The Prodigal Son

After the court assembly, Qin Yu and Song Xian followed the six ministers to Zhao Luan's study.

In fact, this discussion was completely unnecessary.

However, in order to deceive Bei Qi, the act still had to be played out.

After some discussion, Zhao Luan kept Qin Yu, Song Xian, and Xue Chengdao behind.

Zhao Luan glanced at Song Xian with her phoenix eyes, "Did your master mention the campaign against Yan to you?"

"To attack... attack Yan?"

Song Xian's eyelids twitched suddenly, and he looked at Qin Yu and Xue Chengdao beside him with a look of astonishment.

However, Qin Yu and Xue Chengdao showed no emotion whatsoever.

Clearly, they know more than I do.

"It seems your mentor didn't tell you."

Zhao Luan smiled. "Qin Yu, why don't you briefly tell Lord Song about the campaign against Yan?"

Qin Yu accepted the order and simply explained their plan to Song Xian.

After hearing Qin Yu's words, Song Xian was so shocked that he couldn't come to his senses for a long time.

This is not a meeting!

It's an attack on Yan!

They managed to keep it a secret from the entire court!

Zhao Luan stared intently at Song Xian, "So, now you know why I appointed you as the governor of two prefectures in Min for a period of time, right?"

Song Xian was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhao Luan with gratitude: "Your Majesty understands. He wants me to hone my skills first, and once the great cause of conquering Yan is successful, he will let me take charge of the various governance affairs of Yan."

Now, everything makes sense!

It turns out that they had already begun preparations for the campaign against Yan.

"Yes!"

Zhao Luan nodded slightly. "If we win this battle, I need someone capable and whom I can completely trust to govern the Yan region! And you are the best candidate!"

Song Xian trembled and suddenly knelt down on the ground: "Your Majesty, this humble subject thanks you!"

"stand up!"

Zhao Luan gestured for Qin Yu to help Song Xian up, saying, "Doing your job well is the best way to repay me!"

"Your humble servant will certainly not fail in his mission!"

With Qin Yu's help, Song Xian stood up and straightened his body.

Zhao Luan nodded in satisfaction, then asked Xue Cheng, "Qin Yu will be setting off for Dingzhou within three days at the latest. Do you have any further instructions?"

"The situation is still unclear, and I have nothing to say."

Xue Chengdao shook his head. "Your Majesty, I have only one request! May I lead the troops into battle?"

Faced with Xue Chengdao's request, Zhao Luan immediately felt a headache coming on. "Lord Xue, didn't we already discuss this before? We wanted to use a war of attrition to deceive Bei Qi, and you, the Minister of War who strongly opposes such a war, should be in charge of Zhenzhou! Why are you suddenly..."

"There's no conflict between them!"

Xue Chengdao's eyes widened. "Since we've gone to war with the Yan Kingdom, there's no need for me to stay in Zhenzhou any longer!"

"At that time, I will ride at full speed and arrive in Dingzhou from Zhenzhou within five days at the latest!"

"Your Majesty appoints Qin as commander-in-chief, and I have no objection! Surely I can serve as the second-in-command?"

"Your Majesty, if I don't fight this battle, I will never sleep well for the rest of my life, and I will never be able to die in peace!"

Attack Yan!

This is the dream of generations!

He doesn't have to go to attack the Min Kingdom!

He could choose not to go to fight the State of Chu!

However, as the Minister of War, he could not afford to miss the war to conquer Yan!

"We've found a second marshal!"

Zhao Luan smiled helplessly and gestured towards Qin Yu with her lips.

Qin Yu was taken aback.

Yourself?

Second Marshal?

What the hell!

She thinks too highly of herself!

Xue Chengdao's face stiffened, and he said unwillingly, "Then I'll go be the vanguard, or even a commander on the flank!"

"You're sending someone like the Minister of War to be the vanguard or a commander on the flank?"

Zhao Luan was both amused and exasperated. "Is the Minister of War of my Great Ning really that worthless?"

Xue Chengdao: "Your Majesty..."

"Alright!"

