"It's just that you look poor and poor. The governor invites you to have a chat because he thinks highly of you."
"He comes from a humble family, so he doesn't know how to talk."
"Haha, it's better to go back to that mountain valley as soon as possible and continue to be his little teacher."
"..."
Several children from aristocratic families nearby began to sneer.
They knew that Xie Yuan was invited today, and everyone present was from a noble family. Only this guy was dressed in ordinary and shabby clothes. Naturally, they could tell at a glance that he was Xie Yuan, a member of a poor family.
The children of the aristocratic family had laughed enough and sat farther away one after another, fearing that Xie Yuan would bring the aura of being a poor family to them.
Huo Qubing looked very ugly. Lu Zhong opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw the sneering faces of those people, he fell silent again.
At that time, there was a flower hall in another part of the Governor's Mansion.
The four kings gathered here, and the outside of the flower hall was heavily guarded.
The governor of Youzhou wiped his eyes with sweat as he looked at the few people who were drinking tea without changing their expressions.
"President Lu, I heard that you have gained a lot from this defeat of the barbarian enemy." King Pengcheng took the lead to put down the tea cup and smiled slightly.
"...It was indeed a great victory. We only captured some prisoners, but no gold or silver treasure was seized..."
He finally knew the purpose of this group of people's trip.
Why are you here? You're here to get money.
It must be because there was a natural disaster in their fiefdom and they were unwilling to pay. They asked the emperor but refused to give it, and then the emperor tricked them into coming here.
Grandma, he hasn’t even used the money yet, so he doesn’t want to give it away.
What's more, based on the behavior of this group of people, the money they took would definitely go into their own pockets, and they would not care about the lives or deaths of the people.
The governor racked his brains, thinking of ways to refuse, when he suddenly heard a sneer from the head of the Lu family next to him -
"There is a disaster in the place, but the imperial court does not allocate relief money, but instead comes to Youzhou to ask for loot. It's really ridiculous."
When Governor Lu heard this, he immediately became angry.
Behind him stood Fan Yanglu. What was he afraid of?
"Those spoils of war have been allocated to the people by my subordinates long ago. There is not much left, so I ask the princes to forgive me." Governor Lu bowed.
"Seriously?" King Pengcheng raised his eyebrows.
"Everything the official said is true."
King Pengcheng stared at Governor Lu and smiled slightly.
Governor Lu, who had taken credit for the great victory in Youzhou, was ashamed and had hair on his back.
"Every sentence is true..." King Pengcheng chewed these four words, and the smile on his face became even wider,
"The lonely king entered Youzhou from Jiankang. Along the way, he heard that the person recruiting troops was not the governor, but a descendant of a poor family named Xie Yuan. I don't know if this is true or not?"
Governor Lu's heart trembled.
He quickly denied: "Of course it was the lower officials who recruited troops to repel the enemy."
"I heard that the governor held a banquet today and invited all the children of aristocratic families to come to the mansion to talk. There is also a poor man among them. Is that poor man Xie Yuan?" King Pengcheng reached out and knocked on the table.
"It's him. The governor recruits troops to repel the enemy army, and he has no guilt in his heart. If the prince wants to confront him face to face, the governor will send that guy over." The head of the Lu family, who didn't know the truth, snorted coldly.
Governor Lu was ashamed again.
But the problem is that it is really Xie Yuan who recruits troops.
When he hesitated about what to do, King Pengcheng had already sent soldiers to call Xie Yuan.
Governor Lu's face paled slightly.
It’s over, it’s time to reveal the secret.
…
"You said that King Pengcheng sent Xie Yuan to drink tea?" The disciples from the aristocratic family next to him were stunned when they heard what the soldier said.
"Exactly." The soldier looked at Xie Yuan, with a hint of contempt in his eyes, "Xie Xiaolangjun, please, don't keep the prince waiting."
Xie Yuan nodded, stood up and prepared to leave.
Huo Qubing wanted to follow, but Xie Yuan shook his head slightly at him.
The little boy had no choice but to stay where he was.
Xie Yuan followed the soldiers through the long corridor and couldn't help but click his tongue when he saw the expensive rockery in the mansion, the sorghum edged with glass, and the hanging curtains made of silk and satin.
It is said that officials and aristocratic families are very extravagant, and it seems that this is indeed the case.
It's funny that the people outside have no food to eat, but here they eat delicacies from the mountains and sea.
This is reality.
After a while, the soldiers stopped, greeted inside, and motioned for Xie Yuan to enter.
Xie Yuan withdrew his gaze, took off his shoes and entered the hall.
The stove in the house was crackling. In the front seat was Governor Lu, and next to him sat the head of the Lu family. On both sides sat four middle-aged men with unfamiliar faces but richly dressed.
"Xie Yuan, I haven't met a few princes yet." Governor Lu introduced the names of several princes to Xie Yuan.
Xie Yuan saluted one by one.
"Xie Yuan, the lonely king asks you something, and you answer it truthfully. If you dare to hide it, the lonely king will give you a broken car." King Pengcheng flipped the lid of the tea and looked at Xie Yuan with a smile.
"My lord, please ask." Xie Yuan lowered his eyes.
"There are rumors that the great victory in Youzhou was not caused by Governor Lu, but by Xie Yuan, who recruited troops and horses. However, he was forced to take away the credit due to his power - is there such a thing?"
Governor Lu quietly clenched his sleeves.
If these princes find out that he has taken over someone else's title, his career may be over.
I just hope Xie Yuan won't talk nonsense, otherwise he will definitely drag Longgang Academy along with him!
Thinking of this, Governor Lu quietly glared at Xie Yuan.
The young man over there resisted the pressure from both sides and bowed calmly: "The rumors are false. The governor knew that a powerful enemy was coming to Youzhou, and fearing that the enemy might intercept him halfway, he led his army to ask for help from the imperial court. He was also afraid that Youzhou would fall.
The common people are specially ordered to recruit troops and horses to repel the enemy."
Hearing Xie Yuan's answer, Governor Lu breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he is a discerning person.
"There are so many aristocratic families in Youzhou, and the governor is from the Lu family of Fanyang. Why do you want to find you, a descendant of a poor family?" King Pengcheng took a sip of tea, with a stern look in his eyes.
Governor Lu's heart became anxious again.
"The mother clan of the Cao people is the Qi family of Youzhou. Uncle Zhong is a descendant of the Qi family. He once wrote a book for the governor in the name of a knife catcher. Before Uncle Zhong left, the Cao people got his introduction and got acquainted with the governor. The governor appreciated the Cao people, so he entrusted him to the governor.
Heavy responsibility.”
Taking a deep breath, Xie Yuan began to talk nonsense seriously, and then looked at Governor Lu,
"May I ask the governor if what the common people said is true?"
"Ah...ah, yes, yes, everything Xie Yuan said is true - everything is true." Governor Lu, who had been stunned, came to his senses and responded quickly.
The head of the Lu family squinted his eyes and saw Governor Lu's guilty expression and Xie Yuan's expression. He roughly guessed the truth and couldn't help but curse Governor Lu secretly.
Idiot, do you know that some functions can be snatched, and some functions cannot be snatched at all?
Now, these four princes will definitely kill them.
King Pengcheng opened the tea lid, obviously not believing what they said.
He lowered his head and asked the guards to ask about Uncle Xie Yuanzhong.
The guard came back not long after he left and whispered a few words to King Pengcheng.
King Pengcheng raised his eyebrows.
died?
Beheaded?
He looked at Xie Yuan who was calm and composed, and then at Governor Lu, looking thoughtful.