At the second watch, everything was quiet. There were dim candles burning in the palace, and several pretty maids surrounded the tables and chairs. They had various things in their hands, ready to serve the self-proclaimed King of Wei who was sitting on the chair. guy. The maids were cautious and did not dare to take a breath. There was a steaming cup of perilla and gas on the table, and the light and leisurely scent of spices filled the palace room with the steam. Lu Chongmao likes to drink a medicinal soup called Yinzi. After nightfall, he drinks a thick perilla drink. Depending on the weather changes, he adds or removes the auxiliary ingredients in the soup to nourish and nourish the body. This is what he has developed over the years. Habit.
"King Wei, General Mighty wants to see you." A servant walked in quietly and reported softly.
Mighty General, this is the title given to Zheng Lei by Lu Chongmao. Lu Chongmao took a sip of the perilla drink, put down the teacup and said, "Let him come in." The servant agreed, turned around and went out. Lu Chongmao waved his hand and told the maids to retreat. After a while, Zheng Lei came in with two of his subordinates, and the three of them clasped their fists and saluted. Lu Chongmao smiled and said: "General Mighty, you have come back again and again. Do you have anything important to do?"
"King Wei, do you still remember the prince you met at Xu Shunchen's home?"
Lu Chongmao nodded, puzzled: "What's the matter?"
"He is the King of Chu of Li Tang."
"Ah?" When Lu Chongmao heard this, he stood up in shock, opened his eyes wide and said, "Really? Are you not mistaken?"
"It's absolutely true!" Zheng Lei vowed, "This King of Chu led five thousand soldiers and horses to Gaoyang Town. In order to rescue Li Xiaoji and others, he risked his life and sneaked into the city with his men."
Tang Jun arrived in Gaoyang Town? Lu Chongmao was shocked again when he heard this. He secretly thought to himself, it seems that this King of Chu is really coming with bad intentions! Li Tang sent troops to attack Xia County again and again. This was because he wanted to kill Lu Chongmao!
"Where is the King of Chu of Li Tang now?" Lu Chongmao asked fiercely.
"He is hiding in Xu Shunchen's barracks."
"How brave! Follow me to Duke Xia's Mansion immediately."
Lu Chongmao, Zheng Lei and others led the palace guards, a total of hundreds of people, riding horses and holding torches and rushing toward Duke Xia's mansion. Arriving in front of the mansion, Lu Chongmao dismounted and was about to walk towards the gate. Zheng Lei stepped forward to stop him and said: "King Wei, Xu Shunchen may have defected to Li Tang. Be careful that there is an ambush in his mansion. It's better to have someone put him there." It's best to call him out." After hearing this, Lu Chongmao nodded, and then said to the guard captain next to him: "Send someone to call Xu Shunchen out." The guard captain immediately asked two soldiers to knock on the door.
In the inner room of Xu Mansion, candlelight was bright, Xu Shunchen was sitting leisurely at the table drinking tea. A beautiful and refined maid is holding a tea pestle, grinding the tribute group tea produced in Fujian. The slender hand holding the tea pestle is as tender as an onion tube and as white as jade. With a flick of the wrist, the snow-white tea is ground into foam. After pouring boiling water, the water veins churn, and countless flowers, birds, insects and beasts appear in the water, and then disappear quietly.
A green tea cup and white tea soup were brought to Xu Shunchen's eyes by a pair of soft and boneless jade hands. The aroma of tea was fragrant and penetrated people's heart. Xu Shunchen took the tea cup and raised his cup to drink. The butler hurriedly walked in and said: "Master, it's not good. Lu Chongmao came with many soldiers. They were shouting outside the door. I want to see you." When Xu Shunchen heard this, he was startled. He put down the fine porcelain tea cup and said, "What's going on?" The butler spread his hands and said, "I don't know, they just let you out."
Xu Shunchen frowned, stood up and said, "Come with me and have a look." The two of them walked out of the inner room, walked through the hall, and came to the courtyard.
Lu Chongmao made such a big noise that alerted everyone. Many servants of Xu Mansion came to the courtyard with lanterns and lit up the courtyard. More than a hundred guards also gathered in the courtyard. They all held swords in their hands and nervously guarded the gate and courtyard walls.
Xu Shunchen did not walk towards the door, but climbed onto a balcony on the left side of the main house. He stood on the balcony and looked outside the courtyard wall. In front of the gate of Xu Mansion is a wide street. Lu Chongmao and Zheng Lei were seen standing more than ten steps away from the gate. Behind them, two to three hundred soldiers were lined up neatly. There were dozens of soldiers holding torches, and the fire was shining. It lit up half of the street, reflecting the armor on the soldiers and the weapons in their hands, and a murderous aura shot straight into the sky.
The scene in front of him made Xu Shunchen's heart sink. Lu Chongmao put on this posture, he must have come to attack the enemy, and he had an unknown premonition in his heart. At this time, the housekeeper who had been following him said, "Master, what should I do?" Xu Shunchen pondered for a moment and said, "Go and ask someone to open the door." The housekeeper agreed and ran out quickly.
Xu Shunchen walked slowly down the steps to the balcony and walked towards the door. The housekeeper arranged for about a dozen guards to guard the hospital. After Xu Shunchen stepped out of the gate, he walked a few steps forward and stopped, cupping his hands and saying, "King Wei, it's already so late. What's the urgent matter for you to come to see me?"
