Chapter 1 Arrival as promised
Zhao Bing stared at the north for a long time, trying to find something through the heavy night sky. Everyone looked at it, but except for the footsteps of the patrol team and the occasional cry of the night owl, they could not see or hear anything.
"Your Majesty, go back to the camp!" Ye Fengshu cold, as if he had penetrated his bone marrow through his thick cotton clothes. Wang Yinglin couldn't help but shivered and said to the emperor.
"Wait a minute, have you heard the sound of horse hooves?" Zhao Bing suppressed his hand, silenced him and asked softly.
"No!" Several people listened with their ears, only the 'huh' wind, and no so-called horse hooves. Tian Zhong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't make excuses. The patrol detective cavalry and the police whistle in front of the camp did not call the police!"
"If Your Majesty breaks your promise again and again, I will not hide it from the Queen Mother for you." Wang Yinglin also said with an angry look on his face.
"Tan Fei, do you listen to the sound of horse hooves mixed in the sound of the wind?" Seeing that both of them said they couldn't hear it, Zhao Bing was a little anxious and asked Tan Fei.
"Your Majesty, I... it seems that there is really a sound of horse hooves!" Tan Fei originally thought it was the emperor's auditory hallucination, and did not want to match His Majesty against his will. He suddenly frowned and said in a while hesitation.
"Report to the commander-in-chief, the detective cavalry found a team of enemy troops crossing the canal after leaving the city, and they did not know where to go!" At this moment, a correspondent rushed over and reported.
"Let's explore again, report again!" Tian Zhong whispered loudly, and his eyes looked at the little emperor again. Why did the enemy's army just left the city and heard the sound of horse hooves? But I felt relieved when I thought about it. Isn't Your Majesty the ability to predict the future?
Unexpectedly, this was just the beginning. The scouts kept returning to report the situation of the enemy's army. There were about two teams of 1,000 people, both of which were cavalry. After marching east for a distance, they suddenly turned north, as if they were thinking of coming from their own camp. Yangzhou City was only ten miles away from Yangzi Town. If the cavalry ran at full speed at this distance, they would be able to come to the front of the formation in two quarters of an hour.
The war was urgent, and Tian Zhong advised him a few words, but the little emperor insisted on watching the battle here. He had no choice but to go to the commander's tent to organize troops to resist the enemy's night attack. In just a moment, a barking sound came from the formation, and then the barking sounded, and the few people in the watchtower could clearly hear the sound of horse hooves coming from the darkness.
"Your Majesty, please go downstairs!" The alarm bell had sounded, and the early warning whistle in front also began to retreat to the camp. At this time, Guantong, who was on duty on the building, saluted the emperor.
"I am only here to watch the formation and will never interfere with the command." Zhao Bing raised his hand and returned the favor and took a few steps to the side.
"Your Majesty, military discipline stipulates that Wanglou is the command center, and idle people are not allowed to stay. Please go downstairs and do not affect military operations!" Guantongshou refused to give in and saluted again and said in a deep voice.
"Yes, I'll leave immediately!" Zhao Bing said nothing after hearing this. After raising his hand and returning the gift, he turned around and left.
"Standing at the attention, I respectfully send you my Majesty!" Guan Tong shouted the order, and looked at the soldiers on the building immediately lined up to salute the emperor and watched the emperor leave.
"Why is this?" Wang Yinglin was indeed confused. Everyone could not persuade His Majesty to leave, but a small gangster drove the emperor downstairs in a few words.
"Governor Wang, military discipline is issued by His Majesty's imperial decree, so he naturally has to take the lead in implementing it, and it is said well!" Tan Fei also smiled.
"Oh, if this happened to other court officials, I am afraid that this young man would be killed and sent out. But Your Majesty can do it himself and will not scold him because of his humble status, or even show no surprise. If the court can be like Your Majesty, how can you talk about the government's leadership being weak and the government orders are not understood!" Wang Yinglin said with emotion after hearing this.
"Governor Wang, although the top and the other in the army have clear classes, they all take military discipline first and prohibit them. Even if the general of the army violates military rules, their subordinates can still refute and sue. Although there are reasons for the ruthless military law, the reason why His Majesty takes the lead in following it is inevitable." Tan Fei explained with a smile, "But the civil officials in the court think that they are dismissed by their subordinates. Some even show off their capital for violating the rules and regulations and acting without taking care of the details to show their own uniqueness. If they were the same in the army, they would be afraid that their butts would have been opened long ago."
"Ah..." Wang Yinglin could only sigh after hearing this. Seeing the situation in the army, he understood a little why the young emperor was "disgusted" by the scholars and gradually deployed retired military generals to the place. These people have been subject to military rules and military disciplines in the army for a long time, and have regarded following orders as an instinct. In this way, they can strictly implement the emperor's decrees instead of perfunctory responsibilities. In the long run, he couldn't help but worry about the future of the scholars. If they still don't want to change, they will be expelled from the court one day and lose the glory of "ruling the world with the emperor".
