Jiuxi

Chapter 889: 887 [How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan]

Jingchao, Dadu.

In mid-October, one could already feel the chill in the air, but the nobles in the city were full of enthusiasm, and all the major entertainment venues were packed with guests, creating an atmosphere of joy and bustle.

The reason was that the Dai Kingdom in the far northwest finally surrendered to Da Jing after losing nearly half of its territory, removed its imperial title and was renamed King of Dai. It ceded the three states and thirteen prefectures southeast of Caohai to the Jing Dynasty, and at the same time paid compensation of a large amount of war horses, fine iron, gold and silver.

After this battle, the State of Dai was not only devastated, but it also did not have the courage and ability to attack the Jing Dynasty for at least another ten years.

Once the news spread, the whole of Jing Dynasty celebrated, and even the price of alcohol in Dadu increased a lot.

In a quiet and elegant manor in the eastern suburbs, Qing Yu Huaijin was making tea skillfully, while a calm young man was sitting opposite him.

His name was Elun, and his father A Liudun was the leader of the Cang tribe.

About sixty years ago, many tribes lived on the vast land in the north. Later, a three-way balance of power was gradually formed among the Jinglian, Helan and Gaoyang people. Later, the three tribes established their own countries one after another. The Jing Dynasty annexed the Zhao State and defeated the Dai State. In this iron-blooded and killing process, the Cang tribe has always been able to maintain a relatively independent status.

They were unable to establish their own country like the Helan and Gaoyang people, but they also avoided the fate of destruction or decline.

The reason is that the Cang people live in a cold and barren land in the northeast of the mainland. The environment is extremely harsh and they only make a living by fishing and hunting. No force in the world will waste resources to conquer this land and the Cang people who have lived here from generation to generation. Even a man as talented and strategic as Emperor Jing only symbolically controls this place.

"please."

Qing Yu Huaijin handed over the teacup.

E Lun took it with both hands and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Thank you, Your Highness."

Qing Yu Huaijin said calmly, "I thought your father would come to Dadu in person to pay his respects this time."

"Father did want to come, but he accidentally injured his left leg while hunting last month, and he couldn't have someone carry him to Dadu, so he asked my brother to bring people to congratulate His Majesty."

Elun looked calm, unlike those aggressive Cang people, and continued, "Your Majesty is wise and brave. After listening to my brother's explanation, he will not blame our Cang tribe."

Qing Yu Huaijin smiled slightly and said meaningfully: "I heard that the five sons of Chief A Liudun are all first-class warriors. Now it seems that although you are only the third in age, you should be the son he trusts and values ​​the most."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."

Elun remained calm, and continued, "Perhaps it's because I'm timid and don't dare to say anything bad, so my father sent me to contact His Highness."

Qing Yu Huai Jin took the opportunity to get to the point: "I wonder what your father's plans are?"

E Lun was silent for a moment, then whispered, "My father said that if Your Highness can allocate the Qinghua area to us, the three thousand Cang people are willing to serve Your Highness."

The Qinghua area is located in the northeastern border of Dajing. Further north is the extremely cold land, which is also the area where the Cang people tribe live.

Qing Yu Huaijin asked calmly, "Why didn't your father go and ask His Majesty directly?"

Elun said calmly: "Please forgive me."

The implication is that Emperor Jing would naturally not agree. Even though the Qinghua area was insignificant compared to the vast territory of Dajing, how could he allow the Cang people tribe to have better living conditions.

Qing Yu Huaijin did not give an immediate reply, but said calmly: "Although your father and I have a deep friendship, this matter still needs to be considered carefully. When you go back, tell your father that when he comes to Dadu in person next year, I will find an opportunity to host a banquet for him."

Elun bowed his head and said, "I've made a note of it."

He finished the tea in his cup, stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I will take my leave."

Qing Yu Huaijin stood up and watched him leave, then took a bath, changed his clothes, and went to the study in the back house.

She came to the large case by the window and took out a secret letter from the secret compartment below. She looked at the contents of the letter and whispered to herself, "It turns out that your situation is much better than mine. I thought we were in the same boat, but I still want to thank you for teaching me a lesson."

She turned around and threw the secret letter, which recorded many details of the changes in Southern Qi over the past six months, into the brazier. Looking at the suddenly rising flames, a look of determination flashed in her eyes.

“Perhaps your choice is the right direction.”

……

The river is surging and flowing without turning back.

Baishi Ferry on the south bank of Hengjiang River.

Even though Xinzhou Governor Gong Lin and Huaizhou Governor Song Wan on the opposite bank had made preparations in advance and transferred a large number of boats from upstream and downstream, due to the width of the ferry itself and the fact that the Dingbei Army, Feiyu Army and Rui Shi Camp all had a large number of war horses, the crossing began at dawn and not even half of the ships had been transported by noon. The best result was to complete it all by dark.

In a simple inn on the south bank, Lu Chen and a young man were having lunch.

The food was very ordinary, not exquisite or delicious. Lu Chen seemed to have a good appetite, but the young man sitting opposite him had a hard time eating.

Lu Chen obviously didn't have the leisure to care about his appetite. He quickly finished two large bowls of white rice, then took the teacup handed to him by Qin Zilong and drank most of it with satisfaction.

Seeing this, the young man put down his chopsticks and took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

"Don't waste food." Lu Chen said lightly, looking at the remaining rice in his bowl.

