When Yang Fan returned to the Thousand Horsemen Camp, Chu Kuangge, Maqiao, Huang Xuchang, Lu Yan and the other officers immediately surrounded him. Some were quarreling and some were cursing at him. It was impossible to hear what they were saying. Yang Fan's face darkened and he shouted, "All of you, shut up!"
Yang Fan swept his eyes over them and asked, "Has Commander Lu returned?"
"Your humble servant is here!"
Lu Maofeng squeezed in from behind the crowd with a bitter smile on his face. He followed closely behind Xu Liang who also squeezed in with his armor slanted.
Yang Fan eased his tone and said to Lu Maofeng, "Commander Lu, how did it go?"
Lu Maofeng said with a face full of shame and anger, "Your humble servant … Your humble servant was ordered to go to the Jin Wu Guards. The King of Hanoi did not even let me enter the gate and only sent a message."
Yang Fan stared at him and said, "Oh, what did he say?"
Commander Lu said angrily, "He said, he said that my status is not enough! I … I want General … General you … "
Yang Fan said, "Pass on whatever he said, there is no need to worry."
Commander Lu said, "Yes! He said, 'Tell Yang Fan to come and kowtow to me from the gate, all the way to the Marshal's tent. If I am happy, I will let him go.' "
Yang Fan was furious. He knew that the Emperor would not come forward to mediate the conflict between the two groups of soldiers. What did he take the Emperor for? He went to the Emperor to put on a show because he was afraid that Wu Yizong would use his status as a relative of the Emperor to report him to Wu Zetian first.
He went to see Wu Sansi because he really wanted to use a more peaceful method to save the hostage first. There was no reason to hold a hostage there and get angry first. Unexpectedly, Wu Sansi's attitude was very perfunctory. This made Yang Fan very disappointed. Now that he heard Wu Yizong say this, how could he not be angry?
Even if he saw the Emperor, unless it was a grand court meeting or an important ceremony such as worshipping heaven and earth ancestors, he didn't need to kneel. Wu Yizong dared to say such words? What was important was not how this sentence humiliated him, but how it expressed Wu Yizong's attitude. Clearly, this time, he had set up a trap and was prepared to 'justify' his actions.
Because Lu Maofeng did not manage to complete the task, he felt a little ashamed. In fact, he was only a subordinate who was ordered to negotiate. If he failed to complete the task, he could be angry at his comrade's misfortune, but the shame was not his business. The one who lost face was him, the Commander-in-Chief Yang Fan.
It was just that because Lu Maofeng's background was different from the others, he was ostracized at first. It was only after he contributed a lot in the last review that his relationship with his colleagues eased up. It was a very uncomfortable feeling for a person to be disliked by his companions. In order to win the friendship of the other generals, Lu Maofeng would always, intentionally or unintentionally, flaunt his connections. It seemed that in the capital, he was a person whose hands and eyes reached the heavens.
Face and reputation were also burdens. Now that Wu Yizong did not even let him enter the Yuan Gate, he had swept his face into the gutter. How could Lu Maofeng not be ashamed and angry at the same time?
Xu Liang said, "Why don't I go see Great General Wu Youyi? After all, we, the Thousand Cavalry, belong to the Featherwood Guard in name. It is justifiable to ask Great General Wu to come forward."
Yang Fan thought for a moment and said, "You go. You were originally a Hundred Cavalry and are his old subordinate. It is more convenient to ask in private."
Xu Liang agreed and left the camp.
Yang Fan looked at the indignant Chu Kuangge and the others and said, "You guys disperse first. No matter what, I will rescue the people! But let me think of a way. This world has not reached the point where we can do whatever we want! "
Everyone could only disperse when they saw this. The angry and humiliated Lu Maofeng caught up and tried to salvage the situation. "When I was leading the guards, I had a sworn brother who is now in the Jin Wu Wei. The King of Hanoi does not want to see me, so I will ask this brother to take care of our captured people if possible. If there is any change in the news, he must inform me as soon as possible."
