King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 507 Return to Beijing

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was October 14th.

Compared to the past, there were obviously more people in the south of the city today. This was because the people had received the news and knew that the Ming Dynasty War God Zhu Jinghong was coming to Beijing, and everyone wanted to have a glimpse of him.

The news was not spread intentionally by someone, but everyone in the capital was concerned and discussing the matter, so it was difficult to hide Zhu Jinghong's whereabouts.

This situation put great pressure on the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division and the Jinyi Guards, so much so that military attachés at the command level of Qianhu went to the streets to provide on-site command to prevent any unexpected events.

"I often hear that Mr. Shu talks about the Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the King of Qin in it is nothing more than that..."

"Back then, King Qin stabilized the world and the people of China were protected from war disasters. He was the real living saint..."

"Now our Ming Dynasty also has His Highness Prince Xiang, who is invincible in all attacks and defeats all battles. In less than half a year, he defeated Junggar to the point of losing all his armor and armor. He is not much worse than Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty..."

"His Royal Highness Prince Xiang is brave and wise enough, but compared to Tang Taizong Tian Khan, he is still far behind..."

"What's wrong? King Xiang is only seventeen years old now, and he has already led hundreds of thousands of troops in national wars. When King Qin was seventeen, he was just a minister of the Sui Dynasty, serving as a junior general under his father!"

"But I am the Khan of Heaven, the Khan of Heaven who created the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty and attracted all the nations to come to court!"

Even though he is thousands of years away, Tang Taizong still has a large number of fans, who now protect their idols separately from others.

Scenes like this can be found almost everywhere. No matter what the result is between Zhu Jinghong and Li Shimin, it is already a victory for him.

After all, he is the majestic Khan, the saintly king and sage praised by the world, but he is just a small court vassal.

Zhu Jinghong was a hero of the Ming Dynasty, and a hero should be treated like a hero, so the emperor sent the prince out of the city to greet him.

Zhu Jingyuan, who was slightly recovering from his illness, was sitting in a yellow shed built outside the city. On his left and right were officials from the Ministry of Rites and the East Palace, as well as some clan members and martial artists.

Because Zhu Jinghong was now so popular, the emperor downgraded his welcome ceremony, so the cabinet ministers, the six ministries and nine ministers, as well as the senior officials from the Fifth Army Governor's Office did not come.

"His Royal Highness, the guard of honor of His Highness Prince Xiang is here!"

After hearing this, everyone looked into the distance and saw the waving flag.

Along the way, Zhu Jinghong was rushing hard. Of course, there was no way to hold any ceremony. This was someone specially sent by the emperor.

Zhu Jinghong, who was originally riding a horse, could only sit back in the carriage at this time. On his left and right were Qin Keqing and Nuo Minqi Qige.

Although Ke Qing took a step first, he was still caught up by Zhu Jinghong, and then they came together again.

The three women with completely different personalities were talking and laughing at this time, which made Zhu Jinghong feel a headache.

He also learned about the latest rumors in the capital from Baochai's letter, which made him feel very uneasy.

Although he and the emperor are father and son, they are also monarchs and ministers. The principle of accompanying an emperor is like accompanying a tiger. How could Zhu Jinghong not care at all?

"It should be okay!" Zhu Jinghong comforted himself.

While he was thinking, Deng An reminded him from outside: "Your Majesty, we are just ahead, and His Royal Highness is also here!"

That's right, it was Deng An. This guy arrived in Xi'an in advance, where he picked up Zhu Jinghong and took away Yu Hai's job.

"Ok!"

In response, Zhu Jinghong looked at the girls in the car and said, "I will enter the palace soon, so you should go back to the palace first!"

"Yes!" Ke Qing responded.

When they heard that they were going to the palace, Qi Qige and the two of them became anxious, feeling like an ugly daughter-in-law meeting her parents-in-law.

Looking at Ke Qing, Zhu Jinghong smiled and said, "You are an old man in the house. We will arrange for them properly later!"

"Your Majesty... I'm afraid I won't be able to decide this matter!" Ke Qing responded.

She was just a small concubine in the palace, and she was chosen to choose concubines and princesses. In any case, she should not have the final say in this matter.

