Chapter 21: The Emperor and His Ministers Have Already Met with the Right Time (21)

Thanks to He Zhang, Gu Chenglin can finally return to the mansion openly.

The conditions in the mansion are always better than those in the military camp. Even a general who thinks he can endure hardships has no reason to refuse a more comfortable life.

Across the street from the Gu mansion, there is a small house, which is He Zhang's residence.

In Yanling, every inch of land is worth a lot of money. Unless the emperor personally grants it, his salary is only enough to afford this small house.

In fact, the house seller sold it at a low price because he is a general.

He Zhang didn't think his living conditions were so poor. He rarely lived in this hard-earned small house. Except for the end-of-year palace banquet when the emperor would summon him back to Beijing, he would not come back during his usual rest days.

His family members were gone, so what difference did it make where he lived?

The small house was quiet, and there was not even a servant in it.

He Zhang had no friends. He was a one-track-minded general who only knew how to be loyal to His Majesty. He had no real power except for half of the Xianzhen Camp, so no one asked him to do things or to keep in touch with him.

On this day, a group of uninvited guests came to the remote alley. It was called a group, but in fact, there were only two people.

It was still early in the morning. He Zhang got up early to practice martial arts and heard the rustling of horse hooves outside the door.

He Zhang was confused for a moment, and when he heard the knock on the door, he realized that it was indeed looking for him.

But he was even more confused.

Without a father or mother, no friends or friends, who would come to his house?

Could it be a creditor? But he should not owe any debts.

He Zhang opened the door and saw a carriage parked at the door. Its magnificence, exquisiteness and luxury had nothing to do with his gray courtyard.

Zhuo Feichen, the famous "God of War" of Zhenbei, was standing under the carriage, patiently coaxing the people inside: "It's my fault for disturbing Minghuan's good dream. I have a rare copy left by the great scholar Wen Xuzhi of the previous dynasty at home. I will send it to you later to apologize, okay?"

"It's cold outside, just stay in the carriage, don't get off, just shout if you have anything, I'm always outside." Zhuo Feichen's earnest words, in the eyes of those who don't know, almost to the point of being called a dog leg.

The heavy curtains of the carriage were hung down, without shaking in the biting cold wind, and Shen Minghuan inside didn't respond.

He Zhang instinctively felt unhappy.

He and Zhuo Feichen had no dealings, but as both excellent generals, they inevitably had some sympathy for each other, and naturally couldn't stand the other party being "humiliated".

"What's the matter?" He Zhang said coldly.

Zhuo Feichen then noticed that the door of the courtyard had been opened at some point, and He Zhang blocked the door sideways, with one hand on the door, obviously not welcoming them.

Zhuo Feichen was in a good mood recently and didn't care about the other party's attitude. He said cheerfully: "General He, I'm here to hand over my work to you. Do you have anything else to say about the Xianzhen Camp?"

It seemed that the Xianzhen Camp would be his from now on.

"General Zhuo has never led troops?" He Zhang said sarcastically.

"Don't you know whether he has led troops or not?"

Shen Minghuan, who had been silent in the carriage, suddenly spoke up. He said slowly: "When Zhuo Feichen was fighting bloody battles on the frontier, you were in Kyoto..."

Before he finished speaking, He Zhang could imagine what he omitted, flattering, servile, and humble to the emperor like a dog... In short, it would not be a good thing.

He Zhang laughed at himself, "Yes, I am not worthy of General Zhuo. If you have nothing else, you can go. I have to go on patrol. I am sorry that I cannot see you off."

Zhuo Feichen was in a hurry to keep him: "Oh, no, please don't..."

"Zhuo Feichen." Shen Minghuan stretched out his hand to open the curtain, still using his slow tone, and said strangely: "Are you sure you still want to fight for him, let him abandon the dark and join the light, and stand on our side of justice? He seems to look down on us."

Even if He Zhang had a good temper, he would be angered by the yin and yang in these words, not to mention that his temper was not good.

But he really looked down on Shen Minghuan, and he was even more disdainful to communicate with him. So He Zhang crossed his arms in front of his chest, looked at Zhuo Feichen coldly, and waited for him to give him an explanation.

Zhuo Feichen frowned, his face was a little ugly.

He Zhang nodded secretly, thinking that Zhuo Feichen was indeed not an unreasonable person.

"Minghuan, why are you lifting the curtain? Didn't I tell you I'm right next to you? Hurry up and put the curtain down, it's windy outside!" Zhuo Feichen said sternly.

He Zhang, who heard this, said:...

The god of war has also fallen.

Shen Minghuan was very cowardly and let go of his hand, letting the curtain fall down to block the cold wind again, but he was still arrogant: "Zhuo Feichen, I think we should just go, regardless of life or death."

"You really don't have to worry about He's life." He Zhang looked cold, sneering at the previous description of "justice".

"General He, listen to me..." Zhuo Feichen wanted to cover his mouth and yell "Shut up."

He thought, compared with Shen Minghuan, ten He Zhangs combined don't have half the mind of him. General Zhuo rarely has such kindness, and advises you not to be ungrateful.

Shen Minghuan snorted coldly, interrupting Zhuo Feichen's unfinished words, "He Zhang, don't regret it, Kouguo is not as merciful as me."

