On the 25th of October, Xiao Ruxun vowed to go on a northern expedition in Nanjing. He led his 120,000 troops on land and water toward the capital in the north. They did not encounter any resistance along the way. Several small and medium-sized cities directly surrendered and did not resist, so the speed of the march was relatively fast.
On the first day of the eleventh month, the army arrived at Huai An Prefecture. The magistrate of Huai An Prefecture surrendered without a fight, offering up Shanyang City and the warehouse for Xiao Ruxun to use. He also ordered all the border guards to give up resistance and transport rations and supplies for Xiao Ruxun. After that, he joined the Northern Expedition Camp with a smile on his face, becoming one of the members who went up north to suppress the traitor Shen Yi.
After that, Xiao Ruxun's target was Su Qian.
Starting from Huai An Prefecture, Xiao Ruxun encountered many officials who were willing to resist. For example, in Taoyuan County, he encountered resistance from the local magistrate and the garrison. Xiao Ruxun sent people to charge and defeated the motley crew of less than a thousand people. His troops then captured the magistrate alive.
Xiao Ruxun asked the magistrate why he resisted. The magistrate said angrily, "How can a subject crusade against the emperor? You're rebelling! "
"The one who rebelled was Shen Yicheng. Shen Yicheng forced His Majesty to abdicate and supported a puppet to take the throne. Our emperor is not that puppet, nor is he Shen Yicheng. The reason for the crusade is to restore His Majesty to the throne and restore the orthodoxy. How can this be called rebelling? The puppet Shen Yicheng supported is not the Daming Emperor at all! "
Xiao Ruxun asked the magistrate.
The magistrate did not agree with Xiao Ruxun's statement. "Since ancient times, except for Guo Ziyi, all those who started the crusade in the name of rebelling harbored evil intentions! An Lushan even started the crusade in the name of Yang Guozhong! "
"Did Yang Guozhong depose the emperor? Does this prove that I am An Lushan? I strictly enforced military discipline and did not offend the people. I only wanted to kill the national traitor, Shen Yicheng, not for my own selfish motives. Why did you compare me with An Lushan but not Guo Ziyi? How did you know if I was An Lushan or Guo Ziyi? "
Xiao Ruxun was a little angry.
The County Magistrate also widened his eyes.
"You don't offend the people? Then why are you doing this? You're not after fame or profit, but you're trying to buy people's hearts along the way. What are your intentions? I don't care if Shen Yicheng is a traitor or not, you are the biggest traitor! You're An Lushan! "
"Impudent!"
Ye Mengxiong couldn't stand it anymore. He pointed at the county magistrate and cursed, "You have eyes but can't see! Shen Yicheng had launched a coup to force the Emperor to abdicate. This was an act of treason! The world should unite against him! Not only did you not suppress him, but you also helped him. Now you're accusing General Xiao of harboring evil intentions. What are you trying to do?! "
The County Magistrate said loudly, "He rebelled with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. He fought his way to the capital just to kill the national traitor and help the Emperor ascend the throne? I don't believe it! Those military men are all bloodthirsty people. They can do anything for fame and profit! I'm afraid he's not the next Zhao … "
"Shut up!"
Ye Mengxiong glared at him. "It's rare to see a righteous man in a time of crisis. Not only did you not help him, but you also slandered him! What are your intentions? It's because there are so many people like you that there is only one Guo Ziyi! Someone, drag him away and give him a good beating … "
"Someone! Drag him away and behead him! "
Before Ye Mengxiong finished his words, Xiao Ruxun had already stood up and shouted angrily.
The guards outside immediately came forward and dragged the County Magistrate away.
The County Magistrate laughed.
"It's not me who has eyes but can't see! It's not me! It's you! It's all of you! Ahahahaha … "
The guard raised his saber and a head fell to the ground.
It was so fast that Ye Mengxiong and Yuan Huang didn't have time to react. Xu Hongji's eyes twitched as he watched from the side. The other civil officials were also shocked. The Huai 'an magistrate, who had just surrendered, was sweating profusely.
