Jiuxi

Chapter 777 [Strike Back]

Yang Jingxuan was not surprised that Lu Chen would say this, and his heart was full of respect.

As the Jiangbei Inspector of the Weaving Bureau, he should have taken the initiative to get closer to Su Yunqing and even the emperor, but in fact, he only had eyes for Lu Chen.

No matter how important or urgent the intelligence collected by the Weaving Bureau in Jiangbei and Jingguo was, Yang Jingxuan would report it to Lu Chen as soon as possible and ask him for instructions on the next steps.

The capital city naturally knew about this situation, but even if Su Yunqing was a confidant loyal to the emperor, he couldn't do anything about Yang Jingxuan. Because Qin Zheng was forced to resign, Yang Jingxuan's attitude was easy to understand, and under the premise that Lu Chen did not lose his power, no one could replace Yang Jingxuan as the new Jiangbei Procurator.

Lu Chen looked at him and said, "Tell the brothers in the north to continue to gather information, especially Qing Yugong's reaction after Emperor Jing was injured."

Yang Jingxuan responded respectfully: "Yes, sir."

Seeing that Lu Chen had no other instructions, Yang Jingxuan bowed and took his leave.

Lu Chen turned around and looked at Du Zhong, and asked calmly, "Before you go south, does Brother Du have any other instructions?"

Du Zhong thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "My Lord, my master only asked me to deliver the letter and didn't give any other instructions."

Lu Chen did not ask any more questions and changed the subject, "Brother Du asked you to go south to deliver the letter because he trusted you and did not want you to be implicated by him. Now you can no longer return to Jing Country, so you should settle down here. I will have someone buy you a house and give you a job to make a living, how about that?"

Du Zhong was filled with gratitude and knelt down, saying, "Thank you for your grace, sir!"

"No need to be polite."

Lu Chen waved his hand and looked at Qin Zilong. The latter understood and helped Du Zhong up, then took him away and would naturally make all the arrangements.

When they met Lu Tong in a small courtyard in the backyard, Lu Chen first briefly told him the story of Du Weizheng, and then said in confusion: "Dad, I thought Du Weizheng had other plans for Du Zhong to deliver the letter, but now it seems that he just wants to return to his roots?"

Lu Tong, however, could not help sighing.

Like Lu Chen, he had never heard of Du Weizhen's name before. He was excited when he heard about this man's heroic deeds. However, unlike Lu Chen, the old man still felt a sense of sympathy for him.

Du Weizhen sacrificed his life to assassinate Emperor Jing, and he also set a fire in the Heluo Palace that year.

Hearing his increasingly mature son's doubts, Lu Tong pondered for a moment and asked, "Have you ever thought about why Du Weizheng sent the letter to you instead of the Jiangnan court?"

Lu Chen was startled and said hesitantly: "Maybe it's because he doesn't trust others?"

This is not Lu Chen bragging. Jingguo has always tried every means to plant spies in the south and win over and corrupt Qi people. Similar cases have occurred in local government, border troops and even in the court. Du Weizheng can secretly control the fourth prince of Jingguo, so he naturally knows these details. For safety reasons, Lu Chen is the only person he can absolutely trust, even if the two have no previous communication.

"There are reasons for this."

Lu Tong spoke calmly, and then continued: "Du Weizheng sent someone to deliver a letter to you, so there is no need to add unnecessary details. This letter has at least three layers of meaning."

"Please teach me, Dad."

"First, although Emperor Jing was lucky enough to save his life, there will definitely be undercurrents within the Kingdom of Jing in the short term. We cannot confirm how serious the Emperor's injury is and whether he can recover as before, but we can be sure of one thing. Compared with the previous situation where Emperor Jing was in control of the overall situation, his injury means that there is a gap in this iron curtain. If he wants to continue to implement the previous reforms, it will inevitably cause a violent backlash from the Jinglian nobles. In addition, Du Weizhen was able to persuade the Fourth Prince of Jing and the Jiagu clan to rebel, which in itself shows that the contradictions within the other party are becoming increasingly apparent."

Lu Chen couldn't help but fall into long thought.

His energy was not only focused on the battlefield. He never relaxed his attention on the two courts in the north and the south, and was well aware of most of Emperor Jing's actions in the past two years.

Looking at what Emperor Jing had done in the past ten years since he ascended the throne, even though they were in a life-and-death situation, Lu Chen still recognized that he was a great leader.

From the early days when Emperor Jing stopped his expansion and focused on eliminating internal risks, to the later step-by-step reform of the official system, forming an effective official system from top to bottom, and then to the improvement of the military system starting last year, it can be seen what kind of foresight this emperor had.

Under his one-step-after-another step, even Qing Yugong found it difficult to muster the energy to resist.

But now Emperor Jing is seriously injured, just like a precision machine with a stuck link, the consequences are self-evident.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen said softly: "In other words, the Kingdom of Jing will enter a comprehensive contraction trend in the future. As long as Emperor Jing cannot completely solve the internal problems, he will not be able to expand outward again."

"K."

Lu Tong looked solemn and said slowly, "But it's hard to say. It's hard to predict a person like Emperor Jing. He might make decisions that are hard for ordinary people to predict. In any case, Du Wei has stabbed the enemy in the core, which is something we can take advantage of."

