Chapter 296 This rumor is too outrageous
Something bad is happening!
This was what the entire court was thinking at the time. All officials were panicking, and even Bao Zheng had a gloomy face all day long and was very irritable.
Such sentiment has even spread from the imperial court and officialdom to the people.
The entire Bianliang city became much quieter.
Even the beggars on the street tried their best to suppress the sound of their begging.
The whole nation was in a trance.
Officials visited Master Pang's home one after another, almost without interruption.
Although Master Pang had a magic beast by his side, he could not withstand so many officials visiting and asking questions from morning till night. He was exhausted, and finally had no choice but to close the door and refuse visitors.
The Prince of Runan was also a key target of officials' visits, but he was very smart. After hearing the news brought back by the Imperial City Bureau, he hid himself and no one could find him.
Finally, Bao Zheng gathered here, where a large number of officials who were familiar with him gathered. After all, Bao Zheng had the strongest sense of responsibility.
A group of people were sitting densely in the backyard of Bao's house.
Almost all of the Bao family’s chairs had been moved in, but many officials were still standing.
Many officials were asking Bao Zheng what to do next.
Will Master Lu really surrender to the Khitan?
If something like this really happens, how will it end?
Is the Secretariat aware of the behavior of Empress Dowager Cao and the young emperor?
A series of questions like these made Bao Zheng dizzy.
Finally, he could only say: "Whether Master Lu surrenders to Khitan or not is a matter of life and death for the Song Dynasty, and I don't know. Tomorrow, I will question the emperor and the queen mother in the court with Grand Tutor Pang."
As a result, the next day, Empress Dowager Cao claimed to be ill, and the young official blinked his innocent eyes and looked at the large group of silent officials below.
Everyone knew that it was definitely not the young official's idea to let the monk bring a secret decree to invite Master Lu back. He was still young and couldn't take charge of things, so it was impossible for him to think of this.
At this time, Lu Sen returned from Xingqing Prefecture.
As soon as he came back, the Prince of Runan appeared.
The father-in-law and son-in-law sat in the study, the atmosphere was peaceful and calm.
After drinking tea for a while, when the Prince of Runan felt the water sloshing in his stomach, he asked, "My dear son-in-law, do you really want to surrender to the Khitan?"
Of course he was nervous about it.
Although the Prince of Runan had a lot of resentment towards the Zhao family, they were still family after all, and the Northern Song Dynasty had the surname Zhao.
But if Lu Sen surrendered to the Khitan, then in the future... it would be very uncertain whether the Song Dynasty could remain stable.
So he had to be nervous.
Lu Sen said calmly: "Please rest assured, Taishan, if I go to Khitan, I will definitely bring Zongshi with me, and I will find a way to make the Khitan also have the surname Zhao."
The Prince of Runan was stunned for a moment, then he covered his face and laughed so hard that tears almost came out.
Finally, he raised the teacup, raised it slightly higher to indicate, and then drank it all in one gulp: "My dear son-in-law, I offer you a toast."
With Lu Sen's words, he felt relieved.
In this way, whether it is the Song Dynasty or Khitan, there are people from his Zhao family.
Separate investments, isn't this the characteristic of wealthy families? He understands.
After that, the Prince of Runan stopped hiding and started walking around the street, fanning himself.
Seeing the appearance of the Prince of Runan, most of the officials who were paying attention to him also realized that Master Lu had arrived.
That night, Bao Zheng, Master Pang, Yan Shu and others came together.
Lu Sen had set up a small system home in the backyard of Prince Zhao's mansion, waiting for them.
After several people came in, the Prince of Runan bowed and said with a smile: "Everyone, please chat slowly. I have chosen a courtesan today, so I will go and have fun. I will not come back all night."
After saying that, he laughed twice, then slowly left with his hands behind his back.
In the system home, Lu Sen had already set up the tables and chairs, waiting for them to arrive.
He sat still, waiting for everyone to take their seats. Yang Jinhua next to him poured a glass of honey water for everyone and then sat closer to Lu Sen.
Several people looked around the system home, and Master Pang came in wearing a fleece coat. He felt hot after entering, and after taking off his coat, he said, "Since Master Lu left the capital, I haven't stayed in such a comfortable place for several years."
When Lu Sen was an official in the capital, Master Pang would occasionally visit his home, so he knew the difference between the system home and ordinary families.
"If you resign and retire in Hangzhou, you can live there as long as you want."
"Ahem, forget it." Master Pang laughed dryly. It was unlikely that he would resign. "Since we are all acquaintances, there is no need to beat around the bush. Sen'er, what do you think?"
