Jiuxi

Chapter 576: 574 [Weeping Endlessly Here]

After the Battle of Yongqiu, Jing's army had to withdraw to the capital area of ​​Yan State, and Moyang Road fell completely into the control of Qi Army.

With Yongqiu City as the core, reaching Shunxing City in the north, Xileng Pass in the west, and Xinchang City in the east, a brand new border defense line gradually took shape.

"Now Huaizhou and Jingzhou are truly connected."

In the general's tent in the camp outside the city, Xiao Wangzhi looked at the sand table in front of him and felt very relaxed.

Recovering the entire Moyang Road is of great significance. A key point is Xinchang City on the northeast corner of Moyang Road. To the east of this strategic point is Panlong Pass.

With Xinchang City in hand, the enemy's already small threat to Panlong Pass will be minimized, and at the same time, the exchanges between Jingzhou and Huaizhou will be greatly deepened.

In the past two years, because the three ancient roads in Shuangfeng Mountains were returned to Da Qi, Huaijing and Changchun could trade with each other. However, the ancient roads were very narrow in some places, and could not be widened due to the mountainous terrain, so there were great restrictions in all aspects.

Now, if you go west from Panlong Pass and pass through the south of Xinchang City, you can enter the territory of Jingzhou. The road is wide and flat, which is of extraordinary significance.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "That's true, but Xinchang City needs to station an extra cavalry. The number of people does not need to be too large, a thousand will be enough to prevent the Jing Army cavalry from going south to harass this trade route in the future."

Xiao Wangzhi smiled and said, "You decide."

Lu Chen asked again: "Uncle Xiao, do you think my arrangement for the Jingzhou defense line is appropriate?"

Twelve days had passed since the great war, and all the post-war finishing work had been completed.

With the support of Li Tianrun, Lu Chen also consulted the opinions of Minister of Military Affairs Liu Shouguang and made more detailed arrangements for the various units of the Jingzhou Army.

A defense line over 800 miles long, including seven important towns and dozens of passes along the way, has been established. After resting, the various units of the Jingzhou Army went to their respective territories to garrison.

At the same time, the Huaizhou troops and the Seven Star Army that came to participate in the Battle of Yongqiu had also packed up and were about to set off for Dingzhou.

Lu Chen has not been as busy in recent days as he was at the beginning. He has time to accompany Lin Xi and has had two meals with Luo Jiujiu. Except when Li Bingxue is taking care of Li Tianrun in Baimaquan, the two have few opportunities to meet.

After a short rest, he and Xiao Wangzhi will go to Dingzhou together.

Xiao Wangzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Very appropriate."

Lu Chen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Xiao Wangzhi asked with a smile, "Is the pressure so great?"

Lu Chen turned around and walked to the table to pour two cups of tea. He handed one to Xiao Wangzhi and sighed, "How can it not be big? Ever since Uncle Xiao handed over the command to me, to be honest, I have not been able to sleep well every night. When I think that any decision I make is related to the life and death of more than 100,000 soldiers, the pressure makes me almost breathless. These days are not so bad. Compared with the extremely tormented state before, I am just a little busier and more tired."

Xiao Wangzhi sat down and said, "Many times too much pressure can crush a person, but I don't think it can destroy your will. Although a long time has passed, I still remember the young man who spoke frankly in front of me and said that he had the strength to protect himself even when facing the emperor. For a young man with such determination and perseverance, pressure will only be a driving force that pushes him to keep moving forward."

Lu Chen was slightly startled.

He remembered that it was after the great victory in Lei Ze that Xiao Wangzhi privately told him about Lu Tong's relationship with the fire in the Heluo Palace that year, and he also expressed his feelings to Xiao Wangzhi.

It was only two years ago, but he felt as if it was a lifetime ago.

"Uncle Xiao still remembers it."

Lu Chen's expression was full of emotion.

Xiao Wangzhi smiled and said, "I have a deep impression and I will never forget it. Actually, I am a little curious, are you different from you back then and you are different now?"

What Lu Chen saw was the elder's profound gaze.

Both of them knew that with the end of the Yongqiu War, Li Tianrun would inevitably return to Beijing for recuperation. The next step for the central government would be to systematically weaken the influence of the Li family in the Jingzhou Governor's Office without disrupting the overall situation.

Although Xiao Wangzhi is in good health, given his age, it is unlikely that he will continue to lead troops on the frontier, and he will most likely return to Beijing to take up an important position.

The Jing army's defense line continued to shrink northward, and the existence of the Huaizhou Military Governor's Office had little significance, at least there was no need to continue to maintain the previous structure.

In the next few years, the border army of Da Qi will be mainly based in Jingzhou Military Governorate and Dingzhou Military Governorate.

As the old goes, the new comes. Judging from the emperor's previous arrangements, it is very likely that Liu Shouguang will take over the Jingzhou Governor's Office, while the Dingzhou Governor's Office will undoubtedly be presided over by Lu Chen.

The 24-year-old commander of the border army, who holds the title of marquis, is also the military minister appointed by the emperor. In addition, the fame brought to Lu Chen by commanding the great victory in Yongqiu makes him unprecedentedly powerful and famous.

Today, Lu Chen already has the ability to protect himself, so Xiao Wangzhi's question at this time is very meaningful.

If someone else asked this, perhaps with an intention of testing and caution, but Xiao Wangzhi was different.

He and Lu Tong are friends for life and death, and he even knows what Lu Tong had done in the past. If he has ill will towards Lu Tong and Lu Chen, then Lu Chen can only defect to Jing State with his family.

