Chapter 974 Information Exchange!

After listening to Murong Zhengshan’s words, Lu Houde fell into deep silence, and Murong Zhengshan did not urge him, but calmly picked up the teacup and drank tea······························

About a cup of tea later, Lu Houde came back to his senses from silence. He was too lazy to play tricks on Murong Zhengshan and spoke directly:
"Zhengshan is not satisfied with what you said. We in Jiangnan are also keeping an eye on the news from the north. According to our information, the Khan of the Golden Horde personally led the Golden Horde Tiger Division to launch a surprise attack on Yunbing and headed straight for Marshal Ye. The situation of the Fengwu Army and Marshal Ye may not be as good as you said, Zhengshan?"

Murong Zhengshan heard this and said calmly without arguing:
"In seven days at the shortest, or half a month at the longest, there will be news coming to Jiangnan. Big brother, don't worry!"

Seeing Murong Zhengshan so calm and composed, Lu Houde was also very confused. He wondered where Murong Zhengshan's confidence came from?

You have to know that this is the Golden Horde!
During the heyday of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it could only barely hold its territory against these barbarians from the northern grasslands. Now, although the Fengwu Army is powerful, it only occupies half of the Great Zhou. Isn't it a pipe dream for the Fengwu Army alone to defeat the Golden Horde?

Although he didn’t know why Murong Zhengshan was so confident in the Fengwu Army, but because his uncle Murong Yuliang and elder brother Murong Hui both held high positions in the Fengwu Army, Lu Houde couldn’t help but suspect that Murong Zhengshan knew some secrets of the Fengwu Army···································

However, seeing that Murong Zhengshan didn't seem to want to continue talking, Lu Houde could only suppress his curiosity, but he also made up his mind to let his men intensify their inquiries into the Fengwu Army.

The two of them chatted for a while, and Murong Zhengshan pretended to ask casually:

"I heard that there are some new guests at Yunxianju in the south of the city?"

Hearing this, Lu Houde nodded slightly and said directly without disguising:

"They are from Huainan, from the Zhennan Army!"

Murong Zhengshan nodded slightly and said:

"Release the Zhennan Army of Chishan Prefecture, it will be good for my father-in-law!"

Before Murong Zhengshan finished speaking, Lu Houde showed a hint of surprise in his heart. Although Murong Zhengshan's trip was nominally a private trip to fulfill his father's last wish.

But everyone knew why he came here, and Murong Zhengshan's words now were undoubtedly contrary to his purpose!
As if he saw Lu Houde's surprise, Murong Zhengshan smiled and shook his head and said:

"Brother, I came here this time, not only to fulfill my father's last wish, but also to test my father-in-law's attitude for the Fengwu Army!"

"But I am my father-in-law's son-in-law after all. I know how to bend my elbow according to the relationship between us!"

Although Murong Zhengshan said this sincerely, his brother-in-law Lu Houde didn't believe a word of it!
If we really talk about kinship, although his father Lu Jianchao is his father-in-law, Ye Mingsheng is still his cousin's husband...

He knew very well that for Murong Zhengshan, the interests of the Murong family were the most important, while Fengwu Army and Jiangnan were secondary!
However, the Fengwu Army is now powerful, so it is in the interests of the Murong family to rely on the Fengwu Army. The Murong family wants to seek development within the Fengwu Army and actively establish merit, so Murong Zhengshan is definitely more inclined to the Fengwu Army.
Seeing that his elder brother-in-law just looked at him quietly without saying anything, as if he didn't believe what he said, Murong Zhengshan sighed helplessly and said:

"It seems that you don't believe what Zhengshan said, brother. Anyway, Zhengshan will give you a token of loyalty!"

"If Zhengshan's guess is correct, my father-in-law should have assigned you a task, brother, to test my attitude towards the Fengwu Army towards Jiangnan, right?"

Seeing that Murong Zhengshan had spoken out, Lu Houde no longer concealed his true feelings and said with a sigh:

"You really can't hide anything from me, Zhengshan!"

Murong Zhengshan smiled and continued:
“I might as well tell you, big brother. Marshal Ye attaches great importance to the commerce in Jiangnan, especially the commerce in Nanyang. In my opinion, the Marshal is in his prime. He will not be satisfied with just unifying the Great Zhou. After unifying the Great Zhou, he will continue to expand outward, and Nanyang seems to be one of Marshal Ye’s targets…”

"Jiaozhi, Annan, Luzon and even further away will all be Marshal Ye's targets. So in order to maintain Jiangnan's trade, Marshal Ye has decided to adopt a conciliatory strategy towards Jiangnan. This means that if Jiangnan chooses to surrender, Marshal Ye will accept some conditions!"

