Now that the decision has been made, Lu Zhen and the others will not delay any longer, and immediately start to prepare for the return of the grain. And all this was quickly seen by the people who had been paying attention to them outside, and the news quickly spread back to King Zhou's mansion.

Hearing the news, Zhu Yan and the two of them immediately geared up and were eager to try. This is not only because they have already made a military order with the prince, but also because they themselves desperately need to re-establish their prestige by removing this thorn in their eyes. So soon after, more than 200 guards were sent out of the city, and their whereabouts were soon unknown.

At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu allowed the vassal kings to have absolute military power in order to consolidate the status of the old Zhu family as much as possible. As for the vassal kings like King Yan and King Ning who need to defend the border for the country, the soldiers and horses that can be used under their hands are even more sufficient.

However, with the change of the times, after Emperor Jianwen's reduction of the feudal domain and the Jingyan Battle, the military power in the hands of the vassal kings was recaptured by the imperial court. Especially when Emperor Taizong Zhu Di ascended the throne, because he himself seized the throne by rebelling, in order to prevent someone from repeating his old tricks, he actually followed the old path of his nephew and once again reduced the military power in the hands of the vassal kings in various places.

It's just that his methods are much more clever than Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen, so after a period of suppression, the vassal kings in various places have long since lost their original scale. Now, decades have passed, and there are even fewer soldiers and horses that the vassal king can command, and the Central Plains vassal king with a fief in Kaifeng like King Zhou has only three or five hundred officers and soldiers in his palace, and this time more than two hundred people have been transferred, which is actually the limit - the huge palace has to leave one or two hundred people to guard.

And after Changshi Gaogong saw this action, the worry in his heart became more and more serious. He can see clearly that these guys really plan to ignore the laws of the Ming Dynasty and want to push their prince to a dead end. This was something he couldn't accept in any case, so after some struggle, he made a decision.

In the evening of that day, when the entire Kaifeng City fell into silence, Gao Gong secretly appeared outside the courtyard where Lu Zhen and the others were, and after being sure that no one was following, he quietly stepped forward and knocked on the knocker.

After a while, a Jinyi lieutenant vigilantly opened the crack in the door and asked, "Who are you?" What's the matter? ”

"Go and tell your master, just say that it is extremely inappropriate to leave Kaifeng at this time, and the Zhou Wangfu has already sent someone to set up an ambush on the way you are going to Xingze County." Gao Gong said this with a serious expression, then turned around and left, without even telling his identity. As a courtier under the prince, he knew that he should not do this, so he naturally didn't dare to say anything more.

The captain looked at Gao Changshi, who left quickly and didn't enter the night, and came back to his senses after a while, quickly closed the door, turned around and went back inside to report to Lu Jinyu.

When Lu Zhen heard this, he smiled: "I can't imagine that there are people in King Zhou's Mansion who are not worth it, this is a bit unexpected by me." ”

"My lord, shall we still act according to the plan?" Yao Gan hurriedly asked.

"Of course. We had expected that the Zhou Wangfu would not give up, but now we just know what happened, do we have to change our minds because of this? But before that, we must let them know that I am still in Kaifeng, so that the people of Zhou Wangfu will not dare to act rashly! Lu Zhen gave his decision without hesitation.

It's actually not too difficult to do this, because Lu Zhen has now become a celebrity in this Kaifeng Mansion City, and as long as he shows up in the crowd, he can attract many onlookers.

So early the next morning, when his own convoy carrying grain was ready, and squeaked and walked out of the city, he took people to the famous Hongyan Tower in the city, took the money and set up a table of banquets, and ate and drank with Yao Gan and other subordinates in full view.

This scene fell into the eyes of many people, including the eyes and ears of the palace who had been staring at his movements. Soon after, the news quickly spread to the palace. It's just that the news was not handed to King Zhou, but was intercepted by the chief steward Zhu Zhe. This kind of news that can provoke the prince is angry, so it is better to hide it for a while.

"This Zheng Lu really has some brains, and he is really bold enough. Obviously, he knew that my Zhou Wangfu would not let him go, and he was worried that he would encounter an accident after the grain was transported, so he simply left himself in Kaifeng, so that we could throw a mouse bogey! Hey, I'm underestimating him. After pondering, Zhu Zhe sneered and commented on the matter.

"Steward, what should we do?" Some of his men were staring at him, waiting for him to come up with an idea.

