Jiuxi

Chapter 272 270 [Fire of the Old Days]

Within the territory of Dongyang Road, Gaoyuan City.

Now it has become the temporary residence of the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion. From Gaoyuan City to the south, from Leize Plain in the west to the coast of Hanhai in the east, this part of the territory has returned to the rule of Daqi and is connected to Qingtian City through Yongquan Pass. It is connected with the northern part of Huaizhou.

To the north of Gaoyuan City, nearly half of Dongyang Road is still under the control of the Yan army.

After the Battle of Leize Plain, the Yan army on Dongyang Road was in complete silence and was in panic all day long.

General Li Shouzhen had more than 40,000 troops and horses, and he reluctantly built a line of defense with Ruyin City as the core.

Facing the menacing Huaizhou Army, he had sent more than ten urgent messages for help to Heluo City. However, Pang Shigu's reply always told him to stand still and wait for help.

Compared with the large-scale roundabout maneuvers in the early stage, Xiao Wangzhi's use of troops was more rigorous. Under his command, the Huaizhou armies slowly advanced, and the battle lines were almost tightly integrated, which made Li Shouzhen feel even more desperate. Without reinforcements, he could only watch helplessly as the opponent cleared the area around Ruyin and then completed the encirclement step by step.

Lu Chen came to Gaoyuan City under such a good situation.

He sent Lu Tong to Lu Zhai in Laian City, met Wang Chulong once, and then hurried back north. The details need not be repeated.

In the Governor's Mansion, Xiao Wangzhi sat next to the brazier, stretched out his hands to feel the warm atmosphere, and said: "I met Ji Ximing several times when I was in the capital, and I always felt that this man had a cold air about him, but He has never provoked me, so there is no reason to compete with him. This time you severely injured him, which shows that young people are indeed more energetic."

"He used my father as a raft, and one punch was enough to give him an advantage."

Lu Chen looked calm and said, "I just don't know how your Majesty will handle this matter."

Xiao Wangzhi asked: "What do you think?"

Lu Chen thought for a while and said, "I wrote a secret letter to His Majesty. If the officials in the court won't let go and he can't handle it, I can choose to resign on my own initiative and just go back to Guangling to retire. As for beating him up I don’t think I’m guilty of Ji Ximing’s case. He locked up my father and tortured me for no reason. Anyone else would take action.”

Xiao Wangzhi smiled gently.

After a while, he said slowly: "Your Majesty will not punish you for Ji Ximing. On the contrary, he will ask Qin Zheng to deal with Ji Ximing, because this matter is of great importance. Ji Ximing, as the warp weaver, actually acted without authorization. There is no guarantee behind this. What secrets are involved? As for the rumors about your life experience..."

He hesitated to speak. Although he knew that Lu Chen and Yang Guangyuan were not related by blood, the key to this matter was what the emperor in the capital would think.

Lu Chen then asked: "Will your Majesty call me back to Beijing?"

"will not."

Xiao Wangzhi shook his head and said: "At least not for now."

Lu Chendeng immediately understood the meaning of his words.

The Northern Expedition was beginning to bear fruit, and his importance in the army gradually became apparent. If the emperor forcibly recalled him to the capital at this time, it was hard to say what impact it would have on the border troops.

"I thought the Jiangnan clan would use this rumor to instigate the emperor and use me as a pawn to stir up conflicts between the central government and the border troops. In fact, they did the same thing. If no one fueled this rumor, it would never have caused such a big stir."

Lu Chen's expression was not relaxed.

No matter how confident he is in front of Li Bingxue or Lu Tong, this is after all an era of imperial power. If the emperor listens to the slanders of those in the court and insists on returning to the capital at this time, it will not be easy for him. Solve the trouble.

Because the emperor's actions meant that he was more inclined to believe that Lu Chen was Yang Guangyuan's posthumous son, Lu Chen's return to the capital was not just a simple report on his duties, but contained great risks.

At least so far, Lu Chen does not have the strength to confront the imperial court head-on.

Xiao Wangzhi smiled faintly and raised his thick eyebrows slightly: "The emperor can issue an edict to call you back, and I can naturally return this edict."

Lu Chen couldn't help but be moved.

Looking at the grateful expression on the young man's face, Xiao Wangzhi said warmly: "I am doing this not only because of my friendship with your father, but more importantly because you are now leading troops under my command. If you really violate the court's laws, , I can intercede for you, but I may not necessarily stand up for you. But you have not committed any mistakes, and you have sacrificed your life to the best of your ability during the war. If I cannot protect you, how will I control these 100,000 people in the future? An army?”

His words were reasonable and reasonable, and they were the decisions a commander should make, but Lu Chen still said sincerely: "Thank you, Uncle Xiao, for taking care of me."

Xiao Wangzhi nodded slightly, and then analyzed: "But based on my understanding of His Majesty, he should put this matter on hold for the time being. Coupled with the blessing of Lei Ze's victory, it will not be difficult for him to do this. Your Majesty has been on the throne since he ascended the throne. He has been planning the Northern Expedition since the beginning, and he has given enough support to the border troops for more than ten years. It can be said that he has never changed his mind. Therefore, the rumors about your life experience may become a thorn in his heart, but they will not sway him for the time being. In this case, there is no need for him to beat drums and resort to small tricks. It is better to support the frontier army wholeheartedly and continue to move forward." Lu Chen finally felt relieved. In fact, he was not waiting passively during this period. On the way from Taixing Prefecture to Ancheng, he He has been thinking about the changes in the situation, and has discussed with Lu Tong to prepare in advance for the emperor to fall out.

