Chapter 90
Half a month later, Gu Fuzhou led reinforcements to the northwest, and Lin Qingyu was with him again. The only consolation was that this time they could at least write to each other, a privilege granted to them by the emperor.
Every report sent from the northwest to the capital would be accompanied by a letter from General Gu to his wife, and both would be delivered to Lin Qingyu's desk as soon as possible.
Although the memorial and the family letter were written by the same person, their styles were very different. The report was concise and to the point, with appropriate wording, and all it covered was military affairs. During this period, the Western Xia army, led by General Gui, was unstoppable. After occupying Yongliang, they also captured several important cities in the northwest. After Gu Fuzhou led the reinforcements from the capital, he managed to stabilize the army's morale and boosted its morale.
Under the fierce attack of the Western Xia army, Dayu's army defended the city of Guizhou to the death. This is the last line of defense in the northwest. Once Guizhou falls, Dayu's northwest gate will be wide open. At that time, Xixia can retreat to the Jiangnan Plain or advance directly to the capital.
After all, Gu Fuzhou was a man who climbed the city gate with a quilt on to command the deployment of defenses, and he had a lot of experience in defending the city. The Northwest Army and the reinforcements worked together to occupy the Western Xia army outside the city of Guizhou, temporarily blocking the Western Xia's advance.
These were written simply in the report, only mentioning the results and omitting the process and details. But just looking at the number of casualties, you can see how difficult it was. However, Gu Fuzhou's family letter reads as follows:
"Qingyu, you won't believe this, but I haven't slept in once since I came to the northwest. Do you see my determination to return victoriously?"
"After discussing matters with the generals at night, I walked out of the tent and saw the bright stars in the northwest. Suddenly, I felt that it would be nice if you were by my side at this time."
"That ghost coach is quite powerful. I feel like I am no match for him. But Wu Youyuan seems very confident. He can talk about tactics for two hours every day. I always listen to him carefully, and then I started to lose a lot of hair."
"Qingyu, including the last time I was in the northwest, I have won six games in a row. I have a feeling it's coming, my first defeat is coming soon. Help."
…
For some reason, when Lin Qingyu saw Gu Fuzhou complaining about the Xixia ghost commander's superb military skills and crying that he was no match for him, he was not particularly worried. This must be the result of Gu Fuzhou's tone. Clearly, what he wrote was not a good thing, but it somehow made people have confidence in him. This person is always like this, doing everything to the best of his ability in reluctant laziness.
The peace of mind that Gu Fuzhou gave him was never just words. This time...it will probably be the same.
No, it has to be the same.
Lin Qingyu spent this year in a very simple way. Although Yuan Yin hung red silk lanterns all over the general's mansion and pasted window grilles on the windows as he did in previous years, he also asked the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner. But Lin Qingyu was not interested in this. He just took two sips and went back to his room to rest.
The room still had the big bed that Gu Fuzhou had carefully selected. In order to get up less often at night, Gu Fuzhou asked a carpenter to make a wooden table that matched his bed. He would prepare tea on the table every night so that if he woke up thirsty at night, he could just lean over and have a drink of water.
Lin Qingyu was lying on the inside of the bed, his limbs were slightly cold, and no matter how thick the quilt was, his body could not warm up.
After staying up until the fourth watch, Lin Qingyu gave up on sleeping. He got out of bed, put on a fox fur coat, walked to the table with a candlestick, picked up a pen and wrote down what was in his mind: The mandarin duck tiles are cold and covered with frost, who will share the chill of the jade quilt with me?
First, I wish my husband a thousand years, second, I wish I stay healthy, and third, I wish we can be like the swallows on the beam and see each other every year... After all, they are just beautiful wishes.
After finishing writing, Lin Qingyu was absent-minded for a moment and looked up towards the northwest sky.
The candle burns out and I sit alone until dawn.
On the third day of the New Year, people came to the general's mansion to pay New Year's greetings. Unlike last year, this year, in addition to many military generals, there were also many civil officials who came to the mansion to pay New Year's greetings. After the new emperor ascended the throne, the high-ranking families in the capital also realized that in addition to General Gu, the general's wife was also a person who should not be underestimated. It is said that he is a fifth-rank medical officer, Doctor Lin, but if the word "医" is changed to "傅", it would be more worthy of the name.
Lin Qingyu turned down most of the visiting cards that were delivered to his door, but there were some people he had to meet. For example, Gu Fuzhou’s right-hand man in the army, Wu Zhan.
