On the rugged official road, the Dingzhou army was slowly advancing.

I don't know when it started to rain, forming a thin curtain of rain in the air. The cold wind carried the rain and slapped it on the bodies of many soldiers.

The knights ran back and forth on both sides of the army.

The soldiers lowered their heads and were dejected. Even the drizzle had a huge impact on morale, not to mention that they had no morale in the first place. The soldiers were soaked to the skin, their faces were red, and they were constantly shivering in the cold wind.

A soldier took a few steps forward, suddenly fell down and could not get up again.

The officers shouted.

Gao Yanzong rode in the middle of the army, with Liu Taozi at his side.

The knight kept running back and forth to report the situation.

There were so many people going back and forth that there was no chance for Gao Yanzong and Liu Taozi to talk.

"General! The road ahead is severely damaged and we cannot ride our horses!"

"General, there are three people on the right side, claiming to be woodcutter!"

"General, the Changle soldiers are advancing slowly and are about to collide with the Changshan soldiers."

These were knights who conveyed information from various places. They came one after another. Gao Yanzong thought it was quite interesting at first, but after this continued for a day, Gao Yanzong felt like he was going crazy.

Is this how tens of thousands of people go to war?

Gao Yanzong hurriedly handed all these to Liu Taozi and rode farther away, just to avoid hearing the words "general".

At first, Liu Taozi's handling was extremely unfamiliar, but gradually, he became proficient in dealing with it. Whether it was opening a path from the front, roping in the rear, maintaining team distance, maintaining forward speed, providing logistical support, etc., he could do it in a timely manner.

Give orders.

The Boling soldiers under Liu Taozi became supervisors and scouts, with Liu Taozi as the center and spread to the entire army, providing Liu Taozi with timely information on the situation and trends in various places.

The total number of people from the five counties and the king's personal entourage exceeded 10,000, and with 10,000 people on the road, the marching speed was much slower than Gao Yanzong expected.

They walked for two days, but they didn't even see the shadow of Sang River.

This marching speed can't be overstated to say it's a turtle's pace.

However, Gao Yanzong did not dare to speed up. At this level, if he dared to forcefully march, he would probably end up with more than a thousand people before he even reached the destination.

Gao Yanzong raised his head and looked at the dull sky. The light rain was washing his face. His whole body was wet, and his armor made him feel particularly uncomfortable. He wiped his sore eyes and rode close to Liu Taozi.

"Brother, it's better to stop and rest on a rainy day."

"We can't rest here. We have to march to Changshi Canal, where we can rest and resupply. At the current speed, we can arrive there in an hour."

Liu Taozi looked up at the sky again, "The rain won't last long."

Gao Yanzong was stunned for a moment and had no choice but to lower his head and continue moving forward.

The war horse shook its head and shed the water drops on its body, equally dissatisfied with the bad weather.

The army arrived at Changshi Canal and began to rest and recuperate here. Each department dispersed separately, learning the old method of the past, stationing themselves separately and setting up guard against each other.

Gao Yanzong and others sat in a dilapidated temple, gnawing on the dry food in their hands and looking outside helplessly.

The rain has indeed stopped, but the ground is still wet and difficult to walk on.

The sky is still dull, and just looking at it makes me upset.

After Gao Yanzong waited for a while, he couldn't sit still and went to his tent to sleep.

Four people, including Yao Xiong, Kou Liu, Chu Jiande, and Tian Zili, stayed with Liu Taozi. The five of them looked outside and ate their dry food happily without saying a word.

Tian Zili suddenly cleared his throat.

"Brother."

"Um."

"I was really stupid at the time. I thought leading the army was so simple, but now I know how difficult it is."

"With these more than 10,000 men, after two days of marching, there were hundreds of casualties. The army was morally shattered and had no fighting power. It turns out that it is so difficult to lead troops."

Tian Zili exhaled tiredly, "I will never dare to raise an army again."

Yao Xiong chuckled, "It's just that you are useless. Like me, isn't it very easy?"

"Oh, you just lead the cavalry back and forth, it's easy of course. How about you and I swap, I'll go back and forth on horseback, and you'll escort the food and supplies, count and distribute them, how about it?"

"Do you think my job is easy? The army of more than ten thousand people relies on me to supervise it. From time to time, there are those who escape, those who fall behind, those who faint, and so on!"

Yao Xiong glanced at Kou Liu and said, "There are still people who steal things!"

Kou Liu's face darkened, "What do you think I'm doing?!"

A few people were talking and laughing, it was very lively, and they were not tired from the journey at all.

But Liu Taozi still kept a straight face, "Study more and accumulate experience."

