Ten Dragons Take the Inheritance

Chapter 348 Old Fourteen's Birthday Gift
At the beginning of November in the 45th year of Kangxi, when the conscription order was issued, King Yinzhen of Yongjun lived and ate and lived in the Yamen of the Ministry of War for more than ten days, and began to mobilize soldiers from all walks of life. The Ministry of War flew out, and a total of 12 elite garrison troops from Beigukou, Xifengkou, Rehe, Sichuan Lvying, and Shanxi Garrison began a long-distance march, braving the severe cold, from Jingxing, Hanguguan, Niangziguan, Guide, etc. Gather to Xi'an and gather for orders.

On the tenth day of March in the 46th year of Kangxi, Yongjun Wang Yinti, who was ordered to go on an expedition, set off from the capital to Xi'an with [-] Chinese troops drawn from the Fengtai camp.

In May of the 46th year of Kangxi, a large army of 15 marched to Qianzang, bringing together the Mongolian and Tibetan armies who had come round, with a total force of more than 22. Dispatch all the troops into Houzang to attack the invading Zhungeer tribe.In August of the 46th year of Kangxi, Cewang Arabtan, who was unfavorable in the first battle, saw that the situation was not good, and fled frantically. He used a small force to cover the retreat of the main force from Lhasa. Fleeing away, the Qing army did not retreat back to the camp after recovering Tibet, but pursued it tail-to-tail. Except for some of the whole army stationed in Tibet, most of the whole army marched in three routes to the Zhungeer Basin, the home of the Zhungeer tribe. Completely take down the posture of not withdrawing troops in the Jungar Basin.

Every movement of the army is a mountain of gold and silver. The 20 soldiers eat horse chews, and the daily military expenditure is as much as 10 taels of silver. If the sea ban was not lifted a few years ago, the court had money, and the cost of military rations would also be increased. And it has been lowered a lot, otherwise this battle will really be impossible to fight. Even so, the two brothers Yinzuo and Yinzhen who are in charge of the general logistics supply have really added a lot of wrinkles to the military expenses. ——Grandpa Kangxi disagrees with tax increases, and this battle is obviously a protracted one. Once it is fought, it will never last. Although there is money in the national treasury, it can't support such a waste of time. There is no other way, Yin Zuo donated it himself A lot, and called on salt merchants and sea merchants from all over the world to donate money, so that they can keep the supply of the front line without affecting the normal operation of the court.

In the past two years, Mr. Kangxi's health has been broken down. Let alone going to court once in ten days, it is common for him not to go to court for two or three months in a row. The sons are looking forward to the old man's return to the West soon, but the old man is always sick. Not only did he not die, the frontline continued to win battles. Not only did Mr. Kangxi’s illness not worsen, but he seemed to be much better, and his energy was also stronger. Since Kangxi 47 years ago, he spent more time in court, ten days and a half months Some people can also show their faces at the court meeting, but they are still not very important, and the big and small government affairs are basically handled by the ministers in the study.

Time flies, like a white horse passing by, and in a blink of an eye, it will be the 47th year of Kangxi in February, and it will be the 55th birthday of Mr. Kangxi. This is a big birthday every fifth day, although it is not as grand as every full birthday, but for the old man In general, this is considered a good day. In addition, the old man’s spirit has improved recently, and everyone in the court proposed to have a big celebration. Not to mention all the civil and military officials and governors from all over the country, even the brothers are busy preparing to serve the old man Kangxi. It's his birthday, and all kinds of rare things are coming out of the cage, just waiting for the birthday gift on March [-] to show his loyalty, even the old fourteenth on the front line, the great general king, is unwilling to be outdone, and has prepared all the gifts to surprise the old man up.

The battle has been fought for more than two years. Da Zhang has not fought many times, but there have been countless small battles. The old fourteen strictly followed the strategic plan agreed with Yin Zuo in advance, pressing on all sides without haste, eating away at the quasi The activity space of the Geer Ministry was consolidated every time it occupied a place, and all the captured herdsmen were either slaughtered or transferred to the rear, leaving no chance for Tsengarabutan to counterattack, and steadily compressed Zhungeer Although the battle was fought slowly, the victory was real. Seeing that the Zhungeer tribe could be trapped to death in a few months, the old fourteen could not help but feel a little anxious, Without him, he was fighting in the front, but most of his thoughts were put in the back. The condition of the old man Kangxi is the most concerned thing of the old fourteen. Although the old man has become more energetic recently, everyone understands that this is just a flashback. Grandpa's time is running out.

