During the filial piety period, if the situation is urgent, military generals can also go out to fight. The Minister of Civil Affairs said this is just a euphemism. Everyone knows the actual situation. This generation of An Guogong has never been on the battlefield and has no ability to deal with the Tatars.

.

"The Tatars' invasion in winter goes against common sense. I believe that this matter is not as simple as plundering food and grass." Right Minister Chen Shichang said, "I believe that those in command must think carefully."

The news came too suddenly, and there was no time to discuss it, so Emperor Chunde asked everyone to go back and write a report and discuss it at court tomorrow morning.

Xiao Chengjun frowned slightly. An Guogong could not go to war during his filial piety period, so logically Lou Jing should go to war in his father's stead. After all, the Jinzhou Army has always been controlled by the Lou family, why no one mentioned it now.

"The Emperor was weakening the power of the Lou family in Jinzhou a few years ago." Lou Jing sneered. This situation was also expected by him. Although Emperor Chunde had always admired his ability, he was afraid that it would be dangerous for him to go on an expedition.

Not willingly.

When Xiao Chengjun heard this, his heart skipped a beat. If his father could weaken the power of the Lou family, then the death of Old An Guogong...

"The emperor must know about grandpa," Lou Jing brought a small steamed bun to His Highness the Prince of Fujian. He went to court early today, and before he had time to go to the Yamen, he had breakfast with Xiao Chengjun at the palace. "As for the

Whose instruction it was, it’s still unclear.”

The death of Duke Lao An was not yet clear, and the situation on the border was so strange. Xiao Chengjun intuitively felt the danger, "I can't let you go this time."

"It doesn't matter," Lou Jing took a bite of the bun, "If you let me go, I will be careful."

Xiao Chengjun shook his head. Today, the right minister suddenly said something like that. He probably didn't mean it. But no matter what, he couldn't let Lou Jing go before the matter was found out. Even Lao An Guogong couldn't resist it.

Can Lou Jing cope with the conspiracy?

After breakfast, Lou Jing went to the Yamen. Xiao Chengjun asked someone to deliver news to Mr. Zuo and met with him at noon.

After leaving the court, Chen Shichang went to the imperial study, accompanied by Sun Liang, Minister of War.

"Your Majesty, I think there is something fishy about this matter. It cannot be said that there is internal strife among the Tatars," Chen Shichang said solemnly, "I think I can send an envoy to negotiate with the Tatar King."

"The Tatars have already reached the border, how can we negotiate?" Emperor Chunde frowned, "The prince of the Lou family was taught by Lao An Guogong, so just let him go." This is what the original meaning was today. Who would have expected it?

No one mentioned letting Lou Jing go, so he had to go to court early to give some advice to these people.

"Your Majesty, I don't know whether to say something or not." Chen Shichang hesitated.

"Is there anything that shouldn't be said?" Emperor Chunde waved his hand, asking him to speak quickly.

"I heard that when Prince An Guo was the Crown Princess, he had a very good relationship with His Highness the King of Fujian," Chen Shichang looked at Emperor Chunde's face and said carefully, "The Lou family has been operating in Jinzhou for several generations and has a solid foundation, just like Jing."

The Marquis of the South is like the one in the Southeast. Now that the reserve position in the court has not been determined, I am a little worried."

Sure enough, Emperor Chunde hesitated as soon as these words came out. In the final analysis, he deposed Xiao Chengjun as the crown prince because he felt that this son had never been close to him and was impeccable in his work, which made him feel uneasy. And Lao Anguo Gong

He was a confidant of the late emperor. Since he ascended the throne, he has been trying to weaken the power of the Lou family, but the old fox has nothing to catch. Now, if Lou Jing is close to Xiao Chengjun...

Sun Liang stood aside silently without saying a word, until his right minister winked at him, and then he said: "It is a small group of Tatars who are attacking this time. There is no need to mobilize the Jinzhou army. I thought it was just a small group of Tatars.

We need a general and 20,000 soldiers to pacify it."

"If a small group invades, I have an idea," Chen Shichang continued, "Now that the two princes have reached the age of being crowned kings, it is better to let the princes go on an expedition. One is of high status and can talk to the Tatar King, and the other is

It also gives the young princes an opportunity to make meritorious deeds, so that they can have an excuse to establish themselves as heirs in the future."

These days, because the fourth prince had a son and a daughter, who were raised under the Queen's knees and had equal status, Emperor Chunde felt that it would be too troublesome to establish the third prince, so he preferred to make the fourth prince the crown prince. It is no wonder that the right minister was a little impatient.

Emperor Chunde glanced at Chen Shichang and pondered for a moment, "You go ahead, I have made my own decision."

