King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 515 Father and Son Fight

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and everything Zhu Jinghong had arranged was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Of course, the courtiers' impeachment of Zhu Jinghong has basically never stopped.

Whether it was his marching and fighting, his personal ethics, or even the relationship between men and women... As long as there was a problem, he was impeached all over.

Although the matter was fierce, it had little impact on Zhu Jinghong, and all the bullets were missed by the emperor.

Although the emperor's behavior made the officials very dissatisfied, it also won the support of the military officers. These people hated the chattering of civil officials the most.

In fact, Zhu Jinghong has not been idle these days, not because he is willing to continue to bother, but because there are some things that he just can't do without him.

For example, the most important thing right now is to comprehensively implement military reforms in the Guards and Pro-Army. As an authoritative "expert", Zhu Jinghong must of course participate in this.

The performance of the Northern Four Guards in the northwest really surprised everyone in the army and proved the correctness of Zhu Jinghong's military training method, so there is no obstacle to its full implementation.

The remaining 16 Guards participating in combat missions must undergo corresponding training and organizational adjustments. These require detailed study and verification.

After working in Wuying Hall for a whole day, Zhu Jinghong briefly exchanged a few words with a group of senior generals and then went out of the palace alone to avoid suspicion.

Hearing Zhu Jinghong speak, Baochai raised her head and asked calmly: "The prince is in a good mood!"

At this moment, someone among the guards said: "Lu Baihu, you two were in front just now, and you were treated like a commander!"

"It's okay...it's all okay!" Zhu Jinghong said with a sneer.

"Yeah... I used to like playing polo the most. Who would have thought that I would be scolded by him!" Lu Yuxin looked embarrassed.

After the ceremony, Lu Yuxinfang asked: "Thirteenth Master, I invited you to play polo two days ago. Why didn't you come... Could it be that the eunuch of the palace didn't report it to you?"

People like Lu Yuxin, Zhang Lin, etc. are all his trusted "old subordinates". Of course, he hopes that these people will develop better, so he will seriously question them at this time.

"Master Baihu doesn't know yet?" The guard who spoke was slightly surprised.

Lu Yuxin's doubts were deeply felt by Zhang Lin on the side, so he didn't even smile at all.

"It's all up to you, don't waste your good years!"

"Stop talking nonsense, go back and prepare now, and practice the infantry drill later!"

He and Zhang Lin had boasted to their brothers that they would definitely be able to invite Zhu Jinghong to play polo with them in Haikou.

"Thousands of households are commanding people to do things like this. They are not even qualified to be scolded!"

"The purpose of the imperial court choosing you to be the Imperial Guards is to train generals. Now you two just want to have fun. Can you live up to the imperial court's cultivation of you? Do you live up to the high hopes that the Holy One has for you?"

"It seems that Thirteenth Master has changed his gender?" Zhang Lin whispered.

There are no nobles among these people present, so of course no one will challenge him and the two of them. They are all very honest and no one dares to stand up to them.

"What is the commander's treatment?" Hearing this new word, Lu Yuxin was confused.

Two-thirds of the newly recruited Dragon Guards last year were not descendants of nobles, and Lu Yuxin and his two men were these people.

Having said this, Baochai put the kitten in her arms on the table, and then actually said: "My lord, don't you think you are too public? Have you forgotten the rumors in the city now? Don't you know how many people in the court are impeaching you?"

Compared with the children in the capital, these people knew less about the New Cao Canon, so Zhang Lincai wanted to train these people.

At this time, another person said: "Previously, Thirteenth Master was in the northwest, and most of them were commanders and above who participated in military discussions. Every time, someone was scolded by Thirteenth Master to the point of shame because of his ineffective command of the troops!"

"The princess is waiting for me?"

"Understand? Don't you understand what I said?"

Of course, although Zhu Jinghong felt that his attitude was mild, to Lu Yuxin and others, it sounded like a rebuke.

