Jiuxi

Chapter 84 083 [Death of an Emperor]

Lu Tong adjusted his sitting posture slightly, and then slowly started talking.

"You should know that our old Lu family was originally just a small family in Shanyang County. Our ancestors have been farmers for generations, barely supporting a large family. It wasn't until your great-grandfather, my grandfather, that he started to do business. After the experience of his father and I have worked hard for decades to have this family fortune. The source of all this is that your great-grandfather met a noble man named Yang, who taught the Lu family how to do business and gave your great-grandfather a sum of capital."

Lu Chen knew about this past event, but this was the first time he heard the nobleman's surname.

Surname Yang?

He suddenly had a glimmer of understanding and asked, "Marshal Yang?"

Lu Tong admired his sharp thinking ability and said: "You guessed it right, that noble man has a great descendant, Marshal Yang Guangyuan who guarded the Jinghe defense line for Da Qi back then."

Lu Chen asked again: "Father, do you know Marshal Yang?"

"know."

Lu Tong nodded and added: "Not only do we know each other, we are also life and death friends."

Lu Chen happened to read a file when he was staying at the Guangling Yamen of the Sutra Weaving Department. It recorded events before the Yuanjia Revolution. One of the items was related to Yang Guangyuan, but it was just a few crosses.

"In the seventh year of Yuankang, at the end of the year, Yang Guangyuan was convicted of collaborating with the enemy and sentenced to death by hanging. He was 38 years old. He had a rich family and moved to Taiping Prefecture. There were 15 people including Zhou Xun and other officials."

Counting the time, that was already 17 years ago.

Looking at the obvious sadness in Lu Tong's eyes, Lu Chen said softly: "My condolences on Father's Day."

Lu Tong shook his head and said in confusion: "After so many years, where does sorrow come from?"

He seemed unwilling to let the atmosphere of the conversation between father and son become too serious, and continued the previous topic: "Because of our ancestral friendship, I have known Marshal Yang since I was a child. Because he is nine years older than me, we call ourselves brothers. My brother is a talented person and he started to make a name for himself not long after he joined the army. A few years later, he became famous all over the world with a surprise attack."

"In that battle, he led thousands of cavalry to gallop through the starry night, directly charging into the Jinglian people's cavalry station. He fought for more than an hour and defeated four times the number of enemies. He also killed the second uncle of the current Jing Emperor with a single blow. Since then, his military career has been rising step by step. He was promoted until he commanded the entire Jinghe defense line of 17 troops. At first, I also led the troops under my brother. At that time, there was a group of like-minded young people who wanted to completely cut off the intentions of the three northern tribes to invade the south and restore peace to the world. "

"However, the officials in the court were extremely corrupt, and the late emperor had great ambitions, few talents, and indulged in pleasure. The military officers often did not get even [-]% of their pay. In addition, many people hated my brother and often made things difficult for him in official circles, so my brother started to use business to support the army. At the same time, I also hope to leave a way out for the brothers. As you know, our Lu family makes a living by doing business, so it is natural for me to take over this matter."

When he said this, Lu Tong's expression remained calm, but Lu Chen was greatly touched.

Giving up a bright future in the army and becoming a merchant with no status is not a decision that can be made easily, but Lu Tong does not have any resentment, as if this matter is as common as eating and drinking.

Lu Chen sighed: "It's not easy for my father."

Lu Tao said: "Actually, it's nothing. At that time, my membership in the military was unknown and unknown, and I had a family background, so it was my duty to take over this stall. From then on, I concentrated on taking care of these trivial matters. On the one hand, I connected various people through business. I will try my best to solve official problems for my brother and others, and on the other hand, I can also provide them with the help I can when necessary."

Lu Chen felt that this incident was absurd and sad.

Regardless of Yang Guangyuan or others, they are all military generals of the Qi State's imperial court, and their subordinates are all Qi State's troops, but they are worried that the court's supply cannot keep up, so they have to find a way on their own.

