Harue Kagetsu

The Xu family's mansion is not far from the Gao family, but it is not adjacent to it. There are still a few streets in the middle.

Xu Mi returned to the mansion this evening. It was late at night. The people were in the study, and the surroundings were silent, but in his ears, he seemed to be able to hear the celebratory voice of the Gao family's mansion a few streets away.

He closed his eyes, sat upright, breathed in and out, but in his mind, the scene of yesterday's courtroom where Li Mu was sealed and rewarded appeared.

At that time, when Gao Qiao looked at his son-in-law, the admiration and pride on his face made Xu Mi pierce his eyes, as if he was stuck in his throat.

He deeply regretted that he had not considered it properly at first, and had completely lost sight of it. Not only did he never think that Li Mu, who was only a Sima at the time, would be so powerful in the future, what made him even more heartbroken was that Li Mu, who was clearly a member of his own military government, just because he misjudged the situation, killed him. Throw it to Gao Qiao and make him the son-in-law of Gao Qiao today.

Obviously, this Li Mu, who was originally out of place, turned the Gao family upside down, and made the Gao family hate them to the core, has long been accepted.

This Weng husband-in-law, the relationship is like a duck to water.

Xu Mi kept breathing in and out, and finally, suppressing her emotions, she slowly opened her eyes.

The situation in the courtroom is changing, undercurrents are surging, and there are unexpected situations all the time.

After fighting with Gao Qiao for most of his life, who can guarantee that he will always be insightful and flawless?

It is Gao Qiao, who has suffered his own big losses several times.

A mistake is a mistake. Instead of complaining about yourself, it is better to strategize and look to the future.

Fortunately, he acted fast and joined Lu Guang early to send troops to the northern expedition. Now the situation is very good.

Nanyang has descended. Now as long as Yang Xuanneng can capture Yingchuan, the Lu family also captures Yancheng, and the two armies encircle and capture Luoyang in one go, which is not an unattainable feat.

If Luoyang is really taken, it means that Beixia loses its capital, like its demise.

Even if Bei Xia is stubbornly resisted, he can't attack Luoyang for a while, and he can retake a large area of ​​Jianghuai. With this credit, he will be able to compete with Gao Qiao in the future court, and make great plans.

Xu Mi felt slightly excited again, and couldn't help getting up. From a letterbox, he took out a well-read battle report that he had just delivered a few days ago, and browsed it again.

This battle report came from his second son Xu Chuo.

Xu Chuo is one of Xu Mi's many sons that he admires.

Unlike many aristocratic families today, the parents prefer their sons who are as talented as Lu Jianzhi, Xu Mi has no shortage of sons who recite poems, write poems, and talk about Taoism.

This second son of his, Wencai, is mediocre, but he is brave and good at fighting and can lead the army. Xu Mi has been focusing on cultivation, looking forward to great use in the future.

But he also knew that his son had a arrogant temperament, was not stable enough, lacked in tempering, and was too early to be independent. Therefore, he did not dare to entrust him with a great responsibility for this northern expedition. He took the post of Right General and obeyed Yang Xuan's dispatch.

In this private report sent to Xu Mi, Xu Chuo described how he won the first place in the Nanyang Battle, made great contributions, and all the coalition forces were in admiration. On the day of Gu Xin, he had already led the army into Yingchuan, and he was invincible all the way. He was only a few days away from Yangzhai.

Brilliantly, between the lines, high-spirited and confident.

After Xu Chuo read his son's private newspaper, he turned over the letter and newspaper that Yang Xuan submitted to him.

Yang Xuan said that Meng Situ was entrusted with an important task and did not dare to slack off. He was also able to cooperate with Lu Jian to join the army. Fortunately, Nanyang was not humiliated and took down Nanyang, and the army was excited.

He will be vigilant in the morning and stern in the evening, and perform his duties diligently to live up to the trust of the Stuart. However, Beixia abandoned Chang'an and returned to protect Luoyang. After the allied forces in the northern expedition against Dayu, the so-called hundred-footed worms were dead but not stiff. Today, there are countless troops stationed in Yuzhou. Unwise move. Therefore, the coalition forces were divided into two groups. If they wanted to take Yingchuan, which was empty of defense by the enemy, and attacked Yangzhai by themselves, the Lu clan attacked Yancheng, and then encircled them, the odds of winning would be greater. Now that Lu's army has left for Yancheng, his own side has also drawn out the army according to the predetermined plan, and it is estimated that they will arrive in Yangzhai within a few days. The follow-up battle report will be delivered in time.

