Chapter 362 The Prince is Here
Seeing that Mao San was still dissatisfied, Peng Jiang frowned and pressured Mao San to let the matter go.
When the news reached the governor's mansion, Gao Ming raised the corners of his lips and smiled.
The Yilin Army is nothing to be feared.
Gao Ming has made all the preparations and is just waiting for Lu Xueyin to arrive with the army. When the time comes, he will use both kindness and force, and he will not be afraid that the Yilin Army will not surrender.
But things didn't go so smoothly.
The Lu family army has not arrived yet, but the army led by the prince is almost there.
Three days before the Crown Prince arrived in Ningzhou, Gao Ming suddenly lost contact with his spies. The spies who had previously tried to contact Peng Jiang and Fang Erniu were also no longer contactable.
He contacted other spies within the Yilin Army, but the news could not be delivered so quickly. Gao Ming already had a bad feeling in his heart.
When the prince arrived in Ningzhou, Gao Ming, as the governor, was supposed to welcome him. He and Yan Xing went out of the city together to welcome the prince.
The prince's trip this time was almost carried out in the style of an imperial carriage, with the military flag representing the emperor at the front, showing his status.
Gao Ming looked at the army behind the prince and his eyes fixed.
He was well-versed in the military and could tell the quality of an army. The soldiers in the prince's army had sharp eyes and were well-trained. From their appearance, one could tell that this was a very elite force.
Even more elite than the Lu family army. Although the number of troops was small, Gao Ming had seen Lu Xueyin defeat the larger force with fewer troops, so he knew that numbers were not important. The fighting spirit of the soldiers, the physical fitness, and the layout of the generals were all important.
Although Gao Ming trusted the Lu family army and his lord very much, he was still a little worried about the sudden emergence of such a strong opponent.
Because once a war breaks out, it will consume national strength and people's power.
Gao Ming was very respectful. "I pay my respects to His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince. Your Highness has worked hard on the journey. We have prepared wine and food in the mansion. Please move forward."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince felt angry when he saw Gao Ming's submissive look.
What are you pretending for? Everyone knows that you are Lu Xueyin's number one confidant and lackey. Just like his master, you are good at pretending.
But the prince still followed the others back to the governor's mansion.
The Governor's Mansion hadn't undergone any major renovations, nor had it been renovated to welcome the Crown Prince. In fact, upon hearing that the Crown Prince was coming, Cui Yong had suggested renovating it, and considering Gao Ming's character, he even offered to pay for it.
Gao Ming rejected it without hesitation, and Cui Yong did not insist any further.
After the prince washed up, Gao Ming had to entertain him.
Yan Xing, Gao Ming, the Cui family father and son, and the heads of several wealthy families in the city all came to accompany them, and the scale was already very high.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince glanced around and asked, "Who is General Cao? I have heard of General Cao's great name a long time ago. Come forward."
Gao Ming bowed and said, "Your Highness, General Cao is on duty at the military camp. The military camp is an important place and cannot be left alone. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
The prince immediately said, "How difficult is this? I have also brought a large army here, so I will take over from General Cao and let General Cao and the Lu family army rest. The Lu family army has been stationed in Ningzhou for many years and it has indeed been very hard. The New Year is coming soon, so let General Cao lead his troops back home to reunite with his family. I will take care of the Yilin Army."
Everyone was silent for a moment. He was going to take over Ningzhou right away? And so brazenly? Was he not taking the Lu family army seriously?
Gao Ming frowned slightly. This matter was indeed a bit difficult to handle.
Lu Chenyang was still the diligent, loyal and patriotic Shangshu Ling, so he couldn't turn against the Crown Prince. But the Crown Prince was about to take over Ningzhou...
Gao Ming said in a deep voice, "Your Highness Rong Bing, this matter is of great importance. The Yilin Army is eyeing it covetously. Otherwise, Your Highness should also station troops outside the city to assist Your Highness. This will also better deter the Yilin Army."
His Royal Highness's face darkened. "Governor Gao, are you committing an act of disobedience by questioning my decision?"
Gao Ming quickly bowed and said, "I dare not, but this is really difficult."
Gao Ming looked troubled. He said, "It will take at least a month for these soldiers to return to Quzhou. And there isn't enough food in the city right now. We can't have the army go on the road hungry, right?"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince: “???”
The prince asked gloomily, "Where's the food? I delivered it on time and in full quantity! Not a single day's delay!"
Those were the food and fodder he had collected with great difficulty.
This is the only good thing the prince has done in the past two years.
Gao Ming smiled sheepishly at him and said, "To answer your question, Your Highness, isn't the New Year coming soon? Our Lord has said that we should all eat well and have a good New Year. After the spring, we will send the army to fight the Yilin Army, so there is no need to restrict the soldiers; let them eat as much as they want. As for the missing food and fodder, Lord will bring it all this time to make up for it."
