Chapter 875: King Fu said that asking me to pay for money and food is equivalent to cutting my meat, and there is no way!

(0875)

【Today's fourth update is delivered!】

"What?"

"Is Zhang Zhun here?"

"The Hu Ben Army is at the city?"

I heard that Zhang Zhun led the Hu Ben Army cavalry to Luoyang, and all the officials in Luoyang City were petrified in an instant. God, Zhang Zhun actually arrived in Luoyang! This is not a joke! No one thought about why Zhang Zhun suddenly appeared in Luoyang. However, since Zhang Zhun has come, Luoyang is really in danger.

In the past, Luoyang was besieged by thieves and others, but they all lived safely. However, when Zhang Zhun arrived and when the Hu Ben Army arrived, the officials in Luoyang seemed to be in the middle of winter, and were poured with a basin of cold water from head to toe. Zhang Zhun was not a thief, he was a capable man who could defeat even the Tartars!

"What are Zhang Zhun here to do?"

Someone asked whimsically.

The officials around immediately watched the stupid guy inhumanely. He was such an idiot. At this time, he actually asked such a question. Who is Zhang Zhun? At this time, he came to Luoyang to pay tribute to King Fu? I don’t know how many people are coveting King Fu’s wealth. Zhang Zhun must have come for King Fu’s wealth.

"Oh, it's King of Fortune..."

The person who asked the question found that he was being watched and immediately reacted.

It is said that ordinary men are innocent and bear a treasure. The officials of Luoyang are the best portrayal of these two sentences. In fact, in terms of strategic status, Luoyang is really not very important. On the battlefield of the Central Plains, there are more cities that are more important than Luoyang.

However, since King Fu settled in Luoyang, Luoyang has become the target of the rebels repeatedly, and the bandits have come one after another. As long as they appear in Henan, they will be unable to help but stare at Luoyang for a few times. The reason is very simple, King Fu is rich!

As the most beloved son of Emperor Wanli, the vassal king, the vassal king, was definitely better than Emperor Chongzhen in other aspects except for power. There were millions of acres of land under his name, and almost all the more fertile land in Henan Province were under the name of King Fu. Even because the fields in Henan Province were not enough for King Fu, a part of it was specially assigned from other provinces.

In addition to owning the largest land in the country, almost all profitable businesses in Henan Province have shares of Fuwang. Among the ten companies in Luoyang City, ten of them are related to Fuwang. Because if they have nothing to do with Fuwang, they cannot open a store in Luoyang at all. The power of Fuwang has completely enveloped the entire Luoyang City.

It can be said that around Luoyang, and even in the entire Henan, King Fu is a first-class existence, even better than Emperor Chongzhen. In addition to not having his own army, all the styles of King Fu are more grand than Emperor Chongzhen. As for daily life, Emperor Chongzhen is even more out of reach.

Someone has estimated secretly how much property King Fu has, but after all, he couldn't figure out the answer. Because this amount is too powerful and the chips are not enough! The most conservative estimate is that the property under King Fu's name is converted into silver, at least more than 10 million taels of silver.

This still only calculates various movable properties. If you calculate various real properties, including palaces, manors, hunting grounds, lakes, yards, fields, etc., this number will probably have to double. There are even rumors that Emperor Wanli even granted the Yellow River to King Fu's family.

Just imagine, such a golden Buddha statue is placed in Luoyang City. Can the bandits not be moved? As long as they break through Luoyang, capture King Fu, and settle his property, this person will definitely become the richest man in the world! Millions of troops can support it!

It is for this reason that the officials in Luoyang were not so nervous when the Shaanxi Uprising Army gathered in Xingyang. They patrolled the city day and night, fearing that the Uprising Army would advance westward. Fortunately, the Uprising Army did not come to attack Luoyang in the end, and they survived the disaster safely. However, this time, Zhang Zhun suddenly came and everyone felt something was wrong.

