Jiuxi

Chapter 672: Life is like a journey

In any dynasty throughout history, the cost of training an elite cavalryman is far greater than that of an infantryman.

Not everyone can be a cavalryman, unlike the infantry who only need to be healthy and mentally sound, can go into battle after a period of training and can be qualified after experiencing a few battles.

Cavalry requires long-term training and must be proficient in riding skills and horseback combat tactics. The requirements for soldiers in all aspects are relatively high.

Taking the Great Qi as an example, the cost of training one cavalryman is roughly equivalent to that of training fifteen elite infantrymen.

Secondly, cavalrymen need excellent military horses, and at least two horses per person, otherwise they will not be able to undertake mobile combat missions.

More importantly, it takes at least one and a half years to train a qualified archer who can fight against enemy cavalry.

In this battle, the Feiyu Army performed extremely tenaciously and achieved good results. Despite being at an absolute disadvantage, they still captured more than 6,000 heads of Jing Army soldiers, which was enough to prove that this cavalry unit, which was built by Li Tianrun with all his efforts, possessed extremely strong strength.

However, the Jing army could accept such a loss, but the Feiyu army could not bear the result of losing nearly 4,000 people at one time.

Li Bingxue participated in the development and growth of the Feiyu Army throughout the whole process. Those soldiers who lived with her day and night were like her relatives. Such a heavy blow could not be relieved by a few words of comfort.

Lu Chen picked up the handkerchief again, gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, and said with a sigh: "Bingxue, there is no general who is always victorious in this world, and life is not a smooth road. There will always be countless ups and downs. In this battle, our army won but lost, and the Jing army lost but won. I will not deny this fact. But things have already happened, we must face it calmly and cannot keep indulging in it. Moreover, as the Grand Commander of Dingzhou, I have to take full responsibility for this battle. I will report the whole story of this battle to the court truthfully."

Li Bingxue shook her head and said, "I took the power to act at your own discretion from you. You were far away in Ruyin City and didn't personally experience the battlefield, so how can I put the blame on you? I only blame myself for not seeing through the Jing army's plan. I thought the enemy was plotting against Jingzhou, and I only wanted to draw my sword against the enemy, which led the Feiyu army into a desperate situation. Da Qi has always been short of cavalry. In this battle, we lost nearly 4,000 cavalry. What's the use of killing a few thousand more Jing army cavalry?"

She looked up at Lu Chen and said almost pleadingly: "I understand your intentions, but since it is my problem, I should bear the punishment of the court."

Lu Chen hesitated to speak.

The woman in front of him has always been brave and upright. Even though she is extremely weak now, her nature will not change.

She knew that if Lu Chen took the initiative to take responsibility, the emperor would take his position and importance in the border army into consideration and would at most issue an imperial decree to reprimand him, but would definitely not impose too severe a punishment.

But she couldn't accept such an outcome because it would make her feel guilty forever.

How can I lead the troops when I feel uneasy?
After a moment, Lu Chen said calmly and firmly: "I respect your opinion, but I will not allow some people in the core to hold on to this matter."

Li Bingxue showed a hint of confusion and said, "You're still holding on to it? I can accept a demotion, as long as I can still stay in the Feiyu Army, even being a lieutenant is no problem."

"If you insist on taking the responsibility yourself, it won't be as simple as a demotion."

Lu Chen sighed softly and said quietly, "The arrangement made by the late emperor during his lifetime, including the transfer of you and the Feiyu Army to the Dingzhou Governor's Office, and the arrival of three generals including Huo Zhen in Dingzhou, was essentially an exchange. The late emperor wanted to remove Uncle Li's military power and weaken the influence of the Li family in the border army, but he didn't want to go too far, so he made those concessions. The current emperor understands this truth, and he didn't interfere, but that doesn't mean he will accept it willingly."

Li Bingxue frowned slightly.

Lu Chen continued, "Liu Shouguang did a lot in Jingzhou, mainly using gentle means to adjust the generals of various armies. I believe you have heard about it. Whether it is him, the emperor or some ministers in the central government, they actually want to take the Feiyu Army back, but they just don't have a suitable excuse. Now we missed a step, resulting in heavy losses for the Feiyu Army. Someone must have reported to the emperor to transfer you from the Feiyu Army and then let the Feiyu Army return to Jingzhou."

Li Bingxue remained silent.

She knew that Lu Chen's words were not meant to be a mean-spirited judgement.

After thinking for a while, she said calmly: "I have personally witnessed the Feiyu Army being built from scratch, and have experienced so many ups and downs with my comrades. Even if I die, I will not leave this cavalry."

"Don't say that."

Lu Chen shook his head, then said gently: "I won't force you to make a decision, but I hope you can trust that I will handle this matter, okay?"

Li Bingxue thought about it and said, "Okay."

Lu Chen said: "Your most important task now is to recover from your injuries. The Feiyu Army cannot do without you, and I cannot do without you even more."

His tone was extremely natural, without any unusual emotions, and Li Bingxue did not react too obviously, as if this was the unique way of getting along between the two of them.

