Wei Qing never thought that one day he would be able to enter the main hall of Pingyang Marquis Mansion in a grand manner.
He originally planned to just get together with his relatives and then return to the army.
However, he never thought that the news that Wei Qing had joined the King of Zhongshan and was well-respected would reach the ears of Pingyang Marquis Cao Shou, and he would now be invited to the main hall.
The Marquis of Pingyang, Cao Shou, sat on the throne, and beside him was the beautiful Princess Pingyang.
In Princess Pingyang's arms, there is also a child. This is Cao Shou's son Cao Xiang, the future Marquis of Pingyang.
After the ceremony, Wei Qing lowered his head subconsciously.
The habit of having children in the family for many years has not been completely eradicated.
Cao Shou's reputation is not well known. History books only ask about Princess Pingyang and rarely pay attention to Marquis Pingyang.
But this person can always follow the right team in many crises, and he can also pass on the title of Marquis of Pingyang. This is already his ability.
"Wei Qing."
Cao Shou smiled, looked at the slightly embarrassed Wei Qing and said, "I heard that you are working next to King Zhongshan?"
"yes."
Wei Qing cupped his hands and responded, "Your Majesty Lai respects you, and I am honored to follow you."
"How did you meet the king?" Cao Shou was very curious about this.
You must know that many people want to burn Li Yunze's hot stove, but there is no way, and they can't even see Li Yunze's face.
With Wei Qing's identity, being able to follow the king really makes people curious.
When Wei Qing finished describing the incident in Pingyang County, Cao Shou nodded thoughtfully.
'Zheng Ji is a fool, but the boy in front of him has a bright future.'
After chatting for a while, Cao Shengsheng brought the BMW from the stable and presented it to Wei Qing on the spot.
"Be sure to accept it." Cao Shou put the reins into Wei Qing's hands and said with a friendly expression, "It is a state matter that you follow the king to attack the Xiongnu! I am not allowed to follow the king on the expedition without the imperial decree. I feel really sorry. Since you are the Marquis of Pingyang
He was born in the mansion, so he should go to war on behalf of my lord.
Be sure to come back victorious!"
Now that the words were said, Wei Qing could only bow and accept them.
"Work hard for your Majesty." When bidding Wei Qing out, Cao Shou said kindly, "There is no need to worry about your family affairs. I will take good care of your family."
"Thank you, Lord Marquis."
The young Wei Qing didn't have much money, so he saluted with sincere gratitude.
Coming out of the side door, he got on his horse, saluted Cao Shou, and then rode away.
When Cao Shou returned to his mansion, he was greeted by Princess Pingyang's complaint: "You are just a slave, why should you be like this?"
"Being born as a domestic slave, there is no guarantee that he will always be a domestic slave. This person is valued by the king. As long as he survives, he will definitely be prosperous in the future."
Princess Pingyang was noncommittal about this.
She is a princess and her husband is a marquis. It can be said that she grew up with a golden key in her mouth.
What can a mere domestic slave do, no matter how developed he is? Is it possible that he can still ride on his head and do trouble?
Cao Shou glanced at Cao Xiang, who was already sleeping in Princess Pingyang's arms, and said, "If there are no important events these days, it's better not to go to the palace again."
Princess Pingyang was puzzled, "Hasn't the tuberculosis been cured? Why can't she enter the palace?"
Cao Shou sighed lightly, took Cao Xiang and handed it to the maid, and decided to talk.
"The Emperor intends to appoint the King of Zhongshan as the Crown Prince, but it was only delayed due to the tuberculosis epidemic and the death of Mrs. Jia. The King returns from the army this time, and the matter must be decided."
"Mrs. Wang has always wanted to promote King Jiaodong as the crown prince. There is no chance for this."
Mrs. Wang is the biological mother of Princess Pingyang, and King Jiaodong is the biological brother of Princess Pingyang. The relationship lies here.
Although the King of Zhongshan is also the brother of Princess Pingyang, after all, he is the same father and half-mother.
The most important thing is that Cao Shou could vaguely sense Mrs. Wang's gradual madness, and he did not want to involve the Pingyang Marquis Mansion.
Princess Pingyang agreed on her face, but she disagreed in her heart.
What's the big deal if she goes home to visit her parents and brothers.
Seeing her appearance, Cao Shou said no more words.
If something was really wrong, then in order to protect the inheritance of the Pingyang Marquis Mansion from being expelled, he would have no choice but to kill his relatives out of justice.
After all, wives can be changed, but the inheritance of the Hou Mansion cannot be broken.
After all the meritorious officials who have been expelled in recent years, are there still a few?
With the ancestral sacrifices cut off, who can still remember the glory of their ancestors!
The next day, the army marched northward.
The emperor did not see him off because of his health, so he appointed Liang Wang Liu Wu as an envoy to see him off.
Seeing that all the elite soldiers and horses in the world were in the hands of his young nephew, Liu Wu felt despair in his heart.
This nephew is so outstanding and capable, and still so young, his dream of being the crown prince has already been shattered.
After following the process, Dou Ying, who was appointed as the former general, set off first with the vanguard.
This time Li Yunze mobilized the main force of the Northern Army to go on the expedition, while the Southern Army stayed in Chang'an City to continue to protect the heart of the Han Dynasty.
The Northern Army was named after its garrison to the north of Chang'an City, and the Southern Army was named after its garrison to the south of the palace city.
Compared with the Southern Army, which mainly guards the palace, the Northern Army, which belongs directly to the emperor, is the strongest among the imperial armies inside and outside Chang'an City, and also has the largest number of troops. It is the Han field army in the true sense.
