"How?"

"Do you think Feng Yanting has different intentions, does the current imperial court know about it?" Zhang Dezhong asked.

Ji Yan stroked his beard and said, "At the very least, there should be some suspicion." ”

"Yes, the reason why Feng Yanting planned to promote the county to the government was to drive away the Shezhou assassin Jiang Huai, originally I thought that there would be waves in the matter of the promotion of the mansion, but the imperial court passed it so smoothly, which is a bit unreasonable."

Ji Yan was silent, and Zhang Du spoke: "Daddy, Feng Yanting's brother Feng Yansi is a Zhongshu order after all, maybe it is because of his strength in the court. ”

Zhang Dezhong shook his head and said: "You underestimate our son of heaven too much, if he suspects Feng Yanting, no matter how hard Feng Yansi tries his strength, it will be useless." ”

Ji Yan glared and said, "Brother Zhang, are you saying that the emperor has other plans?" ”

"I'm not sure, that's why I didn't tell Lord Lu about this, but I only need to look at Lord Lu's performance of our official position this time, and how the imperial court replied, and I can know the answer."

"How do you know?"

"Just pay attention to the transfer of one person."

"Who?"

"Qin Li!"

……

A few days later, after seeing the reply of the imperial court, Lu Yuan felt very surprised, he originally thought that Zhang Dezhong's promotion to Shaoyin would not be so smooth, but he didn't expect the imperial court to pass, and except for Qin Li, everyone actually passed, but there were a few official positions that changed.

For example, Ji Yan and Zhanyuan changed their official positions, Yuan Chi and Hou Kaishan were transferred, Lu Yuan frowned, and said to a small official beside him: "Go and invite the two generals Qin, Miss Sun, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Ji to come over." ”

These five people are the most thoughtful people in the government he thinks.

After all five people arrived, Lu Yuan showed them the documents replied by the imperial court, Zhang Dezhong's face changed slightly, and he said, "It's not good, the imperial court is really going to do something to Feng Yanting!" ”

Lu Yuan stood up violently, then sat down slowly, calmed down, and said in a deep voice: "Old man, but what's wrong?" ”

Everyone else also turned their attention to Zhang Dezhong.

Zhang Dezhong said solemnly: "My lord, now you should immediately send someone to Ning Guocheng to inquire about the news!" ”

Lu Yuan looked at Qin Quan and said, "Commander Qin, you can send someone to inquire." ”

"Yes!" Qin Quan glanced at Zhang Dezhong and strode out of the room.

Zhang Dezhong closed his eyes and thought for a moment, and then spoke: "My lord, Qin Li came out of Ning Guohou's mansion, and Qin Li's official transfer did not pass, this is the signal that the imperial court is ready to take action against Ning Guohou!" ”

Qin Youyu's face changed slightly, he picked up the official document and read it again, and sighed lightly: "No wonder Brother Hou and Brother Zhan have been downgraded, they are the first to follow the adults. ”

Zhang Dezhong was slightly taken aback when he saw him react so quickly, and said: "Yes, Ji Yan and the old man both have a certain reputation, and the time they have followed the adults is very short. ”

"Then why didn't you change the official positions of Qin Yu, Qin Quan, and Yuan Wu?" Lu Yuan clenched his fists tightly, and he felt breathless.

"My lord, our county has just been promoted to a government, and in the eyes of the imperial court, we don't have a government soldier, so the military position is like a vacancy." Qin Youyu said softly.

Lu Yuan nodded, took a deep breath, and asked, "Does that mean that the imperial court is starting to doubt me?" ”

"Originally, the officials under the lord were all promoted from the local area, and the court would not pay special attention to you, but the promotion of the county to the government exposed the lord to the eyes of the court, and the court must think that the lord is Feng Yanting's henchman." Zhang Dezhong said slowly.

"Since they are suspicious of me, why do they still agree to my transfer plan, just reject all of them, and send another official over?" Lu Yuan was a little puzzled.

Qin Youyu explained: "My lord, now that the imperial court has just conquered the state of Chu, there is a shortage of officials, and if you rashly send a group of foreign officials over, it will definitely make the Hui'an Mansion chaotic, and the new population is not well managed, and it is likely that there will be riots. I think it's also for this reason that they want to take action against Ning Guohou in advance and relieve the trouble. ”

Zhang Dezhong glanced at Qin Youyu again and said, "What General Qin said is reasonable. ”

"Since they want stability, why do they do it to Ning Guohou now, aren't they afraid that Ning Guohou will rebel in advance?" Lu Yuan asked.

At this moment, Qin Quan walked in, his face was pale, and he said in a low voice: "My lord, Feng Yanting is dead, and the people of the imperial court have taken over Xuanzhou. ”

Lu Yuan froze, as if he had suddenly lost his strength, slumped in his chair, his eyes fixed on the ceiling above his head, and he felt that the ceiling seemed to be spinning.

