Xiaodie turned her study and asked softly: "How does Qilang plan to act?"

Lu Qi stretched out his hand and pulled Xiaodie to sit on his lap, hugged Yiren's waist with his right hand, and smiled and said, "I just acted with the flow and were busy with wealth and honor first. The rest were all dealt with by soldiers."

"If you are too calm, it is not a good thing. You can propose marriage to the Emperor Zhou." Xiaodie suggested softly.

Lu Qi hugged her tightly and said gently: "Xiaodie, I want to marry you. I have thought about going to Shouzhou and ask my uncle to take the marriage."

Xiaodie shook her head and said, "I don't want to be a hostage to be separated from you."

After hearing this, Lu Qi was silent. After a while, he whispered: "Xiaodie, it will be bad for you after being delayed for a long time. I am in Zhou State. It will take several years to spend in my opinion."

"I want to wait, I want to marry you in a righteous manner." Xiaodie lowered her head and said persistently.

Lu Qi hugged Xiaodie with his arms and said guiltily: "Xiaodie, I know, you want to protect me."

After hugging each other quietly for a long time, Xiaodie suddenly said in a soft voice: "Fool, if you feel uncomfortable, I will give you my body."

"It's not here, there are strangers not far away." Lu Qi replied with a big hand, but he leaned into Xiaodie's clothes and stroking her snow-slipping jade body. Xiaodie twisted her body lightly, her beautiful eyes half closed, and her subtle humming.

****

The next morning, Xiaodie went to Qingfengju to be in charge, and Lu Qi was waiting at home.

Nearly noon, Shi Zhongfei suddenly came, and the fourteenth lady and Zhexiangyue were also here. Zhexiangyue had not married Lu Qi yet, so it was natural that he could not go home with Lu Qi.

Shi Zhongfei said that the Zuixianju in Bianhe has not changed hands yet, so he can accompany Lu Qi to see it. Lu Qi was wearing a sheepskin coat inside and a cloth robe outside, and called Lu Hai and Li Bao to accompany him.

The group walked forward and experienced the prosperity of Kaifeng Prefecture. It also snowed in Kaifeng Prefecture, but the streets were swept cleanly. Although the weather was very cold, people walking outside could still be called a constant stream.

Lu Qi asked Shi Zhongfei about his return home, but Shi Zhongfei gave him a bitter face and said, "Sir, I went back to the Duke's Mansion yesterday. I was crying with joy. My grandfather calmly and nodded with satisfaction. Grandma said she would not let me go to Beiting again."

Lu Qi smiled and said, "Since the Duke's wife is reluctant to leave, you can go."

"My grandma said that men should make achievements. I am willing to be the official position of the Beiting Protectorate, but my grandparents care very much, because it is related to the Shi family's glorious ancestors." Shi Zhongfei replied honestly.

Lu Qi smiled and nodded. He imposed the Protector of Beiting on Shi Zhongfei. The Zhou court admitted that Shi Zhongfei was appointed as the Protector of Beiting. A young man in his early twenties became a third-rank official, in charge of military and political affairs in the region, and obtained it by himself. It was definitely a legend that people admired, and it would even be compared with Huo Qubing. Unless Shi Shouxin was stupid, he would never take the initiative to let Shi Zhongfei abandon his position as the Protector of Beiting.

"Sir, will you still have to recover the four Anxi towns in the future?" Shi Zhongfei asked.

"It's hard to say, it depends on whether the Great Zhou can unify the north and south. If we cannot unify the north and south, we cannot greedily march into the four towns of Anxi. The four towns of Anxi are much larger than Beiting, and it is difficult for us to rule. But if the Uighurs occupying the four towns of Anxi obstruct trade, we can only take the risk and advance to the four towns of Anxi." Lu Qi replied.

Shi Zhongfei nodded and said, "We shouldn't be eager for success. If we manage Hexi and Beiting well, we will still be able to become prosperous and strong."

Lu Qi was stunned and said gently: "Zhongfei, what you said sounds profound."

Shi Zhongfei was silent. After a while, he whispered: "I talked to my grandfather last night. Grandpa said that His Majesty the Emperor had no successor, I was afraid that he would be in chaos in the future."

"How come Your Majesty has no successor?" Lu Qi whispered.

"Grandpa said that the current crown prince is weak, King Cao is incompetent, and King Ji is okay, but he is still young, and His Majesty the Emperor cannot depose the elders and establish the young people. His Majesty the Emperor has hidden diseases, so I am afraid that King Ji will not grow up." Shi Zhongfei replied in a low voice.