Yang Xuanxin's report was concise and to the point, and it could be seen that his tone was dignified and cautious.

Xu Mi put it down, looked at the letter from her son again, and was taken aback for a moment.

Suddenly, his eyes moved slightly, as if he had thought of something that he had neglected before, and immediately hurried to the back of the case, picked up a pen and dipped in ink, quickly wrote a letter, affixed his own big seal, sealed it, and was about to write a letter. I asked someone to send this letter at an accelerated speed of eight hundred li overnight, and I heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from outside the door.

The steward pushed open the door and entered, shouting, "Situ, the battle report of General Yang who just arrived!"

Xu Mi had previously ordered to receive the battle report from the front, no matter when, without waiting, send it as soon as possible.

He took the varnished cowhide envelope, and when he opened the seal, there was a burst of nervousness and excitement in his heart, and his fingers even trembled slightly.

"Congratulations Situ! It must be another good news!"

The steward stood aside and said with a smile on his face.

Xu Mi opened the seal, took out the letter inside, calmed down, and unfolded it.

"Situ, but our son has made great achievements in the front? It's not my flattery, the son is both civil and military, talented, just needs a little training, not to mention the eldest son of the Lu family, it is Li who took down Chang'an. Mu, in front of the son, it is also..."

Stewards can't stop complimenting.

The previous time was also the great victory report he sent. Xu Bi was happy and gave him a reward. This time he naturally worked harder.

His eyes fell on the face of the head of the family. Seeing him looking at the letter with ten lines, his expression changed suddenly, as if an invisible ice had fallen on his head, freezing his whole body instantly.

The steward was stunned, and his voice dropped.

"roll!"

Xu Mi slapped the case violently and shouted loudly.

The steward was taken aback, hurriedly shut his mouth, bent down, and almost scrambling back out.

Xu Mi's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

He stared at the letter in his hand, almost unable to believe his eyes.

But in black and white, it's clear.

Yang Xuan led the Xu clan's army to Yangzhai. Unusually, Beixia joined the road defenders, had no fighting spirit, and encountered almost no decent resistance, so he approached Yangzhai smoothly, and received news that the reinforcements of Daobeixia had not arrived yet, and Yangzhai's troops were empty.

Out of a kind of intuition that has led troops to fight for many years, Yang Xuan suspected that there was a fraud ahead, and ordered the army to suspend, and then go to spy on the military situation.

This stop was opposed by Xu Chuo.

All the way north, Xu Chuo repeatedly competed for the first start, played a triumphant song, gradually underestimated the enemy, and focused on winning quickly.

In his eyes, a military general from a poor family like Yang Xuan, no matter how capable, is only a servant for his own use, how can he really take him in his eyes? On weekdays, when discussing matters in a large account, in front of many soldiers and soldiers, he interrupts the coach's words, and Yang Xuan can only endure it.

Seeing Yang Zhai in front this time, it was as if he was searching for something. So relying on his identity, he secretly united with many generals who obeyed him, seized Yang Xuan's commander seal, and ordered the army to move forward to capture Yangzhai. As a result, he fell into a siege and suffered a fiasco, and Xu Chuo was almost captured.

It was Yang Xuan's savior who led the remaining tens of thousands of troops who did not listen to Xu Chuo's command and still followed his own army into the siege, tore apart the encirclement of the Beixia army, rescued Xu Chuo, and escaped with the remaining surviving soldiers, all the way. Pursued by the Beixia army, he retreated while fighting, and even Nanyang, which had been taken down, could not hold, and lost most of it. It was not until he returned to Xiangyang, where Xu's business had been operating for many years, that he finally stabilized his position and repulsed. Beixia's pursuit.

This defeat not only completely lost the results of the Northern Expedition that had been won earlier, but the Xu family’s military mansion also lost more than 20 generals, including more than 20 generals above the lieutenant general. The fierce Northern Xia enemy army was unable to fight head-on again.

Now Yang Xuan can only temporarily retreat with the remaining troops in the border area between Xiangyang and Nanyang. In addition to plead guilty, he is also anxiously waiting for the news of Lu Jianzhi's battle.

