In the early morning of the next day, before dawn, Wu Chengsi was woken up by Qiu Chan. This was his own order, because the army was about to move out in the morning.
It was gray outside the window, and there were only two oil lamps lit in the bedroom, making it a bit dim. Qiu Chan and Yu Mian silently helped Wu Chengsi put on his underwear and armor.
After getting dressed neatly, Yumian couldn't help but said: "Master, why don't you take me with you? You are alone outside and cannot be without someone to help you."
Wu Chengsi laughed and said: "I am going to fight, not to play, so there is no reason to take you with me. You and Butler Wen stay at home and wait for me to come back."
Yumian responded in a low voice, her eyes slightly reddened, and Qiuchan whispered comfort at the side.
On the way out of the mansion, Wu Chengsi called Wen Rong over and gave him some serious instructions. If anything happened, he asked him to go find someone from the British Duke's Mansion or the Princess' Mansion for help.
Outside the gate of the mansion, the carriage was already ready, and Han Cheng had already put on the attire of a general, looking more energetic than usual.
Wu Chengsi waved his hand, said goodbye to Wen Rong, Qiu Chan, Yu Mian and others who were sent to the door, and left for the Imperial City Military Camp.
When he arrived at the camp, he saw that the troops were marshalling their troops, and everything he saw was armor, swords, guns, swords and halberds. Walking through the camp, many soldiers who knew him would raise their hands in salute after meeting him.
Entering the commander's tent, Wu Chengsi called Wang Wenjie and asked, "Has the time for the army's departure been decided?"
Wang Wenjie said: "According to the usual practice, we must first wait for His Majesty's imperial edict to arrive, then wait for the military order from the general manager, and wait for Zuo Xiaowei to leave the city before we set off."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said, "I understand, go and do your work."
Half an hour later, the emperor's imperial decree of canonization arrived. Wu Chengsi led a group of military officers to receive the decree outside the Ministry of Health, accepted the canonization, and received the seal of the pacifier and the fish talisman for troop deployment.
Two hours later, Li Ji's military order arrived, ordering the Zuowuwei army to leave the city from Chunming Gate and march to Yingzhou.
When the army left the Zhuque Gate, Pei Xingjian reminded: "General, your Majesty and your empress are both on the tower."
Wu Chengsi turned around and saw Luan Jia on the tower. He could faintly see Li Zhi and Wu Mei standing in the middle. There were many other princes and clans standing next to them, including Princess Taiping.
Wu Chengsi dismounted and knelt down on one knee facing the tower, followed by all the soldiers.
I heard a sharp voice coming from the city tower, saying: "Your Majesty said: 'I hope that the soldiers of the Zuowu Guard will work together and work hard. If I can kill the generals, lift the flags, and return victorious, I will hold a banquet to celebrate the meritorious soldiers in Hanyuan Hall.
'."
All the soldiers said in unison: "Your Majesty is mighty! The Tang army is mighty!"
After the swearing-in, Wu Chengsi led the troops and continued to move forward. They saw that the streets were empty. I wonder if it was because the government cleared the place in advance.
Not far from Chunming Gate, Wu Chengsi was surprised when he saw countless people standing densely outside the city gate. When he got closer, he could hear the warm blessings of the people.
It was originally a tearful farewell scene, but the people of the Tang Dynasty were tough and always won battles, so the people had no objection to sending troops.
In addition, the court had already carried out propaganda that the Koreans colluded with imperial traitors to frame General Su Dingfang, which aroused people's indignation against the Koreans and naturally lined the streets to see him off.
After leaving the city, there were women on both sides of the official road, all holding peace charms, clasping their hands together in their palms, blessing their beloved husband. Suddenly, Wu Chengsi saw Li Zhiying's figure in the crowd.
She is very conspicuous in the crowd and can be easily spotted.
Li Zhiying, like other women, clasped her hands together. Xue Yujin stood next to her with her arms folded. After making eye contact with Wu Chengsi, both of them smiled and waved in this direction.
At this moment, Wu Chengsi felt something touched in his heart, and a surge of heroic ambition surged out of his chest, and he waved to the two of them vigorously.
…
Two days after leaving Chang'an City, the army left Chang'an territory.
In the evening, the army was stationed near a river, keeping a distance of dozens of miles from Li Ji's army in front.
Although Wu Chengsi was controlled by Li Ji, his status was the same as that of Xue Rengui and Qi Yi Heli. He belonged to an independent army and had different combat tasks. There was no need to go to Li Ji for a meeting.
