Chapter 986 The son is not like the father!

Lin'an, somewhere in a mansion.

Murong Zhengshan and Lu Houde met again. Looking at the calm and composed Murong Zhengshan, Lu Houde was silent for a while and then said in a deep voice:
“Zhengshan, you are right. News has come from the north that the Fengwu Army not only defeated the Golden Horde in one fell swoop and annihilated tens of thousands of Golden Horde soldiers, but also recaptured the entire Yongliang including Yongliang. Even the enemy general Bahat was captured alive by the Fengwu Army…”

"There is even news that the Kipchak Khan Asdogan was also injured by the Fengwu Army in Yunbing, and fled with thousands of remnants. His life or death is unknown!"

After saying that, Lu Houde looked at Murong Zhengshan with some emotion. About ten days ago, when Murong Zhengshan told him that the Fengwu Army would defeat the Golden Horde, he still didn't believe it!
Lu Houde did not disbelieve in the strength of the Fengwu Army. In the past, in countless fierce battles of varying sizes in Youyan, Qilu, Jiyu, Yunbing, Guanzhong, Anqing, etc., the Fengwu Army had already proved their powerful combat effectiveness to the whole world!
Therefore, Lu Houde believed in the strength of the Fengwu Army, but this time the Fengwu Army's opponent, the Golden Horde, was too powerful!

In the past, when Shangguan Hongyuan commanded the world, the imperial guards in their heyday, with the combined strength of the entire Great Zhou, could only fight a draw with the Cumans!
Although the battle between the Fengwu Army and the Cumans took place in the north, many people in the south, thousands of miles away, were also paying attention!
Everyone knows that although Ye Mingsheng advocates the slogan of clearing the court of corrupt officials, it is just a cover. We are all foxes who have been around for thousands of years. Whoever believes him will be a great victim...
Everyone clearly realized that Ye Mingsheng, who advocated the slogan of clearing the court of corrupt officials, would not stop there as he had promised after killing the traitor Shangguan!
Ye Mingsheng will certainly continue to attack the south and try to unify the entire Great Zhou, so that he can proclaim himself emperor!
So when the Cumans took action, some people in the south were celebrating. They felt that the Cumans could deal a heavy blow to the Fengwu Army. It was not even impossible that they could break the backbone of the Fengwu Army with a thundering blow and completely destroy the possibility of the Fengwu Army's unification!

Regarding this issue, Lu Jianchao also called his son Lu Houde, nephew Lu Yun, and other trusted ministers to discuss it. After several hours of discussion, everyone reached a unified opinion, that is, this time the Fengwu Army and the Golden Horde are evenly matched and will meet good generals!

The two sides are evenly matched. Although the firearms of the Fengwu Army are very powerful, the riding and archery skills of the Cumans are also not inferior. It depends on which side can hide their weaknesses as much as possible on the battlefield and play to their strengths!
However, no matter who wins this battle, it will definitely be a tragic victory. Both sides will not have an easy time, and their strength will definitely be consumed to a certain extent. So no matter whether the Cumans can win this battle or not, it will inevitably slow down the Fengwu Army's pace of unifying the Great Zhou!

Lu Houde also agreed with this consensus. Therefore, when Murong Zhengshan said that the Fengwu Army would achieve a great victory, he was very surprised. He even felt that Murong Zhengshan’s words were a bit exaggerated.·····························

However, when the news of the Fengwu Army's great victory in the war with the Cumans a few hours ago reached Jiangnan, it is no exaggeration to say that the officials in Jiangnan almost dropped their jaws in shock!
After repeated confirmation, Lu Houde, under the instruction of Lu Jianchao, came to Murong Zhengshan and brought the news to Murong Zhengshan!
Although Murong Zhengshan had long expected that the Fengwu Army would win, when he heard the news from Lu Houde, he couldn't help but be shocked!
Murong Zhengshan subconsciously picked up the teacup and took a sip to hide his surprise.

Because of his family relationship, Murong Zhengshan had a general understanding of the Fengwu Army's combat deployment. Therefore, after comprehensively considering the strength between the Cumans and the Fengwu Army, he judged that the Fengwu Army would win the war against the Cumans!
However, although he judged that the Fengwu Army would win, Murong Zhengshan also used some exaggerated rhetoric when he told Lu Houde!

