Jingming

Chapter 411 The Battle of the Four Kingdoms
The ceremony is divided into three stages.

On the first day of the Longevity Festival, there is a military parade in the grand arena, where meritorious service and rewards are given.

Before dawn, the Imperial Guards and the Beijing Camp had set up three layers of security circles inside and outside.

The innermost circle is the martial arts area.Here, there are real guns, cannons, swords, guns, bows and arrows, so no one except the generals participating in the performance can enter.

In the middle circle, only the east, west and north sides have viewing areas.To the north is where the emperor, his ministers, and envoys are located. In addition to the palace hall, a stage is also set up.The east side was reserved for scholars, local sages, and officials' families; the west side was reserved for merchants and people who subscribed to national bonds.

The outermost cordon serves as a boundary to keep out everyone.

At dawn, the Ten Princes' Mansion outside Dong'an Gate and the North Hall of Huitong Hall were bustling with activity.

Buses and carriages have been prepared here, and those staying in the North Pavilion are mainly envoys from Korea, Jianzhou, Duoyan Tribunal, Duogan, Uszang, Waidian and other departments.

They got the news from the Ming Dynasty earlier and set off earlier. They were basically land-based vassals, so they were all arranged here.

As for the Nanyang countries, Ryukyu, Luzon, etc., they live in Nanguan.

Now it's not just Jin Qi and Li, there are people making preparations in a courtyard over the Tenth Prince's Mansion.

"Mr. An Le, there is no need to go to the palace to dance today, so please leave as soon as possible."

The one who lives here is Gunbilik.

It had been several months since he had been brought back to the capital from the north. He had obtained a false title and was not considered a real duke, but he still lived in the old "Ten Princes' Palace".

When the news spread to the grasslands, it was natural that the Emperor of Heaven was very "gentle" to the surrendered captive chiefs and Mongolian people, and gave them courteous treatment.

But Gunbilik knew the truth.

Living here, I dare not go out.Mongolia and the Ming Dynasty had been feuding for many years. After they surrendered, the emperor did not immediately make him a prince of a foreign vassal as promised and allow him to go back to restrain the people. This has already conveyed his attitude.

At least Gunbilik knew very well that if he, the former nobles of Ordos, went to the streets and had conflicts with others, the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers would never show favoritism.

Just as Yan Chunsheng said to him like a devil that day: Tang Shunzhi wanted to find excuses to kill more.

When I was first assigned to this courtyard, it had not been taken care of for a long time and was very dilapidated.

They need to pay for daily necessities, food and clothing.

For this reason, there was no other choice but to follow what the head of the Ministry of Rites and Communications said and send a message back to Hetao, with the pretext that he wanted to manage the Ming Dynasty and make the people feel better, so that they could sell more cattle and sheep to collect some goods and send them in. Beijing.

He must have personally ordered it and sent the message under this pretext.

The naked murderous intention of the Emperor of Heaven is always there.

Although Gunbilik thought carefully about why he still wanted to save his own life, it must have been a last resort.

But he didn't dare to gamble, his life was his own.

Perhaps only complete obedience can bring about a turn of events.

Now when he heard the urging from the head of the Ministry of Etiquette, he immediately replied with a smile on his face: "It has been prepared for a long time. Please lead the way."

After that, he repeatedly warned the "big guys" of the Ordos Division who were detained with him in the capital: "Today is an important ceremony, so you must perform well!"

The head of the etiquette department had a meaningful smile on his face.

He knew that Gunbilik was reminding them to suppress their inner dissatisfaction, and that was right.

Surrendering and surrendering, these Mongolian nobles did not receive real courtesy, so what?

Today is a military parade and an occasion to show off your martial arts.The Khan Court has been driven away. Does the Ming Dynasty really think that the only way to go is to still give them glory and wealth and hope that they will restrain the people?
If you dare to be dissatisfied and dare to cause chaos again, the generals of the Ming Dynasty are worried that military success will become more and more difficult in the future.

The Gunbilik people wore the old robes that the Ming Dynasty had captured and given back to them, and set out in a decent manner.

In Prince Rui's Mansion not far next door, Zhu Zaiyan was also dressed.

He would first go to the palace to join the other feudal princes who were present, and then go with the great commander Lu Bu.

Xia had a period of indifference and unwillingness, but as time passed, she became more and more silent.

She could feel that the son who was adopted into her name gradually became able to speak tactfully for the emperor and was diligent in his studies.

Now she just helped her son tidy up his clothes, stood by the door and watched him walk away, then walked slowly and sat on the chair.

