Quick Wear: I and the Female Match Share the Battle Shirt

Chapter 252: If you are not called Qingping, you can’t be happy (21)

"Why is it not possible? Didn't the government abolish it once before?"

"It's different. The current queen didn't slap the emperor. Besides, Mr. Lu had a grudge against Empress Guo, but not against the current queen."

"What does this have to do with Mr. Lu?"

Lu Changqing asked in confusion, "Madam, don't you know about this? In the past, Prime Minister Lu had a personal grudge against Empress Guo. In order to depose Empress Guo, he kept lobbying in front of the emperor, and even later ordered the censors not to accept the memorials of the censors pleading for Empress Guo."

Zhang Yihan was horrified. "Is there such a thing? I thought that Lu Xianggong was advocating to depose the queen for the sake of the emperor."

Lu Changqing smiled. Who would be so enthusiastic about something that has no benefit?

Lu Yijian was a vengeful person. Anyone who disagreed with him on state affairs was demoted to a faraway place. Moreover, Empress Guo secretly tried to sow discord between him and Zhao Zhen, which led to his temporary dismissal from his position as prime minister.

"My lady, do you have anything else to say? If not, I will take my leave now."

Zhang Yuhan waved to Lu Changqing, "It's okay, you can leave now."

Lu Changqing bowed to her and stepped back.

If Zhang Yihuan was smart enough, she would have known that she had no chance. Under the current circumstances, she would not be able to compete with Cao Danshu no matter how hard she tried.

Apart from the fact that the court officials did not want to make trouble at a time when the country was in turmoil, the main reason was that Zhao Zhen did not dare to go against the ministers.

Dealing with such a gullible and easily manipulated man is not a good thing for either the Yu Kingdom or the Yu family.

After Cao Danshu returned to Kunning Palace from the court for the first time, Yang Sujun led all the officials of the Shangshu Neisheng to Kunning Palace to pay a visit to Cao Danshu, who would become their leader in the future.

Cao Danshu, wearing a bright red wide-sleeved imperial robe, sat upright in the hall, listening to Lu Changqing and the others reporting their names and official positions one by one. After matching the names with their faces, Cao Danshu asked them to leave, leaving only Yang Sujun to question.

As soon as the leadership changed, Lu Changqing suddenly fell out of favor.

Lu Changqing gave Cao Danshu three days, but the other party never called her alone.

She was just a small female official. Even if it was for the sake of appeasing Zhao Zhen and the ministers, there was no need for her to stay away from others like this, right?

So Lu Changqing took the memorial that Xia Song sent back to Beijing from Shaanxi and took the initiative to find Cao Danshu.

When Cao Danshu saw Lu Changqing, she put on a gentle smile and said, "It's Fu Ying. What's the matter with you coming to see me today?"

Lu Changqing handed the memorial in his hand to Cao Danshu and said, "This is the memorial sent back by Envoy Xia from Shaanxi. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Cao Danshu glanced through it and said, "So it's about this matter. I discussed this matter with the ministers when I met with them in the Emperor's Funing Hall this morning."

"I wonder what the result will be?"

Cao Danshu did not immediately respond to Lu Changqing's question, but asked: "Fu Ying, between the proposals of Deputy Envoy Han and Deputy Envoy Fan, who do you support more?"

Lu Changqing thought for a moment and replied, "Deputy Envoy Fan."

Cao Danshu said "Oh" and asked curiously: "Why?"

"The Xia soldiers are good at fighting on horseback and have a large number of cavalry. Our army is strong in infantry and has poor mobility. The two armies may suffer a loss if they confront each other." Lu Changqing said tactfully.

"Don't we have muskets?"

"Although the lethality of fire guns is stronger than that of bows and crossbows, the speed of loading ammunition is too slow, and it is much more difficult to manufacture than bows and crossbows. It will not be possible to meet the requirements of using fire guns on the entire line in a short period of time."

Cao Danshu pondered for a moment, then said, "Most of the court officials support Deputy Envoy Han's proposal and think that now is the best time to defeat the Xia Kingdom."

Lu Changqing thought about it carefully. At present, the soldiers from Jinmingzhai and Yanzhou are still there. It is not impossible for Han Qi to unite his troops and go deep into the enemy territory to find their main force for a decisive battle.

"What do the officials say?"

"After reading Deputy Envoy Fan's memorial, the emperor felt that his strategy of delaying the attack made sense, so he compromised and wanted to issue an edict that Deputy Envoy Fan's Fuyan route would lead the attack, while Deputy Envoy Han's Jingyuan route would be responsible for recruiting and containing the enemy."

Lu Changqing breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Zhao Zhen was not stupid enough to let the Jingyuan Road, which had fewer people, take the lead in the attack.

