Jiuxi

Chapter 375 Chapter 373 [The sun is fierce]

Luo Jiujiu listened blankly to Lu Chen's decisive words, and the anger in his heart quietly dissipated.

She is a very smart woman and can clearly see many truths in this world.

During the time she came to the capital of Qi State, she gained some understanding of the huge upper-level structure of Qi State through the information obtained by her twelfth uncle Luo Yan and some tribesmen lurking here.

She knew that the Emperor of Qi wanted to make the Northern Expedition but many ministers in the court did not agree. She also knew that there were deep conflicts between Qi's capital army and the border army, so she relied on Mo Yuan's internal forces to make preparations. If she could not successfully kill Hou Yu then involved Lu Chen and used this young prince who rose in the border army to achieve his goal.

In other words, she knew very well that Lu Chen was not only standing up for her, but also partly because he wanted to use this opportunity to attack Hou Yu and the forces behind him.

However, even though he knew the twists and turns, when she was unaccompanied and surrounded by enemies on all sides, and a large group of Qi officials were besieging her, even shouting to kill her, Lu Chen stood in front of her to block all the wind and waves, and resolutely stood up Shouting the word "justice", Luo Jiujiu's heartstrings couldn't help but be struck hard.

Other court officials obviously would not be as moved as Luo Jiujiu, especially those important officials who came from Jiangnan families. At this moment, they only felt a sense of crisis in their hearts.

These deep-seated old bureaucrats would not ignore what Lu Chen said.

"How many people were involved? How many people helped him hide it?"

These people did not expect that at such a crucial moment, when Hou Yu's position as general was in danger, as the majority of the civil servants of the imperial court and the leader of the Jiangnan family, Zuo Xiang would choose to remain silent.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Ding Shangshu, Da Qi's national policy is the Northern Expedition, not the Western Expedition."

No matter how brave Hou Yu was, even if he could fight one against a hundred on the battlefield, he could not hide it from everyone's eyes and turn the act of actively and deliberately killing the people of Shazhou into a military achievement of protecting the country and the people.

One sentence silenced Ding Hui.

Li Daoyan's face was expressionless and his eyes were indifferent.

Of course someone needs to stop Lu Chen now, otherwise if the court continues to investigate deeply, who knows whether the carrot will be pulled out and the mud will be pulled out, and the trouble will get out of hand?

Ning Yuanfu and others couldn't help but look at their backbone, but all they saw was the silent left prime minister.

In this process, there must be many people who conspired with Hou Yu, or helped him cover up his traces, so that they could successfully hide it from the eyes and ears of the Sutra Weaving Department, and then deceive the emperor in the palace.

Several important ministers looked at each other. Ding Hui, the Minister of War, secretly gritted his teeth and stood up and said to Lu Chen: "General Lu, you are also a person who knows the military. You should understand that it is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong in border wars. In many cases, some means must be used. Shazhou Qi It is an indisputable fact that our troops are harassing our border with North Korea. Hou Yu, the Marquis of Nan'an, was promoted to the governor of Chengzhou only six years ago. Could it be that the generals before him were also lying about military intelligence? Even General Lu yourself has done this in the past two years. The act of taking the initiative to lead the troops to attack does not have His Majesty’s will!”

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely solemn. Right Prime Minister Xue Nanting came out and said: "Your Majesty, I agree with the judgment of Shanyang Marquis. This matter involves not only Nan'an Marquis himself, but also has an extremely important relationship with the stability of the western border. The imperial court should thoroughly check!"

Of course, there is a premise here. Hou Yu has indeed done something similar, otherwise the court cannot use the reputation of a general to calm the anger of the Shazhou people.

Xue Nanting's perspective on the problem obviously went beyond the scope of fighting for power. What he cared about was whether this matter was beneficial to Da Qi.

Under the premise that the Northern Expedition has become a basic national policy, the Chengzhou and Taiping prefectures must maintain a defense-focused strategy. Taking the initiative to attack is against the decision of the central government. This is an intolerable act of self-assertion.

This undoubtedly gave the emperor strong support.

Xue Nanting, who has been running the court for many years, is naturally not alone. Although he is not as popular as Zuoxiang, after he expressed his attitude, even if more than ten senior officials came forward to agree, his momentum was not weak.

This sentence is the real killer move.

As a result, Hou Yu's possible problems are more serious than simply lying about military information.

