Jiuxi

Chapter 692

"Master Xu, please have some tea."

Lu Chen's attitude was very gentle, as if he had forgotten the unpleasantness caused by the argument between them.

This was not a deliberate act on his part, but after several months of observation, Xu Zuo was almost impeccable in all aspects except for his unbearable temper.

Even in the matter of how to resettle tens of thousands of people from the Seven Stars Gang, after Xu Zuo accepted Lu Chen's decision, he did not make any moves to secretly trip him up, and allowed Chen Xun to cooperate with the officials of the Governor's Office. If he deliberately made things difficult, this matter would definitely not be completed so smoothly, as the officials of the Governor's Office and Dongting Prefecture had too many ways to hinder it.

These old foxes in officialdom were fully capable of causing trouble in legal ways, but Xu Zuo did not do so.

Dingzhou and Huaizhou were responsible for 40% of the food and wages for the troops under Lu Chen's command, while the remaining 60% was borne by the imperial court and uniformly received and transported by Xu Zuo.

There have been no problems with logistical supplies in the past few months.

Not to mention that Lu Chen asked the Arms Department to forge a long sword, which also received strong support from Xu Zuo. Otherwise, the Governor's Office really could not afford the money, unless Lu Chen used his own savings.

For all these reasons, Xu Zuo naturally deserves Lu Chen's respect.

After drinking the fragrant tea, Xu Zuo said straight to the point: "Sir, I came here uninvited because of the recent chaos in the north."

Lu Chen was not surprised by this. Xu Zuo had also received information from the Weaving Bureau.

According to the rules set by the court, if the spies of the Weaving Bureau in Jiangbei discovered important intelligence of this level, they must send a letter to the capital immediately and inform the local governor and provincial governor at the same time so that important officials on the border can respond in time.

Yang Jingxuan deliberately suppressed the information this time and first informed Lu Chen of the information. Then, with Lu Chen's permission, he sent the information to the capital and informed Xu Zuo.

Lu Chen looked at the middle-aged man's thin face and asked, "Master Xu, what advice do you have?"

"Don't take advice seriously."

Xu Zuo was very humble today, and then said: "I am honored to be the governor of Dingzhou. My most important task is to cooperate with you and provide logistical supplies for the armies in Dingzhou. Yesterday, I heard that you summoned the commanders of the armies to discuss important matters. I guessed that it might be related to the north, so I took the liberty to come and ask for details. If you have made a decision, I can prepare in advance."

These words were spoken sincerely, but Lu Chen smiled and said, "Sir Xu, regarding the chaos in Jing State, the Governor's Office has not yet made a decision."

It is true that Xu Zuo has an upright character, but he has been in the officialdom for decades and is accustomed to insincerity and duplicity. Of course, he will not be fooled by Lu Chen's brief answer.

He looked at Lu Chen's handsome face and asked with a little persistence: "I wonder what you are going to do next? Civil unrest in Jing is a very rare situation, not to mention that Emperor Jing has imprisoned Qing Yugong in the palace. I think the morale of the Jing army will be greatly hit."

"Master Xu is right."

Lu Chen hesitated slightly.

There is no need to doubt Xu Zuo's personal morality, but he was, after all, a frontier official sent to Dingzhou by Li Zongben, and to some extent represented the will of the emperor.

When he first came to Dingzhou a few months ago, he provoked a dispute over how to resettle tens of thousands of people from the Seven Stars Gang. It is possible that this was instructed by the emperor, and it did not contradict his later efforts to cooperate with Lu Chen.

Lu Chen had long passed the stage of simply judging a person by black and white, good and evil. In the past few years, under the protection of Xiao Wangzhi, he was no longer surprised by the relationship of struggle and cooperation between the central government and the border troops.

Out of admiration for Xu Zuo's past deeds, Lu Chen decided to test him and said, "Lord Xu, the fall of Heluo and the emperor's migration to the south were the greatest shame of Da Qi. We are determined to wash away the shame of the past. The results of the past few years have proved that Da Qi's border troops have the strength to fight against Jing's army. It just so happens that Jing has problems internally. This is a godsend opportunity. If you don't cherish it, you will be punished by heaven."

