Jiuxi

Chapter 587 [Ripples]

In the afternoon, Qing Yu Huaijin came to the waterside pavilion in the northwest corner of the palace.

She looked up and saw Qing Yugong standing by the railing in plain clothes, seemingly watching the fish swimming in the pond.

As they stepped into the pavilion and got closer, Qing Yu Huaijin saw that Qing Yugong was holding a small bowl in his hand, which contained mashed fish food to tease the fish.

Seeing this scene, Qing Yu Huaijin couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

As far as she can remember, her father has had very little free time. Only during those special holidays in a year can he temporarily put aside all the serious matters and relax a little with his family.

Qing Yu Huaijin never thought that such a leisurely and comfortable state as the one now in front of him would happen to his father one day.

"Greetings to my father."

Qing Yu Huaijin collected his thoughts and bowed respectfully.

Qing Yugong turned around and looked at her, his eyes were gentle and calm, and he smiled and said, "Are you still angry?"

"Not angry."

Qing Yu Huaijin walked over to stand beside him and whispered, "I just can't figure it out."

Qing Yugong used a spoon to stir the fish food into the pond, his tone still calm: "Tell me about it."

"The main reason for the defeat in Yongqiu was that Your Majesty forced my father to go to war, and the weather, terrain, and people were all in the hands of the enemy. The second reason was that Sagai's people did not keep an eye on the seven tribes of Shazhou. If it weren't for the reinforcements of the Southern Qi and the local soldiers of Shazhou who appeared behind our army, even if the situation was unfavorable to our army at that time, my father could have led the army to retreat safely. It's better not to mention your majesty's problem. After all, he is the son of Dajing. My father can only be speechless for taking the blame for him, but I really don't understand why your majesty turned a blind eye to Sagai's problem?"

Qing Yu Huaijin lowered her head slightly, and the emotions in her eyes were not as intense as they were outside the palace in the morning. It was obvious that after her initial indignation, she was also thinking calmly.

Qing Yugong watched the summer breeze blow across the water, and a few fish appeared under the water. He said leisurely, "Because the reinforcements from Southern Qi did not come north from Feiniao Pass. They relied on the guidance of the seven tribes of Shazhou and traveled through the mountain paths. The people of Sagai have their own reasons to defend themselves. How can they watch every inch of land with thousands of miles of mountains? It has always been difficult to prevent roundabout surprise attacks, because it has nothing to do with our ability, but depends entirely on whether the Qi army has the determination and perseverance to overcome difficulties."

Qing Yu Huaijin was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "But your majesty already knows that the strength of the Qi army cannot be underestimated, so why did he insist on dismissing my father from the position of Marshal of the Southern Court? Does he think that others can replace my father at will? Isn't he worried that we will continue to lose in future battles and completely lose the vast territory south of the Jing River?"

"Silly boy."

Qing Yugong suddenly smiled.

Qing Yu Huaijin looked at him in confusion.

"In your opinion, the most terrible thing would be if the hundreds of thousands of Dajing soldiers could not move without Qing Yugong."

Qing Yugong lowered his eyelids slightly, and then said: "Your Majesty is not angry, but the current situation allows him to do so. Perhaps in your eyes and in the eyes of many people, with the defeat in the Yongqiu War, our dynasty has retreated across the board in the Heluo region, and the momentum of the Southern Qi has increased, resulting in a shift in the offensive and defensive situation. In fact, Jingqi is currently at most in a stalemate stage, and our dynasty still has a certain advantage. Under this premise, Your Majesty will weaken my influence in the army and give others a chance to grow."

Qing Yu Huaijin's brows were tightly furrowed.

Qing Yugong continued, "Your Majesty has been planning this for a long time. First, he will consume the power of the Qing Yu family, then suppress my position in the court, and then let Wu Yanshu and others go south to lead the troops. In this process, your majesty will even allow them to lose a few battles. As long as a few people can stand out and be capable of taking on the important task in the end, your majesty's efforts will not be in vain."

After hearing this, Qing Yu Huaijin completely understood.

Inertia is a terrible thing.

If the court and the country get used to Qing Yugong holding the military power alone, even Emperor Jing will not be able to get rid of his dependence on him. In the end, Qing Yugong's influence will spread throughout the army, and he will become a reality of being too powerful to be removed and having power over the court and the country.

Perhaps Emperor Jing could suppress Qing Yugong, but how would his successor deal with such a terrifying and powerful minister?

It is of course an extremely beautiful scene for the ruler and his subjects to be in harmony and work together, but most things in the world do not go as planned, and the most likely outcome is still that the ruler and his subjects turn against each other and kill each other.

For Emperor Jing, pacifying the world and uniting them was his long-cherished wish. But if in the end he was only making wedding dresses for others and could not preserve the royal position of the Alihe clan, what was the point of all the hardships?

Therefore, he had to take this opportunity to remove Qing Yugong's military power. Of course, he would not wait to do things completely, but only dismissed Qing Yugong from his post to calm the domestic turmoil and reserve the possibility of making other changes in the future.

These principles are actually not difficult to understand.

But even though he understood, Qing Yu Huaijin was still in a depressed mood.

She felt unworthy of her father.

