sbdcsierra Chapter 248: If you are not called Qingping, you can’t be happy (17)
Chapter 248: If you are not called Qingping, you can’t be happy (17)
After this great defeat of Li Yuanhao, the troublemakers of the Liao Kingdom could not bear to see the Song court being so comfortable, and would definitely send envoys to the Song court to cause trouble.
Lu Changqing didn't know whether he could come back in a short time, so he asked Li Shibin to take good care of his three daughters.
"You can learn horse riding and archery, but only your children can learn this book. I won't hide it from you. The court is in great need of talented generals who are both civil and military. Otherwise, the emperor would not have allowed me to come here, right?
You also saw Liu Dianshuai, who was in his sixties, and Minister Fan, whose body was also half buried.
To put it bluntly, wait a few years, cough cough... the people will be gone... cough... your Jinming Village is right next to Yanzhou City. If your children are successful, then maybe the whole Yanzhou will be yours."
"But aren't there other ministers in the court?"
Lu Changqing sighed and said, "I don't know where this evil trend came from. Now the court values civil officials over military officials. The officials are all very noble and look down on us warriors. The students all over the world are the same. They are all trying their best to take the imperial examinations.
But how can scholars lead troops into battle? Don’t we still have to rely on them?”
"So, Lao Li!" Lu Changqing patted Li Shibin on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Our chance to make achievements and revitalize the family has come!"
Li Shibin rubbed his hands excitedly, "Thank you for Deputy Envoy Bai's advice. I've taken note of everything you said."
"Also, this is a critical period. Treat your subordinates better and stop spreading a bad reputation for greed, violence and arrogance. If someone reports you, the court will remove you from office to show justice and let your family take over. You will cry when the time comes."
Li Shibin's personality is just like that, he is easily instigated.
In addition, Lu Changqing's words and deeds were all for him and for the honor of his family, so he patted his chest and promised to educate his daughters well and treat his subordinates well.
Lu Changqing took Li Huaibao to Yanzhou City to meet up with Fan Yong and others, and then they returned to Beijing together.
After arriving in Beijing, Lu Changqing went straight into the imperial palace. After all, she still had the identity of a calligrapher.
As soon as she entered the palace, Zhao Zhen called her over, and the first thing he said when they met was, "Fu Ying, you really didn't let me down."
As soon as Lu Changqing entered the hall, he found that in addition to Zhao Zhen, there were several other court officials present.
Zhao Zhen pointed at the ministers and introduced them to Lu Changqing one by one. Lu Changqing looked at the oldest one among them.
My goodness, not only is he the co-prime minister, but he also serves as the privy councilor. It seems the court really can’t find anyone like him.
"Someone reported that Bai Yaban, while serving as the governor of Yanzhou, beat his colleagues, disrespected his superiors, embezzled public funds, misused government money, and slaughtered surrendered soldiers. He was tyrannical. I would like to ask Yaban, are these crimes true?"
Lu Changqing was shocked. She hadn't even returned to Beijing yet, but the memorial impeaching her had already been sent back? Did these people really want to get rid of her?
Lu Changqing looked at Lu Yijian and asked, "Mr. Lu, you said so much in one breath, have you sent anyone to verify it?
Let me guess who reported me? Was it the eunuch Lu Shouqin who was so scared when he heard that Li Yuanhao sent more than 100,000 troops to invade Yanzhou and escaped from the Baoan Army? Or was it Minister Fan who couldn't even see through Li Yuanhao's trick of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west? "
Lu Yijian didn't expect Lu Changqing to speak so directly, and he was choked and speechless.
Lu Changqing looked at the people in the hall and said, "There are less than 300 guards in such a big city like Yanzhou. I asked Lu Shouqin to increase the number of soldiers by 500, but he shouted at me and called me a woman nothing.
My official position was granted by the government. If he disrespects me, he is disrespecting the government, so Lu Shouqin deserves to be beaten!
As for disrespecting superiors, don't scholars always consider themselves gentlemen? We should respect the wise and humble ourselves, but when has Fan Yong ever respected me?"
Seeing that Lu Changqing only called his superior by his first name, Lu Yijian frowned and said unhappily, "Where did you get this from?"
Lu Changqing said: "I told him clearly in the letter that Li Yuanhao was going to lead troops to attack Yanzhou. He said that I was just a woman and worried about nothing. He also said that Li Yuanhao sent someone to deliver a letter saying that he did not intend to be independent and wanted to negotiate peace.
Anyone with a bit of common sense would have known there was something fishy going on, but he believed it.
If Li Yuanhao really wanted to submit to the Song Dynasty, he would not have stationed more than 100,000 troops in Youzhou, Xiazhou, and Suizhou! He would not have created a heavy cavalry corps of 3,000 people! "
Everyone gasped. Zhao Zhen asked in shock, "Are there really 3,000 people?"
"It is absolutely true. If you don't believe me, you can ask Commander Liu. We got all this from the captives."
Seeing Zhao Zhen's grim expression, Lu Changqing said, "Your Majesty, we really need to take the problem of Xia Kingdom seriously. The reason we were able to repel Li Yuanhao this time was because we made advance deployments in Jinming Village. Next time, it may not be so smooth."
"Then what about the embezzlement of public funds and the massacre of surrendered soldiers?"
Lu Changqing said, "Embezzlement of public funds? Lord Lu, let me ask you, do we need to reward soldiers during a war? Do we need money to reward soldiers?"
“They say you’re abusing.”
"The people of Jinming Village are loyal and fearless in guarding the border for us. I use the money to reward them. Do you think this is a misuse?
According to what Prime Minister Lu said, I led the people of Jinming Village to repel Li Yuanhao this time, so I should not be rewarded, and those officials who have made achievements should not be rewarded either, otherwise the government would be abusing its power. "
Lu Yijian was so angry at Lu Changqing's twisted logic that he blew his beard and glared, cursing: "You are just making up stories!"
Lu Changqing bowed to Zhao Zhen and said, "Please allow me to say something unpleasant. Farmers use donkeys to pull millstones and hang carrots in front of the donkeys' heads. If there is no reward, who will fight for you?"
After saying that, Lu Changqing glanced at Lu Yijian again and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Lu. I have brought the account book back. If you want to check it, I can take it out now."
Fearing that Lu Yijian might get hurt by Lu Changqing's anger, Zhao Zhen spoke up to help: "Fuying, I will send someone to verify this matter later. Then why did they massacre the surrendered soldiers?"
Lu Changqing briefly told him how Li Yuanhao had sent people to pretend to surrender but he had discovered their whereabouts.
Perhaps fearing that Lu Changqing would say something irritating again, Zhao Zhen saw that Lu Yijian was about to speak again, and hurriedly said, "Why kill them? Wouldn't it be better to send them to the south?"
Lu Changqing said: "Of course we should use the same trick as the enemy and make Li Yuanhao think that we have been fooled by him."
Father Zhao Zhen was sick and said disapprovingly: "But we don't need to kill them all."
"If we don't kill them, what if they escape and tell Li Yuanhao that we have discovered his plan? Then my plan in Jinming Village will be wasted, right?"
"But that's four thousand lives!"
Lu Changqing was amazed at Zhao Zhen's train of thought, "Sir, Li Yuanhao has killed more than four thousand of our people over the years!"
After Zhao Zhen finished speaking, he realized that what he said was a bit inappropriate, so he quickly changed the subject and asked some other questions. After Lu Changqing answered them one by one, he let her go.