Before Lu Chongmao could speak, Zheng Lei said first: "Xu Shunchen, you should know why we are here. Hand over the King of Chu of Li Tang quickly!" Xu Shunchen had already guessed it, so he was not surprised, but He still pretended to be surprised and said: "What is the King of Chu of Li Tang? King Wei, don't listen to the villain. How can I have a King of Chu here?" Zheng Lei snorted coldly and said: "Xu Shunchen , how long has it been, and you are still playing tricks on us? Do you think we are all three-year-old children, so easy to deceive?" Lu Chongmao waved his hand to interrupt him, and said: "Shunchen, I have never been kind to you, as long as you will Li Li The King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty left it to me, and we will still be good brothers from now on."
Xu Shunchen understood immediately upon hearing this that Lu Chongmao was cunning and cunning. He did not pursue his crime of harboring an enemy chief secretly, but only asked him to surrender to others, which was to cut off his escape route. As long as he handed over the King of Chu, he would be an enemy of the Tang Dynasty and be completely tied to Lu Chongmao. He knew that any excuse now was feeble, and there were only two choices before him. He thought for a moment and then said: "King Wei, please allow me to go back and think about it before I reply to you, okay?" Lu Chongmao nodded and said, "Okay, I'll give you a stick of incense."
Xu Shunchen cupped his hands, turned around and walked back to the house, and the guardian closed the door. Xu Shunchen stood in the middle of the courtyard and asked the steward beside him: "Where is Mr. Wang now?"
"I'm here!" As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhiyun was seen walking out of the darkness, followed by Cai Hu, Fan Shuxiang, Xu Zisheng and his two brothers.
Xu's Ancestral Hall is right next to Xia Gong's Mansion. There is only an alley seven or eight feet wide between the two, and there is a corner gate connecting the two courtyards. There was such a big commotion in Xu Mansion, so it was impossible for Li Zhiyun not to know about it, so he brought a group of people over.
Li Zhiyun walked up to Xu Shunchen and said with a smile: "General Xu, if I guess correctly, Lu Chongmao led so many people to kill the house to force you to hand me over, right?" Xu Shunchen nodded and said : "Lu Chongmao and Zheng Lei have seen through your identity and have come to ask for you. You must also know that if Xu doesn't hand you over, you will have to completely break up with them. Then, there will be a big war. But , They have a large number of people, and Xu has a small number of soldiers and is alone, so it will be difficult for Xu." Although he did not say this clearly, the implication was obvious, that is: I can't defeat Lu Chongmao, so I'm sorry.
When Xu Zisheng, who was standing next to Li Zhiyun, heard this, he hurriedly said loudly: "Third uncle, you can't hand over King Chu, I will never agree!"
Li Zhiyun waved his hand to interrupt him, looked at Xu Shunchen calmly and said: "General Xu, I said last time that you are the head of a clan, and where you go is related to the lives of the clan members. I believe that General Xu will make the right decision." choice. As for the troop strength issue that you are worried about, there is actually no need to do so. To be honest with General Xu, I have sent people to Gaoyang Town to mobilize troops. As long as General Xu can resist for one to two hours, reinforcements will arrive. By then, they will be eradicated. After Lu Chongmao, General Xu has made great achievements. I will definitely report to the court and give General Xu an official title and a title for his wife." Li Zhiyun's words were both soft and hard. He not only granted an official and made a wish, but also contained a threat, telling him clearly. Opposite party, my army is coming soon. Don't toast me or eat as a fine. You just have to do what you want!
However, Xu Shunchen still looked thoughtful and hesitant. At this time, someone next to him shouted: "The Eighteenth Master is here." Li Zhiyun turned around and saw two people standing in front of the hall. One was Xu Zisheng's father. , and the other is an old man in his seventies or eighties. His beard and hair are all white, but he is in good spirits. The two people probably came in through the back door, walked through the hall and came to the front yard.
The surrounding servants and nurses automatically made way for the two people to walk over. Li Zhiyun was full of respect when he saw how polite everyone was to the old man, thinking that he must be a highly respected elder of the Xu family. Sure enough, Xu Shunchen stepped forward and saluted respectfully: "Uncle Eighteen, why are you here?" The old man snorted coldly and said, "You are making such a big noise here, can I not come?" After that, he turned his attention to Li Zhiyun and said, "Is this the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty?"
Li Zhiyun hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Junior Li Zhiyun has met the old gentleman." The old man returned the salute quickly, and then said to Xu Shunchen: "Shunchen, you must not be confused again. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has sent King Qin to lead an army to recover Hedong. Liu Wu and Zhou Cheng If nothing happens, Lu Chongmao will not make anything happen. You are the leader of our Xu family, and the lives of tens of thousands of people in the Xu family are in your hands. You must not make a mistake and endanger your clan members!"
At this time, more and more people gathered in the courtyard. In addition to the servants of the Xu Mansion and the guards, there were also many people named Xu who were wearing armor and holding weapons. Apparently, they all rushed over from home after hearing the news. It was about the survival of the Xu family, how could they not care? So, everyone gathered at the clan leader's mansion.
The old man's words resonated with many people. Xu Zisheng's father said loudly: "Cousin, what Uncle Shiba said is right. You and Lu Chongmao should be cut off immediately!" As soon as he finished speaking, many people around him agreed. It seemed that they were often bullied by Lu Chongmao and his men, and they all had a ball of fire in their hearts.
