C14 (1/2)
After so many years, they met again as good friends in the military. Everyone was happy and happy.
Ning Dairong ordered his men to report to the capital about the return of the group. At the same time, he sent people to inform the vice commander of the Mountain Shadow Army to temporarily take over their defense. He then led the three thousand cavalrymen and accompanied them to Cloud Perch City.
The Mountain Yin County was very special in the one hundred and eight counties of Dagang. It was a high county with a sparsely populated land and a fierce and aggressive atmosphere. It was located on the east foot of Cloud Receiving Mountain, north of the mountain, and south of the Floating Snow Mountain. To the south was the danger zone, and to the north was the Northern Frontier County, Snowfall County. To the west, they would pass through the Ming-Yun Mountain Range, which was the Thousand Li Sand Sea. Therefore, after the Great Gan was established, they set up the mountain Yin Legion here.
While guarding the Cry Spring Pass to deter the countries of the sea, one had to be on guard against the occasional beast tide that would erupt in the Unreturned Mountain. If necessary, he could also send reinforcements to the north to support the Star Division that was stationed at the border of Snowfall Mountain. The Mountain Shadow Legion was also the only one of the twelve Great Gan Legions that was named after a county. Although there were one hundred and fifty thousand Mountain Shadow County guards, the desert bandits that had climbed over the mountain were also banned. Ning Dairong didn't want Lu Chun and his men, who had just returned, to meet with trouble, so he insisted on escorting them to Cloud Perching City.
At Cloud Mist Courtyard, Lu Chun and Ning Dairong were drinking wine and playing chess in a flower pavilion. This Clouds Courtyard was the mansion of the Grand Princess, Yu Chuqing. It was specially built for her by the late emperor when he bestowed the title of Princess Xiyun upon her. However, this was also the first time that Yu Chu Qing had come to this courtyard. After everyone arrived at the Cloud Nesting City, they temporarily settled in.
”Dairong, you've admitted defeat in three sets in a row. It looks like your chess skills haven't improved at all in the past twelve years.” Lu Chun was playing with a white piece in his right hand as he looked at Ning Dairong, who was hesitating.
”Big Brother Lu must be joking, how could little brother be a match for big brother.” In the time it takes to make a cup of tea, the black stick in Ning Dairong's hand was hanging, but the complicated situation on the plate made it difficult for him to fall.
On the surface of the plate, the black and white figures intersected with each other. There were few of them, yet they were fighting each other with overflowing killing intent. In contrast to the previous two rounds, both of them had taken Dalong as their base, while the rest had taken the army as their base. They had matched each other's strength. In this game of chess, both of them were acting strangely, but their killing intent was even more intense.
”You stayed with me for many years. How could I not know that you were a person who only knew about external matters and not internal matters? With a game of chess, it should be difficult for one to not understand you, yet you are still hesitating. Lu Chun looked at Ning Dairong blandly, then picked up the wine glass beside his hand and took a sip.
”Big Brother Lu, look at you. You're still the same as back then. I, however, have become old. Naturally, I can't compare to back then when I calculated in my heart.” Ning Dairong looked up at Lu Chun, his mouth opened and closed a few times as he spoke.
”But because of the matter of the court? You have now officially become a commander, and have been conferred the title of Marquis. Now that you have become a noble, do you still have any doubts? ” Lu Chun looked at Ning Dairong's hesitant expression, and thought that it might be related to the matter at court.
”Big Brother Lu, to be honest, if I were to say that I don't want to be this military commander, nor would I want to be one of the 36 civil and military officials, would you believe me?”
”I do.” Lu Chun nodded solemnly.
He heard Ning Dairong's dejected words, and there was even a hint of retreat in them. At this point, Lu Chun had already guessed a few things. Although he had already left the court for twelve years, he could still guess a few things about the court. On the surface, Da Gan was split between the inner and outer chambers of justice. The cabinet was in charge of governing and protecting the people. The outer chamber was in charge of defending the enemy and did not interfere with each other. However, if it was subdivided into four factions, they were roughly divided into four factions.
The first faction was naturally the Great Gan Imperial Family. The Emperor directly led the army of Evergreen, known as the Empire's First Army. The Imperial Family's direct line of descent was in charge of the Feng Xiang Army. Together with the existence of the Dark Guard, Shadow Guard, Secret Guard, and Zong Wei, this laid the foundation of the unshakable rule of the Yu Dynasty.
The second faction was led by the founding fathers of the Seven Great Empires. The former Prime Minister Luo Canglan and the current Prime Minister Zhuge Xing belonged to the two of the current Seven Great Empires.
The third faction was a faction led by one of the nine great families. Most of the clan members were Wen Chen, and just the faction itself was divided into many smaller factions. Because their interests differed, they could hardly unite together.
The fourth faction was the Humble Class. Even though Lu Chun and Ning Dairong were dukes now, they were still from the Humble Class.
Originally, the Great Gan Bureau was a place of nobility, aristocratic families, and Humble Class families. However, the rise of the two prodigies twenty years ago had broken the balance that had been maintained ever since the Martial Emperor dynasty. The names of Marquis Wu Ping, Lu Chun, and Marquis Wen Xing were two names that flashed across an entire era.
