Chapter 1021 The calm before the storm!
Under the gaze of everyone, Murong Hui said in a deep voice:
“This time, my brother Murong Zhengshan was assassinated in Jiangnan. It was a conspiracy of the Thousand Tiger Guards of the Zhennan Army. They fabricated lies and spread them everywhere in order to disrupt the morale of our Fengwu Army and create internal conflicts within our Fengwu Army. My colleagues in the Fengwu Army must not fall for their evil schemes…”

After hearing Murong Hui's statement, everyone at the Zhongyong Hall meeting had different expressions, and some people even began to secretly look at Cui Shao.

They were all important military and political figures of the Fengwu Army, so they were naturally well aware of the open and secret struggles between the Murong family and An Miaoyi and Cui Shao's faction!

And the rumors spread by Xu Zhaojie this time completely handed the knife targeting An Miaoyi into the hands of the Murong family!
Therefore, many people believe that the Murong family will definitely not miss this good opportunity and will definitely ask An Miaoyi for an explanation. Even if they don’t destroy An Miaoyi, they will at least make An Miaoyi look disgraced!
But no one expected that at this moment, Murong Hui actually gave up such a good opportunity and insisted that this was a conspiracy of Xu Zhaojie's Zhennan Army and he had no intention of targeting An Miaoyi at all. This disappointed those who originally wanted to sit on the sidelines and watch the fight!

Some quick-witted people believed that the reason why Murong Hui did this was that Cui Shao and the Murong family had reached some agreement in private in order to prevent the Murong family from making trouble!

There are many people who hold this view, but Gu Sansi has some different opinions on this. At this time, he is secretly looking at Cui Shao out of the corner of his eye...
But what disappointed Gu Sansi a little was that Cui Shao's face was very calm and there was no sign of any disturbance at all!
Because the news that An Miaoyi was suspected of being involved in the assassination of Murong Zhengshan has been widely circulated not only among the people but also in the government, in order to stabilize the people's hearts, Gu Sansi, Zhao Han, and Cui Shao also discussed this matter.

Although the three of them had discussed this, because it involved the Marshal's backyard, they were very cautious and did not dare to express their attitudes easily. Therefore, there was no unified opinion after the discussion. However, everyone generally agreed to call Murong Hui over first to see what he thought.

At the beginning, Murong Hui did not easily express his opinion on this matter. He just said that he wanted to find out the truth and give justice to his brother Murong Zhengshan.

Then Cui Shao expressed his stance. He said that he would definitely investigate thoroughly and get to the bottom of it. Not only would he give justice to Murong Zhengshan, but he would also give justice to everyone and prevent the evil conspiracy of certain people from succeeding!
However, it is wartime now, and everything is subject to the war. Everyone must consider the overall situation of the Fengwu Army. Therefore, it is necessary to show the unity within the Fengwu Army to the outside world and not give Xu Zhaojie any opportunity to take advantage!
At first, Murong Hui disagreed with Cui Shao's idea, but Cui Shao's words touched Zhao Han's heart. As a representative of the military, he always maintained a neutral principle towards the open and secret struggles between the An Cui faction and the Murong family...
However, as the chief of staff of the Fengwu Army, what Zhao Han is most worried about is that the conflict between An Miaoyi, Cui Shao and the Murong family will intensify because of this incident, leading to internal friction in the Fengwu Army, and then the fight between the two sides will affect the war on the front line!
Therefore, Zhao Han hoped that the conflict between the two sides would not escalate, so he also echoed Cui Shao's idea, hoping that Murong Hui could take the overall situation into consideration!

Seeing that Zhao Han and Cui Shao had both spoken, and since he was Jingren's master, Gu Sansi thought about it and expressed his opinion to Murong Hui, hoping that he could take the overall situation into consideration.

Although Murong Hui was unwilling at first, under the pressure exerted by Cui Shao, Gu Sansi and Zhao Han, Murong Hui finally couldn't withstand the pressure, and this is what happened now!
After Murong Hui expressed his opinion, Li Jian, the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, coughed lightly and asked Murong Hui in a deep voice:
"Have you discussed this with Murong Provincial Governor? Does Lord Murong Yuliang share the same opinion?"

