Chapter 23 first quarter
capital.
"Marquis of Antong" Lu Yingfeng stepped down the stairs and walked out of Lu Xiong's mansion.The two loyal old men, Guan Chang and Huo Qian, guarded closely, as if they were afraid that Lu Yingfeng would stumble on the stairs.
Lu Yingfeng has indeed aged a lot.He is not yet fifty years old, but since the end of the "Guanzhong Great Battle", his hair has quickly turned gray.The back is also slightly bent when walking.The former Generalissimo Lu Yingfeng would not frown even if he wore a 20-jin battle armor for three consecutive days.
"Marshal." The former wing general Huo Qian still called Lu Yingfeng by his old rank.He always thought that the title was an insult to the Generalissimo. "Lu Xiong finally has some affection."
"Yeah." Lu Yingfeng was wearing a big hat, hiding his face in the shadows.Guan Chang and Huo Qian couldn't tell whether the Generalissimo's promise brought joy or sadness.
Lu Xiong was only a minor general in the battle against the chaos that year, and he had no military exploits.When Lu Yingfeng was Generalissimo, he had only spoken a few words to him, and never even issued a military order to him directly.
Now "Marquis of Antong" Lu Yingfeng can only visit these low-level old generals.Many of the former strong generals followed, and all of them were promoted several ranks in a row—this is the ruler's usual means of consolidating military power and wining people's hearts.They never visited Lu Yingfeng once after the war.
In the past three years, the only public occasion Lu Yingfeng attended was a prince's birthday banquet.From the beginning to the end, not one of the attendees said a word to him.
At that time, Lu Yingfeng only had one feeling:
—I am dead in their eyes.
"You two should plan for your official career." Lu Yingfeng said to Huo Qian and Guan Chang after the banquet. "Don't stay with me who is waiting to die of old age."
But they still haven't left.
Lu Yingfeng sometimes thinks: If he died at the hands of his old enemy Wen Zhaoyuan, he might be much happier...
The door of the mansion opened again.Lu Xiong hurried out, half kneeling on the street covered with fallen leaves.
"Marshal is leaving, why didn't he order the general to see him off?" Lu Xiong's words made Lu Yingfeng excited.He helped Lu Xiong up with his own hands.
"The general never thought that he would be honored to be visited by the marshal in person in his lifetime... The kindness that the marshal used back then will never be forgotten by the general..."
Seeing Lu Xiong cry, Lu Yingfeng couldn't help feeling deeply sad.
——I didn't expect that Lu Yingfeng today would only end up with someone like Lu Xiong...
It took Guan Chang a lot of words to persuade Lu Xiong to return to the mansion.When continuing on the road, Lu Yingfeng suddenly said: "Contact the old departments for me. See if there is anyone like Lu Xiong who still remembers me."
Guan Chang and Huo Qian's eyes lit up.
"There must be many more." Huo Qian said.
They didn't ask why.They never asked the reason for what Lu Yingfeng said.Every word of the Grand Marshal is an order.