Li Bingxue said softly: "Thank you."

Lu Chen smiled slightly. He knew the deep meaning behind this thank you, so he changed the subject and said, "You were unconscious for two days and one night, and you only drank a little water during that time. You must be hungry, right? I asked someone to prepare some rice porridge. Can you eat some?"

After his reminder, Li Bingxue indeed felt a clear sense of hunger, so she nodded slightly.

As she watched him stand up and walk out, a hint of tenderness appeared in her eyes.

Not long after, Lu Chen returned to the bedroom, holding a tray with a bowl of porridge and a spoon on it.

Li Bingxue wanted to sit up, but this was obviously an impossible task for her at the moment.

Lu Chen put down the tray, walked to the bed and said, "I'll help you."

He helped Li Bingxue to sit up and placed a soft pillow behind her waist.

Li Bingxue saw him sitting on the bed with a bowl of porridge and a spoon, and said uncomfortably, "I can do it myself." Lu Chen smiled and said, "Are you sure you can lift your arms?"

Li Bingxue choked slightly. Her injuries were too severe for her to even wipe away her tears, let alone any other movements.

"There's no need to be so formal between you and me."

Lu Chen dispelled her insistence with just one sentence.

In the soft candlelight, he blew gently on the rice porridge in the spoon and then brought it to Li Bingxue's lips.

Li Bingxue said honestly: "It's not that I'm being awkward, but I'm rarely served by others, so I'm a little unaccustomed to it."

After saying that, he opened his mouth and drank the rice porridge.

Lu Chen said leisurely: "This is being polite. After you were injured, Doctor Xue was not able to do anything, so I helped you change your clothes and treat your wounds."

"Cough-cough-"

Li Bingxue nearly spit out the rice porridge, staring at Lu Chen with wide eyes, and said in panic: "You...how could you?"

Lu Chen said frankly: "In an emergency, nothing is more important than your safety."

Li Bingxue resisted the urge to look down at herself. For a moment, she felt her face getting hot and her whole body uncomfortable. Her lips moved but she couldn't say anything.

She had expressed her feelings to Lu Chen three years ago, but they were rarely together and their intimate contact was limited to simple hugs and kisses. Although Li Bingxue didn't lose her color like an ordinary woman when she heard the news, she felt very strange.

Lu Chen handed the spoon to her lips again and couldn't help laughing: "I was kidding you."

Li Bingxue's eyes were full of suspicion.

Lu Chen said seriously, "How could I be so rude? Although Teng County is a small city, it is not difficult to ask a few maids to help. Besides, how could I allow myself to touch you without your consent?"

Li Bingxue was silent for a moment, and as if she had made up her mind, she said, "Actually... you don't need my permission."

Lu Chen was startled.

Although he was not a man who mingled with the world of pleasure, he had gradually become more intelligent in the past two years and had some understanding of women's minds. How could he not understand the deep meaning of her words?

The two looked at each other and instantly understood each other's feelings.

Lu Chen smiled and said gently, "Drink porridge."

"Ah."

Li Bingxue lowered her head meekly.

Half a bowl of porridge was finally finished. The two did not talk much during the meal, as if everything was implied.

Lu Chen put the porridge bowl and spoon back on the tray and helped Li Bingxue wipe her lips.

His movements were very gentle, and Li Bingxue watched quietly without much shyness in her eyes.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Don't lie down right after drinking the porridge. Sit down for a while first, otherwise you may suffer from indigestion."

Li Bingxue asked with a hint of curiosity: "Do you also know how to maintain your health?"

"I just understand a little bit."

It was naturally difficult for Lu Chen to explain it in too much detail, because these were all his experiences in his previous life.

After chatting for a while, Lu Chen said sincerely: "In fact, seriously speaking, I am more responsible for the plot against the Jing army in this battle. In the past few years, I have been smooth sailing on the battlefield and have hardly suffered a defeat. Although I am not too proud and complacent on the surface, I can't help but look down on the enemy in my heart. When I was in Guangling before, my father once said something. He reminded me not to indulge in the past achievements, because at that time I had the late emperor, Uncle Xiao and Uncle Li to help me control the overall situation."

Li Bingxue said softly: "You have done very well. After all, no one is perfect."

"Every failure is a learning experience. I hope I won't make the same mistake again."

Lu Chen sighed, then slowly said: "I have been thinking about a question these days, how to deal with the Jing Army cavalry? There are some things in this world that cannot be changed. For example, my dynasty lacks land for raising horses, while the Jing Kingdom has an endless supply of excellent military horses and cavalry seeds that grow up on horseback. In the future second Northern Expedition, as the battlefield moves northward, there will be more and more plains, and the Jing Army cavalry will be a problem that we must solve."

Li Bingxue asked with concern: "Did you gain anything?"

Lu Chen looked at her steadily, with a determined emotion in his eyes: "There is no clear solution yet, but this battle taught me a truth. Using cavalry against cavalry is certainly possible, but due to the reality, Da Qi does not have the capital to do so."

“So, I had to find another way.”

(End of this chapter)