Jiuxi

Chapter 659:657 [Lonely Ancient Battlefield]

In the back house of the Governor's Mansion, Lu Chen walked slowly into the flower hall and saw a scene of harmony and friendship.

Lin Xi and Wang Chulong were playing chess, Song Pei was standing beside them with a smile on her face, Jin Shu, Yu Su, Lin Xi's personal maid Ning Cui and others were standing quietly by their side.

Seeing Lu Chen coming in, the two wives stood up to greet him. Song Pei quickly served him fragrant tea, and the others withdrew respectfully.

Everyone sat down one after another. Lu Chen took a sip of tea, then placed the teacup on the table next to him and raised his hand to pinch his brows.

Wang Chulong saw this and said with concern: "It seems that Governor Xu is not easy to deal with."

"From ancient times to the present, this kind of pure minister with a good reputation is the most difficult to deal with. After all, he has no obvious weaknesses. Fortunately, this is not the capital."

Lu Chen smiled slightly, signaling them not to worry, and then briefly repeated Xu Zuo's purpose of coming.

Wang Chulong first glanced at Lin Xi, and seeing that she didn't look angry, she carefully reminded him, "My husband, Governor Xu's behavior is a bit abrupt. Although from the perspective of a governor of a state, there is a powerful and uncontrollable force under his rule, which will inevitably make him uneasy, he can definitely use a more tactful approach."

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said slowly: "Do you want to say that he did this at the behest of the emperor? He's trying to deceive me when he first came to Dingzhou?"

Wang Chulong thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, I don't think this is the emperor's will."

"Why?"

"If the emperor wanted to test you, he wouldn't be so blunt and crude, and he wouldn't attack the Seven Stars Gang directly, because the emperor knows very well how much you care about Sister Lin, which is undoubtedly your weak spot. Why would he force you to turn against him right away? Judging from the temperament that Governor Xu has shown in the past, this is more like his own decision."

Lu Chen nodded slightly after hearing this, then he and Lin Xi smiled at each other.

Wang Chulong continued, "Xu Zhishi was originally the Imperial Censor. He was in a high position and had great power. He was suddenly sent to Dingzhou by the Emperor. Didn't he have any doubts in his heart? The Emperor would trust someone like Xu Zhishi, but not completely, because there are some things that cannot be said to such a loyal minister. Even if the Emperor really suspected you, my husband, and wanted to weaken your power, he would not tell Xu Zhishi openly. At most, he would use the excuse of checks and balances between civil and military officials to prevent trouble before it happens."

Lu Chen said thoughtfully: "So Xu Zuo wants to test my attitude towards the emperor."

"That's how it should be."

Wang Chulong nodded and continued, "The late emperor had absolute trust in Duke Xiao and Duke Li, and never specially arranged important officials in the court to serve as governors to monitor them. However, the current emperor's attitude towards my husband is completely different, and Governor Xu must be suspicious. In the past period of time, my husband has never expressed his dissatisfaction with the court, so where does the emperor's suspicion come from? In my opinion, this is probably the question that Governor Xu wants to find out today."

Lin Xi said, "If he knew that the emperor was deliberately targeting him, would he continue to oppose his husband?"

"Hard to say."

Wang Chulong pondered and said, "Common sense suggests that Governor Xu would not fail to distinguish right from wrong, but in the heart of such a loyal minister, the emperor is definitely more important. Of course, we cannot rule out that he can understand the difficulties faced by his husband and be slightly biased at certain times."

After hearing what she said, Lu Chen had a plan in mind and smiled, "Don't worry, we'll see later. As long as Xu Zuo doesn't cross the line and doesn't cause trouble for the border troops, I can accept him making trouble occasionally."

Wang Chulong couldn't help but smile.

Any military hero who meets a civil official like Xu Zuo would probably not feel at ease, because the other party is upright and has a clear conscience, and is not afraid of the elite soldiers under the military hero's command.

When working together in officialdom, one must follow the rules of officialdom. Even the most brutal and violent warriors know that there are some people who cannot be touched. If they have the intention to kill, they will inevitably become the target of public criticism and may even be infamous for eternity.

However, such a tricky person is like an ignorant child in Lu Chen's mouth. In the final analysis, he is just "making some trouble".

Wang Chulong knew that he was trying to comfort his wife, and she had already given reminders and suggestions. She believed that Lu Chen could handle it properly, so she said no more.

Seeing that she understood his intention, Lu Chen looked at Lin Xi and said, "Senior Sister, don't worry. The brothers of the Seven Stars Gang will be settled according to the original plan. I will ask Chen Xun to keep an eye on the Governor's Mansion to ensure that there will be no mistakes."

Lin Xi thought about it and smiled, "With my husband's arrangements, there won't be any problems, but I want to go to Gu County. First, I haven't seen the old and young in the gang for a while, and second, there are tens of thousands of people in the gang, and it's not an easy task to settle them down. Daddy probably can't handle it alone, so I can help."

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment. It wasn't that he minded Lin Xi going back to her parents' home, but right now he had to stay in the Governor's Office to handle various military affairs, and he was too busy to accompany Lin Xi.

Lin Xi understood his thoughts very well, and said softly: "My husband, you don't have to accompany me. You can just focus on your work here. Besides, I can rest assured that Sister Chu Long and Song Pei are here to take care of you."

Wang Chulong and Song Pei looked a little shy.

