Chapter 423: The Hongmen Banquet 2
Wu Sangui knew he was going to lose from the first encounter. It was said that Huang Degong was much stronger than him, and he was still unwilling to accept it. In addition, Huang Degong was older than him, so he felt that even if Huang Degong was stronger, he still had the advantage of age.
Wu Sangui and Huang Degong were in a stalemate for half an incense stick of time, but Wu Sangui was still defeated.
"Mr. Huang is very capable. I admire him!" Wu Sangui said with a bow.
"Hahahaha! Thank you! This knife is mine!" Huang Degong picked up Wu Sangui's knife with a big laugh.
Just as Huang Degong was laughing happily, a eunuch walked into the tent.
Huang Degong and the others immediately stopped smiling. Shi Lang stepped forward and bowed, asking, "Sir, you have come so suddenly. I wonder what brings you here? I would like to ask for your guidance. What is your name?"
"Are all the soldiers outside dead? Why didn't anyone report it?" Huang Degong said unhappily. He looked down on these eunuchs.
"My surname is Gao. I'm here on the orders of the court to deliver the imperial decree! Everyone, please kneel down and receive the decree!" Eunuch Gao said, flicking his whisk.
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately knelt on the ground. Huang Degong was dissatisfied and thought: "The court? Isn't it just an imperial decree issued by the princess! Bah! What she issued is not an imperial decree, it's an imperial decree!"
After hesitating for a moment, Huang Degong also knelt down to listen to the order.
"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: The Liaodong rebellion has been quelled, thanks to the bravery of you all… Shi Lang is specially appointed Duke of Jinghai, and given the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince! Huang Degong and Gao Jie have captured the false emperor of the Jianlu army alive, and are hereby appointed Prince of Liaodong and Prince of Liaobei, to be hereditary for two generations! Wu Sangui is appointed Prince of Pingxi, to be hereditary for two generations; Kong Youde is appointed Prince of Benzhou, Shang Zhixin is appointed Prince of Shiguo, and Geng Jingzhong is appointed Prince of Jiuzhou!
Huang Degong was appointed as the general-in-chief of Liaodong, guarding Fengtian, and Gao Jie was appointed as the general-in-chief of Liaobei, guarding the Heilongjiang area.
Shi Lang brought the fake emperor and Bumbutai back to the capital to report. The Prince of Pingxi led his troops to garrison Lanzhou, awaiting new orders from the court.
Kong Youde, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Zhixin, the three of you will lead your troops back to Busan, Korea, and station them there, preparing to cross the river and march eastward to attack Fuso! This is my order! ” Eunuch Gao closed the imperial edict and, seeing that they were kneeling and no one spoke, he addressed them, “Do you all understand the meaning of this imperial edict?”
"We bow to thank God for His grace! Long live the emperor! Long live the princess!" After expressing our gratitude, everyone stood up.
Eunuch Gao smiled and said, "That's enough! You princes are now successful and famous, and we congratulate you all! Among the princes of other surnames in the Ming Dynasty, you have the highest status besides Prince Li!"
Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Geng Jingzhong and Shang Zhixin were the happiest. They didn't expect that they would become princes.
Kong Youde and others knew that although the imperial court still did not like them and arranged for them to be princes in Fusang, it was still better than losing their lives.
Wu Sangui knew that the arrangement for him to be stationed in Lanzhou seemed to indicate that the imperial court was preparing to move westward and allow him to conquer a piece of land in the Western Regions.
Gao Jie was also extremely satisfied. He had gone from being a bandit to a legitimate prince. Even if he had to guard this bitter and cold place, he accepted it.
Only Huang Degong had a complicated feeling. He became the Prince of Liaodong and guarded Liaodong. This was no different from the previous Li Chengliang. But why didn't he return to the capital to surrender the captives before returning to Liaodong to take up his post?
"Eunuch Gao, I would like to ask the court to allow me to bring the captives to Beijing to surrender them, and then return to Liaodong to garrison!" said Huang Degong.
Eunuch Gao's expression changed immediately after hearing this. He lowered his voice and asked, "What's the matter? Prince of Liaodong, do you have any objections to the court and the princess's arrangements?"
"Eunuch Gao, I captured both the False Emperor and his Empress Dowager. According to the rules of past dynasties, as well as our own, all meritorious service must be paid to the capital to present the captives!" Huang Degong declared loudly. He offered no respect to Eunuch Gao, clearly insisting on personally presenting the captives to the capital, so that the entire world would know of his accomplishments.
"Mr. Huang, the court has its own arrangements. As soldiers, the most important thing for us is to obey orders. Moreover, the court has already conferred the title of Prince on you. What else are you dissatisfied with?" Shi Lang said at this time.
Huang Degong turned his head, looked at Shi Lang and said with a smile: "I just want to go back to the capital. First, I want to offer the captives, and second, I want to go back and pay tribute to the Empress Shufei!"
Ever since the news of Concubine Huang Shu jumping into a well and committing suicide spread in the palace, Huang Degong refused to believe that his granddaughter would commit suicide! What was the trick here? He thought that his granddaughter was blocking the princess's way, so he also hated Princess Kunxing.
Coupled with the letter Ni Yuanlu wrote to him before his death, Huang Degong always wanted to do something.
"The imperial court has sent people to offer sacrifices to the Empress Shufei. If the prince misses her, he can hold a ceremony to commemorate her in Shenyang!" said Eunuch Gao.
"Hmph! The court has no use for this old minister anymore and just wants him to retire in Shenyang!" said Huang Degong.
"Since Your Highness understands the court's painstaking efforts, why don't you obey the imperial edict?" Eunuch Gao said sarcastically.
"Bah! The court is controlled by villains. With a female ruler, the Ming Dynasty will no longer be a country!" Huang Degong suddenly attacked.
"Huang Degong! What are you going to do?" Shi Lang asked.
"What should I do? Just to restore order! Hahahaha! You are all the running dogs of the princess and Zhao Xiaofei! The court is no longer the world of the Zhu family! I will purge the court!" Huang Degong shouted loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a large number of people's footsteps could be heard outside. If Huang Degong were asked to bring Fulin and Bumbutai to the capital to present the captives, and if he were also granted the title of king, he would accept it. However, the court was clearly wary of him and intended to trap him in Liaodong. He decided to join the officials who had gone south in a rebellion, supporting another prince to ascend the throne.
"You...you want to rebel! Huang Degong! You have just been crowned king! How has the court wronged you?" asked Eunuch Gao.
"Justice is in the hearts of the people!" Huang Degong said with his head raised.
"Justice is in the hearts of the people! I say, you, Huang Chuangzi, really have the nerve!" At this time, the curtain was lifted and Zhao Xiaokun walked in.
The soldier lifted the curtain and Zhao Xiaokun walked in, looking at Huang Degong and said.
"You, the Zhao brothers, control the government and the army. And you, shamelessly, let the princess rule the country. You are the ones with ulterior motives!" Huang Degong said this proudly, but his expression changed. How did Zhao Xiaokun get in? Didn't anyone he arranged stop him?
"I don't want to argue with you about anything else. Ni Yuanlu, Yang Tian and the others all agree that the princess should be in charge of government affairs. As for controlling the army, without money and silver, how could the Ming Dynasty be what it is today? Even with such merits, I was not made a king, but you were made a king, and you still want to rebel! I have never seen a person as shameless as you!" Zhao Xiaokun said sternly.
"Have you already ambushed the people outside? It seems that I can't leave today! But it doesn't matter, the worst that can happen is that we die together!" Huang Degong said with a sinister smile.
"Die together? Do you have that chance?" Zhao Xiaofei said with a smile.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