The biggest weakness of the Shaanxi bandits is actually attacking. The bandits' ability to attack is really not very strong. They cannot capture a slightly larger town. They have attacked Luoyang several times, but they were forced to retreat in shame. However, the Hu Ben Army is different. The Hu Ben Army's ability to attack is very strong. Even the Tartars are not the opponent of the Tiger Army. The Luoyang defenders asked themselves that their combat effectiveness is stronger than the Tartars?

"Where is Lord Lü?"

"Let's go and discuss with Lord Lu!"

Suddenly, some of the officials shouted in a hurry.

His proposal was immediately approved by all the officials, and they stood up and went to find Lord Lu. The Lord Lu they called was Lu Weiqi. Lu Weiqi, who had been the Minister of War in Nanjing, was the most famous and the highest status among the gentry in Luoyang. He was the backbone of local officials in Luoyang.

In the past few years since Lu Weiqi returned to Luoyang from Nanjing, he often gave lectures at the Yiluo Academy he founded himself, but if there is any major event in the local area, the officials and gentry would ask him for advice or ask him to speak. Therefore, although he had no official position, he was more effective than the current local officials on important issues. This was the case in the Ming Dynasty. As long as he had served as a ***, his life would be very glorious even if he retired and returned home.

In fact, when Zhang Zhun led the Hu Ben Army to Luoyang, Lu Weiqi had already learned the news. His news has always been very well-informed. Lu Weiqi only had one judgment on Zhang Zhun's arrival, that is, King Fu is over. He was sure that Zhang Zhun was definitely coming for King Fu this time, and his purpose was King Fu's wealth. As for Luoyang City, it was a coincidence. If the local officials in Luoyang could do it, they would basically not be affected.

Of course, Lu Weiqi's inference cannot be told to others. After all, Zhang Zhun was the enemy of the court and the great trouble of Emperor Chongzhen. If they, the officials in Luoyang, were not good at protecting King Fu, even if Zhang Zhun did not want their lives, Emperor Chongzhen would have to take their lives. Therefore, after all, they still had to stand up firmly and resist the attack of the Hu Ben Army.

"Zhang Zhun, Zhang Zhun, what kind of person is this?"

In the quiet courtyard, Lu Weiqi stroked his beard and was quietly considering it.

The news about Zhang Zhun mainly comes from Nanjing. Over the years, Lu Weiqi has indeed heard a lot about Zhang Zhun. Lu Weiqi has no interest in details, he just summarized Zhang Zhun's major aspects. Zhang Zhun he summarized was a very powerful opponent, and no one else had the chance to defeat him. Since he came to Luoyang this time, the officials in Luoyang, and the King of Fu himself, I am afraid they will be bad.

While pondering, an old man hurried in and bowed to Lu Weiqi and said, "Report to the master, Lord Wang of the Tribunal, Lord Feng of the Town, Lord Feng of the Prefecture, Lord Wei of the Promotional Office, Lord Zhang of the County, and several local gentry came to pay their respects together and waited outside the second gate. They said that they wanted to negotiate with the master if they had important matters."

Lu Weiqi nodded slightly and calmly ordered: "Please!"

Lu Weiqi has long been mentally prepared for the arrival of these Luoyang officials. Every time when encountering major events, Luoyang officials will come to him to discuss countermeasures, which has become a routine. Of course, this time will not be an exception. I am afraid that Zhang Zhun will come with the Hu Ben Army cavalry, which has scared these Luoyang officials. Alas, these days, hearing Zhang Zhun's name is indeed terrifying, especially when Zhang Zhun was outside the city.

When Lu Weiqi came to the second gate, several civil and military officials, led by Wang Qingsong of the sub-scheduling, and several gentry, had been invited to the guest hall of the academy to sit down. Lu Weiqi sat in the upper position and signaled that everyone could speak. Although Lu Weiqi felt that it was not good about Zhang Zhun's arrival, he still had to show his calmness in front of these officials.

