Jiuxi

Chapter 680 Chapter 678 [Ambitious]

"The people under your command are all very powerful."

Over the years, Li Bingxue had not had a good impression of literati and poets, but today's chief clerk named Liu Yuan really made her look at him with new eyes.

This is a difficult problem that has left all the skilled craftsmen in Dingzhou helpless, and it is also related to the major event planned by Lu Chen. Liu Yuan gave a solution in just a few words. Although there is no result yet, he should not dare to talk nonsense in front of Lu Chen.

Lu Chen smiled slightly. Liu Yuan and Chen Xun were celebrities that the old man had tried every means to find. They must be very capable.

Liu Yuan is not only capable of making suggestions today, but he has also been sorting out the general affairs of the Governor's Office during this period. He has become more and more adept at his work and has managed everything in perfect order.

He is a man of upright character who sticks to his principles. He has the trust and support of Lu Chen. Even the Chief Clerk Huang Xianfeng, who ranks higher than him in official rank, respects him very much.

Needless to say, Chen Xun had the gentleness and elegance of a child from an aristocratic family, but without the arrogance that would keep people at a distance. His way of handling things was tactful and appropriate.

During this period, he worked with officials from the Governor's Office to handle the resettlement of tens of thousands of people from the Seven Star Gang in the ancient county of Dongting Prefecture. It is said that their originally fair skin became much darker, and the result was a happy and harmonious one for everyone. There was no trouble from beginning to end, and even the Governor Xu Zuo could not find any fault with it.

With such a talented person under his command, and the chances of restoring the Mo Dao greatly increased, Lu Chen was naturally in a very good mood.

He looked at Li Bingxue's pretty face and jokingly said, "Aren't you amazing?"

"I……"

To Lu Chen's surprise, Li Bingxue, who usually never minded his jokes and always spoke freely, actually hesitated, with a look of guilt in her eyes.

Lu Chen reacted quickly. Li Bingxue was still immersed in the negative emotions brought about by the war. From the perspective of the war itself, the Feiyu Army won, but if considered from a strategic level, this method of exchanging cavalry for troops was obviously not beneficial to Da Qi.

He shook his head and said gently, "If I say victory and defeat are common in the military, it may not make any sense, because you have heard this countless times, and maybe your ears are calloused. But I still want to say that the battle between Qi and Jing is not a matter of overnight. Jing is still a powerful behemoth. If Qi wants to take back its homeland and annihilate the enemy, I don't know how many hard battles it will have to go through. Your every move will affect many people. For example, Pei Sui has sent you several letters recently, saying that Xu Gui wanted to lead the cavalry to patrol the border every day and kill some Jinglian people to avenge you and the Feiyu Army, but Pei Sui suppressed it."

Li Bingxue was slightly startled, then said with a sigh: "But the Feiyu Army has been severely damaged this time..."

Lu Chen walked forward with his hands behind his back and said, "I have issued a general order, ordering each army to select soldiers who are good at riding and send them to Ruyin City. At the same time, we are also recruiting elite soldiers from the people in Ding, Huai, and Jing. Although the strength of the Feiyu Army will inevitably decline, I believe that under the leadership of you and Huangfu Yu, these new soldiers will become elite troops galloping on the battlefield like the old soldiers."

Li Bingxue added: "We lost more than 3,000 war horses."

"You don't have to worry about that."

Lu Chen looked up at the sky and said calmly: "Although Da Qi does not have many horse breeding sites like Jing State, the lack of 3,000 war horses will not affect the overall situation. Besides, if nothing unexpected happens, 5,000 high-quality war horses will be sent to Dingzhou in the future."

The last sentence made Li Bingxue quite curious, but she kept it in her heart for the time being and said softly: "So you have already made arrangements. I thought too much. Since the military horses and cavalry can be replenished, can I return to the Feiyu Army?"

Lu Chen stopped and turned to look at her with a smile.

