Chapter 447 Preparations
It was rare for the staff in the command tent to be so complete. The King of Chu sat at the head of the table, and in addition to Lin Changning and the other three, there were three commanders in the same position. Qin Zhong, Qian Ming, and Zhao Xiong, who were under the King of Chu's command, were all gathered together.
Lin Changning remembered that the last time they met was when the imperial court mobilized troops. That was when the three of them got together. After that, Lao Qin and the others went to the border city to fight the Tartars, while Commander Qian and Commander Zhao must have gone to other places to mobilize troops.
The three of them brought tens of thousands of troops with them this time. Where did they come from? Lin Changning wasn't quite sure, but it seemed that war was imminent.
Including the military command where Lin Changning was stationed, a rough count revealed a total of 100,000 directly subordinate troops.
I suppose that my father has summoned them all today because he is about to start a war.
Lin Changning exchanged a glance with Li Mingxiu, and seeing his elder brother nod silently at him, he roughly understood what was going on.
The eldest brother is now in charge of the supplies, and his nod means that Father has no worries about the rear, and the war can now be fought.
As expected, after all the people had arrived, Lin Changning took a quick look and found that there were more than a dozen people in the tent, most of whom were familiar faces. Even two young men from the Xie and Cui families were sitting and listening.
Lin Changning knew these two young men well; they were both candidates for the next head of the Xie and Cui families, and were also talents in both literature and martial arts.
Standing here now represents the intentions of both families.
He knew a little about the Cui family's affairs. Since A-Zheng was still young, his grandfather sent Cui Jue, the most outstanding young man in the Cui family.
As for the future head of the Cui family, Lin Changning was not entirely sure, but he figured that Cui Zheng's grandfather wouldn't betray his own grandson.
Lin Changning concealed the emotions in his eyes and quietly watched as everyone arrived. Ye Banban served tea to the Prince of Chu and the Crown Prince, then walked to Lin Changning and placed the teacup in front of him: "Young Master, this is the finest pre-Qingming Longjing tea. I heard you like it, so I prepared it early. Please have a taste."
Lin Changning smiled at Ye Banban, then reached for the teacup, gently blew on it, tasted the tea, and nodded to Ye Banban: "Thank you, Banban, for your trouble."
Ye Banban smiled happily at Lin Changning's love of drinking, then took the plate and retreated behind the King of Chu.
When the King of Chu saw that everyone had arrived, he cleared his throat and said with barely concealed excitement in his eyes, "I will not waste any more words. Today I received news that after our autumn harvest a few days ago, several heavy rains washed away the outskirts of the capital. Now there are disaster victims everywhere outside the capital and the grain routes are blocked. This is the best time for us to launch an attack."
The King of Chu paused, then looked at the suddenly excited crowd and continued, "Please be quiet for a moment, I haven't finished speaking yet."
After the people below calmed down, the King of Chu continued, "The various vassal kings have already promised that I will not send troops. This year, the court has fought two wars and is short of food. The food for the border guards has not yet arrived, so it must be difficult to mobilize troops. On the other hand, we have plenty of food and our military equipment is in good condition. This is a rare and excellent opportunity."
Seeing the King of Chu's excited eyes glance at Li Mingxiu, who was also excited beside him, Lin Changning quietly reached out his arm, grabbed Li Mingxiu's sleeve, and pulled it down hard.
Just as Li Mingxiu put down his tea, he was caught off guard and pulled by Lin Changning, causing him to stumble. Lin Changning then gently kicked Li Mingxiu in the back of the knee, and his brother-in-law suddenly knelt on the ground in front of everyone.
The hall fell silent instantly.
Li Mingxiu: ……
No, is Xiao Liu out of his mind?
Li Mingxiu, who was about to turn around, was pressed down by Lin Changning and knelt down firmly on the ground. Lin Changning lifted his robe and knelt down as well. Li Mingde seemed to realize something, got up, clasped his hands and quickly knelt down, and spoke first.
"Ninth Uncle! The court is surrounded by wolves, plotting to seize your military power, confiscate my family's property, and kill my father! They're trying to force us royal family members to our deaths! Now the capital garrison is blocked, and Luoyang is vulnerable. Heaven is giving us a chance! Every soldier on our side was trained by you! Grain is piled high, warhorses neigh loudly, the Taihang Pass is in our hands, and Luoyang is just ahead after crossing the Yellow River! At your command, 100,000 men will charge with you! Mingde is willing to follow you to the death, Ninth Uncle! To purge the court of corrupt officials! To pacify the world! To eliminate the tyrannical emperor and restore peace to the world!!!"
Qi Rong calmly put down his teacup, knelt beside Li Mingde, and bowed, saying, "Uncle! Your son is willing to lead troops to clear the way for you!"
Lin Changning also cupped his hands in greeting: "Your son is also willing to serve as your father's vanguard, donning armor and wielding weapons, leading three thousand guards as the vanguard! We will ensure that the banners of our Chu King's Guard are planted on the walls of every pass!!!"
Li Mingxiu finally came to his senses, clasped his hands in a fist and said to the King of Chu, "I am also willing to go!"
Li Mingxiu gritted his teeth with a hint of resentment. His three brat brothers hadn't left him a single word, so he could only add that he was willing too.
Li Mingxiu was somewhat annoyed, but when he thought about how Lin Changning had pulled him and he was the first to kneel down and pledge his loyalty, he felt a little comforted.
So what if he says nice things? He's still the first one to kneel down, humph!
Upon seeing the three men kneel down quickly, the generals and officials below reacted and all knelt down as well, clasping their hands in a fist and looking at the King of Chu with firm eyes and impassioned voices.
"We are willing to follow Your Highness to the death! To purge the court of corrupt officials and bring peace to the land!"
"We are willing to follow Your Highness to the death! To purge the court of corrupt officials and bring peace to the land!"
"We are willing to follow Your Highness to the death! To purge the court of corrupt officials and bring peace to the land!"
The King of Chu slammed his hand on the table and burst into laughter, exclaiming "Good!" three times in succession.
He waved to the crowd, signaling them to rise: "Good! With you all here, Taiyuan is united as one, what is there to fear in achieving our great cause! From this day forward, any soldier under my command who slays a general and captures a pass will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces! Anyone who follows me into Luoyang will be ennobled and appointed prime minister! Their descendants will forever enjoy this honor! Bring wine—in three days we will march on Niangziguan, seize Shanxi, and enter the Central Plains! We swear an oath of blood, we will not return until the capital is captured!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a line of maids filed in from the outer courtyard, carrying wine and drinks.
Watching the King of Chu take the dagger from Ye Banban, leaving a wound on his palm that dripped into the wine jar, his heart skipped a beat, and he began to have some wild thoughts.
Using a knife like that could easily lead to tetanus, right? And wouldn't drinking so much blood be a bit dirty?
As Lin Changning pondered this, his thoughts wandered. Qi Rong gently nudged him, bringing him back to his senses.
Seeing that the King of Chu was looking at him, Ye Banban, who was beside him, had already walked up to him with a small dagger. He then made a small cut in his palm with the knife, clenched his fist, and watched the blood flow into the wine jar.
Then the maid and Ye Banban walked to the next person.
Li Mingxiu, with his hand bandaged, silently approached Lin Changning and muttered, "What time is it? How can you still be daydreaming? Xiao Liu, you really have a big heart."
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