The Red Mansions

Yanzhou Fucheng
  Looking around, there is almost a vast expanse of land. As far as the eye can see, in all directions, Han troops wearing red uniforms and black armor are holding swords and guns, hunting down the rebels and White Lotus cult bandits on rafts and small boats.

  Here, Li Yanqing and Kang Hong were fighting together, slashing down with the long sword in his palm, the sword was unparalleled and invincible.

  "Clang!!!!"

  Kang Hong snorted coldly, and waved a long iron sword about [-] feet in his palm like the wind. Under Li Yanqing's rapid attack, it remained as solid as a rock and unmoving.

  On the other side, Mu Sheng also came closer with his gun raised. The bright silver spear in his palm was like a dragon emerging from the water, swinging its head and tail towards Li Yanqing's vital parts.

  Li Yanqing was shocked. Faced with the dilemma of being surrounded by weapons, he was almost exhausted.

  Not long after, under the attack of Mu Sheng and Kang Hong, Li Yanqing's ship was surrounded by people, and it was Daheng on the water.

  The surrounding soldiers gradually fell to the river amidst screams, and after a while, a cloud of blood appeared.

  Li Yanqing suddenly felt a pain in his abdomen without paying attention. When he raised his eyes, a look of pain gradually appeared on his face, and his eyes seemed to be filled with disbelief.

  And with a "pop" sound, the spear left the abdomen, and blood gurgled.

  At this moment, Li Yanqing suddenly saw the light of a sword like a moon flower slashing down from the side. Li Yanqing felt a chill coming over him. His mind suddenly stopped and accelerated, and immediately his consciousness fell into endless darkness.

  Kang Hong looked at the dead Li Yanqing and said with emotion: "This man is a fierce general, what a pity!"

  Mu Sheng's face was full of evil, and he said in a cold voice: "It is not a pity to die if you coerce the White Lotus cult bandits and try to make enemies of the imperial court!"

  On the other side, because of his inconspicuousness, Chen Yuan escaped from the chasing generals early in the morning and fled all the way to the high ground in the north. Not long after, he escaped into the dense forest under the protection of a group of White Lotus followers. .

  in the forest
  Elder Pei next to Chen Yuan looked unhappy and said, "Master, it's all over."

  After the White Lotus Sect suffered a flood, it lost at least [-]% of its resources, and some of them had to go underground.

  Under Chen Yuan's sharp eyebrows, his eyes flashed coldly for a few times, and his face seemed a little sad. He whispered: "Shandong can no longer stay. Let's gather people and go to the capital."

  No matter what, as long as great things happen in Shenjing City, there may not be no chance of a comeback.

  At this moment, Yanzhou Mansion has become a hunting ground for the Han army.

  Countless of the more than [-] garrison rebels and White Lotus cult bandits in the city drowned in the floods. Then, when Denglai Navy chased them, most of them abandoned their weapons and knelt down to ask for surrender.

  A battle started due to flooding, which lasted from early morning to late afternoon, and then gradually came to an end.

  The entire Yanzhou city has become a vast ocean.

  Jia Heng, surrounded by soldiers, quickly came to the city gate tower and was receiving reports from the generals.

  Shi Ding, the Marquis of Zhongjing, stepped forward quickly with a solemn look on his face, cupping his fists and saying, "Commander Jie, all the thieves and bandits in the city have been captured and all are gone."

  The Marquis Wu just now was filled with resentment, and he had killed many people.

  Jia Heng's face calmed slightly and he said in a deep voice: "Marquis Shi sent soldiers and horses to clean up the battlefield in the city. The people in the city must be rescued."

  Once the Yanzhou Prefecture was defeated, the rebellion was almost over with only a little tail-end left.

  On the other side, Mu Sheng also approached and said, "The bandit leader Li Yanqing has been beheaded."

  "Have Shi Hou and Little Prince Mu ever met Chen Yuan?" Jia Heng asked again.

  Mu Sheng was surprised and looked at Shi Ding beside him, and said, "Chen Yuan?"

  Jia Heng said: "It is Chen Yuan, the son of the former King of Zhao. This man also boarded a boat to escape with Hauge. Where is he now?"

  Just now he was only focused on capturing Hauge, but he didn't take care of Chen Yuan.

  Mu Sheng said: "The last general has not seen him."

  Shi Ding also shook his head, and then Kang Hongwen, who came over after Jia Heng asked, also shook his head, expressing his ignorance.

  Jia Heng frowned and said solemnly: "That means Chen Yuan can escape."

  After thinking for a while, he said: "Little Prince Mu, you lead your troops here to clean up the mess. Governor Kanti will send people to chase down the remaining enemies. The others will follow me back to the camp to discuss matters."

  And he will lead his troops back to Shenjing later.

  The Commander-in-Chief is not a god. It is impossible to say that he can figure out the conspiracy that others have worked hard for many years with just a few clicks, and he can even understand every detail.

  In fact, even if the leader of the Jinyi Mansion knew about such a conspiracy, it was not him who was far away in Shandong who knew about it first, but Emperor Chongping, who had eyes and ears all over Shenjing and who controlled the situation in Shenjing, knew it first!
  It was the limit to be able to vaguely feel that something was wrong beforehand, thinking that it was a plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain, and sending Xie Zaiyi and the Jia family's young generals to take precautions.

  Then, Jia Heng left the flooded city and came to the Chinese army camp.

  Inside the Chinese military camp—

  The sergeant began to cook in the pot. The aroma of the food was already wafting in the air. A lantern was hung on the military tent. The heavy rain had stopped and the air was filled with the smell of vegetation and soil.

  Jia Heng entered the military tent, prepared a military report reporting the victory under the guidance of his general manager, and sent it to Shenjing in a hurry for [-] miles. Then he called Li Shu, the guard of Jinyi Mansion, and ordered: "Gather the bodyguards and rush to the capital tonight." .”

  At this moment, Chen Xiao also entered the military tent and asked, "Are you planning to leave?"

  Jia Heng nodded and said, "I will tell Shi Hou and them later that you can command the army here for me."

  Chen Xiao was silent for a moment, pursed her pink lips, and said softly: "I didn't tell you before, and I just found out about it not long ago."

  According to her expectations, King Qi would not be able to accomplish anything big. Xie Zaiyi still controlled the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp, and the Beijing camp was also in her hands.

  Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "It won't help to say this now. Let's go back and capture King Qi first."

  Xiaoxiao didn't tell him, probably because he was worried that he was soft-hearted, or that he told Emperor Chongping in advance. Then, if King Qi's conspiracy failed, Emperor Chongping might have escaped death, and he might have a second thought in his mind and become more suspicious of him.

  That’s when the big trouble comes.

  Besides, if the situation in Beijing changes, how can King Qi be allowed to succeed?

  Chen Xiao said: "If you don't wait any longer, and wait until there is a specific change in Beijing, then you can return to Beijing, and you will be safer if you have a large army under your command."

  Jia Heng frowned and said in a deep voice: "What about Xianning, Chanyue, and the relatives of Rongning and Ningfu?"

  He didn't want to be Guo Wei, but he became emperor, only to have his whole family killed. There's nothing interesting about being a noble like that.

  Chen Xiao said softly: "King Qi probably won't succeed."

  Jia Heng said: "It is precisely because he cannot succeed that he should rush to the capital to help. Otherwise, the emperor will be surprised afterwards, and it will also be a disaster."

  If the emperor is in danger, and he comes to the rescue in time, it should be able to offset the suspicion for a period of time. After all, he has an army of [-] outside and can stand on his own.

  On the contrary, if you learn that the emperor has been assassinated and do nothing, and the emperor is safe and sound, then...

  In fact, if the emperor dies now, the situation in the court will be even more chaotic.

  The vassals of Chu and Wei are all here, and the world's hearts are drawn to the Chen family. How can foreign officials seek to usurp the throne?
  To put it more cruelly, the best result is that the King of Qi kills all the emperor, including the Wei, Chu and Liang vassals, and then goes back to avenge the emperor.

  And then change the dynasty as a son-in-law?
  That's impossible. There are so many children in the clan, so choosing one person to be the king and assist in government is a high probability event.

  Moreover, the emperor should not be underestimated. He may have noticed the conspiracy's countercurrent, and it is possible.

  Jia Heng made up his mind, looked at Chen Xiao, and said, "You and Cai Quan share the military power of the capital camp and take care of the funeral affairs."

  As long as he goes back, with his prestige in the capital camp, there is a high probability that King Qi will not be able to accomplish anything.

  In fact, Xie Zaiyi had many soldiers and horses, and he was able to contain King Qi. As long as the Jinyi Mansion got the news using flying pigeons, they would be able to avoid disaster.

