"I... don't have to follow the emperor back north?" Master Lu instinctively looked behind Emperor Zhao, as if he felt that there was some villain there.
However, there was no one behind the official except a statue of Buddha more than one meter tall, standing there holding a flower and smiling. Turning around, there was a Yang Yi Zhong guarding the gate, but Yang Yi Zhong should have been here.
"No need to look, no one said anything, it was my intention." Zhao Jiu seemed to see through the other party's thoughts and smiled directly. "I want you to stay here and do two things for me..."
Lu Benzhong thought about it, tried to suppress his many distracting thoughts, and asked seriously: "May I ask your Majesty, do you want me to maintain the Phoenix Weekly here to maintain the morale of the southeast during the Northern Expedition?"
"That's right." Zhao Jiu continued to smile. "But you must be careful. The Northern Expedition cannot be taken lightly. After I leave, Phoenix Weekly is not allowed to have any romantic discussions. You must be strict..."
"yes."
Lu Benzhong bowed his head quickly... Although Lu felt that this assignment was a bit of a waste of talent, it was a direction he could think of after all, and it was also his past business, so he felt relieved. "Then may I ask the emperor, the second thing is that I should keep in touch with the emperor at any time to report the public opinion in the southeast?"
"Of course not." Zhao Jiu smiled again. "This kind of thing is a given, why would we need to specifically explain and assign it?"
Lu Benzhong nodded quickly and waited for instructions.
"The second thing is also simple." Zhao Jiu continued to smile at his own internal order in front of the Buddha's lotus platform. "I will leave you a team of soldiers in Phoenix Mountain... If there is any rumor that I am not harmonious in Hebei, you will personally lead the soldiers to the Dongxiao Palace not far from here to deal with Yuan Sheng."
Lu Benzhong nodded quickly, but was immediately stunned, then dumbfounded, and finally broke out in a cold sweat at the smile of Emperor Zhao.
As the saying goes, I dare not agree, nor do I dare to refuse. It's like a thorn in my throat and I'm walking on thin ice.
After a while, he managed to muster up the courage to confront him: "Your Majesty, I dare not say whether this is right or wrong... But if Your Majesty wants to do this, why not let Ren Bao Zhongren stay in Fenghuang Mountain? Even if it is General Yang... Any centurion under General Yang can do it, right? And I am just a scholar... Besides... Besides, Your Majesty has already arranged for his offspring, and the prime ministers in Tokyo are of one mind, so the two saints are not worth mentioning at all, right?"
"Mr. Lu." Emperor Zhao smiled. "You are right... The two saints are not worth mentioning. How can a scholar like you do this as well as Ren Baozhong, or even a crude soldier? But I ask you, if that's the case, why do I still keep you here to prepare for this?"
Lu Benzhong became more and more frightened after hearing this. On the one hand, his intelligence reminded him that there was a huge, serious mystery concerning life and death hidden in the official's words; on the other hand, his mind was like a paste and he couldn't sort it out for a while.
"Forget it, I'll just say it straight." Zhao Jiu could only sneer at this. "First... the Second Saint is certainly not worth mentioning, but there are still risks, especially the Supreme Emperor Yuansheng. Many people say that he was incompetent during the Jingkang period, but not immoral... I should take precautions, right?"
"Yes... yes!" Lu Benzhong took a lot of effort to utter this word.
"Secondly, compared to the Supreme Emperor Yuansheng himself, I am more worried that the old ministers of Jingkang, or the so-called old party, will make a comeback after I am in trouble... so that the second Northern Expedition will become a fantasy." Zhao Jiu finally sighed, but still smiled. "And if these people return, who do you think will be the target of their comeback?"
"Taishang Yuansheng... no, Xu, Mr. Xu..." Lu Benzhong blurted out, but quickly corrected himself.
"It's Xu Xianggong." Zhao Jiu nodded. "In fact, you and I only know during this southern tour that these so-called southeastern people, from the old party to the Taoists, and then to the local scholars, are completely in a mess, without a leader or rules. It is only because I established the public cabinet that these people can gather together and have a place to talk... In this case, if I don't appoint Xu Xianggong this time, these people may go to find Liu Dazhong and follow Zhao Ding's path. Even those Taoists will have to look at the situation in the court and find someone to raise the banner of Taoism again... But since I have appointed Xu Xianggong and customized a three-level public cabinet for them, if something happens to me and the Northern Expedition fails, they will naturally use the public cabinet as a system to unite to Xu Xianggong's side, forming a real opposition, and then they may shake the court situation."
Lu Benzhong was still confused: "If that's the case, the emperor can just dismiss Xu Xianggong and not use him, or abolish the cabinet and cut off their foundation, what do you think?"
"Mr. Lu, you must know that I set up a public cabinet in the southeast, basically to appease the southeast and implement new policies, and the implementation of new policies is to reduce the burden on the people so that they will not be crushed by the Northern Expedition; I appointed Xu Xianggong, basically because of his experience in the central government, political talent and popularity in the southeast... These are all upright and open, and they are all for the Northern Expedition to have a better chance of success!" Zhao Jiu shook his head and smiled. "Do you think that I set up the public cabinet and appointed Xu Xianggong for some conspiracy from the beginning?"
Lu Benzhong was stunned on the spot.
"Mr. Lu, how could I not know that what I asked you to do was a secret? But the problem is that we were all open and aboveboard for the Northern Expedition. Although the Northern Expedition is the general trend, is it a sure thing?" Zhao Jiu continued to shake his head and smiled. "What I said at the beginning was that if the Northern Expedition fails, I can't come back, and our upright situation will collapse... At this time, someone has to come out to do these bad things for me."
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