——On December 12, the departure ceremony of the Dingxiangdao army was held outside the Mingde Gate.

Emperor Li Zhi personally presided over the grand departure ceremony, which was attended by Empress Wu Zetian and Prince Li Xian, as well as most of the important ministers of the court and the generals who set out from Chang'an.

In this era when etiquette is very important, such a large-scale military operation and such a large-scale expedition ceremony cannot be simple.

Tens of thousands of soldiers lined up neatly in the wide square outside the Mingde Gate, and as far as the eye could see, countless battle flags were flying, people and horses were pressed by black pressure everywhere, and the earth-shattering gongs and drums were ringing in their ears.

The army of 300,000 people went out on an unprecedented scale, judging from the scale of the number of soldiers on the expedition, Datang has not used hundreds of thousands of horses for such a long time, and it is still the season when the year is approaching. This also shows from another aspect, how much importance the imperial court attached to this war, and how much the ruling emperor and empress hoped to put down this rebellion as soon as possible.

The choice of this time to go on the expedition is the result of the deliberations of many ministers and the commander Pei Xingjian, and it is also the tactics that Pei Xingjian adheres to, according to Pei Xingjian, one or two months after starting from Chang'an, the weather is still cold, and the Turks must not have imagined that our army would go out at this time, and a full-scale war against the Turkic rebels can be taken by surprise. Also, at this time, the Turks camped for wintering and had not yet ended, and the tribes were still in a state of agglomeration, and it was easy to gather and relocate the enemy on a large scale.

When Pei Xingjian was facing the saint, he proposed in the battle plan submitted that the army should arrive in Anbei before the beginning of spring, and before the Turks were transferred, they would gather and relocate most of the Turks to end the war as soon as possible, so as to avoid chaos in the Anxi area, and the Tubo people who had found out the news would take advantage of the situation to attack our border.

Emperor Li Zhi and Empress Wu Zetian did not think too much about it, so they agreed to Pei Xingjian's proposal, ordered the army to assemble as soon as possible, and set off in the shortest possible time, and at the same time ordered the conscripted border troops to be on standby, and when Pei Xingjian's order was delivered, they would march to the destination as soon as possible.

The expedition of 300,000 people, each number of men and horses to attack the Turks according to Pei Xingjian's orders, is a very difficult task, must be carefully arranged, and take into account many unfavorable, mainly weather factors, the most afraid is to encounter a cold snap, as well as the blizzard brought by the cold snap, the weather disaster is easy to bring disaster to the marching army. In addition to the weather factors, of course, there is also the logistics of transportation. The war in the era of cold weapons is somewhat very different from the war in the era of hot weapons in later generations, not to mention that the current mode of transportation is backward, there is no mechanized transportation, and it can only be transported by people and horses.

The expedition of 300,000 horses and horses, such a large-scale expedition ceremony is very grand, the degree is only slightly worse than the emperor's personal expedition, and it also attracts hundreds of thousands of Chang'an people to watch.

In the cold wind, the families of the generals who went out also gathered outside the Mingde Gate to see off their relatives who were about to go on an expedition.

Completely different from the energetic appearance of the generals who went out, the family members who saw them off were all sad faces, and some of the wives and concubines of the generals who went out on the expedition, as well as their children, were constantly weeping there.

War always kills people, no one knows, this expedition, the relatives who are still fleeing alive in front of them, can come back safely, at this time, it is very likely that it will be the last face of this life.

"Poor and uncertain riverside bones, like a person in a deep dream!" Looking at the family members of the generals who went out to fight with more tears than anyone there, Liu Yi couldn't help but think of these two lines of poetry, which was really not a taste.

Liu Yi turned his head to look at the relatives in his house who came to see him off, and they all had similar expressions, his mother was crying bitterly there, the two elder brothers Liu Mai and Liu Yuan were comforting on the side, the two sisters-in-law who were pulling the children were also crying with them, and Liu Yanjing, the uncle who had not seen him before, also brought a few cousins to see him off.

Liu Yi went to his father's grave two days before the expedition to pay respects, and told his father who was sleeping underground the news that he was going to go to Anbei with Pei Xingjian, and then returned to the mansion to say goodbye to his mother and two brothers. If Liu Yi has any three longs and two shorts, these guards will not come back alive.

The guards, who rarely saw such a majestic appearance of the master mother, also repeatedly promised that as long as they still had a breath, they would definitely protect the safety of the third young master.