Yang Xuan finally requested that if necessary, allow him to judge the situation, break through the siege, go to aid Yancheng, and lead Lu Jianzhi to retreat together with the army to preserve his strength. The plan for the Northern Expedition can only be discussed later.

Otherwise, Lu Gu's army will go deep into Yuzhou, and even if they finally capture Yancheng, they will be surrounded and have a dangerous future.

Xu Mi shredded the letter and the whole person kept shaking.

Just a few days ago, the courtiers were still discussing that Lu Jianzhi's army attacked Yancheng very smoothly, and Lu Guang was very proud.

Xu Mi was also looking forward to the fact that Xu's army could go to Yangzhai again.

Yang Xuan is a well-organized general who has never let him down before. What's more, this time, he was fully prepared, with plenty of troops and food, and full of confidence.

Xu Mi knew that his son didn't take Yang Xuan in his eyes. But I have never cared much about it. I usually just say a few words when I think of it.

Just now, he reread his son's letter and felt the tone of his letter, and suddenly realized that he thought that now the army is outside, and peace is different. Strictly ordered that the son must obey the commander-in-chief with full authority when he is outside. If he does not obey, he will be punished by military law.

He never dreamed that the letter had just been written, and before he could send it out, such a disastrous ending had already been delivered.

Xu Mi felt that her throat was sweet and itchy, a mouthful of blood suddenly vomited out, her eyes darkened, and she fell down.

The sound that came out alarmed the steward outside the door.

When the steward saw the owner of the house vomited blood and fell to the ground, he hurriedly helped him up and hurriedly called for someone.

After a while, Xu Mi's confidants arrived one after another. Knowing that the battle was a fiasco, they all looked heavy and remained silent.

Xu Mi lay on the couch, slowly opened her eyes, and suddenly pushed away the ginseng soup that a concubine was feeding to her mouth, ordered everyone to get down, and then sat up.

"On the court's side, for the time being, we will conceal the news and not reveal it!"

"Send my order immediately, order Yang Xuan, no more soldiers and soldiers!"

He was word for word.

The staff knew what he was thinking.

In this battle, Xu's army suffered heavy losses, and even if they regrouped, they would not be able to go to Luoyang again.

Xu Mi had no intention of fighting anymore.

Although the Northern Expedition is not over yet, the defeat is set.

If they break out of the siege and aid Lu Jian's retreat as requested by Yang Xuanxin, then the Lu family will still be able to retain most of their strength, and the Xu family will suffer even more casualties.

The Xu Lu family had no inseparable relationship, and they had trampled on each other before. Now they are only temporarily united to suppress common political enemies.

It is human nature to do so.

But if you let it go, after all, there was a covenant before, I am afraid that the court's public opinion will be detrimental to the Xu family.

The staff hesitated for a moment, then whispered his concerns.

After resting for a while, although Xu Mi's face was still gray, her emotions had recovered.

"If it was Lu Guang, would he risk his life for my Xu family?"

"The Northern Expedition is defeated, and this is not the first time. Gao Qiao also failed several times? Who can blame me?"

"As for seeing death..."

He sneered: "When those Jie soldiers still surrounding Nanyang are all dead? Yang Xuan has been defeated all the way, and he is too busy to take care of himself. If he can defend the last point of Nanyang, he has already tried his best. He is not a god. How to get out of trouble and fly to Yancheng to save the son of the Lu family?"

Everyone was woken up by his words and nodded.

Xu Biqiang cheered up and discussed the next countermeasures with everyone overnight.

…

In the Xu family's study, the lights never go out this night.

On the same night, the Lu family remained calm and stable.

Except for the servants on duty at night, all the people in the Lu Mansion and the Mansion were asleep, and they were not aware of the violent storm that had already descended above their heads at a distance of thousands of miles.

Only one exception, so late, still did not fall asleep.

Lu Huanzhi came out of his room and quietly sneaked into his eldest brother's courtyard, which was separated by a wall. He was familiar with the door and the road. He directly touched the inner room and stopped in front of the guqin that was placed on the qin case.

Lu Jianzhi cherishes this guqin very much. Before going out, not only did he put the violin in the case and lock it, but also covered it with a covering cloth.

