Plan to cut off the nine states

(Please collect and recommend)

The Yuxue Museum, which has been open for twenty years, is a failure. The meeting at Fubo Garden was a consolation. The teachers and students did not even have the opportunity to express their condolences. In fact, there were not many people who really expressed condolences. A few academics Each returned to his own home, and the officials in the library had other appointments. The students were not happy to be freed from their shackles.

Lou Chu felt sorry. He liked it here and thought he had learned a lot, especially from famous people and scholars.

Wenren Xuexue left Fubo Garden first and never went to Yuxue Hall again. After asking around, it was said that Wenren Xuexue had retired from illness and returned to his hometown. As for where his hometown is, no one knows and no one cares.

According to the decree, the Yuxue School will be officially closed at the end of October. However, as soon as the news spread, few people went to school anymore. When I went to the building once, a scholar was packing his things and asked in surprise: "What are you doing here?" ?”

The building owner didn’t know why he came, so he could only say, “Take a look.”

"There's nothing to see, that's it. Today it's the Yuxue School, tomorrow it's the Seven Schools, and I don't know which one it is the day after tomorrow. The Tiancheng Dynasty can't tolerate 'elementary schools' like us, and from now on only orthodox Taoism is allowed to be taught. I can't do it anymore, you guys There's still time to change the family." The scholar sighed and immediately reminded: "Don't go out and talk nonsense, I just said it casually - well, you can't."

The scholar took his things and left in a hurry.

Lou Chu stood alone in the school for a while, feeling lost. From then on, his only identity was that of one of the many sons of the general.

After leaving the school, Lou Chu went straight to Ma Mansion.

Ma Wei was not at home. He was a busy man with many friends, and he didn't know who he was going to see. Lou Chu had to go home, and the old servant was not there either. Lou Chu read alone, and quickly immersed himself in it, ignoring his hunger and thirst.

However, when there was a knock on the door outside, Lou was still very happy and immediately got up to open the door.

He thought the person coming was Ma Wei, but what he saw was Zhou Lu's smiling face.

"Why are you here again?" Lou Chi held the door panel with both hands to prevent the guests from entering.

"I came here specifically to thank Mr. Lou."

"No need, my article is not good, so you won't be admitted to the first class."

"Hey, the East Palace Review is just a joke, no one takes it seriously. As for Mr. Lou's article, it's really good."

"I told you already, I don't want your thanks."

"Then just treat it as a friend's visit. Look, I'm bringing wine."

The two servants following behind picked up the food boxes in their hands, and one of them said, "This is a good wine that my family has collected for many years. I just dug it out yesterday."

Lou Chu felt his mouth was dry, and when he heard the word "wine", he couldn't help but put down his arms.

Without waiting for an invitation, Zhou Lu stepped into the courtyard and entered the house. He ordered two servants to place the food and wine. He sat down first, stretched out his hand and said, "Master Lou, don't stand here. Come on, let's have three drinks first."

The servant poured wine, sat down on the floor, and drank three glasses in a row. He felt in his heart that this was indeed good wine, but refused to admit it, "Young master Zhou comes to visit you for no reason, but let's make it clear first. I'll drink the wine. You can look for it again if you want." I'll help, so don't embarrass each other."

Zhou Lu was startled for a moment, then smiled and said: "Young Master Lou is really unkind. Could it be that he just refuses to make me a friend? We have been classmates for many years, and now that the Enchantment School is closed, it would be nice if we all sit together and reminisce. ”

It was said to be "nostalgia", but they were both still young, and they were not close in the past, so they had nothing to miss. Lou Chi just drank, and Zhou Lu talked non-stop.

"What are Mr. Lou's future plans?"

"No plan."

"I'm lucky. My father donated a sinecure as a palace guard to me, so I'll be hanging on for the time being."

"Are you going to abandon literature and join the martial arts?" Lou Chu raised his head and glanced at the thin Zhou Lu.

"Despite my skinny appearance, in fact... I can be a Confucian general. Even if I am not good at it, I can have a long history and join the army. Moreover, I will soon be able to join the army and make meritorious service. It is also possible to become a prince in the future. But joining the army still has to be done. Asking for help from your Lou family..."

