"People around the prince? Do you mean the prince's family?" Lu Hao frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure about the details. His Highness the Crown Prince has already died, and the little prince is only four or five years old. To this day, he must have not been spared."
Mingyu shook her head and asked directly: "I'm not asking about the Crown Prince's family. A few days ago, I heard from some merchants on the street that the eldest young master of the Marquis's Mansion who is the Crown Prince's tutor in the capital..." Mingyu swallowed the rest of her words and looked at Lu Hao, waiting for his answer.
Lu Hao nodded, with a look of regret on his face, and said, "I also got the news after entering Sichuan. Young Master Sima was a man of integrity and righteousness, and would rather die than surrender to the rebels." As he spoke, Lu Hao shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity to have such an amazing person."
He had met both Sima Houye and Sima Xi. Although Sima Houye was not as good as his father Sima Chang, he was also a humble and polite gentleman, and was famous for his generosity and kindness. Sima Xi was even more famous as a talented scholar in the capital. Although they served different masters and factions, Lu Hao felt sorry for the death of the two men. Except for the dandy Bao Erye, all the men in the Sima family were awe-inspiring.
Since Lu Hao said so, it seems that the news is true. The Marquis and the eldest young master have both sacrificed their lives for the country. If anything happens to the Second Master Bao, the Sima Marquis Mansion will be extinct.
Mingyu thought of the eldest son Sima Xi, whom she had only met a few times, and she couldn't help feeling sad. It was a pity that such a handsome and elegant talent could not survive in such a chaotic world.
"Then why did Lord Lu bring his troops here again?" Mingyu asked after a long while.
Lu Hao smiled, his expression was full of sarcasm, he looked towards the east and said, "The Emperor has issued twelve edicts in a row, requesting my uncle, His Highness the Prince of Shu, to send troops to support the northwest, fight against the Tartars, and protect our Great Chu territory. In the face of national crisis, Your Highness can only put national affairs first."
The seventeenth prince who has ascended the throne is just a young child. What can a child understand about state affairs? These twelve imperial edicts should have been handled by Prime Minister Dong alone, which seems to be a way of using the emperor to control the princes.
Mingyu thought about it and understood the meaning. Anyway, the King of Shu had already fled back to his fiefdom. The bird flew into the forest, and Prime Minister Dong had missed the opportunity to kill the King of Shu.
Although the Great Chu explicitly stipulated that local princes were not allowed to keep private soldiers, it was ultimately just a piece of paper, and there were definitely quite a few princes who had their own private soldiers.
If the King of Shu disobeys the order or just gets by without showing his true strength to fight the Tartars, the remaining troops in the northwest will be unable to resist the Tartar cavalry, and the responsibility for the loss of the Chu territory and the war will be placed on the King of Shu. By then, the spit of people across the country will be enough to drown the King of Shu who has escaped death.
If the King of Shu was determined to take risks and use all his wealth accumulated over the years to fight the Tartars, no matter what the outcome of the war would be, his strength would be greatly reduced. Moreover, as time went by, Prime Minister Dong's power would become more and more stable, and the King of Shu would no longer have the ability or opportunity to compete.
It was really a good strategy to kill two birds with one stone. Mingyu frowned her two beautiful eyebrows. The court did nothing, expecting the Tartars to consume the strength of the King of Shu. The people who fled to the northwest suffered. They used to live a comfortable life, but overnight they became displaced refugees. Their homes were occupied by the Tartars, and their food and property were looted.
Li Xiang, who was listening attentively, couldn't help but mutter, "The Tartars came at the wrong time. They had to wait until our Great Chu was in civil strife."
Mingyu smiled and said, "This is called taking advantage of someone's misfortune..." Before she finished speaking, the smile on Mingyu's face disappeared, and she said to Lixiang with a serious face, "Don't talk nonsense."
Li Xiang's words reminded Ming Yu, who was terrified when she recalled them. According to the books she had read, it was not uncommon for the Tartars to come and rob, but they usually did so after the autumn harvest, when the new grain was stored in the warehouse, to grab a few grains to make up for the winter. This year, they had to wait until this time, and they invaded on a large scale, echoing the coup in the capital.
It's hard to imagine that there is no necessary connection between the two.
This was beyond the scope of their consideration. In ancient times when literary inquisition and speech control were so strict, this was not a question they could discuss, not to mention that there was an outsider like Lu Hao listening next to them.
Li Xiang was startled and looked at Ming Yu blankly, not understanding what she had said wrong. Ming Yu looked at Li Xiang's innocent look, sighed slightly in her heart, and smiled: "Don't talk about this, we don't understand."
Lu Hao kept staring at Mingyu's face, taking in her expression, and watching the little girl's big, lively eyes sparkle in the dim tent, like a stream of light. What a clever girl! Lu Hao praised calmly, "She understands everything at once. It's really unfair for her to be paired with the second young master of the Sima family."
"There's no one else here." Lu Hao spoke with a smile, as if it was natural, to ease the atmosphere, "I often hear people complaining on the street. Two disasters have happened at the same time."
