Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 652 The war is coming
After Zhao Mu smashed the jade cup, he bowed deeply to Zhezong.

Zhezong also slowly helped him up.

At this time, Cheoljong waved his hand.

Queen Meng, Concubine Liu, and several other talented women and concubines came to Zhao Mu one by one, carrying the slightly heavy Taizong armor.

Zhao Mu also knew what Zhezong meant.

When he returned from the war against Xixia, it was Queen Meng and the others who took off his armor for him. And this time he was going to fight again, so naturally they had to put the armor on him again.

Afterwards, with the help of several queens, the majestic Taizong armor was once again worn by Zhao Mu. Queen Meng even tied the cloak of the armor for Zhao Mu herself.

After putting on the armor for Zhao Mu, Zhezong took the helmet himself. Zhao Mu wanted to lower his head and take it, but Zhezong shook his head again.

Zhezong said: "Uncle, a king cannot bow his head!"

Fortunately, Zhezong's stature is not much different from Zhao Mu, otherwise, it would be really difficult for him to put on the helmet.

Put on your armor and helmet. Zhao Mu bowed to Zhezong again and said, "Your Majesty, take care! I am going to the battle!"

Then Zhao Mu got directly on the chariot left by Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi.

At this time, Zhezong shouted: "I respectfully send off His Majesty Zhongdi to fight for our Song Dynasty!"

Following Cheoljong's shout, all the civil and military officials, palace maids, eunuchs, and concubines who had come to see him off, except for Cheoljong himself and the guards in armor who were unable to kneel, all fell to their knees.

The guards of the Imperial Guards all slowly lowered their heads. Zhezong also bowed to Zhao Mu.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Mu felt moved for some reason.

Among all the military generals in history, no one was more favored by the emperor than Wei Qing of the Han Dynasty.

Wei Qing was appointed as the general and the great marshal. In his later years, when he met Emperor Wu of Han, he was given the honor of being demoted by the emperor and not being seen by the imperial guards.

But now, apart from the Yulin who ignored him, even all the officials, ministers, and palace ladies had to kneel down and the emperor had to bow to him.

The honor I have received now is probably the only one in the world. The king and his subjects know each other so well that I have no regrets in my death.

However, this time all the civil and military officials knelt down to Zhao Mu sincerely. Although the civil officials still hated Zhao Mu very much, they were also reasonable people.

Now Zhao Mu is going to war for the Song Dynasty and for all of them.

If the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun can be completely recaptured in this battle, the Song Dynasty will have the Great Wall as a barrier, and the sword hanging over the heads of the northern nomadic peoples will be completely removed. Then Zhao Mu's achievement will be the greatest since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Mu deserved their kneeling.

Zhao Mu didn't say much. He drew his sword, waved it, grabbed the reins of the chariot and said, "Commanders! Follow me to the battle!"

As Zhao Mu gave the order, the sound of drums and music began to rumble around. This was the third time Zhao Mu had heard this sound. He had heard it for the first time during the northern expedition against the Liao Kingdom, and for the second time during the conquest against the Western Xia. Zhao Mu hoped that this would be his last battle.

Accompanied by the sound of drums and music, the Imperial Guards marched in the front, Zhao Mu's chariot with a canopy was in the middle, and a large group of soldiers and horses followed behind him.

The ceremonial guard slowly moved out of the Bianjing city gate.

Zhao Mu also saw Li Canghai standing in the crowd at this time. He nodded to Li Canghai, and Li Canghai understood. She jumped onto Zhao Mu's chariot, and she and Zhao Mu rode in the same chariot to follow the army.

At this time, Li Canghai was wearing the clothes of a dragon guard. After all, this expedition was a big deal. If Zhao Mu brought a group of women with him, it would also affect the morale of the entire army.

So Zhao Mu thought about it and borrowed a set of female dragon guard clothes and masks from Fang Shisan, and then gave them to Li Canghai. In this way, Li Canghai followed Zhao Mu as a dragon guard.

In this way, everyone had no complaints. After all, the Dragon Guards were the emperor's trusted guards, and maybe this gentleman was here to supervise His Majesty the Zhong Emperor.

After a while, Zhao Mu met up with the army that was arriving one after another, so he got off the chariot and rode on his own imperial sedan chair.

The infantry also advanced in an orderly manner, and the other cavalry escorted Zhao Mu to Xiongzhou Pass quickly.

After several days of bumpy journey, Zhao Mu finally arrived at Xiongzhou Pass, which he had been away from for a long time.

Although Yingzhou and Luzhou had been captured by the Song army for a long time, for safety reasons, the commander-in-chief's camp was still located inside Xiongzhou Pass.

Zhao Mu and Li Canghai stood on the city wall of Xiongzhou Pass, looking into the distance in the direction of the Liao Kingdom.

Zhao Mu looked at Li Canghai beside him and asked, "I wonder if Master Uncle has any insights now?"

Li Canghai shook his head and said, "What insights can I have? I am just a little depressed to see the Liao Kingdom is about to fall."

Zhao Mu sighed and said, "I understand your feelings, uncle. But for the sake of the long-term foundation of our Song Dynasty, please bear with me for a while."

Li Canghai couldn't help laughing when he heard that. He then asked, "Oh right! We have been here for a few days, and your men reported to us the other day that the Liao army has already deployed its forces. The gateway we are heading to is Zhuozhou, and then we will knock on the gate of Nanjing. What are we doing in Xiongzhou, a hundred miles away?"

Zhao Mu replied: "Of course I am waiting for the news of the advance."

Li Canghai asked in confusion: "Aren't you the commander-in-chief of the three armies this time? Why are you still waiting for news about other people's troops advancing?"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "It's true that I am the commander-in-chief of the three armies this time, but I am just a figurehead. Rather than saying I am the commander-in-chief, it's better to say I am the chief general. The real commander of the Song Dynasty is the King Zhongxiao in the Yanmen direction, not me. This time, General Wang, I, and General Yang in Goryeo are all assisting. Although we are fighting on our own, we still have to obey the orders of the commander-in-chief, King Zhongxiao, when the war begins."

Li Canghai laughed and said, "Haha, you guys are doing a good job of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west."

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "Warfare is a game of deception! Besides, the Song Dynasty and Khitan have the Treaty of Chanyuan, so it is not easy for us to strike first. According to the plan made before, the first to march are Taiwei Wang Xian and General Wang Jin, who will lead our Qi army and march first from Qi. After that, King Zhongxiao will come out of Yanmen Pass to provide support."

"After King Zhongxiao also advances, we will attack from Yingzhou, Luzhou, and Xiongzhou. After we attract all the Liao army, Murong Fu, General Yang, and the Jurchens will attack the rear of the Liao from near Goryeo."

"With the wolves encroaching on us, even if the Liao Kingdom is a fierce tiger, we will still devour it completely. Besides, I am also waiting for the infantry and siege equipment to arrive later. After all, the Liao Kingdom has been operating in Yanyun for many years, and the city is tall and solid. It is not easy to break through."

(End of this chapter)