Chapter 469: General Dies in Hundred Battles
There is fighting on the border.
But it's not an emergency.
Although Mu Yunji's men returned, they only brought three thousand soldiers with them.
Even so, there were still some gossipy censors who impeached him, saying that it was a serious crime for him to return to the capital without an imperial edict.
The court is just like a company, it also needs different voices. You can't just fire someone just because they refute you.
In the court, not guilty.
Even if the person impeached is the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, he is still not guilty.
This is the duty of the censor.
Mu Yunji was not angry. He stood there calmly and did not make any excuses.
Because what the censor said was correct, he did return to the capital without an imperial edict.
Under the circumstances at that time, asking for permission from the emperor would have exposed their plan.
The enemy is on guard, so how can we lure the snake out of its hole?
When he was impeached at this time, I didn't feel that this censor had any bad intentions, I just felt that he was not very smart.
Or maybe he is just too smart and has ulterior motives.
But so what.
Most of the civil and military officials in the court are from aristocratic families, and the relationships between them are complicated. There are many who dislike him, and not all of them are on the same page with the emperor.
When the water is too clear, there are no fish.
He can't use his power to eliminate dissidents.
Fortunately, he only brought 3,000 elite soldiers with him when he returned to Beijing this time. If he had brought more, these people would have suspected him of rebellion.
But this is not something he should worry about, someone will find a solution for him.
Mu Yunji looked at the person in the Golden Palace.
The new emperor was kind and weak, and could not stand the sight of blood. He would be easily sent away if he saw a scene that was too bloody.
It is impossible to chop people like Princess Yuqing did.
Although he is weak, he is a smart man and has plenty of ways to fool these old stubborn people.
In fact, the new emperor did not want to be the emperor at all. He was just going through the motions. He did not conquer the country, so he could not keep it.
My body and energy don't allow it.
But as long as he was busy, he would still go to court diligently.
He still had to read the censor's impeachment memorial.
He looked at me for a while, coughed a few times, and then said seriously, "Lord Mu is naturally returning to the capital by imperial decree, but it's not the decree of the late emperor, but the decree of the Grand Empress Dowager. Do you think there is something wrong with it, my dear?"
Wearing a dragon robe and sitting on the golden throne, the new emperor looked a little weak.
It is also very majestic.
Although there was no precedent of the Empress Dowager issuing an edict to allow frontline generals to return to the court, who would dare to say there was a problem?
Unless you are tired of living.
The censor did not dare to argue.
He opened his mouth and said tongue-tiedly, "No, of course there is no problem. It was my oversight."
After saying that, he didn't dare say another word.
The trouble-making came to an end, but someone started to think about establishing a crown prince.
The new emperor has to take a breath or cough a few times every time he speaks, and it always feels like he will suddenly fall down and not be able to get up.
Then there will be another bloody storm.
After much arguing, they had to choose sides again. Having just escaped death, they were afraid of gambling with their lives.
It is better to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible.
"My Lords, please tell me who should be made Crown Prince."
Judging from the new emperor's expression, he did not seem angry, nor did he seem to be testing them. He even allowed them to express their opinions.
When the ministers heard this, they spoke freely.
Some supported the enthronement of the young prince Fu Yu, while others supported the enthronement of Prince Jing.
The new emperor just watched them quarreling quietly until both sides could no longer argue and stopped.
Then he said, "Have you had enough of the quarrel?"
The new emperor stood up, and supported by the eunuchs, he walked tremblingly down from the golden throne and walked towards the ministers.
He walked in front of the ministers, sizing each one up and saying, "You ministers, there's no need to rush into appointing a crown prince. This is a minor matter. We have a more pressing matter at hand..."
Civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
The new emperor's path is almost unstable, is there anything more important than appointing a crown prince?
The establishment of a crown prince is imminent.
"I have decided to abdicate the throne to my brother, King Jing. What do you think?"
The court remained silent.
But I applauded in my heart.
Most people are happy about it. Who doesn't want a healthy and strong monarch and a prosperous and peaceful era?
This is something that a sickly monarch and a young child cannot give.
Since they were both legitimate sons, they would naturally choose King Jing.
This is a wise choice.
Even some conservative old ministers began to hesitate.
But the new emperor did not give them a chance to think. He immediately issued an abdication edict, abdicating the throne to King Jing and pushing King Jing onto the throne. After issuing the edict, he drove away in a sedan chair.
After walking a distance, the eunuch looked up and saw that his master was no longer coughing or panting.
He no longer looked weak.
The eunuch's eyes widened: "...Your Majesty, where are we going?"
"Wrong, call the emperor to pick up Yu'er."
