Jiuxi

Chapter 294 Chapter 292 [Your life is not accepted]

Guo Congyi's worry about Lu Chenruo's defeat was the source of the dignified expressions of the officials in the palace.

Whether it was Xue Nanting and Qin Zheng who sincerely supported the Northern Expedition, or Li Daoyan, Guo Congyi and others who were forced to accept it, they were all ministers of the Qi Dynasty and would not be confused about their own roots.

When the frontier army won the great victory of Lei Ze, both sides felt joy and excitement from the bottom of their hearts. A rare scene of harmony appeared in the court. Everyone supported the Huaizhou army to regain Dongyang Road, and naturally they did not want the duck they had obtained to fly away.

Just as Guo Congyi said, if Lu Chen is defeated under Heluo City, this will trigger a series of bad consequences.

By then, with nearly half of his troops lost, Xiao Wangzhi would definitely not be able to defend the newly recovered Dongyang Road, and might even endanger Huaizhou.

No important minister in the palace was willing to accept such an outcome.

In the past, every adventure of the frontier army could be based on reality, and even if it failed, it would not have much impact, but this time Lu Chen's idea seemed to have almost no benefits.

Even if he could capture Heluo, how could he hold on to the few troops he had?

Even if he can hold on for a while, what price will the court have to pay in the future to support distant Heluo and block the enemy's counterattacks again and again?

Considering the longer-term situation, some important ministers even worried that the imperial court would be dragged to death by the old capital.

Among the civil servants, Right Prime Minister Xue Nanting frowned. Logically speaking, he should refute Guo Congyi's suggestion and protect the border general as much as possible, but he was also a little uneasy in his heart.

Lu Chen's battle has only three outcomes. Needless to say defeat, victory is still a dilemma. Either do everything you can to defend Heluo and wait for reinforcements, or retreat in time and return to Dongyang Road.

No matter how you look at it, there is no need for him to take such risks...

There was silence in the hall, and the atmosphere was very depressing.

After reviewing the case, the emperor seemed to be hesitant. After receiving the complaint, Ding, the Minister of War, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I think Privy Guo's suggestion is very appropriate. Now Lu Chen should be still on the way to Heluo, and the enemy is temporarily unable to attack him. He posed a threat, so Your Majesty asked him to withdraw to Dongyang Road. This would have no impact on the West Route Army and would not damage the confidence of the border army officers. When the Huaizhou Army regained Dongyang Road, the imperial court would reward the border army officers for their merits. , and then stabilize the situation in northern Xinjiang, wouldn’t everyone be happy?”

Li Duan looked around at the ministers, and the words "Zhai Lin Wang Family" suddenly appeared in his mind.

Su Yunqing's battle report was obviously not a figment of his imagination, because it was a memorial involving the specific strategy of the Huaizhou Army. If Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen had not informed him of the details, he would not have had the guts to make it up.

In other words, Lu Chen is definitely confident of regaining Heluo, but what happens after that?

As far as he knew, although the Zhai Lin Wang family had a profound background, they should not be able to control the entire city of Heluo.

Li Duan noticed that the Zuo Prime Minister remained silent, so he looked at Li Daoyan and asked, "What do you think of the Zuo Prime Minister?"

Li Daoyan raised his head to meet the emperor's gaze and said slowly: "Your Majesty, our court cannot bear the consequences of the defeat of the Western Route Army led by Lu Chen. I am old and not as energetic as the young people, but I believe that when things are good, we should stop and fight slowly. Best policy."

Li Duan looked at Xue Nanting, his right minister, and sighed softly in his heart.

He could understand Xue Nanting's entanglement at the moment, because Lu Chen's decision was really puzzling. Even he himself was hesitant under the premise of knowing the Zhai Lin Wang family, let alone Xue Nanting who didn't know the specific situation in the North.

As for the promotion of Qin Zheng by the Weaving Secretary, he never expressed his opinions on the court's decisions except for his own duties. Li Duan had always admired this advantage of him, so naturally he would not force him to speak at this moment.

All the important ministers in the dynasty were opposed to this situation. Even the emperor had to consider this situation carefully.

