379, missed opportunity
379, missed opportunity
Although it was cold in Nanjun in the twelfth lunar month, it did not snow.
At this time in the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion, Qi Jun was in his father's study, and the father and son were discussing the news from Kyoto Prefecture.
Even the Prince of Zhennan himself had to admit, "I didn't expect Prince Ding and the others to act so quickly."
"Father, it's not that we don't have a chance now. As long as Prince Ding doesn't declare himself emperor, we still have a chance. Father, let me go to Kyoto Prefecture myself." Qi Jun naturally knew that when they were hesitant at the beginning, Zhao Lang had already led his troops to Kyoto Prefecture before them.
They hadn't expected that the young emperor would die soon after ascending the throne. Zhao Lang, who happened to be in Beijing, became regent upon the emperor's death and quickly seized control of the situation, gaining control of more than half of the power in the court.
Both father and son knew very well in their hearts that if Prince Ding completely controlled the situation in Kyoto Prefecture and the power in the court, he would definitely be the one sitting on the throne in the future.
Among all the princes, the one they feared the most was Prince Ding.
Because Prince Ding controlled hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, their numbers were no less than their Zhennan Army. The north was constantly at war, and the Zhenbei Army was a well-trained and formidable force. Even if their Zhennan Army faced off against the Zhenbei Army, their chances of victory were slim.
Qi Jun wanted to go to Kyoto Prefecture to see if there was any possibility of changing the situation. Even if he couldn't change it, he would find a way to muddy the waters in Kyoto Prefecture and not let Prince Ding sit in that position so easily.
However, the Prince of Zhennan looked at his legitimate son who had just returned to his side not long ago and felt uneasy about letting his legitimate son go back to Kyoto Prefecture.
"Father, please don't hesitate any longer. If we miss this opportunity again, we will really have no chance of turning things around." Thinking that the father-son relationship between Zhao Lang and Prince Ding was not good, Qi Jun thought of a way to start and whispered a few words in his father's ear.
Hearing this, the King of Zhennan nodded and agreed: "Well, okay, you go, and bring more people with you."
"Okay." Seeing his father finally nodded, a smile appeared on Qi Jun's face.
Prince Zhennan looked at the smile on his son's face. He knew that his son had been smart since he was young, and dared to think and act. However, he was worried about his son going back to the cruel place of Jingdu Prefecture. He warned his son: "Jun'er, you must take care of yourself. Your mother and I will wait for your return in Nanjun."
"Okay." Qi Jun nodded in understanding.
After coming out of his father's study, Qi Jun went to the courtyard where his mother lived, greeted his mother, and told her the news that he was going on a long journey.
The mother and son talked for a long time before he returned to the yard where he lived with his wife.
When the maid learned that her other master had returned, she hurried back to the room to tell her own master: "Princess, the prince is back."
At this time, the Fifth Princess, also known as the Crown Prince's Consort, was five months pregnant and her belly was already bulging.
After getting married, she tied up her long hair and combed it into a young woman's hairstyle. Her face lost its girlish charm and gained a touch of softness and maturity.
Hearing that her husband had returned from outside, she put down the small hat she was sewing, stood up with the help of her maid, and walked towards the door.
Seeing the familiar figure slowly walking towards her, the Fifth Princess smiled.
As Qi Jun was walking in, he saw his wife standing by the door waiting for him, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
***
Unlike the winter in Minami-gun, it snows in Kyoto Prefecture every October.
The snow seems to be particularly heavy this year.
Fortunately, the imperial court was well prepared this year and issued various measures to local governments to deal with the snow disaster early on.
In addition, many workshops were opened inside and outside Kyoto Prefecture, so local people could find work, earn more income, and have money in their hands.
After the second half of this year, grain prices in Kyoto Prefecture and the Gyeonggi region dropped, allowing the people to buy more food with their silver. This winter was the best they had experienced in recent years for many people in and around Kyoto Prefecture.
Therefore, although there was heavy snow this winter, the number of people starving to death or freezing to death was less than in previous years.
Further north, Prince Ding also issued measures to deal with the snowstorm this year. Furthermore, Li County had been actively promoting farming and city construction in recent years, attracting a large number of young and strong people to work, which also increased the income of the people.
The increasing amount of grain in Li County not only provided surplus food for the local people, but also provided military rations for the Zhenbei Army.
The soldiers were able to eat their fill and had more energy to fight the Hu people. However, after three years of fighting, the Hu people were tired, and the situation in the north began to be brought under control.
This winter, Kyoto Prefecture and areas north of it are experiencing a rare period of tranquility.
However, the territories of those vassal kings suffered severe snow disasters, with countless victims.
After Laba Festival, Lu Mingfei received the news that Fu Lianxin had returned to Beijing.
On the day Fu Lianxin returned, he deliberately set aside half a day to welcome his friend back to Beijing.
On the other side, Fu Lianxin returned to the city gate and saw the steward sent by his family and the person sent by Lu Mingfei to pick him up. He asked the steward sent by his family to go back first, and he followed the person sent by Lu Mingfei.