What a ridiculous situation.

Lu Tong continued: "Among the three tribes in the north, the Jinglian people are the most ambitious. When the late emperor came to the throne, they often went south to harass us. Later, they also instigated the Helan people in the north and the Gaoyang people in the northwest. They continued to attack us with the advantage of their cavalry. Border. You should know what happened later, that is, these three tribes established the Jing Dynasty, Zhao Kingdom and Dai Kingdom respectively. "

Lu Chen nodded and said: "It is said that Zhao State has now become a vassal of Jing Dynasty, similar to Bei Yan, but Dai State in the northwest does not know much about it."

"This is all happening later."

Lu Tong's eyes were obscure and he said quietly: "When my brother was here, the Jinghe defense line was like a copper wall and an iron wall, firmly protecting the northern border of Daqi. Not to mention the enemy's troops approaching Heluo City, they had not even set foot on the south bank of the Jinghe River. Several times in a row. The failure of the year made the Jinglian people very angry, so Qing Yuding, the cavalry commander of the Jing Dynasty at that time, who was Qing Yugong's father, came up with a sinister way."

Lu Chen's expression grew colder and he said in a cold voice: "A plan to divorce?"

"It's not a weird method, but it works surprisingly well."

A hint of sarcasm appeared on Lu Tong's face, and he chuckled: "The three northern tribes have no shortage of gold and silver. They bribed some important officials in the court and the eunuchs in the palace at a huge price, allowing these people to slander the late emperor day and night. As time goes by, the stupidest emperor in the history of Da Qi will naturally be shaken, but he also knows the importance of the Jinghe defense line and does not dare to attack his brother directly. He just uses some unattractive means to repeatedly test and suppress him. "

"But then..."

"Brother is not only a master in the art of war, but he also knows the dangers of imperial warfare. As early as the fifth year of Yuankang, two years before his accident, he began to make preparations, trying his best to cut off the contact between him and me, and to separate the Yang and Lu families. Try to erase past interactions as much as possible, and at the same time carefully arrange some people in inconspicuous places. This is the case with Xiao Wangzhi. His brother admires him very much and is sure that he will become a famous general in the army, but he has to find a reason to beat him up. He was half dead, and then he was driven to Huaizhou to serve as the commander of the Zhenbei Army."

Lu Tong paused and explained: "Huaizhou at that time was not as good as it is now. It has always been a place for unlucky generals in the army."

Lu Chen's heart moved and he couldn't hide his surprise and said: "At that time, Marshal Yang had already realized that Daqi would lose half of the country and Huaizhou would become a strategic hub?" "According to my understanding of my brother, he did this intentionally. But he certainly didn't expect that the situation would collapse so quickly." The sarcasm on Lu Tong's face became more and more intense, and he added: "In the second year after his death, the Jingchao cavalry successfully broke through the Jinghe defense line and calmly surrounded the Jinghe River. Luo City. In fact, the situation at that time was not dangerous, and Jingjun did not have the ability to capture Heluo."

He slowly exhaled a breath and sneered: "That idiot, the late emperor, was so frightened that King Qin's army was still on the way, so he couldn't wait to send people out of the city to sue for peace. Qing Yuding and Qing Yugong, father and son, not only obtained a large sum of gold and silver through threats. , and also cut off several important towns in the north. From then on, the Jinghe defense line seemed to be in vain. If the matter was not hopeless so far, Qing Yuding made another move and forced the late emperor to betray the soldiers of the seven tribes of Shazhou. Use this as a condition for agreeing to withdraw troops.”

Lu Chen asked in disbelief: "He really agreed?"

Lu Tong clasped his hands in front of his lower abdomen and said slowly: "The seven tribes of Shazhou are extremely loyal to Daqi. When they heard that Heluo was surrounded, they hurriedly sent out [-] native soldiers and ran for more than [-] miles on one leg. King Laiqin was betrayed by that idiot like this. You may be curious why the spies from the Puppet Yan Procuratorate dared to die one after another. In fact, most of them had seen with their own eyes how corrupt the imperial court was, and even many people's families had suffered through the oppression and humiliation of imperial officials.”

