Jiuxi

Chapter 1033 [Ji Feng]

It is difficult for outsiders to understand Qing Yu Huaijin's feelings when he met Lu Chen.

Back then, she traveled the world as the noble Princess of Dajing, and everyone she met bowed and scraped to her. Even the Jinglian military heroes who commanded large armies showed her respect because of Qing Yugong's existence.

That is to say, in the first seventeen years of her life, her affluent life was so smooth and free that it was not enough to describe it, which inevitably made her develop an overbearing temperament.

Until that day, Heluo City was turned upside down and she was trapped in the city, unable to escape, and eventually became a prisoner of the Qi army.

It has been seven years since then.

During these seven years that seemed like a lifetime ago, Lu Chen went from being a rising star in the frontier army to going through all kinds of tests step by step. He defeated opponents such as Emperor Jing Ali Hehuandu, Qing Yugong, and Li Shizhi one after another, successfully took control of the military and political power of Qi, and gained unanimous support from both inside and outside the court by implementing new policies. Now, as the Qi army advances triumphantly on the battlefield in Hebei, he is getting closer and closer to the supreme position.

Qing Yu Huaijin also experienced countless ups and downs.

After the rebellion of the Fourth Prince was suppressed, Qing Yu Huaijin began to take over the power of the Qing Yu clan hidden under the surface, and overthrew the position of the Alihe clan in one fell swoop on the night of the palace coup three years ago. From a certain perspective, her fate is indeed similar to Lu Chen's. Both of them have faced the pressure of the royal family, and then used their own ways to reverse the situation. It can be said that they have reached the same goal by different paths.

However, for Qing Yu Huaijin, after seven years of ups and downs, she appeared in front of Lu Chen again, still in a humble position.

It was as if this was a reincarnation. Seven years ago, she was imprisoned because of Lu Chen. Seven years later, even though she was the regent of Dajing, she was still forced to seek peace and pray for forgiveness because of Lu Chen.

Especially when she had to sit down according to Lu Chen's instructions, the humiliation in her heart was almost unbearable.

If she hadn't always remembered her mission, she would probably have lost her temper on the spot.

On the other side, Lu Chen didn't seem to notice her mood change. He poured a glass of wine slowly and said calmly: "I thought you wouldn't come."

Qing Yu Huaijin frowned slightly and said, "I am just considering whether it is necessary to come, not because I am worried or afraid and dare not come."

This response was quite interesting, so Lu Chen asked, "Why?"

"You won't kill me, and you certainly won't use this method called peace talks to lure me into death."

Qing Yu Huaijin's emotions gradually calmed down, and then he said: "If I die, Dajing will definitely fall apart immediately. This situation may seem beneficial to your Qi State, but it will greatly increase the cost of your pacification of the north. The people of Jinglian have always been martial. If there is no one to take charge of the overall situation, they will never willingly submit to you. At that time, you will face endless resistance and unrest. Another point is that I came here to negotiate at your invitation today. If I die on your territory, it will only make the warriors of Jinglian angry, and then fight the Qi army to the end."

Lu Chen praised sincerely: "No wonder you can sit firmly on the position of regent, you have indeed improved a lot compared to the past."

Qing Yu Huaijin snorted coldly, obviously dissatisfied with his attitude of regarding himself as an elder.

Lu Chen would not indulge her, pointing at the food on the table and said, "Don't waste it, eat something when you are here."

Qing Yu Huaijin was unmoved and said indifferently: "But I didn't come here today to seek peace."

Lu Chen was surprised and asked, "Then why did you come here? Do you really think I don't dare to take action?"

Seeing the mockery on this handsome face, Qing Yu Huaijin couldn't help but think of the dark story seven years ago. She said coldly, "I admit that you are powerful, and the soldiers under your command are brave enough. The new firearms you have developed in recent years have made it even more difficult for our army to resist, but I still haven't thought about asking for peace. I came here today to tell you that this national war will last a long time, much longer than you think. Even if Dadu falls or even Shangjing is lost, we Jinglian people will not surrender."

"yield……"

Lu Chen shook his head and asked in confusion: "Why can you put yourself and Jing Jun in the position of a victim?"

Qing Yu Huaijin pursed his lips tightly.

She knew that Jing State was not in the right in this matter. Ever since the rise of the Jinglian people in the north sixty years ago, they had been invading the territory of Qi State from the south. They even broke through Heluo more than twenty years ago and slaughtered countless Qi royal family ministers and civilians.

In the four years before the Jing army conquered Heluo, they committed 29 massacres in various places in Jiangbei.

When it comes to right and wrong, how could she be qualified to act so righteous in front of Lu Chen?
If Qing Yu Huaijin was an ordinary Jinglian person, perhaps she would reflect in front of Lu Chen with the mentality of a redeemer. However, she is the regent of Dajing, and being in this position means that she cannot plead guilty.

