Chapter 236: Winner in life, I really envy you

"What do you mean?"

"Marshal Han Libu of the Jin army, princess, do you still remember him?"

"Why? I remember Yang Lang's instructions, but I didn't tell anyone about it."

"hehe."

Yang Chang took a sip of the tea bowl and sighed, "Your good ninth brother said that he defeated Han Libu and then asked the court for credit, so he was promoted to the Grand Marshal of the Army. He has only been the marshal for a month, but he turned around and denounced your brother. His character is hard to describe."

"Who gave him the face?"

Zhao Fujin frowned when she heard this and said quietly, "It's clearly stated in the letter, how could my brother not believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe it, it's that there are too many praises for Zhao Gou, especially in Xiangzhou and Cizhou, where officials and civilians even spontaneously recommended him." Yang Chang suddenly stopped talking here because he thought of a loophole.

"Yang Lang, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm afraid your ninth brother has been planning this for a long time."

"Premeditated?"

Yang Chang pulled Zhao Fujin into his arms, gently tickled the princess's chin, and explained condescendingly: "Zhao Gou used my merits to ask for a reward, took the opportunity to control the military power of various states, and then used the army in his hands to depose and enthronize your brother. He really had a good plan, but he was a little hasty, and it was a bit anticlimactic."

"correct."

Zhao Fujin pushed away Yang Chang's fingers, broke free from the man and paced back and forth in the room, muttering to himself as he walked: "My ninth brother has been the Grand Marshal for less than two months. Since ancient times, when a prince led an army to fight for the throne, he would first obtain the support of the princes and ministers in the court. Even I understand this principle, how could my ninth brother not know it? He is still so impatient, is he being held hostage?"

"Hostage? Not really."

Yang Chang smiled and said, "Hostage will make people hesitate, but what should King Kang be afraid of? He can be neither humble nor arrogant in the Jin camp, and he is willing to sacrifice his life. Who can hold him hostage to do things? Moreover, to get the support of the princes and ministers, it is necessary to exchange actual benefits. King Kang seems to have nothing to offer except promising high positions and generous salaries. Who among the princes in the towns will listen to his empty promises?"

"It's not hostage-taking, it's"

“It’s the desire in my heart.”

"Desire? Ah."

Zhao Fujin was suddenly picked up by the man, and she let out a soft moan, "Yang Lang, you..."

"The moon tonight is big, white, and round."

Yang Chang suddenly became interested and walked towards the dormitory with his arm around Zhao Fujin.

Today is the Lantern Festival. We should eat soft and glutinous rice dumplings and appreciate the beautiful white jade plates.

The lighting in the dormitory is dim, so it is not a good place to appreciate the moon, but Yang has night vision, so his angle of appreciation is naturally different.

The conversation between the two had caused Yang Changping to feel a lot of pressure, but he usually would not fall asleep with pressure, and it was finally resolved by Zhao Fujin's gentleness.

On the morning of the 16th day of the first lunar month, Yang Chang got up unexpectedly early.

The fellow left the land of gentleness and went straight to the front yard to find Wu Song, and said to him, "Second brother, send someone to invite Yan Qing and Le He as soon as possible. I have something important to tell you."

"problem occurs?"

"Well, King Kang did something great."

"Kang Wang?"

Yang Chang saw Wu Song's confused face, and without caring whether he could figure it out or not, he threw out his analysis of the cause.

"On the first day of the first lunar month, Prince Kang accused the emperor of being soft on Jin, mistreating the emperor emeritus, being disobedient and unfilial, and publicly called on Zhao Huan to abdicate. If he dared to do such a thing, he would surely win the support of the garrisons in various states. The brothers under Song Jiang and Lu Junyi have not yet obtained official status. Do you think if Zhao Gou threw them a pie in the sky, would they follow him?"

"Song Jiang is very persistent in pursuing official titles. If Zhao Gou can really fulfill his promise, I'm afraid he will really follow him."

