Jiuxi

Chapter 269 267 [Looking around and feeling confused]

After the two prime ministers retired, Li Duan looked at Qin Zheng and said, "Come for a walk with me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Qin Zheng bowed his head and responded.

After entering the first month, the weather in Yongjia City has obviously heated up, and there are only traces of snow in some remote corners of the palace.

The monarch and his ministers came out of the East Nuan Pavilion of Wende Palace. Li Duan had no clear destination and walked towards the Cloud Viewing Platform in the southeast without knowing it. Qin Zheng followed closely behind him. Five or six feet away, there was a group of groveling palaces. people.

"This matter makes me very upset."

Li Duan spoke slowly. Although Qin was his most trusted minister, he rarely expressed his feelings so directly in front of the other party.

Qin Zheng's eyes narrowed slightly and he said calmly: "Your Majesty, when I heard this rumor, I felt that there is no smoke without fire, and there are many people secretly adding fuel to the flames. Based on my experience, there should be some spies from the north involved in this matter. It’s more like another move they made while criticizing the right prime minister, with the purpose of sabotaging our dynasty’s Northern Expedition. But compared with the criticism of the right prime minister, this time things are a little different.”

"Ah."

Li Duan chuckled expressionlessly, with no smile in his eyes: "They dare not touch the Prime Minister because they know that I will never agree. But Lu Chen is different. Although this young man is very outstanding, after all, he is not a general promoted by me personally, and We are not close to him in Huaizhou, Jiangbei. What's more, compared with the bad things they criticized the right prime minister, Lu Chen's life experience is enough to make me feel uneasy. "

That's the problem.

There are only two answers to the rumors about Lu Chen's life experience. One is that he and Yang Guangyuan have no blood connection. This is purely a rumor fabricated by someone with intentional intentions. Under such circumstances, Li Duan naturally wanted to cut through the chaos quickly to quell the rumors, and then showed his kindness to Lu Chen and the border army officers to boost the morale of the army.

The second is that the rumors are true.

From Li Duan's point of view, there is no problem in employing people without doubt, but the premise is that the minister must at least be loyal to the court. Even if his loyalty is not that firm, he cannot be naturally hateful.

If Li Duan continues to promote and re-appoint Lu Chen, who knows if Lu Chen will turn against him in the future because of his revenge for killing his father?

As the emperor, he must consider this possibility.

Qin Zheng knew the source of the emperor's unhappiness very well, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, I feel that the reason for this rumor is not entirely a rumor from the North."

Li Duan paused, looked at the Cloud Observation Tower not far ahead, and said in a deep voice: "Go on."

"Yes."

Qin Zheng responded and said calmly: "The first time I heard the name Lu Chen was in Su Yunqing's report in March last year. At that time, with the help of Lu Chen, he foiled the conspiracy of the puppet Yan Inspectorate, and in Guangling Many spies from the Procuratorate were caught in Dijie. To this day, I still remember Su Yunqing’s overflowing admiration. Lu Chen was a piece of rough jade in his eyes, and he was even willing to use his own efforts to replace Lu Chen with a cadre. identity."

Li Duan stepped up to the first step of the Cloud Observation Terrace with a deep and distant look in his eyes.

Qin Zheng continued: "Afterwards, various signs proved that Su Yunqing's vision of people was very accurate. This Lu Chen was like an eagle soaring into the sky, standing out from the battle of Guangling, and then rose to prominence in several battles last year. The rapid rise is impressive. In fact, the reason why this rumor has a certain degree of credibility is that during the rise of Lu Chen, Xiao Wangzhi's help to him was obviously beyond the ordinary."

Li Duan came to the second floor of Guanyuntai, stopped by the railing, raised his hand and pressed the white jade stone carving, nodded and said: "I was a little curious at first, Xiao Wangzhi has many talented generals, Chen Lanyu, Pei Sui, Song Shifei, etc. Which one is not a hero who fought hard on the battlefield, not to mention his biological son is also around, why would he be so interested in a merchant's son?"

Qin Zheng sighed softly. Many things in this world seem to be traceless, but if you think back afterwards, you will often feel that they were the same.

Li Duan stared at the sky high and far away, and said calmly: "When the left prime minister told these rumors, I immediately thought of my previous doubts, and then I felt that this rumor was quite credible. If Lu Chen has nothing to do with Yang Guangyuan, Xiao Wangzhi has nothing to do with it. How could you spare no effort to support him?"

Generally speaking, when the emperor made this judgment publicly, his inner tendency was already very obvious.

The government needs evidence to handle cases, but this kind of matter involving the stability of imperial power does not require evidence, it only depends on the emperor's thoughts.

Qin Zheng remained silent and did not defend Lu Chen at this time.

Li Duan raised his hand and tapped the stone carving lightly, and asked slowly: "How do you think I should handle this matter?"

Qin Zheng thought carefully for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, the Northern Expedition is now at a critical stage. It is not appropriate to engage in a large-scale war and affect the morale of the army. Therefore, I think there are two countermeasures."

"Say it."

"First, call Lu Chen and Lu Tong and his son to the capital to clarify the whole matter. Afterwards, Lu Chen can return to the frontier army and continue to serve as a military officer, but Lu Tong must stay in the capital. The court cannot treat Lu Tong harshly. It is just to spend more money. Yinzi raised him in the capital."

Li Duan was noncommittal and asked: "What about the second one?"