Too much was not enough, Chen Shichang stopped talking and led Sun Liang out of the imperial study.

In the evening, Xiao Chengjun got the news about Sun Liang. While he breathed a sigh of relief, another level of worry arose. The right minister strongly recommended that the prince go on an expedition. Who was the purpose of plotting against him? Is it to let the third prince take the opportunity to make military exploits, or to harm him?

The fourth prince, or...

"The news from Jinzhou," Lou Jing handed a letter to Xiao Chengjun, "take a look."

The Lou family is deeply rooted in Jinzhou, so the information they received must be relatively accurate. Opening the envelope, the letter detailedly described the time and place of the Tatar invasion, the damage caused, and the court's response.

But it turned out that on the eighth day of the first lunar month, a small group of people were looting at the border. Later, an army of tens of thousands appeared, burning, killing and looting in the three northern counties of Jinzhou. The garrison in Jinzhou was originally commanded by Lao An Guogong.

Now it is temporarily under the jurisdiction of the Jinzhou governor, who has not made any big moves so far and is just defensive.

The governor is the largest official in a state. He not only performs civil duties, but also commands the military. When there are no princes or vassals to guard him, he is under the jurisdiction of the governor. After Wang Jian died a few years ago, he was replaced by the current governor.

The way he conducts himself is very different from Wang Jian's.

Xiao Chengjun couldn't help but frown even more tightly, "Why are you so inactive, the governor of Jinzhou?"

"This man is a civil servant from a poor background and has never led an army. The original intention of the court was that Jinzhou was guarded by An Guogong, so there was no need to send a governor with both civil and military skills." Lou Jing picked up His Royal Highness the King of Fujian's cup and drank.

He drank tea and curled his lips.

Which of the feudal officials is not a man of extraordinary talents? The imperial court unjustly killed the extremely capable Wang Jian, replaced him with such a sour scholar, and allowed Duke Lao An to be killed without doing anything. Now that the Tatars have invaded, they are at a loss what to do.

I don’t know who to blame!

Xiao Chengjun frowned, took out the pamphlet that King Jing copied for him, rummaged through it carefully, and soon found the name of the governor of Jinzhou, "This person is also a disciple of the right prime minister."

Thinking about it, back then, the left and right prime ministers were playing games, and the right prime minister was ruthless and killed Wang Jian on trumped-up charges. Naturally, he would be replaced by his men.

"Don't worry," Lou Jing hugged him and kissed the frowning forehead, "If the emperor wants you to go on an expedition, I will definitely protect you."

Xiao Chengjun shook his head, "I'm going to the fiefdom in the beginning of spring. My father won't send me there. I'm just worried that the military power in Jinzhou will be tainted by the Right Prime Minister."

Because of the Lou family, even if the Right Prime Minister sent the governor there, he still would not have the military power of Jinzhou, and could only mobilize some troops in critical moments.

"No," Lou Jing shook his head and took His Royal Highness the King of Fujian back to the inner chamber, "The Jinzhou army has a hundred thousand troops, and the right prime minister is not that stupid. If he makes such an idea at this time, the emperor will definitely be suspicious."

Facts have proved that Lou Jing is right.

The next day at court, a minister mentioned that the prince should be sent to the expedition.

"This Tatar invasion goes against common sense. I think we should send a noble prince there, firstly to appease the people, and secondly to negotiate with the Tatar King." Right Prime Minister Chen Shichang said loudly.

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

For a while, many ministers agreed. Since there were not many enemy troops this time and the danger was not high, it was a good opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Naturally, ordinary generals would not dare to compete with the prince for this good job.

"In that case, which of the princes is willing to go?" Emperor Chunde glanced at the three princes in the palace.

The fourth prince Xiao Chengzheng hesitated for a moment, recalling what the eldest brother had quietly told him before the morning court meeting, "If someone asks you to go on an expedition, you must not agree."

Xiao Chengzheng has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and has longed for fighting enemies on the battlefield. Now, he is naturally unwilling to let go of this great opportunity. Besides, he had previously said that he would be crowned prince, but he could not be crowned prince because he had no merit... He turned around and looked

The third prince, who was about to make a move, was struggling in his heart. Why did the eldest brother say that to him?

Suddenly he remembered what Crown Prince Guangcheng had told him. The eldest prince was dethroned as crown prince and must be looking forward to his restoration, so he would never really help his other brothers win the title of crown prince.

The third prince Xiao Chengduo took half a step forward. Before he could get out of the queue, the fourth prince had already stepped out. "I wish to go!" After saying that, he slightly turned his head and glanced at the third prince, only to find that the man had put his feet away again.

When I walked back, I was suddenly shocked.

Xiao Chengjun saw all this and couldn't help but close his eyes. The Fourth Emperor didn't believe him after all.