  I just don’t know if it has been launched in the city.

  Chen Xiaoqing's eyes filled with tears and he said: "That's fine. If there are changes in Beijing, we can suppress the situation with heavy troops at hand."

  At this moment, Qianhu Li Shuzai, a personal guard in Jinyi, entered the military tent, cupped his hands and said: "Captain, urgent delivery from the capital."

  Jia Heng said: "What urgent delivery?"

  Li Shu looked solemn and said, "The Supreme Emperor has passed away."

  After many days, the news of the death of the Supreme Emperor came via express delivery from Shenjing.

  Jia Heng's expression was as calm as Xuan Shui's. He glanced at Chen Xiao and said in a deep voice: "Send the order. The entire army is in complete silence. I send my condolences from afar!"

  The death of the Supreme Emperor is a national mourning, and the army should also be honored.

  Immediately, a general came down to deliver the order, and immediately, the entire army began to hang white flags.

  Jia Heng didn't say much after that, and summoned Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding and others to enter the military tent.

  Shi Ding, the Marquis of Zhongjing, Kang Hong, the governor of Hebei, Mu Sheng, the governor of Denglai, and the generals from the capital camp entered the hall and said, "I have seen Commander-in-Chief."

  Jia Heng said: "The emperor has passed away, and I will go to the capital to pay tribute."

  Starting from Xianning, he was still the emperor's grandson-in-law, so after hearing the news of the national mourning, he should have gone to pay his respects.

  "Commander Jie, the rebels have been wiped out. Commander Jie, please feel free to return to the capital." Kang Hong said with clasped fists.

  Jia Heng nodded and said loudly: "After I left, all the generals continued to sweep away the White Lotus Sect bandits and Jurchen rebels, and returned to their respective stations. I have already gone to the imperial court to ask for your merits."

  When the generals below heard the words, their hearts moved slightly. Jia Heng said: "Young Prince Mu can lead the Denglai troops to Jining and continue to pursue the remaining bandits."

  Mu Sheng raised his hand and said yes.

  Jia Heng said: "General Zhang also returned to Jinan Prefecture and took over the overall management of the soldiers at the Shandong Front Guard Station."

  Afterwards, Shandong apparently no longer had an admiral, but instead a capital commander.

  Jia Heng said: "Admiral Kangti, recently in Hebei, the Jurchen bandits have made random warnings and invaded Jizhen, Xuanda and other places. Governor Kangti led his troops back to Baoding to support border affairs."

  Kang Hong cupped his hands and said, "The last general takes orders."

  At this moment, Yanzhou Mansion has returned to the hands of the imperial court, the rebels have been wiped out, and it is indeed time for reinforcements from all walks of life to return to their bases.

  As for the merits and rewards, those are matters that will be discussed later in the imperial court.

  Jia Heng said: "The cavalry in the Beijing camp will be led by Princess Le'an as the main general and Cai Quan as the deputy general. They will return to Beijing in triumph someday."

  Chen Xiao and Cai Quan said yes.

  Because Chen Xiao is the daughter of King Zhou, no one thinks there is anything wrong with a female general temporarily taking charge of the capital camp.

  Then, without further delay, Jia Heng fired up three thousand cavalry, and under the retinue of Jinyi Mansion Guards, he left Yanzhou Mansion overnight when night fell and galloped towards the sacred city.

  In this way, the rebellion in Shandong ended with the death of Li Yanqing, the capture of Haoge, and the escape of Chen Yuan after Yanzhou was defeated by the water attack.

  The subsequent aftermath matters were handed over by Jia Heng to Chen Xiao and Cai Quan.

  ……

  ……

  Shenjing Castle, Palace Garden
  It was early June of the seventeenth year of Chongping.

  The coffin of the Supreme Emperor Longzhi has been parked in the palace for more than half a month. The cries in Fengtian Palace are non-stop. Every day, the clan will come to the palace to cry at a designated time. As for the civil and military officials, they will also cry in the palace on the [-]th, [-]th and [-]th. When you enter the palace to cry and offer sacrifices, you have to cry for seventy-seven forty-nine days.

  In the past few days, the summer rain has been pouring continuously. The torrential rain beat on the eaves and eaves tiles, washing away the roof ridges and eaves tiles. It seemed that it was also crying for the fall of a generation of Han emperors.

