Chapter 492 A Wise Minister Suffers a Bad Luck

Dugu Xuda had left the north for a long time.

Many years ago, he left the north and fled to the south. However, he did not follow his father’s request to hide his identity and live as a rich man. Instead, he openly revealed his identity and thus obtained an official position in the Southern Dynasty.

Later on, his friends in the south, because of his familiarity with the north, made him a leader in trading with these people in the north, which became one of the important links in the sale of warships.

At this moment, Dugu Xuda couldn’t help laughing when he heard the words of the northerners in front of him.

“submission?”

Dugu Xuda shook his head. “If you are here to trade, then we can talk more, but if you want to surrender, forget it. I came from the north to the south, and now you want me to go back from the south to the north? I am no longer strong and I can’t stand such a bumpy ride.”

Hearing the other party’s slightly sarcastic words, the leader was not panicked at all.

He said calmly: “Mr. Dugu, please don’t rush to refuse.”

“We dare to come here to persuade Lord Dugu to surrender, so we naturally know Lord Dugu’s current situation.”

“We have also heard about what you have encountered since you came to the south.”

“You almost spent all the money your father left you, and only then did you barely catch the attention of those southerners, and be promoted by a noble, and now hold this idle position.”

The leader raised his head and looked around.

“This house is great, great! I heard that you loaded four ships with gold, silver and jewels to buy such a house. Things in the South are really expensive. If it were in the North, even a pearl would be enough to buy a large house, but here you need four ships full of jewels.”

Dugu Xuda’s face darkened and he said in a low voice, “Nonsense.”

“Whether it is nonsense or not, you know it in your heart.”

The leader put on an expression that looked like he deserved a beating. “As for what you just said about being weak, that’s not true, right?”

“I heard that you often go hunting with the sons of nobles in the south. You ride in the front, followed by the hunting dogs to drive the prey for them, and show them your riding and shooting skills. If they are happy, they will reward you with something.”

Dugu Xuda was furious. He jumped up suddenly, drew his sword and pointed it at the people in front of him.

“I will send you Northern Kingdom spies out right now!!”

“How will Lord Dugu explain to the court of the Kingdom of Chen? You are a northerner who escaped, and there are several northerners in your palace? How will you explain to those powerful people in the southern kingdom? We have been trading with them for a long time. If we are caught and discovered, who will die first between the two of us?”

“I’ll kill you now.”

“Lord Dugu!”

The man’s expression turned stern. “Are you still stubborn?”

“Why did those southerners let you be in charge of trade? You won’t get much of the money they make, and if something goes wrong, it’s you, a northerner, who is secretly communicating with the northern country, and the blame will be on you!”

“What good have you gotten here?!”

“Who respects you? Those big families drive you like hunting dogs! They ask you to show them horse riding and archery, and drive prey for them?!”

“Performing Hu language and playing Hu music for them at the banquet?”

“What a shame!!”

“If Dugu Yongye were still alive, he would have to kill you first!!”

Dugu Xuda’s hands were shaking as he held the sword. He stared angrily at the northerner in front of him. His whole body was already red and hot. He was panting and wanted to chop him down, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and chopped, and the sword hit the wooden table in front of him.

Looking at the extremely angry Dugu Xuda, the leader continued, “General, I really feel sorry for you!”

“How can you be a lackey for others here, as you are a nobleman?”

“Besides, Chen is weak and Han is at its peak. The gap between the two countries is clear to you. Within two years, Chen will surely perish. When that time comes, how will you deal with it?”

“Now is the best opportunity! General, don’t miss it!”

Dugu Xuda slowly sat down, looking coldly at the three people in front of him, and said: “I heard that when the Han Kingdom was in Bashu, there were also people who surrendered and led the way, but in the end, these people were all executed without exception. Even if I surrender now, how can I survive?”

“No!”

“The incident in Bashu was their own fault. In the name of helping the Han, they looted cities, warehouses, and civilians, secretly stationed troops, and demanded food and weapons from the Han, with the intention of intimidating and threatening. How can such traitors not be killed?”

“If the general does not have such thoughts, then there is no need to worry about being held accountable.”

“In the Han Dynasty, there are countless surrendered generals and ministers. Even among the three highest officials, there are many. They have never been questioned. So should the general be questioned?”

Hearing these words, Dugu Xuda’s expression became more complicated.

He hesitated for a long time, and then whispered: “My father died at the hands of the Han Kingdom after all.”

“When General Dugu was still alive, although he started a rebellion, he always respected His Majesty. Now you are a running dog in the Southern Kingdom. If he knew, he would definitely blame you. But if you surrender to His Majesty, he would not care. He has always looked down on these southerners.”

Dugu Xuda sat for a long time, and then suddenly raised his head.

“If I surrender, can I save my life?”

“Don’t even talk about saving your life. If the general can accomplish great feats, it won’t be impossible for him to restore the clan.”

