Chapter 310: Answer

When, exactly when?

The calmness on his face was gone, He Xiang stared at his disciple not far away, the peace in his heart was suddenly broken, his eyes were full of disbelief, and he even felt like he was dreaming at this moment.

He Xiang thought he had been good to him, so why would he betray him?

He Xiang had seen countless people in his life, but now, at the last moment, he was tricked by his own student. He couldn’t believe that he had such an ungrateful person by his side.

Looking at the Shangshu Ling and others, it is the same, not much better than them.

Let’s not talk about the military generals. He Xiang and others have never had a close connection with General Xu and General Fang. General Xu and General Fang vaguely guessed something, so they naturally wouldn’t say much to He Xiang’s people.

But it was different for other generals. As colleagues, they knew that it would not be easy to defeat Beiting and there must be something fishy going on.

Military generals have fought on the battlefield for many years, and their minds are clearer than ever. Although they don’t want to admit it, the upper limit of a general is basically determined from the beginning. Talent is something that you will always have when you first lead the troops, but if you don’t have it at the beginning, it will be extremely difficult to cultivate it later.

It’s not that Prince Ding is not powerful, but according to their judgement, he is not that powerful.

Rather than believing that Prince Ding had suddenly come to his senses, they would rather believe that a powerful person had emerged out of nowhere.

In the past few years, a certain type of military general has already learned almost everything about General Xu and General Fang, both openly and secretly. In addition, the emperor’s maternal grandfather is the famous Duke of Zhen, who can almost be said to be the leader of the military generals at that time. Rounding it off, he is half a family member. Naturally, the military generals will become closer to the Emperor Yongxi in front of them.

Since the reign of Emperor Jingwen, civil officials have in most cases suppressed the military generals. Now, whether the military generals can make a comeback depends on this time. Even for this reason, most of the military generals in the court will most likely support the emperor in fighting this battle.

Only by fighting can they have the possibility of making further progress as military generals.

Ye Shuo used He Xiang and others to promote his own people. Twenty years later, they have reached old age and are no longer as powerful as they were before, so He Xiang and others are actually not that important anymore.

The old men did nothing wrong. In fact, they had dedicated their entire lives to the Great Zhou, and the whole process had exhausted their energy. It was just that they were old and could not keep up with the times, and now they were facing the fate of being eliminated.

Ye Shuo has no intention of doing such a thing, but the premise is that He Xiang and the others must know what’s good for them, otherwise…

So far, Ye Shuo has killed many people and it is impossible for him to turn back.

“good!”

After a long breath, Ye Shuo’s eyes were determined: “Everyone must organise the military affairs. In one month, I will lead the three armies and set off to the border on time.”

The emperor actually wanted to lead the army in person… But because he had done this once before, everyone was only a little surprised and quickly accepted it.

“This subject will obey your majesty’s orders.”

As these voices fell, the faces of He Xiang and others became extremely ugly.

In the end, He Xiang and his companions didn’t even know how they left the Xuan Zheng Hall. They just felt cold all over. He Xiang failed to get on the carriage several times. In the end, He Xiang and his companions were basically helped up by the eunuchs next to them. ṛ

At this moment, He Xiang and the others finally realised that they were at least in their seventies and the oldest was over eighty, and seemed to be old.

The other side.

After everyone left one after another, He Xiang and the disciples of Shang Shu Ling and others, namely Lu Mu and others, hesitated for a long time, but finally stayed.

Although Lu Mu and the others had already made their choice just now, they had been disciples of He Xiang and others for so many years, so how could they not have any feelings for him?

“I hope Your Majesty will be lenient…”

Ye Shuo had already guessed what they were going to say as soon as they stood still. After thinking about it, he did not try to hide it and told them the whole story directly.

“At present, I still remember the hard work of He Xiang and other old ministers, so for the time being… I will not bother with them.”

But if it goes on for a long time, or if He Xiang and others are ignorant and insist on stopping it, and do something behind the scenes, that would be another matter.

No matter what, Ye Shuo will not let He Xiang and others become obstacles to the attack on the State of Chen.

For this battle, Ye Shuo was willing to become an ungrateful person.

Lu Mu and others were no longer the young men they used to be. They immediately understood the emperor’s unspoken intention and felt relieved at first. But when they noticed the emperor’s eyes, their hearts were suddenly lifted up again.

The emperor’s determination is extraordinary.

Seeing that the emperor has made up his mind and will not do it anymore, Lu Mu and the others are worried about nothing else but that if Prime Minister He and the others suddenly rebel at this moment, the emperor is afraid that… he will really execute the old prime minister and the others without hesitation.

Therefore, the best plan for now is to visit the homes of all the elders.

Lu Mu’s eyes narrowed and he said respectfully, “Your Majesty, thank you very much.”

If this matter could be resolved peacefully, it would of course be a good thing, so Ye Shuo did not stop it.

At the same time, Empress Dowager He in the palace also heard about this. She lost control and accidentally broke the teacup in her hand.

However, Empress Dowager He was in no mood to care about these things at this time. She looked at the visitor and asked anxiously, “Is this true?”

