It was getting late, but Prince Yu still traveled all night, rushing back to the capital. The guards held bright torches aloft, but they heard the rumble of hooves, a crescent moon hung like a hook on the top of the forest, and the moonlight was like water, shining on the armor and weapons, as clear as ice. But the vegetation in the forest is full of frost, and the westerly wind blows cold on the face.
Chi Jin, who was following Prince Yu's horse, trembled from the wind. Seeing that Prince Yu was just galloping on the road, the wind blew the cloak around his shoulders and rolled it up like a flag. The flames of the torch held by the attendant were blown by the wind and rattled, reflecting Prince Yu's face, which was also flickering.
"My lord!"
When Chi Jinran saw his body suddenly tilted, he couldn't help screaming in shock. Prince Yu instinctively tightened the reins, straightened his body, apologetic: "Almost fell asleep."
Chi Jinran said: "My lord is too tired, I should take a good rest after returning to Beijing."
Prince Yu braced himself up, facing the chilly west wind, opened his sleepy eyes wide, and let out a sigh of relief: "There are more things to do when I return to Beijing, I'm afraid there is no rest." Chi Jinran couldn't help but said: "My lord, there are endless errands, so why bother working so hard?"
Prince Yu said: "The reward of eating the emperor, the matter of being loyal to the emperor, you will do your best, and you will be your own after death. You have been studying in private schools for a few years. I don't know where all the sage books have gone."
Chi Jinran grinned and said: "Of course I know the truth of being loyal to the emperor. But I have to eat enough and sleep well so that I can do business for the emperor. Otherwise, I will be hungry or sleep well." If it’s not enough, if you are mentally weak, you will also mess up the errand.”
Prince Yu finally laughed, and Chi Jinran said again: "My lord has a heavy responsibility, so you have to take care of yourself."
Prince Yu said: "You are really rambling."
He looked up at the sky as bright as frost, and felt the coldness soaking his bones, and dozens of horsemen closely guarded each other. In the sound of rumbling hoofs, he could only hear the chirping of insects in the grass on the side of the road, which was full of autumn. Can't help but let out a long roar, and chanted loudly: "Eight hundred li points under the command, fifty strings turn over the fortress. Soldiers are ordered in autumn on the battlefield. The horses are fast, and the bow is like a thunderbolt..." The voice can't help but sing here One low, "Fix the king's affairs in the world, and win the fame before and after him..." The last sentence is as light as a sigh.
It was already twilight when he entered the city, and Prince Yu dismounted before returning to the mansion. There were already officials waiting in the mansion, and by the time he finished his business, it was past noon. I only felt hungry, so I passed the lunch, and before I finished eating, it was announced that the servants of the Ministry of household and the Ministry of industry would come to visit. These two people came here for disaster relief. The Ministry of Households is in charge of the granaries of the thirty-two states in the world. It is a trivial matter to worry about where to ship the grain. After the meeting, the sun had already set to the west, and Prince Yu personally sent the two servants to the eaves of the dripping water. Both of them said: "Don't dare! Please stay." Duo Shun, the internal official, remembered that he had sent him into the palace early in the morning to inquire about the recent situation of the abandoned Concubine Mu, so he asked, "Why did you come back at this time?"
Duo Shun hurriedly helped his elbow, and when he returned to the palace, he said with a bitter face: "The errand that the lord entrusted to the slave—you think, in a place like Yongqing Palace, how can people like slaves easily enter I asked acquaintances to find a way out, and finally met Concubine Shu, oh no, Mu's side."
Prince Yu felt increasingly tired, frowned and said, "Pick what's important and talk about it."
"Yes." Duo Shun thought for a while, and said, "From my servant's point of view, this servant is bold—I'm afraid that Mrs. Mu won't live long."
Prince Yu's hand holding the tea bowl couldn't help but pause, and after a while, he took a sip of tea and asked lightly: "How do you say?" Duo Shun said: "I heard that he fell ill as soon as he entered Yongqing Palace, and he has been ill for about a month now. , the servant girl looks very sick like that, lying there without knowing the personnel and affairs, and no one cares about it, let alone the doctor, I'm afraid it's just a day."
Prince Yu remained silent, Duo Shun suddenly said: "My lord, how about..."
Prince Yu raised his head: "I'll leave this matter to you, take care of what needs to be done, find a way to find a doctor, be sure to take care of me more. If there is anything wrong, just come back to me."
Duo Shun didn't expect that he would be wrong, and was very surprised: "My lord, this is not in accordance with the palace rules, and..."
Prince Yu said: "If you are told to go, go. If there is any expense, it will be paid at the account."
Duo Shun could only lower his hands and said, "Yes."
