Jiuxi

Chapter 820 818 [Say I am worried]

Water egrets fly in pairs, lotus leaves sway in the wind.

At this time of early summer, lotus flowers in the pond halfway up the mountain are gradually blooming, adding to the cool and green fragrance.

"What's next?"

Lu Chen stroked the celadon teacup and said slowly, "Old Prime Minister, this question is too big. I don't know where to start answering it."

"Then change to a simpler one."

Li Daoyan smiled gently, as if he was looking at a promising younger generation in his family: "Do you feel that your situation is safe?"

Judging from the old man's expression, he was definitely concerned about Lu Chen, and in fact he did have this consideration.

However, Lu Chen knew very well that this question also had another deeper meaning.

After a moment of silence, Lu Chen said frankly, "Is it probably safer? I know there are many people who hate me to the core, such as Li Zongjian, whose hope of competing for the throne was cut off by me, and Li Shangshu mentioned by the old prime minister just now. Needless to say, the king and ministers of Jingguo in the north, and there are many enemies hiding in the dark. Judging from the current situation, these people have many means that will make me feel uncomfortable, but no one should force me to overturn the table."

The old man nodded slightly, glanced at Li Gongxu who was standing quietly beside him as usual, and then took out a chess piece from the chess box. He did not put it on the chessboard, but placed it outside the chessboard.

"Your greatest confidence comes from the border soldiers who followed you to build your career, especially the 120,000-man army in Dingzhou. After the adjustment two years ago, you drove away generals like Zheng Xiuqi and Hou Dayong, and the remaining people all respect you. It may not be possible for you to let them follow you in the rebellion, but if you only rely on them to protect yourself, these 120,000 troops are enough to deter all the villains."

Li Daoyan's skinny fingers slowly left the chess piece. Even when the sensitive word "rebellion" was mentioned, his expression remained calm and he did not pretend to be profound.

Of course Lu Chen would not deny this obvious fact.

Li Daoyan picked up the second chess piece and continued, "The Wang family of Zhailin and the Lin family of the Seven Stars Gang, one has a very deep foundation in literature and the other in martial arts. Although Wang Anzhong is now a guest in the capital and only has an idle position as a scholar in the Secret Pavilion, and most of the Wang family's children do not have official positions, a family that has been passed down for hundreds of years can be low-key. Once you need them to serve, the Wang family can help you shoulder the burden in a very short time. As for the Lin family, there is no need to say more. The group of grassroots masters headed by Lin Jie are a force that even the emperor must pay attention to."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Old Prime Minister, unless it is absolutely necessary, I will not use the children of the Wang family, and I will not let the elders take risks for me."

"It's natural, you get used to taking all the pressure on yourself."

Li Daoyan sighed slightly, then picked up another chess piece: "The world only knows that you are a young hero who suddenly appeared, and most people ignore your father's ability. Even if the Lu family business has not set foot in Jiangnan, through your father's painstaking management in the past few years, it has become a giant in Jiangbei. If I am not mistaken, before you returned to Beijing, you have already persuaded Xu Zuo to integrate the Lu family business with the lives of the people in Jiangbei through the cooperation of the governor's office."

Lu Chen's heart was slightly moved, and he whispered: "Even if it is true as the old prime minister said, now Governor Xu has been promoted and returned to Beijing, and Governor of Dingzhou is replaced by Ding Hui. He is the emperor and Minister Li's man, how can he be used by me?"

"Ding Hui? Haha."

The old man just smiled and didn't say a word about the new governor of Dingzhou.

He looked at the three chess pieces in front of him and said slowly, "Military power, in-laws, and business, in fact, these three things are enough for you to protect yourself, and the current situation of Jingguo is extremely favorable to you. If Jingguo is too strong, you will be under great pressure as the commander of the border army, and if the other side is too weak, you will face the dilemma of hiding the bow after the bird is killed. Only when you are neither strong nor weak like now, with internal hidden dangers, can you control the situation in Jiangbei and overturn the table at any time."

"After listening to the old prime minister's analysis, I suddenly feel that my situation seems to be better than I thought."

A faint smile appeared on Lu Chen's face.

"You are the most unique outlier in the history of Da Qi. Your own ability, the support of the military giants, the respect of the late emperor, and the special situation have created your current power and status. These conditions are indispensable. If not, do you really think that those people in the capital are good men and women? You should know that Yang Guangyuan's prestige in the army was higher than yours, but he was still no match for the power of those people combined together."

The old man's words became more and more straightforward, a change from his previous obscurity and depth.

He raised his hand and picked up the fourth chess piece, rubbing it in his hand for a long time, and then said: "But I know you have more than just these cards. When the late emperor was seriously ill, you began to secretly cultivate your power in the capital, and it should have taken shape now. This time you were able to use the capital inspection to stir up the situation, which is enough to show that the tentacles of your power have penetrated into all parties in Jiangnan. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to make such a big fuss."

Lu Chen did not deny it. In fact, the other party had already noticed this.

He asked Tan Zheng and Qu Zhong to investigate the rebellion in the capital and the illness of the previous emperor. Qin Zheng's confidants came directly to his door and asked his men to lie dormant temporarily. At that time, Qin Zheng lived in the Li family's ancestral home with a series of houses.

