Chapter 1054 XX is no longer needed and is outdated!
Jiangnan, Lin'an

In the study of the Lu Mansion, Lu Jianchao, the governor of Jiangnan, was flipping through the account books. Although he was not from Jiangnan, his many years of governance in Jiangnan had made this governor, who came from a traditional bureaucratic family, develop some feelings for Jiangnan...

As a scholar who worked hard and fought his way out of the vast competition for the imperial examination, Lu Jianchao's ability to govern the local area was quite good.

Although Jiangnan was impacted by the chaotic environment under Lu Jianchao's governance, it was generally a place of peace and harmony, a rare haven of tranquility in troubled times!
When he first came to Jiangnan, Lu Jianchao was also a workaholic. In order to solve some of the long-standing problems of land annexation in Jiangnan, he often worked in the government office until late at night.

However, with the outbreak of civil strife in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the court's control over the local areas became increasingly weak, and Lu Jianchao, the governor of Jiangnan, gradually lacked restraint!
As he got older, Lu Jianchao began to feel his energy was running out, which forced him to change from being a workaholic to gradually handing over his work to the subordinates of the Governor's Office and some of his own advisers!
And just a few years ago, Lu Jianchao simply asked the subordinates of the Governor General and the Censor General to take the official business to his own palace to work. As the governor, he would basically go to the Governor General and the Censor General to take a look and inspect once every few months...

In addition to his slackness in government affairs, Lu Jianchao, who is getting older, also began to think about his affairs after his death!

When he first came to Jiangnan, Lu Jianchao was 47 years old, not yet 50 years old. At such an age, he was appointed as a governor, a high-ranking official in a prosperous place like Jiangnan. Lu Jianchao's future could be said to be infinitely bright!
To be honest, Lu Jianchao and Murong Lun had planned it out. Lu Jianchao would work hard as the governor of Jiangnan for a few years, make some achievements, and gain political capital. Then, after a few years, he would return to Luoan and directly join the cabinet to assist Murong Lun in becoming the prime minister of the Great Zhou. The two brothers would join forces to control the politics of the Great Zhou Dynasty and leave their own strong and colorful marks in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Because he had the hope of entering the cabinet, Lu Jianchao tried to be very careful about his reputation in order to avoid being caught by others in Jiangnan at the beginning!
As for the money, women, properties, collectibles and antiques given by others, he basically tried to decline as politely as possible if he could. Only when he really could not refuse would Lu Jianchao accept them reluctantly!

During this period, because he wanted to enter the cabinet and become a cabinet elder, Lu Jianchao was very motivated in Jiangnan. Over the past few years, he made many political achievements in Jiangnan, benefited many people, and also accumulated a good reputation for himself.··························

However, as the court's party struggles became increasingly fierce and the power struggle became more and more complicated, although Murong Lun wanted to push Lu Jianchao into the cabinet to assist him in becoming the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou, under the powerful intimidation of Shangguan Hongyuan, Murong Lun could only choose to lie dormant!

Without Murong Lun's help and operation, Lu Jianchao's wish to join the cabinet is becoming increasingly shattered!

Without a goal, Lu Jianchao's principles were not as strong as before. As Jiangnan was the richest place in Da Zhou, there were too many temptations!
Especially since Lu Jianchao was the governor who was in charge of the provincial government, the provincial procuratorate, and military affairs. For him, Jiangnan was full of money. It all depended on how he made use of it!

Although he relaxed his requirements for himself, as a civil servant Lu Jianchao still cared a lot about his face and his reputation in Jiangnan!
However, the good reputation he had accumulated for his diligence in government affairs now became a constraint on Lu Jianchao's efforts to make money in Jiangnan, preventing Lu Jianchao from fully devoting himself to making money and playing with other people!
Despite this, in the developed business environment of Jiangnan, Lu Jianchao still made a fortune for himself through some white gloves, including dozens of real estate shops, millions of taels of silver, and countless gold and silver utensils, collectibles and antiques!
However, even though Lu Jianchao could not spend all the wealth in several lifetimes, human desires are endless···························

