Chen Huai'an's original intention was to take advantage of the opportunity of the private meeting between the father-in-law and son-in-law today to inform his father-in-law, Prince Zhao Liu Xinwu, about his plan to transfer Duke Pang Xianchu of Jin to guard the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
However, after his father-in-law's outburst, Chen Huai'an realized that Prince Zhao, Liu Xinwu, was determined to protect his adopted son, Liu Ziyu.
They had already gone so far as to "apologize on behalf of their son" and kowtow to their son-in-law, so Chen Huai'an couldn't say anything more.
Even for the sake of his father-in-law and Empress Shujun, he had to give Liu Ziyu another chance to make amends.
The matter of rotating the garrison in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun can only be temporarily shelved and discussed again later.
Hopefully, this trip to the capital will teach Liu Ziyu a lesson he's learned from, and prevent him from causing any more trouble in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
Otherwise, even if it were Prince Zhao Liu Xinwu and Empress Liu Shujun, they wouldn't be able to protect him!
The father-in-law and son-in-law strolled around the Imperial Garden for a while.
During this time, Liu Xinwu repeatedly assured Chen Huai'an that when he left the capital and returned to the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, he would personally go to Wuzhou City again to strictly discipline his adopted son Liu Ziyu and make him diligently guard the border to repay the emperor's favor.
Chen Huai'an simply smiled and remained noncommittal in response.
With the conclusion of the enthronement ceremony and the investiture ceremony for the new dynasty, the operation of the entire Tang Dynasty court officially entered a period of standardization and normalization.
Next, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an focused his governance efforts on two major events: the first imperial examination of the Tang Dynasty and the expedition of the Tang navy.
On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head.
It was also the day that the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet embarked on its expedition to Goguryeo.
On this day, the Stone City Wharf outside Jinling City was already filled with fluttering banners and a forest of soldiers.
Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, accompanied by four dukes, nine marquises, officials from the six ministries, and more than fifty others, as well as over ten thousand Jinwu Guards stationed in the imperial city of Jinling, personally went to the Stone City Wharf to see off Duke Dingguo Qi Jiguang and his 108,000 naval soldiers.
On the Yangtze River outside the Stone City Wharf, the mighty Tang Dynasty naval fleet of warships stretched out.
This naval expedition, intended as a training exercise, was akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It involved over 300 warships and 108,000 soldiers against the small islands of Goguryeo and the four islands of Japan.
Among them, three super warships of the "Destroy the Japanese" class were dispatched. Each of them was a sea behemoth with a hull length of 44 zhang and a width of 15 zhang, and was equipped with 24 red-coated cannons.
In addition, the "Three-Eyed Gun," developed and mass-produced by the Ministry of Industry's Manufacturing Bureau, was also the first to be equipped on the naval fleet, totaling 10,000 guns.
Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an set the strategic goal for the Tang Dynasty's naval expedition as to proceed from near to far, and from easy to difficult.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet will depart from Nanjing, pass through the mouth of the Yangtze River into the East China Sea, and then head north through the Yellow Sea to directly attack the Goguryeo Peninsula.
Midway, the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet will stop in Jiaozhou City for supplies and pick up the deposed emperor Zhao Lingwu (who has changed his name to Chen Lingwu) to travel to Goguryeo.
That was Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an's promise to the former Empress Su Wan'er and her son, allowing his adopted son Chen Lingwu to go to the Goguryeo Peninsula to be a leisurely prince.
It was just past 9 AM.
From the Stone City Wharf outside Jinling City, the deep, resonant sound of war drums and the continuous, echoing bugle calls could be heard.
More than 300 Tang Dynasty warships moored on the Yangtze River began to raise their sails one after another, with the "Tang" character battle flags fluttering wildly at the bows in the biting river wind.
On the battlefield deck, naval officers and soldiers, clad in armor and carrying swords, were assembling in formation, awaiting the sound of the bugle call to set off.
Duke Dingguo, Qi Jiguang, was the commander-in-chief of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet on this expedition, while the third-generation Prince of Jin, Chen Longxiang, served as the vanguard general of the naval fleet.
