Cao Yan's inexplicable intuition was indeed correct. Chu Lu did not leave. He was hiding against the wall next to the window.
It's not that I'm afraid of anything, I just want to avoid trouble.
Prime Minister Huo had made many enemies in the court during his years. Looking at the overwhelming number of plays and even mythological stories based on him, one can tell how many people would want to tear out his tendons and skin him alive even after he died.
What a coincidence! General Qin is one of the best.
The General Guan who came later was Qin Bi's deputy, and he had also met Prime Minister Huo.
Even though Chu Lu still had a certain degree of trust in Qin Bi's character, after all, he was a core figure in the protagonist team, but Chu Lu did not think that Qin Bi could easily let go of something like "revenge for his father's murder".
Generally speaking, he is a decent person who defends his country and his territory, and who does not like conspiracies and intrigues even on the battlefield, preferring upright and honest strategies.
However...the premise is that it does not involve "Huo Lu".
That General Qin hated Prime Minister Huo, who was a great pest to the country, so much that he wanted to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Just look at how he dealt with Huo Lu back then to know how deep his hatred was. In this case, although he was not Huo Lu now, Chu Lu did not dare to bet on whether the other party had any intention of implicating the Son of Man, especially since he looked so much like Prime Minister Huo back then.
Generally speaking, as a member of the positive protagonist group, Qin Bi should not be too concerned about the saying "the son pays for the father's debt".
But when it comes to Prime Minister Huo, Chu Lu suddenly becomes less sure.
Just to be on the safe side, he'd better not get into trouble.
On the other side, Cao Yan was also brought back to the temporary camp by Guan Cheng.
Qin Bi received the transfer order when he was still in Jizhou. He did not return to the capital, but took the route through Yuzhou and went to Yangye, which was the fiefdom of King Jingning.
The imperial edict was a secret decree, and the march was naturally carried out in secret. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Qin Bi only brought more than a hundred elite soldiers from the Northern Army, and avoided the official roads and important cities along the way. Although they brought a small number of people, it was enough to deal with emergencies. They were not going there for a head-on confrontation. If there was any emergency, they could also mobilize the local garrison of Yangye.
Since there were not many people, it was not surprising that Cao Guan and his companions ran into Qin Bi as soon as they returned to the camp.
The young man stood with his back to the outside world, his back straight and his shoulders broad. He was resolute, like the scarred but never-broken wall of the border fortress; but he was also sharp. Before he could wear a crown, he took over his father's blood-stained spear, put on his armor and mounted his horse, and from then on he became the nightmare that the barbarians could not drive away... Wherever he was, the flag of the Northern Army would always stand tall; wherever he was, no matter how vicious the enemy was, they would not dare to make any move...
Qin Bi is of course the soul of the entire Northern Army and the one that all the men in the army are willing to die for, and Cao Yan is no exception.
But worship is worship, admiration is admiration...
Cao Yan didn't want to meet the general at this moment.
Although it was only early summer, the sun was very strong today. After walking all the way back, Cao Yan's clothes were no longer dripping, but they were still half dry and half wet, which was very uncomfortable. Moreover, after such an experience, his outer robe was wrinkled and stuck together, and it was obvious that he was in a mess.
I went into the city to get some information, but when I came back, I ended up like this...
Cao Yan hunched his back and lowered his head, looking like he wanted to go back to the tent to change his clothes and report before the general noticed.
But the trip never happened. When Cao Yan heard a voice saying "Greetings, sir" beside him, he knew that his plan had failed.
He quickly straightened his hunched back, but couldn't help casting a resentful look at Guan Cheng in front of him.
Deputy General Guan must have seen through his plan, so why couldn't he just turn a blind eye?
Although Cao Yan had all kinds of complaints in his heart, he could only follow, "Greetings, General... Sir."
Because his thoughts were still wandering and his mind was distracted, he almost didn't notice the military salute.
