The next day, Lu Bu summoned all his civil and military officials to discuss the matter a second time and asked for their opinions.
Marrying a daughter is a private matter, and one must ask the wife's opinion, but getting married to Wang Zheng is a real business matter.
"General, I have taken the initiative to send an envoy here." The first person to speak was Chen Gong, the chief adviser under the Flying General. After thinking for a while, he said loudly: "Our response is nothing more than choosing one of the two.
"
Isn't this nonsense?
Lu Bu frowned slightly, and Gao Shun in the hall couldn't help but said: "Sir, what you said... Since you are asking for marriage, you are asking for permission or not. Who knows about this?"
"No, no, no." Chen Gong shook his head and said solemnly: "What I said about choosing one of the two is not unacceptable!"
Gao Shun was startled when he heard the words and was about to speak. Zhang Liao on the other side had already reacted and nodded in agreement: "What Mr. Gongtai said is true. Regardless of whether we are married to Wang Zheng or not, we cannot directly refuse it openly at this time."
After saying that, he turned his head to Lu Bu and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, since we have been stationed in Wu County, the total number of recruits we have recruited is only three thousand. Moreover, due to the shortage of money and food, not only are the soldiers and armors not fully equipped, but their training is also rough.
, the combat power is not enough!"
These words came out of nowhere. Gao Shun was stunned for a moment before he realized what he said. He couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile on his face, and then nodded: "Wen Yuan, I understand what you mean."
"What you said is indeed true," he said to Chen Gong again, "We cannot refuse this marriage proposal at this time."
Taking the initiative to seek marriage but being rejected would be a loss of face for future generations, not to mention the man who values honor the most in the world at this time?
If the common people form a feud over this and hold grudges, it is nothing more than swearing, using fists and kicks, or staying away from each other until death. No matter how serious it is, it is just provocation and revenge, and at most it will bring disaster to one family and one clan.
But who is Wang Zheng?
The current Lord of Xuzhou is a powerful prince with strong men and horses!
The marriage between him and Lu Bu, whether successful or not, will spread all over the world sooner or later. If his marriage request is rejected, it will become a joke in the public, and his reputation and even prestige will be greatly damaged...
So what will follow?
When an ordinary man is angry, his blood will be splashed three feet; when the master is angry, he will lay down millions of corpses!
In the past, whether it was Lu Bu or his subordinate Zhang Liao, Gao Shun would naturally not be afraid of the other party's revenge, but now it is one moment and the other.
Wang Zheng's unwillingness to fight Lu Bu was more because he didn't want to fight and shouldn't fight for long-term considerations. However, Lu Bu's unwillingness to antagonize Wang Zheng at this time was mostly because he couldn't fight, let alone couldn't afford to fight...
Zhang Liao's words were just a side note, gently reminding everyone of this embarrassing fact.
And this is also the reason why Wang Zheng, Zhang Zhao and even Jin and others subconsciously did not consider Lu Bu's rejection from the beginning.
It's simply impossible...
Why Lu Bu came to Xuzhou that day was not because he had no way to go after his defeat from Yanzhou. Qingzhou and Jizhou to the north were the territories of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, and Yangzhou and Yuzhou to the south were Yuan Shu's sphere of influence.
Li Jue and Guo Si were also in charge. These people either had new grudges or had old grudges!
Although there is no way out, after all, there are still some places in Yuzhou that are neglected, but in comparison, Xuzhou is considered a rare stable and safe place nowadays.
If we continue to be at odds with Wang Zheng, we will truly be enemies on all sides!
Lu Bu also came to his senses at this time, and his face became more gloomy and terrifying. After a while, he took a long breath and looked at Chen Gong: "Gongtai, what about the two choices you mentioned?"
"First of all, naturally I happily agree to get married today." Chen Gong said: "Wang Zheng, this son, can be regarded as a leader among the younger generation. In terms of talent and age, he is matched with General Tiger Girl. The only difference before is, but
My family is poor and I come from a humble background..."
"This is a small matter." Hearing this, Lu Bu waved his hand impatiently and interrupted: "If the descendants are unworthy, no matter how prominent the family background is, it is nothing more than the glory of a gentleman. If you kill him after five generations, how can you boast?"
"If you are a husband, even if you come from a humble background, you can still make great achievements on your own, bless your descendants, and shine on your family!"
"The former inherits the shadow of the ancestors, and the latter protects the descendants. Is it necessary to say which one is better and which one is worse?"
Chen Gong was not annoyed by Lu Bu's blunt refutation. He just smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I haven't finished speaking yet. Today, Wang Zheng is both the shepherd of Xuzhou and the title of Tinghou. It is considered
Make up for this shortcoming.”
"The implication of your words, sir," asked Gao Shun on the side, "is he agrees to get married?"
