Chapter 379 Lantern Festival Night, Good News from Dingzhou
Beijing, Lantern Festival night.
An urgent letter, sent from Dingzhou, was relayed through several major post stations to the capital.
The messenger galloped away on horseback, shouting just before the city gates were about to close, "Urgent military intelligence! Urgent military intelligence!"
The soldiers guarding the city quickly opened the gate.
On the Lantern Festival, a lantern festival was held in Lin'an City.
The streets were packed with pedestrians, making it difficult for them to pass by, let alone ride horses.
To avoid delaying the military intelligence, the messenger had no choice but to shout: "Urgent dispatch! Urgent military intelligence! Everyone make way immediately!"
Upon hearing this, pedestrians on the road quickly moved to both sides.
The messenger rode swiftly through the city to the palace.
The people were terrified. "Could it be that the war in the north has suffered another defeat? Could they be attacking Lin'an City?"
"Even if they attack, it won't be this fast. They were just saying a while ago that they would attack in Dingzhou. It's unlikely."
"They said the capital wouldn't fall before, but what happened later? It was still breached in two or three months, and the emperor was even kidnapped."
"Yes, when will this debt ever end? We can't even have peace during the Lantern Festival. I sincerely hope there will be no more war in the future."
Inside the palace, Zhao Xuan hosted a Lantern Festival banquet, inviting members of the royal family and some close ministers to bring their families to the banquet.
He specifically sent someone to tell Yun Zhaoxue to bring the two children with her.
He was the emperor, so she had no choice but to obey.
There were no adult male relatives in the family, so Ms. Yang and her two children came to the banquet together.
Her position was arranged as the first one on the bottom right.
Zhao Xuan could see the child she was holding at a glance.
He felt a sense of closeness when he looked at Da Bao, and asked Yun Zhaoxue to bring the child up so he could hold him.
"Da Bao, I'm your uncle. Call me 'cousin uncle' and I'll give you a reward. What do you like?"
Da Bao stared at him blankly without saying a word.
Zhao Xuan felt awkward. He knew that Da Bao could talk now; he had just been making babbling noises.
Yun Zhaoxue came to the rescue, saying, "Your Majesty, the child is still young and shy. We need to teach him how to address people slowly. If we ask him to call someone by their name all at once, he won't know how. I will go back and teach him slowly. When he enters the palace again next time, he may be able to call him 'cousin'."
She wanted to go and bring the child back.
Zhao Xuan held on tightly, refusing to let go. "Let me hold you a little longer. The first time I saw Da Bao, I felt an instant connection with him, as if he were my own child."
"It is a blessing for Da Bao that His Majesty loves him. I have heard that several of the concubines are pregnant. I would like to offer my congratulations in advance on the birth of your son!"
"I hope there will be several princes."
He already has a princess, and he hopes that the unborn ones will all be princes, so that his empire will have a successor.
Looking at the chubby little baby in his arms, he sighed, wishing this were his son.
Sitting beside him, Yun Jiaoyue forced a smile, suppressing her displeasure, and leaned over to tease Da Bao, saying, "Da Bao, good boy, do you know who's holding you? He's the Emperor. If you call him 'Uncle,' you'll get lots of shiny gold and silver jewels. You'll never have to worry about food or clothing again. Don't you like that?"
She reached out to stroke Da Bao's cheek.
Da Bao turned his head away from her touch, his little hands clutching Zhao Xuan's clothes, uttering a sound, "Save (Uncle)..."
Bad woman, don't touch him! Mother, save me!
Zhao Xuan mistook "jiu" for "uncle," thinking he was calling him his uncle, and burst into laughter, "Haha, Da Bao is calling me uncle? Good nephew, what should I reward you with?"
Yun Jiaoyue said, "Your Majesty, the child is still young and has nowhere to spend money. Even if we reward him, he won't be able to use it."
With the national treasury nearly empty, giving him a reward would be another large expenditure.
She had to think about the country, the nation, and the future of their children.
Yun Zhaoxue was worried about entrusting her child to someone else, so she kept an eye on the situation and went to ask for the child back. "Your Majesty, the child has been fussy lately and drank quite a bit today. I'm worried he'll get your clothes dirty, so please let me hold him."
"All right."
Zhao Xuan was reluctant to return Da Bao to her.
At this moment, a eunuch quietly approached Zhao Xuan and whispered, "Your Majesty, military intelligence has arrived from Dingzhou. The Minister of War is waiting in the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
Zhao Xuan temporarily left his seat, leaving Yun Jiaoyue to preside over the banquet.
Yun Jiaoyue's gaze swept over Yun Zhaoxue below her, then quickly looked away.
Shameless slut! While her husband was away leading troops in battle, she couldn't bear the loneliness and brought her son into the palace to seduce the emperor.
Zhao Xuan returned quickly.
Yun Jiaoyue noticed the joy on his face and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, is there some good news?"
"Yes, there is great news. Just now, news of victory came from Dingzhou. Marshal Xiao and Marshal Ye led the Hebei army to capture Dingzhou and rescued Princess Zhenrou and several ministers' daughters. They are already on their way back."
"That's great news! But how will the Emperor deal with Princess Zhenrou?"
"Why take action?
"Women in enemy camps should have their innocence preserved. How did these few weak women manage to escape? Everything is still unknown, and I am worried..."
She didn't say what came next.
Zhao Xuan understood her meaning, "Then let them return to Lin'an secretly, without making a big fuss."
He publicly announced the good news of the great victory at Dingzhou to his ministers.
The ministers raised their glasses in unison, "Your Majesty, we offer our congratulations!"
"This is due to the divine might and the inspiration of holy virtue!"
"If it weren't for Your Majesty's tireless efforts and strategic planning, how could the soldiers have fought so bravely and achieved such a decisive victory? Therefore, the credit for this battle lies primarily in Your Majesty's brilliant and decisive military strategy!"
...
Several ministers began to flatter Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan smiled and said, "My dear ministers, you flatter me. It is mainly thanks to the soldiers in the north. I dare not take credit for it. To celebrate the recapture of Dingzhou, I will drink with you all."
He then sent people to the streets and alleys to announce that the whole country was celebrating.
The news of the urgent 800-li delivery arrived in Lin'an and spread throughout the city. The people were trembling with fear because the Great Jing Dynasty in the north was about to attack, and they couldn't enjoy themselves to the fullest. Suddenly, they heard about the great victory at Dingzhou, and the people raised their hands and cheered in the streets.
"Dingzhou has been recovered! Dingzhou has been recovered! That's wonderful!"
"We won! We won! That's great..."
"Great news! Great news! A great victory at Dingzhou! A great victory at Dingzhou!"
That night, lanterns filled the entire street, making it as bright as day.
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