Why Chapter 207?
Lin Changning, with his keen eye, had Lu Shan bring the child over.
The child was now clean and fair-skinned, though his clothes were a bit too big. After being led into the tent by Lu Shan, his big, dark eyes suddenly looked at the three people in the middle.
The leader of the three rushed over and examined the child from head to toe to see if he was injured.
The child pouted and a sob escaped his throat: "Uncle! Uncle!"
The slightly older woman wiped away her tears and took the child into her arms.
"Ah Zheng, it's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."
The child clung to his elderly uncle, his voice breaking: "Uncle, my father is dead, my brother is dead, my mother and sister are gone, only I am left, only me..."
The child spoke and cried at the same time, and the three people surrounded the child, holding their heads and crying together.
Lin Changning sighed, unsure how to offer any advice.
After they had finished crying, the group stood up, holding their children, and apologized to Lin Changning and Qi Rong: "You two are too kind. It's true, alas."
Qi Rong nodded: "Perhaps you can stay in the military camp first. The entire city of Datong has not yet been searched, and there may still be villains hiding in some corner of the city. It would be better to stay in the military camp for now. I will arrange a tent for you, and I will send you back to the Cui family after this matter is over."
The three men clasped their hands in thanks and said in unison, "Thank you very much, Lord Qi."
Just as the three were about to leave with the child, the child suddenly let go of his hands, ran up to Lin Changning, looked up, and his dark eyes showed trust.
"My name is Cui Zheng. Thank you for saving me today and for helping me get revenge. I will repay you when I grow up."
Lin Changning couldn't help but laugh when he heard the child's confident words. He gently patted the child's head and said softly, "Then I'll wait for A-Zheng to grow up. Go ahead and go with your great-uncle to get some rest. You must be exhausted today."
Cui Zheng's handsome face was full of seriousness. He solemnly bowed to Lin Changning, imitating the manner of an adult: "Cui Zheng thanks you for saving my life. When I grow up, I am willing to serve you like a dog!"
Lin Changning chuckled and waved to the child: "Alright, alright, when you grow up, go and rest with your uncle and the others."
After the group left the tent, Lin Changning noticed that Qi Rong was looking at her strangely.
Lin Changning touched his face: "Second brother, is there something on my face?"
Qi Rong shook his head: "Little Six, your luck is unbelievable. Do you know who those people are?"
Lin Changning nodded: "Didn't you just introduce me? I'm a member of the Cui family. I'm the son of the prefect."
Qi Rong sighed and explained to Lin Changning in detail.
"You only know one side of the story. The prefect of Datong is the eldest son of the current head of the Cui family. He is a direct descendant and the next successor of the Cui family. The Cui family is a family of scholars with a long history of producing Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). The current great scholar surnamed Cui is teaching at Songbai Academy. In the court, among the civil officials, the Cui family can be divided into three groups. Almost every hundred years, a prime minister comes from the Cui family. At its peak, the vice minister of the Ministry of Works, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the prime minister all came from the Cui family."
Lin Changning quickly realized what Qi Rong meant.
But she shrugged: "I'm a military officer, Second Brother. We're completely unrelated. Besides, I'm a military officer from Taiyuan."
At this point, Lin Changning seemed to suddenly understand Qi Rong's unfinished words.
The court and the rebels fought and killed the legitimate heir of the Cui family. Then she and Qi Rong saved the bloodline of the prefect. She and Qi Rong were from Taiyuan and were people of the King of Chu.
In that case, the Cui family owes the King of Chu a favor. Perhaps now that the Cui family is extremely disappointed with the court, they will turn to the King of Chu.
Of course, the Cui family would never do something so self-destructive now.
However, the King of Chu was bound to rebel, and with the help of the Cui family, he would gain a great advantage.
Lin Changning's eyes widened suddenly, and she secretly glanced at Qi Rong, who remained calm and composed.
She always felt that Qi Erge's words had a hidden meaning.
Qi Rong smiled and said, "Since we have already gained the favor of the Cui family, we should maintain this relationship. It may come in handy in the future."
Lin Changning shrugged: "We'll see when the time comes. I wouldn't go so far as to take advantage of a child. That child is pitiful, sigh."
Qi Rong didn't say anything more. After asking about the specific matters of the day, he asked Lin Changning to sit down.
"The outcome of this battle is already decided. The news will likely reach Baoding in a few days. The next step is to think about how to seize power."
Lin Changning sat in the chair, propping his head up with his hand, looking somewhat bored: "It's fine for Second Brother to decide these things. Anyway, we've won our first victory, and the old prince is now lame. As long as the person who comes isn't as high-ranking as Second Brother, it shouldn't be difficult for them to get command. After all, the court probably can't spare any more people right now."
Qi Rong nodded: "Once the people are gathered, we must hurry up and take back the other cities. In three or four months at most, Prince Sheng's side will probably not be able to hold on. It would be best to take back all the border cities before that."
"Um."
Qi Rong looked at Lin Changning, who seemed a little absent-minded, and asked, "What are you thinking about? You seem distracted."
Lin Changning tilted his head and looked at Qi Rong: "It's nothing, I was just thinking about when we can drive all these Tartars away so that they will never dare to come down again."
Qi Rong remained silent. The current emperor was wary of the vassal kings while suppressing the military generals on the frontier. At most, they could only defend the cities of Da Xuan.
The grasslands are vast, so vast that the traces of the Tartars are hard to find. It's easy to drive people away, but it's difficult to drive them away completely to the point that they dare not return.
Lin Changning propped his head up and muttered to himself:
"Today, seeing those people being slaughtered, I felt particularly bad. I was thinking, why are we always the ones who have to fight back? Why can't we take the initiative?"
Why can't we achieve the same level of military prowess as the Han Dynasty, which deterred foreign powers from even daring to challenge us? They dared to slaughter our people at will, so why can't we?
Second brother, it's not that we can't find their place. Didn't I find their camp when I went to steal sheep last time? It's not hard to find them if we follow the pattern. When will the imperial court finally take a firm stance?
I believe that if they rob us, we should take them back; if they slaughter our people, we should use their people to build a mound of corpses to deter them.
We've faced them so many times in Daxing, and it's not like we can't beat them, so why can't we?
Qi Rong was shocked by Lin Changning's words, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that it made sense. Yes, they were not incapable of winning, so why could they only defend the city?
Why can't we take the initiative to attack?
Lin Changning raised his head, his phoenix eyes burning with an indomitable flame: "Second brother, next time, I will definitely use the blood of the Tartars to comfort the people of Da Xuan, and I will also build a mound of their heads outside the city to intimidate them!!"
Qi Rong had always thought Xiao Liu was intelligent and gentle, and this was the first time he had seen such a strong killing intent in Xiao Liu.
But thinking about it again, it seems normal. Lin Changning was born to be a military general.
"If you wish, next time, we'll build a mound of skulls outside every city on the frontier!!"
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