lady, please calm down

Chapter 308 A dead man cannot defend himself
In Daqi today, the war on Hebei Road and Shandong Road has not yet subsided.

The emperor is seriously ill and the succession to the throne is unresolved.
The imperial court was really not ready to fight the rebellion again, or in other words, there was no spare power to fight the rebellion again.

Chen Chu, on his side, was also not ready to rebel.

The so-called 'rebellion' is not only the gathering of military forces, but also includes material preparation, intelligence collection, and more importantly, the mobilization of people's hearts.

The Huaibei Jiedu Envoy has more than 2 soldiers under his jurisdiction, all of whom come from three prefectures and one county in Huaibei. There is no problem in fighting, but only by letting everyone know why they are fighting can the subjective initiative of the military and civilians be stimulated to the greatest extent.

History has proven time and again that only by mobilizing the people's army can we be invincible.

In the middle of Haishi, Wu Weiguang ordered people to carry his nephew's body and retreat temporarily.

Sun Changhao and his wife were afraid that Marquis Lu An, who had taken over the official residence, would kill them quietly at night, so they took only some valuables and moved to the post house that night to seek protection from Wu Weiguang.

After returning to the post house, Wu Weiguang immediately summoned Sun Changhao and visiting envoy Xia Zhizhong to discuss matters.

After Xia Zhizhong listened to Sun Changhao's details about what happened tonight, he first bowed his hands to Wu Weiguang and said "sorrows", and then whispered in a determined tone: "My lord, it seems that Marquis An has completely ignored your lord, the imperial court, and the majesty of King Lu. , this kid will definitely rebel in the future!"

Wu Weiguang, whose face was as dark as water, raised his eyebrows. His nephew's death and the shame he suffered tonight made his heart feel like fried oil.

Sun Changhao, who looked sad on the surface, but actually didn't care about Wu Yifan's death, said on behalf of his wife and brother: "Hey, after what happened this time, how could Mr. Wu not know that he would rebel in the future!"

Xia Zhizhong respected Wu Weiguang, but he looked down upon Sun Changhao, the 'empty prefect'. After hearing this, he couldn't help but retort: ​​"Then we just watch? Watch him grow bigger, watch him rebel against the court?"

"What is the meaning of Xia Xun's visit? The imperial court is currently in troubled times. The Jingnan Army and Taining Army loyal to King Lu are temporarily trapped in Tokyo. The Xiang armies in various places are too old and weak to fight. Many of the northwest army leaders are not listening to orders. Where is the imperial court? Can we gather more soldiers to suppress the gang of tigers and wolves in Huaibei?"

Sun Changhao's words left Xia Zhizhong speechless.

At this time, Wu Weiguang, who had never spoken, asked, "Xingwen, you are more familiar with things in Huaibei than we are. If you have any ideas, just tell me."

Wu Weiguang had been in Caizhou for a while, but this was the first time he called Sun Changhao by his cousin's name. The latter cursed in his mind that the Wu family was full of people who flatter others and underestimate others, but his face shed tears of gratitude and he whispered back: "Brother, now that Marquis Lu An is flourishing in Huaibei, he has actually offended a lot of people! If there is contact from the imperial court, and those who are oppressed by him can be twisted into a rope, he may not be able to knock him to the ground!"

"Oh? Please explain in detail!"

"Guo Tao'er controls the capital of Yingzhou! Chen Chu took advantage of the turmoil in Huaibei to occupy Yingzhou. The commander Liu Erhu who was stationed in Yingzhou is still stationed in Yingzhou! Guo Tao'er has to return to Yingzhou only this year. But he could only stay outside the city. Come to think of it, Guo Tao'er, who was occupied by Jiu, hated Chen Chu!

In addition, Suzhou was controlled by Qi'an and Huaiyuan County was also occupied.There were a large number of squires in Huaiyuan County who had been blackmailed by Chen Chu, and they also wanted to strip Chen Chu of his skin and bones!If we can contact these gentry, it will not be difficult for them to persuade the rest of Suzhou's rural sages to organize thousands of people! "

Wu Weiguang listened with rapt attention, but Xia Zhizhong frowned and said: "How can a few thousand strong people be used for anything? Chen Chu has more than 2 elites in his hands!"

