Uncle Jiao couldn't help but shook his head as he looked at Liu Lu sitting in front of him and devouring his food.
"In other words, you left Lord Guanqiu's residence early?"
"Yes, fortunately I ran fast enough, otherwise I would have been arrested. How is Mr. Guanqiu? Do you know his whereabouts?"
Liu Lu ate meat and asked inarticulately.
Faced with such rude behavior, Uncle Jiao was not angry and said calmly: "He is still safe at the moment. I heard that he is under house arrest in the general's house."
"But war is definitely inevitable. Once the two sides start fighting, Lord Guanqiu will definitely be killed."
"Sima Zhao will probably use him to sacrifice the flag."
"Bang."
Liu Lu slammed the bowl in his hand upside down on the table and looked at Uncle Jiao in front of him fiercely.
"Give me some powerful crossbows and I'm going to kill Sima Zhao."
"Ah"
Uncle Jiao snorted lightly and glanced at Liu Lu.
"Do you think Sima Zhao is easy to kill? His mansion is heavily guarded inside and outside. Even a hundred people like you can't get in. And every time he goes out, there are knights clearing the way and soldiers surrounding him. He's like this A cautious person is not something you can kill just by asking."
Liu Lu scratched his head, "What should we do? Guo Jun is already in trouble, I can't just do nothing, right?"
Uncle Jiao was silent for a moment.
"If you really want to do something for His Majesty, I have an idea."
"Tell me about it!"
"The Ranger of Luoyang."
"Um?"
"There are many rangers in Luoyang and even Henan Yin. It's just that in recent years there has been no hero who can command them all."
"If you can subdue these rangers and let them be used by you, they may be of great help in the future."
Liu Lu was speechless and stopped talking.
"What's wrong?"
Liu Lu said helplessly: "You people, why do you despise the ranger to this extent?"
"If I were in Hebei, I might be able to attract many heroes to follow me if I took on the title of noble countryman. But this is Luoyang. I am an outsider. I have only been here for a short time. I need someone's approval to settle down here."
"Those heroes have been operating here for decades. They have such a great reputation. You want me to conquer the knights in Luoyang? It's easier said than done!"
"The heroes among the rangers are not as miserable as you think!"
"I simply can't do it!"
Hearing Liu Lu's complaint, Uncle Jiao chuckled.
"You are honest. I am not asking you to conquer all the rangers. I am just asking you to increase your own power. There is no need to let them know who you are working for. Besides, you are not fighting alone. In Luoyang, There are many people who can help you, such as me."
"You just said you wanted a crossbow, right?"
The weather was already very cold, and even Cao Mao was wearing thick fur clothes.
In the Zhaoyang Hall, the Queen Mother held a sleeve stove and looked quite sad.
Cao Mao was sitting next to her. During these days, Cao Mao would run to the Queen Mother whenever he had time. He could come three or four times a day and directly regarded Zhaoyang Palace as his home.
The Queen Mother may seem tough, but she is actually quite timid. Otherwise, she would have ordered Cao Mao to be grounded long ago.
"Mother, I have been pestered by officials these past few days, and the imperial students have written to me. Even a few casual knights have been persuading me all day long, so I have no time to come to see you."
Queen Mother Guo glanced at Cao Mao, "This is the third time you have come to see me today. If they hadn't pestered you, would you have planned to live there directly?" ?
"Yanshi, why do you say such ridiculous things?"
"Your reputation was pretty good before, but now everyone is insulting you."
"Mother, it's okay. What's fame? When Sima Yi broke his oath, how did his reputation compare to mine? How many people insulted him? But who scolded him to death?"
"Besides, I haven't gained anything, haven't you noticed? The eunuchs in the palace have now completely surrendered to me. I know many things in the palace faster than Sima Zhao!"
Cao Mao said happily.
"As the master of the harem, my mother naturally needs these eunuchs, and she can't let her bear a bad reputation, so naturally I have to step in."
Queen Mother Guo was quite helpless. In these days, her relationship with her clan members became increasingly bad.
