Jiuxi

Chapter 762 [No Regrets in Making a Move]

Jingzhou, Yongqiu City.

Although the war is over, cleaning up the mess is not an easy task.

It starts from Yanwu City in the west and ends at Xinchang City in the east, with the three cities of Taikang protruding to the north in the middle. This is the Jingzhou defense line of nearly a thousand miles.

Although the troops from Dingzhou assisted in the defense, this was not a long-term solution.

Liu Shouguang has been looking worried recently. Not to mention the more than 10,000 Beijing troops who have followed Han Zhongjie south, nearly 50,000 soldiers of the Jingzhou Governor's Office have been killed in the past six months, and more than half of the three main armies of Anping, Guangji and Qingxu have been killed in battle. This is already a devastating loss.

In the end, it was Lu Chen who made the decision personally to transfer 15,000 infantrymen from the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office to the three armies including Anping to temporarily alleviate the urgent need and strengthen the northern defense line of Jingzhou.

After the imperial court replenished the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office with troops, the 15,000 people would return to Dingzhou.

In addition, Lu Chen submitted a memorial to the court, suggesting that the Taixing Army, which had performed outstandingly in the battle of Feiniao Pass, be transferred as a whole to the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office, with Kang Yanxiao still serving as the commander-in-chief. As for the Huaizhou Wing Army, soldiers would be recruited separately to form a new army.

This memorial was just a formality, and the emperor naturally would not object.

It is foreseeable that the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office can only recuperate in the next one or two years. Continuing to fight will most likely break the morale of the army, which is a result that no force wants to see.

One evening in mid-July, Liu Shouguang received an invitation from Lu Chen and immediately rushed to Lu Chen's residence with more than a dozen personal soldiers.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the mansion, he saw Fan Wendi, Zhang Zhan, Gui Zeming and other generals of the Jingzhou faction rushing over.

"Meet the Grand Commander!"

The generals dismounted and saluted.

Liu Shouguang smiled and said, "It seems you have also received the post?"

Before he finished speaking, the door of the mansion opened wide and Lu Chen came out to greet them in person, followed by the Zhenbei Army's commander Pei Sui and deputy commander Xu Gui, the Dingbei Army's commander Li Chengen, the Guangling Army's commander Liu Yin and the Ruishi Camp's captain Ye Jitong.

Seeing this situation, everyone couldn't help but feel puzzled, and for a moment they couldn't guess what Lu Chen meant.

"Come in, please."

Lu Chen smiled gently, personally holding Liu Shouguang's arm and walking into the mansion, and the others followed closely.

When we arrived at the flower hall, we saw that a sumptuous meal had already been prepared.

Liu Shouguang finally couldn't help asking, "Master, is there something happy happening?"

"Sit first."

Lu Chen asked everyone to take a seat. They were all military men, so they didn't care about the formalities. They sat down after a little politeness. Finally, Lu Chen sat in the main seat, Liu Shouguang on his left, Pei Sui on his right, and the others sat in order according to their age.

Facing everyone's curious gazes, Lu Chen said with emotion: "From the beginning of the year to now, you have fought for nearly half a year. Needless to say, you have worked hard. Many of you have been injured in the battlefield. Today's meal is my personal invitation to you. I have prepared some water and wine to show my respect for our comrades. This is one of them."

Liu Shouguang immediately said somewhat embarrassedly: "Sir, I neglected it. I should have taken care of it."

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

Lu Chen smiled slightly, and then said: "Second, although there are still some things to deal with in Jingzhou, the overall situation has been decided. I believe Brother Liu and the generals can handle it properly. I have been away from Dingzhou for a long time. The two places are far apart and it is inconvenient to exchange information. The Dingzhou Governor's Office has a backlog of military affairs that need me to go back and deal with them."

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally lively atmosphere at the banquet suddenly became quiet.

It turned out that this was a farewell party hosted by Lu Chen himself.

Liu Shouguang held the wine cup silently, feeling overwhelmed.

When he drove Yuan Yuji back to the capital, he completely obeyed Lu Chen's orders, but he was actually a little worried in his heart.

He was not worried that Lu Chen would use the title of the governor of Jiangbei military affairs to assert his power arbitrarily, nor was he worried that he would become a yes-man. Instead, he was afraid that Lu Chen was young and hot-headed and would not yield, and would end up parting ways with the Jiangnan Central Government on bad terms.

After the Jing army retreated, he had been observing quietly and found that Lu Chen had hardly ever overstepped the line. As long as it was military affairs related to the Jingzhou Governor's Office, he would discuss it with him, the Grand Governor of Jingzhou, in advance and respected his opinions very much.

Whether it was the deployment of various armies or the appointment and transfer of generals, Lu Chen never excluded Liu Shouguang, even though he could do so temporarily.

Liu Shouguang believed that he had a clear conscience, but faced with Lu Chen's upright and unexpected attitude, he couldn't help feeling guilty at this moment.

Lu Chen looked around at everyone and found that not only Fan Wendi and other Jingzhou generals looked reluctant, but even Pei Sui and others who followed him to Jingzhou were also feeling unhappy.

He suddenly chuckled and said leisurely, "Everyone, all good things must come to an end."

Liu Shouguang hesitated to speak, but in the end it was Fan Wendi who spoke up: "Sir, the court has not issued an order yet, you are still the commander-in-chief of the three states in Jiangbei, why don't you stay for a while longer?"

"Mr. Yu, supervising the military affairs of Jiangbei is a temporary measure. His Majesty's previous imperial edict clearly stated that now that the war is over and Brother Liu is in charge of the Jingzhou Governor's Office, I should take the initiative to let go."

