Jiuxi

Chapter 337 Chapter 335 [Haze]

Li Jingda had hidden ambitions and was naturally willing to endure for the time being. He paid special attention to Lu Chen's opinions when arranging the details of the various departments of the Dingzhou Army, and issued military orders one after another.

Song Shifei led the Feiyun Army to guard the northern line of Fengqiu, with the main force stationed at the southern end of Dingfeng Road.

Chen Chun, the governor of Dingzhou, mobilized civilians to repair and strengthen the military city pass where Feiyun Army was stationed, as a barrier to the northern part of Dingzhou.

Song Shifei was brave and skilled in battles for a long time, and his Feiyun Army was strong and determined, which was enough to protect the safety of Dingfeng Road. In addition, with Baotai Mountain to the northeast, the Seven-Star Army could provide support at any time. Even if the main force of Jing's Army suddenly moved south, they would still be able to provide support. Create a certain reaction time from the rear.

Duan Zuozhang led the An army to guard Qingliuguan and Fengfu and other places in the rear, guarding the strategic key points to the west of Dingzhou.

With his consistent and steady military style, Qingliu Pass will definitely become the rock in the west of Dingzhou.

Liu Jiangdong was transferred to the commander of the Ningyuan Army. The core of this infantry was composed of more than 3,000 infantry from the Ruishi Battalion and the Panlong Army. The remaining places would be filled by recruiting new soldiers from all over Huaizhou.

Because of his contribution in the Northern Expedition, Colonel Bao An was naturally promoted to deputy commander of the Ningyuan Army and served as Liu Jiangdong's deputy.

Except for Bao An, the original generals at all levels in Ruishi Camp were promoted, but more than ten of them were transferred by Lu Chen and went north into Baotai Mountain.

The Ningyuan Army was in urgent need of training to build combat effectiveness, so they were stationed in Changhuan City southeast of Fengqiu. According to the drill code written by Lu Chen, on the one hand, they consulted the Feiyun Army to make progress, and on the other hand, they often entered Baotai Mountain to carry out arduous training. .

What really gives Lu Chen a headache is the Dingbei Army. This cavalry currently only has more than 4,000 people, but there are tens of thousands of horses.

The cavalry is completely different from the infantry. The latter does not have so high requirements for soldiers. Generally speaking, as long as the body is healthy and the mind is normal, they can gradually enter the state after a period of practice.

Cavalry not only requires skilled combat skills, but the key point is superb riding skills.

The reason why Jinglian cavalry dominates the world is because most of the Jinglian men grew up on horses. Everyone is good at riding and shooting, and then the best are selected to form cavalry.

Xiao Wangzhi was helpless in this regard. The formation of the Ruishi Battalion cavalry had already drained his wealth. Even though he allowed Lu Chen to select soldiers from various armies in Huaizhou, there were very few outstanding cavalry seedlings.

In the end, Lu Chen could only adopt the method of slowly trying to find out, and temporarily gave the Northern Army enough 8,000 cavalry.

This cavalry is stationed in Ningling City. To the northwest, it can support Fengfu City and Qingliuguan. To the southwest, it can cooperate with the Huaizhou Panlong Army to insert diagonally to the back of Beiyan Moyang Road.

The Zhenwei Army brought by Li Jingda was stationed in Ruyin City. As for the Fengfu Army, the Sixth Army formed by the Emperor's decree to be formed by the Dingzhou Governor's Office, Lu Chen did not interfere much. After all, Li Jingda was the Governor of Dingzhou, so he could not do too much. , and his energy is mainly focused on the Dingbei and Ningyuan armies.

The Huaizhou Governor's Mansion has also undergone considerable changes.

Because Dingzhou blocks the enemy from the north, the only place that Huaizhou borders Yan State is Panlong Pass. This natural and dangerous pass only requires more than ten thousand soldiers to be safe.

