The sun was setting in the west, the sky was getting dark, and the faces close at hand in the corridor were gradually blurred. The conversation between Wu Wei and Liu Sheng continued.
"I'm not guessing your thoughts." Wu Wei hid in the darkness and whispered: "I'm just discussing the matter. We have been putting too much pressure on them in the capital, and they have not dared to do anything. They only dare to do
These little moves that don’t make sense are not good for us.”
"Yes." Liu Sheng said with deep feeling: "The longer the stalemate lasts, the worse the situation will be for us." As he said this, he couldn't help but said angrily: "What on earth are you worried about, sir? Why don't you make this decision?!"
"Morality." Wu Wei said lightly: "Your Excellency cannot pass the moral test, and is even more worried that it will not be tenable morally."
"Why do you think so much? The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. I have never seen the empire of the late emperor. How moral it is to seize it. How can we achieve the eternal emperor's legacy?" Liu Sheng snorted. Like him, a hero who was dedicated to peace and stability.
, naturally believed in seizing power through violence, and disapproved of Wang Xian's many fetters.
"That's different..." Wu Wei shook his head, not wanting to argue with Liu Sheng on this issue, and turned back to the original topic: "But you are right about one thing. With a large army in hand, we can stand firm.
This is a place of defeat. Leave the capital to them! If they don’t do stupid things, how can they make your father-in-law make up his mind?"
"Hmm..." Liu Sheng felt that Wu Wei's words did make some sense, so he patted his shoulder, grinned and said with a smile: "That's right, with your brother going out together, we can also put on some programs outside to help
My father-in-law has already made up his mind!"
Wu Wei nodded and cast his gaze towards the dark night sky. After a while, he whispered in a low voice: "I believe Mr. Yan's death was not in vain..."
Liu Sheng didn't hear what he said clearly, so he asked: "What did you say?"
Wu Wei shook his head but did not answer...
April 28, the third year of Hongxi's reign, was the day when the army set out for battle. That morning, the flags on the square outside the Meridian Gate were like a forest, and the red tassels were like fire. 80,000 elite soldiers wearing helmets lined up neatly, leading the troops.
The generals of the army were wearing bright armor and riding on tall horses. Led by their commander-in-chief, Duke Zhenguo Wang Xian, they looked solemnly in the direction of the Meridian Gate.
At noon, the bells and drums on the Wufeng Tower rang in unison, the Meridian Gate slowly opened, and groups of Han generals holding high dragon flags, treasure flags, umbrellas, and golden melons filed out of the main gate in neat lines.
The left and right doors were also opened at the same time, and all the civil and military officials came out and took their seats.
At the end, the cannons roared and the trumpets shook the sky. Wang Xian shouted: "Welcome to the emperor!" After saying this, he got off his horse and knelt down on one knee.
All the soldiers followed Wang Xian and knelt down in unison, shouting: "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor!"
At this moment, Zhu Gaochi, supported by several princes, appeared under the Meridian Gate and boarded the general ordering platform.
Zhu Gaochi held the railing with one hand and looked at the crowd of soldiers under the high platform, dancing and worshiping in the dust, shouting "Long Live the Mountain". His heart was so excited that he could not help himself. If his broken body had not been unable to ride on the battlefield, he really wished to lead the army to fight at this moment.
The only thing that can be done is oneself, just like the late emperor...
After the salute was completed, the officers and soldiers stood up, and the square became silent. Everyone held their breath and listened to the emperor's words.
"Soldiers, the Tatar thieves are ungrateful and ambitious. They have invaded our border fortress and plundered our border residents many times in the past few years. They even killed 20,000 of our soldiers on the banks of the Tru River. Now they are invading the Hetao and trying to annex it. How can we tolerate it?"
"Zhu Gaochi shouted loudly.
"Intolerable! Intolerable!" All the soldiers shouted with blood flowing.
"Where is the Duke of Zhenguo?!" Zhu Gaochi shouted, and Wang Xian hurriedly stepped out of the queue and climbed onto the high platform.
When he came to the high platform, Wang Xian was wearing armor and could not perform the full ceremony. He could only kneel down on one knee. The emperor personally decreed that he be the Marshal of Pinglu, and ordered him to control all military and civil affairs in Shanxi and Shaanxi. All officials should be allowed to do so.
Whether you want to stay or go, if you are below the fourth rank, you can decide first and then tell the story later! All matters big and small can be done easily!
Although Wang Xian knew that these appointments might not be counted at any time, the fact that the civil servants could hand over the civil affairs personnel of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Zhili can be regarded as a positive response to his goodwill. This made him feel relieved, Yang Rong and Yang Shiqi
After all, they are not idiots who only know how to fight for power and profit. They can still put the overall situation first at critical moments.
Emperor Hongxi gave Wang Xian the Emperor's Sword, which represented imperial power. Wang Xian turned around and raised the sword high, which was given by the emperor.
The 80,000 soldiers immediately burst into cheers like a stormy wave. I wonder if it was an illusion, but to the ears of Yang Shiqi and others, this cheer was much louder than any of the previous ones...
Amidst the cheers, the officers and soldiers who stayed behind in the capital, led by Shangguan, carried thousands of huge wine jars and filled a large bowl of wine for each of the soldiers who went on the expedition. Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong also carried wine vessels
After boarding the high platform, Zhu Gaochi filled a bowl of wine himself, touched Wang Xian's face with his hands, and said excitedly: "Marshal, just go and fight with peace of mind, and everything in the rear will focus on the war situation. Come, I offer you a bowl, and I wish you this
Go and win!"
