Chapter 32

【Your face was calm, with no reaction.】

【Daqing was indeed seeking peace in a corner. The previous Emperor Huizong liked Daoism, admired the art of longevity, and attempted to govern by doing nothing, governing the world with his hands down, and never went to court for fourteen years.】

【The government was therefore abandoned, treacherous officials were in power, and the people lived in deep water.】

【Uprisings were constant, and when the world was in chaos, the Northern Wind took the opportunity to go south.】

【Emperor Hui was panicked and was betrayed by his subordinates. The Northern Wind captured Emperor Hui back to Liaodong and became a prisoner.】

【Back then, you led the army, just one step away from going straight to Huang Long.】

【However, inside the capital, twelve imperial edicts were sent by fast horses, every word was cold to the bone, and only the word "retreat" hung high.】

【You had to retreat!】

【Countless Lu Family Army soldiers were resentful and melancholy in their hearts, but there was nothing they could do.】

【The Northern Wind delegation went south, proposing a policy of marriage, wanting the two families to form an alliance and write a good story of Chu and Jin.】

【The Northern Wind promised to return the treasures of the capital looted back then, and send Emperor Hui back to the court, and the Northern Wind Princess would also marry the Second Prince of Daqing.】

【In the same year, the Northern Wind sent a large army to escort Emperor Huizong south, and he died of illness on the way for no reason.】

【The news reached the world the following year. Daqing did not pursue it, but instead granted amnesty to the world when the Second Prince married the Northern Princess.】

【When Lu Chen went north to go straight to Huang Long Mansion back then, the Eighth Prince's three-day kneeling request for the army to go on an expedition was indeed famous in the capital.】

【Three days and three nights, enough to show his sincerity.】

【Even your father praised him highly.】

【Although you were an outsider and didn't know the details, the Eighth Prince, Prince Jing, transformed from an ordinary prince into a prominent existence in the court.】

【This move won the hearts of the main-war faction, and Zhou Cheng also gained a foothold in the court.】

【As for that sentence, the royal cause does not seek peace in a corner!】

【How much truth is there, who can know?】

【At this time, Zhou Cheng gave this map to you.】

【He looked at you expectantly, his eyes full of sincerity.】

【Lu Yu didn't care; he had always believed in your decision.】

【Liu Jinchan felt a chill in his heart, knowing the deep meaning behind this map.】

【In the current court, the dispute between the main-war and peace-seeking factions is endless.】

【The peace-seeking faction led by the Second Prince received the full support of the southern clans and was powerful. The main-war faction was almost destroyed a few years ago, and the six ministries in the court were all controlled by the peace-seeking faction. Fortunately, the Lu Family Army went north to recover lost territory, and only then did they regain their momentum.】

【However, with Lu Chen's retirement, the world gradually entered a period of peace, and the trend of recuperation became more and more obvious, and the peace-seeking faction once again gained the upper hand.】

【In four years, the Lu Family Army no longer existed and was reorganized into the Northern Town Army, and the twenty-six generals of the Lu family pavilion were also assigned to all directions.】

【I thought Lu Chen's prestige had faded with the years, but who would have thought that during the New Year's blessing, nearly three hundred thousand people in the north gathered on Mount Zhongnan, and it was endless along the way.】

【Many people in the north built temples for Lu Chen and his son, and often hung portraits of Shaobao at home.】

【For a time, the court memorials blamed Lu Chen, only calling him Shaobao, not thinking of the imperial grace.】

【This move triggered a fierce debate in the court, but it ended up with nothing.】

【In the past four years, the controversy over Lu Chen has never stopped. If he supports the Eighth Prince, it will surely cause a shock in the capital and attract the attention of the world.】

【So, you stood at the crossroads of choice,】

【You decided...】

1. Accept this map, perhaps you will step into the whirlpool of the court, unpredictable and difficult to predict.

2. Refuse this map, you may miss an opportunity.

3. Personally get involved and explore the unknown. (1/3)

Yu Ke weighed the three options in his heart.

