Chapter 10 Unforgettable War

  On the third day of July in the fourth year of Xuanhe, it was a good day for traveling, building vehicles, moving houses, and sweeping tombs, but not suitable for weddings, construction, or repairing graves. Tong Guan selected 5,000 elite soldiers from the three garrisons in the capital to form an army called the "Northern Expeditionary Force" by the Emperor, and they set out from Bianjing today to escort Prince Wei, Zhao Ke, to the military camp in Hebei to reward the troops.

  Most of the soldiers in the Zhenbei Army came from the four armies of Tieqi, Konghe, Longjie and Hujie. A small number of them were also selected from the Imperial Guards to follow the emperor on military campaigns. As was customary, these elite troops were stationed in the capital year-round to guard the imperial palace and did not rotate out to garrison other parts of the empire like other units of the Imperial Guard. In fact, government officials would even select tall women to marry soldiers from the Imperial Guards so that they could produce strong offspring who could continue to serve as guards for generations to come.

  The Shangsi Army and the Imperial Guard often had multiple generations serving together, so it was not uncommon for large families with dozens of members to live and thrive in Bianliang. Therefore, when the Zhenbei Army set out on its expedition to Hebei today, the farewell ceremony by the family members was even more grand than usual. The crowd surged forward, constantly squeezing towards the departing troops, with white-haired elderly parents, wives holding babies, bewildered young teenagers staring silently at their fathers in the army, and young women with tears streaming down their faces, plucking willow branches from the roadside trees and inserting them into the collars of their departing husbands. The Zhenbei Army was slowed down by the crowds seeing them off, advancing at a snail's pace, taking an entire day to cover just ten miles north of Fengqiu Gate.

  "In the past, I went away, with willows relying on each other. Now I return home, with rain and snow fluttering about. On the road, I am slow to advance, suffering from thirst and hunger. My heart is wounded and sorrowful, but no one knows my grief."

  Zhao Xingde muttered to himself, reached into his bosom and took out a sachet. On the surface of the sachet were two lines of dense needlework: "Thinking of you like a full moon, every night reducing its clear radiance". Inside the sachet was a token of love and a strand of hair, both gifts from Li Ruoxue.

  On June 6, an imperial edict was issued, ordering Zhao Xingde, a Confucian scholar at the Imperial Academy, to follow Tong Guan, the envoy who proclaimed the edict, to Hebei Province. The envoy and Wei Wang, the Crown Prince, set out together for the large military camp in Hebei to reward and comfort the three armies. What was strange was that no official position was conferred upon him. This inexplicable mission even left Song An, who was familiar with the stories of the imperial court, unable to guess the true intention of the imperial family.

  According to the military law at that time, from the day they received the order to set out on an expedition, they had to pack their bags and go to the main camp. After that, until departure, they were not allowed to return home for a visit. Zhao Xingde had to bid farewell to his fellow students in Bianjing, pack his bags, report to Tong Guan, the proclamation envoy, receive his credentials, and then stay at the Northern Garrison Army Camp, where he was not allowed to leave without an order from his superior. Only Chen Dong and Li Ruoxu came to visit him once, bringing some seasonal fruits and essentials for a long journey.

  At this moment, Li Ruoxue couldn't see him off due to the etiquette of the inner chamber, but Zhao Xingde still felt a warmth. After rubbing the sachet for a while, he carefully put it in his bosom, looked around, lightly covered his nose, and there was still a faint fragrance left. His originally somewhat depressed mood suddenly became cheerful again. Zhao Xingde adjusted his fur hat, gently whipped the horse's buttocks, the strong horse neighed loudly, took a few quick steps, and then slowed down again.

