After Prince Yu rebelled, the first place to be attacked by his army was Daming Prefecture, which borders the northwestern border of Henan.
While resisting the enemy, Daming Prefecture immediately sent the battle report to the capital over a distance of 800 miles.
The battle report arrived in the capital in the afternoon.
The palace urgently convened a court meeting and summoned all civil and military officials to discuss matters.
In the main hall, the thirteen-year-old emperor sat on the dragon throne. Empress Dowager Qi was temporarily in charge of government affairs from behind the curtain. Concubine Lin Gui stood beside her, not knowing what was going on.
Chen Tingjian first read out the manifesto of rebellion by Prince Yu.
Before the Prime Minister's solemn voice fell, the ministers saw a figure flash behind the gauze-like curtain, making a muffled "plop" sound.
Soon, Empress Dowager Qi explained: "Concubine Lin Gui fainted after hearing the news, but she should be fine. Ministers, please continue your meeting."
What could the ministers discuss? They were all cursing Prince Yu for his wolfish ambitions. The late emperor spat blood in the court that day, and the ministers heard his last words clearly. If the late emperor really wanted to change the crown prince, would he not have left a last word? After entrusting his daughter to the care of the emperor, the late emperor still had the energy to tell his son-in-law to take good care of his daughter, which shows that he was mentally clear and not confused at all.
Furthermore, Prince Yu threw dirty water on Empress Dowager Qi and Chen Tingjian, which was even more ridiculous. Whenever Chen Tingjian met Empress Dowager Qi in the past, the late emperor or the crown prince would definitely be present, and there would also be a large number of palace maids accompanying them.
In short, all civil and military officials recognized that Prince Yu's manifesto was full of slander and frame-up, and was purely a fabricated name for his rebellion!
After charging Prince Yu with "rebellion", the next step was to discuss how to quell the rebellion.
Prince Yu claimed that he had an army of 200,000 under his command, but in fact only about 100,000 were regular troops from the imperial garrisons. The other 100,000 were private soldiers of the princes or city guards from the government who had defected. It was like gathering scattered sand from all over the place temporarily together, so there was no need to worry.
Therefore, Chen Tingjian suggested not to move the frontier garrisons in the north, but to mobilize troops from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, Nanzhili, and Shandong, each with 30,000 troops to encircle the capital from the surrounding areas of Henan, cutting off the retreat of Prince Yu's army. The capital also dispatched more than 50,000 soldiers from ten of the 26 garrisons to join forces with the garrisons of Baoding, Zhending, and Daming to form a 160,000-strong army as the main force to suppress the rebellion.
Empress Dowager Qi fiddled with the sandalwood Buddhist beads on her wrist.
The slight sound reached the ears of the young emperor, who said, "This advice from the elder is very sound, I approve it."
All officials also supported it in unison.
Immediately, the commanders of the twenty-six guards in the capital city stepped out, stood in the center of the hall, and volunteered.
Although Marquis Jing'an was a relative of Prince Yu, he stood up indignantly and asked to lead the troops.
Chen Tingjian glanced at these young and middle-aged military officers and said to the young emperor, "Your Majesty, the twenty-six guards are all elite and can all participate in the war. How about we order the top five and bottom five guards to participate in the war according to the ranking of last year's martial arts competition, excluding the Jinyi Guards?"
The young emperor approved the request.
As for the commander-in-chief, although Marquis Jing'an had military merits, he could not be used because of suspicion. Chen Tingjian recommended Ling Rucheng, a border general who happened to be back in Beijing to visit his sick mother.
Ling Rucheng's reputation is not inferior to that of Marquis Jing'an, but the latter has a hot temper and is not as calm as the former, which can make the ministers feel more at ease.
In less than half an hour, the court had already decided on a plan to quell the rebellion, and everyone looked relaxed. No one took Prince Yu's army too seriously. After all, Prince Yu was not the Emperor Chengzu who led the "Jingnan Rebellion" back then. He was far inferior in every aspect!
At the Princess's Mansion, Huayang had just finished his lunch break.
Although she was in mourning, the eldest princess still lived a life of luxury. Ice tripods were placed in several upper rooms of the Qifeng Palace, and wisps of cool air filled the air, making it seem like two different seasons compared to the courtyard under the scorching sun.
Wearing a white plain dress, Huayang sat in front of the dressing table. Chaoyun combed her hair into a simple and refreshing bun, revealing part of her snow-white neck.
At this moment, Chaoyue came in to report that the prince consort had sent Fugui back and wanted to see the princess for something.
Huayang didn't like the title of "Princess" very much. She had to abide by the rules outside, but in her own territory, she asked the servants around her to continue calling her princess.
The reason is simple: "eldest princess" sounds more serious and dignified, while the princess can be more free and easy and show her temper.
Huayang, who had just woken up and was still a little listless, suddenly felt confused when he heard that Fugui had returned.
She remembered the death knell of her father's death.
In this life, my father lived nine days longer than in the previous life. Therefore, when Prince Yu did not rebel at the end of June, Huayang was not completely relieved. Today is the ninth day of the seventh month...
Huayang went directly to the front hall.
Fugui said solemnly, "Princess, Prince Yu has rebelled, and the prince consort has been ordered to go to war. He is currently discussing matters with the other adults in the palace, and he asked me to inform you that you don't have to wait for him in the evening."
Huayang didn't want to wait. Just the four words "Prince Yu is rebelling" were enough to wake her up from her sleepiness. She asked Wu Run to prepare the car immediately because she wanted to go into the palace!
