Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 153 Arriving in Youzhou in October (4)

"Emperor Aleksei will personally conquer the Sultan of Roma. We will also go with him." Duan Huaixian said lightly.The old emperor Alexei felt that his life was not long, and he wanted to completely eliminate the old enemy in the east before he passed away. Therefore, under the instigation of the generals, he planned to conquer the Sultanate of Roma himself, and conclude a deal that would be beneficial to the empire. peace treaty.

Lu Mei's tactics were more rigid than Xia Guo's, and battalion-level commanders did not have flexible command authority. Duan Huaixian only briefly introduced Emperor Lu Mei's strategy. Troops from various military districts flowed in.Crown Prince John will lead regular army columns from various military districts to cover the left flank of the main force. Grand Duke Bermond II will lead the Antioch army, a vassal of Lumei, to cover the right flank of the main force. answer.At the same time, Lu Mei's Northern Military Region Corps will be led by General Andro to the south, and cooperate with the main force to sweep up the fortress of the Sultanate of Roma in Haixi.

In this battle, the old Emperor Alexei mobilized almost all of Lumei's field troops, and the assembled army reached [-] people, trying to drive the Turkic forces out of Hercynian in one fell swoop.The Imperial Guards of the Xia Kingdom were also counted as heavy cavalry, commanded by Emperor Lu Mei himself, and they were thrown into decisive battles at critical moments.

As soon as the military order for the expedition was issued, the city of Constantine became lively.Except for the imperial guards who were busy repairing their armor and preparing food and supplies for several days, new columns from the military region marched into Lumei City every day, speaking various languages, and they didn't know where they came from.More and more troops were stationed inside and outside the city of Constantine.Lu Mei didn't really trust some of the regular troops from other provinces. At night, when he boarded the wall of Theodosius, he could see the bonfires they camped all the way to the northwest.The regular army in the city is busy checking the luggage and siege equipment. Lu Mei's skilled craftsmen are famous for their proficiency in making various siege equipment including Greek fire. Use it in one battle.

Zhao Xingde seized the period before the expedition, summarized his observations on Lu Mei some time ago, and predicted the consequences of this war.If they win, Lumei will have more than ten years of respite, but the domestic nobles' struggle for power and the continuous counterattack of the Turks will still slowly eat away the results of the war.If it fails, especially the loss of the Lumei Kingdom's elite, it is likely to stimulate the Roma Sultanate to attack Lumei in a few years. If Xia does not want Lumei to be annexed by the Roma Sultanate, it may have to intervene in the war.

"Annexation of Lumei," Zhao Xingde wrote, "is not very beneficial to our court. Instead, it is easy to be dragged into the quagmire of war. Our court's strategy should not be limited to the Lumei country, but should look to the west. The Western Yi countries attack and kill each other instead of being a disaster for our dynasty. The best strategy is to "disturb" their hearts. This strategy should cause the Western Yi countries to fall into confusion of beliefs, and they regard each other as enemies. It is difficult to work together with us The court is an enemy. Lumei has the orthodox religious power, and has always called himself the Orthodox Church, and regards the Holy See believed by the Western countries as a side branch. For our court plan, we should make Lumei and the Western Holy See at odds, and cut off the possibility of asking for help from the Western Holy See. It is best for the two Popes of the East and the West to reject each other as heresy and heresy, or even lead troops to attack and kill each other. The unity of Lumei's religious power and monarchy makes the monarchs of Western countries have doubts. In order to make the Lumei Kingdom Orthodox Church and The Western branches contend against each other, and we should help them separate the church and state, so that the Lumei Orthodox Church can win the trust of the Western Yi. If there are one or two Western Yi monarchs who accept the sacred religious power of the Lumei Kingdom, the Lumei will inevitably conflict with the Western Holy See. And the Lumei Under the attack of the Western Holy See and the Turkic people, I am increasingly relying on the help of our court... Today's Lumei country is in a state of gold and jade, but it is in ruins. If you want to make it the master of my dynasty to the West, after the separation of politics and religion, the government and the army will have two paths All of them are rebuilt according to the system of our dynasty, their roots are consolidated, and their hearts of repeated disobedience are broken..."

After writing this policy theory, he handed it to the school lieutenant Duan Huaixian.This Cheng Wen will be sent directly to the Marching Division of the General's Mansion.After Zhao Xingde resigned, Duan Huaixian carefully sealed Cheng Wen with wax and sent it out according to the procedure of emergency military report.

