. At the end of April in the second year of Shenshi, the army from the expedition to Japan finally returned. I personally went to the port to greet him and gave him the highest courtesy.
The navy fleet has entered the port, raising its sails to cover its eyes, the masts are like a forest, and with all the eyesight, it can only see patches of clouds and sails, densely covering the Yangtze River.
The large ship headed by it has nine masts and twelve sails, nearly a hundred meters long and several meters wide. It is majestic and huge. It is the flagship of the expeditionary force, the Yangwei.
At this moment, the Yangwei has already docked in the port. Although it is still far away from the shore due to its huge size and deep draft, a trestle has already been built, leading directly to the bluestone ground of the port. Upon seeing my dragon flag, the ceremonial troops let out a loud shout to let everyone know of my arrival.
With the sound of a crisp copper bell, the entire river surface suddenly burst into a huge sound: the sound of "See Your Majesty" set off the waves and shook the sky.
There are already a group of well-dressed generals standing on the deck of the Yangwei, and there are also a few Japanese people in special costumes among them. The leader is the commander-in-chief of the Japanese expeditionary force, the general of the Ping Japanese Army, the Yangwei Legion Legion.
After seeing me, Cheng Daji quickly led everyone down the bow of the ship, passed the trestle, came to the front, and bowed respectfully: "The last general Cheng Daji has met your Majesty." The generals behind Cheng Daji also paid homage, and those few The Japanese even bowed to the ground and worshiped each other.
I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye and found that my old acquaintance Yoshida Toshiie was among them. I smiled, and after letting them get up, I grabbed Cheng Daitsugi and said excitedly: "General, he went on an expedition of thousands of miles, showed his power on thousands of miles of seas, and established an unparalleled power." For this achievement, I have decided to confer the title of First-Class Zhenhaibo to the general. Today I will personally host the banquet. I will cleanse the dust of all the soldiers."
Cheng Daji quickly said humbly: "This expedition to Japan was thanks to the bloody battles of the soldiers. In contrast, the general was just sitting back and enjoying the results, and he really didn't dare to receive such a generous gift from your majesty. What's more, when the general returned, he had already heard that, Your Majesty personally conquered the northwest, defeated the powerful enemy, recovered Lintao and Fengxiang, and achieved unprecedented feats in a century. Compared with your Majesty's enemies, the Japanese country is really vulnerable, and the general is really ashamed to receive such a huge reward. He dare not be shameless. collar."
I know that the reality is definitely not as easy as Cheng Daji said, and the army went overseas. How can it be easy to be alone and helpless? But I didn't refute his words. Turning his eyes, he saw many acquaintances, including the vanguard generals who fought against Japan, the loyal generals of the Yellow Dragon Army, and Dugu Sheng, a leader of ten thousand people. He was responsible for diplomacy and was responsible for the affairs of the Diyun family. He was ambitious but dared to be the head of the Yun family, Yun Xiong. There are other familiar generals. Seeing these people makes me feel more and more happy. Deliberately ignored Cheng Daji's praise. He said loudly: "Everyone has worked hard on the expedition. I am announcing that the officers and soldiers of the expedition will have a ten-day rest starting from today. Their military pay will be doubled for this month. As for other rewards, we will announce them after the achievements of this battle have been tallied."
This word quickly spread, causing everyone in the expeditionary force to cheer in unison, and the lively atmosphere once again heightened, just like a festival, everyone was excited and excited.
Nodding to the others, I pulled Cheng Daji into the specially made carriage and asked him to stand beside me and show off his skills.
Along the way, the enthusiastic Jiankang people were shouting from the mountains and the sea was surging, and they were extremely passionate. There were even some women who had settled in foreign countries. They threw the flowers in their hands to the soldiers of the expeditionary army. Occasionally, they looked back and saw the handsome and fit men. Dugu Sheng was hit by several flowers in a row, causing the surrounding soldiers to laugh.
I also found it interesting, and whispered a few jokes to the uneasy Cheng Daji, which slightly relieved his restraint.
Next, I took the main generals of the expeditionary force to participate in a series of activities until evening. Immediately, I held a grand banquet in the palace to wash away their dust.
During the dinner, I once again expressed my intention to confer a reward to him in recognition of his achievements.
Without thinking, Cheng Daji insisted on refusing, thinking that because of his mistakes, more than half of the soldiers of the Huanglong Legion who accompanied him on the expedition were lost. Although he succeeded by luck in the end, he really had no face to accept my reward.
In this expedition, in addition to the Yangwei and Rising Sun naval corps, the main land force was 30,000 Huanglong elites, selected from the 200,000 Huanglong corps, many of whom were from the Three Guards Army. However, after several battles in Japan, only 10,000 people were able to return alive in the end. Coupled with the number of casualties in the Marine Corps, the losses were not small.
But in a war, there can be no death, not to mention that this time it is an overseas battle far away from home. To be able to win with such a casualty rate is an unprecedented victory. What's more, this expedition has achieved all its basic combat objectives, and it is still possible. With extras, it can be described as a glorious victory.
How can one not be rewarded for meritorious service, so I insisted on granting a reward to Cheng Daji, but he refused and accepted it, which made me very angry.
