Under the protection of Mi Yang's people along the way, Zhu Huan and Xu Sheng returned to the Wu Dynasty smoothly.
When Zhu Huan's footsteps stepped on the land outside Yong'an City, Zhu Huan's heart that had been hanging all the way finally let go.
After Hu Zong, the governor of Jiangxia, learned about Zhu Huan's return, he quickly went out of the city in person and welcomed Zhu Huan and Xu Sheng into the city.
Hu Zong, also known as Weize, was originally from Runan County, Yuzhou.
Hu Zong lost his father when he was young and came to Jiangdong to escape the war when he was young.
When Sun Ce initially pacified Jiangdong, Hu Zong became a disciple of Sun Quan because of his reputation, and was one of Sun Quan's companions.
Relying on this relationship, Sun Quan began to reuse Hu Zong after he inherited Jiangdong's foundation.
Sun Quan first appointed Hu Zong to serve as Cao of Jin, and later he was promoted to Chief of Hubei.
After the Battle of Chibi, Sun Quan recruited Hu Zong to Jianye and became one of his secretaries in charge of military and political affairs.
After the Battle of Gong'an, Sun Quan changed Sha Xian's name to Yong'an.
In order to keep "Yong'an" city as a barrier to Jiangdong, Sun Quan worshiped his confidant Hu Zong as the prefect of Jiangxia to govern Yong'an city.
Judging from Hu Zong's experience in the first half of his life, he was one of Sun Quan's most trusted confidants.
But when he saw Hu Zong, Zhu Huan didn't give him a good look.
In addition to Zhu Huan's high self-esteem, the reason was also because Hu Zong belonged to the Jiangbei scholars. In terms of political interests, he had a natural conflict with Zhu Huan, who was a Jiangdong scholar.
Hu Zong naturally knew why Zhu Huan disliked him, but due to Lu Xun's order, Hu Zong did not openly conflict with Zhu Huan.
Hu Zong, who kept Lu Xun's instructions in mind, specially held a celebration banquet for him and Xu Sheng after welcoming Zhu Huan into Yong'an City.
In order to boost his own morale, Lu Xun made public the contents of his letter of war to Mi Yang early on.
Therefore, before Zhu Huan returned, most people in the Wu Dynasty thought that Zhu Huan's departure was basically a disaster.
But what many people didn't expect was that Zhu Huan and Xu Sheng returned safely in the end.
Although it is still unclear why Mi Yang was able to let Zhu Huan and Xu Sheng back after accepting the abuse.
But since Zhu Huan and Xu Sheng went there despite risks, it was naturally a great joy for them to return safely in the end.
At least with a little polish on this matter, Zhu Huan and Xu Sheng can be polished into images that are not afraid of rape, which will greatly improve the morale of Wu Jun.
Since it is a happy event, it is appropriate to hold a banquet to celebrate it.
Hu Zong's idea was good, but he missed one point, which was Zhu Huan's character.
After Zhu Huan returned to Yong'an, he found that people in the city looked at him with admiration. This situation greatly encouraged Zhu Huan's already arrogant temperament.
When the arrogant Zhu Huan went to the banquet, he found that his seat was arranged under Hu Zong, which made him very unhappy.
With Lu Xun's talent and family background, his status was above his own, so Zhu Huan didn't say anything.
But Hu Zong is a lucky minister, how can he be virtuous and capable?
As the drinks continued, Zhu Huan, who was half drunk, discovered something even more intolerable to him.
Zhu Huan, who smelled of alcohol all over his body, looked around the banquet to make sure that he had seen it correctly, then he turned coldly and asked Hu Zong, who was sitting at the table:
"Where is Han Zong?"
When Zhu Huan asked about Han Zong's whereabouts, Hu Zong had a slightly embarrassed look on his face.
Han Zong is the eldest son of Han Dang.
Han Dang passed away due to illness at the beginning of this year, and Han Zong followed the practice of Soochow and inherited the songs that Han Dang had written during his lifetime.
After Sun Quan learned about Han Dang's death, he felt that Han Dang was the founder of the Three Dynasties of Soochow, so he issued an edict to worship Han Zong as General Hengjiang and guard Yong'an together with Hu Zong.
Based solely on the legacy left by Han Dang, it stands to reason that Han Zong's political career in Soochow should be very stable.
But in fact this is not the case.
This is not because Sun Quan is not considerate of the heroes, but because Han Zong's style is too bad.
When Han Dang was still alive, he often led troops outside. Over time, he neglected to discipline Han Zong.
It is normal for the second generation who grew up under such circumstances to have an extraordinary family background and neglected discipline by their elders.
But among so many second generations in Soochow, Han Zong's bad style can be ranked in the top three.
As early as when Han Dang was alive, Han Zong was known for his ugly and lewd behavior - Han Zong liked to play with women of his own race...
After Han Dang passed away, Han Zong, who inherited a large number of songs, became even more lawless.