Contrary to Uncle Yu's expectation, the fourth and fifth children of the "Eight Great Butchers" hadn't returned yet, so Boss Zhu held a core leadership meeting early. ——Some major change must have occurred...Maybe Zhu Ya has some confidence that he can take Lao Qi's subordinates away... The entrance of the meeting hall is located on the fourth floor of the five-story "slaughter room". In fact, the hall occupies a space of four or five floors.At the head of the hall is an altar larger than the temples in the city.A pottery statue more than three feet high is enshrined in the center: the face of the black god statue has a strange reflection; the robe is sewn with silk; Set off the statue of the god into a living person. Both sides of the statue are lined with flags made of yellow silk, on which spells are written in cinnabar characters that no one can decipher.It was the tool used by Zhu Ya in the slaughterhouse before founding the gang, but now it has become a sacred object worshiped by all the "slaughterhouse" disciples in Piaocheng.A butcher's knife that was once only used to butcher pork for human consumption. The whole altar gives people a sense of awe and mystery.And this is the sole purpose of setting up this altar: to consolidate the authority of the gang with an atmosphere of fear and mysterious rituals. After paying homage to the altar and offering incense, Boss Zhu, "Peeling" Old Master Yu Bo, "Bone-breaking" Second Master Asang, "Poke Eye" Third Master Hairy and "Bound Rope" Black Dog Ba Ye sat around a large round table forward.There is only hot tea and fruit on the table.Meat and alcohol are not allowed in the meeting hall.Even Boss Zhu is no exception. The black dog looked at Ah Sang who was sitting directly opposite him.He has not seen this second brother for a long time.Ah Sang was Boss Zhu's personal guard, and did not participate in the command work of the gang.But his influence on the gang cannot be underestimated. The tall and thin Asan still retains the traditional short hair of the Jila tribe in the Western Regions.The face with deep eyes and high nose is always indifferent.On the brown-skinned neck, the famous light red scar is particularly conspicuous. No one knows why Ah Sang is still alive after being stabbed. This scar starts from the lower part of the Adam's apple in the front and ends near the vertebrae in the back of the neck.The knife cut Ah Sang's neck in half.He still can't die.From this point alone, we can understand what kind of person Ah Sang is. "Why haven't the fourth and fifth come back?" The third master Fengfeng spoke first. The three brothers of the Tie family who belonged to the "Eight Great Sword Slayers", joined a martial artist in Xishan since they were young, and each practiced hard work.Earlier, his mentor was seriously ill, and the "heart-digging" fourth master Iron Claw and the fifth master "Broken Back" Iron Hammer went to visit him. "As long as the fourth brother and the fifth brother come back, 'Feng Yilong' will only have to eat shit!" the black dog said through gnashing of teeth. "Sixth brother's hatred, they will definitely repay it tenfold!" "This meeting is because I got a very important piece of news." Zhu Ya moved his fat body. "Zha Song told me." Except Ah Sang, the other three tilted their heads slightly forward.The black dog looked particularly nervous. "According to him, Pang Wenying received an order from the head office in Kyoto to completely withdraw from Piaocheng." Everyone was stunned.No one could have imagined such a change in things. "Is this admitting defeat?" Old Yu Bo said slowly, "Maybe there is a fraud in it. It's best to send someone to follow up." "Ignore whether it's true or not, it's always good news!" Feng Feng said. "The business in the city can be restored. And the security in the city can also be relaxed. The disciples are exhausted these days." "But the defense outside the city still needs to be maintained." Zhu Ya said. "Maybe they are planning to delay the attack, waiting for the new force from the head office." "Do you want to intercept and intercept Pang Wenying's main force in one fell swoop?" The news made the black dog extremely excited. "This is a good opportunity to eradicate future troubles." Zhu Ya shook his head. "I decided not to do that. It's important to stabilize the situation in the city first." The black dog and old Yu Bo quickly looked at each other. Old Yu Bo was guessing the real reason why Zhu Ya didn't want to send troops. ——Is he afraid that we will launch a rebellion by sending troops? ——Maybe it's not that simple... Now that "Feng Yilong" is gone, does he want to take this opportunity to clean up the house? ... "It's good to stay still." Old Yu Bo was agreeing with Zhu Ya. "Taking this opportunity to swallow up all the territory left by 