With Feiyun Army and Lai'an Army transferred to the Dingzhou Governor's Mansion, Xiao Wangzhi only has seven armies left in his hands. Among them, the five armies that will be stationed in Huaizhou are Zhenbei, Panlong, Taixing, Guangling and Pingshan. .

The Emperor and the Privy Council seemed to have forgotten the current weakening of Xiao Wangzhi's troops, and did not mention the new army to fill the vacancies in the Feiyun and Lai'an armies.

Naturally, Li Jingda would not speak up for Xiao Wangzhi. On the contrary, he very much hoped that Xiao Wangzhi could return to Huaizhou as soon as possible, otherwise it would be really no fun for him as the governor of Dingzhou.

As for Lu Chen, Li Jingda was mentally prepared to continue to swallow his anger, but he did not expect that the emperor's summons edict would come in such a timely manner.

When the various departments of the Dingzhou Army were generally stabilized, an angel came to Ruyin City under the protection of dozens of forbidden troops and read out an imperial edict calling Lu Shen to the capital to report to the Holy Spirit.

The next day, south of Ruyin City.

Li Jingda was originally full of reluctance and could only hold Lu Shen's arm and was speechless. However, when he saw hundreds of carts on the official road and two thousand Dingbei cavalry in neat military appearance, as well as the Zhenbei Army led by Pei Sui himself. Five thousand sharp soldiers couldn't help but said in confusion: "Marquis Lu, what is this?"

Lu Chen smiled and said: "Grand Governor, these are the trophies our army captured in Heluo City. According to His Majesty's decree, part of them has been distributed to the Huaizhou Army and Jingzhou Army. The rest will naturally be taken to the capital and handed over to Your Majesty."

The spoils of war…

Li Jingda swallowed his saliva silently, but even if he had ten nerves, he would not dare to covet the things on those carts.

Xiao Wangzhi said to Lu Chen: "Actually, there will be no problem if you bring two thousand cavalry through Huaizhou, but I think it is better to be more careful. Pei Sui will lead the troops to escort you to the bank of Hengjiang River. By then, there will be Chen Lanyu and others on the south bank. The Beijing army is waiting for you."

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for taking care of me."

Lu Chen bowed his hands and bowed, and then said: "Captain Li, the general has a few words to say before leaving, but Governor Li will listen to them."

Li Jingda withdrew his gaze and said seriously: "Marquis Lu, please speak."

Lu Chen glanced at the clear sky in the north and said solemnly: "Jing Jun will not rashly provoke a war in the short term, but Qing Yugong will definitely find an opportunity to test his skills. One is to boost the morale of Jing Jun, and the other is to weaken The strength of our army. If we encounter enemy provocation at the border, I ask the Governor to be patient for the time being. As long as we defend Dingfeng Road and Qingliu Pass, we will not be at a disadvantage."

Li Jingda nodded and said: "What Marquis Lu said makes sense. Don't worry, I will definitely deal with it calmly. Moreover, the Duke of Guo is sitting behind Dingzhou, and the Huaizhou Tigers can go north to support at any time. I believe Jingjun will not act rashly."

Lu Chen smiled faintly, knowing that this person probably didn't listen, so he looked at Xiao Wangzhi with deep meaning. The two people's eyes met, and Lu Chen was really relieved, and he saluted and said goodbye to the two governors and the civil and military officials who came to see him off.

That day, the wind and scenery were bright, and the world was peaceful.

……

Thousands of miles away, Yongjia, the capital city.

In a house with an unremarkable appearance in the North City, several people were sitting around in a dark room.

A middle-aged man sipped the fragrant tea from the cup leisurely and said leisurely: "Everyone, His Majesty has sent an angel to Dingzhou to deliver the message. Lu Chen will probably leave for the south now."

He has a white face, short beard, and shining eyes. He is none other than Ding Hui, the Minister of War.

The man sitting opposite him said calmly: "The person who came here is not evil."

This man, with a slender face and slightly raised eyebrows, seemed a bit unusual in the Qi court where officials were very particular about their words and deeds.