  Tong Guan, the Hebei Xuanxu messenger, treated Zhao Xingde quite well. Although he held no official position, he was given three sets of robes according to the precedent for a recorder from the eighth rank, as well as several stones' worth of salary, tea, wine, kitchen supplies, firewood, and salt. As for the millet, tea, and wine, which were cumbersome items that Zhao Xingde had no place to store, he sent them all to the residences of Chui Li and his family. Moreover, since this was a mission to proclaim an edict in the Hebei large camp, he also issued him an iron sword, bow and arrow, and specially assigned him a horse.

  When Zhao Xingde first received this horse from Hexi, he was shocked by its tall and strong physique. Such a robust warhorse was rarely seen among the people. He had imagined himself wearing a helmet and armor, riding a fine horse, but in reality, during his days at the garrison of the Northern Town, Zhao Xingde spent most of his time wrestling with this sturdy horse assigned to him.

  "You're just a bookworm who doesn't know the ways of the world, you must not have given any benefits to the officials at the Imperial Stables, that's why they gave you this uncastrated fierce horse, let you suffer a bit." This was what Han Shizhong said when he saw Zhao Xingde for the first time. "However, this kind of western riverbank horse is only exciting to ride, if it's trained well, it would be exhilarating on the battlefield." What he didn't know was that this western riverbank horse had an extremely violent temperament, ordinary people couldn't even get close without being kicked and bitten, and the officials at the Imperial Stables and veterinarians were unable to castrate it.

  From then on, Zhao Xingde got up every night to feed the horse with fine grains, groom its mane and clean its hooves every day. He also took the horse for a walk and talked to it in a nervous tone, as if trying to win its favor. Under Han Shizhong's guidance, the horse gradually accepted Zhao Xingde's command, but still seemed listless and unenthusiastic, as if looking down on Zhao Xingde's refined temperament.

  "You can open the three-stone hard bow, and your strength is not bad, but unfortunately, the force of your waist and legs is still too weak. You sit on the war horse as if it were a stool, with your two thin legs dangling limply on either side, without any strength at all. It's strange that you can be considered a scholar." Han Shizhong continued to mock Zhao Xingde in a neutral tone, then pointed out his stance on the horse, and taught him the key points of exercising his waist, abdomen, thighs, and calves.

  Zhao Xingde knew that he was grateful for his initial help, and did not think about it every day. He honestly followed the instructions of Han Shizhong to temper his body. Fortunately, because there were still many officials following him, the speed of the Northern Expedition Army was not fast. Every day, as soon as the sun set in the west, they would set up camp early and rest, so Zhao Xingde still had time to rest.

  "This horse has a human-like temperament, sometimes it gets angry, maybe because the gentle mare bit it last night, who knows." Zhao Xingde thoughtfully recalled Han Shizhong's words and pulled the reins, but the big horse on the west bank was still listless. "Maybe it's just the opposite," he thought with some malice.

  As they marched, the Northern Expeditionary Army's formation was very strict, with infantry phalanxes in the middle, escorting the prince and Tong Guan and other high-ranking officials' carriages. These infantrymen wore red tassels on their helmets, bright red scarves around their necks, and light gray military uniforms, only carrying standard waist knives and bows and arrows. Heavy equipment such as armor, long spears, strong crossbows, and fire guns were all placed on the carts on both sides of the infantry phalanxes. Grain carts, crossbow carts, assault carts, gun carts, tiger cages, and paddle carts, some pulled by mules or horses, others pushed by civilians, formed a continuous line, like two moving city walls protecting the infantry phalanx's flanks. In case of an enemy surprise attack, they could immediately form an impenetrable cart formation.

  In the front, rear, left and right of the marching column, there were also four battalions of cavalry. According to the rules of the military classics of this dynasty, the commanders of each battalion should have sent out scouts from time to time to reconnoitre the enemy situation within a hundred miles, in order to achieve the effect of knowing the enemy's plans first. However, because they had always been marching in the heartland of the Great Song Dynasty, how could any ordinary bandits dare to come and harass the five thousand elite troops with the dragon flag of the Son of Heaven? The commanders of each battalion did not bother to do this unnecessary evil. All the cavalry were slowly advancing on horseback near the infantry and the baggage train. Han Shizhong also commanded his third battalion of cavalry to march closely alongside the baggage train, firstly because it was easy to walk in the middle of the road, and secondly because he had a good relationship with the officers of the baggage train, which would bring benefits in the future.