"Hurry up, go to the grain stockpile!" Zhao Bing, who was driven away by a vague person, did not give up his intention to watch the battle. He soon discovered another commanding height, which was the grain stockpile that was as high as two meters in the central army's baggage camp.
"Your Majesty, this..." Wang Yinglin advised him, but the little emperor had already used his hands and feet to climb up a grain stockpile first, but he didn't have the ability. He was in a hurry. Some guards came to help him up. He climbed up the grain stockpile along the trembling ladder. Although the guards pulled back, they still had white-haired sweat, their legs were trembling, and they didn't care about much and sat on the grain stockpile.
It is better to see far upstairs here, but you can also see the situation in front of the camp. At this time, the situation changed again. The bonfire in front of the formation had been lit, illuminating within a hundred steps. You can clearly hear the sound of horse hooves hitting the earth like thunder. It seemed that the grain stockpile was shaken and trembled. Wang Yinglin couldn't help but grab the reed mats covering the grain stockpile, and was cut by the sharp edge and his hands were unaware of it.
Wang Yinglin was still breathing and looked at his camp. He saw three red lanterns rising from the building. He knew that this was the highest warning level. The military camp, which was still dark just now, was already brightly lit for a while, and the rotating troops had gathered, and the fortifications in front of the camp were ready to defend. The sharp whistles and commands in the rest of the camp were also sounded, but they were busy and not messy. The resting soldiers had been fully armed and gathered at their designated locations, waiting for the next order.
"So fast!" Wang Yinglin saw that the troops were ready to fight, so he could take a break from his forehead. At this time, he could see the figures of enemy cavalry appearing in front of the camp, one or two... They were like demons rushing out of the darkness, and in a blink of an eye, the enemy troops were already overwhelming, rushing towards their camp like a whirlwind.
"Fire the artillery quickly..." Seeing the enemy cavalry rushing towards the camp with lightning speed, Wang Yinglin, who had seen such a "big scene", not only sweated on his forehead, but also sweated on his back. Although the troops in his camp were ready, there was no movement. Seeing that the enemy cavalry had rushed to the trench less than 200 steps away from the camp, he couldn't help but scream.
‘Boom, boom, boom…’ Before Wang Yinglin finished speaking, the explosion suddenly sounded, and the flash of the explosion was particularly dazzling in the night. He covered his hands and looked at it secretly, but he saw that the artillery position was still quiet, while the explosion seemed to be thunder on the ground, lifting the ground, and overturning the approaching enemy cavalry and overturning the enemy's people, and the offensive was involuntarily stopped. However, the enemy cavalry did not stop attacking, but only slowed down a little. The enemy soldiers behind him rushed to the camp with fearless sounds of horns.
"The bravery of the Mongolian Tartars is indeed as rumored. The former is the servant, and the latter is the successor, and they are not afraid of returning the formation!" This scene made Wang Yinglin become a literary youth again, and said with a surprised expression.
"Governor Wang, the Mongols often use the 'Badu' army as their vanguard when they go to battle. They may live in advance, but they will die when they retreat. Therefore, they will be afraid of life and death only if they charge into battle." Tan Fei explained from the side.
"Doesn't Badu mean a warrior in Mongolian language? Aren't all elite soldiers in the army? Isn't it a pity to be this victim!" Wang Yinglin said in confusion.
"Haha, Governor Wang misinterpreted it. This Badu is not the Badu. The Meng Yuan had the habit of being a pioneer with rebellious people and death row prisoners. If these people bravely move forward and make meritorious achievements, they can be pardoned. However, they retreated in a cowardly manner, or fugitives will be shot and killed by the supervisory team behind them, so at best they are just cannon fodder that consumes opponents!" Zhao Bing smiled.
He knew that although these Mongolian cannon fodders were pitiful, they had the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Zhu Yuanzhang inherited his tradition and established the "Eternal Life Army" and the "Exiled Army" was the most tragic. His service was divided into three types: temporary, lifelong and permanent. The "Eternal Life Army" was unfortunately part of the permanent category. Unlike the "Badu Army", death row prisoners who entered the "Eternal Life Army" could not be released even if they were brave. After he died in the battle, his descendants would always act as cannon fodder for the "Eternal Life Army". The "Eternal Life Army" was born from the Old Zhu family, and his death was a ghost from the Old Zhu family. With children, it could also be a cannon fodder. It can be said that the court could not be over. Their family was always cannon fodder for life. Compared with the two, the Mongolians were like Bodhisattvas.
"Your Majesty, the enemy's vanguard has broken through the minefield, but the Badu camp is probably exhausted!" The explosion gradually dropped. Although the enemy cavalry of the Mongols approached one step, the offensive slowed down. Tan Fei pointed to the battlefield and said.
"The enemy soldiers suffered heavy losses. Do you need to retreat when they see the difficulties?" Wang Yinglin also looked at the battlefield. Although there was a bonfire, the smoke and dust rising after the explosion still affected their sight. You can vaguely see the battlefield full of horses and corpses. The screams of the wounded and the whine of the war horses are clearly heard.
Chapter completed!