There was only a box of chess pieces on the table and no chessboard. This was a small habit of Lu Xu. Regardless of whether he was flipping through a book or thinking, he would always have a box of chess pieces by his hand. If he had nothing to do, he would grab a handful of chess pieces and slowly rub them in his palm.
Zhao Zhuan's tone was indifferent, but there was a hint of blame in his words. "Sir, why did you not only order Zhao Gou to bide his time along the way? You even strictly ordered the local Jianghu people not to show their faces and not to obstruct the Beiliang cavalry? "
Lu Xu, who was holding a handful of cool chess pieces, moved his fingers slightly and made a squeaking sound. In the face of the angry reproach of the ruler of a country, this blind young man who had risen to the center of the dynasty overnight was expressionless. He slowly said, "Liyang's face is not on such trivial matters. His Majesty's face is on the border battles between the Liao, Beiliang, and the Huai River. If His Majesty felt that he could tolerate anyone in the world except for Hsu Fengnian, so he wanted Lu Xu to act on impulse, then it's very simple. Although Zhao Gou people have died, they are still a huge force that can call the wind and summon the rain. Not to mention stopping scholars and Jianghu people from causing trouble, when the Beiliang cavalry is on its way south, there will be people who will step forward bravely in every road, prefecture, county, and county. There will be people who will die under Beiliang's warblades and horses. What's so difficult about that? "
Zhao Zhuan was silent, but the anger between his brows did not diminish.
Lu Xu stretched out his arm and a chess piece leaked out from his palm and fell on the table. "From a practical point of view, a family's wealth is a land's worth of soldiers and horses. From a hypocritical point of view, it's the people's hearts and the general trend of the world. Putting aside the future harvest, every bit used is a bit less. Although the Beiliang cavalry is marching south this time under the banner of pacifying the rebellion, in the eyes of the civil and military officials, it's the ambition of a wolf. In the eyes of the people of the Central Plains, it's the young king's domineering behavior. In the current situation, the worst situation is that Hsu Fengnian colluded with West Chu, ignoring the Beimang war, and reached an agreement with Cao Changqing to divide the Central Plains equally. For example, when Hsu Fengnian marries Empress Jiang Si in the future, there will be a transition between the left hand and the right hand of the throne........................... Am I right? "
Zhao Zhuan nodded sullenly. "It is as you said."
Lu Xu smiled and said, "But then again, Your Majesty, ask yourself, will Northern Liang rebel?"
Zhao Zhuan shook his head. "That won't happen. Beiliang Frontier Army's 100,000 soldiers died outside the pass, and only a little more than 10,000 soldiers went to Guangling. Beiliang won't rebel."
Lu Xu threw a few more chess pieces on the table. "If that's the case, then the imperial court shouldn't force Beiliang to rebel. At the very least, they shouldn't appear themselves. Let Beiliang and Beimang fight to the death. You want Guangling's grain? Then I'll give it to you. Hsu Fengnian can't lower his face to ask the imperial court for the martyrs who died in battle? But the imperial court will give it to you. In the second battle of Liang Mang, you might not have enough soldiers. The imperial court will lend you the army of Huai Jiedushi Cai Nan. If Cai Nan isn't enough, Jizhou also has the soldiers of Han Fang and Yang Huchen. "
Zhao Zhuan's brows furrowed tightly.
Lu Xu calmly said, "The imperial court shouldn't be thinking about how to guard against Beiliang, but how to separate Beiliang from the Xu family. Don't hope that the second generation of the Xu family will still be disloyal to the imperial court. Instead, think about how to make the young and strong generals of Beiliang not have the slightest disloyalty. Make them and the entire Beiliang Taoism sincerely believe that Beiliang is a Beiliang within the territory of Liyang, and that the Xu family is only helping the imperial court manage and govern Beiliang. Even if one day Beiliang doesn't have the cavalry of the Xu family, even if the battle of Liang Mang isn't going well, everyone in Beiliang, from the officials to the common people, will have a way out. If Beiliang doesn't have a foothold, then the imperial court will let them retreat to Huai Jianghu, to Shu Zhao, and even all the way to Jiangnan."
Zhao Zhuan's brows loosened slightly. "If that's really the case, then it doesn't matter whether the Xu family rebels or not?"
Lu Xu laughed involuntarily. "Your Majesty, you must remember that if you want the Beiliang Xu family to become water without a source, it's still too early. First, you have to rely on the imperial court's careful operation. If you're willing, you have to give something to Beiliang first. Second, you have to rely on the following battle of Liang Mang. Third, you have to rely on the people of Beiliang slanting toward the imperial court. The imperial court can no longer regard them as uncivilized Beiliang barbarians, and can no longer restrict the scholars of Liangdi in the imperial examinations. Fourth, you have to rely on the officials of Beiliang who have a foothold in the imperial court. You can't do without Sun Yin, Yao Baifeng, and you can't only have people like Jin Lanting. Fifth, you have to rely on Liyang to quickly let Xu Gong, Lu Sheng, and Song Li, who have clean backgrounds and can be of great use, stand out and quickly end the battle of Guangling. Don't think about reducing the power of the local generals. When the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Once the generals in Liyang are completely speechless, and the Beimang army is still in the north and hasn't suffered any damage to its foundation, don't tell me that in the end, you can only rely on the Xu family's iron cavalry to fight the war? In that case, won't the previous' fourth, 'become a joke? "
Zhao Zhuan picked up the chess pieces that Lu Xu had dropped from the table one by one. He gripped them tightly and sank into deep thought.
