Jiuxi

Chapter 126 Chapter 125 [Where is the undercurrent surging]

"In Gu Waner's view, maybe you are close to the posture of a saint."

In the pavilion next to the waterside pavilion, Li Bingxue sat beside the railing and said with a half-smile.

"Saint? This is too exaggerated."

Lu Chen shook his head, looking at the koi that jumped out of the water from time to time, and slowly sprinkled the fish food.

"It's not an exaggeration at all."

Li Bingxue looked calm and said slowly: "You have to know what her previous life was like. In the years before she became the oiran, the stewards of Fanlou were beaten with sticks and whips. After finally surviving, she fell into the hands of the powerful children. A chess piece. No matter Li Yunyi or those dignitaries, no one really treats her as a person. They are just looking at a good-looking artifact, like a painting, a copybook, or a guqin."

This topic is a bit heavy.

Lu Chen said softly: "If she hadn't asked the maid to kindly remind her, I wouldn't have helped her. This is her own destiny."

Li Bingxue said: "That's not what I want to say. Just imagine, if I was in her situation, a young and promising battlefield warrior suddenly descended from the sky and rescued me from the fire pit. He did not ask for anything in return, and was even willing to tell me calmly. Everything about me, what is this if not a saint?"

Lu Chen did not argue about this topic. He believed that Gu Waner could understand his thoughts.

Seeing his silence, Li Bingxue asked with interest, "Does Miss Lin's departure mean that she has completed her mission and taught you all the advanced martial arts?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, but I'm still practicing and I'm still far from being a master."

"How about we compare notes?" Li Bingxue's eyes showed excitement.

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment. He had witnessed the fight between Lin Xi and Li Bingxue in Jianghua City and was very aware of the gap between him and them.

According to the senior sister, Li Bingxue has rich experience in fighting. The disadvantage is that her inner strength is not as deep as hers, so she is slightly inferior in head-to-head combat.

She had commented on Lu Chen's martial arts before leaving, because she had practiced Shou Zheng Jue assiduously for the past nine years, and her foundation was very solid. After studying the Xuan Xuan Jing, she had made rapid progress, and could handle ordinary opponents.

But the time it took for him to step into the threshold was really short. This gap must be equalized through hard work and hard work. There is no shortcut such as enlightenment.

In short, it is impossible for Lu Chen to escape from Lin Xi or Li Bingxue with his current strength, which can only last for a cup of tea at most.

Of course, the senior sister also praised his understanding. Maybe in a few years he can improve to a level that is barely equal.

Lu Chen is not worried about being embarrassed if he loses. It is also a rare opportunity for him to compete with a master like Li Bingxue.

"Then try it?" He replied with a smile.

As the saying goes, if you try and die, there is no doubt about the result.

Although Li Bingxue won easily, there was no look of contempt on her face. Instead, she said with a bit of surprise: "I remember Miss Lin said at that time that you only realized the threshold of inner strength about half a year ago?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes."

"No wonder she went all the way to teach you martial arts. It would be a pity if you don't learn advanced martial arts with your understanding. You have made such progress in just half a year. If you give you a few more years, you will definitely be on the martial arts list set by Jianghu people. It’s your name. That’s good, I can feel more at ease.”

The smile on Li Bingxue's face was quite relaxed.

This seems to have some profound meaning.

Lu Chen then asked, "An Xin? What does Miss Li mean by this?"

The two returned to the flower hall to drink tea. Li Bingxue said as they walked: "There will be a court meeting in a few days. At that time, the rewards for the great victory in Jiangbei will be determined, and our whereabouts will also be confirmed. After the court meeting, His Majesty will have a regular meeting at There is a banquet in the palace, and we, the ministers of the court, and some of the distinguished disciples will attend. The problem is that the time of this banquet coincides with the annual banquet. "

Lu Chen didn't understand the details of the court, so he asked humbly: "What is a banquet discussion?"

Li Bingxue replied: "Every year from the beginning of November to the first ten days of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial court would hold a Confucian banquet and a martial arts debate. The former was a royal lecture held for the study of Confucian classics and history. Most of the lecturers were Hanlin scholars, while the latter was held by Beijing scholars. Generals at all levels of the army compete in martial arts and military tactics, and the two are collectively called banquet discussions. Jingyan certainly has nothing to do with us, but regarding the martial arts debate, I think the Beijing army will definitely use this opportunity to suppress the limelight of the generals in the surrounding army. "

Lu Chen frowned slightly and said: "The fame of the frontier army soldiers comes from the great victory in Jiangbei. Could it be that a so-called military debate can make the Beijing army famous?"

Li Bingxue smiled and said: "That's why I don't like staying in the capital. Many people here always have an inexplicable way of doing things."

Lu Chen suddenly understood that Li Bingxue took the initiative to compete with him not because he wanted to show off his martial arts skills in front of him, but because he was worried that his martial arts skills were too poor and he might become a target of the Beijing army generals.

Li Bingxue looked at his expression and knew that he already understood her thoughts. She smiled sweetly and said: "Don't worry, it will only be young generals who end up on the other side. As far as I know, there is no particularly powerful master. Your martial arts is enough." Cope with it. Furthermore, your fame in the capital this time is not based on fighting on the battlefield, but on strategizing and strategizing. As long as you deal with it casually a few times, His Majesty will naturally stop the subsequent challenges." "I'm not actually worried about this, I just feel..."

Lu Chen paused slightly and said with a complicated expression: "It's not easy for Your Majesty. You have to face these confused people all day long."

