A Thousand Hills

Chapter 308

The fifth prince actually left the city yesterday afternoon, and he could enter the city after a short journey, but since the great victory returned, there is no reason to enter the city for a long time, although the fifth prince returned to the city outside the imperial capital as soon as he returned. His imperial father wrote three family letters, but his imperial father still said, let's spend the night away, and then go to the city tomorrow morning, it will be more pompous.

The fifth prince chatted with Liu Fufeng and others for half a night, from the turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River to the four years away, and finally they could be reunited.It was a touching remark, but no one could stop hearing the imperial capital all the way from the south of the Yangtze River. Liu Fufeng and others heard calluses in their ears.Of course, they also miss home very much.

Early in the morning of the second day, before the sun came out, a deep blue appeared faintly in the sky, the fifth prince got up, took a few mouthfuls of breakfast casually, and the prince dressed up.The prince's four-claw golden dragon suit with a black bottom, a dragon crown wrapped with gold threads, a suet jade belt around his waist, and black court boots under his feet.The fifth prince looked at the mirror again and tidied up his beard. He combed it with sweet-scented osmanthus oil, not to mention how neat it was.What's more, half of the royal carriage is also displayed in a row.Even though Emperor Mu Yuan allowed him to use this half-frame royal carriage on his way back to court, the fifth prince did not dare to use it on his way back. The main reason was that the fifth prince was inevitably angry about the rumors about the Jade Seal, but he was also reminded of the matter. It is still necessary to be low-key.Therefore, the road was full of feudal princes and ceremonies, and even though the officials along the road wanted to curry favor, the fifth prince did not stop much, and returned to the imperial capital at a fast speed.Now that he is about to enter the city, he wants the common people to look at the royal style, and his father gave him face, so that the crown prince and all the officials will welcome him in person. Even if he wants to keep a low profile, he has to put on a corresponding ceremonial guard, otherwise, It's underestimated to be too low-key.In this way, this half of the royal car was put out.

Too many people is slow, and the efficiency is not good.The fifth prince got up quite early, but after a lot of tossing about by the guard of honor, by the time the fifth prince and his party entered the city, it was already time for the sun to rise.As soon as he arrived at Suzaku Gate, the fifth prince saw that the prince and all the officials were already waiting in line to pick him up, so he hurriedly got out of the chariot, dressed in a prince's attire, making the morning sun shine brightly, of course, the prince and others were also in prince's attire , the same golden light, but maybe the fifth prince came down from the chariot, so he was extraordinarily dignified.The fifth prince is very courteous, although he returned to the court after a great victory, he did not show any complacency, and saluted the prince humbly, "Your brother returns to the court according to the order, how dare your highness greet you with the elders? Brother."

The crown prince quickly supported the fifth prince with both hands, smiling all over his face, "Fifth brother quelled the Jingjiang rebellion and made great contributions to the courtiers. If you come back today, even if the emperor doesn't let you come to welcome me, I won't be able to sit still. The fifth brother belongs to our old Mu family. Who are the heroes."

The Fifth Prince said, "It all depends on the dedication of the officers and men, and the dedication of the ministers. Although we are on the front line, it would not have been so easy if the father, Your Highness, brothers, and courtiers had not dispatched food and provided advice and advice, and the Jiangnan pacification would have been impossible."

The fifth prince and the prince had some courtesy, and then spoke a few words with the brothers. Originally, everyone was a little jealous of the fifth prince's ostentation, but it can be seen that the fifth prince himself didn't think so. Everyone said, "My fifth brother has lost weight." I only heard that the fifth brother scraped the ground three feet in the south of the Yangtze River, and the wealthy people in the south of the Yangtze River complained of suffering.As a result, he was dark and thin, the eldest prince thought to himself, maybe scraping the land is not possible with physical strength.

The fourth prince said, "The battle is hard. Although the fifth brother is not required to attend the battle in person, how can we worry less?"

The third prince also said, "It's more laborious than hard work. Fifth brother will have a good rest when he comes back."

The sixth prince and the seventh prince also expressed their concern for the fifth brother.

The eldest prince glanced at the prince proudly, he must be careful, the old Wu Hei is so thin that he doesn't even ask a question, he just knows to say those clichés, and he is used to making a fool of himself.The eldest prince felt that he played better than the prince this time.The crown prince was taken aback by the eldest prince, and he just pretended not to see him, and laughed with the fifth prince, "While talking about taking care of us, my nephews have also come."