The guards standing beside him looked at the young man unfriendlyly.

A look of humiliation immediately appeared on his face, but he eventually picked up the chopsticks again and desperately stuffed food into his mouth.

Lu Chen said no more and turned to look at the river view outside the window.

After a while, the young man finished the remaining food, then slowly put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth again.

Lu Chen retracted his gaze and said calmly: "After crossing the river, you will no longer be a member of the royal family of the Great Qi, but an ordinary chief of the Dingzhou Governor's Office, so this meal is my last courtesy to you."

The young man is Li Duan’s youngest son, Li Zongjian, the former Prince of Jian and now Lieutenant of Fengguo.

Empress Dowager Ning was extremely supportive of Lu Chen's plan to take Li Zongjian north, and no one in the court, whether civil or military, objected. As for the Grand Empress Dowager in the palace, even if she was dissatisfied, she had no choice but to watch her young son leave the capital.

And Li Zongjian's own opinion is obviously not important at all.

After a moment's silence, he suddenly laughed softly.

Lu Chen asked calmly: "Is it funny?"

Li Zongjian seemed to be ready to give up, and said bluntly: "Empress Dowager Ning thought I would threaten the young emperor's position, and she was trying every means to drive me out of the capital. If you take on this task now, she might be extremely grateful to you. Little did she know that this is exactly what you want to see."

"Why?"

Lu Chen looked at him with interest.

Li Zongjian sneered, "I know you look down on me, but you cannot deny that I have the blood of the late emperor in my veins. Whether I am now a prince or a lieutenant of Fengguo, or even if I am just a commoner, this fact will not change. In other words, as long as I am alive, I am the most orthodox royal family of Emperor Gaozong's lineage."

Lu Chen asked: "So what?"

Li Zongjian simply said directly: "After my brother's death, only Li Daoming and I are qualified to continue the throne. Now you take me with you. As long as there is another accident in the south, you can use me to hold the power of the court in your hands. No matter how loyal Xue Nanting and others are, do they have any other choice? It's ridiculous that my sister-in-law thinks she is smart, but she doesn't know that her decision will directly kill her son. If I stayed in the capital, her son would be safe, because you don't have to let me take advantage of it."

Hearing these heart-piercing remarks, the personal soldiers led by Qin Zilong all looked at Li Zongjian with contempt.

But Lu Chen did not give any orders, so they could only stare at him fiercely.

Lu Chen drank the remaining half cup of tea and said leisurely: "I didn't know you had such keen insight."

Li Zongjian did not look proud. He lowered his voice and said, "Those people in the court still have illusions that you might always be a loyal minister of the Great Qi. This is really ridiculous. In fact, you and I are essentially the same kind of people. You will do anything to achieve your goals. Otherwise, why would you transfer the border cavalry to the south in advance, and you did it without permission. The fact that you dare to do this is enough to prove that you don't take the royal family and the court seriously, so you will definitely try to kill Li Daoming and then use me to control the overall situation."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense."

Li Zongjian looked uncertain, and for a moment he could not determine what Lu Chen was thinking, but he knew he could not hesitate, so he mustered up the courage to say, "I can help you."

Lu Chen looked at him with a little confusion.

Li Zongjian gritted his teeth and said, "As long as you can kill Li Daoming and let me ascend the throne, I can hand over all the power inside and outside the court to you. In a few years, I will abdicate to you without your urging."

When Qin Zilong and other guards heard these words, they looked at this guy with royal blood flowing in his body in disbelief.

This time it was Lu Chen's turn to laugh. He shook his head and said, "Li Zongjian, Li Zongjian, you haven't changed at all after so many years. To be honest, I'm a little curious about how you haven't improved at all after going through so many things. You're still as stupid and vicious as you were before. But then again, you've been faithful to your husband."

Li Zongjian could naturally hear the sarcasm in his words, but he didn't believe that the young prince would not be tempted at all by such a proposal.

Lu Chen stood up, pointed at the Hengjiang River rushing outside the window, and said calmly: "Did you see it?"

Li Zongjian asked in a deep voice: "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you say that I brought you with me to plan for the overall situation? Don't you think I would kill the new king and then help you take the throne?"

Lu Chen spoke in a cold tone, "As a descendant of Emperor Gaozong and a member of the royal family of Da Qi, how can you sit back and watch my conspiracy succeed? The Heng River is bottomless. If you jump in, my plan will fail. You have enjoyed wealth and glory for more than 20 years and killed so many innocent people. It's your turn to die for Da Qi. Just jump into the river, and I guarantee that you will go down in history."

Li Zongjian's face turned pale, and he said with obvious fear: "You...you want to kill me?"

Lu Chen glanced at him indifferently, then walked out of the inn.

When Qin Zilong passed by Li Zongjian, he suddenly spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground. He held his sword with his right hand, looked at the man and said, "A despicable and shameless person like you who lives in vain in this world is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath with my prince? Pah!"

Li Zongjian was almost collapsed to the ground by his fierce momentum.

The Lu family secret guard who was responsible for monitoring and guarding him looked on coldly.

Li Zongjian couldn't help but turn his head to look outside the door. He could vaguely see Lu Chenxiong's back. He didn't dare to say anything bad. He could only hate silently in his heart: "Pretend, I'll see how long you can pretend!"

(End of this chapter)