King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 488 I am not as brave as him

In the afternoon, in the back garden of Prince Xiang's Mansion.

Baochai sat on the attic, quietly looking at the stage outside the building, where the drama "Striking the Golden Bough" was being performed.

The content of the play is that after Guo Ziyi of the Tang Dynasty put down the Anshi Rebellion, Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty married his daughter to his son Guo Ai. When Guo Ziyi and his wife passed their birthdays, the princess did not come out to pay her birthday, and Guo Ai angrily beat the princess after drinking.

The content of the play is relatively interesting, and there are two empresses, the elder and the younger, on the scene, so it’s very lively for them to answer questions.

When the opera ended and the character took her final call, Baochai said with a smile: "This princess is so true. Once she married into the Guo family, she became a family. She should have lived in harmony!"

"Because of his high ambition, he caused trouble, which led to these incidents. Now it has been written into a drama and sung, and the noble man is actually being laughed at by the world!"

"As the saying goes, everything will be prosperous if the family is in harmony. If you want to avoid making jokes, you have to put away your selfish thoughts and work together as a team!"

"Sister Ting, do you think this is true?" Baochai finally glanced at Yang Jingting.

Yang Jingting smiled and replied: "It's a pity that Princess Shengping didn't understand this principle, so she was taught a lesson by her husband. It has become a joke in ancient and modern times!"

Baochai smiled slightly, still staring at Yang Jingting and said: "Princess Shengping's car is in front of you. I should take this as a warning!"

Her words can be called a clear statement, but they are not in line with Baochai's tolerant and reserved character.

The reason why she said this was that she really didn't want to "fight" with Yang Jingting, because the restlessness in the house would only affect the reputation of Prince Xiang's palace.

Yang Jingting is a very smart person. When she heard Baochai's unusual tone, she immediately realized something.

Could it be that she has noticed what I am planning? Yang Jingting became alert.

Yang Jingting stood up, bent down and said, "You should take this as a warning. If my sister does anything poorly, she should forget to remind her!"

Seeing Yang Jingting suddenly stand up to apologize, the two empresses Zhen who were chatting happily looked in the direction of Yang Jingting.

While Yinglian was thinking, she heard Zhen Qin ask: "Sister Ting, why are you asking for forgiveness when you are so good?"

"I was joking with Sister Ting!" Baochai answered.

"Are you kidding? What did you say?" Zhen Qin asked curiously, she loved hearing jokes the most.

Baochai replied: "I just listened to the play and reflected on myself, saying that we should not imitate Princess Shengping's meddling, making the house restless and making others laugh!"

Zhen Qin smiled and said: "Sister Bao, we sisters have a deep love and cannot be more harmonious. You are overthinking it!"

Baochai nodded, and then said: "If there are any, then correct them and if they are not, then encourage them. The sage also said that I should examine myself three times a day!"

Hearing Baochai's words, Yang Jingting still had a smile on her face, but she was already planning to urge Chen Zhi to get the matter done as soon as possible.

In terms of family background, appearance, talent and learning, I am not inferior to you in everything. The princess should have been me... Yang Jingting shouted in her heart.

In fact, from the time she chose the concubine to the present, although she has accepted the reality on the surface, she has always been dissatisfied with Baochai in her heart.

But before that, she felt that everything was doomed, so Yang Jingting suppressed her dissatisfaction in her heart and persuaded herself to just be a concubine.

However, Chen Zhi's recent advances have broken her peaceful life and released the thoughts she had suppressed in her heart.

"The princess has taught you a lesson, my sister must do more self-reflection!" Yang Jingting replied solemnly.

It seemed that she had been taught a lesson, but Baochai knew that she had not returned from the lost path, and his reminder today was of no use.

I have done my best to be benevolent and righteous... Baochai thought to himself.

So everyone dismissed the meeting, and Baochai went to Tongxin Hall on her own, but saw the female officer Du Hongmei waiting outside the hall.

After he saluted, Baochai asked, "What's the matter?"

Following Baochai, Du Hongmei hooked her waist and replied: "Madam, there is news from the palace, and it's all about the prince!"

