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Chapter 576 Raising Imperial Guards
Zhu Yu took the note and unfolded it with a puzzled look. He immediately saw the familiar sheet music on it and glanced at Lu Qing with a helpless expression.

"Didn't you memorize it specifically to understand it?" Lu Qing looked at her with a smile. "Give it a try."

Zhu Yu had indeed felt somewhat powerless to have to rely on Lu Qing to "translate" the secret letters for him every time he wanted to know what they said. So, he half-jokingly suggested that he should learn how to decipher their secret letters himself and understand their contents on his own.

Unexpectedly, Lu Qing took her casual remark seriously, bought the sheet music and taught Zhu Yu to recognize each note one by one, and also taught her some special notation methods not mentioned in the book.

So this time he deliberately left a secret letter, probably wanting her to have a chance to practice after she had practiced a few times.

Zhu Yu tried to read the contents of the secret letter. She memorized the musical score and understood what it meant. However, when it came to the actual secret letter, she was not very efficient at distinguishing the contents.

Fortunately, after carefully examining it, she was able to decipher the contents recorded on it.

"Zhao Boce is Zhao Bi's grandson, right?" Zhu Yu felt that one of the names mentioned above sounded very familiar, as if Lu Qing had mentioned it before, but she was not quite sure.

Lu Qing nodded: "You should remember the one who always followed Lu Zhang wherever he went."

As soon as he mentioned it, Zhu Yu remembered it.

What impressed her most was on the day of General Cao Tianbao's birthday banquet. Zhao Boce seemed to have no outstanding qualities at all, yet he followed Lu Zhang around. While others were greeting Lu Zhang and flattering him, he stood behind Lu Zhang with an arrogant expression, as if all the respect was given to him and that he was the one who was unapproachable.

Lu Zhang, who stood in front of him, was nothing more than a puppet, a clay figure for people to worship. He was the "true god" behind the clay figure.

If it weren't for Zhao Boce's character, Zhu Yu would hardly have been impressed by him based solely on his appearance and demeanor.

"What...did he do?!" After carefully reading the musical score on the secret letter, Zhu Yu looked at Lu Qing in disbelief, wondering if she had misremembered the meaning of the code between Lu Qing and Lu Chao, thus misunderstanding the matter. "Outside the capital, he secretly raised a considerable number of soldiers, and also secretly stockpiled a lot of weapons, gunpowder, and the like?!"

“That’s right, this is what’s written here.” Lu Qing nodded, took the note from Zhu Yu, took out a tinderbox, and turned the note into ashes.

"Is he out of his mind?!" Zhu Yu couldn't hide the surprise on his face. He raised his eyebrows and stared wide-eyed. "No, the capital is located in Congzhou. What does it mean to privately raise troops and stockpile weapons in such a place? Someone like Zhao Boce, who grew up in the Duke of Yan's mansion, couldn't possibly not understand."

Such a treasonous act certainly couldn't have been done unilaterally by him. Otherwise, setting aside whether Zhao Boce, a mere grandson of the Duke of Yan with no real power, could have accomplished something of this scale, the fact remains that nothing stays hidden forever. With the Duke of Yan's numerous spies, it's impossible that he was completely unaware of his grandson's activities outside the palace. "Yes, without the Duke of Yan's authorization, Zhao Boce certainly wouldn't have such influence," Lu Qing agreed with her conclusion.

"What is this old guy trying to do?!" At this point, Zhu Yu also understood what the forces behind the Tze Lü Fang wanted to do this time. "For so many years, hasn't he been cultivating his cronies, eliminating dissidents, and controlling the government while being extremely cautious in everything he does, leaving no loopholes or handles, and avoiding any trouble for himself?"

What's wrong with me lately? Why are you moving so frequently and so aggressively, as if you have no scruples anymore?

"The Duke of Yan is no fool or stupid man. His ability to maintain such a firm grip on power in the court is no ordinary feat. Therefore, he is also aware of things that we can vaguely sense." Lu Qing's view on this matter was quite cautious. "Given his personality, if he tacitly approves of or arranges for his grandson to do such a thing, it is enough to show that something is indeed making him restless. He is worried that if he doesn't seize the initiative and get the first move, the subsequent plans will be difficult to implement."

As for his motives in having Zhao Boce recruit soldiers in this way, there are many possibilities. But this time, those who want to target him only need to pinpoint one of the most offensive and unpleasant reasons, and he won't be able to explain himself clearly.

"No wonder. Now that you mention it, it's not hard to imagine what the final effect of the fabric might be. This is to confirm your most offensive and unsightly claim, making it impossible for him to clear his name." Zhu Yu now fully understood what kind of scheme the forces behind Zelufang were secretly setting up in the capital.

However, there was another thing she still couldn't figure out: "Then what can a schoolteacher like He Min do here?"

“Since the other party wants to put a big fuss on Duke Yan, it’s probably not enough for those few young shop assistants outside the Tse-Lush Shop to loudly proclaim how good the fabric is.” Lu Qing smiled slightly, his eyes turning cold. “I reckon the other party may not be from the Jin Kingdom, so their strategic planning in this regard is somewhat lacking.”

A piece of cloth may not be widely known through word of mouth.

But what about nursery rhymes or children's songs?

Zhu Yu's expression changed to one of understanding, and he slowly nodded: "He Min is a scholar who has always taught in the countryside, and he usually has the most contact with the children in the village."

It doesn't seem like a difficult task to consciously compose a few nursery rhymes and find a way to spread them.

Zhu Yu was no stranger to this kind of trickery that used nursery rhymes. Things like stone figures in the Yellow River, foxes speaking human language, and celestial books inside fish bellies were all tricks that were not new. But these old tricks were also ingenious methods that never failed to work and never disappointed people.

"Didn't you tell him to think about it today? Is it too late?" Zhu Yu thought for a moment and asked Lu Qing.

"If there's still time, we need to make sure the clothes at the birthday banquet attract enough attention first, and then have the nursery rhymes sung at the right time. That would be the best effect," Lu Qing replied, her tone full of confidence.