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Chapter 169
Lou Yue was stunned.
“Hurry up and take a seat. How are things in Yangzhou?” Huo Wujiu cleared his throat and changed the subject.
Lou Yue was still at a loss, but he didn’t dare to off when Huo Wujiu asked about the business. He replied, “Everything’s in order. Fortunately, the generals of those counties are my old friends. When the news of the late Emperor’s death spread, they knew they had no other option, so they all surrendered. I think the other counties in the state are more or less the same. After all, they each defended a separate area, and their forces were fragmented. Now that they’re leaderless, even if they’re unwilling, they will not resist.”
Huo Wujiu hummed: “It won’t take long for the entire south of the Chang River to be under control.”
Lou Yue agreed, but then frowned: “But have you thought about what to do afterward?”
Huo Wujiu looked at him and saw Lou Yue sitting there, also looking at him worriedly.
“A country cannot live without a ruler for a day. Although we have a mighty army at our disposal to suppress the entire Southern Jing, this is not a long-term solution after all. Now, be it Lin’an or other counties, civil servants are all being held hostage, and the Yamen are no longer useful. We’ll have to contact Northern Liang quickly for them to send officials and generals to recover the lost territories.”
However, when Huo Wujiu heard his proposal, he frowned and fell silent for a while.
He tapped his fingers on his knees, as if in thought.
Lou Yue was somewhat puzzled. After a moment, he reacted and hesitantly asked, “Are you… Don’t you want to hand Southern Jing over to Northern Liang?”
When this thought popped up, a face suddenly flashed before his eyes.
Could it be because of Jingwang?!
Huo Wujiu went out to borrow soldiers, but the only matter that worried him was Jingwang. On his return that day and heard that Jingwang had been captured, he looked as if he would go crazy. Don’t tell me that…
Lou Yue was dumbfounded: “You’re not thinking of appointing a new ruler, are you?”
Huo Wujiu raised his head and stared at him.
Lou Yue captured his intention with a hint of certainty from his gaze.
“You have to think clearly!” Lou Yue advised.
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Huo Wujiu wasn’t just anybody. If he was just a random general of Northern Liang, it would be understandable for him to pick such a choice. But he was not. He was the nephew of the new emperor of Northern Liang, and he was the only son of the Marquis of Dingbei who had instigated a rebellion against Southern Jing.
He had inseparable blood ties with the Northern Liang, and this was an unstable factor whether to the Northern Liang or the Southern Jing. Even if the new Emperor of Northern Liang acquiesced and Jiang Suizhou agreed, it would be difficult to quell the material disputes between the great powers. It would be impossible for the two states to maintain this awkward relationship forever.
Huo Wujiu quietly stared at him for a moment and then slowly exhaled.
“What if I say, I don’t know?” he asked.
Lou Yue was rendered speechless.
Looking closely at Huo Wujiu, he found that he was frowning. He also lowered his head, raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows.
“How annoying,” he whispered to himself.
His current reaction puzzled Lou Yue a bit.
This couldn’t have been a better decision in Lou Yue’s mind. Destroying Southern Jing was something Huo Wujiu had been doing all along, and he didn’t hesitate a least bit when he killed the Southern Jing’s Emperor.
The only thing that was difficult to deal with was probably His Highness Jingwang’s identity.
But giving him a clean identity couldn’t be easier for Huo Wujiu, no?
Could it be that the problem lies in Northern Liang?
Lou Yue didn’t dare to speak any further, nor could he ask more questions. Instead, he waited there quietly.
A few moments later, Huo Wujiu again exhaled.
“It’s okay.” He said, “Even if the surrounding counties have surrendered, we need to be more vigilant. Those things must never cause trouble again.”
Lou Yue answered in a deep voice.
Huo Wujiu waved his hand and let him leave.
Once Lou Yue left, the imperial study was empty. All of Jiang Shunheng’s things on the desk were cleared out, but yet again, memorials piled up on the huge desk.
They were all letters and memorials that the generals inside and outside the city sent over.
Huo Wujiu leaned back on the throne, without looking at them. He knew exactly what was written on those memorials.
The bones of scholars had always been harder than life. Even if they were suppressed at this time, they would never live in peace. Moreover, there were countless people in Southern Jing. A day or two without a parental official was nothing, but they couldn’t be left unattended for a year and a half.
He knew just how chaotic Southern Jing was.
However, for the first time in his life, he avoided it and did not want to let himself think about the Northern Liang.
He had no idea how much his uncle knew about what his cousin had done, or perhaps it was precisely what his uncle instigated; he did not know when his elder brother, who had gone through life and death with him and entrusted each other with their backs, dreaded him to the extent of walking step by step onto this path.
He was now only in his early twenties. In his short life, all he learned was how to kill his enemies. He never learned how to deal with close relatives who had changed from the past.
Even before his father died, he used his last breath to ask Huo Wujiu to take good care of his close relatives. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
He looked at the table full of paperwork. For a spell, he felt quite bewildered.
This kind of confusion would most likely give people the illusion of being lonely.
The daylight outside the window was in full bloom. It hadn’t been long since daybreak; it was not even noon.
However, he already started to miss Jiang Suizhou.