Guo Kun was stunned for a while, then laughed and said: "Prefect Liu, are you crazy? I brought people to help you defend the city, but you turned me away? What do you think? Tens of thousands of people are well-equipped and powerful.
You don't want the imperial army to fight for you, but you have to drag the people to defend the city? Are you afraid that we will take the credit? That's right, you, Liu Mengyuan, defended Xingren Mansion and were not occupied by the religious bandits. This time, we defeated the religious bandits.
The army is indeed a great achievement. If this is the reason for you, I can tell you that the credit for the successful defense of the city belongs entirely to you, Liu Mengyuan, and we don't care about it."
Liu Mengyuan said sternly: "My young prince has misunderstood. If I have this intention, I will be struck by lightning from the sky and die badly. I am by no means a person who is passionate about fame. This matter has nothing to do with merit or demerit."
Guo Kun glared and said, "Then you are crazy. I have never seen you like this."
Liu Mengyuan said: "Little Prince, the reason has been mentioned by me, and I am not crazy. I am confident that with the help of our entire city's soldiers and civilians, the bandits cannot be shaken. I dare not help the King of Jin and the Little Prince. I'm really sorry."
Very, if the young prince feels that the official is unreasonable, the official has nothing to do. The official does things according to his own ideas, and there is no need to explain anything."
Guo Kun glared at Liu Mengyuan fiercely, but there was nothing he could do. He could not control Liu Mengyuan's behavior. Although Liu Mengyuan claimed to be a subordinate, in terms of official positions, they were not in the same system, and Liu Mengyuan's official position was not lower than Guo Kun. The problem
It's because Liu Mengyuan didn't send out the invitation that his troops couldn't participate in the battle, which was the trouble. This guy claimed that he could defend the city, but he refused to agree, but there was really nothing he could do.
Lin Jue remained silent, but he heard everything that happened. Liu Mengyuan's stubbornness seemed a bit unusual. This was not a decision that a normal person could make. He had to let go of the reinforcements and had to fight on his own, unless Liu Mengyuan
Crazy, otherwise how could it be like this.
"Cough cough cough." Lin Jue coughed a few times, breaking the awkward atmosphere in the hall.
Guo Kun frowned and looked at Lin Jue without saying anything, but the meaning in his eyes was: "Hurry up and think of a way, what can we do?"
Lin Jue looked at Liu Mengyuan and said, "Master Liu, I have a few words that I don't know whether to say or not."
Liu Mengyuan cupped his hands and said, "Forgive me for my poor eyesight, this gentleman looks very strange."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "I am Lin Jue, and my birthplace is unknown."
"What! Master Lin Juelin?" Wu Yongbo, who was beside Liu Mengyuan, shouted in surprise.
Liu Mengyuan frowned and said, "Commander Wu, do you know Mr. Lin?"
Wu Yongbo shook his head, but his eyes were full of excitement and said: "I have never met Mr. Lin, but we have heard of Mr. Lin's reputation. In the Battle of Yangwu, Mr. Lin led hundreds of cavalry to attack the bandit camp.
The news of disrupting the situation and annihilating tens of thousands of enemies in one fell swoop has spread all over the world. Magistrate Liu, haven’t you heard of this?"
Liu Mengyuan frowned and said thoughtfully: "This...I really haven't heard of it. I never pay much attention to things in the military. It turns out that Mr. Lin is so powerful."
Wu Yongbo continued to say excitedly: "Master Liu shouldn't have heard of Master Lin. He was the number one scholar in the spring of his last year. Master Liu doesn't care about the military affairs, but he doesn't even know what's going on in the scholar circle."
What?"
Liu Mengyuan was stunned and suddenly woke up. He felt that Lin Jue's name was familiar at first, but he was very tired and his brain was not active at the moment, so he couldn't think of it. When Wu Yongbo came out, he suddenly remembered everything.
