282 Allegiance

“How is it? Have you considered the outcome, Mr. Song?”

After Lin Suisui left, the topic naturally returned to the five people present. Pei Qian put down the teacup in his hand and turned to ask Song Minghui, who had not commented ever since they entered.

Actually, when he called Lu Ze for a horse race today, his most important target was Song Minghui.

In the northern region, other than Duke Huai Yang’s ministry, which no longer had any deterrence and only had an empty name, the Zhou, Song, Gu, and Lin families still controlled a portion of the military forces.

Back then, the late emperor had bestowed titles to the four great families. However, they didn’t expect that these benefits still couldn’t satisfy their ambitions.

Although the descendants of these four families were much inferior to their ancestors, they were still ambitious.

What surprised Pei Qian was that the ones who caused the most trouble were not the Zhou and Song families, who were actually the strongest, but the Song and Gu families, who lagged behind.

There were people from the Zhou family and the Song family who were not muddle-headed, but there were also many incompetent troublemakers!

Therefore, although the northern border seemed calm, there was actually danger lurking everywhere.

In this situation, the best solution was actually to completely uproot these families in the north! However, doing so would definitely bring about great unrest and alarm too many people!

Most importantly, a large portion of the northern border was actually controlled by the four great families. If there was too much commotion at this time, it would inevitably jeopardize the border’s security.

Therefore, after thinking about it, Lu Ze finally thought of the safest way—taking advantage of their internal conflict to let them fight amongst themselves and find allies.

Zhou Hengchang and Mr. Song were his target allies!

“Before I answer Mr. Pei’s question, I have another question.” Song Minghui raised his head slightly and looked at Lu Ze. “Who will we give our allegiance to?”

“Mr. Pei is the fourth prince’s cousin, but the crown prince is only recuperating away from the palace now. The emperor hasn’t issued an edict to depose the crown prince!” Before Song Minghui could finish speaking, Zhou Hengchang, who was sitting on the other side, also said, “So, Mr. Pei, are you trying to rope us in for the fourth prince?”

“If that’s the case, will you refuse?” Pei Qian held his chin as he asked. He was surprised by the two people in front of him.

He thought of Lu Ze’s risky arrangement…

Lu Ze seemed to have predicted their reaction and handed the Crown Prince’s seal to him in advance. Wasn’t he worried…

“Mr. Pei, if our allegiance is really to the fourth prince, forgive me for not being able to comply.” Song Minghui put down the teacup in his hand and slowly stood up. “I know that you’re a straightforward person and that with your promise, you will definitely be able to help me resolve my current predicament. However, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to be on the same side as you!”

“Thank you for your hospitality these past few days, but I’m sorry. My choice is the same as Mr. Song’s. If you want to rope us in for the fourth prince, I’m afraid we can only say goodbye.”

Zhou Hengchang’s attitude was as firm as Song Minghui’s.

As if they didn’t know the consequences of doing so, they decisively rejected Pei Qian’s suggestion and even planned to leave.

However, Pei Qian naturally didn’t give them a chance to leave. Instead, he simply took out the seal Lu Ze had given him and placed it on the table. “Then, if this is the person asking you guys to submit your allegiance, will you guys be willing to cooperate?”

… .

After sending Song Minghui and the other two off, Pei Qian entered Lu Ze’s study.

“How did you know that they would reject the fourth prince so bluntly and choose you?” As soon as Pei Qian entered, he couldn’t wait to ask Lu Ze, who was sitting behind his desk and writing something.

He knew that Lu Ze had once led the Yanyun Army in the north, but the results of his investigation were that the Yanyun Army had always been at odds with the four major families here. There were even frequent conflicts between them…

Almost every time the Zhou and Song families submitted a report to the Imperial Court, they would badmouth Lu Ze!

This was also the reason why Lu Ze was able to stay in the north for so many years even though he was in charge of the Yanyun Army! After all, if the various factions were at odds, it could maintain a balance of powers!

But now, Pei Qian realized that all the news he had obtained previously seemed to be false.

“Because I’ve received their allegiance long ago!” Lu Ze looked up at Pei Qian with a smile. “Someone in Cloud Mountain City already knows that the fourth prince is here!

His arrival is troublesome for us, but it’s also an opportunity!

If we grasp this opportunity well, we can push all the blame on him! At the very least, he has to pay a price for taking credit for pacifying the north.”

“The West Mountain Courtyard has been tidied up. We’re just waiting for the fourth prince to come and check in!” When Pei Qian walked to the table, he realized that Lu Ze was actually busy helping Lin Suisui translate the medical book he had just obtained from the northern barbarian spies…

“I didn’t expect you to be so proficient in the northern barbarian language.” Pei Qian came over and picked up the paper that Lu Ze had already written and placed at the side. After taking a few glances, he couldn’t help but sigh. “I heard from Zhou Hengchang that the Zhou family has been rooted in the north for so many years, but they haven’t found anyone who is familiar with the northern barbarian written language.

I didn’t expect Your Highness to be so proficient after staying in the north for only a few years.”

“It’s actually not that difficult for ordinary people to understand the language of the northern barbarians.” Lu Ze copied the words very quickly and even had spare attention to answer Pei Qian’s question. “However, unlike us, there are few northern barbarians who can read and practice calligraphy, because most of the ordinary people in their clan might not have a chance to read those books in their entire lives.

Therefore, few people could master the northern barbarian written language.

“Most of them are shamans and witch doctors in the clan. Only high and mighty servants of Tengri are qualified to possess and read those books!”

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