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Prince Yong: "Brother, please understand. I dare not do that!"
When entering the city, the emperor was in front, and at a distance was Princess Qingyang, who was wearing bright yellow armor and leading the army alone, and then there were four princes lined up in a row.
When Deng Chong returned victorious from his campaign against the Piao, Emperor Xingwu held Deng Chong's hand and led him to his imperial carriage, allowing Deng Chong to share the glory with him.
But today is his daughter's first triumphant return. If Emperor Xingwu brings his daughter to the imperial carriage, it will be inconvenient for the people to admire her heroic figure. He can also ride side by side with his daughter, but between the emperor and the princess, who are the people more eager to see?
On his daughter's big day, Emperor Xingwu didn't want to take away any of the glory from her, not even himself.
In addition, as soon as the emperor entered the city, the commander of the Imperial Guard Fan Zhong and the commander of the Imperial Army Xue Ye, who were guarding on both sides of the emperor's carriage, shouted "God bless Qingyang, God bless Da Qi" again. After shouting three times, the Imperial Army on both sides followed suit. Seeing this, the people also spontaneously followed suit and shouted and laughed, looking forward to Princess Qingyang who was getting closer and closer to them.
When the army set out in May, Qingyang had a solemn expression, for it was a battle that was bound to result in the bloodshed and sacrifice of soldiers. Now that they had returned victorious, feeling the people's genuine excitement and joy, Qingyang smiled as well. His gaze sometimes swept over the woman with her eyes curved in laughter who jumped for joy at her gaze, sometimes over the old man with white hair and a youthful face who looked relieved, and sometimes over the children who were protected by their elders holding their shoulders.
In the eyes of the common people, Princess Qingyang sat on the horse with an upright and calm posture, and it was obvious that she was used to riding a war horse.
The princess was really tall, and she looked majestic in her armor. Her smile was not big, but it made her noble eyes look more friendly. It seemed that the princess was happy with them, not showing off to them.
The princess's figure flashed by, and the already crowded crowd of people couldn't move to follow her. They could only look at the four princes behind her. However, because there were four faces, the princes passed by before they could see them all clearly. As more and more soldiers followed, the people just watched casually until the prison cart escorting the Donghu royal family rolled by.
After a careful search, the people were found to have brought nothing that might threaten or offend the royal family, including rotten leaves and sewage that were usually used to throw at the prison carts. However, the people hated the Hu people to the core. The people who had just seen the emperor and the princess in front of them were shouting "God bless Qingyang, God bless Da Qi" a moment ago, but now they were cursing at the prison cart, and some were even grabbing the shoulders of the imperial soldiers and trying to spit on the prison cart.
Yelu Xu closed his eyes and pretended to be dead. Yelu Chong leaned against the prison cart, scanning these lambs of Qi with eyes as sharp as knives. At a certain moment, he suddenly pounced to one side. His ferocious appearance scared the people here so much that they all retreated and even frightened two children of seven or eight years old to tears.
Seeing this, Yelu Chong raised his head and laughed.
The Imperial Guards guarding the prison van didn't draw their swords to hurt him. Instead, they warned him, "You're a defeated general of the princess, a caged and fanged wolf. All you have left is the ability to scare children."
Yelu Chong glared at them fiercely. The people who heard this felt relieved and admired Princess Qingyang even more.
.
Before the celebration banquet in Taiji Hall began, Emperor Xingwu first brought his four children to Qianyuan Hall, where the two concubines were already waiting.
Qingyang was about to bow to the Second Concubine, but the Imperial Concubine and the Li Concubine stepped forward to support her. Li Concubine looked at her daughter's tired, thin, and tanned face with tears in her eyes. The Imperial Concubine's eyes were filled with pride and admiration: "My dear Lin'er, you have brought honor to the Emperor and brought glory to our Great Qi!"
Qingyang smiled and said, "It's all thanks to you and mother's good teaching."
When she was a child, she especially liked to ask questions. After she started to study, she asked even more questions. She would ask whoever was around her, and the more knowledgeable someone was, the more she would ask them questions. Therefore, the imperial concubine did have a great favor in teaching her.
