After Liu Wei and others returned to the palace, they met with Empress Dowager He. Reborn after the catastrophe, Empress Dowager He naturally hugged Liu Wei and cried bitterly.

Tang Ji, Ren Hongchang, and Princess Wannian also returned from Jiang Qi's military camp and stood in the crowd of people who received the car. Princess Wannian looked at Liu Wei and Liu Xie worriedly, for fear that something would be missing from them. Tang Ji saw Liu Wei return safely, and finally let go of the worries in her heart, and secretly wiped her tears in the crowd. Only Ren Hongchang glared at Liu Wei with both annoyance and worry, with a complicated expression on his face that didn't know whether it was joy or anger.

Liu Wei knew that Ren Hongchang was angry that he had expected danger in the palace early on and sent them elsewhere, but he was alone in danger, which made them worried.

In the face of the care of the three women, Liu Wei felt sweet and guilty in his heart, and it was not easy to say anything in front of Empress Dowager He and others, so he glanced at them with guilt and nodded slightly.

Lu Zhi watched Liu Wei reunite with Empress Dowager He's mother and son on the side, and felt quite comforted in his heart. Empress Dowager He saw that he also came to the palace with Liu Bian, so she said to Liu Bian: "Bian'er, this time our mother and son were able to save the day thanks to Lu Shangshu's great help, and Bian'er should be rewarded to him." ”

Liu Wei was stunned for a moment, wondering why Empress Dowager He was so impressed by Lu Zhi. Isn't it because the Yongdao Department saved her? didn't have time to ask in detail, Liu Wei, who had something in his heart, said to the Empress Dowager He: "The palace has suffered a great disaster, and the queen mother has also suffered a lot. also asked the queen mother to return to the palace as soon as possible to recuperate, so as not to worry about the emperor. ”

At this time, Empress Dowager He was indeed tired, so she nodded and said: "In this way, the queen mother will return to the palace, and the debate will also rest early." ”

Liu Wei replied: "The emperor remembers, tomorrow the emperor will go to the queen mother to say goodbye." ”

Empress Dowager He took the palace people back to Changqiu Palace, Tang Ji and the other three daughters saw that Liu Wei was pulling Lu Zhi to discuss something, so they had to put their worries in their hearts, and returned to the palace to wait patiently for Liu Wei to come back.

The palace has just experienced a great chaos, and both the Chongde Hall and the Jiade Hall have been affected, and the ground is in shambles, and there is no way to stay at all. Liu Wei had no choice but to discuss with Lu Zhi in the less damaging palace.

Because Lu Zhi said that there was a confidential matter, Liu Wei dismissed everyone around him, leaving only Lu Zhi and him in the palace.

Lu Zhi saw that Liu Wei trusted him so much, his heart was moved, and he suddenly knelt on the ground, took out the six seals of the Son of Heaven that had been prepared long ago from his arms, and held them high above his head.

"These six jade seals were found on the way to find His Majesty, and Weichen searched for a long time, but he did not see the jade seal of the country. The minister felt that this matter was a big matter, and he was afraid that there would be a small person who would take advantage of this matter to make trouble, so he did not dare to make a noise, and he only dared to take out the jade seal to present it to His Majesty at this time. ”

These six jade seals of the Son of Heaven were dropped one by one on the way in order to lure the rescuers when Liu Wei was held hostage by Zhang Rang. Unexpectedly, Lu Zhi really found himself through this. It's just that Lu Zhi didn't pick up the jade seal of the country, so he mistakenly thought that it was thrown somewhere, and he didn't dare to say it for fear that someone would take the opportunity to make trouble, until now when the two of them were left, he took out the jade seal and explained it to Liu Bian.

Liu Wei took the jade seal with a smile and said, "I have always wondered how Duke Lu found me, it turns out that this is indeed the case." Lu Gong is meticulous and cautious, and his loyalty to my Han can also be seen from the sun and the moon. It's just that Duke Lu doesn't have to worry about the jade seal of the country, long before the chaos in the palace, I hid the jade seal of the country in an Antuo place. Now that you have returned to the palace, you can send someone to fetch it. ”

Liu Wei sent a message to the Yellow Gate of the Palace, and ordered them to go to the place where they buried the jade seal in Maolong Garden, dig out the jade seal of the country, and hand it back to him.