"It turns out to be... It turns out to be... Mr. Lin, the number one scholar in the imperial examination, the man who wrote Shui Tiao Ge Tou, and the poem "Red Cliffs" on the Six Kingdoms. Oops, disrespectful, disrespectful. I have admired you for a long time. I am really confused. I actually forgot about Lin.
Your name." Liu Mengyuan saluted and opened his mouth to list Lin Jue's masterpieces.
Guo Kun rolled his eyes and thought: These scholars are really hopeless. Why do they value poetry and articles so much? The poems and articles written by my brother-in-law are actually more useful than the name of my little prince. Looking at Liu Mengyuan's posture,
It seems that he admires his brother-in-law extremely. It seems that things are turning around. Maybe the title of brother-in-law can help.
"Don't dare, don't dare. Master Liu, please don't give me any compliments. You wouldn't dare to be a subordinate." Lin Jue hurriedly returned the courtesy to Liu Mengyuan.
Liu Mengyuan smiled and said: "Master Lin is really the pillar of the country, a versatile man in both civil and military affairs. It turns out that the battle in Yangwu County was also due to Master Lin. I admire him very much."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "I don't dare to take it seriously. It was just a mistake. It was all the fault of the soldiers."
Liu Mengyuan said: "What a humble gentleman. He is not afraid of favors and humiliations. He is really enviable."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Isn't it the same for Mr. Liu? The east and west roads of Beijing are all covered with ink, but Xingren Mansion is the only one that remains standing. This is also the result of Mr. Liu."
Liu Mengyuan waved her hands and said: "I don't dare to compete with you. Our Xingren Mansion is working hard from top to bottom, and the army and the people are united. It has nothing to do with me. As the saying goes, if the top and bottom work together, they can cut through gold. The religious bandits want to seize my Xingren Mansion, but they are wishful thinking.
.”
Lin Jue smiled and said, "But Master Liu, do you think you can still defend Xingren Mansion this time?"
Liu Mengyuan nodded and said: "That's for sure. Our Xingren Mansion is a nightmare for the bandits. They can't conquer it."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "So you refuse us to send troops to help you defend the city."
"Mr. Lin, it's not that I don't appreciate promotion, but... I really don't need to do anything for you. I have never been willing to trouble others." Liu Mengyuan said in a deep voice.
Lin Jue suppressed his smile and said softly: "It's not that Mr. Liu doesn't want to trouble others, it's just that he doesn't want to trouble us. Has Mr. Liu already got a promise from King Huai, asking you to hold on for a few days until his army arrives to replace you?
Relieve the siege? With the help of King Huai's army, you naturally feel that we are not needed. After all...after all...you can't stand in two boats, right? King Huai and King Jin...well, it is indeed King Huai who is stronger.
, it is understandable that you choose Prince Huai."
Liu Mengyuan's expression changed, and she frowned and said, "I don't know what Mr. Lin is talking about."
Lin Jue smiled and waved his hands and said: "Mr. Liu, you understand in your heart whether you understand or not. Since you say you don't understand, then I will say something you can understand. Mr. Liu, do you know the location of Xingren Mansion?
Is it important? Do you know the consequences if Xingren Mansion is captured? Maybe you don’t understand military affairs, but I can tell you that this time Haedongqing gathered the bandits to make a last-ditch effort
.As long as they capture Xingren Mansion, they can escape to the west. The rebellion of the religious bandits was originally limited to the east and west roads of Beijing, and they have reached the end of their road. If they break out, it will give them a new world to move to, and the religious bandits will
The trouble will spread to the northwest. The imperial court will have to spend more effort and strength to quell the rebellion. Therefore, we must block the religious bandits on the east and west roads of Beijing and catch turtles in a jar. Whoever lets the religious bandits go will be
He is a sinner of the imperial court. I must have made it clear enough."
Liu Mengyuan smacked her lips and frowned: "How could I not know this..."
Lin Jue said coldly: "Since you know this, you must understand that guarding Xingren Mansion is not something you do arbitrarily. This is a major matter related to quelling the rebellion and the stability of the country. I believe you are not doing it for anything.
