Chapter 83: Rewards and Punishments
Because of Zhu Hao's suggestion, Lu Song changed his mind temporarily, ended camping early in the afternoon, and set out "back to the city", but in fact he did not go back, but continued to go towards the Han River.
Along the way, I saw many local customs and people of all kinds.
When we arrived at the ferry, the flow of people started to gather.
Zhu San and Zhu Si got off the carriage excitedly, and accompanied by their guards, they walked through the bustling market spontaneously formed by the coming and going merchants. From time to time, they wandered into the shops on both sides, touched this, asked that, and stopped to admire the stalls of street performers. Finally, they came to the ferry terminal, wanting to try to get on the ship.
Lu Song was afraid of losing control, and seeing that Zhu San and Zhu Si were as unbridled as wild horses, he finally made up his mind, forcibly went up to pick them up, asked the guards to put them in the carriage, and returned to the city.
"Zhu Hao, if something goes wrong, you won't be able to bear the consequences. You won't be able to escape if Yuan Changshi holds you accountable!"
Lu Song's gnashing teeth finally revealed his true intentions.
Why did he agree to let Zhu San and Zhu Si wander around this time, even going deep into the downtown area?
Just say that it was Zhu Hao who instigated it!
Even if I am blamed, at most I will be fined and caned, but this kid will definitely be kicked out of Prince Xing's Mansion, and Prince Xing may even think that this kid has ulterior motives, otherwise why would he come up with such a bad idea?
But on the way back, Lu Song regretted it.
Originally, he wanted to trick Zhu Hao, but was it really worth it to kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of his own? Moreover, if he thought about it carefully, Zhu Hao's previous proposal was actually made for the safety of the prince. The proposal was not unreasonable, but how should he explain it to his superiors after returning?
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When they returned to Prince Xing's Mansion, they saw Luo Sheng, the deputy ceremonial guard of the palace's ceremonial guard department, standing at the door. When he saw Lu Song, he shouted with a dark face: "Come on, follow me to see the prince now!"
Lu Song couldn't help but glance sideways at the carriage the three children were riding in. At this time, Zhu Hao and others had not yet gotten off the carriage. He felt that he would definitely be held accountable this time.
Following Luo Sheng all the way to the door of the inner courtyard study, he saw Zhu Youlang talking with Yuan Zonggao inside. After Luo Sheng went in to report, Lu Song went in under his guidance.
"Lu Dianzhang, did the prince encounter any danger during his trip today?"
As usual, Yuan Zonggao asked the questions.
Lu Song was very familiar with Yuan Zonggao's temperament. Before saying anything, he would always "beat around the bush", first asking some related but not main questions, and finally getting into the point, giving people a step-by-step feeling. In fact, he was using the mentality of an old fox to gradually break the psychological defenses of the person being questioned.
Lu Song replied respectfully: "No one was in danger, and everyone returned to the city safely."
"Um."
Yuan Zonggao nodded and said, "I heard that you stayed in the wilderness outside the city for a short time before continuing on your way. Did you also go to the riverside market?"
Lu Song wanted to explain, but suddenly realized that he was being held accountable. If he still tried to defend himself, it would be specious. As a soldier, it is his duty to obey orders. How could he make excuses for disobeying orders?
"yes."
Lu Song answered with a stiff expression.
Yuan Zonggao's tone turned cold and stern: "Don't you know that this will put the prince in danger?"
Lu Song hesitated for a moment, but still clasped his fists and said, "I think that if you let the prince stay where he is, even if there are a large number of guards around, if someone disguises himself as a bandit and attacks with several times the number of guards, I'm afraid he won't be able to move forward or backward... You can't stay in one place for a long time and give the scoundrels a chance to take advantage of you."
Originally, Zhu Youju, Yuan Zonggao and Luo Sheng were all murderous and ready to punish him.
After hearing this, Yuan Zonggao was speechless for a moment. He turned his head and looked at Zhu Youju, then continued to ask: "Is this the reason why you brought the prince to the riverside?"
Lu Song said: "I originally wanted to take the prince back to the city directly, but the prince... wanted to play outside the city for a while, so I thought, there are all kinds of buildings at the ferry, even if there are thieves attacking, we can hold on until the reinforcements arrive, and the security is guaranteed.
"Besides, there are many merchants coming and going in the ferry market, and there are also fishermen, hunters, and farmers trading here. There are all kinds of people in the market. If you go deep into it, you can understand the suffering of the people and care about the world. At the same time, if there are too many people, the scoundrels will have to consider the impact when they take action... I have failed to live up to the trust of Yuan Changshi. Please punish me, Prince Xing and Yuan Changshi!"
Lu Song not only explained the reasons but also apologized. His words were neither humble nor arrogant.
Yuan Zonggao was not sure what to do, so he turned to Zhu Youjun and asked, "Prince Xing, what do you think? "
Zhu Youqi was originally angry, but after hearing what Lu Song said, not only did his anger disappear, but he even appreciated Lu Song a little more. He nodded and said in a tone of approval: "Lu Dianzhang is thoughtful. As the saying goes, a general is not subject to the orders of the king when he is away from home. He made a decision that is beneficial to the safety of the prince based on the situation on the spot, and he did not stick to the established rules. He should not be punished."
Yuan Zonggao didn't think much of this, but Luo Sheng and Lu Song, who were not politically sensitive enough, were full of surprise.
How could a guard be rewarded for not following orders from his superiors?
Yuan Zonggao also laughed and said, "In fact, I have always felt that Lu Dianzhang is brave and resourceful, and he has always been concerned about protecting the Crown Prince. He even took the blame for disobeying orders for the sake of the Crown Prince's safety... Prince Xing, such a loyal subordinate should not only not be punished, but should be rewarded."
