Chapter 106 "I will personally lead the army!"
Since Chen Ruliang was the one who devised the scheme to sow discord between the Donghu and the Yin Kingdom, and he volunteered for the task, Emperor Xianping assigned the mission to Chen Ruliang, bestowed upon him a banner, and gifted him with over a dozen boxes of gold, silver, jewels, silks, satins, fine teas, and wines. He also arranged for guards and carriages to escort him on his journey.
In Emperor Xianping's view, it would be best if Chen Ruliang could persuade the Donghu to remain neutral. If he failed to persuade them, he would have made a wasted trip, but there would be no loss to the Great Zhou. In any case, he had already decided to conquer the Yin State and was prepared to divide his forces to guard against the Donghu cavalry.
Chen Ruliang set off with a determined expression, and Emperor Xianping, along with his civil and military officials, embarked on their journey south back to the capital.
In early October, the emperor returned to the capital, and a group of civil and military officials also brought back the news that the Great Zhou would be sending troops to the Yin Kingdom the following year.
Luo Fu had already heard Xiao Yu explain the advantages and disadvantages of the Northern Expedition and knew that the Great Zhou still had a good chance of winning. So Luo Fu became concerned about her own family and asked him, "Will my eldest and second brothers go on the expedition?"
Xiao Yu: "The Emperor has not yet mobilized troops, but according to the previous Emperor's deployment, only 50,000 soldiers will remain in the capital to guard it. My eldest brother is in his prime and has merits in suppressing bandits, so he should be used to lead the First Guard. My second brother is in the Imperial Guard. Unless he volunteers or the Emperor appoints him to go on the Northern Expedition, he can probably stay in the capital."
Luo Fu hugged Xiao Yu tightly, leaning on his shoulder, and said, "From my own perspective, I hope they can all stay in the capital." Ideally, the whole family could stay safe and sound.
Xiao Yu let out a long breath and said with mixed feelings, "My eldest and second brothers both have the ambition to make meritorious contributions, and I'm afraid they don't want to stay in the capital and enjoy peace and tranquility."
My father was forced to join the army and fight when he was young. He was pushed along by the situation and was lucky enough to be able to protect the emperor once. My two elder brothers had heard a lot of ridicule from other noble sons when they were young, and they were determined to prove themselves. In addition, assisting the emperor to destroy the Yin Kingdom and unify the ten provinces was a once-in-a-century achievement. Any ambitious military officer would not want to miss this opportunity to make a name for himself.
Luo Fu couldn't control her two husbands, so she was very glad that Xiao Yu was a civil official and didn't have to risk his life on the battlefield.
His mouth, which was prone to causing trouble, was at least on his body; the enemy soldiers' swords and blades were not under his control.
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Two days later, at the morning court on October 16th, Emperor Xianping officially issued an edict deciding to launch a northern expedition. He ordered the generals of Qingzhou and Yangzhou to mobilize 80,000 naval troops to await orders at Penglai in Qingzhou. He appointed Duke Dingguo Li Wei and Marquis Pingnan Liang Bizheng as the left and right generals of the army, respectively, to immediately train the troops of the capital garrison and march north to Zhuojun after the New Year. He also ordered the Secretariat, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of War to be responsible for the allocation of military supplies and provisions.
In addition, Emperor Xianping made a decision: he would personally lead the expedition.
The entire court had long known that the Emperor was going on a northern expedition, and they had prepared themselves for it. But the Emperor was going to lead the expedition in person.
Duke of Ying and the emperor's brother-in-law, Gao Kun, subconsciously glanced at his two nephews, Prince Qi and Prince Shun. The late emperor had twice launched northern expeditions, but on both occasions he only took the brave and martial Prince Qi with him. Prince Shun was a complete good-for-nothing, neither good at literature nor military affairs, and the late emperor was too lazy to use him. The current emperor, formerly Prince Fu, was good at both literature and military affairs, but he was too young, so the late emperor ordered his youngest son to stay in the capital to assist the former crown prince.
The late emperor was skilled in martial arts, and it was only natural that he personally led an expedition against the Yin Kingdom after conquering the entire country. This emperor, who sits high on the dragon throne, has never fought a single battle, yet he personally leads an expedition...
At this moment, Gao Kun's gaze met that of the Left Chancellor, Xue Chang.