Prince: “…” So Lu Xueyin is the good guy, right?
The prince didn't believe a single word Gao Ming said.
Who doesn't know that Ningzhou is Lu Xueyin's granary? Cui Jun controls a trade route, and he has bought back countless grains.
It is well known that Lu Xueying loves to hoard food. During the war a few years ago, many refugees starved to death in the wilderness. Lu Xueying has never forgotten that scene, so she has an inexplicable obsession with food.
I’m afraid Ningzhou has more grain than the national treasury.
But Gao Ming insisted that he hadn't. What could he do? Gao Ming didn't want to turn against him. Did he want to turn against Lu Xueyin now?
It’s not okay to fall out with someone, but it’s okay to get angry.
The dinner ended with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince storming out in anger.
Gao Ming actually didn’t care too much. After all, both parties knew the truth and were just maintaining a calm appearance.
But... Gao Ming was puzzled. Where did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince get the confidence to come to Ningzhou with these 100,000 people? No matter how incompetent the Crown Prince was, he wouldn't be so foolish, right?
Is it because he relies on Prince Yan?
Gao Ming couldn't figure it out, so he asked people to keep a close eye on the prince, Yan Xing, and the situation in the army.
Gao Ming now only hopes that Lu Xueyin will arrive as soon as possible. He has a premonition that everything will be settled in Ningzhou.
This time, God did not stand on Lu Xueyin's side, but chose the prince.
It was snowing heavily even though winter had not yet arrived. The continuous heavy snowfall slowed down the army's march.
Lu Xueyin's arrival in Ningzhou will be delayed.
Gao Ming frowned when he received the news.
The guard asked, "Sir, do you need to send someone to fetch you?"
Gao Ming pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No need. My Lord is leading a large army, so she has no shortage of manpower. What's most important right now is Ningzhou. I must help my Lord defend Ningzhou." After a pause, he said, "Well, send someone to the Yilin Army to gather information."
He sighed, "I'm afraid something has happened in Peng Jiang."
Gao Ming's judgment was correct. Ever since the spy lost contact, he had a vague premonition that Peng Jiang had changed his mind. He was just hoping for the best, thinking Peng Jiang wouldn't have the guts to tease him.
But thinking about the timing of His Royal Highness's arrival, he understood that His Royal Highness must have taken some action. He was deeply annoyed. He should have thought of this earlier. The Yilin Army was leaky like a sieve. If he could plant people in, the Crown Prince could definitely plant spies there too.
Ultimately, he was careless and underestimated the Yilin Army, thinking they had no other choice.
He broke out in a cold sweat because of this incident. His long period of success had made him lose his mind and become complacent, almost following the same path as the King of Nanyang.
Gao Ming was terrified and took this incident as a lesson, never daring to be careless again.
This is a later story. In order to make up for his mistake, Gao Ming sent people to keep a close eye on Mao San and Fang Erniu, hoping to take advantage of the conflict between the two and weaken the strength of the Yilin Army from within.
This time, he must not make any mistakes again.
While Lu Xueyin had not arrived yet, he decided to make amends for his crime.
The Crown Prince and Gao Ming faced off, but the battlefield was the Yilin Army. The entire Yilin Army was a battle between the Crown Prince and Lu Chenyang. And the man behind it all, Lu Xueyin, was numb from the snowstorm, and the moment she opened her eyes, she was sweeping snow. Meanwhile, Gao Ming was still trying to entertain the Crown Prince with a smile, playing along with him. As for the Crown Prince, he couldn't tell. Who doesn't know how to act?
It was a hard time for the Yilin Army, who were in chaos all day long.
As the main culprit, Gao Ming and the prince hid their achievements and fame.
Gao Ming now noticed another thing. There was a very mysterious person in the prince's entourage. He had not shown up since arriving in Ningzhou. The guards and servants around him were all the prince's confidants.
Gao Ming called the people in the mansion and asked, "Have you seen that person? Even if you have seen his appearance, does he look very similar to you, sir?"
After Lu Xueyin revealed her identity, she also wrote a letter to explain her identity to her subordinates. They were all family, and after hiding it from everyone for so long, she had to give everyone an explanation.
Therefore, everyone in the Lu family system knew that Lu Xueying was disguising herself as a man on behalf of her brother. As for the real Lu Chenyang, he was most likely in the hands of the prince.
Now that someone who looked like Lu Chenyang appeared in the prince's team, Gao Ming paid attention to him.
The servant shook his head. "I've never seen him before, but I saw his back. But the Crown Prince's men are very vigilant, and I was chased out at the first sight. But from the back, he was a thin man."
Gao Ming frowned and decided to find out.
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