Chapter 2966: The imperial commander’s personal expedition
Chang'an.
The light rain in Guanzhong kept falling, and the sky was dark and rainy for many days.
If it encounters rain or snow when worshiping the sky, it is an ominous sign, but there is no need to be taboo about this when the army goes on an expedition. Moreover, spring rain is as precious as oil. If you encounter this kind of rain in early spring, the newly cultivated land will be soaked by the rain, and the grass has already sprouted. During spring plowing, the land is moist and the climate is suitable, which is a good harvest for the year.
On the sixth day of March, an auspicious day, His Majesty Li Er set out from Chang'an with more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, vowing to march eastwards.
During this trip, His Majesty Li Er took Changsun Wuji, Liu Jie, Chu Suiliang and others with him to serve as his staff. The vast army broke out of camp and crossed Baqiao and advanced eastward.
Prince Li Chengqian, King Li Zhi of Jin, Li Yuanjing, Xiao Yu, Fang Jun, Li Daozong, Ma Zhou, Chai Zhewei and other royal princes led the civil and military ministers to the bank of Baqiao, gathered together more than ten thousand Chang'an people, and sent off His Majesty Li Er. Eastern Expedition.
In half a day, the willows planted at both ends of Baqiao were broken and bare, and countless branches were broken off by the people and given to the hands of their own children who went on an expedition.
The custom of breaking willows to say goodbye began in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Han people often broke willows to say goodbye when sending guests to Baqiao. If it is spring, simple willow branches will be made into flutes, and the sound of "Woo-Woo" will reverberate throughout Ba River.
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, Guanzhong has been a battlefield every time, and the heroes of Guanzhong have shed blood. Their blood has been sprinkled all over the north and south of the Yangtze River, inside and outside the Great Wall, and their bones have been buried everywhere. Every battle, regardless of victory or defeat, means that countless heroes from Guanzhong will never come back. Their relatives at home will bid farewell with tears at the end of Baqiao Bridge.
Willows turn green every year, and Baling is sad to say goodbye.
Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty is prosperous, but only Goguryeo, a corner of Liaodong, has not surrendered and has become a hidden danger to the empire. His Majesty the Emperor will personally conquer the world and unify the world. Then the world will be at peace, the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe.
This may be the last battle after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but it also means that countless heroes from Guanzhong will be buried in Liaodong and will not be allowed to return home.
It is a man's duty to fight for his country.
The separation of bones and blood is also the sadness of human nature.
The common people not only hope that their sons and daughters can make great achievements and follow the emperor to rule the world, but they also hope that their sons and daughters can return home safely and fulfill their filial piety...
……
His Majesty Li Er has led his troops out of the border to face powerful enemies countless times, and has also experienced such separations of life and death several times. The sounds of wailing and sobbing on both sides of the Ba Bridge, accompanied by the continuous flow of the Ba River, penetrated into the inside of the bridge, making His Majesty Li Er feel a sense of sadness and desolation like never before.
It is true that a man's ambition is to spread all over the world, to make great achievements and gain a wife and a wife.
However, for the sake of the great cause of the family, the country, and the future of his life, his body is buried in a foreign land, and his soul cannot return to his hometown. How sad and desolate it is?
For the first time in his life, His Majesty Li Er, who was sitting on the royal chariot, felt that life was impermanent and life and death were unpredictable. In order to destroy the enemy's great enemy and to complete his life's work, how many heroes from Guanzhong would fight bloody battles under his command. Finally buried in Liaodong?
Of course, after just a moment of guilt and hesitation, His Majesty Li Er immediately became firm.
One general's achievements can lead to thousands of bones, not to mention the stability of the enemy's country for thousands of years and the hegemony of the emperor's lifetime? Tai Shigong once said, "Private property is lighter than a feather and heavier than Mount Tai." Of course, he and his soldiers are rushing to a bloody battlefield, and countless sons and daughters are about to be killed on the battlefield. Wasn't our peace bought with countless blood and lives?
As long as the death is worthwhile and the death is worthy, then His Majesty Li Er will be shrouded in horse leather, so why not?
……
Watching the mighty army crossing Baqiao and slowly moving forward along the official road at the foot of Lishan Mountain, the flags were soaked by the rain and wrapped around the flagpole. Fang Jun turned back to Li Chengqian and said: "Your Majesty is setting off for the expedition. Ordering the prince to supervise the country is a very important task, so please issue an order immediately.”
Li Chengqian then said to Ma Zhou: "From now on, the curfew system will be restored in all cities under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Mansion. At night, Wuhou who patrols the streets and Jingzhao Mansion's yamen will patrol and search the streets. Anyone who violates the curfew will be severely punished! In addition, Jingzhao Mansion The left and right garrisons mobilized capable soldiers to form a "joint law enforcement team", which patrols the counties in Guanzhong every day to strictly prohibit fighting, abduction and other illegal activities. Once discovered, they will be seized immediately and sent to the relevant yamen for legal action. "
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"Here!"
