Jiuxi

Chapter 316 Chapter 314 [I hope the world will be peaceful]

"The prince of the country?"

Li Duan repeated Wang Yan's words with a calm expression.

Wang Yan mistakenly thought that the emperor was opposed to this proposal, so he respectfully explained: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Lu Chen has made three great achievements in this battle. If he is not a prince, he is not enough to reward him."

Li Duan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh? Which three? Wang Qing, please tell me in detail."

Wang Yan calmed down and said slowly: "First of all, according to the military report previously submitted by Governor Xiao of Huaizhou, the Northern Expedition started in the late autumn of last year, and the overall strategic plan was made by Lu Chen. I will not ignore Governor Xiao's leading decision. However, Lu Chen’s painstaking efforts cannot be ignored. Without this young man’s ingenious strategy, the Northern Expedition would not have gone so smoothly.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of many important ministers immediately became serious.

Before, they only knew that the frontier army had won consecutive battles, and Lu Chen would definitely play a role in it, but what role it was was unknown.

Now that Wang Yan had revealed some secrets of the Privy Council, everyone understood that Lu Chen was not just a brave general who charged into battle, but that the Northern Expedition strategy was actually written by him.

In this way, it seems that the twenty-year-old prince is not unacceptable.

Wang Yan continued: "Secondly, Lu Chen led the Ruishi Battalion to attack many times, and he was present in several key battles. The night attack on Yongquan Pass that sounded the clarion call for the Northern Expedition, and the Wan Dynasty that annihilated the puppet Yan Dongyang Road mobile force. From the Battle of Ting to the victory of Lei Ze when he defeated the main force of Jing's army, and even now to conquer Heluo, Lu Chen has performed well and has solid military exploits."

Li Duan nodded frequently, and it was obvious that he recognized these comments very much.

Wang Yan glanced at the emperor and said: "The third is to conquer Heluo and let the flag of Daqi fly over the city of Heluo again. This move will undoubtedly greatly boost the morale of the people and the military, and at the same time let the people of Jiangbei know that Da Qi has not forgotten them. In terms of far-reaching significance alone, the victory over Heluo is even greater than the recovery of the entire Dongyang Road."

"Your Majesty, based on the above three points, I believe that Lu Chen should be granted the title of Marquis!"

He bowed and his attitude was so sincere that people couldn't tell whether he was flattering Lu Chen to kill him or whether he was sincerely supporting his younger generation.

All the courtiers were waiting for the emperor's reaction before they could make a more secure choice.

Li Duan suddenly let out a sigh of unknown meaning, and then said: "What is delivered to the capital today is not only a good news, but also a memorial written by Lu Chen, the captain of the Ruishi Camp."

Li Daoyan suddenly raised his head, his old eyes slightly gleaming.

Li Duan turned to look at the eunuch Lu Shizhou who was standing beside him, nodded and said, "Read it."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lu Shizhou bowed his head in agreement, turned to face the important ministers of the court, took out the thick memorial from his sleeve, and read it out meticulously.

"I, Lu Chen, would like to report: Your Majesty, the officers and soldiers of the Huaizhou Army and Jingzhou Army lived up to your high expectations. They not only regained Dongyang Road, but also took back Heluo City! I wrote this memorial on the night of the attack on Heluo. I can't wait to I want to send this good news to the capital, so I wrote the memorial myself, and I definitely did not ask anyone else to write it. It’s just that I haven’t read many books, and I can’t compare with the adults in the court. Please don’t blame me.”

In the solemn Dongnuan Pavilion, some people could not help laughing.

Li Daoyan shook his head with a smile, while Xue Nanting feigned anger and said, "What a nonsense."

"Your Majesty, don't ask for blame."

Li Duan said gently: "He is young after all, and he has never taken the imperial examination seriously, so his words are inevitably rough."

The ministers couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. The emperor's admiration and favor for Lu Chen were almost visible on his face, and there was obvious pride in his tone at this moment.

Lu Shizhou waited for the emperor to finish his words and continued to read: "There is some good news that I want to tell your majesty immediately. On the day when Heluo City was defeated, the puppet emperor Zhang Can went on a killing spree in the palace and let the imperial guards massacre the puppet Yan court officials. , killed more than 200 people on the spot, and the fake emperor also spattered three feet of blood. The fake Yan court has been paralyzed! From today on, there will no longer be a fake Yan country in the world. Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Another thunder struck the palace, and many courtiers couldn't even believe it.

Beiyan actually perished?