Li Bingxue knew that he saw through her thoughts, and she couldn't help but panic a little, but she quickly calmed down, raised her head slightly and said: "My injury has healed, you can't force me to stay by your side."

"That's great?"

"Of course!"

Li Bingxue stretched out her arms. Her shoulders and ribs were still painful, but there was no sign of it on her face.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Even if you can now hold a gun and perform a set of blazing fire, I will not let you go back to lead the troops."

"You...you are not trying to abuse your power for personal gain, are you?"

Li Bingxue looked at him suspiciously, but she felt secretly happy in her heart.

Lu Chen's old face rarely turned red, and he coughed lightly and said, "What are you talking about? I am the Grand Commander of Dingzhou, and you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Feiyu Army. Do you want to disobey the military order?"

"How dare I?"

Li Bingxue said this without showing any fear as a subordinate.

Lu Chen explained with a guilty conscience: "I didn't let you go back to Feiyu Army to take over military affairs because I know your personality. Once I let you go back, you will definitely work hard and devote all your energy to military affairs, and you won't care about your injuries at all. This time you have been seriously injured. Doctor Xue said that if you didn't have a strong foundation, you would at least end up disabled and won't be able to fight against others in the future. If you don't take good care of your body, how can you lead troops to kill the enemy in the future?"

Li Bingxue nodded repeatedly and said in a long tone: "Oh~~I see."

Lu Chen said earnestly: "So you should understand my painstaking efforts. This is entirely for the overall consideration of the future. How can it be called abusing power for personal gain?"

Li Bingxue smiled, blinked, and asked, "Actually, I can also recover from my injuries by returning to the base, right?"

"If you're not by my side, who can control you?"

Lu Chen acted righteous and said seriously, "I still have military affairs to deal with, so I won't accompany you to relax. Chu Long said she made a Qi-replenishing and blood-nourishing soup for you today, so go find her in the backyard."

Li Bingxue stood under the pear tree, watching him hurriedly leave as if fleeing in despair. She couldn't help but curl her lips and said crisply, "Grand Commander, take care."

……

A few days later, a middle-aged man who looked exhausted came to the Grand Marshal's Mansion.

"I am Yu Wenjun, and I am here to pay my respects to the Duke of Shanyang County of the Great Qi Dynasty and General Lu!" The middle-aged man's etiquette was extremely standard and meticulous.

"No gift."

Lu Chen looked at the envoy from the distant Dai Kingdom and said with a smile, "Sit down."

"Thank you, Grand Commander, for the seat!"

Yu Wenjun sat down carefully, with only half of his buttocks touching the ground.

On his way here, he heard about the great battle of Qi Jing's cavalry. Unlike the emperor and his ministers of Qi who were far away in the south of the Yangtze River, Yu Wenjun was overjoyed when he heard the news, because in his opinion this victory was enough to prove the strength of Qi's cavalry. Coupled with the previous performance of the Qi army in the Battle of Yongqiu, he was full of confidence in the cooperation between Qi and Dai.

Lu Chen said leisurely: "It seems that this governor will hear good news today."

Yu Wenjun smiled and said, "The Grand Commander is very wise, and I admire you very much."

"Okay, no need to say these polite words."

Lu Chen spoke calmly and directly, "Last time, I asked you to consult your Majesty. Did you get a clear reply?"

Yu Wenjun said respectfully: "To the Grand Commander, His Majesty is well aware of the might of your country's military. In the past ten years, our country has been repeatedly oppressed by the Jinglian people. Naturally, we will not miss the opportunity to become an ally with the Grand Commander. His Majesty asked me to tell the Grand Commander that 5,000 excellent war horses have been sent to the northern part of Shazhou, waiting for the Grand Commander to send someone to receive them, to show our sincerity."

"Emissary Yu, what you said seems inappropriate, right?"

Lu Chen raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "What do you mean by becoming an ally of this Governor? This Governor is only representing His Majesty to make advance contact with you. If this word gets out, will the Imperial Censors in the court let this Governor go?"

