Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 82: Leading the people across the river! Following my father's orders and my elder sister's request, I come to clear the way for the Ming Dynasty! (The third update)

[In February of the first year of Shengwu, after Chu Shizhao won the Battle of Poyang, he basically controlled the entire south. He did not rush to the north, but continued to integrate the existing forces, govern the people's livelihood, and revive the economy.]

[After suppressing and incorporating all the rebel forces in Shezhou, Haozhou, Shouzhou, Luzhou, and Lu'anzhou, his power increased greatly, and he basically established the New Zhou regime, with its capital in Yingtianfu.]

[In July of the first year of Shengwu, Chu Shizhao appointed Dou Li and Yang Fang as generals to supervise the defense of Jingzhou to resist Zhou Shu, while Chu Shizhao decided to personally go to Hebei to pacify the situation.]

[In March of the second year of Shengwu, Chu Shizhao led his people to cross the Yellow River to the north, and the emperor comforted the prefectures and counties in Hebei.]

【Wen Yu saw this and immediately followed the army to persuade Chu Shizhao: "Your Majesty is noble and in an important position. If you lead the army to pacify Hebei, if there is any mistake, wouldn't the hard-earned restoration of the Ming Dynasty be in vain?"】

[“It is far better to have generals from various departments conquer the north than for Your Majesty to lead the expedition in person.”]

Chu Shizhao flatly refused, saying, "The reason why the Former Zhou Dynasty fell was that the emperor was too far away from the people and too close to the treacherous. My father passed away and the government was in disarray. Could it have happened overnight?"

[“The three-foot-thick ice did not form overnight, and the destruction of a country is not a one-day worry.”]

[“As a king, I dare not set an example by personally conquering the rebellious places and pacifying these resentful people. Who else would be willing to believe me?”]

[In April of the second year of Shengwu, Wen Yu stopped trying to persuade him, and Chu Shizhao marched northward. This happened to be the time when Wang Huai was causing chaos in Hebei. Because of the long war, there was a great famine in Hebei, people were eating each other, the cities were all empty, and bones covered the fields. Wherever Chu Shizhao went, most of them were deserted cities. Did this move him to tears? In the military tents at night, there were often traces of tears on his pillow.]

[When Guo You saw Chu Shizhao crying for the people in distress, he became even more convinced that Chu Shizhao was the wise man he should assist.]

[In May of the second year of Shengwu, Wang Huai supported the Zhou Shu Emperor Chu Xuanhong as the orthodox emperor and flatly denied the Later Zhou court established by Chu Shizhao in Yingtian Prefecture.]

【Wang Huai, who saw that Hebei had lost its prosperity due to famine, thought that there was no need to occupy Hebei, so he plundered many people and took them back. At the same time, he killed all those who were tough and unwilling to leave, leaving only the old, weak and sick.】

[In June of the second year of Shengwu, Chu Shizhao had to stop in Hebei to appease the local people, and even took out the food that accompanied the army to take care of these displaced people. Some people felt that Chu Shizhao's behavior was simply "womanly kindness."]

[Most of these old, weak, sick and disabled people cannot provide any help to their army, but Chu Shizhao has to squeeze out military rations to take care of these people, which will seriously waste the time of marching north and reduce the combat effectiveness of the army.]

【Chu Shizhao believed that if they could not gain the approval of the local people, they would lose it sooner or later. Moreover, they had already achieved the purpose of this trip, which was to appease and occupy Hebei. Even though the people's livelihood in Hebei was in decline, as long as they stopped their pace of advancement and governed the local area first, so that the people had room to ease their pressure, that would be the right path.】

[In July of the second year of Shengwu, Wang Huai allied with Yan Ming, who was ruling in Qingzhou, and decided to launch a surprise attack on Chu Shizhao's Northern Expedition Army.]