Facing Li Jian's question, Murong Hui shook his head and said:
"I haven't discussed this with my uncle yet, but I think my second uncle has the same opinion as me. This is the most shameful slander by the Zhennan Army!"

Hearing this answer, Li Jian smiled slightly and said:

"Mr. Murong, you and your uncle are both men of great justice. You are truly admirable!"

Li Jian said this with utmost sincerity. He knew very well that this matter was very complicated and could not be easily investigated. Even the truth of the matter might not be important. There were a lot of games involved...

If he, as the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, is investigated openly, it will definitely be his responsibility, and this will undoubtedly be a hot potato, and he will inevitably face pressure from all sides!
Li Jian never liked getting involved in factional struggles. He knew very well that the reason why he was able to rise to prominence was largely because Ye Mingsheng appreciated the fact that he did not get involved in factional struggles!
Li Jian, the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, had already made up his mind long ago to draw a clear line between himself and factional struggles and follow Ye Mingsheng's steps closely!
Therefore, Li Jian would try to stay as far away from this mess as possible. As long as it was not investigated openly, it would be the business of the Coordination Office and the Internal Security Bureau, and had nothing to do with his Legal Affairs Bureau!
After Li Jian finished speaking, Cui Shao coughed lightly and then looked around at everyone and said:
"This is Xu Zhaojie's conspiracy to split our Fengwu Army. Anyone who spreads this rumor is Xu Zhaojie's accomplice!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone's expression became serious, knowing that Cui Shao had made a conclusion about the matter. At this time, Cui Shao looked at Li Jian and Huo San, who had been silent, and said in a deep voice:

“Director Li, Director Huo, your two departments must work together on this matter to ensure that our internal department is not affected by this rumor and to avoid some bad situations from happening…”

Li Jian and Huo San looked at each other and said in unison:

"Yes!"

After everything was arranged, Cui Shao looked at Gu Sansi and Zhao Han and asked:
"Director Gu, Chief of Staff Zhao, do you two have anything else to say?"

Gu Sansi and Zhao Han both shook their heads. Upon seeing this, Cui Shao directly announced the adjournment of the meeting.

After a cup of tea, Qiqige reported the content of the meeting to An Miaoyi. After explaining the content of the meeting, Qiqige also spoke excitedly:

"Master Cui is really amazing. He defined this matter directly. From now on, whoever dares to spread the rumor that you, Madam, were involved in this matter will be regarded as Xu Zhaojie's accomplice and will be beheaded!"

As she spoke, Qiqige made a beheading gesture with a very proud look on her face. Qiqige was a little nervous because of the rumors spreading recently, but now hearing such good news, she was relieved!

Compared to Qiqige, An Miaoyi was very indifferent to this matter. She knew that it was not because Cui Shao was so powerful, but that the people of Murong family had also calculated that Ye Mingsheng would not allow Xu Zhaojie's conspiracy to split the Fengwu Army to succeed!
Therefore, under this premise, it no longer matters whether he participated in the assassination of Murong Zhengshan or not. Not to mention that he really did not do it, even if he really sent someone to kill Murong Zhengshan, Ye Mingsheng would never admit it!

So after anticipating that Ye Mingsheng would do this, the Murong family chose to take a step back and see the bigger picture!
Things have only come to a conclusion at this point, and it is far from over. The real battle will only begin when my husband returns to Yijing!
Now is just the last calm before the storm····························
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Jiangnan, Lin'an

Lu Houde has been in a good mood recently. He had just selected a skinny horse a few days ago. He was enjoying himself at home when an officer came to him in a hurry and reported:

"Young Master, the master sent someone to tell you that there is something urgent that needs to be done!" Lu Houde was also very surprised when he heard this, and he immediately asked:

"Do you know what happened?"

"The person who came didn't say anything, except that there is something urgent that needs you to come over right now!"

After hearing this, although Lu Houde didn't know what was going on, he immediately pushed away the concubine, quickly put on his clothes, and rushed to his father's governor's mansion with his servants.

Arriving at the gate of the Governor's Mansion, Lu Houde happened to meet his cousin Lu Yun. As soon as Lu Yun saw Lu Houde, he immediately came over and asked:

"Brother, what do you think uncle wants us to come over for?"