Accepting this map means potentially getting deeply involved in party politics.

Yu Ke originally planned to focus on cultivation for these ten years, waiting for the opportunity of spiritual energy recovery, and seizing that fleeting opportunity.

He knew well that he couldn't waste time on this matter.

Yu Ke recalled the last time he personally participated, that kind of real feeling, and had different feelings for Lu Yu and his father.

If he gets involved in party politics, it is undoubtedly gambling with the fate of the entire Lu family and the Lu Family Army, which is something he does not want to see.

Therefore!

Yu Ke chose 2. Refuse this map, you may miss an opportunity.

【You refused Zhou Cheng.】

【Zhou Cheng sighed slightly, but his face immediately returned to calm.】

【Chen Ji's face was gloomy. He was dissatisfied in his heart. Lu Chen had long since lost his official position, and now he was just a Daoist on Mount Zhongnan. He actually regarded himself highly because of a few victories and forgot his origin.】

【The ruler is the guide for the minister, and the minister is the assistant to the ruler; this is an eternal truth.】

【If the ruler wants the minister to die, the minister has to obey; this is an eternal rule.】

【The master is a royal descendant, someone who has the hope of holding the divine vessel in the future.】

【Chen Ji had seen countless nobles, but in the end, they were just guard dogs outside the master's mansion.】

【Chen Ji could only hide these thoughts in his heart and dared not show them.】

【Zhou Cheng smiled instead; he had long expected this situation.】

【He gently rolled up the map scroll and placed it on the table calmly.】

【Liu Jinchan wanted to come forward to smooth things over, but was stopped by Zhou Cheng with a smile.】

【Zhou Cheng laughed loudly, quite free and easy.】

【"Shaobao, we met for the first time today. In fact, for ten years, your figure has been lingering in my mind countless times. In my dreams, I have already enjoyed wine and joy with you. It's okay to call you Shenzhou, right?"】

【This remark made Lu Yu frown; the name Shenzhou was only dared to be called by his father in the Lu Family Army.】

【You bowed slightly and replied respectfully: "Your Highness, how can this commoner dare to be called by the same name as Your Highness."】

【Zhou Cheng waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for courtesy.】

【"Shenzhou, I studied Dao and cultivated myself in the first half of my life, and also dabbled in military books and strategies, but the world is like a game of chess, and I still feel that I have achieved nothing and have done nothing."】

【Zhou Cheng sighed and said word by word.】

【"Shenzhou, don't think I'm nagging."】

【"Back then, Emperor Hui fled in a panic, and the thirty thousand Northern Wind army crossed the Yellow River. The front line was defeated repeatedly, and the court was arguing endlessly about whether to surrender or fight!"】

【"I was thinking, what should I do if the Northern Wind hits the south of the Yangtze River today?"】

【"Run? Where to run, or surrender!"】

【"Throughout the dynasties, there is no scholar's backbone under iron hooves and swords. The scholars' faces are those who write surrender letters."】

【"They are just changing to another master!"】

【"If Daqing falls, where will the countless Daqing people go? Are they really going to become fish on the chopping block or livestock driven by others?"】

【"It seems no one cares, but I, Zhou Cheng, care."】

【Zhou Cheng said in a deep voice: "The rise and fall of the country, the common people are not responsible."】

【"I often hang a sharp sword in my room at home. I was thinking, when that time really comes, the Northern Wind cavalry breaks through the city gate, the officials flee south in their clothes, kneeling and living in survival, only I, Zhou Yuanjian, take off my crown and support my sword, riding a horse to the north."】

【"That is also happy!"】

【Zhou Cheng, courtesy name Yuanjian.】

【Zhou Cheng's face couldn't help but have a little more smile.】

【"The thoughts of youth seem ridiculous now."】

【"However, that year you were born, Shaobao, you defeated an army of eight hundred thousand with only sixty thousand, changing the trend of the world."】

【"Since then, I have not hung a sword at home."】

【"Because I know Daqing has a real sword to protect the country."】

(End of this chapter)