spend time

General Zuo ordered the army to march 60 li a day. 60 li doesn't sound fast. However, marching a large army is different from traveling by horse. You need to maintain a certain formation and have the endurance to march long distances. You need to stop and rest after walking a certain distance. Cavalry is not much faster than infantry.

Song Yuan led two hundred of the emperor's personal guards and went into battle with the Yingwei Camp.

One of the guards muttered privately: "At the speed the Yingwei Battalion marches, it will take two months to catch up with the Yuzhou army. By the time we get there, Yuzhou will probably have been occupied by the rebel army."

"If we leave the army behind and rush all the way there, we can save at least half the time."

"That's right! Otherwise, let's go talk to Commander Song. Let's go first..."

"Shut up, everyone!"

A tall figure appeared behind the guards and shouted coldly: "When marching a large army, we cannot just pursue speed. We should prioritize stability."

The guards immediately shut up.

Song Yuan said in a deep voice: "You have been in the Royal Guard Camp for a long time. You can eat well every day. The war horses are well-equipped and equipped. Each person has at least two horses. Whenever you go out, you ride horses, which will naturally be faster. Only 30% of the British Guard Camp are cavalry, and the remaining 70% are infantry. They can travel 60 miles a day, which shows that General Zuo is strict in managing the army."

"If you continue to talk about the commander like this in private, I will never forgive you."

The guards were scolded so much that their faces turned red, and they all bowed in response.

This little incident did not cause any trouble. Even when it reached the ears of General Zuo, he just smiled.

These guards from Nanyang County were well fed, well clothed, and well paid. They trained every day with strict discipline and amazing combat power. They were also literate. With such qualities, they were already at the level of middle and low-level generals in Daliang. It can also be seen that Her Majesty the Empress had always been ambitious before she ascended the throne, and spent a lot of money and effort to raise such a group of arrogant and brave generals.

There are now two thousand guards in the various garrison camps. They are all loyal and trusted by Her Majesty the Empress. The two hundred guards that Song Yuan has brought are the best of the best. The soldiers of the Yingwei Camp are indeed inferior to them.

As long as they don't cause trouble, and occasionally make a few contemptuous remarks, just pretend you don't know.

What made General Zuo most happy was that Commander Song kept his word, followed orders throughout the march and never interfered.

……

Song Yuan's letter was only two pages long, and most of it was spent praising General Zuo for his good military management.

General Zuo had only taken over the Yingwei Camp for a little over a year. In just over a year, he was able to train an army of 50% new soldiers into this state, which was considered to be extremely capable.

After reading the letter, Jiang Shaohua said to Cui Du, "Among the generals in the court, General Zuo is the best at commanding troops and fighting. The next best is General Fan. General Bao is old and loyal, but he has never led troops out of the capital to fight, so he is a little bit inferior. General Sima, General Song, General Liu and others are even worse."

Cui Du laughed softly and said, "So, even if General Zuo is still secretly connected with Prime Minister Wang, you are willing to use General Zuo."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly: "Yes. There have always been factional disputes in the court. General Zuo was promoted by Prime Minister Wang, so it is natural for him to be loyal to Prime Minister Wang. As long as he obeys the orders of the court, it will be fine."

Loyal ministers and good generals also need to be trained slowly. She has only been on the throne for a few months, and she wants civil and military officials to bow down to her. That's too greedy. It's good enough now. After chatting for a long time, Jiang Shaohua was a little tired. Cui Du helped her lie down on the bed. Now her belly is too big to lie on her back, so she can only lie on her side with her belly, and her legs and feet are a little swollen.

Cui Du kneaded her swollen calves and whispered softly: "Just close your eyes and go to sleep!"

He couldn't help her with the important affairs of the court and could only do some small things.

Jiang Shaohua said softly: "You should go to bed early too."

Cui Du agreed, but he didn't sleep. Jiang Shaohua fell into a deep sleep, and he continued to massage her legs with gentle force until the middle of the night, and then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

……

At the court session the next morning, Minister Ding of the Ministry of War presented a "manifesto" that was sent from Yuzhou to the capital with an angry face.

This manifesto, with more than a thousand words, is full of literary talent and sharp writing. It angrily points out that Empress Zhaoping came to power illegally, stole the throne as a woman, and damaged the fate of Daliang. The whole court was either forced by force, or tempted by interests, or took the initiative to surrender, and the atmosphere was full of smoke and miasma. His Royal Highness Prince Ping was placed under house arrest in the harem, and the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager were also placed under house arrest. The Yuzhou Army was about to rise up and call on the righteous army in the world to go to the capital together to kill the traitors and help Prince Ping ascend the throne.

The ministers were furious after hearing this manifesto that confused right and wrong, and they all started to curse loudly.

"Your Majesty ascended the throne in accordance with the will of heaven, and you have the support of all the ministers, the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother. It is upright, how can you say that you stole the throne?"

"After the Emperor ascended the throne, he worked hard to govern the country, and the political situation was clear and the treasury was abundant. There has never been such a wise ruler, a prosperous era, loyal ministers and good generals in history.

"We support His Majesty purely out of public interest."

"What do you mean by helping King Ping ascend the throne? It's just a bunch of lies relying on the ignorance of the people!"

Minister Dong was particularly indignant because he was named and insulted in the manifesto as a "court traitor" who defected to the empress: "It is no secret in the capital that Prince Ping has been mentally retarded since childhood. Everyone in the court knows about it. But the common people don't know about this, and the big soldiers of the Yuzhou army don't know either. The person who wrote this manifesto deliberately confused right and wrong."

"Your Majesty, please issue an order immediately. I will write an article to punish the traitors!"

Minister Dong was really angry. As a civil official, his greatest ambition was to be remembered in history. Now that the Yuzhou Army's manifesto was out, he, the Minister of Rites, was destined to be remembered in history. Most likely, it would be a bad name.

At this moment, Minister Dong wanted to bite Zheng Chen alive.

This letter, full of allusions, quotations and sharp writing, could not be written by an ordinary person. The Yuzhou army was composed of warriors, and the only one who could write this letter was Zheng Chen.

What Minister Dong could think of, all the ministers could think of. Also indignant were Minister Yang and Minister Ding. They were all mentioned in the manifesto, second only to Minister Dong. No matter how fast the Yuzhou army was destroyed, they were destined to be recorded in the history books.

Wang Jin couldn't suppress his anger, and took two steps forward, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the traitor Zheng Chen instigated the Yuzhou army to revolt, and also wrote such a treasonous article to discredit Your Majesty and the important officials in the court. I want to write a manifesto to conquer the traitor! Please grant your approval!"

Then, Yang Shilang and Ding Shilang also expressed their willingness to write a manifesto, one to vindicate the emperor, and the other to curse the traitor! (End of this chapter)