Murong Zhengshan also knew that the Golden Horde was very strong, so he thought at the time that it would be good if the Fengwu Army could capture half of Yongliang, and the Golden Horde could defend Jincheng!

But now it seems that the Fengwu Army is more powerful than he thought, and his cheap cousin-in-law, Marshal Ye, is also more awesome than he thought...

Murong Zhengshan couldn't help but feel happy when he thought of this. After all, he was now representing the Fengwu Army. The Fengwu Army was powerful and he had the confidence to speak. If the Fengwu Army was defeated, his words would be ignored!

Although Murong Zhengshan was secretly delighted in his heart, he tried his best to remain calm on the surface. However, this seemed unfathomable to Lu Houde!

Thinking of Murong Zhengshan's assurance ten days ago that the Fengwu Army would achieve a great victory, Lu Houde could not help but fall into deep thought.

He felt that Murong Zhengshan was so confident and must know some combat secrets of the Fengwu Army, otherwise he would not have such great self-confidence!
The fact that Murong Zhengshan knew combat secrets like this was enough to show the status of the Murong family in the Fengwu Army!

Thinking of this, Lu Houde couldn't help but look at Murong Zhengshan with even higher regard. At this time, Murong Zhengshan put down the teacup in his hand and said in a reserved manner:

"The soldiers of the Fengwu Army are the elite of the Great Zhou. Moreover, Marshal Ye is personally leading the expedition this time. The soldiers are also very encouraged and are brave enough to take the lead. How can we not win this battle?"

Lu Houde also echoed Murong Zhengshan's polite words and praised Ye Mingsheng.

After finishing his polite remarks, Lu Houde pondered for a moment, then changed the subject under Murong Zhengshan's gaze and said:
“Zhengshan, the Zhennan Army of Chishan Prefecture escaped back last night…”

Upon hearing this, Murong Zhengshan looked at Lu Houde and smiled without saying anything. They both knew about the Zhennan Army of Chishan Prefecture. Although they said they escaped back on their own, in fact they all returned to Jiangnan by boat with the tacit approval of the Jiangnan Army!

Under Murong Zhengshan's gaze, the lying Lu Houde was a little embarrassed, but for a politician like him, the embarrassment was only temporary. He continued to speak mysteriously:

"Zhengshan, do you know what these Zhennan troops will do after returning to Huainan?"

After hearing this, Murong Zhengshan realized something and said after a little thought:
"It's nothing more than strengthening the city!"

Hearing this, Lu Houde clapped his hands and laughed:

"Zhengshan, if it were you, I would naturally think so! Strengthen the defense and wait for the Fengwu Army to attack!
"But Xu Zhaojie is indeed a character, very courageous and very brave!"

Hearing Lu Houde's words, Murong Zhengshan was also startled. He carefully felt the meaning of Lu Houde's words, and a possible idea emerged in his mind, and he blurted out:
"Brother, are you saying that Xu Zhaojie wants to counterattack?"

Facing Murong Zhengshan's gaze, Lu Houde nodded slowly and said:

“This Lord Zhenyuan does have some ideas. He is unwilling to be led by the nose by your Fengwu Army. He wants to take the initiative to fight with your Fengwu Army…”

"I have to say that Lord Xu's idea is very bold, but if you calculate carefully, it is also a big opportunity for him now!"

"Compared with the 4th Army of your Fengwu Army stationed in Anqing and the 1st Division of Kangyin, although the Zhennan Army is at a disadvantage in terms of manpower, the overall gap is not that big!" "Xu Zhaojie still has a great hope of winning. If he waits until the main force of your Fengwu Army comes, the possibility of his survival will be very small!"

Murong Zhengshan frowned when he heard this, thought for a moment and said:

"Brother, where did you get this news? Xu Zhaojie has decided to launch a counterattack on Anqing and Hebei and Henan?"

Facing Murong Zhengshan's question, Lu Houde shook his head and said:
"Zhengshan, I can't tell you where the news came from. I can only tell you that this time when Xu Zhaojie attacked Jiangnan, my father was scared to death. He approved a lot of money to take some preventive measures!"

"You Fengwu Army has the General Coordination Office, Zhennan Army has the Thousand Tiger Guards, not to mention the previous Supervisory Office. We in Jiangnan should also have our own intelligence force. As the saying goes, money makes the world go round, and what we in Jiangnan lack the least is money!"

Hearing what Lu Houde said, Murong Zhengshan nodded and tactfully did not ask about the source of the information.

