Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 480 - 90

Yue Fei walked to the iron pot, stirred the pot with the iron spoon next to it, and lifted some soup out with the spoon. "Master Jiedu!" Zhang Xian's face changed suddenly, and he cried out.Yue Fei's face darkened slightly, and he sighed: "Soldiers serve the country with all their hearts, and it's like this." He raised his hand and drank the soup in the spoon in one gulp. The soldier with a shocked face said coldly: "No matter how hungry you are, you can only cut off the flesh of the barbarians!"

"Yes!" Several soldiers subconsciously replied loudly.While his mind was still blank, the Jiedushi had already left. "You're lucky!" Yang Zaixing dropped the sentence and walked away.Walking through the gate of life and death, the soldiers stood dumbfounded in the tent, some had bitter mouths, and some had tears in their eyes.

After inspecting the barracks, Yue Fei asked the soldiers following him to go back to their tents to rest, but he himself couldn't sleep, so he simply put on his cloak and looked at the situation of the enemy camp.At this time, there are still three hours before sunrise, the night wind is bleak, the moonlight is cold, and the sky is shrouded in thin clouds for thousands of miles. Under the thin clouds, the Liao army camp seems to be boundless, like overlapping ink clouds, pressing down on people's hearts I was so stuffy I couldn't breathe.

"If the army's food is not enough, you will lose if you don't fight." He looked back at the direction of Ezhou, only to see a silence, and the evening wind brought in the sound of insects. "Reinforcement, when will the reinforcement and food arrive?" For major events, officials in the court love to argue endlessly, and maybe time will be delayed.Yue Fei secretly regretted the dangerous move of capturing Shuzhou at the same time, it was too hasty.He took a deep breath of the cold river wind, and suddenly the shadow of Zhao Xingde appeared in his mind. The only reinforcements Ezhou could send were the Baoyi Army.

"If the reinforcements can't arrive in time, the only option is to retreat." Yue Fei showed a look of 'unbearable', and then thought of the elders in Shuzhou who would rather starve to death than squeeze out food and grass to supply the army. After ten days, arrange for Wang Gui to protect the people and go west, and the army will retreat later." He sighed slightly.

Under the darkness of night, the soldiers of the suppressing army stared at Yue Shuai's back, which was tall and burly, giving people incomparable confidence.

............

Ezhou, Huanghu Jitou Yellow Crane Tower, was originally built by Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms for the purpose of looking out. Over the years, the watchtower has now become one of the world's famous buildings. Standing in the shade of green trees, Ezhou's past merchants must come During this travel, literati and scholars left countless treasures of calligraphy.Cui Hao's two famous poems, "In the past, people have gone by the yellow crane, the Yellow Crane Tower is vacant here" and Li Bai's "Jade flute is played in the Yellow Crane Tower, and plum blossoms fall in May in Jiangcheng" add radiance to each other, adding to the reputation of the Yellow Crane Tower.

In an elegant pavilion at the top of the Yellow Crane Tower, all the guards are dressed in casual clothes and stand in a circle with their hands down.Zhao Huan's face was covered with a light gauze, and he looked out of the window, and saw warships and warships connected on the river, guarding the merchant ships loaded with grain and grass.Although the military discipline of the Baoyi Army was a bit loose, it did not bully men and women, steal or plunder, and most of the soldiers were from the Jingxiang family.In a short period of time, in the eyes of Ezhou people, this Baoyi army is no different from the navy stationed in this state.After the ups and downs of the Neo Confucian Society, even the servants in the teahouse knew that if Shuzhou was not protected, the Liao army could drive directly against the river, and Ezhou, which is full of flowers, would be in jeopardy.Therefore, everyone placed great hopes on the Baoyi Army's aid to Shu.Today, Huanghu Jitou is even more crowded with people watching the navy dispatch troops.Seeing the heyday of the Baoyi Army, cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Bodhisattva bless you, I hope General Zhao wins the flag and is safe."

Zhao Huan murmured silently in his heart, with a hint of piety in his eyes.After she arrived in Ezhou under the escort of the generals of the imperial city, she lived in seclusion.At first he was most favored by his father, but later he was put under house arrest by his elder brother, but he never made his own decisions.A few days ago, she fled in a hurry with all the guards, and had no time to think about the future. When she heard that Zhao Xingde was in Ezhou, she rushed to Ezhou.But after arriving in Ezhou, they couldn't meet each other, so they could only live here temporarily.Both inside and outside of Ezhou City are very peaceful, not much different from before the Liao army invaded.In order to attract merchants, the Quartermaster Mansion set aside important areas such as the vicinity of the city wall, the cannon fortress of Huanghu Mountain, and Huanghuji Wharf as restricted areas, and the household registration checks in other places were not strict.At this time, the Liao army swept across Henan and Hebei, and even Jianghuai was not spared from the revolution. Ezhou, as a flat boat in a "chaotic" world, was full of people who fled from various places.Zhou He, Wang Chongyi and the others fabricated their identities at will, and stayed there.

After the fall of Bianliang, Shen Yun, an officer of the Imperial City Department, disappeared.Li Ruoxu also persuaded several generals of the Imperial City Division to serve in the Zhenguo and Baoyi Army.But Zhou, Wang Chongyi and the others just evaded.The Imperial City Division is used to fighting between the court and China, and betting on the winner before deciding who will win is really not their style.Besides, guarding His Royal Highness Zhao Huan, in any case, has a closer relationship with Xiangyang.

