Plan to cut off the nine states

On the top of a hill, the emperor reined in his horse and looked at the lights in the distance. He was silent for a long time and said softly: "My world, my people, my Luoyang..."

The cold wind of early autumn blew by, but the emperor did not feel cold at all. He took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled it. His heart suddenly expanded, and he felt like he was swallowing thousands of miles of chaos.

"Vietnam the Yin Mountains in the north, driving away the barbarians in the south, guarding Kunlun in the west, and facing the sea in the east. The country of Tiancheng Dynasty must be expanded by me... Huangfujie, tell me, how do I compare with the late emperor?"

Everyone stopped far away on the hillside. Huangfu Jie and others were slightly forward. When they heard his name, they hurriedly dismounted and ran to the emperor's side. He smiled and said: "The late emperor established the foundation and your majesty maintained it. It is difficult to maintain the foundation. Your Majesty still has the energy to expand the territory, so it will naturally be more difficult. In my mind..."

The emperor sneered, "Isn't it painful to lie? Difficult is difficult, easy is easy. What do you mean by 'in your mind'? Don't you know what you are saying?"

Huangfu Jie opened his bow from left to right and slapped himself hard twice, "I am so stupid that I dare to play tricks in front of His Majesty, forgetting that Your Majesty is smart and wise..."

"roll."

Huangfu Jie actually rolled down from the top of the mountain with his head in his hands. He was lifted up by his servants, and his face was full of smiles, as if he had just escaped a disaster.

He did escape, and the emperor's clothes were still stained with blood. He really hated Luo Zheng, so much so that he even cut him more than a dozen times, but he still refused to stop even though he was exhausted.

He has now wiped away his hatred, riding a horse, standing on the top of the mountain independently, not caring about the hundreds of attendants behind him, looking into the distance, immersed in his own country.

Lou Jian whispered to himself: "I have already killed someone, so I should feel better tonight..."

"Just ask and you'll find out." The man standing next to him started to move forward.

Lou Jian was taken aback, his face changed suddenly, he grabbed Lou Chi's arm, lowered his voice as much as possible, and said viciously: "Boy, if you want to die, go find a place by yourself, don't hurt me here."

The foundation of the building did not insist on moving forward. "Good fortune and misfortune depend on each other. If you go there, you may not offend the official."

"Go to hell with your 'blessings and misfortunes', and stay here honestly." Seeing his brother retreat to his original place, Lou Jian said again: "Just this once, don't even think about following him next time."

Lou Chu smiled and stopped talking.

Before dawn, the emperor returned to the palace, and the guards dispersed. The servants of the Lou family were still waiting in the alley. When they saw their master coming back, they all came forward to pay their respects, "The third master came back early today."

After leaving the emperor, Lou Gang became kind and approachable again, and said with a long voice, "Yes, Shangguan didn't stay outside tonight, so it's early. Everyone has been waiting for a long time. Come on, let's go home and have a good drink."

"Haha, it's not like we have anything to do. It's the Third Master who's doing the hard work."

"Everyone must serve the third master well. Just drinking is not enough. You have to find some fans."

"Where can I find him at this time? I remembered it. There really is one. You guys go home and wait for me."

Everyone kept flattering him, and Lou Jian accepted it happily. He did not forget about his younger brother. He came to Lou Chu and said with a smile: "Okay, there is a bold boy like you in the Lou family. Just be careful and don't get into trouble. I promise you a bright future."

"Foolish brother is under imprisonment." Lou Chu reminded.

Lou Jian waved his hand disapprovingly, "It's a small problem. If father really wants to recommend you, no matter how serious the crime is, it won't matter. The worst is to change your origin and recognize someone else as your biological mother. Let's go, let's have a drink together, no. Drunk endlessly.”

"Third brother is so kind that I dare not disobey you, but I have to go back to the General's Mansion and meet my father as soon as possible."