The morning sun gradually rose in the courtyard, and she sat alone in the quiet hall, her eyes full of confusion.

In the palace, Zhu Houcong woke up from Kunning Palace this morning.

When he was ready, in the courtyard of Qianqing Palace, Prince Zhu Zai'an, King of Yue Zhu Zai'an, and the vassal kings were already waiting.

When coming out of the Meridian Gate, all important civil and military officials were waiting here.

Behind the large coat, there were two rows of ministers holding imperial edicts in their hands.

As everyone knows, that is the award that will be read out today.

Ming Dynasty will have another Duke.

Wang Shouren, who lives in the capital, is 62 years old, and he is here today.

"Bo'an, come and talk with me."

To everyone's surprise, at this moment, the emperor was in a good mood and asked Wang Shouren to accompany him on the carriage.

Wang Shouren thanked him without any hesitation. With Huang Jin's help, he climbed onto the carriage and sat on the soft stool beside him.

Fortunately for Zhang Fujing, Xia Yan and Yan Song saw this scene in their eyes and lowered their heads thoughtfully.

"Get up - drive -"

After driving off to Lubu, Zhu Houcong looked at Wang Shouren and nodded assuredly: "After returning to Beijing, his complexion is getting better and better."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Wang Shouren bowed, "Now that the court is full of power and there are so many powerful generals, I only focus on my studies and have nothing to worry about. I seem to be able to live for a few more years."

This is indeed the case. After passing the dangerous threshold back then, Wang Shouren has now looked away.

Even last year when he was involved in the important event of resuming his duties and leading the Northern Expedition, he seemed extremely relaxed.

Zhu Houcong said with emotion: "Without Bo'an's planning and siege of Bodi in the past, the situation in the grassland has changed drastically since then, and it would be difficult for the Northern War to come to an end so quickly. Without the foundation of the past, there would be no achievements today."

"I dare not claim my merits." Wang Shouren looked at him, and the image of the young emperor from the past appeared in his mind, with a joyful smile on his face, "Your Majesty is a wise king through the ages, and all the ministers have worked hard to achieve what they are today."

"It seems like so many years have passed..."

The Emperor's ceremonial procession marched through his loyal capital, and the monarchs and ministers chatted on the slow and steady chariots.

Those who are interested look over and see the emperor's gratitude to the important ministers who laid the foundation.

Although the martial arts to be boasted about today and the people to be rewarded are not directly related to those of the past, they are linked to each other after all.

The new king has been on the throne for more than ten years. At this moment, the emperor conveyed some information with a casual favor.

Yu Yunzhong, a descendant of Yu Qian who served as a model soldier for Governor Yan Song, was now transferred to the Jinyi Guards.He doesn't have many talents, but he can still handle the small matter of managing the emperor's ceremonial guard.

Yu Yunzhong couldn't help but sigh when he recalled his first encounter with Wang Shouren in a posthouse on the outskirts of Beijing when he was sent to Beijing in the 16th year of Zhengde's reign to attend Yu Qian's posthumous ceremony.

Among the people who came to Beijing under the imperial decree that year, Yang Yiqing later became an official of the General Staff, and after his death, the prince supported his spirit and was granted access to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Fei Hong became the first Prime Minister and Minister of State, while Wang Shouren was granted the title of Marquis and now ascended the throne to speak.

Next to the hill designated as the "Target Mountain" in the south of the competition venue, behind several general flags were several powerful soldiers full of murderous aura.

A flag was raised saying Zhen'anyan, followed by 200 people, sitting on horses with relaxed expressions.

One flag was called Fu Ning Zhu, followed by 500 people, who were united in silence.

One general's flag is called Han Haiyu, followed by 300 people with bright armor and different weapons.

One general's flag was called Wu Dingguo, followed by a thousand men, each divided into regiments, including horses and chariots, mainly artillery.

One general's flag is called Xiangcheng Li, followed by eight hundred people, each holding a blunderbuss.

Although the participating soldiers are waiting quietly, their commander is chatting in front.

Tang Shunzhi and Yu Dayou both came.

Although there are many things in the border area, it is not short of the two or three months of this round trip.

Tang Shunzhi, who had been away for several years, had to appear here.

His merits should be publicized. His ability coupled with his youth will be a great deterrent to foreign vassals.

"Although it's a fake move, Tang Dutai, you still have to command properly." Guo Xun's teasing laughter was mostly intended to make friends.

"Don't you dare? Didn't General Staff Xia make arrangements a long time ago? I'll just wait until the performance is finished."

