The time has come to the fifteenth day of the first month, Lin'an City is full of lanterns, visitors are weaving, and the palace gate also sets up a colorful shed, and stands up the lamp mountain. Before nightfall, the biogas lamps inside and outside the palace have been lit, and then the biogas lamps on the city wall and the main streets in the city have also been lit, and Lin'an City has instantly become a city that never sleeps, looking like a night pearl in the dark night from a distance.

When the drums of the unitary time were beaten, the bells and drums in the palace rang out in unison, and the music was raised, a group of cavalry of the imperial guards in gorgeous military uniforms came out of the palace gate side by side with spears, they were dressed in red military double-placket dresses, embellished with silver buckles, tied with armed belts, and the yellow ribbons and epaulettes woven with gold wire hung obliquely on their chests all showed their status as the guards of the imperial guards; The lower body is white fat hip and leg-cinching breeches, and knee-length black riding boots; He wears a tall hat decorated with the arms of the Double Dragon, a gold brim, a white feather on the top of the helmet, and a black coat. Under the seat, all the snow-white war horses were decorated with gold and silver harnesses, with a horse pistol in the saddle bag, and a slender sabre in the snow.

These guards were all tall and well-looking soldiers selected from the imperial guards, and then wore the new military dress appointed by the little emperor, and their first appearance caused a commotion in the crowd, and they rushed forward, especially those young men and girls who wanted to take a closer look, and rushed to the soldiers who maintained order on the side of the road.

Don't underestimate the Song people's pursuit of fashion, since it is rumored in Beijing that the little emperor loves military uniforms and often wears a military uniform without any logo in the streets and alleys of the capital, military uniforms have become the standard for fashionable teenagers. The children of wealthy families and street splashes are also fashion guides, they may be proud of getting a 'genuine' military uniform through various means, and those who have no way will try to sew one, so as not to lose face. It is said that some Confucian scholars at the present time would also secretly prepare their next military uniform, so as not to be ridiculed for their lack of masculinity.

Now, the stylish dresses worn by the guards have immediately become the new object of pursuit for these teenagers. In fact, this is also a pit dug by Zhao Hao, in Hitler's words, that is, 'the military uniform must be handsome, so that young people will join the army without hesitation and serve the country'. I have to say that Hitler's vision was really unique, and there were really many soldiers and officers in the German army at that time who came for military uniforms. When Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was in the people, he also said that "Shi Eun should be the ruler of Jinwu, and marrying a wife should be Yin Lihua", which was also out of envy of the bright clothes and armor of the Jinwu, and the majesty and solemnity of the feeling.

Therefore, Zhao Yu thought that wearing exquisite and beautiful military uniforms, the majestic posture of the soldiers was not only a reflection of a country's military strength, but also a ceremonial demand. In the past, on important occasions such as court meetings and festivals, the palace guards wore traditional light armor called 'five-color jie'. In fact, strictly speaking, this kind of armor used as a guard of honor cannot be called armor, but a real appearance.

The traditional ceremonial guard armor is in the form of imitating a sergeant, but it is only made of yellow coarse silk as the surface, with cloth as the lining, and the pattern of the nail leaf is painted with turquoise, and the red brocade edge is added, with the green as the lower skirt and the red skin as the ribbon. This armor is just up to a person's knees, with a person's face painted on the front chest, a brocade belt wrapped around the back to the chest, and a five-colored costume. The exterior decoration of the armor used is very ornate, but it cannot be used in actual combat, at best it is just a gorgeous military uniform.

Zhao Yu always felt that the guards were wearing such 'classical' military uniforms, holding flintlock pistols, and it was awkward to look at. However, it is not dignified to wear ordinary military uniforms, after all, the military uniforms issued at the moment are made of materials to be durable, easy to organize and clean, and have both beautiful and practical standard designs. In addition, as a kind of consumables with high demand, the selection of clothing materials can not all use expensive silk, of course, at that time, financial constraints, can only be simplified.

After arriving in Lin'an, the financial situation gradually improved, and Zhao Yu considered distributing new dresses to this 'window' army, and he personally presided over the design, which was modeled after modern Chinese and Western military dresses. Because of the high price and cumbersome manufacturing, the scope of the scheduled distribution is very narrow, limited to senior officers and palace guards, and the palace guards have not had time to show after changing their clothes, so the Queen Mother decided to make an appearance on the Shangyuan Festival, but it still amazed everyone.

Under the strong suppression of the soldiers, the crowd was driven back to the cordon, and after the cavalry took the lead, three magnificent open-top carriages drove out of the palace under the protection of the guards, the first carriage was occupied by the Empress Dowager Yang, the second carriage was occupied by the Empress Wu Xi, and the third carriage was occupied by the left prime minister Lu Hideo. Due to the emperor's personal expedition and in order to avoid the panic caused by the enemy's southward movement, the ministers decided to break the routine and let the empress dowager and empress perform the 'pre-reward' ceremony, accompanied by the left minister Lu Hideo, in order to show that everything is business as usual in Beijing.

The crowd gathered outside the square saw the Queen Mother and others appear, and immediately shouted 'Chitose' in Shilishan. In fact, despite the continuous arrival of good news from the front, the newspapers also reported that the emperor had won victories, regained lost territory one after another, had drunk the Yellow River, and blocked and downplayed the news that the Mongol army had invaded Jiangdong. However, Lin'an, as an open metropolis, and the New Year, business travel from all over the country continues, and it is almost impossible to completely cut it off, and there are constantly newly reorganized troops marching into Lin'an, rumors have been spread in the market, and various versions of rumors are circulating in secret.

