Chapter 720: Bringing Wind and Fire
"I never thought that Lu Tingxiang, who is known as the 'No. 1 Gentleman in the Martial World', is actually the 'No. 1 Hypocrite in the Martial World'. Now, for his own selfishness and the honor of his family, he is willing to sell out the Song Dynasty and disregard the survival of the Han people and China. Oh, if there is such a hypocritical hypocrite among the Han people, why should we worry about the destruction of our country?"

At night, Jin Fuyu summoned Song Yu, Ding Ao, Dong Xiaoer, Wen Lian and others to the Qingtian Pavilion to discuss matters.

Everyone thought that Jin Fuyu would get straight to the point and lay out his plan. But they never expected that he would openly mock Jin Fuyu in the beginning, causing everyone to look at each other in bewilderment, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

"Lu Chongyang lived an upright life, but his son turned out to be so sinister, selfish, and filthy." Jin Fuyu added, "I guess the great reputation created by the Jiangnan Lu family for three generations will sooner or later be ruined by this man."

"Lu Tingxiang is young and successful, so he is inevitably arrogant and acts on impulse." Song Yu said with a smile, "But Si Kongzhu, as an elder of the Lu family, not only did not know how to advise, but also helped the tyrant. This is really wrong."

"In my opinion, Lu Tingxiang came to the owner of the dock for help, which was clearly a 'borrowing knife to kill' strategy." Ding Ao said, "He knew that the owner of the dock did not want to see the marriage between Song and Mongolia, so he deliberately used a letter to trick us into taking action. When the time comes, we will go through life and death, and he will just sit back and enjoy the success. If this fails, the Song and Mongolian courts will only cause trouble for us, and he can just push it off completely. If this succeeds, he can not only get the benefits brought by Liu Xunyi, but also get close to the owner of the dock, and even place Xu Guangsheng in the owner's military camp. When the owner of the dock ascends to the throne in the future, he can also use Xu Guangsheng's relationship to seek a good future in the new dynasty. Therefore, whether this matter succeeds or fails, Lu Tingxiang will not lose anything."

"I don't think so. If Lu Tingxiang takes Liu Xunyi's head to the Xianwang Mansion to claim the reward, everyone in the world will know that he killed Liu Xunyi. In other words, the Song and Mongolian courts will also know about Liu Xunyi's death, and Lu Tingxiang is the culprit." Dong Xiaoer pondered, "In this way, wouldn't his carefully designed 'killing with a borrowed knife' be in vain? The Song and Mongolian courts are not fools, and they will still hold him responsible..."

"No!" Song Yu explained, "First, Liu Xunyi is just an insignificant little character to the court. It is not him who can really influence the war between Song and Mongolia, but An Chen and Zhao Xin. Therefore, compared to who killed Liu Xunyi, the Emperor of Song and the Great Khan of Mongolia care more about who killed Zhao Xin and An Chen. Second, even if the truth is revealed and people all over the world question Lu Tingxiang, he can forcefully argue and lie that we were the first to act, and then Liu Xunyi took advantage of the chaos to escape, and he met him by chance, so he killed him with the intention of avenging Luo Tianjin. In this way, Lu Tingxiang can cleverly cover up all the connections between the Jiangnan Lu Mansion and the destruction of the marriage between Song and Mongolia. His killing of Liu Xunyi will also become a reasonable and unexpected coincidence. Let me ask, will the two countries of Song and Mongolia leave a murderer with solid evidence unchecked and embarrass an 'outsider' who happened to kill Liu Xunyi?"

"This..." Song Yu's explanation made Dong Xiaoer speechless. She wanted to refute, but she had no way to refute.

"It's still not right!" Wen Lian raised his eyebrows and questioned, "Even if Lu Tingxiang can deny that he killed Liu Xunyi, how can he explain the matter of the letter? Even if Xu Guangsheng colluded with us, how can he explain it?"

Facing Wen Lian's doubts, before Song Yu could speak, Ding Ao asked with a smile, "How could a man who could betray his ancestors care about a little cousin?"

"hiss!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Wen Lian and Dong Xiaoer's faces changed immediately, and a hint of horror appeared between their brows.