Qin Bi glanced at him calmly without saying anything or asking any questions, but Cao Yan did not dare to relax at all. It was just that the death sentence was changed to life imprisonment with a reprieve. This would happen sooner or later.
Sure enough, after listening to Guan Cheng's report on the situation in the city, Qin Bi turned his gaze to Cao Yan and asked, "What's going on?"
Cao Yan, who hadn't yet organized his speech, said: "..."
But under the other person's gaze, he subconsciously raised his head and stood up straight, "My Lord, I was splashed with water."
Cao Yan: “…”
He was talking too fast and he wanted to slap himself in the face.
On the other side, Qin Bi frowned and looked at Guan Cheng, who nodded in understanding and told him everything he had heard. What he said was naturally the version told by Su Qingzhi and the other two, which was not inconsistent with the facts, but it was not very comprehensive.
Anyway, after Qin Bi heard this, his cold eyes turned towards Cao Yan.
Cao Yan: “!!!”
It was really unfair, he might as well say it himself! He suspected that the old man was jealous of his youth and strength, and the general's trust, and wanted to take the opportunity to exclude him.
His face flushed as he explained, "It was that group of people who spoke rudely first! They..."
He paused, not wanting to pollute the general's ears with those words.
What does "taking advantage of military merit to do evil" mean? ! Not to mention that the general is upright, his character and personality are a hundred times better than those people! !
Even if the general "acted recklessly", those achievements were earned with real swords and guns, and with blood and life on the battlefield. They are just a bunch of cowards who have never seen blood. They can only talk nonsense and complain every day. What qualifications do they have to say such things?
…
…………
Cao Yan was punished in the end.
This was a secret march after all. No matter what the reason was, it was wrong for Cao Yan to have a conflict with others in the city.
Guan Cheng couldn't help shaking his head as he watched the young man leave angrily. Qin Bi, on the other hand, remained unmoved. "Uncle Guan, don't spoil him too much. He should temper himself a little."
Guan Cheng sighed, "Looking at him is like seeing you back then."
After hearing this, Qin Bi's already expressionless face stiffened even more, as if covered by a mask made of ice.
After a long while, he said, "Then you should grind it even harder."
Guan Cheng was one of the few people who knew the inside story of that year, and he also knew the knot in the heart of this young general.
The look in his eyes was complicated for a moment, and he finally sighed softly: "...It's not your fault."
Qin Bi did not answer, his lowered eyes were dark.
——How could it not be his fault?
That's his fault!
The unexpected encounter with the two Northern Army soldiers in the city made Chu Lu hesitate for a moment whether to leave Kuangxi temporarily and stay in another city for a while. If it was only Cao Yan, it might be just an accident, but Guan Cheng later clearly showed that the Northern Army soldiers who came here could not be only these two people.
Chu Lu roughly sketched out the map of Dayan in his mind and knew where this group of people were planning to go.
What a coincidence! Maybe after arriving, he can directly cooperate with Yan Jie from inside and outside, and there will be no need to dispatch any special soldiers.
However, Chu Lu finally decided to stay in Kuangxi for a while.
Firstly, as the largest city around Kuangwei Valley, this is indeed a good place to gather information. Secondly, the Northern Army is only passing through Yuzhou and will probably leave soon. Since Qin Bi has already sent people to explore this city, and Guan Cheng came in person, Kuangwei is actually the safest place now.
After figuring it out, Chu Lu also felt relieved.
However, his actions that day did cause some trouble.
“My dear brother! My dear brother!!”
To be on the safe side and to avoid being seen by the few people in the alley outside the teahouse that day, Chu Lu had to settle for the next best thing and went to a tavern, but he didn't expect to be seen again by chance.
Chu Lu was a little puzzled. Are the classes in the academy so idle? Why do these young people go out every day instead of staying in school? And it’s fine to go to the teahouse to listen to storytelling, but they also go to the wine shop? Isn’t this too blatant?