"That's not true..." Chen Gong shook his head: "The so-called emperor secretly ordered Wang Zheng to kill the princes. This matter is quite strange. If it is really a secret letter, how come the angel has leaked it only a few days after arriving in Xuzhou?"
"As far as I can tell, this is Cao Cao's plan, and its purpose is to drive a wedge between people!"
"And Zhang Zhao came to ask for his hand in marriage a few days ago. Judging from the time, Wang Zheng saw the clues not long after receiving the secret order, which is quite capable." Chen Gong said with emotion: "Then he made a decision in an instant and sent the envoy.
The purpose of asking for marriage is to prove one's own intentions in order to form an alliance."
"So..." Chen Gong paused, looked around at everyone and said seriously: "Let's not talk about whether this marriage is approved or not. At least it proves that Wang Zheng is neither hostile to us nor is he trying to trick us, so we have nothing to worry about for the time being.
.”
"As for forming an alliance, I have nothing to consider. It should be agreed to, but if it is an marriage..."
Having said this, Chen Gong paused, glanced at Lu Bu, hesitated for a while and said: "This matter is of great importance, not to mention that the Lord loves Ling'er very much, so it needs to be carefully considered."
Chen Gong's words were euphemistic, but both Lu Bu and Zhang Liao immediately heard the underlying meaning and couldn't help but darken their expressions at the same time.
The Ling'er he talks about is Lu Bu's daughter Lu Qiling. The so-called love is true, but why do you love her?
That's because besides Yan, Lu Bu also had a wife and a concubine, but they had nothing to do with each other. So far, he only has this one daughter.
If it were a prince from other aristocratic families, let’s not talk about the number of heirs. First of all, he would have family support behind him. When a political marriage is needed, it is actually very simple.
The one who has equal status and is valued should be given to his own daughter, the one who is favored can be given to the legitimate daughter of the family, and if not sure, the concubine can be married off. Anyway, there are many people, so there is no need to worry, you can choose at will.
Lu Bu is different, he is not from a noble family and he only has one daughter!
This daughter's marriage cannot be independent from the beginning, and it will inevitably be mixed with the interests of Lu Bu and even his subordinates, but it must be extremely cautious.
Because even Lu Bu, who is regarded by others as a "house slave with three surnames", cannot easily repeat the decision after choosing his in-laws.
This topic further leads to Lu Bu's biggest problem today. He is now in his thirties and is no longer considered young...
But there is still no successor!
Everyone knows that this problem must not only be solved, but also solved as soon as possible, and the solution is to recruit more wives and concubines.
This also requires a prerequisite, which is to find a place to settle down first.
Otherwise, as before, we would wander around fighting in all directions, spending all day either in the military camp preparing for a charge or on the road to charge. How could we create people with peace of mind?
After pondering for a long time, Lu Bu asked again: "Gongtai, what's the second option?"
"First let me marry you and get hired," Chen Gong said, "then we will get married according to the rules."
Seeing that Lü Bu and the generals were all confused, he explained: "Your Majesty will pay Zhang Zhao a generous sum tomorrow and promise to marry him first. Then he will return to Xiapi to report to Wang Zheng, and then Wang Zheng will prepare the betrothal gift. We can then send someone to see how Wang Zheng is and whether he is a good son-in-law."
"Character, talent, character, etc. cannot be understood clearly in just a short period of time. After all, Wang Zheng's uprising was not long ago, and he is in a place like Xuzhou where the Four Wars are fought. It is still unclear whether the future will be stable!"
"Then we can make a rule to postpone the date of marriage, so that we can leave enough time to observe and avoid getting into trouble with him."
"This is a good idea." Lu Bu thought for a while, nodded and asked, "What's the point of this rule?"
"In ancient times, there were fixed rules for the period of engagement and marriage: one year for the emperor, half a year for the princes, one season for the officials, and one month for the common people." Chen Gong said: "The king's government is now called Hanchenzhou Mu. , it is easy to follow the example of the emperor, and it seems to value it."
"Hey..." Lu Bu laughed dumbly, thought for a while and asked: "Is one year too long? If I say death first, the result is that the king's government is excellent in all aspects, will it change over time?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall, Zhang Liao and others, looked at me and I looked at you, and they couldn't help but laugh.
General, this is contradicting yourself. You don't want to agree to someone else's plea, but why are you afraid that the other person will change his mind later?
"That's easy to do." Chen Gong said with a smile: "Whenever the monarch nods, all he has to do is find a reason."
"Nowadays, the princes in the world are vying with each other for supremacy and hunting in the Central Plains. The marriage between the princes and the royal government is a strong alliance. There is no guarantee that the other princes will not be jealous in this matter. If the previous rules are followed, there is no guarantee that no villain will deliberately If you want to destroy her and seize it with an ambush, now you can send your daughter to Xiapi first and let Wang Zheng arrange it in another courtyard, and then choose auspicious times to get married, and everything will be safe."
Seeing that Lu Bu was deep in thought, Chen Gong stopped talking and waited patiently.
