Qi Jiguang tumbled off the bed in the tent with a sudden movement, his mind going blank for a moment.
He stared intently at his deputy, Yuan Kai, and pressed, "When did His Highness Prince Jin depart? Why did no one stop him?"
"The mobilization of 20,000 naval vanguard troops cannot be accomplished in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea or burn an incense stick!"
Faced with Qi Jiguang's questioning, the still-breathing Vice Admiral Yuan Kai truthfully reported, "Reporting to the General, according to the soldiers on duty, His Highness Prince Jin was acting on the General's orders to lead the vanguard eastward along the Datong River to scout the military situation;"
"Because His Highness Prince Jin is not only the Vanguard General of the Tang Navy, but also holds the title of Prince Jin of the Tang Dynasty, the soldiers on duty did not suspect anything."
"By the time I received the news, His Highness Prince Jin had already led 20,000 naval vanguard troops and had left the camp for more than an hour!"
boom!
After receiving a reply from his deputy Yuan Kai, Qi Jiguang could no longer contain himself and plopped down in his chair with a thud.
His mind raced, rapidly searching for a solution to the problem.
As the vanguard general of the navy, Chen Longxiang's actions can be described as "a general in the field may disobey military orders to some extent";
To put it bluntly, that would be "deploying troops without orders, which is tantamount to treason!"
Eh—
With a sigh, Qi Jiguang regretted his past actions.
Last night, the drunken Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin had already shown his desire to press his advantage and end the war against Goguryeo before Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an's imperial edict arrived.
At the time, I thought he was just saying it casually because he was drunk.
Unexpectedly, before dawn today, Prince Chen Longxiang, under the guise of his own name, led 20,000 naval vanguard troops straight to Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.
This caught Qi Jiguang off guard.
On the one hand, he was worried that Chen Longxiang was leading 20,000 naval vanguard troops deep into enemy territory alone, and what if they fell into a Goguryeo ambush?
This is, after all, Goguryeo's home ground. The enemy has the advantage of timing, location, and popular support. No matter how brave and valiant His Highness Prince Jin is, he is still just a mortal!
If something were to happen to him while he was under my command, how would I face Emperor Zhaowu?
On the other hand, Qi Jiguang was also worried that Prince Chen Longxiang's move might arouse suspicion among the officers and soldiers in the naval camp, causing rumors of discord between generals and commanders, thus shaking the morale of the army.
Finally, after a moment of contemplation, Qi Jiguang decided to keep the matter quiet for Chen Longxiang and stabilize the morale of the army first.
He immediately ordered, "Vice General Yuan, immediately relay my command: all officers and soldiers of the Tang Navy shall enter a state of combat readiness, ready to advance eastward along the Taedong River at any time to support the naval vanguard heading towards Pyongyang to scout out enemy positions."
Qi Jiguang's first order was to legalize Chen Longxiang's unauthorized military expedition.
Immediately afterwards, he issued a second order: "Furthermore, you shall personally lead my Left Guard Army to pursue His Highness Prince Jin eastward, and bring him back to me at all costs."
"Your Majesty, I will immediately draft a memorial and dispatch it to Jinling City by express courier!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Vice Admiral Yuan Kai of the Navy cupped his hands in greeting and immediately accepted the order and left.
"etc--"
Just as Yuan Kai was about to leave the tent, Qi Jiguang called him back.
Qi Jiguang frowned and asked, "Are Su Wan'er and her child still in the camp?"
Forehead--
Yuan Kai's expression froze for a moment, then he replied without hesitation, "Reporting to the General, this humble general was in such a hurry that he truly did not notice Su Wan'er and her child;"
"Your humble servant will go and investigate immediately!"
"Forget it!"
Qi Jiguang waved his hand and said, "Go and convey my orders first. I will send someone else to check on things!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Not long after, Qi Jiguang sent someone to check on the camp of the former Empress Dowager and the deposed Emperor Su Wan'er and her son, and then hurriedly sent the message back.
