Jiuxi

Chapter 335 Chapter 333 [Being defeated]

The sun rises and the moon sets, and the flow never stops.

Just as Lu Chen sent Lin Jie and Lin Xi away, he welcomed Li Jingda, the governor of Dingzhou who was recommended by the Privy Council and appointed by the emperor.

Actually this is a rather interesting thing.

When the Yan-Jing coalition forces made a surprise attack on Guangling, the three armies of Nanya were ordered to go north for rescue. The journey dragged on for more than a month. By the time they crossed the Hengjiang River and arrived in Guangling, the defenders had already defeated the enemy with the cooperation of Feiyu Camp.

Now Li Jingda led more than 10,000 Zhenwei troops from Yongjia via Xinzhou, Hengjiang and Huaizhou, and it also took only more than a month to arrive at Ruyin City in Dingzhou.

In other words, the Beijing army's combat power is mysterious and unpredictable. It can march ten miles a day or march quickly. It all depends on whether the general needs it.

In addition to the Zhenwei Army, Li Jingda followed Li Jingda northward, as well as the standing civilian subordinates of the Dudu Mansion, such as Chang Shi, Sima, and soldiers at all levels.

For the arrival of the Governor of Dingzhou, the border army general, led by Xiao Wangzhi, held a grand welcome ceremony.

After the Zhenwei Army and the governor's subordinate officers were properly arranged, the two governors walked into the festival hall side by side, accompanied by Lu Chen and several commanders.

Li Jingda respectfully asked Xiao Wangzhi to sit in the main seat and said with a smile: "The Duke of Guo has regained Dingzhou and marched to Heluo, which has greatly increased the power of our dynasty. It can be said to be a great achievement in history. At the end of the period, the generals have little talent and little knowledge. When they first arrived at the border, they still had hope. The Duke of Guo has spared no effort in giving me advice, and I am very grateful."

He lowered his posture very low, and Xiao Wangzhi said warmly: "Brother Li's words are serious. Your Majesty appointed Brother Li as the governor of Dingzhou. Naturally, he wanted to use your ability in training troops to train a force for Dingzhou that could defeat Jingzhou's army." The army is fierce and fierce, so why should Brother Li be too modest?"

The so-called bridal sedan chair was carried by everyone, so of course he would not cause trouble for no reason. Even though Li Jingda's arrival meant that the central court would divide his military power, there was no hint of dissatisfaction on his face.

It is not known what Li Jingda was thinking. Regardless of how talented he was in the military, he had been in the officialdom of the capital for a long time, and his skill in speaking and speaking should not be underestimated. Those kind words piled up on Xiao Wang as if they were free of money. on the head.

Xiao Wangzhi smiled calmly.

However, under Li Jingda's disrespectful praise, the atmosphere in the festival hall seemed very harmonious.

After a while, Li Jingda changed his target and said to Lu Chen: "Marquis Lu, you really make me ashamed."

Lu Chen smiled calmly and said, "What does the Governor mean by this?"

Li Jingda sighed: "I thought you could achieve such an achievement at such a young age. I have wasted decades waiting for you, and even if you try to flatter me, I can't do it! When I was still in the capital, I heard His Majesty praise you in public many times, saying that you are young. He is promising and loyal to the country, and he can set an example for a general in the army! Before leaving, His Majesty specially told me that I must listen to your opinions on Dingzhou's military affairs, and must not make my own decisions and ruin the overall situation."

Lu Chen said humbly: "The Commander-in-Chief made a strong statement. The achievements that I have achieved today are all due to His Majesty's appreciation and respect. Regarding Dingzhou's military affairs, the decision should be made by the Commander-in-Chief, and the Commander-in-Chief will do his best to assist the Commander-in-Chief."

Li Jingda smacked his lips, as if he wasn't enjoying himself enough, and said with a smile: "It's not that I'm pretending to be in front of the Marquis of Lu, it's just that I have rarely set foot on the border in recent years, and I really have a dark eye on the border troops. This time, I have the Holy Will. Going north to serve as the governor of Dingzhou, I am really worried and uneasy, for fear that I will make a mistake. In short, I hope that the Duke and the Marquis of Lu will not hesitate to give me advice."

The generals in the hall had different expressions.

For example, Pei Sui and other Huaizhou military commanders had slightly strange expressions. Li Jingda repeatedly stated that he seemed to have no intention of controlling the military power in Dingzhou.

But can anyone really remain calm in the face of power?

On the other side, Hou Dayong, the commander of the Zhenwei Army, felt quite aggrieved.

This is not the first time he has set foot in the Northland.

In the Battle of Huaizhou the year before last, when the three armies of Nanya were ordered to go northward, he was one of them, leading an army each with Yuan Xingqin and Xu Wen.