The local troops of the Han Dynasty, including the garrison in Chang'an City, were mainly civilians serving in the army.
But the Northern Army was different. Their origin was Liangjiazi.
That is to say, the small landlord class with a family property must be at least a wealthy farmer with a family property of more than 100,000 yuan, to be qualified to be called a good family member.
Liangjiazi's family was well off, and the Han Dynasty was good at martial arts. The corrupt scholars had not yet shouted out, "The book has its own golden house, and the book has its own beauty like jade", so they have been practicing martial arts since they were young, and they have become proficient in bow and horse.
Not only does it have an excellent foundation, but also because there is an expectation to pursue military merit and rise, the will to fight and morale are also very high.
When he was twenty years old, he went to the local government to register as a military official, which was called Fu Ji.
He officially started serving when he was twenty-three years old. In the first year, he served as a county soldier in the local area, which is also commonly known as a military officer or a knight.
After one year of military training, they will go to Chang'an City and be selected into the Northern and Southern armies respectively and become guards.
Over the years, the Xiongnu invaded on a large scale, and the troops sent out to expel them were mainly the Northern Army.
This is the Han's strongest field force.
At this time, the total strength of the Northern Army was about 50,000 infantry and cavalry. This was because over the years Liu Qi had sent a group of Northern Army soldiers to accompany his sons when they went to establish kingdoms as kings.
As a general, Li Yunze mobilized 50,000 Northern troops to go out and basically took away all the main forces of the Northern Army.
The Southern Army did not do much, and still stayed behind in Chang'an City.
There was also no mobilization of the garrison in Chang'an City.
Coupled with the soldiers and horses brought by Li Yunze himself, nearly 60,000 regular soldiers were sent out in a mighty manner, which can be said to stretch for dozens of miles.
The forwards had already crossed the Wei River, while the rearguard and the Chinese army were still in their barracks and had not even set off.
Compared with some movies and TV shows, where millions of troops march hundreds of miles a day and arrive in a swarm at a certain village, this is a real march.
The entire Jingzhao was mobilized, and a large number of civilian husbands were recruited to serve as army servants, responsible for the logistics work of the army.
In addition, many nobles and local knights also prepared their own weapons and horses to follow them.
There are basically no nobles who are not lewd.
Since she is lustful and can afford to raise children, she will naturally have many sons.
Before the appearance of the Tweeting Order, all good things belonged to the eldest son, and the other sons could only mix some property and other things to make a living for themselves.
Among the big men who like martial arts, the best way to make a living is naturally to join the army. If you get military honors, you can just take off from where you are.
Therefore, every time the army goes out to war, there will be many noble men and women who will follow as volunteers to fight.
For this kind of thing, the honorable nobles naturally fully support it, and the hope of expanding the family lies here.
The local rangers basically follow the same process. They are not doing it for the sake of the big man, they are just trying to secure a future.
Not only the rangers, but also the young people from the places along the way are willing to join in, as long as they are willing to see if there is smoke from the ancestral graves, and they can capture the enemy chiefs on the battlefield and rise to the top in one fell swoop.
Therefore, it seems that Li Yunze has less than 60,000 regular soldiers under his command this time.
But with the accompanying civilians, volunteers and local villagers, and Li Yunze recruiting all the soldiers from the counties along the way, the total number had already exceeded 100,000.
According to the tradition of the cold weapon era, it is natural to claim an army of 300,000 to 400,000 people.
In history, those wars involving hundreds of thousands or even millions of people were actually like this.
For example, during the Battle of Changping, Zhao Kuo had only tens of thousands of regular soldiers, definitely less than 100,000. Most of the so-called 400,000 Zhao troops were militiamen who served as civilian soldiers under the universal army.
Crossing the river from Fenglingdu, they went north, crossed Hedong County and entered Shangdang County. When the forward cavalry scouts entered Taiyuan County, they had already collided with the Xiongnu forward going south.
The battle ahead is imminent, but the city of Chang'an has not yet calmed down.
Underneath the seemingly calm surface, there are undercurrents.
The atmosphere in Wang Da's palace has been very strange recently.
The maids and chamberlains were all very cautious and did not dare to take a breath.
The reason is very simple, Mrs. Wang has been very angry recently.
The carefully arranged tuberculosis epidemic was actually resolved, which really caught Wang Ao off guard.
The recent vague movements in Changle Palace also made her feel uneasy.
Wang Quan knew very well that as long as favorable news came from the front line, Empress Dowager Dou would call herself to Changle Palace and then "die of a sudden illness"!
"Time is running out, we must act quickly."
The blackened Wang Quan was very quick in thinking. After the previous plan failed, the subsequent backup plan was quickly put on the agenda.
"The little beast is not in Chang'an City, so this is a good opportunity." Wang Quan summoned his confidant maid, whispered a few words and ordered her to leave the palace quickly.
The palace maid looked for Tian Fu and relayed Wang Ao's words.
For Tian Fu, he has no way out now and can only go to the dark side.
After sending the maid away, Tian Fu fell into deep thought.
It is not that Li Yunze does not have enemies and rivals. For example, a certain general who has a bad relationship with Li Yunze is the biggest source of confidence for Wang Quan and others.
In addition, they also selected several targets to win over.
"Liang Wang Liu Wu, Pingyang Marquis Cao Shou, Tangyi Marquis Chen Wu, Weiyang Palace Wei Li Guang, Prime Minister Zhou Yafu"