It was already the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the city of Lin'an was decorated with lights and tourists were everywhere. There were also high colored sheds in front of the palace gate, and a mountain of lamps was erected. Before nightfall, the biogas lamps inside and outside the palace had already lit up, and the city walls and the biogas lamps on the main streets in the city were also lit. Lin'an City instantly became a city that never sleeps. From a distance, it looked like a night pearl in the dark night.

When the drums were ringing at the hour of You, the bells and drums in the palace were ringing, and the music was rising. A group of imperial guards in gorgeous military uniforms came out side by side with long spears from the palace gate. They were wearing red military double-breasted dresses, silver buckles, armed belts, and yellow ribbons and shoulder marks slanted on their chests, which showed their identity as guards in the imperial guards; they were covered with white fat butt leg-lifted breeches, knee-length black horse boots; they were wearing double dragon military emblems, decorated with high-tube hats with golden hat edges, and white feathers on the top of the helmet, and black cloaks. All the snow-white war horses were decorated with gold and silver horse harnesses, with carriage rifles in saddle bags, and holding a shiny and slender sabre.

These personal guards were tall and upright soldiers selected from the guards in front of the imperial guards, and then wore new military dresses appointed by the little emperor. When they made their debut, they caused a commotion in the crowd and rushed forward, especially those young men and girls who wanted to look closer and take a closer look and staggered the soldiers who were maintaining order on the side of the road.

Don’t underestimate the Song people’s pursuit of fashion and beauty. Since the rumors in Beijing that the young emperors love military uniforms the most and often appear in the streets and alleys of the capital in a military uniform without any signs, military uniforms have become the standard for fashionable teenagers. The children of wealthy families and street rogues are also fashion guides. They may use various means to be proud of their "authentic" military uniforms, and those who have no way will try to sew them to avoid losing face. It is said that some Confucian scholars nowadays will also secretly bring their next military uniforms to avoid being ridiculed for lack of masculinity.

Now the cool dresses worn by the personal guards immediately became the new target of these teenagers. In fact, this was also the pit dug by Zhao Bing. In Hitler's words, it was 'Military uniforms must be handsome, so that young people will join the army without hesitation and serve the country'. It has to be said that Hitler's vision was really unique. At that time, many soldiers and officers in the German army came for military uniforms. Even Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu also said in the folk that "official officials should be the master of Jinwu, and marry a wife should be Yin Lihua." He also expressed his bold statement out of envying that Jinwu's bright clothes and armor were bright, majestic and solemn and thoughtful.

Therefore, Zhao Bing thought that wearing exquisite and beautiful military uniforms and the mighty and majestic figures of the soldiers were not only a reflection of a country's military strength, but also a need for etiquette. In the past, on important occasions such as court meetings and festivals, the palace guards wore traditional light armor called "five-colored helmets". In fact, strictly speaking, this armor used as a ceremonial guard cannot be called armor, but a real product.

The traditional ceremonial armor is imitated by the sergeant in form. It only uses yellow and thick silk as the face, cloth as the inner part, and paints the pattern of armor leaves with green and green, with red brocade edges, with green as the lower skirt and red skin as the web band. This armor just hits the knees of a person, with a human face, and is wrapped with brocade belts from the back to the front chest, and has five-color outfits. The appearance of the armor used is very gorgeous, but cannot be used in actual combat. At best, it is just a gorgeous military uniform.

Zhao Bing always felt that the Yi Guards were wearing such a "classical" military uniform and holding a flintlock rifle, which looked awkward. But if they were wearing ordinary military uniforms, it would be unsanitary. After all, the military uniforms currently distributed are designed with solid and durable materials, easy to organize and clean, and both beautiful and practical. In addition, as a consumable in high demand, it is impossible for them to use expensive silk to choose clothes. Of course, the financial difficulties at that time were too short, so they could only be simple because of the poor.

After arriving in Lin'an, the financial situation gradually improved. Zhao Bing considered distributing new dresses to this "window" unit. He personally led the design and imitated the modern Chinese and Western military dresses. Because it was expensive and cumbersome, the scope of the scheduled distribution was very narrow, limited to senior officers and palace guards. After the palace guards were replaced, the empress dowager decided to show them on the Lantern Festival before they could be displayed, but they still amazed everyone.

Under the strong suppression of the soldiers, the crowds were driven back to the cordon. After the cavalry led the way, three magnificent convertible carriages drove out of the palace under the protection of the guards. The first carriage was Empress Dowager Yang, the second carriage was Empress Wu Xi, and the third carriage was Left Prime Minister Lu Xiufu. Because the emperor was away in person and in order to avoid panic caused by the enemy's going south, the ministers decided to break the rules and let the Empress Dowager and the Queen perform a "pre-reward" ceremony, and the left prime minister Lu Xiufu accompanied him to demonstrate that everything in the capital was normal.

When the people gathered outside the square saw the Empress Dowager and others appear, they immediately saluted the mountain and shouted "Thousand Years". In fact, although the good news ahead kept coming, the newspaper also reported that the emperor continued to win victory, recovered lost lands, drank horses from the Yellow River, and blocked and downplayed the news that the Mongolian army had invaded Jiangdong. However, as an open city, Lin'an was an open city, and it was the New Year again, and it was almost impossible to completely cut off. In addition, newly reorganized troops were constantly entering Lin'an, rumors were already spreading everywhere, and various versions of rumors were circulating in secret.

