Huayang applied a thick layer of ointment on Chen Jingzong's two wounds. The palm-sized porcelain bottle was almost empty.
Chen Jingzong was still lying on the bed. He had just ridden a horse for seven days and had exerted a lot of strength. If there had not been a beautiful princess sitting next to him, Chen Jingzong would have fallen asleep immediately.
Fang Caiyang was only concerned about his injuries when she realized that he was lying on the bed that she had just made, covered in dust and reeking of alcohol.
Huayang just looked at the wound on his back and said nothing. He would just change the bedding in the evening.
"To beat you like this, Young Master Qin must be a brave general."
After washing his hands, Huayang sat beside the bed and chatted with him.
Chen Jingzong had already tilted his head and looked at her dimly: "Are you praising him or me?"
Huayang: "I praise you for being born in a civil servant family, yet you can fight on equal terms with the son of General Qin."
Chen Jingzong: "Why does it sound like you are praising General Qin?"
Huayang: "Everyone in the world praises General Qin, but he certainly praised me."
Chen Jingzong was silent.
Huayang: "Before leaving Beijing, you were reviewing the "Records of Military Training". How do you feel about meeting the real person today?" After being married for so long, Huayang had discovered that Chen Jingzong had little interest in the Book of Songs and Miscellaneous Collections, but he often read military books and strategies.
"The Actual Record of Military Training" was written by General Qin. It compiled General Qin's various methods of training soldiers and practicing battle formations. After it was written, it was presented to the emperor for his reading. The emperor praised it highly and ordered the court to distribute it widely. Chen Jingzong also collected a set early on, which shows that he admired General Qin very much.
Chen Jingzong first asked her: "What do you think of him?"
Hua Yang smiled and said, "Of course I admire you very much."
Chen Jingzong: "I admired him very much at first, but when I heard him flatter me just to please the old man, my admiration was reduced by two points."
Hua Yang: "He has his own difficulties. You have a smooth career, so it is understandable that you find it difficult to understand for a while."
Chen Jingzong was surprised and asked, "Why do you say that in such an old-fashioned way?"
Huayang: "Because I grew up in the palace, I have heard and known much more than you. For example, I know that General Qin was able to be transferred from the coast to Jizhen as a general because my father recommended him. I also know that when General Qin first arrived in Jizhen, the governors did not approve of his training methods, and General Qin did not accept their control. The two sides had a lot of unpleasantness. The military officers were controlled by the civil officials, and General Qin suffered a lot. It was my father who strongly supported him and transferred three governors in a row. Only then could General Qin fully display his training talents. If it were you, would you be grateful to your father for his recognition?"
Chen Jingzong: "He should be grateful, but he shouldn't show it so obviously."
Hua Yang: "He doesn't understand his father's temper. What if his father likes this kind of flattery and he doesn't do it well? Wouldn't that offend his father?"
Chen Jingzong suddenly looked at her meaningfully for a moment.
Huayang raised an eyebrow.
Chen Jingzong smiled and said, "In your eyes, these old men are all treasures. I have never heard you say anything bad about them."
Hua Yang glared at him: "Father, Lord He, General Qin, all of them have made contributions to the country. I respect them no matter how much. But you, don't always say 'old man'. You will be in your fifties too. Do you like to hear others call you that?"
Chen Jingzong thought of Qin Yuantang's tanned face, then touched his own face and asked, "I may go to the battlefield often in the future. If I get tanned like that, will you dislike it?"
Huayang didn't want to answer this kind of question and prepared to leave.
Chen Jingzong grabbed her wrist and refused to let her leave until she spoke.
Hua Yang paused and said, "I respect old men the most. When you become an old man, maybe I will like you even more than I do now."
Chen Jingzong: …
.
At the general's mansion, Qin Yuantang brought his two sons back home, and the three of them went directly to the study.
Qin Yuantang first taught his eldest son a lesson: "Why do you have to be so serious when you fight with your husband?"
Qin Ji said: "Father, I think the Prince Consort is a man of temperament. If I lose too quickly, he will notice it and will be unhappy."
Qin Yuantang: "It doesn't matter whether the prince consort is happy or not. What matters is to make Chen Ge Lao proud."
Fortunately, the prince consort has some skills, so it is not shameful if the battle ends in a draw.
Qin Ji was silent for a moment, and said, "My son, it seems that Elder Chen is not someone who likes to be flattered."
Qin Yuantang stroked his short beard and frowned, saying, "The civil officials are the best at pretending, their minds are deeper than the sea, and we can't just judge by the surface. In short, you should be more polite to Chen Ge Lao and the Prince Consort these days, and don't offend them."
Qin Ji nodded.
The second son, Qin Lu, was younger and more courageous after all. He refused to accept the defeat and said, "Father led the troops to fight with his real ability. Why should he kowtow in front of Lord Chen?"
He felt sad and sorry for his father, a man of strong character, having to humble himself in front of a civil official.
"And my superior was a teacher and student of the then Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister was in power, his career was very successful. But when the Prime Minister fell, he lost his job. It was a pity that this famous general wasted the rest of his life."
"What does this mean? A military commander cannot just be good at fighting. If he has no one in the court, he may be dismissed at any time. Even if he can barely hold the position, he will be controlled by the local governor and will not be able to do anything."
