Summoning Zhao Zhuo into Xuzhou was Shen Yi's way of containing the Huaihe Navy, or in other words, testing the Huaihe Navy.
If Zhao Zhuo goes obediently, Shen Yi will not need to use the Huaihe Navy in the future, but at least he won't have to worry about being stabbed in the back by the Huaihe Navy.
If Zhao Zhuo is unwilling to go to the Huaihe Navy, Shen Yi can directly submit a letter to the father and son.
The imperial court, or His Majesty the Emperor, had tolerated the father and son for a long time. Now that Shen Yi was marching forward, the Emperor's desire to attack the Huaihe Navy was naturally getting stronger day by day. Now he was lacking an excuse.
As long as Shen Yi joins them, the emperor will most likely take action.
In other words, Zhao Zhuo had to go.
But he can't go.
Because he is the heir of the Zhao family who has been determined by Zhao Lu.
What's more terrible is that although Zhao Lu is not the only son, he is the only son around him. The other children are either married or still in the Jiankang Zhao family.
Master Shen's move hit General Zhao's weakness.
Zhao Zhuo looked at the angry old father, lowered his head and said: "Father, my son can complain to Shen Qi about his illness. If it's really not possible, he can't force a cripple to join his army if he cuts off his own leg."
Zhao Lu silently raised his head, looked at his son, and shook his head slightly: "The letter was sent by the inner guard, which means that His Majesty has been watching here."
"It won't work."
Zhao Zhuo was stunned, silent for a while, and then said: "Then my son will go to Xuzhou. At most, he will die!"
Zhao Lu still shook his head and said calmly: "You underestimate Shen Qi. He asked you to go to Xuzhou not because of your personal grudges back then. He is unlikely to kill you. He probably wanted to use you to contain his father.
, to contain the Huaihe Navy."
Having said this, Zhao Lu paused, his voice a little hoarse: "Go ahead."
"In the eleventh year of Hong De's reign, I made a bet with him. If he could hold Huai'an for two years, the Zhao family would do whatever the imperial court wanted our Zhao family to do."
General Zhao looked up and looked outside, stunned: "Shen Qi took over the Huai'an Mansion in early August of the eleventh year of Hong De's reign. It has been exactly two years now."
"He not only defended Huai'an, but also led his troops northward and made numerous military exploits."
At this point, General Zhao seemed to have lost his strength and said: "Since you have lost the bet, you must admit it. At this point, you and I can only let the court arrange it."
Zhao Zhuo whispered: "Dad, the bet you made back then was said to be void by several ministers..."
General Zhao spoke earnestly: "Son, the imperial court is not decided by those prime ministers and assistants."
He stood up and walked outside with his hands behind his back. Feeling the summer heat outside, he looked up at the sky: "Shen Qi is such a freak..."
General Zhao said slowly: "Until now, I still can't understand how he could act so recklessly in the North with only 40,000 to 50,000 troops, and even captured the city of Xuzhou..."
"It's not like my father has never seen his Huai'an Army before..."
General Zhao murmured: "It seems like overnight, all the Qi people in the north have turned into tofu..."
He murmured to himself.
"It has only been a few years, but under his single-handed promotion, the trend of the Northern Expedition seems to be unstoppable..."
Having said this, General Zhao turned around and glanced at his son. The expression on his face was very complicated, it seemed like he was crying but not crying, and he seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
"Zhuo'er, do you know..."
Zhao Zhuo quickly lowered his head: "Father, you said..."
The Marquis of Anping let out a long sigh and seemed to be choked with sobs: "When Yuan Du went on the Northern Expedition twenty years ago, my father wanted to go north with him..."
"Your grandfather stopped me and gave my father a good beating..."
"I was still very young as a father at that time..."
He closed his eyes and seemed to be back when he was young and became that passionate young man.
"My father ran away from home in the middle of the night, swam across the Huaihe River, joined Yuan Jun, and became a pawn under Yuan Du..."
Having said this, he laughed to himself.
"Later, due to military merit, the general flag was raised."
General Zhao's voice was hoarse: "Then...I saw Yuan Du's army of more than a dozen and nearly two hundred thousand men, ambushed by Zhou Jin, and suffered a huge defeat. Within a few months, they were almost wiped out."