Liu Yi originally hoped that Liu Mai and Liu Yuan's two elder brothers could persuade their mother not to come to see him off, but who knew that they still failed to persuade their mother, and now these backbones in the house have come to see them off.

Liu Yi didn't want to see such a sad farewell scene, but his family came to see him off, and he didn't feel warm in his heart. Liu Yi, who was on a horse, also waved his hand to the place where his family was standing, which could be regarded as a greeting, the emperor's imperial car had not yet come, and Liu Yi did not dare to go up to say hello.

The sound of drums came from far and near, and countless flags appeared in the field of vision, the hour was coming, the emperor's imperial car also arrived on time, and the ministers who participated in the ceremony also followed, and Pei Xingjian, the commander of the army, led the generals to meet him.

At the end of the day, the ceremony officially began.

The altar outside the Mingde Gate has already been arranged, wrapped around a green rope, with a curtain tent, and a tablet of the military god and the military flag. Emperor Li Zhi and Emperor Wu Zetian descended from the imperial car until they reached the altar.

Pei Xingjian, who was dressed in military uniform, led the senior generals who set off from Chang'an, standing behind Emperor Li Zhi and Empress Wu Zetian, and these generals were also fully armed and participated in the sacrifice together.

The solemn and solemn sacrifice, after sacrificing to the sky, the earth, and the temple, then the military god and the military flag, the ether prison (all cattle, sheep, pigs) sacrifice, the blood of the animal painted with the military flag, the war drum, and then the sacrifice, including the direction of the march and the god of the mountains and rivers, means that from now on, you can go forward.

After these ceremonies, Pei Xingjian led the generals to stand in line, with their backs to the large army participating in the ceremony, facing the emperor, empress and hundreds of officials, as well as the people watching, and took an oath, "... The Turkic barbarians refused, rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, attacked my city, killed my people, plundered my property, so bestial, the gods were angry, when I waved my righteous army, crusaded against the wicked, smashed its lair, extinguished the fierce and violent, to tell the world, return to the land of Anbei to peace... Datang Wansheng!"

"Datang Wansheng! Datang Wansheng! A deafening sound resounded throughout the land.

After the cheers subsided, Emperor Li Zhiyu prepared to award Pei Xingjian, which represented the right to control the army, in front of all the generals and colonels.

Li Zhi, who didn't look very good because of his physical illness, looked at Pei Xingjian and the generals behind him, and a smile appeared on his face, "Chief Pei, I hope that this time, you can lead the army to completely quell the rebellion of the Turks and ensure the peace of my northern Tang Dynasty!"

Pei Xingjian knelt down on one knee, took the festival and Yue from the emperor's hand, and replied loudly: "Please rest assured that His Majesty the Emperor and the Queen of Heaven will not disgrace the trust of His Majesty and the Queen, bravely kill the enemy, and soon put down the rebellion of the Turks and stabilize the northern frontier of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Okay, I and Niangniang are waiting for your good news in Chang'an!" Li Zhi was also very excited.

After Pei Xingjian turned around and returned to the throne after Li Zhi turned around, he took a step back, held the festival and Yue high above his head, and roared again at the tens of thousands of soldiers lined up neatly: "Datang Wansheng!"

The sergeants in the front row waved their weapons and shouted, and then the sergeants in the back also chanted, the roar shook the sky, and the more passionate drum music, as well as the cheers of the people, which made people feel deafening, those raised arms and waved weapons were densely packed into a forest.

The roar of tens of thousands of soldiers ignited everyone's passion, and the people who watched also raised their arms and shouted "Datang Wansheng!"

Boosting morale and arousing the enthusiasm of the people is also an important purpose of the ceremony.

After the oath-taking ceremony, the entire expedition ceremony was also coming to an end, Pei Xingjian turned around and walked down the altar, facing the soldiers lined up neatly, and shouted loudly, "Pass on my military order, and the whole army will be marched!"

With Pei Xingjian's order, all the generals got on their horses and rushed back to their respective armies, ready to set off.

Liu Yi got on the horse and was about to ride the horse back, when a woman's voice came from behind him: "General Liu, Liu Yi, Yi An, etc..."

Liu Yi turned around on the horse and saw Princess Taiping in gorgeous clothes with a few maids and a group of guards running over, and Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er also followed along.

Liu Yi sighed in his heart, these two women were really disobedient and came to see him off.

