Chapter 56: Recapture of Yanzhou
Half a month later——
The news that Duke Wei died in the battle at Guiban Cliff spread throughout the Great Zhou, shocking the entire country and causing mourning among the people.
The Duke's Mansion and Qiwu Palace were both draped in mourning clothes. Looking around, it was all white, icy cold, desolate and bleak.
Compared to the terrifying evil ghost general in the eyes of foreigners, Duke Wei is the pillar of the country in the hearts of the people of the Great Zhou.
More than 20 years ago, Prince Jing started a rebellion in Jiangnan. In the same year, the previous generation of foreign king took advantage of the chaos and led a large army to invade the south.
The rebellious Prince Jing led an army of 150,000 and marched north from Jiangnan to Yanzhou, heading straight for the capital.
Chaos broke out in the north and the south at the same time. The Zhou Dynasty was in turmoil and the people suffered terribly.
At that time, the former emperor was ill, and the government and the people were in a state of panic. In this time of crisis, the Marquis of Zhenguo was ordered to fight against the foreign tribes. Jiang Yi was appointed as the general of the Northern Expedition and went with him.
Marquis Zhenguo, the father of the future empress.
The two sons of Jiang Min and Jiang Yi went to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion of Prince Jing.
However, the Marquis of Zhenguo died of a strange poison in the first year of resisting the foreign tribes. The army could not be without a leader for a day, so Jiang Yi took charge of the northern army.
At that time, the soldiers who fought against the foreign tribes in the north were not iron cavalry, but hundreds of thousands of new soldiers hastily transferred from the south. And what they faced was not just more than 200,000 brave and terrifying wolves.
There is also the weather. Soldiers born in the South have to fight for their lives in the ice and snow with foreigners whose physical fitness is ten times stronger than their own.
One can imagine how difficult the final victory was.
In the end, Jiang Yi personally chopped off the head of the previous foreign king, and then rushed to Wanli to lead his troops south, barely blocking Prince Jing's army outside Yanzhou City. He met with Jiang Min and worked together to strangle the rebels.
The Queen's father, Marquis Zhenguo, died in the north, and Jiang Yi's two sons died in the south. There are also hundreds of thousands of soldiers buried on the battlefield.
Only in this way was the chaos between the North and the South settled.
Jiang Yi was awarded the title of Duke of Wei for his achievements in conquering the north and the south. At that time, the prestige of Duke of Wei in the Great Zhou even surpassed that of the previous emperor.
But now, the iron-blooded general who was invincible in the hearts of the people of the Zhou Dynasty is dead.
He was guarding the Guiduan Cliff, the last barrier for the alien army to reach the heartland of the Great Zhou. He died standing in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, holding the flag of the Great Zhou army.
On the day the news was released, the entire capital city, and even the entire Great Zhou, fell into white.
The nation mourned, the people wept.
It's more than just eight words.
August.
The ninth prince Zhou Huaiyan requested permission to march to the northern border.
The Emperor of Zhou gave him a scroll of imperial edict as he was told. On it was a blood-red jade seal and one word.
--allow.
There were no soldiers, no food, and not even any official title or position, only the word "Yun".
On the day of the expedition, Emperor Zhou also led hundreds of officials to see him off. However, the scene was not as grand as when Duke Wei went to war.
That's right, a useless prince who has been sick for twenty years, with only three thousand soldiers, has to go to the ice and snow battlefield where hundreds of thousands of soldiers are fighting.
But even so, the people in the capital city still spontaneously took to the streets to see him off.
Perhaps they also knew that they only had a few thousand soldiers and that the leader was nothing more than a dissolute and sickly prince.
But these people are not going there for pleasure.
It is for the people of the Great Zhou that we are willing to sacrifice our lives and shed our blood.
The ninth prince, Zhou Huaiyan, was once the most despised prince in the capital. He was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and spent his days indulging in pleasure.
But when the country was in danger, among so many princes, he was the only one who asked for permission to march to the northern border.
Among the people who escorted the troops, there was an old man who silently shed tears and sighed,
"After all, he is...the heir of the Jiang family."
Since the founding of the country, the Jiang family has had many men serving in the army, and countless of them have died, been injured, or become disabled. All their glory, honor, and glory were gained at the cost of many lives.
Even today, Zhou Huaiyan, a prince, has to go to the battlefield.
But there are still many people watching the joke.