Lu Zhi saw that the jade seal was lost and recovered, and finally let go of his heart. Then I wondered how Liu Wei knew that there would be chaos in the palace and hid the jade seal of the country in advance?

Although he had doubts in his heart, Lu Zhi decided to say another thing that worried him first.

"Your Majesty, the minister has something to explain to Your Majesty."

"Lu Gong has everything to tell me."

"What the minister wants to say is about the former general Dong Zhuo. Chen Su knew that Dong Zhuo was a man, a jackal tiger and leopard in the world, with different ambitions and great ambitions. Today, he led his troops into Beijing, arrogant and arrogant, colluded with his close ministers, and had a bad heart. If he is allowed to act recklessly, he may cause disaster, and His Majesty should plan for it as soon as possible. ”

Lu Zhi's words made Liu Wei nod his head, Lu Zhi and Dong Zhuo had worked together to suppress the Yellow Turban Uprising, so they naturally understood Dong Zhuo's character and ambition. The so-called collusion with close ministers probably means that he saw Dong Zhuo and Wei Yi and Jiang Qi walking closer, and was afraid that he would not be able to control it after his strength grew, so he reminded Liu Wei to be careful.

Lu Zhi's fierce loyalty moved Liu Wei unusually much, and Jiang Qi and Wei Yi approached Dong Zhuo at his behest. In order to keep it secret, apart from the three of them, even Tang Ji and Ren Hongchang, who were close to him, didn't know about it.

Looking at Lu Zhi's anxious and worried look, Liu Wei, who had intended to hide it, suddenly had an inexplicable unbearable, struggled in his heart, and finally looked at no one on the left and right, and said in a flat tone: "Wei Yi and Jiang Qi are my people. ”

Liu Biao said ambiguously, but how could the wise and intelligent Lu Zhi not hear the meaning?

was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, and then a little frightened.

Liu Wei has always shown people with an image of disrespecting etiquette and working on kit kat, making people think that he is just a young prince who only knows how to have fun and doesn't care about anything. Who would have thought that there would be such a city under his worldly appearance.

Only then did Lu Zhi feel that there seemed to be a fog around Liu Wei's body, and he could only see the faint image, but he couldn't guess the general idea.

Especially for Dong Zhuo's incident, Lu Zhi was shocked by Liu Zhuo's deep inner palace, but he saw Dong Zhuo's threat to the Han Empire more clearly than everyone. He didn't believe that Liu Biao had only recently started to deal with Dong Zhuo, but he was puzzled why Liu Biao could see through Dong Zhuo's danger today, either because he had a far-sighted vision, or because he could predict the prophet.

Lu Zhi faintly felt that the entire sky over Luoyang had allowed Liu Wei to quietly set up a big net, and it seemed that it was not only Dong Zhuo, a big fish, who wanted to catch the net.

If an ordinary scholar knew about this kind of thing, he would inevitably be on guard against this far-sighted and gloomy emperor. But Lu Zhi not only did not have this idea at all, but gave birth to a heartfelt sense of relief.

Because in his life, he has always had a dream, that is, to restore the majesty of the Han Dynasty and reproduce the rule of the prosperous era. He is willing to give everything he has for this dream, and his family, reputation, status, and even his life cannot override his dream. However, after experiencing the political mediocrity of the two emperors, he felt that this dream began to get farther and farther away from him, and he became more and more physically and mentally exhausted.

Now there is such a far-sighted and ambitious emperor, although he acts a little ghostly, but for Lu Zhi, the flame of dreams that is about to be extinguished in his heart has once again been ignited by Liu Wei.