Now, not to mention Lu Song, even Luo Sheng felt that his own values had been subverted.
Zhu Youqiu smiled and looked at Lu Song, nodded and said, "Okay, then let Yuan Changshi decide and reward him as appropriate."
Yuan Zonggao then looked at Lu Song carefully and said, "Lu Dianzhang, even if what happened today was a change you made based on the actual situation, it still violated the order of King Xing. You should try to avoid it in the future... You should also consider the safety of King Xing in the future. Okay, you can go down first!"
This is equivalent to telling Lu Song that not only are you not at fault today, but you have made contributions. Since you are willing to be punished by King Xing in order to protect the safety of the prince, and you are so loyal, then the responsibility of protecting King Xing will naturally fall on you in the future.
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Lu Song came out of the study with a lot of emotions in his heart.
At that time, he used a little trick and wanted to drive Zhu Hao out of Prince Xing's Mansion at the cost of bearing the blame himself, but he ended up getting credit for it?
No matter how you think about it, all the credit was won by Zhu Hao for him. Even his previous excuses were taught to him by Zhu Hao when he was analyzing the situation, right?
"Could it be that this kid is really concerned about the safety of the Crown Prince? Otherwise, why would even Prince Xing admire his decisiveness? Come to think of it, he risked his life to save people in the fire. Now it seems that the kid already knew the Crown Prince's identity at the time, but deliberately pretended to be confused."
Return to the West Courtyard.
Zhu San and Zhu Si had gone into the inner courtyard of the palace to rest, while Zhu Hao, Jing Hong and Lu Bing were still washing their faces. Although the three children were of different ages, there was no barrier between them. The son, a short guy, didn't look out of place among the two older children. At this time, the son fiddled with the water in the basin, sprinkled it on Jing Hong and Zhu Hao, and laughed happily.
This shows that Zhu Hao and Jing Hong never treated their son as a burden.
"Uh-huh!"
Lu Song cleared his throat and reminded the three younger ones, “I’m here!”
Only then did Jing Hong stop playing around with Lu Bing and turned to look at Lu Song.
Lu Song sternly lectured his son: "It's getting cold now. You're soaked in water. Aren't you afraid of getting sick?"
Lu Bing said: "Dad, there is not much water. We know our limits. Water has a fixed amount. Let's see who can get more... I didn't lose!"
For Lu Bing at this age, winning or losing is the most important thing, especially when he is studying with several children older than himself. Not falling behind is what Lu Song and Fan have repeatedly emphasized, so he made this his goal. Since his academic performance could not catch up for the time being, he turned to all aspects of daily life and play.
Zhu Hao smiled and said, "Alright, alright, stop playing around, go inside and wipe yourself off... Lu Dianzhang, are you tired? Come, wash your face."
Jinghong touched his wet clothes, laughed, and went into the house with Lu Bing.
Lu Song took his eyes off his son and looked at Zhu Hao. "Why didn't you let the two princes stay in the grassland for a long time today? Did you get any information in advance?"
After thinking it over, Lu Song concluded that if Prince Xing and Yuan Zonggao did not punish him but rewarded him instead, it was possible that they had discovered that the Jinyiwei were making moves, and he had accidentally avoided the danger... He did not believe that Zhu Hao could guess it in advance, so he thought that Zhu Hao had hinted to him after learning the intelligence, allowing him to make changes in time.
Zhu Hao shook his head and said, "I don't know anything. I always think that it is unlikely that the Jinyiwei would openly attack the Prince of Xing. After all, if something happens to the Prince of Xing, is there no one else who can threaten the throne?"
Lu Song was speechless for a moment.
It is understandable that the Jinyiwei investigated and spied on the intelligence of Prince Xing's Mansion, but killing Prince Xing's son seems less reasonable.
Prince Xing has only one son, Zhu Houcong. But even if the prince of Xing died, there are tens of thousands of royal family members in the world, and there will always be other heirs. Can you kill all the royal family members with the surname Zhu?
If one of the royal family members dies, the other heirs will automatically be advanced in order. Even if you kill them all, since Emperor Zhengde has no sons, you still have to find someone to inherit the throne.
"Lu Dianzhang, you should have met with Yuan Changshi, right? Did Yuan Changshi listen to my analysis and not blame you, so you think I knew something in advance?"
Zhu Hao's words made Lu Song feel very dangerous.
How come he got his true thoughts right?
Lu Song said with a dark face: "Zhu Hao, do you understand that talking too much will lead to mistakes?"
Zhu Hao said, "I think the reason why Yuan Changshi agrees with your approach is that our choices are correct. Before leaving the city, even Yuan Changshi himself might have made some mistakes in thinking about the safety of the prince. As long as you make a decision for the good of the prince, if the Prince Xing's Mansion still wants to accuse you... who will risk their lives to protect the prince in the future?"
After hearing what Zhu Hao said, Lu Song suddenly realized.
It was not because the Xing Prince's Mansion really detected that the Jinyiwei were planning to attack the Crown Prince, but because the Xing Prince's Mansion wanted to reward the behavior of protecting the Crown Prince and set an example for other guards. Otherwise, why would they call Luo Sheng over as well, leaving Luo Sheng surprised for a long time?
Punishments should be given in front of others, and so should rewards, to create a demonstration effect.
Of course, initially they did ask Lu Song to punish the criminal, but later they felt that rewards would serve as a greater demonstration, so they changed it to rewards.
In this way, when Luo Sheng goes back to convey Prince Xing's instructions, the people below will know that in order to protect Prince Xing, it is okay to disobey orders, as long as it comes from the heart, and everything is for the good of the prince.
At the same time, it was also to declare that the Xingwang Palace had clear rewards and punishments.