The fifth prince had already seen his own sons who were queuing behind, and it was not easy not to see them. San Lang made several faces at him, for fear that the fifth prince would not pay attention to them.The fifth prince was very happy to see his sons, and he called them to the front. Seeing the spirit of the sons with their heads held high, he was very happy. He patted his shoulders and touched his head, and said, "Why have they grown so big! Alas, Dalang only reached my chin at first, but now he is almost the same as me! Erlang is fat, Sanlang is still like a bamboo pole, Shiro and Goro are also grown up, why didn’t Liulang wait in the palace with your mother and concubine?” So It was a very cold day, even though the sons were all wearing cloaks, the fifth prince felt a little distressed.

Liu Lang said, "My son has grown up and can go out with his brothers." Besides, women will go to the harem to wait.

Saburo spoke quickly, "He insists on coming, and I won't be happy if I don't ask him to come."

The fifth prince smiled and patted Liu Lang's head. This youngest son, because of his mother Ling Xiao's relationship, the fifth prince didn't like Liu Lang very much. However, Liu Lang lived in the same courtyard with Xie Moru, that is, with the fifth prince Living in a hospital, seeing a lot, and waiting to see each other.You especially haven't seen him for several years, the little son who was soft before he left has grown into a little boy now.The fifth prince had to sigh with emotion, time is like flowing water.Only a father can know the heart of being a father.Seeing the eldest son and the younger son so lively, the fifth prince felt that his busy life in Jiangnan was not in vain.He worked desperately in the south of the Yangtze River, just to let the children live a peaceful life.

After seeing his sons, he said something again, and the fifth prince greeted Su Ping, the cabinet, and said that all the elders came to welcome him, and he felt very uneasy.Su Xiang smiled and said, "Today's Jingping is all due to His Highness's contribution to the frontline battle with all the officers and men. I am waiting to welcome His Highness and the generals today. With you, the common people can enjoy peace, and the mountains and rivers can have peace."

After being humble to each other, the prince invited the five princes back to the chariot, and they entered the palace to meet your majesty.How could the fifth prince get on the car by himself, and tried to invite the prince to ride with him, but the prince refused, so he rode with the fifth prince.The two brothers talked about their reunion after a long absence. Both sides of Zhuque Avenue were full of people who came out to watch the excitement and the soldiers and horses of the Imperial Capital Mansion cleaning up the streets. It was very lively for a while.

The fifth prince and the crown prince got into the carriage and left, and the people behind also got into the carriage, and those who got on the horse got on the horse. Sanlang and Dalang muttered, "Look at how father Wang Hei looks, he's also thin."

With a serious face, Da Lang felt sorry for his father and said, "It's hard work fighting outside." He only regretted that he was born late and could not share his father's worries.

Dalang, Erlang, and Saburo all rode horses, and Shiro, Goro, and Liulang rode in cars. Dalang watched his three younger brothers get into the car, and then got on his horse, and followed the army back to the palace.

Early in the morning, Emperor Mu Yuan was waiting for his fifth son at the side of the Zhaode Hall to approve the memorial. When he heard the report from the outside that His Highness the Crown Prince had returned with His Highness Five, Your Highnesses, and adults, Emperor Mu Yuan hurriedly summoned him. He looked so distressed immediately, and after seeing the Fifth Prince's gift, he asked repeatedly, "How did you become so thin, but you are sick?"

The fifth prince smiled, "Let the father worry, and the son is fine, isn't he in a hurry to come back, so he hurried on his way."

Emperor Mu Yuan knew that his son was not only on the road, but also had a hard time dealing with post-war affairs in Jingjiang. Seeing that his son was dark and thin, he couldn't help asking his son a few words in distress. After recuperating the body, I will see Liu Fufeng and the others again.Liu Fufeng first handed in the commander's seal, and Emperor Mu Yuan said, "Lu Yao knows the horsepower, and he knows the honest ministers. You are all loyal ministers and pillars of the court. It is my great fortune to have ministers like you, and it is also the honor of the court." Great luck." These words are so touching.Emperor Mu Yuan rolled his name one by one, and first said Liu Fufeng, "I just remember that you were weak when you were young, and you didn't want to be soft on the outside and strong on the inside. I will add a general, and the court will add a pillar."

Then came the Marquis of Nan'an, "I know that I have wronged you in the past few years. The fifth son has told me that Nan'an, you have not failed my trust."

The Marquis of Nan'an's eyes were slightly red, "This humble minister is ashamed of His Majesty."