"What about the thousands of people, plus Guo Tao'er and Yu Qi'an?" Sun Changhao asked.

Xia Zhizhong still shook his head, "There are only more than ten thousand people. Even if there is a secret decree from the imperial court, they may not have the courage to stroke Chen Chu's beard!"

"Hahaha." Sun Changhao smiled proudly and said quite arrogantly: "Xia Xunfang is also a scholar after all, but he is as brainless as those warriors. Does it have to be a head-on fight? Can't he be outwitted?"

This sentence immediately angered Xia Zhizhong, comparing him to a stubborn warrior, which seemed to make him suffer great shame and humiliation.

Seeing the two people arguing and getting angry, Wu Weiguang hurriedly coughed to stop him, then looked at Sun Changhao and said urgently: "Xingwen, how to outwit him?"

Sun Changhao, who seemed to have already made up his mind, stood up, slowly walked around the room for a few steps, and said to himself: "These Huaibei armies only follow Chen Chu's lead. It is not easy to attack head-on! But he has a fatal weakness."

Sun Changhao paused deliberately as if he was trying to show off.

Wu Weiguang looked at Sun Changhao eagerly, resisting the urge to say, "Mom sells the batch," and waited for Sun Changhao to continue.

"This fatal weakness is a common problem among young people, and that is lust! In other words, it is the importance of the female relatives in the family! If we can manage to capture his family, haha. When the time comes, my brother will ask him to bind himself and kowtow to admit his mistake. , he will also submit obediently!"

Wu Weiguang immediately fell into thinking about Chen Chu's love affair, which can be considered an open secret, such as the unruly request for a title for his wife, the pampering of the concubine surnamed Chen as if he were his wife, and the carrying of the Cai family's Sanniang all over the city on New Year's Eve.
One incident after another indeed confirmed Sun Changhao's statement.

But Xia Zhizhong on the side raised objections again, "Master Sun, what you said is easy, but there are nearly [-] sergeants inside and outside Caizhou City. We have organized manpower, how can we easily capture his family? This is not a matter of death. Dao!"

Sun Changhao, who had been silently planning since he was sidelined last year, immediately said: "Haha, wouldn't it be enough to let him lead the troops away from Caizhou?"

"How to get him to leave Caizhou?"

"Military leaders have always been obsessed with territory. Now that the Shandong Lu Guiyi rebels have been raging in Yimeng Mountain for many years and have not been able to wipe them out. If the imperial court orders him to lead troops to encircle and suppress them, do you think he would be interested?"

Although Xia Zhizhong was not of high rank, he immediately understood what Sun Changhao meant. There were many turmoils in Daqi, and even so, few guest troops were mobilized to quell the chaos.

Just because it’s easy to invite God but hard to send away!
After the arrival of the guest troops, not only the fish and meat villagers, but once they relied on them to eliminate the rebels, most of them would acquiesce that the territory they conquered should belong to them.

After all, the imperial court could not afford military pay, so it seemed quite reasonable to use territory to compensate for the military expenses and casualties of the guest troops.

Therefore, the military leaders are quite active in going out to suppress the bandits. If they can defeat them, they will occupy the territory. If they cannot defeat them, they will loot the local area. No matter what, it will not be a loss.

Sun Changhao's plan was to seize the weakness of human nature's greed, first give Chen Chu a piece of fat and send him away, and then take advantage of Caizhou's empty space to capture his family members and send them to Tokyo City.
Even if Chen Chu occupied Shandong Road, he would still have to spit it out, using his family as a threat, even if he put a dog leash on the Huaibei native emperor.

After the new emperor ascends the throne, they will kill and seize everyone. Isn't that what they say?