Xue Chang secretly gave the old imperial uncle a wink. Various precedents proved that the emperor disliked ministers contradicting him. For such a major event as a personal expedition, his and the right prime minister's persuasion might not be effective. It would be better to let the old imperial uncle, who had made many military achievements with the late emperor, persuade him first. Perhaps they would be more confident. If they tried to persuade him first and failed, and then the old imperial uncle spoke up, the emperor would already be displeased and might not listen to the old imperial uncle's words.
Gao Kun was already quite old, so he wasn't afraid of offending his nephew, the emperor, by speaking harshly. He stepped forward and advised, "Your Majesty, the Northern Expedition will take at least half a year. With such a long time, the young Crown Prince is probably not up to the task of overseeing the country. It would be better for Your Majesty to stay in the capital and guard the rear. This way, the generals and soldiers in Liaozhou can be without any worries about the rear."
Emperor Xianping glanced at his uncle and said, "Although the Crown Prince is young, he has two prime ministers, the emperor's brother-in-law, and all the civil and military officials assisting him. I have great confidence in you all. Thinking back to when the late emperor went south to conquer Wu, the former deposed crown prince was only seventeen or eighteen years old. Didn't he manage state affairs very well with the help of a group of founding elders? I'm not bragging, but in terms of talent and composure, my crown prince is far superior to his uncle. He will surely be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility I have entrusted to him."
Gao Kun lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment before saying, "But the battlefield is dangerous. As the supreme ruler, Your Majesty should not put yourself in danger."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xianping's smile vanished, and his voice turned noticeably colder: "During the late emperor's two northern expeditions, I never heard my uncle worry about the late emperor's safety. Why is he so concerned about my personal campaign? Does he think I have never been on the battlefield and lack the ability to lead an army in person?"
Gao Kun: "...Your Majesty, please understand. This old minister has no intention of belittling Your Majesty. This old minister simply believes that our Great Zhou has elite troops and fierce generals, and we can capture Emperor Yin and seize Liaozhou without Your Majesty's help."
Emperor Xianping said, "I think so too. Therefore, I want to witness the scene of Emperor Yin accepting the surrender with my own eyes, and then burn incense in Yin capital to pay tribute to the late emperor and comfort his spirit in heaven."
With the emperor saying this, Gao Kun had no reason to object.
The old imperial brother-in-law was stopped by Emperor Xianping. Xue Chang and Right Chancellor Liu Baoxiu exchanged a glance and gave up the idea of continuing to dissuade him.
Emperor Xianping, looking down from his high position, surveyed all the civil and military officials in the court. Just as his gaze fell on Xiao Yu's face, during the brief exchange of glances between the emperor and his subject, Xiao Yu moved and prepared to leave.
Emperor Xianping's eyes twitched slightly, and before Xiao Yu could speak, he quickly said, "Xiao Yu, after the New Year you will accompany me on a personal expedition. If I make any mistakes in my decisions, you must remind me in time."
Xiao Yu paused in mid-air with his raised right foot. After listening to Emperor Xianping's words, he still stepped forward and said frankly, "Since Your Majesty trusts me, then I have a suggestion. I urge Your Majesty to withdraw the order to personally lead the expedition and instead stay in the capital."
Emperor Xianping bent a few fingers on his right hand and looked coldly at Xiao Yu: "You also believe that I am incapable of personally leading the expedition?"
Xiao Yu: "No, Your Majesty is young and strong and skilled in military strategy and archery. I believe that if Your Majesty leads the troops to the front lines, you will surely add a tiger general to the Great Zhou army. However, the front lines are dangerous, and Your Majesty should not risk your life. We will certainly stop Your Majesty from taking such risks. If Your Majesty stays in the rear, the generals at the front will not dare to act on their own when they encounter opportunities. Reporting back and forth to Your Majesty will delay the opportunity. Therefore, I believe that for the sake of the overall situation of the Northern Expedition, Your Majesty should not personally lead the expedition."
The emperor's brother-in-law Gao Kun, Duke Dingguo Li Wei, and Marquis Pingnan Liang Bizheng all thought the same thing, but they didn't dare to show it.
In a moment of impulsiveness, Prince Qi chimed in, "Your Majesty, I believe Xiao Yu is right. The battlefield situation is ever-changing, and there is no room for error in seizing opportunities..."
Emperor Xianping interrupted him, saying, "I understand that speed is of the essence in war. I will allow the two generals to act as they see fit, without needing to consult me for a decision."
