Jiuxi

Chapter 929 927 [A Son Should Be Like Lu Jingan]

More than thirty miles north of Teng County.

The flags of the Jing army were fluttering and the military formation was stretched out, as if covering the sky and the sun.

Fifteen days have passed since leaving Heluo in late October, and the Jing army has traveled more than 400 miles to the south. This speed is obviously not fast.

In the evening, Jing's army set up camp on the spot.

The emperor was in the palace, and all the generals gathered together.

The two great leaders, Sagai and Abuhan, and loyal generals including Asugei, Subunyan, Zhuge, Hesheli, and Shubulie were all present.

Emperor Jing was wearing a dark casual suit and sitting calmly on the commander's seat, listening to the messenger's report.

During this period, intelligence exchanges between various battlefields continued, and there was not much change compared to half a month ago.

The battle in the northern part of Dingzhou was fierce. Shan Yang and Shen Gu were both experienced and prudent men. Although they had not yet penetrated the Qi army's defense line, they had at least entangled part of the Southern Qi Feiyun Army, Ningyuan Army and Seven Star Army, leaving the other side no room to maneuver.

The same was true in the western part of Dingzhou. Even though the Qi army defended Yaoshan Pass and Qingliu Pass very firmly, and the Jing army seemed unable to achieve success, it also made the two elite troops of the Southern Qi Zhenbei Army and the Lai'an Army suffer terribly.

Now both sides have their nerves tense, it just depends on which side will give up first.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Changshan led his troops to break through Xileng Pass on October 17th. After a short rest, they continued to move south and arrived at the north of Pingyang City on November 2nd. They have now launched the attack in accordance with your Majesty's order."

The messenger reported respectfully.

Emperor Jing nodded slightly and then ordered him to leave.

He looked at the generals on his left and right, and asked slowly, "Tell me, what is Lu Chen planning?"

Abuhan said first: "Your Majesty, although this man is very wise, the current situation does not allow him to make plans. This time our main force is slowly moving south, giving the enemy ample time to respond. If Lu Chen has hidden murderous intentions, no matter where he deploys troops from, our army can make a decisive breakthrough. At present, from the entire line of Jingzhou in Southern Qi to the two battlefields in Dingzhou, the Qi army has not made any moves, which shows that the enemy has no more strength to spare."

Emperor Jing smiled and asked, "Do you mean that Lu Chen has run out of options?"

Abuhan hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I don't think he can conjure up troops out of thin air."

Emperor Jing did not comment, but stood up and walked to the edge of the sand table. All the generals quickly stood up.

Looking at the increasingly clear battle situation on the sand table, Emperor Jing said leisurely: "After the Taikang War, the Qi army immediately switched to a full defensive posture. This is not surprising. However, in the following six months, the Southern Qi commander who was famous for his ingenious strategies did not make any moves, as if he had completely disappeared from the battlefield. You should understand what this means without me saying more."

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

The generals frowned.

"Your Majesty, I really can't think of what else Lu Chen of Southern Qi can do."

Sagai looked like he had a toothache, and said in a deep voice: "The situation is now on our side, and the Qi army's forces have been completely trapped. Does he have enough confidence to defeat the strong with the weak?"

It was quiet all around.

Almost everyone's eyes were focused on Sagai, which made him feel uneasy.

Emperor Jing suddenly laughed and said, "Although this is a most brainless guess, it may also be the analysis closest to the truth."

Sagai touched his forehead in confusion, then realized that he should be happy.

At this moment, a general of the imperial guards strode in, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the military information from the south has been delivered."

Emperor Jing put his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Speak."

The general said respectfully, "Your Majesty, our scouts have discovered that the Qi army has set up several large camps in the northeast of Ningling City, with their backs against the city. The commander of the central army is Lu Chen, the Prince of Huai'an County of Southern Qi."

The generals' eyes lit up.

Emperor Jing asked, "How many soldiers and horses does this Qi army have?"

The general replied, "Your Majesty, our scouts dare not get too close, because the enemy's cavalry is quite fierce. At present, we can only confirm that the two cavalry units of Southern Qi are there, and there are about 50,000 to 60,000 infantry."

Emperor Jing made a rough calculation and concluded that this should be all the mobile forces that Lu Chen could currently mobilize, and there was nothing unusual for the time being.

"Your Majesty, I invite you to fight!"

General Su Bolunian, who was known for his cruelty and brutality, immediately bowed and spoke, and the other generals were also eager to try.

This time, Emperor Jing personally led an army of more than 130,000 soldiers southward. The marching speed was slow in order to give the south some time to react.

As long as Lu Chen is willing to lead his troops and face off head-on, what will these great generals of Jinghu fear?
"Not urgent."

Emperor Jing smiled calmly, looked at the scholar beside him and said, "Draft an imperial edict now and tell Lu Chen of Southern Qi that as long as he is willing to lead his army to surrender, I will make him the hereditary King of Qi and grant him the city of Yongjia in the south of the Yangtze River as his fiefdom, so that he can enjoy wealth and glory for generations. I will keep my word and announce it to the world, so he doesn't have to worry."

The scholar immediately bowed and said, "I obey your order!"

The generals looked at each other, with envy and confusion in their eyes.

The emperor's edict was extremely generous and magnanimous. It went straight to the point and promised Lu Chen the highest position among the ministers, not to mention that his fiefdom was located in Yongjia City in the south of the Yangtze River. It was full of sincerity.

