Jiuxi

Chapter 892: 890 [Two Hearts Knowing Each Other]

Guangling City, Huaian County Prince’s Palace.

In the main hall, two senior officials sat opposite each other.

Song Wan, the governor of Huaizhou, was a man of dignified appearance, full of elegance and nobleness.

Although he did not come from a wealthy family, his official career was relatively smooth. He did not encounter too many setbacks and hardships along the way. At most, he wasted a few years in some insignificant position.

Before serving as the governor of Huaizhou, Song Wan served as the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel. His relationship with the Jinlin Li family can be seen from this official position. This time he was not implicated by Li Shizhi, and it was obvious that he was a person sneaked in by Li Daoyan.

"Brother Guiyan, please have some tea."

The middle-aged man sitting opposite had a smile on his face, as if he was particularly close to this palace.

Song Wan couldn't help but sigh that fate was playing tricks on him, and said calmly, "Brother Daoyin, please."

The Brother Daoyin he mentioned was Ding Hui, the reinstated Governor of Dingzhou.

Once upon a time, Song Wan and Ding Hui were both Li Daoyan's confidants personally cultivated, but starting about six or seven years ago, the fate of the two began to change.

Song Wan remained indifferent to Li Shizhi's advances and continued to follow Li Daoyan unwaveringly. However, Ding Hui secretly changed his allegiance. Perhaps in his opinion this was not considered a betrayal. After all, why should the father and son of the Li family be so clearly distinguished?

If Lu Chen had not taken action, Song Wan would probably have been squeezed out step by step, while Ding Hui would have been able to rise to the top and enter the core of power.

Unexpectedly, the world changes so fast that the two people who had originally parted ways are now on the same boat again.

Ding Hui put down the teacup and said sincerely, "Brother Guiyan, I will trouble you to take care of me in the future."

Song Wan smiled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Ding Hui glanced outside the door and whispered, "Brother Guiyan, don't you know that the princess, the prince, and the princess who were far away in Dingzhou have all returned to Guangling? In addition, the Lu family business has always been rooted in Huaizhou. In the future, the prince will definitely use Huaizhou as the base and take care of Jingzhou in the west and Dingzhou in the north. Brother Guiyan, as the governor of Huaizhou, will undoubtedly be cared for and valued by the prince. I am envious of him."

Song Wan secretly found it funny. This guy had been through a life-and-death situation, but he still didn't change his nature of taking advantage of every opportunity.

However, when he saw Ding Hui's deep eyes, his heart suddenly moved. The other party's words were actually a little over the top. Perhaps this was the prince's intentional attempt to test Ding Hui, so he said cautiously: "Brother Daoyin, you and I are officials in the same court. We are both governing the prefecture on behalf of the court and helping the border troops with logistics. Naturally, there is no distinction between the important and the unimportant."

Ding Hui smiled and didn't say anything else.

Just then, Lu Chen came in from outside, and they both stood up and saluted at the same time, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"No need to be polite."

Lu Chen spoke in a bland tone, seemingly not in high spirits, and said, "Please sit down."

Ding Hui was very good at observing people's words and expressions, and he couldn't help feeling a little surprised. In his opinion, since leaving the capital and heading north, this young prince in front of him was like a dragon entering the sea, and he should be in high spirits. Why did he have a hint of melancholy between his eyebrows?
Could it be that there is unrest in the rear quarters?
He had heard that the wedding party from Shazhou had already arrived in Jingzhou, Jiangbei, and would arrive in Guangling soon. Thinking of those princesses who each had their own strengths and skills, Ding Hui couldn't help but feel sad. It seemed that even a wise and powerful prince had troubles that he could not solve.

Lu Chen naturally didn't know what Ding Hui was complaining about, so he said calmly, "I invited you two to come to my house today to talk because I have something to tell you. I know that you two had a deep friendship in the past, but later you had some conflicts. In fact, these are all very common things. As long as it doesn't affect the overall situation, I won't force you two to become close friends."

Song Wan's heart trembled, and he said, "Your Highness, although I am dull, I know what is important and what is urgent, and I will never mess around with important matters."

Ding Hui was even more blunt, saying with a smile, "Your Majesty, even if I had all the courage in my body, I would not dare to delay my work under your nose."

Lu Chen glanced at him and said with a half-smile, "Governor Ding, you are too kind. You are a frontier official appointed by the court, not an official of the king. You don't have to be so petty."

Ding Hui said: "I am not flattering you. Nowadays, everyone knows that only the prince can defeat the powerful enemy in the north. Working for the prince is working for Da Qi. How dare I be careless?"

Lu Chen was too lazy to argue with this old-timer, so he said seriously: "Let the two governors know that according to the latest intelligence sent back by the secret agents of the Textile Bureau, the Kingdom of Jing is reorganizing its military preparations and preparing for war. Some soldiers are returning from the northwest border, and a small number of cavalry are heading south to Heluo. Although they are in the name of changing guards, I am sure that they will not leave after arriving in Heluo. From this point of view, Emperor Jing is already preparing for the war next year."

Song Wan and Ding Hui's expressions also became serious.

Lu Chen continued, "I have communicated with the court. From now on, all prefectures in Jiangnan must raise food and grass and send them to Jingzhou Pingyang Prefecture and Huaizhou Guangling Prefecture in batches. Jingzhou will be jointly settled by the Grand Commander Liu Shouguang and the Governor Xie Dongyang. Huaizhou will use Guangling as a hub to transport the food and grass in Jiangnan to Dingzhou. In addition, a batch will be stored at Panlong Pass. Governor Song."

Song Wan immediately responded, "I'm here."

