What Lu Zhi did wrong and what he paid, Xun Shuang and others all understood.

Therefore, they better understand how sad and depressed Lu Zhi was when the ancient literature school actually split at that time.

He has done so much, all he has done is to make the development of the ancient literature school better, which can be described as a public heart, but in the face of more interests, those guys who are protected by him in the ancient literature school still chose Yuan Kui without hesitation.

So Lu Zhi's heart for the ancient literature school died.

During that time, Lu Zhi's mood was very low, and they all knew it.

To this day, although this matter is almost over, Lu Zhi is still haunted.

Looking at this appearance, Lu Zhi should be completely desperate for the ancient literature school.

"Zigan, I don't want to persuade you to do anything, but at least, Xuande still needs you."

Ma Riyan said slowly: "You can not care about the ancient literature school, but can you not care about Xuande?" ”

Lu Zhi looked at Ma Riyan and smiled bitterly.

"If it weren't for Xuande, when Zheng Gong hadn't left, I wouldn't have agreed to take his entrustment, Xuande is my personal disciple, I led him into Luoyang, I always have to be responsible for him, I can't just throw my hands and leave nothing, that's not what a good teacher should do."

Hearing this, the other three all breathed a sigh of relief.

Xun Shuang nodded slowly.

"Soon, Xuande came, and then, it was a dragon and tiger fight, if the Son of Heaven wins, the world is stable, if the Son of Heaven loses, we will not die well, Zigan, are you sure?"

"As long as the Son of Heaven does not think about abolishing the elder and establishing the young, I will never allow the He clan and the Yuan clan to commit rebellion."

Lu Zhi's position on this point is very clear, he said slowly: "What are the thoughts of the He family and the Yuan family, everyone knows it, it is nothing more than wanting to reproduce the affairs of the relatives of the past, I am Hanchen, not Yuan's minister, let alone He minister!" ”

The other three also nodded together, as for the meaning of this nod, which is a bit the same as Lu Zhi's, it is pure selflessness, it is really hard to say.

At least Xun Shuang and Ma Riyan are definitely not like this.

On February 23, the sixth year of Zhongping, Liu Bei led his army to Shanglin Yuan, west of Luoyangcheng, where he ordered his army to be stationed on the spot, and then began daily training.

After arranging the affairs of the army, Liu Bei followed Zhang Rang, the messenger of the Son of Heaven who was waiting for him in Shanglin Yuan, and went to Luoyang to meet Liu Hong, the Son of Heaven.

On the way to Luoyang City, Liu Bei and Zhang Rang did not communicate privately.

It was still the same, and it wasn't until he entered the palace of Luoyang City and walked to the familiar uninhabited path that Zhang Rang slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I have done what you asked me to do, and now that you are back, it is time for you to fulfill your promise, and my life is in your hands."

"Don't worry, Lao Zhang, someone Liu is a person who does what he says, and what I promised you will definitely be done."

Liu Bei smiled and stretched out his hand and patted Zhang Rang's shoulder: "I also want to thank you for helping me finalize the matter of opening the mansion, without your advice, I'm afraid I may not be able to open the mansion smoothly." ”

"It feels like you're scolding me."

Zhang Rang shook his head with a smile: "But I did this just to save my life, I did what I could, and I staked everything I had, Liu Xuande, you must not live up to my trust." ”

"I do what I say."

Liu Bei said with a smile: "Of course, it doesn't mean that you have nothing to do next, play the role of Dongyuan, try to provide me with detailed and reliable information, I need to know all the actions of the Yuan family, the He family and their subordinates as soon as possible, I want to know everything I can know, what I can't know, you have to try to eliminate all difficulties, and let me know." ”

"You're so domineering."

Zhang Rang said this, but his expression was visibly relaxed: "But these things also happen to be my specialty, by the way, according to your requirements, I didn't tell the Son of Heaven some news that is not suitable for the Son of Heaven to know during this time." ”

"Well done."

Liu Bei nodded: "As for the condition of the Son of Heaven, what do you think?" ”

"This time the disease is menacing, it should be because the wind and cold did not heal last time."

Zhang Rang looked around and said in a low voice: "The Son of Heaven was naked, infected with wind and cold before, and when he first recovered from a serious illness, he couldn't help but indulge in lust, drank a lot of alcohol, never followed the doctor's instructions, and didn't listen to the advice of others.

