"Don't worry, father-in-law, there are children, these guys don't dare to mess with your father-" Lu Ling said fearlessly, "These guys are just lackeys in the court, bullying good and fearing evil, we don't need to bow to them!"

"However, the political struggle in the court, Ling'er, you don't understand......" Lu Guogong seemed to be emotional, and said slowly, "Ling'er, cough cough...... There is a request for the Father, can you grant it?"

"What kind of request, father-in-law, please speak-" Lu Ling asked with all kinds of filial piety. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Lu Guogong faced Lu Ling, full of reluctance, and said affectionately: "Ling'er, you are a homeless orphan adopted by your father in the war back then, and you have been helpless since you were a child...... He has cultivated you for the Father, and has treated you as his own son, hoping only to ...... Ahem...... Can you grow up safely...... It's a pity, ahem...... Encounter this troubled world...... Now that my father's illness is deepening, and his life is short, I only hope that Ling'er will ...... you Ahem...... Not poisoned by war, far from the cruel strife ......"

Lu Ling knew that her father-in-law was concerned about her own safety, but as an adopted son, Lu Ling vowed to be loyal to the Lu family for the rest of her life, and she had already made a decision in her heart...... Lu Ling comforted Lu Guogong for a while, and said comfortingly: "Father-in-law, the child knows that you are worried about my safety...... But now that the war is approaching, the court ignores you, and when you are seriously ill, you are ordered to defend the city - the righteous father is sick and can't do it, and the matter of the garrison to meet the battle is just left to the child!" Lu Ling said without hesitation, not only firm, but also confident in the defenders' defense against the enemy.

"No, Ling'er, you can't...... Ahem...... "Lu Guogong coughed and said with all his might, "It is for my father to defend the city against the enemy...... Serve the court and be loyal to the king...... Ling'er, you were raised by your father, and the death of your parents was due to the war, so you don't need to bear the ...... of allegiance to the imperial court Liability...... Ahem...... If it's because of the war, Ling'er, you...... Life and death, isn't that ...... cough cough cough ......" Lu Guogong said very hard, and he was afraid of entangled in the safety of his son Lu Ling.

"No, father-in-law, since you raised the child single-handedly, the child must know about the Entu newspaper-" Lu Ling said firmly, "Father-in-law is right, the child does not need to bear the responsibility of allegiance to the imperial court...... Everything the child did was to repay his father-in-law for his nurturing kindness -- since you were a child, you taught me martial arts, taught me the art of war, and taught me to command the army, and now that you have the ability to be a general, it is time to repay it! Since the child's name was given by the father-in-law, the child swore that he would only be loyal to the Lu family in this life and this life; since the father-in-law was in trouble, as a righteous son, how could he retreat and avoid it?

"Child, why are you so stupid, hey......" Lu Guogong lay on the bed, seeing Lu Ling swearing to himself "foolish loyalty", his heart was moved, but it was filled with regret and compassion, "It's a pity, why did you meet in troubled times...... Ling'er, you are high-spirited, but you entered my Lu family, if it was not the official father who adopted you at the beginning, but someone else, maybe...... Ahem...... Your life is much happier than it is now......"

"The child said that the fate is this, the child will be loyal to the Lu family as soon as he takes effect, no matter what the world is, he will never change!" Lu Ling stood up and said righteously, "Father-in-law, you can rest well, just leave all the rest of the affairs to the child......" After speaking, Lu Ling turned around, slowly and firmly, and left the bedroom.

Lu Guogong didn't say anything more, just looked at the back of Yizi's departure, and felt a lot of emotion in his heart......

General's Mansion ......

"Damn, I'm really angry-" Timur, who came back from the Prime Minister's Mansion, remembered Lu Ling's "disrespect" and "threat" to him just now, and still held a grudge against him, and his subordinates had not left, so he couldn't help but stand in front of the table and shouted loudly, "That Lu Ling, he didn't take General Ben in his eyes at all, and dared to provoke him several times! Hmph, it's just a wandering orphan picked up by the Lu family back then, and he really thinks he is a little prince, and he is so disobedient to General Ben-"

Seeing it from the sidelines, the cronies and guards stepped forward to comfort him: "Don't panic, general, he Lu Ling is just regarded as his own son by Lu Guogong, and it is normal for him to have a little son's temper...... Besides, now that the war is imminent, why bother with a hairy boy's 'offense'?"

"You also know that the war is imminent-" At the mention of the war, Timur immediately became impetuous, and it was difficult to say steadily, "It is precisely because Zhu Yuanzhang's army is pressing, and it is difficult to find a chance to win at the moment, so General Ben is angry-Hmph, my brother told me to find a way to seize Lu Guogong's military power, and now there is a Lu Ling who is not afraid of death is in the way here, how can I rest assured?"

The cronies thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Hmm...... Since he is not afraid of death, then just let him do as he pleases and let Lu Ling die......"

