Jiuxi

Chapter 558 Chapter 556 [Chaotianque] (Part )
Xiao Wangzhi led a group of generals back to Liguan Town in the northeast, while Lu Chen stayed behind.

Currently, there are more than 60,000 soldiers stationed near Liguan Town, including troops from Huai, Ding and Jing states. Lu Chen is very familiar with their situation, so he will stay in Baimaquan for the time being and try to get familiar with the more than 40,000 Western Route Army as soon as possible.

Here are the soldiers of the Beijing Camp led by Liu Shouguang, as well as the Royal Guard Camp, Qingxu Army and Heyang Army brought by Li Tianrun from Yongqiu City. The composition is relatively simple, but it will not be accomplished in a short time to find out the details.

Knowing the soldiers and the generals is the most basic ability of a coach.

In a house adjacent to the Marshal's Mansion, the staff led by Wang Jun were sorting out the detailed information of the Western Route Army. Among them were talents promoted by Lu Chen from the army, as well as talented people prepared by Lu Tong for him. Although there were only more than ten people at present, far less than the huge staff around Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun, they could still help Lu Chen deal with most of the trivial matters.

The side hall is quiet and elegant.

Li Bingxue changed into a moon-white dress and tied her black hair simply behind her head, revealing her cool and noble temperament.

"Tea, please."

Lu Chen personally brewed a pot of fragrant tea and handed it to Li Bingxue.

She took the teacup and said softly, "Thank you."

The two have been together for quite a while this time. From the Battle of Cuiting to today, for more than a month, they have been fighting side by side and inseparable.

But they never talked about personal issues. Even if they occasionally chatted in private, the topic always revolved around the war situation on the border.

It's not that they are being pretentious, but due to the current situation, they have to bury their feelings deep in their hearts.

Qi Jing's army is now in a stalemate. Although they still cannot relax, compared to the previous tense situation on the battlefield where they could not relax for a moment, both sides can finally stop and take a breath.

The fragrance of tea permeated their mouths and teeth, and they looked at each other quietly.

Ever since she revealed her true feelings in the capital, the usually free and easy-going Li Bingxue has not mentioned this topic again, because she feels there is no need to do so, and some things only need to be said once.

What stood between the two was not only the emperor's decree granting marriage, but also their own reasons and the influence of their family background.

Li Bingxue cannot give up her insistence on being a housewife who takes care of her husband and children, and the court will not allow Lu Chen to control all the border troops of Da Qi. This pair of equally outstanding and proud young people is unlikely to do such a secret thing, so they are destined to be like this.

They were so close, yet they could only look at each other.

After a moment, Li Bingxue asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"

Lu Chen placed the teacup on the table next to him and said with a smile: "In fact, I have always had a doubt in the past few years."

Li Bingxue said: "Tell me about it."

Lu Chen asked seriously: "You have been in the army for so many years, often exposed to the wind and sun and running around, why don't you see much impact?"

Li Bingxue was slightly startled.

This doubt does not involve any profound topics. To put it bluntly, I just want to praise her skin which is as white as snow and frost and is not affected by wind and rain.

The reason why she was stunned was that since they met, Lu Chen had left her with the impression of being upright and dignified. Although he was only around twenty years old, his style of doing things was like that of an experienced scholar.

At this moment, hearing him speak in such an old-fashioned tone and using the sweet words that a dandy boy usually uses, although it was not shocking, it at least surprised her.

"I'm really curious."

Lu Chen added another sentence.

Li Bingxue couldn't help but smile. She didn't dislike Lu Chen's change because he didn't deliberately talk nonsense in front of her. It was obvious that he wanted to make some changes so that the topic between them wouldn't always stay on those military and national affairs.

Thinking of this, she blinked her eyes: "Guess?"

Lu Chen said: "I think this must be natural beauty."

"puff……"

Li Bingxue finally couldn't help laughing, with stars twinkling in her clear eyes: "I can't believe you would say something like that."

"Is it weird?"

"It's not strange. I'm just used to you discussing military affairs, the court, and the overall situation of the world with me in a serious manner. Suddenly, you seem to have changed into a different person. It's really interesting. Before today, I would never have thought that one day you would praise me in person."

"interesting?"

"Yes. Ask anyone, no matter which border military governor's office they are from, they will definitely say you are mature, talented, and steady. When I was in the capital, I met many so-called young talents. Even if they pretended to be honest in front of me, they would reveal a bit of frivolity in their eyes from time to time. I thought you would never praise a woman's appearance in person like those people did."

"Ahem... Actually, you misunderstood me."

"is it?"

Li Bingxue's eyes flickered as she said leisurely, "Then praise me a few more times?"

Now it was Lu Chen's turn to burst out laughing.

Li Bingxue curled her lips slightly and said, "Not sincere at all."

Lu Chen waved his hands quickly and said, "My cultivation is not deep enough, so I can't turn deliberateness into naturalness."

"In other words, what you just said about your natural beauty came from the bottom of your heart?"

"Yes."

Lu Chen nodded, simply and firmly. Li Bingxue glanced at him, but the joy on her face could not be concealed.

When people mention her, they would say she is the daughter of a general, praise her for her decisiveness in killing, and sigh that she is the only female general in the world today. However, few people can remember that she is actually just a young woman in her early twenties, a few months younger than Lu Chen.