They also knew in their hearts that if a prince title and a fiefdom could persuade Lu Chen to surrender, it would indeed be a very cost-effective deal.

Even though the Qi army is currently at a clear disadvantage, and even though Lu Chen does not seem to have enough backup to reverse the situation, the Jing army will still have to pay an extremely heavy price if it wants to conquer the whole country.

If Lu Chen led his troops to surrender, it would completely undermine the resistance of the Southern Qi border troops, and the Jing army would be able to sweep across the world more easily.

The question is, will the other side surrender?

Judging from Lu Chen’s past performance, this young man has lofty ambitions and is by no means an incompetent person who is greedy for power.

The generals had mixed feelings. On the one hand, they were jealous of Lu Chen, and on the other hand, they felt that the emperor was doing useless work. Emperor Jing knew their thoughts very well, but he was too lazy to explain.

The edict was quickly drafted, stamped with the emperor's seal, and quickly sent south.

The next morning, the letter of surrender was delivered to the Qi army camp outside Ningling City.

The brazier had already been lit inside the general's tent. After all, the weather in mid-November was quite cold.

Lu Chen, who was considered mediocre by the eyes of the generals of Jing Army, sat on the commander's seat. He was much thinner than before, but his eyes were sharper, as if he could see into people's hearts at a glance.

"King Qi?"

Lu Chen smiled and said slowly: "This ambitious Emperor Jing is really generous."

The generals in the tent looked at the imperial edict in his hand with curiosity.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chen passed the imperial edict down and asked them to take turns reading it.

Then a series of hissing sounds were heard.

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"Your Majesty."

Li Chengen spoke first, and said with a little concern: "Could this be a trick by Emperor Jing to instigate?"

The expressions of the others also turned serious.

They all knew that there was a problem with the logistical supply in the south. Although Queen Dowager Ning took ruthless measures in time to deter those with evil intentions, this was enough to show that there was an undercurrent within the court. In addition, the situation of the Qi army had been indeed difficult in the past six months, and Lu Chen, as the commander-in-chief, seemed to have no solution to the problem. It was inevitable that some people would make innuendos and speak sarcastically.

If this edict of surrender were to reach the south of the Yangtze River, it would probably cause a huge storm.

This kind of blatant sowing of discord may seem ridiculous, but in fact it is likely to achieve unexpected results. There are countless similar examples in history books.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out."

Lu Chen looked around at everyone and saw that they had no emotions other than concern, and then said meaningfully: "But what he wants to know most is whether this edict will be delivered to me."

The generals were stunned at first, and then they reacted one after another.

Lu Chen said to Wang Jun who was standing solemnly beside him: "Grind the ink. I will write a reply in person."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wang Jun is now the secretary of the royal palace, so naturally he has to go with the army this time.

A moment later, an extremely simple reply was drafted, and more than ten riders rode out of the Qi army camp and headed north.

At sunset, in Teng County.

Emperor Jing was about to take a bath and change his clothes when he heard the reply letter from Lu Chen of Southern Qi. He couldn't help but frowned slightly.

He walked into the main hall, where two big leaders, Sagai and Abuhan, were already waiting.

The guard respectfully handed over the reply letter which had been checked and confirmed there was no danger.

After Emperor Jing sat down, he did not open the reply immediately. He said calmly, "Have you figured out why I want to surrender him?"

Sagai was about to speak but stopped. Abu, who rarely saw this, said, "Your Majesty, Lu Chen is good at setting up false formations. He has used this strategy many times in the past. For example, after he captured Yaoshan Pass, he pretended to attack Heluo, but actually led his troops to attack Jingzhou Taikang City thousands of miles away. Your Majesty sent a letter to him, firstly to try to persuade him to surrender, and secondly to confirm whether the commander in that military camp is Lu Chen."

Sagai quickly said, "Yes, I think so too."

Emperor Jing looked up at him with a smile.

Sagai felt his face getting hot.

Emperor Jing didn't care. He lowered his eyes and looked at the reply letter in his hand, a trace of regret welling up in his heart.

He originally thought that he had an unspoken understanding with the young general in the south, and that the other party should have already rushed to the southwest of Jingzhou and secretly dispatched troops to destroy Qing Yugong's army which was isolated and deep in the territory.

Based on his understanding of Qing Yugong, this battle would at most end in a lose-lose situation for both sides.

Unexpectedly, Lu Chen could resist such temptation. Now Lu Chen's target was the more than 100,000 Jing troops stationed around Teng County and himself, the Great Jing Emperor.

Emperor Jing was a man of great determination, and he was not afraid of any loss. He immediately opened the letter.

There was only a short line of words on it, but Emperor Jing could tell that it was written by Lu Chen himself.

Because only Lu Chen could write this sentence.

Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a moment he suddenly laughed out loud.

The laughter became louder and louder, more and more joyful.

Sagai and Abuhan looked puzzled.

Emperor Jing immediately threw the reply letter over, Abuhan hurriedly took it, and Sagai also came over, only to see that it said: I, Lu Chen, am a humble man, but I am willing to meet Your Majesty at the ancient battlefield of Lei Ze, so that we can fight to settle the sixty-year feud between Qi and Jing and determine who will rule the world!
They were both stunned.

Emperor Jing stopped laughing, stood up, looked down upon others, and said proudly: "What a great Southern Qi Lu Chen, with such lofty ambitions, he is worthy of being my opponent. Since he has such ambitions, how can I let him take the cake? Abuhan."

"Chen is here!"

"Pass on my order, march south and fight a decisive battle!"

(End of this chapter)