"Blood flows and drifts."
Having said this, Zhao Lu looked to the north and seemed to see the Huaihe River. He closed his eyes...
"Later, my father fled back to Fengyang in embarrassment. He fell ill and lay in bed for more than half a year before slowly recovering..."
"Your grandfather put this matter away on behalf of my father, and almost no one else knew about it."
"From that time on, my father never dared to cross that river again..."
Zhao Zhuo stood behind his old father, bowing his head deeply: "Dad..."
Only then did Zhao Zhuo suddenly understand why when the Huaihe Navy went north to attack the Qi border last year, his father only took command on the boat on the Huaihe River and did not set foot on the territory north of the Huaihe River...
He was silent for a while, not knowing what to say, so he whispered: "Dad, what happened back then is in the past..."
General Zhao said silently: "Yes, it's all over..."
"But as a father, I still find it incredible to see Shen Qi."
Having said this, he looked back at Zhao Zhuo and said slowly: "Zhuo'er, I will tell you a few words for my father. You must remember them."
Zhao Zhuo lowered his head: "Father, please tell me."
Zhao Lu said slowly: "I have lost as a father. I have lost completely. It will be difficult to control the Huaihe Navy again in the future."
"Our Zhao family's chances of mastering the Huaihe Navy are slim."
"But our family doesn't control the Huaihe Navy, so we can't let Shen Qi take charge of the Huaihe Navy..."
Zhao Zhuo was stunned: "Dad, but you just said that the Northern Expedition is unstoppable..."
"good."
General Zhao whispered: "As of today, no one can stop the momentum of Dachen's Northern Expedition. No matter whether it is success or failure in the future, we will definitely fight like this."
"But Shen Qi is not the only one who wants to go to the Northern Expedition."
Zhao Zhuo was a smart man, otherwise he would not have been chosen as the successor by Zhao Lu. He understood it almost instantly, looked up at his old father, and whispered: "You mean, Your Majesty..."
Zhao Lu did not answer his words, but said quietly: "The emperor today is a great emperor. Although he is young, he is already strong enough. From now on, my son will become the emperor's most loyal minister..."
Zhao Zhuo was stunned.
"Dad, shouldn't you be this loyal minister..."
Zhao Lu shook his head.
"The reason why our Zhao family has been called the Zhao Clan by outsiders over the years is because we have indeed disobeyed some imperial edicts and done a lot of wrong things. These wrong things cannot be eliminated out of thin air..."
"Someone needs to take the responsibility."
He looked at Zhao Zhuo and said slowly: "You will go north to Xuzhou tomorrow, and my father will go south to Jiankang tomorrow..."
"In the future, my father will probably be the chief military officer of the Huaihe Navy, but the court will probably send generals to fill the Huaihe Navy..."
"Our Zhao family has a close relationship with the Li family..."
He looked at Zhao Zhuo and whispered: "In a few years, the people from the imperial court will take over the Huaihe Navy and accept the punishment for my father's resignation. As long as you are loyal enough to His Majesty, for the sake of your great-grandfather, treat the heroes well for the sake of the Heavenly Family."
The reputation that followed..."
"My son can still lead the Huaihe Navy."
Zhao Zhuo froze on the spot and did not speak for a long time.
Zhao Lu took his time and continued: "At that time, you could only have two words in your heart."
Zhao Zhuo lowered his head silently and said, "My son understands."
"loyalty…"
The conversation between father and son was naturally not so straightforward, but Zhao Lu's words made it very clear that he wanted his son to become a loyal dog under Emperor Hongde in the future.
When General Zhao heard this, a happy smile appeared on his face.
He patted his son on the shoulder and said, "As long as you understand."
"That's all. Tomorrow morning, father and son will go our separate ways."
Having said this, General Zhao said sadly: "It's just this time of separation. I don't know when we will see each other again."
Zhao Zhuo burst into tears, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to his father several times.
"My father's good intentions will be remembered by my son forever..."
Zhao Lu reached out and helped him up.
"Zhuo'er, whether our Zhao family will survive in the future and whether it will be prosperous..."