Lu Houde said in a deep voice:
"I don't know either. You'll know after you go in!"

After saying that, Lu Houde walked into the Governor's Mansion and came to Lu Jianchao's study. At this time, Lu Jianchao was sitting upright in the armchair with a serious expression.

Several important civil officials and counselors like Zhao He and Cao Yan were also in the study. Seeing this situation, Lu Houde became a little nervous. He knew that the battle between Fengwu Army and Zhennan Army must have had a result...

Keeping their doubts in their hearts, Lu Houde and Lu Yun both greeted Lu Jianchao. Seeing that the most important people were present, Lu Jianchao did not keep it a secret and nodded to his close minister Cao Yan.

Cao Yan, who had received the instruction, also said in a deep voice:
"News came from Jingchu that the Zhennan Army led by Xu Zhaojie was defeated by the First Division of the Fengwu Army and is currently retreating to Tanzhou!"

"In the Anqing battlefield, the Zhennan Army led by Xu Hu had a good momentum at the beginning and quickly captured Xingzhou, but then the Fifth Division of the Fengwu Army quickly came to the rescue, and the Zhennan Army was caught off guard and defeated at Sanfeng Mountain. Currently, He Jingyun is quickly pursuing Xu Hu's troops!"

As soon as Cao Yan said this, everyone's face changed. No one had expected that in just seven or eight days, the Zhennan Army, which had been in a good situation, would suffer defeat in Jingchu and Anqing!
Especially among them, Zhao He, the Jiangnan strategist who always advocated supporting the Zhennan Army against the Fengwu Army, looked as ugly as dog shit at this moment!
A few days ago, he was in front of Lu Jianchao, patting his chest and vowing that the Zhennan Army would soon win a great victory, not only would they capture Hanyang but also would sweep across Jingchu and Anqing, giving the Fengwu Army a hard time, so he suggested that Lu Jianchao stand on the side of the victor··························

But now, facing the ironclad facts, all the words he had said and the promises he had made were like slaps in the face, leaving his face as swollen as a pig's head!

At this moment, Lu Jianchao didn't care about Zhao He, but looked at his nephew and asked:

"Yun'er, what do you think of the current situation of the Zhennan Army?"

In response to his uncle's question, Lu Yun did not answer immediately, but frowned and thought carefully.

Because the facts at this time proved that Lu Yun's judgment was reliable, Lu Jianchao also attached great importance to his nephew's opinion. Therefore, when he saw Lu Yun's appearance at this time, although Lu Jianchao was anxious, he did not urge him and gave Lu Yun enough time to think.

After half a cup of tea, Lu Yun finally finished thinking and slowly spoke:
"Uncle, there is no more specific news yet, but judging from the current situation, I think the Zhennan Army is in a very bad situation. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are on the verge of life and death!"

Hearing this, Lu Jianchao was undoubtedly even more anxious and immediately asked:
“Yun’er, what do you mean by this…”

Lu Yun analyzed in a deep voice:
"The Fengwu Army is much more financially capable than the Zhennan Army, so the Fengwu Army can afford to fail. Even if they lose once, they can recover. But the Zhennan Army can't. Xu Zhaojie's continuous offensive this time is just a desperate attempt to survive!"

"As long as his offensive fails to produce any significant results, he will have already lost, not to mention that the Fengwu Army will recover and launch a counterattack now!"

"I think the key point now is whether Xu Hu can stop the Fengwu Army from leaving Shouchun. Once the Fengwu Army reaches the vicinity of Shouchun, even if they fail to capture Shouchun, the Zhennan Army will probably be powerless to turn the tide!"

"Of course, if Xu Hu can force the Fengwu Army to retreat outside Shouchun, then the Zhennan Army may still have a chance of survival, but it is only a chance!"

"Now that the Fengwu Army has no rivals in the north, the main force of the Fengwu Army, more than 200,000 soldiers and horses, can march south without any worries!"

"Even if Xu Zhaojie can still survive now, he will probably be doomed by then!"

Lu Yun’s words were like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone’s hearts heavily, making everyone’s expression very solemn·······························
(Xu Zhaojie of the Zhennan Army is about to be offline. I have laid some foreshadowing for the next plot, but I still want to ask everyone's thoughts!)
(End of this chapter)