Since Duo Shun got his order, he tried his best to arrange people into Yongqing Palace, and quietly asked people to seek medical advice, but Rushuang's situation was good every day and bad day, nothing improved. Because of the emperor's instructions, Prince Yu even called Ji Chunrong over to the mansion in his busy schedule, and asked him personally. Although Ji Chunrong was called the national champion of Xinglin, he was not a fairy, so he just told Prince Yu honestly and truthfully. Replay: "I tried my best, but my mother—" said here a little bit of effort to change her words, "Common Mrs. Mu...Since the last miscarriage, he has been deficient in both Qi and blood, and has lost his foundation. There is always no improvement. The ministers are less talented and less learned... "
Prince Yu said: "Forget it, I understand." Then he changed the subject and asked him about the epidemic.
The epidemic is no longer a one-day or two-day event. There are floods in the south of the Yangtze River, and the refugees fleeing all the way to the north. The water and soil are not acclimatized, and many people fall ill on the way. At first it was just a low-grade fever and diarrhea. After three or five days, he developed a high fever, and the medicine and stones were ineffective. Slowly from south to north, the infection spread with the fleeing people. Although the officials and people in several provinces tried their best to prevent it, the epidemic was fierce. Not long ago, Chen'an County in the south of Junzhou had the disease, and Junzhou was far away from Changjing in the west. , but a hundred miles away. So Prince Yu was extremely worried, because West Changjing was densely populated and the imperial city was located, once the epidemic was introduced, the consequences would be dire.
Ji Chunrong said: "The epidemic is coming fiercely. The only plan for now is Changjing and Jiucheng in Kansai. All people are prohibited from entering and leaving except for the emergency army newspaper. Then set up a charity hall to accommodate the sick refugees. Isolate them from ordinary people. I have another plan. In the city, headed by Xinglintang, Miaochuntang, Suwenguan, and Qianjintang, there are more than 30 huge medical centers and medicine shops. The prince can order the guild to come forward. Get in touch and prepare medicinal materials for epidemic prevention."
The first one made Prince Yu shake his head: "It is absolutely impossible to close the Nine Cities." As for the last two, it can be done, so we immediately arranged to set up charity halls in sparsely populated places outside the city, and sent all the sick refugees to their homes. He went to Shantang to raise him, and then contacted dozens of medical centers and pharmacies to distribute the medicine to ward off evil spirits in Nine Cities to prevent the spread of the epidemic. Even so, there were gradually patients in the capital, at first there were three or five cases, and people were immediately sent to the shantang. But the patient knows that if he is sent to the shantang, he will die, he can't help crying and struggling. There are also patients in the family who hide the truth from their relatives and friends.
It is rainy in autumn in Xichangjing, with continuous rain and haze. The poor people live in the east of the city. Most of the disaster victims who fled to Beijing to seek refuge with their relatives and friends live here. The shacks they built were very small, and they were littered with rubbish on weekdays. When the rain washed away, filth flowed everywhere. Although the food is well water, the gas in Xichangjing is deep, and it takes tens or even tens of feet to dig a well to get sweet springs. Poor families can't afford deep wells, so they pool money to dig shallow wells to eat. It has become sewage long ago, so when one family has a patient, it can be passed on to ten families immediately. As a result, the plague finally spread slowly, and even several families in the whole lane died of illness together. The whole Xichangjing was trapped in the panic of the plague, and everyone was in danger.
It was raining heavily again that day, Prince Yu couldn't help sighing when he heard the sound of the rain in the residence. I got up and opened the window casually to look, only to see that the sky was as black as ink, like a big hole had been broken in the sky, and the rain was pouring down. Although the courtyard was covered with green bricks, a layer of fine white water mist had already risen. The rain hit the ground and stirred up water bubbles, which seemed to be boiling.
He was worried about government affairs, his heart was like a brick floor in the rain, he just felt that he couldn't be peaceful. The emperor wanted to go back to Luan a few days ago, but he specifically advised him against it—because the disease in the city was spreading, it would be more prudent to stay in Shangyuan for the sake of the saint. In the Nine Cities, traffic was almost cut off, weddings and funerals were banned among the common people, and no one interacted with each other. The doors of every house were closed, and vanilla cattail bags were hung on the door, which was called "avoiding the epidemic".
Among the officials and colleagues, if there is no important official business, there is no communication, the court meeting is temporarily suspended, because the emperor is not in the capital, the cabinet meets every day at Prince Yu's residence to discuss important government affairs. Cheng Pu was getting old, so he didn't have to worry too much, but the disaster relief in the south, the use of troops in the north, no matter how big or small, Prince Yu still had to take care of everything. That's all, the most important thing is money. The money in the treasury is spent every day like water, but it still can't maintain the situation.
