Jiuxi

Chapter 800 798 [So-called Transaction]

Regarding today's imperial banquet, Lu Chen had already made some mental preparations before coming.

Putting aside the cumbersome etiquette and courtesy, there are only two most important topics. The first is to reward Lu Chen for his meritorious service, and the second is how to adjust the power structure of the Da Qi military.

Compared to his initial reluctance to be conferred the title of Duke of a County, Lu Chen is now not opposed to the title of Duke of a State which is within his reach.

On the one hand, he has enough confidence to deserve this title. On the other hand, as his supporters grow in number and his status becomes higher, it will be easier for him to unite forces from all sides around him.

I originally thought that Li Zongben would give him a second-class title, but unexpectedly, the young emperor was very generous.

"I thank your majesty for his grace."

Lu Chen did not continue to refuse. After all, it was just a title and it was not enough to make him cry with gratitude.

As for the deeper meaning that Duke Qin might represent, only those great scholars who are buried in piles of old papers would be interested.

"now it's right."

Li Zongben seemed very satisfied with Lu Chen's calmness. He turned around and walked to the stone table and sat down. He asked with interest: "Lu Qingjia, how long do you think the civil strife in Jingguo will last this time? What will be the most serious consequence?"

Today, the excitement in Jingguo has produced clearer results.

On the day of Tianqing Festival, the Fourth Prince Alihehaige joined forces with the Jiagu clan, one of the five major clans, to launch a rebellion. Although Emperor Jingdi was well prepared and easily put down the rebellion, the Fourth Prince's adviser used himself as a weapon and successfully severely injured Emperor Jingdi, which triggered a comprehensive contraction of the Jingjun defense line on the border.

These are just superficial chaos. The most important thing is that Emperor Jing's golden body has been broken. In addition, his previous reforms have seriously damaged the interests of the Jinglian nobles. Therefore, it is impossible for Jing State to launch an attack on Da Qi now. It needs to spend a lot of energy to solve the internal hidden dangers first.

And it may not necessarily be resolved smoothly.

Lu Chen turned his head and saw that the emperor's eyes showed a more obvious high spirit, so he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, whether Jingguo will be in chaos depends on Emperor Jing and Qing Yugong. As long as Emperor Jing adjusts his strategy in time and Qing Yugong continues to take care of the safety of the Qing Yu family, and the two can maintain the most basic rationality, it will be difficult for Jingguo to be in chaos. Of course, there will be some ambitious people who stir up trouble, but as long as Qing Yugong does not get involved, Emperor Jing is still capable of clearing up those troubles."

Li Zongben showed a little disappointment.

Although he had many prejudices against Lu Chen, at least when it came to judging the border war situation and the enemy's situation, he admitted that no one had more say than Lu Chen now.

After thinking for a while, Li Zongben sighed and said, "What a pity."

Lu Chen said calmly: "It is indeed a pity, but judging from the current situation, although Jingguo will not fall into the worst situation, they still have to face a lot of troubles at the moment. This is obviously good news for our dynasty."

Li Zongben nodded, then pointed to the opposite side and said, "My dear, please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen walked over and sat down with a calm expression.

Li Zongben continued the previous topic and asked with concern: "In your opinion, do we need to adjust our border defense forces in the next step?"

He has never concealed his ambition to carry forward the late emperor's legacy. At the same time, he also knows that only by going one step further on the basis of the late emperor's work can he become the ruler of the Great Qi Dynasty and restore the prosperity of this dynasty that has lasted for more than 170 years.

However, this sentence sounded a bit more complicated and profound to Lu Chen. He did not answer immediately but asked, "What kind of adjustment does Your Majesty mean?"

Li Zongben said gently: "The strength of the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office has been greatly damaged. It will take enough time to recover. If we want to plan a northern expedition next, we can only rely on the Dingzhou troops under your command. I am worried that this will cause you too much pressure, so can we use the power of the seven tribes of Shazhou to open up a new front in the northwest? Now that our dynasty has a solid alliance with Dai, if we can open up a connection between the north and the south in the west of Jingguo, can we pose a greater threat to the Jinglian people?"

Looking at the emperor's slightly uneasy eyes, Lu Chen felt a strange feeling in his heart.

He originally thought that Li Zongben used the Duke of Qin as a bargaining chip in order to take away some military power from him, but he did not expect that the other party was actually thinking about frontier military affairs.

Regardless of the pros and cons of this idea, it at least shows that Li Zongben is not obsessed with power struggles.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen let go of his grudges a little and said thoughtfully: "Your Majesty, this strategy may not be useless, but there are a few issues that need to be considered in advance. Now Da Qi and Shazhou have an equal relationship, and this principle must not be violated, otherwise Shazhou will be pushed to Jingguo. Last year, the people of Shazhou were willing to cooperate with our army to counterattack Feiniao Pass based on your majesty's recognition of Luo Yaozong as the lord of Shazhou. Because of some historical issues, the people of Shazhou cannot be said to have absolute trust in our dynasty, so our dynasty must be more cautious and must not destroy this friendly relationship that has been established with great difficulty."

