Jiuxi

Chapter 440 Chapter 438 [Life only lasts a hundred years]

In the nearly three years since he came to this world, Lu Chen has experienced countless ups and downs. The characters he faced have gradually transformed from small characters like Ning Li and Gu Yong to big shots like the Jiangnan family and the nobles of the Jing Dynasty.

Thanks to the tenacity he developed during his more than ten years of military service in his previous life, Lu Chen can deal with any difficult role calmly. This is one of the reasons why he can stand out in a short period of time.

Those who achieve great things need to be calm, this has been true since ancient times.

However, the old man who was nearly 70 years old and quite thin in front of him put great pressure on Lu Chen.

It was obvious that he had no power to restrain a chicken, and he was not above the imperial court. When those old eyes that had seen all the vicissitudes of life looked at him calmly, the power they contained seemed to be as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"can you?"

This sentence is not a question, on the contrary, it contains a bit of family friendly kindness and gentleness.

But Lu Chen had no doubt that if he gave a negative answer, the old man opposite would make him understand the importance of being a leader.

Perhaps in the eyes of some people, Li Daoyan was dying and the Jiangnan clan had suffered heavy losses. How could he have the power to pose a threat to a military minister with the backing of border troops?

Lu Chen nodded and said: "I can understand the Prime Minister's worries, but I really haven't thought about it. The reason is very simple. Since it is something that may happen in the next few decades, who can guarantee that it will develop in a certain direction? ? The junior is a martial artist, and his current status and glory are all earned through military merit. If the junior does not have the courage to go to the battlefield again in the future, then the situation that the prime minister is worried about will not happen. If the junior continues to go to the battlefield, his life and death will not happen. in a moment."

He became smoother and smoother, and said calmly: "Old Prime Minister, countless generals have died on the battlefield throughout the ages. Of course I hope that I can live longer, but who knows which one will come first tomorrow or the accident?"

Li Daoyan was noncommittal about this and changed the topic: "Do you think I am meddling in my own business?"

Li Daoyan was slightly startled and repeated: "Have you never thought about it?"

After listening to this statement, a smile appeared on Li Daoyan's old face, he nodded and said: "As far as the present is concerned, this statement makes sense."

"continue."

Lu Chen didn't think so. He was sure that the old man in front of him was one of the few people who could change the emperor's mind. Moreover, in the previous struggle between the emperor and the Jiangnan family, this old man and even the entire Jinlin Li family did not take action at all. As a result, the Jiangnan clan was leaderless, and Wang Yan and others were no match for the emperor.

As his mind was spinning, Lu Chen still felt that this question was difficult to answer.

"Yes. In the eyes of the world, the Prime Minister, as the leader of the Jiangnan Clan, should stand on their side. In fact, in the past many years, the Prime Minister has been doing this, such as allowing the Jiangnan Clan to control the country and other places. The government arranged its own people aggressively, and the Prime Minister interfered several times with the matter of whether to support the Northern Expedition. The junior still remembers that when he first entered Beijing, before he could distinguish between east, west, south, and north, Li Sanlang came to him and asked for help. If you treat me like a treat and treat me like a dog, I can be sure that Li Sanlang must have the tacit consent of the Prime Minister."

This power of forbearance is often easily overlooked.

Lu Chen said: "Actually, I don't think that the prime minister's worries will come true. There are two prime ministers and many adults in the center to take care of the government affairs, and there are two loyal governors in the border areas to preside over military affairs. What's more important is that today's emperor knows people well and is responsible for their duties. , understand people's hearts, Daqi will not become a battlefield for careerists like Puppet Yan. "

One day, he will be undefeated until he achieves great success. Will he still be content with the status quo at that time?
If you answer yes, you are being false.

Li Daoyan was not in a hurry and slowly leaned back in his chair, his eyes still fixed on Lu Chen's face.

Lu Chen did not answer the question directly, but said sincerely: "This junior has always felt that the prime minister is very contradictory."

Not to mention that in today's world situation, it is impossible for him to stay at the rear.

As Li Daoyan said, he is now a prince and the commander of the Beijing camp, and he will have at least several decades to come. Even if he no longer goes to the battlefield to perform meritorious service in the future, he will only train troops in the rear and take care of military affairs until he is forty or fifty years old. His qualifications will also be amazing.

After thinking for a while, Lu Chen looked up at the old man and gave an extremely simple answer: "I haven't thought about it."

Lu Chen did not deliberately act like a pedantic loyal minister in front of him. On the contrary, his calm attitude and rational analysis made the old man quite satisfied.

"contradiction?"

The answer is no, then what do you want to do?
The hall is filled with fragrance and the atmosphere is silent.

"To be honest, the image of the Prime Minister in the minds of the younger generation at that time was just like the powerful ministers and traitors in those storybooks. However, later the younger generation discovered that when the conflicts in the court intensified to a certain extent, the Prime Minister was willing to make concessions for the sake of the overall situation. . In other words, in the Prime Minister's mind, the fate of the Jinlin Li family, the Jiangnan clan and Daqi are all important, and it is difficult to distinguish between them. However, conflicts and disputes will eventually arise between these forces, so what should the Prime Minister do? Choice?"

Li Daoyan narrowed his eyes slightly, unable to tell what his mood was.

Lu Chen sighed softly and said: "The palms and backs of the hands are all flesh. How can the prime minister not be in a dilemma when he is in it? How can he not feel conflicted?" Li Daoyan said meaningfully: "When people live in this world, things are not what they want. Mostly.”

