Zheng Rong was also a general. He valued the fierceness of his soldiers the most. After listening to Shi Liangzhi's suggestion, he agreed without thinking. With a stroke of his pen, he ordered the Ministry of War to immediately select the best armor, war horses, Bows and crossbows, all the damaged equipment of Qiu Yi's troops were replaced, and more than 200 Japanese swords with Japanese swords were transferred from Ouchi and uniformly equipped for them.
As the saying goes, "Buddhas rely on gold equipment, and people rely on clothes." With these equipments, these elite troops under Qiu Yi's men appeared even more heroic. They walked at the front of the team, shocking the onlookers on both sides, and did not even dare to show their dignity. Grow a mouthful.
With the majesty of this group of arrogant soldiers, the gorgeously dressed royal guards behind them have eclipsed a lot. They hold all kinds of ceremonial music and weapons in their hands as usual. They try to hold their heads high and their chests high, and follow Qiu Yi's troops. Action behind the scenes.
Behind the ceremonial guard is the emperor's chariot.
However, in order to highlight that he was a divine and powerful emperor who was about to take over the world, Zheng Rong deliberately gave up the royal chariot and chose a pure white sweat-blooded horse. He wore golden armor, golden robes, and a golden dragon. He wore a helmet and rode forward majestically.
In fact, Zheng Rong was extremely busy with military and government affairs in the past few days, and he slept less than two hours a day. It was also the transition season between winter and spring. Zheng Rong was tired and couldn't stand the drastic changes in weather, so he contracted an illness before setting off for the expedition. My body felt cold and hot, and felt extremely uncomfortable. After consultation with the imperial doctor at the Tai Hospital, it turned out that he was suffering from wind and cold. Although the illness was not serious, he had to rest for a period of time to recover. Otherwise, he would suffer from daily backache and weakness in his hands and feet.
However, good times and good times are determined by fate, and even the emperor cannot go against the will. Zheng Rong could only cheer up, pretending that everything was fine, and rode forward with high spirits on his horse, walking slowly forward.
Zheng Rong was born with a majestic image, and he was proficient in bows, horses, and martial arts. Therefore, the people who didn't know the reason couldn't see anything strange. They just thought that such a wise and powerful emperor could go south in person, so the rebellion of the Lingnan King It will be settled in the blink of an eye.
However, the Prime Minister Zhongli Kuang and several princes who knew about it were all sweating. It was not until Zheng Rong, surrounded by countless imperial guards, walked safely through the entire Imperial City Street, left the capital Luoyang through Pingchang Gate and sat on the empty After the imperial chariot, everyone felt relieved.
Behind the imperial chariot were eighteen ornately decorated carriages.
These carriages are pulled by four solid black horses. In addition to the driver, they are each escorted by two mounted warriors. These carriages were originally intended for the emperor's civil servants and advisers.
However, today, seventeen of the eighteen carriages were empty, and only one had a person in it, and this person was the target of Zheng Rong's expedition south - King Zheng Gui of Lingnan.
For Zheng Gui alone, it is not unnecessary to go to such lengths to use such a suspicious tactics: firstly, although the King of Lingnan himself was captured, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in the palace of Lingnan were still there; secondly, the King of Lingnan did it accidentally. Those captured by Qiu Yizhi were not considered fair and square. Only after a serious ceremony was held to present the prisoners, could the news of the pacification of the Lingnan Army be announced to the world. The three central officials of the imperial court and the main force of the Forbidden Army had all gone south, leaving the Lingnan King Zheng Gui behind. Being in an empty capital may not be reassuring.
With all these reasons, Zheng Rong finally decided to take his disobedient brother with him. He was also afraid that spies from the Lingnan Palace or remnants of the Tianzun Sect would take advantage of the chaos of the expedition ceremony to plot evil. Therefore, he specially arranged for eighteen carriages to be dispatched at the same time, so that outsiders could not guess which carriage the King of Lingnan was in. However, the carriage that actually carried Zheng Gui was disguised by father and daughter Yuchi Lianghong and Yuchi Jiming. Guard with soldiers to ensure nothing goes wrong.