Lu Chen remained calm and smiled, "Personally, I have reasons to go back to Dingzhou."

Xu Gui slapped his forehead and said, "Yes, the master is going to be a father soon!"

Lu Chen raised his hand and nodded at the hot guy, saying, "Yes, it's only two months at most. If I leave now, it will take more than half a month on the road. You can't let me miss the first sight of the child, right?"

Everyone said they dared not, and hurriedly congratulated him. The men in the army naturally would not use those difficult and obscure words, so fortunately the atmosphere became lively again.

Liu Shouguang picked up the wine cup, stood up and said, "Sir, I have something to say."

Lu Chen stood up upon seeing this, and so did the other generals.

Liu Shouguang looked into the young man's eyes and said word by word, "When the capital was in turmoil, I saw with my own eyes how you suppressed the rebellion, and I had respect for you. When I was appointed to Jingzhou, I was extremely nervous and cautious, but I still suffered the defeat in Kaocheng. At the critical moment of life and death, it was you who turned the tide without fear of gain or loss, and that saved Jingzhou. I am a rough man and do not understand beautiful words, so I can only express my true feelings with one word." Lu Chen said solemnly, "Brother Liu, please speak."

Liu Shouguang took a deep breath and said solemnly: "If he orders me to do something, as long as it does not violate my loyalty, I will go through fire and water without fear of life or death."

Fan Wending immediately said, "I have the same thought!"

Zhang Zhan said in a clear voice: "I am willing to go through mountains of swords and seas of fire for you, and I will never frown!"

Gui Zeming looked around and said with a smile, "If you don't mind, I'd like to be your vanguard!"

Pei Sui and other Dingzhou generals naturally did not need to express their opinions at this time. Li Chengen looked at the heroic scene in front of him, and his thoughts surged in his heart for a moment.

He suddenly remembered the rainy spring day in Guangling City when Lu Chen escaped from the Guangling Yamen of the Weaving Bureau and returned to Lu Garden with him.

The two of them walked in the Kuanzhai Alley where the drizzle was drifting. At that time, Lu Chen was just a merchant's son who occasionally showed off his talent, and he was even more ordinary, just a security guard for a merchant.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Li Chengen felt as if he was in another world. He couldn't help but smile as he picked up the wine jug and filled his cup.

Lu Chen noticed Li Chengen's actions, and then looked at the heroic generals in front of him, so he raised his wine cup and said, "I will remember the friendship of all brothers in my heart, please drink this cup to the full!"

"Dry!"

Everyone's blood boiled and they shouted in unison.

The strong liquor goes down my throat, it feels so good.

Xu Gui winked at the others and said with a smile, "My Lord, you are invincible in the battlefield. I wonder if you are still as powerful as a wine table?"

Lu Chen said leisurely: "Come if you have the courage, and don't leave until you are drunk!"

"You won't come home until you're drunk!"

As they clinked glasses, the sadness of parting disappeared without a trace, leaving only a heart full of lofty ambitions, like a loud and majestic military song rising up.

……

When Lu Chen led the Dingzhou troops to return, Jingchaodu was hit by a continuous heavy rain.

The rain was heavy, like an immortal splashing ink with a brush, spreading a thick fog over the world.

There were few pedestrians on the street, and no one wanted to provoke Tianwei at this time.

A middle-aged scholar holding an oil-paper umbrella walked hurriedly through an alley and then came to the back of a noble mansion.

He suddenly stopped and looked back the way he came, as if with some feeling. All he saw was the misty rain, and the street scene seemed to be integrated into ink painting.

It was a very odd scene.

After the middle-aged scholar knocked on the back door of the mansion and slipped in, two men in black suddenly appeared at the end of the long alley. They looked at the layout of the mansion in the distance, glanced at each other, and then left quickly.

The middle-aged scholar was obviously very familiar with this mansion, and the servants in the mansion also knew his identity, so no one stopped him along the way and allowed him to reach the core area of ​​the mansion.

Here is his own small courtyard.

The scholar simply washed himself, took off his half-wet clothes, put on a dry gown, and then went to the desk in front of the window.

There are many books on the table, but they are basically various classics, history, and collections, nothing surprising.

The scholar stood quietly for a long time, then picked up his brush and wrote hundreds of words on a piece of paper with his left hand.

After the ink dried, he put the paper into an envelope and carefully placed it in a book. Then he turned around and hid the book in the secret compartment under the bookshelf.

After doing all this, the scholar looked around the room where he had lived for several years. There was a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, but it soon turned into determination.

"It's time to hit the road."

He said these four words in a very light tone, with no expression of sadness or joy on his face, then he opened the door and walked out.

About half an incense stick of time later, the middle-aged scholar came to the inner study of the owner of the mansion.

The fourth prince, Alihehaige, was reading by the window. When he saw him, he said happily, "Sir, you are here. Please take a seat."

The middle-aged scholar bowed and said, "I feel ashamed of your Highness!"

The fourth prince was slightly surprised when he saw this, and asked in confusion: "What do you mean, sir?"

The middle-aged scholar's lips moved, and after a moment, he said in a trembling voice: "Your Highness, His Majesty may have discovered the truth about the Crown Prince's death, and perhaps he has now found out the truth about me. It may not be long before he takes action against Your Highness!"

The fourth prince was stunned.

Just at this moment, a loud thunder exploded outside.

The rumbling thunder enveloped the entire city of Dadu, naturally including the prince's palace.

At this moment, the Fourth Prince's face turned pale, and fear and panic appeared in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)