Jiuxi

Chapter 691: 689 [Rippling the Pool of Spring Water]

The first year of the Dingzheng period of the Great Qi Dynasty, the eighth day of the first month.

Dingzhou, Ruyin City.

In the Grand Marshal's Office, inside the hall, there were many powerful generals gathered.

Pei Sui, the commander of the Zhenbei Army, and Song Shifei, the commander of the Feiyun Army, sat at the heads of the left and right respectively. Li Bingxue, Duan Zuozhang, Huo Zhen, Li Chengen, Liu Yin, Yu Dajun, Liu Jiangdong, Lou Chengyuan, Xu Gui, Ye Jitong and others were all present.

Among all the generals, Huangfu Yu stood out, and he seemed to enjoy being watched.

In fact, each of these generals had injuries on their bodies. For example, Song Shifei and Xu Gui, who were also known for their bravery and ferocity, both had no less than ten old wounds on their bodies. It's just that their scars were difficult to see, unlike Huangfu Yu, who was injured on both cheeks, which are now extremely eye-catching after the scars have healed.

Today is the second formal military meeting that Lu Chen convened with his generals after he took office as the Grand Commander of Dingzhou.

After the greetings, Lu Chen, who was sitting on the commander's seat, said calmly: "You should have heard about the chaos in Jing State in the north. Next, I would like to ask the editor of Zhijing Siyang to introduce the details."

Yang Jingxuan bowed to Lu Chen, then turned around and looked at the military commanders sitting upright, and said calmly: "Generals, I am Yang Jingxuan, the Jiangbei Inspector of the Textile Bureau. In early December last year, I received a secret report from the north that the Crown Prince of Jing Kingdom, Alihe Nalan, suddenly fell seriously ill. In the middle of the month, Alihe Nalan died. Rumors arose that the Crown Prince's death was related to the Fourth Prince, Alihe Haige, and that Changshan County Prince Qing Yugong was also involved."

After hearing this, most of the generals relaxed their brows, their eyes sparkled, and they felt restless all over.

Only a few experienced and prudent generals such as Pei Sui and Duan Zuozhang remained calm.

Yang Jingxuan continued, "The latest news from the Textile Bureau is that the Emperor of Jing suspected Qing Yugong of participating in the murder of Crown Prince Nalan, so he imprisoned Qing Yugong in the palace. The internal situation of Jing is now chaotic and disputes are frequent. The people of the Qing Yu clan are wavering, and some Jinglian nobles, led by the North Court Marshal Sa Gai, intend to use this opportunity to encroach on the power of the Qing Yu clan, and the civil service groups in the court are involved one after another."

Song Shifei glanced around and asked, "Inspector Yang, does this mean that Jing State is in the midst of civil strife?"

Yang Jingxuan replied cautiously: "From the surface, it is true."

Song Shifei touched his forehead and said with a smile: "There is a saying that goes "strike him while he is ill". Is this a good opportunity created by God for Da Qi?"

If we go back three years, he would definitely not dare to say this, and it has nothing to do with the fact that Xiao Wangzhi was in charge of the situation at that time.

Because the border troops of Da Qi have continuously made achievements on the battlefield in recent years, especially the direct defeat of Qing Yugong in Yongqiu a year ago, the self-confidence of the border troops has become extremely strong. So when they heard about the civil unrest in Jingguo, a brave general like Song Shifei would naturally have the idea of ​​pursuing the victory.

Since the Qi army could achieve a direct victory when they were evenly matched or even slightly at a disadvantage, the currently weak Jing army was not worth fearing.

Duan Zuozhang glanced at Lu Chen, who looked calm, and ignored Song Shifei, the reckless man. He asked Yang Jingxuan, "Yang Jianxiu, could it be that the Emperor of Jingguo and Qing Yugong have teamed up to set up a trap and deliberately show weakness?"

Yang Jingxuan replied, "We cannot rule out this possibility, but the Textile Bureau can confirm two things at the moment. First, the Crown Prince of Jing State was not ill before, and this time he did die. This matter has nothing to do with the Textile Bureau, and must have been caused by a power struggle within the court of Jing State. In other words, the Crown Prince's death will cause greater unrest within the court."

He looked around at everyone in the hall, his tone becoming more and more steady. "Secondly, Emperor Jing's suppression of Qing Yugong has traces to follow, and it is not a whim. Since the border war two years ago, Emperor Jing has been trying to weaken Qing Yugong's military power. After the Battle of Yongqiu, he did not hesitate to dismiss Qing Yugong from the position of Marshal of the Southern Court. Now, he believes that Qing Yugong is holding a grudge and poisoning the prince, so he imprisoned him in the palace. At least there are no obvious flaws."

The generals looked at each other frequently, and eager emotions gradually emerged in their eyes.

Over the years, Jing Jun's strength can be described as an all-round advantage.

Whether it is the infantry, cavalry or the commander-in-chief's command ability, these aspects are undoubtedly strong.

More importantly, under the iron-fisted leadership of Emperor Jing, the people of Jing State were united as one, and with a larger territory and deeper depth than the Great Qi State, they possessed a stronger military foundation.

Now that the Qi army has proven its strength and can confront the Jing army head-on on the battlefield, and has encountered a good opportunity due to civil unrest in the Jing state, who would not want to fight bravely at this time, recover their homeland and build a career?

But Lu Chen still remained silent. Although Song Shifei and others were itching to wait, they could only wait patiently.