He is Qi Weili, the young minister of Dali Temple.

Ding Hui couldn't help sighing after hearing this: "Why not? Back then, when this son was just a prosecutor in the governor's office, he dared to make Li Sanlang unable to step down in public. He even dared to challenge the third prince. However, His Majesty trusted him. Let him suffer a little loss and leave the capital leisurely. Now he is even more extraordinary. He is a prince in his early twenties and the commander of the Dingzhou Cavalry Army. He holds in his hands something that many people can't achieve in their lifetime. Military merit.”

At this point, he couldn't help but click his tongue and said: "Hey, don't look at him joining the army. After he returns to Beijing, I'm afraid not many people will dare to mess with him."

Another official sitting in the south smiled and said: "You are the Minister of the Ministry of War, can't you handle a young junior?"

This man's name was Pei Fangyuan, and he was an official in the Imperial Academy.

Ding Hui laughed at himself: "It's fine if others don't know. Don't you know that I, the Minister of War, am just a logistics manager? Guo Congyi, Wang Yan, Liu Shouguang, Xiao Wangzhi, Li Tianrun, etc., who are not arrogant in front of me? Even Lu Chen This young junior won’t take me seriously, after all, I can’t control him.”

“Just because we can’t control it now doesn’t mean we won’t be able to control it in the future.”

A calm voice sounded from the shadows to the north of the square table.

Ding Hui immediately beamed with joy and said with a smile: "According to your auspicious words, when that day comes, I will definitely make those warriors look good to me."

In the shadows, there sat a middle-aged man with an elegant temperament. He was clearly just the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, but Ding Hui, who was the Minister, referred to himself as a subordinate in front of him. The other two were not surprised at all and seemed to be used to it.

Li Shizhi, the Minister of Punishment, put down the tea cup he had been holding and asked calmly: "What does it mean for Lu Chen to enter the capital?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone stopped chatting and sat upright.

Qi Weili said first: "Your Majesty probably still has doubts about the rumors about Lu Chen's life experience, so he did not promote him to the governor of Dingzhou. Your Majesty wanted to confirm his loyalty by calling him to Beijing to report on his duties."

Li Shizhi remained silent.

Pei Fangyuan added: "Perhaps there is another possibility. Your Majesty originally planned to let Chen Lanyu temporarily lead the Sixth Army of Nanya, but Guo Congyi intervened and removed Hou Yu, the governor of Chengzhou, as a more suitable candidate. In this way, Your Majesty remains for the time being. I can’t control Nan Ya, so I want to take this step by taking advantage of Lu Shen’s great difficulty to reward me.”

Ding Hui looked at Zuo Xiang's eldest son with deep meaning, the confirmed future head of the Jinlin Li family, and the next generation leader of the Jiangnan family.

Li Shizhi tapped the table with his slender fingers and said slowly: "Both of these possibilities are correct. No matter what His Majesty thinks, for us, Lu Chen's return to Beijing is a good opportunity."

Ding Hui's heart moved and he whispered: "My lord's intention is..."

"There is no need to rush about that matter, we have to take care of it slowly."

Li Shizhi's tone was calm, with an unspeakable cold light in his eyes, and he said quietly: "It seems that the frontier army has already gained momentum. I believe that Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun will not become the second pseudo-emperor Zhang Can, but they are very top-heavy. A situation that the central government can accept. Lu Chen arrived just in time. The muddy waters in Beijing really need a strong dose of medicine to stir up trouble."

Li Shizhi looked around at everyone and then said: "This young man is the most important medicine introduction."

Ding Hui looked into his indifferent eyes and said with respect and fear: "May I ask, sir, what is the name of the medicine?"

Li Shizhi slowly let out a long breath, and said with a bit of reluctance and a bit of determination: "When a prince enters the capital, although the sky will not collapse, there is a possibility that the earth will collapse."

Everyone was horrified, but also a little eager and excited.

Li Shizhi stopped talking, his eyes as deep as the sea.

(End of this chapter)