"If Zhao Gou succeeds in this, those who follow him will be credited with following the dragon. Wu Yong will not fail to think of this, but this road is not easy. Once we fail, there will be no recovery. It just so happens that we are short of manpower now. Instead of following Song Jiang and continuing to risk his life, he will ignore us and do great things together."

"Sanlang's words make sense. We can't let Zhao Gou get there first. I'll make the arrangements right away."

When Wu Song heard this explosive news, he immediately sent someone to invite Le He to see him, while he himself went to Yan Qing's house.

In less than an incense stick of time, Le He and Yan Qing arrived to meet him one after another. Yang Chang asked them to go to Yongning Army together. He planned to recruit Lu Junyi's entire team to his side.

As for Song Jiang's Shun'an Army, this guy had separated from Lu Junyi without caring about his manners and gave all his confidants and powerful generals to himself, so Yang Chang didn't want to spend any time on it.

Yan Qing and Le He received the order from the general, and they disguised themselves as Weisheng that day and arrived at Boye County of Yongning Army at the end of the month.

Although the two men traveled day and night, Weisheng was not as close to Boye County as Daming Prefecture.

That’s right, the envoys sent by Zhao Gou arrived several days earlier than those from Yan and Le.

Lu Junyi was just a simple warrior. His family had been destroyed before he went to Liangshan. Now he led his troops to defend the court against the Jin people. On the one hand, he wanted to leave a good reputation for the Lu family in Daming Prefecture, and on the other hand, he wanted to kill people with the martial arts he had learned.

But the Jin people were really different from ordinary bandits and the imperial guards of the Song Dynasty. No matter he had been Song Jiang's deputy in Zhending before or was now the commander of the Yongning Army, he had not gained any benefits in facing the Jin army.

Although Lu Junyi was unrivaled in the world with his spear and club, the Jin people would never fight him in a one-on-one duel, and as their leader, he could not take the lead and take risks, so he was often defeated in battles in the wild.

Zhao Gou stated that he could negotiate peace with the Jin people, and in the name of the Grand Marshal of the Army, he asked the Yongning Army to change its base and move south, and then return to Bianliang with him to serve the king.

Lu Junyi consulted his military advisor Zhu Wu and concluded that Zhao Gou was taking this opportunity to rebel, and that supporting Zhao Gou was tantamount to breaking with the court.

If he surrendered to Zhao Gou, and Song Jiang, Ma Kuo and others did not, he would be attacked by the surrounding garrisons. But if he did not surrender, and Song Jiang, Ma Kuo surrendered instead, he would still end up being beaten up.

Choose one of the two, you can’t make the wrong choice.

Following Zhu Wu's suggestion, Lu Junyi sent the messenger away and said that he needed to consider it. At the same time, he sent people to ask Song Jiang and Ma Kuo. He planned to follow the crowd and vote with his feet.

Ma Kuo and Song Jiang made different choices.

Ma Kuo drove away the envoy and cursed Zhao Gou for causing chaos in the country. However, Song Jiang believed that he was in his current situation entirely because of the opportunity given to him by Huizong, so he firmly chose to support Qinzong. He also asked Bai Sheng to tell Lu Junyi to surrender with his brothers, so that he would have the opportunity to be granted a title of nobility and become a prime minister in the future.

Lu Junyi was in a dilemma. Sometimes he felt that a real man should be loyal to one man, and sometimes he thought Song Jiang was right. After all, the opportunity to serve a dragon was rare, and if he seized it, he might be able to go down in history.

I am wavering and cannot make up my mind.

It's not that Lu Junyi is indecisive, but he cannot make the wrong choice between the two. If he makes the wrong choice, he will be doomed. After repeatedly consulting Zhu Wu, he decided to wait and see how things develop and make a statement after the situation becomes clear.

Although the benefits will be less, this option is the safest.

On the 29th day of the first lunar month, heavy snow fell in Boye City.

Lu Junyi had no military duties that day. Seeing the sudden heavy snowfall before spring, he was in high spirits. He used all his life's knowledge at home, wielding the long stick in his hand like a dancing dragon, so that the snow did not dare to fall in that area.

