Catching Monsters

Chapter 243 Xu Xiaogang Requests for a Meeting

Walking out of Xu Xiaogang's room, Jiang Yun came to Xu Suwen's yard. At this time, Jiang Qiaoqiao was in the yard, frowning, and seemed to be in a not very good mood.

Xiao Hei next to her was cooing, as if he could see that Jiang Qiaoqiao was in a bad mood and wanted to cheer her up.

Such a big thing happened in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, so Jiang Qiaoqiao naturally heard about it.

"Qiaoqiao." Jiang Yun walked into the courtyard and said slowly, "You should have heard about what happened in the Duke's Mansion in recent days, right?"

"Yeah." Jiang Qiaoqiao nodded obediently, looked at Jiang Yun with some worry, and asked, "Brother, you are not going to take me away, are you?"

"Sister Xu, Aunt Tao treats us so well, we can't just leave when we're in trouble."

Jiang Yun raised his hand and tapped her forehead: "Can your brother be such a heartless and ungrateful person?"

"I have to stay, but you have to live in Sanqing Temple for a while..."

Jiang Qiaoqiao heard this and knew that Jiang Yun was worried about her, but she shook her head and refused: "I won't leave."

Jiang Yun frowned, and wanted to persuade him again, but he didn't expect that at this time, Wu Chi's voice came from outside the courtyard: "Mr. Jiang, there is a guest outside the door, who is here to visit you."

Visit yourself?

Jiang Yun was slightly stunned. At this critical moment, is there anyone who dares to visit the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion?
"Who?"

"Deputy Commander Qian of the North City Military Department."

Jiang Yun walked quickly towards the gate. When he arrived at the door, he saw Qian Buchou wearing casual clothes, with a smile on his face and some gifts in his hands.

"Brother Qian, why are you here?" Jiang Yun was slightly stunned and looked outside the door. Fortunately, it was getting dark and there were no passers-by outside the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

He quickly pulled Qian Buchou into the mansion and said, "Haven't you heard about what happened recently? How dare you come to the Duke's Mansion at this critical moment?"

"Hey, I'm a rough man." Qian Buchou grinned, turned his head awkwardly, and whispered to Jiang Yun: "Since you came to the capital, you have been so close to the Zhenguo Mansion. I am of low status, and it is not easy for me to visit you and the Duke's Mansion casually on weekdays."

Listening to Qian Buchou's words, Jiang Yun couldn't help but look at Qian Buchou again: "Brother Qian, what you said is too distant. We are both from Nanzhou Prefecture..."

Qian Buchou shook his head slightly and whispered, "Brother Jiang, there is no problem with my friendship with you, but my relationship with the Duke's Mansion is not deep."

"I am not well educated. It is easy to add icing on the cake, but it is not easy to help in times of need."

"I want to formally visit the Duke's Mansion on weekdays, but how can it be so easy? I'm afraid it's not easy to even enter this door."

Sure enough, Wu Chi soon came over from behind, looked at Qian Buchou with a smile, and said, "Commander Qian, my wife said that since you are here, we can have a simple meal together later."

"Madam is in the living room, please go and have a seat."

Qian Buchou pointed at the gift in his hand and said with a smile, "I just arrived in the capital not long ago, and I am short of money. The gift I brought is a bit shabby. I hope you don't mind."

"The gift is small but the sentiment is great. Commander Qian, please."

This was a rather formal invitation. If it had been any other day, a top dignitary like the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion would never have personally invited a mere deputy commander of the North City Army to stay for dinner.

Hearing this, Jiang Yun couldn't help but look at Qian Buchou differently. He understood that Qian Buchou was gambling...

I bet that the Duke Zhenguo’s Mansion can survive this crisis.

Once the crisis is over, top dignitaries like the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion will certainly value the friendship of helping in times of need.

He has a real backer in the court. If the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion falls, he will inevitably be implicated.

Soon, Jiang Yun accompanied Qian Buchou to the living room. Tao Yuelan looked at Qian Buchou with a smile on her face and said, "Commander Qian, are you here to visit Jiang Yun? I heard that you and Jiang Yun are good friends from the same place?"

After Qian Buchou sat down, he quickly put down the gift and said, "Yes, Brother Jiang and I have a life-and-death friendship..."

Tao Yuelan has lived in the capital for a long time. Although she is not in officialdom, she manages the huge Duke Zhenguo Mansion. How could she not know Qian Buchou's thoughts?

But now that all parties have ignored the visit from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, Tao Yuelan still feels somewhat relieved that someone can come to visit.

She said slowly, "It's a pity that our Duke's Mansion is in trouble, otherwise many people in the Ministry of War are old friends of the Duke's Mansion and could help Commander Qian a lot."

When Qian Buchou heard this, he understood that the purpose of his trip had been achieved. He said, "The Duke's Mansion will surely be able to turn the crisis into safety. Madam, don't worry. I came to visit because I have long heard of the reputation of the Duke's Mansion. I am not here for any benefit..."

Jiang Yun sat aside and didn't say much, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, not worrying about money, this is also a risk-taking...

Soon, the servants prepared dinner.

Everyone was at the table. Tao Yuelan looked at the table full of food and said to Uncle Wu, "Old Wu, go inform the young master and ask him to come for dinner."

"Yes."

Uncle Wu walked quickly to Xu Xiaogang's yard. As soon as he walked in, he suddenly saw Xu Xiaogang wearing black armor, sitting under a tree inside, holding a sword with a firm look in his eyes. This sword was used by Xu Dingwu when he was young.

