During the Chinese New Year, the heavy snow swept half of the Ming Dynasty, and Nanjing, located south of the Yangtze River, was also not spared, but it was smaller than Shandong.

In the end, the temperature in the south was high, and it didn't take long for the Spring Festival to completely melt the bloody snow.

Perhaps it was just after the short Spring Festival holiday, the officials were generally very lazy, and although there was a big battle in the north, it had no effect on ordinary officials, and they should still eat and drink.

However, on the tenth day of the first lunar month, good news came from Shandong, which immediately shook the entire imperial court, the entire officialdom, and even the entire city of Nanjing.

Shandong was victorious, the Northern Expeditionary Army defeated Hong Chengchou hundreds of thousands of green battalion soldiers under the command of Chen Yue, the king of Qi, and recovered the entire territory of Shandong, and the traitor Hong Chengchou was captured!

Such a big victory is enough to expel the chill of winter and make people take to the streets to tell each other.

On this day, the city of Nanjing was full of firecrackers, as if it was more lively than the New Year, and the taverns were crowded with diners, drinking bitterly to congratulate King Qi on his victory. In one day, the drinks in Nanjing were almost sold out.

Unlike the ordinary people who are closed to state affairs in various places, Nanjing City is the most well-informed place in the whole Ming Dynasty, and the people living in the city are either rich or noble, and the most ordinary people also have this kind of connection with the powerful. The political atmosphere here is the strongest, and it is also the most concerned about national affairs.

Once upon a time, Beijing fell, the emperor fled south in a hurry, and the strong troops of the two roads went south, and the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of danger; Once upon a time, the Northern Expedition failed, and the thieves and the west thieves joined forces to go out of Sichuan, Huguang and Jiangxi were eroded, and the front of the thieves was only hundreds of miles away from Nanjing.

And now, the thieves have been exterminated and driven away, the western thieves have shrunk in Sichuan under the attack of the Ming army, and the Northern Expeditionary Army under the leadership of the King of Qi has exerted great might, annihilating hundreds of thousands of Qing troops in one fell swoop, recovering the entire territory of Shandong, and the military power is directed at Beijing, and the recovery of the old land seems to be no longer so far away.

Whether it is an official, a gentry, or an ordinary merchant or ordinary person, they are all Ming people, and they are naturally proud of the country's strength. The Ming Dynasty is strong, so they will not always worry about the danger of the soldiers, so they can consider being promoted and making a fortune with peace of mind. Therefore, almost everyone was sincerely happy about the victory of the Northern Expedition.

Of course, the happiest are the princesses of the prison country and the bigwigs in the court. In fact, there was a lot of opposition to Chen Yue's sudden Northern Expedition this time, and the failure of the last Northern Expedition made the bigwigs feel uneasy. And now that the Western Thieves have not been completely eradicated, the Ming Dynasty has not yet recovered from the heavy blows, and is going to go on another Northern Expedition, and many people are worried that they will fail again.

However, with Chen Yue's insistence, the support of the princess of Jianguo, and the support of more than half of the cabinet elders for this dispatch, although there was a lot of opposition in the court, it could not stop this dispatch.

And now the big victory has completely disappeared the original opposition, and then there is a voice of admiration.

However, some people see that although the victory is great, the crisis still exists, for example, the military department wrote to Chen Zilong in the matter, saying that although the victory was a big victory, it was mainly the green battalion soldiers, these are all adapted from the Han army that surrendered to the Manchu Dynasty, and the combat effectiveness is not very strong, and it is natural that the king of Qi can win, but although he wins, the main force of the Manchu Eight Banners is still there, and its strength should not be underestimated. Therefore, the imperial court should remind Chen Yue, the king of Qi, to act carefully and not to be arrogant and complacent.

In the midst of a voice of praise for merit, Chen Zilong's words were very different, that is, his former friends and ridiculed him for being too timid, who is Chen Yue, the king of Qi? That was the one who really fought with the Eight Banners, defeated the Qing soldiers who were difficult to invade on two roads, and killed the two princes of the Manchu Dynasty. How to use soldiers, you still need a little pointer?

Chen Zilong was very depressed, so he found his friend Zhang Huangyan at the Martial Arts Academy to drink and chat.

The Northern Expeditionary Army won a great victory, and the Armament Academy rarely stopped training and took a day off.

When the two met again, Chen Zilong was shocked to find that Zhang Huangyan's temperament had changed significantly, and the former scholarly elegance had almost disappeared, replaced by a sharp body, like a sword out of the sheath.

Regarding Chen Zilong's worries, Zhang Huangyan smiled freely: "Brother Zilong is worried, but Huangyan thinks that King Qi has led troops for many years, and he will definitely not despise the Eight Banners, and he must have a countermeasure." ”

Chen Zilong sighed: "Maybe, it's me who is a little unfounded, I really can't bear to see the tragic scene of the last Northern Expedition defeat again......"

Zhang Huangyan said: "Since Brother Zilong is worried about the war, why don't you give up your pen and follow Rong and take the initiative to ask to go to the front line, or serve as a civilian staff officer in the army of King Qi, or serve as a shepherd in the newly recovered place, wouldn't it be better to worry about being empty here?" ”

Chen Zilong was stunned for a moment, thoughtful.

Zhang Huangyan continued: "Huang Yan had also read military books before, and thought he was familiar with military strategy, but after studying at the Armament Academy for several months, he realized his previous superficiality. There are too many major issues involved in the affairs of the soldier country. Recruitment training, equipment production, and even the use of weapons, food and salary supplies, and so on are all knowledge. Much of the knowledge is far from being learned in the Four Books and the Five Classics.

There is such a phenomenon among the officials of the DPRK and the Central People's Republic of China at present, and many people think that if they are familiar with the Four Books and the Five Classics, they will know the affairs of the world and will be able to dictate everything. The dynasty set up the Imperial History Metropolitan Procuratorate and even the Six Departments to picket the government and the officials of the world. But how much do these imperial histories know about everything? If you don't know anything, you will chase after the wind and write a book for impeachment, and in many cases, you can only be reduced to a cannon, which is not only not beneficial to the matter, but seriously hinders the progress of the matter.

Brother Zilong, I am not saying this to you, but I really hope that the court officials can calm down and do practical things, instead of talking every day, so that the court can have hope, and the Ming Dynasty can have hope! “

Chen Zilong smiled: "You're right, the foolish brother often sighs that he can't show his skills, but he doesn't know that opportunities are everywhere, and he can't grasp them."

If King Qi really acted prudently, the Northern Expedition would not be able to end in a short time. Recovering the lost territory and appeasing the people who have fallen for a long time, there are too many things, instead of staying in Nanjing and talking, it is better to go to the north and really contribute to the Northern Expedition to regain the lost land!

The foolish brother will write to the court and ask to go north to join the army! “

Zhang Huang said happily: "The elder brother is really wise, if possible, the younger brother will go north with the elder brother." ”

Chen Zilongqi said: "You have been in the Wubei Academy for less than half a year, and you are far from graduating, how can you leave?" ”

Zhang Huang said: "The king of Qi has sent news, it seems that it is the battle of Shandong, and too many green battalion soldiers have been recruited, and these green battalion soldiers need to be reorganized before they can be used. And in order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the original army, too many people could not be transferred, so King Qi thought of the Martial Arts Academy. A special message was sent to let our group of colleges graduate early and go to Shandong to join the army. If nothing else, it will take place in half a month. ”