Jiuxi

Chapter 643 Chapter 641 [Looking northwest]

The wedding of the Duke of Shanyang ended successfully, guests from all over the world returned one after another, and Guangling City gradually returned to its former tranquility.

Lu Chen has been enjoying the best of both worlds these days. On one side, Wang Chulong is gentle and considerate, and on the other side, Lin Xi is graceful and elegant. He is like a fish in water, enjoying endless romance.

Of course, he would not indulge in the gentleness of life all the time. In addition to taking over the military affairs of Dingzhou step by step, he would use this rare vacation to complete the subsequent ceremonies of the wedding.

He did not favor one over the other and accompanied both wives back to their parents' homes with roughly the same frequency.

Today it was Lin Xi's turn. Early in the morning, the two of them took a carriage and arrived at the Lin Mansion in East City under the escort of a group of elite personal soldiers.

After entering the mansion, Lin Xi went to talk to his younger brother and sister-in-law, while Lu Chen went to the side hall.

A middle-aged man in his forties had been waiting here.

He was a thin man with a dark face, and exuded a shrewd air.

Seeing Lu Chen appear, he immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am Yu Wenjun, and I pay my respects to you, sir!"

"Flat body."

Lu Chen walked to the armchair and sat down, saying calmly: "Yu Wenjun? Is this your real name?"

Yu Wenjun said respectfully: "My Lord, this is indeed my real name."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and said, "Sit down and talk. Don't be too restrained."

Yu Wenjun agreed and carefully sat down with half of his buttocks pressed against the ground.

Lu Chen observed his actions and said, "No matter the name or habits, you are almost the same as the Qi people."

Yu Wenjun said honestly: "I have been doing business for many years and often have to deal with people from your country. I also admire the culture of Da Qi very much, so I have learned a little bit."

Lu Chen smiled noncommittally, as if reminiscing about the past, and said, "Come to think of it, the dagger you gave to my Taishan back then helped me escape danger several times, and I still have to thank you for that."

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Yu Wenjun shook his head repeatedly, and then said, "I gave that dagger to Gang Leader Lin to express my gratitude for saving my life. In the final analysis, it was Lin Gang's ideology that was Bo Yuntian, and I dare not take credit for it. If you don't mind, I will prepare another batch of weapons made of the same refined iron to congratulate you on your wedding."

This is indeed a very discerning person.

It is normal to think about it. Since this person is a close confidant of Geshu Songping and was entrusted with an important task and went south specifically, he would naturally not be such a frivolous and shallow person.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Then I will be disrespectful to refuse it."

In fact, Yu Wenjun had already explained part of his purpose to Lin Jie. Seeing that Lu Chen was slow to get to the point, he was able to keep his composure and said with a respectful smile, "My Lord, please excuse me. This is my humble honor."

Lu Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said leisurely, "I heard that your country is most famous not for this unique fine iron, but for its war horses with excellent endurance and the ability to travel thousands of miles. Is that true?"

Yu Wenjun's heart moved. Looking at the calm expression of the young noble in front of him, he gradually understood some of the deep meaning, so he humbly said: "Your Excellency knows everything about the world without leaving home. You are indeed a first-class hero of the world. Our country's war horses are indeed quite good, but it's a pity that the pastures in the east have been occupied by Jing State in recent years, and even the supply of the army cannot be met. It is really a helpless regret."

Lu Chen gently stirred the fragrant tea in the teacup and did not respond to the conversation.

Yu Wenjun looked embarrassed, but finally said frankly: "To be honest with you, my lord, our country is also in short supply of military horses now, but if you like, I will definitely find a way to find a few top-quality horses and send them to you for your use."

He secretly sighed that this young nobleman was indeed not easy to deal with.

In fact, he was a little confused. He made a special trip south to promote cooperation between Qi and the Dynasty. This would be an extra force for the Qi army. As the commander of the border army, Lu Chen could not fail to see this. Why did he still pretend to be so? Could it be that this man did not live up to his reputation and was just a greedy and short-sighted person?
Lu Chen put down the teacup and said with a half-smile: "You came all the way here to congratulate me, but I only wanted to get some benefits. It's really inappropriate."

Yu Wenjun quickly replied: "My Lord, you are too kind. I have absolutely no such intention."

Lu Chen suddenly changed the subject, and said in a serious tone, "I really don't have any intention of getting any benefits. Whether it's a weapon made of fine iron or a unique divine horse from your place, they don't have much appeal to me."

Although he said this, Yu Wenjun still didn't dare to relax. At this moment, he had realized that this trip might not be as smooth as he had imagined.

Lu Chen continued, "I already know your intentions. In fact, you don't have to go through all this trouble. Our dynasty and Jing are in a turmoil. Whether you participate or not, the war between Qi and Jing will still break out in the future. Your Majesty can continue to watch as he has done in the past ten years, or he can stab Jing's army in the back. The choice is in his hands. He doesn't need our dynasty's consent, right?"

The autumn was still hot, but fortunately the hall was quite cool. However, Yu Wenjun could feel beads of sweat on his forehead, and he forced a smile and said, "My Lord, I will see you."

"You are an honest man."

Lu Chen smiled slightly, then narrowed his eyes and said: "So why did you go south?" "Uh..."

