Jiuxi

Chapter 596 594 [As Wishful]

Duke of Shanyang County, this is Lu Chen’s latest title.

When this news spreads back to Jiangbei in the future, the elders and folks of Shanyang County will surely be proud of it, because it means that this small place of Shanyang will be permanently recorded in the history of Da Qi. This will be a great achievement that will be recorded in the local county annals for countless future generations to admire.

Inside the hall, all the officials had mixed feelings.

The Great Qi Dynasty has always been very cautious and strict in granting titles. In the past ten years, there have been only three new dukes, and the number of county dukes is also very small, because the title not only symbolizes status, but also has many substantive benefits, such as the discussion of merit and title among the eight discussions.

When Hou Yu's case of deceiving his superiors and colluding with court officials was exposed, he escaped the death penalty by chance because of his title of marquis, and the late emperor only exiled him three thousand miles away.

Now that Lu Chen has been conferred the title of Duke of a county, as long as he is not involved in the capital crime of treason, it will be difficult for other things to shake his position in the court.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Li Zongben looked at Lu Chen who was standing proudly and said kindly: "Just now, my dear minister said that he wanted to continue to lead troops on the border. The late emperor also mentioned this matter. After the national mourning is over, you can take up the post of governor of Dingzhou and prepare for the future."

This is the proper meaning of the title.

Before the late emperor passed away, he had clearly stated this arrangement at Guanyun Terrace, and as a son, Li Zong would naturally not disobey it.

None of the ministers doubted that, with Li Tianrun recuperating and Xiao Wangzhi about to return to the capital, no one was more suitable than Lu Chen to lead the border troops.

Lu Chen has proven through his performance in border wars over the past few years that he is capable of stopping those savage and ferocious jackals once the Jing army marches south in large numbers.

For the court officials, Lu Chen was indeed a young noble who needed to be guarded against. After all, a county lord in his twenties was too young, and the space for him to continue to rise in the next few decades was too narrow, which inevitably made people worried. However, compared with the enemies of Jing State in the north, Lu Chen's problem was ultimately just an internal conflict. If the border army could not stop the Jing army, everyone would suffer in the end. They could still distinguish the pros and cons.

Lu Chen bowed his head slightly and said, "I accept your order."

Everything seems normal.

But only people who are very familiar with him, such as Li Bingxue, can already sense that some subtle changes have taken place in him.

Li Zongben might not know the details, but even if he could sense it, it was within his expectations, so he continued, "This war has lasted for half a year. The soldiers on the border need to rest, the court's logistics supply is becoming increasingly difficult, and the people also need to recuperate. Therefore, I have decided to temporarily stop the war and defend the border after Duke Rong leads his troops to recapture the northern part of Dingzhou. What do you think?"

All the officials said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Zongben nodded slightly, and then calmly told all the officials about his series of arrangements.

The Huaizhou Military Governor's Office was abolished, and the border army of the Great Qi formed a pattern of mutual assistance between the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office and the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office.

Panlong Pass and Panlong Army were incorporated into Dingzhou Military Governor's Office, which was stipulated to have nine armies with 110,000 people under its jurisdiction. The specific number of personnel and deployment would be decided after Lu Chen went to Dingzhou, and the imperial court would give sufficient support.

The Jingzhou Military Governor's Office was led by Liu Shouguang, who had nine armies with 110,000 people under his command. He built Jingzhou's border defense system with Yongqiu as the core.

When Lu Chen goes to Dingzhou, Duke Rong Xiao Wangzhi will return to Beijing. He will serve as the chief military minister of the Military Academy, responsible for deciding all military affairs of Da Qi.

Tens of thousands of Beijing troops who are heading to Jiangbei for support from the Xiaoyong Camp and the Jinwu Camp will soon be heading south.

Chen Lanyu, the marching commander of the Jinwu Camp, was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Jinwu Camp for his meritorious service in the surprise attack, and was also included in the ranks of military ministers.

Zhang Xu is about to lead the Wuwei Camp back from the southwestern border and will continue to serve as the Minister of Military Affairs and commander-in-chief of the Wuwei Camp.

Because Liu Shouguang took up the post of Grand Commander of Jingzhou, the position of commander-in-chief of the Brave Camp was temporarily taken over by Han Zhongjie.

Li Jingda, the former governor of Dingzhou, was transferred back to the capital and joined the Military Academy as Minister of Military Affairs.

At this point, the adjustment of senior military personnel in Da Qi has been completed.

The border army was headed by Lu Chen and assisted by Liu Shouguang, while the Central Military Academy was headed by Xiao Wangzhi and assisted by Zhang Xu, Han Zhongjie, Chen Lanyu, Shen Yulai and Li Jingda.

The next issue is the reward of border troops.

Li Zongben said gently, "Mr. Lu, you will be in charge of reviewing this matter, and Mr. Han will assist you. I hope to see the complete list of rewards as soon as possible."

This was the duty of the Military Academy. Lu Chen and Han Zhongjie had no choice but to fulfill their responsibility. They immediately stepped out of the class and said, "Your Majesty, I accept your order."

The court meeting should have ended here, but Li Zongben continued, "The late emperor once left a will that the second northern expedition would use Dingzhou as a bridgehead, so it is urgent to strengthen the mobile force of the Dingzhou Governor's Office. As you all know, our dynasty has always lacked available military horses, and the number of cavalry is very scarce, so the late emperor decided to transfer the Feiyu Army to the Dingzhou Governor's Office, and I agree with this. Commander Li."

When all the officials were surprised, the only female general in the court stepped forward and said loudly: "I am here!"