"What can I think?" Lu Sen narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Aren't you forcing me to make a choice?"
When everyone heard this, they all felt their scalps tingling. This was a clear sign of extreme anger.
Seeing that no one spoke, Lu Sen continued, "How come you, the great dukes of the imperial , are all silent?"
Although Master Pang is Pang Meir's grandfather, it is not convenient to talk about personal matters when discussing official matters.
Several people remained silent, and finally Bao Zheng spoke up: "Master Lu, since you are willing to appear here, it means that you are still willing to talk."
Lu Sen raised his eyebrows. What Bao Zheng said was indeed right.
Because the secret decree was issued by Empress Dowager Cao and had nothing to do with the affairs of the Secretariat, Lu Sen felt that he had to give them a chance.
"I do mean that." Lu Sen sighed, "I know you have nothing to do with this, but someone is forcing me, and you didn't notice it, which means you are derelict in your duty."
No one spoke.
Indeed, they were careless.
If Zhao Zhen were still alive, even if he wanted to issue an edict to order Lu Sen to return to the capital, he would have to get the consent of the Secretariat.
But the Empress Dowager... they had never expected that this woman would be so pretentious. She actually bypassed the Secretariat and instigated the young emperor to send such an edict to Lu Sen.
Even if the intention was not really to remove Lu Sen from his post as military supervisor, and even if the intention was to allow Lu Sen to come back and meet Princess Fukang, the fact is that the content was to allow the former to return to Beijing.
No matter what the real meaning is, people outside know one thing: Master Lu has been recalled to Beijing.
Lu Sen had just said some time ago that if he was summoned back to Beijing during the battle on the front line, he would defect to Western Xia.
If Lu Sen pretended that nothing had happened, how would outsiders view Lu Sen?
Don’t you think that Lu Sen’s words are like farts and completely unreliable?
The more famous you are, the more careful you should be in what you say, and you should fulfill the promises you make, otherwise not many people will take you seriously in the future.
Yan Shu bowed and said, "Master Lu, we know that the court is at fault, but what kind of status do you want? The position of state teacher, promotion, or title of duke?"
Yan Shu was a very steady person, otherwise he would not have served as the Minister of Rites.
After all, "etiquette" is about staying calm no matter what happens.
Lu Sen looked at him and said with a smile: "This is not a matter of how I treat it, but how the court wants it!"
Several of them are experienced people. Bao Zheng, this upright man, is actually also an experienced person. He just likes to be straightforward, which does not mean that he does not understand what Lu Sen means.
Yan Shu sighed and said, "I know that people who practice cultivation do not care about fame, fortune and wealth, but Master Lu, how can you calm down? Please give us a hint."
Lu Sen shook his head: "Since you are playing dumb, I will make it clear. How things go is not determined by me, but by you. How you do determines what choices I will make in the future."
At this time, Fu Bi clasped his hands aside and said righteously, "Master Lu, don't you have any love for your country?"
"I grew up in the mountains and forests. Before coming to Bianliang, I had never communicated with the people of Song. You actually asked me if I have any feelings for my country?"
Lu Sen was telling the truth. Before he came to Bianliang, he had only communicated with the people of New China and had never communicated with the people of the Song Dynasty.
Fu Bi was speechless for a moment.
Lu Sen continued with a smile, "Besides, I don't know how old my master is. If we really count this way, I think we may have to restore the Zhou rituals and rebuild the Zhou Dynasty."
Fu Bi's face turned dark now, and he was speechless.
Bao Zheng and Master Pang both chuckled.
The reason why the two of them didn't speak was that they were afraid of saying too much and making too many mistakes.
Other Confucian scholars grew up reading the words of Confucius and act like a sage.
Using the Confucian principles to intimidate others generally has good results.
But for Master Lu, these are really useless.
The two of them had been confronted by Lu Sen before and suffered losses.
Fu Bi didn't, but he now tasted the advantage of Lu Sen's tongue.
Seeing that no one was talking anymore, Lu Sen continued, "I will go to Khitan tomorrow to see if Yelu Hongji is sincere."
"No!" Bao Zheng shouted and stood up.
Several other people also stood up, their faces turning pale with fear.
"Don't be nervous, we're just going to take a look. We haven't really decided whether to stay in Khitan." Lu Sen took a sip of honey water and looked at them quietly.
Several people breathed a sigh of relief and slowly sat down.
What Lu Sen said just now really scared them.
"Of course, there are only ten days. If the court does not give me a decent performance, the result will be hard to predict."
Looking at Lu Sen who was smiling with narrowed eyes, Ouyang Xiu said slowly: "Master Lu, please stop saying angry words. Khitan is a barbarian land. Why go there and suffer?"
