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◎The prince who has a headache every day and is sick every month.◎
King Yong did not think he was wrong. Liangzhou and Jinzhou had no shortage of war horses for the time being, but his northern camp had a batch of war horses that should have been retired long ago. Now they could only be kept in the camp to make up the numbers. When they really ran, they might not even be able to catch up with the donkeys of the common people. So even if his elder brother was in Beijing, he would dare to talk to his elder brother about this. When his elder brother was not around, he discussed it with his nephew. How could it be considered coercion if he didn't curse or use fists?
But King Yong understood that he had indeed taken advantage of his nephew's weakness to accomplish this. If it were his eldest brother, he would have scolded him so harshly that he would not dare to talk back.
If the prince was fine, Prince Yong would still rely on the prince's verbal promise to fight for the 400 war horses, but the prince looked very ill, and the left prime minister Yan Xizheng was obviously unwilling to give him the horses. Rather than continue to make trouble and gain no advantage, Prince Yong simply gave in and told his pale-faced nephew that he did not want the horses anymore, and everything would be arranged according to the previous example.
After the prince had been treated with acupuncture and taken medicine and had barely calmed down, Prince Yong glanced at his nephew suspiciously and then took his leave.
After finishing his shift and returning to the palace, Prince Yong mentioned the incident to his wife and children, wondering, "Could this kid be feigning illness to force me to back down?"
Qin Liang said: "He doesn't have such a scheming mind. He must be really sick."
He and Qin Hong grew up together, and there is probably no one in the world who understands Qin Hong better than him. Yongkang and the emperor both have more or less prejudices as Qin Hong's biological sister and father, and they really think that Qin Hong is so good.
Deng said, "Last year, Yongkang was clamoring to become an official. I heard the Crown Prince also had unbearable headaches. This child looks quite strong, but why does he have headaches all the time? Could he have developed a chronic illness?"
Although she was worried, Deng's eyes were bright, and she was obviously hoping that the prince would really get sick.
Prince Yong glared at his wife and said, "Stop gloating over someone else's misfortune."
Deng leaned back in her chair, twirling the large gold bracelet on her wrist and saying with a tut-tut, "I dare not gloat over someone else's misfortune. My heart is pounding with anxiety. What if the Emperor also thinks that the Crown Prince is sick because of you, and he dismisses you from your position or strips you of your title? Then I won't be able to be a princess anymore. How can I have the heart to laugh at others?"
Prince Yong was not easily frightened. The crown prince was fine now, and he didn't believe that his elder brother would really hold him accountable. At most, he would scold him for asking for a horse.
What King Yong cared more about was the prince's health. Looking at his useless appearance, if he didn't want to give him the horse, then so be it. Why would he get sick from all the hassle?
Prince Yong had always looked down on the prince's weakness, and now that he was so weak that he was sick, Prince Yong felt that the prince was no longer capable of handling the responsibility.
The second nephew looks like a tiger, but he is actually a coward who doesn't even dare to kill people on the battlefield. Not to mention the third nephew. The eldest nephew is at least gentle and elegant like a benevolent king. The second nephew at least has the appearance of a fierce general who can intimidate people. The third nephew is like a sheep in the pen wherever he stands. He is like a stupid sheep chewing grass when the wolf comes and other sheep run around.
My little niece is indeed impressive, but she is a girl after all.
With this thought, King Yong's gaze fell on the face of his son Qin Liang, who was talented in both civil and military affairs, resourceful and calm. Nephews and nephews were all branches branching out from the same root of the Qin family. The eldest brother was so wise. When he realized that his three sons were useless, would he arrange for his nephew to inherit the throne?
Qin Liang understood his father's thoughts, which made him feel relieved. He had long coveted the throne and was afraid that his father, who should have supported him the most, would be blindly loyal to his uncle's family.
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When the emperor's father was not in the capital, Yongkang would go to the palace every ten days, always choosing a day off. This way, she could ask her brother what major events had happened in the court recently under the pretext of visiting his family. Asking him every ten days would not make her brother too nervous, and the emperor would not suspect her of meddling in government affairs when he came back and found out.
