Kunning Palace
In the evening, the sunset glow dyed the western sky red, and thousands of rays of rays of rays shone in front of the steps. The maids serving on both sides with their hands hanging down were obscured by their slanting shadows.
In the palace, separated by screens, Empress Song and Concubine Duanrong were talking together. The New Year was just passing. King Liang had just opened his palace to observe the government not long ago. Empress Song and Concubine Duanrong were already discussing a marriage proposal for Prince Liang. thing.
Concubine Duanrong was wearing a blue waist-length undershirt, with pink hair on her temples, willowy eyebrows and starry eyes, and a pure and beautiful face. She said softly: "Sister, the young lady from the Yongchang Consort's family looks good."
The beauty in a scarlet phoenix-embroidered dress, with a face as beautiful as a peony flower plate, had a bright smile and said, "Yan'er looks good to me, but she's just a little too young."
Concubine Duanrong said softly: "Yes, I have just reached the age of cardamom. I heard the medical officer said that if you have a child too early, it may cause some obstacles to your body, and there will be many dangers during childbirth in the future."
Queen Song's beautiful eyes flickered and she asked curiously: "Why did my sister ask the medical officer this?"
"I..." Concubine Duanrong didn't know how to answer for a while.
It can't be said that she is worried about Xianning and Jia Ziyu's estrangement.
Empress Song glanced at Concubine Duanrong, her eyes flashed, and she felt a vague realization in her heart.
At this moment, the eunuch came over and said, "Your Majesty, your Majesty is here."
After hearing this, Queen Song smiled and said, "Sister, let's go to welcome her together."
Concubine Duanrong responded, and as Empress Song got up, she led the female officials and eunuchs out of the palace to greet her.
Under the eaves of the corridor, the two concubines stand tall in their buns, with graceful and gorgeous looks. The plump and graceful figures of the noble lady are shining brightly in the sunset.
Looking at the emperor who looked tired, Empress Song was startled. She bowed Yingyingfu and said, "Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongping raised his eyes to look at Empress Song who was coming towards her, with a normal expression, and said, "Zitong, Concubine Rong."
Empress Song approached, with her beautiful eyes as bright as water under her slender eyebrows that were as curved as the crescent moon. She looked at the haggard middle-aged emperor with concern, and said softly: "Your Majesty, I have been having trouble sleeping and eating these past few days. An, it’s not a long-term solution.”
Emperor Chongping sighed and said: "Ziyu has been at the border for five or six days, but no military information has been delivered yet. The outcome of the war is uncertain, and I feel uneasy."
With that said, he entered the palace accompanied by Empress Song and Concubine Duanrong.
Empress Song helped the emperor to sit down on a pearwood chair covered with soft mattresses, and said softly: "Your Majesty, I think there has not been a war on the front line, so I have not sent any military information."
Emperor Chongping sat down, shook his head, and said: "The military report came from the Xuanfu the day before yesterday. The Jurchens gathered an army of 20,000 to 30,000 troops and came to the city. They are currently attacking the city, but everything is calm over Ziyu's side."
Queen Song's eyes were as soft as water, and she said with relief: "Your Majesty, no news is good news."
With that said, he took the towel and served Emperor Chongping to wash his hands in the copper basin.
Emperor Chongping washed his hands, wiped them gently with a towel, sat down, sighed, looked at Concubine Duanrong, and asked, "Where are Xianning and Chanyue?"
Because Concubine Rong was not as tender and affectionate as Empress Song, Emperor Chongping did not usually stay in the palace where Concubine Duanrong lived.
Concubine Duanrong's pink lips parted slightly, and she said softly: "Your Majesty, Xianning and Chanyue are at the princess's residence at the moment. They haven't been to the palace much in the past few days."
Emperor Chongping nodded and said: "After Xianning opened the palace, she was carefree. She didn't even worry about Ziyu leading troops to fight in the north."
Concubine Duanrong: "..."
Are you feeling sorry for your son-in-law and blaming your daughter?
At this time, Empress Song handed over a pair of bamboo chopsticks with her slender hands. With her narrow phoenix eyes as soft as water, she said, "Your Majesty, let's have dinner first."
Emperor Chongping nodded and said nothing else.
At this moment, a female official came from outside the eaves of the corridor and said: "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Princess and Your Highness the Princess are here to see Your Majesty."
Queen Song said softly: "Let the two of them come over."
With that said, he ordered Xia Shouzhong: "Go and ask the imperial kitchen to make some more meals."