"With the art of the cave, the world is a paradise." Lu Sen leaned back slightly and said, "Besides, the Khitan people learn Chinese, write Chinese characters, and follow Chinese customs. How can they be called barbarians? Don't you scholars always say that if you enter China, you should make it Chinese?"
Ouyang Xiu frowned, then continued: "But the Khitans are still the Khitans after all."
"That's not what I said. I noticed that Ouyang's pupils were brown. If he wasn't ill, I think his ancestors should have Northern Di blood." Lu Sen tapped the table lightly with his fingers, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said arrogantly, "But who dares to say now that Ouyang is a traitor?"
Ouyang Xiu stopped talking immediately.
His eyes were indeed brown, and he had known that for a long time.
As for whether his ancestors had Northern Di blood, he couldn't guarantee it.
After all, when the Five Barbarians invaded China, foreigners entered the Central Plains in large numbers. Who can guarantee that their ancestors did not have children with barbarian women, or anything else!
Seeing this, Grand Tutor Pang said, "But after all, the orthodoxy is still in our Central Plains. It is a bit inappropriate for you to go to Khitan, Sen'er."
Lu Sen smiled even wider: "It's okay... In this world, winners are kings and losers are bandits. If I go to Khitan, maybe after a few years, the surname of the Khitan people will become Li, or Zhao, or... Chai."
What Lu Sen said made sense, and these important officials all admitted it. But what really made them uncomfortable was the change of the Khitan national surname.
The first two are easy to say. Li is just the national surname of the Tang Dynasty, and Zhao is the current surname. But what really makes these important officials psychologically defensive is the surname "Chai".
After all, the Zhao family seized the world from the Chai family, and they did so in a despicable way when the Chai family owed the Zhao family nothing.
If Lu Sen really brought the descendants of the Chai family to Khitan and made them part of the Khitan royal family, that would be a lot of fun.
What Lu Sen did was equivalent to pointing at their noses and scolding: The Zhao dynasty that you support is just stolen from others, so how can it be orthodox?
The situation suddenly became extremely awkward.
There are some things that everyone knows, but if they are spoken out, the situation will immediately be ruined.
Everyone was just busy drinking honey water. Yang Jinhua walked three times and filled everyone's cups three or four times before Bao Zheng slowly said, "Master Lu, ten days is too short. Please give us half a month and we will give you a satisfactory answer."
Lu Sen nodded.
Bao Zheng stood up, drank the honey water in the cup, turned around and left.
Seeing this, the other ministers had no choice but to stand up and follow.
After they left, Lu Sen took back the fence, dismantled the system home, and went back to his room to sleep.
The next day, he found the Prince of Runan in Chunyu Pavilion, who had not slept all night and was flirting with several courtesans.
"Next, I plan to go back to Hangzhou first, and take Zongshi to Khitan."
"Negotiation failed?" As he spoke, the Prince of Runan waved his hand and drove away all the courtesans.
In fact, he is the big boss behind the scenes here, and the courtesans all know it.
"It's hard to say yet. Let's see what they do in half a month." Lu Sen smiled and said, "Whether he stays in Khitan or not, it's a good idea to take Zongshi out to broaden his horizons."
"Okay, Sen'er, I trust you to do your job. If Zongshi does something wrong, just beat him up, don't worry about anything."
"It is enough to have Tarzan's words."
Afterwards, Lu Sen took Yang Jinhua back to Hangzhou. After resting for two days, he, with dark circles under his eyes, boarded a flying vehicle with Zhao Zongshi and left Hangzhou in a hurry. It seemed a bit like... running away.
Zhao Zongshi was on the aircraft, his face pressed against the glass cover, looking outside, his mouth unable to close.
Because it is so shocking...Looking at the earth's surface from a high altitude and looking at the ground from the top of a mountain are two completely different feelings.
He probably kept his mouth open for nearly two hours, and finally got a little tired of watching, so he turned around and asked, "Brother-in-law, are you planning to go to Khitan to find Empress Xiao?"
"Huh?" Lu Sen looked at him in surprise: "I was indeed looking for Empress Xiao, how did you know?"
"It has spread all over Hangzhou." Zhao Zongshi said with great admiration: "Brother-in-law, the first time you came to Linhuang City, you entered the palace and won the heart of Xiao Guanyin, the most beautiful woman in Khitan. When the mandarin ducks made love that night, there was a strange phenomenon in the sky and the earth, and the Khitan king not only did not dare to enter to disturb you, but in the end he even played the flute for you to arouse you!"
Lu Sen widened his eyes: What the hell is this rumor!