However, the disappearance of Marquis Wu Ping, Lu Chun, twelve years ago, and the constant return of Marquis Wen Xing had greatly damaged the Humble Class. Although they still had the support of commander-in-chiefs from the Humble Class like Wei Jiu and Ning Dairong, they still secretly suppressed the children from the Humble Class. It was no wonder that Ning Dairong was a little disheartened. Ning Daheng was born a commoner and was used to being in the military, but he was not very good at fighting in the imperial court. If it weren't for the emperor's secret assistance, Ning Dairong would never have been able to hold the position of one of the 36 civil and military officials.
”Dairong, when we first established the Skyfire Army, we faced such a difficult situation. Why are you in such a bad mood?”
”Brother Lu, you are not in the imperial court for the past few years, and you are not aware of a lot of things.” Brother Lu, you are not in the imperial court for the past few years, and you are not aware of a lot of things. Ning Dairong slammed the table, shaking the table and causing the chess pieces to clatter as he spoke with a face full of indignation.
”Did the war drag on for too long? ”I remember the Skyfire Army always has grain for half a year, and they also have their own fields. How could they not have enough to eat?” The rules and traditions of the army were set by him. According to his arrangements a dozen years ago, even if the imperial government did not send out a single soldier, a single grain of food, and a single blade of grass, the Sky Fire Army could still rely on the Floating Snow Mountain Pass and the Cold Mountain Pass to hold the fort for more than half a year.
”This, this …” Ning Dairong lowered his head embarrassedly, ”At that time, the autumn rations were not ripe yet, and the King of Lei Meng led one hundred thousand men to attack the Cold Mountain Pass. I thought that this was the main attack direction of the Scarlet Dis, so most of the military assets were sent to the Cold Mountain Pass. ”I didn't expect that Baator would lead another 100,000 troops to the Snowfall Pass, hence the lack of transfer of military assets. Therefore …” Ning Dairong lowered his head even further.
”Oh you, such a crude scheme, how could you not discover it? Even if you didn't find out, the Military Intelligence Division and the External Affairs Division probably didn't. ” Lu Chun saw Ning Dairong's embarrassed expression, but he did not scold him. Instead, he asked curiously.
”At that time, the situation was very complicated. Big Brother Ji had just resigned from office, so the situation in the court was very disadvantageous for us. Ever since the battle of Qing Yang, there had been a small troop of soldiers fighting in addition to the Floating Snow Mountain Pass. After the battle of Qing Yang, there had been a small troop of soldiers fighting in addition to the Floating Snow Mountain Pass. ”At that time, I thought that with the soldiers of the Sky Fire Army and the danger of the mountain pass, we would have a great battle. We would use this battle to block the mouth of those people, but I didn't expect that we would be taken advantage of by those Scarlet Dans.” Ning Dairong slapped his thigh.
”Dairong, your heart is in a mess. You forget that you are a soldier first, and then a courtier. ”You have the duty of guarding the borders, and as long as you have done well, you will have done well. There's no need for you to get involved in the disputes of the imperial court.” Lu Chun looked at the military general in front of him, who had followed him for more than ten years and was promoted by him, and let out a long sigh.
”But big brother, if we don't fight, I don't care. But have you thought about how many Humble Class children will be left idle by the rules?” Ning Dairong looked at Lu Chun in disbelief. Lu Chun and Ji Zhiheng of the past were the leaders of the Humble Class. Why did they disappear for 12 years and return just now?
”Oh, the balance in the court will always be relative. Ten years ago, the Humble Class was supposed to be at its strongest, but when the Prime Minister of the court was Prime Minister Zhuge, when the Prime Minister was Prime Minister Zhong Li, and when the Prime Minister of the army was Prime Minister of a hundred miles, if these people are not aristocratic families then they are nobility. Even if Brother Ji was a heaven warping genius, he was once only an assistant minister of the Department of Public Administration. Do you understand? ” Lu Chun was still looking at Ning Dairong indifferently, as if these battles in the imperial court had nothing to do with him.
”Brother Lu, you're saying …” Ning Dairong suddenly seemed to have understood something and looked at Lu Chun.
”Back then, the Humble Class had great influence. Countless heroes joined the army, which resulted in the great victory of the northern border. But after annihilating the Qingyang Empire, Brother was given the title of Marquis. He was transferred back to the capital, and the soldiers of the Skyfire Army were also sent back to the capital to be repaired. Why do you think that is? Furthermore, no matter how prosperous the aristocratic families were, there were only a few of them. How could they compare to the brilliant geniuses of the Humble Class? After thinking carefully about how Prime Minister Luo helped us all back then, and why Brother Ji chose to resign when he was in his prime. Even though all of you have suffered a little, the Emperor's heart has not diminished. ”However, if you did not suddenly disappear, and if you did not resign four years ago, then the tribulations that our Humble Class had suffered were not from nobility, but from...” Saying this, Lu Chun raised his index finger and pointed upwards.