Not long after, Princess Xianning and Princess Qinghe entered the palace arm in arm. The two dignified cousins saluted the Empress of Song Dynasty and Emperor Chongping and said, "I have seen my father, the queen, and my mother." Concubine."
Li Chanyue also came forward and bowed to Emperor Chongping and Empress Song. She lowered her eyebrows and said like a good girl, "I have met the emperor's uncle and aunt."
Emperor Chongping looked at the girl, smiled and said, "Xianning and Chanyue are equal."
"Thank you, father." Princess Xianning said softly.
Concubine Duanrong looked at her daughter, her eyes lingered on her beautiful face reflected in the bright light, as if capturing the charm that seemed to be missing in the corners of her eyebrows and eyes, and something strange couldn't help but arise in her heart, and she said: "Xianning , what are you and Chanyue busy with these days?"
Princess Xianning stepped forward and said softly: "Back to my mother, I am accompanying Chanyue to the Ningguo Mansion to talk to the daughter of Lin Shilang's family."
Daiyu and the little princess had a good temperament. They often talked together these days, and Princess Xianning also visited the Grand View Garden.
Concubine Duanrong was startled for a moment, then said in a concentrated voice: "Well, you should walk around more when you go to Ningguo Mansion."
Princess Xianning looked at Emperor Chongping with clear eyes under her beautiful eyebrows, and said softly: "Father, the capital has been talking about the war in the north these days. Sir, can you send me a military report?"
As Princess Xianning said, when the Xuanfu was besieged by Jurchen soldiers, the entire Han court was paying attention to the progress of the war in the north.
Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment and said: "There is no military situation at Ziyu's side."
Princess Xianning said softly: "Father, there is no need to worry. My husband is in the north. In a few days, I hope you will have a victory report delivered here."
Emperor Chongping raised his eyes and glanced at Princess Xianning and said, "You are quite confident in him."
"Father..." Princess Xianning's cheeks turned red with embarrassment, and her tone sounded both angry and annoyed.
Emperor Chongping smiled, and then said with firm eyes: "However, since Ziyu led the army, he has indeed made plans before taking action. He has never let me down before when it comes to military matters."
Of course, other government affairs did not disappoint him.
Princess Xianning's clear eyes flashed and she said: "Sir, he is urging the troops to be sent out this time. I think he is very confident. Father, don't worry too much. I see that my father has been reduced a lot in the past few days."
Empress Song had an encouraging look in her eyes and said softly: "Yes, Your Majesty, you should take care of your dragon body and have dinner first."
Suddenly, on the long palace road leading from the front hall of the Daming Palace to the harem, an eunuch trotted all the way, walking very fast, and he was panting and sweating on his forehead when he was close to the Kunning Palace.
Immediately, he came to Dai Quan's side, with a look of joy on his fair and beardless face, and whispered a few words: "Eunuch Dai, the Military Aircraft Department has sent over the urgent report of the victory of Yongning Marquis at 600 miles away."
Because Emperor Chongping had already spoken, Jia Heng's memorial was brought as soon as possible, and the internal supervisors of the Military Aircraft Department were watching almost day and night.
Emperor Chongping, who was eating his meal, had keen hearing and was startled. The spoon in his hand hit the porcelain bowl with a clang, and he asked: "Dai Quan, is this the memorial of Marquis Yongning?"
Dai Quan had already received the memorial from the eunuch, and said with joy on his face: "Your Majesty, the memorial sent by Marquis Yongning from six hundred miles away is said to be a memorial to a victory."
The Ming Palace Minister specially emphasized the word "reward for victory".
The combination of keywords like "Reporting Victory" and "Yongning Marquis" is almost like a joyful warm wind blowing into Kunning Palace.
Empress Song and Concubine Duanrong both stopped their ivory jade chopsticks, lifted up a bright, beautiful and beautiful jade face, and looked towards it.
Dai Quan said, walking forward quickly, almost staggering, and handed over the memorial.
Emperor Chongping couldn't wait to take the memorial and quickly opened it to read. After a while, the words written in small regular script on it jumped into his eyes. As it passed, the middle-aged emperor's hand holding the memorial began to tremble.
Looking at Emperor Chongping, whose sunken cheeks were flushed, Empress Song felt worried and softly called out: "Your Majesty."
Concubine Duanrong had secretly clenched the handkerchief tightly in her hand, but there was concern in her crystal clear eyes under Liu Ye's slender eyebrows.
Princess Xianning and the little princess also looked eagerly at the middle-aged emperor, waiting for Emperor Chongping to tell the news about Jia Heng.