Before going out with Emperor Lumei, Zhao Xingde met Li Yong again, and Li Yong told him that there had been a reply from Kanto.Chen Dong is very interested in contracting the sales of the caravan's treasures in the Central Plains.In addition, Chen Dong also contacted two seagoing ships from the State of Song to sell tea, porcelain and other goods to Li Yong's caravan in Tajula Bay, and then Li Yong took them to the inland of Africa to sell at a high price.Because pigeon books are expensive, he simply said that Kanto's control over the Neo-Confucian Society has been greatly relaxed. Recently, the "traitor" party has entangled a group of unscrupulous literati, who wrote some books and posts that slandered and attacked the Neo-Confucian Society, which is quite disgusting. .

"It seems that Xingzhi and Brother Chen have a very close friendship." Li Yong laughed. In the end, what Chen Dong said about the association of scholars was purely superfluous gossip in his opinion, but it showed that Zhao Xingde and Chen Dong were indeed not ordinary at the turn of. "As long as the goods are ready, the merchant ships going south will set off. Brother Xingzhi, we will meet later."

"I hope the journey is safe." Zhao Xingde said with a smile, "There will be a period later."

"Then shall I wish you a triumphant return?" Li Yong also smiled, "The war between the Lumei Kingdom and the Turkic Dashi has never stopped, it is not worth fighting for it. Straightforward, no matter what the war is, we must keep it." Life." His voice turned low, with rare sincerity, Zhao Xingde was slightly moved, and said in a deep voice: "Thank you, Brother Li, and take care of yourself."

On the seventh day of November, the day when the Lumei Guards officially set off.The area around the Golden City Gate was crowded with people seeing off. The Lumei people cheered hoarsely as if they were participating in a grand ceremony and competition. The avenue was sprinkled with perfume and flower petals, as if returning to the heyday.

The heavy infantry walked in front in battalion units, and their weapons were quite messy. The burly Varyags liked to use heavy axes, and many used long swords and round shields. Most of them wore locks. Zijia, and iron gloves and greaves should be worn when fighting.The cavalry of the imperial guards surrounded the emperor's driving and walked behind. The reed-browed heavy cavalry wore conical helmets, chain mail covered from neck to thigh, and a round shield was tied to the left arm. The horse's head, neck, chest and other parts Also hung armor.Most cavalry carry bows and arrows and spears at the same time, which is also the strength of the reed eyebrow cavalry.Each battalion has a different pennant on the spear, which is the same color as the emblem on the round shield, so as to distinguish other battalions in the melee.Behind the heavy cavalry are infantry archers, wearing only the simplest leather armor, carrying bows and arrows, and a dagger for body protection.In the Lumei army, these archers are considered weak points.The pennant of Chengying Camp depicts the unique dragon shape of Xia Kingdom, and all the soldiers carry two horses, one mounts, and the other carries baggage.The sergeants all carry horses, bows and arrows, and there are horizontal knives for close combat hanging on the saddle.Just like what Captain Duan Huaixian said, fight any battle you encounter.

Chengying Camp is very close to Emperor Lumei, the radiance of the rising sun shines on him, the crowd keeps cheering for him, all kinds of dried flower petals are continuously sprinkled under his horse from the buildings on both sides of the street, the burly guard A neat formation of heavy cavalry surrounded him.After being stationed in Lumei for nearly two years, Zhao Xingde has never witnessed the emperor's demeanor until today.This emperor wearing a crown and a purple robe may have been mighty once, but now his face is covered with aging marks, his eyes are cloudy, and although he is trying to look majestic, his body is bent and swaying on the horse's back .Amidst the cheers of the soldiers and civilians in the city and the imperial guards, Emperor Alexei couldn't help waving and smiling, but from a close look, his posture seemed very stiff and preoccupied.

"It seems that the old emperor has put all his eggs in one basket." Jin Changtai sighed, "Why does the old man want to get rid of all problems and pass the inheritance to future generations? We must know that people born in sorrow and die in peace, and the more perfect they are , the more people covet it." Zhao Xingde smiled slightly, the more dying the old man was, the more reluctant he was to part with everything in the world, and wanted to carry out his will until after death.Many things in this world are a battle between the will of the living and the will of the dead. "Power is like this, so is wealth," he said with a smile, "That rich family doesn't want to leave gold and silver to future generations."

"These people have no loyalty to Lu Mei." Zhao Xingde pointed to the powerful imperial guards, "Now they can go through life and death for the emperor. After the death of the old emperor, it may not be so. No matter how powerful the new emperor is Superman's charm, to 'manipulate' so many people who speak different languages, can't be done in a day or two." Huang Zongdao nodded and sighed: "That's why my court never relies heavily on foreign soldiers, and prohibits the trafficking of foreign soldiers. When slaves entered the country, they only immigrated from Guanzhong and Shuzhong to reclaim the territory."