Although Mu Chun has retired to the mountains, his passion is still strong. He was beaten at his doorstep and almost lost his daughter. How could he not be angry
He then joined his brother Mu Sheng's army and vowed to destroy the Kingdom of Annan and capture Hu Jiti alive.
Four years of peaceful and comfortable secluded life came to an abrupt end. Although Hu Shanwei was a little reluctant, he fully supported Mu Chun's return to society. "If conflicts continue on the Yunnan border, we will not be able to live here peacefully. A Lei almost got into trouble. If a big country is not at peace, the small family will be at risk."
Mu Chun was sharpening the knife in the yard with water, stroking the thin blade. "The two countries are at war. This place is close to the border and is no longer safe. You and A Lei can move to a house in the city. That house is also quite big, but it's not as quiet as here."
Only in remote areas of the mountains and wilderness can large fields of chrysanthemums be grown, and with animals as their neighbors, it is certainly a quiet place.
Hu Shanwei said, "When you leave with the army, we will move."
Mu Chun shook his head, "No, I have to settle you two down before I can go to war with peace of mind. Pack up your things, we will move tomorrow."
Mu Chun really couldn't imagine what kind of disaster would happen if the stragglers wandered here. He couldn't let his wife and daughter be exposed to danger.
Hu Shanwei was obedient for once and followed her husband's arrangements. Now that the border situation is tense, it would be better to move as soon as possible to prevent Mu Chun from being uneasy.
Little A Lei faced another "eternal farewell". Even though her sister did not explain it to her, she knew that Zhu Zhanhe was just like Zhu Zhanji before. Once he left Kunming, it would be like throwing meat buns at a dog and there would be no return.
Brother Xiaoji and brother Shuikeng are just passers-by in her life.
But this time, she stopped crying. She accepted the reality calmly and no longer cried like before.
She generously treated Zhu Zhanhe to a meal of chicken soup rice noodles at a stall under the bridge. "You are so delicious. You won't have another meal after this one. My sister told me that there are only noodles, not rice noodles, in the capital."
This was a small, tax-evading restaurant that she and Zhu Zhanhe had discovered, with no license or permit, but they felt the food tasted much better than that in a big restaurant.
A Lei miraculously inherited her father Mu Chun's taste buds of squatting on the street to eat noodles, using dust as condiment. However, Hu Shanwei absolutely forbade her to patronize such places, so she could only eat secretly. Eating secretly added points to the taste, but eating freely did not have this feeling.
Zhu Zhanhe slurped the smooth rice noodles. "It doesn't matter. As long as I want to eat it, the chefs in the Han Palace can always make it taste the same."
Zhu Zhanhe looked heartless, and the little sadness of parting that he already had was gone.
A Lei smiled and said to the stall owner, "Give Marshal Tianpeng another bowl."
Zhu Zhanhe ate two servings of rice noodles. The stall owner looked at his bulging belly and was a little scared. "Be careful of indigestion. If you feel uncomfortable, ask your parents to go see a doctor immediately."
Zhu Zhanhe patted his belly, making a few muffled sounds, like an unripe watermelon. "It's okay, I'll walk a little longer to digest the food. A Lei, you fed me so much, you have to be responsible to the end, walk with me to digest the two nights of rice noodles."
The two of them walked down the bridge and onto the Yunjin Bridge. This bridge was built by her brother-in-law Mu Chun. It is the first stone arch bridge in Yunnan. It is the central business district of Kunming. The convenient transportation has brought prosperity to this place. There is a poem saying:
"Looking from Yunjin Bridge, I see thousands of lights. I ask the night man to sell wine, and look for the innkeeper to tie up the raft. The city is far away, the night has passed, and the moon is full, and the market is bustling. At dawn, I am tired of going out, and the sparse bell rings at Taihua."
If the people around you were not wearing unique costumes of different ethnic groups, you would have thought you were on the banks of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing.
