Embark on the journey to celebrate the success
"What?" This time Shujia was really surprised! To be honest, since she entered the palace, nothing could surprise her like this.
Yinreng was very calm, and looked at Shujia with an inclusive look: "Don't worry." After all, they are women, and they will be anxious when something happens to their close ones. "Qingde's ability to serve in the army this time is also his chance."
Shujia couldn't understand why: "He was doing well in the Imperial Guard, how could he suddenly be sent to serve in the front line? Did he commit a crime?" Isn't 'sent to serve in the front line' the same as 'making meritorious service while guilty' or 'exile'? Of all the male relatives on her mother's side, she had the best relationship with Qingde, so she was a little anxious when she heard the news.
Yinreng was both angry and amused: "Can you please sit down?"
Shujia blushed, feeling anxious, and looked at Yinreng eagerly.
"If I had known you were like this, I wouldn't have told you first. I could have waited until he got his hereditary position and came back, so you wouldn't have to worry."
Shujia calmed herself down. "So, according to you, this is a good thing? Oh, you know I don't understand this, but you're still using it to bait me. He's in the Imperial Guard. Even if it's his turn to accompany the emperor this time, he'll be in front of the emperor. How did it get sent to Fei Yanggu?"
That's right, Yinreng came to inform his wife: my second brother-in-law, Comrade Qingde, has gloriously become one of the brave warriors fighting for the country on the front line. This caused his wife's anxiety and questioning.
Yinreng analyzed the situation to his wife, and at the same time, he also sorted out his own thoughts: "Didn't the Hami Hui tribe capture Galdan's son, Sebuteng Baljur, and offer him as a captive in the first month of this year? Khan Ama is even more determined to lead the expedition himself. Think about it, Galdan was defeated by Feiyanggu last year, and now even his son has been captured, which shows that he is at the end of his strength. There won't be any danger. Khan Ama is sending Qingde to the front line now. The risk is minimal, but he can gain merit. It is training him."
Shujia paused for a moment, then did some math. Did Galdan die in 1616? Hmm, converting that, it seemed like this year. She was safe, but she couldn't stop worrying. It was a natural reaction, unrelated to rationality.
"Do you think I should pack something for him? The ones they gave me last time weren't bad..."
Yinreng listened to her chatter with a smile, feeling that the palace had become more lively and more like home. Alas, living in a place like this where even a taxi would cost more than the starting price for brothers, with no real mother and only a slight affection for his father, who he sometimes didn't see for months at a time, the human touch was truly as thin as it could be.
Yinreng just allowed her to be so busy.
Shujia didn't exaggerate so much as to pack a bunch of bags and packages. She just prepared the same as what she had prepared for Shi Wenbing, Fu Dali and others. It was a small package with a small pouch filled with tinder, flint and other things, as well as a portable water bottle, some ready-made medicines, and a little ginseng.
He sent two eunuchs to deliver the things together with Lu Ru and Qing Jin. Before leaving, he instructed Qing Jin: "Find out why the second master is going to the battlefield all of a sudden. Didn't the old master and the eldest master go last year? Aren't the old master and the eldest master going this year?" The day of the personal expedition is very close, and those on the list should have received the news and started to prepare.
The four men took the order and left. They came back and said, "The old master, the eldest master, and the master of the fourth old master's family have all gone. Only the master of the fourth old master's family and our second master went to the army. This time, the eldest master and the old master were left in front of the emperor."
This was not so bad. Shujia was reluctantly relieved. It seemed that Kangxi had his own plans.
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In reality, Kangxi did have a plan. The Manchus were known for their martial spirit, so Kangxi naturally sought out capable individuals from the younger generation. Coincidentally, Kangxi saw Qingde as a good kid (he was definitely being deceived), with a clean family background and a good family background. Who else could he train if not him? Furthermore, he was also ambitious.
So Kangxi sent him to the front along with 19 other young men with great potential, carrying another batch of rewards and military supplies for Fei Yanggu. After arriving, he was to "stay in the front and serve in the army."
Qingde was overjoyed and prepared to leave with his bag packed. He had been out a lot and was quite experienced, so he said to Jueluo, "Don't buy anything heavy, something light and sturdy." Jueluo was filled with worry, but she was afraid that crying would bring bad luck, so she endured it and burned a lot more incense in the small Buddhist shrine every day. Now she said forcefully, "It's not like I haven't packed before, so don't worry. I asked my eldest sister-in-law, and she told me how she packed for my brother last time, so I'll do it for you the same way. I promise you'll feel comfortable."
