The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 171 Are these the elite soldiers of Huainan?

Shouchun.

A long queue formed at the city gate, including merchants in carriages, woodcutters carrying firewood on their backs, poor scholars seeking to study, and down-and-out wanderers carrying swords.

It's not as cold here as Luoyang, but it's definitely not warm either.

Everyone was trembling.

People who are not afraid of the cold will not queue here.

"Young man! That young man!"

Suddenly someone shouted.

Liu Lu was stunned and looked up, only to see a merchant waving at him.

Liu Lulei had killed several horses and had come here with great difficulty. He really didn't want to cause trouble, so he walked over carefully and saluted the merchant. "What do you want?"

"Are you here to seek refuge with your relatives?"

The merchant looked at Liu Lu in front of him. Liu Lu certainly would not come in as a ranger, as the identity of a ranger would cause a lot of inconvenience. Officials nowadays were unreasonable. When they met a ranger, they would kill him and say that they had caught a thief.

Of course, it is actually difficult to have any identity. Merchants also face the risk of being robbed by officials, and even innocent farmers can be accused of being thieves.

Fortunately, after Sima Shi's killing, officials from all over the country have restrained themselves a lot, at least they no longer dare to act recklessly.

Liu Lu was able to reach Huainan quickly without encountering too many difficulties, thanks to the general's kindness.

He had changed his clothes several times along the way. At this moment, he was wearing tattered clothes and was completely inconspicuous among the civilians.

Along the way, there were many people fleeing.

Liu Lu nodded and said, "I came here to seek refuge with my relatives."

People like the one played by Liu Lu cannot be considered complete refugees, but only half. Most of them have suffered from family disasters, but are not completely bankrupt and still have some wealth, so they go to seek help from relatives elsewhere to find a job.

The merchant nodded, asked someone to get something from the side, and handed it to Liu Lu in front of him.

"Here, this is for you."

Liu Lu took the clothes in his hand, his eyes full of confusion.

The merchant smiled and said, "I can't bear to see you starving and freezing. Here's some food. Eat some too!"

Liu Lu showed some panic and did not dare to accept it.

The merchant then said, "My name is Lu Shun, and I'm a merchant from Hebei. You may not know that before His Majesty ascended the throne, he once admonished the merchants of Hebei to do more charity and help the poor. Your Majesty is a man of unparalleled virtue, and we have always followed his advice and never dared to forget it!"

The merchant's voice was so loud that it attracted people around to watch.

Liu Lu was very surprised. He quickly thanked the merchant, put on the clothes, and started eating voraciously.

The people around started talking.

Some scholars from poor families were a little angry and cursed in a low voice: "How dare the merchants in Hebei use Your Majesty as a gimmick to seek their own benefits!!"

"What about doing good deeds, helping the poor, pretending to win people's hearts, and selling your own things?"

Another scholar saw it differently. "Although that's true, they've done a lot of good, so how can we criticize them? The reputation of Hebei's righteous merchants has spread far and wide. They do good everywhere, and the people are willing to trade with them. I hear even bandits don't bother them."

The man still refused to accept the answer. "It's clearly Your Majesty's kindness. What does this have to do with the merchants?"

"Your Majesty has been on the throne for less than six months, but you've already demonstrated your benevolence. You've dispatched officials to various locations to investigate the people's situation, reduced expenses for the emperor's carriages, clothing, and harem, and eliminated unnecessary items from the palace and government offices. Now, you've executed officials who were harming the people and issued a decree that all officials must refrain from bullying or humiliating the people. This truly demonstrates your Majesty's benevolence!"

These were obviously actions taken by the imperial court, and most of them were ordered by Sima Shi.

However, from the perspective of local authorities, the actions of the imperial court were the actions of the emperor.

Liu Lu listened to their words and almost couldn't help but pull that person over to praise him.

I don’t know how long I stood here, but finally it was Liu Lu’s turn.

The soldiers at the city gate checked his "documents". There was no problem with Liu Lu's documents, as they were all handled by Jiao Bo himself. The soldiers just took a few glances at him, asked him where he was going, and then let him into the city.

After entering Shouchun, Liu Lu asked passers-by to confirm the location of the general's mansion, and then hurried towards the general's mansion.

In front of the general's mansion, several soldiers were pacing back and forth. There were not many people on the road, and almost no one dared to approach here.

At this moment, Liu Lu lowered his head and walked quickly towards the mansion.

"stop!!!"

Several soldiers raised their crossbows, and Liu Lu quickly raised his hands to indicate that he had no weapons.

It was obviously not possible to climb over the wall to get into Guanqiu Jian's mansion, and Liu Lu was also very clear that if he did so, he would only end up being shot to death by arrows.

Liu Lu looked at the many soldiers in front of him and said, "Hurry up and report to the General Zhendong! I have something important to report!"

The soldiers looked at each other for a few seconds, and some of them turned and walked into the mansion.