"It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice." Li Xu, the servant of the household department, sighed, "The prince also knows that he has been living without money for a long time. Although there was a large amount of income last year, the river engineering and military expenses were spent on both ends, and the mausoleum engineering and the commercial canal dug in Dingzhou , four pots and three covers, how can it be covered?"
Last year's income was actually the confiscation of the Mu family's property. The century-old Mu family owned fertile land, land deeds, houses, gold and silver, and countless private endowments. The converted silver amounted to more than 2.4 million taels. Good day.
Prince Yu felt that the autumn was cool, and looking out the window at the heavy rain, he couldn't help frowning again.
There was no good news at the border. The reinforcements led by Hezhou garrison Pei Jing fought fiercely with the Qierwu cavalry for several days at the foot of Miyue Mountain. Pei Jing was defeated in Heishui, with 20,000 horses lost and the remaining less than 5,000. Instead, he was trapped by the bank of the black water. The minister of the Ministry of War was worried, and said: "Pei Jing has been guarding the border for more than ten years, and has fought with Qi Erwu for many years, but this time he lost like this. The coach of Qi Erwu really cannot be underestimated."
The coach of Qi Erwu's Southern Expedition was unheard of before, but he was called "Tan Ya Ze Jin" by the Qi Er Wu people, which means "God of Sunlight". Also come thin and slender. Although no one has seen his true face, he must wear a golden mask when going into battle. The mask has ferocious eyebrows and eyes. He rides a horse, holds a spear, and is dressed in golden armor. It is reflected in the rising sun like the rising sun, and he has a sense of divine power. He used his troops very cunningly, he had fought against the Celestial Dynasty several times in the past few months, and he won many battles, which made the three armies at the frontier quite fearful for a while.
The spies sent out came back to inquire, and they all said that this person was the illegitimate son of Qierwu Dahan Chagel and the witch Aman. He was sixteen years old, and he was born as beautiful as a good girl, so he wore a golden mask to go into battle to help his majesty. There are even more bizarre rumors, saying that this person is not the illegitimate son of Chagor Khan, but actually the youngest princess of the Great Khan. Because she was fond of martial arts since she was a child and was proficient in the art of war, Chagor unexpectedly Make her handsome. In fact, according to Qierwu's customs, women have always treated men equally, if this happened, it would not be a surprise.
Prince Rui, who was in command of the three armies of the Northern Camp, received such intelligence, and laughed on his back: "It's wonderful, when our army captures the princess, the two countries can still have a good marriage."
Li Ju, the clerk standing on the side, didn't change his face when he heard it, but he detailed his situation in the secret report to Prince Yu that night, and was very worried: "He is arrogant and careless, and his words are frivolous. I'm afraid that his failure will be revealed."
Prince Yu also had objections to the emperor sending Prince Rui to lead the army, because Prince Rui had never been on a battlefield, and he was proud of his talents, so it might not be easy for the army to win. But the emperor said casually: "If you win, that's all. If you lose, I will just punish him."
But Dinglan Pass is the key to the northwest. If Dinglan Pass is lost, the six states in the Northwest will have no danger to defend. Prince Yu said: "At that time, I'm afraid we will miss the important events of the world."
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was smiling: "If you miss a major event in the world, and you kill a prince in front of your ancestor Sheji, you will always be able to explain it."
This was the first time that Prince Yu heard the word "kill" from the emperor's mouth. It seemed to be an understatement, but it made people feel a chill in his heart. But he always admired the emperor, so he never mentioned it. However, Prince Rui led the army, and kept sending people back to collect food and pay, disturbing the localities along the way, and officials at all levels along the way were unable to make offerings, so they would join in. And the emperor has always pampered this sibling, and he never forbids anything he plays. All of a sudden, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of Officials were all forced to suffer unspeakably by the snowflake-like memorials from the left and right of this arrogant and domineering prince.
This is not the most troublesome thing for Prince Yu, the most imminent thing is epidemic prevention, because the plague is rampant, the whole capital is like an empty city, lifeless. Nine cities have already banned entry and exit, and shops are hoarded. Although soldiers and horses patrol the city every day, the people's hearts are terrified and shaken. A few days later, the thing that worried Prince Yu the most finally happened, someone in the palace was also infected with the disease.
Although the emperor was not in the palace, the internal officials who died of illness were immediately sent to the suburbs for cremation, but within a few days, another palace official fell ill, and his symptoms were no different from an epidemic. Prince Yu immediately ordered all the sick palace officials to be sent to the city. The Great Buddha Temple in Waixijue Mountain is isolated by this.
And Prince Yu himself fell ill, at first he thought it was due to overwork, but later he found that the low-grade fever persisted, although there was no diarrhea, but after a few days, the medicine was still ineffective. He knew in his heart that he was afraid that he would also be infected with the disease, so he made a decisive decision, sent someone to inform Cheng Pu, and prepared to move to the Great Buddha Temple alone. It's just that I'm afraid that the emperor will be worried, so I just hide it. Duo Shun couldn't persuade him, couldn't help but hugged his leg and cried loudly, Prince Yu said: "Why are you crying?"
