The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 120 This is the new army of the Great Zhou

Today the sky is clear, the clouds are light and the wind is gentle, it can be said that the weather is good.

The entire hot air balloon barely shook as it slowly rose into the air.

To match this grand event, a giant golden dragon was painted on the airbag, with its head raised high and a pair of deep dragon eyes gazing at the distant sky. The five golden claws under the huge dragon body showed strength and majesty, and a giant dragon tail was painted on the hanging basket below.

Emperor Yuanzhen wore a bright yellow dragon robe and a crown on his head. Overall, he looked like the emperor riding a dragon into the sky.

"What is this? How can the emperor rule the world?" The emperor stood up excitedly.

He looked at the scene in front of him, his old and deep eyes were filled with shock and a hint of envy.

Although the emperor is the Son of Heaven, who receives the mandate of heaven and rules the world, the vast majority of people simply obey the imperial power, and almost no one recognizes the emperor's divinity.

But today, the scene of Emperor Yuanzhen "riding a dragon in the sky" has once again endowed the emperor with divine glory under the watchful eyes of the public.

No matter how great Emperor Yuanzhen's political achievements were, this scene alone was enough to make him leave a mark in history books. How could the retired emperor not be envious?
The fourth prince Gao Yue smiled and explained, "Grandpa Emperor, this is called a hot air balloon. Its principle is similar to that of a Kongming lantern, but its structure is much more complicated."

"Hot air balloon?" The emperor murmured, then pondered, "Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"Replying to Grandpa Emperor, Shen Huaizhong asked the Military Equipment Supervisor to make this recently."

"Shen Huaizhong? Oh, he's the top military scholar who organized the new army." The emperor thought for a moment and asked in confusion, "Isn't he a military commander? How can he know about craftsmanship?"

"I don't know about this, grandson. I only know that not long ago, my father ordered him to take on the position of Junior Supervisor of the Military Equipment Inspectorate." Gao Yue replied.

In fact, Gao Yue was also very puzzled. Logically, he should have investigated Shen Yuan's past thoroughly when he was in Jinling, but he had never heard of Shen Yuan's craftsmanship.

The emperor put aside his doubts for the moment and looked up at the hot air balloon again.

At this moment, everyone was doing the same thing as him.

The civil and military officials on the left side of the tower were also amazed.

In order to keep it secret, even Jiang Zhongnian and Feng Tang were unaware of the existence of the hot air balloon.

In the previous battle against bandits, Shen Yuan's order was to eliminate all the bandits. Although hot air balloons were used at that time, they were all in remote mountains and no one passed on the details of the information.

"This is truly a divine object, but I wonder where it came from?" Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding exclaimed.

When everyone heard this, they looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.

Afterwards, all the civil and military officials turned their attention to the Minister of War Yu Qian. They all guessed that this was most likely made by the Military Equipment Bureau.

Yu Qian was stared at by his colleagues, with a confused look on his face. He said puzzledly: "I don't know either."

He was halfway through his words when suddenly an idea flashed through his mind and he seemed to think of someone.

Everyone noticed the change in his expression, and many people asked eagerly, "Master Yu, have you thought of anything?"

"Tell me quickly!" Shui Rong couldn't help but urge.

Yu Qian hesitated for a moment, but still slowly uttered a few words: "Military Equipment Supervisor Shen Yuan, Shen Huaizhong."

"It's him?" Prime Minister Yang Yanzhi looked suspicious and asked, "How could it be him?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible." At this time, Nan'an County Prince Zheng Chong denied it without hesitation: "How could that boy create such a magical object?"

Shui Rong pondered for a moment and said, "I think it's very possible. Otherwise, why would His Majesty suddenly order Huai Zhong to be promoted to Junior Supervisor of the Military Equipment Bureau?"

"Have you heard any news?"

Everyone then turned their attention to Feng Tang, Jiang Zhongnian, Shi Ding, Jia Zheng and Wang Ziteng.

They have close relationships with Shen Yuan, Feng Ziying, Jiang Fan and others. If there is any news, it is impossible for these people to be completely unaware of it.

But I saw several people shaking their heads.

Feng Tang said: "I never ask too much about children's affairs."

Jiang Zhongnian also responded: "I haven't heard Jiang Fan mention it either."

At this time, Shui Rong looked at the hot air balloon and said with a smile: "Master Jiang, look, is the guard standing next to His Majesty your son?"

When everyone heard this, they immediately looked over.

"Yes, yes, that man is Lord Jiang's son." Several ministers who had met Jiang Fan before spoke up.

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At this point, the matter is self-evident.

Obviously, this hot air balloon was most likely built under the supervision of Shen Yuan.

All the civil and military officials were sighing, yet they had many thoughts and different expressions.

