At this moment, Lu Yihao's voice suddenly came from outside the hall. Han Shizhong and other generals looked back and saw General Lu, who looked much brighter in recent days, walking in with a cane. Behind him were the Minister of Works Hu Yin and Hu Mingzhong, as well as civil officials such as Fan Zongyin and Yu Yunwen. They all stepped forward to greet them and saluted.

It was not so unexpected. Lu Yihao treated Han Shizhong, Ma Kuo and others with courtesy, and then walked to the main seat slowly. He waited until the commander-in-chief directly opened the documents that had been placed on the table for a long time and took up his pen to make instructions. Then Han, Hu and other civil and military officials took their seats one after another and continued the previous topic.

"What are you thinking about, Mr. Lu?" Han Shizhong sighed, holding his belt. "I was just thinking about Wanyan Wushu's appearance before his death... According to what Cheng Min told me when he came back, Wanyan Wushu, the ruling prince of a country, knelt in front of the emperor for half a day and didn't dare to say a word, and didn't even dare to ask for a fire in person... He said he didn't want to ask, and didn't dare to ask... It's really ridiculous!"

"What's so funny? Isn't that human nature?"

Hu Yin continued with a blank expression. "He was somewhat unwilling to accept the defeat, and he was still a bit fearless, so he was unwilling to beg for food, nor did he want to beg for mercy on behalf of the Jin Kingdom... But after all, he came to surrender when he was at his wit's end, and he was willing to sacrifice his life for a chance of survival, so he didn't dare to express anything extra, fearing that if things went wrong, he would end up with his life being spared in vain... He was so afraid of the future of the Jin Kingdom that he couldn't even think about it."

"really."

Ma Kuo nodded heavily. "If that's the case, the emperor actually understands Wushu's intentions and is just waiting for Wushu to speak..."

"Have you been waiting for more than an hour?"

Lu Yihao flipped through some documents on the table in front of him and suddenly sneered. "You are both princes and ministers, but you all have this kind of knowledge?"

Ma Kuo immediately shut up, Han and Hu were helpless too, even Fan Zongyin and others who were about to speak up remained silent... They knew of course that Lu Yihao had no ill intentions, he was just used to it... But fortunately for them, it was still the final stage of the Northern Expedition. If Wang Yan was here, if it was normal, this mere sentence would have made a pair of enemies come out.

"What do you think the emperor is worried about, Mr. Lu?"

After a moment, Han Shizhong spoke again with a strong sense of ownership... After all, although the other party was his husband, the Grand Commander, and was old and in poor health and needed respect, at this point, he was really not afraid of him.

"What can the government think about?"

Lu Yihao continued to look through the documents and shook his head. "It's nothing more than knowing what Wushu was thinking from the beginning, as you said, and preparing to wait for a while, but then after waiting for a long time, he was reminded of his feelings and felt the same as the other party, and he became afraid of the future..."

After hearing the last words, Hu Yin's heart moved slightly, while everyone else was stunned.

"What is the emperor afraid of?" Han Shizhong was stunned and felt inexplicably panicked.

"Your Highness the Prince of Qin, Marshal Han, and the Emperor, what are you afraid of?" Lu Yihao suddenly looked up and stared at the number one military official with a smile.

Han Shizhong immediately held his belt and straightened his chest and laughed: "Look at what Mr. Lu said, how come even I am afraid?"

But after laughing, for some reason, Han Shizhong became even more flustered and even his smile gradually disappeared.

"What can I be afraid of?"

Lu Yihao picked up the pen and continued to read the documents, then shook his head again. "He is the most powerful official in the world, the best in the world, not even worthy of the title of King of Qin, but he wants to give his brothers in the army the title of Prince of a County... Isn't this enough to make people fear him?"

Han Shizhong wanted to say something but stopped himself, Ma Kuo also came to his senses slightly, and even Fan Zongyin, Yu Yunwen and others lowered their heads.

And Lu Yihao continued to mutter to himself, babbling on:

"Besides this worldly wealth, there are also the names of meritorious service, and the so-called 'drunk under the lamplight looking at the sword'...

"You, Han Liangchen, are well educated, and you should know that if the History of Song is compiled in the future, your biography will probably be listed separately. If it is divided into the History of Southern Song and the History of Northern Song, then you may be ranked among the top three biographies in the History of Northern Song..."

"Top five at most..." Han Shizhong couldn't help but interrupt.

"The top five is fine." Lu Yihao said indifferently. "But whether it's the top three or the top five, can such wealth and fame really be properly maintained until death?

"Don't you know how much you have in your stomach?

"What if my descendants do something bad? What if I fail to keep up with the Shangguan family's footsteps in the next thirty years and lose my integrity in my later years? What should I do?

"It's lonely up there...King Qin, Marshal Han, are you really not afraid?"

Han Shizhong wanted to interrupt at first, but he remained silent for a while. Then he slowly put down his hand that was holding his belt, stroked his knees and said embarrassedly: "Mr. Lu's words are very clear. How can Shizhong not be afraid?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Yunwen, who had arrived here the day before to convey an imperial edict, lowered his head even lower.

"Look...you are afraid of such a great achievement, what about the emperor? The emperor's achievements are even more important than Mount Tai? How can he not be afraid?" Yu Yunwen was afraid, but someone else was not. Lu Yihao did not even raise his head and responded calmly, as if it was just a casual remark.

Little did they know that several high-ranking civil and military officials in the palace, as well as clerks and other middle-level officials, had already held their breath and dared not make any unnecessary movements.

"But I am afraid of leaving the government. What are the government afraid of?" Han Shizhong paused for a moment and asked actively. He was really curious.

"The emperor is also afraid of being separated from you." Hu Yin suddenly interrupted. "Too close will bring disaster, too far will cause suspicion, making the emperor and his subjects feel uneasy... So, if the emperor does something crazy one day, don't be suspicious, maybe he just lost his mind out of fear."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!