From beggar to emperor: I am not Zhu Yuanzhang

Lu Yongzhi, who was respectfully called "Master Lu" by Gao Pian, was an alchemist.

Alchemists are not Taoist priests, and the two are not the same thing. Alchemists existed in the long history before the birth of Taoism. In fact, most of the people who Qin Shihuang burned books and enslaved scholars were alchemists. These alchemists were busy refining the elixir of immortality all day long, pretending to be gods and ghosts, and confusing the emperor. In the end, they suffered the consequences and deceived themselves.

This Lu Yongzhi was from Poyang, Jiangxi. His ancestors had been doing business for generations. Lu Yongzhi often traveled to Yangzhou as an adult and made friends with many big businessmen in Yangzhou. He had a wide network of contacts. Lu Yongzhi's parents died young, so he lived in his uncle's house. Later, he stole his uncle's money and fled to Mount Jiuhua to become a disciple of the alchemist Niu Hongzheng and learn the art of exorcism.

After completing his studies, Lu Yongzhi went to Yangzhou to sell the elixir he had developed. In order to open up the market, Lu Yongzhi took the initiative to visit the house of Gao Pian's confidant Yu Gongchu, hoping to talk to Yu Gongchu.

When Yu Gongchu heard that this man knew magic, he asked him to perform it. Lu Yongzhi pretended to perform a magic show, but Yu Gongchu was a layman and couldn't understand it at all. However, seeing Lu Yongzhi's inscrutable look, he was deceived and regarded Lu Yongzhi as a god descended from the earth and treated him as an honored guest. Not long after, Yu Gongchu introduced Lu Yongzhi to his master Gao Pian. Gao Pian was also very interested in Taoist alchemy. He was deceived over and over again, and he appointed Lu Yongzhi as his staff and stayed by his side for consultation.

Lu Yongzhi always pretends to be a Taoist master of Mount Jiuhua, dressing himself up as an immortal and Taoist, and successfully fools many people. Gao Pian, in particular, almost obeyed him, trusted him very much, and gradually handed over power to him.

This Lu Yongzhi entered the society to make a living very early. He had done everything and seen everything. He had contacts with people from all walks of life. He was well-informed and had rich social experience. He was a typical social person. Therefore, the judgments he made were often very accurate, which became evidence of his profound Taoism and made Gao Pian value him even more.

In addition, Lu Yongzhi used money to bribe Gao Pian's cronies, and made up some ridiculous supernatural things every day to deceive Gao Pian. He also recommended his best friends to Gao Pian one after another to build his own inner circle.

Lu Yongzhi's arbitrary and rebellious behavior aroused the dissatisfaction of Gao Pian's generals, especially Gao Pian's confidants Yu Gongchu and Yao Guili. When the two of them took a look at it, they realized that Lu Yongzhi was trying to seize power. If he were to seize the position of Gao Pian, would there be any good things for us brothers?

Yu Gongchu repeatedly advised Gao Pian to deal with Lu Yongzhi decisively. Yao Guili even planned to kill Lu Yongzhi. Their plans were soon learned by Lu Yongzhi. The old magician thought that I had to strike first to gain advantage, so he ran to see Gao Pian, tried his best to slander Yu and Yao, and encouraged Gao Pian to send them away and not stay with him.

In this battle of Luzhou, Lu Yongzhi strongly suggested that Yu and Yao be sent there, but they were defeated.

Lu Yongzhi was very happy, it was great, he just took advantage of this defeat to add fuel to his jealousy, and stepped on Yu and Yao, never to be able to stand up again. So he racked his brains to say bad things about Yu and Yao in Gao Pian's ears, and encouraged Gao Pian to punish them severely.

However, Gao Pian was not fooled. Yu and Yao were his favorite generals, and he would not punish them severely just because of a single defeat. Therefore, Gao Pian didn't take Lu Yongzhi's words to heart.

Seeing that Gao Pian was unmoved, Lu Yongzhi had no choice but to activate a backup plan. Since you refused to kill these two people, I had no choice but to kill them with a borrowed knife.

The knife he wants to borrow is Yang Xingmi.

Luzhou was defeated and Gao Pian was very angry. How to deal with Yang Xingmi became a problem.

Lu Yongzhi lost no time in putting forward the suggestion of recruiting troops. He analyzed Gao Pian: "Yang Xingmi is a rare general. It can be seen from this battle in Luzhou that Yu and Yao are not his opponents at all. I heard that Yang Xingmi The Crouching Tiger Battalion under my command is brave and good at fighting. They are a team that dares to fight and fight hard. If the lord can take them under his command, there is no need to worry about great things happening."

"Recruitment?" Gao Pian's eyes lit up.

