King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 711 Yuanchun is very tired

After this important matter was settled, Zhu Xianming felt much better.

There was another scene of loving father and filial son between the two of them, and finally Zhu Jinghong said goodbye and left.

He really wanted to leave because he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't laugh if he continued acting.

Zhu Xianming looked at him in the distance, a smile gradually appeared on his face, and finally he laughed out loud.

In fact, Zhu Jinghong was wrong. When Zhu Xianming said "You should encourage him", he was not joking.

Of course, he had said this to Lao Liu seven or eight years ago.

What he said was sincere then, and it is sincere now. It is not him who has changed, but his sons.

After deciding on the commander, his worries were greatly reduced, and he thought about finding someone to share his joy with. The queen was undoubtedly the most suitable person.

So Zhu Xianming set off for Kunning Palace, while Baochai had already left and bid farewell to the Queen more than twenty minutes ago.

Zhu Xianming came to Kunning Palace and found that the queen looked good today and was taking care of bonsai in the corridor of the east side hall.

It is now the middle of winter, and these precious plants need to be carefully cared for to keep them alive.

Although she knew that the emperor was coming, Yang Qingyin did not react at all and just did her own thing.

When Zhu Xianming walked up the steps and came closer, Yang Qingyin put down her work, looked up and asked, "Your Majesty, are you here to help?"

Zhu Xianming was just about to ask his subordinates to do it, but after hearing what the queen said, he could only pick up a small shovel from the table beside him and walk to the queen's side to help.

"Everyone, step back. I have something to say to the Queen!"

All the nearby eunuchs and palace maids withdrew, and then the emperor spoke: "Just now, I ran into Old Thirteen!"

"This little bastard keeps saying that he has no confidence in winning. How confident do you think he is?"

While tending to the branches and leaves, Yang Qingyin said, "I'm afraid it's less than 50%!"

Hearing this, Zhu Xianming immediately laughed and then said, "He said at most 70%!"

The queen was stunned for a moment, and then she heard Zhu Xianming say, "I slapped him in the face and knocked him unconscious!"

"After my instruction, he realized that 70% is enough!"

Taking the dead leaves handed over by the queen, Zhu Xianming said with a smile: "This kid is in a good mood and wants to go to the northwest. You know he can't sit still!"

"That's just what you want!"

"I didn't agree to it directly. Who asked this guy to set me up?"

"Oh? So what did you say?"

"I said that the Five Military Commands Office has discussed this matter many times and has now come up with a general battle strategy, so it doesn't necessarily mean that he has to go!"

"When the kid heard that he couldn't go, he immediately burst into tears and said that he was willing to share the worries of his king and father!" Zhu Xianming smiled brightly.

"Really?" Yang Qingyin was a little suspicious. She instinctively felt that it was unreal.

Zhu Xianming did not reply, but said to himself: "I did not make it too difficult for him, so I asked him to submit a petition for battle!"

"This matter ultimately makes him lose face, so just let it go... Don't ask any more questions, lest he feel pain and it affects his command of the battle!"

Yang Qingyin did not respond. She only cared about her youngest son going to the northwest and didn't care about anything else.

"Today, the Thirteenth Daughter-in-law came to the palace and told us something!" Yang Qingyin talked about her own affairs.

"What's the matter?"

"Old Thirteen wants to take the girl from the Lin family as his concubine!"

"Lin's girl? Which Lin's girl?"

The emperor has a lot of things to do, and there are even more important things to care about and remember. It is indeed difficult for a small character like Daiyu to enter his sight.

Yang Qingyin replied: "Lin Ruhai's daughter!"

At this time, Zhu Xianming understood who it was, and also thought of the things that Zhu Jinghong had done before because of this girl.

"I agree!"

"Ok!"

This time Zhu Xianming agreed very readily, only because he remembered some old things. That is, when Zhu Jinghong agreed to go to the sea in March last year, he promised Zhu Jinghong that when he returned victorious, he would agree to his relationship with the girl from the Lin family.

It was normal for Zhu Xianming to forget what he promised a year and a half ago, but Zhu Jinghong should not have forgotten it.

Therefore, Zhu Xianming could only think that his younger son was not close enough to him, so he thought of asking his mother for mercy.

At this moment, Zhu Xianming was undoubtedly very disappointed. As an emperor, he rarely had this kind of emotion, which was an emotion that only a normal father should have.

"What's wrong? You won't object, will you? He's been eyeing this for years, so it won't be a big deal if I agree to it!"

There is actually no absolute standard for whether things in the world are big or small. It all depends on the subjective feelings of the emperor and the empress.

If they think it is a big deal, then it must be a big deal. If they think it is unimportant, then it is unimportant.

