Ever since Shen Yi agreed to defend the Huaihe River from the coastal capital, he had never only thought about defending the Huaihe River.
For him, this is a very rare opportunity.
Because he finally had the opportunity to take a look at what the extremely powerful Northern Qi in the book looked like and what kind of combat power it would have.
And this time, the chances are great.
Because...most likely there will be a fight.
Even if the national war cannot be fought in which the fate of the country is at stake, it will at least be a large-scale war, because now, the Northern Qi Dynasty needs a war to wash away the humiliation of their envoy Zhu Man and revive the glory of the Northern Qi Dynasty. .
More importantly, the chief officer of the Huaihe Navy, General Zhao Lu Zhao, also needed a moderate war to prove the capabilities of the Huaihe Navy and the importance of the Zhao clan in the court.
When both sides need a war, the war will definitely start.
In the palace, after drawing a piece of cake for the emperor, His Majesty the Emperor happily ate the piece of cake and pulled Shen Yi along, chattering a lot.
After talking for a while, the time was almost up. His Majesty the Emperor walked up to Shen Yi, patted Shen Yi's shoulder heavily, and said in a deep voice: "Shen Qing, marching and fighting is no more than what you usually do, or even what you did when you were suppressing Japanese invaders in the southeast. Every move must be made carefully and carefully again.”
"In everything, stability is the first priority."
Having said this, His Majesty the Emperor paused, and there was some excitement in his eyes. He lowered his voice and whispered: "However, if you really have a chance to go further north, then go! Even if..."
"Even if there are casualties with the enemy, as long as you stand on the land north of the Huaihe River!"
His Majesty the Emperor took a deep breath and said with some excitement: "Then, no one can stop Hongde's Northern Expedition!"
The major things His Majesty the Emperor has done in the past few years since he took office in the sixth year of Hongde are basically preparations for the Northern Expedition. But preparation is preparation. When the time comes, whether to fight or not is not up to the Emperor alone. People can have the final say.
Because many people in the imperial court were "afraid" of Northern Qi.
If by that time, the civil and military forces of the entire dynasty do not agree to fight this war, then even if His Majesty the Emperor insists, the war may not be able to continue.
So, Da Chen needs a win now!
Even if it is a formal victory!
After all, this country has not heard news of victory for too long since the defeat of the late emperor's dynasty!
Shen Yi nodded quickly and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, as long as there is a chance."
"I will definitely give it a try!"
"You can try, but don't be reckless."
The emperor whispered: "In critical moments, you can make decisions on the fly, but if you have time, you'd better say hello to me first."
This sentence defines the scope of Shen Yi's power to "make decisions on the spur of the moment".
At this point, the emperor paused, looked at Shen Yi, and whispered: "Furthermore, the ministers in the court cannot agree to your taking such a risk, so even if I agree with you to do this, if you go north, We can only win, not lose.”
The emperor's words were very clear.
This means that it is impossible for him to agree to Shen Yi's northward march at the appropriate time. It is impossible for the prime ministers in Zhongshu, including the three ministers and nine ministers in the court, to agree to Shen Yi's move.
Therefore, this matter was only granted privately by the emperor, rather than issuing a permit to Shen Yi in the name of the court.
The difference lies in...
If Mr. Shen takes advantage and wins during the northern march, then His Majesty the Emperor will naturally turn his nostrils to the sky and brag for Shen Yi. But if Shen Yi suffers a loss and even loses his troops during the northern march, So…
It was difficult for the emperor to preserve him at court.
The emperor's words to Shen Yi were not irresponsible. On the contrary, he was very responsible.
Because if it were some irresponsible "leaders", they would not have told Shen Yi so clearly in advance. When things happened, they would jump out to pick the fruits if they won. If they lost, they would abdicate responsibility and pretend that they had said nothing.
And the emperor made it clear to Shen Yi in advance, which meant that he put the initiative in Shen Yi's hands, and it was up to Shen Yi to decide whether to do it or not.
Mr. Shen lowered his head slightly and said, "I...understand."
The emperor smiled and nodded, and said: "Tomorrow, the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office should be able to discuss the specific river section. At that time, the Coastal Governor's Office will send some people to make clear arrangements with the Huaihe River Navy first."
Shen Yi nodded silently.
He thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, I also want to borrow some craftsmen from the Military Staff Bureau and bring them to the front line. Especially the gunpowder craftsmen who went to Wenzhou Prefecture with me before. Take it to the Huaihe River."
"In addition to the gunpowder craftsmen, I also want to bring some blacksmiths who make weapons. Your Majesty, you also know that the troops and weapons and equipment of the coastal capital are not very good..."
He paused and took a deep breath: "Some brothers still use Japanese knives captured from Japanese pirates."
