No matter how many of these people are on his side, and how many of them are planning to coexist with the aristocratic family system, Li Xingchen is still grateful to them.
After all, he had been away for nearly a year. If it weren't for these ministers who worked hard to maintain it, the Han Dynasty would have been on the verge of collapse.
Li Xingchen knew the story of Liu Yu from the previous dynasty.
He didn't want to follow in his footsteps.
"Dear ladies, please rise." Li Xingchen raised his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Xingchen smiled and said: "I have been patrolling the north for more than a year, and all of you have worked hard to guard Jiankang Mansion. The wind is blowing hard today, so please come with me to the city to take shelter from the wind and wait for the three armies to form their formation."
"I obey your orders."
Although it was early spring, the cold wind was still biting. Of course, an old man like Gu Yewang couldn't stay in the wind for a long time.
Stone City was Soochow's last line of defense against Wei's march to the south, and it was also a fortress that kept the Wei army at bay time and time again. During the Qian-Chen period, although the battle line had been pushed to Huainan, there were still many garrison troops in Stone City.
Up to now, the Han Dynasty has also maintained about 500 soldiers and horses in Stone City, which are directly affiliated with the capital guard.
After this war, the concept of the Capital Guards has gradually dissipated. The former Capital Guards were integrated into the bodyguards and became Li Xinchen's direct troops.
This is mainly because Li Xingchen realized the importance of the capital guard during the previous turmoil in the family.
There is a difference between the Capital Guards and the Imperial Guards. The main task of the Imperial Guards is to defend the palace city and the imperial city. They are composed of elites drawn from various places. The main task of the Capital Guards is to defend Jiankang Mansion.
Just like the time of Nanchen, they were all soldiers and horses recruited locally. The loyalty of these local soldiers and horses to the court and their own combat power were definitely incomparable with those of the guards and soldiers.
Li Xinchen came to Jiankang Mansion when he was still a minister of Nanchen. In the end, it was because Jiang Yuanxun and other generals of the capital guard secretly released water, which led to Fan Yi's failure and Li Xinchen was able to escape.
The Beijing Guards should be said to have meritorious service, but what happened next made it difficult for Li Xinchen to regard this army as a meritorious team.
Before the Zhengdan ceremony last year, local aristocratic families instigated rebellion, and their main targets were the Beijing Guards. This was because the soldiers of the Capital Guards came from around Jiankang Prefecture.
The generals in the army were basically from aristocratic families, so these local aristocratic families would definitely find ways to seek the support of the guards. Fortunately, Baipao and Xiao Shilian's response at that time was not slow, and Li Xingchen had guards in his hands.
Together with Yu Linqizai, he saved the day and nipped the signs of rebellion in the cradle.
But this also made Li Xingchen have a "murderous intention" towards the Beijing Guards. First, he transferred veteran Jiang Yuanxun back to the Guards to be responsible for gathering the morale of the troops, and then led the Beijing Guards northward. During the march northward, the Beijing Guards also
For a long time, they obeyed Li Xinchen's orders together with the guards and soldiers, and finally gradually integrated with the guards and soldiers as a whole. Now with Li Xinchen's return south, only part of the capital guards are left, and some remain in Chang'an. Their main task is to protect
Chang'an Imperial City and obeyed the direct orders of Tang Zhong who stayed in Chang'an.
It can be said that after this trip to the north, the once large capital guard was completely dismembered. This is why Ren Zhong, who became the general of the guard after Jiang Yuanxun, was actually a polished commander. Li Xingchen would definitely not hand over the guard to him.
The guards of the capital still exist in name only. Now, the only ones that Ren Zhong can control are actually the troops left behind in the camps around the capital such as Stone City and Zhongshan. However, these troops have undoubtedly been gradually marginalized and will be eliminated later.
They will gradually be reorganized into local rural soldiers and will no longer appear as guards.
Li Xingchen stretched out his hand to hold on to the battlements on the stone city and looked at the Han troops already arrayed under the city and on the river.
These Han troops will be reviewed under the Stone City and then go around Jiankang Mansion. Finally, thousands of meritorious soldiers will be eligible to enter Jiankang Mansion to praise their merits.
In addition to Li Xingchen and other ministers, the people of Jiankang Prefecture have already been waiting south of Stone City. For them, regardless of whether they know the significance of this military parade, the excitement cannot be missed, not to mention
Many of them are their own children.
When the dragon flag representing Li Xingchen was raised on the top of the city, there was silence all over the stone city.
Everyone held their breath subconsciously and looked at the scene in front of them quietly. In the strong wind, only the flags were fluttering and dancing.
This is a moment of glory that belongs to every soldier of the Han Dynasty, and it is also a moment of glory that belongs to the founding monarch of the Han Dynasty.
Li Xingchen waved his hand.
The sound of "dong dong" drums rose from the ground and echoed across the country.
Team after team of soldiers marched with sonorous and powerful steps from Yanziji Pier to Jiankang Mansion. A red flag was held up in the lead, "Nanyang first climbed", which meant that this team was the first to climb the mountain.
The team at the head of Nanyang City, and the Battle of Nanyang was the beginning of the Han Dynasty's northward march.
After that, the banners of "Wuguan Hero Building", "Shangluo Meritorious School" and so on came one after another, announcing to people what kind of bloody battles these teams had experienced and what great achievements they had made.
This is a meritorious title specially awarded by Li Xingchen to these meritorious troops after the Northern Expedition, and these meritorious titles are often obtained with real sacrifices of flesh and blood, such as the "Wuguan Hero Building", this team is Chunyu under Xiao Shilian's command
The elite of the Cen tribe had been defeated twice during the Battle of Wuguan. When they captured Wuguan for the last time, only one-third of the team was left.
When the battle losses exceed 30%, an ordinary army is almost on the verge of collapse. And this team is indeed worthy of the elite and the title of "hero".
The same goes for the rest of the teams.
The wind rustled, and every soldier who walked under the stone city shook their heads and looked towards the city.
"Long live my emperor!" the leading general shouted out loudly.
"Long live my emperor!"
"Long live the great man!"
This time, it was no longer just the "Long live the great man" in the army who responded to the partial general.
The people who had reacted, the people who filled the mountains and plains, and the people who were watching from the streets, all shouted at the same time.
"Long live the great man!"
The mountains roared and the tsunami hit Stone City like a wave, and also hit Jiankang Mansion in the distance.
At this moment, everyone was cheering from the bottom of their hearts. When they saw the children of these heroes and the red flags waving one after another, they felt a sense of sincere pride in their hearts.
This is such a powerful era that everyone has been waiting for in their dreams, a powerful era that people have been waiting for for three hundred years.
Standing behind Li Xingchen, listening to the people's shouts, Gu Yewang and other veterans were silent, but their eyes were slightly moist.