A Thousand Hills

Chapter 218

Although the eldest prince cried for nothing, he would rather cry for nothing!How important is the father-in-law, no matter the position, the connections, or the relationship with the father and emperor, it is not comparable to the brother-in-law!
In particular, the Fujian region won a great victory, and the father-in-law deserves credit for feigning death!

The eldest prince also persuaded his wife very considerately, and said, "This old fifth is too. He wrote the battle report as if it were real, which made everyone sad, and his mother-in-law is also sick. There are good medicinal materials at home, so I pack some for my mother-in-law." Go make up your body."

When her father came back from the dead, the eldest prince and concubine wept with joy, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "Finally, father is safe. I will go to see my mother again, and I will also ease her old man's heart."

As soon as the Marquis of Yongding heard the news, they immediately demolished the mausoleum. Madam Yongding’s illness was cured. Seeing her daughter and son-in-law coming again, Madam Yongding smiled, “Don’t worry about me, I’m just worried about your father. Now I know Your father is safe and sound, I am relieved, he will recover from his illness." Then he said worriedly, "I just don't know how your brothers are?" The old man is safe, and several sons are still on the battlefield. There are also several nephews in the family.

The eldest concubine persuaded, "Mother, just take it easy, since Fujian has won a great victory, there won't be too many casualties. If there is any news from the imperial court, His Highness will know about it early."

The eldest prince also said, "The memorial was delivered urgently. It should be that the fifth younger brother was afraid that his father would miss him in the emperor's capital, so he delivered the news of the great victory first. When the war is over, it will be rewarded for meritorious service. This paper will be slower." After all, Fujian also needs to make overall plans. Mother-in-law, don't worry, take care of yourself, otherwise, when father-in-law comes back and sees you haggard, I'm afraid it won't be easy. I will pay attention to the news of my uncles and my brothers. "

Mrs. Yongdinghou repeatedly agreed, and thanked the eldest prince, feeling that the eldest prince has matured and stabilized a lot in recent years.

At this time, the whole emperor was jubilant, and the Empress Dowager Hu was still in a daze, she said to Zhao Xie and the two noble concubines, "Didn't you say you were defeated before, why did you win again? Is it victory or defeat?" Dazed. . .

Although Zhao and Xie didn't understand what was going on, since Emperor Mu Yuan specially ordered people to come over, they both said, "It was a small defeat before, but this time it's a big victory. They directly wiped out all the pirates. It's peaceful, the empress only needs to feel at ease. King Min, Princess Min, and grandchildren are all safe, and they can come to pay their respects to the empress tomorrow."

Both of them were clever, and the Empress Dowager Hu showed joy when she heard it, and the Empress Dowager Hu asked again, "How is Ayu?" The grandson and great-grandson are all safe, how about the grandson?Especially since my daughter is next to her, she is always thinking about it.

Empress Dowager Hu is easy to fool, Princess Wenkang is not easy to fool, these two people don't know about Li Yu, and they dare not say it casually, after all, swords and guns have no eyes on the battlefield.It was Princess Wenkang who said by herself, "Don't worry, queen mother, the son-in-law is probably in Fujian by now. I said that my son's divination in the temple can never be wrong. It really is auspicious."

Empress Dowager Hu said cheerfully, "Yes, yes, in the future, if we encounter such unreasonable things, let's go and make a divination."

Princess Wenkang said, "Concubine Su must be thinking about it too. The empress mother sent someone to talk to Concubine Su to reassure her."

Empress Dowager Hu laughed, "That's right." She sent the mother and mother beside her away.

Concubine Xie smiled, "Fujian is victorious, King Fujian is safe, Concubine Su is happy to hear this, and she is relieved, the disease will be cured easily."

Concubine Zhao also smiled, "That's right, the queen and His Majesty have been thinking about King Min all these years, and now it's time for the prince to return to the emperor's capital once every three years to meet His Majesty An, and the lady will reward the King of Fujian very much. "

Empress Dowager Hu's eyes were about to stop laughing, and she kept saying, "Reward, reward."

Although Concubine Xie has a normal relationship with Xie Moru, for such a major national event, Concubine Xie would not want Fujian to be defeated, not to mention, a bunch of Xie family's children are all in Fujian.Concubine Zhao didn't have any affection for the fifth prince and his wife, but the rise and fall of her son's Yue family depended on Fujian, so she also hoped for the good of Fujian.Not to mention the others, except for Princess Ningrong, who would not wish for the safety of the court.

Therefore, for a while, the Charity Palace kept laughing.

Even in the prince's mansion, there are countless voices of chanting Buddha.

