Jiuxi

Chapter 141 140 [Skillful]

After falling to the ground, Lu Chen seemed to be in a trance dream.

The swordsman's martial arts were obviously much better than his, but Lu Chen used the three flower-piercing techniques taught by Lin Xi to the extreme. He quickly approached the opponent with his ghostly body skills, and then used the extremely sharp dagger to kill him.

This violent movement in just a few moments almost exhausted the internal energy in Lu Chen's body and put him in a dangerous situation. After all, this kind of movement can form an unexpected surprise attack on the enemy, but it will also make him face the opponent's attack directly. attack.

Lu Chen didn't hesitate at all. A swordsman from the Weaving Department had already paid the price of losing his arm for him. The other person was obviously no match for the swordsman. If he continued to hesitate, he would only die at the hands of the swordsman.

In this life-and-death situation, Lu Chen burst out with the courage to risk his life and survive.

He finally accomplished the feat of making the swordsman die in silence.

However, the crisis is still not over.

After seeing the death of his companion, the strong man rushed towards this side like a madman. Tan Zheng and others also attacked desperately with red eyes. In the blink of an eye, several knives were slashed at the strong man's back, but he seemed to be unconscious. Keep pushing forward.

Lu Chen watched vaguely, the severe pain in his body spread to his limbs, and he couldn't get up at all.

A series of angry shouts came from his ears, and then several figures appeared in his sight, blocking his way to face the strong man.

This should be reinforcements from the Warp Weaving Department...

Lu Chen felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Suddenly, a fresh fragrance poured into his nose, and then a worried and even slightly trembling voice came into his ears.

"Lu Chen! Lu Chen!"

Lu Chen turned his head slightly and opened his eyes with difficulty, and saw Li Bingxue's bright eyes staring at him, showing an uncharacteristically panicked mood.

He raised his hand with difficulty to point to the battle situation over there, and slowly said two words: "Alive..."

Then the arms dropped limply.

Li Bingxue was shocked, and quickly touched his wrist and found that his pulse was very disordered and weak, and it was obvious that he had suffered severe internal injuries.

She raised her head and looked at the strong man who was surrounded by seven or eight masters. There was a cold and cold murderous intent in her eyes. However, thinking of the two words Lu Chen said before he fell unconscious, it was extremely difficult for her to suppress the raging anger.

……

The residence of the Right Prime Minister.

Although today is a day of rest, it is difficult for Xue Nanting to really enjoy leisurely. His daily schedule is full.

After Lu Chen left, he reviewed some official documents in his study. Occasionally, he would take exams and give advice to his eldest son, Xue Ruogu.

A burst of hasty footsteps broke the tranquility.

Xue Ruogu frowned and looked around, and saw the housekeeper of the house, who was always mature and solemn, walking in with a pale face. He immediately felt a chill in his heart and asked first, "What's the matter?"

The old housekeeper's eyes were full of fear. When he saw Xue Nanting, who was sitting in front of the big case, he looked up and said in a trembling voice: "Mr. Prime Minister, someone came to report that Lieutenant Lu was attacked by an assassin in Xiliu Lane. He was seriously injured and his life and death are unknown."

Xue Ruogu's expression changed drastically. At the same time, Xue Nanting slowly stood up and said in a deep voice: "What did you say?"

The housekeeper usually welcomes and delivers dignitaries in the capital, and he has a certain understanding of the situation in the court. Of course, he knows the relationship between the frontier generals and the center of the court.

Now, Lu Chen, as a representative of the young generals of the border army, has been in Beijing without incident for so long. However, today he encountered an assassin when he came to visit the right minister. This incident really makes people think a lot.

He said nervously: "Master Xiang, this is absolutely true. There is a big commotion in Xiliu Lane."

Xue Ruogu looked worried and said slowly: "Father..."

Xue Nanting interrupted him and said decisively: "Calling the nursing home at home, I will go to Xiliu Lane now."

By the time Xue Nanting and his people arrived at Xiliu Lane, the place was under martial law.

He looked at the guards guarding outside the alley, frowned slightly, and asked the general on duty: "Captain Hu, is the Holy Master here?"

Hu Quan, the captain of the Imperial Guard, nodded solemnly and said sideways: "Xue Xiang, please come later."

Xue Nanting walked into the alley with a heavy heart. In fact, he was thinking about this on the way here.

At the court meeting some time ago, the Emperor raised his head high and put it down gently. In the end, he only dealt with Qu Fenghua, the former minister of the Ministry of Works. The important ministers in the court were as clear as a mirror, knowing that the Sutra Weaving Department and the Yushitai could not only discover Qu Fenghua's problem. It's just hoping to achieve some kind of balance.

Therefore, Li Daoyan and Guo Congyi very wisely gave in and exchanged the conditions for strengthening the strength of the border troops in exchange for the stability of the court. At the same time, they also gave some officials a chance to change their ways.

Logically speaking, this ending, even if it is not a happy ending, can satisfy most people, and they can continue to work on it in the future without making the situation unmanageable.

Next, the border army generals will return to their respective places, and the imperial court will also start preparing for this year's winter sacrifice ceremony for prisoners at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This is the most important event in the 12 years since Qi State moved its capital to Yongjia.However, at this juncture, Lu Chen's assassination caused another disturbance, causing the originally stable situation in the court to become undercurrent again.

Xue Nanting took a deep breath, hoping that Lu Chen could survive, otherwise it was hard to imagine how the border army general would react.

