At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

With the return of Xia Yun's troops, the first phase of this war officially ended.

Needless to say, the results of the battle were great, Xia Yun's 160,000 troops won a great victory.

In order to boost morale, the empress personally issued an order, asking the chief military clerk Xu Wan'er to count the results of the battle and report them to the court.

Reward the three armies in the name of the court!

However, although the army won the first battle successfully, Xia Yun was not idle.

At the same time, the generals under Xia Yun were not carried away by the short-term victory.

At midnight.

The lights in the central army tent were still bright.

"At present, General Jiang Wenzhong has led 60,000 troops to complete the encirclement of Chunyun City in the southeast and two directions, and is waiting for further instructions from the Marshal."

"According to the time calculation, the Hangzhou Navy led by Lord Xiao Haiyang will arrive at the southeastern coastal area of ​​Zhejiang tomorrow afternoon."

"..."

Led by Xia Yun, including Xiao Yan, Yang Wenzhao, Qin Tianye and other generals, all were present.

During this period, various calm analyses were heard continuously.

"We received a battle report from Zhao Gongming half an hour ago. The 600,000-strong army led by Zhao Gongming has successfully captured Diaoyucheng and annihilated more than 50,000 Japanese pirates. The army is also moving towards Chunyuncheng."

Xiao Yan also told the latest news he had received.

After a month of planning and preparation, this final battle went much more smoothly than they had expected.

"How long will it take for the army led by Zhao Gongming to reach Chunyun City?"

Xia Yun asked suddenly.

"From the map, there are six more cities on the road from Diaoyucheng to Chunjuncheng. However, the Japanese pirates have begun to withdraw their forces. It is estimated that Zhao Gongming's army will reach Chunjuncheng in five days at most."

Xiao Yan responded by pointing at the map.

"Xia Yun, according to the spies' report, there are at least 150,000 Japanese pirates in Chunyun City, and they are all well-equipped. It would be best for our army to wait until we meet up with Zhao Gongming before launching an attack on Chunyun City."

Yang Wenzhao, who had remained silent all along, also expressed his opinion at this time.

In fact, this was the first time that Yang Wenzhao expressed his opinion in such a public occasion since the final battle began.

Before this, he had been silently paying attention to Xia Yun's ability to deploy troops. After Xia Yun recaptured five cities including Badong with little casualties, he was convinced of Xia Yun's ability.

"The old marshal is right. The timing for the decisive battle and the general offensive must wait until our army joins up with Zhao Citizen's army before we can launch it."

"But the Japanese pirates are now in a frenzy and may do something unexpected at any time. Therefore, our army must put great pressure on them to force them to stay in the city."

Xia Yun first affirmed Yang Wenzhao's idea, and then turned his gaze to Qin Tianye and others.

"Pass on my order. Tomorrow morning, Qin Tianye will lead 50,000 troops to the north and directly attack the defense line of Chunyun City. After arriving, immediately launch an attack on the Japanese pirates guarding Chunyun City."

"At the same time, dispatch 5,000 elite soldiers from our army to join the battle. But remember one thing, in this battle, you are only allowed to make feint attacks and not to attack by force."

Xia Yun opened his mouth and gave the order.

"I will obey your orders!"

Qin Tianye immediately responded and accepted the order, his resolute attitude was fully demonstrated at this moment.

……

The next morning.

Early in the morning, Qin Tianye led more than 50,000 vanguard troops to set off.

Xia Yun led 100,000 main forces and moved forward step by step in the direction of Chunyun City.

The reason why Xia Yun is so cautious.

Naturally, it is the safety of the empress.

The Empress's personal presence at the head of the army did indeed greatly boost the morale of the soldiers on the front lines.

This can also be easily seen from the course of the first phase of the campaign.

But he couldn't really ignore the safety of the empress.

A journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. The more critical the moment, the more you cannot relax.

Because of Xia Yun's military achievements, he was allowed by the empress to appear on the dragon sedan chair as an exception.

"Xia Yun, after this war is over, will you come back to the capital with me?"

While on the way, the empress suddenly asked.

At this moment, there were only the empress and Xia Yun on the dragon sedan, and the rest of the maids and followers all followed on horseback.

Xia Yun was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect the empress would ask such a question.

"Although the battle with the Japanese pirates is about to end, the famine in the entire Jiangnan region has not yet been truly eradicated. I'm afraid I can't go."

Xia Yun shook his head.

The idea of ​​becoming an official in the capital had no appeal to him at all.

After all, the various forces in the capital are extremely complicated. Although he is not afraid of others' calculations, he is unwilling to endure those people buzzing in his ears like mosquitoes.

The emperor is far away in Jiangnan region.

With the power he now holds, it is no exaggeration to say that he is the local emperor of the Jiangnan region.

"Indeed, the famine problem in Jiangnan region still needs to be solved by you."

A hint of desolation flashed across the empress's eyes.

She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a little disappointed, as if she was really hoping that Xia Yun could be an official in the capital.

"By the way, Your Majesty, how much do you know about the Japanese island?"

Xia Yun changed the subject and asked back.

"Toyo Island?"

The empress frowned slightly, not understanding what Xia Yun meant.

"The hundreds of thousands of Japanese pirates on the Zhejiang battlefield all came from Dongying Island, which is not far from our Daliang territory. If your majesty is willing, after this war, I am willing to lead the fleet to quell the threat from Dongying Island in one fell swoop!"

There was a sense of heroism in Xia Yun's words.

To cure a disease, one must address its root cause, and the same is true for the war against the Japanese pirates.

Even if they were to wipe out all the hundreds of thousands of Japanese pirates this time, they would probably not be able to completely crush the evil ambitions of those Japanese pirates on the island of Japan.

Instead, it will make them hate the Liang Dynasty even more.

Xia Yun knew exactly what those Japanese pirates were thinking.

"You mean, to conquer the island of Dongying?"

The empress finally reacted at this moment, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

Since ancient times, wise kings have sought to expand territory and protect the local mountains and rivers, which has been the lifelong goal of countless kings.

Although she was an empress, she also had the same thought.

"Yes, if your majesty is interested, I am willing to be the vanguard."

Xia Yun nodded happily.

His relationship with the empress and even the court has now entered a very awkward state.

Maybe going out to sea is a good choice.

"I've made note of this matter. I'll give you an answer after the war is over."

The empress thought for a moment and responded.

……

In a blink of an eye, the army had been on the road for two days and two nights.

On this day, Xia Yun and his army finally arrived at the outskirts of Chunjun City.

Xia Yun chose to set up camp on a hillside about thirty miles away from Chunyun City.

This time they had no intention of concealing it at all. Their big fanfare was to tell the Japanese pirates that the army of Daliang had arrived!