On June 24, Yu Ming finally returned to Jiangzhou with his army in the middle.
"Welcome, welcome, warm welcome!"
People lined the streets to welcome him, holding flowers in their hands and shouting slogans.
The soldiers of the Renaissance Army walked down the pier in neat lines on the red carpet.
At this moment, every soldier felt proud of his Northern Expedition.
The support of the elders in my hometown is the greatest comfort to my heart.
Looking at the enthusiastic people, the soldiers also had happy smiles on their faces.
The Northern Expedition lasted for more than a year, and the oppression of the battlefield made everyone's nerves tense. This warm welcome ceremony can effectively relax the soldiers' nerves.
The Renaissance Army arrived in the square in neat lines. Song Yang, Song Tong, Old Master and others had been waiting for a long time.
Song Yang held a grand welcome ceremony for the Central Route Army.
At the same time, the welcome ceremony is also a commendation ceremony for military achievements.
Song Yang had already received lists of meritorious deeds from various places, and the contents of appointments and dismissals had already been prepared.
All military personnel have received due commendations and promotions.
Jiangzhou also gave birth to two generals of third rank or above.
In Ming Dynasty, he was promoted to General Yunhui from the third rank.
Wei Nan was promoted to the rank of General Returning to Germany from the third rank.
In addition, generals such as Ma Cheng, Gongsun Qi, Cui Qiang, Cui Shan, Wan Qianyan, and Bai Wenju were also promoted.
Even the four generals of the frontier army, Zhang Lei, Jiang Gong and other demoted generals were also given the official titles of imperial generals.
In addition, all soldiers who participated in the Northern Expedition were also given actual rewards, the least of which was one hundred catties of rice, flour, grain and oil each.
Those from the East and West Route Army must also be given. Wei Nan and Gao Junyan thanked Song Yang for the reward on behalf of the East and West Route Army.
Officials at all levels who serve as logistics personnel have not been forgotten.
Fang Zhe was directly promoted to Dr. Guanglu and the governor of Jiangnan West Road. Finally, he was promoted from a rank-less official of the Palace Chief to a senior official of the third rank.
The governor of Daqian was different from the second-rank governor of that era, and was a third-rank governor.
Other personnel, Liu Huairen, Gao Junyan, and Qiao Jinglong have all been promoted to senior positions. Even the managers and employees of various material workshops at the rear have also been commended and rewarded.
For example, Liu Bao gave a rank of general and official from the ninth rank to the rank of official.
Wang Jinshi even directly became a scholar at the ninth rank.
Overall, it's a situation where everyone is happy and everyone gets rewarded.
The commendation meeting was followed by the Heroic Spirit Sacrifice.
This is a ceremony that Song Yang values more, and he has asked Fang Zhe to prepare it for a long time.
During the Northern Expedition, the total number of casualties among the three armies exceeded 1,300.
Of course, half of them die from disease, accidents, and accidents.
But they were all considered dead and given the treatment of death in battle.
These people all sacrificed their lives for the unification and rejuvenation of Daqian, and their names deserve to be remembered.
Under Song Yang's guidance, Fang Zhe erected a huge stone monument in the central square of Jiangzhou.
Song Yang's inscription is engraved on the front of the stele: "Monument to the Heroes of Daqian."
The boy wrote: "The heroes of Daqian will live forever."
The back of the monument is densely engraved with the names of those who died.
Each Renaissance Army has a roster and statistics, and all dead personnel are clearly recorded.
Their names are engraved on the monument and will be passed down to the world forever.
Song Yang first recited a eulogy to comfort the heroes, and then led Jiangzhou soldiers and civilians to present flower baskets to the monument.
Finally, Chu Zian and Qin Ming led the school students to swear an oath to learn from the heroes and contribute their strength to Daqian in front of the Daqian Heroes Monument.
At this moment, the soldiers and civilians in Jiangzhou felt deep admiration in their hearts.
Even the family members of the martyrs felt that the prince had done a great job and felt that his death was well deserved.
The soldiers of the Renaissance Army were even more motivated to fight, and they wished they could dedicate their lives to Song Yang and Da Qian.
He even hopes that one day in the future, his name will be engraved on the monument and will be remembered forever.
The old master's eyes filled with tears. In all dynasties, no dynasty could give such high treatment to the heroes and martyrs of warriors.
The rulers of the previous dynasty were all people who regarded human life as nothing. They thought they were superior and did not care about the life and death of the soldiers at the bottom.
But the old master saw clearly that in terms of warrior spirit, Daqian was the best in ancient and modern times.
Song Yang's way of commemorating the heroes really impressed the old master.
Song Yang not only gave honor to the martyrs, but also gave practical benefits to their families.
All martyrs were assigned the most suitable positions at the end, and martyrs' allowances were paid every month.
The children of martyrs are also provided with the best educational resources, and are promised to be given limited choices of jobs after graduation.
These are conditions that everyone envies. They were earned by the martyrs with their lives, making them deserve it.
After a lot of commendation and sacrifice, the people of Jiangzhou became more popular, and there was unprecedented unity. Song Yang's popularity reached an unprecedented height.
On June 28, the commendation activities and sacrificial activities came to an end.
Song Yang stipulated that in the future, large-scale sacrificial activities will be held on June 25th every year as the commemoration day for heroic spirits.
This move was once again praised by the people of Jiangzhou.
"Your Majesty, the time is almost here. Do you think we should take a step further?"
The old master met Song Yang alone at a time when no one was around, and said these words to Song Yang.
Of course Song Yang understood what he meant.
Now the Central Plains are unified, the Northland is peaceful, and the southwest region has basically recovered the territory of Daqian.
In terms of geographical area, the area controlled by Song Yang was already very huge, larger than most dynasties before Daqian.
The current territory of Daqian only lacks the Longyou Road, the Western Regions, and a small part of the southwest.
This no longer affects Song Yang from reaching that unique position.
"I understand what the old master wants. But there is no rush in this matter." Song Yang smiled and said.
"The world has just stabilized, and the main energy still needs to be spent on rebuilding our homes."
"Especially in the North, because of the war, the people are almost starving and freezing. It's hard for me to ascend the throne and proclaim myself emperor now!"
The main reason why Song Yang shied away was because he didn't want to be bound by that position.
Now in this world, he has the final say, why should he put a shackle on himself and trap his personal freedom on that dragon throne?
The world's view of the emperor is still that he can only sit on the dragon's throne and guide the country.
And Song Yang didn't want to sit there for the rest of his life.
"This... what the prince said makes sense. However, the name is not justified..." The old master suddenly stopped when he said this.
Then he laughed at himself and said: "I am worried too much. No one in the world can compete with you, the prince. That position is really just a name."
"Old Master, I know that you are doing this for my own good. However, it is not yet mature yet. Let's wait. When the world is truly unified, I will step onto the throne in front of everyone in the world. "
Song Yang stood up and looked at the sky outside the door.
The old master looked at Song Yang's back and felt that he was very tall, taller than the late emperor and even taller than Gaozong.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will definitely use my last bit of strength to help you put this world in order." The old master said excitedly.
"Haha! Okay! With the help of the old master, I have no need to worry about failing to achieve my great cause!" Song Yang laughed loudly.