"Ziyu led the Beijing army out of Datong City, and unexpectedly encountered the Jurchen Banner and Zhenghuang Banner armies. The two sides fought a battle and killed more than 4,000 Jurchen Banner Banners. The former Liaodong rebels against the Han General Liu Zhiyuan also led the rebels to surrender to our Han Dynasty, and General Pang Shi of the Beijing camp set up a formation to kill the Jurchen Gushanbeizi Wudahai." Emperor Chongping spoke in a cadence and excitement, with a look of joy on his face.
Because of the excitement in his heart, the originally majestic and calm voice began to tremble. It was obvious that the emperor had lost his composure.
How not to lose your composure! ?
This was a great victory since the Longzhi period, and it was more fruitful than the previous victory at Chongmingsha in Jiangnan.
The Jurchens' Xianglan Banner was annihilated with more than 4,000 cavalry, and the Zhenghuang Banner's traitorous Han generals and more than 3,000 Han soldiers were captured.
Zi Yuzhen was his Wei Huo, and he won the first battle after leaving the fortress. He defeated tens of thousands of Jurchen troops in one battle.
Seeing the excited Emperor Chongping, Princess Xianning's beautiful eyebrows showed joy in her bright eyes, and she asked: "Father, did you win the battle?"
After saying that, he came closer and said softly: "Father, let me read the memorial."
I reached out to hold the memorial, well, it didn’t move at once!
He was actually being held tightly by a pair of hands and wouldn't let go.
Princess Xianning: "..."
No, why did your father pinch you so hard?
When Concubine Duanrong saw this scene, her face was filled with embarrassment and she said angrily: "Xianning, don't be rude, your father hasn't finished reading yet."
Emperor Chongping also turned around, recovered from his emotions, smiled and said: "It's okay, Xianning can also take a look."
After saying that, he let go of the memorial and looked at his daughter, his eyes full of love.
She found a good husband in Xianning.
Li Chanyue also looked at Emperor Chongping in surprise, her pretty face showing joy under her beautiful eyebrows.
Mr. Xiao Jia won another battle?
Empress Song's eyebrows and eyes were filled with smiles, and her somewhat beady voice sounded: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Your Majesty."
The trace of worry on Concubine Duanrong's eyebrows gradually faded away, and she said with emotion: "Your Majesty, Ziyu has won the battle.
"Victory in the first battle." Emperor Chongping calmed down the turbulent emotions in his heart, and said with a still excited look on his face: "This battle shows that the Jurchen's so-called invincibility is just the words of some generals who are timid in fighting."
According to the memorial, the Xianglan Banners were the real elite Jurchens. Together with those Han generals who had forgotten their ancestors, they had more than 10,000 troops. Even though they were brave and unafraid of death, they were still defeated by the Han cavalry.
Looking at Princess Xianning who was looking at the memorial with great interest and the little princess who was looking at her face, the Emperor, who was worried that they did not understand, explained in words: "The elite of the Jurchen headquarters only have eight flags in total. Now we are raising If you destroy a flag, not only your vitality will be seriously damaged, but one of its fingers will be cut off and your muscles and bones will be damaged."
Everything is difficult at the beginning. The current battle is the first victory to destroy the Jurchens, and it can also wipe out the timid and war-afraid atmosphere of the Han troops in the capital camp.
At this time, Princess Xianning delivered the memorial to Empress Song and Concubine Duanrong, saying: "Father, Sir, this victory was not easy for him. All the elite cavalry from the capital camp came out to face more than 10,000 Jurchens from the Eight Banners. There were also many casualties.”
Emperor Chongping nodded and said: "Xianning is right. Ziyu also mentioned in his memorial that if you are caught off guard, the fighter plane will disappear in an instant on the grassland."
On the grassland, let alone scout detection, scouts are not satellite radars. Most of the time, they are judged based on experience with reference objects such as the number of flags. And as the two sides approach, the scouts stalk and chase them. How to bypass the forward line and go straight to the numbers? The army inside and outside.
Even in wars in the age of firearms, are there still fewer encounters?
On the other side, Empress Song was reading the handwriting on the memorial with silver hooks and iron paintings. For some reason, a young man with a stern face and a black and red python suit seemed to appear in front of his eyes, writing at his desk with an oil lamp.
He frowned and quickly dismissed some chaotic thoughts.
Concubine Duanrong's jade face was overflowing with joy, her red lips were slightly parted, and her voice, as clear as a mountain spring, was melodious because of the uncontrollable joy. It was sweet and charming, and she said softly: "Your Majesty, after this battle is over, there should be no other wars to follow. Alright."
