Zhao Tong and Zongze talked freely in the mansion until the sun went down, and then Zongze was allowed to leave.
Then he sat for a while, drank a cup of tea, and then asked someone to prepare a car to go to the palace to see Empress Zheng.
When Empress Zheng heard that he was about to go on an expedition, she looked sad and said that since Emperor Renzong, how could anyone from the royal family be the leader of the expedition?
Zhao Tong could only comfort him with kind words, but Empress Zheng had only this one son. Even though Zhao Tong said a lot, he was still uneasy. Thinking of the dangers of the battlefield, he got up to find Emperor Daojun.
How could Zhao Tong lose the right to lead the troops that he had finally obtained? He persuaded him for a long time before giving up.
After returning home, he was speechless all night, but he went to court the next day and became busy.
His expedition this time was different from that of Deng Xunwu and Wang Xiang. Firstly, his status was different. Secondly, this expedition was very important. If he failed again, not only the imperial officials would lose face, but also all the officials would lose face, because the next step would be The Western Army is about to be mobilized.
When Wang Qingdu failed in his three expeditions, how would the Western Army view this matter? This is no longer just a matter of face, but also involves the prestige of the court and the pride of the scholar-bureaucrats in front of the common men in the Western Army.
The Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ordnance Supervision were all mobilized, especially the Bow and Crossbow Department and the Rocket Academy under the Ordnance Supervision. The crossbows Zhao Yu wanted to bring this time were several times as many as those of Deng Xunwu and Wang Xiang before. .
Although hundreds of officials in the court were interested in winning, many looked at Zhao Tong coldly. Most of the Cai family members, including Wang Fu and Gao Qiu, had conflicting and complicated emotions.
There are many people who also hope to defeat Wang Qing as soon as possible, but they are not optimistic about Zhao Tao. After all, veterans like Deng Xunwu and Wang Xiang have been defeated with their troops. Zhao Tao is so young, so what if he is a prince? The rebels don't care whether you are a prince or a privy envoy! They all felt that there was still no hope this time.
Emperor Daojun officially issued an edict, conferring the title of "Huainan East Road" and "Huainan West Road" on Zhao Tong. The two routes were envoys of propaganda and fussing, and led an army of 70,000 to set out to conquer Wang Qing three days later.
As for various miscellaneous matters regarding military pay and pensions, the Privy Council and the two ministries have already drawn up regulations and will send them to the Guards and Military Department after the court.
These pension and miscellaneous matters are not static. They change at any time according to the war situation. At present, the national treasury can still support it to some extent, so no one has proposed derogation. It is even half a percent higher than when Deng Xunwu went to war.
War is an extremely complicated matter, and there are many things that need to be planned before and after. If a single army breaks through a barrier and is defeated, but when it comes to attacking a city and taking territory, there are so many things to prepare for.
This is naturally different from Wang Qing's side. There are bandits over there who can burn, kill, loot, and fight to support war. Naturally, the imperial court cannot do that.
Emperor Daojun also transferred several people from the Privy Council and the Ministry of Household Affairs to the army to make records. These people were not willing to join the army, but they were really not of high rank and had no choice but to hold their necks like those Xianggong bachelors who just refused to go. , nor can he pretend to be ill and escape like a waiter or a doctor.
After retiring from the imperial court, Zhao Tong returned to his mansion and saw Duan Yichang waiting. He came to say goodbye. He originally wanted to stay until summer, but seeing that the Song Dynasty was worried about the rebellion, he proposed with a wink. After returning to Dali, some trade matters have been discussed with the Ministry of Rites and will only be prepared after returning.
Duan Heyu's reply from Dali also arrived. Duan Yichang did not read it. He was not interested in the old affairs of the Liaoxi County King that Zhao Tu asked about, so he gave it directly to Zhao Tuan.
Zhao Tong opened the letter directly after taking it. The letter was actually written to Duan Yichang. At the beginning, he asked where he met Xiao Feng's daughter and how he was doing now. Then he wrote about the process of getting acquainted with Xiao Feng and what he had experienced. , and even why Xiao Feng was fatally injured and by whom.
