The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 193 Both sides suffer losses
"Lu Gong Sima Zhao sent people to seal off Luoyang, not allowing anyone to enter or leave."

"He's cleaning up the Central Army. He's replacing officers from several battalions. He wants to completely control the Central Army!"

"This guy is so bold and arrogant that he doesn't even take us seriously!"

"Damn it! Damn it!"

"This cannot be tolerated any longer!"

Compared with the quietness of Gao Rou's place, Lu Yu's place is very lively.

Almost all the powerful ministers in the three provinces sat here. Lu Yu sat at the top, with capable ministers on his left and right, and he was in a unique position.

The ministers looked a little impatient.

According to their thinking, Sima Shi did not dare to be like Dong Zhuo and completely turn against them.

But looking at the current situation, Sima Shi seemed to be crazy, unscrupulously blockading Luoyang and even trying his best to integrate the central army. This was something they could not tolerate.

They all believed that if they continued to endure at this moment, Sima Shi would get closer and closer and would sooner or later put a knife to their necks.

Lu Yu was also in a dilemma at this moment.

He had considered many of Sima Shi's strategies, but he had never imagined that this fellow would act so recklessly. Did he really want to perish together with the other powerful clans?!
Of course, if he were to go to war with Sima Shi directly, given Sima Shi's current physical condition, Lu Yu believed he had a 70% chance of winning.

However, such civil unrest is really meaningless!

What’s the point of winning?

The Sima family will be completely destroyed, but will there be any additional benefits for them? In the current situation, even if Sima Shi is defeated, it will be difficult to become the second Sima Shi. The leaders of aristocratic families often change, and it is difficult for them to have a hereditary succession like a general.

However, there are huge risks in doing so. You know, the Shu and Wu countries are keeping an eye on him.

The prime minister and general of Wu had just come to power, and he needed military achievements to stabilize his rule.

As for Shu Kingdom, there is no need to mention it. Yongliang Kingdom was causing trouble for Jiang Wei every day.

If a civil war of this magnitude broke out in the Wei Kingdom, sweeping across the central army and the four expeditionary forces, Jiang Wei would probably laugh himself crazy.

In that situation, even if they defeated Sima Shi, they would probably become Jiang Wei's captives.

Although the top families were not afraid of the country's demise, they could continue to maintain their status in the new regime. However, if they were defeated by Shu, they would naturally be inferior to the Shu clans, which was something they did not want to see.

The great families of various countries had close contacts with each other, and in the later period, they were even reluctant to fight. After the fall of Shu Kingdom, the local aristocratic families of Shu Kingdom became ministers of the Western Jin Dynasty. The same was true for Wu Kingdom, which did not suffer any decent liquidation.

It can even be said that if Shu Kingdom had not had Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, it would have been able to pass the level almost without any damage.

The friendship between Yang and Lu occurred, of course, because both of them had extremely high moral standards, but it also illustrates the attitudes of the aristocratic families towards their own country and the enemy country.

The same is true of the surrender of Shu Kingdom. Many people believe that the surrender of the local faction of Shu Kingdom was due to the lack of national strength due to years of northern expeditions and the inability to resist.

However, we can also see the contemptuous attitude of the aristocratic families towards their own country. They don't care whether Shu still has the strength to resist. They just want to avoid being liquidated and continue to assist the new regime.

Lu Yu didn't want to fight with Sima Shi anyway.

But now, all the ministers are staring at him, hoping that he can step forward and resolve the problem.

Since he wanted to be the leader of aristocratic family, Lu Yu could not retreat at this time.

He had no choice but to speak loudly, "I have sent people to negotiate with the captain of the city gate. Don't worry, Sima Zhao will never dare to be rude to us. I already know about the situation of the central army. I have already reported to the Queen Mother, requesting that Minister Wang be appointed as the general of the army! Minister Ren be appointed as the central pacification general! Minister Wang be appointed as the central guard general!"

Everyone was very clear about Lu Yu's arrangement.

Shangshu Wang refers to Wang Guan, who is well-known. He has served as the General of the Central Army in the past and was in charge of the Central Army. He also has a very close relationship with Lu Yu. Now letting him serve as the General of the Central Army means letting him command the entire Central Army and cut off the general's control over the Central Army.

Minister Ren refers to Ren Kai, the son of the former Minister of Rites Ren Hao. He was a man of extraordinary courage and insight, and even married Princess Qi, the daughter of Cao Rui. He was considered a royal relative and served as Minister of the Secretariat.

The last one refers to Wang Hun, the son of General Wang Chang, who was in charge of the Southern Expedition. Well, he was also an official of Cao Shuang. He was demoted because of Cao Shuang's failure and is now being recruited again.

None of the three people arranged by Lu Yu was his relative. They included court officials, royal relatives, and foreign officials. Compared with Gao Rou's behavior of using his own son, this was much more ingenious.

When the ministers heard Lu Yu's words, they immediately calmed down.

