Hsu Fengnian shook his head and said softly, "Purely from the battle of Guangling, we shouldn't have touched Song Li. But looking at the overall situation, the imperial court's actions that seem to be destroying their own foundations are actually of the same origin. Back then, the Spring and Autumn Eight Kingdoms were destroyed and the generals were given out. Now, the Zhao family wants to gather all the military power in the world so that they can deal with the future war with Beimang. Yang Shenxing and Yan Zhenchun and the private armies under their command quelling the rebellion were one side of the matter. The Tangxi Sword Immortal Lu Baijie, the Southern Expedition Commander-in-Chief Lu Shengxiang, the Longxiang General Xu Gong, the Western Liaoning General Tang Tieshuang, and the current Song Li, these people entered the capital one after another to become officials. The imperial court intentionally allowed West Chu to revive the country. Other than not expecting West Chu to give them such a big show of strength from the start, everything else happened as expected. Even the King of Yan sending 100,000 troops up north to support was arranged long ago. Don't look at how West Chu cleared out the Guangling battlefield in one go. In reality, he was just helping the imperial court to kill more people. In the end, the imperial court is using this to weaken the vassals and suppress the power of the local generals. It can be considered an open conspiracy. "
After Liu Ya had cursed the two emperors of the Zhao family for not being good people, he immediately smiled at Hsu Fengnian and said, "Your Highness's way of looking at problems is indeed different from us. It's a tall building … eh, what's a tall building?"
Huang Laifu hurriedly said, "Tall building … his mother, I forgot about it."
Chu Lushan rubbed his forehead, feeling a little embarrassed.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "From a strategically advantageous position."
The two captains said in unison, "Yes, from a strategically advantageous position!"
Then they each praised, "Your Highness is extremely talented!" "Your Highness is very knowledgeable!"
Our Beiliang Protector-General's eyes seemed a little melancholic.
Hsu Fengnian joked, "That's enough, flattery is not suitable for you guys. You guys should just lead your troops into battle. In the future, when we win a great battle, I can flatter you guys without a problem. "
The entire hall burst into laughter.
After Chu Lushan returned to the sand table of Northern Liang and finished discussing the arrangements with the generals, Hsu Fengnian and Hsu Fengnian walked toward Chu Lushan's residence. After Hsu Fengnian walked into the cramped courtyard, he said emotionally, "It's been hard on you."
Habitually, Chu Lushan bent over and said with a smile, "Although Lu Qiu 'er has been living a luxurious life all these years, back when she was so poor, she would be overjoyed if she could have a hot steamed bun to eat. Later on, she joined the Xu family's army. That was how she gained this fat bit by bit. Wang Ye might not believe it, but Lu Qiu 'er was once as thin as a match. Her entire body added up to about 120 catties of meat. But at that time, her flesh was firm and she could endure hardships. "
Hsu Fengnian really didn't know about this. He looked at Lu Qiu 'er, who was as fat as a mountain. "I can't imagine what you looked like when you were thin."
Chu Lushan sighed. "That's right. Even I almost forgot about it."
Hsu Fengnian had specially brought those two jars of chess pieces today. Chu Lushan had someone find a finely made Torreya wood chessboard. The two sat across from each other after not seeing each other for a long time. Hsu Fengnian played white, Chu Lushan played black. They started the game.
Hsu Fengnian lost. Chu Lushan finally won.
Because Chu Lushan had waited for so many years. Finally, he didn't have to deliberately go easy. Sitting cross-legged on a large embroidered stool, Chu Lushan looked dazedly at the chessboard. He sighed and said, "Today, I finally know the true depth of His Royal Highness's chess skills. It turns out that Lu Qiu 'er was going easy on him back then, and His Royal Highness had never worked hard. "
Hearing the somewhat unfamiliar title "His Royal Highness", Hsu Fengnian became absent-minded for a moment. He sighed and said, "I sent people to Qingzhou to find Lu Xu, but the result was disappointing. Lu Xu told me that he would rather go to the capital than come to Beiliang."
Chu Lushan grinned and said, "Everyone has their own aspirations. You can't force them."
Hsu Fengnian grunted and said helplessly, "I heard that Xu Xiao had captured many scholars of the Spring and Autumn Period, but most of the people he liked weren't willing to work under him. He could only let them go."
Chu Lushan smiled awkwardly and said softly, "Foster father did let them go, but many of them were secretly killed by Lu Qiu 'er afterward. Among them was the elder of Yuan Baixiong's best friend. "
Hsu Fengnian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "No wonder Second Brother Yuan said he wanted to light your sky lantern!"
Chu Lushan chuckled. "Unlike Mr. Zhao, I came from a poor background like Mr. Li. I was born to be at odds with aristocratic figures. I don't have Mr. Li's magnanimity. Back then, when I saw those arrogant fellows, I couldn't wait to chop off their heads. Now that I think about it, I should have been more lenient and killed fewer people back then. "
Hsu Fengnian was speechless.
Chu Lushan twirled a cool chess piece between his fingers and said, "Putting aside the officials of Spring of Eternal Hui, Tang Xi Sword Immortal Lu Baijie, Head of the Secretariat Qi Yanglong, Imperial College's Left Chancellor Yao Baifeng, Dongyuan Pavilion's Grand Scholar Yan Jiexi, Southern Expedition Commander Lu Shengxiang, Dragon General Xu Gong, and so on. These people were invited by Zhao Dun to the capital to fill the vacancy after the collapse of Zhang Lu. As for Song Keli and the others, they were chess pieces that Zhao Dun deliberately suppressed when he was alive, so that the next emperor could show his majesty. Then Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War Tang Tieshuang, New Chess Saint Fan Changhou, Guangling Sect's Song Li, Junior Guardian Chen Wang, Ji Province's General Yuan Tingshan, Sun Yin, and Lu Xu are the 'newcomers' cultivated by the new emperor Zhao Zhuan himself. "
Chu Lushan sneered, "Apart from the 'unreasonable' moves against our Beiliang, the other moves are all in line with orthodox chess theory."