As expected, Su Wan'er and her son were not in the naval camp.
At this moment, Qi Jiguang finally made up his mind and wrote down the story between Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin and his mother Su Wan'er on the memorial to Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an!
Let's look at it from both sides.
While Qi Jiguang, the admiral of the Tang Dynasty navy, was busy cleaning up the mess left by Chen Longxiang, the vanguard general of the navy who had led his troops out of battle without authorization, Chen Longxiang's 20,000-strong naval vanguard had already advanced more than 20 miles toward Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.
Chen Longxiang led a 20,000-strong naval vanguard, consisting of 5,000 cavalry, 5,000 Shenji Battalion musketeers, and 10,000 infantry.
At this moment, Chen Longxiang was leading three thousand cavalrymen galloping along the official road. When they reached the Yipianshi area, they ran head-on with the Goguryeo Imperial Guards who had set off from Pyongyang overnight.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the general, the main force of the enemy has been spotted ahead and is advancing at full speed towards our direction!"
At this moment, scouts from the vanguard of the Tang Dynasty navy rushed to report.
Um?
Riding on his yellow horse, Chen Longxiang raised an eyebrow and asked sharply, "How many enemy troops are there, and how far away are they from our army?"
The messenger reported, "General, the enemy has at least tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry, who are marching rapidly towards Yipianshi in a long, single-file formation. They will encounter our cavalry vanguard in no more than half an hour!"
snort!
Upon hearing the messenger's reply, Chen Longxiang snorted coldly and said, "Perfect timing! I didn't get enough of killing yesterday!"
"Guards, bring me my golden hammer!"
Soon, eight soldiers split into two groups, huffing and puffing as they carried Chen Longxiang's pair of golden drum-shaped hammers forward to his side.
With a gentle flick of his toes, he easily lifted the pair of golden drum-shaped hammers, each weighing hundreds of pounds, into his hands.
His yellow horse only took a small step back before regaining its balance.
This yellow horse was the mount of Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an. It had followed Emperor Zhaowu in his campaigns and made great contributions.
After Chen Huai'an ascended the throne, he couldn't bear to see his yellow horse die alone in the stables in the backyard of the palace, so he bestowed the yellow horse and his own golden armor upon his younger brother Chen Longxiang.
After that, the yellow horse followed the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet on its expedition to Goguryeo.
As Chen Longxiang raised his double hammers, he roared at the three thousand cavalrymen behind him: "All soldiers, listen to my command! Follow me on horseback and charge forward to slaughter the invading enemy!"
"The Tang army is mighty!"
"General, you are mighty!"
"All troops, attack!"
"Kill them!"
Clang, clang, clang!
The next moment, General Chen Longxiang, the vanguard general of the navy, carrying two hammers on his shoulders, took the lead and rode along the wide official road with a single stone, like a golden gust of wind, carrying the force of destruction, straight towards the 50,000 imperial guards who had set off from Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.
at the same time.
Tuoba Liuyun, the greatest warrior of Goguryeo and commander of 100,000 imperial guards, who was leading his troops on a march, also received a report from the vanguard scouts: "Report—"
"Reporting to the General, Tang Dynasty naval cavalry has been spotted ahead;"
"In the Tang army's cavalry formation, the general in command, clad in golden armor and wielding a pair of golden hammers, is charging ahead on horseback, heading straight for the vanguard of our Imperial Guard. General, please make a swift decision!"
oh?
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Liuyun frowned slightly and said sternly, "It's him!"
Then, with a ferocious grin, he continued, "It's truly a case of finding something you've been searching high and low for without any effort. This general wants to see whether your reputation as a fierce general of the Tang Dynasty navy is well-deserved, or whether this general as the first warrior of Goguryeo truly lives up to his name!"
"Guards, relay my orders—"
"The Imperial Guard cavalry shall advance in a wedge formation and charge alongside me to meet the enemy!"
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