Originally, in order to maintain his good reputation in Jiangnan over the years, Lu Jianchao made money but he still had to have some dignity!
However, as the Fengwu Army put more and more pressure on Lu Jianchao during this period, Lu Jianchao gradually realized that he could no longer protect Jiangnan, so an idea gradually emerged in Lu Jianchao's mind during this period!
The idea was to take advantage of the fact that he was still in Jiangnan, and then use the power in his hands to make a big fortune and earn wealth for future generations of Lu family descendants!
Isn't there such a sentence?
If the power is not used, it will expire!
In the past, when Lu Jianchao's position as the Governor of Jiangnan was very stable, he didn't think there was anything wrong. However, under the aggressive pressure of the Fengwu Army during this period, Lu Jianchao felt deeply about these eight words!
Therefore, the idea of ​​making a big profit in the end became more and more profound in Lu Jianchao's mind. He has been thinking about this matter these days!
Although he could use the old method and get hundreds of thousands of taels of silver without any problem, Lu Jianchao felt that it was not satisfying and it was not big enough!
Although he didn't have any specific ideas yet, Lu Jianchao already had a goal, which was to make at least 500,000 taels of silver this time, and there was no upper limit. Even one million taels of silver would not be too much for him!

In Lu Jianchao’s opinion, although he had made a lot of money over the years, it was what he deserved. It was under his wise leadership that Jiangnan was able to stay away from war and become a pure land in the chaotic times of the Great Zhou Dynasty...

Without Lu Jianchao's wise leadership, Jiangnan would have been devastated by war and would not have been as prosperous as it is today. Every Jiangnan person should be grateful to him and appreciate the contributions that Lu Jianchao has made to Jiangnan!

Just when Lu Jianchao was thinking about how to complete his "last catch" in Jiangnan, Master Kong Feng came in and handed Lu Jianchao a letter and said:
"Master, Master Zhu Chen has sent you a letter!"

Hearing this, Lu Jianchao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he began to check it out with some expectation. However, halfway through, his face turned pale and he angrily cursed:

"How dare this villain Ye Mingsheng bully me like this? I will fight him to the death and let him see the power of my Jiangnan Army!"

Hearing Lu Jianchao's roar, although Kong Feng's expression was still respectful, he secretly complained in his heart. Although he didn't know what Zhu Chen wrote in the letter, if the Jiangnan Army was really powerful enough to make Ye Mingsheng afraid, then Jiangnan would probably not surrender now?
Lu Jianchao was really infuriated by what was written in the secret letter. He kept greeting Ye Mingsheng for a whole cup of tea until he was exhausted and his face turned red. He sat on the chair and breathed heavily.

Kong Feng took the teacup from the maid and handed it to Lu Jianchao. He picked up the cup and drank two sips of water. Only then did Lu Jianchao barely come to his senses...

At this time, the anger in his heart also dissipated and his mind became calm again. He no longer said the stupid words of fighting to the death with Ye Mingsheng. After pondering for a while, he thought about his master Kong Feng's instructions:
"Bring the eldest son and Lu Yun to me!"

"Yes!"

Half an hour later, Lu Jianchao's eldest son Lu Houde and nephew Lu Yun came to Lu Jianchao's study one after another. Seeing his father's gloomy face, Lu Houde's heart sank and he asked:
"Dad, what happened?"

Lu Jianchao did not answer his son's question, but handed the secret letter he had just received to his master Kong Feng, who then passed it to Lu Houde.

Lu Houde took the letter with some doubts. After glancing at it for a few times, his face became uncertain. Seeing his uncle and cousin with the same expression, Lu Yun was also very curious about what was written in the letter.

Before Lu Yun could say anything, Lu Houde handed the letter to him, then said after a moment's hesitation:
"Dad, Ye Mingsheng's conditions are indeed very harsh. Although he agreed to our title of Duke Wu according to our previous communication, he not only did not agree to our permanent residence in Jiangnan, but also required our Lu family to move out of Jiangnan..."

"In addition, he also asked that we cannot keep all of the Lu family's assets, and we must hand over part of them to the Fengwu Army!"

"Although Zhu Anchashi didn't say that Ye Mingsheng wanted our Lu family to hand over that part, I think Ye Mingsheng will definitely not let our Lu family off easily!"