After reading it, Zhao Tong looked a little weird. Duan Heyu didn't know that Xiao Feng did not die after being injured and lived for another three years. Moreover, the origin of Xiao Feng's wife was also very special, which he had never thought of before.
However, knowing why Xiao Feng was injured and the origin of his wife made Zhao Tong feel relieved, so that he could at least give an explanation to Xiao Min in the future.
After seeing off Duan Yichang, he rested for a night, then continued to assemble the army for three days, and then came the day of the expedition.
On this morning, the war drums outside Tokyo were loud and earth-shattering, flags were fluttering and rustling in the wind, the sound of armor and weapons rubbing against each other was endless, and the dark flow of soldiers, horses and people could not be seen ending at a glance.
Zhao Tong is dressed in black, wearing a black and blue moon-grabbing helmet, a dark night star-grabbing armor, and a black sun-killing spear hanging on the bird's wing ring of the victory hook.
This set of armor weapons was found in the arsenal built by Emperor Taizong. It is said to be the equipment left by the Iron Spear Wang Yanzhang.
Emperor Taizong had two warehouses. One of them was the arsenal, which contained the armors and weapons of some famous generals during the Spring and Autumn Period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. But they were fine at the beginning, but now they are mostly rotten and rusty and can no longer be used. This set of armors and weapons is one of them. The most expensive set, so it is best kept.
Emperor Taizong also had a poison arsenal. He loved to study poisons. After the founding of the dynasty, he even liked to collect strange poisons from all over the world. After he ascended to power, he even liked to use poison to kill some of his subordinates and criminal generals. But now poison Ku is no longer there, and the Renzong Dynasty was completely destroyed.
Zhao Tong sat on his horse, waiting for the three drums to beat, and the front army moved out. The flag of the Chinese army was raised high, and a letter with the word "Qi" written in it was written.
The handsome flag couldn't be written about Zhao, so it was embroidered with Zhao Tong's royal title, and there were guard flags on the left and right. His horse was followed by Huang Gu and Ouyang Bei.
Huang Gu was holding two reins, and on the other was a lantern for Thousand Miles Alone. Ouyang Bei was carrying a big bow, and there were thirteen black arrows inserted in the carved pot beside the horse.
Hundreds of people from the Scarlet Pioneer Regiment followed closely behind. Xu Ning had been training these hundred people since they returned from Longyou. Lu Junyi took over after he came and practiced spears from beginning to end. Now he is good at long spears and short spears, double spears and single spears, hooks, sickles, and swallowtails. He is proficient in all kinds of things such as guns, and his horse-drawn skills have long left those ordinary imperial guards far behind.
Not only were Liu Qi, Zhe Kecun, and Yao Pingzhong present during this expedition, but Wang Zhen, Lu Junyi, Xu Ning and others from the division were also with them. All the talents that the Guards and Military Division could use were brought out.
The army set out on foot, heading southward, and the city of Tokyo gradually disappeared behind.
I don't know what day it was, but the army marched at dawn and stayed overnight. They walked through Yingtian and passed through Suzhou. They made no mistakes all the way and gradually reached the border of Huainan West Road.
Today, on Huainan West Road, only Haozhou has not fallen into the hands of thieves. Haozhou is on the northern edge of Huainan West Road, facing Luzhou below and Chuzhou in the southeast, forming a triangle.
Deng Xunwu's remnant army was stationed in Chuzhou on Huainan East Road. The two were about the same distance from Luzhou, both more than three hundred miles away.
Before setting off, Zhao Tao had ordered Deng Xunwu to hold his troops in Chuzhou. Although Deng Xunwu was a privy councilor, Zhao Tao was currently the envoy to the Huaihe River and the highest commander in war. If Deng Xunwu was in power, he would naturally not be able to give orders, but on the battlefield , it was already Zhao Tong who had the final say.
The army marched straight to Haozhou in a mighty manner. After crossing the Huaihe River, they saw a team in front of them to greet them. It was the magistrate of Haozhou who led the general magistrates, soldiers and horses, and officials of all sizes in the city to greet them.
(End of chapter)
