Chapter 201 Chinese New Year's Eve Banquet

The fighting lasted all night, and when the sun rose over the eastern horizon and climbed over the Wolf Milk Mountain, the fighting finally stopped, and the victorious Sui soldiers began to clean up the battlefield and count the casualties. No one expected that this would be such a brilliant and hearty victory before the war began.

At least 300 captives searched for the bodies of Mandu Latu's father and son on the battlefield under the custody of the Sui army, and from the confessions of the captives, the Sui generals finally understood why, at the last moment, Mandu Latu rushed in with all his troops. You must know that this is by no means a decision that a qualified commander should make, but he is a qualified father.

Eventually, Mandu Ratu was found among a pile of corpses, and it seemed that the loyal soldiers were intending to bring back the body of the banner master, but in the end they were unable to break through the siege. The density of corpses in this small area was staggering, not only the corpses of the Mengyuan people, but also a large number of Sui soldiers.

It can be seen that at the last moment, this team of Mandu Latu's personal soldiers broke out with extremely strong combat power. Fight more with less, but the number of Sui troops killed is almost equal to their losses. In such a desperate moment, the power of a person's outburst is incalculable. In the last moments of their lives, they may not have had any idea of victory or defeat, only the thought of bringing the corpse of the flag master home is supported.

Soon after finding Mandu Ratu's body, the captives found Mandu Tler, who had been almost trampled by his horse. The young Mengyuan warrior could not see how many injuries he had suffered, and there were only twenty feather arrows pulled out of his body. His eyes were not closed, and he did not bare at all.

Perhaps before he died, it was also the moment when he finally saw hope.

His father's cry sounded in the distance, and whether Mandutler was an adult or not, at that time, his dependence on his father must have been intense to the extreme.

But this is war, family affection is precious, and death is the main theme.

Yang Kai, the king of Xujun, looked at the corpse of Mandu Latu in a daze, and then he walked to the corpses of the Sui army who finally stopped the rout of Meng Yuan and died in battle, and solemnly gave a military salute. At this moment, no matter what the others were thinking, they all followed Yang Kai and saluted.

The main army of the Mandu Banner was eliminated in the first battle, which was the most brilliant victory since the Great Sui marched. Although it also paid a great price, its significance will surely leave a strong mark in the history books.

In addition to destroying the enemy's main force, the greatest gain was no less than 30,000 war horses. This was an exciting fortune for the Sui army, which had never owned such a number of horses. There is no doubt that in a very short period of time, the Sui army will be able to have a strong contingent of light cavalry.

Although there was a shortage of war horses in the Great Sui, when the guards were training on weekdays, there would be some people with outstanding physical fitness who would be transferred to take turns to train riding and archery with a small number of war horses. These people can easily control the war horse, although they are far from being as agile as the Meng Yuan people, but they will quickly adapt to their new identity.

Because of these more than 30,000 war horses, almost all the generals of the Sui army were red-eyed. Before the battlefield was cleared, they began to argue, and each wanted to get more horses. When the argument did not fail to satisfy everyone, they handed over the decision to the previously forgotten commander of the army, Yang Kai, the king of Xujun.

"I intend to ask Your Majesty to take out 20,000 of these more than 30,000 war horses and form a pure cavalry team and hand it over to a suitable person to lead. The remaining about sixteen,000 war horses were divided equally among the generals of each guard. It's not enough to satisfy you, but at the very least, it can increase the strength of your army and increase the number of Ranger Scouts. ”

The commander said that even if someone was dissatisfied, there was nothing to argue.

After calming down, people began to discuss how to form the first cavalry in the true sense of the Great Sui. It was proposed to select excellent soldiers from among the various guards, but the average number of 5,000 men per guard made the generals reluctant. The soldiers who were sent out were all good fighters, and even if they were to replenish the same number of soldiers, they would feel that they had suffered a loss.