"Hey, hey, I'm not talking about whether it's comfortable or not, I'm saying, let's take less..."
"Second Master, the old master and the master are calling each other."
"I'll go take a look, you clean up first."
When he arrived at the main room, he saw his grandfather, his father, and his brother all there, all staring at him eagerly. Even the toughest Qingde couldn't help but shudder. He stepped forward to greet the three of them, then tentatively asked, "What's going on today?" "Is it because I took the initiative to ask for permission, and then... pushed my eldest brother and father out?" That couldn't be right!
In an emergency, people often perform exceptionally well. Qingde was no exception this time. He suddenly felt that this wasn't a good idea! If Fu Dali had participated in both events, the combined contributions would have surely resulted in a respectable reward. Now, with the same task split between two people, perhaps it wouldn't be up to par.
To make an inappropriate analogy, if a test paper has 100 points, if one person gets it, he will be praised when he goes home. If it is divided among two people and each gets 50 points, and both fail, they will be punished by mixed doubles when they go home.
Qingde was regretting it so much that his intestines turned green.
Unexpectedly, these three people were not interested in pursuing this matter and began to teach him lessons one by one.
Hua Shan came first and said, "You are a good boy! You have picked up such a great opportunity! The master likes you, so you must do your best! This is a golden opportunity, you can't let it slip away. Galdan is at the end of his rope, now is the time to give him a good beating."
"When you get to the front, first see how others do it and what the atmosphere is like there. You must get along well with your colleagues. Fei Yanggu is much older than you. He has always made great achievements in the army. He must have his extraordinary qualities. You must not be conceited and disobey orders. Do you hear me?" This was the advice from the strict father.
My brother put it much more simply: "Take care of yourself along the way."
Hua Shan was the lecturer. His family had been involved in the trade of beheading people. One of them was Hua Shan, and the other was Fu Dali, whom he had just visited. Shi Wenbing had always been involved in logistics and training. Hua Shan, on the other hand, had fought on the battlefield for seven or eight years and had returned unscathed, so he naturally wanted to pass on his experience.
I only heard Hua Shan say: "It's easiest to take down a drowning dog. Just put all your strength into it. There's only one thing: you have to be careful of it biting back. Don't dress fancy, just plain. Wear something thick underneath. Wear soft armor if you have it. It's cold anyway, and it can keep you warm... Then charge hard. Be careful. If you charge again, you have to take some people with you. The worst thing to do is to go into danger alone. You're not Zhao Zilong or Zhang Yide, so don't take on this porcelain job. You're a captain, you should have personal followers. Give them good horses that can keep up with you! No matter how brave you are, in the chaos of the army, two fists are still no match for four hands."
Qingde wrote them down one by one.
Fu Dali was puzzled. When he went to war, he and his father came to listen to the court training. At that time, the old man did not say this. He said: "Follow the master closely, protect him, don't run around! And don't rush forward to interfere. The master will handle it himself."
This old man! Why are his words so inconsistent? Which one are we supposed to remember?
The old man paused to catch his breath, gulped down half a bowl of tea, and continued: "I'm half buried in the earth, and there are some things I can teach you. People must know the times. As a servant, you must know which way the wind blows. The rafters that stick out will rot first. If you want to achieve something, you must survive before you can do anything. Some people get things done twice as fast, while others are just the opposite. Why? They don't know how to judge the situation. If you want to wear light clothes in the middle of winter, you have to heat the kang, which wastes more firewood! That's the way it is."
After this, Qingde hurried forward to give the old man a back massage. Hua Shan narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. "For example, this time, we're guaranteed to win. As long as we prepare carefully, we can charge forward. Unlike last year, Galdan is powerful, and rumors say the Orus are helping us. So, we shouldn't force our way forward. But we have to be there. Once the master has made up his mind, how can we not do our best to carry it out?"
"Again, in war, staying alive is more important than being glorious. If you're alive and your opponent is dead, you win. Pick up a knife, chop off his hand, and claim the credit. Being like Tong Guogang, a fool, that's foolish."
Finally, the story was over, leaving his children and grandchildren stunned. The old man saw his two children and grandchildren bowing their heads in respect, and he was very happy: "I am tired too, let's go."
After the meeting, Shi Wenbing called his sons over for a small meeting. The central topic was: how to critically inherit the experiences and lessons of revolutionary predecessors.
