Chapter 15: One Hell Of A Hot Potato
A light drizzle fell at night, but the Canal Wharf was filled with officials wearing raincoats, not allowing anyone to approach.
Next to the dock, more than a dozen massive official boats were moored, with their cabins stuffed full of fully armed official soldiers. Everyone was ordered not to leave the cabins, not even to move or talk. Although it was only mid-March, and it was still raining outside, the official soldiers in the cabins were all drenched in sweat, enduring with faces full of bitter expressions.
Lu Xin and his subordinates wore the same raincoats, standing on the dock like javelins, gazing coldly at the distance. Until the hour of Xu, a convoy with no markings passed through the rain curtain and drove into the dock.
Lu Xin hurriedly strode forward to greet them.
Warriors of the Xiahou Clan escorted Xiahou Lei and Xiahou Bupo down from the carriage. Perhaps unable to endure this irritating rainy weather, Xiahou Bupo kept coughing.
Xiahou Lei glanced at those official boats and asked Lu Xin, “Is everything prepared?”
“Reporting to the Imperial Envoy, Wu Commandery’s five thousand official soldiers are fully equipped and ready!” Lu Xin answered in a deep voice.
“Set off, head north along the canal.” Xiahou Lei tossed out the order, then boarded the guest boat that Lu Xin had prepared for them with Xiahou Bupo.
“Set off!” With Lu Xin’s command, the more than ten official boats weighed anchor and raised sails, slowly departing from the Canal Wharf in the cold rain.
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After this Dynasty was established, in order to connect north and south and transport grain from Jiangnan to the Capital City, the Founding Emperor mobilized hundreds of thousands of civilian laborers and spent over ten years building this grand canal connecting the north and south waterways.
At this time, the south wind was strong, making the sails flap loudly. Without needing to row, the more than ten official boats quickly headed north on the river channel. And up to this moment, Lu Xin still did not know the destination of this trip.
After traveling half the night by boat, they had long left Wu Commandery and entered the territory of Danyang Commandery. At this point, the Xiahou Clan guest boat at the front stopped, and the official boat fleet following behind also hurriedly furled sails and stopped one after another.
Even the colonels leading the soldiers could not help but discuss animatedly, not knowing why the Imperial Envoy was leading them across the border.
“Silence!” Lu Xin gave a low shout, and everyone immediately fell quiet. Although he was from a civil official background, he was skilled at leading troops and strict with his subordinates, with extremely high prestige among the official soldiers.
Lu Xin frowned tightly, gazing into the distance. It was not raining in Danyang, but the sky was heavily overcast. Vaguely, he could see an unremarkable civilian boat sailing toward them from the north.
Just as Lu Xin was about to order it stopped, a Xiahou Clan warrior came before him and said in a deep voice, “Lord Lu, do not misunderstand; that is one of our own.” Then he stepped aside and invited, “Marquis, please have Lord Lu come over.”
Lu Xin suppressed the doubts in his heart, instructed his subordinates to stay fully alert, then followed the warrior onto a small boat and headed toward Xiahou Lei’s guest boat.
As soon as Lu Xin boarded, he sensed the tense atmosphere in the Xiahou Clan group, as if facing a great enemy. Suppressing his inner doubts, he followed the warrior into the upper cabin.
In the cabin, Xiahou Lei was unusually serious, raising his hand to signal Lu Xin not to stand on ceremony but to sit and listen to orders.
“Lord Lu, you must be very curious why this old man has come to Jiangnan, right?” Xiahou Lei said in a deep voice.
It was time to reveal the mystery. Lu Xin did not try to be clever and said plainly, “The Marquis has of course come to inspect the situation of quelling rebellion in various places.”
“Correct.” Xiahou Lei was very satisfied with his answer and continued slowly, “During the inspection, this Marquis received Lord Lu’s report that the Zhou Family in Wucheng County of Danyang Commandery is harboring remnants of the Previous Dynasty!” As he spoke, Xiahou Lei gazed intently at Lu Xin and raised his voice, “After investigation, the evidence is conclusive. This Marquis has decided to exercise the authority for on-the-spot disposal, to first exterminate this band of rebel thieves before reporting to the Imperial Court! To avoid rumors leaking and letting the thieves escape…”
Listening to Xiahou Lei’s words, massive waves surged in Lu Xin’s heart!
‘I knew this old fox had no good intentions! What report from Lord Lu? I don’t know anything about it at all, okay?!’ Lu Xin’s thoughts raced, figuring out the Xiahou Clan’s scheme pretty well. Clearly, the purpose of Xiahou Lei’s southern patrol this time was the Zhou Family in Wucheng! And the Emperor certainly did not know; otherwise, why fabricate the lie about ‘Lord Lu’s report’?
“Lord Lu, am I right?” Xiahou Lei had no patience for beating around the bush; he wanted Lu Xin to give a clear answer.
“Indeed.” Lu Xin nodded, silently taking on this black pot.
Seeing him nod, Xiahou Lei was overjoyed, and Xiahou Bupo’s expression also became much friendlier. The latter smiled faintly and said, “Brother, rest assured; from now on, your affairs are the Xiahou Clan’s affairs. I guarantee you will not regret today’s decision in the future.”
“This official will absolutely not regret it.” A resolute expression appeared on Lu Xin’s face. Then he said with some worry, “However, although this official is in Wu Commandery, he has also heard that Bai Liu Village’s fortified village is tall and sturdy, with mechanisms everywhere. The disciples inside have trained for many years and are highly skilled in martial arts. I fear it may disgrace the mission and ruin the Imperial Envoy’s important matter!”