As soon as the servant presented the tea, Wang Yinchang took the lead and said, "Sir, Zhang Zhun is here. It is said that he brought tens of thousands of troops and tried to be unfavorable to Luoyang. I just stood on the top of the city and saw the cavalry of the Hu Ben Army. Just now, all local civil and military officials and several gentry went to the yamen of our branch office to discuss how to protect the Luoyang vassal and enthrone the important land. After a while, we came to ask for advice together. Only the teacher can save Luoyang."

Lu Weiqi said calmly: "Since the student has returned from office and traveled to the forest, he is only committed to teaching. Unexpectedly, the bandits are rampant, and they see that the Heluo is not protected and the Central Plains are sinking. Luoyang is a place that must be fought for by military strategists and also the location of the tombs of the students' ancestors. Whether it is for the country or the family, the students are willing to follow the Lords and do their best to protect this land. What do you think of the Lords?"

The prefect Feng Yijun said bitterly: "To defend Luoyang, we must quickly calm the hearts of the army and the people. Once the hearts of the people are gone, the morale of the army is changed, and everything is over. Before, the thieves everywhere declared that they would not kill civilians, but only officials and gentry. Now, Zhang thieves spread the order of equal fields and lure local people, causing the people of Henan to want Zhang Zhun to arrive early. It is really terrible."

"Zhang Zhun also threatened that if we take the initiative to surrender the city, we can still receive preferential treatment. If Luoyang City is broken, not only will all local civil and military officials be killed now, but the old man is afraid that the old man will be able to protect his wealth. What's more important is that His Highness, King Fu, loves his son for Emperor Shenzong, and is now the lord and his uncle. If Luoyang falls, leads to the conquering of Fufan, how can he treat the king and father as a minister? Besides..."

Lu Weiqi cut off the prefect's words and said deeply: "The situation is very urgent at the moment. Please tell me directly. There is no need to mention other principles. Since Zhang Zhun is here, it is obviously for King Fu. We are just a victim. Our primary task is to stick to the city and prevent Zhang Zhe from entering the city."

Feng Yijun stopped going around the corner, coughed twice, cleared his throat, and continued: "Luoyang's survival, local civil and military officials have the responsibility to defend the territory and cannot be shirked. However, at this time when the people are in a state of chaos and the army's spirit is shaken, survival is actually determined by His Highness Fu. The people in Luoyang often rumored that the food in the Fuwang's warehouse was piled up like mountains and was so rotten that it could no longer be eaten. However, we ordinary people were displaced on the streets and starved to death a large number of people every day. This situation was happening one after another, I am afraid that the people would spontaneously open the city gate and welcome Zhang's thief into the city."

General Wang Shaoyu interrupted in pain: "The same is true for the military camp, and people's hearts have long been flustered. The soldiers have not had any payments for eight months, and they have been cursing behind their backs. They once said in front of me that King Fu's gold and silver are too much, and the money is ruined. We have no food and salary for almost a year, so what bastards are working hard to defend the city for him! I am a military general, and I die for the country's loyalty. But my soldiers refused to use their lives, so how do I defend the city?"

Wang Yinchang, the sub-scheduled roadmaster, continued: "The only way to save Luoyang is to ask His Highness, King Fu to open the warehouse, take out tens of thousands of taels of silver to reward the soldiers, and thousands of tantares of grain to help the hungry people. If you leave this last move, Luoyang will not be defended, and King Fu's country will not be protected, and we all die together!"

Because Wang Yinchang's tone was so painful, everyone who heard it was very moved. The room was silent for a moment, with only a gentle sigh. The temperament of Fu King was actually very clear. It was harder to get money and food from Fu King's hands than to cut flesh. However, except for this method, they did not have any solution.

Lu Weiqi naturally knew the temperament of King Fu. He thought about it and slowly raised his head and asked, "Why don't you please bring this pasta to King Fu?"

Wang Yinchang said helplessly: "I am with General Wang. Prefect Feng went to the palace twice to ask for your highness, but your highness refused to see you, and he still thought we were noisy. Today, officials and gentry gathered to discuss and could not think of any other way, so he had to come and ask the teacher to enter the palace."