Shi Wenbing lectured: "What you, Mafa, said is generally correct. However, a minister should be loyal and upright, following the trend and taking advantage of it. But don't be too opportunistic, or you will lose your character, become confused, and become a schemer. With your character lost and your mind confused, you will lose your perspective on the situation. We in the Shi family cannot afford to have people who retreat on the battlefield or step on others to get promoted in the court! Don't let your imagination wander, focusing on taking shortcuts and forgetting the teachings of the sages."
The tone was quite harsh at the end.
Fu Dali and Qingde were shocked and responded in unison: "We will follow Father's instructions."
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Qingde returned to his room and sat there trying to understand everything. Seeing him like this, Jueluo didn't dare to disturb him and let him think.
Just then, Rong'er, from the eldest wife's family, arrived in person to deliver something: "Our uncle asked our great grandmother to dig up some alum. They say that when the army is out in the field, digging wells is fine, but the vanguard might have to draw water from streams and rivers, which might be contaminated. Use this! Just a small piece, throw it in a jar, and let it sit for a while. The water will become clear. It also prevents illness. I stumbled across it last time when I was accompanying the emperor, otherwise I wouldn't have known about this method."
Jueluo quickly asked someone to answer the phone, and then asked Rong'er to answer it. Rong'er said, "Second Madam, just be busy. I'm going to reply."
Qingdeyu came out of the room and said: "Go back and thank big brother for me. I appreciate your kindness."
Rong'er knelt down and said goodbye.
In this way, Comrade Qingde was calmly sent to the front line without anyone opposing it and on the premise that Kangxi fulfilled his promise.
The packet of alum Qingde had given him was quite useful. Pollution was relatively low these days, but that was also a relative term. For example, Qingde and his companions had grown up in luxury and had rarely drunk cold water. They drank boiled water, which was also sterilized.
This time, when we went to the grassroots, we were accompanied by only one or two servants, who might not have considered everything carefully. Where there were post stations, it was fine. Where there were no post stations, we simply drew water from any source and used it to boil water and cook. The escorts were all working people, accustomed to drinking raw water and eating coarse grains, and they were immune to it.
As for the young masters, the food might be better, but the water is still the same. Some, utterly thirsty, ignored the cold weather and simply drank raw water, but that was a problem, wasn't it? Later, even after boiling the water, they still couldn't get used to it. And some, even more particular, saw the river water being used by donkeys and horses, and even people drawing it to drink, which made them nauseous. The physiological and psychological effects were compounded by diarrhea.
Qingde tried it out of courtesy and courtesy of his brother, and surprisingly, he had the mildest diarrhea. He felt a bit unwell on the first day, but by the second day, he was much better than his horrible diarrhea companions. Alum, also known as alum stone, has detoxifying and antiseptic properties, and is also used in traditional Chinese medicine for purgatives.
Thanks to this packet of alum, Qingde not only escaped unscathed, but also performed dozens of favors. Along the way, Fei Yanggu and the others all said, "Good brother, your kindness is beyond words." This man was also called Fei Yanggu, but he was not the one they were going to join. Instead, he was a young guard under the Manchu Zhenghuang Banner.
Qingde smiled and said, "I only knew this because my brother told me."
After another five or six days, the group gradually adapted to this kind of running around and slowly recovered. Everyone lost weight and felt more energetic. Two servants whispered to each other: "Humans are miserable creatures. They have both good and bad experiences. Look, these guys are just like us, aren't they also shaving spoons from the same pot?" The other slapped them in the face: "The patrol is here, you better keep quiet."
When he arrived at the front line, he had to first meet Fei Yanggu, announce Kangxi's edict, and then complete the handover.
Fei Yanggu was in a state of panic. The imperial edict had already arrived, delivered 600 miles in expedited fashion. He already knew the list. A bunch of young soldiers! Sending so many men at this juncture clearly showed the emperor's confidence in the war, but... it was also causing me trouble! Not only did I have to fight, but I also had to guard against them feigning ignorance and causing trouble, and protect them from dying easily. How easy is that for me?
The twenty who arrived were filled with pride. Finally, we were here! We weren't grain escorts anymore; we were the vanguard! Everyone imagined wielding a broadsword and striking down the enemy's head... err, wrong, chopping off Galdan's head. Each one of them seemed to have achieved great success.
Even Qingde, who usually kept his composure, couldn't hold it back. No matter how deep a man's hidden instincts were, they still had a bloodthirsty passion deep down, especially on the battlefield. The sky was high and the land was vast, and everyone was filled with heroic spirit.
Fei Yanggu suppressed a sigh and looked around. These people had been through the wind and sun all the way, but they didn't have the pale skin of the young men in the capital, which made people sigh. Fortunately, as long as they were willing to endure hardships, they could control their tempers. After all, the danger was not great, and they could be used to kill the enemy in front of the army.
