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Chapter 724 Leaving the Waist Badge

After passing through Shuodi, Zhu Yu felt much more at ease. Her biggest worry was her father, fearing he was hopeless and incompetent. But seeing him and Zhu Feng both working hard to govern Shuodi and, as agreed, guarding its borders, she breathed a sigh of relief.

There are no problems with Shuodi, and further ahead is Quzhou where Lu Yan is located. Zhu Yu has even less to worry about. She saw firsthand how Lu Yan treated Lu Qing in Landi.

Sure enough, upon arriving in Quzhou, Lu Qing led Zhu Yu straight to Lu Yan's camp. As soon as they arrived, they saw the hot-tempered Prince Xuan energetically training his troops.

Lu Yan was overjoyed to see Lu Qing and Zhu Yu, and immediately ordered someone to prepare wine, saying that he wanted to drink with his brother until they were completely drunk.

However, Lu Qing naturally refused this offer.

“It’s not too late for us to drink together when everything is peaceful,” Lu Qing said to Lu Yan, who was somewhat disappointed. “There have been undercurrents in the capital for a long time, and things could change at any time. Neither of us should be careless.”

"Yes, brother is right." Lu Yan clenched his fist. "Ever since we parted ways in Lan, I have been diligently training my troops. Now I can say that I am ready at any time and place, just waiting for my brothers' orders!"

“No rush,” Lu Qing shook his head. “Your Quzhou is adjacent to Shuo and Lan. The troops in Shuo are also gathered at the pass under the leadership of Zhu Yu’s elder brother, Zhu Feng. Lan has also made preparations.”

The forces in Lan are still weak, and Zhu Feng in Shuo lacks experience in leading troops. Therefore, Third Brother will need to work harder and be their backbone. With the combined efforts of the three of you, you will be our most important force.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan straightened his back even more and nodded with great solemnity.

Because of his volatile temper, he was not particularly favored by Emperor Jin from childhood. When he grew up, he volunteered to go to the frontier to guard the border, hoping to stay away from the court and the capital and have a better life. However, because of his fiery temper, he was often used as a target by Zhao Bi and was almost labeled as "unfit for important tasks".

Lu Qing's repeated heartfelt words and trust in him had already deeply moved him. This time, he never expected his position to be so important, and Lu Yan felt his fighting spirit ignite.

The four of them rested for only one night before setting off again the next day, leaving Quzhou and heading straight for Xinzhou.

Xinzhou is the fiefdom of the fourth prince, Lu Jun. After Lu Yan joined the camps of Lu Chao and Lu Qing, Lu Jun carefully chose sides after some observation.

A person who is so cautious and prudent will naturally not be very warm towards them.

When Lu Jun met Lu Qing, he was polite and proper, neither cold nor enthusiastic. After a few polite and somewhat awkward pleasantries, Lu Qing got straight to the point and told Lu Jun to be prepared to meet up with Situ Jing from Qinzhou next door at any time to prepare for the next step of the plan.

From beginning to end, Lu Qing did not reveal Zhu Yu's identity. Zhu Yu also knew that this was because Lu Jun could not be considered the most trustworthy person in the inner circle. Therefore, she remained silent, just like an ordinary follower, quietly following by her side.

Having arrived in Xinzhou, it's natural that we wouldn't leave Qinzhou behind.

Throughout the journey, Zhu Yu felt that the preparations were quite good, even better than she had originally expected. However, it wasn't until she saw the soldiers under Situ Jing that she realized she had indeed been short-sighted, actually thinking that Zhu Feng and Lu Yan's men looked quite capable.

The soldiers before us are not only strong and healthy, but also stand in neat formations. Their every move is full of murderous intent and perfectly synchronized.

"It seems you've got everything ready here." As Lu Qing was being led by Situ Jing past the training ground, he looked at the soldiers drilling there and nodded in satisfaction.

"The soldiers have never slacked off in their daily drills, and we have been constantly procuring provisions. After all, we don't know how long the battle will last, so as long as it doesn't affect the normal lives of the people of Qinzhou, we should gather as much as possible." Situ Jing spoke and acted in a very proper and orthodox manner, which was inseparable from the education he received from General Situ from childhood.

"How are things going with your father and brothers?" Lu Qing asked. "It was thanks to their impeachment of me in court that I was able to put on such a good show. Otherwise, many things probably wouldn't have been able to proceed so smoothly."

"It must have taken you a lot of talking to convince them, right?"

“My father is indeed very averse to forming factions and taking sides, but I told him everything about the strange things that happened in the Lizhou camp. He also asked my subordinates about it and was quite surprised.”

Although our Situ family has always been guarding the border for His Majesty, we have almost always been targeting the Jie people. My father's reputation was earned through fighting against the Jie people.

The Jie people are brave and fierce, but their tactics are bold and decisive. Overall, they are quite upright, so my father had never seen such despicable, filthy, and insidious methods.

This incident also made him realize that it is easy to dodge a spear in the open but difficult to guard against an arrow in the dark. If he kept his eyes on the Jie people, he might have exposed his back to the enemy hiding in the shadows.

Especially after I was transferred to Qinzhou, I saw and heard even more, which was the main reason why my father and brothers were able to change their minds.

Ultimately, it was the various anomalies in Brahma's lands that led them to this awareness.

"Lu Jun's side is also ready, but he is too cautious and always weighs things repeatedly. He is too indecisive at crucial moments. If no one sets an example for him, he will find it difficult to make a decision first. Therefore, we still need to ask the general for help with this matter." Lu Qing solemnly instructed Situ Jing, "Although he is Prince Juan, he cannot make any decisions."

As he spoke, he took out the gold-faced censor's waist token from his pocket and handed it to Situ Jing: "Put this token here with the general for now. If Lu Jun has the idea of ​​retreating again, take it out and tell him that all of this is the Emperor's will. If he retreats in the face of battle, no one will cover for him when the Emperor investigates in the future."

Situ Jing was stunned for a moment. Although he already knew that Lu Qing was the Golden-Faced Censor, he also knew the significance of this waist token.

Lu Qing actually intends to lend him this waist token to suppress the indecisive Fourth Prince, which is something he did not expect.

"No, no!" he hurriedly waved his hands. "How can I easily hand over this badge to someone else..."