The two of them stepped onto the bridge. A Lei looked at the two banks that looked like jade belts. "This is the only prosperous place in Kunming. My sister told me that there are Yunjin Bridges like this everywhere in Beijing. Is that true?"
Zhu Zhanhe nodded: "It's about the same. Nanjing is the ancient capital of six dynasties, while Kunming has just started to develop. Of course, they can't be compared. You can go back to the capital with us. Seeing is believing. I will take you to visit Nanjing as much as you want."
Arei looked longing, but shook his head, "My brother-in-law is going to Annan, I want to stay at home with my sister."
Zhu Zhanhe said: "Your sister is an adult now, does she still need your company?"
"You don't understand." A Lei said, "Sishou will definitely worry about her brother-in-law when he goes to war. If I go to Nanjing, she will still have to worry about me. If I accompany her, she will have one less person to worry about."
Zhu Zhanhe was an optimistic child. "Then wait for your brother-in-law to return triumphantly, and the three of you will go to Nanjing together."
Are just smiled and didn't respond.
Are accompanied Zhu Zhanhe for a walk to help digest the food. After walking for a long circle, Zhu Zhanhe said that her stomach was still full and she needed to walk a little longer. They kept walking like this until Are really couldn't walk anymore, so Zhu Zhanhe sent her back to her new home in the city.
The next morning, the city gates were wide open. Chunwei and his wife got up early to see off eunuch Sanbao, Zhu Zhanhe, and the imperial physician Ru Sixiyao and his wife. A Lei went to Prince Zhou's palace to go to school and did not go to see them off.
Even though Zhu Zhanhe looked back so many times that his neck was almost broken, he still didn't see A Lei.
Capital city, imperial palace.
Empress Xu had just taken painkillers and fell into a deep sleep. The situation was not optimistic.
Empress Xu was the daughter of a general and had always been in good health. She married Emperor Yongle at the age of 14 and gave birth to a child every year. At the age of 18, she was the mother of four children. Later, she was enfeoffed in Beiping and assisted her husband in benefiting the Yan area and revitalizing the declining Beiping. She was an energetic princess.
Unfortunately, the Battle of Beiping was too tragic, with 10,000 defenders fighting against Li Jinglong's 500,000 southern troops. The war destroyed Empress Xu's body, causing the ceremony of her enthronement to be delayed for two years.
In the face of health, money, power, status and wealth all become vulnerable.
The pain caused Empress Xu's face to swell, leaving shallow pits. Looking at his frail wife, Emperor Yongle was silent for a long time, then suddenly his eyes turned cold and he said, "Call Ji Gang."
Ji Gang and Emperor Yongle held a secret meeting and did not leave until the palace gates were locked.
Within a few days, court ministers submitted memorials to impeach Duke of Cao Li Jinglong.
Li Jinglong, the legendary figure who launched the large-scale outdoor reality show "Run, Brothers" in the Ming Dynasty, can be said to be the greatest contributor to the Jingnan Campaign. With his incredible IQ and courage, he was like a human meat grinder, and he wiped out 500,000 Southern Army troops. Then he "admitted his mistakes and corrected them", immediately turned against the enemy, opened the city gates to welcome Prince Yan into the city during the Jingnan Campaign, made new contributions, and knelt down to beg Prince Yan to ascend the throne as soon as possible.
After the King of Yan ascended the throne, he immediately restored Li Jinglong's title of Duke of Cao, and conferred him the titles of Prince Junior Tutor, Zuo Zhuguo, and the head of the military officers. It seems that he has forgotten how Li Jinglong besieged the city of Beiping, causing Empress Xu to be seriously injured.
Li Jinglong was so favored by Emperor Yongle that many people suspected that he had been an undercover agent of Emperor Yongle and had deliberately lost so miserably.
Li Jinglong initially responded with “I’m not… I didn’t… you’re talking nonsense”, but later on, he simply kept silent and acquiesced. After all, if you don’t take advantage of an opportunity, you’re a fool.