"Your camp is nearby. You've had a hard time traveling. Wash up and rest first. The army has been traveling all winter and is now resting and awaiting the emperor's orders." This was comforting, then a warning. "No matter what you were doing before, once you enter the camp, you will only obey military orders. I will send someone to repeat the military orders to you later. It is cruel to punish without instruction. Now that I have told everyone, it will not be considered that I did not teach. Disband!"
He was the one. He came from a well-off family, a member of a founding father family, and the younger brother of the late empress. He held a high position, having served as Grand Secretary of the Imperial Guard, a Councillor of State, and the Commander-in-Chief of the main camp. He was highly skilled, having consistently won battles since the Three Feudatories Rebellion.
Twenty people, even if they felt a little depressed, listened carefully and obeyed the orders honestly.
Fei Yanggu felt a little relieved after seeing this. He was worried too. Kangxi had handed over the people, and he wanted to complete the mission. What if they turned out to be a bunch of useless people? That would be bad. There were some people he knew among them, such as his neighbor Qingde. His upbringing was okay, but... he had a strange grandfather. He wondered if he would mutate. There were also some he didn't know, such as the other Fei Yanggu. God knows what kind of person he was.
Now they are all obedient, although it is only temporary, which makes Fei Yanggu feel that the emperor is not deliberately making things difficult for him by assigning him this task.
The other guy was just the opposite, he was about to explode.
Shi Wenying was sent first. When he heard his nephew was coming, he thought it was Fu Dali. When he heard it was the second son, his head was buzzing. Kangxi didn't know and thought Qingde was a good boy. Fei Yanggu didn't know and thought Qingde had a good upbringing. Shi Wenying knew that this guy had inherited a lot from his third uncle!
Last time, that honest boy, Fu Dali, rushed forward in a frenzy when he entered the battle, and almost scared old uncle Shi Wenying's heart. Now here comes the monkey-like Qingde, and what should we do if we can't stop him and let him slip away?
The grassland is not like the inland. If you run too far and don't know the way, you will get lost and die! No, I have to keep an eye on him.
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For the sake of his own heart, Shi Wenying decided to keep a close eye on his nephew. Far away in the capital, Kangxi, for the sake of family harmony and prosperity, decided to take his eldest son with him on the expedition, tempering his temper and increasing his wisdom. Perhaps, with more experience, he would naturally mature?
This move infuriated his second son. What good is the eldest son? He's even letting him set up the Lu Bo! Are they trusting him too much? And taking him to the battlefield?! Military merit is the most important thing, and as a nomadic people, we value it especially. "Khan Ama, what are you trying to do? If you raise the eldest son too strong, he'll come after me."
Yinreng smiled bitterly.
His silly wife kept saying, "Big brother is also Khan Ama's son. What father wouldn't love his son? For example, right now, you're being close to Bao Bao, and I'm happy too. Don't you feel bad for Hong Yang and Hong Xi? You're the one who teaches them how to speak, and you're the one who looks up books every day. How can you separate the natural bond between father and son?"
Yinreng lowered his head and said nothing.
His silly wife always hit the nail on the head, leaving people feeling uncomfortable. But on second thought, everything made sense, practically hitting the nail on the head. No, he needed to think about it. Why did each of these seemingly ordinary statements have such an effect?
What's most baffling is that everything she says is perfectly reasonable and righteous, drawing admiration wherever it's presented. Yet, following her lead always results in tormenting the other person to the point of being unable to speak out. It's best to join her in being a model citizen, free from suffering. Unlike some fools, who, while boasting about their knowledge, are being played to death.
Alas, what is going on?
[Your Highness, we usually call this a sinister person.]
It seems to be very effective.
For the first time, His Royal Highness took seriously this effective approach, one he couldn't yet categorize. He extended two fingers and gently tapped the armrest. While studying, he had some insights, but... they weren't relevant enough to real life. His usual examples were always: gentlemen, villains, ancient figures. None of them had such a poignant quality.
His Royal Highness, with his scholarly mind, began to ponder this profound question. Besides being used for study and enlightenment, what else could books do? To guide life? Not in terms of principles, but in specific matters?
It must be said that His Royal Highness started late. Compared to the Crown Princess, who had been making up the Four Books for Women since her early days of speaking, he was behind at the starting line. Fortunately, he didn't have to compete with his wife. His competitors still haven't grasped this point.
How fortunate!
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