After only two moves, Chen Lu shook his aching elbow and jumped to the top of the palace with a single move of Qinggong.
"You old dog, you only strike twice every time!" Si Hu raised his head and cursed angrily.
"Silly tiger." Chen Lu smiled slightly.
Si Hu's face turned red, he drew his chopping saber, and was about to climb up to the head of the palace——
"Si Hu, don't be provoked." Xu Mu stepped out of the Tiande Hall coldly.
Hearing Xu Mu's words, Si Hu was startled, jumped down hurriedly, and walked back with his mouth pursed.
"Chen Tianwang, even if you become a new master, be careful not to fall into my hands." Xu Mu looked up with a sneer.
He knew that while waiting, Chen Changqing had at least a hundred ways to keep Chen Lu.
Standing on the head of the hall, Chen Lu narrowed his eyes and smiled, but did not reply.
"Brother Mu, are you done eating now?"
"full."
"If Brother Mu is not full, I will peel peanuts for him to eat."
Xu Mu sighed in his heart. He actually understood Yuan An's concerns. Among the eight generals in Dingbian, his ancestor-in-law was Li Rucheng, and Zhao Qingyun of Hezhou was also his old friend, not to mention the newly pardoned Wang Changsilang of Yuzhou, who was an old friend.
"Xu Qing, please follow me back to the palace." Yuan An chased him out, probably in too much haste, and even one of the dragon shoes escaped.
"Xu Qing, I didn't think carefully before. How about this? I will accompany Xu Qing respectfully. I am alone at this New Year's banquet, so I ask Xu Qing to be considerate."
Generally speaking, if a corporal is able to treat virtuous people like this, he is most likely to be a wise master. Unfortunately, strangely enough, Xu Mu had no such idea in his heart.
"Your Majesty was joking. Your Majesty heard the noise outside and came out to take a look."
"Let me tell you, Xu Qing is definitely someone who cares about the overall situation."
Xu Mu smiled and waited for Yuan An to return to the palace first, then turned to look at Si Hu.
"Si Hu, if that old man messes with you again, you should leave the hall first, and then chop him with a knife. If anything happens, I'll take care of him."
Chen Lu's appearance was just to make Si Hu cause trouble outside Tiande Hall. These damn things are all sinister.
Si Hu's eyes were filled with ecstasy when he heard this, and he nodded in panic.
As Yuan An himself said, at this New Year's Eve banquet, he really stayed at the bottom of the table, sitting in the same row as Xu Mu, and got very drunk.
"The emperor's mind?" Yu Wen frowned as he walked out of the middle gate of the palace. Only in front of Xu Mu could he dare to say this.
"I don't know, Commander Yu." Xu Mu shook his head, "No matter what, Commander Yu needs to be careful when staying in the palace."
"This is natural." Yu Wen firmly clasped his fists.
"Stay with the commander."
Taking Si Hu with him, Xu Mu followed the path out of the palace and moved forward carefully.
"General Xu, you know that I am good at obeying you!"
Xu Mu paused, turned around and hugged his fist again, then stepped forward again.
…
In Changyang City, there was a rare celebration after the New Year's Eve banquet. Not only the poor people's small firecrackers, but also the rich gentry were not stingy. They took fireworks one after another and shot them into the sky one by one, illuminating the entire dim city.
I originally wanted to go to Zhou Fu's place, but found out that this guy had already gathered with relatives and friends. There was no other choice but to buy half a drawer of meat buns for Si Hu to eat to fill his stomach.
"Brother Mu, the meat buns are not fragrant anymore. I want to eat sister-in-law's grilled fish and Sister-in-law Lian's steamed cakes."
Xu Mu could understand that it was indeed a bit lonely for the two of them to stay in Changyang at the moment. The large group of family members were still far away in Shanye Village.
"Brother Mu, if not, I will take a look when I go back and come back after taking a look."
"I can't go back." Xu Mu sighed.
There is so much waste to be done and there are so many things to think about. Furthermore, returning to the Mountain Hunting Village may lead to trouble.
"master."
At this time, a figure suddenly walked through the crowd and walked to Xu Mu's side.
"Master, be careful, I pulled out a few stalking dogs earlier."
"I know, let brothers be careful too."