"What do you think, big brother? Isn't Zhengshan's pledge of allegiance good?"

Facing Murong Zhengshan's gaze, Lu Houde nodded. The information revealed by Murong Zhengshan could be said to be very important. At least it would allow him to report to Murong Zhengshan.

After thinking quickly for a while, Lu Houde asked again:
"What is the bottom line of the Fengwu Army's negotiations?"

Murong Zhengshan shook his head and said:

"Brother, as far as I know, things are not progressing as fast as you think. The Fengwu Army is just trying to test the attitude of my father-in-law, and then they will make further plans based on his attitude. As for the more specific content of the negotiation with my father-in-law, it has not been determined yet!"

After receiving Murong Zhengshan's answer, Lu Houde continued to ask:
"Then Zhengshan, what do you think the bottom line of the Fengwu Army will be?"

Murong Zhengshan seemed to realize what Lu Houde was thinking when he heard this, and immediately opened his mouth to test the waters:

"Brother, you are not thinking of continuing to rule your own territory, are you?"

Facing Murong Zhengshan's question, Lu Houde did not answer directly, but continued:

“Jeongsan, what do you think…”

Although Lu Houde did not give a direct answer, from Lu Houde's answer, Murong Zhengshan could be sure that his guess was correct. Lu Houde did want to surrender to the Fengwu Army in name but actually maintain independence in Jiangnan!

Now I don’t know whether this is Lu Houde’s idea alone, or whether Lu Houde and Lu Jianchao, father and son, have reached a consensus·························

After organizing his words, Murong Zhengshan said solemnly:
"Because the Fengwu Army has not yet had any concrete ideas about the negotiations, I don't know whether Marshal Ye will agree!"

"But based on my understanding of Marshal Ye, he will never allow Jiangnan to escape from his control, and he will certainly not allow Jiangnan to become a country within a country!"

"Brother, I think your idea is very dangerous. If that's the case, then negotiation is meaningless. War is the only option!" "In my opinion, the most likely price the Fengwu Army will offer is to give my father-in-law a hereditary title of Duke and allow the Lu family to retain their property in Jiangnan!"

Hearing this, Lu Houde nodded silently. He was very satisfied with Murong Zhengshan's answer. He hoped that Murong Zhengshan would tell him the truth so that he could understand Ye Mingsheng's attitude more clearly. Only in this way could he make a choice that was more in line with his own interests.

If Murong Zhengshan told him a lot of confusing things that actually contained no information at all, he would feel annoyed!

After briefly organizing his thoughts, Lu Houde smiled and said to Murong Zhengshan:
"Zhengshan, you are very smart. You told me so much, so you must have some questions for me!"

"Tell me! Zhengshan, what do you want to know?"

Murong Zhengshan smiled and said:

"The one who knows me, Murong Zhengshan, is my elder brother!"

"Then I won't be polite, Zhengshan. Is my father-in-law going to let those Zhennan troops from Chishan Prefecture go?"

Although Murong Zhengshan's questions were sharp and direct at the beginning, Lu Houde was very satisfied with Murong Zhengshan's answer just now. In addition, he also knew that he needed to make a political exchange with Murong Zhengshan...

So under Murong Zhengshan's gaze, Lu Houde nodded heavily and said:
"Although Brother Yun and some officials from the Provincial Government are against it, I think my father is still prepared to let these Zhennan troops go!"

At this point, Lu Houde paused and said with a smile:

"But in order not to offend Marshal Ye, my father naturally cannot let them go openly. My Jiangnan Army will announce in the next few days that it will continue to encircle and suppress the Zhennan Army in Chishan Prefecture. However, the Huainan fleet on the river is already ready, and the Zhennan Army will leave in the next few days!"

Hearing this, Murong Zhengshan nodded slightly. This was within his expectations. Although Lu Jianchao was not an ambitious man, as the Governor of Jiangnan for so many years, he would definitely not be willing to submit to others easily!