Some people say that His Majesty lost his personal expedition and was trapped in Huaidong for a long time, and troops were sent to King Qin from all over the country, and now it is in danger; There are also legends that the emperor personally conquered Yangzhou and was defeated by the Mengyuan and Yuan armies, fled to the sea by boat, 100,000 troops were completely lost, and hundreds of thousands of Mengyuan troops took advantage of the situation to cross the river, and the important towns along the way were lost again and again, and they arrived in Lin'an in a few days; It was also rumored that the imperial court had already received the news of the emperor's defeat, and the queen mother and the empress had already secretly left the palace under the escort of important ministers, and went to sea by boat to meet the emperor, preparing to go to sea.

On the one hand, the imperial court repeatedly announced the great victories ahead, and on the other hand, there were secret rumors that the Northern Expedition had failed, which made the world panic for a while, and they didn't know whether it was true or not. However, the people who had experienced the war still reacted, and some wealthy families in Beijing had secretly packed up and gone out of the city to 'take refuge', and ordinary people also hoarded food and daily necessities in case the enemy army besieged the city for a long time. But today, the Queen Mother and others appeared together, and the rumors were immediately broken, believing that even if there was an enemy army entering Kou Jiangdong, it was just a small group of Mengyuan troops who were panicked and strayed into Jiangdong, and the imperial court would definitely wipe them out soon......

Amid the cheers of the soldiers and civilians, the convoy returned to the palace after circling the field for a week, and then climbed to the top of the city to enjoy the lanterns and have fun with the people. The Queen Mother pardoned several death row prisoners as a sign of the emperor's grace. Empress Wu Xi also frequently gave wine to the ministers who accompanied the audience, and constantly instructed Xiaohuangmen to go down to the city to buy all kinds of food and give it to everyone, and reward the performers. For a while, the mountain cries constantly, the scene climaxes constantly, and it is a peaceful scene.

But the cheerful scene can hardly hide the current crisis. Chen Dun led a team of selected students from martial arts to serve as on-site guards, and he stood fully armed behind the colorful shed of the Queen Mother and the Empress and the concubines, protecting their safety; Han Zhen, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, sat in the Yamen of the Privy Council to dispatch the armies and strengthen the vigilance to prevent the enemy from attacking the city; And Cai Wanyi, the prefect of Lin'an, did not dare to slack off, and ordered all the officials in the palace to go to the streets to arrest lawbreakers and prevent chaos. He also personally led a team of soldiers to patrol the streets, suppressing the ruffians who were waiting for an opportunity to make trouble, and maintaining the order of the Lantern Festival.

On this special day, Zheng Huchen naturally couldn't stay out of the matter, in addition to sending a team to secretly protect the safety of the Queen Mother and important ministers in the court, he also ordered the spies to mix in the crowd, and promptly found those who wanted to do wrongful things and dealt with them. Liu Yan, the head of the Lin'an Station of the Affairs Bureau, strengthened the surveillance of the unstable elements in the city, tracked down and arrested the Mengyuan spies who infiltrated the city, secretly investigated those who spread rumors and wanted to use the lantern to make trouble, and quietly dealt with those dissidents before the people were aware of it.

"Lu Xiang, how is the war in Jiangdong?" Empress Dowager Yang sat for a while, felt cold, asked the maid to put down the curtain of the color shed, and Zhao Lu Hidefu and Ying Jieyan went to their tent to ask about something.

"Empress Dowager, according to the battle report sent back by Zhao Zhi's envoy, the Mengyuan enemy army that entered the east of the Kou River has been surrounded in an area less than fifty miles between Songjiang and Liuhe, and they have launched an attack to the south for several days, intending to cross the Songjiang River and go south. The various units of our army's imperial front protection army, the Fifth Army of the Forbidden Army and the subordinate state armies fought desperately, and although they broke through our defense line one after another, they still stubbornly held on, so that the enemy could not continue to advance southward. Lu Xiufu replied.

"Well, the soldiers ahead have worked hard, and they must be rewarded in time, so don't chill the hearts of the soldiers." Empress Dowager Yang nodded when she heard this.

"The Queen Mother can rest assured that the minister has ordered Yousi to go to Kunshan to deal with the aftermath in a timely manner." Lu Xiufu said.

"The state affairs are complicated, and there is a lot of work." Empress Dowager Yang raised her hand to excuse her, and asked, "What is the situation on the emperor's side?" But there is a meaning of returning to the court! ”

"Queen Mother, Your Majesty is temporarily stationed in Xuyi, everything is still stable, and there is no war for the time being. However, the situation was still tense, and the Mengyuan side had sent troops south from Dadu and transferred the Mengyuan army stationed in Shaanxi and Gansu to help, but the direction was still unclear. And His Majesty wants to coordinate the armies of all roads, and he can't get out for the time being, and the day of return is naturally difficult to determine. Lu Xiufu said.

"Xuyi City is close to the Huai River, it is Huaidong to rush, and His Majesty has less than 20,000 soldiers around him, so the imperial court must send troops to help in time!" Empress Dowager Yang couldn't help but be a little nervous when she heard that the enemy army was coming south to help, and looked at Ying Jie and said sternly.

"The Queen Mother was relieved, the war in Jiangdong had lasted for several days, and the Mongolian army's attack had been frustrated for many days, and there was nowhere to get the baggage to replenish, and it was the end of the crossbow. Zhao Zhi's envoy has ordered the armies to launch an attack tomorrow to encircle and annihilate the invading enemy. I want to send the good news back to Beijing soon! After paying a strict salute, he continued, "Your Majesty also sent an edict, ordering that as soon as the war in Jiangdong is over, he will immediately go to Huaidong for reinforcements and join all the armies to attack the Central Plains." ”

"Eh, Your Majesty still wants to continue north?" Empress Dowager Yang raised her eyebrows when she heard this, and then muttered softly......