The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 204 Lu Yu's Move
"what?"

"He didn't come?"

The smile on Lu Yu's face suddenly froze.

There were many ministers sitting in Lu Yu's mansion. In order to welcome the Huabiao, he personally held a banquet.

Although Lu Yu did not care about Huabiao, he attached great importance to Hua Yi. He believed that this person would be an important official when his son took over the Secretariat in the future, and could even take over the Secretariat after his son Lu Qin, striving to make his family leaders for three generations.

Hua Yi's face was a little embarrassed. He said helplessly, "Father insisted on going to the palace. I really couldn't stop him."

Lu Yu smiled and said, "No problem, Changjun. Your father has always been a loyal minister in the court and is unwilling to make friends with other officials. You should emulate his character!"

"only!!"

After Lu Yu finished speaking, he looked at the many ministers under his command again.

These ministers have completed the alliance ceremony during this period of time, and now they have formed countless small groups among themselves. Even Lu Yu cannot tell who is in the same group with whom. The court is in complete chaos.

But none of this matters.

We all have the same goal.

Everyone is waiting for the same thing.

They were waiting for Sima Shi to die.

As long as Sima Shi was alive, they would not be able to fully implement those policies, let alone seize power in the court.

They all knew more or less about Sima Shi's situation. They heard that he was unable to get up, and could not even eat or urinate on his own, and needed others to serve him.

A Sima Shi like this could no longer make them afraid, they just waited quietly for him to die.

As long as Sima Shi died, they could divide the power of the Sima family, they could control the temple, and they could implement all policies.

Not only Lu Yu, Gao Rou was also waiting for the general to die.

He was more direct. As soon as the general died, he would ask the empress dowager to issue an edict appointing himself as the general.

Lu Yu felt that the time was almost ripe. He sighed and said in a low voice, "I have heard a lot of rumors today."

"Mr. Hua came into the city today, but he was unwilling to see me. Isn't it because of these rumors?!"

As soon as Lu Yu said this, someone immediately asked in a cooperative tone, "Lord Lu...are the rumors true? Everyone already knows that you met with Sima Fu in private."

Lu Yu was furious. "These days, the general is seriously ill, and the queen mother is isolated by villains!"

"No one cares about the great affairs of the world! The ministers are only concerned with their own affairs. Those who are supposed to govern the world are engaged in intrigue and scheme all day long, using despicable means to gain official positions and wealth!"

"Have I ever thought about myself?"

"I was the one who first brought up this matter. Have you ever backed down in front of Master Sima?"

"In the days that followed, I spent every day at the Shangshutai, devoting myself to handling important matters of the imperial court. Have I ever been negligent for a single day?"

"Did I ever appoint my own son or relative during my various appointments? Didn't I always choose the most suitable person?"

Lu Yu pointed at his son-in-law and shouted, "This man is my son-in-law, but I sent him to the city gate to take charge of the most dangerous task!"

"Some ministers have sent people to occupy the palace, preventing our memorials from reaching the Empress Dowager. Regarding this matter, I have visited Sima Fu several times, begging him to step in and curb the ministers. He has refused to see me three times, but I have never given up!"

"I knew there would be villains looking for trouble, but I never backed down!"

"This is all for the greater good of the world!"

Lu Yu grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, his face flushed red and his entire body trembling as if he were about to bleed. He trembled as he spoke, "And now, I've become a villain colluding with Sima Shi?"

"Okay, okay, I resign. From today on, the affairs of the court will no longer have anything to do with me!"

"Everyone, please go back!"

Lu Yu waved his hand, turned around and left.

At this moment, there was an uproar in the house, and the ministers were talking among themselves. The noise almost blew the roof off.

Wang Xiang sat among the ministers with a calm look in his eyes.

Retreat to advance. It seems that this guy has buried a lot of traps in the Shangshutai.

Lu Yu entered the inner room, locked the door, and ordered that no one be seen.

This made all the ministers a little confused. They had no idea why Lu Yu suddenly quit. After losing the person in charge, everyone's eyes slowly focused on Xun Yi.

Xun Xi's face turned dark.

You old bastard!
Of course, he could also figure out what Wang Xiang could figure out.

Taking over the Secretariat now would definitely cause big problems, but if I refused now, I would lose the qualification to compete in the future.

Xun Yi really wanted to scold this old thief, how shameless he was!
But facing the gazes of the ministers, he could not help but react. He stood up and said, "This matter is all the fault of those villains who spread the rumors! Don't worry, everyone. Lord Lu cares about the world and will definitely not remain indifferent. I will personally persuade him to come out and handle the government affairs again!"

Lu Yu has already started his own plan.

After the ministers left, the news of this matter soon reached Gao Rou.