After a long time, Li Duan finally spoke: "Zhongshu drafted the decree and ordered Lu Chen to focus on the overall situation. He should not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly. He should not force a blind attack in depth. All decisions should be based on the priority of recovering Dongyang Road. The Sutra Weaving Department ordered eight hundred Li Kuai Ma immediately conveyed the imperial edict to Lu Chen."

Li Daoyan and Qin Zheng took the orders one after another.

Guo Congyi's eyes narrowed slightly. He did not expect that in this situation, the emperor would still favor Lu Chen.

At best, this imperial edict can only be regarded as a reminder and warning, rather than forcing Lu Chen to lead his army to withdraw as he said before. This would give Lu Chen a lot of leeway.

How could the monarchs and ministers in Yongjia City in the far south see the so-called underestimation of the enemy's rash advance and blind attack more clearly than Lu Chen?

Of course, the significance of this imperial edict is to draw a line in advance. If everything goes smoothly, it must be the credit of Xiao Wangzhi, Lu Chen and the officers and soldiers of the Huaizhou Army.

But if something goes wrong in the future, this imperial edict will become a life-threatening talisman.

Guo Congyi was still not satisfied. He asked himself that this was not against Lu Chen, but for the sake of the overall situation, so he continued to insist: "Your Majesty, I think it is safer to recall Lu Chen now, otherwise this young man will ignore his will and forcefully invade Heluo City. !”

This time Li Duan did not hesitate and said simply: "I have made up my mind and there is no need to discuss it further."

Guo Congyi sighed, cupped his hands and said, "I obey your order."

All the ministers resigned one after another, but Qin Zheng got Li Duan's signal and stayed alone.

After a while, Li Duan said with a complicated expression: "Lu Chen gave me a difficult problem this time."

Qin Zheng understood the deep meaning of his words, because the imperial court had never thought of conquering Heluo so quickly. It involved all aspects of problems and could not be solved with a great victory.

With this in mind, he said unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, Lu Chen must have received a definite answer from Wang Zhai Lin, so he dared to lead his troops to Heluo. In fact, no matter whether he succeeds or not, he will perform very well this time. The positive effect can be used to declare to the world that Daqi has the ability to clean up the old mountains and rivers. This is very important to inspire and win over the people, especially the people in the North."

"I know, and actually those people just now also know, but why are they so firmly opposed?"

Li Duan sighed solemnly, and then said: "Lu Chen is considering the gains and losses of a city and a place. I and the courtiers must consider the bad consequences that will occur if he loses the battle."

Qin Zheng comforted him and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry too much. I believe that Governor Xiao can definitely grasp the overall situation."

In fact, there was something he had not said in his heart. Su Yunqing's battle report was more like a test, a test of the imperial court by the Huaizhou frontier army headed by Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen.

Fortunately, the emperor finally stood his ground and did not go against the frontier soldiers.

I hope they can understand the emperor's difficulties. …

Beiyan, Yaoshanguan.

A fierce battle was about to come to an end. After several days of fighting, the pass was finally broken by the Rui Shiying, Lai'an Army, Feiyun Army and Panlong Army who came for support.

There was no trickery in this battle. Jing's army always held on to the barrier without taking a single step. The Huaizhou West Route Army relied on nearly five times its strength advantage to forcefully break through the barrier after six fierce battles.

The pass was in a mess, with corpses strewn all over the place, and many places were engulfed in raging fires.

After Jingjun confirmed that he could not hold on, he burned all the grain and grass supplies in the pass to pieces. In the end, only more than 2,000 people retreated westward under the cover of about 2,000 cavalry.

At this point, the last barrier to the east of Heluo City collapsed.

In the temporary hall, all the generals' shirts were stained with blood, and so was Lu Chen.

The atmosphere here was slightly solemn, not only because this battle was extremely brutal, but also because there was a slightly nervous and awkward angel announcing the message standing in the hall.

"Captain Lu, take the order."

The angel looked at the young generals who were full of murderous intent on the opposite side, and he only regretted why he didn't come a day earlier, or arrived a day late, but came just when these warriors won a hard-fought victory, and what was read out was not a decree of commendation, but a decree of commendation. They are all warning words.

