"Duke Lu... Sima Zhao has sent men to seal off Luoyang. No one is allowed in or out."
"He is purging the Central Army. He has replaced the officers in several of its camps. He means to bring the Central Army entirely under his control!"
"The scoundrel is brazen beyond belief. He has no regard for us at all!"
"Damn him! Damn him to death!"
"We cannot tolerate this any longer!"
Compared with the quiet at Gao Rou's residence, Lu Yu's was bustling.
Nearly all the ministers who wielded real power in the Three Departments were seated there. Lu Yu occupied the seat of honor, with capable servants of the state on either side, enjoying unrivaled prestige.
The ministers, however, looked somewhat agitated.
As they saw it, Sima Shi would not dare become another Dong Zhuo or break with them completely.
Yet judging by the present situation, Sima Shi seemed to have gone mad. He had sealed off Luoyang without restraint and was even making every effort to consolidate the Central Army. This was something they could not tolerate.
They all believed that if they continued to endure it now, Sima Shi would press them step by step until, sooner or later, he held a blade to their throats.
Lu Yu was in a difficult position too.
He had considered many possible responses from Sima Shi, but had never imagined the man would act so recklessly. Did he truly intend to perish together with the great clans?!
Of course, if they went to war with Sima Shi directly, Lu Yu reckoned he had a seventy-percent chance of victory, given Sima Shi's current physical condition.
But such internal strife would be utterly pointless!
What use would winning be?
The Sima Family would be utterly destroyed, but would that bring them any