To be honest, Sun Quan allowed Han Zong to guard Yong'an, which reflected his trust and expectations for Han Zong.
But after receiving this appointment, what did Han Zong do?
He actually sent troops to pretend to be bandits and rob passing merchant ships on the Yangtze River.
What doesn't follow industry standards is that he not only steals wealth, but also likes to kill people...
Han Zong originally thought that what he did was very secretive, but what he didn't expect was that the evil things he did had already spread throughout Jiangxia County.
And because of harming people and taking money, Han Zong and Zhu Huan had a long-standing feud.
You must know that the Zhu family of Wu County was originally a wealthy family in Jiangdong.
Many of the merchant ships traveling on the Yangtze River were closely related to the Zhu family of Wu County.
Han Zong also knew this, so he deliberately did not attend the banquet today to avoid big friction if he met Zhu Huan at the banquet.
Hu Zong was aware of Han Zong's concerns.
When Han Dang was still alive, he promoted Hu Zong, so even if he didn't want to, Hu Zong still defended Han Zong after being embarrassed and said:
"General Han is not feeling well today. Please forgive me for not being surprised."
Feeling unwell?
Zhu Huan is not a fool.
When he saw Hu Zong's hesitant expression, he knew that Hu Zong was telling lies.
"Why didn't he feel sick when he was murdering people on the river?"
Zhu Huan spit out these words directly due to the strength of his wine.
Zhu Huan's words immediately solidified the atmosphere at the banquet.
Anyone can feel the resentment in Zhu Huan's mouth.
This is not Zhu Huan’s fault.
Not to mention the long-standing grudge between Zhu Huan and Han Zong, let’s just say that in Zhu Huan’s opinion, as a hero of the Wu Kingdom, Han Zong refused to come to the banquet because he was a hero of the Wu Kingdom.
Isn’t this a blatant lack of respect for oneself?
Zhu Huan saw that after he expressed his grievances, Hu Zong didn't even think about making up for the situation, which made Zhu Huan feel that he was despised by Hu Zong and Han Zong.
If he can still endure this, then he is no longer Zhu Huan.
Zhu Huan was so drunk that he overturned the food table in front of him in anger.
When the food and drinks on the dining table were scattered all over the floor, Zhu Huan, with red eyes, looked at the cover behind Hu Zong that symbolized the power of the soldiers, and he said in a cold tone:
"The general promised me that when I return, I will be the leader of the army!
Even if he is seriously ill and in bed, I still want him to come and visit me in person!"
After saying these cruel words, Zhu Huan left the banquet without looking back.
Zhu Huan's decisive departure surprised everyone at the banquet.
Seeing Zhu Huan's leaving figure, they couldn't help but look at each other.
But at the same time, a question also emerged in their minds: is what Zhu Huan just said true?
...
"What!
That's what Zhu's son really said?"
In a military camp outside Yong'an City, a stern-faced man stood up angrily and shouted at his cronies below.
This man is none other than Han Zong.
Facing Han Zong's questioning, the confidants who knew Han Zong's murderous nature did not dare to hesitate at all.
"Absolutely true!
My subordinates heard it with their own ears at the banquet."
After hearing the answer from his cronies, a look of panic appeared on Han Zong's face, and he fell to the ground uncontrollably.
Han Zong knew that no matter how courageous Zhu Huan was, he would not be able to fake Lu Xun's orders.
The predecessor of Jie Fanbing was the pro-army of Sun Ce, the former Marquis of Wu.
The Jie Fan Bing was formally established after the Battle of Public Security.
After Sun Quan's disastrous defeat in the Battle of Public Security, he was worried and ordered Han Dang to go to Danyang County to recruit people who dared to fight based on the pro-army Sun Ce left behind, thus forming the Jiefan Army.
The meaning of "Jie Fan Bing" is: "Invincible battles can relieve the danger of erosion."
Since the establishment of the Jiefan Army, Han Dang has been serving as the Jiefan Governor and commanding this powerful force.
After several years of leadership, Jie Fanbing gradually became Han Dang's personal tribe.
It is not surprising that Han Dang has selfish motives. In fact, the Soochow military system is a private military system. Under this system, it is almost inevitable to turn the public into private.
Although after Han Dang's death, Sun Quan issued an edict to divide the Jiefan army into two and put them under the command of Hu Zong and Han Zong respectively.
However, Hu Zong's talent in commanding troops was not very strong, and the time was still short. Thousands of Jiefan soldiers still had the mark of "Han's tribe" firmly on them.
Han Zong knew very well that the powerful Jie Fan soldiers were his only hope for survival after Han Dang's death.
But now, Lu Xun wanted to take away his only source of livelihood. How could this not make Han Zong panic?
Especially Han Zong knew that the evil things he had done before had long made many people in the court dissatisfied with him.
