In mid-February, Emperor Wuding's chariot-riding retinue left Yuncheng, where people were starving and dying, and continued to provide relief to other prefectures and counties in Qingzhou Prefecture. On February 20th, they headed north and returned to Dengzhou, the base camp of the Qi army.
At the end of February, Emperor Xingluan arrived in Dengzhou.
Weihaiwei Port has masts like a forest and sails like clouds. Yingzui Port, which used to be depressed and deserted, suddenly became extremely busy.
The seaside was filled with all kinds of ships, including large, medium and small fortune ships transporting grain, grass and artillery, sand ships and bird ships transporting civilians, and of course, giant flat-armored battleships that were unique to the navy of the Qi army.
The sailors of the ship were climbing the mast like monkeys and checking the sail ropes repeatedly to ensure that everything would go smoothly when the army set sail tomorrow.
The gunners on each ship carefully wiped the red cannons with silk, and some even put the medicine packets on the deck loft to dry, for fear that they would not ignite immediately during a naval battle.
In the distance, several mosquito-like speedboats cruised back and forth on the sea of Weihai.
Hundreds of thousands of people recruited from the five prefectures and counties under Dengzhou Prefecture are busy transporting mountains of grain and supplies onto ships. Thick crowds of people unload bags of grain from the carriages on the post road next to the harbor day and night, like The food was moved like ants to the dock, and finally, stepping on the swaying sampan, the food and artillery were carefully moved to the bottom of the large Fu boat to be used as ballast.
Liu Zhaosun stood beside the Baichi Cliff Guardhouse, surrounded by Lu Xiangsheng, Zhang Dong, Dongfang Zhu and others.
The emperor put down the telescope, and began to tap the armor lightly with his thick fingers, repeatedly reviewing the details of sending troops tomorrow.
The Qi army fleet is expected to set sail tomorrow, in early March. Ten warships will transport 5,000 forward troops to Liaonan. After 5,000 veterans occupy the port of Lushun, more than 50,000 follow-up troops will land in Liaonan.
At this time, the main force of the Daqi Empire's infantry and cavalry were still fighting fiercely with thieves on the Luxi Plain and the Liaoxi Plain.
According to the decree of Emperor Wu Ding, the newly recruited Guards must be trained in advance and fight with the enemy before officially assisting the Liao Dynasty to ensure that every recruit can see blood. After that, they can rush to Liaodong to fight with the enemy. After that, the thieves and thieves can be selected as trial subjects, which is just right.
After this inspection, the emperor was quite satisfied with Lu Xiangsheng and decided to train this person well.
Lu Xiangsheng saw what the real doomsday scene was, and what he saw and heard was different from all the sage books he had read before.
They exchange their sons for food, sell their sons and daughters, and human flesh is bought and sold by the pound.
The emperor told Magistrate Lu that if he wanted to end the chaos in the world and let the people have enough to eat, he must continue to kill people.
All enemies of Da Qi will die.
"Although Li Xianzhong is dead, his remnant party is still entrenched in western Liaoning, but the bandits have become discouraged, their morale is low, and they will collapse at the first touch."
Emperor Wuding ordered Lu Xiangsheng to lead the main force of cavalry to attack Shanhaiguan.
"This time to aid the Liao Dynasty, 60,000 troops will advance by land and water, and attack by foot and cavalry. I will wipe out Jiannu and North Korea in one fell swoop, and wipe out all the enemies of Da Qi. I will give you twenty days. Twenty days later, that is, March 2 On the 10th, I will join forces with you in Shenyang. I will turn Du Du into a living figurine and drink wine with the heart and liver of a Cossack."
Lu Xiangsheng knew that the emperor put all the cavalry in Da Qi under his command, which showed his trust in him. He knew that this was a test.
Within twenty days, the cavalry must not only defeat the Shanhaiguan bandits, but also march thousands of miles to Shenyang City and launch an attack on the Eight Banners.
To be fair, such a task is by no means an easy task for the newly built cavalry.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will fulfill my mission. I will see you in Shenyang City in twenty days!"
Liu Zhaosun looked at the tall, unsmiling Lu Xiangsheng and said threateningly:
"Zhixian Lu, do you know that there are no jokes in the army! If I don't see you in Shenyang on March 20th, do you know what the consequences will be."
