Chapter 942 All Nations Pay Tribute, Displaying Our National Power!
To the southeast of the hill where Li Sanniang and her companions were currently located, on a large flat area, stood tens of thousands of soldiers, clad in armor, standing in a vast and densely packed formation.
The Imperial Guards already stationed in the outskirts of Beijing numbered over ten thousand, and later, Li Dalang and his group of soldiers who returned from Champa in the south brought the total to nearly ten thousand.
The Shi family army, which had returned victorious from their attack on the Western Turks in the north, had actually left a portion of its troops behind and remained in the camp on the outskirts of Beijing.
Not to mention, in preparation for today's military exercise, a portion of the Imperial Guards had been transferred from various locations to this camp earlier.
Thus, here today, with this vast and densely packed scene of at least 30,000 soldiers, who wouldn't be afraid?
And don't forget, every soldier here is a veteran who has seen blood!
If this doesn't scare you, then when you see a whole long row of artillery vehicles displayed in front of the army, how can you not be afraid?
Empress Wu, dressed in military attire, rode on horseback. Behind her was Prince Xiang, also dressed in military attire and riding on horseback. Behind Prince Xiang were Princess Qingyang, Li Xian (Prince Xiang's eldest son, who participated in the wrestling in the Taiji Hall mentioned earlier), and Li Sanlang (Li Longji).
Princess Taiping was on the same level as Prince Xiang, and she was accompanied by the female official Shangguan Wan'er.
As for the prime ministers, they were allowed to ride horses and stand in a position slightly behind Emperor Wu, while the other officials who wore vermilion robes could only stand to the side.
At a distance from Emperor Wu but not in a difficult position to speak, only the Great Khan of the Eastern Turks could ride a horse; everyone else, including people from vassal states, stood on their feet.
Even so, it's all competition. For example, the Zhenlapohe tribe, where Aqilaya is from, didn't even manage to get a place to stand at the front. But at least they were able to come here to watch the ceremony, which is much better than those small countries and tribes that couldn't even watch the ceremony.
"Let's begin."
Emperor Wu didn't waste any words and started today's military exercise with a single sentence.
Soldiers following instructions raised their flags toward the soldiers on the high platform, and the sound of drums "dong dong dong" rose with the wind.
As the drums sounded and the horses moved, the ten soldiers who had been waiting at the front of the formation, mounted on tall horses, received the order and rode off with the wind. The triangular animal flags tied to their backs also fluttered in the wind as they galloped.
Horses moved and men roared. The generals in front of each army commanded their soldiers to change formation. What was once a neatly arranged army of ten thousand men was now in motion. In just a few breaths, one could clearly feel the earth shaking.
Not to mention, under this tactile sensation, you can hear the soldiers responding to each other in unison, and hear the neighing of horses and the cries of eagles. Some timid people can no longer stand at this moment.
Yes, several birds of prey with sharp beaks were circling in the sky; air superiority is the cornerstone of victory in a war.
These few cries of eagles were what truly surprised the Eastern Turks. After all, as a tribe that grew up on horseback on the grasslands, eagle-taming should have been their forte.
Although the Eastern Turks submitted to the Tang Dynasty after their defeat, their desire to kill their ruler never died.
Faced with tens of thousands of powerful Tang soldiers, they were certainly afraid, but not that afraid, since as a nomadic people, their greatest skill was escaping.
However, if the Tang army also learned to use eagles for tracking, the Eastern Turks, having lost air superiority, would only have two paths—surrender or death.
Before the Eastern Turkic Khan could think further, by the time he came to his senses, the army that had been standing in rows had already changed formation and they were surrounded!
Yes, they are surrounded!
The Eastern Turkic warrior had already drawn his scimitar from his waist. The sword was drawn, the horse neighed, and the tension was palpable.
Even though he knew in his heart that Emperor Wu would never take this opportunity to kill them all, the Great Khan of the Eastern Turks was still visibly sweating.
A cold wind blew over, cooling down the mind of the Eastern Turkic Khan.
Empress Wu tilted her head and looked with great interest at the Eastern Turkic Khan, who was stiffly trying to force a smile at her. She then burst out laughing.
In such a setting, with such a sudden burst of laughter, who would dare to say anything?
After staring at the Great Khan of the Eastern Turks for a second, Empress Wu seemed to lose interest. She stopped looking at him and instead turned her gaze to the soldiers guarding her not far away.
Emperor Wu raised his right hand to signal, and the soldiers who had been surrounding the crowd quickly withdrew and began to move again.
Seeing the soldiers surrounding them quickly retreat, the Great Khan of the Eastern Turks finally dared to raise his hand to wipe the sweat from his head and face.
After a moment of rest, he stiffly dismounted. Thus, at this moment, only Emperor Wu's family and a few prime ministers were riding on horseback, looking superior.
Suddenly, the bugle sounded, a long, unending blast, accompanied by the sound of artillerymen pushing large gun carriages.
Amidst billowing dust, the entire row of about twenty artillery pieces moved to a new position, their cannons now pointing towards the hilltop where Li Sanniang and her group were located.
Although she had some premonitions, Li Sanniang was still somewhat surprised when she actually saw the cannons pointing in her direction.
However, for her, it was more of a sense of relief that the boots had finally landed.
Li San Niang had already learned about Emperor Wu's arrangements from Mr. Bu Ke, so she could naturally guess Emperor Wu's intention in gathering the extraordinary people to watch the ceremony.
It simply means that people with different backgrounds should behave themselves. If they are willing to serve their country, then they should do so; if they are not, then they should abide by the law and live their own lives.
Don't have any ulterior motives. It's one thing to court death, but another to implicate other supernatural beings.
"Wow!"
After shouting that, Xing Yu really didn't know what else to say.
The Ding brothers, however, reacted more strongly: "She's trying to intimidate us!"
This means killing us is a piece of cake!
Ding Anbo's words and actions were even more extreme: "Damn it! I can't stay in Chang'an anymore, I can't stay in Chang'an."
Ding Anbo turned around and grabbed Ding Mingxuan's shoulder: "We have to run, to the Western Regions, to overseas. We can't stay here, we absolutely can't stay here!"
A muffled boom reached their ears. Even from the mountaintop, they knew that such artillery couldn't possibly have hit them from this distance, but the obvious tremor still silenced them.
After a loud "boom," a series of cannon shots followed.
Li Sanniang and the others, who were so far away, dared not say anything. Those who were on the scene, watching the cannons fire simultaneously, were even more shocked.
The Great Khan of the Eastern Turks stared in disbelief at the destructive power of the exploding cannonballs.
With a loud "thud," the sound of the Imperial Guard Commander Wang drawing his sword and striking his breastplate rang out. As he did so, he shouted, "Anyone who dares to raise an army shall be beheaded! Victory! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
He roared and shouted it again.
Anyone who dares to raise an army shall be executed!
Victory!
Long live the Sage! Long live the Sage! Long live the Sage!
Once it happens, it will happen again. When tens of thousands of soldiers raise their swords and shout together, the momentum is so great that it can move the sky and change the sun!
Anyone who dares to raise an army shall be executed!
Victory!
Long live the Sage! Long live the Sage! Long live the Sage!
In this situation, who wouldn't be afraid? Who wouldn't be terrified?
This is the roar of the Tang army, the strongest army on earth at this time. The enemy is terrified, so the people of the Tang Dynasty should be overjoyed.
I am a citizen of the Tang Dynasty!
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