Mingyu smiled and changed the subject, "Master Lu, are you going to lead your troops to Gaoping to drive the Tartars out?"
Lu Hao shook his head. "I am only responsible for bringing the soldiers to Gaoping. Fighting is the job of military commanders. I don't understand it."
Mingyu wanted him to help her find out about Master Bao. She hadn't seen that fool since the fall of Tianshui City, and didn't know how he was doing now. The news she heard along the way was either from the capital or brought by the fleeing people, but there was no news about Master Bao.
Mingyu changed her mind just after opening her mouth. Maybe Master Bao had already left here and went to the capital.
Lu Hao noticed that Mingyu was hesitant to speak, and the little girl looked like she was worried, so he softened his voice and asked, "Second Madam is my benefactor. If you have any concerns, as long as I can help, just speak up."
Since the other party said so, Mingyu was embarrassed to hide it from Lu Hao. After thinking for a while, she said, "It's like this. When I took Lixiang out of Tianshui, the Second Master was still guarding the gate of Tianshui City. Later, the city was broken. I don't know if he..." Mingyu wanted to say that she didn't know whether Second Master Bao escaped, but when the words came to her lips, she felt unlucky and changed her mouth: "I don't know if he went to the capital. When Lord Lu arrives in Gaoping, if you see him, persuade him to go to the capital as soon as possible and reunite with his wife, and don't act on his youthful spirit. If the Second Master has left the northwest and gone to the capital, then forget it."
What Mingyu was most worried about was that after leaving Tianshui, Master Bao did not go to the capital, but stayed there, wanting to emulate his hero idol. She had seen how impulsive and passionate a sixteen-year-old boy was.
Lu Hao was really surprised this time. The playboy Bao Erye actually defended the city when it was broken? Shouldn't he be the first to run away with his tail between his legs? Soon Lu Hao put away his surprise and nodded to Mingyu seriously, "Of course, he is not a soldier, and there is no reason for him to go to the battlefield and die. If I see him, I will tell the second wife what she said."
The Sima family and the Lu family do have some kinship after all. The Marquis and the eldest son died for their country. From the perspective of continuing the family line, even if Master Bao is a scumbag and a good-for-nothing, he is still of great use. However, when Lu Hao thought that Mingyu was Master Bao's wife and that Mingyu's help was indispensable for continuing the family line, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Mingyu shook her head. "You don't have to say that I said these words. You are his elder, so just advise him as an elder. And please don't tell anyone that you saw me here, Lord Lu."
She finally managed to leave the Marquis' Mansion and didn't want to go back. Since divorce was impossible in the eyes of the people in the Marquis' Mansion, she would just let them think that she died in Tianshui City. Master Bao would remarry soon. After several years, even if she appeared again, who would remember her
Lu Hao suppressed his surprise and looked at Mingyu again. The girl looked calm and her tone was steady, as if she had been planning this for a long time, not just a sudden idea. Lu Hao nodded and said, "Okay, if he is still in Gaoping, I will definitely persuade him to leave and will never mention the Second Mistress."
Mingyu smiled slightly and half bowed, "Thank you, Lord Lu." She believed in Lu Hao's character. A person's character can be seen from the details of how he treats others. During the two rainy days in the villa, Lu Hao would rather stand in the leaky corridor and blow the cold wind than step into Mingyu's room where she had a fire. Even when talking, he would lower his head and not look at Mingyu. Just based on these, Mingyu could conclude that Lu Hao was a gentleman who valued his promises.
"What are Second Madam's plans?" Lu Hao asked. "I heard that the family members of the Marquisate are heading to the capital. I still have some people here who have followed me for many years and are absolutely reliable. If Second Madam is willing, I will send them to escort her to the capital and reunite with the family members of the Marquisate. How do you think?"
Based on the two days at the villa, Mingyu had done him a favor, and the impression the little girl left on him was always lingering and occupied a corner of his heart. Lu Hao did not want to let Mingyu down, and even at this critical juncture of war and chaos, he was willing to spend any amount of effort to send Mingyu away.
"No, we are not going to the capital." Mingyu shook her head, smiling, her eyes sparkling, her whole face emitting a dazzling brilliance, "We are going back to my mother's home in Jiangnan."
Lu Hao looked at Mingyu quietly for a long while, then smiled and said, "Okay. Where is Miss Xu's home?" Lu Hao looked gentle and honest, but actually he was a shrewd man. Naturally, he guessed Mingyu's plan. Since Mingyu was going to leave the Marquis' Mansion, he also changed the way he addressed Mingyu.
Mingyu was stunned by his question. She only remembered that Xu Mingyu's home was in Jiangnan, but Jiangnan was so big that she couldn't remember exactly where it was.
Just when Mingyu was laughing awkwardly, a clear voice rang out from the side, "Our family is in Nanru County, Lu'an County." Lixiang spoke at the right time, and smiled proudly: "Our master is the county magistrate of Lu'an County" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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