'Feng Yilong'. Even if they come back, they will have no place to stand." Zhu Ya nodded. "That's the decision. The next thing to talk about is how to deal with the disciples left by Lao Qi..." The black dog responded quickly. "Boss, I've thought about this. Why don't you choose someone from Seventh Brother's disciples to take over, okay?" Old Yu Bo sighed secretly.The black dog behaved too impatiently. "I think so too." Zhu Ya's next question surprised Old Yu Bo. "Do you have any candidates in mind?" Old Yu Bo gave a dry cough. "I know that Lao Qi has a man named Shi Dafang who is quite talented. Can you just promote him?" Zhu Ya nodded without even thinking about it. "Old Yuti's candidate is not far behind. Let's do it." Things went so smoothly, it made Old Yu Bo worried.He couldn't figure out what Zhu Ya's plan was... "Wait a minute." Ah Sang spoke for the first time.There was still a foreign accent in his words. "Just now we said that we would stand still against 'Feng Yilong', but what about the fourth and fifth? They must be eager to avenge the sixth. No one can stop them." "That's a problem." Zhu Ya was silent for a while. "After they come back, let's try our best to persuade them to be patient. One day we will be stronger than the head office of 'Feng Yilong', and that is the day of real revenge..." At this moment, Old Yu Bo was thinking: After the Tie brothers come back, if I support them to send troops to avenge immediately, I can easily draw them to my side...Having them has more than half the chance of winning... At this moment, the big iron door of the meeting room sounded from outside. Everyone knew that it must be an extremely important report, otherwise the disciples would never dare to interfere with the leadership meeting. The one who pushed the door and entered was one of Yin Qi's subordinates, who was in charge of correspondence and spying. "Report to the boss, the uncle, the second master, the third master, and the eighth master: the fourth master and the fifth master have returned to the lumber yard!" Black Dog stood up. "Why don't they go to town at once?" "The fourth master and the fifth master are preparing the supplies for the libation. I don't know the rest." ——A libation offering?Isn't there a lot in the city? "Notify the fourth and fifth child." Zhu Ya said calmly, "Go back to the 'slaughterhouse' immediately after entering the city. This is an order."
Contrary to Uncle Yu's expectation, the fourth and fifth children of the "Eight Great Butchers" hadn't returned yet, so Boss Zhu held a core leadership meeting early. ——Some major change must have occurred...Maybe Zhu Ya has some confidence that he can take Lao Qi's subordinates away... The entrance of the meeting hall is located on the fourth floor of the five-story "slaughter room". In fact, the hall occupies a space of four or five floors.At the head of the hall is an altar larger than the temples in the city.A pottery statue more than three feet high is enshrined in the center: the face of the black god statue has a strange reflection; the robe is sewn with silk; Set off the statue of the god into a living person. Both sides of the statue are lined with flags made of yellow silk, on which spells are written in cinnabar characters that no one can decipher.It was the tool used by Zhu Ya in the slaughterhouse before founding the gang, but now it has become a sacred object worshiped by all the "slaughterhouse" disciples in Piaocheng.A butcher's knife that was once only used to butcher pork for human consumption. The whole altar gives people a sense of awe and mystery.And this is the sole purpose of setting up this altar: to consolidate the authority of the gang with an atmosphere of fear and mysterious rituals. After paying homage to the altar and offering incense, Boss Zhu, "Peeling" Old Master Yu Bo, "Bone-breaking" Second Master Asang, "Poke Eye" Third Master Hairy and "Bound Rope" Black Dog Ba Ye sat around a large round table forward.There is only hot tea and fruit on the table.Meat and alcohol are not allowed in the meeting hall.Even Boss Zhu is no exception. The black dog looked at Ah Sang who was sitting directly opposite him.He has not seen this second brother for a long time.Ah Sang was Boss Zhu's personal guard, and did not participate in the command work of the gang.But his influence on the gang cannot be underestimated. The tall and thin Asan still retains the traditional short hair of the Jila tribe in the Western Regions.The face with deep eyes and high nose is always indifferent.On the brown-skinned neck, the famous light red scar is particularly conspicuous. No one knows why Ah Sang is still alive after being stabbed. This scar starts from the lower part of the Adam's apple in the front and ends near the vertebrae in the back of the neck.The knife cut Ah Sang's