Jia Hui had known Lin Chong a few years ago, but had never met him in person.
When Jia Daishan took him to visit martial arts masters in various martial arts schools in the capital, he also visited Zhou Tong. When I found his home, I found out that Zhou Tong had already left the capital and was traveling around the world. Only Shi Wengong, who was still packing his bags before leaving the capital, was still at home.
From Shi Wengong's mouth, Jia Hui also learned about the general situation of their three brothers, senior brother Lu Junyi, third junior brother Lin Chong, and him, second senior brother Shi Wengong. Since Jia Hui had never practiced Fang Tian's painted halberd, he just chatted a few times. The sentence left.
Time flies, and it has been seven years since I heard the name Lin Chong again.
Eight days after his first trip to the capital camp, Jia Hui came to the capital camp again to watch the entire army compete.
Eight days ago, he was not familiar with the Beijing camp, and he ordered all the cavalry officers and soldiers in the army to organize a military competition eight days later, regardless of their birth qualifications, only their own strength.
Eight days later, Jia Hui was fully clothed and rushed into the military camp carrying a horse headless horse for martial arts.
I'll beat a group of you all by myself!
From half an hour after midnight to sunset, Jia Hui fought the whole game. He only ate a roast leg of lamb at noon. Then he fought again, changing six horses in a row, and defeated one challenger after another. Three stood out.
Lin Chong, Guan Sheng, Yang Zhi.
Lin Chong went out to work for a while after becoming a teacher. It was not until his father passed away that he returned to the capital. As soon as the period of filial piety was over, he married his childhood sweetheart Zhang Zhenniang, who was next door, and was then hired as the spearmanship instructor of the Beijing camp.
Guan Sheng was transferred to the Datong Frontier Army for his meritorious service in suppressing bandits in Jie Liang. He entered the Beijing camp with the troops of the Datong Frontier Army only last year.
As for Yang Zhi, he was a military officer and was sent to the Beijing Camp as a junior officer by the Fifth Army Governor's Office.
These are the only three people in the entire Beijing camp cavalry who can last about forty rounds under Jia Hui.
The happy Jia Hui promoted them on the spot to become his direct subordinates. The three of them suddenly went from low-level military attachés as big as sesame seeds in the eighth or ninth grade to senior military attachés in the fifth grade, achieving a class leap.
At the same time, the 60,000-horse army in the Beijing camp was completely impressed by Jia Hui's bravery.
After midnight in the early morning, Jia Hui also arrived at his headquarters of the Three Thousand Battalions.
"The humble Guan Sheng (Lin Chong, Yang Zhi) meets the general!"
Guan Sheng and the others had been waiting in the main hall of the barracks for a long time.
"No courtesy, come on, sit down quickly." Jia Hui put down the document in his hand and looked up at the three of them, his eyes full of appreciation.
"Are you all ready? There is no need to march in the country this time, and supplies can be obtained at any time. Clothing, shoes and socks, armor, and horse gear must be prepared. There are not many master craftsmen in the army, so what's the problem? But it may not be possible to fix it immediately!" Jia Hui warned, as a person with four years of expedition experience, his experience is far beyond that of the three people who have only suppressed bandits in China.
"General, we are all ready. I asked Brother Hu Jiu to check it yesterday. Brother Hu said that everything is ready."
Jia Hui glanced at his own soldier Hu Jiu. Hu Jiu nodded, and Jia Hui understood.
"That's okay. This expedition will be mainly based on the cavalry army. Our twelve 3,000 battalions of cavalry troops from the Beijing camp will all go out. Plus the cavalry troops transferred from Jiubian, there will be almost 80,000 people. Eighty thousand people want to It’s not easy to stand out, and various factors are indispensable.
It's your own business to go into battle to kill the enemy. All I can do is equip you with good equipment. As for armor, the standard armor from Jingying is very good. There is no need to prepare anything else. When you go to receive the armor, tell me your name and receive one. Just put on brand new armor.
Prepare the weapons yourself. If you don't have enough money, ask me to borrow them.
Then there are the horses, but with your wealth, I guess you can’t buy any good horses. I still have a few good horses from Ili here. You guys can take two of them each! "Jia Hui waved his hand and sponsored the weapons and equipment of the three people.
Guan Shenglin stood up excitedly towards Yang Zhi and the others, his hands trembling.