Hearing this clear and crisp voice, Li Zongben's eyes showed a complex emotion, and he smiled and said: "I hope you can continue to work hard and live up to the reputation of Duke of Wei."

Li Bingxue bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will do my best to protect the border."

Li Zongben said with relief: "You have made outstanding contributions in this war, but due to the court regulations, I can no longer confer you a title. The late emperor once gave you a jade ruyi, so I will follow the late emperor's example. I hope you will not refuse it."

Yuan Yuji, the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was standing solemnly at the side, took the tray from the eunuch, walked into the hall in small steps, and walked in front of Li Bingxue very respectfully.

There is also a jade ruyi on the tray.

Li Bingxue hesitated. Li Zongben said, "Commander Li, I am just showing my appreciation. Although you may not be able to use it in the future, as long as you have something to ask for and it does not violate the court regulations, I will definitely grant you the opportunity to enter the palace with this jade ruyi."

Inside the hall, countless envious eyes were focused on Li Bingxue.

As the saying goes, the words of the emperor are golden. Li Zongben made a promise in front of all the officials in the court today. The meaning represented by this jade ruyi is extraordinary.

There was no such thing as red-lettered iron certificates in the Great Qi Dynasty, but this jade ruyi now had some similar functions.

Li Bingxue thought for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "I thank your majesty for your grace."

Although the ministers were envious, they did not react too strongly.

At this moment, most people have come to their senses. Previously, Li Zongben conferred the title of Duke of Wei on Li Tianrun and showed him supreme favor. Although the young emperor might not have considered that, the most direct result was that Li Tianrun basically lost the possibility of interfering in state affairs in the few remaining years of his life.

As Li Liangyu was promoted to the right vice minister of the Ministry of War, the Li family's influence in the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office would inevitably be gradually lost. This gave Liu Shouguang room to consolidate military power and prevent him from becoming a figurehead governor like Li Jingda.

Transferring Xiao Wangzhi back to the capital to take charge of the Military Academy is similar in nature. He has been running the Huaizhou Governor's Office for more than ten years, and that is his territory. The late emperor considered that too drastic actions would cause chaos, so he let Lu Chen take over as the governor of Dingzhou and let him take over Xiao Wangzhi's power, so as to avoid panic to the greatest extent.

Li Zongben's reward and promise to Li Bingxue today are also means to achieve the same goal.

Weakening the influence of the Li family on the border army is something that must be done, but by showing favor to Li Bingxue in this way, the negative impact of doing so can be reduced.

However, the decision of Feiyu Army to transfer to Dingzhou Military Governor's Office seemed to have profound meaning, and the ministers could not help but look at Lu Chen curiously.

At this time, many court officials suddenly remembered an incident from the past.

When Lu Chen first entered the capital, he was assassinated by a northern spy in Xiliu Lane. Li Bingxue once requested in front of the late emperor to take Lu Chen back to the palace to heal his wounds.

At that time, many people talked about this matter with great relish, secretly teasing that Li Bingxue was worthy of being the daughter of a general. At the same time, they were also curious about when this equally outstanding young man and woman would get married.

However, the subsequent development of events was beyond their expectations. It seemed that Lu Chen and Li Bingxue were just friends who shared life and death on the battlefield, and there was no love between men and women involved. Especially when the late emperor granted marriage to Lu Chen, and Li Bingxue's name was not mentioned in the imperial edict, the relevant speculation disappeared.

Today, Li Zongben announced that the Feiyu Army would be transferred to the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office, and some old events suddenly surfaced.

The courtiers who remembered those past events suddenly realized that there was indeed a story between the young man and woman. Otherwise, why would His Majesty issue this decree? Could it be that the Feiyu Army could not contribute to border defense and the Northern Expedition if they stayed in the Jingzhou Governor's Office?

Thinking about it this way, they gradually understood why the emperor wanted the Wei people to rest and recuperate.

Lu Chen has already taken actual control of the Dingzhou border troops. If Li Tianrun does not withdraw from the court and continues to maintain his influence over the Jingzhou border troops, then wouldn't Lu Chen be able to control 200,000 elite border troops alone?

That's too horrible.

When Li Bingxue took the jade ruyi and retreated to her seat, all the officials in the court looked at the emperor with a little more respect.

Li Zongben could naturally feel this change. In fact, he was very tired at the moment and could understand more and more why his father had become ill due to overwork.

Sitting in this position, every move needs to be carefully considered.

Fortunately, there were no major mistakes in the end, and I successfully left an impression on some people, making them think that I was a little impulsive and immature.

Thinking of this, Li Zongben smiled and said, "Today's court meeting ends here. If you have other matters to report, you can submit them to the emperor."

All the ministers bowed their heads.

Li Zongben stood up and walked towards the back hall. Yuan Yuji shouted, "Dismiss the court!"

All the ministers shouted "Long live the emperor" and then left the Duancheng Hall one after another.

It was noon and the sun outside the temple was very hot.

The Li brothers and sisters walked side by side. Li Liangyu said softly, "Let's talk about it when we get home."

Li Bingxue understood the deep meaning of this sentence. It was indeed not appropriate to get too close to Lu Chen in public. After all, she needed to pay attention to the impact.

But she was still very worried because a lot of things happened at today's court meeting. She couldn't see through the confusion and was worried about that person.

Walking in the bright sunshine, she turned her head and looked back.

Across the crowd of court officials, she saw Lu Chenzheng and the Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan walking out of the hall together.

As if they had telepathic connection, he looked at Li Bingxue who turned her head back, smiled at her, and signaled that she need not worry.

Li Bingxue pursed her lips and her heart suddenly calmed down.

No matter what, he will take care of it.

(End of this chapter)