Chapter 557: Marching under Orders
Afterwards, the generals gathered their troops and performed a marching ceremony in unison. The marching of thousands of soldiers in battalions raised dust on the training ground, but no general fell behind and no one made a mistake.
After the martial arts performance, the ministers in the stands stood up spontaneously and cheered loudly, saying "The Shenwei Army is mighty, the Shenwei Army is mighty..."
Five days later, the team returning south arrived at Yulinzhai.
In order to increase the festive atmosphere, the head coach of the North Group, Hao Xiaoming, personally presided over the welcoming ceremony, and all the returning officials sat in the main seats. The dishes were all changed to Central Plains Han cuisine, and the officials were delighted to see the long-lost food, and some were so happy that they burst into tears.
Deputy Commander Feng Guiqi informed everyone that in recent years Chengdu has continuously sent chefs from the Agricultural Bureau to try to grow fresh vegetables. Yulinzhai has opened up a large area of vegetable fields, and almost all the vegetables available in the mainland can be found in Yulinzhai.
Everyone shouted "Good , very good".
Then, soldiers brought up beggar chickens one by one.
At this time, an old duck's voice suddenly screamed: The Queen Mother has something to say, and all the ministers should be patient.
There was a sudden silence in the hall. The generals looked around blankly and then focused their attention on Old Lady Xie sitting opposite them.
Special envoy Zhang Guoan said in a loud voice: There is no empress dowager here. Has Grandma Xie forgotten the year she went to Mobei?
The Lin'an court no longer exists.
The New Song Dynasty advocated equality for all and the establishment of a republic. It had abolished royal privileges long ago and there was no empress dowager.
Granny Xie, if you have anything to say about caring for the younger generation, please feel free to say it.
The Queen Mother did not expect that Zhang Guoan would directly cancel her status in public. She was so frustrated that she sat there like an old monk in meditation, pretending to be silent.
The imperial concubine beside the empress dowager immediately asked: "What are you talking about? Without the empress dowager and the emperor, what kind of country is this?"
For thousands of years, we have been obeying the will of heaven. The emperor issued an edict, saying, why don’t you want an emperor anymore?
Hao Xiaoming said with a smile: This is the new Song Dynasty, a new country with a new system. If there is no, there is no. If there is, we have it too. Now Director Feiyan is the head of the country. If the people really want to find a queen mother, it should be Lady Danfeng, the mother of Director Feiyan.
The ruler of the New Song Dynasty was elected by the wisest of people. The New Song Dynasty decided major issues in the world through collective discussion. It was not a hereditary succession system passed down from generation to generation, and there was no imperial decree.
The joyful atmosphere in the hall was swept away by this sudden conversation. Zhang Guoan found it too awkward, so he opened the beggar's chicken and shouted: Eat, eat, it's the best beggar's chicken, it won't taste good if it gets cold.
Everyone then turned their attention to the delicious food on the plates.
Hao Xiaoming glanced at the generals on his left and right, and they all immediately raised their glasses to salute the guests in the main seat, wishing their returning relatives safety.
After toasting, everyone filed out, using the excuse of being busy with military duties.
When the emperor saw the general leaving in a hurry, he didn't give him any face at all and stood up and left.
The remaining ministers who were crossing the tribulation saw the rare beggar's chicken and didn't care whether the emperor and empress dowager were there or not. They grabbed the beggar's chicken and started to chew it fiercely, muttering that it was a new and novel ingredient invented by the third young master and that such delicious food must not be wasted.
These people were no longer threatened with detention, and their mentality changed after just a few days of being served. They admired the exquisite little wine glasses in their hands, commented on the beggar's chicken in their mouths, and chatted and laughed.
In the command room, the generals were still talking.
Zhang Guoan said: When we got out, the third young master said that it was not difficult to spend some money to bring these people back, but the difficult part was to reform them and control them so that they would not cause trouble.
Hao Xiaoming said solemnly: It is not easy for the Third Young Master to do something. He has to plan the war with the Mongolian army outside, and be careful of people making trouble at home. Now he has to go back to work with so many officials, and each of them is not easy to deal with.
All the generals nodded in agreement, thinking that the whereabouts of the Mongol army's westward expedition were unknown, and it was hard to say whether they would gather troops for revenge. They had to intensify their defenses and tighten the fence...
In the barracks where the people returning from the south lived, the old emperor went straight to the empress dowager's room and got angry, questioning her: Why make trouble when you are just having a meal?
What's the point of living a good life?
The Queen Mother said in a low voice: "How dare you! You are such a loser! You actually taught me a lesson. I am only thinking about my son's country and people."
The Queen Mother has made up her mind. She had always wanted to teach her disappointing son a lesson in Mobei, but she kept forbearing him even after he became a prisoner. Now that he has regained his freedom, she no longer needs to endure it.
She questioned the emperor: Your Majesty has been back for some time, have you ever thought about restoring the country? What did you do every day while detained in Mobei? Have you ever thought about restoring the country?
In my mother's opinion, the emperor just spent all day hanging out with the three beauties sent by the Khan. At least there were some results, as they gave birth to a son and two daughters. But what was the result?
The people of the grassland love their children even more than the emperor does, and they just won't let them take them away.
How is it now? Meiji didn't come with me, and I didn't bring my children back either.
These years have been a waste of time.
Why doesn’t our emperor ask the Khan for Lan’er? But as your dear granddaughter, if the ruler of the New Song Dynasty replaces Lan’er, is there anything that the emperor cannot get?