Duo Shun wiped his tears and said: "Where the prince goes, the slaves will go. The princes were raised by the slaves when they were young. The slaves have served the prince for so many years, and they have never left the prince. If the prince dislikes the slaves, the slaves can only go to this pillar." The last one hit and died."
Prince Yu still had a fever and felt weak all over. Seeing him entangled, he could only laugh or cry: "I will only go for three to five days, and I will come back when I recover. Why are you acting so cowardly?"
Duo Shun burst into tears, saying that he refused to let go, Prince Yu had no choice but to agree to let him go to the Great Buddha Temple together.
The Great Buddha Temple was originally the place where Emperor Renzong practiced after his Zen enthronement, and it has been the place where the royal family worshiped Buddha for many years. After more than a hundred years of expansion, the towers and Buddhist pavilions have become more and more magnificent. There is also a white sandalwood Buddha in the temple, which is eight feet high.
Prince Yu took Duo Shun with him, and Jian Cong left the city on Qingqi, and waited until he arrived at the gate of the temple at the foot of Xijue Mountain, but he saw the towering cloud platform and the stone steps like stairs. Going up the mountain here, the weather is cloudy and rainy at dusk, and the main hall and Buddhist pavilion are majestic. The temple is full of medicinal herbs and incense, and the misty white smoke is lingering around the corner of the hall. There are copper bells hanging on the cornices, which are blown by the wind. chime.
The presiding Master Zhiguang personally led the young novice to welcome Prince Yu into the temple. The Great Buddha Temple has always had the most prosperous autumn scenery and is known as the Three Wonders of Xijing. There used to be several hectares of bamboo forests on the mountain behind the temple. In the shadow of the green bamboo, the wind is soft and the leaves are tender. Although the road is made of Yongshi, but the moss is long, only the sound of the stream can be heard, which seems to be on the left side of the road, and then suddenly on the right side of the road, accompanied by people all the way, passing a bamboo bridge, only to see the blue pole Thick and dense, covering a low bluestone wall, it seems to be several courtyards.
Although Prince Yu has been to the temple to support the Buddha several times, he has never been behind the temple. Seeing this quiet environment, he couldn't help but feel cold on his skin: "There is still such a situation in the West Changjing. If you sit here behind closed doors, It’s instantly Zen-like.”
The wind blows the bamboo leaves rustling like torrential rain, Master Zhiguang smiled and said: "My lord is a destined person." He pointed to the gate of the courtyard from afar, but saw a plaque with extremely humble and elegant words, but it was exactly the words "this meditation" , The two couldn't help but looked at each other and smiled.
Prince Yu stared at the handwriting for a moment, and said, "This seems to be the handwriting of Emperor Shengwu."
Master Zhiguang said: "Exactly. When Emperor Shengwuxian was the prince, because of the death of his mother, Empress Dowager Jinghui, he stopped to coffin this temple. Emperor Shengwuxian used to stay here for three years."
Because it was the ancestor Emperor Shouze, Prince Yu tidied up his clothes before entering respectfully. After entering the courtyard, I saw that the wooden windows were like washing, and the cases were reflected in green. The courtyard was green and cold, and the bustling scene was washed away. There are only a few sycamore trees in the courtyard, and the yellow leaves have fallen all over the place and piled up. Although it is still a brick floor, it is dotted with moss, like frost flowers. But when you look up, you can only see Xiu Huang as the sea, and when you look up, you can see a corner of the sky as clear as glass and clear blue. Prince Yu couldn't help but said: "It's good to study here." Master Zhiguang smiled but said nothing, and ordered the little novice to make herbal tea in the corridor. Like an epidemic."
Prince Yu said: "Whether it is true or not, the city is full of epidemics right now, so I can't implicate others, so I'm here."
Zhiguang couldn't help clasping his hands together and said: "My lord, this is a great compassion, and there will be retribution."
The place is secluded and quiet, suddenly a woman's weeping sound could be heard outside the west wall, Prince Yu couldn't help being surprised. How can there be the sound of a woman crying in the Zen place of the monk's house? Besides, in the depths of the secluded grove, the dew moss is cold, which is even more suspicious.
Zhiguang said: "There are several female laymen from the palace living in the Xiuhuang hall on the west side. They also moved here due to illness. Because the prince is here today, the poor monk ordered someone to find another place for them. I think it is because I don't want to move, so I weep."
It was only then that Prince Yu realized that she was the palace lady recuperating here. Hearing the woman cry bitterly, I couldn't bear it, and said: "Forget it, let them live here."