Hearing that Li Er was coming, Li Xiaogong quickly ordered a soldier to take Li Xueyan to the carriage outside, where the family members of the county prince's palace were located. The princess of the county also came to see him off today.
After giving the instructions, he hurried back to the front of the army, waiting for Li Er to arrive.
Li Er did not ride in a dragon chariot today, nor did he raise an army. He rode a strong black horse, wore Mingguang armor, and came with only dozens of personal guards and a few eunuchs. Of course, as the prince of the empire, Li Chengqian also came with him.
"See Your Majesty!"
"See Your Majesty!"
"See Your Majesty!"
After Li Er stood on the temporary reviewing stand, the civil and military officials and 20,000 sailors were the first to bow down, followed by the caravans and civilians behind, and then the people outside seeing off their relatives, all facing Li Er. Bow down and prostrate.
The sound waves shook the sky, one wave overwhelmed the other. At this moment, the world was shaking! Countless people prostrated themselves in and around the open space along the Bahe River. Except for Li Er, no one stood with their head held high!
There was no three cheers for long live (the origin of the three cheers for long live when meeting the emperor was first passed down after Wu Zetian became emperor), and there was no kneeling down to worship (kneeling was not popular in the Tang Dynasty. Unless there were large-scale sacrificial activities to worship the heavens, it was generally not recommended to meet Shangguan or the emperor. (not kneeling), but Li Zexuan, who was in the field, was still shaken by this mighty and majestic voice, and was a little distracted.
"Flat body!"
Li Er was stunned. It had been a long time since he heard the majestic shouts of the soldiers in front of the formation! I really miss it!
After a moment he came to himself and shouted.
"Your Majesty has decreed that everyone should be equal!"
"Your Majesty has decreed that everyone should be equal!"
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Naturally, there were eunuchs below who spread Li Er's words.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Tens of thousands of people stood up and stood upright by the Bahe River.
"Emperor of Heaven, the sun and the moon are normal. Soldiers, today, you are about to set sail to the sea. You will not fight the enemy on the battlefield as usual. This time you are facing countless unknown risks on the vast sea. You are all my good sons and daughters of the Tang Dynasty. , I hope you can all come back alive in three months!"
"Of course, after leaving our country of the Tang Dynasty, as soldiers of our Datang Dynasty, you must ensure the safety of the people of the Tang Dynasty traveling with the fleet. Our people of the Tang Dynasty cannot be bullied anywhere. If you encounter If the enemy invades, use all your strength to annihilate it! Did you all hear that?"
Li Er shouted loudly.
"If you encounter an invading enemy, use all your strength to annihilate them!"
"If you encounter an invading enemy, use all your strength to annihilate them!"
"If you encounter an invading enemy, use all your strength to annihilate them!"
The soldiers of the three armies moved upon hearing the sound and roared in unison!
The glory of the people of the Tang Dynasty and the glory of the soldiers are the honor that they have always defended with their lives. Needless to say, Li Er said that they would do the same.
"Long live your Majesty!"
"Long live your Majesty!"
"Long live your Majesty!"
Even though the etiquette of shouting three long lives to the emperor is not yet popular at the moment, many businessmen, civilians, and ordinary people were moved to tears by Li Er's words of loving the people like sons. An older man spontaneously shouted "Long live your Majesty" , and other people shouted excitedly, and soon the whole Bashang was filled with uniform roars of "Long live your Majesty!"
People who have experienced the turmoil in the world know how happy it is to have a wise king in power. They sincerely hope that Li Er can live to be ten thousand years old.
Li Zexuan was affected by this lively scene and felt a little excited for a moment. He couldn't help shouting "Long live your Majesty" along with the crowd!
He thought to himself, no matter whether Li Er was just showing off or not, Lao Li's personality was really strong and he could "spark" the soldiers' blood with just a few words. Li Zexuan felt that he could not do this ability to inspire people.
Li Er took a deep breath. Of course, he was not doing it for show. He just said what he wanted to say. This scene was beyond his expectation.
"Where is Li Xiaogong, the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang March?"
When the shouts dispersed, Li Er looked at the neat soldiers on the field and shouted loudly.
During this expedition, Li Xiaogong was given the title of "General Manager of the Nanyang March", fully responsible for the 20,000 naval troops and tens of thousands of civilians.
"The general is here!"
Li Xiaogong strode forward and cupped his fists.
"Are the officers and soldiers of the three armies ready?"
"Back to Your Majesty, the officers and soldiers of the three armies can leave at any time!"
Li Xiaogong said loudly.
"Okay! Sacrifice! Go to war~! I wish you and others a triumphant return!"
Li Er pulled out the long sword from his waist, pointed it at the blue sky, and roared majestically.
"promise!"
Li Xiaogong waved his hand, and two soldiers ran up, slaughtered the cattle and sheep that had been prepared, and began the last ceremony before setting off for the expedition. Of course, people in the Tang Dynasty cherished their cattle, and the cow on the field was an old cow that was about to die.
Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, large-scale sacrificial ceremonies have generally been held whenever armies are dispatched, in which cattle and sheep are slaughtered as sacrifices to ancestors and Sheji (the god of land and grain). All the soldiers on the expedition lined up, and the slaughtered cattle and sheep had to go around the queue in a circle, and they were called "martyrs in the formation", and it was announced that "those who do not want to die will be killed."
The commander-in-chief personally sprinkled the blood on the weapons, which was called "chao", and symbolically sprinkled the flags, war drums, gold medals, weapons, etc. used in battle with a little blood. The strange thing is that the chariot soaked in animal blood has to be put back into the warehouse for preservation. After the sacrifice, the cattle and sheep were cooked, known as "roast meat", and distributed to the soldiers for enjoyment.
The purpose of this fleet was to trade with a small country in Southeast Asia, but everyone in the imperial court regarded this move south as a war in preparation. The proper expedition ceremony must be carried out, and the soldiers' armors and weapons were also the best.
The reason why this happened was that Li Zexuan played a very big role in it. The navigation precautions he had previously told Li Xiaogong, including guarding against pirates, guarding against natives, etc., Li Xiaogong repeated to Li Er intact. Li Er felt that it made sense, and summoned Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, and Li Jing Wait for important ministers to discuss. These big guys are all people with a long-term vision. How could they not understand things that Li Zexuan could understand, so they all agreed.
In this way, this huge fleet with sharp fangs gradually took shape, and today it will set sail to the South China Sea.
"It's done! Let's go to war!"
After about half an hour, the sacrifice was finally completed, and each soldier was given a symbolic piece of beef and mutton. After Li Xiaogong asked Li Er for instructions, he shouted and ordered the army to move out!
"Hooraa!"
Soldiers, traders, and civilians boarded the boat in an orderly manner according to the formation that had been rehearsed. The people around them who were sending their loved ones roared with "coaxing", and everyone shouted the names of their loved ones.
"Dad, my son and mother are waiting for you to come back!"
In front of the crowd, Meng Wenhao twitched his nose, held back tears, and waved to the fleet. However, his little voice was quickly drowned in the waves of shouts.
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