For example, Qi Guogong and Ping Guogong are all descendants of the fifth prince, and they are on the front line. Since the war, they have gone to the temple and burned many sticks of incense.It was first heard that even the Marquis of Yongding was killed in battle, and the two families went to the Ping'an Dojo several times in fear, but now they heard that the Fujian region was victorious, and the Marquis of Yongding was also alive, and the two families are looking forward to their children returning safely.

As long as he is alive, as long as he is safe, rewards are indispensable.Even if there is no reward, don't be a martyr.

Although they were betting on wealth when they went to Fujian, but when their lives were at stake, the two families looked down on wealth a lot.Even Duke Ping, who has always been known for his eccentricity, said to his first wife Mrs. Wang, "When Fufeng comes back, let the boss take over the title." It is also not good for behavior, so there are many hesitations about the title.Now with Liu Fufeng's outstanding military exploits, Duke Ping also made up his mind to surrender the title.

Wang said indifferently, "Listen to the Duke."

Looking at the white-haired wife, Ping Guogong was a little dazed, why it seems that we are so old in just a moment.All the grievances and grievances of these years seem to have turned white as the blue hair, and finally there is only a trace of sadness left.

Duke Ping wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything. He sighed and walked away.

Wang sneered coldly.

Mrs. Qi Guogong asked her husband 1000 and [-] at home, "I don't know when there will be news about Sanlang? You say, Sanlang will be fine?"

Qi Guogong himself was very worried, how could he stand up to his old wife's constant questioning, his hair was falling out in handfuls, and he was about to become bald, so he had to comfort his old wife, "Now is great news, don't worry about it." I've been nagging every day, if I can take care of him, I will definitely take care of Saburo. The princess's cousin is also in the army."

Mrs. Qi Guogong sighed and rubbed her heart, "I can't let go of my heart for a moment."

Qi Guogong suggested to his old wife, "Then you go to worship the Bodhisattva."

Mrs. Qi Guogong called her husband, "Let's worship together, we are sincere."

Qi Guogong had no choice but to pray to God and Buddha with his old wife.

As for the Xie family, the threshold is even more dangerous.

In fact, Xie's family has more gossip than other people's houses, but everyone just loves to come to his house, so it's good to sit and sit.In fact, Mrs. Xie is also very worried. The Xie family has a lot of people in Fujian!

Now that she heard that she won, Mrs. Xie could finally come up with something to comfort everyone.Since it was a victory, there must not be many people who died, so they can feel at ease and at ease.

At this moment, Emperor He is looking forward to the arrival of the fifth prince's second detailed war memorial.

The fifth prince himself was too busy to wish that he could give birth to three heads and six arms. This time, the big victory in Fujian refers to the annihilation of the large army of "sea bandits", and there are still small groups of running bandits that need to be pursued.The fifth prince also strongly encouraged the villagers to reel in bandits, especially the small bandits, single bandits, counting money on the head.

In addition to chasing the "sea bandits", there are countless other things to deal with after the war. Even the Marquis of Yong'an was arrested and went to the front line to help rearrange the coastal defense line.

Furthermore, the more important thing is the summary of the battle, the pensions of the generals who died in the war, the list of soldiers who are still alive with military merits, and the military merits of each person must be clearly listed.There are also officials who died in the war, no matter what they should be called martyrs.These lists are a foot thick.These lists are related to future imperial court awards, so naturally they should be more cautious.

Xie Moru is to appease the families of officials who died in war. In this regard, she has a good arm. Mrs. Tang helps to appease the families of military officials, and Mrs. Su is in charge of the families of civilian officials.If there are female elders, arrange a reliable place to live, if there are only children left, send them to Xie Moru, and Xie Moru will arrange them.

Jiang Xingyun asked Xu and Huang to appease the merchants in the city. Xu Shaodong felt lingering fear and said, "It's really dangerous."Jiang Xingyun said, "With this big victory, Fujian will always be stable for several years."

Huang Yue and Jiang Xingyun said, "The heritage of Wudi is more than that."

"The escaped pirates boarded the ship by luck, and it is said that they were all taken by Duan Sihai." Jiang Xingyun smiled, "Wu Di, I won't see any ship going back."

Hearing this news, Xu and Huang couldn't help being secretly startled.

Jiang Xingyun said, "By the way, we have left more than a dozen large ships here. Do you know anyone who knows how to build ships?"

Both of them said, "I do understand."

"how many?"

After discussing, the two said, "There are not many masters, only two or three."

"Let the masters prepare. I will send them to the front of the army in a while. General Liu has something to do."