The Imperial Concubine was touched by these words. Glancing at her own son beside her, she shook her head and sighed, "I am willing to teach, but Lin'er must be willing to learn. Take your second brother for example. I wish I could give him all the knowledge in my head, but I can't even catch a glimpse of him normally."
Qin Bing: “…”
Concubine Li hurriedly praised Qin Bing's martial arts.
After the two concubines had finished caring about the little princess, Emperor Xingwu asked about the details of several battles in the Northern Expedition. Because Qin Bing was in the Western Special Forces, all the questions related to the main force were answered by Qingyang. When she talked about how she deliberately set up camp on the mountain to lure Yelu Chong's 50,000 cavalry to abandon their horses, Concubine Li and Qin Ren were terrified, and Qin Hong also looked worried.
Emperor Xingwu said: "Although the Hu people are famous for their cavalry and are also extremely brave in close combat, you are still taking a risky move. Aren't you afraid of the worst that might happen?"
Qingyang: "Opportunities are fleeting. As long as there is a chance of victory, and as long as the consequences of victory are worth the risk, I, your son, will not hesitate to fight."
Emperor Xingwu nodded with satisfaction and looked at his three sons.
Qin Hong, knowing he lacked the courage and strategy, lowered his eyes in shame. Qin Bing, who had praised his sister in Jizhou, sat steadily. Qin Ren, who hadn't been in his father's good graces for a while, smiled and praised, "A tiger father has a dog daughter. It's obvious that my sister takes after our father in this respect."
Emperor Xingwu was too lazy to pay attention to him.
After a brief reunion, Emperor Xingwu took his four children to the Taiji Hall for a banquet. In the past, the seats for brothers and sisters were arranged according to age. This time, Emperor Xingwu arranged his daughter, who had made military achievements, and the second son to sit to his lower left, with daughters as the most honorable seats. He then asked the eldest and third sons to sit side by side to his lower right, leaving the brothers free to arrange their seats in any way they wanted.
Qin Hong was delighted with it, and the officials had nothing to say. The celebration banquet could naturally give Princess Qingyang and Prince Jing more honor.
When it came time to reward merit, Fu Kui, Cheng Zhixu, and Meng Changhe were all promoted to the rank of Third-Rank Guard Commander. Deng Kun, Zhang Su, Hou Wanzhong, and Prince Yong, already holding high enough positions, were rewarded with gold, silver, silk, and other valuables. Qin Bing, formerly a clerk in the Ministry of War, was now assigned to the Southern Camp by Emperor Xingwu as Commander. With troops to command, Qin Bing was so delighted that he drank three bowls of wine in a row.
When it was the turn of Qingyang, who had made the greatest contribution, Emperor Xingwu granted his daughter the position of working in the Secretariat, and at the same time transferred Prince An, who had been working in the Secretariat, to the Ministry of Works.
After all the rewards were given, the emperor and his ministers began to concentrate on drinking and feasting.
Halfway through the banquet, Prince Yong was already tipsy. When he clinked his bowl with his second nephew next to him, he glanced at his niece sitting to his north. Suddenly, Prince Yong smiled. Holding the wine bowl in one hand and the wine jar in the other, he left the table and walked over to his niece. He said with a smile, "Our Lin'er has made great contributions. When we were in the military camp, your uncle wanted to drink a few bowls with you. After all, Lin'er is also a general, and what general doesn't drink? But there are many rules in the military camp, so your uncle didn't go to find you. Now that we are back, and the emperor is holding a celebration banquet for us, come, let's have a good drink together!"
After saying this, he poured wine directly into the wine jug placed on the table for show at his niece's table. "Uncle knows you don't drink much, so you finish this jug and I'll use the bowl myself."
In the blink of an eye, the wine jar that could hold half a bowl of wine was full, and some spilled out. The hall that had been noisy just now had become silent.
Everyone, including Emperor Xingwu, was looking at the uncle and nephew, one sitting and one standing.
Zhang Su secretly clenched his fists, but seeing that the princess looked normal, he did not act on his own.
Qin Hong and Qin Ren were about to speak when their father suddenly glared at them, causing the two brothers to shut up at the same time.
Qin Bing was the closest, so he didn't see what his father was looking at. Seeing that his sister didn't move and didn't show any intention of drinking, Qin Bing reached out for the wine bottle: "Sister, if you can't drink, I'll do it for you..."
