Jiuxi

Chapter 900 898 [Hidden Edge]

The next day, when the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes, turned to look at Lin Xi who was leaning on his shoulder, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

The eyebrows are green without drawing, and the lips are red without makeup.

The white hair on her neck added a touch of elegance and charm.

Lu Chen couldn't help but move closer.

Lin Xi did not open her eyes, but she was obviously awakened by this guy's breath, so she pulled her left hand out from the quilt, pressed it on Lu Chen's face with great precision, and murmured, "Don't mess around."

Lu Chen joked: "Senior sister, the sun is about to burn your butt."

"Humph."

Lin Xi snorted softly, a smile appeared on her face, then she put her left hand around his shoulders, opened her eyes and came over to kiss him on the cheek, then smiled and said, "My Lord, get up."

Lu Chen smiled, stood up and put on his clothes.

After washing up and having a simple breakfast, the two men said goodbye to Lin Jie and left this secret world, leading five hundred personal guards to the headquarters of the Seven Stars Gang, more than twenty miles to the west.

Today, this place is the base of the Seven Star Army. Together with the other three camps, it forms a defense system within the Baotai Mountains. In addition, there are traps and visible and hidden sentries scattered throughout the mountains, making it a net that leaves nothing to chance.

A few years ago, the Jing army tentatively sent scouts into the mountains, but none of them returned. Later, they finally gave up such an idea.

Lu Chen did not take Lin Xi directly to the main camp, but came to a solemn place in the east.

Lin Xi looked at the neatly arranged graves on the low hill, which were regularly cleaned, and for a moment he felt overwhelmed.

Resting in the tomb are the members of the Seven Stars Gang who died heroically when the Yanjing coalition forces attacked Baotai Mountain.

She turned her head and saw a large group of soldiers standing solemnly on the wide and flat open space on the other side, at least several thousand of them.

"Husband, what is this?"

Lin Xi looked at Lu Chen in confusion.

"The Seven Star Army currently has more than 11,000 people. I decided to add 8,000 people to this base, with 3,000 infantrymen from the Ruishi Battalion as the main body, and 2,000 loyal and brave men from the Ningyuan Army, Zhenbei Army, and Guangling Army, as well as the 3,000 people my father has accumulated over the years. Nearly 2,000 of them will be responsible for guarding that valley."

Lu Chen smiled slightly and said calmly: "These eight thousand men are all soldiers I have led personally, and now you are directly in charge of them."

Lin Xi was surprised and a little nervous, and asked softly: "Me?"

Since the day the Seven Star Army was founded, Lin Xi has been the commander-in-chief. Although she has hardly been in charge of military affairs after marrying Lu Chen, and has always been managed by three deputy generals, Yu Dajun, Lou Chengyuan, and Chu Zhu, the position of the chief general has always been in her hands, and all of Lu Chen's confidants have not said anything about this issue.

Not to mention Lu Chen's respect and love for Lin Xi, as long as you know that more than 80% of the soldiers of the Seven Star Army come from the Seven Star Gang, you will understand that except Lin Jie, no one in this world can replace Lin Xi.

It doesn’t matter whether Lin Xi personally handles military affairs or not, this mighty army will unswervingly obey her orders from beginning to end.

"Of course it's you."

Lu Chen's tone became gentler, and he said slowly: "These eight thousand people will take on the most important responsibilities, and I am too busy to handle them. Apart from handing them over to Senior Sister, I can't think of anyone else who can make me feel more at ease."

Lin Xi smiled sweetly, with a hint of tenderness in her eyes. She certainly would not deliberately mention Li Bingxue at this time. After all, the Feiyu Army was equally important.

Lu Chen waved over there, and four generals immediately ran over.

"See you, my lord!"

Ye Jitong, Yu Dajun, Lou Chengyuan and Chu Zhu bowed respectfully.

"No need to be polite."

Lu Chen looked calm and said to Lin Xi, "Madam, Ye Jitang was originally the captain of the Ruishi Battalion. Now I promote him to the deputy commander of the Seven Star Army. He is responsible for commanding 4,000 cavalry."