Stopping, Baochai turned around and said, "Say!"

"The news spread in the palace that the prince personally came to the battle formation, beheaded the generals, captured the flag, broke the enemy army, and killed countless enemies..."

"He went to the battlefield in person?" Baochai asked worriedly. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she knew it was nonsense.

"Exactly. It is said that the prince killed hundreds of enemy troops. Now the Junggar people are afraid of him!"

This is called spreading rumors. The battle report said that Zhu Jinghong beheaded eighty-seven people, but now it has been spread to hundreds.

"What else is there?" Baochai then asked.

"I have also heard that the master issued an order today to summon our prince back to the capital, so that you can be reunited with him!"

Du Hongmei thought she was telling good news, but Baochai frowned when she heard it.

From a personal perspective, of course she wanted her husband to come back, but from the perspective of the palace's overall situation, Zhu Jinghong shouldn't come back.

Although she was extremely intelligent, her human resources eventually ran out, and she was unable to cope with the imperial edict that had been issued.

August 20th was the third day that Zhu Jinghong sent back a battle report, and his third battle report was also sent back.

The same eight-hundred-mile rush, the cavalry galloped down the long street, shouting the words "Great Victory in the Northwest".

News like good news has always been promoted generously in order to boost people's hearts.

Therefore, every time the battle report came to the town, the postmen would shout loudly to let the people know that the imperial court had won again.

Hearing the shouts in the distance, the people on the street stepped to the side of the road to prevent being hit by the fast horses.

However, there are always some people who stay in the middle of the road because they are distracted or for other reasons, such as Jia Baoyu who is wandering aimlessly.

"Second Master, be careful..."

Fortunately, Mingyan moved swiftly and swooped over to pull Jia Baoyu over, thus preventing him from being knocked down by the cavalry.

"Blind your dog eyes!"

Although the cavalryman had gone far away, his curses still came down the wind, causing Ming Yan to look at each other angrily.

"Second Master, are you okay?" Mingyan looked at Baoyu.

Although Jia Baoyu was expelled from Rongguo Mansion, he was the biological brother of the Crown Princess after all, and he also had elders such as Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang who doted on him.

Although I dare not take too much care of him openly, it is not difficult to ensure that he lives a relatively comfortable life.

So even if Jia Baoyu was in despair, there were still a few servants around him and several maids in the house.

"Why are you here?" Jia Baoyu asked blankly, unaware of the danger just now.

"Second Master, it's time to go back for dinner. It's already noon!" Ming Yan reminded.

"What did that person shout just now?"

Glancing in the direction where the postman disappeared, Ming Yanfang said: "It seems that the northwest has won another battle. I heard that the northwest is now ruled by Prince Xiang..."

Ming Yan's voice stopped suddenly as she said this, as if she had touched some taboo.

Sure enough, when he turned around, he saw that the second master had a very ugly face.

"Second Master, let's go back!" Mingyan helped Baoyu get up.

"Second Master Bao?"

A greeting from a distance attracted the attention of Jia Baoyu and the other two people present.

Mingyan didn't recognize the person who came, but Jia Baoyu smiled when she saw him, and said to Mingyan, "That's my good friend. It's rare to meet him today. It's just a good time to catch up with him!"

"But the second master..."

"Give me money, and I won't go back at noon!" Baoyu stretched out his hand.

Mingyan was worried and said, "Second Master, I'd better follow you!" While they were talking, the young man opposite had already approached, and because of his handsome appearance, Mingyan even looked at him a few more times.

"Brother Yuhan, long time no see!" Baoyu greeted him with a smile.

The binding power of the world line is so strong. Although Zhu Jinghong broke in and disrupted things, many things were connected together.

For example, Jiang Yuhan, nicknamed Qiguan, met Jia Baoyu half a year ago, and the two already had a close friendship.

Jia Baoyu followed Jiang Yuhan, and the two entered the flower building as before.

In the past, he only had a taste of it, but now Jia Baoyu feels that this place is wonderful, and the full happiness can cover up his sadness.