"What are you going to tell your father? No, don't say anything to me. If you have business, I won't keep you. I'll send someone to take you back. From now on, we brothers will come and go more often, haha." Lou Gang slapped his younger brother. shoulders, in a good mood.

"Of course. I'll take my leave, stupid brother, and wait for my brother to call me at home."

The smile on Lou Jian's face suddenly solidified, "Summoning? Do you mean to summon you to drink?"

"Follow your brother and escort him."

Lou Jian stretched out two huge palms and pressed them on Lou Chu's shoulders, very close to his neck, as if he was preparing to pinch him hard, "Just this once, there won't be a second time, even if my father orders it, it won't work. You You'd better keep your mouth shut and don't talk nonsense in front of your father."

"Don't dare say anything nonsense."

Lou Jian's expression softened slightly and he retracted his arm, "You don't understand. No one can guess Shangguan's thoughts. It's been an ordinary night, but Shangguan really lost his temper - you said you couldn't stand a beating."

A minister who had been deprived of his position was hacked to death, and it turned out to be just "unremarkable".

Louji handed over his hand and said, "Let father make the decision."

"Father... I'll go back with you." Lou Jian had no intention of drinking. With the help of his servant, he got on his horse and went straight to the general's mansion instead of going back to his own home.

All the servants lost a good meal and complained in their hearts that the Seventeenth Young Master was ignorant.

The general was still asleep, and the two brothers waited for a while until dawn before they were summoned.

Lou Wen was wearing loose underwear and had a gloomy face. Two thin maids rubbed their arms and backs vigorously to help the master relax his muscles and activate his blood circulation. Behind him, the concubine who slept with him last night was hiding under the quilt.

The two brothers saluted, and Lou Wen yawned loudly and said coldly: "It's better to have something important to disturb my dream so early in the morning. Third brother, what are you doing here? I told you not to come to my place, otherwise The boss is suspicious."

"My seventeenth brother and I have some different ideas. We have to listen to what he has to say."

Lou Wen finally raised his head, looked at his two sons for a while, and chuckled, "Are you afraid that he's just a brat?"

Lou Jian said anxiously: "I'm not afraid of him, I'm afraid that he will talk nonsense and encourage my father to make wrong decisions. You don't know, he actually wanted to go up to the superior last night..."

Lou Wen coughed, stopped his son from talking, waved his hand and ordered the two maids to leave, turned around and patted the quilt, "You also leave."

"I'm not wearing anything..." the person who was hit whispered.

"Isn't there a quilt? Wrap it up tightly. Hurry up, I'm out of energy now and don't want to throw you out."

Concubine Ji did not dare to argue, so she wrapped the quilt around her body and even her head, leaving only a gap to peek out. She walked around the general and went down to the ground. She walked awkwardly and bumped into the bed rail. She almost fell down. She held on to the quilt. He ran out of the room in small steps.

Lou Jian followed the movement of the quilt with his eyes, imagining the scene inside, and swallowed his saliva involuntarily.

Lou Wen grabbed the pillow and threw it at his son, saying angrily: "Is your family short of women? You are trying to take advantage of the people around me."

Lou Jian was woken up by a pillow and hurriedly looked away, "I was afraid that she would fall, so I didn't make up my mind... Seventeenth Brother has something to say."

"What did you see?" Lou Wen yawned again, still in a bad mood.

"The emperor's ambition today is high, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people." Lou Chi said.

"Humph." Lou Wen was not interested.

"Moreover, the imperial minister is very skillful and does not tolerate subtlety in his eyes. Even though he left the palace late at night, the arrangements were very appropriate. The child did not see any quarrels along the way."

Lou Jian couldn't help but interjected: "Do you need observation? Just ask me directly. The one who arranged all this was not Shangguan, but Huangfu Jie. He has no other skills. He has a way of setting up jams and opening roads. Do you think Shangguan's Are we the only guards? No, no, you didn't see more people... Father already knew these things."

Lou Wen snorted again and raised his hand to signal Lou Chu to continue.