Since only the fourth prince was willing to go, Emperor Chunde praised him a lot and decided to send a general to assist him. The fourth prince Xiao Chengzheng was in charge and headed for Jinzhou three days later.

"Father, have you done something wrong?" The fourth prince came down from court and did not dare to talk to Xiao Chengjun. He ran directly to Fengyi Palace to see Ji Zuo.

Empress Ji lowered her eyes and said nothing, and then said for a long time, "The matter has come to this, so be careful in everything."

"Father, before the court, the eldest brother once advised me not to agree..." Xiao Chengzheng did not regret agreeing to go on the expedition. This was the opportunity he had been looking forward to for a long time, but Xiao Chengjun's words and Xiao Chengduo's actions made him a little uneasy.

Ji Zuo looked at the eager and uneasy fourth prince in front of him, and sighed heavily, "You are already a father. You should know what you want to do." Even though he was raising a prince by his side, when he met someone who was on the throne,

After all, they still can't trust each other.

Three days later, the fourth prince Xiao Chengzheng set off for the expedition with a hundred soldiers. Since the army was not leaving the capital, Emperor Chunde did not come in person, so he asked the King of Fujian to see him off.

"Be careful when you go here." Xiao Chengjun filled a bowl of wine for the Fourth Emperor's brother and drank with him.

"Brother, don't worry, my brother will definitely come back with great achievements!" Xiao Chengzheng smiled heartily and raised his head to drink the strong drink.

Xiao Chengjun stood with his hands behind his hands, watching the hundred cavalrymen go away. The red tassels on the helmets of the four princes gradually disappeared into the smoke and dust.

"Do you want me to protect him?" Lou Jing was wearing a short jacket and pretending to be a guard to join in the fun. Jinzhou was under his control. If he said hello to the Jinzhou sergeant, the fourth prince would definitely not suffer any embarrassment. It would be relatively easy.

It will be much safer.

Xiao Chengjun shook his head gently. He had a brother who had a different heart. No matter how nice he was to him, he would not appreciate it.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there was still a family banquet in the palace, but because there was no need to stay up late, it was dismissed at Haishi.

Xiao Chengjun walked out of the palace gate, sat in the carriage and waited for a while. After a while, someone got in and threw himself directly into his arms.

"Standing all night, my legs are about to break." Lou Jing hummed and asked His Highness the Prince of Fujian to rub it for him.

"In that case, don't go look at the lanterns." Xiao Chengjun chuckled and rubbed him twice. There were lanterns on Fugui Street tonight and they were hung until midnight. Lou Jing had long been thinking about going to see them.

"Your Highness, just give him a rub and he'll be fine." Lou Jing immediately kicked his legs, "Look, he's full of energy again. He can walk eight hundred meters at night without any problem!"

Xiao Chengjun laughed and went with him to see it.

"Jinyang also has lanterns every fifteenth day, but it's not as lively as the capital." Lou Jing stood at one end of the street, looking at the brightly lit street.

The little lights were like stars in the Milky Way, spreading to the horizon. It was hard to tell whether they were lights or stars.

On this night, it was rare for people to rest without sunset. The streets were lively and lively, mostly men. There were also women who came out with their husbands to watch the lights, and their faces were all full of joy.

There are dragon lanterns, revolving lanterns, lotus lanterns, some placed on the ground, some hanging on the treetops, all of which are exquisitely crafted and lifelike. In addition to these lanterns, there are those selling yuanxiao, those doing crossword puzzles, those buying lanterns, and those playing jugglers, to name a few.

.

There were so many people like a torrent that no one would notice anyone else. Lou Jing reached out and took the hand of the person next to her.

Xiao Chengjun trembled slightly. They had never been so close in public. He turned to look at Lou Jing. His gentle smile looked unusually warm under the lights in the sky. He couldn't help but chuckle and slowly held him back.

hands, fingers intertwined.

Holding hands secretly in a crowded place is actually more embarrassing than being honest with each other in no place. Both of them were a little excited and walked slowly and aimlessly on the long street. They felt that this feeling could not be better.

I just hope that this road will never come to an end.

"Lantern, sell lanterns, sir, buy a lantern!" The old man selling the lanterns smiled and held up a lantern to greet the two people passing by.

Xiao Chengjun glanced at the lanterns on the stall, "When Chengjin was a child, he always wanted a lotus lantern, but unfortunately no one in the palace knew how to make it, and I couldn't get out of the palace." At that time, his younger brother had just been poisoned and was seriously ill. On the tenth day of the first lunar month,

Wu wanted to go out to the palace to watch the lanterns, but couldn't get out, so he grabbed his sleeve and asked him if he was going to die and would never see the lanterns again.
Chapter completed!