While Baoyu was lingering in the brothel, the urgent military report from 800 miles away had been sent to the imperial court, and it was submitted to the imperial court after going through many checkpoints.

At this time, there were three cabinet ministers in the Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, discussing with the emperor the allocation of money and grain in the northwest and the affairs of the Qingzhang of Jinling.

Taking the military report, Zhu Xianming wanted to check it immediately, but in the end he held back and did not take action.

Looking at the report handed over by Cheng Ying, Zhu Xianming said lightly: "Read it!"

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Cheng Ying opened the letter and read: "Military Report from the Northwest Governor's Administration..."

“My emperor’s sage enlightens the world, his virtue shines upon the sun and the moon, and his kindness extends to all peoples…”

It starts with flattering the emperor, which is the basis of any memorial. Zhu Xianming usually skips it when he reads it.

"Pick up the important things..." Zhu Xianming said solemnly.

Cheng Ying paused and then said: "On the ninth day of August, the northern front of the army pretended to retreat, and the southern front was responsible for breaking up the rear. Half a day after marching, the enemy troops first attacked the southern front. When the enemy troops arrived, all the northern front troops were attacked. The army fought back..."

"The enemy was caught off guard, and its vanguard on the northern flank was severely damaged, causing its attack to be frustrated and losing more than 4,000 troops..."

Listening to the content of the battle report, Zhu Xianming couldn't help but click his tongue, secretly thinking that he still underestimated this guy Lao Shisan.

The three bachelors present were also shocked when they heard this, secretly thinking that Zhu Jinghong's results in the past two days had almost caught up with Ning Huanxiang's total score.

"On the 10th of August, our army retreated on both left and right lines at the same time. The enemy did not dare to pursue it at first and then pursued it for half a day..."

"Our army was waiting for work. We set up an ambush at the pass of the ancient castle and wiped out more than 3,000 enemy forwards..."

Such a big result again, which almost made Zhu Xianming break his defense.

After all, at such a young age, let alone achieving such results, he did not even have the opportunity to command the front army alone, let alone preside over the battle like Zhu Jinghong.

So much so that at this moment, as the majestic emperor of the empire, Zhu Xianming was actually a little jealous of his stupid son.

However, when this mood rose, at the same time, some feelings of shame arose in my heart, and I secretly thought that as Lao Shisan said, I was really too small as an emperor.

Zhu Jinghong would never have thought that even though he was thousands of miles away, he would still PUA his father.

"The enemy's attack was thwarted, and the patrol did not dare to advance. At night on the tenth day of the lunar month, our army retreated to Guazhou City!"

"The battle took place on the 9th and 10th day of the lunar month. Zhenwei Zhongwei defeated the enemy by 1,400 levels. The tribes of Qinghai Xingdusi defeated the enemy by more than 2,300 levels. The tribes of Tibet defeated the enemy by more than 900 levels. The Jurchen tribes defeated the enemy by 1. More than 1,700 levels, Mongolian tribes killed the enemy..."

Nowadays, the assessment of military merit is extremely strict, so there is little possibility of risking merit. Killing so many enemy heads is already considered a great victory.

"The Thirteenth Master's guard came to the battle formation in person. There are more than 430 people. Among them, the Thirteenth Master killed the enemy at 125 levels!"

Is this guy going into battle to kill the enemy again?

Zhu Xianming was really surprised when he heard the last sentence read by Cheng Ying.

I, no... Taizu and Shizu were not so brave back then!

Thinking of this, Zhu Xianming felt a little more balanced. After all, he was the emperor and had a bigger picture.

In fact, Zhu Xianming's mentality changes so smoothly, which originally proves that he has a broad mind.

After becoming emperor, he no longer led troops. In the past twenty years, he spent most of his time away from home.

Enemy states such as Junggar, Rakshasa, and Mughals, as well as the Mongolian vassals in Tibet and those in the southwestern countries who refused to accept the kingship, all suffered from his iron fist of justice.

Although he rarely went to the battlefield to fight in person, at least two to three hundred thousand enemy troops were destroyed in his hands.