At this moment, Wang Xiang suddenly stood up and said seriously, "Lord Lu, I went to the palace today to teach His Majesty, but was stopped by the palace lieutenant Gao Dan. He wouldn't let me in. I had to ask for His Majesty's imperial decree before he let me in."

As soon as Wang Xiang stood up, Lu Yu had a bad feeling in his heart.

Ever since Wang Xiang tricked him in the court meeting, Lu Yu began to be extremely wary of him.

This guy is so dangerous. Every time he opens his mouth, he gets himself into trouble!
As expected by Lu Yu, Wang Xiang's words caused an uproar among the ministers.

Xun Yi frowned and said angrily, "What is Gao Rou trying to do? Does he want to be Sima Shi? How dare he imprison His Majesty?!"

All the ministers responded one after another, looking extremely dissatisfied.

This couldn't be blamed on the ministers; it was simply that the position of Minister of Interior was too attractive. Lu Yu was silent for a moment. Although he now loathed Wang Xiang more and more, he couldn't help but care about what Wang Xiang said.

Gao Rou's purpose was very clear, which was to follow the Queen Mother's route. As for himself, he looked at the ministers and finally looked at Wang Xiang helplessly. In the eyes of the Queen Mother, it seemed that only Wang Xiang's status could surpass Gao Rou.

"My Lord, this matter is still for the Queen Mother to deal with. After all, she is the Prime Minister of the court, so we can't say much. Do you think we should meet with the Queen Mother?"

Wang Xiang was a little hesitant.

"This"

Xun Yi immediately said, "Your Majesty, do not hesitate. This is for the greater good of the nation. The Queen Mother and Your Majesty have just escaped from the clutches of a tiger. How can we allow them to fall into the hands of a vicious wolf again?"

Wang Xiang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take care of this matter."

Lu Yu forced a smile, "Your Excellency is truly a virtuous minister!"

The ministers discussed for a while before leaving.

After they left, Lu Qin sat next to his father. In front of the ministers, Lu Qin was still very low-key and did not get close to his father.

"Father, what should we do next?"

Lu Yu stroked his beard and sneered, "Sima Shi doesn't dare to fight us. He's only doing this to protect his brother, fearing that we might kill him."

"Now neither side dares to act rashly."

"This central army is just a means for him to confuse us, and his real method is definitely not that simple."

Lu Qin narrowed his eyes. "Could it be the emperor?"

"Ok?"

"Father, you may not know that Zhang Hua, whom I mentioned earlier, has been summoned by the Emperor, along with another named Wei Shu."

"I don't know Wei Shu, but Zhang Hua, although young, is extremely talented and definitely not mediocre."

"I've visited Zhang Hua several times these days, and he always praises your majesty's benevolence and praises you endlessly. I've never seen him praise anyone else so much. If it was just a recommendation, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths."

"Also, I noticed that Zhang Hua has been very busy recently."

Lu Yu was a little surprised. "What is he busy with?"

"do not know."

"I invited him several times, but he said he had something going on in his house. I went straight to his house, but there was no one else there. I saw him on the road several times, and he looked flustered. He tried to avoid me when he saw me. I asked him questions, but he refused to say more."

Lu Yu took a deep breath and asked, "You mean His Majesty is planning something?"

"No, father, do you remember? Zhong Hui went to see His Majesty before."

"I think perhaps Sima Shi wants to use His Majesty to deal with us."

"Now that we have the support of the Empress Dowager, we can compete with Sima Shi. But if the Emperor joins forces with Sima Shi, Sima Shi can use the Emperor's orders to counter the Empress Dowager's edicts. Moreover, most of the central army and local foreign troops under his command are willing to obey the Emperor's edicts."

"Sima Shi's prestige plus the emperor's edict will bring us great trouble!"

Hearing his son's words, Lu Yu frowned.

"you are right."

"I overlooked that."

Lu Qin asked: "Father, do we need to find a way to cut off their contact?"

Lu Yu shook his head. "No need. Sima Shi is dying. He doesn't have the energy to achieve victory. Even if he contacted Your Majesty, it was probably only to protect the clan. At this point, we don't need to fight him to the death. The key to breaking the deadlock may lie in Sima Fu."

"Oh? Sima Fu?"

Lu Qin said disdainfully, "This man is a hypocrite. He's been involved in everything from the seizure of power to the dethronement and enthronement of the emperor. Now he wants to share power with my family?"

Lu Yu laughed. "Master Sima deliberately threw Sima Fu out, wasn't it just to let us break the situation? If Sima Fu wants to re-enter, he will naturally have to pay a price. This breaking of the situation is the cost of his re-entry. Master Sima is well aware of this."

"He originally drove Sima Fu away because he wanted Sima Fu to help us defeat him. I don't think that Sima Shi, in his current physical state, would still think about solving the major issues of the court."

"It's already good enough that he can protect the clan and leave a backup plan."

"Prepare the carriages and horses. I want to visit this Grand Tutor again."

"only!!!"

(End of this chapter)