Lu Chen suddenly came to his senses. Actually, Lin Xi had wanted to go back to Baotai Mountain to take a look for a long time. However, Wang Chulong and Song Pei were still in Guangling, and she didn't want Lu Chen to be alone. Besides, she also cherished this time they were alone, so she never said anything.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "It would be good for you to go back and take a look. I will have someone arrange for our Lady of the County to go back and visit her family in style."

All the girls laughed, and Lin Xi scolded him a little embarrassedly.

……

Lei Ze Plain, this flat land has seen dozens of major battles, all of which are recorded in history books. This was also the case in recent years, with the Qi and Jing armies fighting here twice, both of which ended in the defeat of the Jing army.

The reason why there is constant fighting here is that the terrain is open and flat, which is very suitable for large-scale military decisive battles. Moreover, this is the southwest gateway of Dingzhou. The winner can march straight in and occupy the heart of Dingzhou in a very short time, and then threaten Huaizhou in the south.

After the Battle of Yongqiu, the borders of Qi and Jing gradually became clear. Relying on Teng County captured by Xiao Wangzhi, the Qi army pushed the defense line more than 40 miles to the northwest, controlling the northwest opening of the Lei Ze Plain and greatly reducing the danger that the Lei Ze Plain might encounter.

Nowadays, there are 4,000 elite soldiers of the Zhenbei Army stationed in Teng County, which has become the outpost of Dingzhou's southwest defense line. As a result, the Lei Ze Plain has gained a rare period of peace.

It has been a long time since the Jing Army's cavalry appeared on this battlefield.

More than 300 riders set out from Ningling City, first heading straight to the northern part of the Lei Ze Plain, and then heading southwest along the border.

The scenery is picturesque and the mountains and rivers are magnificent.

Although there are only more than 300 cavalrymen, they have an extremely fierce momentum because they are the most elite cavalry of the Feiyu Army.

The leader was naturally the commander-in-chief of the Feiyu Army, Li Bingxue, and following her was the deputy commander-in-chief Huangfu Yu.

"Miss, the garrisons in various places are well-equipped and fulfill their duties. It seems that the Jing Army's cavalry dare not go deep into our territory anymore."

Huangfu Yu had a relaxed smile on his face. He was still used to calling Li Bingxue by his old name. After all, he had always regarded Li Tianrun as his benefactor, and it was difficult to change this habit.

Li Bingxue did not deliberately correct him, and said calmly: "Don't be careless."

Huangfu Yu put away his smile and responded seriously.

According to Lu Chen's arrangement, the Feiyu Army was responsible for assisting the defense of the line from the southwest of Dingzhou to the northeast of Jingzhou. Its main task was to fight against the Jing Army's cavalry, while using its high mobility to provide support to the defenders in various places at any time.

Today, the Feiyu Army is divided into three parts, stationed in three places along this border, more than a hundred miles apart from each other. If there is any emergency military situation, they can arrive in three hours at most.

Li Bingxue brought his elite troops on an on-site inspection this time, at least to have a thorough understanding of the situation within the defense area.

Teng County is more than twenty miles ahead.

Before the great battle last year, Teng County had always been under the control of the Jing army. It was the bridgehead for the enemy to invade the southwest of Dingzhou, and controlled one of the important passages between the Heluo area of ​​Jing State and Dingzhou.

The sun is shining brightly and the autumn air is crisp.

More than three hundred riders moved forward slowly and steadily. After half an hour, several riders suddenly appeared in front of them.

Huangfu Yu immediately raised his right arm, and the well-trained cavalrymen immediately went on alert.

These elite troops followed Li Bingxue to fight in various places. They had fought against small groups of Jingjun cavalry countless times in the past and had rich experience in facing the enemy, so they were not at all panicked.

Besides, we now have our own troops stationed in Teng County, so there will be relatively no unexpected dangers here.

The riders in front clearly understood the rules and revealed their identities from a distance.

When they got closer, the leading knight looked at Li Bingxue's cold face and hurriedly said in a loud voice: "General Li, I am Jiang Shifeng, the commander of the Zhenbei Army. I am here to report the urgent military situation on the orders of Hou Yuanlie, the commander of the city defense!"

Li Bingxue signaled his men to make way. Jiang Shifeng dismounted and ran to him, saluted and said, "General, recently our army discovered traces of a large group of Jing army cavalry activities more than 20 miles north of Teng County!"

Huangfu Yu frowned and asked, "Large shares? How many people exactly?"

Jiang Shifeng took out the token of his identity and the military report given to him by Hou Yuanlie, and waited for the person opposite to hand it to the stern female general, and reported: "The exact number of troops cannot be determined at present, but there are at least more than 2,000 people!"

"Two thousand people?"

Huangfu Yu turned to look at Li Bingxue and whispered, "Miss, if the intelligence is correct, this is obviously not a cavalry. Could it be that the Jing army wants to attack Teng County? But there was no sign before."

Li Bingxue carefully read the other party's token and the military report, then looked up to the northwest and said calmly: "Teng County is less than ten miles away. Let's go and take a look at the specific situation and then make a decision."

Huangfu Yu had no objection and nodded, "As ordered!"

More than three hundred riders, accompanied by Jiang Shifeng and others, whipped their horses and marched forward, like a whirlwind sweeping across the earth.

More than a quarter of an hour later, the city wall of Teng County gradually appeared in their sight, with the flag of the Da Qi Zhenbei Army flying on the top of the city.

(End of this chapter)