Yu Wenjun was speechless for a moment. He couldn't help but think of Ge Shu Songping's advice before he left, asking him to gain Lu Chen's trust so as to gain more benefits for Dai State.

The problem was that the young nobleman in front of him was too meticulous in his thinking. With just a few words, he broke the superficial harmony and pushed him into a corner in an instant.

He has confirmed one thing: if he continues to hide it, he will most likely be driven out by Lu Chen, and he will never have the chance to meet him again.

Looking at the other person's deep gaze, Yu Wenjun said with some difficulty: "To be honest, His Majesty hopes to exchange what he has with you, Lord."

"Exchange what you have?"

Lu Chen shook his head slightly and said calmly: "Your country is located in the northwest plateau, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is not so easy for the Jing army to break through your defense line. At least you have no problem protecting yourself in the short term. As for the disadvantage, now that Zhao has been annexed by Jing and Yan has been incorporated into Jing's territory, most of your country's borders have been surrounded by the Jing army, and your every move is under the attention of the other side."

Yu Wenjun didn't dare to be pretentious, and bowed his head and said, "Yes."

Lu Chen continued bluntly: "In other words, it is almost impossible for you to take the initiative to threaten the Jing army, so naturally you can't launch a surprise attack. Only when our army launches an offensive can the Dai army find an opportunity to stab the Jing army. You are representing General Geshu to go south this time, just to learn from me the plan of our border army, so as to formulate a corresponding strategy."

Before setting off, Yu Wenjun thought about the difficulty of this mission. First, he had to gain Lu Chen's trust. Secondly, he had to establish channels so that he could get the specific strategies of the Qi army in a timely manner.

His only capital was the promise of the Emperor of Dai that he would cooperate with the Qi army in the rear of Jing State.

At this moment, Yu Wenjun was completely exposed by Lu Chen. He was already sweating profusely and said guiltily: "I thought too simply. Please forgive me, sir."

"You are just following orders. There is no need for me to embarrass you."

Lu Chen sat up straight, a cold look on his face: "It's just that your Majesty seems to have forgotten one thing. Among the troops that harassed and slaughtered our border people twenty years ago, there were many soldiers from your Gaoyang tribe, especially the cavalry led by him personally, who have a lot of blood on their hands. The fact that Da Qi has been too busy to take care of it these years does not mean that we have forgotten this hatred. If the status quo is maintained, to be honest, our dynasty can't do anything to you Gaoyang tribe for the time being, but you actually took the initiative to come to me and asked me to hand over the border army intelligence for nothing."

Yu Wenjun's expression changed.

Lu Chen said coldly: "It's quite interesting."

With a thump, Yu Wenjun knelt down suddenly and said in panic, "My Lord, our emperor does have the sincerity to join forces to fight against Jing, and has no intention of provoking you, so please calm down!"

Lu Chen did not let him get up, and said indifferently: "You are a smart man, so there is no need to play dumb in front of me. Regardless of whether your Majesty still remembers the grudges of the past, at least he must understand one thing. If he does not want to become a king of a fallen country and does not want to die under the butcher knife of the Jinglian people like the fallen emperor of Zhao, he must show enough sincerity."

Yu Wenjun said in a trembling voice: "Yes."

Lu Chen continued, "I can tell you frankly that no matter whether your Dai Kingdom is willing to resist the Jing Army or not, our border army will unswervingly carry out the Northern Expedition. For our dynasty, the crisis fifteen years ago can be resolved, and now we don't care about having one more enemy. Your Majesty can submit to the Jing Kingdom with the whole country and continue to be their lackey. At most, he will be abandoned in the future. If he still has a little reluctance and wants to seek a place for the Gaoyang people, he must put himself in the right position."

Yu Wenjun was already sweating profusely, and could only nod his head: "I understand."

"Get up, you are a guest after all."

Lu Chen slowed down his tone and looked normal.

Yu Wenjun slowly stood up, but did not dare to sit down again. He lowered his head and said, "I don't know what I should do. Please give me some advice, sir."

Lu Chen said calmly, "Atoning requires action. If your Majesty is willing to repair relations with Da Qi, please prepare 5,000 high-quality war horses. Only with such sincerity can I ask your Majesty to temporarily put aside the grudges of the past. Otherwise, there is no point in discussing this."

This time, Yu Wenjun did not pretend to be in a difficult situation like before. He said nervously, "Sir, most of our borders are now besieged by the Jing army. Even if the whole country can gather these war horses, there is no way to send them to the south."

Lu Chen said calmly: "You don't have to worry about this. If your Majesty agrees to this request, the war horses can be transported from the mountains in the southwest and directly delivered to Shazhou. Then someone from our dynasty will go to receive them."

Yu Wenjun pondered for a moment, bowed and said, "This matter is of great importance. I dare not make a decision. Please allow me to return and make a request."

"can."

Lu Chen nodded, and then said: "But you have to be quick, I don't have much time to wait."

"Yes, my lord."

Yu Wenjun agreed immediately, ignoring the sweat on his forehead.

After they left, Lu Chen drank the remaining tea in the cup and whispered to himself, "Another group of ruthless people with far-reaching plans."

(End of this chapter)