All the ministers bowed down to accept the order.
In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures will naturally be taken. Now that the emperor is on his own expedition, the troops in Guanzhong are empty. There is no guarantee that some people will take the opportunity to stir up trouble. Guanzhong must ensure stability during the emperor's eastern expedition. There must be no turbulence at all. Otherwise, people's hearts will be unstable, and there may be trouble. Big things.
Li Chengqian said to Fang Jun and Chai Zhewei alone: "Currently, the troops in Guanzhong are empty. Only the left and right garrison armies are fully staffed. I hope that my two beloved ministers will assist me in guarding Chang'an, maintaining the stability of the capital, and living up to the friendship between my father and the emperor." Entrusted with the important task of 'supervising the country'"
Fang Jun and Chai Zhewei quickly bowed: "I will do my best to assist Your Highness!"
Li Chengqian then raised his head, looked at the ministers around him, and said loudly: "I would like to ask you all to return to your respective yamen immediately, restrain the officials in the yamen, and inform all the court laws and orders. In a word, in the current important land of the capital, stability is everything. , if anyone tries to disrupt the public order, cause turmoil in the capital, and then affect the overall situation of the Eastern Expedition, don’t blame him for being ruthless!”
Although she is a bit soft-tempered and not decisive enough in dealing with things, and she is quite kind-hearted as a mother-in-law and a woman, the more than ten years of training courses for reserve positions are not in vain. Although he was a little nervous with the heavy responsibility and his palms were sweaty, he still looked presentable in front of the ministers, quite a bit like an emperor.
The ministers accepted the order together, and when they saw that His Highness the Crown Prince had no more instructions, they quickly left and returned to their respective offices to restrain their officials.
Next, there will be no peace in Chang'an. Although the various forces will not be too violent, it is inevitable that some people will want to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble in order to profit from it. If they are involved, they will have to face the wrath of His Highness the Crown Prince.
Although the prince is a little softer, how can a woman be kind and open-minded at this critical moment? Not to mention that the prince obeyed Fang Jun's words. Fang Jun was not easy to fool. He was probably waiting for someone to jump out with his eyes wide open so that he could kill the chicken and scare the monkeys with his sword... …
The surrounding ministers dispersed. Li Chengqian looked around and said to Chai Zhewei: "Duke Qiao may as well return to the East Palace with Gu. Let's discuss it and see if there is anything missing in the Guanzhong alert. The army marches eastward. , the defense in Guanzhong is empty, if there is any omission, the thieves will take advantage of it, and they will play the trick of assassination. I can't explain it to my father. "
Chai Zhewei's heart skipped a beat. He suppressed his panic and said hurriedly: "His Highness has spoken seriously. His Majesty has given His Highness the responsibility of supervising the country. The order is like an imperial edict. I just accept the order. What qualifications does Wei Chen have to discuss with His Highness? Is this Wei Chen's right? Then he went back to Zuotun to rectify the troops and horses. His Highness had orders and he did not disobey them.”
He really couldn't understand the meaning of what Li Chengqian just said.
I've always been pretty safe, I don't cause trouble, I don't jump around, I'm harmless to people and animals, why did I do something bad behind my back, and it seems like one or two people know about it?
He is self-aware that his family's roots are all with the Guanlong nobles. Although he can have some plans of his own, it is absolutely impossible to abandon Guanlong and join the East Palace. The loss of interests in that way is really too great. After all, Guan Long's control over the army has dropped to an unprecedented level. The Zuo Tun Guards under his command are the only organized army in Guan Long. As long as he stands firmly in Guan Long's camp, his status will be as stable as Mount Tai.
On the contrary, if you seek refuge in the East Palace, you will only be ranked behind Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin, Fang Jun and others. The contrast in income is really too disparate...
Because of this, he had to keep a distance from the forces in the East Palace.
Changsun Wuji is now accompanying His Majesty to Liaodong, but his eyes and ears in Chang'an must be everywhere. Once he learns that he has entered the East Palace, there is no guarantee that he will not be suspicious.
What's more, as Guan Long's only military giant in Chang'an, an important person who controls a guard of soldiers and horses, who knows whether His Royal Highness the Crown Prince regards him as a thorn in his side and a thorn in his flesh, and wishes to lay a trap to simply get rid of him, so that Guan Long's influence in the military completely collapsed?
This possibility exists.
Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is kind-hearted and somewhat indecisive, no matter whether Li Ji, Fang Jun or even Li Daozong or Ma Zhou around him, they are all decisive and ruthless figures. What if these people are afraid of him, the general of Zuotunwei? , which gave rise to murderous intentions. Taking advantage of the power of the prison country, he framed himself for a crime and was imprisoned, and then found any reason to kill him...
Just thinking about it makes Chai Zhewei's spine shiver and his heart tremble with fear.
Now that Changsun Wuji is on an expedition, the Guanlong nobles in Chang'an don't have much strength at all. He must not be targeted by the prince and lose his life... (End of this chapter)