"You're okay, but it's hard for me to act here." Yan Chunsheng shook his head, "Master Guo, we must let the brothers hit more accurately later. If it hurts us, it will be ugly."

Guo Xun grinned and said: "The special operations camp comes and goes without a trace, how can it not have this ability?"

Then they just chatted, and by the way, they talked about what would happen to the Beilu in the future and what opportunities they could use to completely defeat them.

At this moment, most of the guests watching the ceremony have already taken their seats, but the royal chariot has not yet arrived.

In their sight, there were many wooden dummies erected on the north side of the hill in Yanwu, which looked strange.

And on top of the mountain, there were some fake camps and enemy cavalry.Gunbilik could clearly see that it was his captured banner.

There are a total of 3000 people in the distance, and I don’t know how they will perform martial arts later.

After the sun rose into the sky, a loud voice from the Ministry of Rites finally began to sing: "The Emperor has arrived! Kneel down!"

Among the rustling sounds, the voices of those generals participating in the performance were the most uniform and loudest: "Welcome to His Majesty the Emperor, long live His Majesty! Long live! Long live!"

In the eyes of the vassal envoys such as Jin Qi and Li, the Emperor of Heaven finally appeared in their sights.

Today, Zhu Houcong is not wearing a uniform, but armor.

Although today is a military parade, it makes sense.

But in front of so many foreign envoys, the emperor's distinctive armor was a frightening signal after all.

The emperor, who was greeted by kneeling people from all directions, climbed up to the palace hall and sat down in front of the throne. After the person presiding over the ceremony ordered all parties to sit down, he simply stood up again.

Lu Bing handed him the bow and arrow, and Zhu Houcong took a few steps forward to the edge of the railing in front of the palace, opened his bow and drew an arrow.

It's Mingdi.

Others don't know how strong that bow is, but the emperor has it fully drawn.The arrow whistled sharply after being thrown high, and then fell to the open space in front of him.

"let's start."

Zhu Houcong said softly, and the martial arts performance began simply.

"All officers and men listen to the order, the martial arts performance begins!"

Tang Shunzhi had already taken his place and waved a small flag on a small platform in front of the palace, and the drummers on both sides began to beat the drums.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The elite soldiers who had just returned from the battlefields of Hetao and Xuanning immediately started to assemble.

The direction in which they gathered was the area where the arrow shot by the emperor was.Needless to say what kind of symbol it is, there is no chaos in the process of turning from the east side of the mountain to there, only the sound of neat steps and the shaking of the armor on the body.

"Pass my military order! Hanhai Bo's Yuanyang formation is in front, Xiangcheng Miu Bird Gun Battalion is behind, Wuding Hou's artillery battalion is in formation, Funing Hou's cavalry is attacking from the flanks, Zhen'anbot's battle camp is deep into the enemy's camp and disrupting its center!"

"Uncle Jingbian has an order..."

This voice conveyed their identities to the foreign envoys and guests attending the ceremony, and those on the three sides of the viewing platform were a little excited.

In his 20s, he was the top scholar in literature and the leader in science and technology, Yan Chunsheng, who had repeatedly made outstanding achievements, and Yu Dayou, the top scholar in martial arts...

These are the names of people who have been discussed in the capital for who knows how long this year.

Now that they are all here, this martial arts performance can be said to be the strongest lineup of Ming Dynasty when facing the strongest enemy.

The Grammian glanced at Gunbilik, but saw nothing on his face.

But I must feel uncomfortable in my heart.

Other foreign envoys who had not yet seen the Ming Dynasty's military power could only see flags waving and shouts coming.

"Yuanyang camp listens to the order! Form a formation and take two hundred steps forward!"

Circles of mandarin duck soldiers rolled forward, and Gunbilik was finally attacked by the painful memory, and the corners of his eyes trembled.

"The gun battalion obeys the order, disperse in formation, and reload!"

"Artillery battalion, set up guns and calibrate!"

What frightened the foreign envoys the most were the four divine cannons and the six sub-class cannons that were pulled by horses. After reaching a specific position, they took off the bridles and began to assemble other items nervously. .

Not just these four, but also the artillery battalion with the largest number of people. The wooden tubes or wooden boxes they were carrying when they came just now turned out to be full of cannons or projectiles.

In the busy time, the artillery battalion of thousands of people actually formed hundreds of cannons of various sizes at the rear of the outermost area.

At this time, two cavalrymen, one more and one less, had already started.