Lu Chen understood and said, "It seems that I have to deepen my contact with that princess." Lu Tong smiled with relief and said, "That's right. The second meaning of this letter is that Du Weizhen sent the letter to you instead of the Jiangnan court, obviously to remind you to guard against the south. Before, Li Zongben gave you the power to supervise the military affairs of the three states in Jiangbei. It was a concession he was forced to make, and he obviously would not be willing to accept it. In any dynasty throughout history, when there is no external pressure, internal strife will come one after another."

Lu Chen smiled coldly and whispered, "It's as expected."

Before the defeat at Kaocheng, Li Zongben and some ministers in the court dared to exclude Lu Chen from the list of candidates for the Northern Expedition Commander. Now that the prince of Jing State has rebelled and the Emperor of Jing State is seriously injured, the North is obviously unable to take care of itself and may never recover from this. When this powerful enemy that has been suppressing Da Qi for decades loses its threat, a commander like Lu Chen will gradually have no place to use his talents.

Lu Tong reminded calmly: "You need to prepare early."

“Always preparing.”

Lu Chen's answer was very concise, and then he laughed and said, "In that case, I still have to hope that Jingguo will not collapse?"

"The principle of nurturing enemies to protect oneself has always been true throughout history."

Lu Tong also laughed, and then said meaningfully: "Whether Jingguo is too strong or too weak, the pressure on your shoulders will be unimaginable. It would be best if the other party is in a half-dead state, the court cannot do without you, and the three states in Jiangbei can also recuperate. I think this should be the third intention of Du Weizheng's people to send this letter. At present, Emperor Jing is injured and internal strife has begun. Emperor Jing and Qing Yugong are wary of each other, and no one dares to gamble everything. Maybe it is best for you."

Lu Chen was filled with emotion.

He took out the envelope again and said thoughtfully, "Dad, Du Weizheng and I have never met before. Why would he do this?"

"This man is as smart as you are. I think the twists and turns you can see must not have escaped his eyes. After all, he is treated as a distinguished guest by the Fourth Prince of Jing State and can check all kinds of information at will. Therefore, he knows very well that you are the one who can save the people, and he also knows the difficulties you are facing. He doesn't want you to be harmed by treacherous people, so that the mountains and rivers of Daqi are lost and the people are in chaos. He is not only seeking revenge for himself and his relatives, but also using his life to help you."

After Lu Tong finished speaking, he was silent for a while and then said softly, "In the final analysis, what he cares about is this beautiful land, not the Li royal family in the court. As long as he can drive out the foreign races and let the people live a good life, how can a person like him be loyal blindly?"

Lu Chen opened the envelope, took out Du Weizhen's last letter, and his eyes fell on the last few sentences.

After a long while, he said solemnly: "Brother Du can be called a national hero."

Lu Tong looked at his face and said slowly: "Then don't disappoint his expectations."

The father and son had discussed that matter many years ago.

Later, as Lu Chen gradually reached the pinnacle, that topic was mentioned less and less. However, no matter Lu Chen's arrangements in the court and the army, or Lu Tong's management of the three states in Jiangbei, they were essentially working towards the same goal - no matter how the situation changed, Lu Chen must at least have the ability to protect himself.

Now it seems that self-protection alone may not be enough.

Of course Lu Chen knew the deep meaning of the old man's words. He said calmly: "I can't take action first."

Lu Tong suddenly laughed, and his laughter became louder and louder.

Lu Chen looked at him with a little confusion.

After a while, the middle-aged man stopped laughing and said with emotion: "Chen'er, I told you at the beginning that if Li Zongben pushed too hard, the worst that could happen was that he would burn it again. In fact, this sentence was just a joke."

"Dad, you didn't look like you were joking."

"Of course it's just a joke. It's different now."

Lu Tong's expression became gentler, and he said slowly, "It has only been five years since you first emerged and now hold a high position. The fact that you have achieved what you have today in just five years is a miracle in my opinion. In this process, your own efforts are crucial, but it is also inseparable from the cultivation and trust of the late emperor. If you take the initiative to raise the banner of rebellion, Li Zongben only needs to issue an edict in the name of the late emperor to bring you to an end."

Of course Lu Chen understood the connection here, and this was also something he had been thinking about.

The late emperor had been very kind to him. No matter how many troubles Li Zongben caused, as long as the other party did not take a desperate step, Lu Chen lacked the righteousness to fight against the imperial power.

If it was just for the sake of momentary pleasure, the power Lu Chen now possessed was enough to turn Da Qi upside down, but he was carrying the expectations of too many people on his shoulders, and he also hoped to create a prosperous era with his own hands, so he had to tread carefully on thin ice.

At this moment, Song Pei walked in hurriedly, and without even having time to greet, she said hastily, "Master, Master, Sister Lin is about to give birth!"

"Wow—"

Lu Chen had just stood up when he saw the old man who had just talked to him about the world situation with a confident look on his face, suddenly ran out like a nimble monkey in an instant, as if his butt was on fire.

He couldn't help but smile at Song Pei and walked quickly towards the depths of the back house.

(End of this chapter)