Jiuxi

Chapter 662 [A Corner in the Mist]

Northeast of Jingzhou, Changshou County.

This place used to be the bridgehead for Jing's army's invasion to the south. More than 30 miles to the south is Cuiting County of Da Qi. The Qi and Jing armies fought several major battles in Cuiting.

Nowadays, Changshou County is garrisoned by a part of the Anping Army of the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office, with the chief commander being the regiment commander Gui Zeming.

"Lao Gui, forget the wine. I'll leave after dinner."

In the side hall, Huangfu Yu looked at the large plates of meat on the table, rubbed his hands involuntarily, and sat down happily.

Gui Zeming is in his forties. He has a good-natured face and a gentle temperament. He never gets angry when being teased. He is very popular among the various armies in Jingzhou.

He held a wine jug in one hand, looked at Huangfu Yu in surprise, and said, "This is my treasured Shidongchun. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have been willing to take it out. Don't you really want it?"

Huangfu Yu has always loved drinking. When he first met Lu Chen at Songyang Posthouse outside Beijing, he wanted to challenge him to a drinking contest, but in the end, it was Li Bingxue who spoke up and he gave up.

At this moment, his eyes lit up when he heard the three words "Shi Dongchun". He looked at the wine pot in Gui Zeming's hand and couldn't help swallowing, but finally retracted his gaze and shook his head reluctantly, saying, "Forget it. I have a military order. How dare I do anything reckless?"

"Okay, then just drink a small cup to satisfy your craving."

Gui Zeming and he had both served as Li Tianrun's personal soldiers. They had known each other for more than ten years and knew each other well and had a very deep friendship.

He poured wine into the glasses in front of the two people. In an instant, the aroma of wine filled the air and Huangfu Yu couldn't help but take a breath in intoxicatedly.

"Look at what you are like."

Gui Zeming smiled and put away the wine jug.

Huangfu Yu did not stop him, nor did he pick up the cup impatiently. He just leaned in to smell it, and then said, "If I didn't have to lead the troops on a patrol soon, I would promise to drink all the wine jars you hid."

Gui Zeming said proudly: "Because I know you are only in the city to replenish supplies, so I took it out to show you, otherwise do you think I am stupid?"

Huangfu Yu couldn't help but laugh and curse.

After chatting and laughing, the two men began to eat the meat in front of them. They were both men who had lived in the army for many years, so their eating manners were naturally not very handsome.

He ate voraciously, and the food was reduced at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Huangfu Yu put down his chopsticks first and suddenly sighed softly.

Gui Zeming saw this and asked, "Why are you sighing?"

"In fact, I still can't figure out why the Duke was willing to abandon us."

Huangfu Yu's expression was slightly gloomy, and then he said: "The Duke is in poor health and needs to be recuperated, which is reasonable, but the eldest daughter was transferred to Dingzhou, and the eldest son was recalled to the capital to be a crappy military minister. The Duke never objected from beginning to end. He persisted in Jingzhou for more than ten years, and saw that the situation was improving and there was hope for the Northern Expedition, but he was picked by a man like Liu Shouguang. What a thing!"

Gui Zeming picked up a towel and wiped his mouth casually, then said calmly, "You've been with the Duke for so long, don't you know his temperament?"

"Of course I know, but I feel bad for him."

Huangfu Yu shook his head helplessly and said, "Although I am now under Lord Lu's command, I have also heard about the recent situation in Jingzhou. Aside from Old Fan, aren't all the other brothers who originally followed Lord Guo out here being ostracized? Take you for example, with your qualifications, you should be more than qualified to be a deputy commander, not to mention leading an army alone? But now you are only a regiment commander."

The Old Fan he mentioned was Fan Wendi, the commander-in-chief of the Guangji Army.

The generals under Li Tianrun were once known as the Five Tigers, namely Fan Wendi, Huo Zhen, Xu Gui, Zhang Zhan and Qi Shouzhi. People like Huangfu Yu can only be regarded as rising stars.

Nowadays, Huo Zhen and Xu Gui were transferred to Dingzhou Military Governor's Office, Qi Shouzhi transferred to the Beijing Camp, and only Fan Wendi and Zhang Zhan remained in the Jingzhou Army. Relatively speaking, Fan Wendi's situation was better because he had the longest seniority and the greatest military achievements, having led troops under Li Tianrun as early as sixteen years ago.

The former Five Tigers of Jingzhou went their separate ways, the system of generals created by Li Tianrun was dismantled, and the current Jingzhou Grand Commander Liu Shouguang, at the instruction of the emperor, gently adjusted the power within the Jingzhou army.

As time goes by, Li Tianrun's influence in the Jingzhou Governor's Office will be continuously weakened, and in the end, only a very small part will remain.

Gui Zeming knew the old friend in front of him very well. He knew that he was not complaining about his military position and future, but that he found it difficult to accept that the beautiful atmosphere that once surrounded Li Tianrun and where everyone fought side by side and lived and died together had disappeared.

He slowed down his tone and said, "Promotion is not that important to me. You know my abilities. Managing these three or four thousand people and guarding a county town like this is barely within my capabilities. If I really have to lead an army alone, or be a deputy commander, I don't have that ability. Otherwise, the Duke would not let me stay in Jingzhou. If you can go to Dingzhou, why can't I go?"

