These people then remembered that behind Xie Yuan, there was the support of the entire poor family and the noble family surnamed Wu.
His position cannot be easily shaken by the court.
The slaves and young men were grateful, kowtowed to him, bowed three times, and then left one after another with the money and dry food given by Xie Yuan.
Some returned to their hometown to meet their mothers, some stayed with Xie Yuan's army and became military households, and some went to the manor under Xie Yuan's name and became tenant farmers and started farming.
Their future is promising.
After handling the matters at hand, Xie Yuan set his sights on Nanhai County.
Next, there is still a tough battle.
…
Xie Yuan went south to inspect the people's situation, and the incident of killing Japanese pirates quickly spread throughout Yangzhou, and even reached the ears of the Jiankang court.
Everyone in the government and the public was shocked that Xie Yuan had made another great achievement.
If he is going to be promoted in the future, how should Wang Dazai promote him?
The news has not reached the palace yet.
At this time, in the palace, there was a piece of red apricot sticking out of the wall.
After all the ups and downs, Queen Wang snuggled into Lu Zhong’s arms, playing with his hair and looking lazily——
"A-Zhong was given a chance that day, why not seize it?"
Lu Zhongde's expression paused slightly.
He knew what day Queen Wang was talking about.
That day, Huo Qubing came all the way with gifts to congratulate him on his promotion and fortune. Queen Wang gave him a pack of colorless and odorless poison and asked him to take the opportunity to drink it in Huo Qubing's drink.
The medicine was originally reserved for Xie Yuan, but even if Huo Qubing came, killing him would be like getting rid of a major worry.
By the time Huo Qubing got sick, he was already on his way home.
At that time, no matter whether he died of illness or exhaustion, who would care about a young man who died in his sleep in the middle of the road.
Queen Wang said that killing Huo Qubing would be equivalent to removing Xie Yuan's right-hand man.
Moreover, the Huo family was the main culprit who brought down the entire Lu family, and Huo Qubing even asked his retainers to personally arrest the head of the Lu family.
But Lu Zhong didn't make a move and just let Huo Qubing go.
Now when Queen Wang asked him, he couldn't say a word.
Having not heard the person next to her pillow talking for a long time, Queen Wang slowly raised her head, saw the unbearable look in Lu Zhong's eyes, laughed, sat up and lifted his chin -
"Ah Zhong, Ah Zhong, do you know why you haven't been as famous as Xie Yuan and Qi Yan?"
"They can take action without hesitation when facing the enemy who killed their father. As for you, you are good at being patient, but you are also indecisive. You have sympathy for him that you shouldn't have."
Lu Zhong was noncommittal.
Queen Wang was right, he was indeed indecisive, and he was indeed unable to kill the brother he once regarded as a brother.
"You regard them as brothers, do they regard you as brothers?" Queen Wang saw through Lu Zhong's thoughts, continued to laugh, and blew the pillow wind in his ears,
"Xie Yuan only kept you in the academy because of the pressure from the head of the Lu family. Do you really think that he regards you as a sibling? There is also Huo Qubing, the famous Little General Huo, who has a good family tradition and will harm Zhongliang.
Be friends with Mr. Lu?"
Lu Zhong's pupils shrank suddenly, and his eyelids twitched.
"That's enough, stop talking!"
He suddenly stretched out his hand and strangled Queen Wang's neck, looking as if his eyes were about to burst.
Queen Wang was shocked at first, and then there was more ridicule on her face——
"A-Zhong, A-Zhong, that's all you can do. Why don't you come and have fun with me and make me happy? I'll help you think of something -"
The lazy ending of his voice was stuck in his throat by the overturned figure, and the young man vented all his nameless anger.
Queen Wang was exhausted and satisfied.
She drove Lu Zhong out of the palace and asked him to meet her in three days.
It was raining heavily outside, and the young man straightened his hair and crown. He did not take the oil-paper umbrella handed by the attendant, and just walked across the long high wall in the rain.
The woman's words kept ringing in Lu Zhong's ears.
The moment he walked out of the palace, the noble-looking young man slowly turned around. The tall house made of red ancient wood fell into his eyes, making him feel a little particularly dazzling.
"Go back home and prepare water for bathing." Lu Zhong took a deep breath and got into the chariot.
…
Nanhai County.
The old residence of the Xu family.
"Kill thirty thousand Japanese and save thirty thousand slaves..."
After reading the letter in his hand, Mr. Xu threw it away, slammed the table, and pointed tremblingly at the person kneeling in front of him. It was the man whose face was livid with anger.
"I asked you to catch the person and execute him on the spot. If he was not caught, he was asked to kill the Japanese and make a great contribution. You are an ineffective thing. I was blind to train you back then!"
In the hall, Xu Chong was trembling non-stop and did not dare to speak a word.
Taigong Xu scolded him for a while, but he still couldn't get over his anger.
He picked up the tea cup and took a big sip to moisten his throat, then opened his mouth and shouted: "Xu Sheng!"
Xu Sheng, who had been waiting beside him, immediately stepped forward and bowed: "Master of the family."
"Take this bastard... out here and beat him! Beat him hard!" Taigong Xu put down the tea cup again and pointed at Xu Chong, his expression as ugly as before.
Xu Sheng understood and glanced coldly at the pale Xu Chong, then clapped his hands, called a few servants, dragged the man to the yard, took off his clothes and whipped him.
How did such an idiot get to the head of the family in the first place?
How outrageous.
Xu Chong begged for mercy while being beaten, and his cries and howls were very uncomfortable to hear.
After thirty blows, Xu Chong couldn't stand it anymore and fainted.
Taigong Xu had someone splash him awake and carry him back to the house.
"In a few days, Xie Yuan will definitely lead his army south to start a war with my Xu family. Then you can lead your army to stop us, and I will ask the Xu family's army to withdraw from Nanhai County, so that they will be defeated."
Xu Taigong stared at Xu Chong expressionlessly,
"If you dare to do bad things again, please bring it up and see me."
Xu Chong knelt down tremblingly, kowtowed and thanked him, and then left.
The smell of blood in the house made Xu Taigong very uncomfortable. He got up and left with the help of Xu Sheng, returning to his courtyard.
When Xu Sheng left, Taigong Xu slowly walked into the dark room with a cane.
There are hundreds of tablets enshrined here - the people on the tablets are without exception the ancestors of the Xu family who have achieved fame during their lifetimes.
The old man looked at these tablets and muttered to himself absentmindedly——
"Since the Qin and Han dynasties, I, the Xu family, have been serving the emperor of the Central Plains as our main body and assisting the emperor wholeheartedly. By the Three Kingdoms era, there were countless Xu family members who assisted the master. Although the Jin Dynasty was unified, its master was really stupid and incompetent. The people were in dire straits, and natural disasters continued—
- The juniors and ancestors really couldn't bear it anymore, so they planned for ten years, gathered their strength, and prepared to raise troops to overthrow the Jin Dynasty. I hope that all the ancestors will forgive the disobedience of the juniors..."
After saying these words, Mr. Xu put down his crutches, knelt on the futon and kowtowed deeply to these memorial tablets. He bowed respectfully three times, wiped away a line of muddy old tears from the corners of his eyes, and then stood up and left.
After leaving the courtyard, he turned back into the powerful and majestic Mr. Xu.