"Since we have decided to go deep into the enemy territory, why not let Xia Jieshi of Qinfeng Road take charge of the task of recruiting and holding back the enemy? Wouldn't it be better if the three routes of Jingyuan, Huanqing, and Fuyan could combine their forces and just focus on the attack?"

Cao Danshu sighed and said, "The emperor thinks this is too aggressive. He is afraid that Li Yuanhao will lead his troops to raid the rear where the defenses are not well guarded."

Lu Changqing: …

He is not good at thinking, and even though the standard answer is right in front of him, he insists on making his own decisions.

"Your Majesty's decision is truly reckless. Our army's mobility is not as good as the enemy's, and we have to travel a long distance deep into enemy territory. Food and supplies will be a problem for a long time. We must fight quickly and decisively."

If you really want to fight, just follow Li Yuanhao's example and tie 100,000 soldiers to your belt, carry them wherever you go, and go all in.

Otherwise, just play it safe and wait until the soldiers are trained and the weapons are up to date before fighting.

Seeing that Cao Danshu didn't say anything, Lu Changqing asked, "What do Lord Lu and Lord Yan think of the emperor's decision?"

Cao Danshu chuckled, "No reply, he said he would wait for the court meeting to discuss it with all the officials."

Lu Changqing also laughed, "If everyone agrees with the government's decision, the law will not hold everyone responsible. If something goes wrong, only the frontline commanders will be held accountable, and those in the court will be clean."

"He is the most respected minister of the emperor. You must not let others hear such words." Cao Danshu reminded.

"In recent years, Prime Minister Lu has been engaging in political maneuvers to curry favor and consolidate his position, cultivating his clique, and most of the people in the court follow his lead. How can such a person be worthy of the word righteousness?

As for Mr. Yan, he 'passes through the greenery without getting a single leaf on him', offends no one and doesn't care about anything. It is a great blessing for our Song Dynasty to have these two wise ministers."

"Fuying, be careful with your words!" Cao Danshu stopped Lu Changqing from speaking, "The emperor has his own decision on these matters."

Lu Changqing was too lazy to pretend and said bluntly: "My queen, there are only you and me here, and I think it's better to tell you some things directly."

Cao Danshu paused, "What's the matter?"

"The emperor asked me about the matter of deposing the empress not long ago."

After saying this, Cao Danshu seemed to have been acupunctured, and she remained motionless. After a long while, she slowly spoke, "What did you say?"

"I said the court officials would not agree, so I told him not to think too much and take good care of his health."

Cao Danshu suddenly smiled bitterly and said, "I am a failure as a queen, right?"

"If you really failed, your Majesty, you wouldn't be sitting in Kunning Palace right now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you have been very successful. Everyone in the court knows that you are at odds with the emperor. Under such circumstances, the ministers still unanimously request that you rule the country from behind the scenes. This is enough to show your success."

"But he is not satisfied." Cao Danshu said with a hint of desolation, "No matter what I do, he will not be satisfied."

"My queen, you don't need to care about what the officials think of you. In the eyes of people who don't like you, even your breathing is wrong."

"I just don't understand. I didn't force him to marry the queen. It was the court officials who asked him to marry her, and he agreed. But in the end, all the blame is on me."

Cao Danshu had kept these words in her heart for many years and had never told them to anyone else. Now that she had said them out loud, she felt a lot more relieved.

"Because the emperor dares not offend the court officials, but he dares to offend you, because you are his wife, and your status as queen is granted by him. No matter his status or position, he is above you, so he dares to hurt you unscrupulously."

Cao Danshu thought carefully about what Lu Changqing said, and said puzzledly: "But wasn't the status of the court officials also granted by him?"

"It's different. You are a woman and they are a group of men. The emperor knows that if he dares to treat the ministers badly, he will be called a tyrant. But it doesn't matter if he treats you badly, because as long as he treats the ministers well, he will be a wise ruler in their eyes. It's not a big deal if a wise ruler doesn't like the queen. After all, there are many concubines in the harem."

Cao Danshu tightened her hands on her knees. This was a direction she had never thought of.

"Why is this happening?" Cao Danshu's throat felt a little hoarse.

"Because they are standing in the court, and you are sitting in the harem."

Ultimately, it's a question of power.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember Empress Dowager Zhangxian?" Lu Changqing asked.

"Of course I don't dare to forget."

"Even though the emperor was already the emperor, he still didn't dare to act rashly in front of the empress dowager. In addition to the reasons of filial piety, it was also because the Empress Dowager Zhangxian was also in the court."

Cao Danshu looked at Lu Changqing in confusion.

Lu Changqing explained: "My queen, when you stand high enough, no one in this world will dare to disrespect you or take you seriously, just like Empress Dowager Zhangxian."

Cao Danshu's eyes gradually widened, and for a moment she even forgot to breathe.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to be so frightened. If the emperor's illness continues, you will sooner or later take the position of empress dowager."