In fact, from the first moment he knew Zhang Zhao's intention, what Chen Gong was most concerned about was not whether the marriage would come to fruition or not.
Because no matter whether he succeeds or not, he has to find a way to catch up with Wang Zheng first!
Chen Gong had a vague premonition that if the Lu family's warship didn't get off as soon as possible, it would really sink together.
After this period of time, he had already seen through this air general.
He is brave but has no plan, forgets his righteousness at the sight of profit, and relies on his own force and is willful, making too many enemies!
Although the situation is still uncertain and it is hard to say who the real emperor is, in Chen Gong's view, no matter who it is, it is impossible for him to be Lu Bu!
How can such a common man achieve anything?
In Chen Gong's view now, Xuzhou Wangzheng has more hope of winning the Central Plains.
Of course, we still need to have an in-depth understanding before we can make a conclusion.
After all, Chen Gong has already changed his owners twice. If he makes the wrong move again this time, he will really have no chance to change his mind.
After a while, Lu Bu spoke again.
"Gongtai, I will follow your words." He said slowly: "First let me get married and get hired, and then we will get married according to the rules. Let's spend some time collecting information about this son, consider it carefully, and then make a decision."
No decision...
Chen Gong shook his head secretly, but his face showed no signs of leakage. He just cupped his hands and said, "You must not act hastily if you see clearly."
The matter was settled upon seeing this, Lu Bu nodded, and was about to wave his hand for everyone to disperse.
But at this moment, a scream suddenly sounded outside the hall:
"Did father forget to ask someone's opinion on this matter?"
Everyone was startled and looked around to see a red cloud floating into the hall. When they took a closer look, they saw a bright and beautiful girl with a face that was full of feminine charm.
But at this time, she was wearing a white tight-fitting suit and a bright red cloak, and her movements showed indescribable vitality. With this outfit, she had a different kind of majesty and heroic appearance.
It shimmered like a ball of flames, attracting everyone's attention as soon as it entered the scene.
As soon as the girl stopped, she glanced hard at Chen Gong. With the latter's slightly embarrassed smile, she turned to look directly at Lu Bu and snorted:
"My father first asked his mother, and then his uncles. Why did he forget to ask his daughter's opinion?"
Lu Bu looked at the girl who was already standing in the hall, showing a rare expression of helplessness.
"Why did I ask for your opinion?"
After looking around first, Lu Bu coughed dryly and said in a serious and serious voice: "The so-called parents' orders, the matchmaker's words!"
"That's the rule of the Central Plains people."
The girl was Lu Bu's daughter, Lu Qiling. When she heard this, she straightened her eyebrows and immediately retorted: "We in Bingzhou have a custom of picking a son-in-law!"
"So if someone wants to get married to his father, he needs to ask his daughter for her opinion!"
"Okay, okay." Lu Bu sighed. There was nothing he could do about this unruly girl: "Then what do you think?"
"If you want to marry me, Lu Qiling, you must first defeat me in all aspects, and then you can become my husband, Lu Qiling!"
Having said this, Lu Qiling walked gracefully in front of Lu Bu's case with graceful steps, picked up the greeting card handed over by Zhang Zhao, looked at it for a while, and showed a look of disdain.
"Wang Zheng?" The girl raised her beautiful face and said proudly to Lu Bu: "This man is my defeated general, and my daughter does not agree!"
what are you talking about?
"Don't speak nonsense!" Lu Bu shook his head repeatedly, stared at Lu Qiling and said: "This Wang Zheng is a rare young hero, with impeccable literary and military skills. He has become the governor of Xuzhou before he is even crowned. He is a rare talent! He is worthy of a girl like you.
It’s more than enough!”
"What's more, even in the martial arts you are most proud of, this boy is no less inferior!"
"Did you know that the Sentinel Cavalry reported earlier that not long ago, this man had a head-on battle with the Yan man Zhang Fei outside Xiapi City. Although the fight was short, he did not lose at all!"
"I know Zhang Fei's abilities very well. He is truly the enemy of tens of thousands of people. He is a general of bears and tigers. In terms of personal bravery, there are only a handful of people who can rival him in this world..."
At this point, Lu Bu had already come to a conclusion: "Although you have been practicing martial arts with me since you were a child, you are still lacking some experience now. You are definitely no match for this person, let alone better than Wang Zheng?"
"If father doesn't believe it, you can ask the steward Qian." Lu Qiling stamped her feet and said angrily: "Outside the city of Lu County that day, my daughter did fight against Wang Zheng once, and she even defeated him!"
"So father cannot agree to this marriage. My daughter will never agree to marry a defeated general!"
Then there was a moan, drifting away like a whirlwind.
this...
Seeing his daughter's words, Lu Bu couldn't help but become dubious. He looked down the hall again, and when he met Chen Gong's eyes, he smiled bitterly at the same time.