Xu Wen collaborated with the enemy and treason, and his home was confiscated and executed. Yuan Xingqin is still staying in Nanya of the Beijing Army, and because he is Li Jingda's confidant, he has to lead the army to accompany him.

Hou Dayong knew that this journey would not be smooth. Regardless of the strength of the Zhenwei Army, it would not be able to make any splash in front of the frontier army with its outstanding achievements in consecutive battles.

Seeing Li Jingda's humble posture at this moment, he had to suppress the anger in his heart.

It's okay for Xiao Wangzhi. After all, he is a famous general who has been in Huaizhou for more than ten years and has fought against Jing Jun countless times. Li Jingda is naturally just a junior in front of him.

But even a young man like Lu Chen could ride on Li Jingda's head, which was really hard for Hou Dayong to accept.

However, Li Jingda seemed not to notice the emotions of his confidants and continued: "My lord, the general has received your Majesty's order a few days ago. Your Majesty agrees to your request. Lu Chen will concurrently serve as the commander-in-chief of the Dingzhou Cavalry Army, and another The commander of the infantry will be Liu Jiangdong, the commander of Panlong Army. As for the Feiyun and Lai'an armies, the previous general setting will remain unchanged."

Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen looked at each other, and then said respectfully, "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Jingda added: "Your Majesty has also named the two armies formed by splitting the Ruishi Battalion. The cavalry was named Dingbei, and the infantry was named Ningyuan. As for the Sixth Army formed by the Dingzhou Governor's Office to recruit new soldiers, the Privy Council Named Fengfu Army."

According to the regulations of the Qi Dynasty, the names of the armies under each governor's office are generally based on place names, such as the Jiangbei Fourth Army added the year before last, such as the Guangling, Lai'an and Taixing armies in Huaizhou.

There are also some special armies, such as the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army and the Feiyun Army, such as the Dingbei and Ningyuan armies that are now expanded from Ruishi Camp.

Relatively speaking, these specially named armies will have better treatment in all aspects and even overall strength.

Therefore, Li Jingda said to Lu Chen: "Marquis Lu, His Majesty's ardent expectations for you are evident. I hope you can make further contributions to Da Qi."

Lu Chen lowered his head slightly and said, "The general will definitely try his best."

Li Jingda praised: "With the words of Marquis Lu, I feel relieved. In addition, His Majesty specially ordered you to take charge of Dingzhou's military affairs. In fact, he hopes that you can take up the heavy responsibility. After all, I am not familiar with the frontier. Regarding the Dingzhou Sixth Army, I ask Marquis Lu to take more care of the garrison and detailed arrangements."

His gesture was too humble, and Hou Dayong, who was sitting at the bottom, had a slightly red face.

Lu Chen couldn't figure out the other party's thoughts for the time being, and he was Li Jingda's subordinate after all, so there were some things he shouldn't say. Fortunately, there are many of our own people in this class.

Xiao Wangzhi took over the conversation with a smile: "Brother Li, why are you so humble? You are the governor of Dingzhou, and Lu Chen is young and a subordinate. How can he directly decide military affairs without you? In my opinion, brother Li can make good arrangements. Just let Lu Chen and the others be responsible for the specific implementation."

Li Jingda smiled awkwardly, nodded and said, "What the Duke said is absolutely true. The general is too impatient."

At this moment, Hou Dayong finally couldn't hold himself back and said in a rough voice: "Marquis Lu, have you heard that our army captured more than 8,000 horses in this battle?"

These words instantly made the atmosphere in the hall tense.

This time, Lu Chen used the prisoners headed by Qing Yu Huaijin to exchange for more than 8,000 fine war horses from the Jing Dynasty, which was full of temptations for the frontier troops.

It is an indisputable fact that the Qi Dynasty was short of troops and horses. When Xiao Wangzhi formed the Ruishi Battalion, he almost plundered the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion before he could scrape together thousands of horses. Li Tianrun planned hard in Jingzhou and tried every means to find war horses, but he could only build a Feiyu battalion with all his efforts.

However, Xiao Wangzhi had already made it clear to Lu Chen before that the Huaizhou Army would not covet the horses captured this time, because the previous Leize victory had captured nearly 5,000 good horses, all of which were hidden by Xiao Wangzhi.

In other words, the disposal of these more than 8,000 war horses rests with Lu Chen.

Looking at Hou Dayong's eager eyes, Lu Chen said calmly: "Yes."

Hou Dayong said straight to the point: "The general knew that Marquis Lu wanted to use these war horses to expand the Dingbei Army, and the infantry of the Zhenwei Army did not dare to covet the war horses. However, when the governor first came to Dingzhou, the guards around him They are all foot soldiers. I wonder if Marquis Lu can part with two thousand war horses for the use of the Grand Governor’s personal guard camp? If Marquis Lu is willing to part with them, I will be extremely grateful!"

