Jiuxi

Chapter 86 085 [Prelude]

Huaizhou, come to Anfu City.

Although he had learned about the general situation of the Governor's Mansion from Li Chengen before coming, Lu Chen was still surprised after being there.

This central core, which controls nearly [-] soldiers and horses, is really cramped.

No wonder my father would make some insulting remarks from time to time, accusing Governor Xiao of being an extremely stingy person.

Huang Xianfeng, the marching commander of the Dudu Mansion, who was walking next to him, smiled and said, "Lu Gan should be under twenty, right?"

Lu Chen responded: "This official is nineteen this year."

The smile on Huang Xianfeng's face became warmer and warmer, and he praised: "Young and promising, it is amazing."

Although Lu Chen knew about the relationship between Lu Tong and Xiao Wangzhi and that he could definitely feel at ease in this governor's mansion, he did not show it on his face. Instead, he said humbly: "Your Excellency is ridiculous, I am just a low-ranking official. , as a last resort.”

Huang Xianfeng said with emotion: "You have to do it as a last resort. This is a very good saying. The Grand Governor often teaches us that this kind of courage to risk one's life is needed on the battlefield."

Lu Chen smiled faintly and did not take up the topic.

Huang Xianfeng stopped there and led Lu Shen into the side hall behind the festival hall. He saluted the middle-aged man who was standing in front of the map with his hands behind his hands and said, "Grand Governor, Officer Lu is here."

The middle-aged man turned his head, looked over with sharp eyes, his eyes flashed by, and said in a very normal tone: "Lu Chen?"

Lu Chen immediately saluted and said: "I'm going to the official Weaving Department to handle Lu Chen. I'm here to see Governor Xiao."

"Su Yunqing is reluctant to let you leave the Weaving Department."

A smile appeared on Xiao Wangzhi's lips, he walked to the table and sat down, pointed to the side and said, "Sit down and talk."

Lu Chen sat down as he was told, and at the same time quietly looked at the furnishings in this side hall.

The area is very spacious, which contrasts with the overall cramped layout of the Dudu Mansion.

There are several topographic maps hanging on the west wall, including the defense map along the river, the topographic map of Huaizhou, the border situation map at the eastern end of the Panlongguan-Lai security line, and the overview map of Dongyang Road in Beiyan.

These maps were naturally incomparable with the accurate maps Lu Chen had seen in his previous life, but they could still be considered very difficult achievements in this era, at least more detailed than the maps he had seen at the Guangling Yamen of the Sutra Weaving Department.

The table in front of Xiao Wangzhi is a large case with layers of files placed on it.

There was a simple sand table in front of the case, and Lu Chen immediately saw a specially marked place name: Yongquan Pass.

Further forward are several rows of long tables, and all the people are wearing long robes. There is a big age difference, but the youngest one is at least 30 years old.

Judging from the descriptions and expressions of these people, they should all be staff members maintained by Xiao Wangzhi himself. Some were frowning in deep thought, while others were writing quickly, but no one deliberately observed Lu Chen, the uninvited guest.

"You all go down." Xiao Wangzhi said calmly.

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

Everyone bowed and left, including Huang Xianfeng.

The huge side hall suddenly became quiet.

Xiao Wangzhi looked at Lu Chen and said with a complicated expression: "As early as four or five years ago, I mentioned to your father that you should go to the Governor's Mansion to learn how to work, but he never agreed. If he really just wanted to It’s okay for you to be a kid from a rich family, but you agreed to Lin Jie to teach you martial arts, secretly taught you the art of war, and even deliberately cultivated a nursing home at home. I don’t know what he was being hypocritical about.”

Through the long and heart-opening conversation with Lu Tong, Lu Chen already knew the relationship between these elders. It was a friendship that had gone through countless tests of life and death. Sometimes derogating each other was actually a sign of closeness.

He couldn't follow Xiao Wangzhi's words and tease Lu Tong, so he changed the subject and asked, "Does the Governor know Gang Leader Lin?"

