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Qin Hong: "If your Majesty wants to punish me, then punish me."

In early October, Qingyang and the main force were still on their way back when they encountered a team of messengers sent by their second brother to report a message.

On the vast grassland, this team of ten messengers did not expect that they would encounter the main force when they first set out. They just ran towards the north of Jizhou. After discovering the main force from afar, of course they came here first.

Upon learning that the western special forces led by Prince Jing and his two men had actually found the Donghu royal court and almost slaughtered all the members of the Yelu clan, several generals were very happy, and Prince Yong almost laughed himself hoarse.

Qingyang was also very happy. As early as when her father decided to attack the Donghu, Qingyang's hope of victory was placed on these two surprise forces, because at that time she did not know that Yelu Chong would be so arrogant as to take the initiative to fight with her main force. She did not know that Yelu Chong had fought several draws and still pursued the main force. She was even prepared for the main force to be exhausted from searching for the traces of the Donghu troops and finally return empty-handed due to lack of food and grass.

May God bless the Great Qi, the main army won the battle, and the surprise attack from the west also brought a victory that far exceeded her and her father's expectations!

When the laughter in the tent gradually died down, Qingyang carefully inquired about the situation of the prisoners of war that his second brother and Zhang Su were going to bring back. Then he wrote a secret letter himself and asked the messenger to take it back to his second brother, and instructed the messenger to let his second brother, Zhang Su and Fu Kui open the letter at the same time.

After the messenger withdrew, Prince Yong asked curiously, "What did Lin'er write in the letter?"

It wasn't that there was a need to conceal the secrets of our generals. Qingyang said, "I had Prince Jing deliberately let Yelu Chong's four princes and Donghu Yanshi go."

Prince Yong frowned, "Why should we release him? I'm anxious to see Yelu Chong's 'happy' face when he reunites with his son and his wife here!"

Qingyang looked at generals such as Hou Wanzhong and Meng Ji.

Hou Wanzhong had become more familiar with Prince Yong in the capital over the past few years. He smiled and said, "The princess wants to leave someone capable of taking charge of the Donghu people, so that she can send someone to redeem their King and Right Wise Prince when the time comes?"

From time to time, a few rebellious ministers and generals would emerge in the Central Plains dynasty. It was even more common for the strong new king of the Hu people, who were not bound by etiquette and laws, to replace the weak old king. Leaving behind Yelu Chong's wife and prince, the mother and son could temporarily inherit and support the Donghu royal court with the prestige of Yelu Chong. If the Great Qi really arrested all the Yelu clan, what if the Donghu re-elected a new king from another branch, and the new king did not care about the life and death of Yelu Chong and Yelu Xu? Who would the Great Qi ask for ransom?

Qingyang smiled and nodded.

This is also the reason why she rejected her uncle's proposal to join forces with the Western Hu to destroy the Donghu in one fell swoop. If the Donghu was really destroyed, the Western Hu could unify the grassland. Then, it would only take a few decades for the Western Hu to retrain a powerful cavalry army that was united in revenge for the Great Qi. On the contrary, if the Donghu was allowed to survive, the Donghu and Western Hu would restrain each other, and would continue to consume each other's troops to fight for more territory, and would have no intention of looking south.

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The two urgent reports of victory, sent over a distance of 600 miles, were delivered to the capital five days apart.

On the main force side, the King of Donghu was captured alive by his daughter using a clever trick. On the western army side, although it was his second son who led the troops to launch a surprise attack on the court of the King of Donghu, arranging these two special forces to raid the rear of Donghu was also a tactic proposed by his daughter!

So after receiving the second victory report, Emperor Xingwu praised his little princess generously during the court meeting. He specifically said to Prime Ministers Yan Xizheng and Dai Lun, "When I first said I wanted to attack the Donghu, both the Left and Right Prime Ministers advised me to think twice, saying they had no confidence in this war. Yes, I know you are right to worry. This year is indeed not the best time to send troops to the Donghu, but I can wait, but the people at the border cannot. If I don't send troops, the Donghu will definitely continue to invade the border this autumn, and more people at the border will surely die under their swords! The previous emperor could tolerate the death of people every year without fighting, but I cannot. Now that I am the emperor, I must be responsible for all the people of Da Qi!"

Civil servants such as Yan Xizheng and Dai Lun lowered their heads in shame.

Emperor Xingwu then looked at the military officers headed by Duke of Cheng, Lü Zan, and Duke of Wei, Zhang Jie. "The Left and Right Prime Ministers are worried about the lack of food and fodder in the treasury, and you generals are worried about the vast grasslands making it difficult to find the Donghu troops. I'm worried too, but a battle must be fought, no matter how difficult it is! Lin'er understands my painstaking efforts. While you were hesitant, only Lin'er dared to think and act, and actually brought down the Donghu king! Lin'er is only seventeen years old, yet he can lead the main force to capture the king and the special forces to raid the Hu people's lair. Haha, I used to praise you for having a good father and a good son, and this time, Lin'er has earned my respect!"

The founding emperor on the dragon throne was so happy that he almost danced with joy. All the civil and military officials were very tactful and vied with each other to praise Princess Qingyang's courage and strategy. This was not entirely to please the emperor. The princess had indeed made great contributions. Not to mention the current dynasty, even the emperors of the previous dynasty for more than two hundred years had fought hundreds of battles with the Hu people, but they had never won so gloriously!

If few ministers in the court had any hope of winning the battle when Princess Qingyang first led her troops, the two reports of victory at the beginning of the month became two strong winds that Princess Qingyang stirred up from the grassland, whistling all the way for two or three thousand miles and still blowing with undiminished force when arriving in the capital, leaving them dumbfounded and convinced, and also blowing away all their contempt and suspicion of Princess Qingyang.