"How can it be so easy to let him die?" Timur said in a manic manner, "That hairy boy was cultivated by Lu Guogong himself, both civil and military, and he was a general of the army and a general of war, and it was not that simple to kill him...... If you play shady, you can only secretly find flaws to deal with him -- but this guy has no official status and no political authority, and just now in front of this general, he dared to say that 'the people of the city and the countryside are not afraid of the imperial court,' and this kind of guy who is 'barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes' is afraid that he will not be able to use soft and hard means, so how can he be killed?"

"Since we can't, we can let the enemy do us a favor—" The cronie smiled strangely.

"Enemy? Zhu Yuanzhang said-" Timur didn't react for a while, and couldn't help asking, "What should I do?"

As if he had a plan in his heart, his cronies whispered: "Didn't Lord Timur give an order asking the general to seize the military power of Luoyang? In this way, there is no need to seriously confront Zhu Yuanzhang...... However, on the surface, you still have to do something, and simply confront the enemy army, which should also relax Lu Guogong's vigilance against the general......"

"Fool Lu Guogong, for—" Timur asked, still puzzled.

The cronies continued to reply: "It's not just Lu Guogong who is blinded, but also Lu Ling...... Although the military power is in the hands of Lu Guogong, Lu Guogong is sick and cannot lead the troops, so the military power is naturally handed over to his cronies Lu Ling. That being the case, Lu Ling's intention must be the main battle - first ostensibly promised to unite with Lu Guogong and jointly deal with Zhu Yuanzhang, and the general of the first battle personally led his troops and horses to sit in the town, and after fighting with the enemy several times, the army discussed that Lu Ling would lead troops to support ......"

"And then?" asked Taeki Timur next.

The cronies continued: "Then Lu Ling's troops will deal head-on with the enemy, general, you can take the opportunity to act on the occasion of returning to the city to transfer troops - the main general Lu Ling is outside, Lu Guogong is seriously ill, and the military power will inevitably be relaxed, general, you can take this opportunity to seize the military power, move the main force and retreat to Shaanzhou and Tongguan, leaving Lu Ling and a small number of troops to wait for death in the capital of Luoyang...... In this way, on the one hand, he won the power of the army, and on the other hand, he also killed Lu Ling by the hands of the enemy, wouldn't he kill two birds with one stone?"

When Timur heard this, he smiled slightly: "Ha, this is not a wrong idea - borrowing a knife to kill people, this is also a trick that my brother often uses...... Okay, just follow this idea, and when there is a military operation, I will immediately go to Lu Ling's kid to discuss......"

"Newspaper-" As he spoke, outside the general's mansion, the soldiers who delivered the message hurriedly arrived.

"What's the matter, what's going on?" Timur asked, sensing that there was a war report.

"Report to the general-" The soldier knelt down and said, "The spies in front have come to report that the enemy army is approaching in the direction of Luoyang with 50,000 troops, and now it has reached the Luohe Pass!"

"It's just a coincidence, I just said that Zhu Yuanzhang will be overwhelmed by the army so soon......" Timur smiled coldly, and said with the cronies who had just made the idea, "Just according to what you just said, go and inform General Lu Ling, and General Ben will urgently discuss with him......"

The cronies heard Timur's tone, so they ordered: "Yes, my subordinates will go now-" After speaking, he turned around and left the general's mansion and went to the Lu family's mansion......

"Hmph, you stinky boy, since it's such an eyesore, then let you die miserably in the hands of the enemy, but don't blame General Ben for being ruthless......" Timur cursed secretly in his heart, and the evil plan was brewing......

On the Lu family's house, in the back room......

Lu Guogong is getting seriously ill, and many miscellaneous military affairs are naturally entrusted to his son Lu Ling. In addition, the news of the fall of Bianliang came out, and the court became increasingly nervous, not to mention Luoyang, which was nearby. There are a lot of troubles and fatigue in the military, Lu Ling is busy with management, often does not close his eyes day and night, sleeps regularly, and often has little leisure for a while, that is, the bedroom rests......

Today is no exception, just from his father-in-law's room to settle the "trouble" of Timur, this time when he came back, taking advantage of the gap, Lu Ling fell on the bed to rest for a while. However, perhaps it is overworked, and often closing the eyes for a moment is to fall asleep......

But the picture in the dream is not beautiful, I never remember my biological parents, and in Lu Ling's dream, there are mostly familiar but unfamiliar backs. What I remember the most is that when I was seven years old, I was vague, and my father-in-law Lu Xing kindly adopted him in the ruins of the war. Although it is hazy, it will never be forgotten for the rest of your life......

But today's dream is a little different, except for his father-in-law, there seems to be a strange back......

"You...... Be...... Who ......" Lu Ling was ragged, curled up under the ruins, and when he saw someone appear in front of him, he couldn't help but ask in a trembling voice.