Xu Zuo's expression remained unchanged, and he said slowly, "My Lord, do you want to take advantage of the situation to launch an expedition to the north?"

"of course."

Lu Chen gradually got into the mood and said proudly: "I will personally report to His Majesty and ask the court to give sufficient support. Of course, this matter cannot be accomplished overnight, but the Emperor of Jing has just begun to suppress Qing Yugong. I believe that as time goes by, the contradiction between the monarch and his subjects will continue to intensify and eventually form an unmanageable situation. By then, our border troops will be well prepared, and we will march forward in a large-scale to take Heluo and recover the homeland in Jiangbei. The overall situation will be settled."

Xu Zuo was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I don't think His Majesty will reject your suggestion."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Your Majesty has inherited the will of the late emperor and promised before I left Beijing that he would definitely support the border army's northern expedition."

Xu Zuo picked up the teacup and took a sip. His movements were a little slow, as if he was thinking about an important decision.

Lu Chen looked at him quietly.

After a moment, Xu Zuo said in a deep voice: "Sir, aren't you worried about falling into the enemy's trap?"

"A trap? What does Lord Xu mean by that?"

"The rebellion in Jing State may be just a deliberate attempt by Emperor Jing and Qing Yugong to lure our border troops to attack, while the Jing army is waiting for the opportunity. I admit that your opinion is reasonable, but I must point out that the border wars have been won continuously in the past two years. The actual situation is that the Jing army attacked while our army defended. Offenses are bound to have flaws and are not naturally more stable than defenses. In my humble opinion, the early victories cannot prove that our army is stronger than the Jing army."

Xu Zuo looked serious and said sincerely: "Therefore, I hope you will think twice before acting."

Lu Chen said with a hint of surprise: "It turns out that Lord Xu is also familiar with the art of war."

Xu Zuo said: "I only know a little bit, and I'm sorry to show off in front of you, sir."

"Master Xu is too modest."

Lu Chen smiled slightly and said, "Lord Xu suspects that this is a plot by Emperor Jing and Qing Yugong. Then how do you explain the death of the Crown Prince of Jing? Could it be that Emperor Jing was willing to sacrifice the Crown Prince he had cultivated for twenty years in order to lure us into the trap? He shouldn't be such a crazy person."

Xu Zuo said patiently, "My Lord, there must be something fishy about the sudden death of the Crown Prince of Jing, but what does this have to do with Qing Yugong? If the Emperor Jing had found solid evidence, how could he have dealt with it so lightly? Under normal circumstances, Qing Yugong would definitely not have escaped the death penalty of lingchi. If the Emperor Jing only suspected Qing Yugong, he would not have hastily imprisoned him in the palace, and would have sent someone to secretly investigate until he found out the truth of the case before making a decision."

Lu Chen was very impressed by this inference. This middle-aged civil servant was indeed a censor for many years. Although he did not handle various cases as often as officials in the Ministry of Justice, he had a very good logical thinking ability because he insisted on the principle of speaking with substance.

But he still hesitated and said: "This is just your inference. The pain of seeing a young person die is hard to describe. Perhaps Emperor Jing was furious and lost his composure."

"Master."

Xu Zuo slightly emphasized his tone and said seriously: "In my opinion, this is clearly a trap set by Emperor Jing! The death of the enemy's prince is indeed strange, but I think that with the determination and skills that Emperor Jing has shown over the past ten years, he will definitely be able to suppress his grief and use this incident to gain the greatest benefit for Jing State, which is to lure our border troops northward and use a dragnet to severely damage our army!"

Seeing that Lu Chen was still hesitant, Xu Zuo raised his eyebrows and said angrily, "I know that you are very good at military tactics, but this matter is not just a battle on the battlefield, but also a treacherous battle of hearts and minds. You are young and noble, and you have risen to prominence in just a few years. You have absolute confidence in leading troops in battle. I can understand this. However, you cannot lead the men of Da Qi into danger just because you are expected to achieve great achievements."

Lu Chen frowned and said, "Master Xu, what you said is a bit too much."