Emperor Mu Yuan said softly, "Why did you say that, I have seen all your painstaking efforts." Don't think that courtiers are easy to provoke, between the emperor and his ministers, there must be a reasonable word.Like the Marquis of Nan'an, there was chaos in the south of the Yangtze River ahead. If the Marquis of Nan'an returned to the imperial capital at that time, it would be grace for Emperor Mu Yuan not to pursue him.The Marquis of Nan'an didn't come back, he stayed in the south of the Yangtze River and made military exploits, and now he is returning to the court with the fifth prince, he is a minister of meritorious service.

The third person to roll the roll was Jiang Xingyun. Emperor Mu Yuan smiled, "Your fathers and ancestors were all loyal ministers of Dongmu, and in your generation, you are even more outstanding."

Jiang Xingyun said modestly, "Your Majesty has a great reputation."

"Where is the reputation, Xingyun is really a heroine." Emperor Mu Yuan had to admit that Jiang Xingyun's assassination of Zhao Yang shocked the world.Emperor Mu Yuan praised Jiang Xingyun, the prince listened, and glanced at the eldest prince lightly.In fact, the prince is not the only one who looks at the eldest prince, there are many people who look at the eldest prince without any trace.It's just that the prince's glance was too obvious, the eldest prince glanced at the prince, and his heart was extremely depressed, and he roared in his heart: Who hasn't been frivolous once or twice when he was young!Didn't he just have bad eyesight and act frivolously on Jiang Xingyun!Besides, he didn't succeed in that!What to look at!

In fact, what the First Prince doesn’t know is that everyone sees him not as gleeful, but as deeply grateful for the First Prince. If the First Prince really forcibly accepted Jiang Xingyun as a side concubine, I don’t know if he can do it now. Seeing the First Prince, he must have been chopped up by Jiang.

Everyone rejoiced for the eldest prince's death. Emperor Mu Yuan had already mentioned the fourth governor of the Tang Dynasty. Assist the fifth prince to defeat Jingjiang in the battle of Fujian.Then, in the battle of Jiangnan, Governor Tang assisted the fifth prince in dispatching food and grass, which was quite a feat.Today, the Minister of the Ministry of Households resigned at an old age. Emperor Mu Yuan appointed Tang Ji to the post of Minister of the Ministry of Households, and the cabinet moved.The governor is from the first rank, and the minister is also from the first rank. It is reasonable to follow the first rank. However, although the governor is a great official in the frontier, he is not as good as the minister in the center.Tang Jiyuan thought that he would be the old governor for the rest of his life. He didn't want to be promoted directly to the Minister of the Household Department after several years of fighting, and once he entered the cabinet, everyone would call the cabinet old, which would be a new chapter in his official career.

The fifth place is Su Yu, Governor of Su. Governor Su also contributed a lot in the two wars. He is the second son of Prime Minister Su. He is not yet in his fifties, and now he is the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.Not to mention Governor Su's loyalty in missions. Judging by his appearance, he is not much younger than his father Su Xiang, and he is tired.It is said that Emperor Mu Yuan liked old scalpers like the Su family, so he was very soothing.

The sixth place is Peng Dalang, this general Peng is famous for his viciousness, people in the south of the Yangtze River use him to stop children from crying at night, it is said to be very effective.Originally, people thought that he might be born with a vicious face, but Emperor Mu Yuan was deeply surprised when he saw it. Peng Dalang was not born vicious at all. Ruoxian's dusty air.Those who don't know the bottom line can be regarded as outsiders.By the way, Peng Dalang used to be in a Taoist temple.Emperor Mu Yuan praised him, "Young talent, the leader of the country."

Peng Dalang bowed slightly, but said very little.

The seventh place is Li Jiujiang. Emperor Mu Yuan, who is narrow-minded, has always disliked Li Jiujiang. Now he really can't turn a blind eye to his merits. Emperor Mu Yuan also said, "Yong'an is good at teaching children. Knowing that you have such a promise, I must be gratified .”

Li Jiujiang thanked Emperor Mu Yuan for his insincere praise. He felt very honored. You must know that not everyone can tell His Majesty to say insincerely.

Emperor Mu Yuan praised everyone one by one, which means that those with high merit can meet the imperial court, and others are not so blessed.Of course, if Li Yu was left in the south of the Yangtze River by his emperor's uncle, he did not return to the imperial capital.

After boasting, the next step is to award, everyone's credit, Emperor Mu Yuan discussed with the cabinet.

