Daming Military Empire

Chapter 464 The Burning Crusade

In July, Siberia is slowly getting warmer, and Manjingwei is already as warm as spring. The ice in the Thanksgiving River has long since melted, and the snow in the Chengzong Mountains has almost melted. The whole guard is full of transplanted green pines Cypress, a piece of greenery.

At this time, the railway just reached Manjingwei, and truckloads of cement, steel, grain, grass, and luggage were delivered non-stop, and the six legions of the vassal state were already in full swing.

They are mainly repairing the city walls. The walls of the original guard have already been completely renewed, and a higher wall has begun to be built around the guard. The entire valley has been included, and the furthest one has even reached the bank of the Thanksgiving River. .

There are also some people who are building bridges under the command of officials from the Ministry of Industry. The Thanksgiving River is not very wide in this section, and the widest part is less than [-] paces. There are many sandbars in the middle, so it is not very difficult to build bridges. .

The thick piers have already been lined up in a straight line, extending to the opposite bank. Various steel girders and steel frames have also been piled up on both sides. concrete.

Different from the bustling scene outside, the original guard of Manjing Guard was solemn and solemn inside. Now the guard has been transformed into a cemetery, and the original buildings have been almost demolished, leaving only a few rows of barracks around for the soldiers guarding the mausoleum. they live.

In the middle of the cemetery, there is a huge bluestone square. A statue several feet high stands in the center of the square. The soldiers cleaning the cemetery look so small in front of him.

This is exactly the statue of Grand Tutor Sun Chengzong. He is dressed in garrison clothes, standing with a sword in his hand, looking at the west, as if telling the invaders: Those who invade China will be punished no matter how far away they are!

At this time, Lu Xiangsheng, Cao Wenzhao and Yang Zhong who arrived earlier were worshiping under the statue.

Lu Xiangsheng took the lead and lit a handful of incense, bowed respectfully three times, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times, and finally inserted the incense into the incense burner seriously.

After Cao Wenzhao and Yang Zhong inserted the incense into the incense burner, he said solemnly: "The construction of the emperor's palace and the bridge must be accelerated. Wenzhao, please go and supervise it. In addition, a wall on the side of the river must be built. Row of forts, this is our rear area, the emperor will also sit here to command, security must be done well, Weihan, you are responsible for this."

When Cao Wenzhao and Yang Zhong heard the words, they clasped their fists and responded quickly, then turned around and quickly arranged to go.

At this time, millions of troops have not yet arrived, and the trains are mainly used to transport supplies. If everyone comes by train, it will take more than ten days to pull forty trains back and forth with nearly one million troops alone. It might take half a month to carry the heavy food and supplies, so Lu Xiangsheng simply ordered all the soldiers to march all the way in corps and come over.

It's hard work like this, but it doesn't waste much time. If you don't need to carry food, grass and luggage, the marching speed is still very fast with just people and horses, and you can get there in five or six days.

As for Zhu Cijiong, he naturally had to wait until everything was ready before coming here. He came to command a million-strong army, not to command people to build bridges and city walls.

Six days later, all the regiments arrived on time except the First Legion of the Imperial Guard, and the entire Sunjiazhou New City was immediately crowded with people.

Eight days later, the railway bridge over the Thanksgiving River was finally completed. The legions of the six vassal states and [-] Liaodong guards immediately rushed across the Thanksgiving River like a tide, and quickly repaired the railway to the west.

Mao Wenlong also led the Dongjiang army to catch up, and accompanied him for protection. Although this time seemed to be a job that was more idle than transporting grain and grass, he had no opinion at all. Instead, he was very excited, because this railway is the lifeline of millions of troops. Almost all the luggage is transported by it, and the enemy is likely to attack with all their strength, and the chances of making meritorious deeds will not be great at that time!

Why did Lu Xiangsheng only send the Dongjiang Army to protect such an important railway line? Could a second-class army be able to withstand the full attack of Tsarist Russia?
Of course this is not the case, but don’t forget that none of the railway builders are civilians, and the six legions of the vassal state are all armed, and the 80 guards in Liaodong are also trained reserve soldiers. It is an army of [-]. If Tsarist Russia wants to come to make a surprise attack, it is simply looking for death!
So far, except that the North Sea Fleet is not yet in place, everything else is almost ready.

On the same day, the North Sea Fleet sent a clipper to send news that the main force of the fleet had entered the Thanksgiving River Basin and could reach Sunjiazhou within two days.

Lu Xiangsheng received this news and immediately sent a telegram to Zhenzhenhewei, asking the emperor to come to Sunjiazhou to sacrifice the flag and swear an oath!
Zhu Cijiong has been a little impatient for a long time, because the climate in Siberia is too bad. It will start to snow in about mid-September, and it will be icy and snowy in October. It is impossible to march and fight at all. That is to say, this year, the total There are only two months to launch the attack, and the time is very tight.

After receiving the telegram from Lu Xiangsheng, Zhu Cijiong immediately led the First Army Corps of the Imperial Guards to Sunjiazhou by train.

At this time, the grain, grass and luggage were almost delivered, and it was not difficult to squeeze out 21 trains. In addition to Zhu Cijiong's special train, [-] trains formed a long queue, and it took less than a day to arrive at Sunjiazhou.

Early the next morning, Zhu Cijiong brought a group of generals to Sun Chengzong's cemetery early, stood respectfully in front of the statue of Sun Chengzong and bowed his head in silence, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites began to read the sacrificial oration.

In the entire Sunjiazhou, the 90 troops stood respectfully with their heads bowed, without making a single sound, only the singing of officials from the Ministry of Rituals was floating in the city.

When the officials of the Ministry of Rites read the life story of Taifu Sun Chengzong, many generals and even soldiers shed tears of grief. He has supervised Liaodong since the reign of Tianqi, and he did not know how many troops he had trained and commanded. It can be said that the army has Half of the soldiers have served under his command. After decades of fighting, how can I forget the love of robes and the grace of teaching.

Sun Chengzong was loyal to the emperor, patriotic, honest and honest all his life. Under his leadership, the Liaodong army was one of the best in terms of combat power and loyalty among the more than 200 million troops of the Ming Dynasty. His passing was indeed a heavy burden for the Ming Dynasty. blow.

When the officials of the Ministry of Rituals finished reading the sacrificial oration, Zhu Cijiong respectfully put a stick of incense on him regardless of his emperor's honor, and kowtowed three times firmly!
Sun Chengzong was the teacher of the late emperor, and he was also the grand tutor of the dynasty, so he could bear these three noises.

After kowtowing, Zhu Cijiong stood up straight away, and shouted in a mournful voice: "It's Su Su."

After roaring, he directly pulled out the silk around his waist, and tied it tightly to his right arm with his left hand and teeth.

Sun Jiazhou's 90 soldiers also took out the onyx at the same time, and quickly tied it to the right arm.

For a time, the black and white clothes were uniform and magnificent.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cijiong raised his right arm, pointed straight to the west, and roared with luck: "Let's go, avenge the Taifu!"

"Revenge, revenge, revenge." The entire Sunjiazhou immediately resounded like a roar like a tsunami. Amidst the roar, soldiers of the Ming army crossed the Thanksgiving River one after another and rushed westward. The largest expedition in the history of the Ming Dynasty began. up.

(End of this chapter)