Therefore, Lu Chen said frankly: "No difference."

Xiao Wangzhi looked at him quietly, and after a long while he said softly, "Okay."

Lu Chen showed a little doubt.

Xiao Wangzhi sighed and said, "On the one hand, I feel that with your age and status, there will definitely be many unexpected changes in the future. On the other hand, you can be cautious to the end, which is not a bad thing. I will certainly not do anything bad to you, but I can be where I am today because of Marshal Yang's promotion and teachings, so I should follow in his footsteps. In any case, I don't want to see you go down that path." Lu Chen understood.

Xiao Wangzhi smiled and said, "I still say what I said that day. As long as you don't betray Da Qi, I will do my best to protect you."

Lu Chen said with emotion: "Thank you, Uncle Xiao."

Xiao Wangzhi waved his hand and said slowly: "In fact, I can understand your state of mind. His Majesty has been very kind to you. No matter how outstanding you are, if His Majesty had not given you a stage to display your talents, you would not have been able to achieve such great achievements at such a young age. Looking through the history books, this trust is extremely rare. Compared with your age and status, His Majesty's trust in you is unique."

Lu Chen had no objection to this.

He could not forget the scene of saying goodbye to the emperor in the palace that day.

"Lu Chen, don't let me down."

These seven short words contain so many unspeakable emotions that Lu Chen still feels overwhelmed when thinking about them.

"His Majesty--"

Xiao Wangzhi's words stopped abruptly. There were hurried footsteps outside the tent, and then Li Liangyu rushed in. Without even having time to greet him, he said hastily, "Duke, Marquis Lu, the angel of the decree has arrived at Baima Pass. My father asks you to go there immediately."

Xiao Wangzhi's face instantly became solemn.

Li Liangyu's voice was trembling, with a hint of tears in it: "Your Majesty has passed away."

Lu Chen stood up abruptly, and the teacup in his hand shattered in an instant.

Xiao Wangzhi and Li Liangyu looked at him worriedly, only to see that his face was pale, his expression was dull, his lips moved but he couldn't utter a word.

More than an hour later, hundreds of riders rushed into Baima Pass like a whirlwind.

When we arrived at the Marshal's Mansion, we saw mourning all over the ground.

Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen walked quickly into the hall, only to see that Li Tianrun, Li Bingxue, Liu Shouguang and everyone else had already changed into mourning clothes.

Lu Chen fixed his sight on the palace eunuch Lu Shizhou who was standing there, and walked towards him step by step.

Lu Shizhou looked at the young man with red eyes, and could no longer control his emotions. He trembled and sobbed, "Lord Lu, His Majesty... His Majesty has passed away."

Lu Chen stared at Lu Shizhou in a daze, with an indelible sorrow in his eyes.

He was very clear about the emperor's condition, but he had been forcing himself not to think about it. There was still a glimmer of hope in his heart that perhaps the people in the Imperial Hospital could find a way to save him. Or perhaps when he had completely pacified the situation in Jiangbei and returned to the capital with great military exploits, he would still be able to see the figure of the Emperor of Great Qi.

But in this world, separation and death are unavoidable.

The atmosphere in the hall seemed to be stagnant, with only Lu Shizhou's crying sound ringing in everyone's ears.

Li Tianrun and Xiao Wangzhi looked at Lu Chen with extremely heavy hearts.

They also didn't want to hear the bad news, but they were both in their fifties and had seen too many old friends leave, so they were better able to withstand such things.

Li Bingxue looked at Lu Chen's wooden face through the crowd and felt a despair in him that she had never felt before, but she didn't know what she could do.

Lu Chen's eyes moved slightly and he asked, "When did it happen?"

Lu Shizhou cried, "Five days ago. Your Majesty fell into a coma several times that day. When he woke up, he only asked about the situation in Jiangbei. Fortunately, the report of the great victory in Yongqiu was delivered in time. Your Majesty was very happy and went to Guanyuntai with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Prime Minister Li, Prime Minister Xue and other officials in the court. Your Majesty arranged many things, and finally faced north and returned to the void..."

Lu Chen said word by word: "I want to go back to Beijing."

Lu Shizhou nodded quickly and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Li both said so. Please ask Lord Liu Shouguang to assist Commander Li in handling the military affairs of Jingzhou, and ask Duke Rong to temporarily handle the military affairs of Dingzhou. I hope Marquis Lu can return to the capital as soon as possible."

Lu Chen turned to look at Xiao Wangzhi and said, "Duke, we cannot delay in recovering the northern part of Dingzhou. Once we allow the Jing army to take root there, we will have to pay a great price to recover it in the future."

Xiao Wangzhi said softly: "Don't worry, Dingzhou is safe. Our army will definitely be able to recapture the entire Dingzhou."

Li Tianrun also said with concern: "You can go. Here we have Duke Rong, me, Lord Liu, and hundreds of thousands of border soldiers. Nothing will go wrong. Lu Chen, the emperor has passed away. The whole world is sad, and so are you and me. But you must remember the responsibilities on your shoulders and don't grieve too much."

Li Bingxue finally couldn't help but said, "Father is right, Lu Chen, many people are worried about you, you have to take care of yourself."

Lu Chen turned to look at her, and seeing the deep concern in her eyes, he nodded slightly and slowly exhaled.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I just want to get back to Beijing as soon as possible."

"I just want to see your majesty off for the last time."

He turned and strode away, his back looking desolate and lonely.

(End of this chapter)