Wang Xian was also so excited that he couldn't help but feel emotional. He took the wine bowl with both hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty, please wait for the good news!" After speaking, he raised the wine bowl high and drank it all in one gulp.
All the 80,000 soldiers finished their wine, and Wang Xian loudly ordered: "The three armies set off!"
Immediately, the drums were playing loudly, and the soldiers suddenly turned around, marched in neat steps, and boldly left the Meridian Gate Square, crossed the long sky street, and drove towards Deshengmen.
The sky street was already crowded with people who had heard the news and came to see off the army. Not only the wives, children and parents of the soldiers who were on the expedition, but also the people whose children were not in the army were also eating pots of wine to see off the king.
Wang Xian was riding on a horse, surrounded by a group of generals, and was walking slowly in the center of the team when he saw hundreds of old men holding wine bottles and holding meat in front of him.
"The people in the capital elected me as the Duke of the town, and the governor gave me a farewell greeting. I wish the Duke a great victory and drive out the Tartars!" The old man at the head trembled and said to Wang Xian in a loud voice.
Wang Xian motioned to the guards to let in some old men headed by the generals. The old men poured wine for him, then raised their heads high and said loudly: "I, the millions of people in the capital in this generation, and the hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty, give me a bowl to the governor!"
The guard looked at Wang Xian nervously, trying to signal him to find an excuse not to drink the unknown drink, but Wang Xian turned a deaf ear, took it with both hands, and drank the bowl of wine without hesitation.
The people burst into cheers. Wang Xian handed the wine bowl back to the old man, bowed his hands to the people around him, and said loudly: "Fathers and fellow villagers, our food, clothing, and clothing are all supported by the people. Now we are going to fight for our country. We must
If you live up to the expectations of your father and elders, if you do not defeat the Tartars, I swear not to return the throne!"
The cheers of the people became even louder. Many people knelt down excitedly and shouted: "My lord, I will win!"
More people were infected and knelt down. The shouts became louder and louder, and even reached the Meridian Gate in the distance: "My lord must win! My lord must win!"
Hearing these uniform shouts, Zhu Gaochi looked a little unnatural, but the emperor said nothing and boarded the Luan Yu to return to the palace.
Yang Rong and Yang Shiqi looked at each other, and the latter sneered and said: "Once the Duke of Zhen went to war, his prestige increased greatly, and all our years of dark work have been in vain."
"Haha," Yang Rong smiled and shook his head, looking in the direction of the cheers in the distance and said, "What will happen if we lose this battle?"
"Of course it is the country's misfortune," Yang Shiqi smiled and said in a low voice, "But who can say for sure where good fortune and misfortune depend?"
"Yes, let's pray for the Ming Dynasty." After Yang Rong finished speaking, he and Yang Shiqi entered the Meridian Gate side by side. Without Wang Xian's huge stone weighing on their heads, they felt that they could even breathe a lot easier...
Wang Xian's army set off at the end of April and arrived at Xuanfu in early May. Wang Xian ordered his army to take a short rest and learn about the situation in the Hetao from the mouths of the Jinyi guards standing before the attack. At this time, two full months had passed since Arutai invaded the Hetao.
In March, more than a month had passed since the Tatar army surrounded the Great King's City. What made Wang Xian slightly gratified was that when the city was first built, he considered the possibility of being besieged, so the two cities were built relatively tall and strong. In addition, the Mongolian
People are not good at attacking cities, so the King's City has not fallen yet...
Therefore, despite being worried, Wang Xian still took Mo Wen's advice, and the army moved forward steadily and slowly, without giving the enemy a chance to take advantage of the chaos to attack.
As a result, it was only five hundred miles from Xuanfu to Dawangcheng, and Wang Xian's 80,000-strong army traveled for ten days!
For ten days, Liu Sheng, Xu Huaiqing and other generals were anxious. They were worried that if they rushed over so slowly, either the king's city would be destroyed, or the Tatar army would have fled far away, and this expedition would be in vain!
Wang Xian is actually more anxious than Liu Sheng and others. There is his wife and daughter in the king's city, but Wang Xian knows better that the more times like this, the less he can be anxious. When he is anxious, he will make mistakes. Once he makes a mistake, he may be doomed.
!
"Commander, if we don't hurry up, those Tatars will disappear!" Xu Huaiqing shouted at Wang Xian who was sitting on the carriage studying.
"Don't worry, time has changed. In the past few years, the Tatars will no longer run away like before." Wang Xian said calmly without raising his head: "They want to defeat us as much as we want to defeat them.
, don’t worry about a wasted trip.”
Xu Huaiqing and others' impression of the Mongols was indeed still at the stage where they were like rabbits, fleeing as soon as the king's master arrived. Hearing this, he still said uneasily: "What if they really escape?"
"Even if you escape, you won't be able to escape too far." Wang Xian finally raised his head impatiently and frowned: "Instead of making noise here, you should go back and train your men more! They haven't galloped on the grassland in several years.
Now? How many years have we not fought with real swords and guns?!"
"Yes..." Xu Huaiqing and others blushed after being scolded, and then they left obediently and went to do what they were supposed to do.
"Hey..." Wang Xian sighed, no longer in the mood to read. He cast his gaze in the direction of the Great King's City, his eyes full of worry. (To be continued.)