Making such a request at this time would put his brother in a difficult position. The Jin Wu Wei and the Thousand Cavalry Camp were enemies. His brother was a member of the Jin Wu Wei. Whether it was to help take care of the Thousand Cavalry Camp or to report information, it was a big taboo. Although this information only talked about the situation of Gao Chu and the others in the Jin Wu Wei and did not involve the defense of the enemy camp, it did not affect the victory or defeat of either side. But if it was known by others, it would not be a good thing for both sides.
So, Lu Maofeng kept it to himself until there was no one else beside him. Only then did he tell Yang Fan.
Yang Fan was moved and bowed to him. "In terms of position, I am higher than you. In terms of age, you are older than me. In private, we don't care about official positions, we only talk about age. Brother Lu, ever since you came to the Thousand Cavalry Camp, I have seen everything you have done and encountered. It's just that there are some things that are not convenient for me to say. It's also not convenient for me to seriously interfere just because of a small conflict.
Brother Lu's background is something that you, I, and everyone else understands. That's why you are unavoidably treated coldly. Actually, this is human nature. Brother Lu is older than this little brother and has more experience. I'm sure you understand this. If we were in each other's shoes and someone insisted on shoving someone into Brother Lu's circle, I'm afraid Brother Lu would not like that person either. "
Lu Maofeng's face turned red and he did not know what to say. He did not know why Yang Fan suddenly brought this up. He was at a loss as to what to do.
Yang Fan smiled and said, "But everyone has seen Brother Lu's actions after coming to our Thousand Cavalry Camp. Brother Lu did not treat himself as an outsider. He did his best for our Thousand Cavalry Camp. No matter how Brother Lu came in, Brother Lu's ability is worthy of this position!
Brother Lu's sincerity towards our Thousand Cavalry Camp is also worthy of being our brother! Brother Lu, do not take other people's prejudices to heart. Time reveals a man's heart. Everyone will eventually understand Brother Lu's character. Actually, I have long wanted to say these words to you. It's just that it was too abrupt to say it so suddenly. Now that I have this opportunity, I can have a heart-to-heart talk with you. "
Lu Maofeng's eyes brimmed with tears when he heard this. He had indeed used Er Zhang's connections, but he did not have any backing in the army. Now that Er Zhang had prospered, and the ancestors of the two families were related by marriage, it would be a waste not to use this bit of relationship. Why couldn't he use it? So when Er Zhang slightly tried to recruit him, he agreed.
But the army was not like the rest of the country. There was a system here, and it was difficult for Er Zhang's influence to seep in. He felt that his abilities and talents were not inferior to others, and he was even more sincere for the Thousand Cavalry Camp. But there were always people who looked at him differently. They either felt that he did not live up to his reputation because he had used his connections, or they felt that he was a traitor planted by others.
Because of this, he did not know how many times he had drunk in private and was extremely sullen. Now, Yang Fan's words made this man's heart warm up, and he could not help but tear up.
Yang Fan did have an opinion of Lu Maofeng at first. Although he was very close to him at that time, he was purely using him at that time. But as he watched coldly from the sidelines, he had gradually changed his view of Lu Maofeng. Now, he could still use the relationship between Lu Maofeng and Er Zhang as much as he could, but he no longer saw Lu Maofeng as a pawn to be used.
Yang Fan's words were indeed from the bottom of his heart. As the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed. He could do what you want to humiliate me, and what you want to hate me. That was his brother. No matter what happened in the future, who would he choose between Er Zhang and himself? But Yang Fan wanted him to know, "You treat me sincerely, and I will treat you sincerely. Now, we are brothers! "
…
It was already close to dusk when Xu Liang returned. The news he brought back was not good.
