The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

Duke Ding of Lu sighed and said, "City Lord Zixuan, I know full well that Confucius has great talent. It's not that I don't want to use him."

But the power in the court is in the hands of the Three Huans, and I, I cannot make the decision. There is nothing I can do."

Zixuan looked at Duke Ding of Lu, looking at his pitiful face, and thought to himself, another Duke Huai of Qin has appeared...

"My Lord, please forgive Zixuan for his eloquence. It is not a good thing for the king's power to fall into someone else's hands. It will inevitably lead to chaos in the long run!"

"I know. Fortunately, I have the support of Generals Gongzi and Di Shimi. Otherwise, I would have been in danger long ago!"

"So, Your Excellency must strip some of the power of the Three Huans."

"If you listen to Zixuan, you will immediately employ Zhongni and weaken the power of the Three Huans!"

Duke Ding looked at Zixuan with horror: "What if, what if the Three Huans cause trouble?"

"Don't be afraid, my lord. Zixuan has decided to stay in Qufu for a while. I want to see who dares!"

Upon hearing this, Duke Ding of Lu stood up excitedly, bowed deeply to Zixuan and said:

"With your support, I have nothing to fear! Thank you, City Lord Zixuan! Thank you!"

The next day, Duke Ding of Lu summoned Confucius to the main hall and announced to his ministers:

"My dear ministers, as state affairs are becoming increasingly busy, I am afraid that you will be overwhelmed, so I have decided to reinstate Confucius."

"I hereby appoint Confucius as the Grand Minister of Justice and acting Prime Minister, and he will share control of the military and political affairs of the court with the Three Huans!"

Huh? What? The ministers immediately started talking among themselves...

Master of Ceremonies Shao Zhengmao hurried out and said, "Your Majesty, this is forbidden!"

"Confucius has already left office, how can we use him again? If everyone follows his example, the civil service system will be in chaos!"

The three Huan clan leaders also responded in unison, disagreeing with Confucius's comeback.

Duke Ding of Lu slammed the table and said, "Am I the king, or are you the kings? This matter is settled! No more words!"

Seeing that the king had made up his mind, the ministers, although dissatisfied, said no more and secretly made their own plans in their hearts.

Three days later, Confucius returned home from court. One of his disciples hurried over and bowed deeply, saying, "Master, you are back!"

"Shao Zhengmao is such a piece of shit, he actually openly tried to win over your disciples to become his disciples!"

"What? Is this really true? Shao Zhengmao has gone too far! I will fight you to the death!"

For several days in a row, Shao Zhengmao often debated with him in the court.

Saying his Confucianism is cowardly and that only his own views are correct...

Confucius could no longer tolerate this and finally sent someone to kill Shao Zhengmao on the seventh day after taking office.

This move immediately shocked the court, and the Three Huans and their followers became much more obedient.

In the Wu Palace in Linzi, Qi State, Duke Jing of Qi was discussing the alliance with the Lu State with his ministers.

He looked around at everyone and said, "My dear ministers, the Wu Kingdom is becoming increasingly powerful."

"After much consideration, I have decided to form an alliance with Lu to jointly fight against Wu. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

Immediately there was a commotion in the hall. Some ministers opposed it, while others agreed. Sima Rangju came out and said:

"Your Majesty! While an alliance is certainly a good thing, Qi and Lu have been enemies for generations. I'm afraid Duke Ding of Lu will not agree!"

Chuju nodded and said, "It is precisely because I know this reason that I have discussed this with you all."

Everyone turned their gazes to Yan Ying again, and Yan Ying hurriedly stepped out and bowed:

"Your Majesty! Since ancient times, there have only been common interests, not eternal enemies."

"If you want to form an alliance successfully, Your Majesty will have no choice but to reluctantly return the two cities you previously occupied to the State of Lu."

"Duke Ding of Lu is not a fool. Once Wu destroys Chu, he will be next."

"An alliance with Qi would bring only benefits to Lu. Furthermore, I heard that City Lord Zixuan is providing disaster relief in Lu."

"Your Majesty, please write a letter and ask her to persuade the King of Lu to form an alliance. This will surely succeed!"