Hsu Fengnian sighed emotionally, "Zhao Dun must have thought it through carefully before choosing the Fourth Prince Zhao Zhuan and not the First Prince Zhao Wu. We can't deny this. So far, Zhao Zhuan has done a flawless job. "
Chu Lushan suddenly looked at Hsu Fengnian with a playful gaze.
Hsu Fengnian rolled his eyes. "Don't get the wrong idea. There's nothing between me and that empress. Do you think that the Imperial Family of the Zhao Clan is blind? Besides, it's not like you don't know that Yan Dongwu and Li Fuzhen are the same. Both of them ignored me back then. To be precise, they saw me as an enemy. "
Chu Lushan smiled mischievously. "Lu Qiu 'er is just thinking about what's good for her."
Hsu Fengnian scolded with a smile, "Do you really think all the women in the world should like me?"
Chu Lushan put down the chess piece and stretched out both hands, saying with a righteous expression, "Your Highness, you don't know, but there are at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, young ladies from influential families in the Central Plains who are in love with you!"
Chu Lushan said leisurely, "There's nothing we can do about it. In the hundred years of the jianghu, there might be quite a few people with peerless martial arts, but there are very few who are handsome and elegant. Counting them, there's only Old Sword God Li Chungang. Wang Xianzhi? That old geezer. Tuoba Bodhisattva? A northern barbarian. Đồng Thái. It's true that his swordsmanship is profound, but it's a pity that he can't get past his appearance. Originally, Qi Xuanzhu and Cao Changqing could each be counted as one, but one was a Taoist immortal who never entered the world, and the other was a bookworm who only wanted to restore his country. So only Your Highness lived up to everyone's expectations. You went to Liyang Lake twice and had countless interesting stories. You also went to Tai 'an City and became the grand King of Beiliang. You even killed Wang Xianzhi, and there were countless rare calligraphy and paintings that you identified as' fake 'circulating in the capital and Jiangnan. At the same time, there was the rise of Xueping and Xuanyuan Qingfeng, which was equivalent to creating momentum for Your Highness, who had personally visited Mount Hui. How could those ladies not go crazy? It's really like rain after a long drought! "
Hsu Fengnian really didn't know that this would happen. He said self-mockingly, "If that's the case, then there will definitely be more people who hate our Beiliang in the future." Chu Lushan laughed heartily. "Of course! Let's not talk about the distant ones. Just take those aunties in Yanzhi County who don't have to worry about marriage. As long as a matchmaker says which family's man looks a bit like Your Highness, the market will suddenly become hot! "
Hsu Fengnian could only laugh it off.
After a moment of silence, the atmosphere in the room seemed to change.
Chu Lushan suddenly asked seriously, "Your Highness, there's something I don't know if I should say?"
Hsu Fengnian said, "You can ask, but you might not answer."
For Lu Qiu 'er to ask so seriously, it wasn't that Hsu Fengnian was deliberately mystifying things, but that he really didn't have the confidence to give an answer.
As expected, Chu Lushan asked a very tricky question. "After Your Highness went to Beimang, especially after returning to Beiliang with Xu Huainan's head, Lu Qiu 'er knew that the war with Beimang would be different from what everyone had imagined. So, Chu Lushan must ask Your Highness today, if there comes a day when Your Highness has to make the same choice as Adoptive Father did back then, what choice would you make? "
Hsu Fengnian hesitated. Chu Lushan stared fixedly at him and quickly said, "Your Highness knows one thing. When the time comes, the person sitting on the dragon throne in the Zhao family might not necessarily be Zhao Zhuan. It might be that Zhao Zhu who was with Your Highness at Dantong Pass!
”
Hsu Fengnian didn't say anything. Instead, it was Chu Lushan who asked the question who continued, "If that time really comes, the same choice will no longer be the same situation in the world. Compared to the Xu family who had no chance of winning back then, in the future, between the Xu family and the Zhao family, at the very least, we will be evenly matched! The general trend is in our hands! "
The chess game between the two was already set. It was already dead.
Hsu Fengnian took a deep breath and said bitterly, "Lu Qiu 'er, I've disappointed you."
Chu Lushan slowly lowered his head.
Hsu Fengnian also lowered his head and didn't say anything, staring blankly at the chessboard.
At some point, Hsu Fengnian was still sitting in his original spot. Chu Lushan had already stood up and walked over to Hsu Fengnian's side. With some difficulty, he bent down and reached out a hand to gently rub Hsu Fengnian's head. He said softly, "Although I'm very disappointed that I didn't hear the answer I wanted, Your Highness. You might have forgotten, but His Royal Highness, when you were young, out of all your adoptive sons, you were the closest to that silly Lu Qiu 'er. I, Lu Qiu 'er, have always been proud of this, happier than winning a battle. "
"If there comes a day when Lu Qiu 'er, who has been alone since childhood, has to give up his three hundred catties of fat on the battlefield, don't be sad."
"If I, Chu Lushan, have a family in this life, then it's worth it."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
