Zheng Rong went to the capital to mourn the late emperor, but was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice on charges fabricated by the current emperor. This news has spread throughout Guangyang City. The people in Guangyang City all know that Zheng Rong is a pillar of the court and a benefactor of the entire city. Therefore, no matter whether they are Hu or Han, they are all worried about the Prince of Youyan. Some people even secretly burn incense and pray, hoping that the prince can turn danger into safety and return to Guangyang safely.
Therefore, when the news came that Zheng Rong miraculously escaped from the Ministry of Justice prison, broke through numerous obstacles and returned to Youyan Road, and was about to enter Guangyang City, the people of Guangyang were all excited. They had long forgotten the national funeral etiquette of the emperor's death, and they took out fireworks and firecrackers and set them off everywhere, and welcomed him with food and drink.
Zheng Rong led the ceremonial guard and entered Guangyang. He saw familiar streets and houses appearing one by one in his sight. Among the people kneeling along the street, there were also familiar faces. He felt as if he was in another world. Seeing that the people in the city loved him so much, his eyes were filled with tears. He kept bowing to the people along the street while riding on his horse, and ordered Zhongli Kuang to take out silver from his private treasury and reward each person who came to greet him with one tael of silver.
On the Henan front.
The imperial court was very slow in deploying troops. After Dai Luanxiang received the emperor's edict, he went to the Ministry of War to supervise the army. However, although the imperial guards were nominally under the unified command of the Ministry of War, they were actually controlled by the eunuchs trusted by the emperor. Originally, the palace was under the sole control of the great eunuch Wang Zhonghai, which was considered to be a unified power. However, after Wang Zhonghai died inexplicably, the imperial guards were led by four eunuchs, who were fighting and shirking responsibility. They all wanted to preserve their own strength and were unwilling to let their troops fight against the elite soldiers of Youyan Dao.
As a result, Dai Luanxiang went through many twists and turns and fought with these eunuchs for three days, but still did not see a single soldier. In desperation, he had to present the whole story to the emperor again.
Zheng Yao had just ascended the throne when the Prince of Youyan started a rebellion. He knew that if he did not suppress the rebellion as soon as possible, he would undoubtedly become a laughing stock in history books, and even whether he could keep the throne was unknown. Therefore, he immediately issued an order, requiring the four eunuchs of the Imperial Guard to fully cooperate with Dai Luanxiang, who would select elite soldiers and rush to the front line.
Since the emperor had issued the order, the four eunuchs had no reason to be perfunctory and let Dai Luanxiang lead the army. Fortunately, Wang Zhonghai had been quite conscientious and responsible in the past few years, and the situation of vacancies and damaged weapons in the imperial army was not serious, so Dai Luanxiang handled the matter smoothly. He selected 150,000 elite soldiers from the more than 200,000 imperial troops and marched to Henan in a mighty force.
But halfway through the journey, the food supply was insufficient. The grain stored in the granaries in various places was clearly abundant according to the accounts, but when the granaries were opened, only the bottom of the warehouse was left. Dai Luanxiang was a man who had read many military books. How could he not know the simple principle of "food and grass must be sent before the troops move?" He had no choice but to clear out the old grain in the granaries for the army to use on the march. He also wrote a letter to the emperor to explain the pros and cons and request that food and grass must be supplied on time, otherwise the army would collapse without a fight.
After this period of twists and turns, when Dai Luanxiang led the imperial army into Henan, it was almost the Mid-Autumn Festival in August. He personally led his generals to observe the front line and saw that the Youyan army had already occupied the strategic locations in Bianzhou and Dengzhou and built fortifications. The barriers were strict and the flags were clear, and it was impossible to move lightly. So he ordered his imperial army to guard the key roads, strictly prevent the Youyan army from taking advantage of the opportunity to enter, and prepare for a protracted battle.
But what he didn't know was that the main generals of the opposing Youyan army, Cui Nan, Wei Hu, Zheng Sen and Zheng Miao, were not in the formation at the moment. They were rushing to Guangyang to participate in the anti-rebellion ceremony arranged by Zheng Rong and Zhongli Kuang.