Lu Weiqi frowned and said, "You are the civil and military guards. Your Highness, King Fu, still refuses to see you. I am idle and go to ask for a meeting. I am afraid that's even worse, right?"

Wang Yinchang hurriedly said, "Otherwise, otherwise. Mr. Wang was a minister of the court and a famous scholar of Neo-Confucianism. He was the man of Heluo. His Highness, King Fu, respects Mr. Huo, usually very much, and he is willing to meet him."

The magistrate Zhang Zhengxue advised him from the side: "Please ask the Grand Sima to come to the palace to save the creatures in this area."

The rich gentry all instigated and said that King Fu would meet him and obey his advice. Seeing that they had high expectations, Lu Weiqi refused and had to say with a sigh: "Since you are not able to meet King Fu and have a deep impression of the pros and cons, the students have to try it."

After seeing off the officials, gentry and guests, he told his disciples that he wanted to see King Fu. The disciples agreed and pointed out that Luoyang's survival and destruction was based on him entering the palace this time. Then he changed his clothes and took a sedan chair to the palace. King Fu's palace was located in the north of Luoyang City, close to the Yellow River. According to ancient research, this place was once the place where Wu Zetian ruled in ancient times.

Because of this rumor, it caused a lot of storms. Unfortunately, they were all suppressed by Emperor Wanli. However, after Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, there were indeed many Jinyiwei stationed near the Fu Palace. They were nominally responsible for protecting the safety of Fu King, but actually monitoring Fu King's activities. Fortunately, Fu King was not involved in the regime except for eating, drinking and having fun, and the Jinyiwei had nothing to do with him.

A tall and thick red palace wall separated the Fu Palace and the entire Luoyang city into two heavens. In this small circle, there is still a worry-free world of wine, debauchery, and life and death. The setting sun shines on the towering yellow glazed tiles, and the shadows gradually become thicker in the courtyards, and some painted corridors are full of yin energy.

A pair of copper tripods and gilded copper lions on the danmu in front of the main hall were also shrouded in shadow. From a palace courtyard to the east, the sound of sheng, Xiao, the sound of pipa and sandalwood boards were heard, and the sound of pipa was faintly heard in the deep harem, floating in the dim smoke of the palace courtyard.

In a bedroom behind Fu'an Hall, Fu'an Gong Zhu Changxun lay in a carved gold-painted ring chair covered with sable fur and brocade mattress, stretched his legs forward, and placed his feet wearing yellow satin boots on a carved sandalwood short table with red velvet thick pads. Two palace maids were kneeling left and right, and were gently pounding his thighs. The other two palace maids sat on the stools on both sides, each of which placed one of his thick arms on his legs and gently pounding them.

He was so fat that the slightly thin palace maid on his right had been pressed by his heavy arms for a long time. He glanced at him secretly from time to time and frowned. His round belly was raised high, like a big pot for hundreds of people to cook, and he was covered with a yellow robe.

One meter away from his feet, a group of musical prostitutes in costumes of palace maids were kneeling on the mat, holding various musical instruments, only one woman was sitting on a low stool playing the pipa, and the other was kneeling and accompanied by a hole.

King Fu closed his eyes and snoring softly for most of the time. Sometimes he suddenly snored very loudly, but then he fell down. After playing a song of pipa, King Fu also stopped snoring, opened his eyes slightly, and asked in a sleepy voice: "Is the bear paw familiar?"

A eunuch standing behind him took two steps and bowed to answer: "Your Majesty, I just went to ask, the bear paw is about to be stewed."

King Fu said unhappily: "Why didn't you stew it early?"

The eunuch hurriedly and said in fear: "The prince understands that it takes two hours to stew the bear's paws on weekdays, but now it has been stewed for more than an hour."

Only then did King Fu wave weakly and let the eunuch retreat.

Seeing that King Fu no longer asked about Xiongzhang, Si Le's palace maid wanted to fall asleep again. She hurried over and knelt down and asked softly, "Prince, are the servants who want to play music retreating?"