Hearing the queen say this, Zhu Xianming sighed.

The Queen thinks I am unkind, no wonder the Thirteenth Prince asked her for something... Zhu Xianming sighed inwardly.

"You have said it, and I will definitely agree to it!" Zhu Xianming replied.

"One more thing!"

"What else?"

"The Thirteenth Master also wants to take the girl from the Shi family into his house!" Yang Qingyin replied.

Seeing Zhu Xianming's bewildered expression, Yang Qingyin explained, "It's the girl from the Shi family of Marquis Zhongjing. She used to be Sheng'er's tutor!"

"It turned out to be that girl!"

At this moment, Zhu Xianming had the same idea as the queen, and felt that Zhu Jinghong's choice of women was really unconventional.

"You promised him too?"

"It is not appropriate to accept two girls in a row, especially because... the Shi family is a marquis after all, and their daughter ranks after the Lin family's daughter. I am afraid they will feel uncomfortable!"

"It's not a big deal, but it's better to stagger it, don't you think?"

Zhu Xianming nodded, and then said: "We'll talk about this matter later!"

"Let him...let him come and ask for my permission!"

"What do you mean?" Yang Qingyin asked back.

"I have to promise him something, or he'll think I'm mean!"

Hearing this, Yang Qingyin smiled, then nodded and agreed to it.

Then, the couple followed the topic and talked about the historian, and then talked about the old things when they started the uprising.

Unfortunately, the queen started coughing again after just a few words, so Zhu Xianming helped her into the palace.

At this moment, outside Donghua Gate, inside the palace wall leading to Dong'an Gate, Zhu Jinghong and Baochai were already riding in the same carriage.

He had listened to Baochai's story, and felt relieved to know that the matter had been settled. He then told her conversation with the emperor. "The prince is often ill, you should encourage him... Is it possible that Your Majesty really intends to pass it on to you?" Baochai's face showed surprise that could not be concealed.

Zhu Jinghong replied: "I don't know. It's more likely that he is just trying to make me work hard for him!"

It is not surprising that he has such a guess. After all, only by thinking about the unfavorable situation in everything can we avoid the worst outcome to the greatest extent.

This also means that Zhu Jinghong had the same guess as Baochai, believing that the emperor intended to pass the throne to him.

But he would not place his hopes on others. After all, an old Taoist in the previous life's drama had made it very clear that only things that he could decide on would count.

What's more, there is also the lesson of the King of Han in previous history, which makes Zhu Jinghong lack confidence in "You should try your best".

"By the way...are you really 70% sure?" Baochai asked.

Zhu Jinghong replied: "I feel there should be, but no one knows the result until the war is over!"

"Just do your best!"

"Ok!"

After a moment of silence, Baochai asked, "Miss Lin is going to enter the mansion. Where do you plan to let her start from?"

The Lin family is in Jinling, so it would be troublesome and unnecessary to go back and forth like this.

In the capital, Daiyu has two uncles, so it makes sense for her to marry into her uncle's family.

"I remember that the old man gave the Lin family a house in the capital. Let's start from there!"

"My mother's family, let's ask the Jinling Lin family to come over. What do you say?"

Zhu Jinghong refused to marry into the Jia family because he certainly didn't want to have too much connection with them. This was a strategy that had been decided long ago.

"That's fine!" Baochai nodded.

"Just send an express courier to Jinling. The news will be delivered in about six or seven days. It will take them half a month to get here by express horse. In total, about twenty days will be enough!"

"Express delivery is used to convey urgent military information. The ministries and local governors dare not use it at will... I'm afraid your idea is not good!"

"What's not so good? Who in this world dares to say that I did something wrong?" Zhu Jinghong asked back.

"If His Majesty finds out, I'm afraid he will say you're not one!"

Zhu Jinghong laughed and said, "The old man is asking me to do something for him now, why would he care about such a small matter!"

"It's funny to say that he wanted to save face so he forced me to submit a petition for battle!"

At this moment Baochai also laughed, and then continued to talk about the matter of enthronement.

After returning to the palace, Baochai told Daiyu the news. Even though the latter was well-mannered, she showed joy.

Zhu Jinghong returned to his study and wrote a memorial in accordance with the emperor's instructions, which contained only a few dozen words.

"The bandits in the west are rampant. I cannot bear to see my father worrying about this, so I ask to go to the northwest to fight, defeat the bandits, capture the enemy chief, and bring the case to justice before the emperor!"

Seeing the memorial written by Zhu Jinghong, Baochai asked, "Isn't it too simple?"

"Why bother with all that? This will do!"

Zhu Jinghong then instructed Yu Hai: "Send someone to deliver it to the Tongzheng Division and have them submit it according to the regulations!"