"Fuying, do you know what you are talking about?"

Lu Changqing nodded and said seriously: "I know."

Cao Danshu's expression changed again and again. "You are the person the emperor trusts the most. Are you telling me all this to test me on behalf of the emperor?"

"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. I have no intention of testing you. The reason I told you this is that I want to choose a wise master so that I can realize my ambitions."

"What wise leader? Your words are too outrageous!" Cao Danshu did not agree with Lu Changqing's words, and a hint of anger appeared on her face.

Lu Changqing didn't know how much of Cao Danshu's current attitude was true or false. After all, she had been taught the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor and patriotism since she was a child, and was poisoned by the three obediences and four virtues. It was understandable that she still defended Zhao Zhen at this time.

Lu Changqing confessed his crime and said, "I know my crime, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Cao Danshu said with a serious face, "Don't say such things again in the future. If someone spreads it to the ears of the emperor, both you and I will be punished."

The conversation ended with such an unpleasant ending. The decision to march into Western Xia was delayed for two court meetings before it was finally decided to use Zhao Zhen's idea, letting Fan Zhongyan's Fuyan Road as the main force and Han Qi's Jingyuan Road as the auxiliary.

Since we are going to fight a war, we must transport supplies. This time, we mainly transport weapons. In addition to bows, crossbows, swords, muskets, etc., there are also several guns and cannons used to defend the city.

Lu Changqing applied again for field duty on the grounds that he had experience fighting against the Xia army. Probably because he wanted to win too much, Zhao Zhen agreed without much persuasion this time.

Liu Ping still remembered Lu Changqing. After he introduced himself to Fan Zhongyan, Lu Changqing took out the imperial edict and handed it to him.

After reading the imperial edict, Fan Zhongyan learned that Zhao Zhen wanted him to be in charge of the Fuyan Road as the vanguard army. He looked up to the sky and sighed, "The government is so confused."

It was quite confusing, but Fan Zhongyan was too honest. Zhao Zhen only shouted to attack Western Xia, but did not say where to attack. The strategy still had to be deployed by the generals fighting on the front line.

Lu Changqing suggested, "Deputy Envoy Fan, Li Yuanhao played a trick on us before, so we might as well learn from him this time."

Fan Zhongyan asked, "What do you mean?"

Lu Changqing said: "Pretend to send troops to Youzhou, but actually attack Suizhou."

Fan Zhongyan said: "But at present, Suizhou is of little use to our dynasty."

"Why isn't it big? Suizhou is so close to Chengping Village. To the southwest of Chengping Village is Jinming Village, and behind Jinming Village is Yanzhou. Suizhou is easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as we take it back, the defense of Chengping Village can be relaxed."

Fan Zhongyan worriedly said, "The guards said Suizhou is easy to defend but difficult to attack. What if we can't capture it?"

"The deputy envoy should also be aware of the problem of our army. We have poor mobility and are not suitable for long-term operations, so the attack on Suizhou is just a bait."

"Bait?" Fan Zhongyan's frown suddenly relaxed. "Are you planning to ambush Li Yuanhao's troops?"

Lu Changqing nodded, "Yes. We will split our troops into two groups. One will attack Suizhou City, and the other will ambush halfway from Xiazhou to Suizhou City. However, the ambush site should be closer to Suizhou so that our people can provide support."

Lure the enemy into deep territory and surround and attack the reinforcements was Li Yuanhao's best tactic. He used it every time and succeeded in deceiving the enemy every time.

This time, Lu Changqing wanted to see if he would be fooled when using this trick on Li Yuanhao.

Li Yuanhao was still in Xingqing Prefecture. When he learned that the Song army was gathering in Fuyan Road to attack Youzhou, he panicked.

It was too unexpected. After all, in his eyes, Song Ting was just a coward who was bullied by others. Although he lost the sniper battle at the middle gate last time, this did not affect Song Ting's image as a coward in his mind.

However, he was only panicked for a moment. He immediately cheered up and reorganized his team. He led his Iron Harrier Corps to Youzhou overnight, and joined the Jianing Army stationed there to prepare to fight the enemy.

Lu Changqing and her team acted very quickly, using catapults, siege crossbows and gunpowder. Within one night, the news of Suizhou's fall reached Li Yuanhao's ears.

Yinzhou is closest to Suizhou, and the soldiers there were the first to come and offer their lives.

Zhang Yuan saw through Lu Changqing and her men's strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, and was afraid that the Song army would ambush them along the way, so he suggested that Li Yuanhao go directly south while the defense of Fuyan Road was unaffected, but Li Yuanhao refused.

The Fuyan Road was surrounded by Song troops on three sides, and Yanzhou had an open terrain, so it would be difficult for him to defend it even if he took it.

So in Li Yuanhao's mind, defending Suizhou is more important than capturing Yanzhou.