As a result, before it was her turn to enter the palace this time, Yongkang received a message from Fang Ji, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue whom she promoted, saying that the prince looked pale when he attended the court in the morning, and he swayed when he stood up before the court was dismissed, and he seemed to be ill.
Yongkang couldn't bear it any longer, so he hurried into the palace, and then saw his younger brother, the prince, who was persuaded by the second prime minister to come back and recuperate in Chongyuan Palace.
Knowing that his brother had suffered from a headache again, Yongkang did not dare to ask his brother directly. He took Lu Wenrong to the front yard hall and interrogated her sternly. It was not that she deliberately bullied her sister-in-law, but if she did not give her a cold face, her sister-in-law would want to fool her like her brother.
After learning the reason, Yongkang called the imperial physician who was treating his brother and asked him privately, "Why is the prince's headache this time exactly the same as last year's?"
She occasionally had headaches, the drowsiness from a cold, and the irritability from being angry with Fu Kui and the children, but never a splitting headache.
The imperial physician did not dare to conceal anything and said solemnly, "In fact, this is the third time the prince has fallen ill this year..."
Yongkang was surprised and asked, "The third time? When were the first two times?"
The imperial physician sighed, "The first time was in mid-March. Shortly after the Emperor left the capital, the Crown Prince suddenly developed a headache while reviewing memorials. The second time was in May, when Ning County in Liangzhou reported a severe drought. The Crown Prince also had an attack, but both times the symptoms were milder. The Crown Prince recovered quickly after taking medicine, and we, the officials, followed the Crown Prince's instructions and did not spread the news."
Yongkang felt a chill run down his spine. "Why is this happening? Is there no way to cure the prince's illness?"
The imperial physician shook his head and whispered, "I've discussed this with several other imperial physicians, and the Crown Prince's symptoms all align with a headache caused by chronic anxiety and hyperactivity of liver yang. While headaches have long been documented in medical texts, there's no cure. We can only try to reduce the frequency of attacks, and when they do occur, we can alleviate the pain with decoctions, acupuncture, and massage."
Yongkang refused to believe that her young brother had contracted such an incurable disease, and repeatedly asked the imperial physician if he had misdiagnosed him, or asked how her brother should recuperate. When the imperial physician suggested "calm down and think less," Yongkang almost laughed bitterly.
Anyone can think less, but how can a crown prince or an emperor think less?
No, that's not right. As long as her brother can hold on until he ascends the throne, she can share his worries!
Before meeting the imperial physician, Yongkang had intended to go to Prince Yong and scold him. However, knowing his brother needed to rest, Yongkang feared Prince Yong would complain to his brother, so he had no choice but to swallow his anger. After his brother recovered, Yongkang taught him a trick: if he had to refuse any such requests due to personal relationships, he could just push them to the two prime ministers in the Secretariat, rather than putting himself in a difficult position.
Qin Hong, who had learned a lesson once, naturally agreed.
However, Prince Yong became obedient, and the state affairs that Qin Hong had to worry about were handed over to the capital one after another.
In early July, the capital city experienced six or seven days of continuous rain. With Mount Xiao to the west and Mount Mang to the north, the city was not at risk of flooding from the Yellow River. However, the Luo River, which runs through the capital, rose, flooding several low-lying neighborhoods on the southern bank. This level of flooding only caused inconvenience to the people of the capital, without causing any loss of land, property, or life. However, a breach occurred in the Yellow River dike on the Kaifeng side.
When the disaster report reached the capital, Qin Hong became so anxious that he fell ill again.
Yan Xizheng comforted him, "Your Highness, there's no need to worry too much. The flood in Kaifeng this time was only a minor disaster. The breach has been blocked, and the people were evacuated in time, resulting in only a dozen casualties. Local officials have also organized the people to dig canals to drain the water. Perhaps we can still save some of the autumn harvest. The court only needs to send people to provide disaster relief in time and exempt the local people from this year's autumn taxes."
That's the Yellow River. When luck is good, it bursts its banks once every ten years. When luck is bad, it bursts every year. As an emperor, he should focus on urging officials to control the river instead of being frightened by the Yellow River bursting its banks. However, considering that this is the first time the crown prince has experienced such a thing as regent, Yan Xizheng can understand his anxiety and anger.