Normally, she manages her emotions very well. Very few things can make her so angry that she loses her composure. Obviously, this time she really didn't want to complain.

Looking at the main hall that had been cleared long ago, Zhu Jinghong knew that Baochai had come prepared.

"Who doesn't want to go?" Lu Yuxin asked coldly.

Baochai continued: "It seems that the prince is very proud of his participation in important events in the past two days. It is said that people are in high spirits when happy events happen. This is reasonable!"

Although he was laughing, he actually couldn't laugh anymore in his heart. He found that he was indeed a little content with the status quo, and maybe he really wasn't even qualified to be scolded in the future.

These words sounded even more unpleasant, so Zhu Jinghong walked towards Baochai and then asked: "Baochai, you might as well speak more clearly!"

But as soon as he entered the Yin'an Hall, he saw Baochai sitting on a chair behind the desk in the east side hall, holding a cat in his arms and reaching out to pet it, as if he had not seen Zhu Jinghong entering the hall.

Hearing Zhang Lin's words, a guard shouted: "Zhang Baihu, we just got off duty and are we going to practice now?"

"Oh? So, I really have a long face!" Lu Yuxin replied with a smile.

While Lu Yuxin and his two men were leading the guards for additional training, Zhu Jinghong had already returned to the palace.

Zhu Jinghong was in a good mood today, so when he entered the inner palace, he couldn't help but hum songs from his previous life.

"You are involved in big events all day long, and you are constantly involved in right and wrong. Do you really think that you are invincible because of the Holy Family?"

Zhang Lin on the side replied: "Yes...I and others are looking forward to your coming!"

"Now that the imperial court is employing people, you should..."

"He said the pain in the wind and rain is nothing..."

Now not only were they not invited, but they were also scolded. It was quite normal for them to feel embarrassed.

This was Zhu Jinghong's last sentence. Everyone listened attentively and watched Zhu Jinghong leave after saying their thanks and assurances.

However, just as he walked out of Donghua Gate, a voice calling him came from behind. Zhu Jinghong turned around and found that it was Lu Yuxin and others.

After hearing these words, Zhu Jinghong was indeed enlightened. At this time, he felt a lot more awake, and then he felt a little cold on his back.

When he came back from the northwest, he made up his mind to keep a low profile, but after returning to Beijing, he experienced impeachment, which made him drift unconsciously, forgetting all the strategies he had decided to deal with in the first place.

"Baochai... I was indeed wrong!"

"You don't know how many people are waiting to laugh at you now? How many people are looking for faults behind your back?"

"Back when I taught you how to play chess, I told you that if you accidentally lose the game, you can lose the whole game. If you lose, you can start over from the beginning. If you lose... what will happen to so many people in the house?"

Although the meaning of the words was still serious, Baochai's tone was obviously much calmer, and it was quite sincere.

Looking at his wife walking in front of him, Zhu Jinghong reached out to hold Baochai's shoulders, and then said: "Thank you, Princess, for reminding me!"

"I really got carried away. It's a good wake-up call from you!"

Seeing that Zhu Jinghong had really listened, Baochai felt a little more at ease, and then she said, "I heard people say that because the emperor has been hit by bullets many times, some officials have resigned from their posts!"

"And hearing what they said, I'm afraid more people will follow them. They have already tried their best to destroy you!"

The "them" in Baochai's mouth refers to the circle of married women. Her circle of friends is very wide, and she knows as many people as Zhu Jinghong.

"You have to know that the purge of emperorship in Jinling has not yet ended, and my father is going to implement it in Jiangnan and Zhejiang. There are many people in the court and local gentry who want to stir up trouble. For my father, maintaining the stability of the court is the most important thing at the moment. thing!"

"And you... are the most destabilizing person. How safe do you think you can be?"

Hearing these words, Zhu Jinghong's expression became more solemn. He actually knew all these situations, but he selectively ignored them.

I have the advantage, and it's really embarrassing for me to trick me into trying to kill me... Zhu Jinghong scolded himself in his heart.

