Chapter 216 Issued an edict for the Northern Expedition
On the first day of July in the eleventh year of Qianyou, a grand canonization ceremony was held in the main hall of Chongyuan. Witnessed by concubines, clan members, royal relatives, nobles, and internal and external ministers, Emperor Liu Chengyou of the Han Dynasty officially canonized the second prince Liu Yang. Prince.
After a series of solemn and solemn ceremonies, all the civil and military officials present saluted Liu Yang neatly. Ten-year-old Liu Yang, with all his crowns in place and a bright yellow dragon robe, was beautifully decorated. He stood on the Danqi. , looking at the palace full of civil and military ministers, prostrate at his feet, for a moment, he didn't feel so comfortable.
I couldn't help but look back at my parents, only to see that the emperor's face was full of majesty, and his aloofness was not like that of a mortal figure, which was intimidating. On the contrary, it was my mother's big talisman. Although she also maintained her majesty, her eyes were full of dignity. Full of encouragement and expectations.
After all, I have studied literature and martial arts for many years. I have also followed Liu Chengyou on patrols. I have some experience and have experienced large battles. I took a deep breath, calmed down the tension in my body and mind, and followed the instructions beforehand, Minister Xuan En.
Liu Chengyou was sitting on the throne, exuding an air of coercion. His eyes were calm, and he was observing Liu Yang's performance. He followed the rules, which was pretty good. If he couldn't withstand this kind of battle, then this prince, That's so disappointing.
In fact, Liu Chengyou personally taught Liu Yang from time to time. If his qualifications were really unworthy, Liu Chengyou would not appoint him even if he was his eldest son. Of course, although he was appointed crown prince, it also represented a long-term and strict relationship. The inspection was officially launched.
Whether the crown prince's position can be secured depends on Liu Yang's own luck and ability.
Of course, there were some people with different thoughts in the main hall, such as the noble concubine Gao and the Hui concubine Fu. Seeing this scene, Concubine Gao looked at the aloof Emperor Liu. The ones closest to him were the Queen Mother and Empress Fu. He was full of bitterness and powerlessness. And when he saw his son Liu Xi paying homage to Liu Yang heartlessly, he felt even more resentful and angry at him.
As for Concubine Fu Hui, the young woman's mood is more serious, and her eyes are somewhat resentful. After all, she also gave birth to a son. Lady Zhe's eyes are calmer and more open-minded.
Liu Chengyou also observed the behavior of his other sons. They were all well-behaved. The eldest son Liu Xu still maintained his usual gentleness that was almost ingrained in his bones, with a smile. The third son Liu Xi had a calm expression on his face. It's just that his eyes were a little unfocused. Liu Fang, the fourth brother, was looking at his second brother attentively, with a little curiosity. As for Liu Yun, the fifth brother, and Liu Min, the king of Wei, they were just pretending.
After the ceremony was completed, Liu Chengyou asked the prince Liu Yang to ride in the royal chariot, escorted by hundreds of Ouchi guards, and go out of the palace to patrol Tianjie, receiving cheers and support from the people of Tokyo, and officially announcing the matter to the world.
At night, the royal banquet in Chongyuan Hall was a proper thing to congratulate and present gifts. At the same time, after discussion with Empress Fu, Liu Chengyou also assigned Liu Yang with East Palace officials and guards. All regulations were adopted from when he was the prince. .
Judging from Liu Chengyou's performance, he does have certain expectations for the prince Liu Yang, and there is no shortage of the status and treatment he deserves. After all, he is the prince and the future successor of the empire. This is not a child's play. Liu Chengyou's attitude Very upright and very serious.
"You must be tired today!" Dafu said softly in Kunming Hall, looking at Liu Yang who was still wearing a bright dress.
Liu Yang nodded, shook his head, and nodded again. Seeing his appearance, Da Fu called him to his side, touched his head, and said: "From now on, you will be the prince of the Han Dynasty. You must also learn to appreciate your father's hard work and painstaking efforts. Your tiredness today is nothing compared to his ten years of hard work. You must understand this. You are a king and a minister in the court, and you are a father and son in the next court. Be respectful to your father..."
Liu Yang didn't fully understand what Da Fu said, but he was an obedient child and just nodded in agreement. However, a little hesitation could not help but appear on his immature face.
Dafu asked him, and Liu Yang said: "Mother, when I meet the minister, my elders and brothers salute me. I don't know why, but I feel very nervous. I have never felt that before!"