The day before yesterday, I chatted privately with the attending physician and asked him about the actual situation, and he told me that the Son of Heaven's condition was somewhat serious, but it was not incurable, mainly because the Son of Heaven could not quit drinking and could not insist on taboos, so the condition could not get better. ”

Liu Bei nodded slowly.

"Continue to stare at the condition of the Son of Heaven, during this time, I will do my best to deal with the He family and the Yuan family, and you should not be idle here, you must do your best to control the court, especially to find a way to target Queen He, and not let the queen pass too important news to He Jin."

"The queen still trusts us, we have cooperated with each other since a long time ago, and we have been very kind to the queen."

Zhang Rang said with a smile: "The queen is not as ignorant as He Jin, the queen still thinks of our good, plus the Son of Heaven hates the queen and does not want to see the queen, now the queen has anything to know, she asks me, and knows the news of the Son of Heaven from me." ”

"Well, that's right."

Liu Bei thought for a while, and then asked, "What about the Dong family?" If I remember correctly, the Imperial City Guards and the troops of the City Gate Captain who protected the palace, and even the team of the Jinwu Governor, were all under Dong Chong's control, and the Son of Heaven trusted Dong Chong very much? ”

"Dong Chong is the nephew of the Queen Mother, and he is the family of the Son of Heaven, of course he trusts Dong Chong."

Zhang Rang said in a low voice: "Dong Chong has always been on bad terms with He Jin, he is a good helper who can be wooed, there are not many people who can help you deal with He Jin and Yuan Kui, among these people, Dong Chong is definitely very important." ”

"It's not that he can't win over, the main thing is that the safety of Luoyang City is under his control."

Liu Bei touched his beard: "I'm not used to leaving my own safety to others, I think I can only feel at ease if my own people control this matter, Lao Zhang, what do you think?" You don't want to leave your life to someone you can't trust, do you? ”

"That's what I said."

Zhang Rang hesitated for a while, looked at Liu Bei and said: "Xuande, the Son of Heaven is still there, don't always consider the premise that the Son of Heaven is gone, now if the Son of Heaven is gone, but you are alone to deal with the He family and the Yuan family, and there is an emperor with the blood of the He family behind you, can you rest assured?" ”

"Lao Zhang, you have to remember that the situation we are facing is a situation where we lose all the games if we are not careful."

Liu Bei Zhengse said: "We must consider any situation, whether it is possible or not, whether it is reasonable or not, we always have to think of the worst plan, for the matter of fighting for the supreme power, the imperial palace and the imperial city are always the top priority."

If you take the imperial city and the imperial palace, you can destroy all the vital enemies, and when the leaders of the enemy are all dead, even if the rest of the people are scattered, they will be nameless, and there will be no righteous reputation, and sooner or later they will go into decline, isn't this the case with the Zhulu Rebellion? ”

Zhang Rang felt that what Liu Bei said was reasonable.

"What you said is very reasonable, but Dong Chong's appointment was issued by the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven also trusts Dong Chong, what can you do?"

"Don't worry, I'll see the Son of Heaven first."

Liu Bei said slowly: "During this time, the situation in Luoyang will not intensify so quickly, we need to make a good calculation, anyway, you first do your best to collect the information I need, and always monitor the actions of Jian Shuo, Empress Dowager Dong, Empress He and Dong Chong, and inform me every night." ”

"You want to know every day?"

"Every day, time is life, one step ahead of others, can kill people."

"It's new, but there's some truth to it."

Zhang Rang nodded: "In this case, I will do as you say, but after all, it is difficult to do this, and the risk is still very great, if I am discovered, I will die without a place to be buried, if the big thing happens in the future, what treatment will you give me?" ”

"Whatever the Son of Heaven can give you, I can give you."

The corners of Liu Bei's mouth hooked, and he looked at Zhang Rang: "Old Zhang, believe me, I won't treat you badly." ”

"I believe you, and I can't distrust you."

Zhang Rang smiled: "From now on, the power of the Ten Standing Servants will be used by you." ”

The unbreakable political alliance was reached, and the two of them, each taking what they needed and each harboring a ghost, began a tacit embarrassment, and the two walked to Liu Hong's dormitory together and saw Liu Hong who was sick.

(End of chapter)