General Liu, speaking of General Liu at this time, besides General Liu, the commander in chief of the entire army, who else could there be?Although such a master is extremely precious to any merchant, the two immediately agreed.If they want to conduct maritime trade in the future, dealing with the military is indispensable.

In short, with Fujian's victory, the two of Xu and Huang strengthened their confidence in following Jiang Xingyun.

However, this battle is not without regrets.

Jiang Xingyun said to Xie Moru, "I thought Duan Sihai would have to go ashore with King Jingjiang's men to find something."

"Yes, they will go ashore together, and this time, they can also reduce Duan Sihai's strength in one fell swoop." Xie Moru smiled, "Nine out of ten things are difficult. But Duan Sihai fought well and won many Jingjiang kings remnant soldiers."

Jiang Xingyun said, "This Duan Sihai will definitely be a strong enemy in the future." At the beginning, the trick to lure the enemy was not only aimed at King Jingjiang, but also Duan Sihai.Who knew that King Jingjiang's people were fooled, but Duan Sihai, not only was not fooled, he also picked up a lot of things, besides gathering King Jingjiang's remnant soldiers, and the big ship that King Jingjiang left on the coast, Duan Sihai stole a lot Don't go back, if Liu Fufeng didn't lead his people back quickly, they would have been stolen.

Xie Moru smiled, "The sky is big and the earth is big, each has its own territory. Fortunately, he can't threaten us for a while."

Jiang Xingyun took it for granted.

The two were talking, when the fifth prince came over, Jiang Xingyun got up and said, "I'll go back first."

Xie Moru was a little surprised that Jiang Xingyun was about to leave, so he nodded and said, "Oh, then you can go."

Ever since seeing the fifth prince crying, Jiang Xingyun felt a little uncomfortable seeing the fifth prince. Jiang Xingyun has seen everyone in his life, but there is only one kind of person that he hates most in his life: crying bag.Although he knew that the fifth prince was pretending, Jiang Xingyun was hurt by crying that way, and he couldn't see the fifth prince since then.

Seeing Jiang Xingyun leave, the fifth prince returned, "This time, I will definitely not wrong Miss Jiang."

"Thank you, my lord." After saluting, Jiang Xingyun left.

The Fifth Prince also said, "Miss Jiang is so weird."

Xie Moru got up to greet the fifth prince, and smiled, "It's probably because I'm embarrassed to see you."

"Why is that?" The fifth prince laughed, "Even if he was on the road first, that was also discussed."

The fifth prince didn't mind Jiang Xingyun's rude words on the road, if not, how could the play be realistic.In fact, the fifth prince didn't know that Jiang Xingyun was really angry when he saw him cry all the way.Of course, this can also show from the side that the fifth prince's acting skills are really good.The fifth prince has never been willing to wrong those around him, Jiang Xingyun has made meritorious service to the country, the fifth prince said, "I want to report to my father and give Miss Jiang an official position."

"That's also good." Xie Moru said, "Whoever has made meritorious service to the country must be rewarded, which is fair."

"There is something else I need to discuss with you." The fifth prince was a little hesitant, unable to speak, Xie Moru hated him the most, and said angrily, "Speak up if you have something to say, look at it."

"That's it. Isn't money tight right now? I thought, our palace will be put on hold for a while. We will rebuild the palace after it settles down." The family lost little because his daughter-in-law knew how to hide money. Logically, the palace should be built first, but Governor Su cried poorly when he saw the sky, and the fifth prince was soft-hearted, so he cried a lot to Governor Su for this money, and it was a bit out of hand.Not only money, but now the common people are reorganizing their homes, and it is not easy to smoke even if they are paid.

"It's the harvest season right now, so there's no rush to build the palace. If you want me to say, it doesn't matter if you build the capital or not. Has your Highness forgotten that we've only been feudal for three years, and we should return to the imperial capital to greet you." Xie Moru laughed.

"This time Fujian is safe and sound. After seeing you, I want to bring my mother and concubine here so that the whole family can be reunited."

Xie Moru tapped his knees with his fingers, thinking, "If we go this way, it will be difficult to return to Fujian in a short time."

"Why is this?" the fifth prince said, "I am also reluctant to part with my father, but Fujian has just won a big victory, Jingjiang has such a deep foundation, I am afraid there will be more battles to fight in the future."

"Your Majesty's major problem in his life is Jingjiang." Xie Moru said, "At the beginning, Yongding Hou was ordered to train the navy to contain the situation in Jingjiang. Unfortunately, Yongding Hou was defeated. At that time, His Highness had just presided over the criminal case and offended many people. They pushed it to Fujian. Now that His Highness has won, His Majesty's next thought must be to pacify Jingjiang."