Everyone thought about it carefully, but they felt that it was completely reasonable.

The city of Heluo was destroyed, the false emperor was dead, and the court was paralyzed. If this was not considered the destruction of the country, then what would be?

Wang Yan and Guo Congyi looked at each other, a little helpless.

They originally thought that Lu Chen could handle things better than Xiao Wangzhi, but now it seems that a mere prince of a country may not be able to send that young man away.

How many people can accomplish the task of destroying a country?

Even though Beiyan was just a vassal and puppet of Jing Dynasty, it was indeed the country that stole the land of Longxing in Da Qi.

After hearing the good news, all the ministers shouted long live and made a lot of noise.

Li Duan raised his hand and pressed it, the smile on his face became thicker, and he motioned to Lu Shizhou to continue reading.

"Your Majesty, the reason why the puppet emperor did this is the credit of the spies of the Weaving Department, and I dare not take the blame for myself. It was precisely because of the plan of the Weaving Department that the puppet Yan was in civil strife, and I led the troops to attack Heluo. Even more smooth, I sincerely ask your Majesty to commend the Sutra Weaver Division!"

Lu Chen's words did not exceed the expectations of the officials. In fact, Li Daoyan and others had just looked at Qin Zheng.

Li Duan's mood was very complicated. Of course he knew that Lu Chen was still responsible for this matter, but the Zhai Lin Wang family's line could not be made public at the moment, so he said to Qin Zheng: "The Sutra Weaving Department did a good job."

As the only person who knew about it, Qin Zheng looked calm at the moment and bowed: "Thank you for your compliment, Your Majesty."

The other important ministers remained silent rationally. They would rather have a stronger border army than increase the momentum of the Weaver Division.

Lu Shizhou continued to read: "Your Majesty, the second good news is that when I conquered Heluo, I captured Qing Yu Huaijin, the daughter of Marshal Qing Yugong of the South Courtyard of Jing Dynasty, Princess Yongping."

At this moment, all the important ministers in the palace were already a little numb.

"As far as I know, Qing Yugong loves the Yongping Princess very much. I have not killed her yet and do not want to kill her. I plan to use her and the captured Jingjun to go to Jingguo to exchange war horses. I have made a rough calculation. If the north agrees, , this time our army can get tens of thousands of fine war horses! Your Majesty, I know that these war horses should be allocated and disposed of by the court, but I just want to ask your Majesty, can you keep the war horses in the border army? "

Lu Shizhou's voice became weaker and weaker, and his expression became a little strange.

There is nothing wrong with the previous words, but this last request seems to be patronizing and arrogant.

"Keep reading." Li Duan turned his head, his eyes meaningful.

Lu Shizhou's heart trembled, and he quickly cheered up and said: "Actually, I have been thinking about it this time, can I hold Heluo after conquering it? Taking into consideration all aspects, I think it will be difficult to hold it, and it will cause the court to bear a huge burden. There is pressure, so I plan to use this period of time to gain as much benefit as possible and then return to Dongyang Road, and I also ask for your Majesty’s permission.”

"In addition, I want to use Qing Yu Huaijin's status to force Jing Dynasty to negotiate. I also ask your Majesty to send a delegation of ministers from the DPRK and China to Heluo as soon as possible, because I am really not good at this kind of talk."

Li Duan chuckled and said, "This guy... Dear members of the Qing family, do you think Lu Chen's idea is advisable?"

Li Daoyan said slowly: "Your Majesty, although Lu Chen's poem does not have gorgeous words, it can accurately analyze the war situation. I think his judgment is very correct. The invasion of Heluo City is enough to prove my determination to expedition to the north. Withdrawing from Heluo City will It is the best strategic choice. If we take this opportunity to negotiate peace with Jingguo, one can sign an alliance of peaceful coexistence, the other can completely abandon the puppet Yan, and the three can buy some rest time for our border troops."

Li Duan's eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not deny the old man's idea. He asked calmly: "In the opinion of the left prime minister, who can go north to be responsible for peace talks?"

Li Daoyan pondered and said: "In my humble opinion, this candidate is none other than the Imperial Censor, Mr. Cheng Xu."

Xu Zuo, the official censor Zhongcheng, once made a splash at a court meeting last year, forcefully overthrowing Qu Fenghua, the minister of the Ministry of Industry.

With his strong character and eloquence, he is indeed the best person to be responsible for negotiations between countries.

Li Duan thought for a while, nodded and said, "Xu Aiqing, this important task will be left to you."