Qin Hong was still uneasy: "In the past few years, the weather was good everywhere. But this year, since my father left, first there was a drought in Liangzhou, then the Yellow River burst its banks, all kinds of weather signs..."
Yan Xizheng's expression changed, and he interrupted the Crown Prince, saying, "The sun, the clouds, the rain, the thunder, and the rain have their own seasons. Throughout the dynasties when wise rulers were in power, natural disasters and man-made disasters have always occurred. Your Highness's top priority is to recover as soon as possible and resume governing, so as to avoid panic in the court due to your illness."
What else could Qin Hong do? He could only cooperate with the imperial physician's treatment.
July passed in fear. After the autumn, the rainfall on both sides of the Yellow River decreased, and Qin Hong no longer had to worry about the great river getting angry. Unexpectedly, just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Jizhou border suddenly sent an urgent battle report from 800 miles away, saying that the Donghu had launched a surprise attack on the Qipanling Pass in Wei County on the night of August 13. The defenders were defeated, resulting in the Donghu cavalry massacring the people of three villages and looting their autumn grain.
Qin Hong fainted after receiving the battle report. When he woke up and recognized Yan Xizheng standing by, he cried, "Left Prime Minister, please send the battle report to my father and ask him to return to the capital!"
If my father were in Beijing, the Donghu might not have dared to launch this night attack, and the people in the three villages in Jizhou would not have died.
Yan Xizheng: "The battle report must be sent to His Majesty, but Your Highness, please be patient. I dare to say that Guo Yanqing's victory report will arrive in two or three days at the latest!"
The Donghu's disturbance of the border was nothing new to them, but the generals were not pushovers and had never let the Donghu leave without paying a price.
Sure enough, two days later, Jizhou sent another battle report. It turned out that after seeing the smoke signals, Guo Yanqing gave up on assisting Wei County and dispatched troops in two directions to cut off the retreat of the Donghu enemy soldiers. In the end, with the loss of 2,000 soldiers, the Donghu enemy soldiers were completely wiped out. Not only did they rescue the captured women and recover the stolen autumn grain, but they also seized more than 5,000 war horses and Hu swords.
This good news was more effective than the imperial physician's medicine and quickly restored the prince's spirits.
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In late August, when Emperor Xingwu received the two battle reports sent to him by the crown prince, the imperial carriage had just left Qianzhou and was about to enter the jurisdiction of Yizhou. Yunzhou, further southwest, had just experienced a war against the Piao, and the people were in high spirits. In addition, it was too remote, so Emperor Xingwu did not go there during this southern tour, just as he did not have time to visit Liaozhou during his northern tour.
Although the Donghu suffered more casualties this time, Emperor Xingwu was still angry about the people in the three villages who were massacred, and the various behaviors of the crown prince reported to him by the secret guards only added fuel to the fire.
Qin Bing only knew that the Donghu were invading the border, so he volunteered, "Father, let's go back and fight the Donghu. I am willing to be the vanguard!"
He is no longer the second prince who was afraid to kill the enemy many years ago. After seeing blood once, Qin Bing is confident that he can avenge his previous shame if he is asked to go to the battlefield again.
Emperor Xingwu glared at him and said, "You only know how to start a war. First, calculate for me how much manpower and military pay and food it will take to defeat the Donghu!"
Qin Bing: "Let it go!"
He went to the carriage to find paper and pen to do the calculations. Emperor Xingwu looked at his little daughter who was still by his side.
Qingyang said, "The Donghu claim to have 300,000 cavalrymen. Great Qi's expedition to the grasslands will require 500,000 troops, including combat and logistics personnel, and at least 4 million dan of grain and fodder. The empire has only been stable for a dozen years. I believe your father could first send border troops to launch a few small-scale battles against the Donghu to demonstrate Great Qi's resolve to defeat the enemy. Once the country is prosperous, the people are strong, and the military resources are sufficient, then launch a full-scale campaign against the Donghu."
Emperor Xingwu listened to his little daughter's calm words, and the depression that had been condensing in his heart finally dissipated.
【Author’s words】
Here he comes, the emperor will return to Beijing tomorrow!
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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