Chương 579: Inspecting the Army

Liu Ce straightened his back, his voice even louder, as if he wanted to shout out all the humiliation of the past five hundred years:

"The Han Dynasty of today is not the same Han Dynasty that could be bullied by anyone! We have more food than we can eat, and our warehouses are piled high with grain..."

There are endless clothes to wear, and cotton fabric is so cheap it's practically free... There are the sharpest knives, capable of cutting through iron like mud... There are the most powerful cannons, capable of flattening a small hill with a single shot!

We have the bravest brothers, every single one of them is outstanding!

"This expedition is not for defense! Not for peace talks! Not for negotiations! Not to preach morality and righteousness to them!"

"We're going for revenge! To avenge our wrongs! To wipe out all those barbarians who owe us blood debts! Leave not a single one alive!"

"We will turn the northern grasslands into the pastures of the Han Dynasty! We will make the Xianbei and Xiongnu disappear from history! We will ensure that our descendants will never again suffer the bullying of barbarians! Never again have to pay protection money!"

"Brothers! Do you have faith?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

One hundred thousand soldiers roared in unison, raising their weapons, a forest of swords and spears, gleaming coldly.

The sound was like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting, like a tsunami crashing, shaking the very ground.

"Victory is certain! Victory is certain! Victory is certain!"

The shouts rose and fell, echoing through the sky. Even the sun seemed to be intimidated by this momentum, hiding behind the clouds, and the sky darkened a bit.

..................

After the oath-taking ceremony, Liu Ce stepped down from the reviewing stand, mounted his black horse again, and began inspecting the troops.

The 100, 000-strong army was arranged in a hundred neat square formations, motionless, like rows of black sculptures.

The soldiers stood ramrod straight, their eyes fixed straight ahead, not even blinking.

The armor reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight, its panels stretching out like a sea of steel.

Liu Ce rode his horse slowly past each of the square formations.

Although the black horse had grown fat, it still walked with a majestic gait, its hooves making a dull thud on the ground.

At each column, he would stop and loudly address the soldiers, "Good work, soldiers!"

"Serve the Empire!"

The soldiers responded in unison, their voices ringing out in perfect unison, deafeningly loud.

The voices were trained and rang out almost simultaneously, as if shouted by one person.

The slogan was decided by Liu Ce. He originally wanted to use "Serve the People," but thought that "Serve the Empire" was more in line with the times.

When we reached the seventh infantry formation, a small incident occurred.

The new recruit at the very front of the line was named Wang Dazhu. He was eighteen years old and this was his first time seeing the emperor.

He came from a small village in Jizhou, where his family used to be extremely poor...

He volunteered to join the army, saying he wanted to "repay His Majesty's kindness."

He was so nervous that his palms were sweaty, his legs were trembling, and his eyes were fixed on the tips of his shoes. He didn't even dare to look up.

He kept telling himself: Stay calm, stay calm, don't make any mistakes, don't embarrass the villagers.

Liu Ce happened to walk up to him and said with a smile, "Young man, head held high! Good spirits! Well done, soldiers!"

In a moment of madness, Wang Dazhu blurted out, "Your Majesty, you've worked hard!"

The soldiers around them couldn't hold it in any longer. Their shoulders trembled, and they wanted to laugh but dared not. Their faces turned a liverish color. A few of them couldn't hold it in any longer and made "pfft pfft" sounds.

Even Zhang Fei, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but chuckle and quickly covered his mouth, his eyes wide like copper bells.

Wang Dazhu was stunned after he finished speaking, his face turned bright red, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

He was filled with regret: "Oh no, oh no, oh no, I shouted the wrong slogan..."

Unexpectedly, Liu Ce burst into laughter, dismounted, and patted him on the shoulder:

"Good lad! You have good eyes! Much better than those blockheads! I'm really tired from reviewing memorials every day! Just because of what you said, I'm in a good mood today!"

As he spoke, he took out a piece of milk candy from his pocket. It was given to him by his youngest daughter, Liu Xian, yesterday. She insisted that he take it with him, saying, "Daddy won't be tired after eating the candy."

He stuffed the candy into Wang Erzhu's hand: "Here, this is your reward! Do a good job, and after the war, I'll give you credit and let you go home and get married in style! Your parents are waiting to hold their grandson!"

Wang Erzhu clutched the milk candy in his hand, tears welling up in his eyes.

He snapped to attention, puffed out his chest, and shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will fight with all my might and will never let Your Majesty down! I will not return to see you until the Xiongnu and Xianbei are defeated!"

"Well done!" Liu Ce smiled and nodded, then mounted his horse and continued his inspection.

Cheng Yaojin leaned over and shouted in his loud voice, "Kid! Do a good job! After we wipe out the Xianbei, I'll treat you to the strongest liquor and the biggest pork knuckle! I, Old Cheng, keep my word!"

"Thank you, General Cheng!" Wang Dazhu was so excited that he trembled all over. He carefully stuffed the milk candy into his arms as if he were stuffing in some kind of treasure.

When they reached the musketeer formation, the soldiers raised their breech-loading muskets in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, the butts of the muskets against their shoulders, the muzzles pointing upwards, as if they had been copied and pasted together.

Liu Ce nodded. These musketeers were his prized possessions, costing him countless sums of money.

Each musket is meticulously crafted, with a steel barrel, a walnut stock, and a serial number engraved on it, making it possible to trace who made each one.

When Cheng Yaojin reached the artillery formation, his eyes widened as he stared at the dark, new-style howitzers, his mouth practically watering.

These cannons are the latest products of the arsenal. The barrels are made of high-quality steel, and the cannon bodies are engraved with exquisite patterns. The dark muzzles exude an aura of death.

It can fire for three miles, and a single shot can flatten a small hill; its power is terrifying.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Cheng Yaojin approached, rubbing his hands together with a fawning expression, as if he had seen his own father.

"When the war comes, how about I, Old Cheng, fire a single shot? I guarantee it'll flatten the Xiongnu royal court! Not even ashes will be left!"

"Sure," Liu Ce said with a smile, "but you'd better be careful not to get thrown off. The recoil of a cannon is no joke."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty! I, Cheng Yaojin, am tough and resilient, I'm not afraid of any shocks!" Cheng Yaojin patted his chest confidently, the patting sounding like drumming.

"I can eat ten bowls of rice in one meal, I'm incredibly strong!"

After completing his inspection, Liu Ce returned to the reviewing stand.

He turned around to face the army of 100, 000, clenched his right fist, and placed it heavily on his left chest. This was the latest military salute of the Han army, representing loyalty and honor.

The movements were slow and solemn, like some kind of ancient ritual.

Behind him, Li Jing, Li Ji, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and others followed suit, clenching their right fists and placing them on their left chests, their expressions solemn and their gazes firm.

Upon seeing this, the 100, 000 soldiers immediately raised their heads and chests, held up their weapons, and looked intently at the emperor on the reviewing stand, their eyes filled with admiration and fervor.

Those eyes were like a burning sea of fire.