In the past, Zhu Jinghong's memorials and reports were always sent directly to the emperor, and the Tongzhengsi were simply ignored by him.

Now that the emperor wants to save face, he naturally has to go through the channel of the Ministry of Public Security. Only when everyone knows about it will the emperor feel comfortable.

"Yes!"

As soon as the memorial was sent in, it arrived at the emperor's desk the next morning. At the same time, the news of Prince Xiang's request for war gradually spread among the high-ranking officials of the court, and would later spread to all civil and military officials.

The emperor approved the memorial that same day and directly assigned Zhu Jinghong to lead troops in the northwest, which shocked the court for a while.

Inside the East Palace, the prince looked gloomy. Yuanchun stood beside him, constantly helping him to calm down.

"The Thirteenth Prince has already made great contributions, but Your Majesty still lets him lead the troops. What does this mean?" Zhu Jingyuan asked angrily.

Fortunately, the study room was empty, and the people within five meters outside were all the crown prince's most trusted people, otherwise something big would have happened if the prince had shouted like that.

Yuanchun tried to appease him, saying, "Your Majesty is the emperor on horseback, so he will naturally be more lenient with Old Thirteen. But Your Highness does not need to worry too much about this. Since ancient times, those who have achieved great success and frightened their rulers have had a bad ending!"

The prince stopped talking and gradually became quiet, which made Yuanchun think that he had thought it through.

But the next moment, Zhu Jingyuan said: "Can we start in advance? After the Thirteenth Brother left Beijing, the Sixth Brother is also in Nanjing!"

The two legitimate princes are both outside the capital, so it seems like a good idea to take early action to force the emperor to abdicate.

But Yuanchun shook her head and said, "We are not fully prepared yet. We have too few people in the Guards Division, and there are not enough people in the Five Cities Army Division who are willing to work with us. Moreover, we have only recruited a few people from the Dragon Guards!"

"If you act too early, your chances of success will be slim!"

In today's army or in the world, the majority of people are loyal to the emperor. It is not easy to make a small investment for a big gain, and it requires careful planning to have a chance.

"Even if you succeed and control His Majesty, what will you do if Old Thirteen or Old Six refuse to recognize your imperial edict?"

"Old Six is ​​easy to deal with, but Old Thirteen has 30% of the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty. If he starts a rebellion... who can stop him?"

As for the remaining two-thirds of the elite troops, how many of them were willing to follow the crown prince and fight Zhu Jinghong? These were all uncertain.

Without the emperor, it would be very difficult for the prince to actually control the more than 200,000 guards and the Beijing garrison left behind in the capital, and he couldn't even control them overtly.

So when Yuanchun heard the prince's crazy idea, she knew that she had to persuade him, otherwise her side would be doomed.

"Old Thirteen's family is still in the capital. Capture them..."

He couldn't even control the emperor, yet he wanted to control the Thirteenth Prince's family. Yuanchun felt that the man in front of her was crazy.

"Even if you put His Majesty under house arrest, even if you take over Prince Xiang's mansion, if Old Thirteen still refuses to obey, what will you do?"

"He is so loyal, how could he..."

"Does Your Highness really want to entrust such a major matter, your own life and property... to the Thirteenth Master's friendship?" Yuanchun suppressed her anger and disappointment, and asked in a persuasive manner.

Zhu Jingyuan calmed down now. After a while of silence, he asked, "So... when should we start?"

"If you take action while the Thirteenth and Sixth Brothers are in Beijing, as long as you can get rid of them all, Your Highness will win!" Yuanchun said solemnly.

"I'm just afraid that the night will be long and full of dreams!" Zhu Jingyuan sighed.

"If you want to achieve great things, you have to be patient. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, slept on firewood and tasted gall. When he was young, King Zhuang loved hunting and drinking. They were all accumulating strength for a stunning success in the future and soaring to the sky..."

"Your Majesty is in his prime, and Your Highness is already the Crown Prince. Now we just need to wait for the right time, and don't be impatient and mess things up!"

After hearing these words, Zhu Jingyuan calmed down completely. At this moment, he was more grateful to Yuanchun and relied on her more.

"Your Highness, instead of getting angry about this, you should go and congratulate Old Thirteen. This is the only way to show your magnanimity as a crown prince!"

"No matter what, you are the crown prince, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, and the successor king respected by all the people of the world!"

Zhu Jingyuan nodded, and then said: "I will send someone to congratulate you tomorrow, and then invite Old Thirteen to come to my house!"

"That's right!" Yuanchun said with a smile.

But there was inevitably bitterness in her smile, simply because she felt too tired.

The prince's stupidity made her very tired!
(End of this chapter)