Now that the political situation has stabilized and the weather has cooled, it is time to get rid of the donkey.
Emperor Yongle originally wanted to keep Li Jinglong for another two years, but Empress Xu's old injury relapsed. Although Emperor Yongle appeared calm on the surface, he secretly wished he could strangle Li Jinglong to death to avenge Empress Xu.
The first person to take action against Li Jinglong was Emperor Yongle's younger brother, Prince of Zhou Zhu Su.
King Zhou Zhu Su was badly harmed by Li Jinglong. His second son was bewitched and persuaded by Li Jinglong to falsely accuse his father and eldest brother of rebellion. After suffering such a human tragedy, how could King Zhou let Li Jinglong go after he finally turned over a new leaf
King Zhou was the first to impeach Li Jinglong, saying that he had gone to King Zhou's palace to ask for bribes and moved all the good things bestowed by the emperor in the palace to his own home.
Li Jinglong wrote a letter to defend himself, saying that it was absolutely not true. Ji Gang led the Jinyiwei to search Cao Guogong's mansion, and indeed found items with Zhou Wangfu's mark. It was really a case of catching a thief and seizing stolen goods. Li Jinglong had no idea how these things flew into his mansion, and he had no way to defend himself.
Then, Zheng Ci, the Minister of Justice, impeached Li Jinglong, saying that he "harboured evil intentions, kept fugitives, and plotted to commit crimes". Li Zhigang, the Minister of Rites, also wrote a letter saying that "Li Jinglong accepted the kneeling worship of his family members at home and performed the etiquette of the emperor and his subjects, which was extremely treasonous".
Ministers such as Duke Cheng Zhu Neng, Minister of Personnel Jian Yi, and Censor of the Six Departments Zhang Xin also impeached Li Jinglong for plotting rebellion.
Li Jinglong wrote another letter to defend himself, saying that his hundreds of servants were all there to serve others and did not know how to fight, so how could they be assassins? The only weapon in his house was a kitchen knife.
Ji Gang brought the Jinyiwei to search the house again, and found several weapons from the ashes in the kitchen furnace. Then they let the dogs bite the young and strong male servant. The male servant was forced to use sticks, knives, guns and other weapons to defend himself, as if his Ren and Du meridians were opened. After all, in this era, once bitten by a dog, you would get rabies, which is an incurable disease.
Ji Gang blinked his peach blossom eyes, clapped his hands and shouted, "Li Jinglong, you still say they don't know martial arts! It's obvious that they can wield swords, guns, sticks and clubs in a very good manner."
Servants: I have never seen such a shameless person!
Ji Gang stopped smiling and waved his jade hand, "Capture these assassins!"
When Li Jinglong saw this, he knew that everything was a frame-up by Ji Gang. The things bestowed by the Zhou Palace and the weapons and assassins were all thanks to Ji Gang's mouth.
No, it was not Ji Gang. Ji Gang dared to call a horse a zebra so arrogantly because he had the instruction of Emperor Yongle behind him, just like in the late Hongwu period when the ministers impeached Mao Xiang, the commander of the Jinyiwei at that time.
Emperor Gaozu wanted to kill Mao Xiang to vent the anger of the people. Otherwise, the officials would not have dared to touch Mao Xiang even if they had eaten a leopard's courage.
When the birds are gone, the good bows are put away; when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked. Emperor Yongle has now squeezed my value dry and is about to kick me out.
Li Jinglong fell to his knees. He was the hereditary first-class duke, the prince's grand tutor, the left pillar of the country, the head of all ministers, second only to the emperor and above everyone else, Duke of Cao. Just like that, he fell from the clouds, was stripped of his title, his official position, and his entire family was imprisoned.
Li Jinglong was held in solitary confinement. One day, the guard brought him breakfast, but threw the food box at the door, spilling the food all over the floor. He shouted, "Li Jinglong! You can eat or not, but you are actually using hunger strike to force the emperor to make concessions. Dream on!"