Lin Xi had no objection to this. Ye Jitong and Liu Yin were the best among the young generals under Lu Chen. They had made great contributions in leading the Ruishi Battalion in the past two years. Needless to say, their loyalty to Lu Chen was unquestionable.

Ye Jitang bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Princess. I will do my best and will never slack off!"

Lin Xi nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I believe General Ye can lead his soldiers to achieve great success."

Lu Chen waited for them to finish their brief communication, then said, "The remaining 7,000 infantrymen of the Seven Star Army are led by Lou Chengyuan and Chu Zhu respectively. Your duty is to guard these forts in the mountains. Regardless of whether the Jing Army will take risks or not, you must not be careless."

The two of them responded in unison.

Lu Chen looked at the calm and reserved Yu Dajun again and said, "From now on, you will be the princess's deputy and help her lead these eight thousand soldiers."

Yu Dajun bowed and said, "I will obey your orders!"

Lu Chen then revealed the answer to Lin Xi: "Madam, the three new weapons you saw yesterday will remain secret for the time being, and will not be distributed among the armies. Barracks have been built over there in the valley. You will temporarily station your 8,000 soldiers there and become proficient in using those weapons as soon as possible. When the time is right, you will lead them out of the mountain."

At this time, Lin Xi had already guessed what her husband was thinking.

Although the new weapons are powerful and fierce, they are just a drop in the bucket when facing hundreds of thousands of Jing troops. Therefore, Lu Chen will definitely save these weapons for the critical moment and try to have the decisive effect.

Before the decisive battle, only Lin Xi's personal presence could allow him to have no worries.

She stood in the bright spring sunshine and said to Lu Chen, "Don't worry."

Lu Chen said softly: "Okay."

There is no need for thousands of words, just three words are enough to make the two hearts understand each other. …

Jingchao, Dadu.

Although it is mid-April, the air is still chilly because we are located in the north of the mainland.

Being in the study room that had become somewhat unfamiliar, Pucha could feel the chill in his heart even more.

After escaping from Yaoshan Pass, he first rode back to Nanjing City at full speed, explained his experience to the astonished eyes of the generals, and then, under the protection or escort of hundreds of elite cavalry, he rushed to Dadu day and night.

When he came before Emperor Jing, this former general of the Loyal Army had become so thin that he seemed like a completely different person.

Behind the imperial case, Emperor Jing looked at Pucha with a slightly deep gaze and said, "I thought you were dead."

"I am ashamed of your majesty's trust."

Pucha knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying: "As a general of Dajing, I failed to serve my country and instead lived a miserable life. I have disappointed Your Majesty!"

At this moment, apart from the monarch and his minister, only Tian Jue, the chief of the music department, stood solemnly by their side, and all other palace servants had left.

Emperor Jing said calmly, "In the battle of Yaoshan Pass, you really disappointed me. It's not because you were captured by the Qi army in the end, but because you were led by Lu Chen throughout the battle. As for your surrender in the end, Wu Yanshu has already told me that you wanted to continue to induce Lu Chen to attack Nanjing. I can forgive you the death penalty for the time being. Get up, I know you are not a coward."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Pucha kowtowed again, his voice trembling slightly.

After standing up, he lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I did think of dying to apologize for my sins. I have no face to return to Dajing, but..."

"Since Lu Chen is willing to let you come back, he must want to tell me something through you."

Emperor Jing interrupted him expressionlessly, and then said: "Tell me, what does he want to tell me?"

Pucha subconsciously raised his head to take a look, then quickly retracted his gaze and said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, Lu Chen said that he is very clear about the strength of our army, so he will choose to temporarily avoid the front line. The Southern Qi border army will take a resolute defense. Even if Dingzhou and Jingzhou are lost, he will not change this decision."

Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes slightly.

Tian Jue forced himself to control his emotions, and his expression did not change.