Just a few days ago, Zhao Huan wrote a letter to his elder brother Zhao Qi, asking the imperial guards to take him to Xiangyang to report his safety.

"There are so many warships. I don't know which one is General Zhao's. Could it be the big ship in the middle?" Wang Chongyi guessed enthusiastically. He was particularly interested in sending troops. First inquire about the battle situation on the front line.

Zhao Huan's eyes shrank slightly, and there was some bitterness in his mouth, but his eyes fell on the big ship in the middle unconsciously.The ship itself was rebuilt from a large merchant ship, and two low wooden war sheds were installed at the bow and stern respectively. It is said that two iron barrel guns were installed in each of the war sheds.The planks and body of the ship are densely covered with thick wooden and iron ribs, making the whole warship look not so clean and tidy, but it looks very strong.Unlike other soldiers on the ship who were a bit lazy, two rows of gunners armed with guns stood neatly on both sides of the ship, and the ship tower was "inserted" with banners and banners, just like a large navy ship on the Jinming Pond.

In the building of the big ship, Chen Dong and Cao Liangshi, Minister of the Ministry of War, are seeing Zhao Xingde off.

"Excellent military appearance!" Cao Liangshi held up a glass of wine, "I wish brother Yuan Zhi a successful start this time!"

Originally, Chen Dong wanted Zhao Xingde to be the minister of the Ministry of War, but Zhao Xingde had pretended to be the commander of the Baoyi Army, and he insisted that he could not set a bad example of being a civil and military official, so it fell on Cao Liangshi.The six books introduced by Chen Dong are almost all Lishe figures. In the eyes of officials from Lishe like Cao Liangshi, Zhao Xingde is naturally different from other generals.Before and after Chen Dong won the position of prime minister, scholars from all walks of life rushed to him like crucian carp crossing the river.Others, such as Wu Zilong, Cao Liangshi, etc., also each have a group of confidant disciples who want to be 'inserted' in the yamen of each ministry.Only Zhao Xingde was well-known, but he was very humble. Apart from managing his own Baoyi Army and Daye Tieshan military supplies, he never arranged a private person in the court.Although he has not been in the Central Plains for nearly ten years, he has stayed away from the disputes among the political circles and civil servants, and he is well liked by everyone.Therefore, if it were not for Zhao Xingde's refusal, almost all the civil servants of the Ezhou court would be dispatched to see the Baoyi army off.

"Thank you, Brother Cao." Zhao Xingde picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and muttered, "After the Baoyi Army marched eastward, Ezhou was empty, so we must be careful of Xiangyang soldiers going south, which will hurt my back." He paused for a while , raised his glass and said, "The safety of Ezhou is up to Brother Cao." Cao Liangshi nodded and drank it with him.

Chen Dong whispered: "At present, the Liao army is invading from the north to the south, and Xiangyang and Ezhou are closely related. I sent an envoy to Xiangyang the day before yesterday, and they promised not to sneak attack on Ezhou." He shook his head and said, "If Ezhou is attacked by surprise, Shu Even if Xiangyang wins Ezhou, it will face enemies from the front and rear, and the situation of cutting off food and wages. Cao Di and Liu Yanqing should think twice before acting."

Chen Dong's tone was not sure, no matter what to do, with Ezhou's current strength, it would be difficult to withstand the attack from two powerful enemies, so he could only temporarily use heavy troops to deal with the menacing Liao army in the east.As for Xiangyang, can it really be trusted?Zhao Xingde sighed slightly in his heart, I hope they won't be fooled.

On another big ship tens of feet away, Ma Yuan and other military officers were looking at the two sides of the bank. The sight of crowds of spectators and voices like a 'tide' made these young officers feel very high-spirited.Ma Yuan looked at the two rows of commander-in-chief flags on the big battleship in the center of the fleet, slapped the side of the ship heavily, and sighed: "In a troubled world, to secure the world and save the people, this is what a man should do!"

Jia Yuanzhen laughed and said, "So you didn't go to the Military Quartermaster's Office, but came here instead. Otherwise, the first seat of Ma Jun would be indispensable in the Six Departments." He pretended to regret, "Although the Six Departments are not as beautiful as the army, they still hold the power. .As Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty said, the unrivaled Han Peng is nothing more than a falcon and dog.”

Facing the situation in the DPRK and China, these imperial students' minds are like a mirror.No matter how prominent the suppressing party and the Baoyi army were for a while, the only ones who firmly occupied the center of the imperial court were the prime minister's mansion and the six civil servants.Now that a lot of waste is waiting to be done, many scholars are seeing this, so they desperately rush to the position of the Sixth Ministry.Tai students are officials selected by the imperial court and have a great relationship with the Neo Confucian Society.For example, Chen Dong, Cao Liangshi, Wu Zilong, etc. all vigorously recruited the imperial students who escaped from Bianliang as assistant officials.Because of the dust on the sage, the imperial examination was temporarily abolished, and now the civil servants in all ministries are appointed by the superiors. Once a good superior is cultivated, it is conceivable that the future will rise to the top.However, Ma Yuan, Wu Zilong and others still declined the invitations of teachers, friends and classmates from all sides, and stayed in the Baoyi Army wholeheartedly.

"Don't blame me," Ma Yuan said with a smile, "You all have a good place to go, but you are willing to stay here."

"It's better to live happily here than to be depressed and grow old in paperwork." Liu Wengu sighed, "Working with Mr. Zhao, I feel that there is no restriction, and the sky is high and the sea is wide. Unlike other places, it always makes people feel depressed."