Xue Poye leaned against the bedside, hugged Yuezhu, and gently stroked her smooth fragrant shoulders. It was warm and sweet. Seeing that he was about to go to war tomorrow, he wanted to comfort the two wives before leaving. of.
Now he feels a little empty in his body, after all, he had sex with Xiao Suzhen twice in the afternoon, and in the evening, he was so lingering with Yuezhu that all the essence in his body was almost emptied.
"Master, Yuezhu wants to go with you." Yuezhu curled up in Xue Poye's arms like a gentle sheep, her eyes were a little red: "Where did you go, how could you do without someone to take care of you? Mr. Xianggong, you promised me, let me go with you."
Xue Poye gently kissed Yuezhu's forehead, and said softly: "Silly girl, I am going to fight, not to go sightseeing, how can I take you by my side? I will definitely take you all over the famous mountains and rivers in the world, do you agree?"
"But... but you are outside alone, I don't worry. I heard that the climate in the northwest is bad, you... you will get sick, who will take care of you then? Mr. Xianggong, just let me go, Yuezhu will take good care of you You, I cook delicious food for you every day, and when my husband is bored, Yuezhu will talk to you...!" At this point, tears welled up in Yuezhu's eyes.
Xue Poye gently licked Yuezhu's tears, and hugged her even more salty, and said softly: "Don't worry, there are two royal chefs bestowed by the Holy Majesty on the journey this time. That's right. As for my safety, you don't have to worry about it. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of troops, Ximen Leizang will also take thirty Habayashi guards with me. With their guards, even if there is any danger, it will be solved. ” Paused, and said softly: “After I leave, you and Suzhen will rest comfortably in the mansion. The affairs of Ziyanfang will be left to others for the time being. Gongyangyue will send people to guard the General Guard’s mansion , there will be no problem."
Yuezhu knew that Xue Poye would not let her go with her, so she agreed softly, and even pressed her tender body close to the gentleman.
Loved him in every way, the next morning, Xue Poye had just got up and washed himself clean, when Manager Hu reported: "Master Hou, a Habayashi guard who claims to be Huang Ting has come to pay a visit!"
"Huang Ting?" Xue Poye squinted his eyes, the name was unusually unfamiliar, he couldn't help but feel a little strange, if there was something wrong with this Yulin camp, it should be reported by Gongyangyue Ximen Lei Zang and others, and this Huang Ting Who is it
When he saw this Habayashi guard named Huang Ting, he suddenly woke up.
This Huang Ting was actually the Habayashi guard who was sent to the southwest in Hangzhou to inquire about Yuan Buyi's real identity. He has been busy recently, so he forgot about this incident.
Huang Ting looked tired, but judging by the look on his face, he was full of confidence, obviously he had found important news.
"Brother Huang, sit down!" Xue Poye said with a smile on his face, "It's been hard work for you this trip, come and serve tea!"
Seeing Master Hou being so kind to him, Huang Ting hurriedly said: "Don't dare." He clasped his fists respectfully and said, "Master Hou, the identity of Yuan Buyi, my brothers and I have already found out."
Xue Poye said happily: "Oh, who is he?"
Huang Ting said: "Master Hou, this person is not from the Southwest, but he has also done business in the Southwest. His real name is not Yuan Buyi, but Yuan Tiangang."
"Yuan Tiangang?" Xue Poye frowned.
Huang Ting clasped his fists and said: "Master Hou, this Yuan Tiangang was the number one scholar in the third year of Deqing. He is arrogant. He once received the kindness of the late emperor and was appointed Minister of Rites. It's just that this person has an arrogant personality. For such an official position as Minister of Rites, Unexpectedly, he didn't take it seriously, and often told people that the late emperor treated him lightly. During a palace banquet, Yuan Tiangang suddenly became drunk and insulted all the officials in front of the late emperor and the officials, which angered the emperor and was removed from his official position. Cutting his nationality for the people. I thought that after he was deposed, he should be quieter, but who knows that he actually sells calligraphy for a living on the street, and often writes words that are contemptuous of officials. The Holy Majesty ordered Mr. Wei of the Kyoto Prefecture to deal with this matter. Mr. Wei sent Yuan Tiangang was sent to prison, and poisoned wine was prepared to make him commit suicide."
Xue Poye touched his nose and wondered, "Even if Master Wei ordered him to commit suicide, why is he still alive?"
"Because of King Mingyue." Huang Ting said respectfully: "Master Hou, at that time, King Mingyue was in the capital. He heard that there was such a strange person, so he went to the capital to find out who this arrogant guy was. What kind of person. It was also the arrival of the Mingyue King, Master Wei poured the antidote into Yuan Tiangang and saved his life, if the Mingyue King was a moment later, Yuan Tiangang would have died."