"But then again, with the people you have deployed in the capital over the past two years, it wouldn't be too difficult to find evidence against those middle and lower-level officials, but when it comes to high-ranking officials like Qi Weili and Lou Huanzhang, they probably can't do it." At this point, Li Daoyan said calmly, "The Textile Bureau...how much do you have control over now?"

This sentence was very plain, just like the daily inquiries about one's well-being, without any trace of emotion.

However, the young Li Gongxu felt his heart suddenly tighten and he looked at his teacher nervously.

Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged as he slowly said, "Yang Jingxuan, the inspector of Jiangbei, is quite close to me."

"Yang Jingxuan is a good young man. He is energetic, responsible, and thoughtful."

If Li Daoyan's evaluation were to spread, Yang Jingxuan's reputation would surely rise to a higher level. However, due to his special identity, it was destined to be just a sentence that would disappear with the wind in Jianxi Pavilion.

The old man stared into Lu Chen's eyes and said gently, "Although Yang Jingxuan is a talented person, he can't reach the capital. So it should be when you attacked Heluo that you and Su Yunqing established an extraordinary friendship? Before that, you were still in the stage of being wary of each other. After that, you had very few interactions. Only during that period did you have the opportunity to have in-depth contact. Su Yunqing's life experience is very tragic. His parents, brothers and sisters all died at the hands of Jinglian people. He is the most staunch supporter of the Northern Expedition. It is not surprising that he admires you and follows you."

Lu Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said calmly: "Old Prime Minister, Su Tiju and I have some conflicts. Although we have a tacit understanding in official cooperation in the border area, we have almost no personal relationship."

"Ah."

Li Daoyan did not ask further questions, but placed the fourth chess piece in his hand in a row with the first three chess pieces, and said meaningfully: "On the surface, you do have the confidence to challenge the emperor now, but you are not a golden body with nowhere to start. If I were still in the court, I might be able to solve the emperor's worries."

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, he sat up straight and said, "Please teach me, old Prime Minister."

"The border troops are never monolithic. I don't deny that some generals are loyal to you, but there are always roundabout ways to deal with people. Simply put, you can lead the soldiers to victory and get promoted, and win the hearts of the people on this basis, but the emperor can also do this, and he doesn't need the soldiers to put their heads on the belt. In fact, the late emperor has already set a good example, but it's a pity that the emperor's vision is too narrow."

Li Daoyan pushed the first chess piece forward slightly and said calmly, "The border troops have won a victory, and the emperor can summon some meritorious generals. It is not as difficult to win people's hearts as he imagined. It is just a matter of time and effort. At least until now, the armies you can absolutely control are only the Ruishi Battalion, the Qixing Army and the Dingbei Army, and at most the Feiyu Army of the Li family. Showing favor and favor has always been the only way for the emperor and his subjects to get along well. If one time is not enough, try two or three times. The emperor will always be able to cultivate enough trusted military heroes."

Lu Chen nodded slowly.

Li Daoyan continued, "Second, follow the Beijing Camp system and reform the border army system. Divide the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office and the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office into five or six border army camps. Of course, you and Liu Shouguang will still be in charge of the unified command, and the commanders of each camp will be responsible for the daily training. This will not only reduce the pressure on you and Liu Shouguang, but also enable the border defense zone to have more efficient autonomy, instead of everyone waiting foolishly for your military orders every time."

"Third, implement a rotation system between the capital army and the border army. At the beginning, only a small number of troops can be selected. This can not only hone the capital army soldiers, but also give the border soldiers who have worked hard and made great contributions a chance to rest and recuperate. Returning to the capital to garrison can also deepen their loyalty to the emperor and the court. When the time is right, the number of rotating troops can be appropriately increased and the time can be appropriately extended. In short, as the emperor, he should be familiar with every military commander, and he should not be isolated from the soldiers inside and outside the army."

"Article 4: Establish a frontier transport envoy system, which is responsible for the logistics and food supply of the frontier troops. This will improve efficiency and form a pattern of three people in the frontier: the governor, the commander-in-chief, and the transport envoy. Looking at the history books, two people can easily come together because they share the same ideals, or one party can easily conquer the other party because of its strong strength. However, as long as an official of roughly the same rank is added, these three people will only check and restrain each other."

There was a gentle breeze in the pavilion. The old man finished his words in one breath, with obvious fatigue between his brows.

Li Gongxu seemed quite worried.

The old man looked into Lu Chen's eyes and said calmly: "Of my four suggestions, except for the second one to which you can raise objections, the other three are not difficult to implement."

Lu Chen pondered for a long time, nodded and said: "Old Prime Minister, this is a mature and prudent strategy for the country. Even if the second one is more obvious, it is difficult for me to stop it."

"It's just idle talk, don't take it seriously."

Li Daoyan spoke in a gentle tone, his eyes fell on the other three chess pieces, and he said softly: "Regarding the Wang family of Zhailin, the emperor made a wrong move from the beginning."

Lu Chen asked sincerely, "What do you mean by that, old prime minister?"

Li Daoyan said calmly but decisively: "The entire Wang family of Zhailin has moved to Nantou. This is the best opportunity for the emperor to show the world that he trusts his people. Not only should Wang Anzhong and the Wang family members not be left idle, but they should be promoted and given important positions. Only in this way will the Wang family of Zhailin not stand so firmly behind you."

He paused for a moment, then said with some self-mockery, "Although you married Wang Anzhong's niece, I know better than anyone what kind of people the so-called aristocratic families are."

(End of this chapter)