"We thank you, General, and will serve you to death from now on!"
The three of them quickly knelt down on one knee and saluted Jia Hui with their hands clasped above their heads.
"If it weren't for your own abilities, I wouldn't have treated you like this. If you were the one who couldn't hold up the wall with mud, do you think I would have looked at you? Okay, Hu Jiu, take Guan Qianhu and the others with you. Go get the armor and war horses, and call the twelve commanders over for a meeting." Jia Hui waved his hand, indicating that it was time for them to go out. Hu Jiu agreed and took the three still excited people to select war horses.
. . . . . .
In fact, there is nothing to talk about with the Khalkha people. Khalkha itself is on the weak side, especially now that it is being beaten by Monan. They don't care about anything. The survival of Khalkha is the most important thing. , What's more, they have no capital.
After three days of symbolic talks, the emperor ordered the Northern Expedition!
Having received orders long ago, the Nine-Border Frontier Army on standby in Fangshan, southwest of Beijing, entered the camp in the west of Beijing and waited for the emperor's review.
"Brother!" Ningling County Prince Kuang led the border troops from Guyuan Town into the capital camp first.
"Hey, Lao Hou, you came here then!" Seeing his old brother, Jia Hui was also very excited. He quickly hugged Hou Kuang and patted Hou Kuang's back vigorously.
"Ahem, eldest brother, I have someone under my command. Look, who did I bring?" Hou Kuang quickly begged for mercy and flashed back to Jia Hui the moment he let go.
"Who is it?" Jia Hui was about to go out to take a look when an eight-foot-tall bearded man opened the door curtain and walked in.
"Hahaha, brother Jia Hui!"
"Oh, Brother Lu, why are you here too!" Jia Hui was a little surprised, grabbed Luda's arm and led him to his seat.
Hou Kuang curled his lips and found a seat to sit down.
"Brother Lu, didn't you say you would follow Elder Zhizhen to Dayun Temple? Why..."
"Ah, brother, didn't I go to Dayun Temple with Elder Zhizhen? I stayed in Dayun Temple for more than a month before leaving. I was walking towards Wutai Mountain when I met Brother Hou leading people to the capital.
My brother thought something had happened, so he reported his name and title. Only then did he realize that he was going to go on the Northern Expedition, so he must be there to help! When passing by Wutai Mountain, I sent Elder Zhizhen to the mountain, and my brother followed the army to the capital! "Ruda told Jia Hui about his experience during this period.
"That's a coincidence! It just so happens that with Brother Lu here, we have a better chance of winning this Northern Expedition, hahaha!" Jia Hui laughed.
A few more jokes.
"By the way, Brother Lu, can you still wear that armor?" Jia Hui suddenly thought.
"This... I haven't worn it since I was knighted that day. Let me try it now." Ruda quickly asked his soldiers to bring his heavy armor.
Good fit.
This armor was from when Ruda first entered the military camp. The commander-in-chief of Gansu Province admired Ruda, and the heavy armor was tailor-made for him. The eight-foot-tall heavy-armored man could hold a mace or a terrestris stick, and he was as good as a weapon. A humanoid tank equipped with iron cavalry.
"The armor fits just right. It's just that the weapon is a little too light to hold on to."
"It's simple. I remember that Brother Lu used a terrestris stick, right? When I visited the Jingying Arsenal a few days ago, I saw a 50-pound terrestris stick. Brother Lu took it for himself." Jia Hui After recalling it, he said to Ruda.
Since we are fighting for our country, we naturally cannot allow our soldiers to be hampered by their armaments. We must try our best to prepare the weapons to be as foolproof as possible. Ruda must have reasonable equipment, not to mention that Ruda is the son of Pingliang County, so it is only natural to prepare equipment for him.
. . . . . .
Another day later, after the last batch of border troops entered the military camp, the emperor ordered generals such as Yun Yu and Jia Hui to enter the imperial city to conduct a general worship ceremony.
The emperor did not preside over the general worship ceremony, but asked the emperor to preside over it.
After the morning court ended, the emperor took Yun Yu out of the Huangji Hall, walked to the side hall at the back, and gave Yun Yu instructions according to the prescribed lines.
Later, at the auspicious time chosen by the Qin Tian Jian, Yun Yu and others who had bathed and fasted in advance entered the Ancestral Temple.