Credit, but you are so stubborn and your refusal to help us defend the city is suspicious. If Xingren Mansion is destroyed because of this, we may even have reason to suspect that you colluded with the enemy and did it deliberately."
Liu Mengyuan's face turned red and she shouted loudly: "What did Mr. Lin say? How could you insult my reputation with such vicious words? How could I collude with the cult bandits? This is unreasonable!"
Lin Jue said coldly: "It's hard to say. Isn't Qian Dezhang, the magistrate of Yingtian, just an example? How can you prove it? Your actions now are even more suspicious. You are unwilling to let us help defend the city. And you
And there is no guarantee that the city can be defended, which is too puzzling."
Liu Mengyuan's face turned red after being squeezed by Lin Jue, and finally couldn't help shouting: "King Huai has already sent people to inform us that we only need to hold on for three or two days, and King Huai's army will arrive. We will definitely be able to hold out in three or two days.
If we can live here, we naturally don’t need your help.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone suddenly realized. Lin Jue smiled and nodded heavily: "I said you were so stubborn. Look, I was right. You and King Huai have made an agreement long ago, and King Huai will lead an army to relieve the siege.
. Let me guess again, did King Huai not allow you to invite us to help defend the city, did he mean that we were here to take away his credit? Did King Huai tell you that you can only choose one person to help you, and you thought about it carefully?
, I felt that King Huai could not be offended, so I decided to follow King Huai. Is my guess right?"
Liu Mengyuan stood there with a solemn expression, biting her lower lip without saying a word. Lin Jue's guess was basically correct, but there were some hidden secrets in it. When Hai Dongqing gathered the cult bandits in Chengwu County, Liu Mengyuan actually understood the cult
The next goal of the bandits is to capture Xingren Mansion and break out to the west. Under such circumstances, how can Liu Mengyuan feel at ease? Faced with the gathering of a large number of religious bandits, Liu Mengyuan realized that he would never be able to defend Xingren Mansion with his own strength.
Yes, the only way is to seek help immediately.
There are two people asking for help. One is the King of Jin's army currently in the five counties east of Jingdong. They are very close to each other. Once they cross the river, they can immediately reinforce Xingren Prefecture. Moreover, the King of Jin's army has recently won a great victory, and they are carrying the power of a great victory.
, the religious bandits must be very afraid of them. Although they only have 10,000 people, they can definitely defend Xingren Mansion. The other target for help is naturally the army of King Huai who is still in Yingtian Mansion at this moment. Who to ask for help depends on
It seems to be a simple question, but Liu Mengyuan knows that it is not simple.
Although Liu Mengyuan is not a Beijing official, he is also a local official. Although Xingren Mansion is not big, it is still a mansion, and Liu Mengyuan's official rank is not low. For an official of his level, some things in the court will not be hidden from him
Yes, local officials were the targets of court factions to win over intentionally or unintentionally. Although the competition between the two princes for the crown prince position was not made explicit, in fact, among the court officials, they had already begun to take sides. Although Liu Mengyuan did not like to be in the
He had to make a choice early on such a matter, but he knew very well that he would inevitably have to have an attitude.
Last year, Liu Mengyuan went to Beijing to report on his work, and Lu Zhongtian hosted a banquet for him. He mentioned some things intentionally or unintentionally during the dinner, which was a subtle reminder to Liu Mengyuan that he must have a clear attitude. Liu Mengyuan did not express his position at the time, but he knew that this was Lu Xiang's warning.
You, don't be in two different boats and have an ambiguous attitude.
Liu Mengyuan has also been thinking about what he should do, but he has not decided yet. But in fact, as a court official, he must make a choice in this matter. There has never been a centrist. In any major court matter, the centrist will eventually be chosen by both sides.
A pronoun that everyone despises will definitely not end well.
Therefore, who to ask for help seems to be a simple choice, but it is actually a choice of attitude. Everyone can see the hidden meaning behind the two princes leading the army to counter the rebellion. The actions at this moment actually represent
Whose side do you want to stand on, and whose team do you want to stand on?
