Chapter 21: Marching North and Crossing the Yellow River Three Times [In the battle of Hulao Pass, you prove yourself. ] [Father has more and more trust in you, and Wang Yang even personally recommended the three of you for credit.] [But surprisingly, the Lu family army won a great victory, killing 30,000 enemies. Lu Jiaxuan, the supreme commander of the Lu family army, was only given a military doctor and the defense envoy of Changzhou by the imperial court.] [Lu Yu and Lu Chen were only given the title of lieutenant general in the army. ] 【On the contrary, Wang Yang was promoted to the governor of the Shenwu Rear Army, in charge of three provinces, and was appointed as the Grand Commandant, a second-rank official.】 [After Wang Yang learned about this, he wrote several more letters, saying earnestly that the Lu family had made great contributions and should not be like this, but they were rejected one by one by the court.] 【Wang Yang found his father, looking helpless. Lu Jiaxuan still had a weak foundation and no one in the court supported him. However, he comforted him, "Jiaxuan, you have won the emperor's favor. His Majesty has mentioned you many times in his edicts. It is only a matter of time before you are promoted. You must not lose heart."】 [“Your Majesty, you are now working hard to govern the country. You are a rare wise ruler and the ruler of the revival of the country.”] 【Wang Yang has the power to promote people, so he promoted Lu Chen and Lu Yu to the 57th level of the first rank and appointed them as deputy generals. Otherwise, it would be difficult to appease the soldiers. With such great military achievements, they only got a low-ranking military position.】

【His father didn’t care.】 Lu Yu whispered, "The emperor is really picky." [In the following year, the Lu family army entered a real rest period. With the assistance of their superior Wang Yang, many affairs were handled quite smoothly.] [You are 22 years old this year. The Lu family army has been training for two years and the number of soldiers has reached 20,000.] [Although the north wind sometimes invades, they are all small-scale battles. Every battle you participate in is a victory. ] [You have gained some fame in the Northern Army.] 【And Wang Yang’s phrase, “A man with a thousand troops in his belly” is already well known. 】 【The North has ushered in long-awaited peace. 】 [You have a talent for judging people. You can always identify talents among refugees and soldiers and select smart and capable people.] [Wang Yang saw that you were calm and organized and had never made any mistakes in the past two years, so he praised your abilities.] [Wang Yang is a civil servant after all, and he doesn't like military generals. Seeing that you are a gentleman, he often discusses state affairs with you, and your remarks always touch his sore spot.] 【He likes you more and more. 】 [In the third year, Wang Yang decided to marry his daughter to you, which was undoubtedly a recognition of your talent and character.] [Most of the people in the Wang family are dissenters. The Wang family is a great family for generations. My grandfather and great-grandfather were great scholars in the world. They served as the Grand Tutor of two dynasties and were noble and distinguished people in the court.] [The Lu family is just a poor family from the north, with a huge gap in status.] 【Wang Yang ignored his family’s objections and only said, “This kid is definitely not an ordinary person.”】 [However, at the end of this year, the North Wind Army attacked again, and this matter was delayed.] [North Wind's army of 400,000 men is coming with great momentum, intending to annihilate Daqing.] [This year, the Lu family army also expanded to 30,000 soldiers, and its strength increased greatly. ]

