Chapter 635: Welcome from the Void Hate Tribe
At the end of June, Jia Cong led 3,000 soldiers and horses out of Chengdu Prefecture and headed for Qiongbu Prefecture.
Not long after leaving the city, Lu Feng rode up to Jia Cong and said, "My Lord, Miss Miaoyu's carriage has been following behind our army."
Jia Cong was stunned for a moment, then said after a brief silence, "Don't worry about it, just keep marching."
After marching for a day, the army camped at sunset. Jia Cong had just returned to the tent when Lu Feng followed him in.
"My Lord, Miss Miaoyu asked Yueling to bring some food and snacks." As he said this, he placed a food box on Jia Cong's desk. "Don't worry, my Lord, I have already checked it."
As he spoke, he laughed at Jia Cong.
Looking at the piles of hot meals taken out of the food boxes, Jia Cong was silent for a while before saying, "I understand."
Lu Feng left the tent and said with the few remaining words, "Ah, even a hero can't resist the temptation of beauty. This little girl is really powerful."
In this way, every day at mealtime, food, wine, etc. would be delivered to Jia Cong.
After seven or eight days of marching, the army traveled about two hundred miles. It was not that Jia Cong deliberately delayed, but this time the team was different from the previous ones. In addition to the three thousand soldiers and horses as guards, there was also a huge ceremonial guard. This time, Jia Cong was marching south as the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi and the angel of the court, not as the commander-in-chief of the army as before.
Therefore, the ceremonial guard alone consisted of hundreds of people. At the front, there were gongs beating to clear the way, flags waving, orders to avoid, to remain silent, official title plates and other ceremonial guards. Because they were conveying the imperial decree on behalf of the court angels, there were even ceremonial guards such as the royal yellow umbrella.
Jia Cong did not ride a horse, but a sedan chair carried by eight people.
Not to mention the size of the sedan chair, it not only has a bed for sleeping, but also a desk, a table, etc., which is not much different from a room.
As for the ringing of the gong, there are strict regulations and it cannot be done randomly.
Generally, the number of times the gong is sounded varies according to the rank of the official.
For example, when a minor official at the county or prefecture level was traveling, three blasts were used, meaning "quickly retreat." A provincial or prefectural-level official could use seven blasts, meaning "military and civilian personnel, all retreat."
Above that, there are nine blasts, "Officials, soldiers, civilians, etc., all step aside," and eleven blasts, "Civil and military officials, soldiers, civilians, etc., all step aside."
Jia Cong's ceremonial procession was the most advanced. As the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, he was in charge of the military, civilians, and officials of several provinces under the order of the emperor. Therefore, thirteen gunshots were fired, meaning "all civil and military officials, military and civilians, please step aside."
With such a grand procession, it is rare to be able to travel twenty or thirty miles every day.
One day, Jia Cong had just gotten up when he heard a slight crackling sound coming from outside.
"My Lord, it's raining outside." Lu Feng came in and said. Seeing Jia Cong just nodded, Lu Feng grinned and said, "My Lord, Miss Miaoyu's carriage behind is just a black-covered carriage, and the female guards accompanying her don't seem to have any rain gear."
"You spend all day trying to gather this information for me?" Jia Cong glared at Lu Feng, but after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Go and have someone invite Miss Miaoyu over. Also, set up a tent for her female guards."
Lu Feng walked out with a chuckle.
After leaving the camp, Lu Feng saw Yue Ling waiting not far away. He rode forward and said with a smug smile, "Little girl, what do you think? I can do it if I say so. Remember, you owe me one. The Marquis has ordered Miss Miaoyu to come."
Yue Ling glared at Lu Feng fiercely, then returned to Miaoyu's carriage.
…
"Miaoyu thanks the Marquis very much."
Inside Jia Cong's tent, Miaoyu stepped forward and saluted.
"No need for that. It's raining heavily outside. Just take a rest here!"
…
The continuous rain lasted for almost a whole day until it cleared up at sunset. After it cleared up, Jia Cong waited for another day before continuing his journey south.
After the last two-day stay at Jia Cong's tent, Miaoyu personally brought him food and necessities every day. She never said anything strange again. Even when she came, she only drank tea or chatted with Jia Cong about the scenery of various places or random books. This made Jia Cong feel relieved, but also inexplicably felt a little lost...
On the rest of the journey, God was very kind to Jia Cong. Not only did he not encounter any rainy weather, but there was even a breeze from time to time, and it was not so stuffy.
After walking for seventeen or eighteen days, Jia Cong passed Fuwen Town. About thirty miles ahead was the Dadu River. After crossing the Dadu River, he entered the territory of the Xuhen tribe.
After camping and resting for a day in the south of Rune Town, early the next morning, before the team moved forward, Lu Feng came to report that Shen Tumou came to greet them on behalf of the Xuhen Tribe.
Soon, Shentu Mou was brought before Jia Cong.
"I am Shen Tu Mou, an elder of Xuhen tribe. I am here to see the commander-in-chief. I have come to welcome the commander-in-chief on the orders of the tribe leader." Shen Tu Mou bowed down and spoke respectfully.
As for the tribes in southern Xinjiang, they respected Jia Cong three points, admired him three points, and were close to him three points, while the remaining ninety-one points were all fear.
The people of Southern Xinjiang worshipped the strong, and Jia Cong, the great commander, was far superior to them in both personal strength and command of troops. Although the Southern Xinjiang tribes did not come out in full force, they still gathered their elite troops. Even so, they were still beaten back by Jia Cong. Compared to Zhao Guang, Jia Cong was infinitely stronger.
The title of King of Qiongdu was tempting enough, and Jia Cong's power was awe-inspiring enough, so the Wudeng and Xuhen tribes surrendered one after another.
Otherwise, if they could sweep across Shu and even march into the Central Plains, I am afraid that no matter how tempting the title of King of Qiongdu was, they would never surrender.
In the eyes of Shentu Mou and others, Jia Cong does have many titles, but the title of Grand Commander is the one that convinces them the most, and the one they think is the most important.
"Elder Shentu, please stand up. No need to be so polite!" Jia Cong said with a smile.
Shen Tumou stood up and said, "Great Commander, the clan leader and all the members of my Xuhen tribe have been waiting for your arrival. I will lead the way for you."
Afterwards, the ceremonial guards and troops brought by Shentu Mou joined forces with Jia Cong's team and continued their journey south.
After a day's journey, the team arrived at the bank of the Dadu River.
"Commander-in-chief, once you cross the Dadu River, you will enter the territory of my Xuhen tribe."
Listening to Shentu Mou's introduction, Jia Cong looked forward and saw the Dadu River running east and west, with waves rolling below. Both sides of the river were steep cliffs, and there was only a flying bridge in the middle to cross to the other side.
With this natural barrier as protection, even tens of thousands of troops would have struggled to attack even if they had simply stationed troops on the other side. Fortunately, the Xuhen and Wudeng tribes surrendered; otherwise, if they had retreated to Qiongbu Prefecture, further attacks would have been difficult. However, this isn't surprising. Without this defense, how could Daqian, with its powerful military at its founding, have been defeated here?