Under such strict arrangements, Zheng Rong finally completed the expedition ceremony and led his elite soldiers all the way south, along the official road that had been intensively repaired, towards the Yangtze River.
Along the way, elite soldiers recruited from various places continued to join in. By the time they arrived at the edge of the Yangtze River, Zheng Rong had more than 200,000 troops under his command, which was enough to wipe out the main force of the Lingnan Army in Jiangnan Road in one fell swoop.
The defense on the north bank of the Yangtze River was deployed and commanded by General Zhang Long.
Zhang Longnai was Zheng Rong's personal bodyguard. He had already received the news of the emperor's personal expedition, so he did not dare to neglect it. He erected a grand tent hall in a wide position by the river a few days ago and sent heavy troops to guard the hall. The whole thing is blocked, waiting for the emperor to arrive.
Emperor Zheng Rong was happy when he saw Zhang Long's meticulous preparations, and said: "Zhang Long, you are so patient. I want to cross the Yangtze River south. You have prepared this trip so meticulously, and I can't stay for a few days. Isn't that right?" waste?"
Zhang Long immediately bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty thinks so because you are considerate of the general. If the general does this, it will be disrespectful to the emperor. If the emperor can stay with me for a day and a half, he will give me Zhang Long a big gift." How dare you not work hard to please me if you save face?"
"Good!" Zheng Rong praised, "As expected of an old man from Prince Youyan's Mansion, this approach is just what I want. Since you are serious, I won't refute your face, just stay here for a few more days." ”
After saying that, Zheng Rong waved his flag and moved into the camp.
After Zheng Rong issued an imperial edict to transfer the emperor's eldest son Zheng Xin and the emperor's second son Zheng Sen from the front line to his side, Zheng Sen was fully responsible for the marching affairs, while Zheng Xin was responsible for the emperor's protection.
The eldest son of the emperor, Zheng Xin, is someone who has longed to be the emperor. Although he did not get the important task of supervising the country this time, he felt a little disappointed. However, he could not give up the opportunity that was waiting for the emperor day and night. .
Therefore, he was cautious all the way, fearing that something might go wrong that would displease the emperor, and he kept the security in check so that it was watertight. As soon as I arrived at Zhang Long's camp today, I replaced all the guards with forbidden troops, and set up new checkpoints at various important roads. Anyone who is not an absolute trust can never get even half a step closer to the tent hall.
Along the way, Zheng Rong left the imperial palace and the capital city of Luoyang. He immediately felt that the air was much fresher. The typhoid he had contracted before leaving the capital was quickly cured, and even the fatigue accumulated over a long period of time was gone. null.
As soon as the camp was underway, Zheng Rong called Zhang Long in and asked him about the preparations for crossing the river.
Zhang Long was meticulous in his work and was not afraid of trivial matters. He reported everything in detail for more than an hour before he explained the matter clearly.
Zheng Rong was very patient. After listening to what he said, he said with appreciation: "Okay, you have done a good job here. If the army succeeds in crossing south, the first thing to do is to mark your merits. Is the boat that crossed the river good? A little less prepared? Our army has 200,000 people!"
Zhang Long replied: "The general even asked the old river workers on the Yangtze River about this matter. They said that even if all the fishing boats, ferries, and water transport ships here were gathered together, they would not be able to transport 100,000 people at once. . Even if it can be sent across the river, there is no spacious place on the south side of the Yangtze River for these troops to land at once. The army can only be transferred in stages. "
Zheng Rong was good at fighting on horseback and on foot, but he knew nothing about water fighting. However, after all, he had rich combat experience, and everything Zhang Long said made sense, so he did not interrupt him. He listened thoughtfully and listened to Zhang Long add two more sentences: "I am afraid that these old boatmen are afraid of going south to fight. , so I deliberately made it up to deceive the general, so I asked Li Shengjie, who is good at sea navigation, and he gave the same answer, so I dared to report it to the emperor."