【Yan Ming, a native of Qingzhou, joined the army when there was chaos in various places. He quelled the uprising in Qingzhou. He was originally a general under Zhao Zhengji, the governor of Qingzhou. However, after the fall of the Former Zhou Dynasty, Yan Ming repeatedly persuaded Zhao Zhengji to establish a separatist regime in Qingzhou and expand his territory. After failing, he raised the flag and formed an alliance with many nobles and powerful people in Qingzhou. In the end, he killed Zhao Zhengji and took the position of governor of Qingzhou himself.】

[Faced with Wang Huai's request for cooperation, Yan Ming did not refuse. Both of them had their own ideas and did not want Chu Shizhao to restore the Zhou Dynasty.]

[For a while, Chu Shizhao, who wanted to stabilize Hebei and take it slow, was attacked from both sides. Both sides sent out their most elite troops, which caused the already broken Hebei to be embroiled in war again. Chu Shizhao's situation was quite difficult. Because of the previous aid to the people, food and grass were scarce, and he could not fight for a long time. Under such circumstances, Chu Shizhao even thought about leaving Hebei. ]

[Most of the remaining people in Hebei did not want Chu Shizhao to leave, but they also did not want Chu Shizhao to be killed by Wang Huai and Yan Ming, two traitors who betrayed the court.]

[Many civilians who still had strength left spontaneously began to resist the rebels sent by Wang Huai and Yan Ming. Obviously, these civilians did not have sufficient fighting power. Many of them were elderly men in their thirties or forties, and there were even lame veterans. They relied on low walls and some dilapidated cities, using some simple weapons and terrain to put up the toughest resistance.]

Chu Shizhao was deeply impressed by the many righteous people in Yan and Zhao. Seeing these people forgetting their own lives and wanting to resist the rebels, he could not bear to abandon them like this, so he decided to take the elderly, women and children in Hebei across the Zhang River.

[Most of the people in Hebei who were slaughtered and plundered by Wang Huai were afraid of him and were willing to follow Chu Shizhao and leave Hebei.]

[And those Hebei heroes who stayed in Hebei and shed their blood to buy time for Chu Shizhao were the rewards for Chu Shizhao's previous benevolent act of "distributing grain."]

[Chu Shizhao led the people across the river and became famous all over the world. However, this made Wang Huai believe that he had a chance to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, and he kept dispatching troops to chase Chu Shizhao. ]

[Chu Shizhao, who was by the river, watched the people walking with their families, the elderly and the young, crying. The cries on both sides of the river were endless, and he was also filled with grief.]

[“If God can give me another ten years, I can stabilize the south, improve my military discipline, and restore the country and kill these traitors.”]

[“Why should the people of Hebei suffer such a disaster just for me?”]

[At this moment, a cavalry holding a banner with the word "Li" appeared from the distance. A young man rushed over and said with a heroic spirit: "I am Li Shengming, the last general. I am here at the order of my father and the request of my elder sister to clear the way for you."]

[“Give it a little more time, and my Jinyang army will arrive soon.”]

[After he finished speaking, Li Shengming rode his horse to Chu Shizhao's side, dismounted, knelt on the ground, raised his head slightly, and carefully looked at Chu Shizhao's appearance.]

[“I have heard of your great name for a long time. I see you today and you are much more impressive than I thought.”]

【Congratulations on triggering the effect of Gaozu's Wind. 】

[Your act of bringing people across the river successfully attracted Li Shengming's attention.]

[“Please take these people away. I will come to block the road for you.”]

[And at this moment, you just drew your sword.] ["I am a descendant of the Great Zhou clan. My entire clan was destroyed by traitors during the Chang'an Rebellion. The two thieves Wang Huai and Yan Ming slaughtered the common people. These two set up their own faction. They are true traitors."]

[“If you cannot avenge your father, you have lost your filial piety. If you cannot avenge your people, you have lost your morality. If you cannot avenge your subjects, you have lost your trustworthiness.”]

[“General Li, I want to go with you.”]