The scars on the emperor's chest were ruthlessly peeled off piece by piece by his mother. He felt a pain in his heart and shouted angrily: What's the use of talking about this?
How can you get Lan'er back with just two words?
The prince has already said that it is our Lan'er who doesn't want to come back.
The Queen Mother beat her chest and stamped her feet and growled: You are deceiving yourself, you are deceiving yourself. The Emperor actually said such a thing. It is obvious that the northern barbarians are greedy for our Lan'er's beauty and will not let our Lan'er go home.
If the emperor had half the ability of Zhao Qier, would he still be afraid that the northern barbarians would not release him?
The emperor was completely enraged. He angrily told the empress dowager: Zhao Qi'er had petitioned to move the capital to Shu, but I stopped him. As a result, Lin'an was in trouble, and the court didn't even have time to flee. Today, you're putting all the blame on me. Humph.
The Queen Mother was shocked to see that the Emperor had put the blame for the ruin of the Lin'an court on her. She immediately blamed the Emperor for being incompetent and the prostitutes in Tianshui Lane who ignored state affairs. The two mothers started a crazy quarrel.
At this time, Zhao Yulin had invited Lao Cao and Meng Gong to have tea and chat with Miao Gui. How could he know that his father-in-law, whom he had never met, was extremely unhappy, his blood pressure soared, and he was still yelling at the Queen Mother?
He told Miao Gui to have a good rest for a while. The guy only stayed in Xiling Hot Spring in Dayi for two days. He came back impatiently after washing off the dirt on his body.
Miao Gui read the military report and learned that Zhang Guoan had redeemed the hostages and saved 800,000 strings of cash. He exclaimed that it was a great kindness and that Guoan was really capable.
However, there were serious differences in the military analysis of the next four people.
Miao Gui, after analyzing the recent military situation, believes that the concentrated army of the Grassland Empire is stationed in the north and can move south to attack Linzhou at any time. Because last year's war caused Guiyou to suffer a great setback, he immediately summoned troops and trained them after taking office. He must be going south to launch a retaliatory attack under the guise of a westward expedition, and his target is Linzhou, which we have just recovered.
When Zhang Guoan redeemed the hostages, he also discovered that the Mongolian army had a large number of light cavalry stationed behind Jiuyuan. These were enough to prove that the Mongolian army had the intention of attacking Linzhou to the south, at least their movements were still unclear.
Cao Youwen and Meng Gong also changed their tone and unexpectedly agreed that Miao Gui's analysis made sense.
There is a high possibility that the Mongolian army will go south to rob and attack Linzhou.
The area is flat and flat all around, making it easy for cavalry to attack. The Mongolian army is likely to attack like this, so Hao Xiaoming's northern group's defense should be strengthened. The herders on the border should be mobilized in advance and prepared to move south to avoid the battle.
Zhao Yulin was a little surprised when he saw their expressions. How long had it been? Everyone's judgments were so different.
Seeing him stunned, Meng Gong hesitated for a moment and said: Based on his understanding of the Mongolian army, your friend suffered such a big defeat last year, and he will definitely come to retaliate after gaining power. Therefore, he supported the judgment of the Central Army Headquarters that our key defense direction should be in the northwest region centered on Linzhou.
Zhao Yulin nodded, agreeing with everyone's opinion, and continued to implement the defense strategy deployed last year. He did not change the defense focus, but made some adjustments to the logistics and reserve forces.
He proposed: the reserve troops should be temporarily concentrated in Suide, and the military equipment and food should also be temporarily stored in Suide after meeting the needs of the front line.
In this way, if your friend really marches west, we can cross the Yellow River and continue the march east.
Order Yang Xingyun to make plans to cross the Yellow River to the north and attack Zhending Prefecture.
Order Zhou Ping to prepare a plan to cross the sea and land in Liaodong to threaten the enemy's flank.
Miao Gui nodded and told him that his brothers were working hard to take over Hebei all the time.
Lao Cao thought it was a good idea, so he told him that since there was nothing else to do, he and Meng Gong would go to Jiangdong to take a look and help him come up with some ideas.
Zhao Yulin thought: Since we have judged that there will be no war in Jiangdong, we might as well go directly to the northwest. This will let the grassland empire know that our two war gods have arrived, and they will not dare to act rashly.
Secondly, if we take this route, we might just meet the hostages returning from the south. If the two of you help to receive them and explain clearly the new Song Dynasty's way of governing the country, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? We can also go to Chang'an in advance to rest for a while.
Lao Cao waved his hands and said: Forget it, that's my brother's old Taishan, who dares to talk nonsense?
Zhao Yulin spit out the tea he had just taken with a chuckle, which made everyone laugh. He said: What is Mount Tai or not?
Is it that Lord Cao is afraid of the officials of the previous dynasty who have long been in name only?
Cao Gong was also the ruler of the New Song Dynasty, so he has nothing to fear.
Lao Cao was not convinced and said domineeringly: Let’s meet, who said I’m afraid.
Miao Guijian told him that everything had been agreed upon: he planned to promote Yue Ting of Guangnan West Road to the position of garrison commander of Thang Long Prefecture, give him 40,000 soldiers from Baiyue, form a southern group, naturalize Champa, and stabilize the south.
Lao Cao smiled and said that none of this mattered, the key was to quickly transfer General Phoenix back to his brother, right?
Miao Gui and Meng Gong both laughed when they heard this.
He said: Let the Baiyue people figure out what to do in the south by themselves, just like Yunqing recovered Tubo back then. If we take it slow and step by step, we will surely accomplish our great cause of unification.
