Guo Dingfang was of course willing; only a fool wouldn't!
All the generals in the Taihe Hall could see that His Highness Prince Jin was giving Guo Dingfang and the Anxi border army a chance, and was not abandoning Guo Dingfang because of his temporary dereliction of duty.
This move can be seen as a reassurance to the former generals of the Great Xin Dynasty who surrendered to the troops in Longcheng.
After dealing with Guo Dingfang and the Anxi border army, Chen Huai'an finally turned his attention to Chen Qingzhi, the deputy marshal of the Longcheng army.
As the primary contributor to quelling the Tubo rebellion, Chen Huai'an naturally deserves a reward.
He shouted sharply, "Chen Qingzhi, Deputy Marshal of the Longcheng Army, hereby announce your appointment!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Chen Qingzhi, slightly tipsy, rose to receive his orders, displaying neither arrogance nor servility, exhibiting the demeanor of a scholar-general.
Chen Huai'an said, "In this campaign to quell the Tubo rebellion, the Deputy Marshal Chen Qingzhi has made outstanding contributions. I have decided to immediately promote Chen Qingzhi to Grand Commander-in-Chief, overseeing all military and political affairs in the Prince of Jin's fiefdom."
"Assist me in handling the military and political affairs of my fiefdom, and during my southern expedition, be responsible for assisting Prince Chen Longxiang in handling the military and political affairs of his fiefdom!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Chen Qingzhi remained calm and composed, showing neither surprise nor delight, as always.
This appointment was made after careful consideration by Chen Huai'an.
Now, the black-robed old monk Dongfang Xiao on Fengming Mountain has decided to retire to Qixia Temple, which means that Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin is missing a strategist like "Black-robed Prime Minister Yao Guangxiao" to share the administrative affairs of his fiefdom.
Although Chen Qingzhi was a military officer.
However, he was well-read and learned, so having him temporarily assist in handling the affairs of his fiefdom was merely a matter of emergency.
Most importantly, Chen Qingzhi has absolute loyalty to Chen Huai'an, so there is no need to worry about Chen Huai'an leading his troops to conquer cities and strongholds on the front lines, only to have his home stolen in the end.
Therefore, Chen Huai'an took advantage of the Longcheng Western Expeditionary Army's campaign to quell the Tubo rebellion to promote Chen Qingzhi to the position of Grand Commander, who held supreme military and political power in the Prince of Jin's fiefdom.
At the same time, it also forced Chen Huai'an to begin to focus on recruiting and gathering talents for future governance.
You can't expect your military generals to replace the civil officials in governing the newly established dynasty, can you?
Talent is always a scarce resource!
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, all the Longcheng generals who had returned from the western expedition, whether they were being rewarded for their merits or were being redeemed through meritorious service, had been properly settled.
Only General Wang Jian, who was stationed in Longcheng, always had a gloomy and worried look on his rugged face.
It makes sense, considering that General Wang Jian was one of the four great generals of the Warring States period and a pillar of the Qin king's unification of China.
He missed the opportunity to accompany Prince Jin on his campaign to sweep across the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, nor the long march to quell the Tubo rebellion, and even the southern expedition to the sixteen prefectures of Youyun, when the army marched straight to Jinan Prefecture. He was left with only the post of guarding Longcheng, Prince Jin's fiefdom!
No reward without merit has always been a traditional system of the Longcheng army.
Seeing that the other generals in the army had all been rewarded, the proud General Wang Jian couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected.
At the prime of his life, this was the perfect opportunity for Wang Jian to conquer cities and establish his career on the battlefield.
If it weren't for His Highness Prince Jin's order to have him stationed in his fiefdom of Longcheng...
Given Wang Jian's personality, how could he possibly be willing to submit to someone else?
"General Wang Jian!"
Suddenly, Wang Jian, who was drinking alone in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, seemed to hear the voice of Prince Jin in a daze.
"Your subordinate is here!"
The next moment, Wang Jian straightened his body as if by reflex and responded with a strong voice.
On the dragon throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin said with a smile, "Wang Jian, watching the armies of Longcheng fight their way south and north, while you sit idly in your fiefdom of Longcheng, are you itching to get back to work?"
Wang Jian clasped his hands and replied, "Your Highness, this humble general is indeed itching to show his skills. The elite soldiers under my command are also eager to expand Your Highness's territory and achieve great deeds on the battlefield."