"Humph!"
Xiao Ruxun flicked her sleeves and left. Ye Mengxiong turned his head to look at Xiao Ruxun's departing back, before turning to look at Yuan Huang with a slightly worried expression. Both of them nodded their heads in unison, dismissing the others, while Yuan Huang and Ye Mengxiong went to find Xiao Ruxun for a heart-to-heart talk.
They couldn't let him have a grudge, otherwise it would be very difficult.
The army was stationed in Taoyuan County today. The army had stopped to start a fire to cook. Xiao Ruxun got off the ship alone and wandered around under the protection of the guards. It seemed that he was taking a stroll. Yuan Huang and Ye Mengxiong hurriedly gathered behind Xiao Ruxun.
"Ji Xin, it's okay to kill that person. We can't keep a person with evil intentions for long."
Yuan Huang comforted Xiao Ruxun.
"Yes, Ji Xin, don't worry too much. Shen Yicheng didn't raise his army when he rebelled, but when you raised your army to suppress the rebels, he raised his army. This person can't see right from wrong. It's not a big deal to kill him."
Ye Mengxiong also hurriedly comforted Xiao Ruxun.
Xiao Ruxun turned around to look at the two elders and smiled bitterly.
"Lord Ye and Lord Yuan, don't worry too much. I don't take this matter to heart. I just feel very distressed. I've been wholeheartedly suppressing the rebels for the country, but in the end, I'm still being doubted and viewed as an enemy. Those scheming rebels can pacify the world with just an imperial edict, but I've been fighting for justice, but I haven't been recognized. I … sigh …"
Seeing Xiao Ruxun's disappointed look, Ye Mengxiong and Yuan Huang also felt bad.
Xiao Ruxun was only twenty-eight years old, but he had shouldered too many things. In the current situation of the Daming Dynasty, where civil affairs were more important than military affairs, it was indeed easy to be misunderstood and not understood by others when he raised his army with the identity of a military general.
He had clearly shouldered so much, but it was still so difficult. Ye Mengxiong and Yuan Huang could also understand the depression in Xiao Ruxun's heart.
"Ji Xin, don't worry too much about it. It's not important that some blind people don't understand you. This old man understands you. This old man knows of your pure heart, this old man knows of your life's aspirations. This old man will always support you!"
Ye Mengxiong made his stance clear.
"Ji Xin, this old man followed you from the capital to Korea and then to Burma. You should know that this old man has always believed that you can do something for the Daming Dynasty. Now, you have to do it. You have to believe in yourself even more. Don't doubt yourself because of the words of those blind people who help the tyrant. You have to believe that what you're doing is for the sake of the Daming Dynasty."
Yuan Huang also made his stance clear.
A smile appeared on Xiao Ruxun's face as he nodded.
"Even if the people of the world don't understand me, it's enough that Duke Ye and Duke Yuan understand me!"
Seeing that Xiao Ruxun was relieved, Ye Mengxiong and Yuan Huang also rejoiced.
The three of them chatted about a few other things.
After a while, Xiao Ruxun gazed at the slowly flowing river, his expression turning grave.
"The weather is getting colder and colder. Jiangnan is fine, but if we go any further north, the rivers, lakes, and even the inland seas will freeze. I don't know if Jiang Dahai's troops will be able to reach Tianjin before it freezes. My army must also make preparations. We can store our ships and travel north on foot."
Ye Mengxiong and Yuan Huang also turned grave.
If they went any further north, the rivers would really freeze, and the weather would only get colder and colder. How the army would survive the winter would become a very serious topic.
If the rivers froze, it would be difficult to transport food. The logistics of the 120,000 soldiers would also be affected, making the northern expedition somewhat disadvantageous. Thus, Xiao Ruxun decided to slow down the advance of the army. The army would slowly travel north so as not to put too much pressure on the logistics.
Without the aid of the ships, they could only rely on horses and mules to transport the goods, which was rather taxing.
Thus, they could only slow down the advance of the army.
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