The worst-case scenario is that the Lu family is forced to move north and join the Seven Star Gang in Baotai Mountain.

Of course, this possibility is very low, at least Xiao Wangzhi will not watch the Lu family being forced to this extent.

He raised his eyes and looked at the middle-aged man opposite, and said softly: "As Uncle Xiao said, this incident will leave a thorn in the emperor's heart, and he will definitely call me back to the capital in the future."

"This is one moment and that is another moment. It cannot be generalized."

Xiao Wangzhi took a sip from the tea cup next to him and said with a smile: "The better you perform on the battlefield, the higher your prestige will be in the army. This is not a false name that literati praise each other, but a real deal." In other words, as long as this battle ends successfully and our army completely recovers Dongyang Road, you will always have a place in the Huaizhou Army. In this time of great conflict, your value is self-evident. You also Don’t be too afraid of the center, if they had the ability, they would have killed me long ago.”

Lu Chen couldn't help but laugh.

Xiao Wangzhi continued: "Do you think the civil servants in the court like me? The relationship between you and Marshal Yang is just a rumor, and they are jumping up and down to fan the flames. I am a military commander brought out by Marshal Yang himself. Although Marshal Yang found a reason back then They drove me to Huaizhou, but anyone with a discerning eye will know what is going on."

Lu Chen sighed: "This is another concern of mine. The Jiangnan clan is opposed to the Northern Expedition and is unwilling to continue to spend money to support the border troops. They will definitely use this opportunity to slander in front of the emperor, and maybe even make a big fuss. .”

"Whether you want to do it and whether you can do it are two different things. There is a long distance between them."

Xiao Wangzhi's expression was indifferent, but there was a hint of domineering: "When Heluo fell and Huaizhou was in danger, only the Zhenbei Army led by me could fight against Jing's army in the wild. In the end, I relied on my Zhenbei Army. Hold the Lai'an defense line. In the next five or six years, Jing's army led the Yan army to invade Huaizhou repeatedly. It was I who organized the army to fight them back again and again. From that time on, no one in the court mentioned me anymore The relationship with Marshal Yang.”

Lu Chen said convincingly: "I understand, after all, you still have to have enough confidence."

Xiao Wangzhi thought for a moment and said slowly: "While Li Daoyan is alive, you will not be in any danger when you return to the capital."

Lu Chen's heart moved slightly, but he didn't expect that the other party's views on this aspect were surprisingly consistent with his.

He considered it and said: "Actually, I have also thought about this issue. Although the Left Prime Minister opposes the Northern Expedition, he should be more unwilling to see too much turmoil in the court."

"That's right." Xiao Wangzhi nodded and said with a complicated expression: "People's hearts are very complicated. Not everyone can understand the interdependence between the central government and the border troops. Some people think that the central government can shout and kill the border troops at will. , some people worry every day that the frontier army will be in catastrophic situation and eventually the outside will be strong and the middle will be weak. Both of these ideas are very one-sided. At least when the Jing Dynasty is still strong, the center and the frontier army will be in a state of occasional opposition and basically integration. Li Daoyan can see clearly At this point, and only he can suppress those Jiangnan nobles."

"But I always feel that you can't place your hopes on a certain person's bottom line. No one knows whether he will change his mind."

At this point in the conversation, Lu Chen finally revealed a little bit of his thoughts about the future.

"I'm afraid the person you're talking about doesn't just refer to Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan, right?"

Xiao Wangzhi's eyes were bright, and he smiled calmly: "Back to the original topic, if you want others to be afraid but restrained, you must have enough strength. In the current situation, the Huaizhou border army and myself are your confidence And backing up, whoever wants to attack you has to think about the retaliation that will come with it. But at the end of the day, you need to build your own foundation, and you're already doing that, aren't you?"

The hall suddenly fell into silence, except for the sound of burning coals in the brazier.

Lu Chen had been thinking and revising his plans for the future. He had revealed the tip of the iceberg to Lin Jie and more to Lu Tong, but he had never mentioned it in front of Xiao Wangzhi.

This is not out of distrust.

Xiao Wangzhi's voice sounded quietly: "Previously, you led the troops to defeat the Yan army in Baotai Mountain, but did not lead the troops south according to the established plan. I knew that you did not want the Seven Star Army to lose its strength. In other words, you did not want the emperor to He Zhongxin is wary and instinctively wants to establish a defensive posture so that he can have enough ability to protect himself."

Lu Mo remained silent.

Xiao Wangzhi looked at him with a smile and said slowly: "I didn't ask in detail at the time, but I was very curious in my heart, why are you so vigilant at such a young age? Why are you so sure that the Emperor and the Central Committee are not trustworthy? Based on the level you were at at that time, the treacherous clouds at the top should not be able to affect you, after all, I am still on your head."

"Where does this kind of alertness and vigilance come from? After thinking about it, I think it has nothing to do with you, so I can only find the answer from your father. Your defensive attitude towards the south proves that your father is hiding something in his heart. And it was a secret that could lead to death, so I continued to push forward, and inadvertently I remembered the fire in Heluo City fourteen years ago."

Xiao Wangzhi's tone had always been calm, but Lu Chen's heart was already filled with waves.

The middle-aged man reached out to pick up the fire tongs and fiddled with the charcoal in the basin, and said slowly: "Actually, I have always been curious about the fire. The late emperor did not have the courage to set fire to himself, so... that fire belonged to your father. Handwriting."

Lu Chen looked at the brazier in front of him and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

　More updates tomorrow to celebrate the New Year with my book friends~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)