The women on the right side of the tower were also talking about this. Grandmother Jia sighed, "Is there really a master who casts a spell?"

Obviously, what we saw was even more difficult to explain to the women.

Xiangyun was surprised and said, "Sister Qiu'er, look, the person next to the emperor looks like Brother Jiang?"

Jiang Qiuer had found Baochai and Xiangyun at some point.

"It seems so." Qiu'er murmured, her pretty face full of confusion, wondering: "Why is my brother standing on that big sky lantern?"

Xiangyun clapped her hands excitedly and said, "Sister Qiu'er, please ask Brother Jiang later how he did it."

Daiyu, who was standing by, smiled softly, her bright eyes twinkling under her smoky brows, "Perhaps all of this was arranged by Big Brother Shen. Why don't you let Sister Bao go and ask Big Brother Shen?"

Baochai smiled and said, "Brother Shen has his reasons for not saying anything, so I won't ask any more questions."

Yuanchun listened to her sisters chatting and smiled sweetly. Sister Bao's husband is really an extraordinary person.

When the hot air balloon rose to a height of more than ten feet, it slowly stopped and remained in the air, pulled by the ropes on the ground.

Emperor Yuanzhen looked at the dark crowd below and waved to his subjects.

At this time, more than a hundred sturdy soldiers knelt down and shouted in unison: "The Great Zhou is mighty, Your Majesty is mighty, long live our emperor!"

Led by these people, hundreds of thousands of people outside the city gate knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor". The sound was deafening and reached the sky.

Wang Ziteng, who was on the tower, saw this and was the first to kneel down and shout, "Congratulations to the Great Zhou, congratulations to His Majesty, long live the emperor!"

All the civil and military officials looked at Wang Ziteng, and finally knelt on the ground, shouting loudly: "Long live our emperor!"

The women on the right side also knelt down and shouted "Long live the king".

The princes and kings in the middle of the tower also knelt and shouted at the same time: "The Great Zhou is mighty, Your Majesty is mighty, long live our emperor!"

The emperor looked at the kneeling people and ministers, then looked at the soaring Emperor Yuanzhen. His old eyes were full of complex expressions, and it was unclear whether they were puzzled, envious, or relieved.

Emperor Yuan Zhen, in the hot air balloon, overlooked his subjects below and listened to the hundreds of thousands of people shouting in unison. His blood boiled, his whole body felt relaxed, his cheeks flushed, and his hands on the bamboo basket tightened unconsciously.

His majesty reached an unprecedented height at this moment, and this was just the beginning.

Then, Emperor Yuanzhen said in a deep voice: "The military parade begins."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Jiang Fan accepted the order and waved the red flag in his hand downwards.

Soon, someone below received the order, and more than a hundred soldiers shouted in unison again: "Your Majesty has decreed that the military parade begin!"

Upon hearing this, the subjects stood up one after another, stood quietly, looked up, and the whole audience was silent.

Not long after, the sound of orderly and dull footsteps echoed in the corridor under Chaoyang Gate, accompanied by the sound of weapons and armor colliding, which instantly attracted the attention of everyone on the field.

In a moment, all the civil and military officials and the crowd who were watching were shocked by the solemn and murderous atmosphere. Until Shen Yuan appeared in everyone's sight riding on a war horse and leading the new army guards, the stands were still silent.

"I'm coming!"

"The new military guards are Shen Zhuangyuan's new military guards!"

Someone in the crowd was the first to recognize Shen Yuan and let out a cry of surprise, like a spark that ignited dry wood, and instantly the whole crowd burst into cheers.

Everyone stared.

As the first neat formation of 500 men approached, everyone held their breath again.

The people watching the ceremony on the city wall moved closer to the edge of the wall and looked out together. The view from the city gate tower was excellent and they could see everything at a glance.

The army formation was a straight line from side to side, which was extremely comfortable.

With the new army guards dressed in red and black armor, a murderous aura of iron horses and golden weapons, mighty and majestic, came towards them.

"This momentum alone is far beyond anything seen in previous military parades of the Great Zhou Dynasty." General Feng Tang could not help but admire.

Prince Beijing Shui Rong agreed: "Indeed, it has the appearance of a strong army!"

Chief Minister Yang Yanzhi and other civil servants also had slightly changed expressions and their pupils shrank.

It is indeed different from previous military parades. The military formation and pace are so neat.

Jiang Zhongnian, Shi Ding, Jia Zheng and others were amazed and looked pleased.

At this time, Emperor Yuanzhen on the hot air balloon, holding a telescope in his hand, stared at the army formation without blinking, with an excited expression and bright eyes.

These are his troops! They are the new army of the Great Zhou!
(End of this chapter)