Mentioning Li Shengjie, Zheng Rong's eyes suddenly flashed and he said: "We are from the Northern Army. It is a fact that we are not good at water warfare, and there is nothing to hide it from. It is rare to have this Li Shengjie, who has countless strong ships under his command, and is willing to do things for the imperial court. ”
Qiu Yizhi stood in the crowd and listened with bated breath to the emperor's evaluation of Li Shengjie. She was also quite pleased in her heart - with these two words of praise from the emperor, it means that Li Shengjie can settle down and live in the Han Dynasty. It finally fulfilled his father, the old ship owner Li Zhi's long-cherished wish for Ye Luo to return to his roots.
But I heard Emperor Zheng Rong say again: "In my opinion, our army's large-scale march to the south has been quite helpful to Li Shengjie. Since I have come, I should see him first."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi hurriedly took a step forward and said, "Since the emperor intends to summon Li Shengjie, it is his blessing. I will go and tell Li Shengjie to come and see the emperor."
The civil and military officials in the tent who recognized Qiu Yi's identity were speechless, while those who didn't know him couldn't help but look at him with suspicion - this man was young, and the court had never seen or heard of him being so bold. He went out to speak without being asked by the emperor.
While he was doubting, he heard Zheng Rong say: "No need, I'll just go there myself."
It was such an honor to have the Labor Emperor come to receive him - even veterans of the three dynasties and central ministers might not have such a privilege. Today, Li Shengjie, a young man with a pirate background, actually made the emperor go to all the trouble to meet him, which made all the civil and military officials standing in the tent gasp in envy.
At this moment, I heard Zhongli Kuang say coldly: "Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. Li Shengjie is young and junior, so he may not be able to withstand such a special treatment from the Emperor. Besides, although this is the north bank of the Yangtze River, it is like a front line. The war is fierce and dangerous, and if there is even the slightest mistake, it will be unbearable for me and others. It is the same if Qiu Yizhi comes to see him."
Zheng Rong shook his head nonchalantly and said, "Mr. Zhongli is too worried. How many soldiers of our army are stationed here, how can there be any risks? What's more, I just want to see what this Li Shengjie is like. Young Master Hero, secondly, he wants to see the powerful ships and cannons under his command. What? Can Mr. Zhongli bring Li Shengjie along with him?"
After saying that, Zheng Rong laughed loudly.
The officials in the tent did not want to offend Prime Minister Zhongli Kuang, the actual controller of the imperial government, so they could only cover their mouths and smile softly, which was regarded as agreeing with the emperor.
Even the emperor, who was in the ninth level, was quite pleased with this feeling of stars holding the moon. He smiled proudly and said: "Okay, our troops are very fast, so let's set off. By the way, keep all the formal etiquette simple, and the ceremonial guards will be there." Don’t send everyone out, just take the two fathers and daughters of Yuchi’s family and Qiu Yi’s troops.”
Qiu Yizhi hurriedly took a step forward: "My lord, I obey the order!"
When those officials who did not know Qiu Yizhi's true identity saw this scene, they began to murmur in their hearts: "Who is this Qiu Yizhi? The emperor can actually entrust his entire wealth and safety to him... "
Before they could come up with any answers, Emperor Zheng Rong stood up from his throne, waved his sleeves and walked out of the tent. Seeing this, a group of high-ranking civil and military officials hurriedly knelt on the ground and shouted long live.
Qiu Yizhi had the duty of escorting him, so he bowed briefly and stood up quickly, helped Zhongli Kuang up, and whispered: "Master, the emperor is in high spirits, students should hurry up and order all the soldiers and horses. It is important to escort him."