At least in her understanding, Qing Yugong had never thought of being disloyal, nor did he deliberately cultivate confidants in the army. He was a man of integrity and loyalty, but he ended up with such an outcome.

With this in mind, Qing Yu Huaijin said softly, "Father, I want to do something."

Qing Yugong turned his head and looked at her. After a long while, he said with emotion: "I really didn't expect that Lu Chen had such a profound influence on you."

Qing Yu Huaijin was stunned. She tugged at the corner of her clothes nervously, a trace of panic flashed in her noble eyes, and she quickly explained: "Father, I... I just want to find a way out for the Qing Yu family. Since His Majesty has made up his mind, he will definitely not give up easily. At present, he has only dismissed father from the position of marshal, and has not taken action against the Xiashan Army and the Fangcheng Army, but no one can predict what will happen in the future. If we don't prepare early, when His Majesty makes trouble, I'm afraid that our Qing Yu family will not be able to fight back."

From stumbling in the beginning to speaking fluently later on, Qing Yu Huaijin's gaze gradually became firm, and his tone became more and more calm, as if he had completely convinced himself.

Qing Yugong did not comment, but smiled and said, "Do you think Lu Chen is trustworthy?"

This simple sentence caused a flood of memories to come flooding back into Qing Yu Huaijin's mind.

From hearing about him occasionally in the beginning, to hearing about him loud and clear later, to the humiliating period of captivity for her, her feelings towards Lu Chen were undoubtedly extremely complicated.

On the one hand, she was very clear that the other party was the most powerful enemy of Qingyu clan and even the entire Jing Dynasty in recent years. On the other hand, it was difficult for her to forget what Lu Chen said to her in Heluo City.

If Qing Yu was left with nowhere else to go, the south might be a way out.

At that time, Qing Yu Huaijin naturally scoffed at this, because the strength of the Qing Yu family was second only to the royal Alihe family among the six major surnames of the Jinglian clan. Her father was the marshal of the Dajing South Court and had the reputation of a military god.

How did she end up with nowhere to go?
However, as time goes by, Lu Chen's prediction is gradually becoming a reality.

Especially when he personally defeated Qing Yugong outside Yongqiu City, the pace of this change was further accelerated.

Qing Yu Huaijin suppressed the surging thoughts in his heart and analyzed as calmly as possible: "Father, it doesn't matter whether Lu Chen is trustworthy or not. I think he and the Emperor of Southern Qi will not ignore the power of the Qing Yu family. If they can establish some kind of connection with the Qing Yu family, it will only benefit them and not harm them."

This is an obvious truth.

The Battle of Yongqiu could not determine the fate of the two countries. If Southern Qi could pry open the Qingyu clan, it would naturally be a great weakening for the Jing Dynasty, and it might even completely change the balance of power between the two countries.

Even though the Emperor of Southern Qi hated Qing Yugong to the core, he would only try to win over Qing Yugong at all costs, provided that Qing Yugong really had plans in this regard.

Qing Yugong said calmly: "Then have you ever thought of a possibility, if Lu Chen does the opposite, first deceives your trust, and then publicly publicizes his plan with you, how can the Qing Yu family gain a foothold in Dajing at that time? I don't think this is a very complicated plan, and the ruler and ministers of Southern Qi can avoid risks. They can just watch Dajing fall into civil strife and reap the benefits."

Qing Yu Huaijin choked, then subconsciously said: "Father, he doesn't..."

The words stopped abruptly.

Qing Yugong smiled and said, "Do you think Lu Chen is not such a treacherous villain?"

Qing Yu Huaijin fell silent again.

After a moment, she sighed, "Father is right. I thought too simply. Lu Chen is an enemy after all. He will never show mercy to his enemies. He will do anything to get what he wants. I shouldn't have made such a naive judgment."

Qing Yugong looked at the lost expression on her face and said with pity: "Don't blame yourself, you have been attentive enough. What you said before is very right. Qing Yu has no intention of harming others, but we must be on guard against others. Sometimes it is not a bad thing to be prepared."

"Did the father agree?"

Qing Yu Huaijin was slightly surprised.

Qing Yugong nodded and said, "There are no eternal enemies in this world. Everything will change with the changes in the situation. You can have someone secretly go to Guangling Prefecture in Huaizhou, Southern Qi, and go directly to Lu Chen's father Lu Tong to get in touch with Lu Chen first. The Lu family still has a channel to contact the north. I have asked someone to check it before. You can contact them through this channel. Remember, even if you meet Lu Chen in person, don't easily reveal your thoughts."

He paused for a moment and said seriously, "You can let him guess, but your people can't speak directly."

Qing Yu Huaijin said seriously: "My daughter understands, please rest assured, father."

Qing Yugong smiled gently.

After Qing Yu Huaijin left, Qing Yugong still stood by the railing.

He used a spoon to stir the small bowl and threw all the fish food into the pond. In an instant, many fish appeared from under the water, excitedly scrambling for food.

Circles of ripples appeared from the center and spread from the inside to the outside throughout the pool.

The sound of water droplets splashing is particularly crisp.

Qing Yugong looked at the fish swimming back and forth, and a strange light appeared in his deep eyes.

"Your Majesty, how do you think the history books will evaluate us, the king and his subjects, thousands of years from now?"

"Come to think of it...it must be a very interesting text."

(End of this chapter)