Lu Chen nodded, returned to the question he asked before, and replied: "I don't think the Prime Minister is meddling in other people's business. I still remember that at the court meeting that day, the Prime Minister revealed the person behind the assassination on Qingfeng Street. At that time, there were These few words are still fresh in the memory of the younger generation. The Prime Minister said that after fifteen years of ups and downs, Daqi finally showed signs of making progress. This is the result of the diligent efforts of tens of millions of Daqi people, and it is also the result of His Majesty and the Prime Minister. A goal that you work towards throughout your life, before which everything else must give way.”

He paused slightly and said sincerely: "No matter what the Prime Minister's starting point is, I only know that Daqi has regained its footing from the edge of destruction. You cannot tolerate anyone destroying this hard-won achievement. Whether you want to conspire to disrupt The third prince in the court, the rebellious Beijing army who jumped over the wall and took risks, or the junior Wu Xun who is very powerful at a young age and may threaten the stability of the imperial power in the future. "

Li Daoyan's face gradually relaxed, and he looked at Lu Shen's young and handsome face. There was both undisguised approval and a bit of envy in his eyes, and then he sighed softly: "I didn't expect that the person who knows me best would actually Will be a young man in his early twenties."

Lu Chen shook his head and said: "This junior believes that the person who knows the Prime Minister best is your Majesty."

Li Daoyan smiled slightly and skipped this section and said: "You said before that there are me and Xue Zhangxian in the court, Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun on the border, and the most important thing is that His Majesty is in control of the overall situation. This sentence cannot be said to be wrong, but you ignored A very important question.”

Lu Chen said humbly: "Please give me some advice, Prime Minister."

Li Daoyan sighed and said: "Everyone will grow old and die, no one is exception. Your Majesty... He was in his prime years, but his body has never been healthy. I must have told you about this. In other words, we people No matter how talented you are, you will eventually die and you will not be able to protect the people of Da Qi forever."

Lu Mo remained silent.

He has stated his position before, and there is no point in repeating it now, and the future is full of too many uncertainties. Even if he promises to be a loyal pillar of Daqi today, will the old man in front of him believe it?
Li Daoyan seemed to know what he was thinking in his heart, and said slowly: "Although you don't think I am meddling in other people's business, you will definitely be a little confused. After all, the key to this kind of thing lies in how to do it, and words have no power. In fact, The invitation for you to come here today is not an exchange between the Zuo Xiang of Da Qi and Shanyang Marquis, but an old man in his twilight years who wants to give a few words to a young gentleman he is very optimistic about. "

Lu Chen said solemnly: "Master Xiang, please tell me."

Li Daoyan pondered for a moment, and then said earnestly: "I will never underestimate the efforts of the frontier soldiers, but you must not overestimate the background of the frontier army. Without His Majesty's full support, without the efforts of thousands of officials in the court, Logistics supply, Jiangbei land alone cannot support 300,000 to 400,000 soldiers and horses. If someone instigates a conflict between the frontier army and the center in the future, you must remember two points. One is to hold on to the bottom line, and the other is to make a slight compromise. It’s very easy to break, but the overall situation is important. I hope you can think carefully about these eight words.”

Lu Chen responded: "Yes."

Li Daoyan nodded and said: "After this turmoil, the power of the Jiangnan clan has been severely damaged and will stabilize in a short period of time. But I can tell you unmistakably that the background of these high-ranking families is far deeper than yours. Imagine. Your Majesty will definitely benefit from the fall of King Guo and the Ningle family. However, His Majesty does not have enough talents in his hands and he cannot completely clean up the clan members. The centipede will never die. You will have to distinguish between them when you take power in the future. The clouds and fog in front of you, don’t become a knife in the hands of others.”

Lu Chen vaguely felt that the old man's words had a profound meaning, so he wrote them down seriously.

Li Daoyan took a short rest and finally said: "Your Majesty, the Second Highness, is very worthy of your Majesty. After he ascends the throne in the future, as long as you do not go too far, he will be your best support and backing."

Lu Chen thought of the scene in Moyuan that day and couldn't help but nodded slightly.

Li Daoyan looked at him steadily, with a kind look in his eyes, and said softly: "Lu Chen, I hope you can revive Daqi and leave your name in history. But I also know that in time, heaven and earth will work together to bring heroes. Without freedom, it is ultimately up to young people like Your Highness and you to figure out the future path. The only thing I can do is to assist Your Majesty and eliminate the hidden dangers behind you so that you have no worries."

Lu Chen stood up and bowed.

Li Daoyan accepted it calmly, then waved his hand and said: "Go, I'm a little tired."

Lu Chen saluted and said goodbye again.

The young prince walked out of Jinlin Hall with steady steps.

The light in the hall was slightly dim, and the old man sat quietly on the Taishi chair, watching Lu Chen's back gradually disappear from sight.

In his eyes, there seemed to be the passage of time and hundreds of years of vicissitudes.

……

It was the second day of October in the fourteenth year of Qi Jianwu's reign.

Shanyang Hou Luchen left the capital under the escort of the Seven-Star Army and arrived in Luzhou, where he joined more than 10,000 people from the Beijing camp waiting here.

Lin Xi separated from him and led the Seven Star Army across the river to the north and returned to Baotai Mountain.

Lu Chen carried the Emperor's Sword and a full set of imperial guards of honor, led his guard battalion, two thousand cavalry and more than 10,000 Beijing troops and continued westward along the official road.

Embark on the long road westward.

(End of this chapter)