Several people quickly bowed their heads and said yes.

But Yao Xiong secretly asked: "Brother, is your general Hu Fen really true? Or do you mean that he was appointed during the war and then taken away after the war?"

"have no idea."

Chu Jiande stroked his beard and said, "If you are not appointed in the temple, you will be taken away. However, this is a good thing. Firstly, you can get familiar with commanding the army. Secondly, you can get some supplies from the state government. Thirdly, you can play a role in the Qing Dynasty.

.”

Liu Taozi reminded: "Having it both ways, taking bribes and perverting the law, I won't tolerate it."

"Hey, I just said it casually, just said it casually."

Yao Xiong was very curious, "I understand the first two, but what does the third one mean?"

Chu Jiande grinned, his appearance was quite scary, and he said: "This time it is King Changshan who takes action against Yang Xiang. Although we are only watching from a distance, speaking of it, we are also following King Changshan to participate in this major event. Wait

When King Changshan takes power, he must be rewarded based on his merits. No one can be left behind. It seems that our Mr. Liu has to be promoted again! It’s still a formal one!"

Yao Xiong was overjoyed, "It's good to be promoted, it's good to be promoted. If my brother gets promoted, I can follow him!"

Everyone is full of expectations for the future and is in full swing. There is no longer any fatigue or complaint. Their eyes are bright and they are full of fighting spirit.

Liu Taozi, on the other hand, was just looking in the direction of Yecheng from a distance, with a solemn expression and said nothing.

Yecheng.

Zheng Zimo held Yang Min's hand, his face full of anxiety.

"Xiang Yang, who knows the thoughts of King Changshan and King Changguang? They accepted the edict so easily. There must be fraud in it. It's better not to attend this banquet!"

Yang Min frowned and looked at the many officials around him.

Everyone looked at Yang Min, waiting for him to make a correct decision.

Yang Min pushed Zheng Zimo away and said sternly: "We are loyal to the country, and I have no personal enmity with King Changshan. Everything is just for the sake of Daqi. At that time, King Changshan paid his respects to the post and held a banquet in honor of him before leaving.

Officials, how can you be wrong?! How can you be so worried?"

Zheng Zimo sighed, "Mr. Yang, if you think you have a selfless hatred against him, I'm afraid he won't think so."

Yang Min's face softened a little, "Don't worry, this banquet is not in Changshan Palace, but in Shangshu Province. It is not just a banquet for a few of us, all officials are invited."

"Even if someone wants to harm me, can they still harm me in Shangshu Province, in front of all the civil and military officials?"

Hearing these words, Zheng Zimo did not continue to persuade. He bowed and stepped aside. Yang Min, with his belly puffed out, led the important ministers into the car and drove towards the Shangshu Provincial Office.

It's not too far from Yang Min's mansion.

After a while, everyone arrived, Yang Min got out of the car, and Gao Zhan hurriedly walked up to greet them.

"Hahaha, Prime Minister Yang, why are you late? All the officials have arrived, Prime Minister Yang has just come now, but he has to have a few more drinks!!"

Seeing Gao Zhan's generous appearance, Yang Min also chuckled, "Since the two kings are going to take office, they dare not not prepare gifts, so they are late. Don't worry, my king. I will definitely have a few more cups later."

!!”

Gao Zhan happily took Yang Min's hand, and the two walked into the official office together.

As expected, all the ministers arrived. When they saw Yang Min coming, they all stood up to pay their respects. Gao Zhan ignored them and just grabbed Yang Min's hand and continued walking towards the inner room.

At this moment, Yang Min whispered to Gao Zhan beside him: "Your Majesty, everything in the past was for the sake of the country. I also hope that your Majesty will do it."

“Let’s not talk about the past!”

"Please take a seat!"

Gao Zhan asked Yang Min to sit in the seat headed by civil servants.

Yang Min and many ministers sat down one after another. Those officials were still drinking. Yang Min picked up the wine glass and nodded politely towards them.

Zheng Zimo frowned. He looked at the large number of nobles in the inner room and Lou Rui who was smiling but not smiling. He felt increasingly uneasy. Soon someone came over and took him to another room.

Just as he was about to speak, King Changshan walked in. Everyone stood up to pay their respects, including Yang Min. The banquet had officially begun, and Zheng Zimo had no choice but to stand up and leave.

Gao Yan sat in the upper seat and drank wine quietly. Gao Zhan held the wine bottle and began to toast one by one.

But the order of his toasts started from the right, which is opposite Yang Min.

Yang Min didn't feel anything was wrong and just drank his own wine.
To be continued...