Although Sun Quan never issued an edict to question him for those things, how could Han Zong guarantee that Sun Quan was not waiting for a suitable opportunity?
That opportunity may be when the military power in his hands is taken away.
Thinking of the rumors he heard in the past about Zhang Zhao bursting into tears in the hall, and thinking of how Sun Quan treated Sun Deng, Han Zong found it hard to have any hope or trust in Sun Quan.
Because of Zhang Zhao's important position and Sun Deng's status as a close relative, Sun Quan could abandon him even if he could, let alone Sun Quan himself, who was neither a relative nor an acquaintance.
Even if Sun Quan really doesn't want to attack him, once he loses control of the Jie Fan soldiers, can he withstand the frame-up of those enemies without military power to protect him?
At this time, Han Zong remembered Zhu Huan's words that his confidants had just repeated to him.
impossible!
Han Zong soon realized that if Lu Xun really took away the military power from him, his future would be no different than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Does Han Zong want to die?
That's definitely not what you want.
Then a bold idea gradually emerged in Han Zong's mind - to join the Ming Dynasty!
Han Zong is now in Yong'an. Considering Yong'an's geographical location, he can surrender to either the Han Dynasty or Cao Wei.
And who should I choose as this enlightened master?
While thinking about this problem, Han Zong suddenly thought of Zhu Huan's safe return.
Han Zong had seen the contents of Lu Xun's gauntlet with his own eyes.
Originally, Han Zong thought that based on the image of Mi Yang that had been popular in Jiangdong in the past, after seeing the contents of the letter of war, he would definitely be angry and kill Zhu Huan and Xu Sheng to vent his anger.
But it turned out not to be.
This is enough to show that Mi Yang's image has definitely been maliciously vilified in the past.
Mi Da Sima is a virtuous man!
Just think about it, Mi Yang can graciously let go of someone who sends an insulting letter of defiance, let alone someone who intends to bring order to the chaos.
Once it's done, not to mention saving one's life, I'm afraid it won't be a matter of being a high-ranking official with a generous salary.
In addition, Cao Wei and Soochow are currently in an alliance. If he defectes to Cao Wei, Cao Wei may not accept him for the sake of the overall situation of the alliance.
For villains, they consider the stakes and often have extra talent bonuses.
Almost instantly, Han Zong chose a new master for himself in his heart.
And Han Zong is also a decisive person.
Han Zong immediately laid down his head at the case, picked up his brush and wrote a sincere letter.
After putting down the brush in his hand, Han Zong carefully checked the contents of the letter again.
Not bad, enough to lick!
Han Zong was quite satisfied with what he had written.
After seeing that there were no problems, Han Zong called over a close confidant.
Han Zong carefully handed the letter in his hand into the hands of his confidant, and then said:
"Send this letter to Xiangyang as quickly as possible.
Remember, if you are lucky enough to meet Master Mi, your attitude must be respectful!"
After hearing Han Zong's instructions, his cronies showed no signs of surprise.
This is not because this confidant did not know that Han Zong's behavior was collaborating with the enemy.
It's because this confidant knows too many secrets about Han Zong.
Han Zong even dared to rob local ships loaded with tributes and transported them to Jianye. Is there anything else that his lord could not do?
The confidant carefully took the letter from Han Zong's hand, bowed solemnly to Han Zong, and quickly left the camp.
Looking at the departing figure of his confidant, Han Zong prayed silently in his heart:
"Da Sima, you must believe me!"
...
A few days later, Jiangxia County, Xiakou.
Lu Xun, who had just returned to Xiakou from Jianye, summoned Xu Sheng immediately.
After Xu Sheng arrived, Lu Xun asked him about what he had seen during his time with Zhu Huan.
Faced with Lu Xun's inquiry, Xu Sheng began to answer in detail.
Lu Xun listened and commented on the documents on the case.
Lu Xun nodded imperceptibly when he heard that Mi Yang did not get angry in the face of his verbal abuse.
Although Lu Xun regretted that Mi Yang did not fall into his scheme, Lu Xun felt in his heart that with Mi Yang's intelligence, he should have been like this.
After saying this, Xu Sheng had nothing to say.
But in order to tell everything he knew, Xu Sheng gradually talked about Zhu Huan's performance at the Yong'an banquet.
It was this talk that made Lu Xun, who was originally calm, suddenly raise his head.
"You mean, Xiumu mentioned in public that I wanted him to be the governor?"
Xu Sheng wondered why Lu Xun took this matter so seriously.
After all, although Zhu Huan's behavior may seem a bit arrogant, his character has always been like this, isn't it?
However, facing Lu Xun's inquiry, Xu Sheng nodded affirmatively.
After seeing Xu Sheng's nod, the brush in Lu Xun's hand fell to the ground.
"Zhu Huan, you bastard!"
Lu Xun, who had always been extremely well-educated, became angry in front of outsiders for the first time.
This chapter has been completed!