At this moment, Qi Jiguang, the Duke of Dingguo, wearing bright armor and the imperial Seven-Star Longyuan Sword at his waist, was standing on the dock of Stone City saying goodbye to Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, who had come to see him off, as well as the civil and military officials of the court.
Standing beside him was Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin, clad in golden armor and wielding a pair of golden hammers.
Indeed, the golden armor Chen Longxiang wore was the same armor worn by the late Emperor Chen Polu, which was later worn by Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, ultimately leading to the establishment of the present-day Tang Dynasty.
Now, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an personally draped this golden armor over his younger brother Chen Longxiang, hoping that he could inherit the ambitions of his father and brother, expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and make new contributions.
This can be considered a kind of inheritance of the martial spirit among the men of the Chen family of the Prince of Jin's Mansion!
However, Chen Longxiang, who was already somewhat thin, looked like he couldn't fit into the golden armor he was wearing, and he looked rather comical.
However, this did not affect the mood of Prince Chen Longxiang of Jin, who was about to "go to war in place of his brother".
His once sharp-featured face now has gained some weight and looks much fuller, and his eyes reveal a strong desire to achieve great things for the Tang Dynasty.
Chen Huai'an stepped forward, patted Duke Dingguo Qi Jiguang on the shoulder, and said, "General Qi, I entrust the reins of the nation to you."
"From this moment forward, he is no longer my brother, nor the Prince of Jin of the Tang Dynasty, but the vanguard general of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet;"
"I hope that General Qi will not give him any special treatment on the battlefield. Let him charge into battle, capture cities and fortresses, and let the dragon and elephant grow rapidly under the baptism of war!"
"My lord, I obey the order!"
Qi Jiguang immediately accepted the order.
Meanwhile, Chen Longxiang pouted and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, your subject will definitely not let Father or Your Majesty down, and will guarantee to be a competent vanguard general!"
hey-hey!
After saying that, Chen Longxiang grinned, adding a touch of simple-mindedness to his demeanor.
At this moment, Chen Huai'an also reached out and touched Chen Longxiang's helmet, his eyes filled with doting affection for his younger brother. He smiled and said, "Longxiang, when you return in triumph, I will personally arrange a marriage for you."
"It's time for you to settle down and start a family!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Longxiang pouted again.
Is getting married really that fun?
"Your Majesty, the auspicious hour has arrived; the naval fleet should set sail!"
As they were talking, Li Jingyu, the Minister of War, leaned close to Chen Huai'an and whispered a reminder that the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet should set sail.
Um!
Chen Huai'an nodded and immediately gave the order: "Issue my imperial decree: the Great Tang Navy fleet shall set sail!"
"By imperial decree, the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet is to set sail!"
Beside him, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, with a sharp, drawn-out voice, repeated Emperor Zhaowu's edict.
Seeing this, Qi Jiguang called upon the generals of the naval fleet, and after paying respects to the emperor and the civil and military officials who came to see him off, he stepped onto the warship with firm and resolute steps.
Then, they lined up on the deck at the bow of the warship and waved goodbye to the crowd on the dock.
Several days later.
The massive Tang Dynasty naval fleet finally arrived at Jiaozhou City.
Lin Fengxiang, the garrison commander of Jiaozhou, had been waiting at the dock with the soldiers and civilians of Jiaozhou for a long time, anticipating the arrival of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet.
It is worth mentioning that among the crowd that went to welcome the naval fleet were the former empress and her son Su Wan'er and Emperor Lingwu.
However, the officials, soldiers, and civilians of Jiaozhou City did not know the true identities of Su Wan'er and her son, but they did know that the young Chen Lingwu was the adopted son of Chen Huai'an, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
However, Qi Jiguang and Chen Longxiang, members of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet, knew the true identities of the two men.
When Chen Longxiang, clad in golden armor, stepped off the warship and onto the dock to see Su Wan'er, the young and vigorous Chen Longxiang felt a sudden surge of excitement and his blood boiled.
He stared intently at Su Wan'er and asked without any hesitation, "You are the former empress Su Wan'er?"
Before Su Wan'er could answer, Chen Longxiang blurted out, as if possessed, "Well, my brother asked me to take good care of you!"
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