In the royal palace, he is humble and soft-spoken, but he is very cautious.

Zhu Jinghong was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Then follow my instructions and live in the same courtyard with you first!"

Keqing lives in a single courtyard now, and there are many rooms in it, which is more than enough to accommodate Qiqige and her two people.

"Yes!"

If it was Zhu Jinghong's royal order, Keqing wouldn't have so many worries.

At this moment, the carriage had stopped, which meant that it was time for Zhu Jinghong to get off.

When he was about to stand up, Ke Qing quickly reminded: "Your Majesty, wear the crown!"

I saw Keqing opening the box next to him and taking out Zhu Jinghong's Wushayi Shanguan.

"I forgot..."

After taking the crown and hat, Zhu Jinghong put it on his head. At this time, the curtain was opened outside, so he walked out of the carriage.

Standing on the carriage shaft and holding up the leather belt, Zhu Jinghong ignored Deng An who was supporting him and jumped out of the carriage.

Looking at the prince standing opposite, Zhu Jinghong rolled up his sleeves without any manners, and then ran towards the prince.

"Fourth brother, my dear fourth brother, our brothers finally meet again!"

The officials present had long been accustomed to such rude behavior, and none of them made any comments. They all observed the legendary figure carefully.

No matter how rude and stubborn Zhu Jinghong was before, now everyone has to admit his military talent, and naturally they can no longer look at him in the same light as before.

"Thirteenth brother, you have traveled thousands of miles to come back. You have worked hard all the way!" Looking at the much darker and thinner brother in front of him, the prince said this out of sincerity.

Zhu Jinghong laughed, and then asked: "Fourth brother, it doesn't matter if I'm thick-skinned and thick-skinned, how are you doing these past six months?"

"I'm just like that, I can't compare to my brother who travels across the northwest and shows off his power..."

The prince and Zhu Jinghong were chatting happily. Xu Xinan, who was standing behind him, was looking at the latter with cold eyes.

The person in front of him is the prince's rival, so he really needs to find ways to suppress him... Xu Xinan thought this way.

People from Prince Rui's Mansion had approached him and expressed their intention to jointly deal with Zhu Jinghong, and Xu Xinan acquiesced to this at that time.

Seeing the two brothers talking intimately, he felt that he could not tell the prince about the situation, so as not to make it difficult for him.

Compared with Gao Shuyan, Xu Xinan was more decisive and acted more dictatorially. He rarely had in-depth communication with the prince.

Of course, his loyalty to the prince was unquestionable.

It is said that after the two brothers chatted for a while, the welcome ceremony officially started.

The Ministry of Rites arranged this process very complicatedly, and after all the hard work, the prince was exhausted, which made Xu Xinan look extremely worried.

On the other hand, Zhu Jinghong was still in high spirits at this moment, and his energy soaring into the sky threw the prince into the mud.

"Thirteenth brother, you and I will ride in the carriage together and enter the palace to meet the saint!"

"Fourth brother please!"

Taking Zhu Jinghong's hand, the prince said with a smile: "You will definitely have a lot of new experiences when you go to the northwest, so it's just right to listen to what you have to say!"

"Fourth brother, there is some novelty...but it's all about fighting and killing, and it doesn't make much sense to talk about it!" Zhu Jinghong said with a smile.

Zhu Jingyuan said: "With a golden sword and an iron horse, he can swallow up thousands of miles like a tiger... The thirteenth brother is so powerful and invincible, how can it be boring!"

If it was Lao Liu who said this, Zhu Jinghong would definitely suspect him of ulterior motives, but he didn't worry about the prince.

"I feel ashamed to say that I went to the northwest to fight but failed to completely wipe out the Junggars..."

So the two brothers talked and walked to the carriage ahead together.

The officials they met along the way paid tribute to them one after another.

After the two of them got on the carriage, the large group of people rushed into the city. This lively welcome ceremony was over.

Although the people inside and outside the city wanted to see Zhu Jinghong's style, in the end they only saw carriages from a distance, and there were many identical carriages, making it difficult for people to know which one the two brothers were in.

This time Zhu Jinghong officially returned, so the carriage entered through Daming Gate, then passed through the end gate of Chengtian Gate, and finally stopped in front of Meridian Gate.