“I heard that the general’s surname is Liu, and he is a member of the same clan as the Han people. Why would he serve the enemy?”

Hearing this, Dugu Xuda finally stood up and said, “I have something to ask. If the court allows it, I am willing to help!”

“General, please speak.”

“I want to change my surname back to Liu, and my father’s tombstone must also have the surname Liu!”

“This is not a big deal. I will report it to the court. There will be no problem.”

Dugu Xuda then invited a few people to sit down again. He no longer concealed his hatred for these southerners and openly showed it.

“These bastards are nothing! They are going too far!”

He revealed a lot of inside information to everyone.

In terms of trade and other aspects, there are other aspects.

These things were of course important and were quickly written down by these people.

Dugu Xuda gave some useful information, and then asked: “What do you need me to do?”

“It’s very simple. We need you to help win over more people who are willing to surrender. If you can win over one person, you will be rewarded with the credit of capturing a general alive!”

“what?!”

Dugu Xuda was shocked. If you persuade one person to surrender, you can capture him? Is this true? Who made this rule? Why is it so weird?

The leader said confidently: “Don’t be surprised. This is a secret order issued by Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty himself. If the people you have won over can also win over others, then both of them will be rewarded! And so on!”

Dugu Xuda was a little confused. After thinking for a long time, he slowly said, “I understand. I will try my best to convince them. However, I am not taken seriously in the south.”

“No problem, just take your time. As for the rest, you can still ask us for help. We won’t be going back anytime soon. We still have many important things to complete.”

Dugu Xuda nodded quickly.

After these people left, Dugu Xuda sat alone in the house, thinking about this matter, and began to calculate. If he persuaded one person, it would be considered a capture of a general, and if he persuaded another person, it would be two generals. He suddenly realized that if the court did not break its promise, he seemed to be able to get great credit by persuading people to surrender.

While Dugu Xuda was still busy doing math problems, these people changed positions again.

This time, they came to another extremely luxurious mansion in Jiankang. This mansion was obviously several levels higher than Dugu Xuda’s mansion.

This mansion is called Confucius Mansion.

That’s right, just from the name, you can tell that this place is extraordinary.

At that time, many families fled from the north, including various large clans. Even among those people, the Kong family was considered extraordinary.

The person who came out to greet everyone was Kong Fan, a young official of the State of Chen and also a young disciple of this family who was actively pursuing a career in officialdom.

Kong Fan brought a few distinguished guests to a wing room in the west courtyard.

He held a banquet here, which was quite luxurious.

This Kong Fan didn’t have any other talents except that he could write poetry. Well, he was pretty good at it, especially court poetry. Because of this special talent, he was valued by Mr. Jiang, a senior in this field, and was specially promoted from the position of Wang Changshi to his side, and worked in the Taichang Mansion, in charge of etiquette and cultural work.

Given his age, he would definitely be recommended to the crown prince in the future and become the backbone of the State of Chen.

He had a very gentle smile on his face and asked several distinguished guests to sit down. The servants served them all kinds of delicious dishes. At the same time, dancers came out and danced for everyone. Of course, there were also musicians. It felt completely different from Dugu Xuda’s side.

Kong Fan was also quite knowledgeable about etiquette. After all, he was a descendant of Confucius and his family had passed down etiquette. But this etiquette seemed a bit strange.

In front of the guests, the dancers began to take off some of their clothes, and some of them even stuck to Kong Fan’s body, enjoying themselves endlessly.

The three Beihu were all fucking stunned. They looked at each other with some astonishment in their eyes.

Just this morning they said that if Dugu Yongye were resurrected, he would definitely kill Dugu Xuda, but now they think that if Confucius were resurrected, he might set fire to this house.

Kong Fan said with a smile: “Everyone is here, don’t be restrained!”

“This is a very noble thing, and I think it is rare in the North.”

He seemed to be saying that the Hu people don’t know how to enjoy themselves.

These people looked at each other, still without making any excuses, but just gave a few hypocritical compliments.

Kong Fan waited until the atmosphere became lively before he said helplessly, “I know why you all came here, but at the moment, we really can’t send this warship out. It’s all because of Huang Fachu. He captured one of my brothers and made our family lose face in front of His Majesty. Thanks to the help of a nobleman in the court, I was able to save myself.”

“But since Huang Fachu is still here, we can’t continue the trade. All the money you gave me before will be returned to you without a cent less.”

“What are you talking about, Lord Kong! Consider that money as our tribute to the nobles of the Southern Kingdom!”

The leader raised his wine cup and said with a smile.

Kong Fan quickly shook his head, “No, no.”

“I am a descendant of a saint, so I should be trustworthy. Since I have made a promise, I will not embezzle money.”

After he finished speaking, he excitedly said, “Besides, you don’t have to worry too much. We have found a way to deal with Huang Fachu.”