By then, the prosperous Caizhou will fall into your pockets without any bloodshed.
"Wonderful!" Even Xia Zhizhong, who had always looked down on Sun Changhao, couldn't help but slap him on the thigh.

Wu Weiguang was not in a hurry to express his position. He thought about it carefully and felt more and more that his sister-in-law's plan was feasible. He finally said: "Xia Xunfang, tomorrow morning you will leave Cai in the name of Xunfang and go to Ying and Su to test it out carefully. .”

Xia Zhizhong nodded excitedly and said, "King Lu is about to ascend the throne. I think they know how to make a decision!"

Wu Weiguang also nodded and said, "Tomorrow King Lu and I will go seal a secret letter and explain this matter."

Then, Wu Weiguang looked at Sun Changhao, then at Xia Zhizhong, and said in a deep voice: "The country is in a difficult situation now. If we can help King Lu collect this beast, we will make an immortal contribution! If things are done in the future, the three of us will be Being in a tiger's den, but strategizing and solving problems for you will definitely become a good story! It will be passed down through the ages, showing the grace of our scholars! You two, encourage each other!"

These words made Sun Changhao excited, and Xia Zhizhong's hands trembled slightly.

A pair of feather fan towels, a picture of tigers and wolves in Huaibei disappearing into ashes while talking and laughing, immediately appeared in front of you!
"Wu Gong! I am willing to go through fire and water for the King of Lu and for Da Qi!"

"Brother! This is the time to help the country and make contributions!"

Official residence, Xia Cuiyuan.

Entering the side hall, after cleaning, the broken cups, plates and blood stains in the room have been cleaned up, but the faint smell of blood reminded everyone that a murder had just occurred here.

After Wu Weiguang left, Chen Jingyan seemed to have lost his strength and sat there for a long time.

After the maid at home helped Chen Yingjun clean and bandage his wounds, Chen Jing'an finally asked: "What happened tonight?"

'Want to do something wrong' was just a temporary excuse that Chen Jingan and Chen Yingjun agreed on. The people just talked so much and it was so inconvenient that Chen Jingan never bothered to ask the real reason.

After hearing the brothers asking each other, Chen Jingyan, who looked tired, also raised his head and looked at his daughter. He also wanted to know the real reason.

Chen Jinyu, who was a little embarrassed, was panicked for a moment. What she had just said to Wu Yifan in a hurry, if she had the courage, he would not dare to say it in front of his parents.

When he was at a loss, he heard Chen Yingjun say: "Hey, what can it be for? Of course it is because of the engagement." Wu Maozhi heard Ayu personally tell him about the break-up of the engagement, and he went crazy for some reason. He grabbed Ayu's throat and wanted to He killed Ayu! That’s why I fought with him.”

In the eyes of the elders of the Chen family, Chen Yingjun has always been a honest and sincere image, so his words are naturally trustworthy!
Chen Jingyan thought about Wu Yifan's transformation from his prospective son-in-law to a piece of dog-skin plaster that he couldn't get rid of, and then ended up killing him with his own hands due to some strange combination of circumstances. He couldn't help but lament the impermanence of life.

"Hey" Chen Jingyan sighed, looked at his wife and daughter who were clinging to each other, and said lovingly: "Ayu, go to the back house to rest with your mother first, and I will talk to your two uncles about something."

After hearing this, Mr. Tan stood up and bowed to several people, but she couldn't help but look at her husband with frightened eyes, and hesitated to speak.

Any married man can understand this look, which means an official. I'm afraid. Come back to accompany me after finishing your work earlier.

"Madam, please go back first. My husband will be back in a moment."

Chen Jingyan did not shy away from the presence of Chen Jing'an and Chen Chu, and comforted them in a gentle tone.At the same time, Chen Jinyu glanced at Chen Chu quickly with almost the same look.

However, due to the presence of their father, the two of them have not been able to speak to each other so far.

"Sister-in-law, don't worry. The guard of the official residence has been temporarily replaced by a sergeant. I have official business to handle tonight. I will be at the Yamen next door until midnight. If anything happens, just call me!"