Seeing the woman's slightly stubborn expression, Lu Chen continued, "I told you back in Heluo City that when you Jinglian people wantonly slaughtered the people of Daqi, you certainly never thought that one day you would become fish on the chopping board. Those who kill will be killed, and those who humiliate will be humiliated. This is the simplest and most correct truth in the world. Moreover, on the way north, except for those Jinglian people whose hands were stained with the blood of Qi people, our army did not slaughter civilians as arbitrarily as you did. Shouldn't you feel ashamed?"

Qing Yu Huai Jin remained silent. Lu Chen didn't care, took a sip of wine, and said calmly: "Actually, whether you come today or not, it won't have much impact on the overall situation. It just takes me a little more effort, and sooner or later I will be able to eliminate the hidden dangers."

Hearing the eight words that seemed calm but were actually full of murderous intent, Qing Yu Huaijin's eyes finally moved.

She said in an extremely cold tone: "You should know how vast the territory of Dajing is. Even if we reach the end of our rope, we can continue to retreat northward. Do you know how big the grasslands in the north are? Do you know how cold the snowfields further north are? Your artillery can knock down solid city walls, but it can't work on the endless grasslands. The worst that can happen to us Jinglian people is to give up the city and return to the environment of sixty years ago. We still have enough strength to give you a headache."

“It’s definitely improved compared to before.”

Lu Chen stared into Qing Yu Huaijin's eyes and spoke thoughtfully.

At this moment, Qing Yu Huaijin felt that her thoughts were seen through by the other party, but she still said with all her might: "No one wants to leave the rich land and live a bitter life in the snow and ice. We kept going south because the north was too hard. However, this is a different time. If we don't go north now, we will die under your attack. We can only start over. As for me, when I was in Heluo City, I thought that if one day you can change your fate and defeat the strong with the weak, I hope to die in your hands."

There was silence in the tent.

Lu Chen suddenly stroked his palms and sighed, "The last sentence is the finishing touch."

Qing Yu Huaijin frowned and subconsciously clenched his hands in his sleeves.

Lu Chen continued, "It turns out that Emperor Jing's last words before his death were true."

Qing Yu Huaijin asked: "What last words?"

Lu Chen looked into her eyes and said, "He said you are deeply in love with me."

"Nonsense——"

Qing Yu Huaijin's face suddenly changed, but the next moment she suddenly stopped talking, incredibly controlled her emotions, and asked back, "So what?"

Lu Chen was not entirely clear about the other person's changes in mind, but he could tell from Qing Yu Huaijin's slightly trembling eyelashes that her crisp and clear question was more or less filled with a bit of disappointment.

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't respond, Qing Yu Huaijin said more bluntly: "I did have feelings for you, but when my father died outside Jinsha City, I no longer had those ridiculous and childish thoughts. I just wanted to kill you as soon as possible."

After a moment, Lu Chen slowly said: "From the moment you left Xuande City today, you have been playing a certain role, just trying to achieve your goal through various dramas."

Qing Yu Huaijin said indifferently: "I don't understand."

"It's okay if you don't understand. I can explain it to you."

Lu Chen put down his wine cup and said calmly, "From the beginning, you have been acting like you would rather die than surrender. It seems that you are telling me that you will never give in, but in fact, you are hoping that I will give up. If you don't do this, I will definitely continue to make conditions that you cannot accept in the peace talks. However, if I lower the conditions a little because I am concerned about the troubles later, you will agree to it. Not only will you avoid the worry of losing your country, but you can also have a reasonable explanation to the internal affairs."

Qingyu Huaijin was slightly startled.

"As for your admission of deep love, it was just a means of going with the flow."

Lu Chen's eyes were exceptionally clear, and he said calmly, "You know very well that in our position, we have no right to pursue personal emotions. I won't do that, and you are even less likely to do that. Otherwise, you would not have been able to hold the position of regent for three years, and you would have died in confusion."

Hearing these words, Qing Yu Huaijin suddenly smiled softly. At this moment, there was no longer any emotion on her face. There was only indifference and a hint of confusion from the bottom of her heart.

"You now hold the military and political power of Qi State in your hands. The change of dynasties depends on your thoughts. Now you have such a great advantage in the northern battlefield. I thought you would be arrogant, but I didn't expect you to be able to maintain such a level of calmness and concentration at this moment, and even understand the negotiation skills so well. I even gathered a group of wise men to discuss for a long time, but in the end, I couldn't hide anything from you."

Qing Yu Huaijin shook his head and said with a sigh: "Lu Chen, meeting an opponent like you is the greatest misfortune of my life."

"It's not that mysterious."

Lu Chen still said calmly: "It's just because the general situation is in my hands. Any of your calculations are inseparable from the current situation, so it's not difficult to see through."

Qing Yu Huaijin remained silent, but from her slightly raised eyebrows one could tell that she would never accept her fate.

(End of this chapter)