After fiddling with the spear and stick for half an hour, Yu Qilin's inner shirt was already soaked with sweat, so he sat alone on the doorstep to rest.

Looking at the red clouds in the sky, he couldn't help but sigh with self-mockery: "Lu Junyi, Lu Junyi, you said you are good at using spears and sticks, but you can only compete with these snowflakes? There is no one in the world who can compete with you?"

"Look with me!"

"Huh?" Lu Junyi was confused when he heard that, and when he looked closely, he saw that it was Yan Qing.

He was suddenly overjoyed and wanted to step forward and greet me warmly, but then he remembered that he had left decisively at the beginning, and now that he couldn't make it, he came to me for help, right?

After all the entanglements, he finally just nodded.

"You're back."

"Haha, the master looks thinner during my absence."

Yan Qing ran over happily and saw the outer robe thrown on the stone pier nearby. Lu Junyi was wearing only a single piece of clothing at the moment, so he quickly stepped forward and draped the robe over Lu Junyi's shoulders, while still giving him friendly reminders and nagging.

"Master, you should take off your clothes when practicing martial arts, and put them on in time when resting. Although you are physically strong, it is snowing now after all, so we have to respect the weather."

"You haven't changed. Sit down."

Lu Junyi looked at Yan Qing, then pointed at the stone pillar where he had placed his clothes, and said these few words after a long while.

Seeing Yan Qing still dressed like a servant, he was more certain that he was not doing well, and then added: "I said before that people will distinguish between close and distant. How could Yang Chang trust you with your little friendship? But since you have chosen to come back, you have to start as a junior officer."

"Major?"

"I will set an example for you. Although you and I have a close relationship, you have switched to someone else after all. If I don't punish you at all, my brothers will definitely say that I am partial to you."

Lu Junyi spoke with great righteousness, but Yan Qing waved his hands frantically to deny: "No, no, no, you misunderstood. I am doing very well. Commander Yang thinks highly of me. I came to Yongning Army this time..."

"Captain Yang? Commander Yang was promoted again?"

"Correct."

Yan Qing nodded in affirmation: "He is now the Grand Marshal and the governor of three towns. When I first arrived in Weisheng, I was the deputy commander of the army. At the end of last year, I was transferred to Luzhou and promoted to commander of the army."

"You are now the commander of the army?"

Lu Junyi was stunned when he heard this. He looked at Yan Qing’s smiling face and thought, are you here to show off?
Is it polite?
"I am ashamed of the trust placed in me by General Yang."

"Captain Yang has many capable people under his command. It is your good fortune that you, Yan Xiaoyi, can command the troops of the state. Is this why you came here to talk about this?"

"No."

When Yan Qing heard the tone was wrong, he immediately interrupted the greeting with his old master and got straight to the point: "Master, do you know that King Kang has done something big?"

"You know this too? I'm having a hard time with this."

Lu Junyi nodded in affirmation with a bitter face. Halfway through his words, his eyes suddenly lit up. He pulled Yan Qing and asked anxiously, "By the way, Prince Kang is the Grand Marshal of the Army, and he will definitely go to Yang Chang to express his position. I wonder if Yang Chang intends to help His Majesty, or is he preparing to help the former emperor restore the throne?"

"Neither."

"Hmm? He's also planning to wait and see?"

"General Yang controls three towns. The Jin troops from the east and west have been defeated one after another. Do you think he will look at other people's faces?"

After hearing Yan Qing's answer, Lu Junyi's eyebrows instantly wrinkled into a "川" shape, and finally asked in confusion: "What does Yang Chang mean? Doesn't he support anyone?"

"That's what I mean. The commander knows that his master is in a dilemma, so he sent me to show him the way. Zhao Gou will never succeed, and following him will only bring bad reputation."

"Isn't it too early to say this now?" Lu Junyi frowned, and then reminded Yan Qing solemnly: "Don't forget that Prince Kang can defeat the Jin army. He has a very high prestige in Hebei at the moment. Brother Gongming has decided to support Prince Kang."