All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. Since he had already seen him face to face, there was no point in denying it. Chu Lu turned around and nodded.
However--
The young man seemed to be relieved. "It's really you, brother. I thought I made a mistake just now."
Chu Lu was silent: "..."
The tone you used just now didn't mean you thought you were wrong at all.
Li Bojin, who was chasing behind him a step slower, also changed his expression from helplessness to slight surprise, obviously he had not been sure of his identity before.
Chu Lu: "..."
He did feel a little regretful for his rash behavior of turning back, but since it had come to this, it was impossible for him to turn his back on them, so he had no choice but to nod and greet the two of them separately.
At this time, Su Qingzhi had already caught up and stood shoulder to shoulder with Chu Lu——
"Thank you for your help last time, brother."
"I haven't seen you in the city these few days, and I thought you had met with something unexpected..."
“…”
"Su Zhuo, courtesy name Qingzhi, from Tanzhou... I am a few years older than you, so you can just call me 'Brother Qingzhi'..."
"This is Li Shen, Li Bojin. They are from the same hometown as me. He is the eldest in the family and has three younger brothers..."
“…”
“…………”
This Su Qingzhi was indeed a talkative and lively person. While he was walking from outside to sitting down in the tavern, he had already introduced himself and his good friend clearly. Chu Lu not only knew their backgrounds, where they lived, how many people were in their family, but he even knew how many chickens they had at home.
Chu Lu: "..."
Thanks, I didn't want to know in such detail.
Thanks to his detailed explanation, Chu Lu also knew that he was the third young man in white clothes who was stopped by Su Qingzhi today alone.
Chu Lu: "..."
If I had known earlier, he would have changed into the blue one today.
No wonder it wasn’t discovered a few days ago…
So this person recognizes people by the color of their clothes?
In short, although this strategy of casting a wide net was stupid, it still helped Su Qingzhi catch the "fish" he wanted. In his excitement, Su Qingzhi didn't pay any attention to which store he entered. When the waiter came up, he casually asked for a cup of tea and asked why there was no storyteller.
I came to the tavern to order tea, and I found something like this...
Judging from the waiter's expression, he probably thought these three people came in to cause trouble.
Chu Lu had no intention of ruining the place, nor did he want to lead these future pillars astray. He could only sigh, secretly give the waiter a full tael of silver as a reward, and immediately let him leave with a smile on his face.
Su Qingzhi was so engrossed in the conversation that he didn't notice these details at all, but Li Bojin saw them.
He wanted to say something, but saw the young man smiling and shaking his head at him, so he could only swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He decided to go back and have a good talk with Qingzhi, telling him not to be so rude in front of others next time, and not to be aware of the trouble he caused to others. It was all thanks to this young brother who did not care about these things.
Chu Lu really didn't care about these things. Thanks to Chai Zhu's adoptive brother named Meng, the money came very easily to him, just like it came from the wind. Naturally, he didn't feel bad about spending it now.
Chu Lu sat down to chat with the two of them, originally intending to hear about the current situation of the academy. Because of Su Qingzhi, Chu Lu didn't even need to specifically inquire about the news. He just led the topic slightly in that direction, and the young man said everything he could say, and also enthusiastically invited Chu Lu.
Su Qingzhi said, almost patting his chest to assure: "If it were Brother Yan, the entrance examination would definitely be a piece of cake."
In just a few moments, the young man had already started to address the other man as brother without any hesitation.
Chu Lu: "..."
No……
It was clear that the meeting time was no more than an hour at most, so how could the other party guarantee that he could pass the mountain test?
He was very moved, and then politely declined Su Qingzhi's invitation. He even regretted turning back for the second time within just half a cup of tea.
However, he soon discovered that it was necessary to communicate with others about external information in order to supplement intelligence.
For example, now——
"You reported it to the authorities?!"
Chu Lu almost choked on the tea in his mouth.
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