Chapter 294 It's Mine
Lu Huiqing left and returned to the capital with some reluctance.
Although he cannot act arbitrarily in Dingzhou, he can do things comfortably and happily under Lu Sen's protection.
Those so-called noble families who sucked human blood were knocked to the ground one by one by him, and their heads were rolling in large numbers. He didn't have to worry too much like he did in Hangzhou.
Then there is road construction and logistics management.
He attributed all his achievements to himself. If the court had not recruited him because of his great achievements, he would probably have wanted to gain more qualifications.
After Lu Huiqing left, Lu Sen was still a little worried that the new Wang Shao might not be able to handle the internal affairs of Dingzhou and Xingqing Prefecture, and even the road construction might encounter some twists and turns when he took over. But unexpectedly, this young man actually handled the internal affairs in an orderly manner.
The road construction project was not delayed either.
Although many things are done a little slower than Lu Huiqing, there is no backlog of official business and I can always finish what needs to be done on the same day.
“There are obviously a lot of talented people at this time.”
Lu Sen felt a little disappointed. Since there were so many talented people in the Northern Song Dynasty in history, who could have thought that they would end up like that.
Fortunately, history has changed a lot now.
Wang Shao perfectly took over Lu Huiqing's government affairs and at the same time helped Xingqing Prefecture train troops.
This guy is obviously a man of both civil and military talents, leaving Lu Sen, who already had nothing to do, with nothing to do.
In the following days, Lu Sen settled down in Xingqing Mansion.
Di Qing and Mu Guiying led the army to clear the Helan Mountains near Dingzhou again and again. After leaving enough troops for defense, they moved the army to Xingqing Prefecture.
Then this action frightened the Xuanhua Prefecture of Western Xia.
He immediately moved his army to the front line of Xingqing Prefecture, facing the Song army across the Gobi Desert.
It’s just that the situations of both parties are quite different.
The Song army had sufficient logistical supplies and more than enough food. They surrounded the camp with chevaux de frise and hid in the camp, eating and drinking delicious food.
As for the Western Xia army, due to a series of wars, the country has long been short of supplies, and the important granary Helan Mountain was also captured by the Song army. Now the country is in dire straits and the people are living in misery.
Lu Sen also came to the front line today, accompanied by Di Qing and Mu Guiying.
Standing on a high wooden parapet, Lu Sen looked at the Xixia army camp in the distance and asked, "It's a late spring cold snap now. The Xixia people are more cold-resistant than us. If we really fight, will we be at a disadvantage?"
"They are indeed cold-resistant. But without food, they won't last long." Di Qing said with a smile, "Master Lu, don't worry, they can't turn the tables."
Di Qing was very confident that he had the ability to do so.
He is good at defeating the strong with the weak, not to mention that they have a greater advantage now.
Whether in terms of morale or logistics, they crushed the enemy and even cut off one of the enemy's important logistical supply lines.
No matter how you look at it, there is no possibility of losing this battle.
Unless... the officials in the court are scared and dare not fight.
But this possibility is not great. After all, Di Qing knew very well that Lu Sen had forced the entire court into a dead end, with no way to retreat.
"Since time is on our side, let's slowly drag it out." Lu Sen said with a smile, "Until spring comes and the weather outside becomes suitable for us Song people to fight."
"I understand." Di Qing breathed a long sigh of relief.
Although he knew that he would definitely win, he still hoped to wait a little longer.
Firstly, after a big battle, the soldiers need to recuperate for a while. Secondly, they need to endure for a while longer. By the time the logistics of Western Xia become more corrupt, the enemy's morale will drop sharply and they will have no strength left. It will be easier to fight and their side will suffer less casualties.
Although Di Qing was a famous general who was victorious in every battle, he actually loved his soldiers like his own sons. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would never let his soldiers die in vain.
Time passed day by day, and Lu Sen had been in Dingzhou for almost a year. Although he had taken time to return to Hangzhou several times during this period, he was still tired of staying here and wanted to go back to Hangzhou to rest.
But things have to have a beginning and an end, and he has to stay here until Western Xia is wiped out by Di Qing.
After Western Xia was destroyed, he returned to Hangzhou. As for how the imperial court dealt with the Khitan and whether it could defeat them, that was another matter.
Because after the Western Xia was destroyed, if the Northern Song Dynasty still could not deal with the civil strife of the Khitan, then this dynasty would really not be worth saving.
After staying in Xingqing Prefecture for more than half a month, Di Qing came over and said that the time had come to send troops to Xuanhua Prefecture, and asked Master Lu to take the position of commander-in-chief of the army.
