Liu Xiu leaned forward and said, "Sir, I am Liu Xiu, Uncle Wen!"
"Ah! It turns out to be Liu Xian's nephew! My father and I are old acquaintances!" Zhen Fu said to Liu Xiu with a smile.
Liu Xiu's father, Liu Qin, served as a county magistrate during his lifetime, but Liu Qin has passed away many years ago. It is impossible to verify whether Liu Qin and Zhen Fu were old acquaintances.
Zhen Fu asked with a smile: "If I remember correctly, nephew Liu Xian is from Chongling. How did he come to Xinye?"
Liu Xiu replied: "Sir, I am here to visit my brother-in-law's house!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Deng Chen said: "Uncle Wen is the villain's brother-in-law."
"Oh, that's it." Zhen Fu deliberately pretended to be confused and asked casually: "Are all nephew Liu Xian's family members okay?"
"My family is all well."
Zhen Fu said thoughtfully: "Uncle Wen has a brother above him, right?"
"Eldest brother Liu Yan, second brother Liu Zhong!"
"Liu Yan and Liu Boxheng are very famous in Nanyang! Do any of the people in Nanyang know who Zhen Fu is, but there is no one who doesn't know who Liu Boxheng is! Haha!" After saying this, Zhen Fu started laughing.
"Your Majesty, your words are serious."
"I heard that your eldest brother has gathered thousands of customers in Chongling. I wonder what your eldest brother wants?" Zhen Fu picked up the wine glass, took a slow sip of the wine, poked his head and asked with a smile.
Liu Xiu said seriously: "Reporting to your lord, the world is in chaos and bandits are everywhere. Bandits often come to the Chung Ling area, robbing homes and plundering homes. In addition, the Green Forest Army in Xinshi and Pinglin is huge and not far from Chung Ling. "In order to protect the safety of the local clan and people, my eldest brother spontaneously formed Xiangyong. This is really a helpless move. Please be aware of this!"
Zhen Fu nodded in understanding and said: "Rogue bandits and rebels are indeed a serious problem, especially the green forest rebels, whose number is nearly ten thousand. If they cannot be eradicated in time, the people of Nanyang will surely suffer disaster!" At this point, he sighed. , said: "This time to suppress the rebellion, the troops led by this officer are slightly insufficient. If Bo Sheng is willing to lead Chung Ling Township Yong to help our army, our army will be more confident in this battle. I don't know what Uncle Wen wants. ?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiu immediately stood up, bowed his hands to Zhen Fu, and said with excitement in his voice: "Thank you for your persistence, my eldest brother and I are willing to do our best for you!"
Perhaps Liu Xiu agreed too quickly and simply, and his attitude was too exciting, which made Zhen Fu, who was originally trying to test, unable to react.
He blinked his eyes and was stunned for a moment before stroking his hands and laughing loudly, and said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, okay, the Liu family brothers are also the pillars of the country. With Bosheng and Uncle Wen assisting our army, why worry about the rebels not being exterminated?" Ha ha--"
Liu Yan was recruiting customers in Chonglingguang, and the commotion was so great that the county government did not dare to intervene. However, the county government could not sit idly by and let it grow.
Originally, Zhen Fu was really worried about whether Liu Yan was up to no good, but now looking at Liu Xiu's attitude, it seemed that the Liu brothers had no intention of treason, which made him secretly relieved.
Nanyang is already in chaos now. Two green forest armies suddenly appeared. If brothers Liu Yan and Liu Xiu rebel again, Nanyang doesn't know what kind of chaos it will become. Your Majesty blames him. He will be the first to be unlucky. This prefect.
Fortunately, Liu Xiu's reaction greatly dispelled his doubts and made Zhen Fu feel a lot more relaxed.
The next banquet was basically a donation meeting. Zhen Fu not only wanted money, but also people. People like Deng Feng, who was outstanding in military force, recruited all of them into the county army and temporarily borrowed them.
Just now Deng Zhu tried his best to donate 5,000 yuan. The main reason why Zhen Fu didn't mean to blame him was because he wanted to use Deng Feng.
During this dinner, Zhen Fu raked in a total of five to six million yuan from the nobles in Xinye, which can be said to be a huge profit. At the same time, he also received a promise from Liu Xiu that Liu Yan would lead his followers to help him. This made Zhen Fu even more excited.
The banquet that night ended with joy and laughter.
After all the guests left, the smile on Zhen Fu's face disappeared in an instant, and was replaced by a cold expression. He said in a cold tone: "The Yin family really doesn't know how to show appreciation, it's so shameless!"
During the entire banquet, what made Zhen Fu most dissatisfied was the performance of the Yin family.
As the largest family and the largest noble family in Xinye, they only donated a measly 20,000 yuan. This was not because they did not take the prefect in his eyes, but because he was bullying others too much.
Zhen Fu clenched his fists tightly, with a frightening and fierce light in his eyes. He was not very big-hearted to begin with, and the Yin family had humiliated him in public. This tone almost made Zhen Fu burst into tears.
Wang Jing rolled his eyes, came to Zhen Fu with a smile on his face, and whispered: "The Yin family has really gone too far this time. Normally, the Yin family dominates Xinye and won't give me Wang Jing." It’s nothing more than face, and now he doesn’t even give you the face of an adult, which shows that his arrogance and domineering have reached the extreme!”
Zhen Fu was already full of anger, and now he was even more angry after hearing what he said. Unfortunately, the Yin family was really not something he could move if he wanted to.
Wang Jing chuckled and said, "Actually, if you want to punish the Yin family, it's not impossible."
Zhen Fu's heart moved. He turned to look at Wang Jing and asked, "What do you think the prince said?"
