Chapter 93: Flying Flower General
Zhu Qizhen's decree to reappoint the Luchuan Xuanwei Envoy came down soon. This time the Ming army could finally return to the court. The Ming Dynasty divided the original Luchuan Xuanwei Office into two. Half of it was still left to local autonomy, and the other half was directly stationed by the Ming army, from Tengchong to Nandian, and then down along the Luchuan River. The area east of this line became the territory actually controlled by the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, all the promotions Zhu Yuhuan had promised to everyone had been fulfilled, especially the ordinary soldiers who had led the front lines, all of whom had received promotions. As for the main generals who led the army on this expedition, their rewards would be announced after the princess returned to the capital to give a detailed account of the Luchuan Campaign.
Except for Princess Shunde Zhu Yuhuan, the rest of the people stayed in Yunnan to deal with the follow-up matters of Luchuan.
Zhu Yuhuan officially set out on his journey back to Beijing. One reason was that Empress Dowager Cihui had not seen the eldest princess for many days and missed her day and night. The other reason was that the emperor would formally marry the empress into the palace on May 19th, and the eldest princess should return to the palace to participate in the ceremony.
After all, Zhu Yuhuan had been away for nearly a year, personally went to the battlefield, participated in the war of hundreds of thousands of troops, and personally won a military merit. He should go back and reunite with his family.
For Zhu Yuhuan, the most important thing was that Zhu Qizhen agreed to Zhu Yuhuan's intention to return to Yunnan to continue to implement the policy of converting native peoples into officials. During the time when Zhu Yuhuan was away, the matter was handed over to Wang Ji to handle.
Wang Ji had previously read the report submitted by Toghto Boluo, which coincided with Zhu Yuhuan's request to reform the native system. Based on Wang Ji's understanding of Toghto Boluo, it was absolutely impossible for him to come up with such a thing alone, so Toghto Boluo was most likely following the instructions of Princess Shunde.
After receiving Zhu Qizhen's order, Zhu Yuhuan knew that Wang Ji was going to ask him about the policy of changing the system of native tribes to Han Chinese. He just nodded slightly to Huai'en and asked him to hand over the document he had written long ago to Wang Ji.
Wang Ji was slightly stunned when he saw this and said, "Your Highness, what are you doing..."
"If it's my original intention, I really have no plans to return to the capital. I need to do this personally no matter what. However, Your Majesty is getting married soon, and I must give an explanation about the regency." Zhu Yuhuan saw him flipping through the documents in his hand and said, "The reform of the native system will inevitably cause disputes among the local people of various ethnic groups, and it will require military force to suppress them. Therefore, I can only leave it to Shangshu Wang while I'm away."
Wang Ji's heart was moved when he heard this, and he said, "Can His Highness really come back?"
Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile, "Your Majesty has already approved it. How can I not come back? I have already asked His Majesty for permission to allow some craftsmen and officials from the Wunong Temple to accompany me. When the time comes, I will bring the blueprints of the hydraulic farming tools. I believe they will be of great use. In addition, Your Majesty has also approved the dispatch of some newly-minted Jinshi (Jinshi) of the sixth year of Zhengtong to serve as officials in Yunnan. They will open schools there and educate the people. I believe these people will accompany me when the time comes."
Wang Ji saw her resolute expression and knew the weight of the document in his hand. He said solemnly, "Your Highness and I are waiting together in Yunnan for your return."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded slightly.
When he first traveled from the capital to Yunnan, he was accompanied by a large number of guards. Now, when he returned to the capital from Yunnan, the journey was relatively simple, but the necessary pomp and circumstance was still there.
Therefore, Zhu Qizhen specially ordered Zhu Yuhuan to go to Nanjing to pay homage to the mausoleum of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and report on the Luchuan sacrifice.
After all, they won a victory. Zhu Qizhen had already sent Prince Wei Zhu Zhan'an to Changling, Xianling and Jingling to pay tribute to Zhu Di and his father and son. Naturally, he could not leave behind Zhu Yuanzhang who was left in Nanjing.
Normally, it would have been sufficient to send a duwei (a military officer) to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. Having a woman offer sacrifices to the ancestors was unprecedented. However, this Princess Shunde was no ordinary princess. She participated in the Luchuan Campaign, which was a major victory. Not to mention that Princess Shunde's important decision helped the Ming Dynasty defeat the Si clan in one fell swoop, even if she had done nothing, she would still have been credited.
What's more, the emperor didn't mind. Except for a few imperial censors who insisted that "the ritual system should not be easily shaken, otherwise it would cause the people to imitate it", almost no one objected to it, especially the military heroes headed by Zhang Fu. Many of them regretted not letting their descendants go to the battlefield with them, otherwise they could have gained some credit.
Zhu Yuhuan knew nothing about this. He just looked at the many female officials, officials and eunuchs headed by eunuch Jin Ying who were sent to Nanjing by Zhu Qizhen with formal clothes, and felt a little amused and helpless for a moment.
