Chapter Forty-Three: Imperial Appointment, Holding Power (3)
"Brother Wan is right," Lu Fangxuan looked at Qi Zi and said, "Commander Qi, please retreat first."
Qi Zi didn't want to leave. He wanted to argue a few words, but when he saw him nodding vigorously again, he quickly stopped and saluted, "I'm leaving now. You must be safe."
"I'm fine, don't worry." Lu Fangxuan said, his eyelids twitching a few times.
The two of them entered the living room hand in hand. There were only two chairs in the middle of the room, and two slaves were waiting beside them. It seemed to be very peaceful.
"Brother, please sit down." Wan Heshun smiled kindly.
Lu Fangxuan didn't reply and just sat up. Looking around, he saw that the ends of the aisles on both sides were covered by layers of curtains, and he couldn't see the whole hall. He began to feel uneasy and tugged on his collar nervously.
"Rumors are spreading outside and disturbing people's hearts. Brother Yu, I really can't stand it. We have had differences before, but they were all official matters. We are still on good terms in private, and we have not led troops to confront each other. I invite you, Mr. Lu, to resolve official matters this time.
, take advantage of the situation to eliminate these nonsense." Wan Heshun's tone was quite calm.
"Lu Mou thinks so." Lu Fangxuan replied with a smile.
"It's better to talk about things that are easy to solve first." Wan Heshun said, "The redundancy has been maintained for a year and a half. Although it is good governance, the progress is too slow and the resistance is huge. According to Brother Yu's opinion, it might as well stop for a while in advance.
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Lu Fangxuan lowered his head and thought to himself: 'This guy's vitality is severely damaged now and he doesn't dare to touch my people anymore, so I'm asking for a rest. If there is another dispute in the future, why not give him a chance to recuperate?'
Seeing him like this, Wan Heshun also thought in his mind: 'This guy knows that I have set up a heavy army and his life is in my hands, so he doesn't dare to show off his courage and protest lightly...'
"Hui Zhi's words are reasonable. Lu is willing to issue an official document with his brother to inform Nanjing." After a period of careful consideration, Lu Fangxuan finally agreed.
Wan Heshun saw that he was afraid of his sharp edge, so he pressed forward: "For the sake of Nanjing's stability, I have one more thing to ask of you: I hope my dear brother will take your troops out of the city."
Lu Fangxuan immediately opened his eyes wide and looked at him in surprise.
"Listen to me," Wan Heshun explained, "there are as many as ten thousand of your troops and horses, and all of them are stationed in the city. It would be... it would be too crowded, and the city cannot set up so many camps. Besides, I have no shortage of manpower here, Xian
I can send them to guard the outside of the city, and they can also strengthen the defense."
"Prince," Lu Fangxuan's eyes suddenly became serious, "It's not that Lu is disobedient, but is there any reason in the world to keep the generals inside and the troops outside? We can't let Lu give up his official duties and go to the city.
Just take care of them, right?"
Wan Heshun waved his hand hurriedly: "Oh, I didn't ask my good brother to run out of the city. They are all your soldiers, so why don't you worry?"
Lu Fangxuan looked sad, raised his hands and said: "It's not that I'm afraid they will cause trouble, but it's really... it's inconvenient to command! It's inconvenient to command!"
Wan Heshun stepped forward to persuade him, but he didn't know that he was not willing to do anything. He kept talking to him here and there, almost to the point of quarreling.
Wan Heshun couldn't bear it anymore, clenched his fists, glanced at the curtains fluttering in the wind in the corridor, and coughed several times.
As soon as the sound of coughing subsided, the sound of weapons clashing was heard behind the two men's heads, which made people shudder.
Lu Fangxuan's neck twitched slightly, only a stream of cold air came out from behind, and he broke into a cold sweat.
"Brother Xian, how do you think we should handle this matter?" Wan Heshun's smile remained kind.
At this time, the wind blew violently. Lu Fangxuan saw the curtain rolled up slightly, and a white light flashed from inside - it was a bright sword.
He wanted to escape, but was held back by his own calmness. "We must not back down!" He gritted his teeth and had no choice but to risk his life: "Brother Wan, my attitude is the same as before, I will not agree."
The soldiers on both sides were already holding swords and halberds, grabbing a corner of the curtain and staring at Lu Fangxuan's head.
Wan Heshun was feeling proud when he suddenly saw that he was unwilling to give in. He was startled for a while. When he came back to his senses, soldiers from both sides were gradually coming to kill him. He hurriedly slapped the table, and everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Lu Fangxuan was frightened and turned his neck stiffly, but he only saw the fluttering curtains and nothing else.
"Okay," Wan Heshun clapped his hands and said, "How about this, half of the people go out, what do you think, brother Xian?"
Lu Fangxuan seemed to have walked through the gates of hell. He didn't want to recall the feeling of fear anymore. He nodded repeatedly: "This is feasible, this is feasible."
"Also, we joined forces on New Year's Eve a few days ago, which was quite successful. However, your troops and mine have been in the Inspection Department for a long time, hindering the prefect from exercising his power, and it will be inconvenient. We can make an appointment to withdraw the troops together."
This matter was of no importance to them, so Lu Fangxuan agreed readily: "Okay, I'll go back and discuss it, and then I'll set a date with Huizhi."
"It couldn't be better. It's about the safety of Nanjing, so I won't stay," Wan Heshun said with a forced smile, "Come here and send the Duke of Yue out of the house!"
Lu Fangxuan walked straight to the gate of the palace with a sullen face. Seeing Qi Zi waiting there, he hurriedly ordered: "Hurry up and mount the horse."
"How is it?" Qi Zi got on the horse and tightened the bridle.
Lu Fangxuan took the riding crop and said, "We'll talk about it when we get back."
Wan Heshun was sitting in the living room. The officers who were lying in ambush on both sides immediately came up and asked: "This is such a good opportunity, why did the prince repel us?"
Wan Heshun waved his hand and sighed: "It's not the time to start a fire. The Mainland Party's arrogance still exists, and Nanjing still needs to be stabilized. It cannot be extinguished..."
"Haha!" Qi Zi raised his arms excitedly and clenched his fists after listening to Lu Fangxuan's narration.
"I guess that old thief thought he had won!" Zheng Shiyan and Qi Zi both laughed.
Lu Fangxuan looked at their smiles and couldn't help but smile: "Yes, we have enough energy to do some things."
"Since you have the spare energy, why not do it like this?" Qi Zi said mysteriously.
Seeing that he had a lot to say, Lu Fangxuan immediately asked: "What do you know again?"
"I intercepted a letter from Zhejiang outside the city. It was from a Chao County magistrate named Wang who sent someone to visit his friend."
Lu Fangxuan sneered: "How can a mere county magistrate of Chao County be worthy of your attention?"
Qi Zi shook his head: "Not only that. I wonder if you still remember that there was a Wang Shangshu in Nanjing in the past. After my inquiry, I determined that it was him."
Lu Fangxuan stood up in surprise: "Wang Shangshu... what happened to Fang Jiancai, didn't Wan Heshun get killed and silenced?"
Qi Zi curled his lips: "It seems that he changed his official uniform and survived in Chao County."
Lu Fangxuan's eyes flashed with golden light, and he murmured to himself: "If he is still alive, then the unjust killing of the dyer..."
"I still remember," Zheng Shiyan also became excited,
"If what happened back then is revealed to the world and Wan Heshun's crimes are exposed one by one, we will have a sure chance of victory!"