It is ridiculous for a fool to overestimate his own abilities and talk nonsense.
Even Zhou Huaiyan did not wear armor or ride a warhorse. He stood in front of the army, wearing white clothes, black hair, and a snow-white forehead.
Other than that, there are no accessories.
In the Zhou Dynasty’s funeral rites, when a father passed away, his son had to wear a headband.
However, Jiang Yi's two sons died early in Jiangnan, so this gift naturally fell to Zhou Huaiyan.
Many people said that he was not going to fight, but rather to be buried with the dead.
Emperor Zhou also thought so at first. He remembered what Zhou Huaiyan had said to him a few days ago.
There is no passion, no deep hatred, just a pale, empty, even calm statement.
But the Emperor Zhou was so shocked that his mind went blank. The young man in front of him, who was so weak that he seemed to be dying, said to him:
[I want to wipe this nation out of this world.]
After the shock, Emperor Zhou's reason slowly returned and he frowned. He had expected that Duke Wei's death would be a huge blow to Zhou Huaiyan, but he had never thought that the other party would say such ridiculous words.
"Stop talking nonsense and making irresponsible remarks."
"I don't want a single soldier from you, nor do I want a single rice or a single dollar from you. I just want a written consent from your Majesty."
That day, Zhou Huaiyan took out the brush beside him and pressed it into the emperor's hand without hesitation.
"Anyway, now that he's dead, my life will be of no use to your majesty."
The boy raised his lips slightly, his voice hoarse.
"Why don't you take it for a gamble, Your Majesty?"
At that moment, Zhou Huaiyan's face seemed to overlap with Jiang Xun's face before his death.
Emperor Zhou originally didn't want to kill her, but they couldn't have a child. But after Jiang Min found out about this, he went crazy.
No one in the world could try to use benefits to persuade a mother to kill her child. The worst thing was that Jiang Min was the most beloved youngest sister of Duke Wei.
At that time, Jiang Yi was in his prime, commanding a large army, and his achievements surpassed those of his master. Even the children in the northern border only knew the Duke of Wei, but not the emperor.
The Emperor of Zhou was jealous, terrified, and even frightened, so he had to kill her in the end.
Jiang Xun had this expression before he died.
She was as calm as a pool of stagnant water, but deep within those overly beautiful eyes, there seemed to be a hellfire that was ready to burn the entire world.
But Zhou Huaiyan is not Jiang Xun.
Back then, Jiang Xian was not only good at leading troops to fight. Others may not know it, but Emperor Zhou knew it. He was the so-called Master Jian Kong who saved tens of thousands of people in Jiangnan.
It was just that the late emperor attributed Jiang Min's achievements to Jian Kong for the sake of his illegitimate son.
Zhou Huaiyan didn't have Jiang Xun's martial arts skills, nor did he have Jiang Xun's years of military experience. He didn't even have a healthy body.
However, Emperor Zhou never imagined that Zhou Huaiyan could hide two thousand soldiers in the capital right under his nose.
He carefully confirmed that those soldiers were not the Northern Iron Cavalry left by Duke Wei, but private troops loyal only to Zhou Huaiyan.
But so what?
His son had never even left the capital city since he was a child. For almost a dozen years, he had been bedridden, eating, drinking and having fun, not to mention going to the icy and snowy northern border to lead troops to fight.
Can--
【Bet on...】
【Play around...】
It seems like a scene that doesn't require any investment, but the possibility is infinitely close to zero, really... completely eliminating the aliens.
Just as Zhou Huaiyan said, Duke Wei is dead and his life is of no use now.
Anyway, even if Zhou Huaiyan really died in the northern border, Emperor Zhou would not suffer any loss, right?
The cold emperor narrowed his eyes and watched the army walk out of the capital and gradually disappear.
Even when leading troops to battle, Zhou Huaiyan still sat in the most luxurious and beautiful carriage. He disdained to act like a selfless general who was ready to die.
Instead of bumping around on the horse, it is better to think carefully and plan in the car.
However, after the army had been marching for only two days, they discovered a woman had sneaked in among them.
Wei He, the teacher who taught Ah Fei, is now Zhou Huaiyan's deputy general.
"Your Highness, please punish me! It is my fault!"
There was silence in the carriage for a moment, and then the young man's cold voice was heard.
"It must be Ye Lingyun."
