Jiuxi

Chapter 560 558 [Chaotianque] (V)
The same sentence will naturally sound different to different people.

If the important officials in the court of Dajing heard what Qing Yugong said, most of them would accuse him of harboring resentment. However, when the Fourth Prince heard it, he felt helpless and sad.

Ever since he came to the side of the Southern Court Marshal half a year ago, he has received his unreserved teaching and guidance. In addition, he has been with him day and night and witnessed him working hard for Dajing. The balance in his heart has shifted unconsciously.

Among the princes of the dynasty, Crown Prince Nalan is calm and introverted, while the fourth prince Hai Ge is a young man full of passion and vigor, but this does not mean that he is a stubborn fool.

Born into a royal family and raised in the palace, one is accustomed to the human heart and the intrigues. Even the most simple-minded person will mature quickly.

At first, the Fourth Prince had a respectful but scrutinizing attitude towards Qing Yugong. He had heard people talk about Qing Yugong's skills and deeds since he was a child. He admired him but was also wary of him. He always felt that everything the other party did was planned and would never be without a purpose.

You must be careful when dealing with such people.

However, during the past six months, apart from teaching him some military principles, Qing Yugong never involved him in other disputes, and even dissuaded him from interfering in Qing Yu Huaijin's marriage.

Apart from that, the Fourth Prince only saw a Marshal Dajing who worked tirelessly day and night, and even though the emperor had repeatedly interfered in military affairs, Qing Yugong remained calm and had no regrets, and tried his best to complete the orders issued by the emperor.

The Fourth Prince alone witnessed this three times.

The first time was when Li Tianrun led his troops to approach Yongqiu. Qing Yugong originally wanted to stay in the rear and control the overall situation, but was forced by Emperor Jing to lead his troops south.

The second time was after Li Tianrun captured Yongqiu. Qing Yugong did not want to start a war outside Yongqiu at first, because the Qi army must have a backup plan, and he did not want to go from active to passive. Because of an order from Emperor Jing, Qing Yugong had to seize Yongqiu, but he did not act recklessly. At least in the eyes of the Fourth Prince, the Southern Court Marshal was well prepared.

If it weren't for Pucha and others' poor command, the Jing army should have won a great victory at the foot of Luwu Mountain.

The third time, which was today's imperial edict, made the Fourth Prince feel confused and resistant for the first time.

Having followed Qing Yugong for so long and witnessed the entire process of the war, he has deeply realized the strength of the Southern Qi border army. Especially after the Battle of Luwu Mountain, the enemy's morale has reached its peak. What's wrong with temporarily avoiding the sharp edge at this time?
Why are you so eager to fight the opponent?

In fact, the Fourth Prince was not completely ignorant of the answer to this question. He could fully understand his father's fear of the Qing Yu family.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, and then followed Qing Yugong's footsteps to the back tent.

Qing Yu Huaijin looked at his back thoughtfully and did not follow him immediately.

Qing Yugong obviously understood the young prince's mentality. Looking at his gloomy and solemn face, he said calmly, "Your Highness, since His Majesty has issued an order, I, as a subject, have no choice but to follow it."

His tone was calm, but his attitude was firm.

The Fourth Prince was actually very conflicted. On the one hand, he knew that he should not interfere in such military and national affairs, but on the other hand, it was difficult for him to convince himself to turn a deaf ear.

It would be fine if they win this battle, but if Qing Yugong fails, his entire reputation may be ruined. It will also be a heavy blow to Dajing.

After hesitating for a long time, the Fourth Prince heaved a long sigh, his eyes gradually firmed up: "My Lord, there is an old saying that goes, a general will not be subject to certain circumstances when he is away from home."

Qing Yugong lowered his eyelids slightly and asked softly, "Your Highness, do you think our army will be defeated?"

The fourth prince choked.

Of course, he did not dare to make such a judgment. After all, the difference in military strength between the two sides was not much. Although the morale of the Qi army was high, it would be too much of an underestimation to say that the Jing army had no power to fight.

Qing Yugong continued, "In the eyes of the officials in the court, Qing Yugong has won many battles in the past. Can't he gain an advantage in front of the Southern Qi border army? Is he powerless or unwilling to give his all? Some people even wonder if Qing Yugong is keeping his troops in place because he wants to keep the enemy at bay. After all, as long as the Southern Qi has not collapsed, this guy will definitely continue to control the military power of the Southern Court. Even if the Qi army is really different from the past, it is not so strong that our army cannot contend with it."

The Fourth Prince couldn't help but sigh again and said, "There are indeed such people, and there must be quite a few of them."

Qing Yugong raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, smiling and saying, "I appreciate your kindness, but there is nothing wrong with your majesty's order. No matter who is in my position, they must accept this order, otherwise they would be disloyal people who disobey the monarch."

The fourth prince lowered his head and said, "Yes."

The matter has come to this, and it is useless to say more.

The fourth prince felt as if his mind was a mess, with many confusing thoughts but he couldn't make sense of them.

He knew he needed to calm down and think carefully, so he took the initiative to bow and leave.

