Zhao Tong and Zong Ze chatted freely in the mansion until the sun went down, then they let Zong Ze leave.

Then he sat for a while, drank a cup of tea, and asked someone to prepare a car to go to the palace to meet Empress Zheng.

When Empress Zheng heard that he was about to go on an expedition, she looked sad and said that since Emperor Renzong, how could anyone from the royal family be the commander of the expedition?

Zhao Tong could only comfort him with kind words, but Empress Zheng had only this one son. Even though Zhao Tong said a lot, she still couldn't feel relieved. Thinking of the dangers of the battlefield, she got up to find Emperor Daojun.

How could Zhao Tong lose the right to lead the troops that he had finally obtained? He persuaded him for a long time before giving up.

After returning home, I was speechless all night, but on the second day when I went to court, I became very busy.

His expedition this time is different from that of Deng Xunwu and Wang Xiang. Firstly, his status is different. Secondly, this expedition is very important. If he fails again, not only the officials of the imperial court will lose face, but also all the officials will lose face, because the next step will be

It’s time to mobilize the Western Army.

How will the Western Army view the failure of Wang Qingdu's three expeditions? This is not just a matter of face, but also involves the prestige of the court and the literati pride of the scholar-bureaucrats in front of the common men of the Western Army.

The Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ordnance Supervision were all in action, especially the Bow and Crossbow Department and the Rocket Academy under the Ordnance Supervision. The crossbows that Zhao Yu wanted to bring this time were several times as many as those of Deng Xunwu and Wang Xiang before.

.

Although hundreds of officials in the court were interested in winning, many looked at Zhao Tong coldly. Most of the Cai family members, including Wang Fu and Gao Qiu, had conflicting and complicated emotions.

There are many people who also hope to defeat Wang Qing as soon as possible, but they are not optimistic about Zhao Tao. After all, veterans like Deng Xunwu and Wang Xiang have been defeated with their troops. Zhao Tao is so young, so what if he is a prince? Who cares if you are a rebel?

The prince is still the Privy Councilor! They all feel that there is still no hope this time.

Emperor Daojun officially issued an edict, conferring the titles of Zhao Tong on Huainan East Road and Huainan West Road, and the two roads as Xuanfu envoys. He led an army of 70,000 troops and set out to conquer Wang Qing three days later.

As for various miscellaneous matters regarding military pay and pensions, the Privy Council and the two ministries have already drawn up regulations and will send them to the Guards and Military Department after the court.

These pension and miscellaneous matters are not static. They change at any time according to the war situation. At present, the national treasury can still support it to some extent, so no one has proposed derogation. It is even half a percent higher than when Deng Xunwu went to war.

War is an extremely complicated matter, and there are many things that need to be planned before and after. Even if a single army breaks through a border and is defeated, when it comes to attacking a city and taking territory, there are so many things to prepare for.

This is obviously different from Wang Qing's side. There are bandits over there who can burn, kill, loot and support war with war. Naturally, the imperial court cannot do that.

Emperor Daojun also transferred a few people from the Privy Council and the Ministry of Household Affairs to the army to make records. These people were not willing to join the army, but they were really not of high rank and had no choice but to hold their necks like those Xianggong bachelors who just refused to go.

, nor is it like a waiter or a doctor who can pretend to be ill and escape.

After retiring from the imperial court, Zhao Tong returned to his mansion and saw Duan Yichang waiting. He originally came to say goodbye and was originally going to stay until summer. However, seeing that the Song Dynasty was worried about the rebellion, he proposed with a wink. Returning to Dali, we have finished discussing some trade matters with the Ministry of Rites and will only prepare them after we return.

Duan Heyu's reply from Dali also arrived, but Duan Yichang didn't read it. He wasn't interested at all in what Zhao Tu asked about the old affairs of the Liaoxi County Prince, so he directly gave it to Zhao Tu to read.

Zhao Tong opened the letter directly after taking it. The letter was actually written to Duan Yichang. At the beginning, he asked where he met Xiao Feng's daughter and how he was doing now. Then he wrote about the process of getting acquainted with Xiao Feng and what he had experienced. , and even why Xiao Feng was fatally injured and by whom.