On the other hand, Jin Fu Yu's eyes flashed with appreciation when he looked at Ding Ao.

"You mean..." Wen Lian said in disbelief, "Once the truth comes out, will Lu Tingxiang distance himself from Xu Guangsheng? Will he put all the blame for the letter and the collusion on Xu Guangsheng alone?"

"That's right!" Song Yu could not deny it. "At that time, Lu Tingxiang will insist that we colluded with Xu Guangsheng in private and he knew nothing about it. After all, Xu Guangsheng is a living person with his own thoughts and opinions. Even if the Lu family is related to him, it is impossible for them to restrict him in everything and keep an eye on him all the time. Therefore, Lu Tingxiang's explanation is also reasonable."

"More importantly, Xu Guangsheng has enough reasons to collude with us, and he doesn't even need to go through the Lu family." Ding Ao added, "Just as Lu Tingxiang said this morning, Xu Guangsheng has no interest in martial arts, but only has a special liking for leading troops to fight. The court recently sent an imperial envoy to Hengshan Village to investigate openly and secretly, and it seems that he has doubts about our hidden troops. If Xu Guangsheng's rebellion is added, do you think the court will have the leisure to explore the relationship between Xu Guangsheng and Lu Tingxiang? On the contrary, the court will only regard us as a huge threat, and the issue of Hengshan Village hiding troops, which was finally settled, will be in turmoil again. And this... is the biggest reason why Lu Tingxiang is so fearless."

"That is to say... we not only solved the troubles ahead for Lu Tingxiang, but also protected him from the disasters ahead." Dong Xiaoer suddenly realized, "Lu Tingxiang, he is really vicious."

"Of course, if this matter can be done flawlessly and smoothly, we and Lu Tingxiang will be very happy." Song Yu sneered, "As for what I just said, it is just the worst-case scenario, a self-protection strategy for Lu Tingxiang after our two families have fallen out. If we have not exposed our identities, and Xu Guangsheng has not been found to be colluding with us, then... there will naturally be no trouble later. After all, Lu Tingxiang does not want to have a grudge against us unless it is absolutely necessary."

"In fact, from the beginning of the whole plan, Lu Tingxiang had already given up on Xu Guangsheng." Jin Fuyu, who had been silent for a long time, spoke faintly, "In other words, Xu Guangsheng is destined to be a discarded piece, a dead chess piece! Lu Tingxiang will not allow this matter to pose the slightest threat to the Jiangnan Lu Mansion. Therefore, Xu Guangsheng is like a thorn in his throat and a thorn in his back. He will not be able to sleep well until the problem is solved."

"This……"

"This is true not only for Lu Tingxiang, but also for us." Jin Fuyu continued, "If we don't want others to find out that Xu Guangsheng is secretly colluding with us, the best way is to get rid of him when we do it. This will have two major benefits for Lu Tingxiang. First, we will undoubtedly owe Lu Tingxiang a favor if we get rid of Xu Guangsheng without authorization. Second, Xu Guangsheng died on the battlefield for the court, which means he is a meritorious official of the Song Dynasty. At that time, the court will not only not doubt his loyalty, but will posthumously commend him. Do you know what it means for the court to commend Xu Guangsheng?"

"It means that if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit. The Jiangnan Lu family will also be treated well by the court because of Xu Guangsheng's death." Ding Ao continued, "This will undoubtedly provide Lu Tingxiang with an additional layer of protection."

"That's right!" Jin Fuyu smiled, "I originally thought that Xu Guangsheng was a talented general, so I intended to bring him under my command, but when I thought about it carefully, based on the relationship between him and Lu Tingxiang, I dare not keep this person by my side even if he is a genius, for fear of being calculated by Lu Tingxiang. Although Lu Tingxiang is young, he is not impulsive, on the contrary, he is very experienced. If he had not been fully prepared, if he had not considered all possible hidden dangers, why would he come here to confront me today? Just now you questioned why Si Kongzhu did not persuade Lu Tingxiang, do you know the reason now?" "I understand!" Song Yu nodded with lingering fear, "I really can't tell that Lu Tingxiang is so cunning at such a young age."