Liu Fufeng was originally conferred the title of Marquis because of the Fujian War, but this time he pacified Jiangnan.Never mind that his nephew Li Yu didn't come back. Emperor Mu Yuan didn't wrong his nephew at all. Li Yu was originally an earl, but now he is a marquis and a marquis of Pingyuan.The title of Marquis of Nan'an has not changed, but it was downgraded to the title of Marquis at first, that is to say, the title of Marquis of Nan'an has to be demoted to an earl when it comes to his son. Emperor Mu Yuan gave Nan'an Marquis hereditary grace.Jiang Xingyun was ranked fourth, bestowed the title of earl, and also conferred the title of a sleazy heroine.It is said that Jiang Xingyun's title is not easy to come by, and some people in the cabinet objected, saying that there has never been such a precedent for how a woman can be awarded a title, and since Jiang Xingyun has meritorious service, it is enough to reward property, money and silk.Emperor Mu Yuan was very single, and said, "Whoever disagrees with you, go and talk to Miss Jiang yourself." I promise not to hack you to death.As soon as Emperor Mu Yuan said this, no one had any objections.Emperor Mu Yuan also said to Jiang Xingyun in particular, "Your title, you can marry and have children in the future, and you can pass it on to your descendants." Speaking of which, Emperor Mu Yuan also took care of the old Song family. Both the father and son of the Song family died in Xiningguan So loyal to this point, Jiang Xingyun was the only daughter alive after birth, and the inappropriate matter of the eldest son delayed the marriage. Therefore, although Emperor Mu Yuan felt that Jiang Xingyun was a bit old, as long as he It is Jiang Xingyun who is willing to marry, and he can take care of him separately in terms of title.

Jiang Xingyun thanked Emperor Mu Yuan for his kindness.

The fifth place is Peng Dalang. Peng Dalang has made great achievements in battle, and he is no better than Li Yunan Anhou and others. However, he has a reputation for massacring cities, and there are many opinions in the court.Fortunately, the fifth prince said a lot of good things for him. Emperor Mu Yuan was stingy in other matters, but he was always generous in military exploits, and he was also granted the title of earl.Although he failed to become a marquis, he had an excellent title and was bestowed with the word loyalty and bravery.

Li Jiujiang won the title of Viscount for his contribution to persuading Lin Fan's uncle and nephew to surrender.

This is the reward of the title, and the rest are not to mention the rewards of land, house, money and silk.

In short, one morning, Emperor Mu Yuan issued six titles wholesale.The princes are alright, the officials in the hall, who are supposed to be in the Zhaode Hall, are all knowledgeable people, but seeing Liu Fufeng and others bestowing titles on them, it is hard to avoid the feeling of "such a scholar of ten thousand households".The ones with the most meritorious service were rewarded first, and then it was the turn of middle and low-ranking officials and generals to judge their merits. These cabinets had already been prepared. There is a reward.Those who died in war will also be compensated.In addition, Mrs. An was seriously injured and could not come to the imperial capital to receive the title. Emperor Mu Yuan bestowed on Mrs. An the first rank, as well as land, gold, silver and weapons, which were also very generous.

The importance of military merit can be seen.

Of course, it is not that the imperial court has no income in this battle. The five princes have sealed off King Jingjiang's treasury. Needless to say, food, grass and weapons are all carefully crafted goods, which can subsidize the imperial court.That is, the Jingjiang king's treasury has more than ten million taels of silver and 50 taels of gold. It can be seen that Jingjiang's wealth is well-deserved.This does not include Jingjiang's smuggling to Duan Sihai. In addition, there are countless rare and antiques in Jingjiang's treasury. None of the five princes got their hands on them, and they were all brought here by his father.

As for things in other places, the five princes have turned a blind eye to the wars these years, and they have to ask the soldiers to save some property to support their families.

With Jingjiang's treasury as a base, Emperor Mu Yuan was determined to exempt Jiangnan from taxes for two years. Otherwise, tax exemption would be easy, and the court would also use money for its operations.

Emperor Mu Yuan first rewarded everyone, and finally said to the fifth prince, "You are already a vassal king, and you can't be promoted, so I will give you ten thousand mu of fertile land and ten thousand taels of gold. Besides, you are good at military affairs, and the vassal king has Five thousand personal soldiers, you can increase to ten thousand here."

The fifth prince thanked him and said, "My son has a royal salary, and the silver is enough. I asked my father to use the 1 taels of gold to pay for the soldiers who died in the war. Although it is a drop in the bucket, it is also my heart."

Emperor Mu Yuan also agreed, and it was inevitable that he would praise the fifth prince.

After this reward, at noon, Emperor Mu Yuan gave Liu Fufeng and others a one-month holiday, allowing them to go home to reunite with their parents and wives, and to go to the palace in the evening to participate in the Jiangnan triumphal palace banquet.

