0p0 Chapter 214: Yunzhou Lu Ting'en enters Tianqi, King Jingyu's wedding is approaching
Chapter 214: Yunzhou Lu Ting'en enters Tianqi, King Jingyu's wedding is approaching
Qianyue Town, Yusheng Inn.
"Ah sneeze! Ah sneeze~"
Nangong Chunshui was having dinner in a private room on the second floor with Sikong Changfeng and Yin Luoxia when he suddenly felt a chill on his back and then sneezed twice loudly!
"Master, have you caught a cold?"
"Master, are you okay?"
Sikong Changfeng and Yin Luoxia asked with concern, one on each side.
Nangong Chunshui rubbed his nose and said suspiciously:
"No, have you ever heard of a banished immortal catching a cold?"
"Tsk tsk... Why do I feel like someone is talking bad about me behind my back? Whatever... Let's get on with eating!"
Sikong Changfeng picked up the chopsticks and thought to himself:
"The only people who can say bad things about you are Wen Yanzhao and Baili Dongjun. Who else would dare to do that?"
……
Tianqi City, Imperial Palace, Pingqing Palace.
Yunzhou is located in the southwestern border of Beili. To the west are the thirty-six Buddhist kingdoms, large and small, and to the south is the land of Nanjue, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Because of its long-term defense of the border, and Yunzhou being composed of eight mountains, two rivers and one part of farmland, it is much poorer than other states in the north.
But it is worth mentioning that the Yunzhou border troops are first-class brave and good at fighting, except for the Pofeng Army under the Zhenxi Marquis!
The commander of the 100,000 border troops was none other than Lu Ting'en, the son of the previous Marquis of Qianning, Lu Huaiwei, and the current commander-in-chief of all military forces in Yunzhou (a military position similar to the current theater commander).
However, the title of Marquis of Qianning is not as honorable as that of Marquis of Zhenxi. It is only enjoyed by one generation and cannot be inherited.
Therefore, by the time it was passed down to Lu Tingen's generation, only the official position and salary remained, but the title was gone.
Lu Tingen was more than eight feet tall, even half a head taller than Lei Mengsha, the Young Master of Zhuo Mo. He had high cheekbones and a pair of eyes so sharp that people dared not look at him for too long.
Although he is over 40, his enthusiasm remains as strong as ever.
The horse spear dances so well that it is impenetrable, and the longbow in his hand can hit the target every time!
His martial arts skills had reached the Fuyao realm more than ten years ago, and he could be said to be unique among the generals in the army.
Lu Tingen had only one son, named Lu Siye, who had a hot temper and hated evil.
But he didn't inherit his father's true teachings. He didn't like military affairs and preferred boxing. He also studied under the master of Nan Jue, Old Man Chen, and learned some skills.
Lu Tingen was originally only a second-rank general of Yunzhou. Because of his military achievements in the early years of Tai'an, he was promoted by Emperor Tai'an to the current first-rank commander-in-chief of all military forces.
In the first year of Tai'an, the brothers Baili Luochen and Ye Yu had just conquered Beique and Xichu, and the world was not yet at peace.
Nan Jue took the opportunity to invade the Yunzhou border, and the Tibetan monks also gathered tens of thousands of lamas and believers to harass the people on the Beili border.
Emperor Tai'an originally wanted to order Baili Luochen, who was guarding the former capital of Western Chu, Qiandong City, to lead his troops to suppress the rebellion.
However, although the Western Chu was destroyed, many of its survivors still attempted to restore their country and organized themselves to resist the Northern Li.
Moreover, these remnants continued to harass Qiandong City and nearby garrisons, so Baili Luochen could only concentrate on strangling the rebellion of Western Chu and had no time to take care of anything else.
In desperation, Emperor Tai'an had to hand over this important task to Lu Tingen, who was less than 30 years old at the time.
Lu Tingen was ordered to divide the Yunzhou border troops into two routes.