The carriage stopped at the door of the restaurant. He got off the carriage and followed the person who came to pick him up to the private room upstairs.
The guard at the door saw him coming and pushed the door open for him to come in. "Mr. Fu, please come in."
As he stepped over the threshold, he saw the person standing inside the house waiting for him with a sincere smile on his face.
At this moment, Fu Lianxin had an indescribable feeling in his heart. His heart was filled with swells, and he felt that he was lucky to have such a good friend in his life.
"Long time no see, my friend, welcome back." Lu Mingfei smiled and extended his hand to Fu Lianxin.
Fu Lianxin came forward, grabbed Lu Mingfei's hand with one hand, put his other hand around Lu Mingfei's shoulders, and patted Lu Mingfei's shoulders twice, "Mingfei, thank you for helping me so much."
When he returned to Beijing this time, not only did he regain his status, but the court also restored his fame.
He knew that Lu Mingfei had helped him get all of this back.
"Why should I say thank you between you and me?" Lu Mingfei asked with a smile.
When he met Lu Mingfei's eyes, Fu Lianxin knew that what Lu Mingfei said was not just a polite remark.
Lu Mingfei patted Fu Lianxin's arm, stood up straight, and put some distance between them. He said to Fu Lianxin, "You must have had a hard journey. Let's sit down and have something to eat first. If you have anything to say, let's sit down and talk slowly."
"Okay." Fu Lianxin nodded and followed Lu Mingfei to the table, where he saw hot food.
I'm afraid that the moment he entered the city, someone would come back and tell Lu Mingfei.
Now their identities are very different, but Lu Mingfei's attitude towards him has not changed at all. He is still the person who is sincere and considerate to his friends.
He asked the waiter to serve the soup to Fu Lianxin. Lu Mingfei smiled and said, "Drink some soup to warm your stomach before eating anything else. I don't know what you like, so I just ordered a few of the signature dishes here."
"If you have anything you want to eat, just tell me and I'll have someone notify the kitchen to make it."
This restaurant was originally opened by Zhao Lang, but he later took over the management. He happened to have a few recipes, so he gave them to the restaurant's chef.
The food in their restaurant is delicious. In Kyoto, where restaurants are everywhere, it attracts many foodies and has always had good business.
"No, no, that's enough." Fu Lianxin was no longer the young master who knew nothing of the sufferings of the world. His experiences abroad had taught him the importance of food and money. What used to be a casual meal in his eyes had now become food that could fill a person's stomach and keep him alive.
In the past, he would have to spend hundreds of taels of silver to entertain guests. At that time, he never worried about money, and never thought that a few hundred taels of silver was a lot of money.
However, after experiencing major changes at home, imprisonment, and betrayal and estrangement from his former friends, his state of mind also changed greatly.
However, he discovered that among all the people he knew, only Lu Mingfei had never changed, no matter whether in the past or now at the top of his official career. But Lu Mingfei's attitude towards life and his attitude towards his friends had never changed.
However, such a person who seemed calm and composed on the surface had followed Zhao Lang very early on and even raised so many soldiers in Tong County.
During his years in Tong County, Fu Lianxin also understood what was going on there. Later, when he learned that the first thing Zhao Lang did after becoming the regent was to transfer Lu Mingfei back to Beijing to take charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he knew that the relationship between the two must be unusual.
Only then did he realize that when he was choosing which prince to follow, Lu Mingfei had chosen Zhao Lang, who was then a hostage in the capital. His chosen master was dead. Now Zhao Lang was the regent, and Lu Mingfei was the minister of six ministries.
This made him curious. What kind of person was Lu Mingfei? How could he have such foresight and foresight?
Noticing that Fu Lianxin hadn't even eaten and was staring at him intently, Lu Mingfei asked him curiously, "Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?"
"I was wondering, how come you are so smart?" Fu Lianxin once regarded Lu Mingfei as his rival, but now he finds that he is not even worthy of being Lu Mingfei's rival.
Lu Mingfei couldn't help but laugh and said, "Haha, I'll take it as a compliment."
"This is for you." Fu Lianxin picked up the wine glass beside him and gestured to Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei also picked up the wine glass, clinked it with Fu Lianxin's, and drank the wine in the glass.
However, when Fu Lianxin was about to toast him again, he raised his hand to stop him, "Eat first, don't drink on an empty stomach. I have things to do this afternoon, so I can't get drunk. We can drink slowly another day when we have time."
Not only did he not drink it himself, he also took the cup from Fu Lianxin's hand.
Fu Lianxin had no choice but to eat the vegetables.
The two chatted about some things in the court at the dinner table. Lu Mingfei gave Fu Lianxin a stack of sorted materials and asked Fu Lianxin to read it slowly after returning home.
After finishing the meal, the two of them came out of the restaurant.
They got on the carriages that came to pick them up, waved to the people on the other side, and left together.
Today's update.
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