Jiuxi

Chapter 647 Chapter 645 [The Beginning of the Scroll]

Although it was just an ordinary family dinner, the chef of the Duke's Mansion still did not dare to be careless. After all, Lu Chen rarely entertained guests at home.

The twelve dishes are all delicious, four cold and eight hot. The drink chosen is spring bamboo leaves, which are mellow in the mouth and mild in the aftertaste.

Liu Yuan and Chen Xun confessed their crimes and took their seats. Both of them were in a state of unrest.

For them, even though they were mentally prepared before coming here, the speed of progress still surprised them.

After just a not-so-in-depth conversation, the two of them were transformed from commoners into officials of the Governor's Office. And they were not just menial clerks. Both the chief clerk and the secretary were considered very important positions.

This young duke is indeed different from others, and his courage far exceeds that of ordinary people.

Lu Chen studied the expressions of the two people and said with a smile, "Just be casual, no need to be too formal."

The two agreed.

In fact, this matter is not as complicated as they think.

There are many subordinate officials in the Metropolitan Governor's Office. Above the Chief Clerk and the Secretary are the Chief Clerk, the Secretary of State, the Military Advisor, etc. They cannot be said to be second only to the Chief, but they are indeed more important.

There was only one reason why Lu Chen gave these two official positions to them when they first met, and that was that these two people were recommended by Lu Tong.

He may not trust the emperor and his ministers in the court, but he will not doubt his father.

Since Lu Tong was willing to recommend them, there was no doubt that he had already examined their talents and character, so there was no need for Lu Chen to repeatedly consider and test them.

It's that simple.

Of course, Lu Chen would not deliberately expose it. The way to employ people cannot rely solely on honesty.

After three rounds of drinking, Liu Yuan took the initiative to say, "My Lord, regarding the Second Northern Expedition, I have some superficial views. Please correct me."

It has to be said that Liu Bingyuan, who had been in poverty for half his life, got into the role very quickly and had a bit of a stubborn air.

Previously, his attitude was more direct than Chen Xun's. Once the subordinate relationship was confirmed, he didn't even think of praising Lu Chen's achievements first, and went straight to the point.

This was very different from the officials Lu Chen had seen in the past.

Whether it was elders like Li Daoyan and Xiao Wangzhi, or those lower-ranking officials, when discussing matters with him, they were accustomed to talking about love first, and then slowly putting forward their opinions. No one would be as straightforward as Liu Yuan.

Lu Chen put down the wine cup, wiped his hands and said, "You can talk as you like."

Liu Yuan said solemnly: "Although the Jing army has been defeated in successive battles, it has not been seriously injured and its strength is still strong. Especially after the Battle of Yongqiu, the Jing army will be more cautious in dealing with our border troops and will definitely not look down on them as before."

"continue."

"Secondly, after the bitter battles of the past few years, the imperial court is probably running out of money and the treasury is gradually drying up. I have also heard that the imperial court is promoting the Jingjie Law in various parts of Jiangnan. Although this law is beneficial to the country and the people, there will definitely be a lot of resistance and it will take some time to be effective. In short, the imperial court will definitely not support the border troops to start another war in the short term."

Hearing this, Lu Chen said slowly: "That makes sense."

There was no emotion on his face, because although what Liu Yuan said was not a cliché, it was not every word a gem either.

However, considering that Liu Yuan had previously lived in seclusion in the countryside and had never been involved in military and political affairs, it was not easy for him to have such knowledge, so Lu Chen still gave him a certain degree of recognition.

Liu Yuan seemed to be unaware of Lu Chen's feelings, and continued, "From the overall perspective, Qi and Jing are both relatively familiar with each other's situation. Our dynasty knows that the Jing army needs to recover, and the Jing army also knows that our border army is at the end of its strength. For both sides, acquiescing in this temporary peace is the best option, and they should stop fighting and gather their strength for the next day of battle."

Lu Chen looked at his solemn face and asked, "Do you think there is something fishy going on?"

Liu Yuan seemed to hesitate, but finally said sincerely: "County Lord, the struggle for national destiny has always been a matter of one side gaining while the other loses. Sixteen years ago, the situation in Da Qi was precarious. If it weren't for the late emperor's efforts to support it, I'm afraid it would have collapsed long ago. Looking back, the reason why Jing State stopped was, on the one hand, related to the defense line built by the two Dukes Xiao and Li, and on the other hand, it was due to their own crisis. The blind occupation of territory led to a lot of internal worries."

"But sixteen years have passed in a flash. Compared with the situation back then, the current Jing State has reached a point where it is about to strike. Since the annexation of Zhao State and the conquest of Yan, the strength of Jing State has not only not been weakened by the Battle of Yongqiu, but has been strengthened. This is the reason why the Emperor of Jing State dared to dismiss Qing Yugong. However, a new question arises with it. Will the Emperor of Jing sit back and watch our dynasty continue to accumulate strength?"

"May I ask, Lord County, if you were the commander of the army of Jing State, would you be willing to see Da Qi spend this period of consolidation leisurely? Would you be willing to wait until Da Qi's border army made further progress? Would you be willing to watch a dynasty with more than a hundred years of history complete its final reform?"

Liu Yuan's eyes were sharp and his tone was steady.

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, stroked the celadon wine cup, and fell into deep thought.

Liu Yuan continued, "In my humble opinion, the fact that Emperor Jing dismissed Qing Yugong without causing any disturbance, whether or not this was a show of weakness co-ordinated by him and Qing Yugong, is enough to prove how strong Emperor Jing's control over the country is. In other words, he still has the confidence to start a war."

