Chapter 37 Wearing the Battle Robe Again

The Emperor Fengtian Chengyun issued an edict: Change the Beiping Provincial Administration Office to Zhending, and appoint the Minister of Punishment Bao Zhao to be in charge of the office. Appoint Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, as the general to conquer Yan, and gather 300,000 troops. Send an order to all prefectures and counties in Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi to jointly provide military pay.

On the vast plains on the north bank of the Yellow River, troops from all groups moved slowly to the north like ants, and the rising dust lingered over the road like smoke.

Geng Bingwen actually had only 130,000 troops, but it was still a large-scale march. The road was filled with people and horses, but there was no congestion. People pushing wheelbarrows, driving mule and donkey carts, infantry, and various artillery vehicles walked in the middle, and cavalry passed quickly on both sides. The torrents of varying speeds were well-arranged.

The southern infantrymen wearing wide-brimmed iron helmets lined up in rows. Spears and muskets were the most common weapons, and the soldiers carried them on their shoulders like a thorn bush.

Geng Bingwen, with very white hair on his temples, spurred his horse to the top of the mound beside the road, raised his hands to block out the glaring sunlight, and looked around for a long time at the troops near and far.

He looked for a while, turned his head, and saw Admiral Sheng Yong standing beside him. He stroked his white beard with his hand, raised his head and smiled, "I thought I would never wear a battle robe again in this life. Today, riding a horse on the battlefield and seeing this scene, it feels like returning home!"

Sheng Yong said, "General, you have been a soldier all your life. The battlefield is a place you are familiar with."

Geng Bingwen was full of energy. He pointed his whip to the north and said, "We must speed up the march! The imperial court has just moved the provincial capital to Zhending, and food and fodder from all over the country have been transported there. If the Yan rebels occupy Zhending in advance, the army will have nowhere to go."

...

The King of Yan ordered: "The Crown Prince will supervise all matters in Beiping, and the Prince of Gaoyang will be in charge of the Left Guard Cavalry. All the generals will gather their troops and march out as soon as possible."

As soon as it was light, Zhu Gaoxu got up, washed and ate, and then put on his armor with the help of Wang Gui, Cao Fu and Aunt Wang. He first put on a set of soft mail armor inside, and then put on a heavy armor made of thick iron sheets outside... In fact, there is a layer of leather inside the mail armor. The three layers of armor on the whole body weigh 50 kilograms. Most people would have difficulty walking in this, but Zhu Gaoxu felt okay.

Zhu Gaoxu then put on a red cloak, took the iron helmet decorated with red tassels from Wang Gui, and put it on his head. He looked at his blurry self in the bronze mirror and suddenly felt a little strange.

Last month, I went out for a stroll with the Yan Wang army, but I had almost no chance to fight. But this time, it was serious, with 300,000 troops approaching, and it was impossible to be so relaxed.

Zhu Gaoxu was a little nervous because this was his first time going to the battlefield!

At this moment he couldn't help but sigh: Whether he likes it or not, it will be difficult for him to take off this iron suit in this lifetime. He cannot escape from the wars near or far, unless he surrenders and gives up!

Zhu Gaoxu let out a breath, gritted his teeth, and took several weapons one by one, putting them on. There were two weapons, a one-handed long sword and a short sword hanging on his waist. There were also bows and arrows, long spears, sabers and other battle weapons, but he didn't need to carry them himself at this time.

As for the heavy sword given by the Prince of Yan, Zhu Gaoxu only kept it at home because it was not very practical. With his strength, he could use the sword, but he was not fighting alone on the battlefield, so saving physical strength was important. There were not many benefits to holding such a heavy weapon except for showing off.

Zhu Gaoxu had been practicing various weapons since he was a child and could use almost anything, but this time when he went into battle, he chose the most common spear as his long weapon.

The tribes of China started fighting with stones. For thousands of years, there were few years of peace and countless wars... until the Ming Dynasty, when Emperor Taizu won the world, he organized the army and selected soldiers. For close combat soldiers, the skill of using long spears was particularly important. Whether the long spear was used well was a must-have for assessment. This is not without reason.

Soon Zhu Gaoxu was fully armed. He stood there for a while, then turned and walked out the door, followed by several people around him.

When he walked out of the hall, there were already dozens of people standing in the courtyard. Professor Hou Hai was wearing a green robe and black gauze, and the centurions Wei Da and Wang Bin were both wearing armor. There were dozens of fully armed soldiers behind them. Together with the people outside the gatehouse, there were more than 250 people in total. These people were originally military households, but the most common thing they did was to carry various ceremonial weapons, which served to decorate Zhu Gaoxu's appearance.

Now the ceremonial guard was of no use, and everyone put on armor and took up weapons, following Zhu Gaoxu to join the "Fengtian Jingnan" team.

Everyone looked at Zhu Gaoxu who had just come out. Zhu Gaoxu was tall and strong, wearing iron armor, and was quite imposing. The soldiers cast their trusting eyes at him.

Wei Da and the other three came forward, clasped their fists and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Zhu Gaoxu put his hand on the hilt of the knife and nodded in response.

Hou Hai looked around and said, "Brothers, you have been following the prince all the time. When you go into battle, you will be his personal soldiers. You must be loyal and brave to protect him! If you were not taken in by the prince, you would be ordinary soldiers. How could you be so fat and strong?"