“These days, there are many nursery rhymes in various places. We plan to write them down and then report them to your majesty. Once your majesty gets rid of Huang Fachu, we can trade again!”

“That’s what we’re here for.”

“I am willing to use the previous money for this matter.”

The messenger quickly answered.

Kong Fan shook his head again, “No need, Huang Fachu is our enemy, and you don’t need to spend money to deal with him.”

The messenger quickly said, “We are not going to pay someone to speak ill of him.”

“We would like to ask you to say something good about him in front of His Majesty.”

“what?!”

Kong Fan stared at the envoy with his eyes wide open, and for a moment he was confused about their positions.

“You want to pay us to say good things about Huang Fachu?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“you.”

Kong Fan pondered for a moment, his eyes slowly lit up, “Praise to death?”

He shook his head again, “I’m afraid it’s not as easy as you think. If this matter is not done well, it will not only fail to play the role of flattery, but will be more beneficial to Huang Fachi.”

The messenger laughed and said, “Mr. Kong, we have already made arrangements for Huang Fachu’s matter.”

“Master Chen asked Huang Fachu to do so many things. No matter what you say now, Master Chen will not believe you and think you are seeking revenge. Since saying bad things is useless, why not say something good?”

“As for the follow-up matters, we have our own people to help deal with them. Mr. Kong, we are willing to spend a lot of money to complete this matter.”

Kong Fan took a deep breath.

“If you say so.”

Jiankang Palace.

Chen Xu had just received the document sent by Huang Fachi at this moment. Yuan Xian was sitting beside him, quite worried.

Chen Xu slowly put down the document and then looked at Yuan Xian beside him.

Yuan Xian was uneasy, “Your Majesty, these are definitely.”

“All right.”

“Yuan Qing, do you think I will make the same mistake again and again?”

“The Han people underestimated me, using such a trick, thinking that I would fall for it!”

Chen Xu was a little angry. He threw the document in his hand to the ground. Yuan Xian breathed a sigh of relief. He hurriedly said, “General Huang is loyal and devoted. Your Majesty knows this!”

Chen Xu smiled and nodded, “Well, I am going to reward him and let the Han people see that I am not someone they can easily alienate!”

“Yuan Qing, you should issue an imperial decree now.”

The emperor and his minister talked for a long time, and Yuan Xian left happily.

Chen Xu sent him away, feeling a little amused in his heart. How dare these barbarians look down on him like that? Huang Fachi had already proved his loyalty, so how could he still suspect that he had other intentions?

He shook his head and returned to the harem to rest.

There was no one around, so Chen Xu lay in the queen’s arms. The queen massaged his forehead, and Chen Xu told her about this incident.

When the Queen learned about this, she hurried to speak well of Huang Fachi.

“General Huang is a loyal minister and will never have any other ideas. Your Majesty, please do not easily trust those people in the country. General Huang has offended so many people in the country. They slandered him for revenge.”

“I know, how can I”

Chen Xu said the beginning, and then his face changed drastically and he sat up suddenly.

Seeing the emperor so surprised, the queen was a little surprised.

“Your Majesty, what’s going on?”

Chen Xu looked at the queen with a serious expression, but said nothing. He turned around and left, leaving the queen stunned and at a loss.

Chen Xu returned to the front hall and ordered a meeting with several ministers.

The identities of the people he summoned were rather special. Some of them were from wealthy families, or had had conflicts with Huang Fachi.

These people arrived at the front hall, paid their respects to the emperor, and then sat down and looked at Chen Xu curiously.

Chen Xu looked at them one by one.

“I heard that there are many nursery rhymes in various parts of the country. What is the omen?”

President Jiang looked confused, “Your Majesty, I have never heard of any nursery rhymes in the country.”

The other people also nodded.

Chen Xu was furious. “The nursery rhyme is almost spreading into the palace. How could you not know about it? How dare you say you haven’t heard the nursery rhyme about General Huang?”

Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on. Immediately, a minister bowed his head and said, “Your Majesty, please don’t worry too much. General Huang is a wise man, a rare wise man. His talent, loyalty, and reputation are known to the world. How could such a person have improper thoughts? This must be a trick of the Han people! It’s clearly to alienate us!”

The other few people also spoke up immediately and began to praise Huang Fachi’s character and talents.

At this moment, there was even fear in Chen Xu’s eyes.

From trusted ministers to the queen, to local officials and generals, and even those famous people from large clans who usually did not get along well with Huang Fachi, they all spoke well of Huang Fachi.

Chen Xu just felt a chill on his back and his hair stood on end.

“it is good.”

“I understand.”

“Everyone go back first.”

General Jiang stood up and suddenly remembered something. He smiled and said, “Your Majesty, why not send someone to reward General Huang to show your trust in him? In this way, the Han people will know that it is impossible for them to alienate the emperor and his subjects, and they will naturally not resort to such tricks in the future.”

“go out!!!”

(End of this chapter)