He personally led his troops to resist the invading enemies from the south, and led another group to stop the Tibetan Lama soldiers and monks who were slaughtering the border residents at the border.
Lu Tingen personally went to the battlefield and killed so many soldiers of Nan Jue's army that the commander of Nan Jue was forced to withdraw his troops over a hundred miles and did not dare to attack again for more than ten years.
Then he led his army to reinforce the western border and wiped out more than 20,000 Lama soldiers and foreign monks in one fell swoop. From then on, the entire Buddhist country of Tubo was shocked and no longer coveted the north!
After this battle, the border of Baobei was peaceful for ten years, so Emperor Tai'an promoted him to the position of commander-in-chief of Yunzhou military affairs.
Lu Tingen was a taciturn general. He was upright and extremely strict in disciplining his troops and commanding his subordinates.
Although he no longer inherited his father's title, he was still given the title of "Cold-faced Marquis of Yunzhou" because of his style and personality.
After receiving the letter from Tianqi via carrier pigeon, he set out that night with thirty-six riders.
Yunzhou is about two thousand miles away from Tianqi City. Even if you stop at a post station every four or five hundred miles to change to a fast horse, it will still take at least four or five days to arrive.
Lu Tingen traveled day and night, wearing out dozens of his military horses along the way, and finally arrived at the Tianqi city gate at noon on the fourth day.
Looking at the majestic and magnificent Tianqi City, Lu Tingen took off his bronze helmet and said to the more than 30 cavalrymen behind him:
"Brothers, you have worked hard. Once you enter the city, all of you must dismount and lead the way. Do not disturb the people in the city!"
The cavalrymen behind him responded at the same time: "We will obey your orders!"
Then they all dismounted and followed Lu Tingen into the city.
……
Zichen Palace.
There was a copper furnace in the hall with silver charcoal burning in it, which was warm and comfortable.
The leader of the Shadow Sect, Yi Bu, is on the right, the commander in front of the palace, Mu Liuyun, is on the left, and Emperor Tai'an, Xiao Chongjing, is in the middle.
The three of them sat in the shape of a character "品", with a golden nan tea table in the middle. The aroma of Xing kiln celadon tea filled the air, and purple smoke curled from a Xiuyan jade incense burner.
Xiao Chongjing's eyes were bloodshot, and there was a big swelling at the corner of his lower lip, with yellow fluid oozing from the ulcerated area.
It is obvious that this is caused by the anxiety and anger these days, which has caused the poisonous fire to spread to the upper three burners.
Although the Imperial Hospital prescribed several medicines to clear heat and soothe the mind, the condition did not improve. In a hurry, Zhuoqing ordered people to go out of the city to pick the freshest honeysuckle flowers.
What's funny is that it's the middle of winter now, and the city of Apocalypse is desolate and cold inside and outside. Where can we get fresh honeysuckle flowers?
"This is the Longjing tea from Jiangnan that was presented to me as a tribute before the rain. Generals, please don't be shy. Come and try it..."
Xiao Chongjing tried his best to look calm and collected, picked up the teacup and spoke softly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Mu Liuyun and Yi Bu said in unison.
The palace commander, Mu Liuyun, was about fifty years old. His beard was mostly white, and he had a high nose bridge. He always had a rebellious look that kept people at a distance.
The hand holding the teacup was covered with blue veins and thick calluses, making it look like someone who had mastered external martial arts.
The three major camps of Tianqi City have a total of 80,000 imperial guards, plus the palace guards and the Jinwu Guards, a total of 120,000 troops, all under the command of Mu Liuyun.
Originally, Emperor Tai'an wanted to hand over these troops to Langya King Xiao Ruofeng for command, but considering that Xiao Ruofeng was still in charge of the central government and giving him advice, he handed over the command to Mu Liuyun.
Mu Liuyun is a man who looks strong but is weak inside. The reason he was able to become the commander of the palace was thanks to Emperor Tai'an's favorite concubine named Mu.
