Chapter 236 The Road Ahead
After bidding farewell to the royal family, Zhao Xiaofei left Nanjing with a thousand guards and prepared to go to Jingzhou.
Wanshan and Zhou Shuai left early, they were preparing to set off from Jingzhou to Henan.
Zhao Xiaofei was now very confident, even a little arrogant. The original plan had Huang Degong and Gao Jie departing from Henan to join Zhao Xiaofei's Ke Nan Army there. Instead, Zhao Xiaofei sent someone to inform them to march north from their own territory, recapture Shandong, and advance into Zhili.
Standing on the boat, Zhao Xiaofei was full of energy and confidence. He knew he would soon be able to resolve the rebellion in the Ming Dynasty. Restoring the capital was not far away, and he would soon reach the pinnacle of his life in the Ming Dynasty!
A storyteller on the boat made the story of Zhao Xiaofei even more mythical, saying that he was a descendant of Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong, and that he wielded a bright silver spear that was so powerful that it could withstand wind and rain.
It is said that on the city wall of Anqing, the prince angrily scolded Zuo Liangyu, saying: "Zuo Liangyu! You are so ungrateful to the emperor that you dare to rebel! I will give you a chance. Dismount immediately and be captured, and I will leave you with your body intact!"
"Enough, enough! Stop talking! I look too great! Reward!" Zhao Xiaofei sat in the cabin and asked the servants to show it to the storyteller.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The storyteller expressed his gratitude hastily and was then taken away.
Li Sihong said, "Husband! You are now a great hero among the people. Everyone respects you. They say you are the reincarnation of Zhao Yun, who came here specifically to save the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhao Xiaofei's face was full of pride, but he said, "I'm a little overwhelmed by all the praise. They're going a bit too far! The more people praise me, the worse it is for me!"
"Husband! No one can stop the people from talking!" said Li Sihong.
"We have to stop it even if we can't! Think of a way. The reason why we left behind Zhu Guobi's rebellion and Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng was to let them do this! Look how well they have done in epidemic prevention propaganda! The opera is quite good. I want them to write an opera called Jiashen Rebellion. Write about how the Ming Dynasty became a chaotic world and how we escaped from the capital!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Is it necessary?" Li Sihong asked.
"It is necessary! The more rumors spread among the people about me, the more the court will be wary of me. It is beneficial for us to let people know that I am a human being and not a god! Just look at the history books and you will know. How did Yue Fei die? Isn't it just the rumor that it is easy to shake Mount Tai, but difficult to shake Yue's army! Otherwise, he could have been strangled to death?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Pooh, pooh, pooh! What are you talking about Yue Fei? How unlucky!" Li Sihong said quickly.
"It's okay! What's lucky or unlucky? If this person figures it out, he won't be afraid of anything! He can be proud, but he must be sober!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Isn't it inappropriate for you to ask Huang Degong, Gao Jie and others not to follow you?" Li Sihong asked.
"There's nothing wrong with it. We are so strong and our firearms are the strongest in the world. There is no opponent in this world that I can't defeat!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
Li Sihong frowned when she heard this. She felt that Zhao Xiaofei was a little arrogant. Although he said that he should always stay sober, is it really good to have too many victories and a life that is too smooth?
In the end, Li Sihong said nothing, but simply praised him, saying, "My husband is a great hero. There's nothing in the world you can't do! I believe we can definitely win this battle!"
"That's right! Let's finish this early. I also want to take a break. I'm tired! Then I'll accompany you and the children to travel and enjoy the scenery!" Zhao Xiaofei.
At this time, Huang Degong's tent was welcoming a wave of guests. Leading the way was an old eunuch who sat down and said, "Congratulations, Master Huang, on becoming a royal relative!"
"I am extremely frightened!" Huang Degong said while kneeling on the ground.
"What is there to be afraid of? This is a good thing! From now on, you and the royal family of the Ming Dynasty will be one family. You should think more about the court and the royal family! Is Sir Huang confident in this Northern Expedition?" asked the old eunuch.
"Have confidence! It is very likely that Shenjing can be restored this time!" Huang Degong said.
"If the day ever comes when the capital is restored, the contribution will be extraordinary! It will be no problem to make him a king of a different surname!" said the old eunuch.
"I dare not have any unrealistic thoughts! I just want to repay the grace of God!" said Huang Degong.
"Just be grateful and repay the kindness! This is a letter. Please take a good look at it after I leave. And think carefully about what's inside!" The old eunuch handed a letter to Huang Degong and said.
Huang Degong took the letter and put it in his arms.
The old eunuch said, "Okay! I'm leaving! Sir Huang, please think carefully about what I said and read the letter carefully. I'm sure you will know what to do next!" After the old eunuch said this, he left.
"Goodbye, eunuch!" Huang Degong stood up and said.
At this time, a young eunuch also came into Gao Jie's tent and was sitting there talking with him.
"Congratulations, Lord Gao! Your son will be a prince in the future, and you will be a member of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty!" said the eunuch.
"Thank you, eunuch! This is a small gift, please accept it!" After Gao Jie said this, he asked his personal guards to bring over a tray covered with a red cloth.
"Mr. Gao, you are a little too polite! I am just a messenger, I dare not accept it!" said the eunuch.
"You've had a hard time on the journey! Use this to buy some tea!" Gao Jie said with a smile.
"Then I won't be polite!" After the eunuch said this, he gave a look to a young eunuch next to him. The young eunuch took the silver and left the tent.
Gao Jie saw the eunuch in front of him take the silver and send the young eunuch away. He knew something was wrong. He said to the others in the tent, "All of you, please leave! The eunuch and I have something important to discuss. You are not allowed to come within fifty steps!"
"Yes!" Everyone answered and retreated out of the tent.
Seeing that everyone had left and there were only the two of them left in the tent, the eunuch said, "This time, in addition to congratulating your son on becoming a county lord, I also have something important to tell you, Lord Gao!" said the eunuch.
"Please tell me, sir!" said Gao Jie.
"Are you confident in this Northern Expedition?" asked the eunuch.
"I will definitely live up to my mission! Although I may not be able to recover the capital, I will have no problem recovering most of the north!" said Gao Jie.
"That's good! Have Lord Gao and Lord Huang received orders from Prince Li?" asked the eunuch.
"I have indeed received orders. Prince Li wants us to fight our way to Zhili. If we can recover the capital, we can surround it without attacking. If we want to enter the capital, we must wait for his news!" Gao Jie said. He told the eunuch all of Zhao Xiaofei's requests.
"This is the Queen Mother's secret decree! Burn it after I read it. Follow the instructions inside and Lord Gao and Lord Huang will surely be nobles for generations to come!" The eunuch took out a letter from his arms.
Gao Jie was about to kneel, but the eunuch said, "Don't kneel! The Queen Mother said no!"
Gao Jie took the letter and put it in his arms, while the eunuch stood up and said goodbye.
After the eunuch left, Gao Jie's wife, Xing, came in and asked, "The army is marching! What is that eunuch doing here?"
Although Gao Jie could read a few words, he still had difficulty reading the letter. He handed the letter to Xing and said, "The Queen Mother's secret decree! Read it!"
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