  In the side hall, the sudden cool breeze in summer blew the light yellow curtains from time to time, and the figures inside were faintly visible.

  "Your Majesty, have something to eat." At this moment, Empress Song was wearing a heavy mourning dress, with no hairpins on her gorgeous bun, and she came closer with a bowl of porridge in her hand.

  This beauty's face, which was originally graceful and gorgeous, is now a little more moving and bright because of the tears still there.

  As the old saying goes, if you want to be pretty, you must dress in filial piety. At this moment, the Empress of Song Dynasty was dressed in plain white filial piety clothes, which perfectly complemented her snowy skin and jade face, making her look more like a snowy beauty.

  The beauty is plump and exquisite, and her skin is as good as snow. At this moment, because she is crying along with her, she is even more beautiful than before. I feel pity for her.

  Emperor Chongping was also a little hungry now. He took the porridge and took a sip. His sunken cheeks gradually regained some of their rosiness.

  Empress Song had a gorgeous face and slightly parted red lips. Her originally round and smooth voice was slightly hoarse, and she said softly: "Your Majesty, Qin Tian Jian has planned a good day, and the funeral will be held at the beginning of next month."

  Because of the hot weather, the body is prone to decay if left for a long time. Although a lot of ice cubes have been transported to Fengtian Palace, and the palace also has methods to preserve the body from decay, it cannot really stay alive for a few months.

  Of course, the Book of Rites states: "The emperor will be buried on the seventh day and buried in the seventh month."

  It is common for the emperor's coffin to remain inactive for a longer period of time, but this is not necessarily the case. In many cases, the coffin remains suspended for more than half a year in order to wait for the tomb to be repaired. For example, since Chen Han Taizu, it has been more than twenty-seven days.

  Emperor Chongping finished the porridge, handed it to Dai Quan aside, and said softly: "It has been raining these days, and I don't know when the weather will stop. I will wait two more days to see what the weather conditions are like, and let the Ministry of Rites and Qintian Supervisor I hope you will have a good day."

  A national funeral is no small matter. The civilian husband Ding Zhuang carried the coffin to Gongling Mausoleum in Weinan. The entire journey was more than [-] miles. From the ceremonial guards to the etiquette along the way, it required the cooperation of multiple yamen in Beijing.

  Under the curved eyebrows of Queen Song, her beautiful eyes as moist as water twinkled, and she said softly: "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

  Emperor Chongping's bloodshot eyes were blank for a moment, and he said: "It's not auspicious to rain. Just wait a few more days before carrying out the funeral."

  After thinking for a while, he said with emotion: "I don't know what the situation is like with Ziyu in Shandong these days. The Jurchens are leading troops to invade northern Xinjiang in large numbers, seeming to be coordinating the rebellion in Shandong."

  During this period, war clouds were indeed gathering in the north. Dorgon dispatched the elite Eight Banners to attack the border, reaching Jizhou, Datong, Xuanfu and other places to threaten the northern border of Chen and Han, while Xuanda and Jizhen relied on the city to defend.

  Queen Song's heart moved slightly and asked: "Your Majesty, have there been no military reports from Ziyu recently?"

  Emperor Chongping said: "I asked Dai Quan to send people to keep an eye on it. As mentioned last time, the bandits are trapped in Yanzhou, just like catching turtles in a urn. Ziyu is sending troops and horses to suppress them, but there are tens of thousands of rebels in Yanzhou City, and food has been hoarded in advance. There are quite a few, and now we can’t attack them for a long time.”

  Empress Song comforted her and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. With Ziyu's ability, it is only a matter of time before we can break the city."

  Emperor Chongping nodded and said warmly: "I hope the situation in Shandong can be settled as soon as possible. The war in the north cannot be separated from Zi Yu."

  In the past few days, the northern border towns also rushed to the capital with express delivery of [-] miles to inform and warn.

  Palace Garden, Changle Palace
  Princess Jinyang and Concubine Duanrong helped Empress Dowager Feng to sit down.

  She had been keeping vigil and crying in front of the coffin for the past few days. Empress Dowager Feng's body was also feeling a little tired. At the persuasion of Emperor Chongping, she returned to Changle Palace to rest.

  Empress Dowager Feng's old and haggard face had a hint of sadness that could not be concealed.

  The eldest princess of Jinyang said softly: "Mother, the number has decreased in the past few days."

  Empress Dowager Feng said softly: "He is also old."