The old fourteen has been ambitious since he was a child. Now that he is heavily armed, it is impossible to say that he has no idea. There are so many elder brothers who come and go in and out of his big tent every day, whether it is the third, fourth, Yin Zuo, Under Yinhu's door, he never refused to come, but I never saw him express any attitude, he always greeted people with a smiling face, and no one could figure out his true thoughts.A few days ago, Yinti personally led the main force of the central army to fight against the fleeing Cewang Arabtan, and took advantage of the victory to occupy Urumqi. Originally, according to the planned battle plan, the main force should continue to chase after the rear guard. However, Yinti saw that Grandpa Kangxi's birthday was approaching, and feared that something might be wrong, and a small defeat would not be good, so he didn't send an order to attack, but stopped there, and set up camp in Urumqi.

Li He, a native of Penglai, Shandong, was originally a commander-in-chief under Li Ke, the admiral of Shandong. He fought bravely and made many meritorious deeds. Entered the Han Army Banner. In Kangxi 45th year, Yinzuo introduced him to the Yinti Central Army as a guerrilla general. He made great achievements again when he attacked Tibet and was promoted to a general.Today, just after occupying Urumqi, Li He was busy arranging for his men to set up camp, when he suddenly heard the Chinese army's messenger calling, he hurriedly rushed to Yinti's big tent, and just about to go forward to greet him, Yinti laughed loudly Smiling and waving his hands, he said: "No, no, don't come here with me. I have something to do for you to come here today."

Li He has been under Yin Zuo for many years, so he is naturally aware of the relationship between the old fourteenth and his master, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions, but just bowed and said: "If you have something to do, just ask the general, and the humble officer will definitely do it."

"Well, it's not a big deal. Your Majesty's birthday is approaching, so I can't help but say something, can't I? Well, fortunately, Urumqi was defeated today, which is nothing more than a big victory. There is nothing in the army to prepare for. Let's escort some prisoners of war with Orontai and go back to offer them up." Old Fourteen said with a smile.

Presenting captives is not a small matter, it is the glory that can only be obtained when a large army triumphs. Although the current battle is in sight, it has not really won after all, and we are rushing to present captives. The big birthday is the icing on the cake, but it is too early.Although Li He is a soldier, he also understands that offering captives is a great honor, and he has some doubts in his heart, but since it is the commander's military order, it's hard to say anything, so he can only bow down and promise.

Not to mention that Li He, Erluntai and others traveled all the way to escort the prisoners of war to the capital. At this time, the capital was already filled with a festive atmosphere-Mr. Kangxi ascended the throne at the age of eight, and it has been 47 years now. Zuo's 61-year reign was terrifying in the time and space from which he was born, but he was also one of the longest-serving emperors in all dynasties. Why shouldn't this 55-year-old birthday be celebrated?As the chief minister of the study room, Yinzuo can only serve as the commander-in-chief of the ceremony. With the help of Ma Qi, Zhang Tingyu and others, and the full support of the third child in charge of the Ministry of Rites, he has been busy for several days and finally managed the necessary matters. It's all settled.

It's only one day away from the old man's birthday, and Yinzuo, who was exhausted and busy, dragged his tired body back home until three o'clock in the next hour. He had just entered the door, and he hadn't had time to sit down and drink tea to refresh himself Moxiang, the book boy in charge of the study, came to report: "Master, Li He is back and is talking with the two gentlemen. Do you want to see me, master?"

Li He is the best among the more than a dozen school lieutenants sent by Yin Zuo to the Old Fourteen. He was originally valued by Yin Zuo. Prisoner, Yin Zuo didn't pay much attention at first, but now when he heard that Li He had arrived, after thinking about it, he decided to meet up with him, waved his hand, ignored Mo Xiang, and strode towards the study by himself.

"Master." Li He was sitting next to him, talking to the two counselors, Wu and Lin, about the war on the front line, when he saw Yinzuo, he hurriedly got up and paid respects.