Under the stalemate, Cheng Daji saw that my face was getting unhappy, so he quickly got up and left the table, and said to me sincerely: "Your Majesty,??This expedition, going through life and death with His Majesty in the northwest, is simply insignificant. Your Majesty is in the northwest, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops to fight a decisive battle with powerful enemies. If you are not careful, your country will be destroyed and your family will be destroyed. However, thanks to your Majesty's wise command and the efforts of all the generals, our country in the Song Dynasty prospered and was able to defeat the stubborn enemy and regain the lost territory. The last general heard that your majesty wanted to commend generals Yue Yu, Meng Gong and Yue Feng, but they refused because of their meager achievements. Compared with them, the last general is really ashamed. What's more, His Majesty had already given the general a reward before he went on the expedition. With regard to his current status, the general already felt that he was walking on thin ice and was unable to achieve his goals. If the reward is given again this time, it will not only be unfair to the generals, but also make the generals feel frightened, ashamed and uneasy. If your Majesty wants to reward these soldiers, please reward them generously. These are the words from the bottom of my heart, and I ask for Your Majesty's understanding. " These words were said with great sincerity. Sima Feng, who was accompanying him at the side, was suddenly moved when he heard this and praised him again and again.
"Since the general is like this, I don't want to force myself. Let's do this. We won't talk about this in advance. General, please take a seat. You all can drink to your heart's content and don't worry about me." After I asked Cheng Daji to take a seat, I toasted the others with a few glasses of wine. Finally, he turned his attention to Cheng Daji who was chatting freely with Sima Feng.
Cheng Daji was born into a fishing family along the coast. When he was young, he followed the famous naval general Li Bao and fought across the sea. Annihilated the Jin Navy. Later, under Li Bao's advice. He gained rich knowledge of water warfare and grew into a naval general, and his talents and abilities were fully explored. In terms of water warfare, he can be said to be the first person in the Song Dynasty today.
Before me, although the Navy of the Song Dynasty was powerful for a while under Li Bao, in general, the status of the Navy was subordinate to the army. Its combat strategy must all revolve around the army. After Li Bao's death, the navy also gradually declined under the Lin'an court's partialist thinking. Cheng Da Jikong has a water fighting ability. But he has never been able to use it. It was not until I recruited Jiankang Navy that he had a place to use it.
The maritime transportation in the Song Dynasty was very developed. Tall ships can be seen everywhere, especially shipbuilders. Not only were their skills proficient, but their whimsical ideas were the best among all generations. In addition, some navigation technologies were gradually improved, so the combat capabilities of the Song Dynasty navy should not be underestimated. When the navy was converted into a navy, Cheng Daji played a lot of role in it. In particular, he proposed that the ocean transportation capabilities of sea-going ships could be used. Conduct landing operations behind enemy lines. Disrupt the enemy's front deployment. Although the imaginary enemy at that time was the Kingdom of Jin, this also made me feel. He has actually realized that the navy can be used as a separate force to change the battlefield pattern.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? out of several long conversations with him, and finally concluded the concept of ocean victory. When artillery became a regular equipment on battleships, he was sensitively aware of the huge changes this weapon would bring to the mode of naval warfare. He first explored and changed the way of combat. It was his advanced awareness that made me decide that he would serve as the commander of the expeditionary force, rather than Ding Shancheng, the commander of the Rising Sun Army, whose ability in naval warfare and commanding ability was also outstanding. Compared with him, although Ding Shancheng's command ability is still slightly better, his role in the navy and how the navy operates in terms of overall strategy are slightly inferior.
This time, although the title of the reward is only a first-class earl, it is already higher than that of other generals. Including Yue Yu, he has not received such a high title. Rank, position, and title, although position is the most important to officials, title is not only glory, but also determines the treatment that officials can enjoy after retirement. Not only useful for me, but also very beneficial to my family.
Cheng Daji is already quite old. If nothing happens, this will be his last expedition. That¡¯s why I gave him the title of first-class earl in addition to the usual rewards. Frankly speaking, this title reward is not small, and considering the current situation of the Song Dynasty, it is enough to match his merits. His rejection surprised me and I couldn't understand it.
I withdrew my gaze, picked up the wine glass, walked to the soldiers of the expeditionary force, toasted one by one, and casually disclosed some of the scheduled rewards. These soldiers were either happy, frightened, calm, or silent. No one refused, which made me feel happy again. Get better.
When I walked to Dugu Sheng, he had already stood up and waited. I smiled and patted him. Looking at his slightly restrained and thin cheeks, I couldn't help but think of the time when he came to serve. I raised my glass and said with some sigh: "A Sheng, you did a good job this time. I think. At the beginning, you were just a young man who was unruly and pursuing his ideals. I didn't expect that today you can take charge of your own business and work hard. I am optimistic about you."
Dugu Sheng smiled implicitly: "If it weren't for Your Majesty, how could I be where I am today? I wish Your Majesty to rule the world and have the country forever. If you are called upon, I will not hesitate even to the death."
She patted him happily, motioned him to sit down, and walked towards the other generals.
Except for the accompanying generals, those sitting with Dugu Sheng were all senior generals of the 30,000 Huanglong Expeditionary Force. Just looking at their numbers, one knew that the losses were definitely not small.
Although I am not very familiar with them,But after I was able to call a few people by their names and joke with them for a while, I turned around and walked towards Fang Yi.
Sitting there were the civil servants who accompanied the expedition, as well as some personnel with special missions, such as Yun Xiong.
Maybe it was my unconventional toasting that made these officials feel surprised and reserved. Compared with the generals, these civil servants were obviously much more rigid. Before I could get closer, they all stood up, greeted me respectfully, and asked me Very boring. After praising them a few words, he casually chatted with Fang Yi, Yun Xiong and others, asking them to put everything aside, be happy and not worry about other things. Today is just a banquet, the specific matters can wait until later. Not to mention the general situation, they have already provided a secret discount in advance, so I am not in a hurry.
My easygoingness infected them, and the atmosphere gradually became relaxed.
After talking for a while, I turned around and left. Just as I was about to return to my seat, a low voice suddenly came from beside me: