Chapter 81 The army returns, and the sword is tested in the palace
East of the city!
Today, the city gates are wide open. Ning Fan is wearing a python robe and a five-bead county king crown. Standing beside him are the Minister of War Ji Sui, two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites, and all the officials!
"Report, Your Highness, the Duke of Zhenguo has led a large army to appear ten miles away!"
"Yes!"
Ning Fan nodded slightly, looked at the officials of the Ministry of Rites and said, "Two adults, prepare for the reception!"
"Yes!"
Dancers in long red skirts walked out of the city. Ning Fan led all the officials to stand under the city gate and carefully tidied their clothes.
More and more people gathered around, their faces full of curiosity!
"Go!"
A cloud of smoke rolled, and the black army stopped three miles away, and dozens of flying horses came towards the city gate!
"The Eastern Border Zhenguo Army has returned triumphantly, and reported to His Majesty Emperor Dayu!"
The burly man in the lead was the first to turn over and dismount, holding the tiger talisman in both hands and kneeling on one knee!
Ning Fan stepped forward and greeted the emperor in person, saying loudly: "Duke Zhenguo, I, under the order of my father, will lead the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War to welcome the triumphant return of the Eastern Border Army!"
"I, your servant, kowtow to the emperor and thank His Highness King Xuanyong!"
Zhao Changying and a group of generals saluted respectfully in the direction of the city and said loudly: "Your Highness, in this battle, our Dayu soldiers fought bloody battles and killed 170,000 enemies, winning a great victory!"
"Request to take off your armor and enter the city!"
"Cai!"
"Play music!"
"Take off your armor!"
Ning Fan shouted in a low voice, and the ceremonial officials of the Ministry of Rites beat drums and played music, and the singers who had been prepared long ago danced outside the city!
"Three Dukes, I will personally take off your armor!"
Ning Fan stepped forward, and the Duke Zhenguo was startled, and gratefully arched his hands: "Thank you, Your Highness!"
In the crowd, two young men in gorgeous clothes stood, their faces full of indignation!
"Hmph, it's only been a short month, and the second brother has been in the limelight in front of the emperor!"
"In theory, the prince should come forward to welcome the triumphant soldiers of the three armies. Although the eldest brother is not in the capital now, there are still several uncles above him!"
"It's not the second brother's turn!"
The two whispered to each other, staring at the figure in the python robe, with envy in their eyes!
"It seems that we have to guard against this playboy second brother in the future!"
"Haha, don't be nervous!"
"With the pressure from the Western Territory, no matter how much the second brother jumps, he can't make any waves!"
After a song and dance, the soldiers took off their armor and entered the city, and Ning Fan took the three dukes to the palace to meet the emperor!
"Your son, I pay my respects to my father!"
"Your servant, Zhao Changying pays respects to Your Majesty!"
"Your servant, Liu Fengping pays respects to Your Majesty!"
"Your servant, Su Xuan pays respects to Your Majesty!"
Emperor Yu stood up with a smile, stepped forward personally, and helped the three people up one by one: "My three beloved ministers, you have made great contributions this time, and I am very pleased!"
"Your Majesty, this time our Eastern Territory army was able to win a great victory, thanks to the timely message from the Second Prince!"
While Zhao Changying was speaking, he glanced at Ning Fan and sighed: "If it weren't for Your Highness sending someone to send a message, I'm afraid the situation would have been reversed long ago!"
"Yes, we dare not take credit for this great achievement!"
"I didn't expect that Your Highness would make a big splash if he didn't make a sound. Now that our Eastern Territory is stable, Your Highness should be the first to make a contribution!"
The three of them were all very happy to Ning Fan. Ning Fan immediately bowed his hands and said softly, "Father, the three dukes are really praising me!"
"This time, our Dayu won a great victory. The three dukes arranged the troops and the soldiers fought bloody battles. They all contributed greatly!"
"And you, father, are in charge of the capital, presiding over the overall situation, setting up the Jinyi Guards, and investigating the spies. You are the greatest contributor to our Dayu!"
Ning Fan's flattery not only made the three dukes laugh, but also Emperor Yu couldn't help but twitch his mouth: "Slippery!"
"Father, now that the three dukes have returned, my Jinyi Guards are also ready to take action!"
"Hmm?"
As soon as Ning Fan finished speaking, the smile on Emperor Yu's face instantly faded, replaced by a solemn face!
"Are you ready?"
"Shuzhou has already laid out its plan, but we have to be on guard against the south..."
Ning Fan was halfway through his words when Emperor Yu fell silent. When the three dukes heard about Shuzhou, their eyes suddenly lit up, and they all lowered their heads deeply, hiding their expressions of horror!
It turned out that His Majesty had repeatedly urged them to return to the army. Was he preparing to attack the Chen family?
"Your Majesty!"
Zhao Changying pondered for a while, and finally couldn't help but say: "The Chen family's private military workshop has the most elite military forging method of my Dayu. Will it be a pity to act rashly..."
Hearing Zhao Changying's reminder, the other two dukes also reacted, with a solemn look on their faces.
"Yes, Your Majesty, the biggest advantage of Dayu to the outside world is a set of sophisticated military weapons and armor!"
"Looking at the powerful people in all directions, only Dayan's forging skills can beat us!"
"If we attack the Chen family at this time, from now on, Dayu's advantage in armor and weapons will be gone!"
After hearing the advice of the three dukes, Emperor Yu smiled faintly, turned around and pulled out a long sword from the side of the dragon throne, and threw it to Zhao Changying: "Changying, come and see this sword?"
Ning Fan looked at the long sword thrown by Emperor Yu, and his eyes lit up immediately. He didn't expect that the military weapons supervisor was so fast, and the long sword was forged so quickly!
Zhao Changying showed a puzzled look on his face, hesitated for a while, and finally held the long sword in his hand, but stepped back a few steps before observing it carefully.
"It seems to have just been forged?"
"What a good sword!"
"Which master made it?"
"Someone come!"
Emperor Yu shouted softly, and saw several imperial guards rushing in. Zhao Changying's face suddenly changed slightly, and he quickly dropped the weapon in his hand to the ground.
"Your Majesty?"
The other two dukes also changed their faces and knelt on the ground!
Emperor Yu was stunned, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, saying: "You three old guys, can I still eat you?"
"Leave a sword, and the rest of you retreat!"
"Yes!"
A imperial guard took off the sword at his waist and quietly left the hall. Emperor Yu personally picked up the two swords and handed them to Zhao Changying.
"Come on, try it!"
Zhao Changying and the other two only reacted at this time. It turned out that Emperor Yu wanted him to try the sword. His old face blushed and he coughed lightly.
"Hahaha!"
Ning Fan couldn't help laughing and whispered, "Don't mind, Duke. Even I thought my father was going to kill me!"
As soon as these words came out, the three Dukes were shocked and looked at Ning Fan deeply. Is he really not afraid of death, or...
They secretly glanced at Emperor Yu and saw that he was not angry at all. He just glared at Ning Fan, and they were all secretly shocked.
"Stop talking nonsense, let's test the sword!"
"Okay!"
Zhao Changying also showed a solemn look on his face, holding two long swords and slamming them together fiercely!
...