It turned out that Zheng Rong felt that he had committed an offense and that his position was not right, so he wanted to hold a ceremony to announce the reason for his dispatching troops to the world in order to justify his actions. Zhongli Kuang agreed with this idea and originally planned to hold a flag-raising ceremony and military parade in the square in front of the Prince of Youyan's Palace. However, Zheng Rong thought the scene was too small, so he simply ordered the horse market to be suspended for two days, freeing up the space, and building a high platform here, erecting a flagpole, and then holding the ceremony.
The ceremony was held on the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th. God was kind and the weather was clear and crisp that day. A red sun was high in the sky and a few breezes blew, bringing the fragrance of osmanthus that was refreshing.
Zheng Xin was the eldest son of the king and was in charge of presiding over the ceremony. When he realized that the auspicious time had arrived, he waved the command flag in his hand and nine cannons behind him roared in unison. Suddenly, ceremonial music, drums and horns sounded and the square was suddenly filled with noise.
When the drums and music stopped, Zheng Rong calmly stepped onto the stage, unfolded a yellow silk-covered memorial in his hand, and read it aloud. After more than half a month of recuperation, he had already recovered his strength. His voice was loud and high, so that everyone present could hear it clearly:
"I have heard that wise rulers plan for dangers and control changes, and loyal ministers worry about the difficulty of establishing power. Therefore, there must be extraordinary people before there can be extraordinary things; there must be extraordinary things before extraordinary achievements can be made. Extraordinary people are naturally beyond the reach of ordinary people.
"Heaven is the father, earth is the mother, and disasters and blessings are caused by different things. Crows have the virtue of repaying their parents, sheep have the virtue of kneeling to suckle their mothers, and horses have no intention of deceiving their mothers. Zheng Yao, the second son of the late emperor, has always been blessed by the emperor, but he has no loyalty and filial piety, and does not understand the ethics of human relations. He is even inferior to animals, and he even killed the emperor, framed his uncle, bullied the officials, and exploited the people. Therefore, he betrayed his emperor and father and acted without the will of heaven, so people all over the world should rise up and punish him.
"Zheng Rong, the lonely and secluded Prince of Yan, is the grandson of Emperor Xianzong Zhao, the son of Emperor Shenzong Jing, and the brother of the late Emperor. He is born with a responsibility and dares not refuse. He is afraid that the country will be in chaos and the people will suffer. Therefore, he raises the heavenly army to sweep away the dust, leads the royal family to eliminate the treacherous and flatterers, and comforts the people to revive the Han Dynasty. If you can open the door and pay tribute, bare your body to welcome the surrender, or are willing to turn your back on the enemy and lead the way, or line up pots and drinks on the road, then each of you will do your job and not offend the slightest. If you are stubborn and unwilling to repent, and are willing to be a rebel, like a dog barking at Yao, and like a tiger and acting as an accomplice, then the disaster will befall your clan and your father and grandfather. You should choose between the two paths early. Sweep away the treacherous and flatterers, only now!"
This manifesto was written by Zhongli Kuang day and night. It was written with great vigor and in one breath. After everyone listened to it with bated breath, they all knelt on the ground and shouted, "We must wipe out the treacherous and corrupt officials today! We must wipe out the treacherous and corrupt officials today!" This was all rehearsed in advance.
Zheng Rong was very satisfied with this scene. He folded the yellow paper in his hand and handed it to Zheng Xin. He then said to the audience, "As the saying goes, the higher the virtue, the higher the evil. Although Zheng Yao is a traitor, he still holds the throne. Although we have a righteous cause, people in the world may not know it. The enemy is strong and we are weak, so the road to defeating the rebels will not be smooth. It is unknown whether the lives of those present are in danger. If anyone feels that this matter is as difficult as ascending to heaven and is unwilling to serve me, you can ask for it on the spot. I will not make it difficult." After that, Zheng Rong glanced at the civil and military officials kneeling on the ground, and asked again in a loud voice, "Is there any?"
At this moment, no one dared to make a sound. They were all silent. It was Zheng Miao who knelt in the middle and shouted first: "I am willing to follow the prince and fight against the rebellion!"
Everyone parroted what they heard: "We are willing to follow the prince and punish the rebels in the name of heaven! We are willing to follow the prince and punish the rebels in the name of heaven!"