The emperor, who had already changed into his military uniform, stood in front of the royal palace of the two former emperors, facing south, quietly looking at the old commander Yun Yu who was walking towards him.
Different from the cumbersome costumes of the emperor, Da Qi canceled many of the costumes of civil and military officials, such as Wu Bian uniforms, etc. The formal attire worn on formal occasions only retained the beam crown and sacrificial robes. When military generals went on an expedition, it was stipulated that all expedition personnel should wear ceremonial robes. First.
Yun Yu was now wearing the bright brass armor given by Emperor Taizong.
When Yun Yu walked to the emperor facing north, the emperor turned around and solemnly took out a jade ax that could be held in one hand from the box on the altar. He held the ax and the ax handle respectively and handed them to Yun Yu, each with instructions. .
He handed the ax to Yun Yu, who held the ax handle. The emperor shouted: "From now on, the general will control whoever ascends to heaven."
Then, Yun Yu let go, and the emperor held the ax handle again and pointed the ax blade towards Yun Yu. The emperor shouted again: "Whoever goes down to the abyss from now on, the general will control him." From then on, the emperor handed over the power of life and death in this war to Yun Yu. At the same time, the emperor pointed the ax blade towards Yun Yu, which was actually a warning to the general to respect himself.
After the two went through several more dialogue procedures, the ceremony of bowing to general was completed.
The group returned to Huangji Hall again. Guanglu Temple had already prepared a banquet, waiting for the emperor and others to take their seats.
Just after everyone took their seats, the emperor also entered the Huangji Hall.
The palace banquet from Guanglu Temple, which was inherited from the Han Dynasty, was extremely unpalatable and already cold, was served.
Jia Hui, who had been bathing and fasting for three days with Yun Yu, had already turned green from hunger. When he saw the so-called meat soup served in a copper cauldron, which had already solidified a thick layer of mutton oil, he thought: My appetite is gone.
Even on the plateau, I have never felt so wronged!
Jia Hui's eyes twitched, and he quietly looked around and found that even the two saints had almost the same expression as everyone else.
Jia Hui knew that the minister of Guanglu Temple was finished.
After all, it's already April, and there are not many people who can still make the mutton fat in the copper cauldron solidify in the middle of the day.
He looked at his colleagues next to him with a hard look on his face.
But there was no other way. He was too hungry and wanted to drink. Jia Hui could only simply eat a few mouthfuls of cold dishes and imitate the drunkard colleagues beside him to drink.
Since he was wearing armor, he couldn't spill the wine on his sleeves, so he had to drink boldly.
Facing the Second Saint, he swung his big sleeves that were bound at the elbows by wristbands in a cool manner.
He raised the wine glass boldly and paid homage to the Second Saint Chang Le Weiyang, then put the wine glass to his mouth, raised his head and drank it all.
Then he made an expression that said the wine was very good, looked around, poured the wine glass with both hands, indicating that there was not a drop of wine left, and I drank it all!
The atmosphere instantly became lively, and there were constant cheers. Even His Majesty Dan's Second Saint was brushing his beard, looking like "As expected of your beloved."
After the toasting process, my colleagues' faces were glowing and they laughed boldly, showing the demeanor of a loyal, brave and heroic court general!
It would be better if the puddle of wine on the desk could be ignored.
. . . . . .
An hour and a half later, the banquet was finally over.
Jia Hui, who had no food in his stomach and had drunk a lot of wine, was helped into the carriage by the chamberlain along with his father Jia She.
Jia Hui, who was nearly two meters tall, was heavy enough. Coupled with the armor she was wearing, it really made the two waiters roll their eyes in exhaustion.
The other two little eunuchs also helped Jia She, who was also wearing armor, into the carriage.
"Brother An, Xiaozheng, come on, come and help me!" A sharp voice spread throughout Damingmen Square, attracting countless people to look towards the Meridian Gate. They were originally angry because of the little eunuch yelling. Li Xian, the eldest uncle, couldn't help but laugh.
I saw two little eunuchs, one on the left and one on the right, holding a strong man who was eight feet tall, with a waist of ten girths, and wearing an obviously larger armor. The slender little eunuch struggled to hold on. , the strong man’s arms alone were almost thicker than their bodies. Their legs were bent, and even if they were covered by their hems, they could still see their legs shaking.