"I see."
"Although Yuan Tiangang saved his life, because of the deep poisoning, the skin on his face has been necrotic and turned black...!" Before Huang Ting finished speaking, Xue Poye said in surprise: "You mean, Yuan Tiangang It looks like a bag of black charcoal, is it because of poisoning?"
"Pack Heitan?" Huang Ting was a little surprised.
Xue Poye chuckled, waved his hands, and said, "Go on, what happened to him? Mingyue King saved his life?"
Huang Tingdao: "Mingyue King is very interested in Yuan Tiangang, and even asked the late emperor for him. How could the late emperor care about such an arrogant person, so he gave him to Mingyue King and took the Northwest."
Xue Poye frowned: "You mean... Yuan Tiangang belongs to King Mingyue!"
"Exactly." Huang Ting said: "Not only that, after Yuan Tiangang went to Yongzhou in the northwest, he was extremely favored by King Mingyue. At first, he was just an aide beside King Mingyue. Later, King Mingyue let him manage the affairs of Yongzhou. The management is well-organized, and a few years ago, he was officially regarded as the right minister by King Mingyue, and together with Zuo Zixuan, he was called the two wise men by King Mingyue's side."
Xue Poye was even more surprised. He didn't expect Yuan Tiangang to have such a background. When he first met him in Hangzhou, although he could see that he was not an ordinary businessman, he didn't expect his background to be so strong.
He suddenly recalled that when he was in Hangzhou, Yuan Tiangang secretly bought horses, and besides that, he also bought a large amount of cowhide. Now that he thinks about it, Yuan Tiangang began to prepare for the armament of Yongzhou since then.
"Yuan Tiangang not only manages Yongzhou in an orderly manner, but also often pretends to be a big businessman and does some private business all over the country. Because of the huge power of Yongzhou as the backstage, they have built a secret transportation line and purchased a large number of goods from all over the country. Horses and military supplies, a year ago, they didn’t know how to get in touch with the Hu people, and Yuan Tiangang was the guide, and the Yongzhou side colluded with the Beihu people, and Yongzhou exchanged iron ore with Beihu for horses, and they worked together.” Huang Huang When Ting said this, his tongue was extremely dry, and it happened that a servant had already brought tea, so he immediately took a big sip from the teacup without caring about anything else.
Xue Poye leaned back on the chair, thoughtful.
Speaking of which, if Yongzhou was able to contact Beihu, he was really responsible.
At the beginning, it was he who took Wu Lachi to deliver the horses, which made Wu Lachi aware that Yuan Tiangang had the intention of rebelling, so he sent someone to Longji coffin shop to contact Yuan Tiangang without telling Xue Poye, and only then did he let him go. The two parties hooked up successfully.
Xue Poye sighed, shook his head and smiled wryly.
"Master Hou, there is one more matter. It has something to do with Yuan Tiangang. I wonder if Lord Hou wants to hear it." Huang Ting asked cautiously.
"But it doesn't matter."
"Master Hou, Wang Shizhen, former governor of Hangzhou, do you still remember?"
Xue Poye was stunned: "Wang Shizhen?" He naturally remembered that Wang Shizhen was pushed out of the position of governor of Hangzhou by Tan Ziqing's forces, and was later escorted to the capital for trial. He also helped his wife and children, but later I don't know who was picked up, and there has been no news. As for Wang Shizhen himself, since Xue Poye came to Beijing, there has been no news of this person, so he forgot about it. Unexpectedly, Huang Ting suddenly mentioned Wang Shizhen today, which surprised Xue Poye.
"When Wang Shizhen was escorted to the capital, he was not tried by the third division. The late emperor only let him live in the posthouse in the capital without any other arrangements. When Wang Shizhen was in the capital, he could only wait for the trial in the posthouse every day." Huang Ting Looking at Xue Poye, he said: "As for Hangzhou, according to our investigation, Lord Hou once arranged for Wang Shizhen's family to live in the 'Dongfeng Pavilion' in Hangzhou, but one day, Wang Shizhen's family was suddenly taken away, and Lord Hou even arranged I don't know who picked it up, Lord Hou must still remember."
Xue Poye nodded and said: "That's right, there is such a thing." He secretly admired in his heart, this word sent Huang Ting out to investigate Yuan Tiangang, he really misunderstood the person, Huang Ting got far more information than he imagined many.
