escape punishment by chance, but he dared to get involved in this matter! Xi Li, go collect evidence and write down the crimes of Diao Jia and Diao Xuan clearly. I will personally write a letter to His Majesty to report the crimes of these two people!"

"Yes!" Xi Li responded. (End of this chapter)