The waves of shouting came one after another, and the roaring drums also came at the right time. The shouts and drums were thunderous, making people even more enthusiastic.
Everyone was shouting with red eyes. Being in the sea of people, even the war horse under Guo Xin's crotch was affected. It kept snoring and scratched the soil with its hooves uneasily. Guo Xin stroked the horse's neck and tried to comfort the mount, but he himself was also infected by the atmosphere. Under the rising and falling chest, it was like a furnace was burning the space in his cavity, causing his blood to boil and surge in his body. Even the breath he exhaled became hot.
Guo Xin followed the warriors around him and shouted long live, but he did not want to sacrifice his life for Liu Zhiyuan, but simply wanted to vent the emotion that contained infinite energy at the moment.
I don’t know how long the roaring and tsunami lasted. Finally, when the crowd slowly ran out of energy and the momentum began to calm down, the group of cavalrymen who were guarding the audience dispersed and ran back and forth among the troops while shouting: "Quiet! Everyone!" Army, don’t move!”
Then the restless crowd gradually stopped, as if they were waiting, and vaguely looking forward to the next order from above.
After a long time, Guo Xin saw the commander Wang Jin galloping over on horseback.
Wang Jin's face was flushed and he looked very excited. He shouted to the surrounding soldiers: "Pass the military order! The army will set off in seven days!"
The army suddenly cheered again.
People came to the school grounds with different moods, and returned to their respective military units to recuperate with different moods. As the date of the expedition was confirmed, people's doubts and uneasiness gradually disappeared, and the things before them became predictable: fighting the Khitan, crossing the Yellow River, and regaining the lost territory...
Wang Jin summoned several of his subordinates, including Guo Xin, and after giving some instructions on matters before the expedition, he hurried to the Chinese army's tent. Liu Zhiyuan was summoning the generals to discuss matters in the big tent.
At Wang Jin's level, he would not be able to participate in discussions of this level. There are more than 50,000 troops, and there are at least a hundred people in command alone, not to mention a group of pro-army generals around Liu Zhiyuan. It was only because Liu Zhiyuan remembered Wang Jin and recently deliberately mentioned him as the capital commander that he was given this honor.
The large tent of the Chinese army often accommodates the generals in the army for discussions or banquets, so it is much larger than ordinary tents. From a distance, it looks similar to a tall house. The soldiers surrounding the Chinese army's tent are Liu Zhiyuan's personal troops in front of the tent. The personal troops are all elite soldiers selected from all the armies. Without exception, they are tall and strong, with strong armor and staffs.
Wang Jin wanted to go downstairs to deliver orders. When he came to the tent, discussions had already begun inside. Wang Jin did not dare to neglect. After unloading his sword at the door and handing it to the guards in front of the tent, Wang Jin secretly slipped in from the corner of the tent in order not to attract attention.
The King of Peiping and the Governor of Hedong, Liu Zhiyuan, who had just been hailed as long live by tens of thousands of troops an hour ago, was sitting at the front with an expressionless face. His Highness's two younger brothers, Liu Xin and Liu Chong, who were also generals in the army, Each sat on either side of him, and the remaining civil and military officials from Hedong were divided into two sides and stood.
"...Today the Khitan is trapped in the capital, holding the emperor, and the world has no master. Your Highness should first correct his title, and then leave the army."
When Wang Jin came in, it was his subordinate Guo Erlang and his father Guo Wei who spoke in the tent. Wang Jin and Guo Wei had met several times. Guo Wei was generous and charitable, and had a good reputation in the army. He was not reckless like ordinary warriors, and he was also very popular among civil servants. Wang Jin also felt very good about Guo Wei, so he planned to win over Guo Xin to establish this relationship.
After Guo Wei said this, Yang Bin, the right governor of the capital, agreed: "We have enough money and food, and the military is attached to us. When His Highness's title is decided, the army will be as strong as a broken bamboo."
Judge Su Fengji also stood up and said: "The morale of the army is at its peak, which is the sign of the king's army."
Wang Jin couldn't help but feel strange when he saw that Su Fengji also rarely echoed Guo Wei and Yang Bin's words. Gein Hedong is not monolithic. The civil and military factions are vaguely headed by Shi Hongzhao, the commander of the military festival, and Su Fengji, the judge. They have never been able to deal with each other.
As a military general, Wang Jin naturally sided with Shi Hongzhao and Yang Bing, and did not like those officials who could only play with pens. He was even puzzled that Su Fengji and others would show up here. During the war, it was the warriors like himself who really fought in battle. The civil servants could only supervise the transportation of grain and grass in the back and do the kind of work that women could do. What else could they do? use?
Afterwards, a group of senior civil and military officers also stood up one by one to express their loyalty, and without exception they all urged Liu Zhiyuan to take up his position.
Wang Jin was not interested in what these people said and only looked at Liu Zhiyuan secretly from behind the crowd. Wang Jin found that Liu Zhiyuan's face had not changed since he came in, as if he had turned a deaf ear to the words of his ministers. But Wang Jin knew that when his commander looked like this, he often had a plan in mind.
Sure enough, after Shi Hongzhao and others came out to express their opinions, Liu Zhiyuan finally stood up from his position and raised his hand to stop everyone's speech. Everyone was immediately silent.
Liu Zhiyuan was also wearing a military uniform today, with mink fur on the outside and iron armor on the inside. When he stood up, he had a broad posture and a calm demeanor. Although he was over fifty years old, there was no sign of graying in his beard and hair, and he could still vaguely see the majesty and bravery he once had. Awe and admiration arose in Wang Jin's heart.
"The captives are still strong, but our army has not yet regained its power. The most important thing at hand is to build achievements first and then talk about other things. But how do the soldiers know?"
Liu Zhiyuan walked slowly in front of everyone, his tone was unusually gentle, as if what happened an hour ago had not affected his mentality at all.
However, Wang Jin was not a fool, and he knew that Liu Zhiyuan was imitating the previous emperors' practice of modesty and concession. Otherwise, if the commander-in-chief had no intention of becoming the emperor, why would Zheng Zhen come to see me this morning?
Guo Wei and others wanted to persuade him again, but Liu Zhiyuan waved his hand: "I have made up my mind! Now that the expedition is imminent, the most important thing is to follow the plan and welcome back to the official's house. The rest cannot be rushed."
So everyone had no choice but to look reluctant and stop trying to persuade them. Liu Zhiyuan continued: "According to news from the south, the Khitan Lord has sent troops and horses to escort the officials to the north. Now they have to leave Jingxing first to welcome the officials back to Hebei before making plans. What do you think?"
All the civil and military officers bowed their heads and said yes, and Liu Zhiyuan returned to his seat. While pacing, he began to issue orders in an orderly manner: "Transmit the order, with Shi Hongzhao's troops as the front army, Wang Zhang as the grain envoy, and Liu Xin as the deputy left guard of Beidu. Liu Chong was the commander of the camp and infantry...seven days later the army broke camp and headed east."
People kept coming out of the queue to receive orders with clasped fists and hands, and there was a sound of orders in the tent. After reciting a list of names and arrangements, Liu Zhiyuan finally stopped pacing and glanced at the faces of everyone in the tent: "The kings are on their own errands, and the generals are in charge of their troops. We welcome them back to the official house and expel the Khitans." , let’s work together for a great cause!”
"Expel the Khitan and work together for a great cause!"
Of course, everyone ignored the sentence "Welcome back to the official family".
