Chapter 129

Liu Hong looked at He Jin with a cold sneer.

He thought to himself, "You, a mere butcher, do you even understand how to lead troops into battle?"

If He Jin truly dared to go to the front lines, Liu Hong would truly dare to let him go.

In that case, it would be even more wonderful if He Jin were to die directly on the front lines.

He could then take the opportunity to reclaim his military power, firmly grasp it back into his own hands, and never easily distribute it again.

However, although He Jin was not clever, he was not truly stupid either, and he cherished his own life very much.

How could he dare to go to the front lines to seek death?

He immediately stopped speaking.

"Hmph! Useless!"

Seeing this, Liu Hong felt very regretful in his heart, but on the surface, he let out a cold snort and prepared to dismiss the court.

Zhang Rang immediately understood and said, "If there are memorials, present them; if not, the court is dismissed."

At this moment, a remonstrating official stepped out of the ranks and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty! Your subject, Remonstrance Official Wang You, impeaches the Northern General of the Household for dereliction of duty and laziness, intentionally delaying the time to suppress the rebels, and not deploying troops for a long time, with the suspicion of nurturing bandits to increase his own importance. I ask Your Majesty to clarify the situation!"

"Wow!!!"

As soon as this impeachment came out, there was an immediate uproar below.

Some were watching the show, some were astonished, some were hostile... and so on, all sorts of reactions.

He Jin, on the other hand, had a slight curl at the corner of his mouth.

That's right, this person was arranged by him.

Last night, Yuan Shao had come to find him and spoke of the threat posed by Lu Zhi, as well as the plan to frame Lu Zhi, have him removed, and promote Dong Zhuo to take his place.

He Jin naturally agreed.

After all, Dong Zhuo was his man!

"Hmm?"

Liu Hong also frowned upon hearing this, then turned to look at Zhang Rang beside him and asked, "Zhang Rang, is what this person said true? Has Lu Zhi really not deployed troops for many days?"

Zhang Rang could see that Liu Hong was somewhat convinced and also somewhat unhappy.

At the same time, he also saw that this was Yuan Feng and the others wanting to get rid of Lu Zhi and reap the rewards.

As for why he didn't suspect He Jin?

Ha! It's not that Zhang Rang looks down on He Jin, but with He Jin's brain, he could absolutely never come up with such a plan.

"However, this Lu Zhi is upright and unyielding, and he is also very hostile to us eunuchs;"

"If he really manages to achieve great merit in suppressing the rebellion and ranks at the top of the imperial court, it would truly not be a good thing for us eunuchs."

With this thought in mind, Zhang Rang immediately bowed and replied, "Returning to Your Majesty, the battle reports transmitted from Jizhou are indeed so;"

"However, this servant feels that General Lu is, after all, a commander-in-chief of a region, and he cannot be truly removed and punished just because of a single word from a Remonstrance Official!"

"Why doesn't Your Majesty send someone to question and verify with Lu Zhi?"

"If it is not true, that is naturally for the best;"

"After all, suppressing the rebellion is of the utmost importance;"

"If it is true, Your Majesty can have the envoy sent to verify it deliver a verbal reprimand on your behalf, and order General Lu to deploy troops immediately and suppress the rebel Zhang Jiao within the stipulated time."

Zhang Rang's words seemed to be favoring Lu Zhi, speaking for him, and fighting for an opportunity.

In reality, it was not so.

What kind of people would the envoys Liu Hong could send be?

What kind of people could Liu Hong trust?

Naturally, it was them, the eunuchs!

And Lu Zhi detested and looked down on eunuchs the most; could he possibly say anything nice?

Furthermore, although Lu Zhi's temper was foul and stubborn, he was indeed very capable at fighting. Since he chose the current tactics, there must certainly be a reason for it.

Zhang Rang considered himself to know Lu Zhi very well.

He knew that it was absolutely impossible for him to obey and modify his tactics just because of a reprimand brought by a eunuch.

The final result would certainly be Lu Zhi defying the imperial order, which would inevitably lead to him being taken to Luoyang in a prison cart and losing his position as the commander-in-chief of Jizhou.

As for whether Yuan Feng and the others' plans could succeed in this way, using their own people to replace Lu Zhi and go to Jizhou to reap the rewards?

Zhang Rang could only say that Yuan Feng and the others were indeed daydreaming.

He indeed did not understand the business of commanding troops in battle.

But he understood Lu Zhi, understood Zhang Jiao, and understood His Majesty, and that was enough.

If that Zhang Jiao were really so simple, he wouldn't have forced a famous general like Lu Zhi to use a step-by-step advance tactic to slowly wear him down.

If the newly replaced commander wanted to satisfy His Majesty, he certainly could not continue using Lu Zhi's tactics and would have to seek a quick victory. The final result, if it didn't go against Zhang Rang's expectations, would inevitably be a crushing defeat.

At that time, Yuan Feng and the others would certainly end up losing more than they gained.

Zhang Rang would just sit and wait to watch the good show.

"Hmm?"

Liu Hong, hearing Zhang Rang's words, turned his head in some surprise to look at Zhang Rang, obviously very surprised that Zhang Rang would actually speak up for Lu Zhi.

He was well aware that Lu Zhi detested eunuchs, and his relationship with Zhang Rang should be very poor.

But Zhang Rang's words did indeed make sense, and he immediately looked at the hundred officials and said, "What Zhang Rang said makes a lot of sense! Lu Zhi, as a commander-in-chief of a region, cannot be moved lightly;"

"Order the Lesser Yellow Gate Zuo Feng to act as the imperial envoy and go to the Jizhou front line on my behalf to investigate the truth!"

"Court dismissed!"

After speaking, Liu Hong did not give the people below a chance to speak, waved his hand, stood up, and left the main hall.

After walking far away, and after Zhang Rang caught up, Liu Hong looked at Zhang Rang with some curiosity and asked, "Doesn't Father Rang hate Lu Zhi? Why did you speak good words for Lu Zhi today instead?"

Zhang Rang, upon hearing this, pretended that his forehead was slightly sweating, and said in fear and trepidation, "Your Majesty has wronged this old servant!"

"Everything this old servant said was for the sake of Your Majesty, and for the sake of being able to suppress the rebellion as soon as possible!"

"How could this old servant, because of personal feelings, abandon public duty for private interests and frame a commanding general at the front line at such a critical moment?"

Liu Hong, hearing this, suddenly realized.

With a face full of apology, he reached out and patted Zhang Rang on the shoulder to comfort him, saying, "It was I who wronged Father Rang! I am very happy that you can think of me in this way;"

"If everyone in the imperial court could be as loyal as you, and single-mindedly serve the public, that would be great!"

"The world would not have rotted into what it is now;"

"Unfortunately, they are all just a bunch of selfish people;"

"Only you, Father Rang, are of one heart with me."

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