Li Jinglong was so hungry that he felt dizzy. "I'm not on a hunger strike. You're talking nonsense. Bring me the food."
The guards turned a deaf ear to him and did the same for every meal, breakfast and lunch. Every time they did so, they would throw the food box in front of him, scold him for going on a hunger strike, and only bring him water every day.
Emperor Yongle would not kill Li Jinglong, nor would he kill his entire family... He had no choice but to use the excuse of a hunger strike to starve Li Jinglong to death. Because in addition to being an old minister of the Hongwu, Jianwen, and Yongle dynasties, he was also a member of the royal family and the emperor's nephew. His grandmother, Princess Cao, was the second sister of Emperor Gaozu, and the title of "Duke of Cao" of the Li family came from this, thanks to the princess.
Emperor Yongle learned the lesson of Emperor Jianwen who suppressed the royal family and ended up being surrounded by enemies on all sides. He knew the importance of the royal family and had to stabilize them and not let them feel disheartened, otherwise he would face backlash and his throne would be unstable.
In this way, Li Jinglong was on a hunger strike until the eighth day, living on clean water. Ji Gang went to visit him and brought a lot of delicious food. Li Jinglong smelled the aroma of the food, which was like a knife cutting his stomach.
Li Jinglong was too weak to walk, so he crawled to the door and said, "Give me the food...
Ji Gang threw the food box in his hand and shouted, "You refuse what the emperor has given you? This is really treasonous."
Li Jinglong was desperate and said weakly, "Leave a way for yourself so that we can meet again in the future. Ji Gang, don't be too ruthless. The fate of being a lackey is not good. You haven't forgotten how Mao Xiang died that year, have you?"
Ji Gang's pupils suddenly shrank, and then returned to normal, "Master Mao has been very kind to me, how could I forget it?"
I remember clearly that I have written down every snowflake and every straw that impeached Mao Xiang. I will cross them out as I kill them. Your name, Li Jinglong, is also on the list. I estimate it will be crossed out in two days. I am looking for the best opportunity to get rid of you.
Two days later, Li Jinglong died of hunger strike, and his body was secretly taken away and his bones and ashes were scattered, but the guards still delivered meals to him as usual every day, and continued to sing a monologue: "That's right, you are served delicious food and drink every day, and your family members are all alive. It's all the grace of the emperor, so be content."
When eunuch Sanbao and his entourage arrived in the capital, it was rumored in the capital that Li Jinglong had failed in his ten-day hunger strike and had resumed normal eating. Although the Li family had rebelled, Emperor Yongle pardoned their crimes for the sake of Princess Cao. The Li brothers were all given official positions, and Li Jinglong's grandson was even given the honorary hereditary title of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so that they could enjoy wealth and honor for generations.
Ru Siyao and Imperial Physician Tan went to Kunning Palace to consult Empress Xu. The Empress was already terminally ill and was at the end of her life.
Ru Siyao said, "I have obtained some new medicinal materials in Yunnan in recent years that are not available in the Central Plains. Although the medicinal properties have been tested under the auspices of King Zhou, everyone's physique is different and their reactions to the medicine may be different."
What this means is that Empress Xu can still be saved with the new medicine, but the risk is extremely high.
Emperor Yongle had no expression on his face, but his trembling beard betrayed his inner thoughts: What's the point of killing Li Jinglong? I still have to watch my wife leave me. How could this happen? She is only forty-five years old.
When Empress Xiaoci passed away, she was 51 years old. My father, Emperor Gaozu, cried that Empress Xiaoci passed away too early. But now, my queen is only 45 years old...
Emperor Yongle clenched his fist and gave the couple a golden ticket to avoid death: "Just let them go, I will not punish you."
The Ru Siyao couple took the order and went down to write a prescription.