“It won’t.” Xiahou Bupo coughed twice and said slowly, “Since Brother took office, Wu Commandery’s army has been renewed, with strict discipline and invincible in battle. A mere Bai Liu Village cannot stump Brother!” As he spoke, he took out a very detailed blueprint and said, “Moreover, Lord Lu has already scouted the inside and outside of the Zhou Family’s Bai Liu Village thoroughly.”
“This old man deliberately detoured south to Wu Commandery. And put on a show of lusting after wine and women, all to lull them.” Xiahou Lei also said shamelessly, “They definitely won’t expect us to counterattack!”
Lu Xin smiled bitterly to himself; what was all this? But on the surface, he showed a look of sudden realization, as if what Xiahou Lei said was true. At the same time, he took the blueprint with both hands and looked at it under the bright light, involuntarily drawing in a cold breath.
He saw that the blueprint not only depicted the inside and outside of Bai Liu Village’s fortified village in full detail, but even marked precisely where the mechanisms were, how many troops were stationed where, and where experts were stationed. Even the patrol times and routes of the Zhou Family retainers were written clearly.
This absolutely came from an insider! Clearly, the Xiahou Clan had been scheming against the Zhou Family for no less than a day!
“Now, this official has a bit more confidence.” Lu Xin held the blueprint as if it were a treasure.
“Good, then let’s enjoy Lord Lu’s performance!” Xiahou Lei smiled at Xiahou Bupo and said, “I believe he definitely won’t disappoint us!” Xiahou Bupo also smiled and nodded.
“This official will do his utmost!” After Lu Xin finished speaking, he took his leave and went out; he needed to seize every moment to prepare for battle.
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Back on his boat, Lu Xin shut himself in the cabin. He wanted to study the blueprint carefully and plan, but he could not calm his mind no matter what.
After a long time, he could not help but shake his head and sigh inwardly, ‘Now I’ve thoroughly boarded the Xiahou Clan’s thief ship…’
No matter the trade, overstepping boundaries is a great taboo. As a Wu Commandery official meddling in Danyang Commandery’s affairs, even if he did not end up as the Xiahou Clan’s sacrifice in the end, he would not be tolerated in official circles. Moreover, since the Xiahou Clan was hiding this from the Imperial Court, it would certainly not be tolerated by the Emperor. Even if the Initial Emperor could not deal with the Xiahou Clan, could he not deal with a small pawn like himself?
Therefore, his only way to survive was to hug the Xiahou Clan’s thigh tightly and wholeheartedly be a good lackey…
While Lu Xin was lost in wild thoughts, a personal soldier pushed the door open and gently called out, “Father.”
That personal soldier was Lu Yun. After receiving Lu Xin’s notice, he had sneaked into the military camp, disguised himself as Lu Xin’s personal soldier, and set off with him.
After that night, the father-son relationship had undergone a subtle change. Hearing this, Lu Xin concisely recounted the meeting with Xiahou Lei. After finishing, he gave a self-mocking laugh, “Heh heh, it seems some things are truly fated; no matter how you try to escape, you can’t avoid them…”
Lu Yun’s heart sank; he knew that deep down, Lu Xin was a Confucian scholar who always held loyalty to the sovereign and serving the country as his belief, aspiring to become a gentleman of high repute admired by all. Yet he had to bear the infamy of betraying his lord for glory, struggling down and out in officialdom. But even in his most frustrated and unfulfilled times, Lu Xin did not want to accept the Xiahou Clan’s repayment, at the cost of confirming his name as a Xiahou lackey in exchange for wealth and honor.
But now, because of him, he had still taken this path; the bitterness in his heart could be imagined…
“I’m sorry, Father.” Lu Yun lowered his head and said softly.
“What polite words between father and son.” Lu Xin shook his head, cast aside those untimely ‘gentleman’s worries,’ composed himself, and said, “Father is now very interested in this matter.” Pausing, he lowered his voice and said, “The Southern Dynasties fell twenty years ago; even if there really are remnants, they can’t amount to much. Why would the Xiahou Clan go to such lengths to scheme, even risking offending the Emperor afterward?”
“Father is right.” Lu Yun agreed deeply, “Even if the Southern Dynasties remnants really pose some threat, the one who should worry is the Emperor. Even if the Xiahou Clan wants to share worries for the sovereign, there’s no need to hide it from Huangfu Yu.” He said with great certainty, “There must be an unspeakable secret here, and a huge one at that!”
As he said this, Lu Yun’s eyes shone; this was a surprise he had never imagined when he schemed against Xiahou Lei back then!
“You’d better not act rashly!” Lu Xin thought for a moment and frowned, “Bai Liu Village Master Zhou Huang is a grandmaster ranked ninth on the Heavenly Rank List! If the Xiahou Clan wants to target him, they will definitely send a Heavenly Rank Grandmaster!” He looked at Lu Yun and said, “Even if there’s no problem with your cultivation method, you are absolutely no match for them!”
“Father is right.” After the battle with Xiahou Lei, Lu Yun no longer underestimated the heroes under heaven. Even to deal with an Earth Rank Grandmaster, he had to plan meticulously, at the right time and place, ensuring he could immediately escape, before engaging.
Not to mention Heavenly Rank?