Guo Li and Guo Zhi haven't come to see him for several days.
This made the Queen Mother quite uneasy, as if she had been abandoned.
Cao Mao often comes to see her, but Cao Mao cannot give her that sense of security.
Seeing the indifferent Queen Mother, Cao Mao had already discovered this problem.
He smiled and said: "Mother, actually, I think it is a good thing that the ministers are insulting me."
"In the past, I really had nothing to give to the ministers. I could only make promises out of thin air. But it's different now. I suddenly discovered that I can actually give them fame as long as I do something wrong and then let them persuade me. If I admit my mistake again and again, am I still afraid that their reputation will not be high enough?"
Queen Mother Guo's eyes widened, "But if this happens, your reputation will not be lost."
"The reputation of the emperor still depends on what the officials say. If the officials say he is a holy king, then he is a holy king. Of course, it also depends on whether Guo Zuo lasts. If he does not last, future generations will definitely scold him. "
"Mom, there's no need to worry."
"You don't know yet?"
Cao Mao whispered: "Prince Sili Xiaowei, I have decided to officially assist you."
Queen Mother Guo was shocked.
Wang Xiang is a newly emerging moral leader who is famous all over the world. Back then, she took the initiative to win over this man for Cao Mao's affairs and promoted him. Now he is the captain of the Sili School, which is even more remarkable. His status is Extremely high.
Would such a person turn to him?
Shouldn't he pretend to surrender, deceive Cao Mao into telling him, and then tell Sima Zhao directly?
Queen Mother Guo said quickly: "Yanshi! Don't let others bully you."
"What did mother say?"
Cao Mao shook his head, "He was overjoyed to learn that we, mother and son, are now united. He said that he did not dare to approach the Queen Mother before because your people were too strong and they put their own interests above yours. Therefore, he did not dare to defect, but only Able to remain neutral.”
"But now, these people have shown their true colors and ignored you. I informed him of my intention to help you and hit it off with him. This has been going on for a long time. If the prince is not sincere, I have been arrested by Sima Zhao a long time ago, how can I have the chance to sit next to my mother?"
Queen Mother Guo was shocked.
"he really"
"Yes, Mom, it's true. Captain Sili is already one of ours. If you don't believe it, I can ask him to come and see you!"
Queen Mother Guo looked at Cao Mao in disbelief.
Cao Mao said again: "I have said it a long time ago. Mother really despises herself and thinks too highly of her clan members. The prosperity of my Guo family is entirely because of you. If there is a chance, let alone Sili Xiaowei, just I can pull all three men over!"
"Of course, the Sima family is currently powerful, and we still can't compete head-on. I think we should use Wang Xiang to win over Lu Yu, Fu Gu, Cui Zan and other ministers, and then use the minister's desk to acquire Jiuqing."
"Mom, now that Wang Su is sick at home, he said that he is officially resigning. He has resigned. This position of Tai Chang is now vacant. This is a good opportunity. We can push Wang Xiang to this position."
"Taichang is the head of the nine ministers. As for the candidate for Sili Xiaowei, I have a more suitable person."
"Wang Jing, the prefect of Jiangxia, I heard that Sima Zhao values him very much and has the idea of promoting him. This man has high moral character and can be entrusted with important tasks!"
Cao Mao slowly explained his plan.
"At present, Lu Yu and Fu Gu are at the Chancellery. Lu Yu is a strong man and has big plans. All officials are willing to follow him. Master Sima can tolerate him, but Sima Zhao is very wary of him. If Master Sima dies, , Sima Zhao will definitely promote him to the rank of Third Duke and keep him away from the chancellery."
"As for Fu Gu, this man is extremely talented, but he is frail and sick. I conclude that he will not survive more than a year."
"After these two people, the person who takes over the Shangshutai is probably Cui Zan. If Lu Yu is forced to leave the Shangshutai, he will definitely be dissatisfied and can take the opportunity to win over him. However, Cui Zan is silent and unwilling to participate in disputes. , we can force him to be neutral."
Cao Mao slowly described his crazy idea.