Xu Zuo stood up and said bluntly: "My Lord, pride and conceit are the biggest taboos in military strategy, and being greedy and reckless is a dead end. Don't you understand this simple truth?"

Lu Chen looked up at him and said calmly, "Even if I am greedy and reckless, what does it have to do with you?"

Xu Zuo took a deep breath and said calmly, "My Lord once said that I have no right to interfere in military affairs. However, as the governor of Dingzhou, I am also a minister of Da Qi and the parent of millions of people in Dingzhou. If my Lord leads his troops into danger and the border defense is in vain, who will protect the people of Dingzhou who have suffered so much? I don't want to be your enemy, but it concerns the stability of the border and the lives of the people. I can't sit idly by!"

There was silence.

Lu Chen suddenly laughed softly.

Xu Zuo stared into his eyes.

"Master Xu, please sit down first. Why do you have to spit on my face?"

Lu Chen slowed down his tone and said calmly: "The decision on this matter is not in my hands."

Xu Zuo sat back hesitantly.

Lu Chen turned to look at Qin Zilong who was guarding outside the door, and raised his voice and said, "Go and get the record of today's military meeting."

"Follow the order."

Qin Zilong left immediately, and came back trotting after a while with a file in his hand. Then, at Lu Chen's signal, he handed the file to Xu Zuo.

Although he had just said that he had no right to interfere in military affairs, Xu Zuo did not hesitate at this moment and immediately opened the file to read it.

He read ten lines at a glance and quickly finished reading the most critical part.

The middle-aged civil servant who had impeached even the prime minister of the dynasty handed the file back to Qin Zilong, then stood up and bowed deeply to Lu Chen, saying sincerely: "I was anxious for the moment and misunderstood you, sir. Please forgive me."

Lu Chen quickly held his arms and said calmly: "Master Xu, I may not be able to swallow my pride, but at least I can distinguish between public and private matters."

Xu Zuo looked ashamed and sighed, "After all, I was not thoughtful enough and was a little worried..."

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Lu Chen smiled and said, "Are you worried that I am young and energetic and my eyes will light up when I see my military achievements?"

Xu Zuo nodded guiltily.

Lu Chen had mixed feelings. Perhaps Xu Zuo could not be his fellow traveler, but at least he would not be the kind of blindly loyal person.

That is enough.

Xu Zuo recalled what Lu Chen had just said and asked, "My Lord, do you think that His Majesty will not miss this opportunity and insist on sending the border troops to the north in a hurry?"

"Yes."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and said frankly: "Lord Xu should know that His Majesty is a little impatient, and he really wants to prove that the late emperor's choice was not wrong. The most powerful evidence is that the border troops can make further progress. If the Northern Expedition can make progress again, His Majesty's prestige will naturally rise to a higher level."

Xu Zuo did not deny Lu Chen's judgment.

Lu Chen continued, "If your majesty insists on the Northern Expedition, how can I, as the Grand Commander of Dingzhou, disobey your order? There have been rumors in the capital over the past year or so that I am arrogant and don't even take your majesty seriously. If I don't accept your order, I don't know what will be said about me. The blame for having so many troops and being arrogant will definitely be put on me."

Hearing Lu Chen's sincere words, Xu Zuo's eyes became firm again, and he said loudly: "Don't worry, sir. I will submit a secret memorial to explain the pros and cons to Your Majesty and try my best to dissuade Your Majesty. If Your Majesty... insists on doing it on his own, I will return the imperial edict in the name of the Imperial Censor and Governor of Dingzhou."

Lu Chen was stunned.

After a long while, he forced a smile and said, "Master Xu, it doesn't have to be that serious, does it? I appreciate your kindness, but you are in charge of Dingzhou under the order of His Majesty. You don't have to stand by my side so firmly, otherwise His Majesty will inevitably become suspicious."

He said it very tactfully. In fact, Xu Zuo came to Dingzhou just to supervise him, the commander-in-chief.

However, Xu Zuo did not hesitate at all and said firmly: "Sir, I just want to have a clear conscience."

After saying that, he stood up and said goodbye, leaving in a decisive manner.

Lu Chen stood in the corridor for a long time, looking at his thin and upright back.

Finally speechless.

(End of this chapter)