Wei He was stunned, amazed at His Highness's foresight. However, everyone in the capital knew that when Zhou Huaiyan was ill last year, the eldest daughter of the Shangshu Ling went to visit him alone many times.
This caused a lot of discussion in the capital, and the whole city was in turmoil.
Now he has even followed into the army.
Master Wei showed some hesitation, as if he wanted to persuade His Highness not to indulge in the love between his son and his daughter. But before he could reply, he heard another order coming from the carriage.
"Let her get on the carriage. Your Highness has something to ask. Let's continue the march."
"yes!"
Master Wei has been in the army for many years. Even if he has doubts or something else in his heart, he will definitely carry out the orders from above without any error.
Soon, a girl dressed as a fireman got on the carriage.
Firemen are also equivalent to cooks in modern armies.
Zhou Huaiyan looked up at her. Ye Lingyun was no longer as beautiful as she was at the New Year's Eve banquet. She looked shabby instead.
I have to say that she has a good skill in disguise. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken two days to capture the person.
Ye Lingyun is 19 years old this year. Although she comes from a prominent family, she is already an old maid who cannot get married in the eyes of the nobles in Beijing. She studies martial arts and literature, behaves strangely, has extreme thoughts, and does not observe female virtues.
Zhou Huaiyan looked down at the map on the table and asked casually,
"Why are you here?"
Ye Lingyun was kneeling, his flamboyant attire could not conceal his clear and determined eyes.
"Your Highness, do you remember that I once told you that the person I admire most in my life is Princess Jiang Min?"
Zhou Huaiyan's eyelashes trembled slightly, his voice was still cold, he only said,
"According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, women are not allowed to serve in the army."
The wolf-like girl looked at him steadily, her voice was sonorous and powerful, and her slender back seemed to have a kind of lonely and courageous spirit of moving forward.
"But the Great Zhou laws don't say that women can't fight on the battlefield to defend their country!"
"......"
Hearing this, Zhou Huaiyan finally put down the map in his hand and looked up at her, his eyes dark and unclear.
"Ye Lingyun, do you know what happens to Zhou women if they fall into the hands of foreigners?"
"Know!"
Ye Lingyun is the eldest daughter of Shang Shuling and her grandfather is Zuo Shi. She grew up reading history books.
"Twenty-eight years ago, when the foreign army invaded the south, the three northern states did not have 300,000 cavalrymen, but only 80,000 soldiers guarding the border, and did not have the strong defenses we have today.
When they captured a state capital, they massacred the entire city, killing all the men and raping the women, giving birth to what they called foreign warriors.
"And the children born in that battle, as well as the children born to Zhou women when foreign tribes continued to harass and plunder them, eventually became human-pigs."
Finally, she looked at Zhou Huaiyan steadily.
"I also know that General Yun Fei is one of them."
"......"
After listening to her, Zhou Huaiyan just asked her,
"Now that you know, if you are also captured, raped, or even have the blood of a foreign race, or even can't survive and die directly on the battlefield, are you afraid?"
"No!"
Ye Lingyun straightened his back, his eyes sharp.
"Why are women born into chains? Why can we only live for our husbands and die for our sons? Why can we only be vassals of others for the rest of our lives?"
"I, Ye Lingyun, am unwilling to accept that my life is limited to getting married and having children. I am unwilling to be trapped in a dead house for the rest of my life. I am unwilling to be like a slave and be controlled by others for the rest of my life."
"This Great Zhou is not only the Great Zhou of men, but also the Great Zhou of us women. Men can sacrifice their lives for the country, so why can't I?"
Zhou Huaiyan stared at her quietly, staring at the woman in front of him who was glowing with her unyielding and new self-awareness.
She said,
"Your Highness, I want to be the second female general of the Great Zhou. Not only will I protect my country and the people of the Great Zhou, but I will also complete the path that Princess Jiang Min had cut off by the imperial power."
"Opening a new path for millions of women in the world!!!"
"......"
After listening, Zhou Huaiyan lifted the curtain of the carriage.
"General Wei, give her a sword and enlist her in the ranks."
"yes."
Although shocked, the Wei general still did as he was told.
Their route to the north did not follow Duke Wei's route, but on the third day they turned around and headed east.
——Take the water route.
"Your Highness!"
Hongdou stood in front of several huge warships, waiting as promised.
Now, she was no longer wearing the clothes of a palace maid, but had changed back into the clothes of a death warrior, wearing black clothes and soft armor, with her long hair standing high.