The one with the larger number was slower at the beginning and had not yet entered the last hundred or so steps of the charge.

The one with less number is stared at by more people.

Because the flag of Zhen'an Yan in front was flying there. It was the most mysterious and powerful special operations battalion in the Ming Dynasty under the command of General Yan Chunsheng.

They were all on full speed from the start, and now everyone is showing off their riding skills.

Looking from one side, it seems that there are only two hundred horses galloping, and no one can be seen sitting on the horses.

The people from Ordos and Duoyan looked solemn.

After a while, I saw a sharper stabbing sound coming from the side of the leading horse as it approached the mountain.Where Mingdi is going is not clear from a distance.But after a while, the large banner on the mountain slowly fell.

The chanting continued, and more flags were shot down from the hills.Yan Chunsheng was obviously not the only one who shot the arrow.

"it is good!"

It was obviously not a real fierce battle, and there was actually no one on the hill, but everyone just applauded for seeing Yan Chunsheng's archery skills.

Not just him, I'm afraid everyone in the special operations camp is a marksman.

Then, the horses of the special operations battalion made a slight turn in their line of sight and slowed down the horses, and many of the two hundred figures jumped to the ground before the horses came to a complete stop.

A few people left with the horses, and the figures who dismounted were all like apes, and there was no hesitation even when running uphill.

At this time, the Yuanyang Formation on the north side of the mountain was already advancing.

The distance they advanced was not far, and it was just a demonstration.

But first, when the cavalry on the flanks rushed over, they all fired arrows, some of which were rockets.

Then came the turn of the Yuanyang Formation, with Mo Dao, long spears, and short muskets showing off their power. Those with a discerning eye can see the power of the Mandarin Duck Formation from their skillful cooperation.

Finally, according to the order, they formed a group of mandarin ducks and opened the distance rhythmically.Whenever they reveal a gap, they will be attacked one after another by the cannon battalion.

After the intensive firing of the bird cannon camp, they reloaded their ammunition. At this time, the mandarin duck formation became dense again to protect them.

The artillery battalion remained motionless until the flags that had been shot down on the mountain were tied up again at some point.

The so-called "chaos center" of the special operations battalion is expressed in this way.

In short, time did not pass long. Although the hillock was not big, in just such a short time, the special operations battalion had already touched it and moved every flag.

At this moment, the cavalry finally started a second charge after a turn, this time punching through the array of wooden dummies.

This was fine, but the moment they punched through, the mandarin duck formation once again revealed a gap for the bird cannon camp behind them.But this time, not only cannons, but also the small cannons in the artillery battalion began to roar.

There were a total of ninety guns, and the sound of the cannons really made the foreign envoys pale and the Ming subjects were in a state of excitement.

Come on for real!

Not far from the city wall of the Ming Dynasty, there was such a dense sound of artillery.The smoke and the scattered dust in the wooden dummy array proved that they were real cannonballs.

"Let it go!"

The Tiger Crouching Cannon has a mother-and-child barrel design, so the interval between two shellings can be very short.

At this time, someone who was interested saw the figure on the hill quickly retreating down the mountain.

About ten breaths after the second cannon shot, "Boom!" Several earth-shaking loud noises shocked the Ming Dynasty subjects.

The mighty cannon roared, and the smoke and dust blasted off the hills made people stunned.

"Have Zhen Amber and the others come down?"

"They are all good players, they should...come down..."

To the north, Li, who loves hippogriffs, could see the trick.

It was after the flag on the mountain was raised again that the cavalry began to penetrate.

After the cavalry dug through, they first fired two rounds of small cannons at the foot of the mountain.

There is time to leave, but this time... is not long.

Although the mountain bag is not big, running up so quickly, finishing something and then leaving in such a short time requires their skills, the accuracy of the Ming Dynasty cannon, and their cooperation.

He couldn't help but look at the calm Da Mingzi over there.

Aren't you afraid that these vassals will learn how to match the different types of military formations?
Do you think that with the powerful weapons and new tactics of warfare, it would be okay for the vassal state to learn them, and it would be useless to learn them?
What answered the question in his mind was the cathartic artillery fire from the artillery battalion.

Amidst the endless roar, Gombrick lowered his head deeply.

After Ming Jin withdrew his troops, the smoke and dust gradually dispersed. Almost two or three feet were missing from the hilltop, and rocks and soil were scattered in all directions.

As for the special operations battalion that had returned to the formation, there were still so many people, and their expressions were still relaxed.

