Chapter 546 - 298: Eastern Expedition to Suppress the Wokou, Come Back Alive!
Chapter 546: Chapter 298: Eastern Expedition to Suppress the Wokou, Come Back Alive!
Zhao Qiao’Er and Song Meiqin, with the help of a crowd of wet nurses and servants, often gathered to play with their children.
Lu Yuan cultivated in a side room, and Su Liyan would occasionally practice as well.
Gu Ziye was the most carefree of them all. She loved to travel, and with a retinue of Mansion Guards accompanying her, she remained safe and sound.
Several months of this peaceful life passed in a flash.
One day, a flurry of urgent hoofbeats shattered the tranquility of Taiping City.
A general clad in Battle Armor rode a tall warhorse, leading a troop of elite cavalry at breakneck speed toward the Lu Mansion in Taiping City.
The general swung himself off his horse and strode quickly up the steps to the Lu Mansion.
The few Gatekeepers before the Lu Mansion’s entrance naturally recognized the man. It was their master’s good friend, Gu Gaoxu, the second son of King Yan.
A Gatekeeper bowed to Gu Gaoxu. "Please wait a moment, Lord Gu. I’ll go announce you!"
Gu Gaoxu paid him no mind, striding right through the Mansion Gate and barging straight inside.
The cavalrymen Gu Gaoxu had brought with him dismounted, taking up positions on either side of the Mansion Gate.
The Gatekeepers tried to block his path but were stopped by several of the soldiers.
Gu Gaoxu’s unceremonious entrance into the Lu Mansion caused quite a commotion.
Mansion Guards poured out from all over the courtyard. When they got a clear look and saw it was Gu Gaoxu, most of them froze, unsure of how to react.
The captain of the First Squad of Mansion Guards, Fifth Brother Liu, was the first to speak up. "Lord Gu, please halt!"
Hearing the commotion, Lu Yuan emerged from his side room and waved a hand at Fifth Brother Liu, gesturing for him to stand down.
Lu Yuan looked at the spirited Gu Gaoxu and chuckled. "It’s been months, and look how imposing you’ve become! Gao Xu, what has you in such a rush?"
Gu Gaoxu’s face was alight with excitement. He boomed, "Brother Lu, it’s wonderful news! The Empire’s Navy has been locked in fierce battle with the Wokou from Wa Country for months, and they’ve finally won a major victory!"
Lu Yuan ushered Gu Gaoxu into the front hall, feeling a little confused. ’Why is this such good news for him?’
’What does the Empire’s Navy winning a great victory have to do with Gu Gaoxu?’
Gu Gaoxu sat down in the front hall, took a sip of hot tea, and drew a deep breath. "For months, our Navy’s officers and men have been fighting valiantly. They used the winds and currents to their advantage, launching surprise attacks against the Wokou."
"In the end, they sank countless enemy ships and captured a great many of their soldiers, greatly bolstering our Empire’s military prestige!"
Just as Emperor Gu Yuanzhang had suspected, the Wokou that Marquis Yongchang Lan Yu had annihilated with the Three Guards of the Mansion were nothing but bait set by the local lords.
This sealed the case against Marquis Yongchang Lan Yu, proving his crime of colluding with the enemy.
If reincarnation is real, Lan Yu would have been an embryo by now.
The execution of Marquis Yongchang Lan Yu by the Emperor sent shockwaves through the Empire for months, with many Military Generals getting implicated in the affair.
Panic and unease spread throughout the entire Empire.
As the saying goes, one must secure the interior before dealing with external threats. Emperor Gu Yuanzhang would not tolerate the existence of such parasites within the Empire.
Thanks to Lu Yuan’s personal guarantee, the generals of all ranks in the Left and Right Guards of the Mansion were able to save their own lives and the lives of their families.
Of course, this wasn’t because Lu Yuan had so much sway with the Emperor. Rather, the Emperor seized the opportunity to build up Lu Yuan’s authority within the Left and Right Guards of the Mansion.
This was to ensure Lu Yuan could more smoothly take command of the troops of the Left and Right Guards of the Mansion from Marquis Yongchang Lan Yu.
Gu Gaoxu hadn’t come all this way just to tell Lu Yuan the news. After all, this was something a simple message could have handled. Why make the trip in person?
Gu Gaoxu got to his feet, did a little spin in front of Lu Yuan, and asked, "Brother Lu, see anything different about me today?"
Lu Yuan only needed a single glance at Gu Gaoxu’s ruddy complexion to see what was up.
Lu Yuan said, "You rascal. You’ve recovered your Martial Arts!"
Gu Gaoxu chuckled. "Oh, it’s much more than that."
"After I returned to Yandu, I took out the ’True Martial’ manual you gave me, Brother Lu, and started my training from scratch. I went back over everything I’d missed in my previous training."
As he spoke, Gu Gaoxu demonstrated some of his techniques. His movements were indeed far more precise and swift than before.
Gu Gaoxu suddenly threw a punch. A gust of force from his fist slammed into a nearby chair, instantly blasting it to smithereens.