"but--"
Then, Wang Jian changed the subject and continued, "Military orders are absolute. Since Your Highness has ordered me to lead the Qin elite troops to garrison Longcheng, I and the Qin elite troops will certainly strictly carry out Your Highness's orders."
"good!"
In the main hall, Chen Huai'an exclaimed "Bravo!" and said, "What a fine saying, 'Military orders are as solid as mountains'! The General is absolutely right. In the army, orders must be obeyed without question. Only then can we be invincible on the battlefield!"
With that, Chen Huai'an said sternly, "General Wang Jian, listen to my command!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Qin's elite troops have been stationed in Longcheng for several months, and the army has had ample time to rest. Now, the battle at the front lines of the southern expeditionary force in Longcheng is critical, and it is urgent to send reinforcements south to fight."
Chen Huai'an said, word by word, "I have decided that General Wang Jian, along with his 50,000 elite Qin soldiers, will be incorporated into the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army, to be personally led by me to the front lines in Jinan Prefecture;"
"The defense of Longcheng is hereby transferred entirely to Grand Commander Chen Qingzhi, with the Xuanjia Army, returning from the western expedition, responsible for the defense of Longcheng, the fiefdom of the city."
"Wang Jian, I hereby order you to complete the handover of the city's defenses with Grand Commander Chen Qingzhi within three days, and then accompany me on the southern expedition to Jinan Prefecture. There must be no mistakes!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Almost simultaneously, Wang Jian and Chen Qingzhi stepped forward together, cupped their hands, and bowed to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin in the main hall to acknowledge their mission.
After all the arrangements were made, Chen Huai'an stood up from the dragon throne, and immediately a servant from the Prince's Palace filled his cup with wine.
Chen Huai'an raised his wine cup and addressed the Dragon City generals in the hall: "Gentlemen, raise your cups!"
brush!
The next moment, all the generals in the Hall of Supreme Harmony raised their wine cups in unison.
Chen Huai'an said, "Let us raise this glass together to wish the Longcheng army a triumphant return!"
"Let's do it!"
"Dry!"
In an instant, led by Chen Huai'an, all the generals tilted their heads back and drank the wine in their cups clean.
Chen Huai'an revealed the bottom of his cup, raised his arms, and shouted: "The Dragon City Army is mighty!"
"The Prince of Jin is mighty!"
"The Dragon City army is mighty!"
"Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin!"
......
The banquet that Chen Huai'an set up in the Taihe Hall was both a celebration of the triumphant return of the Longcheng western expeditionary army and a send-off banquet for the Longcheng southern expeditionary reinforcements.
Three days later, outside Yongding Gate of Longcheng.
One hundred thousand soldiers of the southern expeditionary force are already fully prepared and ready to go.
In addition to the 50,000 elite Qin soldiers under General Wang Jian, there were also 50,000 new troops from Longcheng who had broken through enemy lines.
These 50,000 new troops were recruited and trained by Chen Huai'an since he raised an army in Longcheng to quell the rebellion, using the original Longcheng Polu Army as a framework.
After months of training, it is time for this new army, which carries the spirit of the Po Lu Army, to be brought to the battlefield to be tested and tempered by war.
Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, clad in golden armor and riding his old companion, the yellow horse, stood proudly before the three armies.
Behind him stood General Wang Jian, clad in armor and carrying a sword, as well as Guo Dingfang, the former commander-in-chief of Anxi, who had been incorporated into the southern expeditionary army, and his deputy Zhang Yude.
It was just past 9 AM.
On the city wall of Yongding Gate in Longcheng, the bugle call for the army's departure sounded, and Grand Commander Chen Qingzhi personally beat the drum for the southern expeditionary army.
Amidst the resounding drumbeats and the exhilarating sound of horns, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, mounted on a yellow horse, decisively issued the order for the southern expedition:
"The Dragon City Southern Expeditionary Army, set off!"
"Let's go!"
Soon, the 100,000-strong army of Longcheng marched south in an orderly, long, single-line formation, heading towards Jinan Prefecture!
at the same time.
On Phoenix Mountain, not far from Longcheng, in a pavilion.
The old monk Dongfang Xiao, dressed in a dark black robe, stood alone in the pavilion where he had first discussed important matters of the world with Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.
Those deep, wise eyes had been silently gazing in the direction of Dragon City.
When Dongfang Xiao faintly heard the sounds of horns and war drums coming from the walls of Longcheng, he knew it was the signal that Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin was launching another southern expedition.
Dongfang Xiao stroked his gray beard and muttered to himself, "Let's conquer the south again and restore order to the world! Restore order to the world!"
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