The fifth prince's heart moved slightly, and he also agreed with his wife's opinion, saying, "I've thought about this too, our Fujian is next to King Jingjiang's fiefdom, if the father has this ambition, it's time to use us."

Seeing the fifth prince's full of ambition, Xie Moru said slowly, "The whole of Wuzhong is actually the territory of King Jingjiang. Fujian may occasionally win, but to pacify Jingjiang, one Fujian is not enough. At that time Taizu The emperor gave King Jingjiang the Jingjiang fief, which actually had his intentions. Although Jingjiang is rich in salt and iron, it is not strategically prominent. It borders Lu in the north, Anhui and Jiangxi in the west, and Fujian in the south. Wu, in Surrounded by the four. If you really want to take back the land of Jingjiang, you must join hands with Lu, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Fujian to trap Jingjiang in it, so that Jingjiang's strength can be gradually reduced."

"I think so too." The fifth prince deeply felt that when he met his bosom friend, he became more interested in the conversation, and said, "In our place, the King of Min will always stop for a while. But this is only a small victory, and he really wants to defeat King Jingjiang. To limit his royal power, the four places must join hands to encircle Jingjiang. I was thinking about going back to the imperial capital to talk to my father about it."

"Your Highness is right to think this way, but there is a huge difficulty in this matter."

"There are more difficulties. We have been preparing for this battle with Jingjiang for three years. If we really want to take back the land of Jingjiang, it will take more than three years. There is also a large amount of military expenditure." The fifth prince sighed.

Xie Moru smiled, "If it can be solved with money, it is not difficult."

"Then there is no difficulty. As long as you train your soldiers diligently and master them well, give me six years, and I have the confidence to conquer Jingjiang." The fifth prince did not expect to defeat King Jingjiang before, but now that he has won, the fifth prince is confident. greatly increased.

"His Royal Highness is only a vassal of Fujian, but His Highness's opinion is that the four places jointly besieged Jingjiang. His Highness's authority is in Jingjiang. Could it be that His Highness learned to manage the affairs of Lu, Anhui, and Jiangxi?" Xie Moru asked, I really stopped the fifth prince, and the fifth prince said, "I don't want to seize power, but according to my thinking, to form a siege, the four places must join hands. Moreover, this war is no better than others, and one person must be in charge of the overall situation." , I can’t set up a general in Ludi, a general in Huizhou, a general in Jiangxi, and I am the master in Fujian. Then I have to ask, who should I listen to? If there is no one who makes the decision, this matter Hard to do."

"That's the difficulty of encircling."

The fifth prince said, "This is only for the time being during the war. When Jingjiang is leveled, we don't care about other things. We should go back to our fief, isn't it?"

"Your Highness is willing, and I am willing. This is not just out of self-interest. From a larger perspective, among the princes, only Your Highness has experience in fighting against King Jingjiang. Moreover, His Highness won the battle. However, His Highness thinks a little more. For a land victory, the imperial court must reward generously. The officials and courtiers around His Highness must all be rewarded. The matter of Jingping and Jingjiang is a hundred times more important than this battle. Therefore, once Jingjiang is conquered, future military rewards will definitely It is not comparable to what it is today. Because of this, many people will not want to see His Highness preside over this matter. Otherwise, how will we reward His Highness for his achievements in the future?"

In fact, the fifth prince can't help but say that he has no ambitions. When he was at odds with the prince, especially when the prince tripped him, the fifth prince also felt dissatisfied with the prince when he was angry.However, the fifth prince said, "I haven't fought this battle yet, so is there someone who is so jealous of me?" Although the fifth prince has a little ambition, he still thinks that Jingjiang should be brought down first, and then talk about other things.

The fifth prince said, "Could it be that I only take care of the affairs of Fujian? Whoever wants to be the coordinating general of these four places will do it well. After all, Fujian is my fief." .

"Of course your highness can manage the affairs of Fujian, but your highness is a prince and a vassal king. If there are generals in charge of the four places, which official in the court can be higher than your highness? Since he is not as high as your highness, how can he surpass him?" Your Highness exercises power? If you can't control the power of the four places, how can you coordinate the siege of Jingjiang?"

The fifth prince gritted his teeth and said, "If it's an important matter for the court, I can make some concessions." If the court formally sends troops to Jingjiang, the fifth prince would like to participate no matter what, he can't just sit idle in the imperial capital.

"How do we give in? If there is a conflict in military cognition, who is willing to give in? Once is fine, who is willing to give in twice or three times? Could it be that His Royal Highness, the vassal prince, is subject to other people's control and orders?"