"Your Majesty may not know that Wang Shizhen's family members were taken away by Yuan Tiangang. And Yuan Tiangang later used Wang Shizhen's family as an excuse to coerce and persuade Wang Shizhen to Yongzhou secretly. Now Wang Shizhen is also Mingyue King's staff are making suggestions for governing Yongzhou." Huang Ting finished speaking in one breath, and took another sip of tea.
…
After breakfast, Xue Poye ordered Ximen Leizang who came to report to pack up his luggage, Xiao Suzhen and Yue Zhu sent him out one by one from left to right, Ming Xu also followed behind with his head down.
"Sanggong, you... Be careful, my sister and I are waiting for you to come back." Yue Zhu's eyes were red.
"Xue Lang, you must take good care of yourself... We are waiting for you...!" Xiao Suzhen's eyes were tearful.
Xue Poye soothed carefully, told two jokes, made the two daughters feel relieved, and then looked at Mingxu.
Mingxu murmured: "Cousin... You have to take care of yourself... Cousin is at home eating fast and praying for you, Amitabha!"
Xue Poye smiled and said: "No need, cousin, I forgot to tell you, this time I am going to Taizhou, I really need someone to take care of me, after much deliberation, cousin is the right person... Master Ximen, I will take care of you later. My cousin took it with me, so I can take care of it."
Xue Poye brought Mingxu by his side, it was planned a long time ago, this guy has excellent medical skills, if there is an injury on the battlefield, this guy's advice will come in handy.
Compared with the hundreds of military doctors recruited with great difficulty this time, Ming Xu's medical skills are definitely not weaker than them, and it would be good to be a personal military doctor.
Mingxu was taken aback, but seeing Xue Poye's smiling face, knowing that he couldn't hide this time, he sighed and drooped his bald head.
After saying goodbye to the two wives again, Xue Poye went to the altar under the guard of Ximen Leizang and others.
The altar is also placed on the square in front of the palace. There was a fierce battle here not long ago. Although it has been rebuilt several times, if you are not careful, sometimes you can find the bright red on the bluestone board that has not been washed clean. blood.
At this time, in front of the altar, in addition to civil and military officials, there were 1,000 cavalry and 3,000 elite infantry.
The cavalry is the cavalry team secretly cultivated by the first emperor, with extremely strong combat effectiveness, and the 3,000 infantry are elite soldiers drawn from the Jingtong Army. These 4,000 soldiers will follow Xue Poye to Taizhou.
The altar was already filled with offerings.
Xue Poye was wearing armor, and his purple cloak fluttered in the wind. He looked really heroic.
Right in front of the altar, there is another platform for worshiping generals, which is not luxurious, even very simple and rough. This is the rule of Da Chu. Out of danger, there is no room for luxury.
On the platform of worshiping the general stands a huge "Chu" flag, and the officials in costumes are lined up on both sides of the platform.
On the left are civil servants, Lan Wuqing, Wang Dezhao, He Ruhui and others are naturally on the list; on the right are military generals, with Xue Poye at the head, behind him is Song Fei, and behind him are other generals.
Xue Poye's gold helmet and gold armor, Sein Fei's silver helmet and silver armor, the two looked solemn, the sun shone on one gold and one silver armor, refracting dazzling rays of light, forming an interesting contrast.
There was a sound of drum music, and the little emperor, surrounded by all the guards, walked towards the platform of worshiping the general. The officer of ceremonies had already shouted loudly: "The auspicious time has come, the emperor worships the general!"
The little emperor walked up to Xue Poye and Song Fei, and the two followed the little emperor to the altar.
You Shaoqing followed behind with the big seal soldier amulet wrapped in golden satin and the letter of imperial edict in his hand, and they also went up to the general worship platform together.
In the eyes of the officials and soldiers in the audience, the four climbed to the top of the stage. Xue Poye and Song Fei followed the little emperor to the south to worship the sky, praying in their mouths.
After sacrificing to heaven, Xue Poye and Song Fei knelt in front of the little emperor and listened respectfully.
The little emperor took the commander's seal and soldier talisman from You Shaoqing, handed it to Xue Poye, and said softly: "The commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army takes the seal and goes out. I hope you two will serve the country faithfully and return in triumph!"
"Long live, long live, long live!" The two said in unison.
"Following heaven's fortune, the emperor's edict said: The universe is unified, and the order extends to all directions. Now there is trouble in the north, waiting for an opportunity to move. I ordered Xue Poye to be the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army, and Song Fei to be the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army. Lead the troops to march north. To invigorate the power of the Son of Heaven and create peace for the people of the people. Let the people of the whole country work together and hope for the success of the northern march! Thank you!" The eunuch took the imperial edict from You Shaoqing and read it aloud.
