NFBE Chapter 141: We, mother and son, rely on the general for protection
Chapter 141: We, mother and son, rely on the general for protection
The imperial seal fell, and everything was settled.
The issuance of the imperial edict caused a lot of controversy in the court. Some people felt that the little prince was too young to inherit the throne, and that Prince Xuan, as the eldest emperor, was violating the ancestral system by appointing his youngest son as the heir.
The old emperor did not care about the discussions in the court. He issued an edict that day. Zong Yanli went to court for the first time to receive the title.
This was also the first time that all the civil and military officials in the court saw the famous General Pingxi. When they saw that the emperor had appointed Zong Yanli as the prince's tutor, all the officials changed their faces. This was clearly an attempt to build momentum for the prince.
With Zong Yanli supporting the prince, what is there to be afraid of?
After the imperial edict was issued, the Imperial Observatory selected an auspicious day for the enthronement ceremony. Zong Yanli could not stay in Kyoto for long due to urgent military duties, so the emperor asked the prince to perform the ceremony of paying homage to Zong Yanli first.
"Student greets teacher." The neatly dressed little prince bowed to Zong Yanli and then took the teacup from the servant beside him and offered it to him: "Teacher, please have some tea."
Zong Yanli sat on the armchair, took the teacup handed to him by He Honglang, drank it, and took out a book from his arms.
She held the scroll in her hand and lowered her eyes and said, "Your Highness, this is written by me personally. It records the battle deployments, strategies for dealing with the enemy, and methods for strengthening the army that I have experienced since I joined the army."
Zong Yanli put the scroll in He Honglang's hand, his eyes solemn and calm, and said: "The scroll contains not only the war but also the national situation. It contains everything I have seen and experienced. I hope Your Highness can study it carefully."
“When I return to the capital next time, Your Highness should report back to me what I felt after reading this book.” This was the first lesson Zong Yanli taught him.
"Student understands." The ignorant little prince blinked, not knowing the importance of the book in his hands. He just lowered his head and accepted it obediently.
After the ceremony of paying homage to the teacher, Concubine Gao asked someone to temporarily keep the handwritten letter sent by Zong Yanli. The child was too young, and it would be terrible if it was torn up by carelessness.
Although Zong Yanli was the prince's tutor, he was unable to stay with the little prince and teach him carefully.
Therefore, up to now, the prince's studies are still being looked after by scholars arranged by the old emperor, and Zong Yanli is ready to return to Yuanshi Pass and go to the battlefield again.
"General." Gao Jiayue could finally talk to him openly. Outside the hallway, Gao Jiayue looked up at Zong Yanli with reluctance in his eyes. He whispered, "The ceremony of enthronement has not yet been held, and the general is leaving?"
"The situation does not wait for anyone." Zong Yanli lowered his head slightly towards Gao Jiayue, looking at the beautiful woman in front of him. It was really hard to imagine that the weak princess of Gao Kingdom, who was unable to protect herself and almost lost her life, has grown to this point now.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on getting what you wished for." Zong Yanli looked at her and smiled slightly.
Gao Jiayue shook her head gently, looked at her deeply and said, "What I wish for has only taken the first step."
She smiled at Zong Yanli, her smile was so touching, her tone was a little tender, she lowered her eyes slightly and said: "General, from now on, my mother and I will rely on you to protect us."
Zong Yanli did not hear anything wrong in these words, and he just bowed respectfully: "As a minister, I will do my best."
Gao Jiayue's eyes lit up slightly, and she smiled as she said, "I feel relieved with the general's words."
After Zong Yanli left the East Palace, he went to meet the emperor again and roughly talked about the preparations that needed to be made for the next attack on Qing Kingdom. The situation in Wu Kingdom was difficult now, and Zong Yanli had to ensure that the reserve military supplies and food were sufficient at all costs.
He then mentioned that his mother had been suffering from a cough that had not been cured for a long time, and asked the emperor whether he could invite the imperial physician to come home to treat his mother.
The emperor was deeply moved by Zong Yanli's filial piety and righteousness, and agreed without hesitation. He asked He Chang to pass the message to the Imperial Hospital, and then Zong Yanli took the two imperial doctors out of the palace and went home.
Zong Yanli is now a popular figure around the emperor. Not only does he hold military power, but he is also the prince's tutor. The two imperial doctors did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. They followed Zong Yanli back to the mansion respectfully and took turns to take Han's pulse.
"Madam, you have worked too hard and worried too much. This must be the result of depression caused by years of hard work and anxiety." After the two imperial doctors made the diagnosis, they quickly found the cause of the problem. They immediately went to find Zong Yanli to explain the condition and prescribed medicine for him.
"In the future you need to relax and stop worrying too much." He also mentioned some methods of calming the mind, and if there is still depression, acupuncture can relieve it.
The general meaning is that this is not a particularly difficult disease, and it mainly requires your physical and mental health.
Zong Yanli listened and nodded one by one. Thinking of how his mother worked so hard for the Zong Yan family, and how their march made his mother worry, which caused his mother to suffer so much, Zong Yanli felt extremely uncomfortable.
Zong Yanli asked someone to get the medicine according to the prescription given by the imperial physician. After personally escorting the two imperial doctors out of the house, he went to see Han.
"Look, I said it's okay." Han looked at Zong Yanli with a little helplessness.