  "I heard that Hebei is a vast and flat land, most suitable for cavalry to gallop freely. This time the imperial court intends to pacify Hebei, General Han has a great opportunity to show his prowess." Although Zhao Xingde did not hold any official position, Chen Dong and others who came to visit him still revealed many rumors from the imperial court, compared to Han Shizhong, this rough old man was quite well-informed.

  "The court has cleared the way for Hebei, what's the big deal?" Han Shizhong's eyes showed a look of disgust. In front of Zhao Xingde, who had read extensively on the classics, he spoke even more recklessly, "We eat this rice bowl, the officials want to fight wars, we shed blood and fight." His gaze intentionally or unintentionally wandered around the windows of several carriages in the supply camp, Zhao Xingde knew that one of them was Li Hongyu, who had been presented by Gong Lou. This time, there were 55 military prostitutes accompanying the army to entertain the soldiers from Hebei. Fortunately, the commander-in-chief Tong Guan was a eunuch and couldn't have personal relationships. Since leaving Bianliang, he had only occasionally ordered these military prostitutes to serve wine, with no other tasks assigned to them.

  Tong Xuan Yu's order that no one could have an affair with the military prostitutes, also applied to other generals of the Zhen Bei army. They couldn't enjoy these women freely, lest they offend their superiors. This actually made Han Shizhong breathe a sigh of relief. On the one hand, he inquired about Li Hongyu's news, and on the other hand, he got close to powerful officials. Hebei was not like the capital, as long as there were capable people secretly helping him, it wouldn't be difficult for the military prostitutes to become respectable women.

  Although Tong Guan's public identity was that of a declaration envoy, the news that the court wanted to change the commander of Hebei had already been transmitted to the high-level officials of the Hebei campaign headquarters. The Beijing Daming Prefecture was where the Hebei campaign headquarters was located, and Liu Yanqing, the military governor of Baoshun Army and deputy commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard's cavalry, was frowning at the crowd of generals kneeling on the ground.

  "I have always treated you with kindness, is this how you repay me?" Liu Yanqing had been in command of Hebei for over a decade, and all the generals under him were hand-picked from among the ranks. Although he was somewhat arrogant and indulgent towards his subordinates on ordinary days, once he became angry, dozens of fierce generals with helmets and armor would not dare to look up at him, nor would they dare to utter a word in defense.

  "What is the soldier's advice? What is the prince's plea in front of him? What do you think the imperial court is? Do you want me to die and my clan to be exterminated before you are at peace?" Liu Yanqing's face was iron-gray. When the news of the change of guard came, he had been somewhat disheartened, but thinking again, after decades of being a general, he had already acquired many good fields and beautiful houses in the inner provinces, and as a jiedushi, Cao Zhongwu had once said: "A good official is nothing more than getting rich." This was exactly what he meant. This time, retiring from office and returning to the capital, although no longer as powerful as before, but winning in being carefree and at ease, the Liu family would no longer offend the emperor, and the next generation would have the possibility of reuse.

  Who would have thought that this morning, dozens of fully armed men arrived at the courtyard outside his bedroom, saying that the imperial court had misheard the rumors of small people and everyone was angry, wanting to remonstrate with the emperor, and to see the crown prince as the old general to clarify the injustice. Isn't this pushing Old Liu into the fire pit? As soon as he thought of this, Liu Yanqing's hands couldn't help but tremble, and his nose let out a heavy hum. The several generals kneeling on the ground, Tian Shizhen, Shang Qiong, Hu Sai'an, etc., unconsciously shrank back.

  Author: Due to backend issues, updates are slightly delayed, thank you for your understanding, book friends.