Wu Youyi was different from the other Wu clan scions. He had always been the Great General of the Featherwood Guard, and was in charge of the Imperial Guard's most elite force, as well as the army the emperor trusted the most. He was already a king, and whether it was in terms of actual authority or rank, he could neither be promoted nor rewarded. There was no need for him to get involved in the struggle between the two Wu clans.
Even though Wu Sansi was gradually gaining the upper hand, the crown prince had already been decided, and Wu Sansi no longer had a share of the throne. There was even less of a need for him to curry favor with King Liang. Because of these reasons, he and the other brothers of the Wu clan walked rather far apart. Even though they were cousins, he and Wu Yizong were close friends. Was there a need for him to stick his neck out for the sake of a thousand cavalry that was only under his name in name? Was there a need for him to lower his head and smile at that pig-riding fool?
That was why he only agreed out of courtesy to Xu Liang that he could send someone to negotiate with Wu Yizong, hoping that Wu Yizong would release him. However, Xu Liang could naturally tell from his indifferent tone. When he returned and told Yang Fan about it, Yang Fan could only smile bitterly in response.
Wu Youyi couldn't be relied on either. Everyone discussed for half the night, but to no avail. The next morning, Yang Fan gathered Xu Liang, Lu Maofeng, Li Dayin, Lu Yan, and a few other officers with steady temperaments to discuss a way to rescue Gao Chu and the others.
Suddenly, a junior colonel came in and whispered a few words into Lu Maofeng's ear. Lu Maofeng bade Yang Fan farewell, then hurried back after leaving for less than an hour.
Yang Fan saw that he seemed to have something to say to him, so he brought him into the small tent. Lu Maofeng said, "That sworn brother of mine has sent news. From Gao Chu to us, sixteen of our brothers have been hung on a pole, whipped, and cursed by the King of Hanoi. Even now, they are still hanging from the pole."
"What?"
Yang Fan's body trembled. His blood boiled and the veins on his forehead bulged. He knew that Gao Chu and the others would be humiliated after falling into Wu Yizong's hands, but he didn't expect that Wu Yizong would dare to torture them, especially when Gao Chu is a Brigade Marshal and an official general of the imperial court.
Lu Maofeng bitterly said, "That sworn brother of mine said that he really has no way to take care of the Thousand Cavalry. Even when he sent out the news this time, he was in a dilemma. I'm afraid … I'm afraid that if we want to ask for more information from him, he won't be able to say it! "
"En!"
Yang Fan slowly nodded. He silently lingered in the tent for a long time, his expression uncertain. No one knew what he was thinking. After a long while, he seemed to have made up his mind. Suddenly, he turned around and walked briskly towards the big tent. Xu Liang and the rest were discussing in the tent when they suddenly saw Yang Fan striding in with anger in his eyes. They couldn't help but shut their mouths and raised their heads to look at him.
Yang Fan said in a deep voice, "There's no need to discuss anymore. I'll go to the Golden Guards to get them!"
As soon as these words came out, the four seats were silent. During the discussion last night, Chu Kuangge, Huang Xuchang, and the others were shouting about beating and killing them. Because of this, they were summoned alone today. What was going on? Why was Yang Fan so agitated instead? Xu Liang stood up in shock and said, "No! You are the King of Hanoi. He won't let you go even if you go. Instead, you'll be humiliated again. "
Yang Fan said, "What else can we do? Our Thousand Cavalry and the Golden Guards are the imperial guards of the North. The Political Affairs Hall and the Ministry of War can't do anything about it. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court can't do anything about it. It'll be a joke if we go to the Luoyang government. Can't we go to the Censorate to impeach Wu Yizong? "
Xu Liang's eyes lit up and he said happily, "That's a good idea!"
Yang Fan laughed angrily and said, "The problem is, by the time the Censorate starts to spit saliva in the court, Gao Chu will already be a dried corpse, and his fiancée will also be a widow!"
Xu Liang was shocked and said, "How could it be! Then … then what should we do? "
Yang Fan said gloomily, "If the ceremony is over, then we'll send troops!"
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