Xiao Wangzhi said: "In the future, you don't need to address your official position in private. Just call me uncle, otherwise we will really get along. As for Lin Jie, I have never dealt with him. I only heard about this from your father." The deeds of a great green forest tycoon in the North. If not, how could I not have known that Bodhisattva Man is your senior sister."

Looking at the middle-aged man's faint smile, Lu Chen nodded and said, "I see. Just now, Uncle Xiao said that my father was hypocritical, but actually my nephew didn't think so. Maybe my father just wanted to see the prosperous years of those years in his nephew. Whether it’s martial arts, military skills, or even practicing the guards at home, it’s just my father reminiscing about the past.”

The smile on Xiao Wangzhi's face gradually faded.

He suddenly took a long breath and sighed softly: "You are right."

Considering the overall situation, Lu Tong quit his job and went into business. How could he know that he had no regrets in his heart?
It's ridiculous that I have known him for decades and have lived and died together, but no one can see clearly.

When Lu Chen saw this, he lowered his head and said, "My nephew is making random guesses. Don't take offense to Uncle Xiao."

Xiao Wangzhi shook his head and said, "You don't have to be so careless with me in the future."

Lu Chen responded: "Yes."

Xiao Wangzhi stood up and poured the tea himself, then handed the cup to Lu Chen, who stood up quickly, and said gently: "I already know the details of the Battle of Guangling, and there is something I want to ask you in person."

Lu Chen said: "Uncle Xiao, please tell me."

"During the night attack that night, did you ever think that you wouldn't be able to come back?"

"I thought about it, but my nephew thought it was worth the risk." "Why?"

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth: "The Guangling defenders are not weak, but they cannot be said to be strong, because many of them are new recruits who have never seen blood, and the number of veterans is relatively small. With the advantage of the defenders, , General Duan should be able to stabilize the situation, but the longer it goes, the harder it will be. My nephew doesn’t want the possibility of the city to be broken, so he plans to lead people out of the city to attack the enemy camp at night.”

Seeing the encouraging look on Xiao Wangzhi's face, he continued: "In addition, my nephew didn't know the relationship between my father and Uncle Xiao at the time, so he didn't want to give up this risk and credit to others."

"You are much more honest than your father." Xiao Wangzhi smiled and said, "What do you think of the upcoming war?"

"The next... war?"

Lu Chen was slightly puzzled.

After the two great victories in Guangling and Qingxia, Huaizhou is no longer in danger, and Beiyan and Jingchao should not invade again in a short time.

Could it be that Xiao Wangzhi wanted to take advantage of the situation to make the Northern Expedition?
However, there is a huge difference in difficulty between defense and attack. The fact that Huaizhou Seven Army can hold on firmly does not mean that they can attack the city and seize the territory.

More importantly, will the imperial court support Huaizhou's Northern Expedition?
If there is no follow-up military support and no supplement of food, grass and weapons, what will the Huaizhou Governor's Office do for the Northern Expedition?
We must know that it is not easy for the Guangling Army to defend the ancient road after the war. The northern armies also suffered a lot of casualties in the Battle of Qingxia, and it was a bit reluctant to maintain the previous defense line.

Xiao Wangzhi stood up and came to the sand table, and said calmly: "Huaizhou is the northern gate of Daqi, protecting tens of millions of people on the south bank of the Hengjiang River. Dongyang Road is the southeastern defense line of the puppet Yan, blocking our army from going north. In On this long strip of territory, there are two crucial passes, one is Yongquan Pass in the northeast of Lai'an Prefecture, and the other is Qingtian City in the northwest of Juyang County in Lai'an Prefecture."

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

Xiao Wangzhi raised his hand and pointed at these two places, and said slowly: "These two places occupy the advantage of the terrain and have become the key points in the hands of the Puppet Yan. This time the Northern Army went south, it was divided into two groups, one from Qingtian City. He Yongquan came out of the gate and rushed towards our security line."

Lu Chen looked at the sign on the sand table, then turned to look at the map hanging on the west wall, and said in a deep voice: "Uncle Xiao is saying that if our army can take advantage of the situation to capture Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass, it will not only be able to push the defense line forward significantly. , making Huaizhou more internally stable and able to take the initiative in the war. From now on, our army will fight when it wants to fight and defend when it doesn’t want to fight. The Puppet Yan and Jingchao can only look at the city and sigh."