"I know that if the army fails to meet its deadline, the lives of me and my family will be handed over to Zhang Yingguan."
Lu Xiangsheng answered simply and neatly, and Emperor Wu Ding added:
"By the way, there is a shortage of food and grass at the moment, as you saw in Yuncheng. I will only give you ten days of food and grass. The rest will be up to you to rob Liaoxi bandits. If you can't grab food, you will have to starve to death."
The breeze was blowing on the sea and the waves were rippling. It was a good day to go to sea. The emperor suddenly remembered something and turned to Zhang Dong and said:
"Zhang Mazi, are there any Tatars in Dengzhou?"
Zhang Dong was stunned for a moment. This question was unexpected. It was impossible for the Eight Banners soldiers to appear in Shandong now. Zhang Mazi thought for a moment and then said:
"Your Majesty, there are no Tatar soldiers. There are several Tatar merchants in the city, selling mink furs and pearls, right next to the Ying'en Gate."
Emperor Wu Ding said with murderous intent: "Don't let them escape, capture them all, and sacrifice the flag to the army here before crossing the sea tomorrow."
Zhang Dong stood there, hesitating:
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, these five Jianzhou merchants have been loyal to the state for a long time, and they have been respectful and law-abiding. They have never done anything illegal. If they are killed rashly, I'm afraid..."
At that time, Liu Zhaosun vigorously promoted the strategy of converting the barbarians with Xia in Kaiyuan, and attracted some Korean merchants from Jianzhou, Haixi. These foreign merchants responded to Liu Zongbing's call and moved into Kaiyuan City to live among the Han people. They were influenced by their status as barbarians. After receiving preferential treatment from General Liu, the Kaiyuan Army entered the customs, and some foreign merchants also moved in. As Dengzhou was the base camp of the Kaiyuan Army, there were naturally some Jurchens.
"That's not a reason! From now on, Da Qi will never use Xia to change Yi."
The emperor looked indifferent, as if he was recalling trivial matters far away.
"If we don't kill a few Tatars to sacrifice the flag when the army goes out, all parties will doubt my determination! If Daqi is defeated and the Qing army enters the pass, burning, killing and looting, do you think the good Tatar people in Dengzhou City will wait obediently? Will the Han people retaliate, or will they take the opportunity to open the city gate and provide internal support for the same people outside the pass?"
Zhang Dong was speechless.
Emperor Wu Ding's eyes were cold and he continued:
"So, I would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one person slip through the net. Even if they are lurking enemies, we must kill them all. I don't want to be fighting at the front in a few days and suddenly there is a fire in the backyard. Go and execute it!"
Zhang Dong didn't say anything more, turned and left.
Before Lu Xiangsheng left, the emperor's conversation with Zhang Dong was heard by the young scholar.
Lu Xiangsheng was stunned.
Liu Zhaosun handed the telescope to Dongfang Zhu and said with an unhappy expression:
"Zhixian Lu, do you also think I am too cruel?"
"I don't dare."
"Do you know how brave the Kaiyuan army was in those days? The army was invincible. They fought in the north and south, and never lost. Jiannu, the Japanese state, and Korea were all under my iron heel. The kindness of my wife defeated them, but spared their lives. They now want to take revenge on me and form a nine-nation anti-Qi alliance with Nanming, Russia, and the four East Indian brats. These people will not give up until Qi is destroyed.
"So, I can't lose, and the Qi army can't be defeated. It's them who will die. Their doom has come! In order to win, let alone a few Jianzhou merchants, even the entire city of Dongdu can be killed."
Lu Xiangsheng knew very well that accompanying an emperor is like accompanying a tiger. The young emperor in front of him frequently killed people and slaughtered the city, which was completely inconsistent with the moral requirements of the monarch in the Confucian ethical code. It can be said that Liu Zhaosun was simply the first tyrant in history.
But having said that, even if he is a tyrant, he is still his own monarch. He has boarded this pirate ship. Lu Xiang has no choice but to retreat, otherwise he will be a traitor.
If the king wants his minister to die, he must die.
Lu Xiangsheng took the order to leave Yuncheng and return to Jinan. He led the cavalry battalion to march northward into Tianjin and quickly approached Shanhaiguan.