"No." Yin Zuo waved his hands with a smile, looked Li He up and down with great interest, and said with a smile: "Not bad, I haven't seen you for two years, hey, you are already a general, okay, Seeing that you are promising, this king is very pleased."

Li He kowtowed respectfully before getting up and replying: "This slave can only be today thanks to the master's vigorous cultivation, and the slave will definitely work hard to repay the master's great kindness."

"Okay, I don't need to talk about those clichés. Hey, you have been in the army for a long time, and the more you become an official, the more you flatter yourself." Yinzuo laughed and made fun of Li He, and immediately Li He turned into a red-faced Guan Gong, his mouth squirmed and he couldn't speak.

Hey, I'm still shy, which is interesting.The corner of Yinzuo's mouth twitched, he smiled and said, "Your general sent you to offer up prisoners. Let me tell you about the prominent prisoners of war. This king is also very curious."

"Returning to the master, the Fourteenth Lord sent his officials and Master Orontai to escort the prisoners of war to Beijing. There are the daughters and wives and concubines of Cewang Allah Butan, as well as some captured General Zhungeer. There are 130 seven people in total. ..." Before Li He finished speaking, Yinzuo waved his hand abruptly and said, "Eluntai is back too?"

"Yes, master, Lord E came back with the officials. After the slaves escorted the prisoners of war to the inn and handed them over to the Fengtai camp, they went to the city separately to prepare for the offering of prisoners. The slaves just went to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites to go through the formalities. , and then returned to the mansion." Li He said a little puzzled.

Orontai?Well, this kid is back too, mother, I remember that in the TV series in the previous life, the person who came back with a gift for the old fourteen was Erluntai, damn it, there shouldn't be any trouble this time, right?Hmm, remember that in the TV series, it's not about offering prisoners of war?Yinzuo frowned and thought for a while, feeling a little uneasy in his heart, but he couldn't explain his uneasiness clearly, so he could only say vaguely: "Li He, hurry back to the post station and take those Go through all the prisoners of war, watch carefully, don’t make any trouble, or I won’t let you go.” Li He was a little confused, but he didn’t dare to ask questions, got up, kowtowed respectfully, and strode out Study room, rushing to the post station outside the city.

"My lord, what's wrong?" Lin Xuanyi asked suddenly after Li He left the study.

inappropriate?Hey, maybe there is something wrong, grandma, if the sacrifice of the prisoner is launched in court and the assassin king kills him, it doesn't have to be successful, and it is a big deal to create a farce. The mass death of prisoners of war is also a troublesome thing, and it has hit a bad head. Damn, what is this bastard old fourteen doing, what kind of tricks does he want to play with prisoners, mother, isn't this intentionally adding to the chaos?Yin Zuo shook his head with a wry smile, and briefly stated the doubts in his heart. Of course, Yin Zuo would not mention the farce at the Thousand Seniors Banquet in his previous life.

Wu and Lin glanced at each other, with horrified expressions in their eyes. After pondering for a while, Lin Xuanyi smiled wryly and said, "Master Fourteen seems to be moved, one of the two escorts is the prince's People, one is the eighth master, if there is a real disturbance, the two princes may not be able to get rid of the relationship, if there is a chaos in Beijing, the fourteenth master will lead the army outside and become the beneficiary, here is the saying There’s nothing wrong with it, I’m afraid it doesn’t make sense.”

Wu Sidao nodded his head and said: "Nowadays, the stability of the situation is beneficial to the prince, and the chaos is beneficial to both the eighth and fourteenth princes. One has the idea of ​​leaving the soldiers outside, and the other has the idea of ​​being a powerful official. The fourth master doesn't want to make a mess, and the eighth master is afraid that he can't help but want to cause trouble. The fourteenth master may have seen this point before he came to offer the captives. Although it is just a guess now, the prince must be prepared accordingly It is."

Well, preparations are necessary, but there is no need to be afraid. If something goes wrong, the old man’s shrewdness may not be able to see through the strangeness here. Hey, people who think of ways to make trouble will only lift stones Just smash your own feet.Yinzuo nodded noncommittally, looked at the night sky outside the window with deep eyes, and meditated silently...

(End of this chapter)