Some people say that His Majesty failed in his personal expedition and was trapped in Huaidong for a long time. All regions sent troops to serve the king. Now it is in danger. Some people also say that the emperor personally expeditioned Yangzhou was defeated by the Mengyuan Yuan army and fled to the sea by boat. The 100,000 troops were completely damaged. Hundreds of thousands of troops of the Mengyuan Yuan took advantage of the situation to cross the river, and the important towns along the way were lost, and they arrived in Lin'an soon. It is also said that the court had already received news of the emperor's defeat. The Empress Dowager, the Queen and the Queen had already secretly left the palace under the escort of the important officials, went out to sea to meet the emperor, and prepared to go to the sea.

On the one hand, the court issued great victories in the front line, and on the other hand, it was rumored that the failure of the Northern Expedition had caused the world to be frightened and not knowing whether it was true or not. However, people who had experienced the war still responded. Some wealthy families in the capital had secretly packed the fine and soft people out of the city to "take refuge". Ordinary families also hoarded food and daily necessities in case of the enemy's long-term besiege. However, today the Empress Dowager and others appeared together, and the rumors were immediately broken. I believe that even if the enemy invaded Jiangdong, they would just be a small group of defeated Mongolian Yuan troops who accidentally entered Jiangdong. The court would definitely wipe out it soon...

Amid the cheers of the military and civilians, the convoy walked around the field and returned to the palace, then climbed to the top of the city, enjoyed the lanterns with the ministers and the military and civilians, and enjoyed the people. The Empress Dowager pardoned several death row prisoners as usual to show the emperor's grace. Empress Wu Xi also frequently gave wine to the ministers who accompanied the audience, and constantly ordered Xiao Huangmen to buy various food and give them to everyone, rewarding the craftsmen who performed their skills. For a while, the mountain kept calling, and the scene was constantly climaxed, and a peaceful scene.

However, the cheerful scenes could not hide the current crisis. Chen Dun led a team of trainees selected from martial arts as the on-site alert. He stood fully armed behind the bell sheds of the empress dowager, the queen and the concubines, protecting their safety; Han Zhen, deputy envoy of the Privy Council, was in charge of the Privy Council's yamen to dispatch all the troops to strengthen the alert to prevent the enemy from attacking the city; while Cai Wanyi, the prefect of Lin'an, did not dare to neglect, and ordered all the yamen runners in the palace to take to the streets to arrest illegally and prevent chaos. He also personally led a team of yamen soldiers to patrol the streets, suppressing the gangsters who were waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble, and maintaining order in the lantern festival.

On this special day, Zheng Huchen naturally could not stay in trouble. In addition to sending an operation team to secretly protect the safety of the empress dowager and the important officials in the court, he also asked the spies to mingle among the crowd and promptly deal with those who discovered that they wanted to do something wrong. Liu Qian, the stationmaster of the Lin'an Station of the Bureau of Affairs, strengthened surveillance of unstable elements in the city, tracked and arrested the Mongol spies who were hiding into the city, and secretly investigated those who spread rumors and wanted to make trouble by using the lantern club, and quietly dealt with those who disagree with the dissident elements before the public noticed it.

"Prime Minister Lu, what's the war in Jiangdong?" Empress Dowager Yang sat for a while and felt cold. She asked the maid to put down the curtains in the coloring shed, and ordered Lu Xiufu and Ying Jieyan to come to their tent to ask about the matter.

"Reported to the Empress Dowager, according to the war report sent back by Zhao Zhien, the Mongolian Yuan enemy who invaded Jiangdong had been surrounded in less than 50 miles between Songjiang and Liuhe. They launched a rush south for several days, hoping to cross the Songjiang south. The various units of our army's imperial guards, the Fifth Army of the Imperial Army and the subordinate states and wing troops fought desperately. Although they broke through our defense line, they still stood firmly, making it impossible for the enemy to continue to further south." Lu Xiufu replied.

"Well, thank you for your hard work in the soldiers ahead, and you must reward them in time. Don't let the soldiers feel cold." Empress Dowager Yang nodded and said after hearing this.

"Don't worry, the Empress Dowager, I have ordered the Ministry to go to Kunshan to handle the aftermath in time." Lu Xiufu said.

"The state affairs are complicated, and I have to work hard for the mainland minister." Empress Dowager Yang raised her hand and asked, "What's the situation with the emperor? Is it like to return to the court!"

"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty is temporarily stationed in Xuyi, everything is still stable and no war has happened. However, the situation is still tense. The Mongolian Yuan side has sent troops south from Dadu and dispatched the Mongolian Yuan army stationed in Shaanxi and Gansu to provide assistance, but the direction is still unclear. And Your Majesty wants to coordinate the troops of all the troops, and it is difficult to escape for the time being, and the day of returning to the court is naturally difficult to determine." Lu Xiufu reported.

"Xuyi City is close to the Huaihe River, which is a key rush in the east of Huaihe. Your Majesty has less than 20,000 soldiers and generals. The court should send troops out to help in time!" Empress Dowager Yang couldn't help but feel nervous when she heard the enemy's large-scale attack on the south to help, and looked at Ying Jieyan and said.

"The Empress Dowager is relieved. The war in Jiangdong has lasted for several days. The Mongolian army has been hit by the attack for many consecutive days and has nowhere to obtain supplies. It is at the end of its strength. The envoy of Zhao has ordered the army to launch an attack tomorrow to encircle and annihilate the invading enemy. The victory is coming back soon!" After Yingjie gave a strict gift, he continued, "Your Majesty also sent an edict to order Jiangdong to return to reinforcements immediately after the war in Jiangdong, and join forces to attack the Central Plains."

"Hey, Your Majesty still wants to continue northward?" Empress Dowager Yang raised her eyebrows and murmured softly again...
Chapter completed!