Looking at Xu Xiaogang's appearance in black armor, Wu Chi trembled slightly. They were so similar.

He looks so much like the Duke when he was young.

At this moment, Wu Chi seemed to see the Duke when he was young.

"Young Duke..." Uncle Wu was stunned when he saw this.

Xu Xiaogang took a deep breath, stood up slowly, and said, "Uncle Wu, tell me, if I join the army, can I have some of the character of my ancestors?" "I will go to the court tomorrow to meet His Majesty."

……

The next morning, all the civil and military officials stood in the court with solemn expressions. Xiao Yuzheng had not arrived yet.

The atmosphere of the morning court today is very different from that of ordinary days.

The atmosphere at the morning court on weekdays is not that serious. Before His Majesty arrives, it is normal for everyone to whisper and talk about various major and minor events in the country.

Occasionally, people even dislike each other and say something to each other.

But today, everyone's face was very serious and no one was smiling. Everyone knew in their hearts that the Duke of Zhenguo had defected to the enemy and something terrible had happened.

No one dared to say anything more.

The atmosphere in the entire court seemed somewhat depressing.

"Your Majesty has arrived." Feng Yu's voice rang out.

Soon, Xiao Yuzheng, wearing a dragon robe and with an expressionless face, walked in and sat on the dragon throne. All the ministers bowed to him.

"Flat body."

After all the civil officials and military officers stood up, Xiao Yuzheng slowly said, "There is no need to discuss other matters at the morning court today. I believe everyone has heard one thing. Xu Dingwu, the Duke of Zhenguo, has defected to the Northern Hu and has entered the grassland king's court."

"Today we will only discuss this matter. You may freely express your opinions."

After saying this, Xiao Yuzheng looked at the ministers below with sharp eyes.

Everyone remained silent, not daring to express their opinions on this sensitive issue.

boom.

Xiao Yuzheng slapped the dragon chair with his palm and said in a cold voice: "What? Are they all dead? Usually, they would argue over trivial matters in the court, but now they dare not speak?"

At this time, the Minister of War Du Huaian stepped forward, clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the Zhenguo family has been guarding the border for your Majesty for generations. Now that Xu Dingwu has defected to the Northern Hu, there must be some hidden reason..."

Du Huaian and Xu Dingwu had a good personal relationship. When they were young, they played together in the Jiaofangsi and fought with other nobles.

In this situation, the fact that someone can stand up and speak for Xu Dingwu is enough to prove it.

Sure enough, someone soon stood up to oppose it. Duke Cheng Duan Xing said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I think that the Duke of Zhenguo has defected to the Northern Hu. We should immediately arrest the people in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and put them in jail to serve as a warning to others. Otherwise, wouldn't everyone in the border army want to change their ways?"

Upon hearing this, Anguogong Tao Anbang stood up and frowned, saying, "Duke Chengguo, I think the most urgent task is not to deal with the people in Zhenguogong Mansion, but the 150,000 troops at Jianchi Pass."

"That army has been led by the Duke of Zhenguo for many years. If it were someone else, I'm afraid they might not be convinced."

Duan Xing snorted coldly and said, "Doesn't this prove that there is something wrong? All the soldiers in the world should obey your majesty's orders. How can they obey the orders of others?"

"I remember that the current wife of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion is from your Duke of Anguo Mansion. Duke Anguo, your selfishness is too obvious."

Tao Anbang was furious when he heard this: "Duke Cheng, what do you mean?"

"Hmph, Your Majesty, I, Duan Xing, request your order to go to Jianchi Pass. I will definitely be able to command that army." Duan Xing said in a deep voice.

This is also his purpose...

The nobles in the capital are divided into nobles with real power and nobles with honorary positions.

Duke Chengguo Duan Xing held a nominal position in the Ministry of War and was put on the shelf.

Commanding an army of 150,000, the status of Duke Chengguo's Mansion in the capital will soon soar and become one of the top dignitaries.

The two men glared at each other. The ones who spoke were all military generals and nobles. As for the civil officials, they kept silent, not wanting to be too deeply involved in the matter.

Xiao Yuzheng watched the discussion below with an expressionless face and did not interrupt.

Seeing someone speak, many generals in the court also spoke up to express their opinions.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Duke of Zhenguo must be severely punished immediately, otherwise how can the people of the world be convinced?"

"This is not possible. The army of Jianchi Pass has been loyal to the Duke of Zhenguo for many years. If the Duke of Zhenguo's entire family is wiped out, it will inevitably arouse dissatisfaction among the soldiers. In my opinion, we must adopt a conciliatory policy and send a general to take over the command of the army of Jianchi Pass first."

"Who's going? Are we really going to let Duan Xing go? It's ok for him to spend all his time drinking and having fun in the capital, but he has never led an army since his father's generation. Can he really suppress the 150,000-man army?"

"Leading troops is no joke. Your Majesty, please be cautious. In my opinion, I am a very suitable candidate..."

Xiao Yuzheng frowned slightly. None of these people gave him a satisfactory option.

At this moment, a eunuch suddenly walked in from outside the hall and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Xu Xiaogang from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion wants to see you..."

"And he was wearing armor..."

Upon hearing the news, all the civil and military officials in the court looked at each other in surprise. Why did Xu Xiaogang from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion come at this time?

When Xiao Yuzheng heard that Xu Xiaogang was coming, his eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Let him in, I want to see what he is here for."

(End of this chapter)