The few little eunuchs didn't care about the rules, and hurriedly stepped forward to help support the fierce man. They managed to hold the strong man, but as the fierce man moved his body unconsciously, the few little eunuchs could no longer hold up. The leader The little eunuch looked around helplessly, looking for the fierce man's carriage.
"Hey, the little father-in-laws over there, send my brother Lu over here!" Jia Hui leaned out of the window of the carriage and waved to the little eunuchs to let them come over.
The young eunuchs felt that they had found a life-saving straw and hurriedly carried Ruda over, but they could not lift Ruda into the car.
"Come on, make way, I'll do it!" Jia Hui positioned Jia She so that he would stop leaning and turn around to face the back.
"Come on, little father-in-law, you can let go of your hands. One, two, get up!" Jia Hui leaned out and hugged Ruda's torso. He exerted force on his waist. Hearing the creaking sound of the carriage, Ruda was lifted by Jia Hui. Hui was carried into the carriage.
Two strong horses pulled the carriage out of Chengtianmen with all their strength, and then the soldiers and boys gathered around.
"Master Marquis!" Jia Hui's soldiers also found the carriage where Jia Hui was.
"Ah, Hu Jiu, go and tell Brother Lu's soldiers that he is in my Jia family's car. Let them follow you. Let's come to Rongguo Mansion together!" After saying that, Jia Hui said He leaned on the side of the carriage and fell asleep. After a while, three kinds of snores echoed in the small carriage.
. . . . . .
"Unfamiliar rafters..."
As dusk approached, Ruda, who had taken off his armor and robe, woke up.
"Uh..." Having a drunken headache, Ruda couldn't help but pat his head and rub his temples with his thumbs.
"Sir, you're awake!" The soldier who heard the noise and hurriedly entered the room to check looked at Ruda who had regained consciousness with joy on his face, and quickly handed Ruda the hot cotton towel that he had washed several times.
"Uh...where is this..." Ruda rubbed his face with a cloth and then asked.
"Sir, we are in Rongguo Mansion. Marquis Jia said that when he saw that you didn't prepare a carriage, he took it upon himself to bring you back together, Sir..."
"Hey, Brother Lu woke up at the right time! Come on, you didn't have a good lunch at lunch, so you have to have a good meal tonight!"
Jia Hui picked up the teapot, tested the temperature, and handed it to Ruda when he found it was not hot.
Luda didn't show any pretense, he held the spout of the pot in his mouth and drank a lot of water. When he finished drinking, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Okay, by chance, I only drank a lot of wine at noon and didn't eat anything. Let my brother try the delicacies of the Founding Duke's Palace!"
Ruda stood up, and the soldiers quickly picked up the boots and helped Ruda put them on, and then took out a round-neck robe for Ruda to put on.
Ruda picked up the big hat on the table, put it on his head, and followed Jia Hui out of the guest room.
The guest room where Ruda is located is located in a single-door triple courtyard next to Lixiangyuan. When you go out, you can see the corner door of Lixiangyuan to the east.
Walking along the side road to Rongxi Hall, Ruda asked about the doubts that arose during the lunch banquet.
"Brother, brother, I have something unclear." Ruda asked.
"Oh, brother, please speak."
"Brother considers himself to be a big drinker, and has never been afraid of anyone when it comes to drinking. But today, why is everyone so drunk at the banquet? Even those old men in their sixties and seventies are more drunk than my brother. Is it possible that there are so many people in this court? Such a massive amount?" Ruda was a little confused.
"Haha, brother, you have asked the right person. Let me tell you..."
The two chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at the Hall of Rongxi.
After Luda paid his respects to the old lady, the special expedition banquet prepared by Rongguo Mansion began.
It continues the greasy style of Rongguofu, but there is beef... ah no, camel meat!
The entire Rongxi Hall was divided into two halves by a screen. One half was the old lady and other female relatives, and the other half was the men of the Jia family. It was also the first time for Ruda to have such a good banquet.
Beneath his rough appearance, he actually has a delicate heart.
After noticing that Jia Hui's younger brothers seemed a little reserved, Ruda quickly talked about his experience fighting in the northwest, and Jia Hui also added a few words from time to time.
Ruda's vivid speech made Jia Zhu and Jia Lian excited. Even his second uncle Jia Zheng couldn't help but put down his chopsticks, chewed his food unconsciously, and listened quietly to the story Ruda told...