Faced with Zhu Jinghong's achievements, he was finally able to maintain a normal attitude and just lamented that he was like a little son at his age.

After listening to the entire battle report, the three academicians present were greatly surprised. They only thought that Zhu Jinghong not only knew how to fight, but he was also a god of murder, the kind who could kill the enemy himself.

"That's right, it was a good fight!" Zhu Xianming said calmly.

"The Thirteenth Master has great strategies and careful deployment based on the combination of reality and reality, so he was able to severely damage the enemy's army. This all depends on His Majesty's teachings..."

Among the three bachelors, only Zheng Zhiqing, the most junior one, would immediately flatter the emperor at this moment.

But his words really impressed the emperor, and he heard Zhu Xianming say: "If he had worked harder, he wouldn't have killed so many enemy troops!"

Later, Zhao Yushan and Chen Jinyun followed up by praising Emperor Deze, and the atmosphere in Nuan Pavilion became much more relaxed.

After signaling everyone to be quiet, Zhu Xianming said: "Since he played well, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to suddenly change the general..."

After saying this, he glanced at Cheng Ying and said: "Immediately summon the Hanlin Academy to draw up an edict and ask him to continue to command the battle. When Liu Fang takes office, he will hand it over and allow him to..."

"He is allowed to stay in the governor's office and serve as military counselor at Liu Fang's side, but he is strictly prohibited from participating in battle again!"

The imperial edict issued yesterday was for Zhu Jinghong to come back after delivery. This is a revision of yesterday's edict.

The difference between the two wills before and after was clearly understood by the three academicians. Although the three of them had different thoughts at this moment, none of them expressed their opinions.

Cheng Ying went to Hanlin Garden to convey the order. When the time came in the afternoon, the latest battle report was also spread in the palace. In a few hours, the upper echelons of the capital would know about it.

Of course Yang Qingyin also knew the situation, so she went to Qianqing Palace in person, just as the three bachelors had left.

"Your Majesty, Old Thirteen is becoming more and more wanton and reckless. It would be better to recall him as soon as possible!" Yang Qingyin requested with a serious expression.

Zhu Xianming smiled awkwardly, stood up and greeted the queen: "Queen... I have issued a special order strictly not to come to the battle formation in person!"

Hearing this, Yang Qingyin still looked unkind and said coldly: "How did I hear that Your Majesty ordered the Thirteenth to stay in the northwest and serve as military counselor?"

"You think I don't want him to come back? But you also know this kid's temper. Will he have to live or die if he comes back? What will happen then?" Zhu Xianming said with great helplessness.

"Are you thinking of putting him on the battlefield because you think he is useful?" Yang Qingyin asked.

Zhu Xianming said angrily: "Why do you want to slander me like this? My Ming Dynasty has millions of good generals and thousands of soldiers. Could it be that without him, Thirteenth can't fight?"

"Okay, I've told him not to go into battle. Liu Fang will hold him down and he'll be fine. Don't worry!"

Realizing that summoning Zhu Jinghong back to Beijing would cause unrest, Yang Qingyin could only accept the emperor's arrangement, but her expression became more and more worried.

At the other end of the Ningshou Palace, some people were also worried about Zhu Jinghong.

"This kid is even more fierce than... the fourth child back then, and his future life will be formidable!"

The person who said this was the Supreme Emperor Zhu Xinkan, and the fourth child in his mouth was the current emperor.

"Who says it's not the case? In just these two days, I personally killed more than 200 levels of enemies. Prince Xiang is so young... he is really..."

It was really like this. Concubine Zhen didn't know what words to use to describe it. After all, she had heard of these things before.

Zhu Xinkan said with a smile: "This boy compares himself to the Overlord of Western Chu, saying that he is brave enough to be worthy of all men, but now he is convinced!"

After saying this, he coughed a few more times, which was obviously caused by talking too much.

After Concubine Zhen took good care of her, Zhu Xinkan returned to normal.

"I'm looking forward to it now. The battle report will be sent back tomorrow. I don't know what this kid will do!" Zhu Xinkan smiled.

(End of this chapter)