Li Bingxue raised his eyebrows and said: "Confused? They are not confused at all. These people are all skilled in fighting for power and profit. Sometimes even my father can't help but sigh. If Jingzhou didn't control the northwest gate of Daqi, the soldiers would The salary will definitely be less than that. Even so, when there has been no actual payment for so many years, a few points will be deducted every time. If my father makes another fortune from it or does not supervise the people below strictly, the soldiers will get at most Thirty percent of the salary is not even enough to support the family, so how can we talk about protecting the family and the country?"

Lu Chen sighed softly and said: "If your Majesty and Governor Xiao were not supporting the overall situation at the border, it is unimaginable how corrupt the situation would have been. Even if Your Majesty had the intention to change everything, the crux of the matter in the court was too deep, and many times he could only Can have no choice but to deal with it. In the final analysis, the power of the left prime minister in the government is too great. Even if he shows through various methods that he is not a powerful minister, these two words have already become a reality. If you want to pierce this airtight net, I’m afraid some special means are needed.”

Speaking of this, an incident from half a year ago suddenly popped into his mind, and he fell into deep thought.

Li Bingxue looked at him with his brows slightly furrowed in thought. He didn't say anything to disturb him, but just watched quietly.

……

Bapingfang, Nancheng, is the residence of the right prime minister.

Xue Nanting, the right prime minister who returned from the imperial dynasty, came to the main hall, looked up at his eldest son Xue Ruogu, who was standing respectfully, and asked lightly: "Is there a greeting card from the Lu family today?"

Xue Ruogu replied: "Father, no."

Xue Nanting's eyes narrowed slightly and he said leisurely: "Although Lu Chen is young, he is calm enough. You should learn more about this kind of bearing."

Xue Ruogu was 23 years old at the time. He was awarded Jinshi last year and is now studying history in the Hanlin Academy.

He has a calm temperament, and he cultivated his character in an aristocratic yamen like the Hanlin Academy. Hearing these words, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional. He secretly thought that the captain named Lu Chen was really lucky, and he could get such solemn recognition from his father by virtue of his status as a military commander. .

Although he was slightly unconvinced, Xue Ruogu still agreed respectfully and said, "Father, didn't my uncle say in his family letter that Captain Lu would definitely come to visit?"

Xue Nanting said unhurriedly: "My uncle has good intentions. He is afraid that Lu Chen will be wronged in the capital, so he has reminded the child to come to my place to visit immediately after he comes to the capital. This can be regarded as telling those dandies in the capital who are making trouble out of nothing. Lu Chen is not a border general they can bully at will. But I didn’t expect him to be so cautious. No wonder the two governors praised him so much."

"Be careful..." Xue Ruogu finally couldn't help but lowered his head and said, "Father, he almost had a direct conflict with Li Sanlang in the Fan Tower. Now many people in the capital are laughing at Li Sanlang, and say that Lu Chen is young and energetic. I don’t know the heights of the world, but this doesn’t seem to be a matter of caution.”

Xue Nanting looked up at him and chuckled: "This is why my father asked you to stay in the Hanlin Academy to study history."

Xue Ruogu looked slightly puzzled.

Xue Nanting did not pretend to be mysterious. Wen Yan explained: "Li Sanlang took the initiative to make friends with Lu Chen. On the one hand, he hoped to plant a thorn in His Majesty's heart. On the other hand, he wanted to win over Lu Chen and use him to change the minds of other frontier generals. At that time In this situation, if Lu Chen was a little weak, his situation would become extremely embarrassing. Wouldn't he kill someone if he heard someone's words? It is precisely because he is careful and sharp enough that he can rebuke Li Sanlang immediately and calmly remain invincible. .”

Xue Ruogu listened carefully and gradually came back to his senses.

Xue Nanting added: "It is also because of this consideration that Lu Chen understands that as a general in the border army, he must stay away from all forces in the DPRK and China, so that His Majesty can rest assured, so he did not come to visit me. His Majesty has been in a good mood these days. , it should be inseparable from Lu Chen’s previous meeting with the Saint."

Xue Ruogu responded: "I see, my son has learned a lesson."

At this moment, the old housekeeper of the mansion came in and said: "Master Xiang, Master Xu is here."

Xue Nanting's eyes flashed, and he nodded and said, "Invite him to meet in the outer study."

After a while, Xue Nanting came to the outer study alone. A civil servant in his forties with a pale face stood up and saluted: "I have met Prime Minister Xue."

Xue Nanting said calmly: "No need to be polite, Sir. Please sit down."

After the civil servant surnamed Xu sat down, he said bluntly: "Xue Xiang, in four days there will be a meeting of the imperial court. Recently, those people have been secretly working together, just waiting to stir up trouble at the imperial meeting. According to my guess, whether your majesty wants to They will definitely oppose the establishment of a new army in Jiangbei, or the transfer of several border army commanders to the Beijing army."

Xue Nanting said calmly: "I know."

The civil servant surnamed Xu stared at his calm face and lowered his voice: "May I ask Prime Minister Xue if we should take advantage of the situation and take action?"

Xue Nanting did not answer immediately, thinking calmly.

After a long time, he said slowly: "There are some things that your Majesty is not comfortable talking about. As ministers, we naturally have to be considerate of the Holy Will. Moreover, if we cannot correct some people's wrong ideas, the Northern Expedition will become far away and eventually become an empty talk. "

"The officer understands."

The civil servant surnamed Xu looked solemn and his tone was extremely firm.

(End of this chapter)