Even though Xu Zhaojie and the Zhennan Army had caused chaos in Jiangnan some time ago, and even pointed their troops directly at Lin'an, as a mature politician, the highest weight that Lu Jianchao had in making decisions was still interests!
The current situation is very simple. The Fengwu Army is the only dominant force. Neither the Zhennan Army nor the Jiangnan Army alone can compete with the Fengwu Army!
The only way to fight against the Fengwu Army is for the two families to unite. However, because Xu Zhaojie is conquering Jiangnan, the two families do not trust each other and are full of estrangement.
Although he did not trust Xu Zhaojie, Xu Zhaojie's Zhennan Army was blocking the way of Jiangnan after all. Therefore, as long as the Zhennan Army was defeated, Jiangnan would naturally be unable to be defended.

Therefore, because of the fact that the lips and teeth are in the same boat, Lu Jianchao did not say that he would help Xu Zhaojie fight against the Fengwu Army, but he also did not want to hold Xu Zhaojie back.

Murong Zhengshan had already thought of Lu Jianchao's thoughts, but he still needed Lu Houde to confirm it.

After thinking for a while, Murong Zhengshan asked again:

"Besides letting the Zhennan Army of Chishan Prefecture go this time, does my father-in-law plan to continue to help the Zhennan Army?"

Lu Houde seemed a little hesitant about this question, but when he thought of Murong Zhengshan's frankness just now, he decided to reveal a little and said:
"That depends on the situation! In fact, my father is also hesitant!"

Although Lu Houde's words were a bit vague, Murong Zhengshan still understood what the other party meant. It was obvious that Lu Jianchao, who was not a decisive person at the moment, still wanted to wait and see. He was afraid that supporting Xu Zhaojie would completely offend Ye Mingsheng. What if Xu Zhaojie couldn't hold on and the Fengwu Army came to the city and killed him too!

But Lu Jianchao also wanted Xu Zhaojie to be able to resist the Fengwu Army. After all, if Xu Zhaojie could resist the Fengwu Army, he could sit back and relax...

So Lu Jianchao’s current thought is probably that, in view of the threat from the Fengwu Army, he does not intend to support Xu Zhaojie for the time being, and wants to see whether Xu Zhaojie can withstand the Fengwu Army.

If Xu Zhaojie couldn't hold on and was easily defeated by the Fengwu Army like Sun Chenggong of Jingchu, then Lu Jianchao would be ready to surrender.

But if Xu Zhaojie holds on, it would be equivalent to demonstrating the value of united front work for Lu Jianchao. Lu Jianchao would definitely consider supporting Xu Zhaojie in continuing to fight against the Fengwu Army. By that time, the silver, food and other supplies from Jiangnan would appear in the Zhennan Army!

However, if the third possibility is true, that is, Xu Zhaojie defeated the Fengwu Army and even counterattacked to conquer Kangyin and other territories, then Lu Jianchao would be in a dilemma. After all, everyone knows that Xu Zhaojie has evil intentions towards Jiangnan!
Since the information had almost been exchanged, Lu Houde asked Murong Zhengshan to have a good rest and then said goodbye.

After Lu Houde left, Murong Zhengshan also fell into deep thought. After this exchange with Lu Houde, he almost figured out Lu Jianchao's thoughts, which were almost the same as what he had predicted.

One of the purposes of his trip to Jiangnan this time has almost been accomplished, and he can report to Marshal Ye...

Although the Murong family has a close relationship with Lu Jianchao, with the departure of his father Murong Lun, the two sides certainly no longer have the same relationship as before.

Therefore, my role can only be to promote it. If I really want to persuade Lu Jianchao to surrender, the Fengwu Army needs to show its past performance on the battlefield!
If the Fengwu Army could easily defeat Xu Zhaojie on the battlefield, Lu Jianchao's knees would most likely become weak. Otherwise, Lu Jianchao would be determined to fight to the end!

Although the first goal was accomplished, the second goal was not accomplished. Thinking of this, Murong Zhengshan narrowed his eyes and instructed the servant outside the house:

"Call Lu Zheng to me!"

"Yes!"

Following Murong Zhengshan's order, a middle-aged man with a lean figure and bright eyes appeared in front of Murong Zhengshan.

"Master Zhengshan, what do you want?"

Murong Zhengshan heard this and asked seriously:
"Have you received any news from home recently?"

Hearing this, Lu Zheng shook his head without hesitation and said:
"There has been no news from home recently!"

Looking at the extremely confident Lu Zheng, Murong Zhengshan raised his sword-like eyebrows in surprise. Could it be that he underestimated that woman and she held back from making a move, or maybe that old fox took action to stop her...

(End of this chapter)