"You hurry up and send someone to deliver a letter to Zhu Ke and them, so that they don't act rashly, otherwise they will only cause trouble to the palace. And what the prince wants to deal with is the one surnamed Zheng, if he is still alive, no matter how many others kill, it will not help at all. Zhu Zhe immediately decided.

"That'...... What to do with that grain? They were going to send it to Xingze. ”

"Food is just a small thing. How much is tens of thousands of catties of grain? For the victims of the disaster who are waiting to be fed in a county, this bit of food is not even a drop in the bucket, and they can eat for three or five days at most, and it will not affect the overall situation of the prince. Zhu Zhe said disapprerovingly: "The most important thing now is to get rid of these bold guys, especially that Zheng Lu, he must not be allowed to return to Xingze alive, everything else is secondary." ”

Seeing that he said solemnly, his subordinates also responded solemnly: "Yes, the little one knows what to do." We're going to send a message to the two stewards so that they don't act rashly. ”

"Go ahead, and then ask someone to stare at the every move of that surnamed Zheng to death, and we must not let him escape our grasp." Zhu Zhe waved his hand and ordered.

When the people of the palace were running around and busy making corresponding arrangements, Lu Zhen and the others in Hongyan Tower were full of wine and food, and returned to their residence with drunken steps.

In the next few days, Lu Zhen and the others appeared in front of the people in the city every day, and they didn't mean to hide it at all, as if they never took the things that offended the Zhou Wangfu seriously. What is surprising is that in this regard, the people of the palace who were rampant and domineering really did not dare to attack them anymore, as if they were really afraid of this group of foreign merchants because of the loss of that fight.

As a result, the people in the city had different opinions, bluntly saying that these merchants were all masters, which made the Zhou Wangfu frightened. What's more, some people began to spread that Zhou Wangfu was a group of fearless bandits who bullied the soft and feared evil, and they bullied and bullied the common people.

Such statements are very loud, which makes the people of the palace who know about this matter hate Lu Zhen more and more. If it weren't for Zhu Zhe's strict order to prevent them from acting rashly, I'm afraid that these people would have come to the door again and settle accounts with Lu Jin. Of course, this is also related to the fact that His Royal Highness King Zhou was still in the dark at this time, if he heard the people outside comment on this matter, he was afraid that he would have already burst into a rage, and immediately sent someone to kill him regardless of it.

Time passed little by little in some weird ridicule. Five days passed in a flash, and just when the people in the city were speculating about what else these merchants would make in the city, early in the morning, the gate of the courtyard rented by Lu Zhen suddenly opened, and then more than a dozen people drove out of it with a carriage escorted by horses, and went straight to the city gate.

They're ...... Are you planning to leave Kaifeng? The people and the royal eyeliners who saw this scene were a little hesitant, and it was not until they watched them drive out of the newly opened city gate along the long street that everyone finally confirmed this judgment.

Immediately, these eyeliners hurriedly ran back to the palace and reported the sudden news to Zhu Zhe.

Zhu Zhe was having breakfast at this time, and when he heard this, the spoon in his hand was stunned, and then a solemn expression appeared on his face: "They dare to leave Kaifeng City so openly when they already know that we will not let go of themselves, it seems that they have been prepared." Send a message to Zhu Ke and tell them to do things. Be careful, though, and don't miss it again. ”

Somehow, although he knew that Zhu Ke and them had elite soldiers and horses in the palace, and the number was more than ten times that of the other party, Zhu Zhe was still a little worried in his heart, and he always felt that if the two sides really wanted to fight, Zhu Ke and they still might not be able to take advantage of anything.

With this thought, even Zhu Zhe himself laughed at it. How is this possible, they are just some foreign merchants, even if they know some kung fu, can they still be the opponent of the well-trained officers and soldiers in peacetime. What's more, his side still has a calculating intention and is ready to make a sneak attack and robbery.

"I'm definitely overly careful, and I'm just waiting for them to bring back the heads of these hateful guys." Zhu Zhe finally told himself.

But if he knew some of the details, he might not be so sure. In the past few days, when everyone was attracted by Lu Jin's swaggering to eat and drink in the city restaurant, they didn't find out that in fact, someone had secretly left Kaifeng City first.

This person is none other than Yao Gan. And his purpose is to prepare a good outpost for the upcoming battle, and to find out where the enemy is first. In this way, we can know ourselves and the enemy, and we can defeat the strong with the weak.

At this time, when the messenger of the palace delivered the news to Zhu Ke and them, not far from their hiding place, Yao Gan was also watching this side with a vigilant and scrutinizing gaze......