Jiuxi

Chapter 1012 [Expectations]

There was a reason why Lu Chen chose the three northern states as the first stop of his inspection tour outside the capital. This was the place most harmed by the Jinglian people, and it was also the northernmost border of Da Qi today.

By going here, Lu Chen can not only check the implementation of the new policy on the spot, but also make the 80,000 troops stationed on the south bank of Jing River nervous.

In the past year, the border troops have completed their reorganization. In Lingzhou, there are the 20,000-strong Guangji Army led by Fan Wendi, in Weizhou, there are the 20,000-strong Ningyuan Army under Liu Jiangdong, in Qingzhou, there are the 20,000-strong Fengfu Army under Xu Gui, and the 20,000-strong Zhenbei Army led by Pei Sui.

Lu Chen walked from west to east and looked around, and was generally satisfied with the situation in the three northern states.

Fan Wendi and others did not disappoint his trust. The four border troops were trained according to the structure of 10,000 infantry, 3,000 archers, 3,000 Modao troops, 1,000 light cavalry and 3,000 firearms soldiers. Except for the fact that they had not yet received firearms for actual combat training, all other aspects had met Lu Chen's requirements.

In terms of governance, there are indeed many poor and difficult people in the three states like the grandparents in Dujia Village, but there are more officials at all levels who work hard than those who sit in office and do nothing. Especially the three governors who Lu Chen has high hopes for have demonstrated very strong abilities in this year.

Lingzhou Governor Gao Ruli, Weizhou Governor Huang Xianfeng, Qingzhou Governor Wang Heng, these three people have different identities and backgrounds. Gao Ruli is a famous scholar from Jiangbei who came from a humble family, Huang Xianfeng is a military civil officer entrusted to Lu Chen by Xiao Wangzhi, and Wang Heng is the most prestigious person in the Zhailin Wang family except Wang An and Wang Cheng.

Their styles of doing things are different. Gao Ruli is swift and decisive, Huang Xianfeng is gentle and effective, and Wang Heng is good at diplomacy. But these three people have one thing in common, that is, they agree and believe in Lu Chen's ideas, have firm confidence and endless enthusiasm for the new policies, and spare no effort in implementing various policies.

Lu Chen was pleasantly surprised by this. In the blueprint he had drawn, the importance of the three northern states was even no less than that of the capital region, because the future battle to destroy Jing would be launched from here, and whether the local people were willing to support the imperial army would play a very crucial role in the war.

Today's results are worthy of his sending a large group of capable ministers and generals here.

By mid-November, Lu Chen finally arrived at Jinyang City, the last stop of his northern journey.

In the general's office, Pei Sui smiled as usual when listening to Lu Chen's praise, while Xu Gui grinned widely, his joy and pride clearly revealed.

"In short, I am very satisfied with your performance in the past two years, but I also hope that you will guard against arrogance and continue to work hard."

Lu Chen looked gentle, and then half-jokingly said: "You should all know that in the battle to attack Jing in two years, the four border armies will serve as the vanguard. If anyone among you lags behind, I will have to withdraw him and let others lead the troops to take over."

As soon as these words came out, Xu Gui hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this cannot be done. If I lose my post as the vanguard general, I will be laughed at by Commander Song for the rest of my life."

He and Song Shifei have similar personalities. Although one comes from the Jingzhou Army and the other from the Huaizhou system, they are now both Lu Chen's trusted confidants and their relationship is getting closer and closer.

Lu Chen smiled and said, “Since you know it will be embarrassing, then train your troops well. Otherwise, how can I favor you?”

Xu Gui touched his forehead and said with a simple smile: "I know, I will never embarrass His Majesty."

At this time, Pei Sui said, "It has been more than two months since the prince left the capital. I wonder if the capital is still safe?"

Lu Chen turned his head and glanced at him, and said meaningfully: "It is inevitable that there will be some gutter bugs who want to make trouble, you don't have to worry, these people will not be able to make a difference."

His departure from the capital does not mean that he will relax his control over the capital. There have been secret reports from the capital almost every day in the past two months. Nan Yi, Yin Shangfu and Tan Zheng are each in charge of a separate matter, Su Yunqing is in charge of the overall dispatch, and Wang Chulong is guarding the last line of defense. Together with the 100,000 troops guarding inside and outside the city, it cannot be said that there is no way that anything can go wrong, but at least there is no way that anyone can carry out a large-scale conspiracy without the Qin Palace being aware of it.

With Huo Zhen commanding the Jiangnan camp, and Qu Zhong and Ning Bugui each leading a secret guard to assist, there was no chaos in Jiangnan. The quick suppression of more than a dozen civil riots in July was the best proof of this.

In various places in Jiangbei, there are two secret guards led by Jiang Sheng and Qi Lianfu, plus two systems of government and garrison. Many people do not realize that Lu Chen not only monopolizes the military and political power of the court, but also has an unimaginable control over the people of Jiangbei.

However, even in this situation, there are still people who refuse to give up. No matter what their original intention is, they just want to tease the tiger.

Pei Sui hesitated to speak, Xu Gui's expression was slightly ferocious, and he said bluntly: "My Lord, why should you be lenient to those people?"

"Kindness?"

Lu Chen smiled slightly and said, "Do you think I have killed fewer people in the past two years?"

Xu Gui choked.

