Chastity Layman

   Chapter 1024 Thirteen Gold Medals

  Central Plains, Luoyang.

  The Western Expedition has long since ended, but the people in the Eastern Capital are still discussing this war. People's joy, excitement, pride and pride from the bottom of their hearts lasted for several months, and their enthusiasm remained undiminished.

  About this war, especially about the commander of this war, the heroic performance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, makes people talk about it, even rejoice.

   Everyone still doesn't know the news that the prince was seriously injured and disabled in the war. Only a very few important officials in the court knew about this news, and it was strictly kept secret.

  The court publicized that His Royal Highness planned strategies before the battle, deliberately designed to confuse and paralyze the Tuyuhun people, and then sent out troops unexpectedly, storming Tuyuhun in the wind and snow, taking the lead in charging into the battle, winning many battles, and fighting again and again, the Tuyuhun people were completely defeated.

   It was like Huo Qubing was reborn, and Qin Huailiang was second.

  Some bad rumors and doubts about His Highness the Crown Prince in the past few years have now dissipated.

  Countless literati wrote poems and lyrics for the prince to praise the bravery of His Royal Highness. Everyone said that the prince really has the bravery of today's saints without losing his virtue.

Although the front line also reported that 80,000 prisoners were killed after the war, this news has not been officially confirmed. The official announcement is that more than 130,000 prisoners were killed in arrays, not after the war. Naturally, everyone is more willing to believe the court. Officially, after all, the prince is so virtuous and benevolent, how could he kill 80,000 prisoners?

  Everyone is looking forward to the fact that the hero of Mie Tuyuhun will come back soon. When the crown prince triumphantly enters the capital, everyone will greet him with a whole city.

  Hou Junji came back quietly, and no one in Luoyang even met him. They only knew that he was back and made mistakes on the front line.

   It is said that the prince temporarily stayed in Longyou to deal with the aftermath of the war.

The crown prince Chengqian became a hero. No one knew that he left Chang'an privately for Longyou last year, and no one knew that the emperor didn't give him the right to command and dispatch troops at all, let alone let him go to war. The prince's many actions In fact, there are problems.

  But the emperor strictly forbids to disclose all of this. After some sorting out, an official cause and effect was given. Anyway, he tried his best to maintain the reputation of the prince.

  If the prince was not injured, Li Shimin might not let him go easily. But Chengqian was lame, so Li Shimin couldn't bear to hurt the prince again.

   What's more, at this time, Empress Changsun is almost dying. The lies fabricated by the emperor are not only to deceive the people of the world, but also to comfort the empress.

"I didn't expect Cheng Qian to be so adventurous. He really has the style of a saint back then. When the saint led the army to fight, he always liked to go to the front line in person. He often went to the enemy's territory with only a few light cavalry to reconnaissance. Sometimes he deliberately used himself as bait The enemy, the sage doesn't know how worried I was when I heard the news in Chang'an."

  Empress Changsun was already so thin that she was out of shape, her complexion was pale with a tinge of dry yellow, she had no color at all, and her hair had already fallen off with only a few layers left.

  All the imperial doctors are helpless.

  After exhausting all kinds of medicines, even prayers and alchemy stones, the emperor finally despaired. He is still looking for folk doctors, folk remedies, and even alchemists every day, but it is useless at all.

  Holding the queen's hand, looking at his wife who had been with him for more than ten years, Li Shimin's heart ached, he was so choked up that he couldn't speak, and his tears couldn't stop flowing down.

"Saints, don't be sad for your ministers and concubines. Everyone is mortal. The concubine's deadline has come, and I have long thought about it. Before, I was always worried about Chengqian. Now that Chengqian is finally sensible and mature, I am very pleased. Now the only one who is still letting go The one who can't be lowered is Jinyang, she is the youngest, and my concubine has been in poor health for the past few years, she was brought up by Changle, but Changle is about to get married soon."

   Li Shimin held his wife's hand and choked up, "After Changle got married, I personally held Jinyang under my knees and took care of her instead of you."

  The queen smiled, but couldn't stop two lines of tears.

"Hasn't Sanlang returned to Luoyang yet? I'm afraid I won't be able to last long. Call Sanlang to come back quickly and hurry up to let Changle get married. Don't delay Changle's wedding because of my funeral. Girls can't always delay, before The date of marriage has already been changed once, if you keep mourning for me for another three years, it will delay too much."

"Also, San Lang is a good boy, and he was almost raised by his concubines. He was indeed a little reckless and impulsive before, but he has become more and more mature in the past few years. The saint treats him better. In the future, you will not only be monarchs and ministers, but also elders. Son-in-law, in the future, he will inherit the throne of Qianqian, and with Saburo as his assistant, it will be more stable..."

  Li Shimin couldn't help turning around, clenching his teeth, but his eyes couldn't stop rushing out, and he felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to cry loudly.

"The concubine is blessed with a short life, and cannot always be by the saint's side. After my death, Concubine Yang can continue to be the master of the harem. She has a gentle temper, never fights or envies, knows the book and is courteous. With her in charge of the harem, the concubines can rest assured... ···”

"Wuji's temperament is a bit competitive. Although he has some abilities, he is a relative after all. Now he is with my uncle, the first minister, the left servant, and the second inspector. After all, it will inevitably attract criticism. This is not a blessing but a curse. If the sage is willing to preserve my mother clan, please remove Wuji from the position of prime minister..."