At this point, even as two brothers, they had to get off the car and walk into the palace to see him.

Helping Zhu Jingyuan get out of the car, Zhu Jinghong played the role of a good brother.

At this moment, outside the Meridian Gate, Prince Rui Zhu Jingyuan stood solemnly, with the majestic palace walls and towers behind him.

Standing with his head held high, he seemed to be the master of the palace.

He helped the prince walk a few steps and saw Zhu Jingyuan from a distance. Zhu Jinghong whispered: "Fourth brother...Sixth brother doesn't look very happy!"

"Could it be that you don't welcome me back?"

"Lao Liu..." Zhu Jingyuan originally wanted to say dirty things about Lao Liu, but thinking that it would be provocative and would make the emperor unhappy if trouble occurred, he swallowed his words.

"Lao Liu is moody, who knows what he means!" the prince said calmly.

Seeing Zhu Jinghong and the two whispering, Zhu Jingyuan strode forward to greet him and said with a smile: "Thirteenth brother, you are finally back. I have been looking forward to you!"

Walking up and patting Zhu Jingyuan on the shoulder, Zhu Jinghong joked: "Sixth brother is so busy on weekdays, do you still have time to think about my little brother?"

He used these two strokes with the right amount of force, which did not hurt the muscles and bones but also caused Zhu Jingyuan pain.

Sensing something strange about Lao Liu, the prince asked, "Lao Liu, are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"I'm... very good... very good!" Zhu Jingyuan gritted his teeth and said nonchalantly.

"Thirteenth brother, dad and the court officials are all at Chongzheng Hall and have been waiting for you for a long time!"

The great war in the northwest was very important. As the general in charge of the army, Zhu Jinghong would of course be formally summoned by the emperor when he returned to Beijing.

"You haven't dealt with me for so long, and now that I'm so proud, he still wants to find ways to take advantage of me? We can't keep him waiting for too long..."

Although he had to change his character gradually, he couldn't change it too fast all at once, so he still said this taboo word at this time.

"Thirteenth brother, please stop saying a few words!" Zhu Jingyuan looked worried.

So the three brothers walked hand in hand to the palace gate, at least on the surface they seemed very harmonious.

After passing through several palace gates, the three brothers arrived outside Chongzheng Hall.

Chongzheng Hall is located directly behind Fengtian Hall. It is the place where court affairs are often discussed. It is rarely used on weekdays, so Zhu Jinghong rarely comes here.

The three brothers didn't wait long before a eunuch came out to summon them.

"I have an audience with King Xuanxiang!"

"Thirteenth brother, please!" Zhu Jingyuan stepped aside.

"Fourth brother, please go first!" Zhu Jinghongqian said.

At this time, Zhu Jingyuan interjected: "My father is summoning you, so of course you should go in front!"

"Lao Liu is right, it's your turn to take the lead!" Zhu Jingyuan agreed.

"This..." Zhu Jinghong hesitated.

Zhu Jingyuan pushed Zhu Jinghong and said at the same time: "Stop dilly-dallying and show your magnanimity that you can conquer the Great Wall!"

"This...then you're welcome, little brother!"

So Zhu Jinghong went in front, and Zhu Jingyuan and others followed behind him.

The emperor summoned Zhu Jinghong, so it was reasonable for him to walk in front, but it seemed quite appropriate to walk in front of the prince...

So there is no absolute right or wrong about this matter.

Let's say that when Zhu Jinghong entered the palace, the officials waiting inside immediately went up in rank.

The cabinet ministers, the six ministries and nine ministers, and the generals of the five military governors are the top of the civil and military officials.

Everyone's eyes are fixed on Zhu Jinghong, and it is not easy for these people to see this legendary figure in person.

"Your Majesty... the governor of the northwest is quelling the rebellion, and the king of Xiang, Zhu Jinghong, wishes to greet your majesty, long live my emperor!"

On the throne, looking at the energetic young man in front of him, Zhu Xianming's thoughts drifted far away.

At this time, he remembered that when he was a boy, he was also so high-spirited, arrogant and arrogant in the world.

This subtype is like me... These four words popped out of Zhu Xianming's heart unconsciously.