The fifth prince immediately shut up. He usually has no airs and is approachable, but he has the final say on matters in Fujian.Whatever he wants to do, he will be able to do.In exchange for him to listen to other people's orders, unless it was his father who gave the orders.

"No one in the court is more experienced than me. Even among the courtiers, is there anyone who knows how to use soldiers better than Fufeng?" The fifth prince said, "Except for me, tell me, who else is more suitable than me?" Can't figure it out.

"Not among the courtiers, but among the princes."

"Who?" Impossible, his elder brother and younger brother have never been out of the imperial capital.

"East Palace."

The fifth prince was shocked, barely jumped up from the couch, and lost his voice, "Impossible! The Eastern Palace is the crown prince of a country, how could it be possible to personally handle the military affairs! It is not impossible to use people in the court."

Xie Moru was determined, "Your Highness doesn't believe it, just walk and watch. There is one thing, I hope His Highness will listen to me."

"It's absolutely impossible. There are countless ministers and generals in the court. The Eastern Palace is the prince of the country. How can he participate in the battle in person!" His daughter-in-law was always accurate in her words, and the fifth prince could not believe it this time.

"Your Highness, what is politics?"

The fifth prince was speechless for a while.

Xie Moru asked himself and answered, "Politics is about deals and compromises."

If Xie Moru had said this eight years earlier, the young Fifth Prince would definitely have refuted it, but the mature vassal king who has served in the court for several years and has been in power for three years, could not refute it for a while. .In order to win over Governor Tang, he would put Xiao Tang in the vassal's mansion as an official. Governor Su is not disloyal, he still chooses the grandson of Governor Su to accompany his son to study... If it is harsh, there are deals and also some compromise.

The fifth prince sighed, "The premise of transactions and compromises should be to build the imperial court well, not everyone's selfish interests, just fighting for power and profit."

Xie Moru put one hand on the Fifth Prince's shoulder, "Your Highness is right."

"What's the use of being right?" The fifth prince looked depressed, "Although what you say is not pleasant, you are more right than me."

The Fifth Prince said, "According to you, could it be that the East Palace will really..."

"Your Highness, what do you think of the East Palace?" Xie Moru said indifferently, "The East Palace includes the crown prince, and also includes all officials attached to the interests of the crown prince. In fact, the crown prince may not have the intention to take charge of the Jiangnan war now, but the officials of the prince line will Let the prince think about it."

"The prince is not a puppet of wood, stone and clay." After all, they are brothers who grew up together, and the fifth prince still knows the prince well.

Xie Moru said, "If it were me, I would tell the prince that the prince's personal conquest, one is not to make the King of Fujian meritorious; the other is that the prince will share the worries of his majesty, which is the filial piety of the son of man; the third is that the prince has military merits and reserves the throne Stability, the country is stable."

The fifth prince got angry when he heard this, "What is this called! Liu Bang said that I am not as good as Xiao He in governing the country, I am not as good as Zhang Liang in making suggestions, and I am not as good as Han Xin in leading troops to fight. Donggong is not going to be a general, so it shouldn't be like this."

"It must come to this." Xie Moru said, "Your Highness, don't think that this is a matter of the crown prince alone. Think about it, how many people have been promoted and conferred titles because of this battle, and those who follow His Highness have received rewards, official positions, and Status. With His Highness acting first, then, will other people also want to fight for wealth and honor through this? Of course, it is unavoidable to say that wealth is vulgar, and a more elegant way of saying it is the name before and after life. What's more, since justice comes On the other hand, Jingjiang has also reached the point where it can't be dealt with."

The fifth prince frowned and thought, "I can understand that Donggong wants to benefit from it, but no matter what, it's too risky for Donggong to personally supervise the battle."

"The East Palace does not supervise the war, and the matter of supervising the war will fall on His Highness."

The Fifth Prince choked, his relationship with the East Palace was really not the same as before.If he oversees the battle, his people must benefit the most. Even if the fifth prince intends to take care of the prince's team, strategically, the fifth prince will definitely use his own people. In addition to selfishness, he is used to using his own people Yes, don't worry.Indeed, the crown prince would not watch him grow up.Even if the prince allows it, the people of the prince's family can't let him block their chance to fight for wealth.

The fifth prince said, "If the East Palace supervises the battle, I can do it as a deputy in Fujian."

Xie Moru said sternly, "This is what I want His Highness to agree to. If you return to the imperial capital this time, your Highness will never get involved in the Jingjiang battle again."

(End of this chapter)