"Mother, this is not a trivial matter." Zong Yanli looked serious. She thought for a long time and decided to talk to her mother.
Zong Yanli pursed his lips and looked at Han, then walked over and squatted in front of Han. Han, who was sitting on a chair, was slightly stunned when she saw Zong Yanli approaching, but Zong Yanli reached out and held Han's hand.
The rough, scarred hand held Han's hand. She looked at the hand holding hers and the rough skin on it and couldn't help choking up. When she stretched out these hands, they were not even as good as hers as an old woman's. How could she feel that they were from a girl?
Zong Yanli firmly held Han's hand and called her, "Mother, mother."
"You don't have to worry about me. Mother, I am your child, and you will always be my beloved mother." Zong Yanli held Han's hand and placed it on her face. She squatted under Han's knees, raised her head slightly and looked at her and said, "This is the path I want to take, and I have no regrets."
"Who says women have to wear red? This set of military armor is the best for me."
"Mother, I don't blame anyone. As long as my parents are by my side, that's enough."
Han couldn't hold it in any longer, tears welled up in her eyes and she collapsed. With tears in her eyes, she stroked Zong Yanli's cheek with trembling hands, and finally reached out to hug Zong Yanli into her arms and said, "Mother, I'm sorry, my child..."
Zong Yanli's Adam's apple rolled, and he closed his eyes slightly to suppress his emotions. He reached out to wipe away the tears on Han's face, smiled at her and said, "Mother, wait for me to return home, and then I will be filial to you."
Han choked up and nodded: "Okay, okay..."
Han gently stroked the top of Zong Yanli's head and said with a smile through her tears: "Mother will wait for you to come back."
The day Zong Yanli left Beijing happened to be the Grain Full Moon, with a slight thunderstorm.
In front of the Zong Yan family's house, Han and Zong Yanyin saw him off with umbrellas. Looking at Zong Yanli who ignored the wind and rain and got on his horse, Han's eyes were filled with sadness for a long time. She forced a smile and walked towards Zong Yanli, loudly admonishing him: "Go slowly on the road, and take a rest when you are tired."
"Brother, this is the dry food I made for you." Zong Yanyin took out the things wrapped in oilcloth and put them all behind Zong Yanli's horse.
"Take good care of yourself, and remember to write home when you have time." Zong Yanyin held Han's hand tightly, and couldn't help but have tears in her eyes.
They have said goodbye to Zong Yanli and their father like this too many times.
Zong Yanli nodded at them, looked at Zong Yanyin and said, "Sister, take good care of mother. If there is any difficulty, please send a message."
Zong Yanyin nodded with red eyes. Zong Yanli said no more. He took a deep breath, tightened the reins, and left the capital with Wen Nian and a group of personal guards.
Han stared at Zong Yanli's receding back in a daze. Zong Yanyin leaned on Han's shoulder and cried softly. Wei Songhe, who was standing next to her, felt very distressed and could only reach out and pat Zong Yanyin's shoulder as if to comfort her.
She dedicated her entire life to her country and family, and was destined to lack the filial piety that a child should fulfill.
At this time in the Kingdom of Qing, Zhuo Kangshun would not be willing to accept defeat and wanted to make a comeback to fight again. However, the treasury was empty and it was a problem how to raise military supplies. He could only seize the surplus food from the people and order every household to hand over the food.
This food is not limited to wheat, but also includes chickens and ducks raised at home, and even eggs.
Not to mention cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs.
The bandit-like decision of Qing State finally aroused public anger, but Zhuo Kangshun did not think it was wrong. As an emperor, he could personally supervise the war outside, but the people were unwilling to give up even this little food.
There was killing during the riots, and anyone who resisted was beheaded on the spot, even women, girls and children were slaughtered.
Such a tyrant finally frightened the people of Qing Kingdom into submission, but he also brought endless haze.
Zong Yanli returned to the military camp, and before he had time to catch his breath, he learned that Gongsun Pu and Huo Wenqi had both returned. Both of them lived up to everyone's expectations, one persuaded the Zhan family of Longchuan to come, and the other moved Tianlei Village here.
"General, General!" Huo Wenqi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Zong Yanli coming back, as if he had found his backbone. He hurried forward and said, "The leader of Tianlei Village is waiting not far outside the camp. This village is full of bandits. We dare not let them approach without the general's order."
"Besides, the leader of Fu Village said that he must meet the general in person." Huo Wenqi said quickly.
"Are they all here?" Zong Yanli was a little surprised.
"They are all here." Huo Wenqi was also full of admiration when talking about this.
He originally thought that it might take some time to make this trip, and was worried that it would be difficult to convince the village chief. So he did a lot of research before going to Tianlei Village. However, after hearing about Huo Wenqi's purpose, the village chief Fu Jiashi treated him as a guest of honor.
Huo Wenqi was still worried that Fu Jiashi was trying to use courtesy first and then force.
However, he never expected that this person was so easy to talk to. After confirming that Huo Wenqi was under Zong Yanli's command and was from Pingnan Camp, he decided to follow Huo Wenqi without hesitation.
"The leader of Fu Village didn't tell me the reason?" Zong Yanli was also surprised. No wonder Huo Wenqi went and came back so quickly.
"I didn't say." Not to mention the reason, Fu Jiashi directly emptied the village, burned it down to cut off his retreat, and followed Huo Wenqi with a group of brothers.