"Song Gongming was obsessed with official titles, and Yang Taiwei had expected it long ago, but the so-called victory of King Kang over the Jin army was just a way to gain fame and reputation."

"What does this mean?"

"Taiwei Yang sneaked into the Jin camp and killed Marshal Han Libu with his own hands. The 100,000 Jin troops voluntarily withdrew from Luzhou, and Zhao Gou took the opportunity to claim credit for the merit and ask for a reward. What else could this be but seeking fame?"

Yan Qing never lies. Lu Junyi was stunned after hearing this.

He didn't expect Yang Chang to be so fierce that he dared to sneak into the Jin camp and kill the marshal.

Compared with him, I am inferior.

After a long while of digestion, Lu Junyi stroked his beard and continued, muttering, "I know that Yang Chang is good at martial arts, but I have never had the opportunity to fight him. In your opinion, if I fight him, who will win?"

"Captain Yang!"

"is it?"

How could Lu Junyi accept this? He had neglected his wife and even ruined his family in order to strengthen his muscles, and only then did he develop his martial arts skills. Yang Chang not only did not resist women, but he seemed to be a bit lustful.

If such a person who has no self-control ends up being better than me, wouldn’t I become a joke?

Yan Qing had followed Lu Junyi for many years, and he knew what he was thinking just by looking at his expression. He did not explain too much, but just told him about shooting the girl alive.

There is no need to talk about throwing cannonballs by hand, as Lu Junyi saw it with his own eyes in Taiyuan. Yang Chang had sneaked into the Jin camp to kill the dragon, and then shot and killed the enemy general from half a mile away. He could win with any of these skills.

Lu Junyi pondered for a moment and had to admit that Yang Chang was excellent, but the little pride in his heart prompted him to change the subject.

"I'm afraid even Hua Rong can't match Yang Chang's archery skills. When there's a chance in the future, I want to compete with him in spear and stick. By the way, you came all the way here, didn't you just say this?"

"The commander was afraid that his master would make the wrong choice, so he deliberately asked me to remind him."

"Alright, our relationship as master and servant is over. Don't call me master anymore. Also, many of the brothers and their families of the Yongning Army were sent to the Weisheng Army last year. Do you really think I don't know about Commander Yang's little trick? Even though I didn't stop you, it doesn't mean I don't know."

"Lord, your will."

Yan Qing could not help but feel delighted when he heard this, thinking that since his master had said this, Commandant Yang might be able to fulfill his wish and directly clear out the Yongning Army.

Lu Junyi raised his hand lightly and responded passionately: "You know what I am like. I never force others. If a brother wants to leave, I will not stop him, but I will not allow him to rob others by trickery!"

"The situation was different before. Everyone had a desire to serve the country to some extent. But now that King Kang has happened, there will be internal strife among the Zhao royal family. Moreover, the Jin people have occupied Zhending Prefecture. The situation of the Yongning Army is very bad. It is meaningless for the brothers to help anyone. There is no prospect of ennobling their wives and children."

"Captain Yang asked you to be a lobbyist? My brothers, following me will lead to nowhere, but following him will give you a title and a son? You are already thirty years old, have you married?"

"Yes."

When Yan Qing said these two words, a sweet smile appeared on her face, but Lu Junyi didn't react for a moment, and only showed a surprised expression after thinking about it.

"You really married her?"

"She really married Li Shishi. Taiwei Yang asked the princess to be the matchmaker."

"Princess matchmaker?"

"You may not know this yet, but Commandant Yang's second wife is actually Princess Maode, Hu Sanniang is first, and Qiu's wife is third."

Lu Junyi once heard Song Jiang mention that the emperor wanted to recruit Yang Chang as his son-in-law, but he didn't expect that this would actually happen in the end, and that he would even be ranked second to Hu Sanniang. No wonder he looked down on King Kang.

This is a winner in life. How did he do it? I, Lu, envy him!

(End of this chapter)