289, Entering the Barracks
289, Entering the Barracks
"I will pay my respects to the General."
Several generals entered their general's tent, knelt on one knee, and bowed to the person sitting in the seat of honor.
In the Zhenbei Army camp, Prince Ding is the highest-ranking general of the Zhenbei Army, so the soldiers here all call him General, and no one calls him Prince. This was also his own request.
The person in this military camp is General Zhao, not Prince Ding.
"Everyone, please stand up." Prince Ding raised his hand and said.
"Thank you, General." The generals expressed their gratitude and then stood up.
"Sit down." Prince Ding waved his hand and asked everyone to sit down.
"Thank you, General." Everyone thanked him, but did not sit down immediately.
All of them simultaneously looked up at the two young men standing to the left and right of their general. Zhao Rui was a junior they had seen often and were very familiar with. The other young man was unfamiliar, but bore a striking resemblance to their general. He appeared to be their general's legitimate son, the heir of Prince Ding's mansion.
They had heard before that their prince, who had been a hostage in Kyoto Prefecture for more than ten years, had returned. Only today, after seeing the prince's face, did they realize that their prince's return to Beijun was not a rumor, but true.
I just don't know why their prince suddenly came back at this critical moment? This is the confusion and puzzlement in the hearts of all the generals who came here today.
Seeing that all the generals were looking at the two brothers, Zhao Rui bowed to the generals and elders who were above him in rank, nodded slightly and smiled.
However, Zhao Lang stood still, and looked at the generals who were looking at him with no expression on his face.
The generals present glanced at Zhao Rui and the prince, then sat down in their usual seats according to their usual habits, waiting for their general to speak.
After everyone was seated, Prince Ding raised his right hand, motioned to his legitimate son standing to his right, and introduced him to his subordinates: "I called you all here today to introduce someone to you."
"This is my legitimate son, the crown prince of Prince Ding's mansion, Zhao Lang."
This time, when Zhao Lang heard his father formally introduce him to everyone, he stepped forward and bowed to the generals present, saying, "Junior Zhao Lang, greetings to all the generals."
"Your Highness, there is no need to be so polite." All the generals present hurriedly stood up and returned the greetings to their prince.
Even if some generals felt that their prince was a little arrogant and looked down on others, they would not dare to accept their prince's gift for nothing.
You know, this person is their general's legitimate son, the prince of Prince Ding's Mansion, and the future master of Beijun.
Moreover, their prince had been held hostage in Kyoto Prefecture for over a decade for the sake of Beijun and the entire Zhenbei Army. None of the generals present had forgotten this. The peace that had been restored to the Zhenbei Army over the years was won back by this prince.
However, there were also some who were not so tactful. When they saw their prince return, they immediately asked, "I wonder why the prince came back so suddenly? There seems to be no news from the court about the prince's return. Did you come back on your own?"
The meaning of "coming back by oneself" is exactly the same as "coming back by running away".
As soon as this question was asked, everyone looked at their prince, waiting for him to answer it.
At this time, some people were worried that their prince had not obtained the court's permission and had suddenly run back at this critical moment when the new emperor ascended the throne, which would implicate their entire Beijun and the entire Zhenbei Army. They thought that they let the prince run back because he wanted to rebel or do something else.
Zhao Rui, who was standing aside, had a look of anticipation in his mind. I'm just waiting to see how you're going to explain why you ran back in front of so many generals!
"Let Lang'er explain this matter to you himself." What Prince Ding meant was that he would let his son explain this issue to you himself.
Hearing this, Zhao Lang simply glanced at the person who asked him this question. Many of these generals here looked familiar, but there were also a few who looked unfamiliar. They must have been generals who were promoted from the bottom after he went to Kyoto Prefecture.
At a glance, he could tell how many of the generals present were on Zhao Rui's side. However, he didn't care about that. Just because they were on Zhao Rui's side today didn't mean they wouldn't be on his side tomorrow.
In the past, it was because he was not in Kyoto Prefecture and not in this military camp that Zhao Rui took over his position. Now that he is back, it does not mean that Zhao Rui can still sit so firmly in this position.
Zhao Lang glanced at everyone calmly, and without any fluctuation in his tone, he explained the reason for his return: "I believe everyone knows that this time when the Hu soldiers invaded Jingdu Prefecture, I was under the orders of General Wei and pursued those scattered Hu soldiers all the way from Jingdu Prefecture back to Beijun."
