"The Qi family won't give up so easily," Shen Qingfeng said to Shen Shiqiu and Shen Yu in private before the court session. "They have many ways to target the Crown Prince. Besides the Prime Minister's Mansion, the most important and powerful backer of the Crown Prince is Lu Yan."
Shen Qingfeng stared intently at his father and continued, "Now, the Eastern Hu has sent 200,000 troops to the border. The current stand - off is only temporary. There will surely be a war between Li Xia and the Eastern Hu; it's just that the time hasn't come yet. With Qi Shuhuan causing trouble in the court, King Xia Jie may very likely order Lu Yan to lead the troops, and he won't be able to refuse. Regarding the dispatch of troops, to achieve his own goals, I reckon King Xia Jie will specifically talk to him in detail. Father, please convey a message to him for me."
Shen Qingfeng paused for a moment and then said, "When on a military campaign, don't blindly follow the king's orders."
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After the court session, Shen Shiqiu walked out of the Mountain - River Hall with the other ministers. As he walked, he secretly glanced at Lu Yan's position and winked at Shen Yu who was standing beside him.
Shen Yu understood the signal, nodded, and then turned to walk towards Lu Yan.
At this moment, Lu Yan had just stepped out of the Mountain - River Hall, followed by a chattering Chen Luo.
"Marquis Dingbei, you see I'm about to lead the troops to fight against the Western Rong. How about you lend me some of your Lu family's army?"
Both Lu Yan and Chen Luo had experience in military campaigns. They both knew the pros and cons of King Xia Jie's decision in the Mountain - River Hall just now. Chen Luo was clearly just making small talk, which annoyed Lu Yan greatly.
Just as he was being bothered by Chen Luo, Lu Yan suddenly heard someone call his name. Looking up, he saw Shen Yu, Shen Qingfeng's elder brother. He was momentarily stunned, then bowed and said, "My lord Chang Changqing."
Shen Yu stepped forward with a big smile and said, "Marquis Dingbei, my calligraphy and paintings were lost in the teahouse before, and it happened that you picked them up. I've come here specifically to thank you. I wonder if you have the time? I'd like to invite you to have some tea."
Lu Yan had never been to a teahouse before, nor had he picked up any of Shen Yu's calligraphy and paintings. Shen Yu's words were well - reasoned and he deliberately emphasized the invitation. Lu Yan guessed that he must have something to say. He was only stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily and said, "Sure! I've been wanting to talk to you about those calligraphy and paintings, my lord."
Chen Luo poked his head over and said, "Appreciating calligraphy and paintings? Can I come too?"
"Marquis of the Southwest, if you have nothing to do, go back to your fief earlier. Don't keep hovering in front of me." Lu Yan had long been impatient with him, so he snorted and strode forward.
Seeing that Lu Yan had shown his impatience towards Chen Luo, Shen Yu quickly gave Chen Luo an apologetic smile, then turned and hurried to catch up with Lu Yan.
"Tsk... How cold - hearted..." Chen Luo murmured. Staring at Lu Yan's back, a sly smile slowly spread across his face. "Shen Yu... Isn't he Shen Qingfeng's elder brother?"
"What's the matter?" Lu Yan asked as he walked. By now, they had distanced themselves from the other ministers who had just left the court. Lu Yan's voice was very low, audible only to the two of them.
Shen Yu said, "My youngest brother said that King Xia Jie may talk to you privately later. It's very likely that you won't be able to leave the palace for the time being."
Lu Yan was stunned. "A private conversation?"
Shen Yu nodded. Just as he was about to continue, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Qi hurrying towards them. He didn't dare to delay and quickly said, "My youngest brother is afraid that King Xia Jie will make things difficult for you regarding the dispatch of troops. He asked me to remind you of a sentence: When on a military campaign, don't blindly follow the king's orders."
As soon as Shen Yu finished speaking, while Lu Yan was still in a daze, they heard Chen Qi's shrill voice from behind. "Marquis Dingbei, please wait."
Lu Yan exchanged a silent look with Shen Yu, then composed himself, turned to look at Chen Qi, and asked, "What is it?"
Instead of answering directly, Chen Qi was slightly stunned when he saw Shen Yu and asked, "Oh? Why are the two of you together?"
This question was clearly on behalf of King Xia Jie. Lu Yan sneered inwardly and then continued the lie Shen Yu had started. Only then did Chen Qi continue, "Marquis Dingbei, His Majesty invites you to the Zhengtai Hall for a talk."
