Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 174: Migration to the South

Of course, the officials did not say this last point, but covered it up by using words like "the country" and "the mountains and rivers".

Almost all officials in the court supported moving south.

Only Yu Lian is an exception.

Yu Lian is a war advocate.

He suggested that Emperor Longqing join forces with Wang Ziteng to resist for a while. There were still many civilians in the capital. If they could select the young and strong among them and train them, they would still be able to fight. If things failed, it would not be too late to move south.

Emperor Longqing hesitated when he heard this.

But soon, Emperor Longqing no longer hesitated.

Because there was urgent news coming from outside that the Huaiyin bandit general Zhang Yuan attacked Jinhai, and Jinhai general Mao Jie was defeated and captured.

This news made Emperor Longqing no longer dare to hesitate, and he immediately ordered the migration to the south.

The court started to operate rapidly.

This once bloated and old machine now runs exceptionally smoothly.

The route of migration to the south, the accompanying officials, the royal family, the allocation of supplies, the carriages and horses, the escort troops...

Migration to the south has never been a simple process, but rather an extremely complex large-scale mobilization that requires careful consideration of all aspects.

But the talents in the court have never been simple people.

These officials are top talents selected from tens of millions of people. On weekdays, they are unable to play their due role because of mutual constraints. But now that there are no more constraints, everyone is working towards a goal and the efficiency is very high.

In addition, they had already prepared for a migration to the south, and many things had already been packed. Therefore, when Emperor Longqing ordered the migration to the south, all necessary supplies were quickly dispatched and prepared.

On the day of migration south, it was late at night, the stars were shining brightly and the sky was full of flying snow.

This was the first time in sixteen years that Emperor Longqing took the initiative to step out of the palace except for offering sacrifices.

Looking at the strange yet familiar palace, Emperor Longqing recalled the days when he lived in the prince's palace.

At that time, the country was still in a prosperous period and the prince's position was stable. He was just an idle prince. Although he longed for the throne, it was out of reach.

Unexpectedly, the prince rebelled, was defeated and died.

He stood out because of his age advantage and inherited the throne.

At that time, he was ambitious and determined to make a career, but he didn't expect that when he actually sat in this position, he would be so sad and tired.

As he stepped onto the imperial carriage and looked at the palace wall he was about to leave, Emperor Longqing felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. He chanted:

The flying snow covers the past, when will I be able to return?

The cold wind rides on the moon's shadow, and the new moon looks a bit like the old country.

Dai Quan couldn't help but praise when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, the poems you write are becoming more and more artistic!"

Emperor Longqing remained silent.

How can it be bad if it's true and genuine?
At this moment, who can understand the melancholy in his heart?

According to the agreed route, the southward migration team set out from the west gate, went to Zhuozhou, then to Baofu, and then from Baofu to Handan, then entered Henan, and finally arrived in Luoyang.

This route avoided Fang Yong's troops, because according to battle reports, Fang Yong came from Tianjin along the Grand Canal.

In order to maintain secrecy, the migrating team was divided into three groups.

The most important first group included Emperor Longqing and members of the royal family, as well as ministers of the third rank and above in the court, and high-ranking noble families such as dukes and marquises.

The second group consisted of some less important eunuchs, palace maids, female clerks, court officials and some minor nobles in the palace.

They will leave later and without military protection. The third group is smaller officials, merchants, workers, civilians, etc.

They were not allowed to leave until the very end.

Emperor Longqing chose to leave the city at night to minimize the target and prevent the news from being exposed.

Dai Quan was responsible for leading the last forces of Emperor Longqing, and 4,600 imperial guards were responsible for the protection of this trip.

This is the last army of Emperor Longqing, and he can only hand it over to Dai Quan. He is not confident in handing it over to anyone else.

However, when Dai Quan actually led the troops, he found that he was not very good at commanding these troops.

As the personal eunuch of Emperor Longqing, Dai Quan had also read military books, and he was very good at it. He was good at arranging troops and commanding thousands of troops on paper, and he always won more battles than he lost.

However, when he actually commanded the army, Dai Quan found that the situations in reality were completely different from those on paper.

Four thousand six hundred troops were already a very large number, and he was completely unable to cope with their walking, sitting, lying down, and commanding and dispatching during the march.

For example, where should more troops be deployed on the road and where can troops be reduced accordingly?
What should be the average marching speed? How to observe the soldiers' status and adjust the marching speed?

How often should scouts be sent out, and how many people should be sent each time?
When to stop cooking and when to speed up the march?
What should you pay attention to when encountering rugged roads?
How to judge astronomical phenomena?

Various problems made it difficult for Dai Quan to cope with them. Some problems were mentioned in military books, but the actual situation was much more complicated. Some things were not mentioned in military books at all, which made him even more at a loss!

Fortunately, the accompanying Lord Baoling, Shi Nai, inherited the family tradition and was good at commanding troops. He easily helped Dai Quan solve these problems.

Upon seeing this, Dai Quan told the matter to Emperor Longqing and asked him to let Shi Nai command the army.

But after thinking it over, Emperor Longqing still felt uneasy.

This army was his last strength. Shi Nai had never received any favor from him, and he was not confident in handing over this last force to Shi Nai.

He can only feel at ease if he leaves the child in the hands of Dai Quan, who has grown up with him.

So Emperor Longqing ordered Dai Quan to lead the troops and Shi Nai to be his deputy. This not only solved the problem of Dai Quan's inability to command troops, but also prevented accidents.

Shi Nai accepted the order and thanked him, but said nothing else.

He must have been dissatisfied with Emperor Longqing's behavior.

Letting a eunuch who knows nothing about military tactics be the chief general and him, the Marquis of Baoling, be the deputy, is nothing but a humiliation to him!
It's just that he is an introverted person and didn't express it immediately.

Just wait and see. Since the eunuch cannot command the troops, even if he is only the deputy, he will still find a way to seize the command power of the troops!
Amid the rumbling of the carriage, Xiangyun lifted a section of the curtain and looked at the unfamiliar scenery outside, a feeling of confusion flashing through her mind.

Fortunately, she has a carefree personality and was not too sad about it.

Looking at the moving convoy from afar, it seems that one can vaguely see the Jia family convoy in front.

"I haven't seen my second brother for a long time. I don't know if he is here."

Xiangyun thought so.

As time goes by, the naive little girl has grown up now, and her accent has changed. She no longer calls her brother Ai, but calls him Second Brother.

At the same time, she also knew the reason why Shi Nai did not allow her to go to the Jia Mansion casually anymore.

When a girl gets older, she should be more cautious...

Suddenly, a servant came out against the convoy.

Xiangyun looked at the other person and felt that he seemed familiar.

This seems to be... Gui'er, the servant of my second uncle Jia She?
Jia She originally didn't want to move south with everyone else.

He had other plans.

Jia She felt that going to Huaizhou had a better future than going to Luoyang.

To put it bluntly, when Brother Longqing owned the vast territory of Daxi, he was defeated and lost cities and territories. Now that he has fled to Henan, can he make a comeback?
(End of this chapter)