neck in half.He still can't die.From this point alone, we can understand what kind of person Ah Sang is. "Why haven't the fourth and fifth come back?" The third master Fengfeng spoke first. The three brothers of the Tie family who belonged to the "Eight Great Sword Slayers", joined a martial artist in Xishan since they were young, and each practiced hard work.Earlier, his mentor was seriously ill, and the "heart-digging" fourth master Iron Claw and the fifth master "Broken Back" Iron Hammer went to visit him. "As long as the fourth brother and the fifth brother come back, 'Feng Yilong' will only have to eat shit!" the black dog said through gnashing of teeth. "Sixth brother's hatred, they will definitely repay it tenfold!" "This meeting is because I got a very important piece of news." Zhu Ya moved his fat body. "Zha Song told me." Except Ah Sang, the other three tilted their heads slightly forward.The black dog looked particularly nervous. "According to him, Pang Wenying received an order from the head office in Kyoto to completely withdraw from Piaocheng." Everyone was stunned.No one could have imagined such a change in things. "Is this admitting defeat?" Old Yu Bo said slowly, "Maybe there is a fraud in it. It's best to send someone to follow up." "Ignore whether it's true or not, it's always good news!" Feng Feng said. "The business in the city can be restored. And the security in the city can also be relaxed. The disciples are exhausted these days." "But the defense outside the city still needs to be maintained." Zhu Ya said. "Maybe they are planning to delay the attack, waiting for the new force from the head office." "Do you want to intercept and intercept Pang Wenying's main force in one fell swoop?" The news made the black dog extremely excited. "This is a good opportunity to eradicate future troubles." Zhu Ya shook his head. "I decided not to do that. It's important to stabilize the situation in the city first." The black dog and old Yu Bo quickly looked at each other. Old Yu Bo was guessing the real reason why Zhu Ya didn't want to send troops. ——Is he afraid that we will launch a rebellion by sending troops? ——Maybe it's not that simple... Now that "Feng Yilong" is gone, does he want to take this opportunity to clean up the house? ... "It's good to stay still." Old Yu Bo was agreeing with Zhu Ya. "Taking this opportunity to swallow up all the territory left by 'Feng Yilong'. Even if they come back, they will have no place to stand." Zhu Ya nodded. "That's the decision. The next thing to talk about is how to deal with the disciples left by Lao Qi..." The black dog responded quickly. "Boss, I've thought about this. Why don't you choose someone from Seventh Brother's disciples to take over, okay?" Old Yu Bo sighed secretly.The black dog behaved too impatiently. "I think so too." Zhu Ya's next question surprised Old Yu Bo. "Do you have any candidates in mind?" Old Yu Bo gave a dry cough. "I know that Lao Qi has a man named Shi Dafang who is quite talented. Can you just promote him?" Zhu Ya nodded without even thinking about it. "Old Yuti's candidate is not far behind. Let's do it." Things went so smoothly, it made Old Yu Bo worried.He couldn't figure out what Zhu Ya's plan was... "Wait a minute." Ah Sang spoke for the first time.There was still a foreign accent in his words. "Just now we said that we would stand still against 'Feng Yilong', but what about the fourth and fifth? They must be eager to avenge the sixth. No one can stop them." "That's a problem." Zhu Ya was silent for a while. "After they come back, let's try our best to persuade them to be patient. One day we will be stronger than the head office of 'Feng Yilong', and that is the day of real revenge..." At this moment, Old Yu Bo was thinking: After the Tie brothers come back, if I support them to send troops to avenge immediately, I can easily draw them to my side...Having them has more than half the chance of winning... At this moment, the big iron door of the meeting room sounded from outside. Everyone knew that it must be an extremely important report, otherwise the disciples would never dare to interfere with the leadership meeting. The one who pushed the door and entered was one of Yin Qi's subordinates, who was in charge of correspondence and spying. "Report to the boss, the uncle, the second master, the third master, and the eighth master: the fourth master and the fifth master have returned to the lumber yard!" Black Dog stood up. "Why don't they go to town at once?" "The fourth master and the fifth master are preparing the supplies for the libation. I don't know the rest." ——A libation offering?Isn't there a lot in the city? "Notify the fourth and fifth child." Zhu Ya said calmly, "Go back to the 'slaughterhouse' immediately after entering the city. This is an order."