Chapter 88 Return to Beijing
"I'll accompany you to watch the sulfuric acid rain falling on the earth, and let your tears fall on my shoulders..." Zhao Xiaofei felt so happy, and thought while singing, it seems that the Tartars are not so difficult to deal with!
Hu Wen listened to Zhao Xiaofei's song in the car and kept shaking his head. It was too straightforward and lacked any connotation. Doctor Hu would occasionally lift the car curtain to look at Haoge who was imprisoned in the prison car at the back.
The victory report reached the capital, and Chongzhen himself issued an imperial edict ordering them to escort Haoge to the capital. So, they set out with Haoge. Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu were in charge of the guard, while Zhou Shuai and Wan Shan were in charge of security. Li Deliang and Gu Mancang remained in Gongji County.
In the Forbidden City, Princess Kunxing Zhu Mianzhu was worried for days. She gave money to Wang Chengen and asked him to send someone to inform her as soon as he had any news about the prince consort.
When she heard that the Jianlu were besieging Gongji County, and her husband was in charge of epidemic prevention there, Princess Kunxing was so worried that her mouth blistered and she couldn't sleep for several days, fearing that she would wake up to hear the news of the city's fall.
Zhaoren saw his sister pacing anxiously in the room, and Zhaoren said, "Don't worry, sister! The prince consort will be fine! The prince consort is so smart and can cook so many delicious dishes. Even if he is caught, the Tartars will not make things difficult for him. Maybe because he can cook so many delicious dishes, the Tartars will even make him a royal chef!"
Princess Kunxing was furious after hearing this. How could her sister also become a foodie? Zhu Cijiong beside her also agreed, "Sister is right!"
Princess Kunxing was a little overwhelmed. As soon as she left the house, she saw a young eunuch running towards her in a hurry. Princess Kunxing thought something bad had happened and collapsed on the ground in fear. The palace maid quickly came over to help Princess Kunxing up. Princess Kunxing asked, "What's the matter?"
"Great victory! Great victory, Princess!" the young eunuch said excitedly.
"Where did the great victory happen?" Princess Kunxing Zhu Mianzhu asked.
"A great victory in Gongji County! They captured the chieftain's son Hauge!" said the young eunuch.
"What about the prince consort? Does the victory report say how he is doing?" asked Princess Kunxing.
"Yes! They said that the prince consort had made great contributions in helping the county magistrate defend the city, so they asked them to wait until the enemy retreated and then personally escort Haoge to the capital!" said the little eunuch.
"I understand! Go away!" Princess Kunxing gave him a silver ingot and sent the eunuch away.
Hearing this, Princess Kunxing finally felt relieved. Why was it only half? As long as she didn't see her husband come back, she would not be completely relieved.
Zhao Xiaofei and his group arrived at the capital safely, but Chongzhen did not go out of the city to greet them personally. This was because the invasion of the Jinlu was a great blow to him. Several princes were captured, and Prince Lu committed suicide. It was also said that those princes were also killed, and their bodies were found on the way back to the outside of the pass. In fact, because Huang Taiji died suddenly of illness, other ministers thought that these Ming Dynasty princes were of no use. They simply killed them and sacrificed them to Huang Taiji. In this way, several princes were sacrificed to Huang Taiji as animals.
However, no one in the Ming Dynasty knew that Huang Taiji had died. Chongzhen was still immersed in the pain of the defeat at Songshan and the invasion of the Jianlu. When he heard that Hauge had been captured, he was still a little unconvinced. Amidst the war reports announcing the death, the sudden appearance of such a victory memorial was a bit too shocking. After repeated confirmation, he finally found it to be true! Only then did he write the edict himself.
Compared to this victory, the overall losses left Chongzhen disheartened. The population losses were devastating, and the Ming's overall strength had declined significantly. The quality of the troops was low. Previously, some troops had dared to fight the Jianlu, but now they were reduced to fleeing. Fleeing was still good; surrendering was worse.
The area surrounding the capital is practically uninhabited for a thousand miles, but fortunately Gongji County held off the attack. If it were Buliangxiang, Zhuozhou, and Baoding, the whole area would be finished. Although you didn't go out of the city to greet Chongzhen, you did leave the Forbidden City and come to the Meridian Gate.
The troops of Hu Wen and Zhao Xiaofei before Chongzhen were a disastrous sight, their armor askew and lopsided. They looked nothing like a victorious army. Looking at Haoge in the cage, Zhao Xiaofei had shaved off the last of his hair. He looked listless. Like a defeated dog, his clothes were tattered, and the thing between his legs was faintly visible through his pants.
Chongzhen came with his civil and military officials to greet him. Hu Wen immediately knelt and saluted, saying, "Your humble servant, Hu Wen, the magistrate of Gongji County, pays homage to the emperor, Long live the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, I, the son-in-law of the emperor, Zhao Xiaofei, pay my respects to you!" Zhao Xiaofei knelt down reluctantly.
"Get up! You have made great contributions by defending Gongji County and capturing Hauge alive! Hu Wen will be appointed as the Minister of War, and the son-in-law Zhao Xiaofei will be appointed as the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness!" Chongzhen said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" they both said in unison.
The formalities of presenting the captives at the Meridian Gate took a long time. Zhao Xiaofei was exhausted, but Hu Wen was very excited. He was in good spirits, his eyes shining.
Just as Chongzhen had finished his words and dismissed the crowd, telling everyone to go home and find their mothers, Zhao Xiaofei came up to him and said, "Your Majesty! This time, I suffered heavy losses in Gongji County. The strong water that was originally used to refine gold and silver was now used to defend the city! So..."
"So what?" Chongzhen asked Zhao Xiaofei with a squinting look.
"Hehehe! Can I be exempted from this year's silver payment? I have suffered heavy losses." Zhao Xiaofei said with a fake smile.
"Okay! Then I won't pay you the salary as the Marquis of Loyalty!" Chongzhen said.
"Okay, okay! You have the final say!" Zhao Xiaofei quickly agreed. He played the victim in front of Chongzhen, mainly to make him feel useless and greedy, and not let him go to the front. He still wanted to go to Nanjing. Then he could make all the decisions himself. How powerful would that be!
Chongzhen had indeed been fooled. Hu Wen had originally written in his memorial that his son-in-law had made great contributions to the defense of the city, but now it was clear that he had no other achievements besides making money. He sighed and said, "Hurry up and go to Yonghe Palace! Kunxing has been worried for half a month!"
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