Jiuxi

Chapter 896 894 [Joining forces]

Luo Jiujiu has a very simple set of values.

This is related to the environment she grew up in. Although there are intrigues and scheming in Shazhou, most of the time people advocate a simple and direct style of doing things.

Therefore, she will not have too many concerns when facing the enemy.

Even if you are the emperor, if you want to force me to die, I will definitely find ways to kill you, or at least destroy your foundation.

This does not mean that Luo Jiujiu is smarter than Lu Chen and the other three. It's just that they try to think about problems comprehensively, and sometimes they are not as straightforward as Luo Jiujiu, and are closer to the core essence.

"Sister Luo's guess is direct and sharp."

Wang Chulong praised, then looked at Lu Chen and said, "But Emperor Jing will definitely be on guard. Qing Yugong and his elite troops will definitely appear on the battlefield, and there is a high possibility that they will face our border troops directly. In this case, how can Qing Yugong escape Emperor Jing's surveillance?"

At this moment, Lu Chen's thoughts were open, and he pondered, "Qing Yugong and Qing Yuzhongwang are the focus of Emperor Jing. It is said that none of Qing Yugong's nephews are capable, but there is still someone who can replace Qing Yugong to take charge of the overall situation."

He stopped talking and looked at Lin Xi.

The memories of those years in Heluo City quietly emerged.

Lin Xi looked calm and asked, "Qing Yu Huai Jin?"

"is her."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Qing Yu Huai Jin is a woman after all, so it is not easy for her to arouse the vigilance of others. Qing Yu Gong has been very attentive to her training, and even gave her some secret power a long time ago. In other words, when the Jing army marches south next year and Emperor Jing and Qing Yu Gong and others leave Dadu, perhaps Qing Yu Huai Jin will be able to exert her abilities. Once Emperor Jing decides to take action against Qing Yu Gong, he will definitely not let go of the Qing Yu clan members in the rear. Qing Yu Gong is pinning all his hopes on Qing Yu Huai Jin."

Lin Xi's impression of Qing Yu Huai Jin needs no elaboration. She will never forget the Seven Stars Gang members who died at the hands of the Jing army. However, she was not in a hurry to express her hatred at this moment. Instead, she said with restraint: "I don't think Qing Yu Huai Jin will act hastily unless she is sure that Emperor Jing has died on the front line. The fact that Emperor Jing induced the prince to rebel before is enough to show how cruel and deep he is. Even if Qing Yu Huai Jin is relatively immature, Qing Yu Gong will not make such a stupid mistake."

Lu Chen understood the deep meaning of his senior sister's words.

He was indeed thinking about whether he could use Qing Yu Huai Jin to test the true strength of Emperor Jing, but in such a major matter involving the lives and deaths of countless people, Qing Yu Huai Jin would definitely not act rashly.

Even if Lin Xi did not object to him contacting Qing Yu Huaijin, he might not get the desired result in the end, and he might even fall into the other party's trap.

Because Qing Yu Huaijin is not like the women in the room, she doesn't care about Lu Chen's life or death. If Lu Chen and Emperor Jing can both suffer losses, I believe she will be very happy.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen said calmly: "Speaking of which, the most important thing now is to find out the true intention of Emperor Jing."

"My husband, is there a possibility that Emperor Jing's decision to march south with the whole country's strength is a trap set for you?"

Wang Chulong pondered for a long time and said, "According to your previous deduction with Sister Li, although the Jing army is coming aggressively, we can use the tactic of delaying, and even use territory to exchange for time, as long as we delay Emperor Jing to death. In this case, my husband will definitely face huge pressure from Jiangnan. Avoiding war will lead to the loss of territory. Facing the Jing army, he dare not fight back. This will definitely become a reason for some people to criticize you. Although Queen Dowager Ning and the two prime ministers still trust my husband for the time being, as time goes by, their mentality is hard to guarantee that it will not change."

"But he will die eventually."

Lu Chen had naturally considered this question, and said calmly: "Emperor Jing will not allow Qing Yugong to live after his death. As long as these two people die, I have enough confidence to turn the disadvantage around."

"if……"

Wang Chulong faced the gazes of Lin Xi and the others, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "What if Emperor Jing doesn't die for the time being?"

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

Wang Chulong said slowly: "My husband just mentioned Emperor Jing's unreasonable decision, and I wondered if we could infer the opposite. If Emperor Jing's injury was not so serious, or if he would not die in a year or two, there would be a reasonable explanation for his behavior. Sister Lin said that Emperor Jing initiated this national war to kill two birds with one stone, and weaken the strength of the border army of Daqi and the Jinglian nobles at the same time. As long as his body can hold on, he can control the development of the situation from beginning to end."

Luo Jiujiu was already a little confused by what she heard.

Lin Xi said in a deep voice: "So Emperor Jing started to make plans when he was assassinated? That's right, with the degree of control he has over the internal affairs of Jing State, it is not difficult for him to pretend to be seriously injured and difficult to treat. Even if Qing Yugong is a martial arts master, he can't personally diagnose Emperor Jing's physical condition. This person's scheming is unimaginable, and my husband must treat it with caution."

Lu Chen didn't say anything, just nodded slightly.

"I remembered."

Li Bingxue suddenly realized and said seriously, "At that time, Emperor Gaozong was seriously ill. In order to promote the Battle of Yongqiu, he did not hesitate to control the court and create a false impression for the king and ministers of Jingguo. Now Emperor Jing can naturally do the opposite and pretend to be dying soon to paralyze my court and induce my husband to make a wrong judgment. For example, let my husband give up organizing a counterattack and just defend the passes and strong cities. In this way, the Jing army can occupy Dingzhou and Jingzhou at the lowest cost."