Prince Yong slapped his nephew's hand away and said drunkenly, "This is a toast to Lin'er. After Lin'er and I finish drinking, I'll drink with you."
Qin Bing could see that Uncle Wang might not be very happy, and since Uncle Wang had said this, if his sister did not accompany him with the wine, the civil and military officials would only look down on her.
Qin Bing's gaze fell on his sister's face.
Qingyang remained seated, but she took the full bottle of wine with both hands, then saluted her uncle. She looked at her father, who was sitting above her, and the civil and military officials below her, and said loudly, "I admire your generosity in drinking, but I don't like drinking, and I have no intention of forcing myself. However, since your uncle is so sincere in offering me this, I will offer this bottle of wine to the 90,000 Great Qi soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the grasslands!"
Before he finished speaking, Qingyang stood up and poured the wine in front of the table and in front of King Yong's boots without a drop falling.
Until this moment, all the civil and military officials who remained in the capital seemed to finally remember that 90,000 men had died in battle on the grassland they had never been to and would never return.
"The princess is right. Let's toast to the 90,000 heroes of the Great Qi!" Hou Wanzhong was the first to pour the wine with a sad expression.
Zhang Su, Fan Huaizhong, Cheng Zhixu, Meng Changhe and the military officers who made contributions in this battle followed closely behind, and then came the Beijing officials who came to the banquet.
Finally, Emperor Xingwu also picked up the wine bowl and poured it on the table. He said in a heavy voice: "Only when a country is weak will other countries invade, and only then will we have to use the blood and flesh of our soldiers to resist the enemy. I am old, and my heart is willing but my strength is insufficient. I only hope that the future rulers of Da Qi will be able to raise an army and strengthen the country. One day, Da Qi will be able to dominate the world with its national strength alone, and no one will dare to invade our land again!"
The ruler of later generations?
The ministers subconsciously looked towards the three princes. At this moment, Qingyang, who had already put down his wine bottle, walked to the center of the hall, knelt down, and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life. I am willing to do my utmost to assist you in raising an army and strengthening the country!"
Qin Hong, Qin Bing, and Qin Ren finally reacted, or perhaps realized that they could ignore the words of the "king of later generations," and all knelt down behind their sister...
The three Qin Hong brothers left their seats one after another, so naturally it was the eldest brother Qin Hong who should choose a place to kneel first. However, Qin Hong was ashamed to kneel side by side with his sister who was the first to respond to his father and made great contributions, so he chose to sit in the back row, with him on the left, his second brother in the middle, and his third brother on the right, so they were arranged in a neat row.
It was indeed quite neat, but the civil and military officials behind it were stunned.
Emperor Xingwu looked coldly at his younger brother who was standing in front of his daughter's table holding a jar of wine.
Prince Yong shuddered, hurriedly put down the wine jar, and walked over to his nephews. There was one in front and three behind. It would be inappropriate for him, a great uncle, to sit at the end of the third row, and kneeling next to his little niece would be too conspicuous. Prince Yong had no choice but to stop and kneel next to the third nephew, saying in a louder voice: "Your Majesty is in the prime of his life. I, your humble servant, am willing to do my utmost to assist you in raising an army and strengthening the country!"
Emperor Xingwu didn't respond to his four children's words. He smiled when he heard his brother say this: "Then tell me, how will you assist me? Will it be with your wisdom in seizing war horses from the border troops, or with your ability to drink a few jars of wine?"
Prince Yong: “…”
Emperor Xingwu said: "I am not dead yet, and you dare to force my appointed military supervisor to drink, and even force your own niece to drink. When I am gone, will you dare to punch Prince An, kick Prince Xian, and force Prince Jing to death?"
King Yong was sweating profusely, and he kowtowed to the ground with his hands: "Big brother, please understand. I dare not, I dare not!"
Qin Liang also crawled out using his hands and feet, knelt behind and kowtowed with his father.
Emperor Xingwu's chest heaved, and after a moment's pause he said, "Considering your meritorious service in the Northern Expedition, I will not bother with you this time. If there is a next time, you, you will decide for yourself."
【Author’s words】
Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
ps: I predict that the story of the crown princess will be written within the next five chapters, so don’t worry [pigeon]
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