novel bin Chapter 146 The Expedition
Chapter 146 The Expedition
The next day, Zhao Yu got up as soon as it was light.
Wearing a military uniform, his posture looked even more dashing.
Lin Chaoying personally packed his luggage, her eyes filled with reluctance, but she didn't say a single word to stop him.
The army assembled outside the city, banners fluttering in the wind, and all the civil and military officials came out of the city to see them off.
Zhao Yu stood in front of the carriage and said in a deep voice to Qian Xiangzu and Lei Xiaoyou, "My two gentlemen, I entrust the affairs of the rear of Lin'an to you. Stabilizing the people's hearts and protecting the grain supply will be a great achievement."
"Your Majesty, we obey your command. Take care on your journey." The two bowed and accepted the order.
Zhao Yu's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Huang Yaoshi.
Their eyes met, and Huang Yaoshi nodded slightly, everything understood without a word.
"Xia Zhen!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"The army is marching!"
"As you command!"
With a command given and bugles sounded, tens of thousands of imperial guards marched north, heading towards the Xiangyang front.
On the march, Lan Fenghuang sat in the carriage, occasionally lifting the curtain to look out, her brows slightly furrowed.
Seeing that she looked upset, Zhao Yu asked, "What's wrong? You've been looking gloomy the whole way."
"It's nothing," Lan Fenghuang lowered the carriage curtain and said softly, "It's just that... I feel like people are looking at me strangely. When the army goes to war, it's not good for you to bring a woman like me along. The soldiers below may not say it, but who knows what they're thinking."
Zhao Yu chuckled: "You're overthinking it."
Lan Fenghuang shook her head and said seriously, "I'm thinking, maybe I should go back to the Ming Dynasty first."
Zhao Yu was taken aback: "Back to the Ming Dynasty?"
"Hmm." Lan Fenghuang counted on her fingers and said, "Although you have the excuse of seclusion in the Ming Dynasty, if you stay there for too long, Zhu Houcong will inevitably become suspicious."
"Furthermore, Yan Song and his son have always been eyeing you covetously. What if they discover something and cut off your food supply? Even if you have enough food for this Northern Expedition, what about the future? Keeping the Ming Dynasty as a connection is always a trump card; you never know when you might need it."
Zhao Yu remained silent for a moment.
He felt that securing this batch of grain, along with next year's taxes, would be enough to support the Northern Expedition, and there was no need to continue feigning compliance with Zhu Houcong.
But Lan Fenghuang is right; it's always good to have an alternative.
"You're right, but I'm worried about you going back like this."
As he spoke, Zhao Yu took out a booklet from his bosom: "This is a book of my experience in poison techniques. Keep it with you. Practice it when you have time after you get back. When I'm not around, at least you'll have more power to protect yourself."
Lan Fenghuang curiously took the booklet, casually flipped through a couple of pages, and her expression suddenly changed.
"The poison techniques on this are incredibly potent. Where did you get it?"
"That's a long story."
Zhao Yu gazed into the distance, lost in thought: "Do you know the name Ouyang Feng...?"
In fact, it wasn't just his insights; after killing Ouyang Feng, Zhao Yu had taken away all of his lifelong research on poisons.
However, neither he nor Lin Chaoying liked to use poison, so these things were always left unused.
Now that it's been handed over to Lan Fenghuang, it's making the best use of her.
"Ouyang Feng..."
After listening to Zhao Yu's explanation, Lan Fenghuang murmured to herself, her eyes filled with amazement.
Anyone whom Zhao Yu calls a master of poison must be a grandmaster.
This booklet might be insignificant to others, but to her, the leader of the Five Poisons Sect, it was a priceless treasure.
"Thank you so much, Ah Lang!" Lan Fenghuang was thrilled. She wrapped her arms around Zhao Yu's neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
Zhao Yu smiled and put his arm around her waist. After she calmed down a bit, he said seriously, "I gave you this not so you could just study poison techniques. Poisons can be used, but try to avoid those evil poisons that harm your body and shorten your lifespan."
"I know," Lan Fenghuang nodded obediently.
"There's one more thing," Zhao Yu added. "When you get back, help me prepare some poison in bulk. It doesn't need to be too strong, just enough to incapacitate ordinary soldiers. There's no need to target martial arts masters. It should be well-hidden, the kind that can be mixed in with water sources and food supplies. The more the better."
Lan Fenghuang asked in bewilderment, "With your martial arts skills, why would you need to use poison to kill someone?"
"Battlefield warfare is different from martial arts duels in the martial arts world. Among thousands of troops, even the best individual martial arts skills have their limits. To deal with the enemy, you will naturally use any means necessary; you just need to focus on coordinating your forces."
"Okay, I've got it." Lan Fenghuang didn't ask any more questions and readily agreed.
The army marched until evening and set up camp on the spot.
Under the cover of night, Zhao Yu led Lan Fenghuang to a secluded place.
He gave her a few words of advice to be careful, left her some silver, and then, on a whim, sent her back to Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
Subsequently, Zhao Yu led his army northward.
After more than a month, the city came into view ahead, which was Xiangyang, an important border town of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Banners fluttered atop the city walls.
Wang Chongyang had already received the news and, along with the garrison commander of Xiangyang, Qiu Qianren, and the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, all went out of the city to welcome them.
"Your Majesty, we respectfully welcome you."
Everyone bowed in unison.
Zhao Yu quickly stepped forward and personally helped Wang Chongyang up: "No need for formalities, thank you both for your hard work in the defense of Xiangyang."
After entering the city, the group went straight to the government office's council hall.
Wang Chongyang stepped forward first, pointing to the map on the wall: "Your Majesty, currently, a total of over 80,000 Imperial Guards and local militia have been assembled along the Xiangyang line. However…"
"Although our army has a large number of troops, its combat effectiveness is uneven. Most soldiers have been out of the game for a long time and their morale is low. There are also many cowards and afraid of battle among the generals. It will take time to hone our fighting capabilities."
Qiu Qianren also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Jin vanguard has reached Dengzhou, which is no more than a hundred miles from Xiangyang. The Jin soldiers are skilled in archery and horsemanship, and are fearless in the face of death. They are truly difficult to deal with. I led the Iron Palm Clan brothers to harass them a few times, but we gained very little."
"In my opinion, our army is newly assembled and lacks vigor. It would be better to first hold the city and defend it to the death, thus wearing down the enemy's morale. When the enemy's morale is low after a prolonged siege, we can then look for an opportunity to counterattack."
As soon as he finished speaking, many people in the hall nodded in agreement.
Clearly, most people prefer a more conservative, defensive approach.
Zhao Yu remained noncommittal, then turned to Wang Chongyang: "What are your thoughts, Master Wang?"
Wang Chongyang stroked his beard and smiled, his eyes clear: "Your Majesty has already made up your mind, so why ask this humble Taoist?"
"Oh?" Zhao Yu became interested. "In that case, why don't we both reveal our plans and see if we're on the same page?"
"good."
The two looked at each other and smiled, then spoke at the same time.
"Leave the city to meet the enemy!"
"Take the initiative!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two of them were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Great minds think alike.
The people below looked at each other, and many of them showed worry on their faces.
"I must say, you two have quite the nerve."
A lazy voice suddenly came from outside the hall, tinged with a hint of mockery.
The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a ragged beggar leaning against the door frame, holding half a roast chicken in his hand and gnawing on it with his mouth full of oil.
It was Hong Qi.
He chewed on some chicken and slowly walked in: "Your soldiers are less motivated, less elite, and you don't even have as many cavalry as them. You still dare to go out of the city to fight? Isn't that like throwing an egg against a rock?"