Huangfu Yu couldn't help but remain silent.

He has always admired the magnanimity of this old brother and understood that his words were not meant to comfort him but came from the heart.

Gui Zeming continued, "This matter is not as complicated as you think. If the Duke was in good health, how could he leave the border? Neither the late emperor nor the present emperor could deprive him of his military power. The key is that the Duke really can't hold on. Do you really want to see him die of exhaustion on the battlefield?"

Huangfu Yu said solemnly, "Of course I hope that the Duke will live a long life." Gui Zeming nodded and said, "The eldest son has never led troops alone. The Duke knows where his talent lies, so he did not force him to do anything. As for the eldest daughter... you and I both know her ability, but the court can only accept one female general at most, and there is no way to allow the eldest daughter to be a commander. Since the Duke can no longer lead the troops, there is no way to deal with the follow-up. He has considered it very carefully by asking the three of you to join the Lu Lord. Don't you understand?"

Huangfu Yu was silent for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "You are more open-minded."

"I'm not open-minded, I'm just worried about you."

"Worry about me? There's no need to. If I wasn't here with you, I definitely wouldn't say a word."

Gui Zeming smiled gently, looked at him sincerely and said, "You are usually careless and don't seem to care about anything, but you like to keep things in your heart. Xu Gui has a simple personality. As long as he can go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, he won't think too much. Huo Zhen is very clear-minded and can get along well no matter where he is. You are different from them. You always carry something on your shoulders. I hope you can understand that the past is the past, and people should always look forward."

Huangfu Yu nodded.

Gui Zeming felt relieved. He was not worried that Huangfu Yu would cause any trouble under Li Bingxue's command. He was just afraid that Huangfu Yu was too worried and would inevitably be hesitant on the battlefield, which was a taboo in military strategy.

He thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "As for the eldest lady..."

Huangfu Yu asked with a hint of curiosity: "Do you think there is still a possibility for the eldest lady and Lord Lu?"

The relationship between Li Bingxue and Lu Chen had actually long been a topic of private discussion among the generals of the various armies in Jingzhou. However, after the late emperor's imperial decree granting the marriage was issued and Lu Chen married two wives at the same time, the related discussions became less and less, and finally turned into a sigh when no one was around.

Gui Zeming shook his head and said, "How should I know? The eldest lady has always been righteous, and even the Duke can't change her mind. Since she is willing to maintain the status quo, no one else's advice will work."

Huangfu Yu said: "I always feel that the eldest lady will marry Lord Lu in the end."

Gui Zeming frowned slightly and asked, "What about your status?"

With Li Bingxue's status, she would certainly not become anyone's concubine, even if that person was Lu Chen. Even if Li Bingxue herself did not mind, the powerful generals brought by Li Tianrun would not agree.

"The status is easy to solve."

Huangfu Yu raised his eyebrows, then said softly: "It's fine as long as the capital doesn't object."

Gui Zeming narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded, "As long as the young lady is willing, what can the central government do to object?"

Huangfu Yu was startled for a moment, then he laughed out loud, pointed at him and said, "I didn't know you could be so domineering."

Gui Zeming said, "I had a private chat with Lao Fan and Lao Zhang some time ago. The Duke certainly doesn't want to embarrass the central government, but how can we sit back and do nothing about the young lady's affairs? When the time is right, you might as well tell the young lady tactfully that no matter what she wants to do, we are willing to support her with all our strength and go through fire and water without hesitation. Anyone who frowns is a coward."

Huangfu Yu said happily: "Your words are enough."

Gui Zeming smiled and then said, "By the way, what exactly do those beasts in the north want to do recently?"

After being silent for half a year, the Jing army started to move again. This time they did not make a big fuss, but simply used the high mobility of the cavalry to frequently cross the border to carry out harassment.

Changshou County is more than a hundred miles away from the border. Traces of Jingjun cavalry have also been seen outside the city. The other side obviously did not dare to get too close. They stayed for a while and then left. Even so, the people in the city were still in panic. For less than half a month, almost no one dared to leave the city.

Talking about business, Huangfu Yu said in a deep voice: "It's not clear yet. The eldest lady believes that the enemy wants to paralyze us, and the target should be the weak area of ​​Jingzhou's defense line. She has informed Lord Lu and Liu Shouguang to let the border garrisons of the two places strengthen their defense. The problem is that the Jingjun cavalry is too slippery this time. We have few cavalry to begin with, so it is difficult to catch the enemy's tail."

"We still have to be careful. The Jing Army's cavalry is quite powerful."

Gui Zeming reminded with concern.

Huangfu Yu nodded, a hint of coldness in his eyes: "Just let me catch their tails and kill them fiercely. Only by hurting them once can I scare these beasts away."

Gui Zeming raised his glass and said seriously, "Take care."

Huangfu Yu smiled carefreely and drank the wine in one gulp.

For someone with such a huge appetite, a mere glass of wine is nothing and is not much different from drinking water.

"gone."

Huangfu Yu stood up and took his helmet.

Gui Zeming stood up, looked at him and said, "Let's not talk about anything else, just live well."

"rest assured."

Huangfu Yu waved his hand and strode out.

(End of this chapter)