Qin Zheng said calmly: "The second is to let Lu Chen come to the capital to meet the saint in the name of commending and commending the frontier soldiers, and then keep him in the capital and entrust him with idle duties. There is no need to deliberately mention the rumors about his life experience, just let him Just stay in the capital and let the Weaving Department and the relevant government departments slowly investigate the matter. In my opinion, no overly strong measures should be taken against Lu Chen in any case, as that will lead to alienation between the border army and the court."    Li Duan felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. Not to mention whether Qin Zheng's proposal was reasonable, at least the warp weaver was completely thinking about the emperor.

Although there was still a chill in the air, today was a rare sunny day. Li Duan looked at the majestic imperial city, his gaze extending to the north, and suddenly the conversation changed: "I want to hear your true thoughts about this. The true thoughts of this rumor.”

Qin Zheng's expression remained unchanged as before. He lowered his head slightly and said, "I don't believe it."

Li Duan turned to look at him and asked, "Why?"

"Your Majesty, I just mentioned the story of Lu Chen's fledgling life. In fact, he was already nineteen years old at that time."

Qin Zheng was not a man who acted in both directions, but before he was sure of the Emperor's intentions, he would never interfere with the Emperor's judgment by talking too much, just as he had said to Yang Jingxuan before.

Only when the emperor needs it will he express his judgment.

Li Duan asked in confusion: "Nineteen years old? What's so mysterious about this?"

Qin Zheng replied: "Your Majesty, Lu Chen has lived in Guangling Mansion in Huaizhou for nineteen years, while Xiao Wangzhi has served as a military officer in Huaizhou for more than eighteen years, and it has been ten years since he took over as the governor of Huaizhou. If Lu Chen is really Yang Guangyuan's posthumous son, Why didn't Xiao Wangzhi recruit him into the army and train him slowly? Did he have to wait for him to become famous in Guangling, and then impatiently encourage him to grow? I believe Xiao Wangzhi can definitely tell the difference, and he can do it logically. There is no need to leave such obvious flaws when promoting Lu Chen."

Li Duan was slightly startled, thinking about the logic of Qin Zheng's words, and then asked with interest: "Why didn't you say it before?"

Qin Zhengdao: "I am inferring based on common sense, but this does not guarantee absolute accuracy. In other words, I believe that as long as it is consistent with common sense, then you can believe in Lu Chen's loyalty to the court. But in your Majesty's opinion, as long as there is If there is a one in ten million chance, then we have to guard against it. Out of consideration for Your Majesty, I am willing to take the responsibility of taking action against Lu Chen, but considering the overall situation of the Northern Expedition, Your Majesty may need to make a risky decision."

After Li Duan listened, he fell into a long silence.

The cool and slightly cold wind blew past their faces, and both the monarch and his ministers looked solemn.

"In the final analysis, I have to make a choice between killing the wrong person and not letting go, and employing people without suspicion."

Li Duan laughed at himself, pressed his left hand tightly on the stone carving, and then said word by word: "The Northern Expedition cannot be stopped."

Qin Zheng's heart trembled, knowing that the emperor had made a decision, he lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty is wise."

"I will help that young man block this storm, but you can't be careless and ignore it. The things that need to be investigated must continue to be investigated. I have a hunch that although Lu Chen is not Yang Guangyuan's posthumous son, the Guangling Lu family and the then Marshal Yang must have something. There is an inseparable relationship. Therefore, I will watch Lu Chen go step by step and support him to realize his ambition, but I cannot completely pin the country of Daqi on trust."

Li Duan turned to look at Qin Zheng, his tone was low but revealed a hint of imperial dignity: "Do you know what to do?"

Qin Zheng bowed his hands and said, "I understand that I will secretly place people around Lu Chen to prepare for emergencies."

Li Duan nodded slightly, said no more, turned around and walked towards the cloud viewing platform.

There is no wind or rain in Yongjia City, but in the festive atmosphere of the New Year, the discordant sound becomes more and more obvious.

Therefore, a few days later, the emperor came out of the palace with a decree, and a group of important military and political officials entered the palace and gathered in the East Nuan Pavilion of Wende Palace.

Li Duan sat behind the imperial desk, his stern eyes swept over the dozen important ministers in front of him, and his decisive tone echoed in everyone's ears.

"Rumors have been rampant in Beijing recently, saying that Lu Chen, the commander of Huaizhou Ruishi Camp, is Yang Guangyuan's posthumous son. Such ridiculous remarks can actually reach my ears. I wonder if the departments are doing their jobs carefully! I will tell you clearly now. Wait, Lu Chen and Yang Guangyuan have nothing to do with each other. If anyone wants to use such rumors to undermine the morale of the border soldiers and thereby destroy the great situation of our Northern Expedition, I will not be lenient!"

As soon as he said this, all the officials were shocked.

Li Daoyan, the left prime minister, raised his head and looked at the emperor with a solemn expression. Even though the old man had endured many hardships and had a hard-hearted heart, he couldn't help but feel a little confused at this moment.

The emperor actually trusted that Lu Chen so much that he even dismissed such rumors that could threaten the stability of the court. After all, he would never be able to find out the truth in just two days.

wrong……

Li Daoyan quickly realized that this did not mean that the emperor absolutely trusted Lu Chen, but that nothing was more important in his heart than the overall situation of the Northern Expedition.

Thinking of this, the old man couldn't help but sigh secretly.

(End of this chapter)