“To answer the Empress Dowager, this matter has just spread throughout the palace, how can it be false?” Perhaps the commotion in the previous dynasty was so loud that everyone in the harem who was a little more alert knew about it.

Empress Dowager He had never expected that her grandfather would actually humiliate the Emperor in public. Empress Dowager He knew that her brother-in-law seemed to be out of touch, but he was not someone who could be easily bullied.

Everything will be fine if you don’t provoke him, but once you provoke him, he won’t give anyone face.

Didn’t you see that when the previous emperor was alive, even when he was about to die, he didn’t use his status as an emperor to suppress him?

But fortunately, the current emperor is not a mean and ungrateful person who doesn’t recognize his relatives. Empress Dowager He thought that her grandfather still had some affection in front of the emperor, just like the Duke of Zhen in front of Emperor Jingwen.

The old Duke of Zhen has lived safely to this day, and His Majesty will not take his grandfather’s life now.

Therefore, there is still room for manoeuvre in this matter.

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager He didn’t care about anything else and quickly handed her personal badge to her most trusted maid: “I can’t leave the palace now, you go to our house under the pretext of going out of the palace to buy things, and tell grandfather that no matter what, don’t go against the emperor.”

“Yes, I will go right away.”

The maidservant was in a panic and disappeared in a short while.

Looking at her back, Empress Dowager He couldn’t help but pray, Grandfather, please don’t be confused at this time.

Now that things have come to this, it is futile to struggle any further. No matter what Grandfather thinks, they can only accept their fate at this point.

About a quarter of an hour later, the adults returned to their homes one after another.

After the door of the prime minister’s residence was closed, not long after, all the maids and servants in the main hall were sent away. Then the eldest son of the prime minister’s residence spoke in a very low voice, which was not without anger.

“How can His Majesty be so heartless!”

When my father was needed, he was used almost to death. Now that he is no longer needed, he is kicked away. It is really heartbreaking.

“I’m afraid his majesty has forgotten how much you and the other elders have contributed to the previous plague incident, and how many ideas you have given to Your Majesty over the years.”

He Xiang frowned and said nothing.

Perhaps the shock he received during the court session today was too great, and Prime Minister He was unable to stop his eldest son from making such rebellious remarks.

At this moment, He Xiang still couldn’t figure out what benefits the emperor had promised to Lu Mu and the others that made them join forces to betray their teacher.

From the time Lu Mu appeared in the capital at the age of thirteen, to now when He Xiang single-handedly promoted him to the position of Junior Secretary of Zhan Shi Mansion, a fourth-rank official and a man of real power. He Xiang treated him better than his own sons. He Xiang didn’t understand what he had done to let him down.

Zhen Shifu is the institution responsible for the crown prince. Once a prince is born and is made the crown prince, Lu Mu will be a close minister of the future emperor for sure. His future is naturally limitless, and his future may not be worse than that of the prime minister himself.

And Lu Mu has now surrendered to the emperor. Doesn’t he know that the emperor already has Wei Wen and Xing Yucheng? Once he, the old prime minister, is deposed, the future prime minister position will definitely fall on one of them. How can it be their turn?

He Xiang was both shocked and angry. At this moment, a report suddenly came from the gatehouse.

“Your Excellency, Prime Minister, Lord Lu has arrived and wants to see you.”

Just as Prime Minister He was frowning, the eldest son of the Prime Minister’s Mansion beside him held back and spoke before him.

“Well, after something like this happened, he still dared to come!”

“Shut up.” He Xiang came to his senses subconsciously.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“You are already old, why are you still so irritable?”

Prime Minister He is already eighty years old this year, so you can imagine that the eldest son of the Prime Minister’s Mansion is not young either.

The eldest son’s breath was stuck in his throat, but he didn’t dare to refute. He Xiang took a deep breath and raised his hand towards the housekeeper: “…Forget it, let Lord Lu come in.”

Now that things have come to this, Prime Minister He just wants to die knowing clearly where he has lost compared to the emperor.

How well the people in the prime minister’s mansion treated him in the past, but now they treat him like a nobody.

But Lu Mu did not refute. No matter what, he was indeed unfair to Prime Minister He in this matter.

When Lu Mu walked into the main hall, he was greeted by the eldest son’s angry eyes. Lu Mu felt guilty and lowered his head subconsciously.

When He Xiang saw him again, his emotions were surging, but his face showed no emotion.

After all, Lu Mu had been following He Xiang for twenty years, so how could he not understand him? Therefore, Lu Mu’s first sentence successfully stunned He Xiang.

“I did not betray my teacher. It’s just that from the very beginning, I have been His Majesty’s person.”

Caught off guard, He Xiang’s hands on his knees suddenly tightened.

“So, the others are also…?”

Lu Mu lowered his eyes and said, “Looking around, seven or eight out of ten people in the court follow His Majesty.”

Some of them were appointed by Ye Shuo after he ascended the throne, and some of them were promoted by Prime Minister He at his instruction. Over the years, the number has become quite large.

He Xiang never expected that the answer would be like this.