Ever since Lu Chen recovered Heluo, countless people have been killed in the past two years. There have been several major cases alone, such as the liquidation of those powerful officials and gentry who had defected to the Jing Kingdom, and the Enke fraud case in which hundreds of people lost their heads in the first half of this year. In addition, there were killings of corrupt officials, powerful people, and bandits. Which one did not result in bloodshed and countless heads?
Xu Gui thought about it carefully, and used the logic he was most familiar with to sort out the problem. Then he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, as long as the little emperor is still in the palace, those people will not give up! I dare to ask Your Highness not to hesitate any longer. I am willing to be transferred back to the capital temporarily to clear all obstacles for Your Highness!" At the moment, there were only three of them in the hall, so Xu Gui did not hide anything.

Lu Chen looked calm as he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Xu Gui continued, "I want to say a few words from my heart. Your Highness may know that I was a bandit before I surrendered to Governor Li. But I was not born a bandit. It was only because the government oppressed the people and the world made it difficult for people to survive that I had no choice but to become a bandit. Now that Your Highness has taken power, the lives of the people are getting better and better. Anyone with eyes can see it! Those fools are bent on opposing Your Highness. Don't they think about whether the seven or eight-year-old little emperor can do better than Your Highness?"

Lu Chen stared into his eyes and said with emotion: "Everyone says that you, Xu Gui, are a big fool, but I didn't expect you to be able to say such a great truth."

Xu Gui said frankly: "Because this is what I think. Others may also think so, but they dare not say it, so let me say it. If the prince wants to punish me, I am willing to do it!"

Pei Sui suddenly said, "Your Majesty, General Xu is absolutely right."

Lu Chen finally showed some surprise.

He was not surprised that Xu Gui dared to express his attitude. After all, this guy had been outspoken and responsible since the first day he followed him. Instead, Pei Sui's statement was beyond his expectations.

Among those generals who came from the Huaizhou faction, Chen Lanyu and Pei Sui had been Xiao Wangzhi's right-hand men from the very beginning. To be fair, the status of these two people was indeed higher than that of Song Shifei, Duan Zuozhang and others. In the subsequent changes, the two chose completely different paths.

Chen Lanyu was impressed by Li Duan and served him loyally. Pei Sui was loyal to Lu Chen, but he was not like Xu Gui and Song Shifei who always wore the words "Lu supporter" on their faces. On the contrary, he had his own thoughts and ideas.

Lu Chen did not object to this. At least he understood the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences. It was impossible for everyone to be a die-hard fan. Moreover, Pei Sui had never done anything to harm him.

Based on this, he really didn't expect Pei Sui to suddenly make his position clear.

As if knowing Lu Chen's thoughts, Pei Sui said earnestly: "Your Highness, I have never been good at speaking, so I have never told you clearly. Now that Your Highness has come to this point, there is no possibility of stopping. In my opinion, if you want to thoroughly implement the new policy and let the people really live a good life, the country must be as united as possible, and the most important thing is to reduce internal friction. At this point, whether Your Highness wants it or not, those civil officials think that carrying a weapon is a serious crime. As long as this matter is not resolved, those people will not stop."

Lu Chen put down the teacup. Although he still did not express his opinion, his silence could explain a lot.

Xu Gui nodded repeatedly on the side.

Lu Chen and Pei Sui looked at each other, and both understood each other's thoughts.

In fact, Lu Chen's inspection trip out of Beijing this time not only inspected the effects of the new policies and reorganized the military, but also had a third purpose, which was to have a face-to-face chat with those civil servants and generals who were loyal to him and listen to their real thoughts.

Although secret correspondence is inevitable in normal times, there are some things that cannot be expressed in letters, and they are ultimately not as good as face-to-face discussions.

For Lu Chen, being in power has become an established fact. Now he is at a very sensitive and ambiguous moment. If he takes one step further, it would be an act of usurpation of power. If he takes one step back, he will be doomed. If he stays where he is, there will be unstoppable internal strife.

What made him feel gratified was that all the civil and military officials he met along the way did not disappoint him. Perhaps some of them were yearning for the merit of following the dragon, and perhaps some of them sincerely hoped to see a prosperous age. Regardless of their thoughts, they all hoped that Lu Chen could take a step forward.

It is not about changing the dynasty immediately, but about making the world understand that the trend is unstoppable.

Pei Sui understood this clearly, so he did not hide anything this time and simply asked Lu Chen to make a decision as soon as possible.

But he didn't know that after seeing the sufferings of the world, Lu Chen had already made up his mind.

"I will consider your suggestions carefully."

Lu Chen slowly stood up and said solemnly: "But I hope you will continue to focus on training and don't forget our common ideals. Recovering the homeland of Jiangbei is only the first step. Wiping out the Jing army and destroying the Jing Kingdom is the greatest goal of our generation of soldiers in this life. On that day in Heluo City, I swore a blood oath in front of thousands of elders and villagers that I would not be a human being until I destroyed the Jing Kingdom. I hope you will also remember it in your heart."

Before Xu Gui could react, Pei Sui heaved a sigh of relief and bowed, saying, "I will obey your order, my Lord!"

He knew there was another meaning to that sentence.

If you don't destroy the Jing Kingdom and wash away the blood debt and humiliation that the people of Qi have endured for the past sixty years, how can you rule the world from the north?
(End of this chapter)