Everyone responded, "Protect the prince with your life!" "Whoever runs is a coward..."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say much. After they finished shouting, he said, "Let's go!"

Wang Bin led the horse over and wanted to help Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Gaoxu pushed him away roughly and stepped on the stirrup. Even though he was wearing fifty kilograms of heavy armor, he was still as light as a swallow and nimbly climbed onto the horse's back.

All the soldiers mounted their horses and followed Zhu Gaoxu out of the gate. The soldiers outside the gate also reorganized their ranks and joined Zhu Gaoxu. For a while, the sound of horse hooves on the brick ground was heard.

When Zhu Gaoxu looked back, he saw Wang Gui and other servants standing at the door, bowing. Wang Gui and Cao Fu were each wiping away tears.

On both sides of the street, many families of the ceremonial guards stood to see them off. The women and children bid farewell in tears, their faces full of worry. The soldiers were all excited and happy. Someone shouted, "I will be made a marquis and a prime minister for helping you to quell the rebellion!"

The soldiers were in high spirits and they immediately shouted in unison to cheer. The more than 200 people formed a large formation, like a tiger descending from the mountain, shouting and roaring as they rushed away.

Zhu Gaoxu led his men to gallop in the street, heading straight for the Deshengmen parade ground in the north of the city, where more than 2,000 cavalry soldiers of the Left Guard were stationed. When Zhu Gaoxu entered the camp gate, the thousand-man and deputy thousand-man generals in the camp came to greet him.

Zhu Gaoxu handed over the military order of the Prince of Yan and asked everyone to check it. Then they greeted each other and introduced themselves.

"King Gaoyang, we generals are following the military orders of the palace and your lead. Now we are all at your disposal." A military general said beside him, and the other generals echoed.

These soldiers were all subordinates of the Prince of Yan, and Zhu Gaoxu certainly didn't believe in their orders. He obeyed their orders mainly because of the military power he got from the Prince of Yan's mansion ... Of course, appearance and momentum were also important. Among the three sons of the Prince of Yan, only Zhu Gaoxu was allowed to lead the army; otherwise, with the fat of the prince and the thinness of Gao Sui, they might not be able to control this group of warriors.

Zhu Gaoxu looked around and saw smoke rising from the earthen barracks. Many soldiers had not yet had breakfast. He said to the generals, "Eat your fill first, take a short break, and reorganize the troops within an hour and get ready to set off!"

All the generals said, "We are waiting for your order!"

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he rode away. When he got inside, he turned over, handed the reins to Wang Bin, and walked to the middle of the soldiers. The soldiers who were squatting there drinking soup and chewing steamed buns stood up one after another and looked at Zhu Gaoxu.

There were some guards who knew Zhu Gaoxu. One of them smiled and said, "Your Highness, have you eaten yet? I'll scoop you a bowl..."

Someone immediately muttered, "Even if the prince didn't eat it, he wouldn't eat your stuff!"

"I've eaten it, you guys continue eating." Zhu Gaoxu walked forward, picked up an iron pot, stirred the pot twice with an iron spoon, scooped a spoonful into the pot, and then took a big sip, tasted it, and praised, "It tastes good."

The troops responded one after another.

Zhu Gaoxu did not stay long and continued to move around with the generals around him.

At this time, he found a group of soldiers lining up not far away, and they had obviously eaten. He walked forward with interest to watch, and the general in front of the soldiers hurried over and saluted with fists.

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and looked at the rows of troops, which seemed to be in good order. "Huh?" Zhu Gaoxu suddenly found a young soldier in his teens standing inside, who looked very familiar.

He walked up to the soldier and stood in front of him. The soldier said, "My Lord, do you still remember me? The front hall of Prince Yan's Mansion..."

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly remembered that the man who muttered and ambushed behind the hall when Prince Yan launched a mutiny was this guy. At that time, Zhu Gaoxu told him that farming was better than fighting.

Zhu Gaoxu asked casually, "What's your name?"

The soldier said hurriedly, "My last name is Jin. From the villagers to the brothers in the camp, everyone calls me Stone."

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu grabbed his front lapel and raised his breastplate straight, "Since you are going to fight, do your best."

Jin Shitou's face flushed, and he said excitedly, "I will listen to the prince."

Zhu Gaoxu left the team and looked into the distance, only to see teams of horsemen running, rushing past a row of targets, drawing their bows and shooting. He also became interested, so he mounted his horse and rode over, asked Wei Da beside him to bring an eight-bucket horse bow, kicked his horse and rushed over. He stared at the target, took a deep breath, and pulled the bowstring.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't like martial arts training very much now. He hadn't used a bow and arrow for a long time. He was a little worried for a moment. When he got closer, he let go of the bowstring. With a "bang", the arrow flew out and hit the center of the bull's eye. Most of the arrow was stuck in the wooden target!

The generals watching clapped their hands and shouted, "Good! Good!"

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt that in ancient times, it was not enough for a general to be able to deploy troops, he also had to learn archery and horse riding, otherwise he would not be recognized by the warriors. How could he supervise the soldiers if he could not even do it himself?

He rode back and smiled at the generals, "I haven't practiced for a long time, but I'm not too rusty yet."

Wei Da hurriedly said, "Your Highness has been an expert in archery and horsemanship since he was young, and he is the bravest among the three armies. He has long been famous in Yan. I have no choice but to obey him!"

The generals belonging to the Left Guard also echoed him, and Zhu Gaoxu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.