Lu Sen left the Xingqing government office and, with a few family soldiers, was about to head outside the city to the labor camp when he suddenly saw a group of people standing at the street corner in front of him... or should I say, two groups of people, motionless, as if they were waiting for him.
Lu Sen and several of Yang Jinhua's family generals stopped because he could clearly see that the other party seemed to be coming for him.
He observed further and found that these opponents were actually two teams.
One team was from the Imperial City Bureau, and the other team was a dozen monks wearing blue robes.
In the middle of the group of monks, there was a sedan chair with a solemn monk sitting on it.
Lu Sen looked at him for a while, and the other party smiled gently with some scrutiny in his eyes.
At this time, someone from the Imperial City Department came out, took out a scroll of imperial edict, handed it to Lu Sen, and said, "Master Lu, this is the imperial edict from the government. Please accept it."
Lu Sen looked at the member of the Imperial City Bureau. It was a face he had never seen before.
His eyes fell on the yellow imperial edict and he smiled and said, "It looks like this is an imperial edict that has not been stamped by the Zhongshumen. I won't accept it."
The member of the Imperial City Bureau retreated with a bitter face.
"Hahahahahaha!" At this time, the monk sitting on the sedan chair jumped up and slowly floated towards Lu Sen.
At the same time, the standing monks suddenly threw out a large number of white ribbons, which flew around, looking very gorgeous.
The monk jumped up and stepped on these forging belts, made a Buddhist seal with one hand, and landed in front of Lu Sen with golden light radiating from his whole body.
"I am Hui Xin from Chenguang Temple. Nice to meet Master Lu."
Lu Sen put his hands behind his back and looked the monk up and down. He found that the golden light on the other party did not seem to be a mechanism or an illusion, but was really emitted from his body.
He subconsciously stood in front of Yang Jinhua. Could this man's golden light be radiation?
But then Yang Jinhua stood in front of Lu Sen again.
She said, "How can a man stand in front of his wife? You are the head of the family. If you get hurt, the entire Lu family will be shaken. Stand back."
Lu Sen blinked, feeling a little... unbelievable, but also reasonable.
As expected of a daughter of the Yang family, she doesn't hide behind a man, but instead wants to protect him.
The monk's eyes were fixed on Lu Sen, and he didn't even look at Yang Jinhua. His eyes were full of expectation and enthusiasm: "Master Lu, the matter between you and me does not need the intervention of ordinary people."
"What's going on between you and me?" Lu Sen felt a little confused.
"One hundred and thirty years ago, Master Lu, you were in the outer heaven, listening to the sutras under the Buddha. Now you have escaped into the mortal world. At that time, I was the little monk who was guarding you." Hui Xin smiled very kindly and benevolently: "I have been looking for you for a long time. It's time to go back. The Buddha is waiting for you."
Several retainers nearby stood up and looked at the monk gloomily.
Yang Jinhua suddenly became angry and rushed forward with his sword drawn.
What are women most afraid of?
Your husband is cheating on you?
No.
Women in the Northern Song Dynasty were not afraid of this, and it was normal for men to have three wives and four concubines.
What they fear most is that their husbands become monks.
It's fine if the official is out having fun, and he can just go home and live his life with the door closed, as if nothing happened. But if the official goes to a Buddhist temple to chant sutras and never comes back, what's the point?
So when the monk asked Lu Sen to go to Chenguang Temple with him, Yang Jinhua was really angry.
She has been practicing immortal arts for some time, and has the assistance of spiritual objects such as spiritual bricks. Although she is not very talented, this method of directly piling up resources still allows her strength to soar.
With just two steps, he was already in front of the monk, and his long sword, with its sword energy, pierced straight into the monk's face.
She hated the monk who wanted to abduct the official and took him away without any mercy.
But Monk Huixin blocked with his right palm, and golden light gushed out, knocking Yang Jinhua back two steps.
Several retainers rushed forward, wanting to help the mistress, but Monk Huixin waved his sleeves lightly, and the retainers flew back.
"Mr. Lu, please come with us." Hui Xin clasped her hands together and said with a smile, "I have received a secret order from the government, asking Master Lu to return to Chenguang Temple, chant sutras day and night, and resolve the evil spirit."
Lu Sen raised his eyebrows, he understood what the other party meant.
The Buddhist sect is trying to drag itself into their camp. To put it bluntly, it is still a struggle between religious forces.
Lu Sen looked at the monk. He had a strong spiritual energy aura, which he thought should be the last heritage of Buddhism.
In fact, in comparison, Taoism has the strongest foundation.
Whether it is the Taoist priests of Mount Zhongnan in public, or the Mount Li, Tianji Sect, Shushan Sword Sect, etc. in the cultivation world, they are all considered branches of Taoism.