After reading it, Zhao Tong looked a little weird. Duan Heyu didn't know that Xiao Feng did not die after being injured and lived for another three years. Moreover, the origin of Xiao Feng's wife was also very special, which he had never thought of before.

However, knowing why Xiao Feng was injured and the origin of his wife made Zhao Tong feel relieved, so that he could at least give an explanation to Xiao Min in the future.

After sending off Duan Yichang, he rested for a night, and then continued to assemble the army for three days, and then came the day of the expedition.

On this morning, the war drums outside Tokyo were making an earth-shattering noise, flags were fluttering and rustling in the wind, the sound of armor and weapons rubbing against each other was endless, and the dark flow of soldiers, horses and people could not be seen ending at a glance.

Zhao Tong is dressed in black, wearing a black and blue moon-grabbing helmet, a dark night star-grabbing armor, and a black sun-killing spear hanging on the bird-wing ring of the victory hook.

This set of armor weapons was found in the arsenal built by Emperor Taizong. It is said to be the equipment left by the iron spear Wang Yanzhang.

Emperor Taizong had two warehouses. One of them was the arsenal, which contained the armors and weapons of some famous generals during the Spring and Autumn Period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. But they were fine at the beginning, but now they are mostly rotten and rusty and can no longer be used. This set of armors and weapons is one of them. The most expensive set, so it is best kept.

Emperor Taizong also had a poison arsenal. He loved to study poisons. After the founding of the dynasty, he even liked to collect strange poisons from all over the world. After he ascended to power, he even liked to use poison to kill some of his ministers and generals who had committed crimes. But now poison The library is no longer there, and the Renzong Dynasty was completely destroyed.

Zhao Tong sat on the horse, waiting for the three drums to beat, the front army moved, the Chinese army's flag was raised high, and a letter with the word "Qi" was written.

The handsome flag cannot be written as Zhao, so it is embroidered with Zhao Tong's royal title, and there are guard flags on the left and right. His horse is followed by Huang Gu and Ouyang Bei.

Huang Gu was holding two reins, and on the other was a lantern for Thousand Miles Alone. Ouyang Bei was carrying a big bow, and there were thirteen black arrows inserted in the carved pot beside the horse.

The hundred men of the Scarlet Pioneer Regiment followed closely behind. Xu Ning had been training these hundred men since they returned from Longyou. Lu Junyi took over after he came and practiced spears from beginning to end. Now they are fighting long and short spears, double spears and single spears, hooks, sickles, and swallowtails. He is proficient in all kinds of things such as guns, and his skills on horseback have long left those ordinary Imperial Guards far behind.

In this expedition, not only Liu Qi, Zhe Kecun, but also Yao Pingzhong and others were present. Wang Zhen, Lu Junyi, Xu Ning and others from the division also followed. All the talents who could be used by the bodyguard and army division were brought out.
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The army set out on foot, heading southward, and the city of Tokyo gradually disappeared behind.

I don't know what day it was, but the army marched at dawn and stayed overnight. They walked through Yingtian and passed through Suzhou. They made no mistakes all the way and gradually reached the border of Huainan West Road.

On Huainan West Road today, only Haozhou has not fallen into the hands of thieves. Haozhou is located on the northern edge of Huainan West Road, forming a triangle confrontation with Luzhou below and Chuzhou in the southeast.

Deng Xunwu's remnant army was stationed in Chuzhou on Huainan East Road. The two are about the same distance from Luzhou, both more than 300 miles away.

Before setting off, Zhao Tao had ordered Deng Xunwu to stay stationary in Chuzhou. Although Deng Xunwu was the Privy Councilor, Zhao Tao was currently the Huaihe Propaganda Envoy and the highest commander in chief during the war. If Deng Xunwu was in power, he would naturally not be able to give orders, but on the battlefield

, it is already Zhao Tong who has the final say.
Chapter completed!