Kouguo? He Zhang suddenly turned his head and looked at the carriage, "What do you know?" He took a deep breath, took two steps forward, and said angrily: "Colluding with the bandits is a crime of treason, Shen Che, you deserve to die!"

"He Zhang!" Zhuo Feichen shouted loudly, and his expression instantly froze.

The old general who was used to life and death would not allow anyone to curse his friend with this word.

Shen Minghuan didn't care, he said casually: "General He, you have to have evidence when you speak."

Then he knocked on the carriage, "Zhuo Feichen, let's go back."

Zhuo Feichen glared at He Zhang and turned over to sit in the driver's seat. He thought that no matter how outstanding and powerful Shen Minghuan was, he was still a child who had just come of age. He would still be sad to hear others scold him like this, right?

So Zhuo Feichen tried his best to make him happy.

The carriage was moving very slowly for stability.

With He Zhang's hearing, he could still hear the intermittent conversation between the two.

Shen Minghuan's voice sounded a little muffled through the heavy curtains, "Even if you say so much, I won't teach you the art of folding willows. Give up on this idea."

"You have taught so much, and folding willows is not a big deal..."

"No means no."

He Zhang ignored the rest of the content. He hurriedly left the house, ignoring the sudden change in the sky and snowflakes falling on his shoulders.

Shen Minghuan is the second prince's man. The second prince is in the heart of the emperor. If he is really related to the country of Kou, then Daqi... is in danger.

*

Although Zhuo Feichen just wanted to say something nice at first to avoid Shen Minghuan being sad, since he mentioned folding willows, Zhuo Feichen had no reason to miss this opportunity.

"You have taught me the more precious tactics without reservation, why don't you teach me folding willows?" Zhuo Feichen asked with a sigh.

Shen Minghuan was ruthless, "Breaking the willows is a tactic that allows the weak to defeat the strong and both sides to perish. I have the ability to save the soldiers to the greatest extent, but I don't trust you."

"I'm not stupid." Zhuo Feichen said with a smile, "I won't use it unless it's absolutely necessary."

"If it's absolutely necessary, I also hope you won't take risks. It's okay to avoid fighting or live in disgrace. Anyway, I will always save you." Shen Minghuan didn't hesitate at all, his tone was tough and his attitude was firm.

Zhuo Feichen drove the carriage, his lips opened and closed helplessly, and finally he only sighed, "Minghuan, are you so responsible to everyone?"

He thought, Yanling is really a very good place. He has been in Mobei for so many years and has never felt such a warm winter.

"Why do you talk like that? He Zhang will misunderstand you." Zhuo Feichen couldn't help but worry again. He felt that his child was promising, but also quite bad.

Shen Minghuan said indifferently: "What does it have to do with me?"

"But you did a good deed, but others didn't know about it. Isn't it a loss?" Zhuo Feichen persuaded.

Shen Minghuan's tone suddenly fluctuated, as if he remembered something not so good. He sneered: "Is it my fault?"

"Minghuan?" Zhuo Feichen was stunned for a moment.

Shen Minghuan closed his eyes, "Sorry, I lost my temper."

"No, no need to apologize, I mean..." Zhuo Feichen stopped the carriage and said carefully: "If there is anything, you can tell us. I... your grandfather cares about you very much."

Shen Minghuan was smiling again, "What can happen to me? Who in the world can make me get into trouble?"

Zhuo Feichen wanted to speak again, but was interrupted by Shen Minghuan.

The man yawned deliberately, and his voice was sleepy, "Zhuo Feichen, let's go back."

Zhuo Feichen didn't bother about it anymore, and secretly remembered this matter in his heart.

As soon as they returned to the Shen Mansion, they heard Shen An report that Li Chengzhuo was waiting in Shen Minghuan's courtyard for a long time.

Li Chengzhuo often came to see Shen Minghuan, but he never came so early.

Zhuo Feichen frowned, and suddenly realized that it had snowed during the time they came back, and it was still sunny when they set out.

Zhuo Feichen didn't know why he felt uneasy.

Before they entered the courtyard, Li Chengzhuo, who heard the news, came out to greet them.

Li Chengzhuo's eyes revealed anxiety, and he forced himself to be calm, "Minghuan, I have to go back to Lilan now, please help me."

"Is it because of the invasion of the border of Lilan by the Kou Kingdom?" After getting off the carriage, Shen Minghuan returned to the familiar state of Zhuo Feichen and others. At this moment, his face was indifferent and his tone was casual, as if he didn't think what he said was a big deal, revealing a reassuring confidence.

Li Chengzhuo calmed down unconsciously, "You already know?"

It's not surprising, Shen Minghuan knows everything.

Shen Minghuan nodded, "Don't worry."

Perhaps knowing the importance of Li Lan to Li Chengzhuo, his tone was rarely serious: "Li Chengzhuo, believe me, give me three days."

It's only three days. Kouguo is strong, and Li Lan is not powerless to fight back. If everything goes well, maybe the two sides will stay at the stage of making threats within three days without fighting.

Li Chengzhuo breathed a sigh of relief and nodded solemnly: "I believe you."

If someone had told Li Chengzhuo that one day he would trust someone and trust him enough to trust Li Lan's life and death to that person, Li Lan's noble prince would definitely make that person get lost as far away as possible.

Even Li Chengzhuo himself was wondering at this moment, how could he trust Shen Minghuan so much?