After dismissing all the ministers, Emperor Mu Yuan personally took the fifth son's hand to the Palace of Mercy, and said with a smile, "The queen mother must be in a hurry when she sees Tian'er's nagging."

The fifth prince smiled, "My son also misses the emperor's grandmother very much. In the past, at home, the emperor's grandmother would ask about food and daily life when she saw her. At that time, she still felt that the old man was nagging. I couldn't see it outside, so I always thought that someone nagged me a lot. The sentence is also good." After many years of experience, the fifth prince has made great progress in human relationships and worldly sophistication.

Emperor Mu Yuan patted the fifth son's hand. Among the sons, the fifth son loved his family the most.The old heart of Emperor Mu Yuan was very uncomfortable, and he said, "Today it will be peaceful, and there will be no need to stay away from my side in the future. This time I come back, so I can rest at home. Your mother and concubine have also worried about it for several years."

The father and son walked together and said that when they arrived at the Palace of Mercy, Empress Dowager Hu's neck stretched out.Although Empress Dowager Hu didn't want to see Xie Moru, the fifth prince was her own grandson. Although Empress Dowager Hu was more partial to the East Palace, she also had feelings for the fifth prince.Especially in recent years, the fifth prince has been leading the army and can't be seen outside. The smell is far away, and the queen mother is not immune, so he misses this grandson more.Ever since the fifth prince entered the Zhuque Gate, Empress Dowager Hu sent someone to ask about N's situation. Now seeing the fifth prince, Empress Dowager Hu's neck was sore, she rubbed the back of her neck, and said, "It can be regarded as coming!" Xuyan looked carefully Going to have a look, seeing the fifth prince's black and thin appearance, Empress Dowager Hu burst into tears, and cried, "Why is the fifth prince so dark and thin?" The prince would not stand stupidly waiting for Queen Mother Hu to leave him, he stepped forward to support Queen Mother Hu.The more Empress Dowager Hu looked at the fifth grandson, the more she felt distressed, and she complained to Emperor Mu Yuan, "The Ai family said that if there is such a difficult job, ask the ministers to do it, and it will make the fifth grandson tired."

The fifth prince smiled and helped Empress Dowager Hu back to sit on the throne. He saw a big gift for Empress Hu, and said with a smile, "Grandson is thin. He looks thin on the outside, but he is actually strong. Besides, you are not always in the house when you are fighting outside. If you stay here, it’s manly to be darker.”

Empress Dowager Hu wiped her tears with a handkerchief, "This can't coax the Ai family, the children's family, it's better to be fat."

In the past, the Fifth Prince's affection for the Empress Dowager Hu was really limited, mainly because the Empress Dowager Hu always favored the prince among the princes, and then, the Empress Dowager Hu often troubled his wife unreasonably.The fifth prince had always had some opinions on the old lady, but seeing the Queen Mother Hu revealing her true feelings, the fifth prince couldn't help being moved, and hurriedly said a lot of words to make the queen mother happy.Emperor Mu Yuan nodded secretly, thinking that the fifth son was really sensible.

The Fifth Prince saw his mother Concubine Su again, and Concubine Su inevitably got wet eyes, patted her son's arm, and said, "Just come back, and ask your wife to make it up for you."

Xie Moru was sitting under Concubine Su, at this moment, the husband and wife looked at each other, they were speechless for a moment.The fifth prince is so ashamed that he doesn't know what to say. Speaking of which, he is obviously two months younger than his wife. Now, looking at his daughter-in-law's phoenix hairpin long dress, her long eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and her precious light flowing, he looks like twenty people. It's Uncle Beard.The fifth prince is so depressed, thinking, my wife won't dislike me.If I knew this way, I wouldn't grow a beard like others. The reason why the Fifth Prince grew a beard was because he was obviously mature and stable, and he could hold back.When I saw my daughter-in-law today, I felt that the beard was not well grown.The fifth prince has always had a big brain, and he lost his mind when he was thinking about it. He didn't know how to speak for a while.Now the fifth prince's heart is fluctuating, I'm afraid no one here will know.Wei Xie Moru is worthy of being married to the fifth prince for many years. Seeing him blankly, he said in a gentle voice, "Your Highness protects the family and the country. Your Highness is the most beautiful."

The fifth prince's face was slightly hot, and his heart was greatly moved. He took a step forward and held his wife's hands, and said, "The princess respects my parents, caresses my children, and presides over the gift. The princess is the most beautiful."

The whole room gave goosebumps to these two people.

(End of this chapter)