Zhao Luan raised his hand to stop Xue Cheng and said, "I know you are eager for war, and I also know your deep-seated hatred for the Yan Kingdom! Here's what we'll do: you go to Zhenzhou to prepare! I'll write a personal letter to the Duke of Wei to discuss this with him and seek his opinion."

Xue Chengdao opened his mouth slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded helplessly.

He's definitely going to Zhenzhou!

This is the key to whether the campaign against Yan can succeed!

No matter how eager he was for war, he had to first deceive Bei Qi.

Only in this way can this battle be fought!

We'll talk about the rest later!

In any case, he has to fight this battle!

Afterwards, Zhao Luan dismissed Xue Chengdao and Song Xian, leaving Qin Yu behind.

With no outsiders present, Qin Yu walked directly behind Zhao Luan, put his arms around her neck from behind, and said, "You really want me to be the second marshal?"

"What, you're scared?"

Zhao Luan turned around and looked at him with a smile.

"It's not that I'm afraid, but I am indeed a little nervous!"

Qin Yu didn't deny it, "I have no experience commanding large-scale operations before. These often involve the lives of 70,000 or 80,000 people. To say it's not an exaggeration would be a lie!"

He excels at tactics such as surprise attacks and flanking maneuvers to disrupt the enemy's overall deployment.

He felt that he was still lacking in some aspects of leading a large army to conquer cities and capture strongholds.

"That's good! You have a pretty clear understanding of yourself."

Zhao Luan smiled and gave Shangguan Youyi a wink.

Shangguan Youyi understood and immediately took out a letter from a bookcase on one side of the imperial study and handed it to Qin Yu.

Qin Yu curiously took it and opened it, only to find that it was a letter the old man had written to Zhao Luan.

The old man suggested that Xue Chengdao should lead the battle, and he himself should serve as the second-in-command.

In his letter, the old man also stated frankly that he was superior to Xue Chengdao in terms of charging into battle and capturing cities.

In terms of troop deployment and strategic planning, he was no less capable than Xue Chengdao.

However, in terms of overall strategic vision, he is not as good as Xue Chengdao.

Looking at the date of this letter, it turns out it's from April!

Qin Yu was surprised and asked with great curiosity, "Then why didn't you let Lord Xue take command?"

Zhao Luan's lips curled into a smile. "Who said I wouldn't let him take command?"

Qin Yu was slightly taken aback, then quickly realized, "Are you trying to string him along?"

"Hmm, not too stupid!"

Zhao Luan propped herself up slightly and gently kissed Qin Yu on the cheek. "If we let him take command now, his mind won't be on Zhenzhou! Let's keep him in suspense for now, let him handle things in Zhenzhou well, and then let him lead the expedition."

"You're thinking way too much."

Qin Yu was deeply moved.

The Emperor's heart is as deep as an abyss!

The ancients were right!

"Is that what you call being deep-thinking?"

Zhao Luan smiled dismissively and asked, "Do you know why Gao Yi impeached you?"

"Know!"

Qin Yu smiled calmly, "This old fellow doesn't really want to impeach me; he just sees the court's emphasis on the Confucian Temple and the Imperial Academy and wants to use it to win people's hearts..."

"Anything else?"

Zhao Luan blinked.

"besides?"

Qin Yu was puzzled and tentatively asked, "To pledge my loyalty to you?"

"That's definitely true, but it's not the point."

Zhao Luan shook his head and smiled, "He's testing my attitude!"

"what?"

Qin Yu was puzzled.

How did this turn into testing her?

manner?

What attitude?

Seeing that Qin Yu truly didn't understand, Zhao Luan couldn't help but instruct Shangguan Youyi, "Tell him!"

"yes!"

Shangguan Youyi accepted the order and said with pursed lips, "His Majesty's firm agreement with Lord Qin's idea of ​​waging a war of attrition has made Prime Minister Gao wary!"

"So, even though he knew His Majesty was going to send Lord Qin to negotiate with the Yan Kingdom, he still impeached you; he was testing His Majesty!"

"If His Majesty doesn't stop him from impeaching you at this critical juncture, it means His Majesty still tacitly approves of his suppression and control over you!"

"On the contrary, he'll have to consider some things..."