Seeing that Gao Pian was tempted, Lu Yongzhi advertised Yang Xingmi even harder: "Yang Xingmi surrendered to Zheng Xu last time and was ordered to guard Shuofang. His military exploits were outstanding, which shows that he sincerely submitted to the court, changed his mind and served the country. I can only hate Xue. He acted selfishly, made things difficult at every turn, and even framed him, and finally forced Yang Xingmi to rebel. This was not his original intention."

"Master, what you mean is that Yang Xingmi can be used by me?" Gao Pian asked back.

Lu Yongzhi looked serious: "That's natural. As long as the lord shows enough sincerity, I believe that Yang Xingmi will definitely change his ways and return to the right path, and he will go through fire and water for the lord."

He continued: "As long as Yang Xingmi surrenders, his Crouching Tiger Camp will become a trump card in the lord's hand. Who dares to disobey then! The lord's great cause will be accomplished."

Lu Yongzhi's words made Gao Pian's heart beat, wasn't it? Yang Xingmi was so good at fighting, and he had gathered a group of fierce generals. If he could be drawn into his camp, wouldn't it be even more powerful to fight for the hegemony of Huainan?

Thinking of this, Gao Pian suddenly became excited. The master is reliable. This method is good. Since the hard one is not enough, let's use the soft one.

The question is, since we want to recruit people, who should we send to discuss this matter? You have to find a reliable person who can't ruin a good thing.

After thinking about it, Gao Pian's eyes suddenly focused on Lu Yongzhi. Isn't the master the best candidate? Well, since it was your idea, I'd like to trouble you.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian proposed that Lu Yongzhi serve as the recruitment representative and go to Luzhou to discuss the matter.

Lu Yongzhi also happily obeyed the order, but there was one thing he had to get authorization for before going, and that was a promise to Yang Xingmi. If you ask me to surrender, that's fine. How will you arrange for me after I surrender? How many officials should I give it to?

This is the most critical question.

Lu Yongzhi means that I can go and negotiate, but you must give me authorization. If Yang Xingmi asks me, how should I promise?

If you are a junior official, others will look down upon you. But if you are a senior official, will you give it?

This issue really needs careful consideration. Gao Pian thought about it for a while and said to Lu Yongzhi: "As long as Yang Xingmi is willing to surrender, I can appoint him as Huainan Aya."

What is the official position of this slightly strange name of Huainan Yiya?

Yaya here is an official name in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Yatong means "ya", so it is also called Yaya. This official position is difficult to match with modern official positions. At that time, it was mainly responsible for commanding the honor guard and bodyguards, similar to that of a chief. Captain of the Guard.

To put it simply, as long as Yang Xingmi surrendered, he would be appointed as the guard captain of the Huainan Jiedushi Yamen.

Hearing Gao Pian's promise, cold sweat broke out on Lu Yongzhi's forehead, and he said in his heart: Brother, don't joke like this. If you want people to submit, you should at least show some sincerity and give it to the captain of the guard. Then Yang Xingmi will return it. It would be better to be a local emperor in Luzhou.

Thinking of this, Lu Yongzhi looked troubled: "My lord, I'm afraid I can't tempt him with just one tooth."

Gao Pian was a little unhappy: "Why, is he still too young?"

Lu Yongzhi advised: "This Yang Xingmi is now the local emperor of Luzhou. He controls the wind and rain in Luzhou and dominates the area. I am afraid that if the lord gives me a tooth, he may not be able to appreciate it, and may think that this is an insult to the lord. Instead, he ruined the big thing."

"Then what position does Master think we should be given?"

Lu Yongzhi: "If you don't have to be the governor, it's not enough to move his heart. Now that the governor of Luzhou is vacant, Wang Jin doesn't dare to go back. I think it's better to let Yang Xingmi serve as the governor of Luzhou. He will definitely be grateful to the lord and do his best for the lord." Defend the city and Luzhou will be safe."

Although Gao Pian was a little reluctant, he took a deep breath when he thought of the fighting power of Crouching Tiger Camp. With Yang Xingmi's strength, he really wants to be the governor of Luzhou. Who can stop him? If he voluntarily declares his appointment as the governor of Luzhou, will Gao Pian admit it?

If you don't admit it, can you beat him?

In this case, it would be better to give him a favor and take the initiative to appoint him as the governor of Luzhou. In this way, he can still win Yang Xingmi's gratitude.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian nodded and said: "Master's words make sense, let's do what you want. You go to Luzhou and convey my wishes. As long as Yang Xingmi is willing to surrender, I will immediately appoint him as Huainan Yaya and Luzhou governor." .”

In other words, both the captain of the guard and the governor are given, so two salaries are not good.