After hearing the latter sentence, some courtiers couldn't help but look at the woman in red standing in the center of the hall.

Lu Chen saw through this, so this time he did not let the situation develop. He stood up immediately and grasped every detail of the case.

No dynasty can make enemies on all sides, even a strong one like the Jing Dynasty has to build its base step by step, not to mention the Qi Dynasty, which is already at a disadvantage in terms of military strength.

The Yalong Tribe is the head of the Seven Tribes of Shazhou, and Luo Jiujiu is the daughter of the leader of the Yalong Tribe. If Daqi can use this opportunity to successfully express goodwill to the Seven Tribes of Shazhou, or even repair the relationship with the Seven Tribes of Shazhou, This is indeed a great thing that can eliminate hidden dangers in the Western Territory.

He knew that those people would be a little disappointed, but at this moment, he was unwilling to stand up and speak for Hou Yu.

The old man just turned his head and glanced at Lu Chen, his eyes seemed to contain a thousand words.

Lu Chen noticed Zuo Xiang's movements, and he could probably understand the old man's mood at this time.

There is no doubt that the reason why Zuo Xiang did not speak was because Hou Yu's behavior exceeded the bottom line of what he could tolerate.

Just like Qu Fenghua, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Li Daoyan knew that he was greedy for money, but because of his ability in government affairs, Li Daoyan chose to turn a blind eye and even occasionally helped him cover it up.

But when Li Daoyan learned that Qu Fenghua was actually colluding with the fake Yanxi, he did not excuse him.

This is also true for Hou Yu.

But there was no joy in Lu Chen's heart. Instead, he felt a little heavier because he didn't want to see an irreparable rift between Li Daoyan and the Jiangnan clan.

Once such a situation occurs, who can suppress the huge interest group of the Jiangnan family in the future?

On the dragon chair, the emperor and other palaces gradually became quiet, and said in a deep voice: "As for the truth about the war in the western border in recent years, and whether Nan'an Hou Yu is guilty of lying about military information, using weapons without permission, and deceiving the emperor, I have decided to make a thorough decision. Investigate this matter! If anyone continues to obstruct the whole court, it will be regarded as Hou Yu’s conspiracy!"

The ministers were horrified.

Li Duan stood up, looked around at the ministers and said: "From now on, all Hou Yu's duties will be suspended, his title will be retained, and he will be ordered to recuperate in the palace and not leave the palace without purpose! Until the matter is investigated clearly, if he has been wrongly accused , I will restore his innocence."

All the ministers in the palace bowed in response.

Li Duan's eyes swept across Luo Jiujiu, and finally rested on Lu Chen. He said without any doubt: "This case is not investigated and handled by the Three Laws Department and the Sutra Weaving Department. Lu Chen, I appoint you as the imperial envoy to investigate the case. You must be fully responsible for thoroughly investigating this case." Check everything!"

Countless eyes instantly focused on Lu Chen. He bowed and said, "I accept the order."

Li Duan nodded slightly, then flicked his robe sleeves, turned around and walked to the harem.

The slightly shrill voice of the great eunuch Lu Shizhou resounded throughout the Wende Hall.

"Retreat!"

……

Dongcheng, Chunhefang, Nan'an Houfu.

In the main room of the back house, Hou Yu was lying sideways on the couch, and the wound on his shoulder had been re-bandaged by the imperial physician. It has to be said that his physique is different from ordinary people. The sword of the assassin in red last night was so deep that his bones were visible. In addition, he lost so much blood. An ordinary person would definitely have to take a long time to recover.

Only half of the day had passed, and Hou Yu's face was already quite rosy.

Only he himself knows the way to this.

In fact, Hou Yu was just pretending to be drunk last night. With his martial arts, he was able to avoid being injured. However, when he realized that the appearance of the red-clothed assassin could make the situation more perfect, he chose to take the sword proactively, so his injuries were far less severe. It seems so serious.

"What time is it?"

Hou Yu asked absently, looking at the clear sky outside the window.

There were two confidants guarding the room. One of them went outside to take a look at the copper kettle dripper, turned around and said, "Master Marquis, it's probably the beginning of time."

Hou Yu pondered for a moment and said slowly: "There is no news from the palace yet?"

The two confidants looked at each other, shook their heads and said, "If you wait patiently, Lord Marquis, it will definitely take a long time in the palace today."

As Hou Yu's most trusted people, they knew a lot of secrets about the Marquis of Nan'an, and of course they understood the profound meaning of his words.