The emperor nodded happily, looked back at Gao Ming, and said with a smile: "You are in charge of the Military Staff Bureau. Whoever Shen Qing wants to transfer later, you should try your best to cooperate and don't transfer too many people."
Eunuch Gao smiled, nodded, and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, this servant will cooperate with Mr. Shen."
Hearing him mention the three words "Mr. Shen", His Majesty the Emperor shook his head slightly and sighed: "It stands to reason that with your contribution, Mr. Shen, you are not just a fifth-grade doctor in any case, but a doctor in the imperial court." Those old men are too focused on qualifications, and I won’t be able to defeat them even for a while.”
"But don't worry, Shen Qing. As long as you fight well on the Huaihe River this time, there is no need for you to go north. As long as you can lead the soldiers of the Coastal Capital Division and guard the Huaihe River for two years without any problems, I will wait for you to come back no matter what. I’ll also give you a promotion.”
It might be an "occupational disease", His Majesty the Emperor was almost subconsciously drawing a picture.
But there was no other way. Shen Yi had to give the emperor face, so he could only pretend to be grateful and bow down to express his thanks.
The emperor and his ministers chatted all morning in the Manna Hall. Until noon, the emperor stayed with Shen Yi to have a meal in the Manna Hall before letting Shen Yi leave.
And this meal is not just for casual eating.
You know, a fart in the palace can cause thunder outside the palace.
Every word and deed of His Majesty the Emperor will be watched by countless pairs of eyes outside the palace. The news that he left Shen Yi in the Manlu Palace and had lunch together will spread throughout the entire Jiankang upper class within half a day at most.
This is to tell the powerful people in Jiankang, or the civil and military officials, that he, Shen Ziheng, is in good hands.
With this level of domination, when people in Jiankang City want to have evil thoughts towards Shen Yi, they have to consider His Majesty the Emperor's reaction.
After having a meal in the palace, Mr. Shen stretched himself and left the palace. He did not go to the Ministry of War or other yamen to report, but walked out of the imperial city and made up for his meal at a street food stall.
Because the food in the palace... well... I can't say it tastes bad, I can only say it's not delicious. Some of it is for the health of His Majesty the Emperor, and some of it is for some weird reasons, but I just don't go to the street food stalls. tasty.
Moreover, when dining with the emperor, he was very restrained and could not eat anything at the end of the meal.
In the next few days, Ling Su and Xue Wei took the notes issued by Shen Yi and went to various yamen in Jiankang to collect supplies.
On the fourth day, after everything was almost ready, the two men took more than 200 officers and soldiers from the coastal areas and prepared to escort these supplies from Jianjiankang to Songjiang Prefecture.
When they went to Kubusi, the Ministry of War, to pick up armor ordnance, in order to prevent the people from the Ministry of War from embarrassment for them, Mr. Shen was also present in person and watched them load the last dozen or so pieces of armor onto the truck.
Tian Feng, the right servant of the Ministry of War, had a look of pain on his face. After Ling Su and Xue Wei drove the car away, he turned to look at Shen Yi and sighed: "Brother Shen, to tell you the truth, This is you."
"If other people come to our Ministry of War to take things like this, not to mention taking the note from the emperor, but the note from the palace, we should delay them for three months, or we will have to delay them for three months!"
"Besides..."
Tian Shilang whispered: "Others come to pick up things. Even if the note issued by the court says 10,000 pieces of armor, it will be difficult to take away 8,000 pieces in the end."
Picking up 30% of the food in one hand is an unspoken rule in the officialdom. It is not a strange thing. Mr. Shen smiled and said to Tian Shilang: "When I come back, I will definitely treat the Shilang to dinner."
"good."
Tian Feng said with a smile: "When you return home in triumph, brother, there is no need for you to treat me. Brother Yu will treat you to a good meal."
After chatting with Tian Shilang for a few useless words, Mr. Shen watched Xue Wei and others go away, then he came to Jiang Shangshu's room with a smile, raised his hands to Jiang Shangshu and said: "Thank you, Sir, thank you very much." Respect."
Master Shen smiled broadly: "Ten thousand pieces of armor, very dignified."
"That's just to give you Shen Ziheng face."
Jiang Shangshu sighed and said: "You don't know, Shi Lang Tian refuses to let go, and he is only willing to give you five thousand pieces at most. If I don't show my shame, you can't even think about these ten thousand pieces of armor!"
Shen Yi curled his lips inwardly.
If the emperor hadn't sent someone to deliver the message to you, you wouldn't have been so generous.
But on the bright side, Mr. Shen still had a smile on his face, bowed his head slightly and bowed his hands to Jiang Jian.
"Your Majesty..."
"Thank you, sir!"
(End of chapter)