Deeply feeling this, Lu Zhi said with some excitement: "Your Majesty is prepared, and the minister is too worried." If Your Majesty has anything, please instruct Your Majesty, and the Minister Zhi is willing to go to the soup for Your Majesty, and he will not give up! ”

"Gonggong Lu is loyal to the country and loyal to me, I naturally know." Liu Wei comforted Lu Zhi and said. "Although the sky over Dahan is temporarily covered by dark clouds, Lu Gong is patient and waits, and I will definitely see the blue sky when the clouds and mist are cleared.

Lu Zhi respectfully saluted and said: "Your Majesty's ability is less than one of the ministers. If one day my Han can repeat the life of Emperor Wu, even if the minister dies, he will have no regrets! ”

Liu Wei smiled and said: "Don't say it so decisively, in the future, to reorganize the dynasty, you need Lu Gong to help more, even at this time, there is still something that needs Lu Gong to come forward." ”

"What does Your Majesty command?"

"I named you the lieutenant general of the Northern Army and controlled the five battalions of the Northern Army."

Lu Zhi was stunned for a moment when he heard what Liu Wei said, and immediately understood Liu Wei's intentions. The five battalions of the Northern Army were originally soldiers and horses under He Jin, but after He Jin's death, there was no one to command, and it became the largest mobile force in Luoyang City today. Controlling them is equivalent to taking the initiative in the situation in Luoyang City.

However, the fifth battalion of the Northern Army has always only obeyed He Jin's orders, and after He Jin's death, those generals all had the mentality of waiting for the price to sell, and looked coldly at the chaotic situation in Luoyang City without expressing their stance to any force. Lu Zhi began to worry about whether he could control this army, if he couldn't control this strong army in a short period of time and was taken advantage of, wouldn't it be a disappointment to Liu Wei's ardent expectations for him?

Thinking about how the Tai Lieutenant Zhou Bo killed Zhu Lu at the beginning, he climbed high and shouted, and the sergeants all covered their left arms. (Note 1) Why can't he encounter such a thing?

Lu Zhi was worried about how to control the northern army, but what Liu Wei said next made him suddenly change his worries and turn to joy.

"Now that the Runan Yellow Turban has returned, I order you to lead the five battalions of the Northern Army to Pingkou immediately.

Lu Zhi's eyes lit up. It is impossible to control the five battalions of the Northern Army in a short period of time, and if they are taken out of the capital, all forces will not be able to win them over, and naturally no one will form an absolute advantage. And Lu Zhi felt that Liu Wei would inevitably have a backhand if he pulled away such a large force as the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Army, and Jiang Qi and Wei Yi might be his last move.

Thinking about this, Lu Zhi no longer had a trace of worry in his heart. In the name of the imperial court, take the five battalions of the Northern Army to Pingkou, even if they are unwilling, they will not be able to disobey the emperor's order, unless any of them wants to rebel.

"Your Majesty is far-sighted, wise and wise, and your Majesty is full of admiration!" Lu Zhi said sincerely.

Liu Wei waved his hand again and again. wrote an edict to Lu Zhi, ordering him to read it in the barracks tomorrow with this edict, and immediately lead the army out of the city on the same day.

After Lu Zhi led the decree out of the palace, the sky was already dark, and because he was happy in his heart, Lu Zhi's pace of going home was naturally much faster. As soon as he entered the door, he ordered someone to dig out the treasured 20-year-old cellar wine, and celebrated that the big man had hope, and his dream also had hope.

Lu Zhi's wife Qi couldn't help but feel strange when she saw Lu Zhi so excited, she was often depressed because she was worried about the current situation on weekdays, but today she was uncharacteristically going to drink and talk about it, and she seemed to have encountered some happy event.

Just as she was about to ask, Lu Zhi beside her actually grabbed her hand and said with a smile: "Tonight is breezy, just right for you and me to sleep peacefully." ”

Although he was an old husband and wife, hearing her husband's ridicule, Qi's face turned crimson for a moment, and she shook off Lu Zhi's hand with a twist, and said even more strangely in her heart: "Master, what's the matter?" ”

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Note 1: See "Historical Records of the Later Han Dynasty"