Lu Chen said without question: "Once the war breaks out, Jingzhou and Dingzhou may all become battlefields. This time it will be difficult for our army to keep all the enemies out of the border, so Huaizhou will be the backup for the hundreds of thousands of border troops in Jiangbei. I hope you can understand the heavy responsibility on your shoulders and make every effort to provide logistics. If necessary, I will let Minister Gao of the Ministry of Revenue contact you directly."

Song Wan bowed his head and said, "I will do my best and will not slack off for even a moment."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, and continued: "This king likes to speak upfront. If you can do your job well without making any big mistakes, this king will ensure that you have a bright future. But if you don't do your job well, especially if your officials are embezzling the food and wages used by the border troops, even if you are not involved, this king will not let you off easily."

Song Wan immediately stood up and said, "If something goes wrong, please punish me directly, Your Majesty. I will have no complaints."

Lu Chen asked him to sit down and turned to look at Ding Hui.

Before he could speak, Ding Hui immediately said, "Your Majesty, I will set an example myself. Anyone who dares to embezzle the food and wages of the border troops will be my mortal enemy."

"Okay, then let's discuss the details of the food and grass transportation arrangements."

Lu Chen asked his personal guards to fetch the map of Jiangbei and make more detailed deployment for the two.

The food and fodder must be sent before the troops move. Moreover, this time he has to deal with the Jing army that is marching south with the whole country's strength. Naturally, he will not neglect such crucial details.

It was not until night fell that the two governors left exhausted, their minds full of various arrangements. Fortunately, Lu Chen gave them a manual, otherwise they might have forgotten most of them after waking up.

Lu Chen finished his dinner with his family and then came to a courtyard on the east side of the backyard. "Daddy!"

Lu Xinyi, who was already one year and three months old, sat on a specially made soft chair and called out in a crisp voice.

"Eh!"

Lu Chen quickly agreed, walked closer and picked her up.

The head maid Jinshu watched with a smile on her face.

About ten days ago, when Lu Xinyi just returned to Guangling, she was quite unfamiliar with Lu Chen. No matter how Wang Chulong coaxed her, she refused to say those two words and was even a little afraid, which made Lu Chen feel very uncomfortable.

Of course he knew that he was a derelict in his duty as a father. He had been away for more than half a year and was not even present for his two children's first birthday ceremony, so he felt very guilty.

Fortunately, blood is thicker than water and the father and daughter are connected by heart. After just a few days, Lu Xinyi became close to him. Now she can't wait to lie on him as soon as they meet, and she can call him "Daddy" more and more easily.

"Daddy."

Lu Xinyi stared with big eyes, stretched out a pair of chubby little hands to Lu Chen's face, pinched his cheeks subconsciously, and let out a crisp laugh.

Lu Chen deliberately pricked his daughter's hand with his beard, which made Lu Xinyi giggle even more.

"I was afraid of you a few days ago, but now you're so close to me, even closer than when you were with me."

Wang Chulong walked over, and although her tone was calm, it was faintly jealous.

Lu Chen hugged his daughter and smiled, "Because Daddy can ride a big horse with you, right?"

Lu Xinyi's eyes lit up immediately, and she said happily, "Ride a horse!"

Lu Chen pretended to lift her onto his shoulders.

"Well, it's late."

Wang Chulong also laughed and said to Jinshu, "Take Xinyi to bed."

"Yes, princess."

Jinshu responded respectfully, then took Lu Xinyi from Lu Chen and walked towards the side room.

Lu Chen looked up and under the candlelight, Wang Chulong was obviously thinner than last year.

He walked over and took her into his arms.

Wang Chulong stretched out her hands to hold his back and said gently, "Husband, is there something wrong in the south?"

Although Lu Chen didn't say it, she could feel the gloomy mood in his heart.

Lu Chen sighed softly and said, "Old Prime Minister Li passed away. I received the news at noon today."

Wang Chulong looked up at him and said with some concern: "Will there be another storm in Jiangnan?"

"Not yet."

Lu Chen shook his head and said softly, "Xue Nanting and Xu Zuo are both smart people, and the Queen Mother Ning in the palace also knows what the overall situation is. At least before the border war is settled, they will not allow internal fighting to occur again."

The couple walked hand in hand to the couch and sat down.

Lu Chen stared into Wang Chulong's eyes and said slowly, "Chulong, I plan to go north after Luo Jiujiu gets married. Senior Sister and Bingxue will also go with me. I will leave the family to you."

Wang Chulong nodded and said, "Okay."

Lu Chen felt a strong sense of guilt.

Seriously speaking, he and Wang Chulong had spent the shortest time together, but the burden on her shoulders was the heaviest.

When he went to Dingzhou, Wang Chulong was not only responsible for monitoring Jiangnan, but also had to take care of the entire family in the palace. At the same time, he had to contact the government at any time on behalf of Lu Chen to ensure that there were no problems with the logistics supply of the border troops.

"right--"

Lu Chen had just opened his mouth when Wang Chulong reached out and gently covered his mouth, looking at him and said, "You and I are husband and wife, why should you feel guilty? Ever since I expressed my feelings in Lai'an City, I have regarded you as a husband worthy of entrusting my life to, and you have never disappointed me. Husband, Chulong is your wife, and I should do my part and be your good wife. I have only one hope in my heart, when you are fighting outside, please take care of yourself, and remember that there are people at home waiting for your triumphant return."

Lu Chen held her hand and kissed her gently on the forehead.

Wang Chulong kissed him on the cheek in return and said softly, "Don't worry and go do your big things. I'll take care of everything at home. But you have to remember one thing."

Lu Chen said seriously: "You say."

Wang Chulong smiled lightly, with a bit of shyness from her teenage years, her eyes as bright as stars were full of affection: "You are like a rock, and I am like a cattail."

(End of this chapter)