[After hearing the news, you decide. ] 1. It is suggested to lead the army northward. 2. Defend the city. 3. Personal participation (1/3) Yu Ke looked at the three options and pondered for a while. After three years of development, I have fought against an army of 8,000 against 40,000 at Hulao Pass. What is there to be afraid of? Moreover, Tuoba Shuyi, who had suffered losses by defending Hulao Pass, would probably divide his troops into two groups and march south. It would be better to march north. Yu Ke directly chose 1 and suggested leading the army north. 【Father was very excited when he heard your suggestion.】 [In the past twenty years, Daqing has only defended the city, breached the city, and fled in panic, and has never gone north to meet the enemy. ] [When the news of the north wind's invasion spread back to the south, people were panicked again. ] [After all, twenty years of defeat had bent Daqing’s backbone, and the only great victory was at Hulao Pass.] [The news of Lu's army's march northward began to spread throughout the world. Many scholars in the south were not optimistic about it, thinking that Lu's army was acting rashly, seeking fame and fortune without caring about the country and the people of Daqing.] [Memorials floated into the prosperous and heavy capital like snowflakes. The pro-war faction and the surrender faction argued with each other, and the dispute continued in the court.] [Finally, in the same year, the imperial decree was passed down, some people stayed at Hulao Pass, and some followed the Lu family army northward.] [In the spring of the following year, the Lu family army marched north. ] [Crossing the Yellow River, encountering Tuoba Shuyi again] [After three years of hard work, you have fully proven your ability. Your father has entrusted you with full command and you are now in charge of the center.] [The Lu family army has strict discipline. You promoted all the generals. You know their strengths and weaknesses very well.] 【And your father is on the side, checking for omissions and filling in the gaps. 】 [Tuoba Shuyi was filled with contempt when he learned that the real commander of the Lu family army was actually a young man in his twenties.] [When he heard that the brilliant plan for Hulao Pass was actually from this twenty-year-old young man, he sneered and thought to himself: "In the absence of heroes, this young man has become famous."] Tuoba Shuyi couldn't help but sneer: "Lu Jiaxuan, this old fox, is probably old, incompetent, and unwilling to hand over power to others, so he can only pass it to his son to pave the way for him." [Most of the generals of Beifeng Xuan State echoed this.] [Tuoba Shuyi's contempt for the Lu family became even stronger, and a flame of revenge burned in his heart.] [The last time he was defeated at Hulao Pass, it was not because of his true strength, but because of his momentary carelessness. ] [This time, he wanted to avenge his previous humiliation and wash away the shame of Hulao Pass.] [Tuoba Shuyi led an army of 100,000 and met the Lu family army led by you. 】

[The two armies faced off.] [You sit in the military tent, calm and composed, issuing orders in an orderly manner. Each order hits the mark like a sharp arrow, and spreads quickly throughout the army, and no one disobeys.] [During the first battle, Tuoba Shuyi was impressed by your extraordinary abilities. Although you are young, you are an experienced warrior.] [After several battles, Tuoba Shuyi tried to use a trick, deliberately revealing his flaws to lure you deeper.] [However, you foresaw the situation, used the opponent's strategy, counterattacked cleverly, and finally won a small victory. ] [During that month, you fought dozens of times.] [You deploy troops steadily, and you are decisive, which makes Tuoba Shuyi look at you with new eyes. He has moved your name to the front of the list several times, and his attention to you is increasing day by day.] [In the battle of Chan County, you took advantage of the geographical location and killed 10,000 enemies at the cost of losing 3,000 soldiers.] [After this battle, Tuoba Shuyi will be even more wary of you. You know how to use your troops, you understand the weather, you understand the terrain, and you are good at getting along with people.] [In just three months, his opinion of you has completely changed. He has repeatedly called you "a famous commander of the time and a master of military tactics" in the military tent.] [He knows that a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit, so he gathers an army of 300,000, hoping to defeat you in one fell swoop on the front battlefield.] [However, you did not choose to fight him head-on, nor did you choose to flee south.] [You led your troops across the Yellow River, pretending to go north, but in fact you secretly crossed Chencang.] [Tuoba Shuyi was in hot pursuit, but he didn't expect you to cross the Yellow River again and split your troops into three groups, leaving Tuoba Shuyi empty-handed.] 【So, Tuoba Shuyi hastily divided his troops to surround you, intending to capture you in one fell swoop.】 [Tuoba Shuyi was very angry. He didn't expect that you would disappear across the Yellow River again.] [When Tuoba Shuyi divided his troops, you descended from the sky and killed more than 20,000 enemies, shocking the entire army.] [When he surrounds you again, you cross the Yellow River and leave.] (End of this chapter)