On July 20, the 11th year of Tianwu, the heat in Nanjing was extremely hot.

On the square outside the Chengtian Gate, the flags fluttered, Qiongyu paved the ground, 10,000 naval officers and soldiers, 20,000 Tianwu troops, in the east, west and south of the square, lined up in three squares.

They stood motionless in the scorching heat of the sun, like steel poured over bronze.

Yang Tinglin, the first assistant of the cabinet who was ordered to stay in Beijing, led the princes and ministers, civil and military officials, surrounded by the crown prince Zhu and His Majesty, and stood in front of the Chengtian Gate waiting to send the emperor on his personal expedition.

Going out to Japan, opening up the territory and expanding the territory, who is not excited, the entire Beijing division is a sensation, the people at the feet of the Son of Heaven have poured into the streets, carrying flower candles, waiting to send off the emperor, to pay tribute to the majestic military might of the soldiers.

Not to mention that it is 389 degrees today, even if magma is poured in the sky, it can't stop the lively scene of the excited people sending off the soldiers.

At noon, with a melodious sound of bells and drums, Chengtian downstairs sounded an earth-shaking salute.

The twenty-first team of the Imperial Forest Army holding the dragon flag walked majestically from the noon gate to the Chengtian gate.

Standing in the center of the square, Xu Qingshan, the commander of the expedition, knew that the emperor was coming out, so he nodded to the two deputy marshals beside him, these two, one is Li Yu, the Marquis of Pingnan, who has made great contributions to the recovery of Luzon, and the other is Zhu Chenggong, the Marquis of Yanping, who has made meritorious contributions to the ocean-going fleet.

Xu Qingshan himself didn't know why His Majesty the Emperor wanted to make himself the commander of the expedition.

Although the titles are a little worse, the three of them have the same military positions in the army, they are all division commanders, Xu Qingshan and Li Yu are the two generals in charge of the Zhili Tianwu Army.

Zhu Chenggong and Li Yu got Xu Qingshan's hint and raised the sword given by the emperor high.

In an instant, the low and melodious sound of the horn shook the sky, and the military band walked a majestic military song.

Subsequently, Emperor Zhu Cihong of Tianwu rode a high-headed horse, armed with a sword, and walked out surrounded by the Imperial Forest Army.

The nine-year-old crown prince Zhu He led hundreds of officials to bow their heads and shout long live, which was the first time that the crown prince participated in such an important event on the expedition.

At the same time, the 30,000 Hundred Battle Heroes also shouted like a tsunami: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" ”

In this cheer, Zhu Cihong wore a golden helmet on his head, carved dragon armor, and a jade belt inlaid with gold and red around his waist, and the wide and coquettish cloak behind him floated in the wind, and it never hung down.

I saw him turn over and dismount, press the sword in his hand, and take a steady step to climb the Chengtian Gatehouse.

There was no nervousness and excitement when other emperors were personally conscripted, and Emperor Zhu, who had been fighting old battles all year round, had a calm face, and under the dark sword eyebrows, his bright eyes looked extraordinarily energetic.

He looked at the strict military appearance below, the high morale, and listened to the deafening cheers in the square, and his heart was full of pride and confidence.

Zhu Cihong understands that this time he is doing little Japan, and it is stable!

He gently raised his right arm and greeted the three armies.

In the square, it suddenly became silent, only the trees in the distance, there was a continuous cry of knowledge.

Zhu Cihong put one hand on his waist, facing the three armies and said loudly: "Soldiers, since ancient times: the strong are respected, and the weak are silent when they defend themselves. ”

Then, he pointed to the east and said: "The Japanese Tokugawa shogunate has no way of seeing heaven, living in a corner, hurting and abusing people, betraying the people and killing the lord, and letting go of the demons. ”

He added: "Since ancient times, if the heavens want to die, they will be mad!" A small Japanese projectile country, how can the fire of fireflies compete with the sun and the moon? Today, I will respect the will of heaven, obey the will of the people, and work with all the generals to fight it! Let's see where the sun rises, who is in the world! ”

As he spoke, Zhu Cihong pulled out his sword from his waist and shouted: "Don't destroy the traitor, swear not to return to the court!" ”

Downstairs in Chengtian, the 30,000 sergeants who were inspected all shouted at the top of their voices: "Don't destroy the traitor, swear not to return to the court!" ”

The sound of the sea overshadowing the sea resounded through the sky.

The boiling sound covered up the sound of drums, and the people of Jingshi were also infected, and everyone felt a sense of pride in the strength of the country and the prosperity of the soldiers.

Coach Xu Qingshan, who was all day, waved his hand and said loudly: "Raise the flag!" ”

The sound of the military music horn sounded again, and the red four-star golden sun flag and the bright red dragon flag, representing the national flag and the military flag respectively, rose in the center of the square at the same time, and reached the top of the pole in the wind.

Zhu Cihong got off the Chengtian Tower, walked towards the prince, patted his head, and said: "Throughout the thousands of years of history in the world, there has not been a nine-year-old prince to lead the army, and there is no nine-year-old prince to supervise the country, I have done the former, and now I want you to be the latter!" ”

Prince Zhu and His Majesty's faces were red with excitement, and he said loudly to Zhu Cihong: "The sons and daughters will follow the will of their father, and they must study government affairs well in Beijing, discuss everything with the cabinet ministers, and report to their father for decision-making on major military affairs that cannot be decided by the committee." ”

The ministers present all looked at each other, wondering why the emperor wanted the young crown prince to exercise the power of supervising the state.

Although Yang Tinglin, the first assistant of the cabinet, did not support letting the crown prince supervise the country at such a young age, he still pinched his nose and said: "Your Majesty, rest assured, the ministers will definitely assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and let His Royal Highness be familiar with government affairs." ”

He felt that maybe this was the emperor's test, but as for whether the test was the crown prince or whom, it was uncertain......

Zhu Cihong nodded slightly, and said: "The conquest of Japan is not a short-term matter, and it is like appeasing the end after the war. ”

Yang Tinglin's face did not change, but his heart was helpless, His Majesty the Emperor was still full of self-confidence, and he was thinking about appeasing everything after the war before the start of the fight.

Well, it seems that His Majesty the Emperor is planning far-reaching!

Yang Tinglin said: "The minister respectfully obeys the holy decree, supervises the grain and grass in Beijing, and waits for His Majesty's good news!" ”

The crown prince also followed: "Son, may His Majesty the Father and Emperor be victorious!" ”

Zhu Cihong patted him on the shoulder, and said a few more words, then raised his head and shouted: "The three armies are leaving!" ”

The dragon flag fluttered, the drums and music were played, Zhu Cihong turned over his horse, waved his hand, and led 30,000 elite divisions in front of the emperor, against the scorching hot weather, out of Nanjing City, and went to the riverside.

On the wide Yangtze River, 99 warships of the Ming Royal Navy docked in an orderly manner, and the vast sails covered the sky and the sun, blocking the scenery of the north of the river.

The entire fleet stretched for more than ten miles on the river, and the process of soldiers boarding the ship alone took more than half an hour, but fortunately, the military rations, artillery and other baggage had already been loaded two days in advance, otherwise they would not have been busy for a day.

Zhu Cihong took the lead in boarding the flagship Wanli sail battleship, and under the farewell of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces and the people of Beijing, he led the fleet to sail from the Yangtze River to Kyushu Island in Japan.

Historically, it is known as the Second War of Tomorrow, also known as the Ming Dynasty's War of Conquest of Japan, which officially opened the curtain.