At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Lu Mian is the Optimus Prime in Shouchun City, and Yuan Shu's biggest and most important supporter. As long as there is no Lu Mian, can Shouchun City survive?

So under the secret contact call of some interested people, a group of interested people got together and started a secret discussion.

There are officials from the puppet Chen Empire, ordinary powerful households, and scholars. They put aside their past grievances and gathered together for a common goal.

"Why don't we do it more simply and send people to assassinate Lu Mian directly, how about?"

Everyone worked together and expressed their opinions. In the end, someone made such a suggestion.

A group of caring people looked at me and I looked at you, but no one expressed their opinion on this.

Then the white-headed old men who were the most "virtuous and respected" looked at each other, were silent for a while, and the leader slowly shook his head.

"Not to mention anything else, Lu Mian himself is a military general, and the assassination is extremely difficult. It's okay to succeed. Once he fails, Lu Mian will be furious, and Yuan Gonglu will also be furious. They will definitely attack the whole city. Right now, there is nothing we can do. Protect your own strength, once they find out, we will all die without a place to bury, it’s not right, it’s not right.”

Everyone thought that what the old man said was reasonable, so the assassination plan was dismissed.

"Then what should we do? Can we just sit and wait like this? No one will know what Lu Mian will do. He wants our private soldiers, our money, and our house. It should kill us!"

The middle-aged man who proposed the assassination plan had a sullen expression on his face.

The old man still shook his head.

"Even so, you can't just kill them all. Unless you can guarantee success, the assassination is death. You have to pay attention to the method and method of doing things. Otherwise, what is the difference between us and Yuan Gonglu? But they are all obedient citizens of Chen and rebels of Han, if we don’t do something to cleanse our stigma, Guo Zifeng will not let us go.”

What he said was to the point, everyone nodded repeatedly, thinking that what the old man said was right, and wanted to inquire about the specific method of clearing the charges, the old man thought for a moment, and looked at several Yuan Shu court officials around him.

"Everyone should make use of the convenience of their positions."

The old man narrowed his eyes: "Yuan Gonglu handed over the power to Lu Mian, is he really at ease? The more critical the time is, the more hesitant and apprehensive, this is human nature, Yuan Gonglu is now relying on Lu Mian to defend the city, If Lu Mian had a different intention and wanted to open the city gate, wouldn't Yuan Gonggong die without a place to die?"

As the old man spoke, he smiled nervously.

A group of officials looked at me and I looked at you, and they seemed to understand what the old man meant.

So they smiled together, and they understood what the old man meant.

Lu Mian became Yuan Shu's Optimus Prime, but did Yuan Shu really trust Lu Mian?Don't doubt it at all?

Not sure.

Chapter 431 .430 Yuan Shu became suspicious

Just do what you say, the action of people in crisis is unimaginably high.

So from the afternoon of that day, strange rumors suddenly spread in Shouchun City.

It is said that Lu Mian, the general of the dynasty, had different ambitions and wanted to surrender the city, offering Yuan Shu's family to Guo Peng, and exchanging the lives of Yuan Shu's family for his own glory and wealth.

The content is simple and crude, nothing else, just that Lu Mian wants to surrender.

Then a group of officials heard these rumors, they were shocked and paled, and immediately wrote a memorial to Yuan Shu, and bribed the court officials to send the memorial to Yuan Shu as quickly as possible.

Yuan Shu read five or six memorials, all of which were about Lu Mian's disagreement.

He didn't take it seriously at first, and directly reprimanded those officials who spread rumors.

If you say they are good and not bad, you will slander his most important general, and if you dare to say it, be careful not to lose your head.

But that hasn't stopped officials from speaking out in the slightest.

Lu Mian offended too many people for defending the city. Everyone saw that Lu Mian was going to be unlucky. No matter whether he was a member of the planning group or not, as long as he was dissatisfied with Lu Mian, he would follow suit.

A group of people asked Yuan Shu to remove Lu Mian's military power and choose another good general.

They completely ignored that Lu Mian was doing his best to defend Yuan Shu and Chen Guo.

Perhaps in their view, it would be better if dynasties and emperors who could not defend their interests should perish.

If one's own interests are harmed, all national interests can be pushed aside, and one's own interests can be defended with all efforts.