She doesn't like red dresses but loves military uniforms, and she is as brave as men. This is the impression people have of her. In fact, she also likes rouge and powder, and can fall in love. It's just that her heart is strong enough to ignore the worldly eyes and firmly walk on her own path.

However, she was still a woman after all, especially in front of her beloved. When she heard these extremely rare words of love, her heart was filled with emotions.

Looking at her rare cute and innocent expression, Lu Chen felt overwhelmed.

The reason why he behaves much more stable than his peers is, on the one hand, because he is more mature psychologically due to having lived two lives, and on the other hand, he wants to rise quickly in the military, and his cold-faced evildoer attitude makes it easier for people to believe him.

This doesn't mean that he knows nothing about matters between men and women.

The atmosphere gradually became charming.

Li Bingxue coughed lightly and changed the subject: "I thought you would take the time to meet Sister Wang."

Changing the subject like this seemed a bit awkward. Lu Chen knew that she might not be able to adapt to this kind of atmosphere, so he did not force it.

After returning from Shazhou, he realized that he had neglected some problems in the past. Apart from the fact that he and Lin Xi were in love and their relationship was natural, he still owed something to others.

Wang Chulong went south because of a family mission, but she was unwilling to be a pair of familiar strangers with Lu Chen, so she bravely took the initiative to get close to him. Li Bingxue was unable to go further due to the reality, but she also expressed her feelings to him freely.

Looking back on the past, Lu Chen found that he was greatly lacking in this aspect. He had always been passively accepting the beauty's favor, neither refusing nor making any progress, which was really not appropriate.

After all, he is a smart man. Once he finds his problem, he will start to solve it. It was with this idea that he took the initiative to have a heart-to-heart talk with Li Bingxue today.

This kind of thing cannot be rushed, and we need to give each other time to adapt. Therefore, when Li Bingxue changed the subject, he said gently: "It's really too late. I know she is in Xunyang, but when I led the troops north, the Jing army came with great momentum and headed straight for Cuiting and Shiquan. I rushed to resolve the crisis in Shiquan, and a slight delay would lead to a disaster. After that, I led the troops to fight continuously, and I couldn't abandon my subordinates to go south to find her."

Li Bingxue nodded. She and Lu Chen felt the same way in this regard. There were indeed many inconveniences in being in the military.

"Sister Wang will definitely not blame you. She is the most considerate woman I have ever met, and also the smartest and most perceptive woman. I believe she can understand your difficulties."

Li Bingxue did not hide her admiration for Wang Chulong at all. She looked up at Lu Chen and said, "Besides, you really don't have to rush. You can get married after this war, and then you can naturally accompany each other day and night."

She didn't pretend to be indifferent, but Lu Chen could hear a hint of sadness in her voice.

I don’t know where the word love comes from, but it is so deep and lasting.

But there are too many fetters and troubles in this world. Whether mortals or saints, they cannot give up their persistence, nor can they achieve the state of forgetting emotions.

Lu was silent.

Li Bingxue smiled lightly, not caring about Lu Chen's silence, and asked: "What are your chances of winning this battle?"

After going around in circles, we finally return to the overall situation.

Lu Chen understood why she didn't want to talk more. Looking at her clear and pure smile, he suppressed the melancholy in his heart and said softly, "Thirty percent."

"Thirty percent?"

"At present, the forces of both sides are similar, and they are relatively familiar with each other's strength. In a decisive battle in the field, the cavalry of the Jing army is the trump card that can determine the outcome of the battle, especially under the command of Qing Yugong, these elite cavalry can play an unexpected role. If my army is not prepared for the unexpected, if Qing Yugong does not care about the loss of his own capital, if he and Emperor Jing can be of one mind without any constraints, if he is not fully aware of the situation of our army, if he does not realize that I am commanding the entire army now, if he can decisively give up Yongqiu like General Li, then our army's chance of winning is only 30%."

Li Bingxue looked at him in a daze.

So many ifs...

Lu Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said calmly: "If one more person becomes a reality, our army's chances of winning will increase by 10%."

This is a very simple arithmetic problem. If all his assumptions come true in reverse, then the chances of the Qi army winning will increase to 90%.

Li Bingxue understood the difficulty of this battle. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Can our army retreat to the defense line?"

For the Qi army, if the risk of this battle is too high, they may be able to temporarily avoid the attack of the Jing army and maintain their previous defensive position.

"No."

Lu Chen shook his head and said with a deep look in his eyes: "Da Qi needs a real victory, especially at this moment."

Li Bingxue suddenly understood.

When imperial power changes, whether people's hearts are on the side of the court is crucial, and a great victory can cover up many problems.

Lu Chen raised his eyes and looked forward, the emperor's frail face appeared in his mind, and he said softly: "I don't want your majesty to leave with regrets."

Li Bingxue sighed softly, nodded slightly, and immediately stood up and said, "I will go back to serve Dad and give him medicine. You...you should not work too hard and take care of yourself."

"Okay, give my regards to the Grand Admiral for me."

Lu Chen stood up to see him off.

Before leaving, Li Bingxue suddenly stopped and turned around, looking at Lu Chen tenderly.

She walked up to Lu Chen and hugged him gently, then left with a smile.

(End of this chapter)