The man in black nodded and did not run away. Instead, he smiled and added, "Master, the military advisor is waiting in Qingshi Lane, Changyang."
"Wenlong?" Xu Mu looked surprised.
Lifting his steps, Xu Mu walked quickly. When he reached the end of Qingshi Lane, as expected, he saw Jia Zhou's figure standing in the evening breeze.
Jia Zhou turned around, suppressed the ecstasy on his face, and took the lead in holding hands and bowing.
"Wenlong, enter the house."
The Liu family in Qingshi Lane was originally an eager scholar. Previously, Xu Mu specially sent people to Chengcheng Academy to study hard.
Once empty, it becomes a temporary place of contact.
"Wenlong suddenly entered Changyang, which is really surprising."
"Actually, the two ladies are worried about my lord, and I also have something to do, so I came here overnight. Knowing my lord's concerns, the guard leader is still waiting outside the city."
Xu Mu took a deep breath and said, "Wen Long is really wise."
"My lord, you praise me so much."
Jia Zhou brought the food cage from the side, and as soon as he opened it, Si Hu, who was still there, ran over cheering, grabbed a roast chicken, and ate it.
"Brother Hu, your two sisters-in-law also grilled the fish for you. By the way, the burnt fish was done by the second lady."
Xu Mu suddenly smiled.
"My lord, take your seat."
The two gave way, each found a chair, and sat down firmly.
"After breaking through Changyang City, my lord now holds the power. How does it feel?"
"Not very good." Xu Mu smiled bitterly. It's not a lie. Even though he was a small boss in the past, he lived a magnanimous life and was far less uncomfortable than he was now when he was living under someone else's roof.
"The young Marquis is indeed unparalleled in his loyalty and righteousness. If it weren't for him, the thirty states in the world would have started to fight against each other."
"indeed."
Jia Zhou hesitated for a moment, then faced Xu Mu and continued to speak in a solemn voice, "The original intention was to let the lord take this round of righteousness and retreat bravely. But the young marquis, Tuogu, only chose you."
"Wenlong, what do you think?"
"We can only take advantage of the situation. Until now, I still think so. Entering Shuzhou is the best strategy for my lord, and staying in Changyang as an auxiliary minister is the middle strategy."
"What's the next step?"
"The next best thing to do is... continue to sell wine and hide in the market. It is undeniable that the master has the ability to serve the dragon, and it is a great achievement. But these things are also as flammable as kerosene, and all the achievements will be wasted in a fire. "
Xu Mu was silent for a moment.
"There is already a storm in the inner city. It's a pity that the young marquis has too little time. Give it a few more years to make plans and then take action. After the emperor's side is perfectly cleared, Daji may be able to be saved."
"The God above us has no mercy on the world after all."
Jia Zhou sighed.
"My lord can consider these matters on his own. As a counselor, it is my duty to make judgments for my lord."
"Wenlong, I understand everything."
"My lord, don't talk about this." Jia Zhou smiled and said, "The eldest lady has already started brewing wine. Let Wei Feng allocate manpower to deliver it to various restaurants in person."
"For door-to-door delivery, we charge an extra two yuan per jar. We have already placed a lot of orders."
"That's not bad." Xu Mu also dismissed his thoughts and rarely smiled.
"As for the ocher, Zhou Zun took his people to dig the mine secretly. Lord Tie also asked me to ask you if there are any other good ways to smelt iron stone. You said you would discuss it with him before."
"Of course there are some. I will write a letter later and ask Wenlong to take it back."
Jia Zhou nodded and thought deeply.
"My lord, Shanye Village is not too far away from Shuzhou. Four hundred miles away, there is a border town in Shuzhou that was occupied by the defeated army. If my lord is interested, please tell me when the time comes. Get it for my lord."
"Shuzhou town? Wenlong, how many troops are there?"
"About six or seven thousand."
"Six thousand or seven thousand?"
The entire mountain hunting village has only a thousand combat forces. Unless it means bringing back the eight thousand Tiger Talisman Army from the northwest.
"My lord, please be at ease. I never speak big words. If I say I can get it, I will definitely get it. However, I have to wait for my lord's decision in the end."
Xu Mu took a deep breath, and his originally dull mood suddenly became cheerful.