"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Then, Zhu Jinghong stood up and looked up at the emperor on the throne.

Normally, it was a crime of disrespect to look directly at the emperor, but there was no such taboo between father and son, at least Zhu Jinghong didn't take it seriously.

"Old Thirteen, you have made great achievements in the northwest this time. What reward do you want?"

"Dad... no, Your Majesty..."

Only Zhu Jinghong could change the title during a meeting like this.

"What kind of credit do you have for me? It's all thanks to your heaven-like virtues and the sacrifice of the soldiers that we achieved this great victory. How dare I take the credit!"

After hearing this, Zhu Xianming said calmly: "Even so, you have made some achievements after all. How can you convince the people of the world if you don't reward me!"

"Dad, it is the duty of a son to do things for his father, so why do you dare to ask for a reward?"

Zhu Xianming smiled, then glanced at Cheng Ying, and said slowly: "Announce the edict!"

"According to the order!"

The reward for Zhu Jinghong has obviously been prepared for a long time.

Cheng Ying took out the imperial edict, unfolded it and read out: "King Xiang received the edict..."

Zhu Jinghong, who had just stood up, knelt on the ground again, and then kowtowed to the emperor honestly.

"I accept the order..."

"Zhi said...the Junggar people in the northwest refused to obey the control of the imperial court and wanted to bring chaos to the western frontier, causing the common people to suffer..."

"Hong, the thirteenth son of the emperor, was ordered to be the governor of the northwest to suppress the rebellion. He defeated the rebels repeatedly with repeated battles and victories. I am very relieved..."

The edict was lengthy, and Zhu Jinghong felt uncomfortable listening to it. In fact, he just wanted to know the result and what the emperor would reward him.

A few minutes later, Fang heard Cheng Yinglang read: "Increase the salary by 20,000 taels, grant five places in the imperial village, and grant 100 pieces of silk and 100 pieces of Luo..."

There were many things to be rewarded. Cheng Ying read for more than two minutes before he finished all the things and then said "I admire this".

"My son, I accept the order and thank my father for his kindness. Long live my emperor!"

After he thanked him, the meeting to welcome the court came to an end. After Zhu Xianming announced his resignation, he was the first to leave Chongzheng Hall.

A group of ministers came forward to say hello one after another, and all of them seemed very friendly, but Zhu Jinghong knew that many of these people should be hostile to him.

As he was greeting one by one, a young eunuch came to him quickly and told him that the emperor had summoned him to see him in Qianqing Palace.

Since the emperor summoned him, Zhu Jinghong said goodbye to everyone and hurried to Qianqing Palace.

As for the remaining senior officials, Zhu Jingyuan and his two men greeted them, and after a brief chat, they all dispersed.

The New Year is approaching, and the Holy Birthday Festival is coming, so all ministries are very busy, and the officials present are busy with their own affairs.

As for Zhu Jinghong, after he entered the Qianqing Palace, he took off his crown and hat, and then threw it to the eunuch beside him.

"Dad...what do you want from your son?"

In the Nuan Pavilion, the emperor was also changing his clothes, changing out of the twelve-chapter uniform he had just worn at court.

Opening his arms and letting the supervisors be busy, Zhu Xianming said slowly: "Old Thirteen, you've had enough fun with this trip to the northwest!"

“If you’ve had enough fun, of course you’ve had enough fun!”

Zhu Xianming said it as a joke, but he didn't expect Zhu Jinghong to admit that he had had enough fun, which made him not know how to continue.

"You've had enough fun, do you mean fighting is no longer fun?" Zhu Xianming asked.

Zhu Jinghong replied: "I thought it was fun before, but I don't think so now!"

"Why?" Zhu Xianming turned around.

"Dad, people will die in war, many people will die..."

"Those who died on the battlefield are just numbers to the coach. To their relatives, they are sons, husbands and fathers. They are the backbone of their families..."

Zhu Jinghong's tone at this time was quite enlightening, which was very different from his previous style.

This is his intention to change his persona, gradually becoming more and more reckless, and naturally becoming more mature and steady.

Zhu Xianming also felt the changes during this period.

Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. It seems that this kid has awakened a little after going to the northwest... Zhu Xianming said secretly.

(End of this chapter)