"Lu Tingxiang's scheming is far more than what he has achieved today." Jin Fuyu's eyes narrowed, and he said quietly, "As I expected, he has been secretly planning today's plan since he sent someone to Hengshan Village three months ago to tell me everything that happened in Luoyang. Three months ago, he should have known about the marriage between Song and Mongolia through Xu Guangsheng, and he also knew that Xu Guangsheng was very likely to be sent by the court to escort the bride, so he deliberately approached me and showed his sincerity to me, just to use me to help him achieve his wish of killing Liu Xunyi and becoming the deputy leader of the martial arts world three months later."

"hiss!"

Jin Fu Yu revealed Lu Tingxiang's conspiracy in one sentence, causing Song Yu, Wen Lian, Ding Ao, and Dong Xiaoer to gasp in surprise at the same time. Their faces changed color and their expressions were very interesting.

"At that time... I thought Lu Tingxiang saw Luo Tianjin's tragic death, so he changed his mind and hurriedly joined the owner..." Song Yu muttered to himself, "But I didn't expect that he was actually weaving a big network in secret."

"Not to mention you, even I...didn't see Lu Tingxiang's intention at the beginning." Jin Fuyu said, "It was only after meeting Lu Tingxiang today that I suddenly realized it. This man is as sinister as Luo Tianjin in the past, and even more despicable than Luo Tianjin. At least... Luo Tianjin would not betray his ancestors for his own selfish interests and sell out the Han people, but Lu Tingxiang doesn't care at all, and everything is only for the immediate interests. You must be very careful when dealing with him in the future."

"As ordered!"

"Since the owner has seen through Lu Tingxiang's trick, why did he agree to his conditions today?" Dong Xiao'er couldn't help but ask cautiously, "Court owner... is willing to be used by him?"

"First, I am indeed interested in the 'transfer letter' in his hand, and I really don't want the marriage between Song and Mongolia to be friendly." Jin Fuyu replied calmly, "Second, no matter what kind of alliance in the world, it is ultimately mutual use. Lu Tingxiang used me to get to the top, and I used him to destroy the marriage between Song and Mongolia. Although there are many dangers hidden in the middle, it cannot change the fact that each side got what it needed. What's more, it is still unknown who will win in the end!"

"Since the master knows that there are many hidden dangers, then...how should we seek benefits and avoid harm?" Wen Lian asked tentatively.

"We do have a 'previous lesson' about this matter." Jin Fuyu smiled mysteriously, "Remember, we used the 'Qin Mo Wu Yao' to instigate a quarrel between Luo Tianjin and Wang Xutong. At that time, Wang Xutong also had more than a thousand soldiers under his command. How did Luo Tianjin get rid of them in Luoyang City without anyone noticing? How did he clear his suspicion in the future?"

"At that time, Luo Tianjin had his men, under the banner of the 'Great Song Civilian Volunteer Army', openly attack the General's Mansion and kill Wang Xutong and his subordinates." Song Yu recalled, "Afterwards, Luo Tianjin cried like a cat crying over a rat, and took the initiative to present a letter of mourning to the Mongols..."

"That's right!" Jin Fuyu interrupted with a wave of his hand. "Although Luo Tianjin and I are rivals, I have to admit that some of his strategies and tactics are unexpected and ingenious."

"What the owner of the dock means is..."

"Since Luo Tianjin has set a good example for us, why should we take the risk? We can just follow his previous deployment and imitate him." Jin Fuyu sighed, "The marriage between Song and Mongolia is a loss of sovereignty and a humiliation to the country. And the 'Great Song Civilian Volunteer Army'... is a banner that cannot be better..."

Jin Fu Yu's words made Song Yu and others fall into deep thought.

"Wen Lian, Ding Ao, Dong Xiaoer, remember not to reveal your true identity during this trip, so as to avoid being discovered." Jin Fuyu warned, "Since you are a 'civilian volunteer army', it would be best if you were strangers."

"I understand!" Wen Lian nodded solemnly, "May I ask, Master, when shall we start? And where shall we start?"

"I have carefully studied the invitation and found a perfect ambush location for you." Jin Fuyu's eyes gleamed as he spoke word by word, "May 15th, at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains, Yunya Town!"

……

(End of this chapter)