Three days after the last court session, the scheduled morning assembly was replaced by a farewell ceremony.
On the walls of Twin Moon City, the Empress wore a battle robe-style dragon robe, with light armor underneath. A pale yellow cape flowed behind her, and a sword hung at her waist.
The Grand Princess of Hundred Flowers, rarely leaving the Eastern Palace, stood with the Fourth Princess Han Xiu of Jingning Palace behind the Empress, gazing at the army below.
As for the Fifth Princess, Xin Yue, she was with Chu Chen, seated on horseback at the front of the army, looking up at the city walls.
The vanguard of ten thousand troops had departed yesterday, but today marked the official departure of the main army to quell the rebellion.
"Soldiers!"
"Long live Her Majesty, long live, long live!"
The Empress was very pleased with the soldiers' shouts, feeling their morale was high.
She raised her hands, signaling the soldiers below to quiet down, and then asked sternly, "Soldiers, answer me, did you receive yesterday's departure silver in full?"
"We received it! Thank Your Majesty!"
The response was again neat and thunderous.
The Empress nodded once more, her face grim. "The King of Liu, Li Mengdie, does not understand the will of heaven, has wantonly committed murder, and shows no reverence for the court of Twin Moon Kingdom or for Me. She dares to raise an army in rebellion, against Me who raised her, against the country she belongs to!"
"Soldiers, tell me, should such a person be killed?"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The soldiers below did not understand much. Their unified shouts were answers prompted by their superiors with written notes; it was merely a formality.
Alas, when the Minister of Rites had inquired yesterday, the Empress had not anticipated this scene at all, believing it was truly her own popularity that garnered such enthusiastic responses.
After speaking a few more words about her care for the soldiers, the Empress finally gave the order, "The auspicious hour has arrived! I command the three armies! Set forth immediately!"
"We obey Your Majesty's decree!"
Chu Chen immediately shouted back, followed by the soldiers behind him.
Thus, a scene that seemed unscripted, but was in fact well-rehearsed, finally concluded.
Chu Chen and Princess Xin Yue turned their horses around, moving from closest to the wall to the rear of the army: "All troops, turn about! Vanguard becomes rear!"
Soon, with the help of the guards shouting to relay the message, tens of thousands of troops slowly turned their formation, the vanguard becoming the rear.
Then, under Chu Chen's command, the first batch of troops officially set off.
The army's march resembled a long snake, vast and continuous.
As the saying goes, when a crowd exceeds ten thousand, they become boundless, let alone seventy to eighty thousand troops.
Since a four-horse carriage cement road had been built near Twin Moon City, although it only led to the prefectural city, it was sufficient for the army's rapid march.
Eight men abreast formed eight human snake paths, stretching to the limit of human vision, beyond which nothing could be seen.
On the city walls, watching the army officially depart, the Empress nodded. Then, accompanied by the two princesses and ministers behind her, she turned and left the city walls, returning to the imperial palace.
Whether they chatted on the city walls or on the way back, Chu Chen had no way of knowing.
He had already helped Princess Xin Yue dismount from her warhorse and led her to a carriage.
"Hoo~ This princess is exhausted. A farewell ceremony lasted a whole hour!"
In the carriage, Princess Xin Yue rubbed her slightly sore arm muscles and pouted in complaint.
"It can't be helped. The army's departure is so important, His Majesty and the ministers had to see it with their own eyes to be at ease. Otherwise, if they saw the army in disarray, how could they allow it to march?"
"Besides, I asked you before if you wanted to watch the farewell from a carriage, but you insisted on riding a warhorse, saying it would be more heroic."
Chu Chen added with a hint of complaint at the end.
"Hmph, that's because this princess didn't know my mother and those ministers were so bureaucratic. A simple glance would have been enough to let them depart. They had to give speeches, arrange formations for appearances, make the soldiers memorize dialogues, and even issued new battle robes. Bureaucracy has infiltrated the army. With this, how can they expect to fight? It's all a show!"
Princess Xin Yue's expression turned displeased as she spoke.
Did they really think standing under the sun for an hour waiting for her mother felt good? It was for the sake of the five taels of departure silver; otherwise, who would care about the emperor or anything else.
"Alright, alright, my little princess, stop complaining. You can rest in the carriage now, maybe take a nap. The central army won't be traveling many miles today anyway."
Seeing that Princess Xin Yue was about to start criticizing the Empress, Chu Chen quickly stopped her, startled.
This was no joke. He was no match for the Empress now, in terms of power, military strength, or cultivation. If his criticism of the Empress was reported, he, the marshal, would be the one to suffer.
"Mmm, alright then. Remember to wake me when we depart."
Princess Xin Yue nodded, gave an instruction, then slowly lay down, pulling the cape draped over her, and closed her eyes to rest.
Chu Chen lowered the curtains on the sides of the carriage, then exited, gave some instructions to the waiting eunuchs, and walked towards the generals.
The march of an army has never been a simple matter. It seemed simple on the city walls for the Empress because it was for show, giving the impression that the army could depart at any moment with a single command.
In reality, the army only planned to march ten to fifteen li today before setting up camp, and then the true march would begin, a process that was neither beautiful nor aesthetically pleasing.
"Greetings, Marshal!" The generals immediately clasped their fists in salute upon seeing Chu Chen arrive.
"Mmm, no need for formalities."
Chu Chen waved his hand and asked, "Have the Ministry of War arranged the actual marching routes?"
"Reporting to the Marshal, the Ministry of War has made all arrangements."
As he spoke, the Deputy Marshal, Hong Yong, took out a map from the side and handed it to Chu Chen for inspection.
Chu Chen took the map and saw that the routes, supply lines, and other arrangements were marked with red and black ink, indicating the territories of both sides.
"Eighty thousand troops, divided into three divisions. Thirty thousand will march together, and twenty thousand will escort the final supplies along the main road. The Ministry of War's arrangement is quite proper."
During an army's march, the most difficult aspect is not the movement of people but the transportation of supplies: food, spare armor, bedding, siege equipment, and machinery. These have always been the biggest challenges in military campaigns.
The most crucial among these is naturally food. The daily consumption of food for eighty thousand troops is not a small number, and transporting such quantities requires a considerable number of laborers and livestock.
Now that there is a paved road, it is naturally used for transporting food supplies, making the process more convenient.