Being able to project Sword Qi while wielding a weapon already made one an elite in the army.
But to be able to project a blast of force with just a bare fist, without relying on any special Technique... he was likely the first person in history to do so.
Lu Yuan clapped his hands in praise. "Excellent! If you keep training like this, you might just achieve sanctification of the flesh!"
"Sanctification of the flesh?" Gu Gaoxu repeated. He had never heard the term before.
Lu Yuan cleared his throat and explained, "It means tempering your physical body through training until it reaches an unbelievably powerful state."
Gu Gaoxu rotated his wrist, his Battle Armor creaking with the movement. "Naturally!" he said with supreme confidence. "So just how powerful do you have to be to be considered sanctified in the flesh?"
Lu Yuan thought for a moment. "Hmm... how about being immune to fire? Does that count?"
Lu Yuan’s mind immediately went to the historical Zhu Gaoxu, who was roasted alive by Emperor Xuan of Ming. Burning was the only thing that came to mind.
Gu Gaoxu was overjoyed to hear this. "I must train hard, then! I’ll become the first person ever to achieve sanctification of the flesh!"
"Oh, right. I came in person today, and I still haven’t gotten to the important part."
Gu Gaoxu had been so caught up in reminiscing that he had almost forgotten his real reason for coming.
"Brother Lu," Gu Gaoxu said, his expression turning serious, "the Emperor has issued a decree. He’s ordered all the regional Princes to dispatch half of their troops to assemble at Chishan and Hot Spring in Qilu Province."
"Is some major operation afoot?" Lu Yuan asked in a low voice.
Gu Gaoxu said, "I heard from my old man that the Emperor intends to muster the full strength of the Empire for an expedition east to wipe out the Wokou."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan almost had to give Emperor Gu Yuanzhang a thumbs-up.
The Empire was newly stabilized, with countless matters waiting to be addressed.
The common folk of the Empire had only just started to live stable lives, and now he was launching an expedition east to destroy the Wokou.
It was a classic case of "suffering in the present for a benefit that will last a thousand years," but every generation has its own duties to fulfill.
Out of consideration for the current generation of the Empire’s people, Lu Yuan hesitated. He couldn’t bring himself to agree with the Emperor’s decision.
Yet, from a patriotic standpoint, Wa Country was a vicious, biting dog. If it could be eliminated sooner rather than later, that would be for the best.
Gu Gaoxu continued, "This time, I’m acting on my old man’s orders. I’m to lead the entire Yanshan Right Guard to assemble at Chishan, where the Empire’s Navy warships will ferry us east."
Such a large-scale amphibious invasion was no child’s play.
History was filled with countless examples of amphibious assaults that ended in the complete annihilation of the invading army.
There were so many factors to consider: naval technology, weather and sea conditions, logistical support, intelligence gathering, navigation and positioning, troop training, strategy and tactics, communications, and more.
A single mistake in any one of these areas could deliver a fatal blow to the entire army.
Lu Yuan looked at Gu Gaoxu’s determined expression, gave his hard Battle Armor a solid punch, and said, "You rascal, don’t you dare be reckless!"
Gu Gaoxu grinned. "Don’t worry, Brother Lu. This is a golden opportunity to earn military honors. I won’t let it pass me by."
"The Yanshan Right Guard I command is an elite force! How could other armies possibly compare?"
Gu Gaoxu was filled with confidence in the Yanshan Right Guard, and his voice rose with pride.
When Lu Yuan first met Gu Gaoxu, he hadn’t liked him.
The reasons were simple: Gu Gaoxu was reckless, his words and actions were frivolous, and it was highly likely he was heading down the same path as his historical counterpart, Zhu Gaoxu of the Great Ming Dynasty.
’Of course, I have to keep my distance to avoid getting dragged down with him.’
But after spending the last few years together, his opinion had changed. Lu Yuan didn’t want to see Gu Gaoxu die on the battlefield, nor did he want to see him get turned into a barbecue skewer.
Lu Yuan used his Sound Transmission Skill to speak to the Gongyue Monarch inside the Top Grade Spirit Capturing Device. "Gongyue Monarch, you spent nearly a thousand years in Wa Country. You’re very familiar with the place, aren’t you?"
The Gongyue Monarch replied, "I couldn’t be more familiar with it, Master. Please, command me as you will."
Lu Yuan sent his voice again. "I want you to protect Gu Gaoxu and ensure his safety during this eastern expedition to destroy the Wokou."
The Gongyue Monarch agreed without a second thought. "As you command, Master. I will not refuse."
Lu Yuan would only feel at ease if he entrusted this protection detail to the Gongyue Monarch.
After receiving the Gongyue Monarch’s reply, Lu Yuan pretended to rummage through a cabinet behind a screen in the hall, but he was actually retrieving the Top Grade Spirit Capturing Device from his System Space.
Lu Yuan shoved the Top Grade Spirit Capturing Device into Gu Gaoxu’s hands. "On this expedition to destroy the Wokou, you make damn sure you come back alive!"