Xiao Wangzhi suddenly laughed loudly.

Lu Chen was slightly puzzled.

Xiao Wangzhi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Good ambition."

Lu Chen suddenly came to his senses and said with shame, "My nephew is so ambitious."

Xiao Wangzhi smiled and shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter. My original intention was to seize one of them, so that I can have an explanation to His Majesty, and at the same time, I can shut up some people in the court. If your idea can be realized, of course better."

Lu Chen did not get carried away, however. He knew very well how terrifying it was to talk on paper, and he was also very aware of the difficulty of seizing these two passes.

Beiyan may not be scary, but how could those tiger and wolf masters of Jing Dynasty sit back and watch all this happen?

After thinking calmly, he said calmly: "Uncle Xiao, our army does not have enough troops, and the opponent is probably waiting for us to attack. Once the war is defeated, our army will most likely ruin the previous victory and even collapse." Thousands of miles.”

He knew that Xiao Wangzhi was not asking for his opinion, but more like an elder testing the younger generation.

"Although the imperial court is procrastinating, the three Nanya armies previously sent will still cross the river and go north. General Li Jingda is reluctant to part with his precious soldiers and horses, but others will not think so. Moreover, His Majesty will support it. With this new force to supplement , we can fight a small-scale battle."

Xiao Wangzhi spoke calmly and added: "I have written letters to Governor Yao, and all the governments in Huaizhou will do their best to support the border troops. Your father will go south soon to help raise food and grass. In short, you don't need to worry about logistics. Think carefully about how our army should fight this battle."

Lu Chen suddenly felt a sense of panic in his heart. This was not a pretense, but that he did not think he had the ability and qualifications to plan a battle.

He quickly said: "Uncle Xiao, my nephew, how dare you talk nonsense on such a big matter?"

Xiao Wangzhi smiled slightly and said: "Don't be nervous. Let me ask you first, are you willing to come to the Governor's Mansion as a prosecutor?"

Lu Chen didn't know much about the Qi Dynasty Official Committee, so he asked, "May I ask Uncle Xiao, what kind of job is this?"

Xiao Wangzhi explained: "The imperial court has not yet decided on your reward, but it should give you a fifth-grade casual position, and then let me decide your official position. The prosecutor's rank is from the fifth grade, and is mainly responsible for the Dudu Mansion. He is responsible for the collection and placement of military information, and is considered to be my staff. Originally, I wanted you to serve as a marching commander, but your father said it was too hasty and would be bad for your popularity in the army, so I had to wait."

Lu Chen remembered that his position as a cadre was at the seventh level, and he would usually be demoted when he transferred from the Warp Weaving Department to the army, but he was promoted to three levels in a row. Although he had a military background in the Guangling Battle, it was really hard to be promoted too quickly, so he He said respectfully: "My nephew thanks Uncle Xiao for his support."

"good very good."

Xiao Wangzhi nodded with a smile, and then said: "In the next period of time, besides practicing martial arts with that senior sister, the most important thing for you is to come up with a counterattack strategy. You can check all the information in the Governor's Mansion, If you have anything you don’t understand, you can always come and ask me.”

Lu Chen agreed, thought for a while and then reminded him: "Uncle Xiao, after all, my nephew is young and has little knowledge. He is only worried about missing important things."

Xiao Wangzhi said calmly: "You are not the only one doing this. Those people you just saw have already received this task. When the three armies of Nanya arrive at the border, the preparations in the army will be completed. By then our army will We are about to set off for the Northern Expedition."

He looked at Lu Chen with concern and said earnestly: "I hope you can do better than others."

Lu Chen's eyes gradually became firmer, and he nodded and said, "My nephew will do his best."

After a while, Lu Chen walked out of the side hall and was led by a scribe to the archives of the Dudu Mansion.

The sun was shining brightly, there were white clouds hanging in the sky, and the sky was blue as far as the eye could see.

His steps were steady and he moved forward calmly.

　Happy Mid-autumn Festival!Happy and healthy!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)