Gao Rou, who was thinking about how to continue to improve the Queen Mother's favorability, almost spit out the tea in her mouth when she learned the situation from her son.

"Lu Yu quit?"

Gao Rou was stunned. He was practicing with Lu Yu as a formidable enemy, so why did he withdraw? He hadn't even made his next move yet.

Gao Guang nodded and said, "This must be Lu Yu's strategy of retreating in order to advance!"

Gao Rou laughed out loud, "This is a good thing."

"These people in the temple are actually using some risky tactics. They look down on my plan, thinking it's too simple and crude. However, they don't know that the simpler the method, the more practical it is."

"How could someone like Lu Yu, who thinks he's clever and wants to gain power through conspiracy, succeed?"

"Okay, okay, he's quitting, right?"

"Prepare a carriage for me. I'm going to the Queen Mother right now. I want to make his fake retirement a real one! I want to see whether Lu Yu will obey or not when the Queen Mother's decree reaches him, ordering Lu Yu to return to his hometown to recuperate!"

Gao Rou was smiling happily at this moment, not like an eighty-year-old man at all.

Gao Guang did not dare to refute and hurriedly prepared the carriage.

Gao Rou drove towards the palace again.

Old Gao looked down on Lu Yu's behavior. Relying on years of experience, Old Gao believed that if you want to get something done, you have to use the simplest and most direct method.

If you want to be a general, just let the empress dowager issue an edict to appoint you as a general.

Messing around like Lu Yu did is bound to have no good results!

But when Gao Rou came to Zhaoyang Palace in a threatening manner, Gao Dan's face looked very ugly.

"Father."

"what happened?"

"Sima Fu just went in, I didn't dare to stop him."

At this moment, Gao Rou's face suddenly turned dark. He finally understood why Lu Yu went to see Sima Fu.

He was brought here to deal with me!

However, he did not retreat and sent someone to report directly.

When Gao Rou walked into Zhaoyang Palace, Sima Fu was kneeling beside the empress dowager with a sincere expression. The empress dowager was full of joy and was laughing so hard that she couldn't even close her mouth.

"Your Highness pays homage to the Queen Mother!"

"Hahaha, it's Mr. Gao who's here. Please sit down, please sit down."

The Queen Mother said this, pointing to Sima Fu standing beside her and said, "The Grand Tutor and the Minister of the Interior are visiting together today. This hasn't happened in many years!"

Sima Fu looked at Gao Rou, but his expression suddenly became serious.

"I know why Situ Gao came so quickly. I just entered Zhaoyang Palace and Situ Gong arrived right after me!"

"Are you so afraid that the ministers will contact the Queen Mother?!"

"Just because you're the current Situ, can you do whatever you want?!"

"What do you want to do?!"

Sima Fu questioned Gao Rou.

Gao Rou snorted coldly, "Why aren't you staying with your son to take care of him? Why are you talking nonsense here?!"

Sima Fu shook his head. "Not all members of the Sima family are like Sima Shi!"

Empress Dowager Guo nodded and said to Gao Rou with some displeasure, "Lord Situ, please don't speak of the Grand Tutor like that."

"The Grand Tutor is different from Sima Shi and the others. Over the years, he has taken great care of me. Whenever I encountered any problems in the past, I would send people to him. The Grand Tutor has always been straightforward and never partial. When we were supporting the emperor, the Grand Tutor stood by me and was the first minister to speak up for me. How can you say that about him?"

Gao Rou was furious.

You stupid woman, can't you see that he is a backup plan left by the Sima family? He did it on purpose!
"Empress Dowager, I was not rude to the Grand Tutor. He was the first to be rude to me!"

Sima Fu stood up and shouted, "You had your son guarding the palace gate! You had your men intercept all the memorials submitted to the Empress Dowager! You kept an eye on the Empress Dowager and His Majesty all day long, and whenever a minister came to pay his respects, you would speak ill of them!"

"What's the difference between your behavior and Sima Shi's?!"

"As a member of the Sima family, I shouldn't be involved in the affairs of the court. However, I heard the court officials talking about you, so I came here."

"I cannot tolerate anyone insulting the Queen Mother like this!"

The look in Empress Dowager Guo's eyes when she looked at Gao Rou became increasingly strange.

Gao Rou shook her head, "Why do you frame me like this?"

"I asked my son to protect the Empress Dowager so that they wouldn't be affected by the chaos in the imperial court. As for the memorial, it's the responsibility of the Secretariat. How could I possibly stop it? The one who wants to sever the Empress Dowager's contact with the ministers is from the Secretariat!"

"You are from the Sima family!"

"Why is it that when it comes to the Queen Mother, it bites me back?"

"I often send people to inquire if any ministers have come, fearing that some villain might try to deceive the Queen Mother and threaten her!"

The two started fighting again, neither giving in.

(End of this chapter)