Yu Wenjun was startled, then said in panic: "I used the wrong words, please forgive me, Grand Commander, this is an alliance between the two countries of Qi and Dai, just to fight against the tigers and wolves of Jinglian."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "That's right. You are familiar with the customs and habits of Da Qi. You don't need me to remind you of some things. You should understand that the speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously."

"I will remember the Grand Commander's teachings."

Yu Wenjun was extremely humble. Seeing that Lu Chen did not seem angry, he asked cautiously, "General, when are you going to use military force against Jing State?"

According to the content of the conversation in the last meeting, the Dai Emperor Geshu Kui and the Privy Councilor Geshu Songping most needed the specific decision of the Qi army. Once they confirmed the timing for the Qi army to launch a full-scale counterattack, the Dai army would be ready to launch a surprise attack at any time to stab Jing Lian's men in the back.

"Not urgent."

Lu Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said gently, "The envoy must know that our border troops have been fighting hard for years and urgently need to recuperate before the future, so there will be no major fighting in the short term. The battle not long ago was an accident. Since your Majesty is sincere and is willing to help Da Qi with 5,000 war horses, I will naturally not break my promise. When your Majesty sets a date for the Northern Expedition, I will inform you in time."

Yu Wenjun nodded repeatedly but hesitated to speak.

Seeing this, Lu Chen said calmly: "The envoy, just speak frankly."

Yu Wenjun said thoughtfully, "Grand Commander, I wonder if I can go south to your capital to ask to see His Majesty the Great Qi?"

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said slowly: "In fact, I have always been puzzled. If you just want to give Jing Jun a blow, there is no need to go through so much trouble. After all, the army's march is shocking. Even if I don't tell you, I think you have a way to know it, and then report it to your majesty. Now that you are so generous and gave 5,000 war horses at once, it should not be just to buy a piece of information from me."

"The Grand Commander has a sharp gaze."

Yu Wenjun smiled awkwardly, then said honestly: "To be honest, our emperor hates the Jinglian people to the core, and only wants to cooperate with Da Qi with all his strength. Five thousand war horses are just the first sincerity of our emperor. If we can become a brother country with Da Qi, our country is willing to send another ten thousand excellent war horses, and mobilize the domestic army to launch an attack behind the Jinglian people, and echo the Da Qi border army in the north and south!"

His tone was passionate, but Lu Chen would not be deceived by it.

Looking at this excited middle-aged man, Lu Chen said calmly: "With such a generous gesture, I wonder what your Majesty wants to get?"

Yu Wenjun took a deep breath and said calmly: "If our two countries join forces to destroy Jing State, His Majesty will have only one request. Take Jing State's capital as the boundary, and the south will belong to Da Qi, and the north will belong to our country."

"Wouldn't it be great to divide this vast territory?"

"The Grand Commander will rebuild the prosperous era of the Great Qi Dynasty and his name will be recorded in history and passed down through the ages!"

"Your Majesty is willing to sign an alliance. Qi and the dynasty will always be brotherly states, never invade each other, and share the same prosperity for thousands of years!"

It was obvious that Yu Wenjun had pondered these words for a long time in private, and they came out in one breath with great momentum.

He looked expectantly at the young Grand Admiral opposite him, but saw Lu Chen put down the teacup slowly and smiled at him.

When Yu Wenjun was feeling uneasy, Lu Chen said calmly: "I will arrange for someone to send you to the capital, but I have to be clear in advance that the 5,000 war horses you promised must be sent to Shazhou first. As for the follow-up matters, it depends on whether your eloquence can impress His Majesty and the officials in the court."

Yu Wenjun hesitated and said, "Grand Commander, aren't you involved in this?"

Lu Chen said meaningfully: "I am only the commander of the border army. What right do I have to decide such a big matter? As long as you can convince His Majesty, I will naturally act according to His Majesty's will in the future."

"Yes, Grand Governor."

Yu Wenjun had a complicated expression and bowed.

(End of this chapter)