"Now the Hu people are causing chaos on the border, killing our people and soldiers. We need more people to guard the border and fight the enemy."
"Over the years, I have studied in Kyoto Prefecture, where I learned the art of war from renowned teachers. It is time for me to serve His Majesty and the court. Therefore, I have told my father that I will remain in Beijun and guard the border with everyone else."
"My father has already sent a letter to Kyoto Prefecture to inform His Majesty of this matter."
Zhao Lang characterized his years as a hostage in Kyoto as "studying." Now that he had spent so many years studying in Kyoto and even learned the art of war, wasn't it natural for him to return to Beijun to garrison the border and serve the court? Why did he need permission from the court, or someone else, to return?
His words informed everyone present, as well as those outside, that the late emperor's decree had originally sent him to Kyoto to "study." Anyone who dared to claim that the late emperor had sent these princes to Kyoto as hostages would be distorting the late emperor's decree! What was their intention? How could they discredit the late emperor and the imperial court?
Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the general who had questioned him just now did not dare to ask him any more questions.
The generals present exchanged glances, and one general, surnamed Li, stood up and spoke a fair word for their prince, "The prince has been studying in Kyoto for so many years, it's time for him to return."
"Yes, it's time for the prince to come back."
When the others heard General Li's words, they all echoed him.
Zhao Rui, who was standing there, was so angry when he heard what everyone said that he clenched his hands hanging by his sides into fists.
After everyone had finished speaking, Prince Ding spoke up, "Now that Lang'er has returned from his studies, I will allow him to gain some experience in this army."
"General Li, you can take care of him. Just treat him as one of your own soldiers. Don't worry about whether he is my son or not."
"Yes, I will obey your command." General Li stepped forward and said with a bow.
Prince Ding raised his hand, telling the veteran general not to be so polite.
Zhao Lang stepped forward and bowed to the old general as a junior. "Zhao Lang greets General Li."
"No need to be so polite, Prince." General Li had a very good impression of their prince. When the child was young, he would follow their general to the military camp. He remembered that he was a smart child.
If it weren’t for the late emperor’s decree, this child would have had a different fate if he had stayed in the army.
I can only blame the court for being so unkind. They sent a good candidate who could become a general to Kyoto Prefecture for so many years, causing their army to lose a talent who can lead troops in battle! General Li felt regretful.
"General Li, you can just call me by my name from now on. You don't have to call me the Crown Prince." Zhao Lang said this here to indicate his future status in the army, but he himself was not a Crown Prince.
"Haha, great." Originally, General Li was worried that the returning prince would be arrogant and difficult to lead, but now that he heard their prince specifically emphasize that no one should care about his identity as a prince, he immediately had a better impression of this prince.
Prince Ding saw that his son and General Li were accepting of each other during their first meeting, so he said, "Old Li, Old Sun, you two stay, and the rest of you leave."
"yes."
When everyone heard that their general wanted to see them off, those who were not named went out, and the two people who were named stayed in their general's tent.
As Zhao Lang walked out of the tent, he ran into his half-brother. One look at his half-brother's face told him he was furious. "Don't you want me to stay? I'm going to stay!"
Zhao Rui was originally furious, but when he met his brother's gaze, he couldn't vent it. He had to suppress all the anger in his heart and give his brother a friendly smile.
"Second brother, you have just arrived at the military camp. You must not be familiar with the surrounding environment. Would you like me to take you for a walk around? Let me introduce everyone to you?" When Zhao Rui said this, he regarded himself as the host of the military camp, and acted like "I am the host, you are the guest" and "I am the elder brother, you are the younger brother".
"No need. I'll wait for General Li here." Zhao Lang rejected his half-brother's kindness with just one sentence. How could he not see that Zhao Rui spoke to him as if he was a head superior to him and took him to meet the soldiers in the barracks.
Even if he had to be taken with him, it shouldn't be Zhao Rui. Zhao Rui wanted to suppress him, the prince, in everything, but this calculation was probably wrong!
Even though he had just returned to Beijun, he was still the prince of Dingwang Mansion. And you, Zhao Rui, were nothing more than a bastard born to a concubine! If it weren't for their good father's foolishness back then, and the fact that he had chosen a concubine as his concubine, your mother would still be a concubine today!
A son born to a concubine wants to compete with his legitimate son born to his wife in everything. What qualifications do you have? The two brothers' eyes met in mid-air, and Zhao Lang's mouth curled up into a sarcastic smile.
This smile was like a needle, piercing Zhao Rui's heart.
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