Guo Xun and Li Quanli said they were lucky. Fortunately, all the cannons used this time had been carefully inspected and maintained in advance, and there was no scandal of exploding barrels on the spot.

The cannon battalion is okay, but the artillery battalion's fighting intensity is not low.This probably shows that the Bureau of War's test data on the firing rate and barrel strength of the current batch of guns are reliable.

There is no room for error in Your Majesty’s military parade!

Zhu Houcong nodded with satisfaction: "Move to the competition venue, and the soldiers of the Northern Expedition will be reviewed in separate rows, and their merits will be summed up and rewarded!"

Off the field is combat power, on the field is military content.

After the sound of artillery ceased, more elite soldiers from the Beijing camp and the border army who returned to the capital with Guo Xun and Li Quanli began to appear in the south.

The foreign envoys looked back before entering through the south gate of the grand arena. They saw flags flying and an army of tens of thousands of people approaching as far as the eye could see, shouting and approaching.

Being so close, the Northern Expeditionary Army will usher in the day when the reward policy for them will be announced today, and the shouts will reach the southeast corner of Beijing.

And what they shouted, "The Ming Dynasty will be victorious", was echoed by the people in the capital and continued to spread west and north.

"Da Ming Wansheng!"

"Da Ming Wansheng!"

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

In the grand arena, there were the sort of parades that the Ming emperors, ministers, and soldiers had seen before, but foreign envoys had never seen.

"The soldiers have worked hard!"

"Fight for Ming!"

With the flags and the soldiers behind them, they passed in front of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty as neatly as possible, and the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, who was wearing armor, would shout out a greeting.

All of this is just to convey one point: This is the loyal and brave army of the Emperor of Heaven. Wherever he sounds, these armies can charge forward.

Today is just for Xuanwei.

This power should let the vassal state know that they should be respectful, and also let the wealthy and wealthy businessmen in the countryside know that Ming Dynasty's ten-year national bonds can be bought.Whether it is stable internally or externally in the vassal state that is about to be established through the border market and city port system, it can ensure that the Ming Dynasty will create a prosperous era that will be recorded in history.

After the inspection in separate columns, there was the preparation of the imperial edict for the restoration of Xuanning and the expulsion of the Khan's court to the world.

The first thing was that Gunbilik once again expressed his surrender, was granted the title of Duke Anle, and was given the title of Duke of Anle, who was granted residence in the foreign vassal palace that was modified from the ten palaces of the princes in Beijing.

What the foreign envoys thought when they saw the former right-wing lord of the Khan court prostrating himself in front of the Emperor of Heaven to thank him was their business.

The rewards given to heroes made them even more frightened.

"Zhen'an Bo has repeatedly performed extraordinary feats, he was granted the title of Duke of Xingguo, and he was appointed as the crown prince and Taibao..."

"The Marquis of Funing bravely took the lead in the battle, and was granted the title of Protector of the Kingdom. He was also given the title of Prince Shaobao..."

"Hanhaibo fell into battle and regained his territory, trained his troops well, and was granted the title of Marquis of Hanhai..."

"Wuding Hou Zhongyong served his life, drove away from the Khan's court, was granted the title of Duke of Yi, and was made the crown prince and young master..."

"The Marquis of Xiangcheng supervised the training of the capital camp, fought bravely and was thirsty for merit. He was granted the title of Duke of Xiang, and was given the title of Crown Prince and Young Master..."

"Uncle Jingbian made strategic plans to regain the Hetao, granted the title of Marquis of Jingbian, led the Ministry of War with the title of Shangshu, added the crown prince's young division, and became the governor of the Hetao border area..."

Reward decrees were read out one after another, and individuals received the decrees to express gratitude.

People who don’t know about it would never imagine that after this battle, the Ming Dynasty granted four new princes, two marquises, as well as other earls, county lords, and rural lords...

This is also Xuanwei: If there are still people inside and outside the Ming Dynasty who dare to have any thoughts, do they know how jealous military achievements are?
Guo Xun, Zhu Qi, and Li Quanli all had tears in their eyes.

Tang Shunzhi was a civil servant, and both Yu Dayou and him were still very young. Only the equally young Yan Chunsheng was too dazzling this time.

They knew they were done, but enough was enough.

Loyalty to the emperor, regaining the courage to reach the real battlefield again and again, and finally regaining it after risking his life.

Even if their merits are not worthy of their credit, among the old ministers, they are the same as Gu Shilong before them, while Zhang Wei and others who lost their heads are counterexamples.

Merit must be rewarded, crime must be punished.

This is Mingjun!

(End of this chapter)