A carriage was traveling on the official road in Taigu County, Bazhou.
It was approaching sunset, and we should be at least more than an hour away from the county seat. However, in the fields to the left of the motorcade, a village with white walls and black tiles appeared.
The village is very beautiful, with dozens of houses scattered along the banks of a river valley. There are five or six particularly large camphor trees that shade some of the houses like giant umbrellas.
There are waterwheels and mills along the river.
There are some ducks and chickens roaming in some ordinary woodlands by the river. Although those houses look very simple, the smoke from the kitchens and the constant sound of dogs barking can easily remind people on the journey of the warmth of their long-lost hometown.
With a soft command, the motorcade stopped and camped on the side of the road.
An elegant man with a calm face walked out of a carriage in the middle of the train. He was Chen Jinru, the military advisor of the Chen family who was feared by all the powerful people in the world, including all the nobles and generals of the Northern Wei Dynasty. At this time, most of the key decisions of the Chen family in the Southern Dynasties were made.
They were all made by his hands, but standing by the roadside with his hands behind his back, quietly looking at the village, he seemed to be no different from the vast majority of homesick wanderers.
Most people will understand sooner or later that the more a person cares about something, the harder it is to get it.
At this time, this kind of freedom from the world and the paradise-like leisure is the most extravagant thing for people like him.
The fighting in the north has become quite intense.
The main frontier armies of the Northern Wei and Southern Dynasties had already spread out in six or seven states and counties centered on western Yuzhou, and they were intertwined. Some cities that originally belonged to the Northern Wei now belong to the Southern Dynasty, and some cities that originally belonged to the Southern Dynasty now belong to the Northern Wei.
Strictly speaking, Qizhou, one of the prefectures and counties with fierce fighting, is not too far away from Bazhou. In Chen Jinru's view, as long as the strategic intentions of the Northern Wei Dynasty changed slightly, the war would reach Bazhou.
.
But the people here still know nothing about it and still live in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
Things in the world are often unsatisfactory, but those who don't know will be happy.
This quiet village was a rare sight in Chen Jinru's eyes. He didn't want to disturb it. However, the people here were simple and hospitable, so the camp of their convoy still alarmed the villagers in the village.
Before the villagers had their own dinner, some people came to visit and brought some cooked food and cured meats, and even some home-brewed spirits.
I'm afraid not many people in Jiankang City are interested in trying this kind of crude liquor. It's just that different moods lead to different choices.
Chen Jinru sat down on a mat under an old locust tree, poured a pot of wine, and drank the bacon sent by the villagers.
When night really falls, the stars in the sky light up one by one.
The villagers went to bed very early, and all the lights were quickly extinguished.
The darker the place, the brighter the stars in the sky tend to be, and the clearer they appear to human eyes.
There seemed to be no connection at all between the stars in the sky and the weak candlelight in the village. However, without those weak candlelights, the stars in the sky seemed to suddenly become brighter.
For a person like him, many major events in the world are often affected by many seemingly unrelated small things.
An uninvited guest came through the night.
This was a very powerful practitioner, flying silently in the night like a huge bat. It wasn't until he got close to the outside of the convoy that he attracted the attention of the practitioners in the convoy.
It's just that Chen Jinru knew that this person was coming, so the entire convoy didn't make any changes.
The practitioner wearing black night clothes quietly landed in front of him, and then sat face to face with him at the same table.
This is a man with a very delicate appearance, who looks younger than Chen Jinru.
Even after hurriedly walking for a long time, even when he sat down quietly, the real energy fluctuations in his body were still difficult to calm down, and a puff of mist continued to arouse around him, but this man still gave people the feeling of being extremely handsome and neat.
And even a quiet nod in salute seems to be more dignified than ordinary people. It seems that even such salutes have been taught and trained very strictly.
"OK."
The man in black night clothes sniffed the smell of alcohol in the pot on the table, reached out and took a drink of his own, and then said three words in an unusually simple way.
His voice was calm, but a little difficult.
Chen Jinru nodded.
He couldn't hide the disappointment in his heart and sighed softly.
As early as the beginning of this year, the emperor had already intended to make Xiao Hong, the king of Linchuan, the marshal of the Northern Campaign, commanding the five frontier armies of Yongwu, Zhuangwei, Xuanwei, Mingwei and Dingyuan.
To be fair, Xiao Yan was much better than any emperor in the previous dynasty. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the entire Southern Dynasty to renew itself in just a few years and sweep away the chaos and decadence of the previous dynasty.
Everyone has flaws.
In the eyes of him and many others, Xiao Yan's biggest problem is not only that he was too concerned about some capable ministers of the previous dynasty and did not dare to make good use of them, but instead punished them. Xiao Yan's biggest problem is that he favors nepotism, and he does not treat everyone equally, and it is often a bit unbelievable.
action.
In the past few years, there were often cases of his old subordinates bending the law for personal gain, but he did not pursue the case.
In this kind of war between two dynasties, both frontier armies naturally need a strong commander. A strong commander is not only able to make the most correct commands at some critical moments, but often even if he does nothing,
This can give those border troops strong confidence.
Confidence is the source of morale.
However, in the eyes of most people, Xiao Hong is not a person who can take on such a role.
If you are too loyal but not brave enough, and if you are too literary, you will appear timid and cowardly in many things.
Since the beginning of the year, many people have been trying to get Xiao Yan to cancel this idea. However, after delaying it for so long, at this time, the emperor still made this decision.
Sure enough, things in the world are difficult to go as one wishes.
"The most terrifying thing is not his lack of ability to lead the army or his character problems."
The man in black night clothes couldn't hide the disappointment in his eyes even after drinking a glass of strong wine, "It's just that the emperor has been too fond of him in recent years, and his subordinates are too arrogant and extravagant, and they often lose their sense of proportion in dealing with things."
Chen Jinru slowly shook his head.
He said softly: "In my opinion, the most worrying thing is not these. The most worrying thing is that the emperor will forgive him... Even if he makes some serious mistakes, the emperor will probably forgive him and his arrogant people.
He is a subordinate of Lu She, and he subconsciously understands this."
The man in black night clothes fell silent.
He knew this was the truth.
If a person makes a mistake and knows that he will definitely be forgiven, then subconsciously he will not be as afraid of making a mistake as others.
"Then there is only one last option left."
The man in black night clothes stood up, and before leaving, he said softly: "My young master, please make a plan."