Qing Yugong looked at his departing figure, his eyes turning cold. After a moment, Qing Yuhuaijin walked in and whispered, "Father, the Fourth Prince has returned to his tent."

Qing Yugong nodded, then walked to the wall and looked at the Jiangbei topographic map hanging there.

Qing Yu Huaijin stood behind him and said after a moment of silence: "How could your majesty act like this?"

It was not why but how, which showed that she had figured out the profound meaning of this imperial edict.

Qing Yugong said with his hands behind his back, "Because Your Majesty knows that I will not betray Dajing."

Qing Yu Huaijin's expression changed slightly.

"In the past fifteen years, the game between His Majesty and I has been in a relatively peaceful state. I know that His Majesty will not kill all of the Qingyu clan. After all, he has to consider the impact on the overall situation. If he directly raises the butcher knife, even if he can destroy our Qingyu clan, what will other tribes think? His Majesty knows my bottom line very well. Whether it is the temptation of your marriage or the repeated urging of me to lead the troops south to fight the Qi army, His Majesty's decision has never crossed that line."

Qing Yugong's eyes were deep, and he continued, "Take today's imperial edict for example, no one can find a single mistake in it."

Qing Yu Huai Jin remained silent.

If the Jing army was clearly at a disadvantage and the Emperor still forced Qing Yugong to fight and die, perhaps some people could understand his difficulties and then feel sympathy for him. If Qing Yugong disobeyed orders or had other ideas at this time, he would definitely not fall into the situation of being condemned by thousands of people and deserted by his friends and relatives.

However, there were nearly 100,000 Jing troops outside Yongqiu City. No one would think that Jing's army was at a disadvantage. It was reasonable for Emperor Jing to let Qing Yugong send troops.

This is the power of justice.

Qing Yugong said again: "From now on, don't discuss these things with the Fourth Prince."

Qing Yu Huaijin was a little puzzled. She vaguely sensed that her father was intentionally trying to stir up the Fourth Prince's ambitions today. Everyone knew that the Fourth Prince admired her. If she could influence him indirectly, she might be able to achieve better results. So she asked, "Why?"

Qing Yugong said calmly, "Our Fourth Prince may seem innocent and impulsive, but he actually has his own thoughts in mind, but he just hides them deep. Now I have impressed some of my thoughts in his mind, and there will definitely be a fight between him and the Crown Prince in the future. To deal with such a deep-minded young man, you must use slow and steady methods, which is what I have been doing in the past six months. You were not close to him before, and rashly touching on those important topics will easily arouse his vigilance and alertness."

Qing Yu Huaijin suddenly understood and said in a convinced tone, "My daughter understands now. So, your father didn't let him intervene in the matter of granting marriage because of this consideration?"

"Yes."

Qing Yugong smiled faintly, and then said, "How could he stay in the camp willingly just because of my words? If he wants to leave, I can't really let people trap him. After all, when you took the initiative to reveal that matter to him, he already knew that you wanted to use him to compete with His Majesty. It's just that because of his usual disguise, he could only make such a rash decision according to his past temperament, and when I stepped forward to stop him, he naturally didn't need to continue to insist."

"I see."

In fact, Qing Yu Huaijin had always been confused and felt that something was not right. Only after listening to his father's explanation did he finally realize it.

Qing Yugong narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly: "I have to say that among all the princes under your majesty, the fourth prince is the real rival of the crown prince. It is interesting that a young man in his twenties can think of using me to change the situation in the court."

Qing Yu Huaijin frowned slightly and said in surprise, "Father, do you think that what the Fourth Prince did today was to deliberately seek your trust?"

"At least part of the reason is due to this consideration."

Qing Yugong nodded slightly and said, "He knows that he lacks foundation in the court. Since he sees that His Majesty is forcing me, how could he miss this opportunity to win me over? Otherwise, how could he, as a prince, question His Majesty's determination? He even deliberately showed it when the angel of decree appeared. Of course, he knew that he couldn't show it too obviously, so he just let me see his support and didn't take any substantial action."

Qing Yu Huaijin thought about it carefully and couldn't help but smile with a complicated expression.

"Let's put the matter of the Fourth Prince aside for now. What I'm most curious about right now is what kind of trump cards those old rivals in the south have hidden."

Qing Yugong looked at the location of Yongqiu on the map and said slowly, "We know that we will lose this battle, but we have to lose without showing any signs of deliberate defeat. This is the only way to give a reasonable explanation to His Majesty and the ministers of the court. At the same time, we cannot lose too many troops and cause the Qing Yu family to fall into ruin. This is not an easy task."

Qing Yu Huaijin asked worriedly, "Father, is it true that our army has no chance of winning?"

"It's hard."

Qing Yugong turned around and walked away, his eyes filled with a bit of melancholy: "If your majesty could send reinforcements to Yongqiu, why would I bother to think about how to ambush the Qi army? But your majesty didn't do that. He wouldn't let me continue to increase the military power in my hands. On the contrary, the Qi army has the full support of the rear. In this way, I can only do things in a snail shell."

"It's nothing more than doing your best and leaving the rest to fate, that's all."

(End of this chapter)