After getting on the carriage, Huayang's heart was still beating wildly, faster and faster!
At first, she couldn't understand how her mother and father-in-law could work together to plot the Prince of Yu's rebellion.
Never mind, those are no longer important. What’s important is Chen Jingzong’s life!
No matter how smooth the cobblestone road near the imperial city was, it would still bump from time to time because the carriage was running too fast.
Huayang held the car board with one hand and thought quickly in his mind.
Chen Jingzong is a man of blood. Even if the court did not want to arrange for him to go to the war, he would have recommended himself. Moreover, now that the military order has been issued, if he suddenly resigns, wouldn't it tell others that he, Chen Silang, is a coward who is afraid of death
Chen Jingzong had to go, and Princess Huayang could not cry and try to stop him, otherwise she would be laughed at by her subjects and in history.
Let's go to the war. As long as Huayang brings up the old lady of the Chen family to remind Chen Jingzong to be careful about that battle, he should be safe.
The problem is, there are still three months before the battle, and the old lady of the Chen family is "sending messages in dreams" now. It's too convincing and too convincing!
The carriage stopped outside the palace gate. Huayang walked inside step by step along the familiar palace road. When she arrived at the Qianqing Palace and saw her mother who was temporarily living there with her brother, Huayang also made a decision.
"Mother, I want to go with the army."
Empress Dowager Qi frowned upon hearing this and directly replied to her daughter with two words: "Nonsense! A battle between two armies is no joke, so don't cause trouble for your husband."
She felt that her daughter was too worried about her husband, so her daughter would follow him wherever he went.
Huayang said solemnly, "It has nothing to do with the prince consort. After all, Prince Yu is the eldest son of my father and my brother. It is only natural for the court to send troops to suppress his rebellion. But if you arrange for me, the eldest princess, to personally meet Prince Yu at the front line, persuade him with emotion and reason, and give him another chance, wouldn't it be more able to show your and my brother's kindness to him? My father will no longer have to endure the pain of the royal family's internal strife in his grave."
Empress Dowager Qi looked surprised, as if she was meeting her daughter for the first time, and was stunned for a long while.
Huayang waited calmly.
Empress Dowager Qi could not refute this. The imperial court wanted to remove the eight vassal kings of Henan in one fell swoop. The better the face-saving work was done before the war, the more blameless the people of the world and the other vassal kings would be.
Moreover, neither she nor her son can leave Beijing without permission, so her daughter is indeed the most suitable candidate.
But Empress Dowager Qi couldn't bear to let her daughter, who was as beautiful as a peony flower, follow the army to eat dirt and ashes in this hot summer, and she couldn't bear to let her daughter endure even a little bit of the dangers that might be encountered on the battlefield.
The evidence is solid that Prince Yu was the first to rebel, so it won't matter if we do less face-saving work to add icing on the cake.
Empress Dowager Qi was about to object when Huayang came over, hugged her and said, "Mother, you and your brother have been very hard-working since our father left. I also want to do something to help you. This is how we should be a family, right? If you keep excluding me, I will feel like I am just a bowl of water that you poured out on the day I got married, and you never want me to come back."
Huayang knew that her mother did not treat her as spilled water, but just as the peony in the yard. It was enough for her to bloom gracefully and elegantly, and there was no need for her to do any serious work.
But Huayang is not a peony, she is a living person, she has her own joys and sorrows, and she wants to do what she wants to do.
Other women have many concerns, but she is the emperor's daughter and the emperor's sister. If even she has to be bound by all kinds of etiquette and laws, what is the fun of being a woman
"Mother, my father loves me the most. Can you indulge me like my father once in a while?"
Tears fell, and Huayang deliberately rubbed them on his mother's clothes.
Empress Dowager Qi: …
Why is it that as my daughter gets older, she becomes more spoiled than when she was little
At other times, Empress Dowager Qi could have refused cruelly, but her daughter had just lost her father, and look at how pitiful she looked.
"Silly Panpan, this is not a question of indulgence or not. I am afraid that you will be in danger."
Huayang: "Mother, you are worrying too much. Think about it. Apart from the one time I met Prince Yu before the two armies, I must have stayed behind the battlefield the rest of the time. If I were in danger, it would only mean that the imperial army was defeated by Prince Yu's rebels..."
Empress Dowager Qi interrupted her daughter with a solemn expression: "Stop talking nonsense."
Huayang shut up obediently, raised his head and looked at his mother earnestly.
Empress Dowager Qi snorted: "You speak so nicely, but you are going there just for your husband, right?"
Of course Huayang denied it: "Where does he get such a big face from?"
Empress Dowager Qi thought her daughter was just being stubborn, but she didn't object. "Okay, go back to the mansion first and prepare everything you might need on the road, so you don't have to suffer and complain. Of course, don't be too extravagant and let the soldiers criticize you. And bring the 300 personal soldiers in your mansion with you, and they will guard you all the time. I'll talk to your brother later and send you the imperial edict when it's ready."
Huayang smiled and said, "Then I will wait for your imperial decree!"
Empress Dowager Qi shook her head. It was obviously a hard job, but her daughter looked silly as if she wanted to go out for a trip.
After Huayang left, Empress Dowager Qi went to the imperial study to see her son.
The young emperor became anxious when he heard this, thinking that it was his mother who forced his sister to go!
Empress Dowager Qi had to take great pains to convince her son that this was her daughter's own idea. At the same time, she couldn't help but reflect on what kind of mother she was in the hearts of her two children.
(End of this chapter)