Lu Yan nodded and said, "I'll go right away."
The Zhengtai Hall was the place where King Xia Jie discussed state affairs with his ministers or reviewed memorials when there was no court session.
As Lu Yan stepped into the hall, he looked up and saw Qi Shuhuan, the current chief minister, standing in front of King Xia Jie.
Lu Yan couldn't help but sigh at Shen Qingfeng's foresight.
King Xia Jie had invited him and Qi Shuhuan to discuss matters together. One would play the good cop and the other the bad cop. Clearly, they were setting a trap for him.
Shen Qingfeng had said, "When on a military campaign, don't blindly follow the king's orders."
Lu Yan understood the key was in the words "don't blindly follow".
That is to say, no matter what requests King Xia Jie made later, he should try his best to refuse.
In fact, Lu Yan was very cautious. Although King Xia Jie always pretended to trust and appreciate his talents, Lu Yan knew that the king feared his military power and was also afraid that he would overshadow the king with his achievements.
He had been deliberately maintaining the relationship between a monarch and his subject with King Xia Jie. Although he didn't show it on his face, in fact, it was like walking on thin ice. And now, the ice seemed to be starting to crack.
"Your humble subject pays homage to Your Majesty," Lu Yan knelt down respectfully, his posture extremely submissive.
King Xia Jie leaned back in his chair lazily and said, "Rise, my dear minister."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"My dear minister, you're about to go on a campaign to Qimen. In the court just now, it was not convenient for me to ask more. Now, I'd like to ask you in detail. Are you really confident about dealing with the 200,000 troops of the Eastern Hu?" King Xia Jie asked.
Lu Yan replied, "Your Majesty, Liangcheng is located on high ground. As the northeastern gateway of Li Xia, it's easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are already 100,000 troops of Marquis Chu stationed in Liangcheng. With the 20,000 troops I'll bring, it'll be more than enough to resist the Eastern Hu."
King Xia Jie thought for a while and said, "120,000 troops are still too few. I'll send Li Yanqing with 50,000 troops to go with you and give you a hand. How about that?"
Li Yanqing was a first - rank general. If he were to go to Liangcheng with Lu Yan, there would be a power struggle in the military camp. It would be unclear who would be in charge.
It was obvious who had proposed this in order to build up Li Yanqing's military merits. Lu Yan secretly glanced at Qi Shuhuan standing beside him, gritted his teeth, and sighed inwardly. How could King Xia Jie not understand such a simple truth? Was he really being deceived by a few words from Qi Shuhuan?
But what exactly was Qi Shuhuan's plan? If he didn't want Li Yanqing to miss this opportunity, then why did he recommend Lu Yan?
"Your Majesty, the main reason why Lord Li is stationed in Lige City is to protect Your Majesty. If Lord Li goes on a campaign with me, there will be no troops in Lige City. In case of an attack, who will protect Your Majesty?" Lu Yan bowed and said.
Qi Shuhuan said from the side, "Marquis Dingbei, do you mean that you can't defeat the Eastern Hu army and that it's easy for the Eastern Hu people to march from Liangcheng all the way to Lige City, threatening the safety of His Majesty?"
Lu Yan glanced at Qi Shuhuan and said, "No. I'm confident that I can deal with the Eastern Hu army. What I'm referring to is not them."
King Xia Jie raised his eyebrows and asked, "Then who are you referring to?"
Lu Yan said in a solemn voice, "I'm talking about Marquis Cen of Yushan."
There was a moment of silence in the air.
Everyone knew that as a vassal state of Li Xia, Yushan was very reluctant to be under Li Xia's control. They were even too lazy to send envoys to Lige for the annual tribute.
In fact, in the past, Yushan had a deep relationship with Lige. The previous Marquis Cen often traveled to other parts of Li Xia, such as Jiangnan and Huaibei. But the current Marquis Cen just didn't like the king of Li Xia and had never shown any respect to King Xia Jie.
As for the reason, there were various speculations, but no one knew for sure. Even King Xia Jie himself, one of the parties involved, didn't know why.
Although Yushan was disobedient and didn't pay tribute, they didn't openly oppose Li Xia. So although King Xia Jie was extremely annoyed, he didn't rashly send troops to Yushan for fear of being criticized for having no just cause for war.