Xu Zuo came out to lead the team and said: "I will do my best to not fall into the dignity of Da Qi, not to weaken the power of the border troops, and to live up to His Majesty's trust!"

"good."

Li Duan smiled slightly and encouraged him a few more words.

Lu Shizhou once again received instructions from the emperor. He looked at the last few paragraphs of the memorial and calmly read it out loud.

"Your Majesty, at this point in the war, our army has completed its set strategic goals. I know that your Majesty and the Central Committee have spared no effort to support the border troops. The adults in the court certainly do not want the Northern Expedition to stop here. Perhaps they want the border troops to fight until Jingjing. Outside the capital city of the country. I also want to do this, but according to my superficial knowledge, when the manpower will eventually be exhausted, forcibly extending the front line will probably lead to the failure of all previous efforts."

Li Daoyan and Guo Congyi were still able to control themselves, but the expressions of other ministers clearly showed some embarrassment.

Is this Lu Chen a naive person who doesn't understand the world, or is he trying to make some sarcastic remarks about his opponent in every possible way?

Why do all the ministers in the DPRK and the Central Government hope to fight outside the capital city of Jingguo?

Lu Shizhou's hands holding the memorial trembled slightly, but his voice remained calm: "...I thought about it and felt that the Northern Expedition should be temporarily suspended. The recovered territory needs to be digested, and the frontier soldiers need to rest. The court has been busy in the past two years. You also need to take a breather when using troops. If the adults in the court think that I am not enterprising, then let them scold me. In short, if I think it really needs to stop, please ask Your Majesty to make a decision."

"Your Majesty, the border troops retracted their fists not because they were afraid of Jing Jun, but because they were concentrating their strength to deliver a more ferocious blow. One day, we and other men in the army will finally bring peace to the world for Qi."

Lu Shizhou stopped.

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Xue Nanting looked at the memorial in the hands of the eunuch, and suddenly understood why the emperor sighed softly just now.

Many people in the central government tried every means to interrupt the progress of the Northern Expedition. They made a fuss about Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen's military exploits, rising up and down covertly, and building momentum to praise them.

But now Lu Chenming is clearly telling all the ministers in the palace that there is no need for you to rack your brains, and the border troops will naturally stop temporarily.

The reason is simple: reality does not allow war to end forever.

Just like his simple words, the recovered territory needs to be digested, the frontier troops who have fought hard for two years need to rest and recuperate, and the court has spent a lot of money and food and needs to regain its strength.

It has nothing to do with selfishness, this is a matter of loyalty to the country.

Comparing the two, no wonder the emperor would sigh.

In the silence of the whole palace, the left prime minister Li Daoyan said with a complicated expression: "Your Majesty, after hearing what Captain Lu said, I felt extremely guilty. I thought that I had wasted decades waiting for you, but I could not see it more clearly than a young man like him. In the opinion of the veteran, Your Majesty might as well agree to Captain Lu's proposal. At the same time, the imperial court will step up its efforts to determine the rewards for the border army generals and maintain the current structure of the border army unchanged. When the situation in the border areas is completely stable, the generals will be allowed to come to Beijing to meet the saints. Mu Tianen.”

Li Duan looked at him quietly, not surprised that the old man would make such a decision.

Li Daoyan did not support the Northern Expedition, but he never regarded the border troops as enemies, because he knew very well that without the protection of the border troops, the Jing Dynasty army would have crossed the Yangtze River and gone south, killing heads and leaving blood flowing everywhere.

After a while, Li Duan said gently: "I will follow the words of Prime Minister Zuo."

At the end of the court meeting, the officials walked out of the Wenhua Hall.

Li Daoyan looked up at the bright sunshine of early spring, and suddenly felt a sigh in his heart.

On the surface, other courtiers still treated him with utmost respect, but the old man knew very well that because of his last words in the palace, those important ministers who supported him must have been slandering him.

These people...

The official uniform on the old man symbolizes his status in the court, but at this moment his figure looks slightly lonely.

At this moment, a neutral and peaceful voice sounded from the side, and a strong palm held the old man's right arm.

"Old Prime Minister, please let me accompany you out of the palace."

Li Daoyan turned his head and looked around, and what fell in his sight was Xue Nanting's angular face.

The old man hesitated for a moment, then smiled casually and said, "Okay."

The sun was like mist, and the two prime ministers of Daqi walked side by side, followed by more than twenty high-ranking ministers.

This scene seems particularly harmonious.

With a hint of chill.

(End of this chapter)