Queen Zhou was already pregnant, and when she heard that Zhu Youzhen was going to drive the royal expedition, she pulled Zhu Youzhen's hand with tears in her eyes.

"Your Majesty, can you not go?" Empress Zhou sobbed.

Zhu Youzhen shook his head: "Queen, you don't know, there are many things that need to be done by myself......

"The concubine doesn't understand state affairs, but I'm worried that Your Majesty won't be able to bear it, not to mention the danger of the soldiers, how can you bear the fatigue all the way, Your Majesty?" Empress Zhou said worriedly.

"The soldiers can stand it, and so can the king of this country!" Zhu Youzhen said with a resolute face.

"Only when I have really stepped on the rivers and mountains and seen the sufferings of the people will I know why so many people want to rebel and know how to be this emperor! You don't have to worry, Queen, with the protection of the army, I will not be in danger. ”

At night, when Zhu Youzhen wanted to stay overnight, he was rejected by Queen Zhou with a red face: "Your Majesty, the concubine is pregnant and can't serve the king, so you should go to Concubine Tian's sister." ”

Zhu Youzhen was stunned for a moment, I didn't want to do anything, I just wanted to accompany you and the unborn child before the expedition.

After thinking about it, it's not good to favor one over the other, when the king naturally wants to be wet with rain and dew, Zhu Youzhen went to Concubine Tian's palace from the goodness of the stream.

Concubine Tian is a native of Jiangnan, and she looks more beautiful than Zhou Hou, but she is a little more charming and a little less dignified, so she lost to Zhou Hou when she chose a concubine.

In the last life, Zhu Youzhen was full of state affairs, and he did not pretend to be a few concubines in the harem, except for the queen, he didn't like other concubines much. And under the auspices of Queen Zhou, the harem concubines are also very peaceful, the atmosphere is relatively harmonious, and there is no competition for favor.

Concubine Tian is proficient in music and rhythm, good at Danqing, is a talented woman, but her personality is relatively light, and she doesn't like to talk too much, she followed Zhu Youzhen for more than ten years, and gave birth to four princes for him.

Looking at Concubine Tian's beautiful face, Zhu Youzhen sighed in his heart, this is his own woman, but he didn't care enough for them in his previous life.

"Your Majesty."

"Concubine."

"Oh..."

"Hmm..."

......

Sure enough, as Zhu Youzhen guessed, the courtiers adopted delaying tactics against his royal conquest.

First of all, Zhou Yanru, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, talked about what kind of etiquette the Son of Heaven should use for the imperial expedition, and which officials should accompany him.

Zhou Yanru's performance was opposed by many people, and other ministers went up one after another to discuss the etiquette process.

Zhu Youzhen ordered that the military situation was urgent, and the process was simple, which can be referred to the etiquette process of General Zhu Shou of Wuzong that year.

Then the military department went up again, saying that it was necessary to formulate a march route, and that it was necessary to arrange for the local government to raise food and grass for the army, and asked His Majesty to delay the march for some time.

Zhu Youzhen directly took out the marching route discussed by several generals of the Praetorian Guard, and told them that they would go south from Beijing, enter Shanxi through Jingcheng, pass through the Taiyuan Basin through the official road, and then cross the Yellow River from Wubao to Shaanxi through Yuci.

Then Qin Tianjian played a recital, saying that there were no good days and auspicious days in the recent period, and it was not suitable to go on the expedition until at least next month. Zhu Youzhen was furious and scolded Qin Tianjian Zheng, saying that I am the true son of the dragon, and I have the luck of the world, and the day I set out on the expedition is a good day and an auspicious day.

The ministers then played, either dissuasion or all kinds of delays, in short, they didn't want the emperor to take the expedition in person. Zhu Youzhen was impatient, and did not look at all kinds of songs, so he ordered to allocate silver taels from the inner treasury, and transferred several thousand stones of grain from Changping to be used by the army, and on the morning of July 16, he left Xiyuan with 7,000 Praetorian Guards and went out of the city.

When the cabinet elders heard this, they were shocked and hurriedly chased out of the city, but they only saw the back of the army.

"This, this, what can I do!" Zhang Guorui patted his thigh and sighed.

"What to do, what to do." Huang Liji said with a wooden face, "Order the Ministry of War to immediately send people to notify the passing prefectures and counties according to the marching route that His Majesty said last time, so that they can prepare to meet them." Then he sent Pegasus to Shaanxi to inform Hong Chengchou, the governor of Yansui, and asked him to lead the army to meet His Majesty. ”

Zhang Guorui worried: "Your Majesty has brought seven thousand Praetorian Guards, is the number less?" ”

Shi Fenglai said: "There are fewer people, but don't worry, Your Majesty's seven thousand people are all elites, and their combat strength is no worse than that of the border army." Besides, Lu Xiangsheng still has 13,000 men and horses in Luoyang, and he will enter Shaanxi through Hedong to meet His Majesty. ”

Huang Liji glanced at everyone lightly: "Ladies and gentlemen, Your Majesty has left Beijing, but state affairs cannot be delayed, everyone will do their jobs and guard the rear for Your Majesty!" ”

"Yes, Motosuke!" Everyone replied with their fists clenched.

......

The Praetorian Guard marched at a rate of sixty miles a day, which was not too fast for a Praetorian Guard soldier who had been trained for more than half a year. After all, these soldiers are all hard-working peasants, and they have been fed for more than half a year, and with long-term training, they are all very strong.

For Zhu Youzhen, it was a little difficult.

At first, Zhu Youzhen insisted on riding a horse and walking with the army, but after only two days, a pair of thighs were rubbed with blood, so he had to get off the horse and continue to march. Only Wang Chengen and a few eunuchs followed and served, and they were uncomfortable eating.

However, Zhu Youzhen still gritted his teeth and insisted, and every time he went to camp, he insisted on patrolling the camp and eating on the same stove with the soldiers.

Zhu Youzhen's actions made the morale of the Praetorian Guards extremely high, and every of the 7,000 soldiers was willing to die for the emperor.

Marching all the way, passing through the prefecture and passing through the county, the army never entered the city, and was camped in the field, Zhou Yuji was appointed by Zhu Youzhen as the temporary chief military officer, responsible for the command of a should be done.

At every city, the magistrates came to visit him, but he was never allowed to enter the barracks. Zhu Youzhen did not want to see them, but only sent people to accept the grain and grass they needed.

When camping, he would check in the nearby villages in civilian clothes under the protection of the guards, and personally inquire about the living conditions of the villagers, the difficulties of the rural people's lives made him very heartbroken.

The farther away from Beijing, the worse the living conditions of the people I saw, and the ragged clothes and vegetables on their faces were no longer far beyond description.

Zhu Youzhen saw with his own eyes that the family only wore one pair of pants, and the teenage girl hid in the house and couldn't see anyone all day.

Zhu Youzhen saw with his own eyes that many people's homes did not even have a piece of furniture, and there was nothing else in the low and dark thatched hut except for the pot for cooking.

Zhu Youzhen saw with his own eyes that the skinny child with a handful of bones looked timidly at the smoke rising from the camp with big eyes, but he was afraid to approach.

Zhu Youzhen also saw that in the procession where the magistrates greeted him, those local gentry wearing silk were all in good spirits, their faces were smooth and shiny, and their demeanor was graceful.

It turns out that this is my country, and it turns out that this is my people!