Sun Shaoqing walked quickly behind Lu Yuan, rubbed his temples with his hands, and said softly, "Brother Yuan, cheer up." ”

Qin Youyu didn't care about the surprised eyes of others, walked to Lu Yuan's side and squatted down, rubbed his chest, and said softly: "Lu Lang, get through." ”

Hearing the voices of the two, Lu Yuan put one hand on Sun Shaoqing's hand, and the other hand on Qin Youyu's shoulder, and after a long time, he said softly: "I'm fine." ”

He looked at Qin Quan and asked, "How did he die?" ”

Seeing that he had recovered, Qin Quan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It was Zhuang Yi, the secretary in charge of the Ningguo Hou Mansion, who sent someone to deliver the letter, saying that Feng Yanting was killed by one of his concubines, and the people from the imperial court had arrived in Ningguo County, and the news had been blocked, so he asked you to be careful." ”

After hearing the news, none of the five people in the study spoke, and turned their eyes to Lu Yuan, waiting for his decision.

"Yu'er, if we have an incident right now, how many chances do we have?" Lu Yuan asked in a low voice.

"Most of the soldiers have too short training time, if the imperial army comes, I am afraid that it will collapse at the first touch, if I give me another half a year, maybe there is a glimmer of life." Qin Youyu lowered his head and said.

Hearing the names of Lu Yuan and Qin Yu, Zhang Dezhong and Ji Yan both guessed that Qin Yu was a woman, but now was not the time to care about this matter.

Lu Yuan asked again: "What do you think the imperial court will do with me next?" ”

"The old man thought that the imperial court would definitely send someone to Jinling Mansion to investigate whether the lord knew about Ning Guohou's rebellion, and then convict him, and he would also send a mansion Yin to replace the lord to investigate whether other officials of the government were involved." Zhang Dezhong said.

"If they find out, how will they be convicted?"

Ji Yan said in a deep voice: "Anyone involved in rebellion is a capital crime for the whole clan. ”

Lu Yuan closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

After a long time, he tapped a finger on the table, and each time he tapped it, he pronounced a name: "Hou Kaishan, Zhanyuan, Jin Yuanwu, Dong Yuan, Qin Li, Ma Kongming, Luo Tai, Yuan Chi." ”

He said to Qin Quan, "Go and tell them to come over immediately." ”

Qin Quan answered and strode out of the study.

Sun Shaoqing was a little apprehensive in his heart, and said, "Brother Yuan, why don't we leave Nantang together!" ”

Qin Youyu also persuaded: "Lu Lang, what Sister Sun said is right, we can bring some loyal subordinates to join Wu Yue, and there may be a chance to make a comeback in the future." ”

"When they come, we'll stay." Lu Yuan said softly.

After a long time, everyone arrived.

Lu Yuan said in a deep voice: "You are all the most trusted people in my Lu Yuan, I want you to make a choice today, and I will make a choice myself." ”

Seeing his serious expression, everyone silently waited for him to continue, and Lu Yuan said word by word: "I want to compete for the world!" Will you follow me? ”

"May the long follow you." Qin Youyu was the first to echo.

"Life and death go hand in hand." Sun Shaoqing followed.

Zhang Dezhong and Ji Yan have all considered this matter, Hou Kaishan has already decided to follow Lu Yuan for life, and Ma Kongming has no good impression of the imperial court, and the four of them did not hesitate to say: "I am willing to follow my lord." ”

Zhanyuan, Dong Yuan, Jin Yuanwu and Luo Tai were all stunned for a moment, the fate of Zhanyuan and Dong Yuan was changed because of Lu Yuan, Jin Yuanwu and Luo Tai both had ambitions, and after thinking about it, they all replied: "I am willing to follow the adult." ”

Yuan Chi hesitated for a long time, thought of his agreement with Lu Yuan, gritted his teeth, and said, "I am willing to follow the adult." ”

Qin Li saw that everyone else had expressed their positions, and although he was a little reluctant, he had no choice but to follow: "My subordinates are willing to follow." ”

Qin Quan took in everyone's expressions and demeanor, and then said coldly: "Swear to follow." ”

Lu Yuan asked again: "Now that the imperial court has doubted me, the situation is critical, and I may take my life at any time, are you still willing?" ”

This time, except for Qin Li, who was a beat slower, everyone else said without hesitation: "Yes." ”

Since they decided to follow Lu Yuan's rebellion, they considered the outcome of defeat.

Lu Yuan's eyes flashed, and he laughed and said, "Okay, since you are willing to sacrifice your life to accompany me, I will also sacrifice my life to accompany you, there are a few things I will tell you first." ”

"First, General Qin Yu is actually a woman, and like Miss Sun, she is my fiancée. Second, I originally planned to follow Ning Guohou to start an incident, but Ning Guohou is dead, and the imperial court is likely to do something to me soon. Third, although I have secretly recruited more than 4,000 soldiers and horses at the moment, if the imperial army comes, we will definitely be defeated. ”

Sweeping over everyone, Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and said:

"You have made a choice, now it is time for me to choose, if the imperial court sends someone to arrest me, I plan to follow them into Jinling, during this period you must send people to Jinling to carry out activities, to protect me from death, and at the same time to increase the strength as soon as possible, and when the time is ripe, you will rescue me, and when I escape from Jinling, it will be the time for me to wait for an incident!"