At this point, things gradually became clearer.

In the seventh year of the late Emperor Yuankang's reign, Yang Guangyuan, the coach of Jinghe, died unjustly. The following year, the three northern tribes joined forces and went south to surround Heluo City.

In the 11th year of Yuankang, the Jing Dynasty's army conquered Heluo. Emperor Qi and the prince burned themselves to death in the palace.

The following year, Li Duan, the seventh son of the emperor, ascended the throne as emperor in Yongjia City with the support of the southern clans and continued the Qi Dynasty for twelve years.

Lu Chen also understood what Lu Tong said at the end.

Such a king and court will not give people a glimmer of hope, but will only bring endless disasters.

He also thought of what Lin Xi said, whether it was the Qi Dynasty, the Yan Dynasty, or the current Jing Dynasty, there was not much difference to the people of the North.

In fact, the Qi people in the North hated the former Qi Dynasty even more, and transferred this hatred to the current Southern Qi.

But there was still one thing he didn't understand, so he asked: "Father, why didn't Marshal Yang rebel?"

"This question..." Lu Tong was silent for a moment, then sighed: "He doesn't know how."

Without much explanation or description, just three simple words made Lu Chen feel extremely heavy.

"Actually, when the time came to the seventh year of Yuankang, my brother knew that he was destined to die. During those days, he had been adjusting the deployment of the Jinghe defense line, thinking that even if he died unjustly, the defense line that stretched for more than a thousand miles could still block the alien cavalry. I went to see him three times, but he refused to see me every time and only asked me to take good care of my family. But he did not expect that after his death, the Jinghe defense line would be easily penetrated like a thin piece of paper. wear."

Lu Tong's eyes were slightly red, and he said in a solemn voice: "He didn't give us a chance to rescue him at all. He died in prison after only three days in prison. I wanted to avenge him wholeheartedly, but there were still many things I needed to do at that time. In addition, there is no good opportunity, so I can only endure it for the time being."

Lu Chen suddenly realized that he might be about to hear something extremely secret.

He asked: "Father, they say that the late emperor and the prince set themselves on fire in the palace. Is this true?"

"Yes."

Lu Tong nodded without hesitation, then grinned slightly: "I had someone set the fire."

The shock in Lu Chen's heart was indescribable.

"I have been planning for four years to wait for this opportunity."

There was snow in Lu Tong's eyes, and he said slowly: "Although this will add a more positive record to that idiot in the history books in addition to the bad things, I can't tolerate them escaping from Heluo and continuing in the south. It is said that being alone and having few people brings harm to the common people. I don't have much ability, and I am not as good as my brother in leading troops in war. But I am very vindictive. If they kill my brother, I will burn them alive with raging fire."

"Even so, it cannot wash away the sins committed by the Tian family father and son."

Lu Tong picked up the tea cup on the table, took a sip, and gradually calmed down.

Lu Chen looked at his father steadily. He knew that today's conversation was not only to narrate the story of the past, but also related to his future.

Now that he has decided to take the stage, Lu Tong will naturally not continue to hide these things, especially since he once committed regicide.

No wonder he didn't allow himself to study and take part in the imperial examination, and wanted him to stay in Huaizhou and become a carefree and wealthy young man.

"Don't be afraid, these things will not affect you. My father has done it very cleanly, and even Xiao Wangzhi doesn't know about it. The traces of the past have long since disappeared. Apart from my father, you are the only one who knows the details today. "

Lu Tong looked at Lu Chen calmly, with a gentle tone and a look of intimacy in his eyes. He smiled softly and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Let your elders handle their affairs. You only need to follow your heart and choose your own." road."

"Then keep going."

(End of this chapter)