Seeing Zhu Jinghong's expression of thoughtfulness, Baochai continued: "Fortunately, the disaster has not yet come, and it is still too late to save things in time. As the saying goes, the sky is brighter when you take a step back, I think... you should take a step back!" "How to step back?"

"Find a reason for your father to punish you!"

This method is simple and crude, but it is indeed very easy to use. The key is to master the degree, otherwise the gain may outweigh the loss.

"Yeah!" Zhu Jinghong nodded, thinking about how to operate.

After adjusting Zhu Jinghong's clothes, Baochai looked up at his chin and said, "Also, since you want to retreat, why not retreat further!"

"How far back?"

"Don't stay in the capital for now, let's move outside the city to live for a while, away from this place of right and wrong!"

There are many properties in Prince Xiang's Mansion, including several in Shanhuangzhuang. Each one has a house built inside, which is originally a place for them to relax.

To be honest, Zhu Jinghong was somewhat reluctant to leave the capital to live there. After all, it was too boring outside the city.

But he also knew that this statement was true, so he replied: "It's not impossible!"

After roughly agreeing on the strategy, the two of them did not take any time off, but continued to discuss the matter. Neither of them dared to neglect it as it related to the survival of the palace.

Two days soon passed, and Baochai's news was indeed relatively accurate. After the first official resigned, more than a dozen officials followed closely.

But the focus of their demands has shifted from the impeachment of Zhu Jinghong to themselves, saying that all the memorials they submitted were retained, indicating that they had lost the emperor's trust.

Since the emperor didn't trust him, they couldn't do this job, so they simply chose to resign.

Although he neither blamed the emperor nor mentioned Zhu Jinghong's "evil" things, he was actually directed at Zhu Jinghong.

At this time, the emperor did not want to be too partial. First, he resigned these people and sent them to the cabinet. Then, from the previous memorial to impeach Zhu Jinghong, he selected some points and sent them to the cabinet by the Chief of Ceremonies.

The impeachment memorial was left to the cabinet to handle. This was the emperor's response to the previous impeachments, and it was also a gesture to the courtiers to accept the matter.

The cabinet quickly gave its proposed opinions and suggested that the emperor should reprimand Zhu Jinghong and correct his unhealthy tendencies.

It was just a warning, and the cabinet was obviously very cautious about coming up with such a non-substantive punishment.

On October 25th, Zhu Jinghong received the imperial edict. Then he became more and more angry, so he went to the palace.

Of course, this was his action after discussing with Baochai.

Arriving outside the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Jinghong was told that the emperor had summoned six ministers and nine ministers to discuss important matters in Nuan Pavilion.

So Zhu Jinghong could only wait, and this wait lasted nearly two seconds.

While waiting, Zhu Jinghong also listened to the content of the discussion, which was about the clearing of the fathers of two places in Zhejiang.

Whether fighting a war in the northwest or building a navy, a lot of money is consumed, so Zhu Xianming must try his best to make money.

Unfortunately, the discussion did not go smoothly. Although these senior officials in the court seemed to agree, most of them pointed out the problems of Qingzhang and suggested not to act too hastily.

Even Zhao Yushan, who was leading the matter, was not very supportive of the emperor's promotion of two provinces.

In the end, the discussion broke up unhappily. When the emperor was in a bad mood, Zhu Jinghong entered the Nuan Pavilion without being informed.

"Dad...you are unfair and my son won't accept it!"

Zhu Xianming was thinking hard when he heard these words and suddenly looked up, and then saw Zhu Jinghong who had entered the hall.

"Who let you in?"

Faced with the emperor's scolding, Zhu Jinghong did not give a formal reply: "Dad...you listened to the slander and acted unfairly, and my son refuses to accept it!"

There are really only two people in the world who dare to say "dissatisfaction" in front of the emperor.

As a result, Zhu Xianming was so angry that his eyes were cold. He realized that the boy in front of him had not received a cane for a long time.