"I am Lu Xing, the prince of the dynasty, and I will settle the war ruins here......" Lu Guogong smiled slightly, looked down at the child in front of him and said, "I said so much, maybe you can't understand it...... Poor child, what is your name, where is your mother, why are you alone?"

"Daddy...... Mother...... Born without ...... I've seen ......" Lu Ling curled up and said tremblingly, "Name...... I do not know...... I was with some friends and they all called me 'Erniu'...... There was a war here, a lot of people died, and my friends and I got separated......"

"It's really pitiful, I haven't seen my parents since I was a child, and now it's a war, which makes you homeless......" Lu Guogong felt pity, stretched out his hand, and smiled at the child, "If you don't mind, I will take you in in the future, and you will be my righteous son......"

"Yoshiko...... Then should I call Engong 'Father'?" Lu Ling asked with a little spirituality.

"Well, from now on, you are a member of the Lu family......" Lu Guogong smiled slightly, "You don't have a name, do you...... Let's take the name 'Lu Ling', from now on, this is your name, you are the son of my Lu family-"

"'Lu Ling'...... Is it......" Lu Ling trembled for a while, then said with gratitude, kowtowed in front of Lu Guogong and said, "Thank you, Engong...... No, father-in-law......"

Looking at the child's simple but spiritual appearance, Lu Guogong, who has no heirs in middle age, loves this child very much, touched the child's head with a smile, and said kindly: "Go, Ling'er, accompany me home, from today on, I will be your father, and I will raise you well, and I will no longer let you suffer from war......"

"Thank you...... Father-in-law......" Lu Ling nodded, got up and prepared to leave with Lu Ling......

The scene in the dream is vague and hazy like clouds, and after the memories of countless dreams appear, they gradually dissipate in the field of vision like foam, leaving only Lu Ling alone, "imprisoned" in the cold darkness of unknown clouds......

"It's this dream again...... The scene when my stepfather adopted me......" Lu Ling muttered silently, but her heart was chaotic......

The dream is gone, but the back of a respected person still appears in his mind - his father-in-law, his teacher, and the friends he has met, the good guys, the bad guys...... They are fleeting in their eyes, witnessing the bits and pieces they have gone through for more than ten years......

"Always dreaming of these, is it relieved or lonely...... Lu Ling couldn't help but sigh, countless similar dreams have made her no longer moved......

But what appeared next was a fresh and unfamiliar back that he had never seen before......

There is something special about this figure, you can see the outline but you can't see the face, it is pitch black, I don't know who is also, standing in front of me in the dark, as if standing motionless, but like floating and drifting away......

"Who are you, why haven't I seen you......" Lu Ling asked with a puzzled look in her eyes.

The back did not answer, nor did it move, but stood in place, like a plank, carved into the stone wall of the dream......

"I don't know you......" Lu Ling looked at the dark back, but muttered inexplicably, "But I don't know why, you have an inexplicable kindness...... You're not tall, you're about my size, you're not my parents, but you feel very warm...... Who the hell are you......"

The back still didn't speak, still motionless in place......

"I, Lu Ling, swear that in this life, I will only be loyal to my father-in-law and the Lu family......" In the dream, Lu Ling heard the oath she had made in front of her father-in-law Lu Guogong.

"Heh, this dream is really ridiculous, I can actually hear the oath I once made......" Lu Ling couldn't help but sigh, but he heard the "oath" lingering in his ears, and continued to look in the direction of the inexplicable back, but the sense of cordial trust became stronger and stronger, but he couldn't say why......

"Who are you and why...... Why do I feel ......" Lu Ling felt more and more curious, and there was a feeling in her heart that she didn't know whether she was uncomfortable or happy, and said silently, "Why do I feel ...... I know you well...... I'm sure you'......"

The back still didn't reply, and his body was pitch black, motionless......

"I, Lu Ling, have only been loyal and affectionate to the Lu family all my life, but you ...... Why ......" Lu Ling continued to murmur, "Why can you make me feel...... Such a cordial ...... Such trust...... Who the hell are you......"

This time, the back finally reacted, but instead of responding to the question, it was ...... Fading away, disappearing into the darkness ahead......

"Don't go-" Lu Ling wanted to reach out and shout, but in the darkness of the dream, he seemed to be inexplicably restrained and couldn't move......

"General...... The general's back ...... gradually disappeared, but there was a vague and intermittent shout in Lu Ling's ears......

"Who is calling me ......" Lu Ling's consciousness was hazy for a while, and the darkness of the dream in front of him gradually emerged......

"General...... Checkmate...... The general...... "The voice grew louder and louder, and finally the light gradually came into view......

Lu Ling's heart was shocked for a while, and he suddenly opened his eyes - he woke up.

"General-General Lu!" finally heard clearly, Lu Ling sat up and turned his head to see that it was the soldiers outside the door who woke him up...... (To be continued.) )