Yuan Shu was furious, and issued an order to reprimand the officials and order them not to talk about this matter again, and then sent someone to comfort Lu Mian, reassure him, and reward him with food and wine to express his attitude.

However, it is difficult to stop the trend of wanting to overthrow Lu Mian. It is only because Lu Mian has offended too many people. Once he gets the chance, many people will not spare no effort to revenge him.

Seeing that Yuan Shu didn't want to hear it, the ministers told Yuan Yao the news, and asked Yuan Yao to persuade his father. They also added some embellishments about Lu Mian's usurpation of the throne, which made Yuan Yao very frightened.

So Yuan Yao foolishly ran to find Yuan Shu and asked Yuan Shu about this matter.

Yuan Shu was very angry at first, and scolded Yuan Yao for being stupid for listening to such rumors, but after Yuan Yao said a word, Yuan Shu fell silent.

"Father, what if it's true? If it's true, wouldn't it be easy for Lu Mian to betray the military? As long as he gives an order, he can immediately lead his troops to the palace. Really? When that time comes, what should we do?"

Yuan Yao looked at Yuan Shu with a worried face. Yuan Shu just wanted to open his mouth to refute, but he thought of what Yuan Yao said "in case".

Will Lu Mian really not betray me?

At this moment, Yuan Shu thought of this question, and inevitably thought of Guo Peng.

Guo Peng, whom he trusted so much, betrayed him. As soon as he proclaimed himself emperor, he led the army to attack without saying a word, looking like he would never die, and wanted to put him to death.

After so many years of friendship, betrayal is always betrayal, which made Yuan Shu heartbroken, hated Guo Peng, and wished to fry him in a frying pan, and then eat his flesh and drink his blood.

Now it was Lu Mian's turn, and Yuan Shu's heart began to beat.

Will he follow in Guo Peng's footsteps and betray me?

I am alone and weak now, only Shouchun is a lonely city, and the throne of the emperor is crumbling. Seeing that I am dying, will Lu Mian be loyal to me until the last moment?

Or, will you betray me, betray me, as the rumors say, in exchange for your own glory and wealth?

With Guo Peng's "Pearl and Jade First", Yuan Shu couldn't help but think of this possibility.

Don't say it's impossible, it's very possible!

It's not my family, and it's not Yuan, can it be trusted?

And not to mention my own family, if my family is hostile, they will be hostile, if they want to betray, they will betray, and there is no room for it, and no face.

Is there anyone in this world who can completely trust Yuan Shu?

Yes, it is my son in front of me, Yuan Yao.

Yuan Shu walked back and forth a few steps, then reached out and patted Yuan Yao's shoulder.

"My son, you are the Crown Prince of the Chen Kingdom, the heir of my father, and you are the most trusted by my father. My father sent you to meet General Lu, and then ask General Lu what he needs. If there is anything you want, as long as he says it, as long as being a father can satisfy you, you must promise him."

Yuan Yao didn't quite understand what Yuan Shu meant, and his face was full of doubts.

"You just ask General Lu, what does General Lu want, as long as it's not too much, I can give it to him, just ask like this."

Although Yuan Yao didn't understand, it didn't prevent him from following Yuan Shu's orders.

Yuan Shu made his own choice, even though this choice seemed so reasonable.

As for Lu Mian, the choice he made was also reasonable in his opinion.

He worked loyally for Yuan Shu, and he did not hesitate to risk offending everyone, just to repay Yuan Shu's kindness to him.

When I heard the rumors spread before, Lu Mian was writing at his desk to deliver the military order.

There are too many things to do, too many things to deal with, and there is no room for Lu Mian to relax or slack off.

Guo Peng's offensive was too fierce, the morale of Guo's army was very high, and the trebuchet was even more incomprehensible. If it weren't for the strength and depth of Shouchun City, Shouchun City would have been destroyed.

The two walls were handed over to Ji Ling, and the two walls were handed over to Qiao Rui. He was in charge of coordinating and commanding in the middle. The three of them worked together to barely maintain the city and the position. Even so, it was already the limit.

So before Yuan Shu wanted to go out to fight in the city, but under Lu Mian's persuasive persuasion, Yuan Shu finally gave up this idea.