When he came closer, he saw at first glance that the emperor was standing with his hands behind his back, and several important ministers were already standing beside him, including the left prime minister Li Daoyan, the privy envoy Guo Congyi, the general Wang Yan, the general Liu Shouguang, and the weaver Tiju Qin. just.

Not far ahead is the scene of the assassination, and the bluestone ground is stained with blood.

The body of a dead assassin was placed next to the wall, and another burly assassin covered in blood was tied up and sat on the ground. More than ten masters from the Sutra Weaving Department and the Imperial Guard were watching beside him.

"Your Majesty, Xue Nanting, pays homage to your Majesty."

Xue Nanting stepped forward and saluted.

What responded to him was the emperor's stern tone: "No courtesy."

Xue Nanting raised his head and followed the emperor's gaze. He saw Lu Chen lying on the temporarily found door panel. Two imperial doctors were treating him. The border army generals headed by Chen Lanyu and Huo Zhen stood beside him, with faces on everyone's face. They all had a solemn look on their faces.

Li Bingxue stood on the other side, her eyes always fixed on Lu Chen's pale face, as if everyone around him didn't exist.

There was a chilling feeling about this young female general. If Lu Chen had something bad to do today, no one could guarantee how she would react.

Li Duan withdrew his gaze, then glanced at the important ministers around him one by one, and said in a deep voice: "Next to me, in the borders of the capital, an ambush and killing of the imperial generals in the street actually happened. Dear ministers, can you give me a reasonable explanation? "

Li Daoyan, the left prime minister, sighed lightly and said in an old tone: "Your Majesty, I believe that these assassins come from the north and are most likely the agents of the puppet Yan Inspectorate in the capital."

This sentence is a very reasonable answer.

In the current situation, there is no sufficient reason for either North Korea or China to assassinate Lu Chen.

This matter will definitely arouse the emperor's wrath, and he will definitely get to the bottom of it. It is not that easy to cover up the truth.

It's not that Lu Chen's status is so high that others don't dare to take action, but that risks and benefits go hand in hand. There must be relative benefits in assassinating him, otherwise there is no need to take such risks.

In other words, it is possible for Beiyan and Jingchao to do this kind of thing, and Lu Chen's death is likely to cause the southern Qi border army and the central government to become alienated.

Hearing what Zuo Xiang said, the emperor remained silent. He was a little surprised that Li Daoyan would take the overall situation into consideration like this.

No matter what kind of secret is hidden behind this matter, the official statement must be that it was done by enemy spies, and there must be no other explanations.

Li Daoyan glanced at Xue Nanting, who looked solemn, and said slowly: "However, I still have some questions in my mind. Lu Chen's visit to Xue Yingying today was an impromptu visit. How could the assassin arrange such a thorough and effective killing plan?"

The situation on the field suddenly became tense.

Xue Nanting looked up at the old Prime Minister Zuo and asked calmly: "I wonder what the Prime Minister Zuo means by this?"

Li Daoyan had a deep look in his eyes, raised his hand and pointed forward and said: "From what Lu Chen's guards said, we know that today they came to visit Prime Minister Xue on horseback. Even if the assassins were following him, they could retreat on horseback in an emergency. The assassins had no He has the ability to hunt down and kill in the capital with open swords and guns. Only in this environment, the assassin can create a short-term dilemma and ambush Lu Chen and others. It can be seen that the assassin is very aware of Lu Chen's whereabouts and the surrounding terrain. , and then prepare for an ambush in advance.”

"There are currently only three possibilities for those who know this information. One is that there is a traitor around Lu Chen, who colludes with Xizuo from the north. The second is that there is someone from the north in Prime Minister Xue's house, who informed the pseudo-Yan Xizuo of the news in advance. The other is three……"

At this point, Li Daoyan paused slightly, raised his eyes to look at the silent Weaving Secretary Qin Zheng, and said calmly: "There is an internal problem in the Weaving Department, otherwise it is impossible to explain how the assassin could know all about Lu Chen's movements."

Li Duan narrowed his eyes slightly, and he suddenly understood the reason why Li Daoyan had taken the overall situation into consideration before.

If the assassination of Lu Chen is not handled well, it will create an irresolvable knot among the border army officers. After all, among the various previous decisions of the court, Lu Chen has become the representative of the group that made meritorious service in the northern Xinjiang war.

Such a promising young general was assassinated in Beijing and his life and death were uncertain. If he was not dealt with appropriately, who would be willing to work for the imperial court in the future?
The lessons learned by the late emperor are still before our eyes.

The cold wind blew through the alley, and Li Duan felt a chill in his heart.

Li Daoyan took the lead and directly characterized the incident as the work of Beiyan Xizuo. This would save him a lot of trouble, and he would also be able to explain things to the government and the public, especially the frontier soldiers.

But this is a clear means of disposal. How can the court decide the case in full without distinguishing the authenticity?

Previously, Li Duan had used Xu Wen's collusion with the enemy and treason to ask the Weaving Department to directly investigate the ministers of the DPRK, which naturally led to the question of Qu Fenghua. Li Daoyan acquiesced to this and retreated again and again.

Now that Lu Chen is lying in front of him, does the court want to investigate?

Whether there is a problem with the cronies around this young man, the right minister's residence or the Sutra Weaving Department, it is not good news for the emperor.

This is the real strategy of retreating in order to advance.

(End of this chapter)