Any scholar may be able to write a few words about travelogues, but such a great victory that will be passed down through the ages cannot be achieved by simply reading military books and practicing martial arts. Ordinary civil servants cannot do it, and even successful prime ministers and generals may not be able to do it!

During the one-hour court meeting, Emperor Xingwu praised his own Princess Lin'er for two or three quarters of an hour.

Da Qi won the battle. After this battle, the border will have at least twenty years of peace and stability. Qin Hong, as the crown prince, was also very happy. He was happy for Da Qi, happy for his father, happy for his sister and second brother.

But he was not a saint. He noticed that no matter how happy his father was, he did not even look at him, but his eyes swept over his third brother next to him many times. Qin Hong's heart was overwhelmed by layers of bitterness.

Ever since his younger sister and second brother left Beijing, no, ever since his father came back from his southern tour last year, Qin Hong felt the change in his father's attitude towards him.

Qin Hong was self-aware. When he was studying in Chongwen Pavilion, he was able to gain the recognition of his father with his A-level examinations in civil and military subjects. After he entered the court to serve, his father no longer valued his examinations, but hoped that he could be a crown prince that suited his taste, and hoped that he would show the courage of a prince to handle government affairs and deal with ministers.

But Qin Hong couldn't do it. He was always worried that if he did something wrong, he would disappoint, dislike, or make his father angry. The more worried he was, the more he wanted Yan Xizheng and other meritorious officials to make the decision instead of him. This way, he wouldn't make mistakes and wouldn't have to face his father's harshness and reprimand.

The emperor was sometimes strict, and sometimes he would give him private advice. After his first headache, the emperor was even less strict. When assigning him tasks, he would give him more advice and his tone was more encouraging.

After the Southern Tour, Qin Hong was severely reprimanded by his father for agreeing to give his uncle a share of war horses. He felt ashamed, but he didn't blame his father, only himself for disappointing him. From that time on, his father never assigned him any tasks individually, never gave him any advice, and never asked for his opinion on any political disagreements among officials. This included the Northern Expedition. Although his father had called him over to discuss matters, he looked at him with a nonchalant expression.

Because his sister published a book, Zheng Ge'er once blamed his sister for "stealing" his reputation and was worried that his father might appoint his third brother as the crown prince. Qin Hong believed that his third brother and sister had no intention of competing with him, but his father's attitude towards him in the past six months, and the alienation and unfamiliarity between father and son, made Qin Hong vaguely feel that his father might really want to appoint a crown prince.

Qin Hong lowered his head and looked at the shiny gold bricks paving the hall.

When his father first appointed him as the crown prince, Qin Hong was only happy for a while. He was happy that the matter had finally come to an end and that his sister no longer had to worry about him. But then came worry. He was worried that he would not be a good crown prince, that he would disappoint his father, and that he would not be able to bear the burden after his father was gone, and would have let down his father's trust as well as the people of the world.

Compared with the position of crown prince that was almost suffocating him, Qin Hong envied his second brother who only had to learn how to lead troops in battle, his third brother who was carefree and smiled all day long, and his sister who did not have to learn anything but could learn everything very well and was very adept in officialdom.

Therefore, if his father really wanted to depose him as the crown prince, Qin Hong would cooperate with his father. As long as his father asked, he would not hesitate. Whether his father chose his second brother or his third brother, he would not feel resentful or hateful.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Xingwu finally glanced at his eldest son when he lowered his head with a forced smile.

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The main force led by Qingyang did not return to Jizhou until mid-October. She had to reward the soldiers, provide relief to the families of the fallen soldiers, and wait for the return of the two special forces led by her second brother and Deng Kun. At the same time, she had to take the opportunity to comfort the people on the border who had suffered from the attacks of the Donghu. Even if all the work was done, it would take another month for the army to return to the capital.

Emperor Xingwu knew that his daughter might not be able to return to Beijing until the beginning of the twelfth lunar month.

His daughter had already made great military achievements and gained fame, so she could come back anytime. Emperor Xingwu was not in a hurry because he also had things to do before his daughter came back.

In early November, after the excited discussions of the victory in the capital had come to a halt, Emperor Xingwu, without even taking the throne, began the court session. He threw the censor's report and evidence of corruption against Fang Ji, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, at the feet of Yang Zhimin, the Minister of Personnel, and sternly demanded, "Yang Zhimin, how could you have chosen such a corrupt official with no talent or moral integrity?"

Yang Zhimin shuddered, picked up the scattered memorials and evidence documents at his feet, and quickly read them. He immediately stepped out of the line and knelt in the middle of the hall, saying with shame, "I have misjudged a treacherous minister and mistook him for a capable one. I acknowledge my guilt, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Emperor Xingwu wanted to demote Yang Zhimin.

Yan Xizheng was the first to plead for Yang Zhimin. Just as Dai Lun and other civil officials were about to speak, Qin Hong, with a pale face, knelt beside Yang Zhimin, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, it was I who accepted bribes from Fang Ji and then forced Yang Zhimin to recommend Fang Ji. If you want to punish me, please punish me."

Yang Zhimin, who was also kneeling, turned his head and saw the prince's tearful face.

Yang Zhimin closed his eyes. This day had finally arrived.

【Author’s words】

Here they come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!

ps: Although I may never be able to update on time (I really can't save enough manuscripts), I have always been trying to make sure you guys wait less and read more. When I perform well, please praise me. When I perform poorly, you guys are unhappy and I understand. Hugs!