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Chapter 180 "Good Strategy"

Seeing Lu Zhang say this, Lu Qing seemed to have finally made up his mind and nodded to him: "Forget it! I have no intention of returning to Beijing so quickly, so I'll take advantage of this great season and play outside for a few more days before making any decisions.

After all, since Master has divined for me that traveling far is beneficial, there is no need for me to go against the will of heaven."

Lu Zhang seemed quite satisfied with Lu Qing's words. He wasn't a deep thinker, and at that moment, his inner emotions were almost visible in his eyes. Even with a sophisticated expression, it was useless; there was no way to hide it.

Lu Qing ignored the obvious emotions on his face. The two exchanged a few more pleasantries. It seemed that after receiving the news that a strange poison from the Jie Kingdom had been discovered in the Lizhou Imperial Guards camp, Lu Zhang no longer had the heart to continue the conversation. He just wanted to turn his horse around and rush back to the Jie Kingdom border as soon as possible.

When it was time to say goodbye, Lu Zhang turned around and called his group over, telling them that he had changed his mind. The road ahead in Huazhou was flooded and difficult to travel, and he also had other things to do, so he needed to go back to the Jinjie border.

Although none of his accompanying officials stood up to express their opposition, after all, they had received instructions from Duke Yan before setting off and did not dare to easily go against King Yi's wishes, it was inevitable that some of them would ask a few questions or look suspicious.

Lu Zhang saw all of this. He saw the people around Lu Qing standing behind him. Although they didn't say a word, their support and trust in each other could be seen in their eyes.

He also recognized the chief clerk who had previously helped clear Cao Tianbao's nephew of the charges. The other party was still traveling with Lu Qing this time, and it was obvious that he was a close confidant who was highly trusted by Lu Qing.

Looking back at myself...

A sense of sadness suddenly welled up in Lu Zhang's heart for no reason.

Those people were all my grandfather's supporters and followers. All their flattery and support came from my grandfather's past achievements and current power.

If my grandfather suddenly decided to support Lu Chao or Lu Ze, or even someone as reckless as Lu Yan, these people would probably turn around and leave without hesitation and ignore me from then on, right?
Thinking of this, Lu Zhang suddenly felt panic in his heart. He found that although he was usually surrounded by people and seemed to be in a prosperous situation, it seemed as if there was no one around him.

But at the moment he didn't have the mind to think about these things. He mounted his horse, clasped his fists towards Lu Qing, and rode away with a group of people, leaving behind only the sound of horses' hooves gradually fading away and the dust raised by their hooves.

Yan Daoxin watched those people walking further and further away. They seemed to be walking in a hurry. After a while, even the sound of horse hooves could not be heard clearly.

"I still don't understand..." He turned his head to look at Lu Qing in confusion, then cast his gaze on Zhu Yu. In comparison, he felt that Zhu Yu was more like someone who could patiently explain things to him, "Isn't Lu Zhang the son-in-law of the Jie King?

Why did you tell him about the poisonous weeds in the Lizhou camp? Aren't you afraid that he might say he's going to attack you, but in fact he's just going to tip off the enemy?"

"The incident at the Lizhou camp has been exposed, and several assassins have committed suicide. After these days, Situ Jing has probably almost completely cleaned up the Lizhou camp.

If the Jie King was truly behind this, he would have gotten wind of it long ago. Furthermore, before we left, Lu Qing had already sent the secret letter back to the capital and reported it to His Majesty. His Majesty knows exactly how this matter will be resolved, and Lu Zhang's tip-offs won't change it."

Zhu Yu shook her head at Yan Daoxin. She had just been watching coldly from the sidelines. She had already seen clearly Lu Qing's intentions and how Lu Zhang was tricked step by step by Lu Qing without leaving any trace. "Over in Huazhou, Bai Qihong is leading the craftsmen to open up the mountains. If Lu Zhang sees them, this plan will be ruined.

When Lu Zhang heard that Huazhou was flooded and difficult to navigate, he had already backed out. But if he wasn't given a good reason, wouldn't it seem like Prince Yi, who was ordered to patrol the border, was used to a life of luxury and couldn't endure hardship, and wouldn't move forward just because he heard there was a flood ahead?

Yan Daoxin suddenly realized, "That's true! Although I haven't had much dealings with Lu Zhang, I could tell from the few times we've met that he's a man who's only after fame and reputation. What he actually does is another matter, but he's always putting his reputation first.

If we only talk about the flood in Huazhou, this guy might just bite the bullet and go there just to give himself a good reputation."

"Do you think Lu Zhang will tell the Jie King what I just told him?" Lu Qing gestured to Fu Wen and Fu Lu to bring the horse over, and asked Zhu Yu by the way.

"No." Zhu Yu shook his head firmly, "After so many years, he should be considered a good grandson of Duke Yan, right?
When Duke Yan encountered something that might bring him trouble, his favorite thing to do was to cut ties as quickly as possible. Following him, Lu Zhang would probably subconsciously make a similar choice due to his words and deeds.

Therefore, regarding the discovery of poisonous weeds from the Jie Kingdom in the Lizhou camp, he would not inform the Jie King or collude with him to help him out of trouble. Instead, he would guard against the Jie King and try to clear himself of the crime.

If necessary, I believe he would, with the support of his grandfather, sacrifice his own family for the greater good in exchange for the trust of His Majesty."

At this point, she frowned, took the reins of her horse from Fu Lu's hand, climbed onto the horse holding the saddle, and asked, "But there is one thing I haven't figured out.

You just told Lu Zhang about the poisonous weeds in Jie State in order to give him a suitable excuse so that he would give up the route through Huazhou and avoid causing trouble for Bai Qihong's canal construction progress.

But Lu Zhang actually told you about the Jie bandits who took over the mountains of Landi with weapons forged by the Shuo Kingdom... What reason did he have for doing this? It couldn't be simply out of kindness for his brother, right?

Her question was mixed with obvious sarcasm about Lu Zhang's motives, and the runes and talismans beside her couldn't help but laugh.

"Has there ever been a vegetarian wolf in this world?" Lu Qing also laughed and shook his head. "Lu Zhang is just like that. He's easily influenced, indecisive, and doesn't have any good ideas, but he's unaware of it.

On weekdays, he almost never had the opportunity to leave Duke Yan's sight. Duke Yan had always been strong and arbitrary. With him around, Lu Zhang had become accustomed to listening to his arrangements and relying on him. Now, he was suddenly alone outside, in the mountains and on the long roads, and could not immediately ask Duke Yan's opinion. Lu Zhang couldn't help feeling confused.

Given his personality, the safest approach in this situation is to find an 'accomplice' so that everyone can do the same thing, and if they're right, they'll be right together, and if they're wrong, they'll be wrong together. Anyway, he won't be the first to stand out, so this is the most reliable 'good strategy'."

　Thanks to 573602869 and book friend 20210301105365700752 for their monthly tickets!
　　(End of this chapter)