When Liu Yi was summoned by the emperor and the empress with other generals in the imperial court, he met Shangguan Wan'er and asked Shangguan Wan'er not to see him off when he went on the expedition, so as not to be sad, but Shangguan Wan'er refused to live or die, and must come to see him off, and said that she was the personal female official of the Queen of Heaven, and the Queen of Heaven was coming, and it was impossible for her not to come, and Liu Yi had to give up.

After the meeting between the emperor and the queen was over, and the generals were ordered to go, Liu Yi had just left the Zichen Palace when he was stopped by Princess Taiping.

Princess Taiping, who behaved similarly to Shangguan Wan'er, was frustrated that she failed to stop Liu Yi from going on the expedition this time, but also repeatedly told Liu Yi to pay attention to protecting herself and not to have accidents. Princess Taiping also said that when she went on the expedition, she said that she would come to see Liu Yi off.

Just now Liu Yi saw these two women following Li Zhi and Wu Zetian during the ceremony, he thought that this was their way of seeing them off, but he didn't expect the two of them to have such a private break, which made people see, and they were really going to be criticized.

Also, if he was seen by his family, he will inevitably be interrogated in the future.

Seeing Princess Taiping's group approaching, Liu Yi didn't dare to be rude, so he had to dismount and greet him.

"Yi'an! You must come back safely!" Princess Taiping had tears rolling in her eyes, and said with a little choked up.

Liu Yi saw that Shangguan Wan'er, who was standing next to Princess Taiping, also had red eyes, but she was squeezing a smile there.

"Thank you princess for your concern, and thank you Wan'er for coming to see you off!" Liu Yi had a smile on his face and looked at the two girls, "I will definitely return safely!"

"Yi'an, you must pay attention, don't forget what I told you!" Shangguan Wan'er showed an ugly smile at Liu Yi, and the tears in her eyes couldn't stop flowing.

Liu Yi stepped back and saluted the two girls respectfully again, "Thank you princess and Wan'er for your concern, I will go at the end!"

Princess Taiping took a step forward and walked to Liu Yi's side, "Yi'an, when you return triumphantly, Wan'er and I will definitely go out of the city to meet you..."

After the Tibetan mission was humiliated, it was temporarily detained in Chang'an, and the edict issued by the imperial court sternly rejected Princess Wencheng's marriage proposal, Princess Taiping also knew that Liu Yi was said to be in front of her father and mother's advice, as well as in the martial arts and polo matches to give the Tubo people a beating, it was Liu Yi's measures that made the wavering father and mother refuse to be reconciled, and Princess Taiping, who almost became the object of harmony, was completely relieved, and was more grateful to Liu Yi under her admiration, and also wanted to talk to Liu Yi several times, Tell the thoughts in her heart further, but Liu Yi is not so easy to find during this time, and Princess Taiping has not found Liu Yi several times.

After knowing that Liu Yi was going to be the vanguard of the army by Pei Xingjian, Princess Taiping was reluctant to run to her mother and beg her mother not to let Liu Yi go on the expedition, but this time Wu Zetian sternly rejected Princess Taiping's request.

Princess Taiping did not give up, and ran to tell her father Li Zhi that Li Zhi did not agree to Princess Taiping's request this time and rejected her.

Although this result was expected by Princess Taiping, it also made her sad.

Princess Taiping knew that her father and mother both hoped that Liu Yi would make military achievements, and she was also ready to let Liu Yi go on the expedition, plus Pei Xingjian asked Liu Yi to go with him on the expedition, and her father also agreed, there is basically no room for change in this kind of thing, Princess Taiping also knows that if she forces her father and mother to change their minds, then Liu Yi's reputation will also plummet, which makes people look down on her, she has to accept this fact, and she also went to talk to Shangguan Wan'er with the same psychology in private, complaining about Liu Yi and worrying about him at the same time.

Seeing off today, Princess Taiping originally thought of a lot of things to say, but she couldn't say anything in the face of Liu Yi, and the same was true of Shangguan Wan'er on the side, looking at Liu Yi just crying.

Liu Yi was afraid of being laughed at, and he didn't want such a sad scene, so he still saluted Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er with a smile: "Princess, Wan'er, you are waiting for my good news in Chang'an, the last general will definitely make military achievements!" Liu Yi said that he didn't wait for the two girls to say anything, flew on the horse, and bowed again, "The last will go..."

(To be continued)