Since the day the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun was lost, countless military generals have made it their lifelong goal to regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.
However, after Chen Wu failed in his two Northern Expeditions, no general dared to mention this matter. Only the King of Jin was still working hard on it.
It is a pity that although King Jin has ambitions, he does not have the ability to match them. Let alone regaining the sixteen states of Yanyun, he can hardly even protect himself now.
Every year, the Eastern Barbarians would plunder his fiefdom, and the King of Jin would organize military and civilian resistance every year. Unfortunately, his people were far from being a match for the Eastern Barbarians, and they were beaten and fled every time.
The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have always been regarded as a shame by all Dakang people.
Although Jin Feng has no identity with Dakang, he is from the Central Plains. In his mind, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Dongman and Dangxiang territories further north are part of the country!
Therefore, Jin Feng was also very concerned about the Northern Expedition. He did not return to the capital that day, but stayed with Zhang Liang to reconfirm the Zhenyuan Army's combat plan and backup plan.
The Northern Expedition plan can be said to be the most important thing in Dakang today. After learning that the Zhenyuan Army had arrived, the Ninth Princess put down all government affairs early the next morning and prepared to go to the north bank to visit the Zhenyuan Army.
Before leaving the palace, she met Chen Ji who had the same plan as her.
It was normal for the emperor to leave the palace, but it was a big deal to leave the city and go to the north bank of the Yellow River.
The area north of the Yellow River is still the territory of the Eastern Barbarians. If a group of Eastern Barbarians suddenly appeared while the emperor was inspecting Hebei and kidnapped the emperor, it would be the end of the world.
Although he knew that Jin Feng and the Zhenyuan Army were on the north bank, Liao Yin, who was in charge of security work, still did not dare to take risks.
Leave half of the Red Armor Battalion to guard the palace, and take all the remaining Red Armor Battalion soldiers with you.
Even so, Liao Yin still felt uneasy and sent someone to find his old boss Qin Zhen for help.
When Qin Zhen learned of the situation, he immediately mobilized 500 people from the imperial army guarding the city and personally led the team to meet the emperor at the north gate of the capital.
Under the protection of hundreds of imperial troops, the emperor and the ninth princess boarded the large ship that had been prepared.
Chen Ji stood on the top deck of the building ship, holding a telescope to observe the Zhenyuan Army Camp.
On the lush green grass, there are war horses munching grass everywhere.
Neat rows of tents stretch for hundreds of meters.
There are four huge hot air balloons floating high in the sky in the dead center of the camp, serving as watchtowers.
"Qin Zhen, you are also a veteran of military formations. What do you think of Zhenyuan Army's military formations?"
Chen Ji looked at Qin Zhen with a smile.
"Your Majesty, we are still several miles away from the Zhenyuan Army Camp. I don't have a telescope, so I can't see clearly..."
Qin Zhen said helplessly.
Nowadays, the telescope cannot be mass-produced, so Jin Feng gives priority to his own people. Both Qin Zhen and Qing Guogong went to Jin Feng to beg for it several times, but Jin Feng did not give it to them.
"If you want to use a telescope, just ask!" Chen Ji handed the telescope to Qin Zhen: "Be careful, don't break it!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Qin Zhen took the telescope with respectful hands and carefully placed it in front of his eyes.
"how?"
Seeing Qin Zhen put down the telescope, Chen Ji asked again.
Qin Zhen thought for a while and said: "Looking at the military formation alone, there is nothing wrong with it, but there is nothing particularly outstanding. It can only be said to be quite satisfactory."
Hearing what Qin Zhen said, a trace of disappointment flashed across Chen Ji's face.
He had too high expectations for the Zhenyuan Army and believed that the Zhenyuan Army should be stronger than other armies everywhere.
After hearing Qin Zhen's comments, I couldn't help but worry whether Zhenyuan Army could complete the mission of the Northern Expedition.
