Lu Xiangsheng could not help thinking about something strange.
The emperor had summoned him to the capital.
The message had traveled from Beijing to Xuanda.
Then he himself had marched from Xuanda back toward the capital.
All of this had taken quite a bit of time.
So why had the main Jianzhou army still not appeared?
Only a small vanguard force was near Shunyi.
That was very strange.
He remembered something from a few years ago.
Back when he had been suppressing bandits in Huguang, he had heard that the Jianzhou army had invaded.
He immediately rushed north with his troops to defend the capital.
But by the time he reached Beijing, the Jianzhou forces had already finished looting and burning everything.
They had happily returned to Liaodong.
Comparing that situation with the current one, something clearly felt wrong.
This was not how the Jianzhou army usually behaved.
Lu Xiangsheng immediately said to the young eunuch beside him,
"Please go and bring Eunuch Gao back. I need to discuss urgent military matters with him."
The young eunuch hurried off.
But after a while he returned.
"Eunuch Gao is feeling unwell and has gone home to rest. If there are military matters, they can be discussed tomorrow."
A question mark slowly appeared above Lu Xiangsheng's head.
Just a little discomfort and he refuses to discuss military affairs?
Did he not realize the situation was extremely urgent?
While Lu Xiangsheng was still trying to understand what was happening, the Shanxi Commander Hu Dawei walked up beside him.
"Lord Lu, there is probably nothing useful to discuss with a eunuch anyway."
"That man clearly does not understand warfare. He also has no interest in fighting."
"He only knows how to play political tricks."
Lu Xiangsheng raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Hu Dawei had long received guidance from Tianzun, and his speech was surprisingly refined.
He sounded less like a military officer and more like a thoughtful scholar.
Lowering his voice, he said,
"Lord Lu, instead of discussing military strategy with that useless eunuch, why not speak with the former Minister of War?"
"The man who killed two generations of Chuang Wang."
"Sun Chuanting."
"He certainly knows far more than Gao Qiqian."
Lu Xiangsheng thought about it for a moment.
Right.
Sun Chuanting was a famous figure.
He had always been known at court as an expert on frontier affairs.
Discussing the situation with him would surely be helpful.
So Lu Xiangsheng stopped worrying about Gao Qiqian.
He brought along Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, and Hu Dawei, and went directly to visit Sun Chuanting.
---
Ever since Sun Chuanting returned to the capital after killing two generations of Chuang Wang, the emperor had ordered him to "rest."
Which meant he had not been assigned any real work.
Every day he simply stayed inside the new residence he had purchased in the capital.
Writing essays.
When Lu Xiangsheng arrived, he found Sun Chuanting bent over his desk, writing rapidly.
Lu Xiangsheng leaned forward and glanced at the paper.
The title read:
"The Use of Armored Cavalry on the Plains."
Lu Xiangsheng blinked.
Armored cavalry?
Did he mean heavy cavalry?
Why call it armored cavalry?
Was that some kind of regional term from Sun Chuanting's hometown?
"Lord Sun."
Lu Xiangsheng cupped his fists politely.
"I am Lu Xiangsheng, the newly appointed Minister of War."
"I have come to consult you regarding matters concerning Liaodong."
Sun Chuanting turned around and smiled warmly.
"Ah, Lord Lu. Please sit."
His smile was sincere.
There was not the slightest trace of resentment about losing the Minister of War position to the man standing in front of him.
That alone made Lu Xiangsheng respect him greatly.
This man had lost his position, yet he showed no bitterness at all.
Such magnanimity was rare.
Lu Xiangsheng quickly explained his concerns.
"I feel something about the Jianzhou movement is not right."
"Their main force has still not appeared."
"It is very strange."
Sun Chuanting smiled.
The embroidered image of Dao Xuan Tianzun on his chest also seemed to be smiling.
When Sun Chuanting laughed, the folds of his robe moved slightly, so nobody noticed.
Sun Chuanting said calmly,
"Have you considered another possibility?"
"That the Jianzhou army does not actually have a main force here at all."
"Only this vanguard cavalry."
"This invasion may simply be harassment."
Lu Xiangsheng blinked.
"Is that possible?"
"But in the past, every Jianzhou invasion involved massive armies."
"Why would it change this time?"
Sun Chuanting replied with just two words.
"Mongolia."
"Pi Island."
That was all he said.
But Lu Xiangsheng immediately fell into deep thought.
The Ming court did maintain spies in Manchu territory, Mongolia, and Joseon.
So Lu Xiangsheng was not completely ignorant of outside affairs.
However, he only knew the broad situation.
He did not know the details.
For example, he knew Mongolia had recently become aggressive.
But he did not know why.
He also knew Pi Island had been reinforced by Coastal Commander Cao Wenzhao and successfully defended.
But he did not know the island had already grown strong enough to launch counterattacks against the Qing.
Because his information was incomplete, his analysis could only be partially accurate.
He had no idea just how much pressure the Qing were currently facing.
Of course Sun Chuanting could not explain everything.
Things like massive iron vehicles or great fleets were not topics that could be casually discussed.
People outside the faith of Dao Xuan Tianzun still needed to hear a limited version.
So Sun Chuanting simply explained that the Qing were currently facing pressure from three directions.
Under those circumstances, they could not launch a full scale attack against the Ming.
Lu Xiangsheng slowly nodded.
"So you mean the Qing are being restrained by Mongolia and Pi Island."
"They cannot commit their full strength against us."
"That is why their main force has not appeared, and only a cavalry vanguard is here."
Sun Chuanting nodded.
"Exactly."
Lu Xiangsheng's eyes suddenly brightened.
"In that case this is a perfect opportunity."
"Instead of fearing them, we should launch a counterattack."
"We should march into Liaodong."
"While the Jianzhou forces are distracted, we could reclaim our lost territory."
Sun Chuanting smiled.
"You are correct."
"This is indeed a perfect opportunity."
He paused for a moment.
"However…"
"The cowards at court may not see it that way."
Lu Xiangsheng straightened immediately.
Even the grief over his father's death seemed to fade slightly.
"I am the Minister of War."
"I do not need to worry about the opinions of cowards."
"As long as I advocate the counterattack, it will be done."
Sun Chuanting sighed softly.
"Lord Lu."
"Be careful of petty villains."
"Cowards are useless against enemies."
"But against their own people, they are experts."
Lu Xiangsheng paused.
Then he cupped his fists respectfully.
"Thank you for the warning, Lord Sun."
"I will remain cautious."
He soon took his leave.
Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu followed immediately.
Hu Dawei deliberately lingered behind.
After Lu Xiangsheng and the others turned away, Hu Dawei quickly glanced at Sun Chuanting.
He opened the cloak covering his armor.
On the heart mirror of his breastplate was a shining engraving.
The image of Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Bright and unmistakable.
Sun Chuanting smiled and nodded.
Hu Dawei cupped his fists and left.
The moment he was gone, a head suddenly popped out from a room behind Sun Chuanting.
It was Chen Qianhu.
He grinned.
"Hu Dawei is one of our people."
"With him following Lu Xiangsheng, there should not be any major problems."
Sun Chuanting nodded.
"Yes."
"Even if Gao Qiqian tries to sabotage him, things will not get too bad."
"Hu Dawei will protect him."
"Even if Lu Xiangsheng's plan cannot be carried out..."
"At least he will not lose his life."