…
King Jing sat on the dragon throne in a daze, accepting the worship of his ministers.
"Long live the emperor..."
I feel like the dragon throne is a bit hot on my butt.
Too fast!
He thought that this position would fall on his head one day.
It depends on my brother's condition, maybe three to five years later.
I didn't expect it's been less than half a month.
He actually had no desire to be the emperor, nor was he obsessed with power, but his mother seemed to have reached some agreement with the empress dowager.
Let his brother the emperor make him the crown prince.
In order to avoid unnecessary disputes, he accepted it.
Deep down, he wanted to stay with Xue'er and the child and continue to be the free and easy prince.
Everyone says that being an emperor is good and that one has supreme power.
But they don’t know that it’s lonely at the top. Just like Xiao Miaomiao said, being an emperor is a high-risk job and it also shortens one’s lifespan.
Come to think of it, once you become an emperor, you'll be trapped in the palace for the rest of your life, with endless memorials to read and endless government affairs to deal with, working day and night like a hawk. You'll also have to shoulder the responsibility of continuing your family line, marrying endless concubines, and having endless children. Your body won't be able to take it.
Under the double pressure, it would be strange if he didn't die young.
Of course, you don’t have to follow the rules.
If you become a tyrant, you can do whatever you want.
But being a tyrant makes people hate you and your life is even shorter. You will either be assassinated or poisoned. No tyrant in history has a good ending.
Some were imprisoned, some committed suicide by hanging or burning, some had their bodies mutilated, and some even brought disaster to their families.
It’s chilling to think about it.
This emperor, if he is good, he will die young, and if he is bad, he will die even shorter.
King Jing felt a little sad when he thought about it, but in order to let his brother live a few more years, let the children grow up safely under his protection, for the sake of his loved ones, for the sake of the people of Daliang, and for the ambitions that had been hidden in his heart for a long time.
He asked himself.
Among the princes of Daliang, no one understands the suffering of the people better than him, and no one has suffered more than him.
If he doesn't go to hell, who will?
After they knelt for a while and saw no movement, they looked up.
Their new emperor was in a daze, looking very sad.
Did they displease the emperor?
The court officials who had previously advocated for Fu Yu to be made the crown prince were now regretting their decision and were feeling very nervous.
Who would have thought that the emperor would just give up the throne?
At this moment, they wish they could shrink themselves, or even have a crack in the ground for them to crawl into.
This way Emperor Jing can’t see it.
They knelt on the ground, bending their waists even lower.
They shouted loudly in unison.
This year.
The Emperor of Daliang passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne.
In less than half a month, a new emperor came to power.
Emperor Jing ascended the throne.
Quell civil strife, eradicate treacherous officials, and rectify the government.
But the war on the border is still going on, and it is the remnants of the northern barbarians.
Jiang Zifeng admired the Northern Barbarians for this. Even if there was only one soldier left, they would still fight and would rather die than surrender.
Perhaps the only way is to scare them and destroy the Northern Barbarians so that they will surrender to Daliang.
There will be a day of peace.
That's what war is like, either you die or I live.
When facing some peace-loving countries, perhaps the issue can be resolved through negotiations.
However, when facing some belligerent nations, peace talks are useless, like playing the lute to a cow.
The only way is to stop the war and use force, knock them down, hold them down, and give them a taste of their own medicine.
Perhaps there is still a possibility of peace.
Jiang Zifeng silently had a great ambition in his heart.
This is the last battle. Even if we cannot defeat the northern barbarians, we must make sure that they dare not invade our borders for three to five years.
The closer it got to the end, the more passionate the soldiers of Daliang became.
They haven't been home for many years.
A general dies in a hundred battles, but a warrior returns after ten years. [1]
If they win this battle and are still alive, they can return home in triumph.
They will use all the skills they have learned in their lives and fight to the death to win this battle.
The night before the battle.
Outside the tent.
The blazing bonfire lit up the entire night sky.
The soldiers gathered around a few colleagues who could read and write and asked them to help write letters home.
While we are alive, these are letters from home.
If you die in battle, it will be a suicide note.
Although the word "suicide note" is unlucky, everyone wants to say a few words before going to war.
How many people joined the army at the age of fifteen and returned home at the age of sixty, or even were buried in a foreign land and could never return home.
Lost contact with home.
But no matter whether their families can receive it or not, whether they are alive or not, it is the motivation that keeps them alive.
Most people would write at the end: If I win this battle, I can return home in triumph.
This sentence is their ambition and their wish.
No matter what the outcome.
The general will also give generous subsidies to those who die.
Sometimes they didn't know whether it was better to live or die in battle.
If I were alive, I could go back to my hometown to see my family, get married, and have a fat baby.