In response to this, Da Fu showed a slight smile and sighed: "This is the heavy responsibility of the prince!"
...
After the title of crown prince was decided, Liu Chengyou focused all his attention on the preparations for the Northern Expedition. Under his urging, the entire court was working closely.
The Sansi Dafa treasury purchased all military supplies, from quilts, shoes and socks, gloves, rain gear, tents, vehicles, as long as the army could use them, they all purchased them on a large scale. For a time, craftsmen inside and outside Tokyo , made a huge profit.
The arsenal is wide open and actively transported to foreign countries. All kinds of weapons are expanded in production scale and started at full strength. A large amount of raw materials are input into the workshops and in the hands of thousands of craftsmen, they are turned into life-harvesting war weapons. According to the Ministry of War According to the report, only 3 million arrows of various types of bows and crossbows need to be prepared in the early stage.
Grain and grass went first. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the amount of grain transferred northward through the capital had reached 200,000 shi, and the Yongqing Army, which was the base for the Northern Expedition, had collected more than 400,000 shi. This was even before the imperial court was fully mobilized. The imperial troops organized in the Northern Expedition also headed north in batches under the control of the Privy Council.
As expected, the Han's military preparations and maneuvers could not completely confuse the enemy. However, due to the court's series of strategies to confuse the enemy, the time for the target to be discovered was greatly delayed.
During this process, the most nervous one was the Jinling court. Because of the appointment of the crown prince, Liu Chengyou issued an order for Li Jing to come to the court to observe the ceremony. Given Li Jing's temperament, of course he was not happy, and he did not dare to go to Tokyo. He did not dare to refuse directly. , he excused himself by saying that the illness was not yet cured, and the road was far away, and there was not enough time. He was afraid that he would not be able to catch up, so he did not go to avoid being disrespectful. However, he still ordered the Tang officials to go north with heavy gifts to present to the Han prince.
This, of course, would not satisfy Emperor Liu. Afterwards, Li Gu began to stir up trouble in Yangzhou. The Yangzhou navy was dispatched to parade troops across the country, causing great alarm among the soldiers and civilians of the Southern Tang Dynasty along the Jiangyin coast.
Coupled with the surging torrents in the Central Plains, the Jinling court who was aware of it was even more frightened. Although Lin Renzhao and other generals actively resisted, Li Jing was still afraid of the trouble and sent envoys to the north for the second time with gifts, hoping to ask for peace. .
If this was the case in the Southern Tang Dynasty, how could the Khitans in the northern part of the Great Wall be unaware of it? In fact, regardless of the mobilization of troops and horses by the Han Dynasty, they were already preparing for war. After the Battle of Yanmen, the Han Dynasty maintained only envoy exchanges, and there were also confusions
The meaning of Hanting.
After returning to Beijing from the north of Yelujing, the existing soldiers of the Liao Kingdom, especially the tribal armies, which were the main force, stepped up their training and selected elite soldiers and generals to prepare for the southward raid.
At the same time, Yelujing also sent envoys to dispatch the northern tribes who had surrendered to the Liao Kingdom. They communicated in advance and made preparations to recruit them to go south. How could we deal with the Han without servants and cannon fodder?
In this way, in the early stage, both sides had their own motives and preparations. Yelv Jing was originally just strengthening the military training and construction of the Liao Kingdom, and was preparing to follow Yelu Talie's suggestion to kill and plunder first to weaken the national strength of the Han Dynasty.
However, as time went by, I realized that something was wrong. The big man's aggressive movements were so frightening that he wanted to eat people. After learning about the big man's unusual movements, the monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom also accelerated their preparations for war.
The pace, many plans that were originally intended to be slowed down, had to be accelerated.
After entering August, the two countries have basically laid out their swords and guns, facing each other, and preparing for a war. The Liao Kingdom is waiting for the autumn harvest and the horses will be fat, while the Han Dynasty is fully prepared in the early stage, dispatching troops and horses, and waiting for the autumn harvest and the people's strength.
abundant.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, as the two countries stepped up their troops to line up the border, the cavalry of both sides had already started fighting on the border. The confrontation between Youyan and Youyan was the most intense. The Liao cavalry reached as far south as Zhuozhou. And this time
In return, it was not Yanqi's alone confrontation. All the cavalry troops under the control of the Hebei Frontier Army were transferred north to participate in the war.
By August 20, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Han Emperor officially issued an edict to expedition to the north of Khitan, which attracted the world's attention. By this time, the Han Dynasty had gathered 200,000 troops in the Hebei area.