"At least most of our Lu family's assets must be handed over to the Fengwu Army and given to Ye Mingsheng!"

After hearing his son's words, Lu Jianchao's already gloomy face became even uglier. It was obvious that his son's words hit the nail on the head!
To be honest, although Lu Jianchao hoped that Ye Mingsheng would let him go and let him be the hereditary Duke of Wu and rule Jiangnan forever, he also knew that Ye Mingsheng would never let him hold a treasure pot like Jiangnan in his hands. At least, as Ye Mingsheng, he would never let others continue to control Jiangnan.
Therefore, Lu Jianchao knew in his heart that the possibility of him continuing to be in charge of Jiangnan was very slim. The reason why he asked Zhu Chen to propose this condition to Ye Mingsheng was that he knew the possibility was not high!

The reason is that on the one hand, Lu Jianchao was fantasizing and wanted to give it a try. He thought that if he agreed to hand over a large amount of property every year, Ye Mingsheng would realize that his continued rule over Jiangnan would create more value for the Fengwu Army than if the Fengwu Army controlled Jiangnan itself. Ye Mingsheng might let him stay in Jiangnan.

On the other hand, although Lu Jianchao was prepared to lose Jiangnan, he also had his own bottom line in the negotiations.
In addition to the title of Duke of Wu, Lu Jianchao also wanted to keep the Lu family's assets in Jiangnan, to ensure that his descendants would have no worries about food and clothing, and live a life of luxury.

If possible, he also wanted his son Lu Houde and nephew Lu Yun to take up some important positions in the Fengwu Army, so that their Lu family could be transformed into an official family from his generation on!
So in order to protect his bottom line, Lu Jianchao put forward the condition of hoping to be able to inherit the throne and rule Jiangnan forever, hoping to bargain with Ye Mingsheng!

However, Zhu Chen's letter now made Lu Jianchao clearly realize that Ye Mingsheng did not play it the way he expected!
Compared to when Xu Zhaojie was there, Ye Mingsheng was more lenient towards Jiangnan and said that everything could be discussed. But now Ye Mingsheng has completely torn off the veil of tenderness and tenderness, and has acted like a lion, directly crossing Lu Jianchao's bottom line, making Lu Jianchao very passive!

Compared to his uncle Lu Jianchao's silence, the young Lu Yun was angered by the conditions of the Fengwu Army. He stood up and said loudly:

"Uncle, although his Fengwu Army is powerful, the Jiangnan Army under my command is no pushover either. Ye Mingsheng, don't think that he can take down our Lu family. A damned idiot can cause blood to splatter when he gets angry!"

Seeing Lu Yun’s fighting spirit, Lu Jianchao felt more or less comforted. Although he was very angry at Ye Mingsheng’s dominance, the situation was stronger than him. Apart from a few empty words like he did just now, Lu Jianchao did not have much confidence facing the Fengwu Army...
Now, no matter whether the Jiangnan Army can defeat the Fengwu Army, at least his nephew dared to shout out the slogan, which made Lu Jianchao feel much better!
At this moment, Lu Houde frowned and said to Lu Yun:

"Brother Yun, don't be impulsive! And don't do anything reckless!"

Lu Yun was still very convinced of his cousin Lu Houde, so he sat back down despite being so passionate a second ago. At this time, Lu Houde looked at his father Lu Jianchao and said:
"Dad Zhu Chen has already said in the letter that Ye Mingsheng has appointed Su Yi to come to Jiangnan to connect with us and take full responsibility for this matter!"

"Although Su Yi is only the deputy director of the Fengwu Army's Foreign Affairs Bureau, the position of director has always been vacant, so Su Yi, the deputy director, is already the highest person in charge of foreign affairs in the Fengwu Army!"

"So now that Ye Mingsheng has sent him here, I think things may turn around. Of course, I don't think we should just sit there and wait for death!"

"Song Weijie sent someone from Sichuan some time ago, wanting to work with us. We were afraid that the Fengwu Army might think too much, so we didn't contact them further. But I think we can sit down and have a good talk now!"

“Now we can’t let the Fengwu Army think that we in Jiangnan are isolated and helpless and they can take advantage of us at will. We can only passively accept any conditions they put forward…”

(End of this chapter)