Lu Qi was silent. After a while, Shi Zhongfei said again: "Last night, Grandpa drank a lot of wine, so he said some rebellious words."

Lu Qi nodded and said, "What the Duke of the State should be telling the truth. I am not familiar with the prince. If that King Cao became the Emperor of the Great Zhou, it would be difficult for him to protect the Great Zhou dynasty."

"Sir, will you support King Ji in the future?" Shi Zhongfei asked bluntly.

Lu Qi smiled bitterly and said, "You shouldn't have asked this. I don't know how to deal with the future and how to answer you."

"Sir, I think that with the military strength of Hexi, you should be able to stand on your own and even be able to occupy many western prefectures. Because the Great Zhou is now fighting hard with Bashu, Jiangnan and the north, it is difficult to return to the army to compete in the west." Shi Zhongfei said.

"Is this the Duke's doubt?" Lu Qi asked.

"It was said by my grandfather, but I also wondered." Shi Zhongfei replied.

Lu Qi nodded and said, "Do you think the heyday of the Tang Dynasty is better or the war period after the collapse of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Of course it was the period of the prosperous Tang Dynasty." Shi Zhongfei replied.

"You also know that war is not good. Look at Kaifeng Prefecture, is it a prosperous scene?" Lu Qi said.

Shi Zhongfei turned his head and looked at it, turned his head and said in surprise: "My lord means that he doesn't want the Great Zhou to fall into war."

Lu Qi nodded and said, "I am a military general, but I never felt that the more wars the better. In the past, An Lushan rebelled in Yan, northern, but broke the prosperous Tang Dynasty into ruins. I made the fortunate Tang Dynasty. I advanced to Hexi, with tens of thousands of troops, and even had 40,000 Xiliang cavalry. But you should know that most of the Hexi army is a French clan. If I raise troops to Hexi, the consequence is the second An Lushan. My army will break the Great Zhou Dynasty that has been peaceful for many years, and will cause me to fall into endless wars. Why not be at ease with them?"

Shi Zhongfei narrowed his head, but said, "But if the lord has troops in Hexi, there will be future troubles."

"Zhongfei, I want to live too, and I want to live happily. You know very well the situation in Hexi, and you also know what I rely on to make the tribes surrender. If I don't have troops in Hexi, Hexi will inevitably lose again. Once Hexi loses, the situation in the western part will be defeated like a mountain." Lu Qi said.

Shi Zhongfei nodded and said, "It was because of the beliefs and gifts of the foreign race that he was able to stabilize Hexi."

Lu Qi nodded and said, "I decided to come back to Kaifeng Prefecture, which shows my intention. How does His Majesty the Emperor choose? That's not something I can guess. I have troops in Hexi to protect the fruits of victory, but it can also be considered a life-saving strategy."

Shi Zhongfei nodded and said, "If Your Majesty is unfavorable to the Lord, the Hexi military power will inevitably raise troops to fight against Zhou. Understanding the composition of Hexi military power, most of the generals and officials respect the Lord very much."

Lu Qi said calmly: "Actually, many things are involuntary. Your Majesty originally thought that I could restrain the Duke of Jin, so he asked me to go to Shizhou. After I won Shizhou, I became an important chess piece. Now I am still a chess piece, but I have room for choice, and now I choose to wait and see."

"Watch?" Shi Zhongfei said in surprise.

Lu Qi smiled and said, "Didn't you say before? Your Majesty has no successor. Since Your Majesty has no successor, there will naturally be military officials who want to replace him. So you asked me if I would support Your Highness Ji, but I can't answer you because I decided to wait and see."

Shi Zhongfei frowned and silently. After a while, he said, "Sir, my grandfather is loyal to His Majesty and does not want any changes in the world."

"I have said that many things cannot be controlled. When things come, the original idea may not be persistent. Just say that your grandfather is a sworn brother with Zhao Kuangyin and has been in a relationship with the emperor for many years. If Zhao Kuangyin dies first, your grandfather will definitely support His Majesty's son to stay in a stable position. But if His Majesty the Emperor dies, it will be difficult for your grandfather to support His Majesty's son anymore." Lu Qi retorted calmly.

"Grandpa Zhao, he should not rebel." Shi Zhongfei said softly.

"Zhongfei, I can also swear that I will support King Ji, but I don't want to lie to you. What will happen in the future is indecisive." Lu Qi said gently.
Chapter completed!