All the ministers have knelt down in unison: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"
The sound resounded through the square and spread far away.
The little emperor approached Xue Poye and said softly: "Master, this disciple wanted to go out with you, but the capital must always be guarded, so the Northern Expedition is all up to Master...Master, you...you have to take care...Teacher is waiting." For your triumphant return...!" After speaking, her voice was a little choked up.
Xue Poye sighed in his heart, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, after I leave, you have to be careful and don't trust anyone. The prime minister is loyal, and it is your arm. I believe in you... I will definitely do my best in this expedition. Let’s go, the Holy One doesn’t have to worry about it!”
On September 18th, the first year of Chengqing in the Great Chu, Emperor Chengqing worshiped Xue Poye as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army and sent his troops northward.
Xue Poye straddled his horse and raised his sword, leading 3,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, and marched mightily to Taizhou, where nearly 300,000 officers and soldiers were waiting for his command.
Taizhou is located in the south of the north of Dachu, only three hundred miles away from Qingzhou, and belongs to a relatively large state capital of Dachu.
Since ten days ago, troops from all over the world have rushed to Taizhou like a tide, and set up camp 30 miles outside Taizhou city. color.
Almost every day, new troops joined the camp. By the time Xue Poye led 4,000 soldiers into Taizhou City, the military strength outside Taizhou had exceeded 200,000, and the camp was connected for hundreds of miles.
When Xue Poye arrived in Taizhou City, Xue Mulong, governor of Taizhou, complained with a sad face and red eye circles: "Marshal, those guys are too shameful. Fighting and fighting all day long, doing nothing, making Taizhou go crazy, and the common people have nothing to do with it." An Sheng, I implore the commander-in-chief to take the lead and punish those unruly guys."
Xue Poye sneered and said: "Master Xue, this commander is here to lead the army, not to listen to your complaints. I heard that your Taizhou army regards itself as the master and often provokes troubles. Don't tell me that it didn't happen this time." thing."
Song Fei also said in a rough voice: "Xue Mulong, how is the military situation in the Northwest? Is there any change? Master Sima went to Yongzhou, and now is there any news?"
He kept asking questions, Xue Mulong was startled for a while.
"Back to the deputy commander, I just got the news two days ago that the Yongzhou army has assembled at the Yihe River, which is handed over to Yizhou, and it seems that they will cross the river to attack Yizhou at any time." Xue Mulong replied cautiously: "However, Master Sima has not sent yet. any news."
The title of "Deputy Commander" made Sein Fei's face change.
"This side of the Yihe River, can Yizhou send people to guard it?" Xue Poye asked with a frown.
Xue Mulong reported: "Yizhou has 20,000 troops, and 10,000 troops have been deployed by the river, most of them are archers, to prevent the Northwest Army from crossing the river." However, once the Northwest Army forcibly crosses the Yi River, the Yizhou Army may not be able to resist it, and if the Northwest Army really lands on the south bank, then the strength of the troops in Yizhou City is far from enough to compete with the Northwest Army. I am afraid that the situation is quite critical. Therefore, the commander-in-chief needs to formulate a strategy early to prevent problems before they happen."
"By the Yi River, how many troops does the Northwest Army have?" Song Fei asked in a deep voice.
"About 20,000 people." Xue Mulong said with a wry smile: "But the commander and the deputy commander should understand that the combat power of the Northwest Army is far higher than our army. If our army does not have 40,000 to 50,000 troops, it will be difficult to resist."
Xue Poye frowned. From Xue Mulong's tone, he heard Xue Mulong's fear of the combat power of the Northwest Army. That is to say, the combat power of the Northwest Army is extremely powerful.
What worries Xue Poye the most is Chu Jun's psychology.
Xue Mulong, as the head of a state, already feared the Northwest Army in his words, so what about the entire Chu army
Is it possible that you already have the emotion of being timid before fighting
Xue Poye glanced at Song Fei and said, "General Song, why don't we go to the camp to have a look first?"
Before Song Fei agreed, Xue Mulong said courteously: "Commander, the reception banquet set for you has been prepared, and officials of all sizes in Taizhou are waiting. Commander, do you want to eat something before going? Everything depends on the adults. .”
Sein Fei patted his stomach and said roughly: "That's fine, I'm hungry." He glanced at Xue Poye and said, "Master, if you don't have a full stomach, you won't be able to do anything well."
Xue Poye smiled and said: "In that case, let's meet our colleagues in Taizhou first."