Lu Huanzhi stared at it for a while, then slowly stretched out his hand, lifted the covering cloth, used a knife to pry open the piano case, and touched it for a while, sure enough, under the piano, he found the sheet music that he had seen before.

The score is a reduced-character score, and we have tried to be concise, but a piece of music has more than ten pages.

Moonlight penetrated through the window, illuminating the few lines of writing on the title page.

"I heard that the elder brother is sick in a foreign country, and the lingering and unhealed, and I have a lot of feelings. I composed a song. Thousands of words are sent to the song. I hope the elder brother will be relieved as soon as possible. If you let go of your heart, you will be everywhere. This song is to persuade you , and also for self-improvement.”

The font is graceful and beautiful, and at first glance, it is from the hands of the boudoir.

Lu Huanzhi slowly turned over the piano score at the back, staring at the words he was all too familiar with, his hands shaking slightly.

After he finished turning the page, he closed his eyes for a long time, and in front of his eyes appeared Li Mu protecting her and walking away, leaving behind a scene of being ridiculed by others. As if there were needles all over his body again, he suddenly opened his eyes, gritted his teeth, and shook his hands. , tore off the title page, stuffed it into his arms indiscriminately, closed the violin case, put it back on the cloth, turned around, and quickly escaped under the shadow of the night.

…

The next day, at night, the banks of the Qinhuai River in the south of Jiankang City were brightly lit, and there were row upon row of brothel restaurants.

In a private seat on the second floor of a brothel, a dozen or so geisha with heavy make-up sat around, winking at the young boy in the upper seat.

Although this young gentleman is not a regular customer, but looking at his dress and style, he knows that he is a son of the gentry.

This kind of place, when the powerful officials or the children of aristocratic families haunt, it is common for everyone. Among the sisters, there were many who were bought by Xiangzhong to be concubines or singers and dancers. But seeing this guest tonight, it's a bit strange. He has summoned so many of his dozen sisters, all of whom have to play the piano. He brought his attendants in, but kept this seated position, without drinking a sip of wine or speaking. After saying a word, he looked arrogant, and seemed to disdain coming to such a place, so he couldn't help but become curious.

One of the oldest, looking 25 or 6-year-old trick girl, called Lu Niang, was surrounded by all the girls and said with a smile: "This little man, you came to us and called us so many. My sister, neither drinking nor having fun, do you want us to sit with you until dawn?"

When she finished speaking, the rest of the women giggled and laughed.

Lu Huanzhi lost a wink at the attendant beside him.

The attendant understood, took out a small cloth bag that he was carrying with him, opened his mouth, and threw it down, only to hear a clatter, and dozens of golden cakes were scattered on the ground, shining golden and dazzling.

It was the first time the trick girls met such a generous guest. They were overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed to thank them. They all went to pick up the gold coins, but they heard the young man say, "Hold on!"

Everyone knew that he had something to say and stopped.

Lu Huanzhi said: "The daughter of the Gao family is proficient in music theory, you must all know it?"

The girls were stunned for a moment, not knowing why he suddenly raised the clan's daughter, but all nodded.

Every year, the Qushui Liuli is held in Jiankang City to help the dignitaries and nobles, and these trick girls have also been called there.

That Lvniang smiled and said, "How could I not know? I still remember that a few years ago, she and the eldest son of the Lu family were at the Qushui Liuliu meeting, and the sound of the flute and piano was like the sound of heaven. I was fortunate enough to hear it. It's unforgettable to this day. I just don't know why the son suddenly mentioned her?"

Lu Huanzhi smiled: "It's a coincidence. I have a copy of the piano score that she wrote by herself. Would you like to see it?"

The girls were overjoyed and gathered around to ask for it, waiting for Lu Huanzhi to pull out the sheet music and scramble to read it.

Soon, the trick girl named Lu Niang sat behind the piano and auditioned for the score. After playing a section, she stopped and sighed: "The girl of the Gao family really lived up to her reputation. I only know the piano skills roughly. I don’t even know how she was in the mood when she composed the music, but when she played it, she felt that she was moving and sincere, and I liked it very much.”

Lu Huanzhi said, "This score has a name, Luan Fengming. It was written by her in Qushuiliu last March, and it was given to the son of the Lu family, who is thousands of miles away."

The girls were stunned.

