Chapter 1022 Pirate figure!

After listening to his nephew Lu Yun’s analysis, Lu Jianchao’s fantasy about the Zhennan Army was almost shattered. He felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit...
Although the Zhennan Army was not a friend and had even invaded Jiangnan before, to be honest, Lu Jianchao hated Ye Mingsheng's ambition and the strong attitude of the Fengwu Army even more!

So deep down, Lu Jianchao hoped that the Zhennan Army could win the war, and then the two sides would divide the river and rule separately, so that he could continue to rule one side of Jiangnan, be the local emperor of Jiangnan, and continue to enjoy the prosperity of Jiangnan!
Therefore, when Xu Zhaojie won the victory in Jingchu, Lu Jianchao was in a very good mood. He served him a pot of aged Huadiao and aged Nuerhong in turn every day. However, he never expected that in the end, he did not wait for the news of Xu Zhaojie going south to Hanyang, but instead waited for the news of the defeat of the Zhennan Army!

Thinking of Ye Mingsheng's strong attitude in the letter and his unquestionable commanding tone, Lu Jianchao felt a little breathless.

At this time, Zhu Chen, the Jiangnan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, stood up and suggested to Lu Jianchao:

"Governor, I think at this time, we should maintain our relationship with the Fengwu Army!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Jianchao’s attention was immediately attracted to Zhu Chen. At this moment, Lu Jianchao’s expression clearly showed a hint of disgust and anger, but Zhu Chen turned a deaf ear to it·······························
Although Zhu Chen spoke very implicitly, saying that he wanted to maintain a good relationship with the Fengwu Army, to put it simply, it was now time to please the Fengwu Army that was about to win, and even start negotiations with the Fengwu Army to discuss the issue of the Fengwu Army entering Jiangnan!
This was also the reason why Lu Jianchao was very angry. When it came to the issue of the Fengwu Army and the Zhennan Army, Deputy Governor Zhao He had always advocated uniting with the Zhennan Army to fight against the Fengwu Army and safeguard its own independence.

However, Censor Zhu Chen believed that the destiny of the world lies with the Fengwu Army, so Jiangnan should follow the trend and never go against it!

When Murong Zhengshan was testing Lu Jianchao's attitude before, Zhu Chen made a lot of efforts. It was with his help that Lu Jianchao was forced to swallow his anger and apologize and compensate for the previous trade issues with the Fengwu Army.

Zhu Chen even volunteered to serve as Jiangnan's envoy to meet Yi Jing and Ye Mingsheng. Originally, this matter was on the agenda and Zhu Chen was ready to leave, but in the end, the matter was put on hold due to the outbreak of war!
When the Zhennan Army won a great victory in Jingchu before, the deputy governor Zhao He, who advocated an alliance with the Zhennan Army to fight against the Fengwu Army, immediately became arrogant. He not only mocked Zhu Chen severely, but also said, "Didn't you say that the destiny is with the Fengwu Army? Then why did the Fengwu Army suffer a great defeat in Jingchu now?"
In addition to this, he compared himself to Lu Su, Ye Mingsheng to Cao Cao, Lu Jianchao to Sun Quan, and mocked Zhu Chen as a traitor like Zhang Zhao, who was frightened by the Fengwu Army and did not expect there would be a defeat at Chibi...

Zhu Chen was also very angry about this, but because the Fengwu Army suffered a crushing defeat, he could not say anything. And now that the Fengwu Army has made a comeback, he is also very proud, although he also wants to mock Zhao He to vent his anger!
However, Zhu Chen has a broader perspective and knows that the most important thing at the moment is not to mock Zhao He but to maintain the relationship with the Fengwu Army and to facilitate the work of the Fengwu Army taking control of Jiangnan as soon as possible!

