Jiuxi

Chapter 488 Chapter 486 [Life is like frost]

"Your Majesty, minister..."

Lu Chen hesitated to speak. This was a rare situation for him.

Such hesitation is naturally because in the memorial in his hand, Li Tianrun analyzed the situation in Jiangbei very thoroughly, in more detail than what he just said, and also proposed a very comprehensive combat strategy.

He was very aware of Li Tianrun's condition. Xue Huaiyi had clearly told him before that the lesions in Li Tianrun's body were incurable and he only had one or two years to live at most.

Lu Chen did not dare to mention this matter in front of Li Bingxue. At the same time, he also hoped that the old miracle doctor Xue could find a way to cure the disease. However, according to the strategy Li Tianrun stated in this memorial, the overall situation of Jiangbei could only rest on his shoulders, and He had to withstand the high pressure brought by Qing Yugong, which was undoubtedly extremely damaging to his body.

Reason told him that compared to the strategy he imagined of cutting off a strong man's arm and exchanging Dingzhou's vast territory for a strategic advantage, Li Tianrun's strategy was obviously better.

But from an emotional point of view, although Li Tianrun was not like Xiao Wangzhi, who gave Lu Chen meticulous care that even surpassed that of his own biological son, he also taught Lu Chen many very useful principles, which played a big role in the formation of his military style. Impact.

Not to mention the existence of Li Bingxue.

All in all, it was indeed extremely difficult for Lu Chen to agree to the request in this memorial.

After a while, Li Duan, who had put on thick clothes and a large cloak, sat on the chariot. Lu Chen followed cautiously beside him. The group left Wenhe Hall and headed to the Imperial Garden to the northwest.

Li Duan nodded slightly, but did not give a direct answer. He turned around and said, "Prince, go to Zhongshu to do some work."

Hearing these words, Lu Chen felt extremely sad, lowered his head and said, "Then I will accompany your majesty for a walk."

The palace was very quiet, Li Duan did not rush, but the prince stood with his eyes, nose and heart attentive.

"now it's right."

Li Duan pointed to the stone bench next to him and said, "Sit."

After a while, Lu Chen slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, I think this strategy of Governor Li is feasible."

Li Zongben bowed respectfully and left.

Lu Chen kept reminding the inmates to walk slower and more steadily.

He had read this memorial before, so he naturally knew the contents of the memorial, and also understood why Lu Chen was entangled.

Lu Chen subconsciously admonished: "Your Majesty, it's freezing today and your body has not yet recovered. If you go outside and catch the cold, how can you bear it? Your Majesty, for the sake of my shoulders being so thin, please don't do it for the time being." It’s not too late to go out and enjoy the flowers when spring comes.”

Li Duan leaned against the soft pillow, narrowed his eyes and looked at Lu Chen, who was as chatty as an old woman, with a faint smile on his lips.

Li Duan couldn't help laughing, and then said: "You know that you are talking nonsense in front of me. Now that you are a dignified military minister, you are not doing your job properly. It doesn't matter if it is cold outside, I just want to wear more clothes. To tell you the truth, I have been detained in the palace by the two prime ministers and the prince for a long time. I have not seen the scenery outside for a long time. Do you want to keep me detained too? "

There is a moon-viewing pavilion in the Imperial Garden, which is built on a gentle slope. It is the highest point in the garden and offers a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery. Outside the pavilion, there is only a gravel path on the south side, and the other three sides are planted with exotic flowers and plants. If it's spring and flowers are blooming, you can see flowers blooming here, just like in a painting.

Li Duan smiled as usual.

Li Duan slowly sat up from the couch, looked at Lu Chen and said, "Walk with me in the palace."

The eunuchs carried the chariot to the rather spacious pavilion, put it down with great care, and then bowed and left knowingly.

"Yes, Father."

"Are your shoulders thin?"

It's the end of November now, so naturally we can't see that kind of grand scene, but instead it feels a little desolate.

Lu Chen responded: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me a seat."

The monarch and his ministers looked at the decaying imperial garden in winter and were speechless for a long time.

Li Duan put his hands in his sleeves, breathing in the air that seemed to be particularly fresh and a bit cold, and slowly started talking.

"When the late emperor was here, I could not get into his eyes since I was a child. Not to mention the second brother who was appointed as the prince, the status of several other brothers was far above me. I still remember that it was the second year of Yuankang, and the eldest brother had just When I was born, I happily went to the palace to ask for an audience, hoping to make the late emperor happy, but in the end I was rejected. From that time on, I knew that I was just an idle prince of no importance in Heluo City. "

Li Duan's tone was very calm, with a hint of self-deprecation.

Lu Chen listened quietly. In fact, he was also very curious about this king's past. "There is nothing wrong with being an idle prince. You have nothing to worry about, food and drink, wealth and wealth, and there is no pressure to help the common people. At that time, I once thought that maybe this would be the case for the rest of my life. I was miserable during my lifetime and not worth mentioning after my death."

Li Duan paused suddenly, turned around and asked, "Do you know what my biggest feeling was at that time?"

Lu Chen replied honestly: "I don't know."