Duke Jing of Qi nodded after hearing this and said, "Okay! I will follow the Prime Minister's advice and write a letter immediately!"

At the Qufu Palace, the eunuchs finished reading the letter from Duke Jing of Qi inviting Duke Ding of Lu to a meeting, and the ministers began to discuss...

Duke Ding of Lu coughed twice and said, "My dear ministers, what do you think of this matter?"

Ji Huanzi, the leader of the Three Huans, came out and said, "Your Majesty, I do not agree!"

"For hundreds of years, Qi has repeatedly invaded Lu! Our country has been bullied!"

"Even several generations of previous kings suffered from a fear of Qi. Moreover, countless soldiers have died in battles with Qi throughout history!"

"Even if the State of Lu is destroyed by the State of Wu, we will never form an alliance with him!"

The leaders of the Mengsun and Shusun clans also echoed in unison: "That's right! Your Majesty! We absolutely cannot form an alliance with Qi!"

Duke Ding of Lu cursed inwardly, "Damn it! If Lu is destroyed by Chu, I will be the one who suffers the most!"

At this time, Confucius came out and said, "Your Majesty! I have a different opinion!"

Oh? Duke Ding of Lu was delighted: "Zhongni, please tell us what you think!"

"I believe that the benefits of an alliance with Qi are as follows;"

"First, we can jointly resist the Wu Kingdom and protect the foundation of the Lu Kingdom!"

"Second, we can reclaim the cities occupied by Qi!"

Third, taking this opportunity to put aside past differences with Qi and strengthen trade relations will make Lu rich and its people strong!

Hmm! Duke Ding of Lu nodded as he listened: "What the Prime Minister said is exactly what I want!"

Zixu and Di Shimi also came out and said, "Your Majesty! We also agree with the Prime Minister's plan..."

Good! Duke Ding of Lu was very happy. He finally had a minister who was his confidant.

"Come here! Reply! I have decided to hold a meeting with Duke Jing of Qi in Jiagu in ten days!"

At the same time, Zixuan also received a letter from Duke Jing of Qi.

Although she heard from her son that Duke Ding of Lu had agreed to the alliance, she still decided to go to the palace.

Duke Ding of Lu was delighted to see Zixuan. After a cup of tea, Zixuan asked, "I heard that my lord has invited you to a meeting to fight against Wu?"

"Exactly. What do you think, City Lord Zixuan?"

"Well, I think it's a good thing! Regardless of the purpose."

"At the very least, the two countries have put aside their hostility and will not engage in further warfare, and the people will be freed from the suffering of war."

"Yes, City Lord Zixuan, I think so too. In ten days, I will hold a meeting with Duke Jing in Jiagu."

"I wonder if City Lord Zixuan is willing to go with me?"

Zixuan thought for a moment and said, "No problem. I'll accompany you!"

At the residence of Li Mi, the official of Linzi, Xu Tu's son Xu Wei gnashed his teeth and said:

"Brother! If I hadn't drunkenly stayed overnight at Chunhua Courtyard, I would have been killed by Zixuan's agents!"

"It's a pity that more than 300 members of my Xu family were tragically wiped out, leaving only me as a descendant!"

"I haven't found a chance to take revenge for so many years, but this time the chance has finally come!"

Li Mi also nodded excitedly: "Brother is right!"

"If you hadn't saved my life when I was critically ill, I'm afraid my tailbone would have rotted away!"

"Now it's time to repay the favor. What do you think we should do?"

Xu Wei sneered: "I have thought of two plans. The first is to kill someone with a borrowed knife!"

Didn't Duke Jing of Qi invite Duke Ding of Lu to a meeting in Jiagu? I'll get some assassins to disguise themselves as Laiyi people from Fugui City!"

"Kidnap Duke Ding of Lu at the banquet, and if necessary, kill him and frame that bitch Zixuan!"

"If this plan fails, we will kill him on the way after the banquet!"

"I have already gathered more than 200 of my father's former subordinates and ambushed them there in advance!"

"This time, we must kill Zixuan to avenge our Xu family!"