The sun was rising. The grass leaves were still stained with last night's dew, and the sunlight had not yet completely dispelled the mist in the air. The air was relatively humid in the morning, and the red sun was particularly bright on the horizon.
The entrance to the central army camp was extremely noisy. A simple wooden platform was built, like a stage for opera performances in the countryside. There were many wooden boards on both sides, covered with papers. There was a lot of noise near the boards, and many soldiers were looking up there.
A soldier picked up a gong and struck it, shouting: The Huben Army is over there, the Zhenbing Army is over there, and the Longjie Army is over here.
There were also officials from the military camp standing in front of the list, some of them reading the words on it, because some soldiers were not very literate, and some could not squeeze in at the back, so they just listened to others reading. Another official was talking loudly: Today, the promotion list of each commander will be determined, and the amount of reward money will be determined. Because Songzhou is more than 200 miles away from the capital, it is not convenient for the soldiers to transport and keep it. After returning to the capital, the amount will be allocated from the treasury within five days.
Everyone was talking about it. It turned out that the things they saw transported from the ship last night were not money. But everyone didn't care. As long as the central army agreed on the amount of money, there shouldn't be any mistakes. The Great Zhou court must have some credit. It's okay to pay back and don't have to carry it so far.
Another official shouted: "Look, if any commander feels dissatisfied, they can go to their respective military commanders or military officers to explain, and the central army can listen to the commanders' reasons and make revisions. The commander with the greatest merit and the commander without any merit can have a tenfold difference in reward level, so everyone should see clearly."
Even if they followed along, as long as they participated in the battle, they would be rewarded, but it was definitely different from those who charged into battle as spearheads and captured cities. Everyone was quite accepting of this method of doing things. Most of the soldiers had fought in many battles and understood that fighting in the front was risking their lives, so of course they should be rewarded more.
There were probably no problems with the rewards and punishments issued by the commander of the Central Army, Guo Shao, because they were written in great detail. It was clear which commander had fought in which battle, what role he played in the entire campaign, and what results he achieved. They were explained one by one, and everyone was speechless. Some people wondered why the Central Army was so clear. It was all thanks to the messengers and officials who recorded the military orders. There were files of every important order issued by each general, and the officials of the military office could roughly understand what each commander had done according to those military orders.
The people here were noisily listening to the officials reading the merit books, and the troops behind them were also gathering in a square formation, mostly soldiers from the Tiger Guards and Dragon Guards. After the army was stationed, they would do drills in the morning and then line up. The large groups of troops and the clouds of flags were such a magnificent sight that could only be seen in the army.
After a long time, the sound of orderly footsteps was heard. The generals turned around and saw four columns of elite infantry coming in formation, then split into two sides and lined up in martial law nearby.
Seeing this, everyone knew that the generals and officers of the central army were coming. As expected, a large group of cavalrymen came over with a few people, and the person in front was Guo Shao, the commander of the central army.
Guo Shaoxing arrived outside the camp gate, dismounted from his horse, handed the reins to the soldier beside him, and strode towards the simple wooden platform.
When the generals of Guo Dashuai's Tiger Guards saw him, they started shouting, and then all the soldiers shouted "General Guo, General Guo", and the sound instantly spread throughout the entire military camp. Guo Shao did not expect this scene, but it also inspired his courage. Look, the soldiers support me very much.
Guo Shao's heart was pounding. If he hadn't trained in public places over the years, he would have been very nervous at this moment. Because standing in such a place, he would become the focus of the audience, and countless eyes would affect his emotions.
He took a deep breath and raised his hands to signal. When the noise died down a little, he said: Today we will appreciate the benefits that our brothers have gained through months of bloody battles.
Countless soldiers cheered in the audience. Guo Shao added: We fight not only for the benefit, but also for the people of the world. Shu and Nan Tang successively joined the territory of our Great Zhou, and the strength of the Great Zhou has grown. At this moment, we are cheering for victory, but a large area of land in more than a dozen states of Youyun is still in the hands of foreigners. He waved the scabbard in his hand and pointed the hilt to the north. The Sixteen States of Youyun have been the core territory of the dynasties near the Central Plains of China since ancient times. This is a shame for all Chinese men.
Guo Shao said loudly: "It's such a big place, how many people live there. Think about it, brothers, what kind of life are those people of the same clan living now? They are being enslaved and humiliated by the barbarians, groaning miserably under the swords and guns, waiting for us all the time. The war is far from over, we have to recover the whole Hebei Province."
At this moment, the sound of drums was heard, followed by the sound of panpipes, and then hundreds of people nearby sang slowly: Great Zhou warriors, restore our land. The battle will not end until the blood is shed and the people die.
Zhou Xian composed the song, and she had originally written the lyrics; but Guo Shao thought the song was too elegant with allusions in just a few sentences, and was afraid that the uncouth warriors would not understand or learn it, so she came up with four lines of lyrics herself.
The heroic and tragic military music, the slow and majestic singing, and the vigorous momentum quickly spread in the military camp. There were only four simple sentences in total, and hundreds of personal soldiers sang them repeatedly, and soon the people in the large formation gradually followed suit and sang loudly.
Zhang Ying and others from Youzhou, the capital of the Left Wing's First Army, were the first to speak out. They were the most excited, many of them were wiping tears and kneeling on the ground. These people were the ones who defected to Zhou's army during the first Northern Expedition. They were all Youzhou men, and they probably felt the most deeply and directly about this.
The singing became louder and louder, and more and more people sang. Tens of thousands of people gathered here to sing military songs, and the tragic and majestic voices echoed throughout the world, floating on the vast plains along the Bian River, shaking the earth. It was not a song, but a shout and oath of unity. If the enemies in the far north saw such a scene, they would definitely feel a chill down their spines.
Under the rising sun, the crowd that was noisy not long ago now looked solemn, immersed in the magnificent momentum. The singing in the wind swept across rows of weathered and battle-hardened faces.
The heaven and earth were also moved. The ancient Songzhou city wall and its tall doors and windows looked like a pair of eyes from afar, looking down at the large number of soldiers and listening to this grand sound.
Even Guo Shao himself was shocked by the momentum in front of him. He gripped the hilt of the sword tightly and hummed along.
At this moment, someone suddenly shouted: Marshal Guo led the brothers to be invincible and recovered the land. Everyone is willing to follow Marshal Guo.