Chương 581: The Expedition

Every word was spoken with resounding force.

After a brief silence came even more frantic shouts.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Han Dynasty!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!"

One hundred thousand soldiers shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

The sound was so loud it seemed to shake the heavens.

Many soldiers shed tears of emotion.

Many of them came from impoverished backgrounds, and their ancestors had been bullied by barbarians for generations, with countless people dying under the swords of the Hu people.

After all these years, finally an emperor has dared to say those words!

Finally, an emperor emerged who stopped swallowing his anger!

From then on, the Han people no longer had to swallow their anger!

No more sending princesses to marry far away!

We will never have to bow down to barbarians again!

...

Liu Ce raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

The shouts gradually subsided, but the soldiers' chests were still heaving violently, and their eyes were still shining.

Liu Ce drew his sword from his waist, pointed it north, and shouted:

"Let's march!"

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

One hundred thousand soldiers shouted in unison, stood up, tidied their equipment, and began to march in formation.

The vast army, like a black dragon, slowly moved northward.

The column stretched as far as the eye could see; the front had already reached ten miles away, while the rear hadn't even left the camp gate yet.

The sounds of horses' hooves, footsteps, and wheels blended together to form a majestic battle song.

The cooks chased after the troops, stuffing two boiled eggs and a packet of pickled vegetables into each soldier's hand, shouting, "Brothers! Eat up! After the battle, we'll make you braised pork! Plenty!"

The soldiers waved and shouted back, "Wait for us! We will definitely return victorious!"

The sound gradually faded into the distance, becoming increasingly indistinct, but the heroic spirit only grew stronger.

The army marched further and further away, the long black dragon gradually disappearing at the northern horizon, even the thunderous sound of hooves and shouts becoming indistinct.

Finally, only a faint wisp of smoke remained.

The civil and military officials on the reviewing stand gradually dispersed.

Li Jing and Li Ji followed the army away, while Xun Yu, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui were busy going back to handle government affairs. Lu Bing led the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate potential safety hazards along the way. The once bustling reviewing stand was now empty except for Liu Ce and a few close eunuchs.

Liu Ce was still standing at the very edge of the platform, his hand resting on the sunshade, his neck stretched out, staring intently in the direction where the army had disappeared, not even noticing that his cloak was being blown around by the wind.

He has been standing in this position for almost half an hour.

Li Dequan walked over with a cup of hot tea and carefully handed it to him:

"Your Majesty, it's windy. Have some hot tea to warm yourself up. The tea is freshly brewed with ginger slices to ward off the cold. We should head back to the palace now; we have memorials to review this afternoon, and dinner with the Crown Prince and princesses tonight."

"Hmm." Liu Ce responded absentmindedly, his eyes still glued to the tea in his hand, which had gone cold without him taking a sip.

He was itching with desire, like a cat scratching at his heart, wishing he could immediately mount his horse and chase after the army.

Who knows?!

He has been in this world for sixteen years, and he spent the first seven years on horseback!

He fought countless battles and killed countless enemies during his seven years of military service; he himself couldn't even remember how many.

Back when they fought against the Yellow Turbans, Wuhuan, Xianbei, Dong Zhuo, and the feudal lords, wasn't he always the first to charge forward?

He had wielded Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Zhang Fei's Eighteen-Foot Serpent Spear. Back in the grasslands, he led over three thousand cavalrymen and dared to charge into the Xianbei royal camp, making seven charges in and out – that was quite a feat!

And now? He's become emperor, but a caged bird.

I'm surrounded by people every day; a large group of people follow me whenever I go out, it feels like I'm in prison.

In the past, when we fought, we lived in tents, using the sky as our blanket and the ground as our bed...

It was tough, but it was exhilarating!

When they were chopping people up, every strike drew blood, and it was incredibly satisfying!

That exhilarating feeling can never be experienced in the palace.

Now, things are really messed up. They sit in the palace all day, reviewing endless memorials piled higher than a person... and attending meetings from morning till night...

There are more than a dozen people serving them when they eat, and they don't even have to get their own chopsticks.

Just now, I watched Cheng Yaojin brandishing his Xuanhua axe, roaring as he charged ahead, the axe gleaming in the sunlight...

Watching Guan Yu ride his horse, his flowing beard and the gleaming Green Dragon Crescent Blade...

Looking at Zhang Fei, wielding his eighteen-foot spear, his broad shoulders and powerful build making him look imposing...

Looking at Zhao Yun, with his silver spear and white horse, so dashing and heroic, he seemed to have stepped out of a painting...

Liu Ce clenched his fists tightly...

He wants to go too!

He also wanted to ride the black horse and lead the cavalry into battle!

Although the black horse was a bit fat, it was still very fast when it ran.

He also wanted to fire a cannon himself and blow the Xianbei royal court to the sky!

Experience the feeling of the earth shaking.

He also wanted to personally cut off the head of the Xianbei leader to avenge that blood feud!

He used his blood to commemorate the fallen heroes of the Han Dynasty.

But he can't.

Liu Ce sighed, looked away, and leaned against the railing with a lifeless expression, looking like a deflated balloon.

"Your Majesty, do you also want to go to war with the army?" Li Dequan asked cautiously, his eyes secretly observing Liu Ce's expression.

"Nonsense!" Liu Ce immediately straightened his back, adopting the majesty of an emperor, raising his chin high, and said in a serious tone,

"I am the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty. My duty is to sit in the central government and command the world. Why would I want to engage in war and killing?"

"I am only worried about the safety of the army, the weather in the north, whether the supplies can be delivered in time, and whether the soldiers will suffer from acclimatization problems..."

They speak eloquently, but in their hearts they're ranting and raving: Bullshit! I just want to go! My hands are itching, itching like crazy! My black horse is so fat it can't run anymore, if I don't let it run, it'll really turn into a pig! My Heavenly Dragon City-Breaking Halberd is rusting! If we don't fight soon, my martial arts will be ruined!

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar.

Cheng Yaojin rode back on his horse, shouting as he went, cracking his whip loudly.

Waving a wine gourd in his hand, red silk fluttering in the wind, he shouted from afar, "Your Majesty! I forgot to bring wine! Save some of your good wine for me! After I destroy the Xianbei, I'll come back and drink with you until we're both drunk! Don't drink it all!"

"Understood!" Liu Ce waved his hand and shouted, "Drink less! Don't delay the battle! If we lose, I'll punish you by making you clean the latrines for three months! You'll be in charge of all the latrines in the entire palace!"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty! I will definitely bring back the heads of the Xianbei tribal leaders for you to use as chamber pots! And rim them with gold!" Cheng Yaojin laughed heartily, turned his horse around, and galloped off to catch up with the army again, his hooves kicking up a trail of dust.

Watching Cheng Yaojin's departing figure, Liu Ce felt even more frustrated.

Tell me, we're both from military backgrounds, but he can kill people on the battlefield while I can only review memorials in the palace. How can there be such a big difference?

Others drink farewell wine, but I drink calming tea.