sbdcsierra Chapter 479 Triumph
Chapter 479 Triumph
The army marched in an orderly fashion, their flags flying! It wasn't long before they were arrayed outside the city!
The neat shouts resounded through the sky!
The soldiers returned to the capital exhausted. Although they looked very tired, the joy of victory could not be concealed on their faces!
Jiang Yueyang and General Zhenguo rode up to meet them, and Lu Yunting and General Zhang Xiao also rode towards them.
General Zhenguo glanced at everyone and said loudly, "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Welcome home!"
"Fortunately, we have fulfilled our mission!" Lu Yunting and General Zhang responded in unison with their fists clasped, and the soldiers behind them followed suit and shouted.
"His Majesty has already issued an order to reward the three armies. Generals, please bring your men with you to the palace to attend the celebration banquet."
General Feng and some soldiers stayed in East Turkestan to deal with post-war matters and have not returned yet.
Lu Yunting nodded, and then sent someone to arrange for the army to go to the garrison.
A victorious army usually would not enter the city, but would camp outside the city, awaiting the emperor's arrangements.
At this time, the army lined up outside the city to let the people of Daxia and the foreign envoys in the city know the strength of Daxia’s army!
Afterwards, the army headed to the garrison, and General Lu Yunting and General Zhang led a group of soldiers into the city.
Lu Yunting rode up to Jiang Yueyang and was about to speak when he saw Jiang Yueyang smiling and saying, "Ayue, welcome home."
Lu Yunting raised the corners of his mouth slightly, his eyes full of tenderness, and he whispered, "I'm back."
The two men walked slowly forward side by side, and the people around them cheered and applauded the victorious soldiers!
Soon, they arrived at Hanyuan Hall where the celebration banquet was held.
Emperor Yuan and the Empress sat on the throne, looking at the soldiers below with smiles on their faces.
"Comrades, I am deeply pleased that you have fought bravely and achieved victory in this expedition to Eastern Turkestan.
Today I have specially held a banquet here to celebrate your success!" The emperor's voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the hall.
Lu Yunting and General Zhang Xiao led all the soldiers to stand up and express their gratitude, and said that defending the country was their responsibility.
Emperor Yuan nodded with satisfaction, then gave away fine wine and delicious food and raised his glass to toast the soldiers!
At the same time, the soldiers at the military base also enjoyed delicious food and fine wine!
They ate meat and drank wine with big mouthfuls, and the scene was very lively!
In a blink of an eye, night fell and the celebration banquet came to an end.
After Emperor Yuan called away Lu Yunting, General Zhang and others, the others left the palace one after another.
In Emperor Yuan’s Taiji Palace.
Without waiting for Emperor Yuan to speak, General Zhang knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and pleaded guilty, "Your Majesty, I am guilty. Please punish me!"
The Yuan Emperor, who was about to reward them based on their merits, narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard General Zhang's words. "Hmm? What crime have you committed?"
General Zhang lowered his head and replied, "Earlier, Qiu Jian rebelled. Your Majesty has issued a disciplinary order against the entire Cangwu Army, but I have not yet carried it out. I have been derelict in my duty, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
Emperor Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he continued to ask, "Why not execute it?"
"Because I wanted the Cangwu Army to truly believe in me, I made a bet with them... In the end, I was lucky enough to succeed. Today's Cangwu Army is no longer the Lu Family Army of the past!"
After listening to General Zhang's explanation, Emperor Yuan's gaze slowly shifted to Lu Yunting.
Seeing this, Lu Yunting bowed and said, "General Zhang's words are true! During this battle against the Eastern Turks, General Zhang and I had a disagreement on tactics. The Cangwu Army led by General Zhang collectively supported General Zhang's decision. General Feng can testify to this."
Hearing this, General Zhang felt extremely ashamed. He had made a wrong decision, but fortunately, it hadn't caused too many casualties in the end.
Emperor Yuan glanced at the Left Prime Minister, Minister Jiang, Minister of War, and others present and asked, "Did you hear what General Zhang just said, my dear ministers?"
Several people looked at each other, unable to guess what Emperor Yuan was thinking.
After a while, Minister Jiang stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, I just heard General Zhang say that the Cangwu Army is no longer the Lu Family Army of the past."
Emperor Yuan nodded. "I heard that, too. Did he say anything else?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. My hearing has been inconsistent lately, and I only heard that one sentence. May I ask, Your Majesty, if I missed anything?"
Emperor Yuan raised his lips slightly, "No, I only heard that one sentence just now."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present immediately knew what Emperor Yuan was thinking. General Zhang and Lu Yunting were very surprised.
The imperial edict has been issued and there is no possibility of taking it back.
However, the Cangwu Army has made great contributions in the war against the Eastern Turks. If they are punished again, it may discourage thousands of soldiers.
Therefore, Emperor Yuan could only pretend that he did not know about this matter. This not only maintained the face of the royal family, but also warmed the hearts of the soldiers.
The Left Prime Minister and the Minister of War had no objection to this.
All the Cangwu soldiers who followed Qiu Jian in the rebellion had been executed, and the Cangwu soldiers stationed on the border were innocent because they were implicated.
Moreover, if the Cangwu Army is really no longer the Lu Family Army of the past, then there is no need for punishment.
Seeing that none of them raised any objections, Emperor Yuan slowly looked at General Zhang, who was still kneeling on the ground, and asked with a smile, "Why are you kneeling on the ground, my dear?"
"Your humble servant..." General Zhang felt unbelievable and did not stand up for a moment.
General Zhenguo, who was standing by, saw this and reminded him, "Why don't you get up yet?"
General Zhenguo's words brought him back to his senses like a war drum, and General Zhang hurriedly thanked him and stood up.
Emperor Yuan looked at Lu Yunting and General Zhang and asked calmly, "You two have made invaluable contributions to this battle. Tell me, what reward do you desire?"
General Zhang was the first to speak: "Your Majesty has already shown great favor by not pursuing me for my dereliction of duty. I dare not ask for more."
Emperor Yuan frowned, it seemed that the child was not very smart.
General Zhenguo covered his face. How could he have given birth to such a stupid son? His Majesty had already pretended not to know, but he still brought it up!
Others also shook their heads, thinking that General Zhang should stay in the court to hone his skills for a few more years!
With the guidance of those people in the Censorate, I will definitely become more tactful.
Seeing Emperor Yuan frown, General Zhang realized he had said something foolish and said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, I will be stationed at the frontier for many years to come. Please allow me to return to Beijing to visit my family every year."
"Okay." Emperor Yuan agreed without any hesitation.
Then, Emperor Yuan looked at Lu Yunting, "What about you?"
Lu Yunting knelt on one knee and said firmly: "The Cangwu Army has been stationed at the border for many years. Your Majesty, please let the various armies take turns to garrison the border and implement a rotation system!"
Emperor Yuan stared at Lu Yunting with half-closed eyes and pondered for a while, and finally slowly uttered the word "accurate".
When Lu Yunting heard this, he immediately expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"
Everyone present smiled at the same time, as the Cangwu Army finally came to an end after suffering so much hardship.
His Majesty finally gradually let go of his fear of the Cangwu Army.
On the other side, Jiang Yueyang limped out of the palace gate and stood next to the imperial guards waiting for Lu Yunting to come out.