It took several days for King Wu Li Ke to inspect all the prefectures and counties around the military camp.
Although the emperor's edict stated that King Wu Li Ke should prepare for the war against Fuso instead of inspecting the surrounding areas, there was no strict requirement for him.
But King Wu Li Ke also realized that the people in the army now had a kind of aversion to him. If he were to go and give orders to the army, not to mention people like him, even great generals like Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao would probably be pushed back by those naval commanders.
The King of Wu heard yesterday that Cheng Yaojin wanted to watch the warships' drills at sea, but was pushed back by Ding Tu. He said, "Although you are His Highness's father-in-law and we have given you the treatment you deserve, no one can tell us what to do regarding the command of the army without His Highness's letter."
It is said that Cheng Yaojin was very angry. The King of Wu felt that there was something going on. Either Li Xiang forgot to write the letter, or he wanted to test his army. Of course, everything Cheng Yaojin did had a deep meaning. He also wanted to see whether these people were really loyal to Li Xiang.
Of course, these things have nothing to do with the King of Wu. You two, father-in-law and son-in-law, can do whatever you want. We just understand one thing, that is, don't bother with the affairs of the army, then our position will be stable. These days, accompanied by Fang Yiai, the King of Wu also saw the customs and culture of Goguryeo, and he lived a really good life.
The reason why our Lord Fang accompanied us throughout the whole process was, firstly, that he was his nephew, and secondly, he had received a letter from his father Fang Xuanling, telling him that he must not neglect the King of Wu when he arrived in Goguryeo.
Fang Xuanling was not a member of Li Xiang's camp. He just gave Li Xiang some convenience when he could. But Fang Yiai was different. Since the initial attack on Goguryeo, this guy had been a member of Li Xiang's camp. So he was not very fond of King Wu Li Ke.
But after receiving his father's letter, he knew that his father would definitely not harm him, so he made some improvements to the reception standards, at least to satisfy the prince. As for the deeper meaning of this, our Lord Fang has not figured it out yet, but he just needs to know that his father would not write letters casually.
For most people here, this half month can be said to be extremely distressing. Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao are in the army. They originally wanted to inspect the army carefully, but apart from the army on the shore, the navy in the sea has nothing to do with them. They only obey Li Xiang's orders, so this half month has been very uncomfortable for the two of them.
Fortunately, on a sunny day, Li Xiang finally arrived. He traveled around the mountains and rivers along the way, and the original ten-day journey became twenty days. Although he saw that everyone's faces were not good, Li Xiang got what he wanted.
Li Xiang knew the mainstream of future development, so the navy fleet must be in his own hands. This time was also a test for them. Whether it was His Royal Highness the King of Wu or Cheng Yaojin, the navy generals had withstood the test. Without Li Xiang's handwriting, no one could mobilize the army.
Woo woo woo…
When Li Xiang's carriage appeared in the distance, Cheng Yaojin and his men were startled for a moment. It turned out that the sound of a horn was heard behind them, and the horns on all the warships sounded at the same time.
"Welcome His Highness, may you live a thousand years, a thousand thousand years, a thousand thousand years..."
Then there was a deafening cheer. Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao next to him looked at each other. Fortunately, Li Shimin did not come to this place. If Li Shimin had come to this place, he would probably feel bad. This was obviously the territory of the Tang Dynasty, but people only recognized Li Xiang.
The King of Wu was also feeling unhappy. When he first came, except for a few generals in the barracks, most of the sailors did whatever they wanted and had no intention of paying a formal visit. But now that Li Xiang's carriage had just appeared, all the sailors gathered on their warships, showing their best side to their commander.
"Fire the cannon."
When Ding Tu said these two words, the people present were shocked. They were all high-ranking officials of the court and came here to represent the court, but the navy camp did not give them the highest courtesy. Such courtesy could only belong to Li Xiang.
Cheng Yaojin finally saw the cannon firing he had been longing for. He had wanted to see it before, but unfortunately, no one could board the navy warship without the order of His Highness, even if you were a general of the court.
Two warships, each seventy meters long, lay across the sea. The projectiles had been taken out, so the shots were now in vain. The people on the shore saw white smoke coming out of the muzzles, and then heard a deafening sound.
Li Xiang was used to this, and he knew how the navy fleet was trained. However, Yongning was not clear about this, so he was so scared that he hid in Li Xiang's arms and dared not move. The people around who saw the navy warships for the first time were also frightened. As for Su Dingfang and others, they had smiles on their faces, as they saw the majestic posture of our Tang Dynasty navy again.
"requite…"
What surprised everyone was that a steady stream of gunfire was heard behind Li Xiang. You have to know that in this day and age, muskets simply did not exist. This was the flintlock rifle that Li Xiang had just exchanged for.
This not only stunned King Wu Li Ke and his men, but also some naval generals on the warships. They had never seen such a small cannon, or micro cannon.
People nowadays don’t have the concept of guns in their minds. In their eyes, anything that smokes is a cannon.
The reason why Li Xiang exchanged these things was because the main purpose of this trip to Fuso was naval warfare. Adding one more weapon would also increase the chances of winning. This was the exchanged Burke flintlock rifle, which had a range of about two hundred meters, the same as the one used by the British in the Opium War.
Li Xiang was very satisfied with everyone's surprised state, and then asked the team to continue moving forward. Although the navy warships could be seen in the distance, it would still take at least half an hour to walk over from Li Xiang's position.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Except for King Wu Li Ke, everyone had to kneel down to greet him, including Cheng Yaojin. They could say whatever they wanted in private, but in such a serious occasion, they had to do what they had to do, otherwise those censors and imperial inspectors would not take it lightly.