Lu Chen suddenly sighed.

Luo Jiujiu looked at him in confusion.

After the other three people sorted out the situation, she now had a rough understanding of the whole matter, and she felt both admiration and happiness.

She thought that now that the enemy's conspiracy had been figured out, the subsequent response would definitely be much simpler. Lu Chen should be happy about it. Why was that handsome and calm face filled with a solemn look?
Is he unhappy because his sisters are too smart?

Luo Jiujiu immediately rejected this absurd idea and asked with concern: "Husband, what's wrong?"

Without waiting for Lu Chen to speak, Lin Xi said, "Because the situation has become more complicated, he will inevitably have a headache."

Wang Chulong also apologized: "Husband, maybe this is just my random guess."

"This is not a wild guess, but a very sharp judgment."

Lu Chen spoke in a gentle tone, and then said: "But what Senior Sister said is right. One more possibility means that the complexity of the situation has increased exponentially. At least our army must prepare a completely different plan."

Wang Chulong gave a brief explanation and Luo Jiujiu understood.

Whether Emperor Jing is really about to die is two completely different prerequisites. Before Lu Chen is sure of this, he cannot let the border troops act hastily. Indecision on the battlefield is an extremely fatal situation. After all, the enemy will not wait for you to see the situation clearly before launching an attack.

In simple terms, if Emperor Jing was faking an injury, the border army of the Great Qi could not simply give in and hand over the territory north of the Yangtze River, because the longer Emperor Jing lived, the longer the Jing army's offensive could last. The Qi army's initiative to give up its strategic depth was undoubtedly the stupidest response.

But if Emperor Jing really could only live for one or two years, and if the Qi army chose to confront him head-on, wouldn't that be letting him fulfill his wish?
Looking at Lu Chen's gradually furrowed brows, Luo Jiujiu felt sympathetic. She finally felt the pressure on her husband's shoulders. You know, every decision he made may be related to the life and death of thousands of soldiers.

At this moment, Lin Xi and others kept quiet tacitly.

They will try their best to help Lu Chen identify deficiencies and analyze the situation, but they do not have the ability to make overall decisions and can only rely on Lu Chen himself.

After a long time, Lu Chen slowly let out a breath and said calmly: "Perhaps this is the situation that Emperor Jing wants to see. The war has not yet broken out, and I am in a dilemma."

Wang Chulong felt relieved when she saw this, and asked softly, "Husband, do you have a plan?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "Emperor Jing wants to put me in a dilemma. I can only try my best to make his backyard burn."

Lin Xi asked, "Are you going to tell Qing Yu Huai Jin about this speculation?"

"Do not."

To her surprise, Lu Chen shook his head and said softly, "I will add fuel to the fire in Qing Yu Huaijin's heart."

Lin Xi felt quite emotional. She knew that if Qing Yu Huaijin realized that Emperor Jing's injuries were not that serious, she would definitely continue to lie dormant. At most, she would help Qing Yu's clansmen find a way to survive, rather than completely turning against the unfathomable emperor.

Lu Chen looked around at the four girls, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and said with a smile: "Senior Sister, Bingxue, we will set off north the day after tomorrow. I will leave Chulong and Jiujiu to take care of the family."

Wang Chulong naturally had no objection, but Luo Jiujiu was reluctant to let go, after all, they had just been married for a short time.

She mustered up her courage and said, "I want to go to the frontier, too."

Lu Chen stared into her eyes and said gently, "Jiujiu, please stay at home for now. I may need to trouble you to go back to Shazhou when the critical moment comes."

Luo Jiujiu suddenly came to her senses and said obediently, "Okay."

Lu Chen stretched his arms slightly and said to everyone, "I should go get some work done."

The four girls stood up to see them off.

……

Time flies, a lively New Year festival has passed, and now it is the tenth year of Dajingtiande.

Changshan County Prince's Mansion, Jinyuan.

In the warm side hall, Qing Yu Huaijin looked at the unremarkable man in his thirties holding a thin envelope in his hand and asked, "Did Lu Tong ask someone to give this to you?"

The man said respectfully: "Your Highness, it's not Lu Tong. The person who came claimed to be Lu Chen's confidant."

Qing Yu Huaijin smiled expressionlessly and said calmly, "Go down."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The man bowed and left.

Qing Yu Huaijin stood up, holding the envelope and walking slowly, seemingly with no intention of opening it.

After a long time, she stopped, curled her lips, and opened the ordinary-looking envelope, which also contained only an unremarkable piece of letter paper.

Just like before, there was only one sentence on the paper.

Memories flooded into her mind. Ever since the rebellion of the Fourth Prince Hai Ge was suppressed, she had taken the initiative to cut off contact with Lu Chen, and the two had no more communication with each other.

Qing Yu Huaijin looked up and recited it softly.

"I'd like to lend you a hand."

No beginning or end, inexplicable.

But Qing Yu Huaijin understood this sentence immediately.

She frowned slightly, raised her hand to the top of the brazier, and said unhappily, "Who needs your help?"

His arms hung in front of him, but his white fingers did not loosen.

Then slowly took it back.

There are actually many ways to interpret this sentence, but Qing Yu Huaijin knows in his heart that Lu Chen has seen through the situation of the Qing Yu family, and he also knows that after the outbreak of the national war, no matter whether the Jing army wins or loses in the end, the Qing Yu family will not escape the fate of destruction.

If not, why would she have gone to all the trouble to plan over the past year?
"How can you help me?"

Qing Yu Huaijin slightly opened his red lips, and there seemed to be a hint of ridicule in his tone.

But as these words came out, the thread between her and Lu Chen, which had been broken for more than two years, was quietly connected.

(End of this chapter)