King Fu opened his dark red eyelids that were sagging due to excessive wine color, looked at her, and said weakly: "Play a song "Autumn Moon in Han Palace", zheng and pipa."

The music prostitute who was catching the zither adjusted the ***, tried the string sound lightly, and suddenly became a concubine, and came in with eunuch Liu, bowed to King Fu and said, "Your Majesty, Lu Weiqi came to the palace to ask for a meeting, and has been waiting for a long time."

King Fu did not make a sound and closed his eyes again. The two women who were holding the zither and playing the pipa stopped waiting because of Liu Chengfeng. After a moment of silence in the room, Liu Chengfeng took another step forward and said with a look down: "Prince, Lu Weiqi has been waiting for a long time."

King Fu half opened his tired eyes and said impatiently: "What's wrong with this old man? You tell him that I feel uncomfortable today and cannot see him. No matter big or small, I will ask him to come again next day."

Liu Chengfeng looked anxious and said in a low voice: "Prince, Lu Weiqi said that he would come to the palace today and he would have to see the prince. If he didn't meet the prince, he would never leave the palace until he died."

King Fu said unhappily: "What's the matter with him that he has to see me?"

Liu Chengfeng whispered: "He said whether the prince's country can be preserved? See you here. He is for the safety of the prince's country and for the lives and death of the officials, gentry and people in Luoyang City, to come to the palace to ask for His Highness."

King Fu took a heavy breath and said without any concealment: "The officials, gentry and people in Luoyang are doing my life and death! Ah, you beat, beat, continue to beat gently. My king's country was granted to me by Emperor Wanli, so there is no need for him, the old man, to be honest! Every time I say that the thief is a thief, and there is no real thief that he really kills in!"

Liu Chengfeng hurriedly said, "No, Prince. This time we came to Zhang Zhun's troops, which was to disrupt Shandong, defeat Jianlu in northern Zhili, and recently took over Zhang Zhun from Liaodong. It is said that his troops had arrived outside the city and claimed to destroy Luoyang. Lu Weiqi asked to see the prince for this matter, and he must see him."

"Zhang Zhun?"

King Fu said to himself.

The Fu King, named Zhu Changxun, seemed to have begun to understand that Lu Weiqi's entry into the palace for a visit, but he still didn't want to meet him. He had a vague impression of the name Zhang Zhun, as if it had been mentioned in many evil copyings. Unfortunately, the Fu King had no interest in evil copyings, so he didn't have much impression of it. He completely forgot about the Shandong Zhang Zhun, the Northern Zhili defeated Jianlu, and the Liaodong.

In fact, even if you remember, what is there? What is these things related to him? They are all things that Emperor Chongzhen should be thinking about. Who told his father to steal his throne of the emperor? Since he became an emperor and a thief, you should be thinking about it!

The King of Fu recently may be too fat or had other problems. He always felt sleepy, dizzy, and swollen limbs, so he often needed to lie down and ordered four handsome palace maids to beat his arms and legs. Now he forced him to leave his bedroom neatly and go to the front yard main hall or side hall to sit upright and receive Lu's worship. It would be so uncomfortable to talk to him! It would be so great if you can, Zhang Zhun will scare you like this.

Subconsciously, King Fu wanted to order Prince Zhu Yousong to meet him, but he heard the opera in the East Palace. He thought that since he bought a group of female actors from Suzhou a few months ago, the prince became more addicted to alcohol and sex every day. If the prince had misconduct in front of Lu Weiqi's eyes, it would be quite unbeautiful. After thinking for a while, he said to Liu Chengfeng: "Wait a minute, take Lu Weiqi to Fu'an Palace to see me!"

Liu Chengfeng hurriedly agreed to go.

After a while, the fat King Fu stood up with the help of several palace maids, changed his clothes, and then helped two eunuchs to Fu'an Hall and sat down on the throne. Many eunuchs stood on both sides and outside the hall. Lu Weiqi was taken into the hall and bowed to the bow. King Fu gave him a seat and tea, and then asked, "What's the matter with me, sir?"