Zheng Rong looked down at everyone and listened to their words of loyalty. He felt more and more satisfied. He ordered people to bring a large stack of documents and rewarded them one by one starting with his eldest son Zheng Xin.
Since Zheng Rong did not give the order, everyone had to kneel and wait. However, when they thought that they would be promoted soon, the officials kneeling on the ground were filled with joy and listened to the news on the stage. But they did not expect that when the two or three hundred people kneeling on the ground had only received half of their rewards, a few rain clouds blew in from the originally cloudless sky. They were getting bigger and thicker, and it started to rain soon after.
The Youyan Palace has always been governed by military law. Everyone knelt on the ground and looked up to see Zheng Rong on the stage without leaving to avoid the rain. Therefore, they did not dare to move a step. They just thought in their hearts: "It was originally sunny, why did it suddenly rain? Is this a bad omen?"
Zhongli Kuang had already seen the expressions of suspicion and fear on everyone's faces, and suddenly an idea came to him. He looked up to the sky and shouted loudly: "Clouds come from the dragon, and wind comes from the tiger. This rain is a good omen sent by heaven. May His Majesty be successful!" After saying this, he kowtowed continuously.
When the others saw this, they also followed Zhongli Kuang's example, chanting something and bowing down.
Seeing that Zhongli Kuang had covered up this embarrassing situation without leaving any trace, Zheng Rong could not help but look at the resourceful counselor with great admiration. Zheng Rong calmed down and continued to reward the officials in the rain.
However, the rain kept getting heavier and lighter until all the officials were rewarded. Then it stopped completely. A few strong winds blew past, and then the clouds cleared and the sun came out.
So Zheng Rong followed the agenda and ordered his second son Zheng Sen to lead the black ox and white horse that had been prepared long ago to the altar to offer sacrifices.
In order to boost morale, Zheng Sen personally performed the slaughtering of the sacrifice. He held a very sharp broadsword and chopped off the head of the big black bull with one stroke. The hot blood gushed out and covered half of the altar. Seeing his great martial arts skills, the audience shouted "good!"
Zheng Sen was delighted when he heard this, and he flexed his muscles and killed the white horse as well. The crowd cheered again.
Seeing that he had done his job well, Zheng Rong smiled and said, "Good job, Zheng Sen, your martial arts have improved again. I will give you another reward!"
The eldest son Zheng Xin, who was in charge of presiding over the ceremony, stood behind Zheng Rong the whole time, which was much easier than kneeling on the stage, but he still felt sore from standing. Seeing that the ceremony was over, he mustered up his last bit of energy, raised the rain-soaked flag high in the air, threw it hard in the air, and shouted, "The ceremony is over!"
After hearing this, everyone felt as if they had been pardoned. They kowtowed on the ground for a while, and after hearing Zheng Rong's final comment, "Please work hard and don't let me down," they all dispersed and went home to change into dry clothes. Only Zhongli Kuang, Cui Nan, Wei Hu and Zheng Rong's sons stayed behind to go back to the palace with Youyan King Zheng Rong to discuss military affairs.
Zheng Rong himself was also soaked. Seeing that his trusted people were as miserable as drowned rats, he smiled and told them to go back and take a bath and change clothes before coming back to the palace to discuss matters.
When Qiu Yizi returned to the mansion, she originally wanted to ask the servant Ruishou to boil water for her bath. However, the firewood in the yard was not moved back into the house in time and was half wet by a sudden rain. She had no choice but to wipe her body with a dry towel and hurried to Prince Youyan's Mansion.
Therefore, Qiu Yizi was the first to arrive at the palace. When she arrived in front of the study room where important matters were usually discussed in the palace, even Zheng Rong himself had not arrived yet. Only Zhang Long was standing at the door. He looked like Qiu Yizi, who had just hastily dried his body and hair and came here to stand guard.
Zhang Long was Zheng Rongxin's personal military commander, who had just been appointed the General of Zhendong and led his troops to monitor the movements of North Korea. Qiu Yizhi usually got along well with him, and seeing him standing motionless at the door of the study, she walked up to him and joked, "General Zhang is already a commander in chief, why are you still guarding here as usual? Can't you even find someone to stand guard for you in this huge palace?" (To be continued)