But on his back, he was carrying a large box wrapped in black cloth, so he couldn't see what was inside.
The maid respectfully welcomed her master aboard and whispered,
"Everything is ready as you ordered."
Zhou Huaiyan looked at the black box on her back, his gaze lingering for a few seconds before he stepped onto the warship.
It would take at least two months for a large number of troops to travel from the capital to the northern border, but only one and a half months by sea.
But during these three years, Zhou Huaiyan secretly conquered the Yun family and used them for his own purposes, then modified the warships and opened up waterways. After deciding to go to the expedition, he waited for half a month for the right wind to come.
In this way, it only takes half a month to transport two thousand soldiers to the northern border with the help of water and wind power.
【Half a month.】
Half a month is exactly when his next addiction will come back.
【But it doesn’t matter. 】
Zhou Huaiyan unconsciously clutched the fabric on his chest, where quietly lay the battle report of Duke Wei's death.
The young man in white clothes and black hair stood by the railing, the ribbon behind his headband dancing in the river breeze.
He looked quietly towards the north for a long time before giving the order.
"Go."
The autumn wind was howling, and dozens of ships several feet high were connected by iron chains, forming a cold and sharp knife, stabbing straight towards the north.
......
In mid-August, several warships were about to arrive at the designated location.
Yanzhou, which was occupied by foreign invaders, is located on the east side of the Linhe River, along with Wuhe Port.
The fleet was still several hundred meters away from the port. It was raining heavily at that time. The river was surging and roaring, and the heavy rain was hitting like stones.
There seemed to be a faint smell of blood in the wind and rain, coming from a hundred meters away.
The terrible sound of rain and waves was deafening, but it still couldn't cover up the sound of the harbor farther away -
Ladders were stacked up, soldiers were swarming like locusts, and the strong soldiers attacking the city were like a surging river, rushing in madly.
The outer city is broken!
Torrential rain came down with a roar, and the rain became more and more rapid. In the huge rain curtain, it was impossible to distinguish the two sides in the melee. One could only vaguely hear the deafening shouts and the sound of metal colliding.
The air between heaven and earth is filled with murderous energy, making people feel cold all over.
"Your Highness, the wine is here."
The chief palace maid calmly brought the wine pot and filled a third of the tiger-patterned black jade cup in front of her with liquor. The boat was shaking and too much liquor would spill.
"It should be a while."
Zhou Huaiyan put down the telescope and drank the wine. At this moment, a thunderbolt split the sky and reflected in the boy's eyes, chilling him to the bone.
He put down his cup.
"Wait two quarters of an hour before sailing over."
"yes."
Half an hour later, the heavy rain gradually subsided, and the sound of swords and swords fighting was not as deafening as before. Several warships slowly sailed over and landed in the pink river.
At this moment, all the iron cavalry from the northern border had already poured into Yanzhou, and they were unstoppable and crushing everything in their path.
The state capital that fell into the hands of foreign races a year ago was finally completely recaptured today.
The head palace maid held an umbrella for Zhou Huaiyan and walked with him to the railing.
The young man's forehead was cold, and the snow-white ribbons behind him fluttered quietly in the wind and rain.
Below, countless bloody corpses of alien races had already been cleared away, and thousands of cavalrymen lined up on both sides of the road.
Kneel to welcome.
Zhou Huaiyan had a cold expression as he stared quietly at a familiar yet unfamiliar figure not far away, standing at the forefront of countless soldiers.
The tall and handsome foreign man in an iron helmet and blood-stained clothes, holding a long spear in his hand, was like a snowy tree planted in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He should have been a cold and pure creature, but he could not hide the murderous aura that filled him.
"Your Majesty, Yun Fei!"
Bang!
He suddenly knelt down on one knee, his deep and hoarse voice permeated with the majesty of blood.
"The city of Yanzhou respectfully welcomes His Majesty the Ninth Prince to come in person!!!"
After a moment of silence, tens of thousands of soldiers from the northern border shouted loudly,
"——Welcome His Majesty the Ninth Prince in person!!!"
The sound waves were higher and higher, deafening and shaking the earth.
However, Zhou Huaiyan just raised his eyes calmly amidst the outrageous shouts and looked towards the Great Zhou army flag that was re-planted on the tower of Yanzhou City not far away.
Pop.
He heard the sound of the first chess piece falling.
The author has something to say:
Yan Bao's first move is to place the piece.