Zhao Zhuan subconsciously imitated the movements of the blind young man. The chess pieces in his palms rubbed against each other. "In the final analysis, Teacher wants the imperial court to retreat in order to advance?"
Lu Xu said a rebellious sentence without hesitation. "Yes, Your Majesty wants to retreat in order to advance."
Zhao Zhuan smiled embarrassedly. Strangely, the young emperor didn't seem to be angry.
Lu Xu suddenly asked, "Doesn't Your Majesty find it strange that with the foresight of Zhang Julu and Yuan Benxi, why couldn't they think of such a crude method?"
Zhao Zhuan's heart trembled. He laughed and said, "I only know that Teacher's methods this time are definitely not crude."
Lu Xu loosened his palms and the chess pieces fell to the table. "Seniors, it's just that you can't think of it that way. I believe that at that time, the two of them were mainly plotting against the Beiliang and not Hsu Fengnian. The same prescription used in different places has completely different effects. "
Zhao Zhuan said in disbelief, "Other than Xu Xiao, who else could it be?"
Lu Xu raised his head, expressionless.
Zhao Zhuan suddenly understood. "Chen Zhibao!"
Lu Xu's words became more and more shocking. "In the early years, no one would have thought that Hsu Fengnian could really be inherited. However, with the talents of Grand Secretary Zhang and Teacher Yuan, they could still make up for it. It's a pity that the previous emperor didn't give Zhang Julu a chance, and Your Majesty didn't give Teacher Yuan a chance either."
Zhao Zhuan's face was gloomy.
Lu Xu 'looked' at the young emperor. "Actually, Your Majesty, you're here to denounce me, aren't you? You're angry about why I, Lu Xu, dared to 'act first and report later' and granted Cai Nan the title of Count Zhongyi without authorization after taking over the power of Zhao Gou."
Zhao Zhuan laughed. "At first, I was indeed shocked and angry. I even had the thought of killing someone. However, after listening to Teacher's digression, I felt much more at ease. However, I also don't want this to happen a second time."
Lu Xu calmly shook his head and said, "It won't happen again. Your Majesty's trust in me has almost been used up. After all, I only have one head."
Zhao Zhuan stopped what he was doing and said emotionally, "Teacher, I can promise you that as long as Teacher wholeheartedly plans for my Li Yang, even if there is a day when Teacher commits a capital crime, I can tolerate it. Tolerate it once! If Teacher does not believe me, I can go to the ancestral temple and swear to the ancestors of the Zhao Family … "
Lu Xu hurriedly waved his hand and said with a smile, "No need. Your Majesty is a good emperor, I am certain of this. Otherwise, why would a blind person like Lu Xu who is destined to never rise in his official career be willing to come to Great Peace City? "
Zhao Zhuan asked in a small voice, "Teacher, I also know that there are some questions that should not be asked. In the history books, whenever an official answers a monarch's question, there has never been a good ending. However, I still hope that Teacher can be honest with me."
Lu Xu said faintly, "Since Your Majesty does not have many imperial sons, then you should be asking me who in the imperial court can succeed Qi Yanglong as the Grand Secretary of the dynasty? Will you tolerate that Grand Secretary growing up to become an emperor like Zhang Julu who has no political enemies in the court? With this question, does it mean that Your Majesty is not even at ease with Chen Wang? Then Your Majesty will truly be all alone. "
Zhao Zhuan said in a sincere tone, "It is not that I do not believe in Chen Wang."
Lu Xu did not comment and said to himself, "There is no doubt that only Chen Wang is the candidate for this position. Yan Chiji, Sun Yin, Fan Zhanghou, Li Jifu, these five all have fatal flaws. They are not as good as Chen Wang who has the potential to be 'perfect.' In the transition period before them, people like Yin Maochun, Zhao Youling, and Han Lin are just 'short-lived' Grand Secretaries who have lived for three to five years. They are not worth mentioning. "
Zhao Zhuan opened his palm and looked down at the chess piece, "I am suddenly enlightened."
Zhao Zhuan suddenly looked up and smiled, "Teacher, do you have any more chess pieces to give me?"
Lu Xu smiled, "No more."
Zhao Zhuan clenched his fist and stood up, "Then I will accept these chess pieces."
Lu Xu stood up, "Then I will not see you out."
Zhao Zhuan laughed, "There is no need to see me out, but I will continue to give you chess pieces in the future. I hope that at the end of our lives, we can sit face to face like today, slowly count those chess pieces, talk about the past, and put them back into the box one by one. Wouldn't that be great?"
Zhao Zhuan left quietly.
The maidservant, Xing Hua, who had followed Lu Xu from the Prince of Jingan's estate to the capital, suddenly discovered that her teacher was sitting upright and still, but at some point, a lonely chess piece had appeared on the table. He had not given it to Emperor Zhao Zhuan.
She asked curiously, "Teacher, why did you keep one for yourself?"
Lu Xu said softly, "I did not keep it for myself, I kept it for someone else."
The woman was horrified.
Lu Xu stretched out his finger and gently pressed on the chess piece, "I will repay him with my life!"
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