Shen Yi took only a dozen followers with him and rode a fast horse back to Xuzhou.
It is not that there are no more Huaian troops in Xuzhou City. When Shen Yi led his troops to leave Xuzhou and go north, in order to maintain the order of Xuzhou City and the order of Xiazhou County under Xuzhou City, he left two thousand-household camps in Xuzhou and handed them over to Xuzhou City. The prefect's Yamen was mobilized to prevent anyone from causing trouble behind Xuzhou.
Of course, being able to be left behind showed that these two thousand-house battalions were not elite.
But two thousand-house camps, located near a city, can already be considered a relatively powerful force.
After Shen Yi returned to Xuzhou, he immediately took over the two thousand-household camps and started a new round of cleanup.
Zhu Lizhen has been in Xuzhou for seventy years, and his forces are inevitably intertwined. After the original Huai'an army occupied a place, they did not completely kill Zhu Lizhen's forces with a stick, because some Han people who originally surrendered to Zhu Lizhen were the head of the wall. Grass is a force that can be fought for.
In order to make the Northern Expedition smooth in the future and avoid being resisted by all the forces in the north, Shen Yi's original plan was very mild. Except for Zhu Li and those directly related to Zhu Li, Shen Yi did not make any changes to anyone else.
But it's different now.
When the emperor is coming, the first place to stay is Xuzhou. So the first thing Shen Yi has to do is to clean up Xuzhou first, and then make all the plans that should be done.
For example, His Majesty the Emperor’s food, clothing, housing and transportation.
Of course, the emperor's food, clothing, housing and transportation were all taken care of by the imperial guards and the clever chamberlains who accompanied him. It had nothing to do with Shen Yi, but he still had to make some preparations before he should make preparations.
For example, prepare for the emperor's visit in Xuzhou.
This business also needs to be inspected from the inside out, and no one can sneak in. Otherwise, let alone hurt the emperor, even if it shocks the emperor, Mr. Shen also has an unshirkable responsibility.
The emperor's position was naturally nowhere else, it was the Pengcheng Hou Mansion where Shen Yi had lived, the former temporary office of the Huai'an Army.
After having people clean the entire Hou Mansion from top to bottom to make sure there were no underground passages or secret doors, several days had passed.
At this time, it was already June of Hongde's fourteenth year.
In early June, Shen Yi, who was in Xuzhou, finally received news that the emperor's chariot was about to arrive at the Huaihe River. He left Xuzhou with his entourage and rushed to the banks of the Huaihe River to greet the emperor in person.
This is not because Mr. Shen wants to flatter the emperor.
It was actually because the imperial edict issued by the imperial court clearly stated that he, Shen Ziheng, should take over!
This is very painful.
It almost means that Shen Yi needs to be responsible for the emperor's security work.
At the very least, it is responsible for part of the security work and part of the security responsibility.
On the fourth day of June, Shen Yi led a group of officials from Xuzhou to the north bank of the Huaihe River. After waiting for almost half a day, they finally saw the mighty Forbidden Army team.
During the emperor's patrol this time, the Imperial Guards from the Fifth Military Camp near Jiankang dispatched a total of 30,000 Imperial Guards to protect His Majesty the Emperor along the way.
For a guard of this size, not to mention all the people, it would be difficult for even a fly to fly in.
Even if they encounter an ambush by the Qi people in Yanzhou, with this basic number of guards present, as long as they are not stupid enough to take a detour into the Qi people's encirclement, and are not possessed by a certain Wala foreign student, it will be difficult for anything to happen.
At this time, more than a hundred ships were crossing the Huai River, and more than 10,000 imperial troops, divided into multiple batches, took the lead in crossing the Huai River, and then established martial law north of the Huai River.
After this part of the imperial army crossed the river, the dragon boat parked on the other side of the river finally made some moves.
When it was almost dark, the dragon boat crossed the Huaihe River and anchored on the north bank of the Huaihe River.
Shen Yi led a group of Xuzhou officials forward, took a deep breath, and bowed in salute: "Shen Yi, Minister of War, welcome the Holy Master!"
He did not kneel down, but the Xuzhou officials behind him knelt down respectfully and kowtowed.
"My ministers, please pay homage to Your Majesty."
Mr. Shen turned back and glanced at the kowtow bugs behind him. He already regretted bringing them here. He had no choice but to kneel on the ground and bow his head in salute.
Soon, the dragon boat anchored and stopped.
The steps to get off the ship were quickly set up. Eunuch Gao Ming first got off the dragon ship with small steps. After seeing Shen Yi from a distance, he quickly came over. He stretched out his hand to support Shen Yi and said with a smile: "Shilang Shen is too polite. Yes, His Majesty said there is no need to perform this great ceremony."
Shen Yi lowered his head slightly, lowered his hands and said, "This is my duty."
As he said that, he glanced at the dragon boat, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "Eunuch Gao, is your Majesty on top?"