In the end, it was still over, and Yang Kai, the king of Xujun, sent people to lead troops to escort 20,000 war horses back to Fangu, and handed them over to the logistics civilian officials to manage, and other matters were decided after His Majesty was invited. The messengers who left before these horses were messengers who reported to Chang'an City, they put on red cloaks and changed into new clothes, and rode the war horses of the Mengyuan people to the imperial capital. Although they were not as fast as the Flying Pigeon, His Majesty would have preferred to hear the story of this great victory told to him in person.

"You can't slack off just because you won."

When Yang Kai, the king of Xujun, convened the meeting of the four guard generals, he said: "The main force of the Mandu Banner has been destroyed, and the number of enemies who have fled will not exceed five thousand. But in a short time these 5,000 people will be regrouped and a new general will be elected to take command. If we wait for them to organize the herdsmen and distribute weapons and armor, it will be difficult for us to control the entire Mandu Banner as soon as possible. ”

"So ......"

Yang Kai paused for a moment and said, "I have decided to temporarily gather the war horses assigned to the Zhuwei first and hand them over to the great general Li Yuanshan. He pursued with light cavalry and heavy cavalry under his command, and must not give the people of Mandu Banner a chance to breathe. The last resistance must be put down as soon as possible, and then the army will immediately move west to set up defenses on the western border of the Mandu Banner. Half of the work that Your Majesty has given us has been done...... Next, it is to fight back in a steady defense, and we must not let Meng Ge's reinforcements set foot on this grassland again! ”

……

……

Chinese New Year's Eve

Just when the Sui army broke Mandu Latu on the northwest prairie, an annual grand banquet was being held in the Taiji Palace in Chang'an City. Every year on Chinese New Year's Eve, the emperor would feast on his courtiers. Some respected old people will also be invited from Chang'an City to sit next to the emperor and celebrate the arrival of the new year together.

The Great Sui advocates filial piety, and although the old people who were invited were ordinary, they would be treated with great courtesy and respect on this night. This is His Majesty's example of calling on the people of the world to observe filial piety, so the old people can enjoy honors such as the emperor himself toasting.

In addition to these old people, those old ministers in the court who are old and have not left Chang'an City will also return to Taiji Palace and enjoy people's respect. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, His Majesty the Emperor will wear the most solemn crown clothes, take the harem people and courtiers to the Taimiao Temple to worship their ancestors, and then go to the Ming Altar to pray for the blessings of the people. But tonight, there was no need for the emperor to wear that heavy and gorgeous clothes, and he looked more easy-going and natural in his usual clothes.

As the first place in the entrance examination of the Martial Arts Academy, Fang Xie naturally had the opportunity to participate in this feast. But because they don't have an official position and are the youngest, they are arranged in the outermost according to the rules. However, this is also in line with Fang Jie's thoughts, he doesn't like the hypocritical etiquette between pushing the cup and changing the lamp.

He's a lazy man, in some ways.

Zhuo Buyi also has no official position, and he has little friendship with the courtiers. So he also sat with the students of the Performing Arts Academy, of course, this was the position he chose, but even so, his cloth clothes were particularly eye-catching in the crowd of brocade clothes. None of the students at this table knew him except Fang Jie, so they were all a little surprised how this young guy in a cloth shirt had mixed in.

Zhuo Buyi naturally didn't bother to pay attention to the puzzled looks cast by the students, if he could refuse, he wouldn't even appear on such an occasion.

"Not comfortable?"

He asked for a solution.

Fang Xie smiled and nodded, and said in a low voice, "Looking at you, you are not used to me." ”

Zhuo Buyi snorted, poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip: "Every year at the feast, Your Majesty will give me a seat." But this kind of occasion is obviously not for me to show up, not that I am not used here. ”

"Sour"

Fang Xie smiled: "Although you are wearing a cloth robe, if you reveal your identity, half of the people present will be in awe of you, and the other half will think about how to have a good relationship with you." ”

Zhuo Buyi sighed: "This is the trouble, I am really afraid that Your Majesty will suddenly have a whim, and point at my nose in front of the civil and military officials and say, this guy! It's the number one thug in the Ouchi Guard's Office! ”

"Top Hitter ......"