And Lu Houde continued to speak:
“As for where Xu Zhaojie is going to counterattack, we are currently investigating, but we haven’t found out yet…”

"The only thing I can be sure of is that after Xu Zhaojie returned to Shouchun, he did not stay in Shouchun for long before he began to inspect the army. Everyone knows that your Marshal Ye and Xu Zhaojie had a personal grudge!"

"Once your Fengwu Army marches south, you will definitely attack Xu Zhaojie first, so Xu Zhaojie will never sit there and wait for death!"

At the end, Lu Houde's voice was very decisive, and it was obvious that he was very confident in his judgment!
Murong Zhengshan fell silent after hearing this. Lu Houde's words were still very convincing. Although it was still a little hard to believe that Xu Zhaojie was still thinking of counterattacking after such a situation, Murong Zhengshan had to admit that this was indeed a big possibility!

Looking at Murong Zhengshan who was silent, Lu Houde smiled and continued:
"Zhengshan, since we all know some of the news, your Fengwu Military Coordination Office is so famous and powerful, I believe they will definitely not be kept in the dark, so don't worry too much!"

"Although the main force of the Fengwu Army is now in the north, the Fourth Army in Anqing and the Fifth Division in Kangyin have more than 50,000 people combined, not to mention the Fifth Army you just reorganized in Jingchu. Together, they are twice as many as the Zhennan Army!"

“So as long as we know this news in advance, I believe it will be difficult for Xu Zhaojie’s Zhennan Army to cause any waves…”

Murong Zhengshan raised his head upon hearing this, looked at Lu Houde with some scrutiny and said in a deep voice:
"Brother, why are you telling me this? I think my father-in-law would like to see Xu Zhaojie win, right?"

Lu Houde smiled and waved his hand and said:

"Zhengshan, you are wrong. Xu Zhaojie almost took Jiangnan away. How could my father be willing to see him win?"

"Everyone knows Xu Zhaojie's wolfish ambitions. If he defeats your Fengwu Army, there's no guarantee that he won't go back on his word and turn his guns to continue attacking us in Jiangnan!"

At this point, Lu Houde's expression gradually became serious, and he looked at Murong Zhengshan who was speaking word by word:

"Zhengshan, I have something to tell you from the bottom of my heart. My father is indeed independent, so he doesn't want to see either of you win. It would be best for him if both of you lose!"

Murong Zhengshan believed that Lu Houde was telling the truth, but there was one thing that deserved his attention, that is, Lu Houde was talking about his father, and not them. Although this was just a difference in name, it made Murong Zhengshan think deeply. Could it be that Lu Houde and his father Lu Jianchao had different ideas?
Looking at Murong Zhengshan's expression, Lu Houde knew what he was thinking, and then he said quietly:
"If you can be independent, that would be the best!"

“But looking at the current momentum of your Fengwu Army, I don’t think Xu Zhaojie can stop it. Even if he fights to the end, it’s just like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. It’s difficult for him to cause too much trouble to the Fengwu Army…”

"My father is a man of some ability, but in the final analysis, he is ambitious but incompetent. Although he wants to be independent, he is hesitant and indecisive. He is afraid of both wolves in front and tigers behind. In the end, he will never achieve anything great!"

After hearing Lu Houde's evaluation of Lu Jianchao, although Murong Zhengshan agreed with Lu Houde's idea in his heart, he was still embarrassed. He didn't know whether he should agree with Lu Houde's opinion or oppose it!
Meanwhile, Lu Houde continued:

"Once Xu Zhaojie is defeated, I don't think my father will be able to hold on. If you Fengwu Army offers a good price, he will most likely be willing to hand over the territory of Jiangnan and become a vassal of Marshal Ye!"

"In my opinion, Marshal Ye is not a person who kills indiscriminately. Gao Zongchang's family and Yin Biao's family are said to be living well in Yijing. I think our family will most likely have the same fate!"

"My father is sixty-five this year. To put it bluntly, he will spend the rest of his life here and there is nothing to regret. It would be great for him to be a wealthy man in a peaceful life for the rest of his life!"

“But I’m different. I just turned 30 this year and am in the prime of my life. I don’t want to be a wealthy man for the rest of my life. Even though I have no worries about food and drink, I’m watched by people every day. I still have some ambitions that I want to realize…”

"Zhengshan, do you understand what I mean?"

(End of this chapter)