Lu Weiqi bowed and said, "Zhang Zhun, a traitor from Shandong, led tens of thousands of cavalry to approach Luoyang, trying to be unfavorable to me. There are many hungry people in Luoyang, and the soldiers and the people have no ambitions. They complain and think about following the thieves. The officials and gentry were helpless and waited to die together. The prince was granted a title here, and the original mission was established for tens of thousands of years. If they did not try to defend the city, they would be regretful if they lost their country. How to defend the city and protect the country? In a hurry, I hope your highness will make a decision quickly!"

King Fu was a little surprised and panted and asked, "Luoyang is a vassal of the country. Do bandits dare to come to destroy the city?"

Lu Weiqi said tactfully: "When the bandits dare to betray the court, are they afraid of their relatives? In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng and others broke Fengyang and burned the imperial tomb. How could your highness forget it? Zhang Zhun's methods are much more powerful than Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng and others."

King Fu still looked a little disbelief and said lazily: "I am the emperor's uncle today. How dare the thief harm me?"

Lu Weiqi had no choice but to say helplessly: "Please forgive Weiqi for being blunt. I heard that the thief told the people that he would break through Luoyang and capture His Royal Highness alive."

King Fu trembled all over and asked quickly, "Is this true?"

Lu Weiqi said affirmatively: "The roads are everywhere, and even the three-foot boy in Luoyang City knows it."

King Fu's heartbeat and gasped harder, and asked again: "Sir, are you a loyal minister, what are your good ideas?"

Lu Weiqi said in a leisurely manner: "The royal family has countless money and a mountain of food. Today, Weiqi has no other good strategy. I only ask Your Highness to put the country first, spread out money to support the soldiers, and spread out food to help the people. If the army is strong and the people are in peace, Luoyang City can be defended, and Your Highness's country is as stable as Mount Tai. Otherwise... a disaster is unimaginable!"

King Fu suddenly realized in his heart that it was forcing him to pay for the money! In the past, every time the bandits approached, someone came to ask him for money, what kind of thieves were, Zhang Xianzhong thief, Li Zicheng thief, Cao thief... One thief came, another thief came again. Now, Zhang Zhun was coming again, and they still only knew how to ask for money.

Asking for his own money is equivalent to cutting his own flesh. King Fu was very damn about his own money, and even the prince Zhu Yousong could not get involved, let alone these officials in Luoyang? He looked at Lu Weiqi in annoyedly and said coldly: "Local civil and military affairs are responsible for defending the territory. If Luoyang is lost and our vassal dies the country, their vassals will not survive. Even if anyone can escape from the hands of the thieves, they will not escape the national law. Mr. forced me to defend the city for Luoyang. Is it not the responsibility of defending the city and protecting the vassals? Since Mr. is a loyal minister, why don't he urge local civil and military officials to defend the city and protect the vassals?"

Lu Weiqi couldn't help but stand up and said, "Your Highness is a bad person! It is precisely because the civil and military officials in Luoyang have no money and no food, and they are at a loss that the Duke recommended Weiqi to enter the palace to tell His Highness about the pros and cons, and begged His Highness to take out some of the money in the warehouse and the grain in the warehouse to protect Luoyang and the country. If His Highness still did not think about the country, how could he see the Second Patriarchs being listed underground?"

Zhu Changxun was angry and gasped, and said unhappily: "In recent years, floods and droughts have been constantly, and the thieves are like Mao. The income of this vassal has been greatly reduced, but the expenses in the palace are still not enough to make ends meet. How could the sir know? Please help the guards and the civil and military officials speak again to relieve them of their crimes. They have lost the city and lost their relatives. The Ming Dynasty has the law, so you don't need to enter the palace to force me to pay for money and food!"

After saying that, he signaled to the two eunuchs, helped him up from the throne, and went to the harem with breath. He didn't mention it even though he mentioned it.

Lu Weiqi looked at King Fu's departure from Fu'an Palace in surprise and disappointment. He couldn't help but sigh, paused, shed tears, and shouted in his heart: "Luoyang is over!"
Chapter completed!