Li Zongben nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Lu Chen continued, "As for the Dai Kingdom, although they sent troops to raid the north of Feiniao Pass last year and cut off the retreat of the Jing army, they were obviously not prepared to fight the Jing army head-on. Before Wu Yanshu's reinforcements arrived, Geshu Songping immediately led his troops to withdraw. If he was willing to help a little, the remnants of the Jing army led by Nan Yong would definitely not be able to escape."

Li Zongben said thoughtfully: "My dear minister, you mean that whether it is Shazhou or Daiguo, they may be able to add icing on the cake, but it is difficult to provide timely assistance. The Northern Expedition will ultimately rely on ourselves?" "Your Majesty is wise, that's exactly the point."

Lu Chen slowed down his tone and continued, "The exchanges between countries are ultimately an exchange of interests. Shazhou put aside the grievances of the past and leaned towards our dynasty. On the one hand, it was because they knew that the Jinglian people were tyrannical and unjust, and being a lackey of the Jinglian people would not end well. On the other hand, some materials in Shazhou are very abundant, but other materials are very scarce. Only by exchanging what they have with Daqi can the people of Shazhou gradually get rid of their poor lives. The same is true for Dai State. Dai Emperor Ge Shukui is obviously not out of kindness. He chose to cooperate with our dynasty with the same ambition."

After Lu Chen's explanation, Li Zongben suddenly felt enlightened and said with a smile: "My dear minister, you said it very well. You should come to the palace more often in the future. I hope to hear more of your insights."

He said this without any hesitation, but Lu Chen still felt a little uncomfortable.

Today, Li Zongben actually had some of the demeanor of the late emperor, which really made him feel unfamiliar.

The emperor and his minister discussed the border military issue for a while. To Lu Chen's surprise, Li Zongben never made excessive demands from beginning to end, such as asking him to hand over part of the military power, or to place some spies around him.

The atmosphere became more harmonious.

Li Zongben said slowly: "By the way, there is something I want to hear your opinion on."

Lu Chen said: "Your Majesty, please speak."

Li Zongben smiled apologetically and said, "Last year's Northern Expedition was launched very hastily. This is mainly my fault. Han Zhongjie did have some problems in command, but he should not have been punished so severely. Although Han Zhongjie had no complaints after returning to Beijing, I still feel quite guilty. The Prince of Dongyang dedicated his life to Da Qi, and Han Zhongjie himself put a lot of effort into the construction of the Beijing Camp."

It was not until this moment that Lu Chen finally realized.

Li Zongben was not asking for nothing. All his previous preparations were just for these words.

Seeing that Lu Chen did not speak, Li Zongben continued, "Han Zhongjie's loyalty to Da Qi is unquestionable. I believe that with the lessons learned from last year's war, he will be more cautious and steady in the future. To be honest with you, I hope Han Zhongjie can continue to work for Da Qi instead of wasting his time at home."

Lu Chen asked calmly, "I wonder what your majesty needs me to do?"

Li Zongben said with great expectation: "Your prestige in the army is no less than that of the Duke of Rong, and I believe that all the officials in the court will agree with your views when it comes to military affairs. Therefore, as long as you make your attitude clear, I should not encounter much resistance in reinstating Han Zhongjie."

Even the emperor cannot do whatever he wants. Even Li Duan can't do that, let alone Li Zongben who is much inferior in ability in all aspects.

On the issue of Han Zhongjie, Li Zongben initially wanted to keep him in the court, but demoted him and fined him his salary. However, the result of such a high-handed approach and then lightly dismissed him was unacceptable to the civil and military officials. In the end, Li Zongben had no choice but to dismiss Han Zhongjie from all his official positions.

Although he now trusts Li Shizhi very much, Han Zhongjie is, after all, the earliest important minister to follow him, and he has made great contributions in his struggle for the throne. Such a confidant and right-hand man certainly cannot be abandoned.

Li Zongben looked at Lu Chen with a smile on his face, and seemed to be very confident about this matter.

He felt that he had given Lu Chen enough respect today. The other party at least understood what it meant to return a favor. And the most important thing was that he didn't think Lu Chen had any reason to refuse.

Even if Han Zhongjie is reinstated, he will continue to stay in the Beijing Army and it is impossible for him to run to the border army's territory. Therefore, it will not have any impact on Lu Chen personally.

This is an unspoken exchange between the two parties.

Li Zongben gave Lu Chen convenience in many things, and gave him the title of Duke of Qin, and he would not weaken the military power in Lu Chen's hands, just in exchange for the support of this military giant, so that Han Zhongjie's career could be revived.

The ruler and his minister each took what they needed and gained something.

The spring breeze is blowing gently, stirring people's hearts.

Li Zongben waited patiently for Lu Chen's decision.

After a moment, Lu Chen sighed softly and said slowly but firmly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being unable to do anything."

The gentle breeze seemed to disappear suddenly, leaving only cold silence between heaven and earth.

The smile on Li Zongben's face faded in an instant, and his tone was slightly deep: "What did you say?"

Lu Chen raised his eyes and looked directly at the young emperor, saying sternly: "I can't do it."

(End of this chapter)