King Qi understood his brother's displeasure and awkwardly shut his mouth.
Xiao Yu's fear was that Emperor Xianping's personal campaign would hinder the generals at the front from deploying troops. Since Emperor Xianping had given the generals the authority to act expediently, Xiao Yu no longer needed to object.
Emperor Xianping thus decided to personally lead the expedition.
When the news reached the inner palace, the concubines had their own thoughts.
Having been husband and wife for over twenty years, Empress Xie knew her husband's temperament best, especially since he was now the emperor. She knew he liked to make decisions unilaterally, liked his ministers to respect and fear him, liked his officials to praise his achievements, and wanted to accomplish something great to prove that his talents were no less than those of the late emperor. The more the late emperor failed to conquer the Yin Kingdom in his two personal campaigns, the more her husband wanted to complete this monumental task that the late emperor had failed to achieve.
The advice of the old imperial brother-in-law and Xiao Yu was useless, so Empress Xie had no need to say anything more.
Empress Xie didn't want to say anything, but Consort Li was extremely anxious, as this was the first time she had been on the same page as Empress Xie.
When Emperor Xianping came to stay with her for the night, Consort Li first served him diligently, and afterwards she clung to him like a vine, saying with concern and reluctance, "Your Majesty, can you not go on the expedition? I can't bear to see you leave for so long."
The ministers' advice was seen as disrespectful, so Emperor Xianping didn't want to listen. But Consort Li was clearly only trying to persuade him out of affection for her children, so Emperor Xianping didn't take it to heart and said with a smile, "It won't be long, I'll be back in a year at most. You take good care of the children in the palace, and I'll make it up to you when I return."
Consort Li gritted her teeth secretly, then raised her head again, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "I'm afraid His Majesty will be injured on the battlefield."
Emperor Xianping smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will bring five thousand Imperial Guards to protect me, and there are more than two hundred thousand troops outside to protect me. Even if the Yin Kingdom colludes with the Donghu, they will not be able to harm me."
Speechless again, and unable to think of any other suitable reason, Consort Li could only snuggle into Emperor Xianping's arms and whisper, "Even if Your Majesty is safe and sound in Liaozhou, but, but here in the capital, the Crown Prince, he's already acting as regent. Won't he be reluctant to return the power to Your Majesty?"
Emperor Xianping's hand, which was stroking his favorite concubine's shoulder, stopped when she mentioned the Crown Prince. When Consort Li stammered out the most crucial sentence, Emperor Xianping suddenly exerted force and threw Consort Li off the bed!
With a terrified scream, Consort Li fell heavily to the ground, the pain bringing tears to her eyes. Just as she was about to cry out her grievances, she saw Emperor Xianping stand up barefoot. Consort Li looked up and met Emperor Xianping's frosty face.
"How dare you sow discord between me and the Crown Prince!" Seeing Consort Li's pained expression, Emperor Xianping refrained from kicking her again.
Consort Li panicked, lowering her head and trembling: "I... I was worried about the Emperor because I thought about how the former deposed Crown Prince had tried to poison the late Emperor. After all, you can judge a person by their appearance..."
Emperor Xianping finally delivered the kick, sending Consort Li rolling and sprawling on the ground. Only then did Emperor Xianping angrily say, "Don't compare that beast to my Crown Prince! Considering you've borne me three children, I'll let it slide tonight. But if there's a next time, you'll be moving into the Cold Palace!"
After saying this, Emperor Xianping tossed aside the gauze curtain outside his canopy bed, grabbed his outer robe hanging on the clothes rack, and hurried away while putting it on.
The palace maid who was keeping watch outside knelt on the ground, silent and trembling. Only after the emperor's figure had completely disappeared did she rush into the inner palace.
Consort Li was still lying on the ground, having fallen off the bed and been kicked by Emperor Xianping. She was in pain all over, but the most painful thing was her hope that she had failed to persuade Emperor Xianping to stay in the capital. Whether the Crown Prince would be power-hungry was another matter. What she feared most was that something had happened to the Emperor on the battlefield and he would never return. If the Crown Prince ascended the throne, would he still be able to accommodate her and her four children?
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Author's Note: Waaah, I need to be tougher on myself, otherwise the less I promise, the easier it is to indulge in laziness. So, I'll be back to double updates tomorrow, and I welcome everyone's encouragement!
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!
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