After killing Li Jinglong and appeasing the royal family, Emperor Yongle listened to the report of Eunuch Sanbao about Annan's ambush and destruction of the Ming Dynasty's envoys. "… Duke Mu Sheng of Qian has begun to gather troops. In addition to the troops guarding Yunnan, there are currently 70,000 troops that can be sent to Annan. Lord Mu Chun has volunteered to join the southern expedition army to avenge his daughter and is waiting for the emperor's order."
This time Mu Sheng learned his lesson and decided to wait until there was a clear order before sending troops, so as to avoid being scolded again - being scolded was a small matter, but losing the trust of the new emperor was a big matter. His grandfather Geng Bingwen's entire family had been killed by Emperor Yongle, and he could not allow his loyalty to be suspected by the new emperor again.
As a vassal state, they actually dared to kill the envoys of the suzerain state. This time it was not only deceiving the emperor, but also blatant rebellion. If this matter got out and the status of the Ming Dynasty as the suzerain state was challenged, would other vassal states still recognize the Ming Dynasty as their master
Empress Xu was seriously ill, and Emperor Yongle had not wanted to send troops. Now that Annan had slapped him in the face, how could he bear it? He therefore appointed Duke Zhu Neng of Cheng as the General of the Expedition to the Barbarians and the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty, and appointed Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng, as the Right Deputy General, and led troops to march from Guangxi to Annan. At the same time, he appointed Duke Mu Sheng of Qian as the Left Deputy General, and set out from Yunnan.
In November of the fourth year of Yongle, the two armies successfully joined forces in Annan, gathered their forces together, and fought a great battle with the Annan army in Fuliang River.
The two generals sent by Emperor Yongle, Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu, were both fierce generals who came out of the Prince of Yan's Mansion during the Jingnan Campaign and were his staunch confidants. This was the first foreign war since Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, which shows how much importance he attached to this battle.
Emperor Yongle ordered that "the army must return to the capital by February of next year after defeating the rebels." He thought that three months would be enough to conquer Annan.
But by February of the fifth year of Yongle, Annan was still not pacified, and Empress Xu's condition was becoming more and more serious.
At a court meeting on the first day of the first lunar month this year, the ladies who came to the palace to pay their respects only saluted toward the empress's phoenix chair through a curtain. Later, the court gave a banquet, and the ladies sat down according to their ranks under the arrangement of Shen Qionglian, the Shangyi Bureau, to accept the banquet. Empress Xu's seat remained vacant and she did not appear.
As a result, the news of Empress Xu's serious illness could no longer be concealed, and everyone in the court and the country knew about it.
The queen was seriously ill and needed rest. The concubines in the harem would pay their respects outside the Kunning Palace every day and then leave.
Empress Xu was about to die, but Emperor Yongle was only 47 years old, in the prime of his life. He was so young that he would definitely remarry and establish a new empress.
Everyone thought so, and they were discussing whose family the new queen would come from. There were already several popular candidates in the capital.
There was only one person who didn't think so - that was Emperor Yongle himself. He couldn't imagine that there was another woman who was worthy of being his wife, his empress, besides his first wife, Empress Xu. He didn't want to remarry.
The southern expeditionary army had been slow to return, military expenditures were staggering, the empress was seriously ill, the people in the harem were in a panic, and there was a lot of talk in the court and the public. Emperor Yongle was suffering from being attacked from both sides, and the tremendous pressure kept him awake all night.
On this day, after reviewing the memorials in the middle of the night, Emperor Yongle went to Kunning Palace to see Empress Xu. Walking on the empty East Chang Street, Emperor Yongle suddenly stopped and ordered Eunuch Sanbao, "Go to Yunnan again and bring Concubine Hu back to the capital."
The author has something to say: You little goblins have long guessed the reason why Hu Shanwei was “sent to prison three times”, you are really amazing, come on, I’ll give you the keyboard, send me some.
I will send 100 red envelopes tonight, have a nice weekend everyone! Good night, babies, kiss~~~~ Thank you to the little angels who cast the tyrant votes or irrigated the nutrient solution for me~
Thanks to the little angel who cast [mines]: Xia~Taoyuan 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
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Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!