Wu Zhan was still thinking about his rude words to the general, so he came here to pay New Year's greetings and to apologize, and the gifts he brought took up half of the yard. "These are the intentions of the brothers. I hope Madam will not despise them."
"No." Lin Qingyu was quite polite, "General Wu, please sit down. Hualu, bring the tea."
Wu Zhan drank the tea from the General's Mansion, but he still felt uneasy. He and Gu Fuzhou were both military men and were not used to being fussy about details, so if they needed to apologize, they would do it openly. But now sitting in front of Lin Qingyu, being stared at indifferently by him, those words of apology became too embarrassing to say.
Lin Qingyu said: "General Wu seems to have something to do."
Wu Zhan risked his life: "Well, before the general went to war, I scolded him in a fit of excitement, but later I found out that I had misunderstood the general. I feel so guilty..."
Lin Qingyu asked: "Have you told the general about this?"
"I told you, the general said he would not argue with me."
Lin Qingyu nodded: "In that case, I won't argue with you."
Wu Zhan breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, "Don't worry, Madam. I will control my temper next time. If I speak rudely to the general again, I will ask to go to the stable to feed the horses for three months."
Lin Qingyu asked: "General Wu just said that he cursed the general in a 'moment of excitement'. I wonder where this 'moment of excitement' came from?"
Wu Zhan felt guilty: "Actually, it wasn't a 'momentary' excitement. At first, I was a little angry when I saw that the general was still indifferent despite the situation in the northwest. Not only me, but also Duke Wu felt that this was not something the general would do. But we also felt that the general might have his own deep meaning for doing this. So we just said a few words in private, but we didn't expect that Prime Minister Cui heard it."
Prime Minister Cui, Cui Lian, was over fifty years old at the time and was a close and loyal minister of the previous emperor. When Xiao Cheng was the crown prince and regent, he also trusted him very much. This person has some prestige in the court, so Lin Qingyu has no intention of attacking him for the time being.
Lin Qingyu asked: "What did Prime Minister Cui say to make you so indignant?"
"Prime Minister Cui said that we don't sympathize with the general. The general has fought for Dayu for more than ten years, and now he has married a beautiful wife. It is understandable that he indulges in the gentleness of the country. The Xixia military strategist is full of tricks, and the general is just a mortal. How can he compete with a 'ghost'? It is normal for him to retreat. Let's not be too harsh on him."
Lin Qingyu found something wrong: "So Prime Minister Cui is speaking for the general?"
"Yes, yes." Wu Zhan recalled it now and felt that something was wrong. "Prime Minister Cui also said that the dream of a peaceful capital was what the general deserved after years of fighting. Every word he said was in favor of the general, but we were angry just by listening to it. Then I couldn't help it and rushed to the military camp... Oh, I was confused."
Lin Qingyu fell into deep thought. Was this Cui Lian's trip his own idea, or was he instructed by someone else? He had always thought that this old minister was relatively well-behaved, but now it seemed... he was going to do bad things alone again.
"Madam, why did the general not want to go to the northwest at first?" Wu Zhan couldn't help asking, "Is it really because he couldn't bear to leave the glory and wealth in the capital? I don't believe it!"
Lin Qingyu glanced at Wu Zhan and said, "Because he felt that not going to the battlefield and not interfering in the affairs of the northwest was his responsibility to the 300,000 Western Expedition Army and the common people."
Wu Zhan was shocked and said, "How could he think so? The general is our Dayu's god of war, and the soldiers trust him so much!"
"So he went in the end, for your trust." Lin Qingyu said coldly, "Even if you didn't force him, he would still go."
Young Master Jiang is different from him after all. Deep down, he is still a gentle boy.
After seeing Wu Zhan off, Lin Qingyu ordered Hua Lu to prepare generous gifts and asked Yuan Yin to prepare the carriage. Since Cui Lian was willing to speak for his husband, he naturally had to go and express his gratitude.
When the visiting card of the fifth-rank imperial physician was delivered to the Prime Minister's Mansion, everyone in the Mansion was in a state of panic, as if they had received an imperial decree from the Empress Dowager. Cui Lian personally welcomed Lin Qingyu into the main hall for receiving guests and served him the best tea. His attitude was neither warm nor cold, just polite.
"I never thought that Doctor Lin would come to the Prime Minister's residence to pay New Year's greetings." Cui Lian said, "I don't know when I caught Doctor Lin's eye."