As long as the Fengwu Army takes control of Jiangnan, Zhu Chen will definitely be reused. By then, not to mention mocking Zhao He, even if he shits on Zhao He's head, he will have to say that his shit smells good and that it is his honor to shit on his head!
Lu Jianchao naturally saw through Zhu Chen's little thoughts, so he was so angry. He felt that even if the Fengwu Army turned defeat into victory, they had not yet entered Jiangnan. Why are you so excited, Zhu Chen?
Are you so eager to lick the Fengwu Army? Kneel down and lick Ye Mingsheng?
Have you ever thought that you are still an official of Jiangnan, not an official of the Fengwu Army?
Thinking of this, Lu Jianchao, who was already in a bad mood, looked at Zhu Chen with a hint of murderous intent. Since you are so anxious to lick Ye Mingsheng, I might as well send you off now and make an example of you!
At this time, Zhu Chen had not noticed the change in Lu Jianchao's expression. He was still immersed in the idea of ​​how to maintain the relationship with the Fengwu Army in the future...
However, as Lu Jianchao's eldest son, Lu Houde noticed the change in his father's expression. Realizing that his father had murderous intentions, he secretly cried out in his heart, "Not good!"
The reason why Zhao He was so supportive of joining forces with the Zhennan Army to fight against the Fengwu Army was because the Thousand Tiger Guards of the Zhennan Army gave him tens of thousands of taels of silver, as well as several beautiful female characters, which made Zhao He speak so much for the Zhennan Army!
Zhu Chen would naturally not speak for the Fengwu Army for no reason, but the Fengwu Army did not give Zhu Chen any money or beauties. The Fengwu Army preferred to invest heavily in military expenses. The funds in this area have never been much, but the Fengwu Army also made some political commitments to Zhu Chen, which made Zhu Chen so loyal!
Therefore, if Zhu Chen is killed now, it would be equivalent to offending the Fengwu Army. If the Fengwu Army loses now, there will be nothing wrong with doing so!

But now the Fengwu Army has not only not been defeated, but has won a great victory and is about to completely defeat the Zhennan Army. Therefore, killing Zhu Chen now will undoubtedly sow the seeds of disaster for their own future!
Therefore, before his father Lu Jianchao could speak, Lu Houde spoke first and angrily scolded:
"Maintaining the relationship with the Fengwu Army is a matter of great importance. How can you, Zhu Chen, make irresponsible comments? Zhu Chen, why don't you leave now!"

Lu Houde's words immediately confused Zhu Chen. Zhu Chen didn't know why the eldest son, who had always had an ambiguous attitude towards the Fengwu Army, would scold him...
However, after hesitating for a while, Zhu Chen bowed and retreated. At this time, Lu Jianchao also realized that his son was intentionally protecting Zhu Chen, so after hesitating for a while, he decided to give face to his eldest son and let Zhu Chen go.

However, after experiencing this incident, Lu Jianchao was in a very upset mood and waved his hand to signal everyone to adjourn the meeting. Everyone bowed and left.

Just when Lu Houde was about to leave, the housekeeper called him back and said that Lu Jianchao wanted him to stay.

After a cup of tea, Lu Houde returned to his father Lu Jianchao. Since they were the only two in the room at the moment, Lu Jianchao did not hide anything and asked directly:
"Hou De, do you agree with Zhu Chen's idea?"

Facing his father's straightforward words, Lu Houde was a little silent. He understood his father's thoughts. He also wanted to continue to be a local emperor in Jiangnan, but unfortunately, the reality did not allow him to do so!

After carefully organizing his words, Lu Houde slowly said:
"This matter needs your decision, father. If you choose to support the Zhennan Army, then we in Jiangnan should send troops immediately. We cannot sit idly by and watch the Fengwu Army reach Shouchun. As long as we stop the Fengwu Army, the Zhennan Army still has a chance of survival!"

After hearing what Lu Houde said, Lu Jianchao was not happy at all. Instead, he snorted coldly...

He knew that although his son Lu Houde was talking about sending troops to support the Zhennan Army, he was actually reminding him that the Zhennan Army was close to failure, and it would be very unwise to stand on the same boat with the Zhennan Army at this time!

In fact, Lu Jianchao himself understood this truth, but Lu Jianchao really hated the powerful Fengwu Army and Ye Mingsheng's unquestionable attitude!

After thinking for a while, Lu Jianchao said in a deep voice: "How is Murong Zhengshan's injury?"

Lu Houde preached without hesitation:
"Zhengshan is recovering very well now. Basically, there is no problem. I heard that he can get out of bed and move around now!"

Hearing this, Lu Jianchao continued to ask:
"I heard that you, Houde, introduced Wang Le to Murong Zhengshan?"

Lu Houde nodded and said:
"Wang Le wants to meet Murong Zhengshan. It just so happens that a batch of our goods has been seized by the local natives in Luzon, and we need Wang Le and his men to come forward to resolve the issue. So I was happy to do Wang Le a favor, so I introduced Wang Le to Zhengshan!"