At night, after dinner, Wu Chengsi came outside the tent, looked at the surrounding tents, and thought to himself: "Yesterday I was sleeping at home, but today I have to live in the tents with the army. The strange encounters in life are really amazing. It’s unpredictable.”
In the light of the campfire, Wu Chengsi walked between the camps, followed closely by Han Cheng and Wang Wenjie. After walking for a while, Wang Wenjie suddenly said: "General, if we continue ahead, we will leave the camp!"
Wu Chengsi nodded and continued moving forward.
When I arrived at the gate of the camp, I saw dozens of soldiers guarding the door. After hearing the footsteps, the team leader yelled: "Who are they?"
Soldiers are not allowed to leave the military camp without reason.
"What are you yelling about? It's General Wu!" Wang Wenjie said loudly.
The squad leader took a closer look and saw that it was indeed Wu Chengsi. He hurriedly raised his hands and said, "General Wu, why are you here?"
Wu Chengsi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work defending the camp!" After saying that, he turned around and walked along the wooden fence outside the camp.
Every dozen steps, he would meet a soldier standing guard. Wu Chengsi would go over and pat the soldier on the shoulder and talk to him for a few words.
After completing his inspection tour, Wu Chengsi returned to the commander's tent and found a large blister on his foot.
Han Cheng ordered someone to take the needle, roast it on the fire, help him remove the blisters, and said puzzledly: "General, why do you have to patrol the camp in person? Just let your subordinates go down."
Wu Chengsi hissed in pain and said with a smile: "Guard Han, there are countless benefits of patrolling the camp. You will gradually understand it in the future."
After a few days like this, Wu Chengsi went to patrol the camp every night, and each time he would go back to the camp to sleep after a tour.
Unknowingly, a strange phenomenon occurred in the army. The night guard mission, which had always been disliked by the sergeants, suddenly became a hot spot that everyone was fighting for.
…
On this day, the army camped not far from Luoyang City.
On a mountainside a few miles away from the main camp, three figures looked at the brightly lit camp below.
After a long while, a woman's voice sounded: "Brother Tian, I still think it's too dangerous. If something goes wrong, how can my sworn brother still be alive?"
A middle-aged man's voice followed: "Then what do you think we should do?"
The woman hesitated and said: "It's better to go back to Chang'an and go to Dali Temple or the Ministry of Punishment."
The middle-aged man sighed: "Sister Ying, you don't know the situation in Chang'an City now. The government and people on the street are searching for us. If we go to Chang'an again, we will only die."
"Then let's think of another way. The military camp is too dangerous. Brother Zhenzhi might be shot to death by random arrows before he even opens his mouth!"
The middle-aged man said: "What else can we do? Those two people are huge and have many minions. If we don't rely on the power of the government, we will have no way to deal with them."
"Then you don't have to ask Wu Chengsi, right?"
"No, we can only talk to Wu Chengsi about this matter. He will soon go to war with the Koreans. The information we have should be very useful to him."
"Then why not go find Li Ji?"
"Li Ji is the commander-in-chief of the army. He is responsible for everything and will not interfere with our affairs at all. But Wu Chengsi is different. He is young and is the young minister of Dali Temple, so he is more likely to agree to us!"
"But……"
Just as the two were arguing, a voice as cold as cold iron sounded: "No need to say more, I'm going to the military camp now!"
"No, even if I really want to go, I should be allowed to go." The woman insisted.
At this moment, the bright moon suddenly emerged from the clouds and shone on the hillside. A woman in green clothes was seen standing in front of a man in green clothes, and a lame man in gray clothes stood beside them.
The man in gray robe advised: "Sister Ying, you are a woman, there is no point in going, others will not believe you."
"Then you can go instead of your adopted brother," the woman in green said anxiously.
"Yingmei, stop fooling around. Brother Tian is kind enough to help us, but he is disabled. How can we let him take such risks for me again!" shouted the man in Tsing Yi.
As he spoke, he walked around the woman in green and headed down the mountain.
The man in Tsing Yi came all the way to a place a hundred feet away from the camp gate. After taking a deep breath, he walked towards the camp gate.
As soon as he got close, he heard a yell: "Who are you? Don't move!" As soon as the voice fell, a group of soldiers rushed up and surrounded him. After a while, more soldiers came out of the camp and surrounded him. The water is blocked.
The man in green raised his hands and said, "My name is Fu Jiu. I have something important to see General Zuo Wujun. Please let me know!"
Where those soldiers were willing to listen to him, more than a dozen soldiers came forward to tie him up.
The man in green saw the archers outside and knew that if he resisted, he would definitely die, so he had to be tied up by them, his mouth was gagged, and he was taken to the camp.