Pei Sui and others immediately frowned.

You said it was two thousand horses at the first word. You are so loud!

Lu Chen asked calmly: "May I ask General Hou, is this the military order of the Grand Governor?"

Hou Dayong shook his head and said: "Of course not. It's just that as a subordinate of the Grand Governor, shouldn't Marquis Lu think about Shangguan?"

Lu Chen smiled, dusted his sleeves and said, "I am really touched that the Governor has such a sensible and considerate subordinate as General Hou. However, General Hou may not know that when Xu Zhongcheng went to Heluo to negotiate with Jingren, he He told me that His Majesty has decreed that I should dispose of these captured war horses by myself. Now that the Dingbei Army has just been formed and is in short supply of war horses, I am having a headache, so I really cannot agree to General Hou's request."

Hou Dayong was suffocated. He didn't expect that the other party would move away from the emperor who was far away in Jiangnan.

In fact, he didn't believe that the emperor really had this will, but what could he do?

Lu Chen continued: "General Hou, in fact, this matter is not difficult to handle. As long as you lead the Zhenwei Army to capture hundreds of Jingjun prisoners, aren't you able to get a mere two thousand horses at your fingertips?"

"you--"

Hou Dayong was furious and subconsciously raised his hands to support the armrests of the chair. However, the cold and stern eyes of the frontier generals instantly focused on his face.

"Hou Dayong, you are so presumptuous!"

Li Jingda, who had watched the show for a while, gave a sharp shout, and then angrily said: "According to the rules of the army, the captured generals have always decided how to distribute the spoils. How can you be allowed to talk nonsense here? Furthermore, Marquis Lu is the dynasty of the country. He has made many meritorious deeds. Your Majesty values ​​him so much. How could he allow you, a slugger, to seize the war horses of the Dingbei Army? Stand up and bow to Marquis Lu immediately to apologize!"

Hou Dayong looked at Li Jingda with a flushed face. After a moment, he took a deep breath, stood up and saluted Lu Chen and said, "I have spoken uncontrollably for a moment. Please forgive me, Marquis Lu."

But before he bowed, Lu Chen appeared in front of him, holding his arms with both hands. Hou Dayong could not lower himself no matter what, and then he heard Lu Chen say: "Grand Governor, I am waiting for the soldiers of the frontier army to be upright. Hou Dayong The general is not at fault, but by doing this, doesn’t it mean that the general has no place to stand?”

Xiao Wangzhi took advantage of the situation and said, "Yes, the generals of the border army like to make noises. Brother Li, don't worry about it."

Li Jingda turned his anger into a smile and said, "That's good, that's good."

He then said to Hou Dayong: "I'll spare you this time. If you dare to talk nonsense next time, I will never allow it!"

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for your forgiveness."

Hou Dayong bowed.

After everyone chatted for a few more words, Xiao Wangzhi stood up and said goodbye. Now that this was Li Jingda's headquarters, he would naturally not occupy the magpie's nest, and he would return to Huaizhou to prepare for military preparations in a while.

Li Jingda personally sent him out and asked Lu Chen to see him off on his behalf.

The festival hall became quiet. Hou Dayong sat down with his head down and gritted his teeth and said: "Grand Governor, these people are going too far!"

Li Jingda shook his head and said calmly: "I never thought about seizing power in a short period of time. Let you test Lu Chen today just to see his bottom line. Now it seems that this young man is full of thorns. It's easy to mess with. That's all, let him be arrogant, we don't have to rush."

Hou Dayong frowned and said, "But except for the Zhenwei Army, the other five armies in Dingzhou are all their people."

"wrong."

Li Jingda said slowly: "The four armies of Dingbei, Ningyuan, Feiyun, and Lai'an belong to them, and the Zhenwei Army and the Fengfu Army to be formed are ours. In fact, these are not important. The key lies in these six armies. They are all from the imperial court, and I don’t believe they dare to openly oppose the imperial court.”

Hou Dayong said solemnly: "However, as long as Lu Chen is still in Dingzhou, the Fourth Army will not obey the commander-in-chief's orders. Even if they dare not openly oppose them, they will definitely disobey them."

Li Jingda smiled faintly, took a sip of the cold tea, and said meaningfully: "So I asked you not to be in a hurry. How long can Lu Chen stay in Dingzhou? You know, His Majesty is not so assured of him. Having said that, , those people thought that if they kicked me out of the capital, I would just come to Dingzhou for a formality."

"Haha... Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen can defeat Jing Jun in a row, can't I, Li Jingda, do the same?"

"How could I have known that this wasn't the opportunity I've been waiting for half my life?"

(End of this chapter)