Hearing his son's answer, Lu Jianchao's eyes flashed with suspicion, and then he asked again:
"Hou De, do you know what Wang Le wants to discuss with Murong Zhengshan?"

Lu Houde shook his head and said:
“Wang Le never told me, and I didn’t ask Wang Le, but it seemed that Wang Le had something very important to discuss with Murong Zhengshan. For this reason, he even killed Fang She’s deputy Xu Meng and gave Xu Meng’s head to Murong Zhengshan as a gift…”

Lu Jianchao became more cautious after hearing this. Noticing the change in his father's expression, Lu Houde suddenly realized a possibility and asked:
"Dad, are you worried that the Fengwu Army and Wang Le will join forces to deal with us?"

Lu Jianchao nodded and said:

"Although I have never met Ye Mingsheng, I can tell from his actions that he has great ambitions!"

"I think even if he unifies the Great Zhou and establishes a new dynasty, his pace of conquest will not stop. Moreover, according to the words of those businessmen over the years, the tentacles of the Coordination Office have gradually extended to Siam, Johor, Singapore and other places. I expect that these small countries outside the region will also be one of Ye Mingsheng's targets!"

"Although the Fengwu Army is very good at land warfare, they are not strong in naval warfare. Pirates like Wang Le are best at naval warfare. If they are used by the Fengwu Army, they will definitely cause countless killings and disasters!"

Regarding his father's analysis, Lu Jianchao hesitated for a moment and said:
“Dad, I heard that Wang Le has half Japanese blood, and has a very close relationship with Muto Mazaaki, one of the five new bosses in Japan. Muto Mazaaki made a lot of efforts behind the scenes for him to inherit his father’s team. For this, he even married Muto Mazaaki’s daughter, Muto Ayaka…”

"And the Japanese just reached a consensus some time ago and decided to attack Silla and Baekje again to lay the foundation for the subsequent attack on Gongdu. Gongdu now obeys Ye Mingsheng, so Dad, I think it is unlikely that Wang Le will be used by Ye Mingsheng!"

Hearing his son's words, Lu Jianchao's frown finally relaxed. Wang Le was the youngest son of the great pirate Wang Zhihu. Wang Zhihu died of a stroke half a year ago. Wang Le defeated his brothers and inherited Wang Zhihu's pirate career. He had hundreds of ships and a pirate team of tens of thousands of people.

If these caravans from Jiangnan want to go out to sea to do business, they need to pay protection fees to the Wang family. Every year, the protection fees collected by the Wang family from Jiangnan alone amount to over one million taels of silver!
So Lu Jianchao was really a little afraid that the Yang family would defect to the Fengwu Army. If that happened, then Jiangnan would lose its last bit of advantage in naval battles.

Lu Jianchao continued to carefully instruct Lu Houde:
“If so, that would be great. However, Houde, you also have to keep an eye on what’s going on between Wang Le and Murong Zhengshan. If possible, it’s best to find out what they are talking about. I have a feeling that this will be a big deal. This may be our chance…”

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While Lu Jianchao was talking to Lu Houde and his son, Ye Mingsheng was also quietly reading the memorial in his mansion in Jinyang.

Moving the capital is a big event, so it takes a certain amount of time to operate. However, given the current situation, Ye Mingsheng felt that he needed to return to Yijing as soon as possible, so Ye Mingsheng appointed Guo Zhiping to replace Yuan Song as the commander of the Second Army stationed in Luoan, responsible for the defense of the Guanzhong Yongliang area.

In addition, Ye Mingsheng also transferred his former attendant Qi Dechao to serve as the garrison commander of Luoan, responsible for the follow-up work of moving the capital, while Ye Mingsheng himself led the army and the young emperor Jiang Cong back to Yijing.

However, before returning to Yijing, Ye Mingsheng felt that he should take care of things on the grassland, so he requested a meeting with the three Luobei families!
Ye Mingsheng will meet with Nurjiang, Ibugel and Jamukha at Pingshanquan on the Ulan grassland to mediate the conflicts among them and avoid the outbreak of war as much as possible to maintain the current situation of the three powers among the Robe people!
Judging from Gao Shen’s memorial, Ibugele of the Solon tribe has been the most positive in responding to Ye Mingsheng’s request for an alliance. He is also the one who most hopes to maintain the status quo and does not want a war to break out!
As for the remaining two people, Nurjiang and Jamukha, they were not very enthusiastic about the alliance, and even acted a little reluctant·································
(End of this chapter)