Just now I suddenly heard the qin music with Gao's daughter's personal score coming out, and I was all pleasantly surprised. I just wanted to see what happened, and no one thought about anything else for a while.

Hearing the name of the sheet music at this moment, and listening to this son's explanation, all came back to his senses.

The so-called "Luan Fengming" naturally means that men and women are in love with each other.

When Gao's daughter married Li Mu, it caused a sensation in the city.

That Li Mu, although born in a poor family, has the name of the God of War in the Southern Dynasties. He recaptured Chang'an from the Hu people, and Fang returned to Beijing two days ago. No one knows the news. Geisha naturally know that too.

Hearing what this young son meant, it turned out that after marrying Li Mu, the daughter of the Gao family was still obsessed with the eldest son of the Lu family, and even secretly made music to keep the relationship between men and women.

The girls were silent.

Lu Huanzhi said: "I want you to play it everywhere from tomorrow, and make sure to spread it as soon as possible. If there is a song, you can hear it. These golden cakes are all yours!"

The women looked at each other, but no one answered.

Lu Huanzhi's entourage winked again. The attendant threw out another bag of gold biscuits.

Lu Huanzhi looked at a few female maids whose eyes were slowly shining, and a sneer with contempt appeared on the corner of his lips.

"You don't have to be afraid. You don't need to say anything, I just need you to help me spread the music. I will make arrangements for the rest. Li Mu is really looking for it. I don't know, how can he take you?"

"Besides, once it spreads, there are hundreds of buildings in Jiankang, thousands of geisha, and everyone plays. Who knows, it was you who spread it first?"

There were a dozen or so women in front of them, but still no one said a word, all of them looked at the woman named Lu Niang.

The green girl said nothing.

Lu Huanzhi waited for a while, his face gradually darkened, and he snorted coldly: "If you don't want to, I'll call someone else. Qin Huai is not the only one who is a qin play girl!"

A maiden looked anxious and hurriedly said, "I do!" She knelt down and went to pick up the golden cake in front of her.

Before the hand could touch it, the golden cake was kicked out by a foot wearing an embroidered shoe from behind.

The trick **** the ground turned her head, saw Lu Niang's eyebrows standing upright, and said angrily, "Have you never seen money? Your eyes are so shallow? You dare to ask for it from anyone?"

This Lv Niang is very famous in the Qinhuai area, with outstanding piano skills, many benefactors, and many disciples, this girl is one of them.

Seeing her anger, she flinched, and hurriedly withdrew her hand.

Only then did Lu Niang look at Lu Huanzhi, put back the sheet music in her hand, and pushed it back to him, Fang said coldly, "This son, I don't know what kind of grievance you have with General Li, and it doesn't matter where you come from. This piano score is true or false. I only know that General Li defeated the Hu people for us in the Southern Dynasties and regained Chang'an. He is the hero of the Southern Dynasties! , still saved a few points!"

She glanced at the golden cake on the ground with a hint of contempt in her tone.

"Don't talk about these things, even if you moved to Jinshan Yinshan, you can't even think that my green lady will do this kind of thing for you!"

When her voice fell, the other women nodded, and the trick **** the ground who was picking up the gold cake was also ashamed and did not dare to raise her head again.

Lu Huanzhi's face turned red and white, stared at Lu Niang, nodded, picked up the piano score, got up and turned around.

His entourage hurriedly put away the golden cake on the ground, and said bitterly to Lu Niang, "Wait and see", then turned around and hurried after him.

After chasing a few steps, he suddenly stopped and was stunned.

He saw Lu Huanzhi's figure and settled at the door of the private room.

Outside the door, stood a man, whose figure was cast out a dignified black outline by a row of dark red lanterns on the side of the corridor.

The man's eyes were heavy, staring at Lu Huanzhi, blocking his way.

The entourage recognized it at a glance, it was Li Mu who had not returned to Jiankang for a few days!

Behind him stood Li Xie, the former commander of the Suwei Camp, who had been promoted long ago and was in charge of the Jiankang arsenal and the Duwei.

Li Xie took a step forward and said to the dumbfounded Lu Huanzhi with a smile, "Young Master Lu, I just came here to have fun, and it's rare to see you here, so I invited Governor Li as well, everyone is lively, you won't blame me. Are you busy?"