Duan Zuozhang was cautious by nature. He hesitated and said, "That being said, I always feel that Emperor Jing and Qing Yugong would not be so unwise. These two people have always considered the overall situation. Besides, Emperor Jing did not have solid evidence that Qing Yugong poisoned the prince. How could he act so easily against Qing Yugong?"

Song Shifei shook his head and said, "Old Duan, you are always so nagging that you don't even dare to seize the opportunities that come to you."

"Are you in a hurry?"

Lu Chen had a calm expression, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Song Shifei subconsciously shrank his neck and said with an apologetic smile: "Grand Commander, I am not anxious, I am just afraid that once Emperor Jing solves the internal troubles, the north will unite and become very difficult to deal with."

"As a general, you must first be patient and not be impatient just because the other side throws out a bait."

Lu Chen's words were obviously not directed at Song Shifei, but a warning to everyone in the hall. He then said: "Yang Jianxiao's analysis is not unreasonable. Perhaps the conflict between Emperor Jing and Qing Yugong is difficult to reconcile, and perhaps the infighting between the major forces of the Jinglian clan is inevitable, but what does this have to do with us?" The hall was silent.

Lu Chen said seriously, "The collapse of a dynasty is not something that happens overnight. Moreover, it is only the crown prince of Jing who died, not the sudden death of Emperor Jing. Are you so confused? From the information obtained by the Textile Bureau, we know that Emperor Jing still has a strong control over the court, and the internal stability of the other party has not been lost. Moreover, the enemy we have to deal with is not the dignitaries in the capital of Jing, but the nearly 200,000 Jing troops stationed in the Heluo City area."

Song Shifei and others could not help but lower their heads in shame.

"Right now, the internal strife of the enemy is just beginning. If we rashly start a war at this time, not only will we not be able to take advantage of the situation, but we will force the enemy to unite again. Looking through the history books, this method of transferring internal conflicts to the outside is not uncommon. With the skills that Emperor Jing has shown in the past, I believe he can easily do this."

Lu Chen's eyes were slightly cold, and he said solemnly: "So we can't act rashly, but we have to wait and see. This time I summoned you here to unify our thoughts and prevent anyone from acting recklessly. From today on, unless you receive a military order from this governor, you are not allowed to leave the station without permission, and you must not start a war lightly. Those who violate the order will be punished by military law. Do you understand?"

"The general will obey the order!"

Everyone stood up in unison and bowed to receive the order.

"Everyone, take a seat."

Lu Chen slowed down his tone and continued, "I know that you are brave and good at fighting, which is certainly worthy of recognition, but the major affairs of the country are sacrifice and war, and we must not take it lightly. Whether the civil strife in Jing State is true or not, the initiative is in the hands of our dynasty. Therefore, we just need to wait patiently and wait for more reliable news before deciding on the next strategy of our army. I promise here that as long as the civil strife in Jing State is true, there will definitely be opportunities for everyone to make achievements."

After hearing this, all the generals were convinced.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "After we go back, we will continue to intensify the training of the soldiers. The forging progress of the long swords is accelerating and will be sent to each army in batches."

"I will follow the orders of the Grand Commander!"

All the generals responded in unison.

Lu Chen talked to them about the most important issues in their respective armies. After more than an hour, the generals left one after another.

The spacious hall fell silent. Li Bingxue did not leave. She looked at the depressed look between Lu Chen's eyebrows and asked with concern, "What are you worried about?"

"I can control the Dingzhou Army, but I can only control the Dingzhou Army."

In front of Li Bingxue, Lu Chen would naturally not lie or pretend.

This sentence was simple and easy to understand. Li Bingxue walked over to sit beside him and said calmly: "As long as you insist on your own opinion, can the emperor force you to send troops to the north?"

Lu Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip of the cool tea, then slowly said, "According to the news from the capital, Uncle Xiao is in a difficult situation in the Military Academy. Although Li Jingda can give him some support, Han Zhongjie and Zhang Xu are more powerful. If the emperor could stand on Uncle Xiao's side, there would naturally be no trouble. However, judging from the emperor's previous behavior, he is very eager to prove his ability and make the world believe that he is an excellent successor to the late emperor."

The four words "having troops to rely on" suddenly popped up in Li Bingxue's mind.

Lu Chen's tone was slightly cold, and he continued: "Besides, the border troops of Da Qi are not limited to Dingzhou Governor's Office."

"Jingzhou..."

Li Bingxue frowned and said hesitantly, "Liu Shouguang has always been cautious. He will never be too reckless."

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "Liu Shouguang has no roots in Jingzhou. He cannot do without the trust and support of the emperor. Once the emperor is determined to take advantage of the situation to march north, I don't think he can withstand the pressure of the imperial edict."

At this time, Qin Zilong stepped into the hall and bowed, saying, "My Lord, Governor Xu is here to visit, and his carriage has arrived outside the palace."

A solemn expression flashed across Lu Chen's face, and he immediately said to Li Bingxue, "Would you like to accompany me to meet this governor?"

Li Bingxue stood up and said, "Why do you want to see him? I'm going to the back to talk to my two sisters."

"Alright."

Lu Chen watched her leave, then straightened his clothes and went outside the hall to greet her.

Not long after, Xu Zuo, the governor of Dingzhou, came alone.

Lu Chen looked at him calmly, with a vague premonition in his heart.

Perhaps today I can see through the true intentions of this governor.

(End of this chapter)