Li Duan said in a deep voice: "I'm wondering why the late emperor knew that the Qi Dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles and the people were having a hard time, but he never made any changes. The city of Heluo was in a state of revelry, and the dignitaries were singing and dancing every night, while ragged people could be seen everywhere on the streets. Poor people. On the one hand, there is a feast of gold and silver, and on the other hand, the plain porridge in the bowls of the common people is as white as water. I feel that this is wrong, but I can't do anything, because it is difficult for me to even see the late emperor. , and I don’t have the qualifications to speak out in front of him, so I can only choose to escape.”

"At that time, fortunately, the Xu family had quite a lot of money. My father-in-law moved around and finally gave me an opportunity to leave the capital. I left Heluo in the name of inspecting the disaster situation in the current Dingzhou area. I killed a group of corrupt officials in Dingzhou. Officials, a group of unscrupulous merchants were punished, but this was just a drop in the bucket for Da Qi. In the eleventh year of Yuankang, the Jing army conquered Heluo, and at the same time sent troops to Dingzhou to hunt down me, who had slipped through the trap. So I fled south. , from Dingzhou to Huaizhou, then crossed the Yangtze River from Huaizhou and headed south, first to Xinzhou, then to Daozhou, Hezhou, and Huzhou, and finally stopped in Yongjia City, because here I saw Zuo Prime Minister and Duke Jing.”

Li Daoyan and Han Lingfu, the faces of these two old men appeared in Lu Chen's mind, and he couldn't help but feel a burst of emotion.

He could imagine the significance of the appearance of these two people to the emperor in that chaotic environment where everyone was in danger.

Li Duan continued: "The escape south was extremely embarrassing. At the most difficult time, I only had two loyal servants by my side. However, this is not the most profound part of my memory. I will never forget those who died under the butcher's knife of Jingjun's cavalry." The common people of Qi, the piles of bones left exposed in the wilderness and no one cares about them, the miserable people who sell their sons and daughters in order to survive and exchange for a piece of cake. "

"These are the tragedies I have seen with my own eyes, and there are many tragedies I have not personally experienced, such as the dozens of massacres committed by Jingjun in Jiangbei. The Jinglian people are indeed cruel and violent, but the root cause of all this is not them. It’s the Li family that holds supreme power.”

"Every time I think about this, I can't sleep."

At this moment, his voice was extremely low and gloomy.

Lu Chen saw an emperor who was slightly different from the past.

Some are weak, some are confused.

He said seriously: "Your Majesty, the past is over. The food and clothing you spent all these years are worthy of the hundreds of millions of people in Qi."

Li Duan's face softened a little, and he said slowly: "For fourteen years, I have been telling myself to remember the lessons of the late emperor. Now it seems that I have done a fair job?"

Lu Chen didn't quite understand the underlying reason behind his change of self-identification from "I" to "I", but he still said sternly: "I dare not speak arbitrarily about your Majesty, but I dare to say that Your Majesty is definitely a good emperor."

"I am very happy to receive this evaluation from you."

Li Duan smiled slightly, then changed the subject and said: "You mentioned the strong man's broken arm before, and Li Tianrun also requested in the memorial to use him as bait. Both methods have their own advantages, but I think there may be a better method."

Lu Chen was startled.

Li Duan looked at the desolate dead trees in his sight and said slowly: "I don't understand the art of war. I have never criticized the generals' strategies in these years. As long as most people agree, I will allow it to be implemented. I know that there will be plans outside. This is the reason why I have always given Li, Xiao and others a great deal of autonomy, and tried to relieve them of worries. However, this time I will still veto Li Tianrun’s petition, not only because I hope he can live for two more years. , and another thing is that I don’t think Qing Yugong will be fooled easily.”

Lu Chen couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Li Tianrun's strategy was based on two important reasons. One was that the Jingzhou Army took the initiative to attack, which was a rare opportunity for Qing Yugong to compete head-on. The second reason is that Qing Yugong had a grudge. The Battle of Mengshan was the first time that Jing Army suffered a disastrous defeat with the loss of more than 10,000 main troops. The coach of Jing Army at that time was Qing Yuding, Qing Yugong's father.

As long as Li Tianrun shows his flaws, Qing Yugong will not give up the opportunity to defeat him head-on.

After a moment, Lu Chen said calmly: "Your Majesty, it may be that Qing Yugong had expected that Governor Li would lead his army into battle?"

"I'm not sure."

Li Duan shook his head slightly, and then said slowly: "But compared to the bait thrown by Li Tianrun, I think Emperor Jingguo and Qing Yugong must care more about another thing."

Lu Chen's heart moved, and his face became a little heavy.

Li Duan smiled and said: "Tell me, from the perspective of the two heroes in the north, does the death of the Daqi Emperor have a greater impact? Maybe after hearing the news, the Daqi border troops will immediately lose their morale and be unbearable on the battlefield. one strike."

Lu Chen said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty..."

"Don't panic."

Li Duan's expression was gentle, and he looked at him with a particularly friendly look at this moment, and continued: "Of course I will not play tricks like cheating death. I am the Emperor of Qi, how can I treat the reputation of the Tian family as a child's play? It's just... Lu Chen, I really don’t have long to live, so instead of lying in bed struggling to survive, I might as well take this opportunity to set a trap for the enemies in the north.”

"Wouldn't it be a great joy in life to let the arrogant and domineering Jing Jun die for me?"

He chuckled.

(End of this chapter)