This favorite concubine surnamed Mu was the mother of Prince Qing Xiao Xie. The previous head of the Mu family was a close minister of the previous emperor.
The Mu family supported Xiao Chongjing, who was still a prince at the time, in his bid for the throne, and also gave Xiao Chongjing great help.
Although they are far inferior to the Ye family and the Baili family, they are more relied upon and favored by Xiao Chongjing because the head of the Mu family married his daughter to Xiao Chongjing.
Mu Liuyun took a sip of the so-called pre-rain Longjing tea, held it in his mouth, frowned, and swallowed it.
Yi Bu was still servile in front of the emperor. He held up the teacup and waited for Xiao Chongjing and Mu Liuyun to drink it before he dared to slowly put it to his lips and took a sip.
The three of them put down their teacups, and Xiao Chongjing sighed deeply:
"As the saying goes, clothes are never as good as new, and people are never as good as old, but some old people are always restless!"
"I'm not a stingy person. I gave him a hereditary marquisate, a fiefdom of a city, and a position of respect. But he always wants more. Do you think I really have to give him the chair under my butt to satisfy him?"
Having said this, Xiao Chongjing glanced at the two of them with his eyes slanted, and then continued:
"You two are my favorite generals. One guards the imperial capital, and the other commands the army. Today, I invite you two to come to the palace to enjoy tea, and also to say what I just said..."
"The two generals must have heard about the events in the four southwestern states."
Mu Liuyun was the first to speak with a fist clasped:
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, we should gather our army and station it in Qiandong!"
"No matter how good Baili Luochen is at fighting, he's still an old man in his seventies. Who knows how many days he has left to live?"
"Let's just do it quickly! We'll attack from the north and south, and let General Lu of Yunzhou attack from the south and north!"
"Hmph! The world is vast, but it still belongs to the Xiao family. Even if old man Baili plundered the tax silver of the four states, can he still resist the imperial court?"
"Old Yi, what do you think?"
Although these words sounded arrogant, Xiao Chongjing found them very useful and looked at Yi Bu with a smile.
Yi Bu clasped his fists towards Mu Liuyun:
"General Mu is right. All lands under heaven belong to the king. Even if Baili Luochen is brave, he will never be able to fight against the imperial court!"
"If what I say is true, our Beili army totals over a million. Your Majesty need not worry about this."
"If the two armies really come to a head-on confrontation, Your Majesty, please give I Bu a group of brave soldiers. I will personally lead the charge and wipe out the rebellion!"
The wrinkles at the corners of Xiao Chongjing's eyes gradually smoothed out, and even the lump at the corner of his mouth was not very painful anymore.
He picked up the teacup and chuckled:
"I have two generals by my side, so I don't have to worry..."
"But the Pofeng Army is renowned for its bravery, and we must not underestimate them. I'm currently taking medication, and will host a banquet for the two generals in a few days. Today, I'll serve tea instead of wine to you two generals!"
Zhuoqing stood aside and saw that Xiao Chongjing seemed to be in a much better mood, so he felt a little relieved.
At this moment, a cold air suddenly rushed in from outside the hall. Zhuoqing frowned and saw a young eunuch hurriedly walking in.
Seeing Zhuoqing, he fell to his knees:
"Reporting to the Grand Eunuch, General Lu, the governor of Yunzhou, has entered the palace. May I summon General Lu to the palace to see His Majesty?"
Zhuo Qing was delighted when he heard this. He had not expected Lu Tingen to come so quickly. He waved his sleeves and said:
"Xuan!"
……
(Have a nice weekend! I had diarrhea today after eating a hand-pulled pancake, so I wrote this a little late! Thank you to everyone who has been reading and supporting me!)
(I will continue to update, please read along and urge me to update and give good reviews! It would be even better if I could give some free love to some people! Good night, Mina-san!)