"I am not greedy for the position of an official or the salary, but I cannot bear to see the soldiers go to waste. Only if I secure the position of the general can I continue to train them, continue to serve the court, and continue to defend the country. Do you understand?"
Qin Ji nodded heavily, and Qin Lu's eyes turned red.
Qin Yuantang smiled and patted his youngest son on the shoulder: "It's just a moment of bending, it's no big deal. I am lucky as a father. Elder Chen is not greedy at all, otherwise I would have to bother to buy him gold, silver and jewelry."
Qin Ji was a little worried: "But you also said that if you rely on the mountain, the mountain will fall. What if the Prime Minister is replaced in the future..."
Qin Yuantang: "Chen Gelao is only three years older than me. He is not only the emperor's mentor, but also the minister entrusted by the late emperor. As long as he is healthy, he can serve as the prime minister for another ten or twenty years. When he retires at an old age, and your father is also old, it doesn't matter how the court deals with him. As for you, your future depends on your own luck. I can only teach you skills, but I can't plan for your future."
Qin Ji and Qin Lu knelt down together. Being able to be reborn as their father's son was the greatest fortune in their lives! When their father got old, they would walk the rest of the way on their own!
.
After a day of rest, Emperor Yuanyou, accompanied by the cabinet and border generals, formally accepted Duoyan's surrender.
The leader of Duoyan was named Dong Hu. Dong Hu felt very aggrieved when he had to kneel down and worship the 15-year-old little emperor of the Central Plains with red lips and white teeth in front of him.
If there weren't this Great Wall that winds for thousands of miles at the border, and if there wasn't Qin Yuantang who was a master of military strategy and was particularly good at tinkering with formations and firearms, he would have led his cavalry all the way to the capital long ago!
Dong Hu was not very good at hiding his emotions, and his fat face was stretched very long.
Emperor Yuanyou kept smiling and he was indeed in a good mood.
Every leader on the grassland is good at fighting, but if he doesn't have good skills, he won't be able to convince the generals in the tribe. The emperors of the Central Plains are more particular about knowing people and appointing them to the right positions. Of course, they are good at both civil and military affairs. Even if they are a sickly person, as long as the civil and military officials around them are reliable, the emperors of the Central Plains can still rest assured and enjoy the offerings of the subjects all over the world.
Dong Hu looked down on him, and Emperor Yuanyou also looked down on Dong Hu's barbarity.
The cabinet headed by Chen Tingjian had already drafted the terms of peace talks. Starting from this year, Duoyan continued to submit to the court and pay tribute every year.
Dong Hu agreed reluctantly. After signing the peace agreement, he glanced at Qin Yuantang fiercely. Just wait, when Qin Yuantang dies or leaves Jizhou, it will be the time for the Duoyan Iron Cavalry to make a comeback!
Huayang did not participate in the Doyan surrender today. The men on the grassland all look the same. She has seen the Tatar envoys who presented horses and has no interest in Doyan and his party.
After the peace talks ended, Emperor Yuanyou rested in Jizhou City for two days before climbing the Great Wall, both to inspect the reinforcement of the Great Wall in this area and to watch the military exercises of 100,000 border troops prepared by Qin Yuantang.
Compared with the surrender of Duoyan, the trip to the Great Wall is more exciting.
The closest section of the Great Wall to Jizhou City is Xifengkou, which is sixty miles away.
More than 50,000 troops from the capital guarded Emperor Yuanyou's carriage. They set out in the morning and arrived at the border army camp stationed at Xifengkou in the evening.
It was already dark, and above the towering mountains and steep ridges one could vaguely see a tall, thick city wall, like a lying dragon. The north wind was howling, like bursts of dragon roars.
Huayang stared at the long dragon in a daze.
In her previous life, she did not come to Jizhou with her brother, so naturally she had never seen the majestic Great Wall with her own eyes.
Emperor Yuanyou withdrew his gaze and saw that his sister was still admiring the majesty of the Great Wall.
Huayang seemed to realize something and tilted his head, and the brother and sister smiled at each other.
This is their north gate.
During dinner, Emperor Yuanyou called his sister, brother-in-law, and Qi Jin to accompany him.
"The mountains are steep, shall I prepare a sedan chair for my sister?" Emperor Yuanyou was worried that his sister would not be able to climb the Great Wall tomorrow.
If Huayang came here to play by herself, it would be fine to prepare a sedan chair, but she came with her brother to watch the border military exercise. With so many soldiers watching, it would make her look useless if she was the only princess sitting in a sedan chair. If she was really pampered, she should go to enjoy the flowers and grass. Since she had come to this important border area with great difficulty, she should follow the local customs and really climb the Great Wall.
"No need, I can walk up by myself." Huayang said ambitiously.
Emperor Yuanyou looked at Chen Jingzong.
Chen Jingzong suggested: "If the princess is interested, how about I accompany you to the top of the mountain tomorrow morning to enjoy the sunrise over the border?"
Huayang asked his brother what he meant: "Is the emperor going?"
Emperor Yuanyou said with a smile: "After I go, the ministers will certainly have to get up early. It will be a big fuss, so it is better for sister and the prince consort to go first."
The couple set out separately. When the elder sister could not walk anymore, the prince consort could carry her up on his back. No one could see them, and the elder sister did not have to worry about being laughed at.
Emperor Yuanyou was very pleased that the son-in-law was so considerate to his sister.
(End of this chapter)