[“Are you not afraid of us, sir?” Li Shengming said with his eyes slightly widened. ]

[“Since you have come to my aid, why should I be afraid?”]

[On July 23, the second year of Shengwu, Chu Shizhao divided his troops and asked Wen Yu and others to lead the people across the Zhang River. He then led the rest of the troops to join forces with Li Shengming to fight against the pursuing troops sent by Wang Huai.]

【Wang Huai had never expected that Li Jin would come to help Emperor Shengwu Chu Shizhao at this time.】

【After being attacked by the Jinyang Army, Wang Huai immediately wanted to retreat, but Yan Ming thought that such an opportunity should not be missed and even wanted to try.】

[However, Li Shengming has the most elite cavalry in Jinyang, so how could he allow Wang Huai's troops to leave like this? ]

[“Today is a good day. How can you retreat without fighting?”]

[Li Shengming activated his own entry - Rush Battle, he can trigger multiple battles and attacks in a very short round. ]

[He cut off the retreat of Wang Huai's general Chen Shuang.]

【Chen Shuang was badly defeated and was killed on the spot by Li Shengming.】

[“Hahahahaha——”]

[After such a great success, the morale of Wang Huai's troops plummeted, and they continued to retreat.]

[At the same time, an unknown general under Chu Shizhao, Han Gu, dispatched his troops to flank and detour, interweaving the formation again, cutting Wang Huai's entire pursuit force into three sections, so that the original large army was divided into three small armies, unable to receive command and control in an orderly manner.]

[“The art of employing troops lies in the changes they make.”]

[Han Gu triggered his own entry - the situation of war is unpredictable. He can accurately find a breakthrough point in the battle and thus influence the change of the situation.]

[On the other side of the battle, Lan Shu also defeated another remnant of Wang Huai's army.]

[“I am here today to show you what a brave general is.”, “My men, it is time to show His Majesty our bravery.”]

[Under the cover of the Jinyang cavalry, Chu Shizhao's troops had ample opportunities to fight head-on without having to worry about or take care of the civilians.]

[This caused the pursuing troops sent by Wang Huai and Yan Ming to suffer a head-on defeat in an instant.]

In the screen, Lan Shu's face was already glowing with golden light. When he defected to Chu Shizhao, he was already a purple-quality general. After years of fighting and commanding, Lan Shu's abilities became more capable and powerful.

As for Han Gu, he was a complete surprise for Chu Shizhao.

Before this, the abilities of generals who had not explicitly surrendered to Chu Shizhao or who had not temporarily held high positions were not revealed.

Only after his affiliation is clear, he has a certain amount of power, and has a certain close relationship with someone, and is confirmed as Chu Shizhao's minister, can his abilities be revealed.

And the General Han Gu who suddenly appeared under Chu Shizhao's command was also a famous general of purple quality.

These three generals acted almost simultaneously and suddenly changed the downward trend of the war.

Of course, the most crucial thing is Li Shengming's timely arrival, and the most important thing here is not Li Shengming's elite cavalry and his frontal ability, but the news he brought, which almost clearly stated Jinyang's attitude towards Chu Shizhao.

This dealt a heavy blow to the morale of Wang Huai and Yan Ming.

[On July 24, the second year of Shengwu, you won a complete victory in the Battle of Zhanghe River. Wang Huai and Yan Ming completely lost control of Hebei. In the battle, the two of them lost nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses.]

【At the same time, Li Jin personally led the troops and wanted to meet you at Zhanghe. 】

[In order to promote the relationship between the Jinyang Li family and the Later Zhou regime established by Chu Shizhao, he intended to marry his eldest daughter Li Fengning to Chu Shizhao in exchange for the good relationship between the two families and a place in the Later Zhou regime.]

[And this time, the meeting at Zhanghe was because Li Jin wanted to see the face of the Later Zhou emperor in person, to see if he was as handsome and handsome as the rumors said.]

(End of this chapter)