"Not convinced? From the time you went to the northwest until now, there have been at least a thousand memorials to impeach you!"

"If it weren't for your mother's sake, I would have dismissed you from your post long ago because of what you did in the northwest..."

"You've got an advantage and you still dare to show off in front of me. You're going to turn the world upside down!"

Standing up, Zhu Xianming pointed at the boy in front of him who was still unconvinced and cursed: "Look at what you are like now. You are disrespectful, arrogant and rude, you are arrogant and lawless, and you are causing turmoil in the court and unrest in the world. You still have the nerve to do so." Making a fuss in front of me..."

"Look at your two brothers. They are well-educated and sensible, and the courtiers praise them for their virtuous reputation. Then look at yourself... how can you have any dignity as a direct heir of the royal family?"

"father……"

Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong finally couldn't help but shout out. He felt that he had to defend himself.

"Just because of a few bullets from the court officials, you have devalued me as worthless. Do you really think your son is worthless?"

Spreading his hands, Zhu Jinghong said with excitement: "Now I can't compare to the fourth and sixth brothers, so why did you let me be the governor of the northwest military affairs before?"

"Some people only focus on my faults and criticize me, causing people who don't know why to criticize me..."

Sitting down on the stool next to him, Zhu Jinghong continued to accuse: "They were staying in the capital city, thinking they were guiding the country, but they didn't see that they were in the northwest, leading the soldiers to climb the ice and sleep in the snow, and they were defeated one after another. Your army!"

Hearing this, Zhu Xianming was somewhat touched. He thought of his own youth.

After the death of his imperial grandfather, he had no one to shield him from the wind and rain, and he was also criticized by the courtiers for his continuous battles and victories, until he ended it all twelve years ago.

Ignoring the change in the emperor's expression, Zhu Jinghong stood up again and said: "Oh... now that the battle has been won, they are biting their son like a mad dog and trying their best to find his fault. Isn't this burning the bridge across the river?"

It's a pity that the old man and I never expressed our feelings so openly, so that father and son became suspicious and eventually turned against each other... Zhu Xianming still recalled the past.

"Dad... they can cross the river and burn the bridge, but you can't kill the donkey!"

Based on this, Zhu Jinghong took off the Yishan crown on his head, then approached the emperor, pointed to the roof of the house and said: "Look here...this scar was caused by the iron armor!"

To be honest, the scar he called was impossible to see unless you looked carefully.

Putting the crown and hat on the imperial desk, Zhu Jinghong unbuttoned his collar again, revealing a scar inside and said: "Look...this is the arrow wound of the Junggar cavalry!"

The so-called arrow wound was, to be honest, only about the size of his little finger. Because he wore two sets of heavy armor during combat, the arrow was exhausted after it penetrated the armor, and eventually his skin was scratched.

As for the wound, it had already healed in the northwest, leaving only a slight scar.

Then he rolled up his sleeves again, and when he was about to speak, Zhu Xianming slapped the table and scolded: "Shut up!"

So Zhu Jinghong shut up. He believed that this time it would be at least a court cane, which would really stop everyone's mouths.

"You're the only one who's injured? What does it mean if you're injured a little bit?"

To be honest, Zhu Xianming had an impulse at that moment, wanting the boy in front of him to see with his own eyes how many injuries Daming had left on his own father.

There was even some pain that was still tormenting him to this day.

But Zhu Xianming was the emperor, and he could not take off his clothes and roll up his sleeves like Zhu Jinghong, so he scolded: "You have been a general in charge of the army, but you look extremely aggrieved and fall like a woman. In my eyes, Crying and making trouble in front of me... it’s really embarrassing for me!”

"The warrior in the palace!"

Following Zhu Xianming's scolding, four guards appeared outside the Nuan Pavilion a few breaths later, with firm expressions and bright eyes.

"Take him out and order Dongchang to beat him with twenty...thirty imperial sticks!"

(End of this chapter)