Emperor Chongping's tone was brisk, but his face was solemn, and he said: "The Jurchens are coming with an overwhelming force this time. At the moment, this is just a forward army. There may be several battles later, so we need to be cautious in everything."
This time the Beijing camp outnumbered the smaller ones and achieved a great victory with twice the enemy's strength. The Jurchens should not be underestimated.
Princess Xianning said: "Mother, my husband has planned to withdraw to Datong after forming an alliance with Ezhe."
Emperor Chongping said: "Being neither arrogant nor impetuous, exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses is a mature strategy for the country."
He did not choose to continue fighting against the Jurchens because of a victory, but led the army back to Datong. It can also be seen that Ziyu is really confident.
It can be said that most of Emperor Chongping's original apprehensions dissipated after this victory. Jia Heng did not rashly go deep beyond the Great Wall on the grassland, as the imperial censor Ke Dao in the capital said, fearing a big defeat.
Queen Song's beautiful eyes were as bright as water. She looked at Emperor Chongping who couldn't hide the joy on his face. She smiled brightly on her snow-skinned face and said, "Your Majesty, Ziyu is in charge in the north, so he should be able to transmit the audio quickly."
Emperor Chongping nodded and said: "Zi Yu must have a comprehensive plan.
Stay steady, you must stay steady, and you cannot be complacent because of this victory.
Empress Song said: "Your Majesty, since this is the case, if we don't have dinner first, it will look dark today."
Emperor Chongping turned around, looked at Empress Song, and said seriously: "Zitong, I will convene several ministers from the cabinet and military aircraft department to discuss the situation of the war."
Queen Song: "..."
"Your Majesty, you are not in a hurry for this moment." Empress Song rarely persuaded the emperor not to deal with political affairs, and said softly: "Your Majesty, you are not in a hurry to finish your dinner first."
However, Emperor Chongping stood up, took a handkerchief, wiped his mouth, and said, "Zitong, there is no movement in Peiping yet. I need to go and take a look."
At this moment, he already wanted to see the expressions of those who had doubts. These days, there were countless people in the court who secretly wanted to see the jokes of their monarch and ministers... Weng's son-in-law!
Now in the capital, since the generals of Taiyuan and Xuanfu towns were dealt with by Ziyu Leiting, many people are saying that killing their own generals before fighting will destroy the morale of the army, which may not be a sign of victory.
The emperor, who has many eyes and ears, naturally knew that there were some rumors in the capital, mainly based on the original remarks of Nan'an County Prince, as well as the discussions of several officers of the Military Aircraft Department, such as Ma Shang, Chen Ruiwen and others, and the official Adding fuel to the flames, it has quite a market in Beijing.
In fact, there are some people who are ready to watch the emperor and Jia Heng have fun.
However, as time passed, the news of Jia Heng's victory in the first battle north of Datong spread like wildfire, and gradually spread to the entire Shenjing City. Although night fell and the sky was dark, the noise was even worse than during the day.
Marquis Yongning led the cavalry to the north to fight against the Jurchens, and won the first battle.
More than 4,000 enemies were annihilated and more than 3,000 were captured. Such brilliant results were unprecedented since the Longzhi period, and they wiped away the malaise of the Han Dynasty's war against the captives.
The previous great victory in Chongmingsha, the capture of Jurchen Prince Duduo, and the sacrifice of prisoners in the Imperial Ancestral Temple seemed like yesterday.
At this moment, people in Beijing were already running around to tell each other, and some shops had already set off unfinished firecrackers during the New Year to celebrate the great victory.
Empress Song stood under the eaves of the corridor. The lights illuminated this graceful and plump beauty. She looked at Emperor Chongping from a distance. She sighed softly and said to Concubine Duanrong beside her: "Sister, your majesty always If this is the case, how can your body and bones bear it for a long time?"
Concubine Duanrong said softly: "The war in the north is too important. Your Majesty cannot help but miss it. Fortunately, Ziyu won a battle. Your Majesty should be able to sleep well these days."
Princess Xianning said softly: "Mother, I have been trying to persuade my father for the past few days."
For some reason, she felt that her father was much more interested in her than before. Maybe he was in love with her?
Empress Song looked at the graceful girl, with a smile on her face, and said softly: "Well, please try to persuade your father more these days."
Princess Xianning said "hmm", glanced at the gorgeous beauty, and said softly: "Don't worry, queen."
Does your husband like to be plump? She looked at the Xue girl and asked if she could eat more.
otherwise……
It was obvious that the girl was deeply worried about some of Jia Heng's behavior in bed.
(End of chapter)