After a moment, Emperor Jing said with a half-smile, "He has a good plan. He wants to use the tactic of delaying until I die. Then he can lead his army to launch a counterattack. Not only can he recover the territory lost in this battle, but he may even have a chance to capture my Nanjing."

Hearing this, Pucha knelt down again and said nervously: "Your Majesty, Lu Chen is wishful thinking. Jinglian's nine armies will surely be able to sweep the north of the Pingjiang River, and it will be just around the corner to pacify the south of the Yangtze River and destroy the Southern Qi!"

Emperor Jing did not comment, but slowly stood up and walked in front of Pucha.

Pucha's forehead was pressed against the smooth, cold ground, and he didn't dare to move at all.

Emperor Jing looked at this loyal minister and suddenly said with a sigh: "Pucha, although you are loyal, you have made a fatal mistake that I cannot tolerate."

Pucha said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, please make it clear."

"You joined the army at the age of seventeen, and it has been twenty-six years so far. You are already an experienced veteran on the battlefield. Since the year I ascended the throne, you have been one of the generals I have focused on training. Logically, you should understand why Lu Chen did this, so you should not come back."

Emperor Jing did not hide his disappointment any longer, and said slowly: "The most important thing to avoid when two armies are fighting is to lose the initiative. Although Lu Chen knows that my health is not good, he does not have more solid information, so he may not give in to the end. He just wants to influence my judgment through you. If you do not act according to his arrangements, he will not be able to infer our army's strategy from my will. Now he has put the response method in front of me. No matter what decision I make later, Lu Chen will see my strengths and weaknesses."

Pucha was stunned, beads of sweat gradually appearing on his forehead.

At this moment he suddenly realized that Lu Chen did this actually to test Emperor Jing's physical condition.

If Emperor Jing continued to launch this national war knowing that the Qi army would resolutely defend and never fight, it would be enough to prove that his injuries were not too serious and he could at least hold out for three to five years. Otherwise, the always wise and brave Emperor Jing would not waste national treasury on such useless efforts.

Pucha was filled with remorse and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I am extremely stupid. I am the sinner of Dajing!"

"enough."

Emperor Jing shouted at him to stop, and looking at the bright red mark on his forehead, he couldn't help but think of the vicissitudes of the past twenty years.

Before encountering Lu Chen, Pucha had performed very well in both training and fighting, and had made great contributions to Dajing over the years. Otherwise, he would not have become one of the deputy commanders of the Loyal Army.

Although he was not from the Alihe clan, his loyalty to Emperor Jing was absolutely true.

Even if such a minister was defeated or even captured, Emperor Jing did not mind giving him a way out, and would even give him the opportunity to redeem himself with meritorious service at some point in the future, because Emperor Jing knew very well that there were countless talented ministers, but loyal ministers were rare.

But the mistake Pucha made this time was too serious. More importantly, the news he brought back made all of Jingdi’s previous plans go awry, and he absolutely could not let those people in the court notice any clues.

"Pucha, I..."

Emperor Jing hesitated, which was unusual for him. He stood with his hands behind his back for a long time before he said, "Now that you are back, go and see your family. I will not promise them wealth and glory, but I will let them live well."

How could Pucha not understand the emperor's hidden meaning?
There was no resentment, fear or unwillingness in his eyes. Instead, he said with a sense of relief: "I thank your majesty for your grace!"

Knock three times and bow nine times, and there will be a sound when the ground is touched.

Emperor Jing took a deep breath, then turned around and walked away slowly.

Pucha stood up and said with a smile that sounded like crying, "I have wasted more than 40 years and was fortunate to be appreciated and valued by Your Majesty. Today I will not be able to see Your Majesty again. I still have several wishes in my heart. I hope Your Majesty will be healthy, and may the great prosperity last for thousands of years. I hope that the world will be unified, and Your Majesty will surely be the greatest emperor in the history!"

After saying this, he kowtowed respectfully, then stood up and staggered away.

Emperor Jing raised his head slightly and sighed silently in his heart.

(End of this chapter)