"There is also Shiro Qingque. After I leave, the saint asked him to go to Xining in the kingdom of the vassal. Don't stay in Kyoto anymore. The children are old. He is the son of the sage, but he is also the king of the vassal after all. It is inevitable that all kinds of speculations will be caused if you are not old enough to be a feudal vassal, and it is easy to make the relationship between Qingque and Chengqian not good. As for Jiulang, he is still young. Let him keep my filial piety in Beijing for three years, and after he is twelve years old and crowned , let him be the country of the vassal, don't stay in the capital..."

  Empress Changsun knew that time was running out, she was often in a coma these days, and she was more energetic today, so she wanted to explain the funeral to her husband.

  About the three sons and two daughters, about the husband, about the siblings...

"The child Chengqian is good in nature and has abilities. He is very similar to a saint. He has a strong personality and is aggressive. It's just that he is still young and immature. He has offended the saint because of Su's matter before. The saint should not be too aggressive." Keeping this in mind, I believe that he must have matured a lot after going through this war, and men who have gone through wars and seen life and death can always grow faster."

"Su Shi is a good woman, but after all, she is a little cowardly. In fact, after thinking about it, these concubines feel that we are sorry for Su Shi, and Chengqian is even more sorry for her. We wanted to protect Su Shi before, but we were not true to her. It’s good, maybe you can keep it now, but what about the future?”

"That poor woman, if, my concubine is saying that if Chengqian can't accept Su Shi all this time, one day, she can persuade Su Shi. Of course, if Chengqian is really sensible and mature, and can understand us It's the best to be able to tolerate Su's painstaking efforts."

   "Hou and Pei are too scheming..."

  Before he finished speaking, Changsun Wuhou closed his eyes.

   "Imperial doctor!"

   Li Shimin roared in shock, the imperial doctor was always by the queen's side, so he hurried over.

   "The queen was mentally exhausted, so she fell asleep..."

  Li Shimin wiped away his tears, and restored his majestic emperor face, "Take care of the queen."

   turned around and left the palace.

When he returned to the side hall, he immediately summoned his servants, "Go and deliver the decree to Li Junxian, the governor of the town, and ask him to take people to Haiyan Castle immediately. I don't care whether he invites or kidnaps the prince. I will give him half a month to bring him back to Luoyang."

   "If Cheng Qian still refuses to come back, then tell him the truth about the queen's condition. If he doesn't come back, he won't be able to see his mother for the last time. If he wants to be an unfilial son and never come back, then he will never come back again!"

  The servant trembled when he heard the decree, and hurriedly bowed and retreated to deliver the decree.

  Since the queen was seriously ill, Li Shimin moved directly to the queen's palace. He usually works in a side hall and sleeps here at night, almost unable to undress.

  In the last days of his wife, he wanted to be with her as much as possible, but now the queen is drowsy or confused for more than half of the day, and the time she is really awake is very short.

  Whenever the queen woke up, he would immediately put down everything at hand to accompany the queen. He even canceled several court meetings for this reason, and even canceled a meeting in front of the imperial court halfway to accompany the queen.

  When he was away fighting, his eldest grandson was at home alone.

On the day of Xuanwu Gate, he had only 800 warriors. In order to be successful, the palace could not keep more guards, but the eldest grandson not only did not drag him down, but encouraged him to pursue his own ideals, and even personally put on armor for the able-bodied people, as the prince of the hidden prince. When the men and horses rushed to the Qin Palace, the eldest grandson even put on armor and held a bow to defend against the wall.

  In the past ten years since he sat on the dragon chair, the queen has taken care of the harem for him in an orderly manner, allowing him to handle the government affairs with peace of mind. The queen is virtuous and the husband and wife are deeply affectionate.

   I can't believe that she is still so young, and she is about to die and leave him.

  Princess Mingda of Jinyang is still so young, Li Zhi is still just sensible, and Lizhi is about to get married.

The queen has repeatedly mentioned a few things that she can't let go of these days. One is to hope that Qin Lang will come to Beijing as soon as possible to marry Changle, so that Changle will not have to wait for three years to delay the marriage after her death. Both her son and daughter can be by her side to see her off for the last time, especially Cheng Qian, she has so much to say to him.

  When he thought of Cheng Qian hiding in Haiyan Fort after being injured and crippled, Li Shimin became angry.

   "Come on!"

   "Your maidservant is here, what orders do you have for the house?" The servant hurried in to serve her.

   "Where is Qin Lang, why hasn't he arrived in Beijing yet? Is the wedding preparation for Princess Changle ready?" Li Shimin asked angrily.

   "Back to the saint, the palace has issued thirteen gold medals in a row to summon the Duke of Wei. The wedding of Princess Changle has been prepared, and the wedding can be held as soon as the Duke of Wei returns to Luoyang..."

   "Send someone to call again, if thirteen gold medals are not enough, then fourteen, fifteen, eighteen. Three days later, I want to see Qin Lang arrive in Luoyang!"

  (end of this chapter)