Hearing what Chen Chu said, Mr. Tan wiped the corner of his eyes and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry for bothering you, uncle."

Chen Jinyu supported her mother and lowered her eyes, wondering if she understood.
After the mother and daughter left, there were only four men left in the hall.

The topic finally entered deep waters.

"Yuanzhang, if this happens, I'm afraid it will interrupt your plan of 'building high walls and hoarding grain'." Chen Jingyan sighed again. It seemed that Chen Chu's confrontation with Wu Weiguang for his own family made him sad. He felt very guilty and upset.

Chen Chu smiled openly and said, "Third brother, it's okay. The court may not care about us. There should be some action on Hebei Road."

Hearing what several people were talking about became more and more horrifying, Chen Yingjun hurriedly stood up and left.

Chen Jingyan and Chen Chu made eye contact, and then said: "Weiting, you should also listen. There are some things that you have to know sooner or later."

With this sentence, Chen Yingjun became the first among the second generation of civil and military families to come into contact with the core secrets of the Tongshan Clan.

"Yuan Zhang, the death of the direct nephew of the Wu family is not a trivial matter. I think Wu Weiguang will not let it go. You need to pay attention."

Chen Jingan reminded.

"Well, don't worry, Mr. Yanagawa. Someone is watching them."

At midnight, everything was silent.

After the thrilling first half of the night, the Chen family in Xia Cuiyuan fell asleep with confused thoughts.

Except for Chen Jinyu who was huddled in bed and hugging a pillow.

Even though her eyelids were too heavy to open, she still refused to close them.

Just because as soon as I close my eyes, Wu Yifan's face that was smashed by his father will appear in my mind.
'Bang~Bang~'

"It's three o'clock in the middle of the night, nothing happened"

The penetrating shouts of the watchman on the street reached the inner house.

Chen Jinyu, whose eyes were red from the exertion, heard the sound and stared at the cracked window for a moment.
Tonight, my uncle said he would stay at the Jieshuai Yamen next door until midnight.
Ayu guessed that there was a hint in his words, but she wasn't sure. After all, her father was present at the time, and she didn't even dare to look at Chen Chu.

Just as he was worrying about gains and losses, he heard a slight noise coming from under the window.

Then, Chen Jinyu watched the window sash open little by little under the dim moonlight, and a familiar figure quickly climbed through the window and entered.

The scene in my daughter's boudoir was indescribably terrifying.

Shaoqing and Chen Chu walked to Chen Jinyu's bed. The two of them didn't say a word, but the latter leaned in, leaving room for Chen Chu to step down.
Silent all night.

The rooster crows three times, which is about Yin Shizhong, and there is still an hour before dawn.

Chen Chu, who had not slept all night, yawned and got up. He finally found the clothes in the dark, but when he picked them up, he felt a pulling resistance. After reacting, he realized that it was Ayu who was holding on to the clothes and wouldn't let go.
"It's almost dawn. If you don't leave, you'll bump into the mother-in-law who got up early."

Chen Chu coaxed in a low voice. Ayu let go of his hand in the darkness, but suddenly sat up again, stretched out his arms and hugged Chen Chu tightly from behind, feeling a smooth and soft feeling on his back.

Immediately, Chen Jinyu was heard murmuring, half coquettishly and half reluctantly: "Uncle, I'm scared to be alone. How about you come to accompany me tonight?"

At chen shi, the sky was bright.

In the Qingpu Garden of the Hou Mansion, Cai Hua sat in front of the bronze mirror, carefully arranged her makeup, tilted her head slightly, and hung a delicate garnet earring on her ear and lips.

Ru'er, who was standing nearby, vividly recounted what happened to the official residence last night.
There were so many people talking when the incident happened that there was no time to block the news. This morning the incident had already gone viral in the city.

When Caihua heard from Ru'er that the Marquis had stayed away all night after leaving the house last night, she couldn't help but paused while putting on the earrings, and then tilted her head left and right in the mirror, as if she was very satisfied with the pair of earrings.