Hou Yu couldn't help but fell into deep thought after hearing this.

The appearance of the red assassin disrupted his plan, but there was no doubt that he could achieve better results.

This plan came from the hands of the Li family elder. With his meticulous thinking and far-reaching strategies, coupled with the Jiangnan family's terrifying power in Beijing and their deep background in the court, I think this time he will definitely be able to bring Lu Chen and Er The prince was disgraced.

Thinking of this, a leisurely smile appeared on Hou Yu's lips.

"Master Hou! Master Hou!"

A series of hurried shouts sounded outside the house, and then the housekeeper of the Hou Mansion trotted in with a panic-stricken look on his face.

Hou Yu saw this and scolded: "Why are you panicking!"

The housekeeper stopped hastily and said in a trembling voice: "Master Marquis, something serious has happened! Suddenly a group of forbidden troops came outside and surrounded our Marquis' mansion. The villain came forward to ask, but no one spoke!"

The two confidants suddenly changed their colors.

Regardless of the injury on his shoulder, Hou Yu sat up and said angrily: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

The housekeeper said with a sad face: "Master Hou, how dare you talk nonsense on such a big matter? There are really many forbidden troops surrounding our Hou Mansion!"

Something big has happened.

This thought suddenly popped into Hou Yu's mind, and then he stood up and walked out. At the same time, he gritted his teeth and said, "Call all the soldiers in the house immediately!"

The two confidants looked at each other in confusion, and one of them could only go forward to deliver the order, while the other quickly followed Hou Yu.

When Hou Yu came outside the gate of the Hou Mansion, he saw with his own eyes the armored and armed Forbidden Army soldiers standing in a row on the street. His expression changed drastically. Before he could ask questions, he saw the Forbidden Army soldiers on the east side making way for them, and then the three of them walked slowly away. Come.

At this moment, Hou Yu could only see Lu Chen who was walking in the middle. He immediately took two steps forward and said sternly: "Marquis Shanyang, how dare you lead troops to surround my mansion? Do you want to rebel?"

Lu Chen came to the steps and stopped, raising his head slightly to look at Hou Yu who was furious. Without saying a word, he nodded to Master Lu Zhou next to him.

"Hou Yu, the Marquis of Nan'an, accepts the order!"

Lu Shizhou's sharp voice sounded on the street.

Hou Yu looked at the bright yellow imperial edict slowly unfolding in his hand, and his pupils instantly contracted.

"...I order you to stay in the mansion to recuperate from your injuries. You will make a decision after the case is found out. During this period, you are not allowed to leave the mansion unless you have a purpose. I appreciate this."

Lu Shizhou quickly finished reading the imperial edict, then walked up the steps to Hou Yu and said calmly: "Master Hou, please accept the edict."

Hou Yu raised his head extremely slowly, his eyes filled with blood. He looked at the scroll handed over by Lu Shizhou. For a moment, his mind went blank. His arms were as heavy as a thousand, and he couldn't lift them at all.

Lu Shizhou took a step forward, carefully helped him up, and put the imperial edict into his hand.

Hou Yu glanced at the imperial edict in his hand, then looked at Lu Chen, who was standing calmly and solemnly not far away. His eyes shifted slightly, and he finally saw the red-clothed assassin following Lu Chen.

She looked over coldly, as if there were cold flames in her eyes, burning every inch of Hou Yu's skin.

"I...I want to see His Majesty. This is slander, it is slander!"

Hou Yu's voice was like a beast on the verge of despair, full of anger and despair.

Lu Shizhou stepped aside.

Lu Chen looked at Hou Yu, whose body began to tremble, and said calmly: "Marquis Nan'an, please go back to your residence. Your Majesty will not see you."

Hou Yu still wanted to speak, and the Forbidden Army soldiers on the long street took a step forward in unison.

The sound of powerful footsteps stepped on Hou Yu's heart, making his face suddenly turn pale.

He looked up at the vast sky. The sunshine just after noon was extremely bright.

The ground seemed to be shaking.

Hou Yu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and then fell backwards.

"Master Hou! Master Hou!"

There were exclamations from the servants of the Hou Mansion from behind.

Luo Jiujiu stood behind Lu Chen, watching this scene without blinking.

When she saw Hou Yu vomiting blood and falling to the ground, a crystal tear slipped down her cheek.

(End of this chapter)