If you die, you will receive a large allowance that will allow your entire family to survive and live a better life.
This may be the sorrow of the poor.
Can't even afford to live.
Cui Liulang read the letter he had written home over and over again, looking left and right, for fear of revealing any bad words that would worry his parents.
They were all trivial matters, words about good health and the like.
He felt a lot of emotion.
The former most dissolute playboy in Jiangzhou has now become a capable general. He hopes that his father will be proud of him.
Instead of wanting to find a hole to crawl into when talking about him.
He put the letter home in his arms with great satisfaction.
When he turned his head, he saw that Jiang Zifeng was not writing at all, but adding firewood.
"Brother Feng, why don't you write? Don't you have anything to say to the princess?"
"I want to write after I come back. Only the letters I write after I come back can be called family letters." He couldn't bear to leave his sister, his mother and brother Yan, and even more so, he couldn't bear to leave Princess Rong'an.
The princess must be waiting for him to come back and get married.
Missing someone will deepen the feelings between two people and eventually turn them into worry.
This is his current state.
Going home has become an obsession for these people.
Cui Liulang looked at Qin Lang on the other side and asked, "Why don't you write?"
The relationship between the three of them is somewhat interesting.
Feng Ge'er's fiancée is his cousin Princess Rong'an, and Qin Lang's fiancée is Feng Ge'er's cousin Lu Zhiyun.
After all, they are all relatives.
Qin Lang looked up at the night sky and said lightly, "I'll write it when I get back."
If I can come back.
He could write a letter home after he returned, but he couldn't possibly write something like a suicide note to Miss Yun.
He looked at Jiang Zifeng: "Brother Feng, there is something I want to ask you."
"Brother-in-law, just tell me." Jiang Zifeng looked at Qin Lang. He had decided on this cousin-in-law from the bottom of his heart.
They are not only family, but also brothers who share life and death.
"Brother Feng, if, I mean if, I can't come back, you can tell Miss Yun... that I'm fickle and have married and had children in the frontier. Tell her to find another good partner. Don't tell my uncle and aunt either. I'm afraid they can't bear it at their age. Please help me pass on my salary and subsidies to them gradually..."
Jiang Zifeng covered his mouth with his hand and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? How can you say such unlucky words before going to war? If you dare to die, I will let my mother find a good marriage for Cousin Yun so that she will forget you completely. Are you really willing to do that?"
Qin Lang pried his hand away, somewhat helplessly: "This is perfect. I must find someone with noble character. Brother Feng, you will be a county lord in the future. You must support her. Then I can rest assured."
"Qin Lang, tell me, do you regret agreeing to marry into the Lu family? If you don't want to, you can buy a house in the capital and marry my cousin Yun. Why say such depressing words?" Jiang Zifeng wanted to slap him.
Qin Lang met his gaze without dodging: "I have never regretted marrying into the Lu family."
He knew Miss Yun's temper.
Don't be fooled by his weak appearance, he is actually very stubborn.
Because of the rumors in the capital, his reputation was damaged and he was already disheartened. If he really died in battle, Miss Yun might just become a monk and live a life of seclusion, or even be unwilling to marry again.
I would rather Miss Yun hate him for his betrayal.
Fortunately, he and Miss Yun had not been engaged, and outsiders did not know about it. With the current prestige of the Lu family and the protection of Feng'er and his sister, it would not be difficult for Miss Yun to find another good husband.
Jiang Zifeng was a little confused about Qin Lang.
"Even so, there's no need to speak so harshly of yourself. Wouldn't that just make Cousin Yun misunderstand you and blame you?"
"It's better to blame me and hate me than to watch over the ancient Buddha with a green lamp!" Qin Lang sighed, lowered his head to move the firewood, and said no more.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little depressing.
All three of them were silent.
All that could be heard was the crackling of firewood.
Cui Liulang suddenly patted his butt, stood up, took a big gulp of wine, and handed the wine bowl to the two of them.
"Why are you so discouraged? Why can't you think positively about everything? Why can't you think about how to beat the Northern Barbarians so badly that they can't escape death and return to the north so that we can return to the capital as soon as possible?"
Jiang Zifeng took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp: "Yes, the war is imminent, don't say anything discouraging, I'm here to protect you, you will all be fine, I will definitely rush in front of you."
"I wish us a successful start."
"A great victory..."
Qin Lang said everything that was in his heart and felt much more relieved.
He is not a pessimistic person either.
But he knew too well the cruelty of war. Once a war breaks out, there will be casualties.
If it wasn't him, it would be someone else.
Everyone has parents and brothers.
He just prepared for the worst.
…
[1] From The Ballad of Mulan
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