When a big shot goes on a faraway trip, especially one that mobilizes a large number of people, sometimes it is inevitable that he will keep a few cautions in mind and find a few stand-ins to attract firepower for him.
That's why Shen Yi asked this time.
"Yes, why not?"
Eunuch Gao smiled and said: "Your Majesty is preparing and will disembark later."
Shen Yi was a little confused and didn't know what the emperor was waiting for, but he still patiently continued to wait.
There is no way, this is a big boss, everyone has to be patient.
After tea time, His Majesty the Emperor, dressed in blue uniforms, appeared on the deck of the dragon boat. He looked at the imperial steps that had been set up, then looked at Shen Yi who was waiting on the shore, and took a deep breath. Afterwards, strode off the dragon boat.
When he walked down the imperial steps and stood firmly on the ground, His Majesty the Emperor froze on the spot and did not move for a long time.
Shen Yi stepped forward to salute, but he did not respond.
I don't know how long it took for His Majesty the Emperor to look back. He looked at Shen Yi in front of him, and finally a smile appeared on his face: "Shen Qing, everything in front of you is really like a dream."
Shen Yi didn't understand, and lowered his head slightly: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
The emperor took a deep look at Shen Yi, then raised his head and looked north: "Do you know how long it has been since the emperor of the Li family set foot on the land of Huaibei?"
His Majesty the Emperor breathed a sigh of relief.
"Seventy years!"
"Since Emperor Sejong, finally another emperor of Chen has entered the territory of Huaibei, the old land of the Li family!"
Only then did Shen Yi understand why His Majesty the Emperor had behaved strangely just now.
It turned out to be self-absorption.
At this time, Mr. Shen lowered his head slightly and flattered me appropriately: "Your Majesty, His Majesty's divine, civil, and martial arts, will not only set foot on the territory of Huaibei, but one day, Your Majesty will once again rule Yandu and rule the world. "
These words sounded pleasant to the ears, but the emperor squinted his eyes and looked at Shen Yi, and said with a smile: "I can't listen to these boasts, don't talk about it anymore."
As he said that, the emperor looked at Shen Yi, suddenly remembered, and said, "By the way, why do I see Shen Qing here?"
"Shouldn't Shen Qing wait for me in Xuzhou?"
Mr. Shen lowered his head slightly and said with a wry smile: "The imperial edict passed down by Zhongshu clearly states that I am asked to pick you up. I dare not be careless and come to the bank of the Huaihe River to pick you up."
The emperor looked at Shen Yi, then at the officials behind Shen Yi, with a strange look on his face: "How many people did you bring to pick him up?"
Shen Yi whispered: "I only have one person."
"There are two thousand Huai'an troops in Xuzhou city. They are cleaning up Xuzhou and have no time to come over."
The emperor was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed dumbly: "You are indeed sincere. I have never seen anyone take the lead like you in the past."
Shen Yi smiled at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, it is clear that the Huai'an army can only be comprehensive here if it is further north."
The emperor was thoughtful, nodded and said with a smile: "Then if I go north, won't I delay Shen Qing's important event?"
Mr. Shen shook his head and said with a smile: "Among the Huai'an army, I am the only one who is idle."
"I come here and it will not affect the movements of the Huai'an army."
The emperor nodded with a smile and asked: "Where will Shen Qing arrange for me to stay tonight?"
Shen Yi lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, it would be best if you stay in Sizhou County tonight."
"Sizhou is not far from here."
His Majesty the Emperor nodded happily.
At this time, the dragon chariot and the guard of honor were ready. His Majesty the Emperor got into the dragon chariot with Gao Ming's help. Then he waved to Shen Yi and said with a smile: "Come on, come on, get in the carriage."
Mr. Shen was so frightened that he waved his hands quickly.
The emperor looked at Shen Yi and said with a smile: "My brother Wang is right behind, and he is about to land ashore. If you don't want to get in my car, why don't you have to get into Brother Wang's car?"
The emperor was second among his peers, and there was no one he could call his brother, except Li Mu, the eldest son of the Jin Dynasty.
Shen Yi was so frightened by these words that he quickly climbed onto the dragon chariot.
As the dragon chariot started moving, His Majesty the Emperor was in a good mood. He turned to look at Shen Yi and smiled.
"Shen Qing, you don't know how much effort I put into getting out of Jiankang."
He opened the curtain of the dragon chariot, looked outside, and said with emotion: "After leaving Jiankang, the scenery that comes into view is really better than Jiankang in every way."
Shen Yi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you have been in a cage for a long time and you are back to nature."
The emperor was stunned when he heard this, and repeated this sentence in a murmur.
"After being in a cage for a long time, you can return to nature."
After reciting it to himself twice, he looked at Shen Yi and shook his head slightly: "Although Shen Qing's words are very good, they are not suitable for me."
"I should be..."
He looked at the scenery outside and felt inspired.
"Long time in a cage."
"Now we have to return to nature."
(End of chapter)
