Hope for luck

Chapter 374
King Lu's Mansion in the capital city.

In the main hall of the palace, King Lu was discussing something with Dong Pingzhang at the moment. King Lu was sitting in the upper seat, while Dong Pingzhang was kneeling on a small couch beside him.

"Dong Xiang, this king is a little worried about Gao Pan. There has been no news for so long. If such news comes as soon as it comes out, I am afraid that the father will not believe it."

I saw Lu Wang said with a bit of worry on his face.

Dong Pingzhang, on the other hand, bowed and replied with joy on his face:
"Your Highness, please be at ease. Gao Pan is a monkey spirit. The old minister thought that nothing would happen to him. Didn't His Highness worry that he would be beheaded by the rebels before? Isn't it a good time to verify what the old minister said?"

When King Lu heard this, he couldn't help laughing. At first, after they heard that Dongshan was controlled by 'Yan Ni', King Lu thought that Gao Pan might be in danger.

But how did he know that Gao Pan was not only fine, but alive and kicking, and now he had someone personally send a memorial back to Beijing, stating that Dantang County, which he governed, has always been in the hands of the imperial court and has never been lost.

In this case, it's almost as good as deceiving a three-year-old child. Everyone knows that the first priority of the rebels who took control of Dongshan is to kill the officials of various prefectures and counties and replace them with their own people.

Let Gao Pan be fine, and dare to say that Dantang County is fine, isn't this a big joke, and he will definitely be suspected and accused by others.

After frowning, Lu Wang saw Dong Pingzhang's seemingly indifferent face, not worried at all, and said strangely:

"Seeing Xiang Dong's appearance, this king is not worried about Gao Pan anymore? But this king knows how much Dong Xiang attaches importance to him, so you are not worried at all?"

Dong Pingzhang bowed slightly after hearing this:

"Your Highness, there is nothing to worry about. Although Gao Pan doesn't care about the matter, but in the face of such big right and wrong, the old minister can guarantee that he will never go astray!"

After hearing this, King Lu was stunned. It took a while to understand what Dong Pingzhang meant. After thinking about it, he sighed softly:
"This king and Dong Xiang can believe it, but everyone in the world, the court officials, and the father will definitely not believe it. Gao Pan seems to have a big catastrophe!"

Dong Pingzhang replied on the ground:
"Your Highness, Gao Pan is only a small magistrate. The old minister thinks that His Highness should not be overly concerned, so as not to arouse suspicion!"

These words made Lu Wang stunned again, but this time he quickly reacted, and said with a wry smile:
"What Dong Xiang said is very true, the king has been taught... Then let's talk about the impact of this rebellion. The army's salary was huge, and with the loss of various weapons and equipment, the budget of the Ministry of War this year must have been greatly overrun... "

After speaking, King Lu got up, came to the palace, looked outside the palace, and said:

"...In addition, it is already mid-February. No matter how quickly, if you want to regain the entire territory of Dongshan and quell all the riots, I am afraid that you will have to go to the end of May or even June. That is to say, the tax of Dongshan this year is probably Those who can’t make it up, and have to allocate funds to support these people..."

What King Lu said made Dong Pingzhang frown. A sudden riot would cause such serious consequences.

Originally, the national treasury was already unable to make ends meet. After the Dongshan turmoil, he, the chief minister, faced a huge problem, that is, when Dayu's finances would be able to achieve a balance of revenue and expenditure, and even make the national treasury have a surplus.

"Your Highness, natural disasters and man-made disasters are inherently uncontrollable, especially in such a sudden riot. Liu Yuanliang, the second minister and traitor, was still a stable governor of Dongshan before the riot, and there is nothing wrong with him..."

Dong Pingzhang was talking softly. Seeing King Lu looking at him, he paused and continued:
"...Dongshan inspectors and Dongshan Dao supervisory censors, before this, did not discover Liu Yuanliang's wolf ambitions. Besides, a few years ago, the governor of Dongshan Wei Gongyi suddenly committed a crime. How dare you take this opportunity to act as a rebel!"

After hearing this, King Lu raised his eyebrows suddenly, stared at Dong Pingzhang and asked:
"Dong Xiang, isn't that right? I don't understand what you mean. Liu Yuanliang is the leader of the rebels? According to the news that came back before, the leader of the rebels is a woman, and Liu Yuanliang is just a subordinate!"

Dong Pingzhang also raised his eyebrows, narrowed his cloudy eyes, and replied:
"Your Highness should have read history books. How can there be a woman in history as the leader of the rebels? This so-called female leader is nothing more than Liu Yuanliang introduced to confuse everyone. The purpose is to hide his true face..."

"Your Highness, don't hesitate to think about it. If Liu Yuanliang said that he is the leader from the beginning, then there is no way out, but if he borrows a woman's hand and hides behind his back to order, then he can retreat or advance!"

These words made Lu Wang hear a different meaning. Although Dong Pingzhang was talking about Liu Yuanliang, it seemed that he was covering for someone?
Dong Pingzhang didn't know that Lu Wang had already become suspicious in his heart at this moment, but he continued to say on his own:

"...Just like the current situation, the veteran speculates that Liu Yuanliang must be dying, and he will definitely complain to the emperor, saying that he himself was persecuted, but in fact he is innocent..."

"...Old officials have to admire Liu Yuanliang's long-term intentions. In this way, if he succeeds, he can eliminate this woman and become the king himself. If he fails, he will push this woman to be his scapegoat. Your Highness, this traitor The method is really hard to guard against, Your Highness should remind the emperor not to believe Liu Yuanliang's nonsense!"

After Lu Wang said these words, he looked at Dong Pingzhang carefully. After a while, he saw that Dong Pingzhang had no mood swings and his face didn't change at all, so he exclaimed:
"This king has to admire you, Dong Xiang. What's the reason for making excuses for a woman I've never met?"

Even if what Dong Pingzhang said is reasonable, Lu Wang is not stupid. He understands that Dong Pingzhang's words must have a purpose, and this purpose is not difficult to guess. Dong Pingzhang is actually "whitewashing" this inexplicable woman?
After Dong Pingzhang heard this, his face remained motionless, but he slandered in his heart:

'Smelly boy, the old man doesn't even want his old face. He explained so much for you, now you owe me a favor! '

On the mouth, he replied calmly:

"Your Highness misunderstood. The old minister was just talking about Liu Yuanliang. This traitorous minister has ulterior motives and ambitions... If it weren't for him, how could the rebels control the entire Dongshan within two or three days?"

Lu Wang is not a serious person, he understands that some words will stop, so he echoed:
"What Dong Xiang said is very true. This king also thinks that Liu Yuanliang is a big traitor and cannot be forgiven... Speaking of which, how will Dong Xiang deal with this military expenditure?"

As soon as the words fell, there was a voice asking for instructions outside the hall:
"Your Highness, minister Lu Di is asking to see you. There is important news from Dongshan!"

(End of this chapter)