Lou Chu immediately shook his head, "You have found the wrong person."

"Haha, my father directly begged the general for mercy. It's none of your business."

Lou Chu continued to drink.

After rambling about for a while, Zhou Lu talked about the article again, "'Utilizing the people to take advantage of the times.' How did Mr. Lou come up with this topic?"

Lou Chu put down his wine glass, stood up and said, "Thank you Mr. Zhou for your kindness. I'm full of wine and food. I feel dizzy and tired. I want to take a nap, so I won't send you away."

"No, we haven't talked enough yet."

"Let's just skip the small talk. I'm really not in the mood." Lou Chu handed the guest away.

Zhou Lu still refused to get up. Instead, he motioned to the two servants to step back and said with a smile: "To be honest, I came here not just for chatting, but I really want to ask for something small."

Lou Chu had expected this, but still refused to sit down, "Young Master Zhou is a man who wants to become a general and a marquis. What can you ask for from a commoner?"

"Haha, no matter what, you are the son of a general, how can you be called a 'commoner'? And I must ask you for this matter, because it is related to you."

"Um?"

Seeing that Lou Chu no longer chased away guests, Zhou Lu stood up and poured the wine himself, "Some people liked Mr. Lou's article very much."

"Really? That doesn't suit you."

Zhou Lu toasted, and then said: "But this person still wants to meet someone after reading the article. I have to say something when the time comes, so I came here to ask Mr. Lou for help."

Lou Chu finally understood, "Who is this person you are talking about?"

"Haha, it's not that I meant to hide it, it's just... you can't be an official anyway, so it's useless to know more. But becoming an official is not the only way out. As long as you are willing to prepare a response for me, I am willing to pay... ten thousand dollars."

Lou Chu was silent, but Zhou Lu thought there was something interesting, so he quickly added: "Twenty thousand dollars, this is just the beginning. When I become a general, I will accept you as my staff and my mastermind - eh, doesn't this violate the restrictions? "

"Are you really willing to pay?"

"Of course." Zhou Lu was overjoyed, "I can take out three to five thousand dollars now, and I will give you all of it later, and I can write a deed."

"Just copper coins?"

"Fifty pieces of silk, two pounds of gold, and ten pounds of silver."

"Master Zhou is really willing to spend money."

"This meeting is very important to me. Just some money and cloth are nothing to me. But don't be too open-minded. I've been short of money recently..."

"This is not the place to talk. Let's find another place."

"Your family is nice and there are no outsiders."

"The neighbors on your left and right are all talkative people. If you stay for a long time, they will inevitably start gossiping."

"What's the right and wrong when friends meet?" After saying this, Zhou Lu still asked the servants to come in and pack things, "Let's go to my house, where I am quiet."

Zhou Lu led his servants in front. As soon as he got out of the hospital, the door was closed and bolted inside. He went back to the house to sleep. He refused to get up despite the shouting outside.

After a while, the sound disappeared, and Zhou Lu thought he left in disappointment.

Lou Chu drank too much and actually fell asleep. He was not woken up by another knock on the door until the sun set in the west.

The old servant came back and was very surprised, "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know you came back so early..."

"It doesn't matter, I don't have anything for you to do."

The old servant brought dinner back from the general's mansion and served the young master at the meal. To make up for his neglect of duty during the day, he stood by and said flatteringly: "You haven't heard yet, sir. The general is going to lead the army to fight again. Are you here today?" There are only a few people, but it’s quite lively.”

"Really? Where to go?"

"Qinzhou, the imperial court must have made up its mind to wipe out the thieves over there in one fell swoop. If you ask me, the people in Guanzhong are also idle, good people should not do anything wrong and insist on being rebels. This time, it will be fine. If you anger the emperor, you will be angry. With an army of one hundred thousand, if we appoint our general to go out in person, we will definitely be invincible, and none of the rebels will be able to escape..."

The old servant was eloquent, as if he had seen the scene of the general killing the thief in advance. Lou Chu listened silently, finished eating quickly, put down the bowl and chopsticks, and interrupted the old servant, "I have something to tell you."