  Then, he looked at Princess Jinyang aside and said, "Your imperial brother has asked you to take care of the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Jinling. You have been there for more than a year."

  The eldest princess of Jinyang looked as usual on her unpainted face. Under her beautiful eyebrows, her charming and flowing eyes showed a hint of contemplation, and she said softly: "Mother, my brother is so worried about the country of the Han Dynasty. I As a younger sister, you should help him."

  Empress Dowager Feng said softly: "Your imperial brother seems to have aged a lot recently, so don't mourn him too much. He has the great power of the Han Dynasty on his shoulders, so you have to take care of yourself."

  It is said that the deceased is dead, and the deceased cannot affect the lives of the living. After such a long period of inactivity, it is time for the funeral.

  The eldest princess of Jinyang said: "Brother Huang was originally in poor health."

  On the other side, Princess Xianning, Li Chanyue and Song Yan were also taking a break in Tangli Palace.

  Li Chanyue was also dressed in mourning clothes, which made her face even more petite and cute. She said softly: "Mr. Xiao Jia has been in Shandong for more than a month, and there is no news yet."

  Princess Xianning said softly: "There is trouble in the north again. Even if your husband puts down the rebellion in Shandong, he may not come back."

  Under Song Yan's curved eyebrows, her crystal clear eyes were as full as water, and she said softly: "Brother Heng is the emperor's son-in-law, so he should come to Beijing to pay tribute."

  She also missed Brother Heng a little during this time.

  He couldn't help but think of the young man's intimacy with him, and his eyes were blank.

  After Brother Heng has achieved military merit this time, my aunt should be able to take the opportunity to grant a marriage, right? After two years, her grandfather retired from filial piety, and she was old enough to get married.

  ……

  ……

  Zhongshun County Prince's Mansion, backyard
  The rain in the courtyard outside the window keeps pouring, hitting the sycamore trees in the courtyard, and the sycamore leaves make a "tapping" sound from time to time. The jagged and strange rocks and the pavilions and pavilions in the courtyard become increasingly lush and green after the rain.

  Wei Lan was currently making out with a burly young man with heroic features.

  It was none other than Qi Guaner Jiang Yuhan.

  As poor people living in Prince Zhongshun's mansion, the two of them joined each other to keep each other warm.

  At this moment, the maid outside said: "Madam, the second young master is back."

  The two people who were making out were shocked.

  Wei Lan's appearance suddenly changed, and she said urgently: "You, hide quickly."

  Jiang Yuhan was not too panicked, or he was used to it, and said: "I'll leave now."

  After saying that, he walked out from the wing, entered a moon door with white walls and green eaves, and then hid on the side of the flower wall. He peeked at the people coming from the direction of the inner three doors, and saw a young man wearing heavy filial piety walking quickly. .

  In the side room, Wei Lan quickly tidied up her clothes, leaned in front of the bronze mirror and checked that there was nothing strange about her body. Then she sat beside the bookcase, picked up a book and read it intently, with no strange expression on her face.

  Since King Zhongshun was deposed as a commoner and was sent to Gongling, although Wei Lan lived in the mansion, she mostly dealt with Jiang Yuhan, the son of Qi Guan, and Chen Rui, the second son of King Zhongshun.

  Chen Rui returned to the wing and looked at the beauty sitting beside the desk. Her snowy face and jade skin, against the backdrop of the rain outside the window, looked like an indescribable picture.

  "It's a national mourning these days. The Second Young Master is not crying in the palace. Why did he come back?" Wei Lan put on light yellow clothes and raised her head, a look of surprise appeared on her bright face, and she stared at Chen Rui said in surprise.

  The beloved concubine of the loyal and obedient King Chen Rong has become more and more plump. Under the light dress, her beautiful face is full of elegance and tranquility.

  Because she had just made out with Qi Guan'er Jiang Yuhan, there was still some intoxicating blush on both sides of her cheeks.

  "The Queen Mother has graciously allowed me to come back first. I have been suffocating these past few days." Chen Rui waved his hand, sat down, picked up the tea cup and took a big sip.

  As he spoke, he put his arms around Wei Lan's soft and plump waist, feeling a little overjoyed.

  Wei Lan gently pushed Chen Rui away, with a look of surprise on his face, and said vaguely: "Sir, don't be so impatient."

  However, Chen Rui hugged him all the way to the inner compartment.