Qin Zhen noticed that Chen Ji looked wrong and continued: "Your Majesty, don't forget the Zhenyuan Army's hot air balloon."
"hot air balloon?"
"Yes, hot air balloon!" Qin Zhen said: "Zhenyuan's soldiers stand on the hot air balloon and can see more than ten miles away without using a telescope. It is almost impossible for the enemy to sneak attack their camp, so their troops
You don’t need to pay too much attention to the formation, just being regular is the best.”
After hearing what Qin Zhen said, Chen Ji's expression finally softened.
But when the ship approached the north shore and saw the team greeting him on the shore, Chen Ji became even more worried than before.
When they learned that the emperor and the Ninth Princess were coming, Jin Feng and Zhang Liang naturally came out to greet them.
Also accompanying him were Liu Tie and officers above the centurion level of the Zhenyuan Army.
When the Zhenyuan Army was established, the main targets for recruitment were the refugees who were captured by Danzhu, almost half of whom were women.
When selecting officers, they are all treated equally and all depends on their performance.
The female base has grown, and a large number of female officers have been selected.
Although it did not reach half, it accounted for at least one-third.
Jin Feng does not discriminate against women, but it does not mean that others do the same.
When Chen Ji saw so many female officers, his first thought was that the Northern Expedition was over again.
Not only Chen Ji, Qin Zhen, Liao Yin and many imperial guards also showed contempt on their faces.
"Perhaps there are only more female officers, and all the soldiers are male."
Chen Ji could only comfort himself in this way.
After getting off the ship, before the officers had finished paying homage, they pulled Jin Feng and walked quickly to the Zhenyuan Army Camp.
As a result, when he entered the camp, the last trace of luck in his heart was extinguished.
Chen Ji had long heard that Jin Feng valued women and hired many women to work in Xichuan. There are also many female bodyguards among the bodyguards guarding the capital.
So he was mentally prepared before coming, but he didn't expect that there were so many female soldiers in the Zhenyuan Army.
The ratio with male soldiers is almost one to one!
What disappointed Chen Ji the most was that he saw some female soldiers training to ride horses in the distance. Because of their short stature, many female soldiers had some difficulty getting on their horses.
"National Master, why are there so many female soldiers in the Zhenyuan Army?"
Chen Ji called Jin Feng to his side and whispered: "You can hire women to spin thread and weave cloth, but the Northern Expedition is a major military and national event, how can you be such a childish person?"
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with female soldiers?" Jin Feng frowned and said, "These female soldiers have been selected through various assessments. Their combat effectiveness and discipline are no weaker than those of male soldiers!"
"National Master, please stop coaxing me!"
Chen Ji pointed at the female soldiers who were practicing mounting their horses and said, "How can they fight if they can't even mount their horses?"
"Your Majesty, the war horse is tall. It is normal for short female soldiers to have difficulty mounting the horse. Just practice more and it will be fine."
Jin Feng said: "Horse riding is not a difficult skill to learn. The journey from here to Yuguan City is thousands of miles. Even if they run all the way, they can learn it."
Ever since Jin Feng entered the capital, Chen Ji had almost obeyed him.
But this time Chen Ji insisted on his opinion: "National Master, the Northern Expedition is of great importance. I still feel uneasy. If you don't have enough manpower, I will allocate manpower to you. You can just choose the army of Dakang. Even if you want
How about I give you all the forbidden troops?"
"Father, don't underestimate these female soldiers. They train harder than the male soldiers, but there are more mountains in Sichuan and Sichuan. They have never seen a horse before, which may make my father think that they are weak. If they fight on the ground, my daughter
Ensure that their combat effectiveness will never be inferior to that of male soldiers!"
The Ninth Princess witnessed the establishment and selection of the Zhenyuan Army, and also saw how hard the refugee girls were trained, so she quickly helped the female soldiers speak up.
"really?"
"Of course!" Jin Feng said without hesitation: "If your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can review it!"