Chapter 341: Western Expedition
Zhao Xiaofei's original Prince Consort's Mansion was completed, and it was much larger than when he lived in the capital. After all, he had many wives and children, so Yan Yingyuan directly expanded it according to the standards of a prince's mansion.
"How is it? Is the Prince Consort's Mansion the same as before?" Zhao Xiaofei helped Princess Kunxing walk around the garden.
"It's pretty good! But no matter how similar it is, it's not the original garden. The garden is not important, what's important is the people. With you by my side, any garden will be fine." Princess Kunxing's words made Zhao Xiaofei very happy.
"My wife, you must give birth to a daughter this time. I will go to Tanzhe Temple to burn incense and bless you and your daughter to be safe." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Okay, but Tanzhe Temple is too far away. If you want to go there, you'd better go early. It will be cold in a few days." Princess Kunxing said.
"I understand. By the way, I hope that the Ming soldiers will return victoriously from this Western Expedition." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"During this Western Expedition, the three armies will surely force the rebels to surrender without a fight," said Princess Kunxing.
"Surrender without a fight? It's impossible for Wu Sangui, and what about Shang Zhixin, Geng Jingzhong and others? If we don't defeat them, he won't know how to write the word death." Zhao Cheng said.
Wu Sangui is a coward. I have asked him to surrender time and time again, but now he is still trying to negotiate conditions.
"Husband! Be careful this time. Don't forget that there is a family waiting for you here." Princess Kunxing said.
"Don't worry. After learning from the last lesson, I will definitely be more cautious." Zhao Xiaofei comforted Princess Kunxing.
The next day, Zhu Cijiong secretly went to Tanzhe Temple with Zhao Xiaofei to burn incense.
On the way, Zhu Cijiong said, "Brother-in-law, this time we must deal with Wu Sangui properly. It would be best if Li Zicheng is captured alive. I must avenge my father!"
"I will do my best! I'm afraid Li Zicheng will commit suicide at that time, which will be difficult to deal with." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Then do your best! Also, is there any news about Zhang Xianzhong now?" Zhu Cijiong asked.
"He escaped last time and went to the northwest. I guess he's probably a bandit somewhere now!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"He must also be caught and we need to ask the Jinyiwei people about it." Zhu Cijiong said.
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself: How could it be so easy to catch him? I'd be lucky if I could kill him in the end.
"I'll try my best! Let's talk about anything else!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Also, I heard that there is a medicine in the Western Regions that can make people healthier and give birth to more sons." Zhu Cijiong's voice became lower this time.
Zhao Xiaofei understood this time, so he said, "Your Majesty! You must be restrained! I have five wives just like you. But I don't have to work as hard as you. I still have to rely on medicine. How old are you? There is still a long way to go!" Then he showed a lewd smile.
"Then what should I do? People always say that everyone should be treated equally. I don't want to favor one over the other!" Zhu Cijiong said.
It was obvious that Zhu Cijiong didn't know how to handle women, or perhaps he was newly married and wanted to indulge himself. Zhao Xiaofei smiled and said, "Your Majesty, these women don't serve you like this every day. Ask them what they like. For example, Ni Zhaoyi loves reading, so you can tell her some stories. It's best if she hasn't heard them before."
Zhu Cijiong nodded repeatedly, and Zhao Xiaofei continued, "You are the emperor. If you are tired today, you can rest by yourself. You don't have to go to any concubine's palace. The land can't be destroyed by plowing, only the cows will be exhausted to death. Too many women will really drag down a man! Your Majesty, please exercise some restraint while I am away!"
"Am I such an unrestrained person? I just don't want to neglect these beloved concubines!" Zhu Cijiong said with a specious argument.
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself: "You, the Zhu family, are so eccentric, and you like everything. I'm just afraid that one day you'll die in a woman's belly, and then the Ming Dynasty will be a laughing stock."
"Okay! Your Majesty, I have said everything I should and shouldn't say. You can handle it yourself! Be careful not to come to me if you have a backache!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
Zhu Cijiong knew that Zhao Xiaofei was an excellent doctor, so when he had a headache or fever, he usually did not seek help from the imperial physician, but directly asked Zhao Xiaofei to come to the palace.
Sometimes Zhao Xiaofei was too lazy to go and just asked Doctor Hu to go to the palace to treat the emperor.
Someone with a headache or fever gave Doctor Hu two Contac tablets. Although Doctor Hu didn't go to Nanjing with them, he was doing well. Neither the Chuang army nor the Jianlu gave him any trouble. After all, everyone gets sick, and no one would give a doctor a hard time.
"Back pain? I don't have back pain! You are leaving the day after tomorrow. Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Zhu Cijiong said.
"That's all! Just be a good emperor. We, the ministers, will be there for you when you go to war outside! Listen more to Lord Ni's opinions on domestic affairs. There's nothing much to say about other ministers." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Then when can you come back?" Zhu Cijiong asked.
"I can't say for sure, but I should be back in half a year at most. I have made thorough preparations this time and I guarantee that these rebels will suffer a heavy blow." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"But I think that among the three fronts you are sending troops to this time, yours is the weakest. The Kenan Army has only 20,000 people, and the rest are traitors and rebels. I am still clear about their combat effectiveness." Zhu Cijiong said.
"Your Majesty, I definitely have my own way, please rest assured. After the Western Expedition is over, we will also march north to completely eliminate the Jianlu. At that time, I will definitely let Your Majesty go in person to watch me fight the last battle." Zhao Xiaofei said.
The passing of Empress Dowager Zhou strengthened the relationship between Zhu Cijiong and Zhao Xiaofei. They talked about almost everything, and apart from Ni Yuanlu who always reminded him to pay attention to the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, no one else dared to mention it. No one wanted to offend Prince Li!
The two of them went to Tanzhe Temple to burn incense, and then went straight back to Beijing.
Three days later, Zhu Cijiong personally took the stage to pay homage to the commander-in-chief, appointed Zhao Xiaofei as the Grand Marshal of the Western Expedition, and gave him the imperial sword with the power to make decisions on the spot.
Zhao Xiaofei was filled with emotion when he received the Imperial Sword. The last time he received it was the Imperial Sword given to him by your father, Chongzhen. Back then, it was used to fight epidemics. Now, you have given me the Imperial Sword to kill the enemy.
Zhao Xiaofei took the sword, drew it from its scabbard, pointed it diagonally toward the sky, and shouted to the soldiers below: "The sun, moon, mountains and rivers will remain, and the Ming Dynasty will last forever!"
All the soldiers below shouted together: "The sun, moon, mountains and rivers are still here, the Ming Dynasty will last forever! The Ming Dynasty will last forever! Forever!"
The shouts of tens of thousands of people resounded through the sky, stirring the hearts of everyone present.
The officials of the Ministry of Rites shouted: "Play music!"
Hundreds of the best-voiced soldiers in the army began to sing.
Looking north at the mountains and rivers, the wolf smoke rises, the dragon flag is flying, the horse is neighing, the sword energy is like frost, the heart is like the vast Yellow River, who can resist in the past twenty years.
Military songs were playing loudly as people watched the soldiers line up and slowly walk out of Anding Gate.
Princess Kunxing held her belly with her hand and said to Zhao Wenxian, "Look! Your father is going to the war!"
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