Lu Chen stepped forward to receive the imperial edict, glanced at the man and the palace guards behind him expressionlessly, and said calmly: "Angel has traveled a long distance, thank you for your hard work."

The angel forced a smile and said: "It's my duty, I don't dare to express my hardships."

Lu Chen then said: "Please reply to Your Majesty on your behalf. I will obey the holy will and act with caution."

The angel knew that he was the unwelcome person at the moment, so he hurriedly left with the guards after a few polite words.

Lu Chen turned around and placed the imperial edict on the table, then walked over to Song Shifei and sat down.

There was a long silence in the hall.

Song Shifei, whose left arm was simply bandaged with gauze, said in a deep voice: "I am waiting for my life on the battlefield, but there are so many people in the court talking nonsense, and even His Majesty listens to their slander. It's really——"

"Say less."

Duan Zuozhang, who was sitting across from him, interrupted him in time. Although several people in the hall were colleagues who knew the truth, the truth that disaster comes from words has been true since ancient times.

He looked at Lu Chen and asked, "Brother Lu, are we going to retreat next?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "Retreat?"

Duan Zuozhang hesitated and said: "Although this imperial edict is very tactful, His Majesty's intention has been clearly revealed. The imperial court does not want us to continue to advance westward. In their opinion, even if we can invade Heluo, we will not be able to hold on to this victory. , but a lot of troops will be lost.”

Song Shifei stiffened his neck and said: "We worked hard to conquer Yaoshan Pass. There is no barrier outside Heluo. Wouldn't it be a waste of all our efforts to retreat at this time? Old Duan, if you are afraid, just bring Anjun back with you. Feiyun and I The army will never retreat!"

Duan Zuozhang frowned and said, "What are you yelling about? Can't you understand the meaning of the imperial edict? If something goes wrong this time, the court will definitely accuse Brother Lu, and it might be a disaster for the family! Will you die for him then?" How many heads of your Song family can you bear to bear the blame?"

"you!"

Song Shifei's face turned red. Of course he was not afraid of death, but he could not make decisions on behalf of his relatives.

"Brothers, don't worry."

Lu Chen spoke up in time to smooth things over, and then said calmly: "I am the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army, so I should naturally bear this responsibility. In fact, the matter is not as complicated as you think. Now I have confirmed that Qing Yu Zhongwang is not in Heluo. All the cavalry took a long way to Dongyang Road. Even if he could escape the ambush of the Grand Governor, it would take him only a few days to return to Heluo. By the time he came back, everything would have settled, so we wouldn't have it this time. Too much danger."

Having said this, he smiled at everyone and said: "A person who travels a hundred miles is half a mile, and I don't want to shrink back before the last step."

"As it should be!"

Song Shifei nodded heavily without hesitation.

Duan Zuozhang looked at Lu Shen's determined eyes for a long time and said, "Now that you have made a decision, Duan is not a coward."

They then looked at Panlong Army Commander Liu Jiangdong, who smiled and said: "You are not afraid, how can I be afraid? Besides, it would be a great honor to enter Heluo City!"

"Thank you brothers for your strong support."

Lu Chen stood up and bowed, and then said: "We will rest for a few days and our army will attack Heluo."

"Follow the order!" Everyone responded in unison.

On February 16, the fourteenth year of Qi Jianwu's reign, the flag of the Huaizhou West Route Army was flying, pointing directly at Heluo City.

Under the general's flag, Lu Chen stared at the western sky, with a picturesque view of the mountains and rivers in his eyes.

Li Chengen rode his horse to his side and lowered his voice: "Young Master, what is the purpose of the emperor's imperial edict?"

Lu was silent for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his lips, and said: "Our Majesty not only wants to return the old capital, but also wants to leave a name in history. He does not want to become the laughingstock of the late emperor, nor does he want to be the laughing stock of the late emperor. It will make me the second Marshal Yang, but in the end he will be less responsible. However, he is better than the selfish person I expected."

"I hope he can understand that my decision is not just for myself."

(End of this chapter)