"The Marquis didn't come back all night. Didn't you say anything?"

"Uh, by the way, I just asked someone to tell me that something big happened to the Chen family last night. Mrs. Chen and Xiaoniang Chen should be very frightened. They should go to the official residence to visit and ask the third lady if she wants to go with them." go."

"Are you really going to visit? Hehe, of course I want to go."

At three o'clock in the morning, Mao'er and Cai Hua took a carriage out of the house, but met a "relative from out of town" of Cai Hua outside the house.
Sai Diaochan also knew where he was coming from, so he deliberately wore simple clothes without any makeup.

After the meeting, Sai Diaochan whispered something to Cai Hua with an angry look on her face.

Cai Hua looked indifferent and only asked, "How is he?"

"It's not serious, but I need to rest for at least half a month. Boss, you have to make the decision for Qing'er."

"I really can't do this."

Cai Hua covered her mouth and smiled sweetly. Sai Diao Chan couldn't help but feel disappointed. She wanted to say something, but finally kept silent.

Cai Hua saw her expression and then glanced sideways at Sai Diaochan and said, "Wu Yifan was beaten to death last night, how can I still make the decision for her? Is it possible that she will go to the Yama Palace to file a complaint?"

"." Sai Diaochan was shocked and looked at Cai Hua, as if she wanted to confirm the authenticity of this matter from the latter's expression.

"I don't have time to joke with you. By the way, let Qing'er hold on for a while. Later, you can take her to the government office to lodge a complaint and accuse Wu Yifan of attempted murder."

"." Sai Diaochan was still stunned and confused again. She blurted out: "Didn't the Third Lady just say that Wu Yifan is dead?"

"Who says that a dead person can't sue? How can Qing'er accept this severe beating for free? I want him to apologize and pay for it!"

"Everyone is dead, how can we apologize for the gift and money?" Sai Diaochan looked at his boss who had spoken so confidently, feeling like a three-year-old child who had no idea what his boss was talking about.
Cai Hua narrowed her fox eyes and said, "It's the father's fault if the son doesn't teach him! If he dies, his uncle and uncle will have to pay for it!"

Without waiting for Sai Diaochan's reply, Cai Hua suddenly said: "Didn't you become the leader of the Caizhou Fireworks Guild? Find some more people in the guild and sue him together. Sue him for having prostituted without paying. , accuse him of committing murder and wounding others."

Regarding Qing'er, the evidence is conclusive, but 'find some more people and sue him together'. Is this a frame-up?

Seeing Sai Diaochan's expression of shock and uncertainty, Cai Hua frowned and said, "I'm afraid! As long as I'm backing you, even the prefect can't do anything to you! Besides, a dead man won't speak his mind to defend himself."

In Caizhou territory, Cai Hua personally said that he was supporting her, so Sai Diaochan really didn't have to worry about the troublesome prefect.

The charming woman in front of him was not only his boss, but also his backer. After thinking about this clearly, Sai Diaochan did not hesitate and whispered: "Yes, I will make arrangements right away."

After saying this, he bowed, took a few steps back, turned around and walked away.

Cai Hua, who was still standing where she was, had a charming smile on her lips, but Ru'er next to her asked in confusion: "Sister, Mr. Wu is already dead, why do you need to do this more?"

Cai Hua turned her head, stretched out her hand to pinch Ru'er's cheek, and said with a smile: "I don't care about that idiot's life and death. But his elders don't deal with our marquis, and if they dare to bully my man, they are bullying me. Their family Isn't reputation the most important thing? I want to ruin his family's reputation."

This logic sounded fine at first, but Ru'er, who was familiar with the family, rubbed her face that hurt from Cai Hua's pinch, and muttered: "Sanniang, it's fine if our Marquis doesn't bully others. How can anyone dare to bully him?" Yeah, if you don't like the Wu family, just say so."

"Hehe, let's just say it straight, I don't like Mrs. Wu."

(End of this chapter)