Lin Qingyu said, "To be honest with Prime Minister Cui, I had no such intention. I just heard that the general had received good words from Prime Minister Cui before he went to the battle, so I came here to express my gratitude."
Cui Lian remained calm, but his hand holding the tea stiffened for a moment: "General, you have worked hard and made great contributions, and you have suffered a lot for Dayu. I really cannot bear to see you go to the battlefield again under such circumstances."
Lin Qingyu said slowly: "But I clearly remember that Prime Minister Cui said in his memorial earlier that the general is the best choice to lead the Northwest. I don't know why Prime Minister Cui changed his mind."
Cui Lian was speechless for a moment, but he reacted quickly and said calmly, "Memorial? I did not submit a memorial for the appointment of the commander of the Northwest. Doctor Lin must have remembered it wrongly."
"So," Lin Qingyu smiled slightly, "Maybe I remembered it wrong."
Seeing a beautiful woman smiling should be a pleasure to the eyes, but it made Cui Lian feel frightened and uneasy. He did submit this memorial, but it was obvious that only the emperor had seen it. Did Lin Qingyu say this because he really knew something, or was he just trying to trick him?
Before Cui Lian could think about it, Lin Qingyu stood up and said goodbye. Before leaving, Lin Qingyu said, "Prime Minister Cui is a veteran of two dynasties and a pillar of the country. I hope Prime Minister will think twice before doing anything and don't do anything stupid."
After Lin Qingyu left, Cui Lian felt uneasy. After thinking it over again and again, he finally went into the palace during his day off. The emperor had already gone to bed, and it was still the eunuch Xi who saw him. The first time he met the emperor alone, the emperor said: Xi Rong's intentions are all my intentions, my dear, you can treat him as you treat me.
Cui Lian told Xi Rong everything that had happened today: "Eunuch Xi, the memorial I wrote strongly advocating General Gu to take command..."
"Don't worry, Prime Minister. His Majesty burned it after reading it. Imperial Doctor Lin couldn't have seen it."
Cui Lian was still terrified: "So, he really wants to get the truth from me. He is so insidious and cunning, it's hard to guard against him!"
Xi Rong curled his lips and said, "But when the Prime Minister came to the palace to ask for an audience with the Emperor during his day off, didn't that tell Imperial Doctor Lin that you have something to hide?"
Cui Lian suddenly realized and was immediately annoyed: "I didn't even think of this!"
"Prime Minister, there is no need to blame yourself." Xi Rong said with interest, "Doctor Lin has already seen it clearly. Your Excellency is just giving him evidence. Even if there is no evidence, he has already determined the fact."
"You mean, he knows everything?"
Xi Rong narrowed his eyes and said, "Today, he came to you to question you, and tomorrow it will be my turn."
At this time, a young eunuch found Xi Rong and said, "Eunuch Xi, the emperor has woken up and is looking for you."
"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your concern on this matter. Leave the rest to me." After Xi Rong said this, he hurriedly walked towards the emperor's bedroom.
On the Lantern Festival, Lin Qingyu received another letter from Gu Fuzhou: "Seven consecutive victories, baby. Wu Youyuan has made great contributions. He is worthy of being the man who can destroy Xixia. But he seems to be getting cocky. He always thinks he can beat five people alone. But it's not a big problem. I will stop him from going out to have fun. Happy first anniversary of our engagement."
Gu Fuzhou wrote his last letter home during the Chinese New Year, and when he delivered it to Lin Qingyu, it happened to be the day they became engaged.
Lin Qingyu curled his lips slightly, put away the letter from home, and placed it together with the ring that Gu Fuzhou gave him.
In the afternoon, the eunuch from Ci'an Palace came to the mansion to pass on the message that the empress dowager invited Lin Qingyu to the palace to celebrate the Lantern Festival together, and to go up to the city tower to enjoy the lanterns after sunset.
The author has something to say: The first and second updates will be in the evening, so it may be late~=3=100 red envelopes will be drawn in the comment area to apologize for taking leave yesterday
Small theater:
Classmate Jiang takes his beautiful wife who came to his house shopping.
On the subway, a beautiful woman who had just learned how to use a mobile phone was chatting on WeChat with a stranger who was helping her.
Stranger: What? He even takes you on the subway! Damn it I can’t stand it, can’t I just take a taxi! How can such a beauty take the subway! A high school boy who looks good but is useless, damn it!
After seeing this, Jiang thought for a while and said to his beautiful wife: Emmm...how about you go and get a driver's license first?
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