Right now, according to the city's defense, not to mention very smooth, at least it can make Guo Peng pay the price, consume his reserves, and make him feel strenuous and embarrassed.

The purpose of this is just to force him to retreat as soon as possible.

Lu Mian really didn't believe that Guo Peng had a logistics reserve that could last three months.

After exhausting his mind and heart, Lu Mian felt that he would not live long.

Then he heard rumors that the whole Shouchun City was spreading rumors about him, saying that he was going to rebel and betray Yuan Shu.

His subordinates were very surprised and hoped that he would explain to Yuan Shu immediately, but Lu Mian believed that Yuan Shu would not believe such rumors. In times of crisis, his loyalty should have been fully known by Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shu must have trusted him very much.

Some subordinates don't think so.

"The general holds the military power. If your majesty has doubts, it will be a big deal. Don't you need to explain to your majesty? Since ancient times, there has been no emperor who does not doubt the general who leads the army. Now there are such rumors. I am the general. feeling anxious."

Lu Mian shook his head confidently.

"I have known Your Majesty for dozens of years. Your Majesty and I have no suspicions. We are good friends. Your Majesty trusts me, and I trust Your Majesty. The enemy is now, and it is time for me to repay Your Majesty's kindness. How can you be suspicious of me at such a time?"

Lu Mian ignored the advice of his subordinates at all, and did what he should do.

Not even an hour after hearing the rumors, the envoy sent by Yuan Shu came to comfort him with food and wine, telling him not to worry, Yuan Shu didn't take those rumors seriously at all, and Yuan Shu still trusted Lu Mian so much.

Lu Mian immediately proudly showed his subordinates the food and wine rewarded by Yuan Shu.

"How can those villains who like to hurt others secretly understand the relationship between me and Your Majesty? They are just humiliating themselves!"

Lu Mian naively thought that Yuan Shu really trusted him.

Chapter 432. 430 - He must die at the hands of Yuan Shu

Two hours later, Yuan Shu sent Yuan Yao.

"Father is worried about the general's health, so he sent me to express his condolences to the general. Is the general in good health?"

Yuan Yao looked concerned.

Lu Mian thought this was another act of trust from Yuan Shu, so he had no doubts at all, but was very moved.

On behalf of Yuan Shu, Yuan Yao rewarded Lu Mian with a lot of food and wine, as well as money, and then Yuan Yao asked some of the palace servants to return to their orders, and he stayed with the prince's soldiers.

"His Royal Highness, is this?"

Lu Mian didn't understand what Yuan Yao meant by staying.

Yuan Yao waved his hand to let the prince's soldiers go out, and stayed alone with Lu Mian.

"Father asked me to ask General Lu. Father said, if there is anything General Lu wants, as long as Father can give it, he will definitely satisfy General Lu."

As soon as Lu Mian heard it, he felt that Monk Zhang Er was puzzled and quite puzzled.

"What does His Majesty mean by this? I don't have anything I want."

Yuan Yao said with some embarrassment: "Actually, I don't really understand the meaning of the father, General Lu, do you really want nothing? Money, land, house, official position, title, as long as you want, the father will have everything." I can seal it to you."

Lu Mian thought about it carefully.

"If you really want to say it, then you can't say no."

With that said, Lu Mian straightened his clothes.

"Your Highness, please repay Your Majesty. What I want is to win this battle, to achieve victory, to repel the Guo thief, to defend the country of Chen, and to repay Your Majesty's kindness to me!"

What he said was so high-sounding that Yuan Yao, who was a little skeptical, was embarrassed to doubt Lu Mian.

So Yuan Yao returned to Yuan Shu with Lu Mian's reply, and told Yuan Shu about it.

Yuan Shu was stunned for a moment.

"He wants to repay his father's kindness with victory?"

"Yes, Royal Father, that's what General Lu said."

Yuan Shu nodded and told Yuan Yao to leave, then sat on the cushion by himself and thought for a while.

The answer is actually quite intriguing.

He wants nothing but victory in return for his kindness.

How could he be so loyal?

How could Lu Mian be so loyal?

In this critical time, when he was facing great difficulties, how could Lu Mian be so loyal?

Yuan Shu felt a little unbelievable, a little strange, and something was wrong.