"Sir, please tell me."

"When Zhou Lu comes again from now on, no matter if I'm here or not, don't open the door for him."

"Young Master Zhou from the Dongyang Hou family?"

"right."

The old servant didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he had to accept it. He packed up the leftovers and prepared to take them to the kitchen to eat. When he walked to the door, he turned around and said, "I don't talk much about Mr. Zhou, but there is something I have to remind you. ：Other young masters have gone to the mansion to see off the general and congratulate him. You should also go there. ”

"Well, I'll go tomorrow."

"Actually, I am still talking too much. The young master must have already planned it, and there is no need for me to remind him. Also, we need to prepare some gifts. Even though we are biological father and son, we cannot be empty-handed."

"I'll prepare."

The old servant left satisfied.

Choosing gifts has always been a troublesome task. There was not much money in the building, and there were no rare treasures at home. After looking around, he only found half a piece of silk. This was a "regular gift" from the Mid-Autumn Festival not long ago. He also There was no time to tailor the clothes.

The gift was thin, better than nothing. He found some pen and ink and wrote a big word on the silk. After looking at it for a while, he thought the word was good, so he found an empty box, put the silk in it, and wrote another one. Name stickers and gifts are all ready.

The next morning, the old servant held the gift and accompanied his master to the General's Mansion across the alley.

Lou Chu's house was in a back alley, and although the General's Mansion had a back door, it would not be opened for him. He had to go around half a circle to enter the house through a side door.

There are really many people in the mansion, all of them are relatives and friends who came to see him off after learning the news. Of course, there are also many entrustments. If a hundred thousand troops go to quell the chaos, they will definitely win. Everyone wants to share in such an easy military achievement. .

Lou Chu waited for a long time before he saw his seventh brother Lou Shuo. Lou Shuo didn't raise his head or open his eyes. He sat behind the table and wrote down his name and gifts, and waved his hand for the next person to come forward.

When Lou Chu returned home, the old servant was hesitant to speak, but in the end he said nothing. This young master was ignorant of the world, and he was not a servant to worry about his master.

A servant of the Ma family was waiting at the door, asking Mr. Lou to come and meet at Ma's house.

The old servant looking after the house looked at the young master's back and shook his head helplessly.

The Ma family prepared ordinary food and wine, and the two of them chatted while eating. When they talked about General Wenxi's plan to pacify Qinzhou, Ma Wei smiled and said, "General, he got what he wanted. Qinzhou has fertile soil and abundant people. With an army of 100,000 under his command, If you go in, you can get a glimpse of the Central Plains, if you retreat, you can guard the gate and protect yourself. In the east, it is connected to Bingzhou, which is even more impregnable. "

Lou Chu shook his head, "The general's reputation is too real. He will definitely return to the Eastern Capital. The Lou family's foundation is here, and he can't leave Luoyang."

"Haha, I know my father better than me. You are probably right."

Ma Wei did not mention the assassination, but Lou Chu understood the urgency of the other party, "The general will meet with me before tomorrow. If everything goes well, I will be able to contact the general of the Chinese army tomorrow night."

"There's no rush, the general won't be able to leave until a month later, and there's no news from Liang Shengzhi."

"Liang Sheren wants to overthrow the general before going out for the expedition?"

"You have to let him try it." Ma Wei persuaded him and suddenly laughed, "There is something funny, have you heard about it?"

"I haven't heard anything funny in a long time."

"It is only because of the stupidity of the imperial court that such a thing is allowed to happen. Fubo Garden actually has a second list."

"Second list?"

"Yes, and the students of the Imperial College and the Seven Schools have all written articles. Our Youxueguan is the last batch, with 500 to 600 articles. The East Palace selected a list, and the women selected another."

"Rich people? Are the rich people in Luoyang so idle?"

"Haha, not rich people, but women, all princesses, princesses, concubines of the royal palace, etc., with narrow vision, but they want to comment on the talents of the world. Don't you think it's ridiculous? I only ask for one thing, that my articles must not be selected, so as not to ruin my reputation in the hands of women."

"Ridiculous." Lou Chu picked up a glass of wine and finally understood what Zhou Lu wanted.