"The emperor not only has great ambitions, but also great talents. He has also traveled inside and outside Luoyang. Although many palaces, gardens and ditches are not completed, they are full of fantastic ideas. After they are completed, they will be beautiful everywhere."

"If you want to know this, you don't have to go to the official again." Lou Jian added.

"According to you, the emperor has no shortcomings?" Lou Wen asked, still not interested.

"The emperor is superior in all things, but there is only one thing that is lost in impatience."

"What kind of shortcoming is this? Your Majesty is a bit impatient, but only those of us who often accompany you can feel it. It has nothing to do with people like you." Lou will come if he doesn't insist. Once he comes, he can't let his younger brother be with his father. Speak freely in front of me.

"The common man's urgent matter is nothing more than shouting at the heaven and earth, or exchanging harsh words, or fighting with fists and kicks, to show his own anger, and fight for the moment; the scholar's urgent matter is nothing more than writing a pen to express his anger, or desperately writing a letter to invite his name. Or they may bend the law to harm others, all grudges are motivated by selfish motives, and every account must be settled clearly; the emperor's urgent needs may anger the ministers at the least, or implicate the common people at the worst. As the saying goes, a single move can affect the whole body. If the emperor is just right, If one is wise enough to reject admonishment and speaks enough to cover up one's faults, the harm will be greater without self-examination, and the poison will be deeper without self-awareness..."

"I'm really afraid that you scholars will start talking in a long way and don't know what you want to say." Lou Jian muttered in a low voice.

Lou Wen didn't like hearing it either, and frowned and said, "Be more straightforward and just tell me your judgment. What do you think of the Lou family?"

"The emperor will retaliate with his anger. Although he is impatient, he can bear it. According to what I see, the emperor will eradicate the Lou family, and eradicate them completely, leaving no one behind."

Lou Jian laughed loudly, "You heard it, father, I told you yesterday that the seventeenth brother has grown up and is eager to get rid of his shackles, so he must be alarmist to please his father. Am I right?"

Lou Wen snorted again, "It's indeed alarmist. When do you think His Majesty will take action?"

The general still wanted to ask. Lou Ji was very confused. He looked at Lou Chu and was very dissatisfied. He was the person who took the most risks to come into contact with the emperor. Lou Chu had only met the emperor once, but he dared to claim so brazenly that he See through the emperor's mind.

"It must be before the general goes on an expedition." Lou Chu said.

"That means it will be less than a month." Lou Wen suddenly laughed loudly, his clothes slipped off, revealing half of his body fat, "My child, you are indeed very courageous. This is what I like. When it comes to looking at people, , you are too far behind - if the emperor kills me now, who will command the army of 100,000? Who will annihilate the thieves of Qinzhou? Muma's He Rongbu... The world is not at peace yet, the emperor dares to kill me?"

Lou Jian nodded repeatedly and added: "And His Majesty's thoughts are not on our Lou family at all. He always thought that the General was his safe backer. If you meet His Majesty a few more times, you will understand that His Majesty's behavior is exactly the opposite of ordinary people. "If he beats and scolds you, it means he is willing to forgive you. If he doesn't say anything or even comforts you, then he is harboring resentment, which will come out sooner or later. What happened to Imperial Ambassador Luo is proof of that."

After his father and brother finished speaking, Lou Chu said: "Today's emperor's name is too real. His actual ability is not important. What is important is that he thinks he is omnipotent and that he can replace the general and lead the army on an expedition. This thought will last a lifetime for the Lou family." It’s dangerous.”

"Your Majesty has never led troops, let alone revealed the slightest idea of ​​​​conquering the army himself. The more you talk, the more irrelevant you are." Lou Jian shook his head.

Lou Wen thought more, staring at the Seventeenth Son, "Liu Youzhong said that you 'shut up and be virtuous, open your mouth to make trouble' - you didn't mean to provoke me to rebel, did you?"