Yang Jinhua took a few steps back and saw the burnt mark on the tip of her sword, and she knew that the monk in front of her was extremely powerful.
She patted the flamingo Bifang on her shoulder, and the two merged together, then soared into the sky and turned into a burst of fire that rushed down from the air.
When Hui Xin looked up and saw Yang Jin Hua in such a strange state, she was not afraid but rather surprised: "So you are actually Garuda, that's great, you should be my Buddhist mount."
As he spoke, he actually pulled out a golden chain from his clothes and waved it twice, as if he was going to throw it up to Yang Jinhua.
Just when Hui Xin was about to take action, he suddenly felt a palpitation. He lowered his head abruptly and found that Lu Sen had come to him with a sword in hand.
Lu Sen thrust out with his sword, and the invisible Taiyi Hunyuan true qi gushed out, forming a thick air wave. Before it hit Hui Xin, the strong wind it created had already made his clothes rustle.
Hui Xin immediately pushed out with one palm, golden light gushed out, and collided with Lu Sen's Qi wall.
Immediately, both of them took two steps back at the same time.
At this time, Yang Jinhua transformed into a firebird and descended from the sky, directly enveloping Huixin. Wherever she was, a ball of lotus fire burst out, igniting spontaneously without any fuel. It was about two feet high and burning fiercely. Just standing next to it, one could feel the scorching heat.
All the family generals were filled with admiration.
This method of attack is obviously not at the level of ordinary people.
However, several people from the Imperial City Bureau had already run far away and were hiding in the corner, shivering.
They actually didn't want to come, but because Empress Dowager Cao ordered them to, they had to come.
The lotus fire continued to burn, and soon a red figure jumped out from inside. It was Yang Jinhua.
She was wearing a red, close-fitting glazed armor, and looked extremely heroic.
She returned to Lu Sen and whispered, "Sir, there is something wrong with this monk."
But before she could finish her words, a golden chain was thrown out from the flames and was about to wrap around Yang Jinhua.
But Yang Jinhua didn't practice magic for nothing. With a light flick of her sword, she knocked the chain aside.
But the chain seemed to have a spirit, and its tip actually turned and shot towards Lu Sen.
"Sir, be careful." Yang Jinhua shouted.
But it was too late, the chain wrapped Lu Sen tightly in an instant.
"Hahaha." Hui Xin walked out of the flames with golden light all over his body. He held the end of the chain in one hand and said with a smile, "Donor Lu, just come with us. At the same time, your wife can be with you. Garuda should be the mount of my Buddhist sect, and also your mount."
Yang Jinhua became anxious and chopped the chain with her sword, but after a few clinking sounds, the chain was intact.
Lu Sen looked at Hui Xin who seemed somewhat smug, and asked with a smile: "Do you really think you have tied me up?"
Um?
Huixin looked at Lu Sen's body, and then her face changed drastically.
Yang Jinhua also breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that although the chain seemed to be wrapped around Lu Sen, it was actually at least a finger's distance away from Lu Sen's body and did not tie him up at all.
Lu Sen was still wearing the 'iron armor'.
Nothing can hurt Lu Sen until the durability of this thing is completely reduced to 0.
"Protective Qi?" Hui Xin was stunned for a moment, then shook her head: "No, Qi protecting the body doesn't look like this."
Lu Sen ignored him and reached out to grab the other person's golden chain.
This action made Hui Xin's face change drastically: "How dare you! Let me go."
How could Lu Sen let it go? He smiled and said, "This thing doesn't seem to belong to your Buddhist sect."
In Lu Sen's vision, the name and function of this thing were revealed.
Immortal Binding Rope: One of the magic weapons of Shushan Sword Sect, made from dragon tendons.
Effect: Bind an enemy at will, making it impossible for them to break free.
Huixin snorted and pulled the chain hard, saying, "Everything in this world belongs to the Buddha. It's just a chain..."
At this time, Yang Jinhua turned into a ball of fire again and rushed forward.
Hui Xin pulled the chain hard, but found that Lu Sen pulled it very tight. At this time, Yang Jinhua attacked again. He had no choice but to give up the chain in his hand, leaped back a small step, and then attacked with both hands at the same time.
The transparent golden light transformed into several pythons, which knocked Yang Jinhua's flames back.
But because of this, he also lost control of the chain.
Lu Sen stood behind, holding the Immortal Binding Rope in one hand, and said with a smile: "Thank you for the magic weapon, Master."
"It's useless for you to hold it. If you don't know the trick, outsiders must not use this chain."
But just as he finished speaking, he saw the Immortal Binding Rope in Lu Sen's hand flying towards him and appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.