Wang Jing smiled and said, "Sir, do you know who the most precious person in the Yin family is?"
Zhen Fu frowned and asked: "Yin consciousness? Yin Xing?"
Wang Jing shook his head and said: "No! It's the youngest daughter of the Yin family, Yin Lihua!"
Zhen Fu raised his eyebrows, what's the use of telling me this? Even if I know that the most precious person in the Yin family is Yin Lihua, what will happen?
Wang Jing smiled and said: "My lord, you can't do anything to her, but you can use her to make great achievements!"
"oh?"
"Your Majesty has never seen Yin Lihua. This girl is as beautiful as a fish and a wild goose. She is so beautiful that she can overwhelm a city and a country. She is unparalleled and unparalleled in the world! Hasn't His Majesty been choosing a concubine recently? Why don't you recommend Yin Lihua? If Yin Lihua is chosen by His Majesty, , Your Excellency has the merit of recommendation, if Yin Lihua is not selected, it will not cause you any loss, but it will humiliate the Yin family, and won't it also eliminate your hatred in your heart?" Wang Jing said cheerfully.
After hearing what he said, Zhen Fu's eyes suddenly lit up and he asked: "Is the daughter of the Yin family really as beautiful as you said?"
Wang Jing said sternly: "Is this true? It's such a big thing to choose a concubine for His Majesty. Even if I borrow ten of my heads, I don't dare to lie!"
Zhen Fu blinked his eyes, slowly raised the corners of his mouth, laughed, and said: "This is indeed a good strategy!"
Wang Mang is already sixty-five, while Yin Lihua is only fifteen or six years old. Even if Yin Lihua is selected, she probably won't be able to live in the palace for a few years.
Now Zhen Fu can imagine how the Yin family will look like they are mourning for their heir once Yin Lihua's name appears on the list of concubines.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help laughing. Seeing that Zhen Fu was in a good mood, Wang Jing immediately took this opportunity and said: "Sir, you must make the decision for the villain when it comes to the dog's revenge!"
Zhen Fu patted Wang Jing on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry, prince. In war, death is commonplace. It is unavoidable. Deng Feng has been recruited by me. In the counter-rebellion, it is not easy for him to have three advantages and two disadvantages." Something?"
Wang Jing's heartbeat quickened, and she hurriedly bowed and said, "With these words from the adults, I will feel relieved."
"The prince is helping me so wholeheartedly, how can I break the prince's heart? Haha!"
Deng Feng's life or death was nothing to Zhen Fu. Since Wang Jing wanted to kill Deng Feng, he was happy to sell Wang Jing a favor.
After the dinner, Liu Xiu returned to Deng's house. He originally wanted to write a letter to his eldest brother, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt it was inappropriate. Some things could not be written clearly in the letter, so he had to go back to Chongling in person. It would be better to explain it clearly to your elder brother in person.
Liu Xiu did not waste time. That night, he left Xinye and went to Chung Ling overnight. Deng Yu and Zhu You went with him.
Yan Guang and Gai Yan's injuries have not fully recovered and are not suitable for riding horses for a long time. Long Yuan's identity is sensitive, and it is because of him that Liu Xiu went to Xinye to take refuge. Naturally, Long Yuan could not follow Liu Xiu back to Chung Ling.
There was no conversation all the way, and late that night, Liu Xiu and the others arrived at Chongling.
When they arrived at Liu Yan's house, Liu Yan was already asleep. Hearing that his younger brother Liu Xiu had rushed back from Xinye, he immediately got up from the bed, put on some clothes, and hurried into the hall without even bothering to pick up his shoes. .
Seeing Liu Xiu, he quickly stepped forward and asked with concern: "Axiu, what happened to Xinye?"
Liu Xiu smiled at Liu Yan and said, "Don't worry, brother, Xinye is fine!" Seeing Liu Yan heaving a sigh of relief, he introduced sideways: "Brother, this is my classmate and friend, and my brother-in-law's same clan, Deng Yu and Deng Zhonghua!"
Liu Yan had only heard of Deng Yu's name but had never seen him in person. When he learned that the young man in front of him who looked to be less than 20 years old was Deng Yu, he looked surprised.
Before he could speak, Deng Yu bowed respectfully to Liu Yan and said, "My subordinate, Deng Yu, pays homage to the general!"
Liu Yan hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him, and said with a smile: "Zhonghua, please get up quickly, no need to be polite!" When Deng Yu straightened up, he smiled and said: "When Axiu was still studying in Chang'an, he often wrote letters I mentioned you!"
As he spoke, he turned to look at Liu Xiu and asked, "Axiu, why did you suddenly return to Chongling?"
Liu Xiu and others sat down one after another, and then they told Liu Yan in detail about Zhen Fu's sending troops to attack the Green Forest Army and passing through Xinye.
He said meaningfully: "The eldest brother's strength has expanded too fast, which has aroused the vigilance of the county government. According to my judgment, Zhen Fu has roped in the eldest brother this time and asked him to contribute people to join him in encircling and suppressing the Green Forest Army. One of them is I am testing to see if eldest brother has any objections, and secondly, I also want to use the help of the Green Forest Army to weaken eldest brother’s strength, so as to eliminate Zhen Fu’s worries!”
Liu Yan really didn't expect that the county government would notice him recruiting customers in a small place like Chongling.
He frowned and said: "A big tree attracts the wind! It seems that I have to be careful in the future and not recruit troops on a large scale."
Liu Xiu said seriously: "I think there is no need to stop, brother."
Liu Yan asked: "Now Zhen Fu is wary of us. If I continue to recruit troops, won't it arouse Zhen Fu's suspicion even more?"