Lu Chen finally spoke up and said, "Are you trying to say that even if our dynasty doesn't plan to march north again, the Jing army will still invade the south?"

Liu Yuan said without hesitation: "Because our border defense has weaknesses."

Lu Chen's heart moved, and he asked faintly: "Jingzhou?"

Liu Yuan said respectfully, "Yes, it is Jingzhou. In the short period of six months, the two Dukes Xiao and Li returned to the capital one after another. Although the border troops seem to have not changed, their strength has actually been weakened a lot. The county duke is particularly good at military affairs, and he must know the impact of the commander's ability on the soldiers. Dingzhou has the county duke in person, so I think the Jing army dare not easily invade. However, after the departure of Marshal Li, how much combat power can the Jingzhou Governor's Office retain? Needless to say, His Majesty will definitely adjust the generals of the Jingzhou Governor's Office. After all, only in this way can the influence of Marshal Li on the Jingzhou army be further weakened."

"Brother Bingyuan, be careful with your words."

Chen Xun, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, with a look of persuasion on his face.

There was nothing wrong with what Liu Yuan said before, but the last sentence undoubtedly crossed the line.

Although Lu Chen gave them enough respect and showed his magnanimity in employing people, they were ultimately just officials of the Governor's Office. They were not in the position to interfere in matters related to the emperor, so how could they criticize the emperor?

Liu Yuan's face froze, and then he said with shame: "I spoke nonsense, please forgive me, Lord."

"It's okay. We should speak frankly in private." Lu Chen said, then looked at Liu Yuan and said, "What do you think I should do?"

Liu Yuan felt relieved and said calmly: "My humble opinion is that we only need to capture one city to make the Jing army afraid to act rashly."

"where?"

"Together City."

Liu Yuan's answer was clear and concise, and it was obvious that he had thought about the question carefully.

Hearing the familiar place name "Gongcheng", Lu Chen just thought about it for a moment and then came up with an idea in his mind.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and he nodded and said, "Brother Bingyuan is indeed very knowledgeable."

At the beginning, he led his army to launch a surprise attack on Heluo, forced Jingguo to sign an alliance, and then led his army back to Dingzhou, with the condition that Qingliu Pass west of Dingzhou be taken over.

Gongcheng is located to the west of Qingliu Pass, sandwiched between Qingliu Pass and Yaoshan Pass. It is the nominal boundary between the two sides and is currently owned by Jing State.

The defense of this city is not very tight. It was originally just a buffer zone between Qi and Jing. In addition, the city is low and small in area. For the current Dingzhou troops, it does not require much effort to take it down.

Taking this city will not affect the overall situation, but it can send a clear signal to Jing's army that the border troops of Da Qi may move westward from this direction at any time, aiming directly at Heluo.

For the Jing army, the importance of Heluo City is self-evident. Once the Qi army makes a comeback, they cannot afford to lose Heluo again.

If the Jing army wanted to attack Jingzhou, they had to consider whether the Dingzhou border army might repeat the same old tricks.

This is to shock the enemy at the lowest cost, the so-called psychological strategy.

Lu Chen raised his wine cup and said with great satisfaction: "Please drink this cup to the full, gentlemen."

Liu Yuan and Chen Xun immediately raised their glasses and drank them all.

At this moment, Lu Chen had come to his senses. On the one hand, Liu Yuan's advice was to fulfill his duty as an official, and on the other hand, it was also a way to display his talents.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Chen Xun, wondering what brilliant ideas this guy had.
However, Chen Xun looked calm and said casually, "Sir, I am far inferior to Brother Bingyuan."

This is a very smart person.

Lu Chen didn't believe that he had nothing in his mind, but after Liu Yuan performed first, he did not show any impatient desire to compete, which at least showed that this person was very patient and knew how to advance and retreat.

"The days ahead are long, don't be in a hurry."

Lu Chen smiled calmly, and then said: "In the future, I hope that you two will work together and serve Da Qi wholeheartedly with me."

"I will follow your orders, sir."

The two of them responded in unison.

After half an hour, the banquet ended and Liu Yuan and Chen Xun bowed and left.

Lu Chen asked the housekeeper to arrange guest rooms for them. Looking at the two people's retreating backs, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

A light sound of footsteps was heard behind me, followed by a fragrant breeze.

"It seems that my husband is very satisfied with these two people."

Lin Xi smiled faintly.

Lu Chen looked back at her and nodded, "The person chosen by the old man will naturally not be bad."

Lin Xi asked again: "When will we set off?"

Lu Chen held her hand and said gently, "The day after tomorrow."

……

August 30th, the 15th year of Jianwu.

The flags are fluttering in the wind.

Lu Chen, Duke of Shanyang County and Grand Commander of Dingzhou, left Guangling and headed north with his wife Lin Xi, 300 elite personal soldiers and more than 200 followers.

Lu Tong and Guangling prefect Zhan Hui personally escorted him to a place more than ten miles outside the city.

On the eighth day of September, this team of several hundred people arrived at Ruyin City in Dingzhou.

The gentry and nobles in the city lined the streets to welcome them, with gongs and drums beating and firecrackers blasting.

Two days later, in the main hall of Dingzhou Governor's Mansion.

Dozens of powerful generals from the border army gathered together, and a murderous atmosphere rose to the sky.

They looked at the young man sitting at the commander's seat, saluted in unison, and said loudly: "Greetings, Grand Commander!"

Lu Chen looked at them one by one, with a heroic look on his face: "Stand up."

(End of this chapter)