Liu Lu did not put down his hands, because those powerful crossbows were still aimed at him, which made Liu Lu a little panicked. He did not dare to say much, for fear of causing misunderstandings and being shot to death by these people.

After waiting for a long time, finally, someone came out.

He was a young boy with a sour face, and he walked up to Liu Lu in a swagger. Liu Lu clearly saw the disdain in his eyes. He waved his hand and asked the soldiers to put down their crossbows.

Liu Lu was a little unhappy, but still said, "I want to see the general."

"The general is busy. If you have anything, you can tell me directly."

Liu Lu shook his head. "No, I can only inform the general." The man's eyes were somewhat unhappy. He looked at the ragged Liu Lu in front of him and asked, "What big deal can you have?"

"There's no time to lose! Please go in and tell them! I need to meet with the general right away!"

"Then just wait."

The man said something and turned to leave.

Liu Lu was furious.

He originally didn't want to cause trouble, but it seemed that he couldn't attract the general's attention without causing trouble. His eyes became fierce and he looked at the dandy boy in front of him.

Although I don’t know whose family you are from, please forgive me, Liu Lu, for offending you!!!

"General!"

Someone knocked on the study.

Guanqiu Jian, who was discussing military affairs with a few of his confidants, frowned and said, "Come in."

The next moment, the dandy man swaggered in, waved his hand, and threw a man to the ground.

"This person said he had an important secret to tell you."

Guanqiu Jian looked at the man and saw him curled up on the ground, trembling all over.

Liu Lu only felt that his stomach was pierced.

He had never been punched so hard in his life.

He had just thought of taking action, and before he could even grab the other person with his outstretched hand, the guy turned around and punched him in the stomach. At that moment, Liu Lu felt like all his bones were broken. He knelt on the ground and could no longer get up.

Then, he was picked up by this playboy and dragged all the way to Guanqiu Jian's study.

Well, judging from the results, I have achieved my goal.

It's just that it may be a little different from what you expected.

Guanqiu Jian looked at the trembling Liu Lu, then at Wen Yang, "Why are you so harsh?"

"General, he was the one who tried to attack me first, and I didn't hit him hard, not with any force at all!"

"General, this has nothing to do with this brave man. I caused trouble just to see you."

Liu Lu stood up trembling.

Guanqiu Jian looked at the generals around him and said, "Let's end today's meeting here and discuss it another day. Ah Yang, you stay."

The generals said goodbye and left one after another. Wen Yang stood aside, staring at Liu Lu in front of him.

If this guy has any intention of attacking the general, I will strangle him.

During this era, assassins were still quite popular. For example, Fei Yi of Shu Han was stabbed to death by Guo Xun, a surrendered general of Wei State, when he was drunk at a banquet.
"who are you?"

"I am Liu Lu, and I have come here on the orders of His Majesty."

As Liu Lu spoke, he carefully took out the emperor's letter from his pocket and handed it to Guanqiu Jian in front of him.

After Guanqiu Jian took the letter, Liu Lu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Guanqiu Jian picked up the letter in astonishment and began to read it carefully.

"It is indeed written by His Majesty himself!!"

Guanqiu Jian was very surprised, but he did not continue reading. He hid the letter on his body and looked at Liu Lu in front of him.

"I heard from my son that His Majesty sent a strong man to Luoyang to deliver a letter a thousand miles away. Are you that strong man?"

"it's me!"

"What a strong man!"

Guanqiu Jian immediately stood up and said, "Ayang! Why don't you help Liu Jun sit down? Look at how he got beaten!"

Wen Yang hurried forward to help Liu Lu, but Liu Lu subconsciously dodged and said, "No need, no need, I'll do it myself."

He felt a little bit of a pang of regret for the young and naive dandy in front of him. This guy was too heavy-handed.

Liu Lu sat in front of Guanqiu Jian and told him everything he had experienced in the past few days without hiding anything.

He knew that His Majesty trusted Guanqiu Jian very much, and there was no need for him to tell lies to cover up. If Guanqiu Jian knew that he was lying, it might affect His Majesty's important affairs.

After listening to Liu Lu's story of delivering letters, entering and leaving the palace, recruiting knights, receiving the imperial edict again, and coming here, Guanqiu Jian looked at Liu Lu with more admiration.

Even the unruly Wen Yang was moved at this moment.

He bowed to Liu Lu and said, "I didn't realize you were a kind and patriotic person, so I acted rashly. I hope you don't mind me, Mr. Liu."

"Don't worry, don't worry. General, I have something I don't understand and want to ask you."

"Mr. Liu, please speak."

"Are all your Huainan elite soldiers like him? Or is this one a special case? If all your soldiers are like this, I don't think there is any need to fear Sima Shi. We can take action now!"

"Hahaha~~"

Guanqiu Jian burst into laughter. He pointed at Wen Yang and said seriously, "Ayang's martial arts and bravery are unmatched among the three armies. He is the only one of his kind. However, his determination and ambition to quell the traitors and uphold the country are shared by all 80,000 elite Huainan soldiers!"

(End of this chapter)