She didn't even need to guess to know that Zhu Qizhen was using the excuse of paying a visit to Taizu to give Zhu Yuhuan extra pomp and ceremony, and he had to make the scene bigger.
After all, this was the first major victory since the Battle of Yijinai in the third year of Zhengtong, and it was larger in scale and more effective. Zhu Qizhen certainly had to exaggerate the event to show off himself.
Zhu Yuhuan already had a crown and clothes, and the dress brought by the female official this time was obviously prepared by Zhu Qizhen. It seemed to still be in the style of a princess, but the materials and colors were obviously of a higher quality. The most obvious thing was that the inner Juyi was replaced with a bright red python robe, with a python pattern embroidered in the middle, and two round embroidered golden phoenixes facing the sun, with longevity mountains and auspicious seas, and colorful clouds. It was sparkling just by looking at it from a distance, and it was obvious that it was very expensive.
Thanks to the fact that Zhu Yuhuan was able to march in Yunnan wearing armor, it was not difficult for him to visit the mausoleum in formal attire.
If it were someone else, they would probably faint halfway through the climb while carrying dozens of kilograms of equipment.
Since Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, he had rarely visited Zhu Yuanzhang's Xiaoling Mausoleum. Only at the beginning of the year when the reign was changed did Zhu Zhan'an offer sacrifices on his behalf. After that, most of the time he was involved in the repair work of the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
From the first year of Zhengtong to the seventh year of Zhengtong, this was the second time that Zhu Qizhen paid such a solemn visit to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
The weather during the days of the tomb worship was not good. After Zhu Yuhuan finished his visit in a formal dress, fine rain began to fall from the sky. The people who visited the tomb could only rest temporarily at the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
Now that spring has arrived, it is normal to have rain. Zhu Yuhuan had noticed the signs of rain a long time ago, but he thought it was just a temporary drizzle and did not take it seriously. However, for these officials, the fact that it rained while visiting the mausoleum was a bit delicate.
After all, the date of the worship was set after calculating the weather in advance. Logically, it shouldn't have rained. One can't help but wonder whether Taizu made it rain because some censors said it was "against the etiquette."
If they knew that Princess Shunde's name contained the character "fire", they would probably believe it even more.
Seeing their expressions changing unpredictably, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Jin Ying, standing by, reacted quickly and said, "The Grand Master must have wept tears of joy after seeing Your Highness's benevolence, filial piety, and martial virtue, as well as his remarkable contributions to the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Yuhuan, who was originally enjoying the rain, subconsciously turned around and looked at Jin Ying, and almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
If Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his words could be interpreted in this way, he would probably be very displeased.
As Jin Ying spoke, the female official beside her followed suit, saying, "As the ancient saying goes, 'The highest virtue is like water; water benefits all things.' Your Majesty's virtue has moved heaven and earth, and the ancestors have just bestowed their blessings upon you, bestowing upon you like spring rain, nourishing the fields and arable land. This year will surely yield a good harvest."
The two of them chatted back and forth, and in just a few sentences they attributed the rain to Zhu Yuanzhang being moved by Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Qizhen, a brother and sister. The others didn't dare to think too much and all agreed.
When the wind stopped and the rain stopped, and the weather gradually cleared up, Zhu Yuhuan and his party left the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Zhu Yuhuan was used to riding horses, so he jumped on the horse without thinking too much. Seeing this, Jin Ying immediately winked at the people next to him, signaling them not to say too much.
From the Xiaoling Mausoleum to the city of Nanjing, although the streets were cleared, people would occasionally pop out of the shops on both sides of the road to see what was going on. Many of them had heard that Princess Shunde had paid a visit to Emperor Taizu as a woman, and had come here specifically to catch a glimpse of the royal family.
Princess Shunde was seen in full formal attire, with a nine-pheasant crown on her head, a jade leather belt around her waist, and riding a white horse. She was surrounded by a crowd, but she remained steady, looking straight ahead with a bright look in her eyes. Her dignity was different from that of ordinary people and was awe-inspiring and inviolable.
Entering from Jubao Gate, Zhu Yuhuan looked at the increasingly dense houses and shops, and the tall hanging signs. It was indeed very different from the orderly Beijing, and had its own unique charm.
If he hadn't returned a little late, Zhu Yuhuan would have been able to see for Zhu Di how beautiful the lantern tower on the Qinhuai River was.
Zhu Yuhuan was lost in thought when suddenly a few petals fell in front of her. She subconsciously reached out and grabbed one. The petal did not look fresh, and Zhu Yuhuan was a little surprised. But seeing that Jin Ying and others beside her were not surprised, how could Zhu Yuhuan not understand?
It turns out there are surprises waiting here.
Looking up, Zhu Yuhuan saw numerous petals flying in the wind. He couldn't help laughing and murmured softly, "Flowers are flying everywhere in the Spring City..."
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