Fang Xie couldn't help but laugh: "This title is really suitable." ”

Zhuo Buyi said: "You still have to think about how you deal with it, Your Majesty will definitely let you stand up and walk in front of everyone and say something." All of you here are full of Chinese, if you don't speak well, be careful of being ridiculed. Anyway, he is also excellent in five liberal arts, and he can't show his cowardice with one mouth. ”

"Thousands of clothes don't wear sycophants, and when you sing praises of virtue, you can pick up flowers and say it."

Fang Xie stuffed a piece of cooked meat into his mouth, and he looked very unruly in eating. As the only female student among the ten students who entered the palace in the Martial Arts Academy, Ma Lilian secretly glanced at Fang Xie sitting opposite from time to time. She hadn't recovered from the grief of losing her friend, so she was a little repulsed by the celebratory scene.

His Majesty naturally knew about the successive killings of the students of the Yanwu Academy, but it was obviously impossible to mention it in the celebration of the new year. Ma Lilian always felt that there was something wrong with Fang Xie sitting opposite, until the emperor sent someone to call him, and when he stood up, Ma Lilian realized that Fang Xie was not wearing a formal dress, but the battle suit of a military scout. Compared to others, it seems nondescript.

Fang Jie, who walked in front of the emperor, saluted meticulously, then stood up, and congratulated His Majesty and the Empress on behalf of the students of the Yanwu Academy. There is nothing wrong with it except that the clothes are wrong.

When the emperor asked him to say a few words in front of the courtiers, Fang Xie straightened up.

Her Royal Highness Yang Wanyi, the princess who was extremely disgusted, glared at him fiercely, eager for him to be embarrassed in front of the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military forces. When she saw that Fang Xie was actually wearing a military uniform, she immediately thought of the word Tubaozi.

"It stands to reason that I should make a prosperous article."

Fang Jie, who was standing in front of everyone, smiled and said: "Before I came, I thought about whether I wanted to wear a grand dress to the banquet, but after hesitating, I denied it for three reasons......

"First, eating in a dress with wide robes and big sleeves is a hindrance."

As soon as he said this, he immediately caused a burst of laughter, some of which were sarcasm.

Fang Xie ignored it and continued: "Second, I am a student of the Martial Arts Academy, so naturally I can't do without a martial character, as we all know, after the people of the Martial Arts Academy have to join the army to kill the enemy for national merit, in this case, in my opinion, the military uniform is the most solemn costume to pay tribute to Your Majesty." ”

"Third ......"

Fang Jie's eyes swept over everyone and said slowly: "I am a border army pawn from the border city of Fangu, just now, the 700,000 troops of the imperial court are west of Fangu to conquer the Mengyuan barbarians, because those damned barbarians slaughtered the two thousand people and eight hundred border troops of Fangu City!" I...... He is the only one of the Fangu border army who is still alive, but this life makes me blame myself, because at the last moment I did not stand by the side of my comrades with a weapon in my hand, and I did not die with them. Now the army of the Great Sui is sweeping the grassland, avenging my former comrades, I can't go to battle and kill the enemy, but I can wear the uniform of the border army to cheer for the soldiers! ”

"I'm a rough man."

Fang Xie said word by word: "But whether it is before entering the Martial Arts Academy or after leaving the Martial Arts Academy, I am a soldier of the Great Sui!" Now, instead of the soldiers who are far away in front of Chang'an City on the prairie west of Fangu, I salute Your Majesty and give you a glass of wine! ”

Holding the wine glass, Fang Jie's heart fluctuated slightly: "May the Great Sui be the world and eternal prosperity." May the Great Sui Xiongshi return with triumph. For Your Majesty's birthday! ”

"For the people's longevity!"

The Emperor actually stood up and solemnly raised his glass.

Everyone was a little stunned, no one thought that Fang Xie would actually say such a thing. And Her Royal Highness the princess of the Great Sui, when she looked at Fang Xie again, she suddenly felt that he was much more pleasing to the eye.