weaving

Chapter 1493 A Rare Elite Warrior

On August 27th, Kaifeng was completely immersed in a festive celebration.

From August 13th onwards, the entire city, centered around the Zhou Prince's Mansion, became extremely lively in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a festivities that continued until the end of the month.

The Mid-Autumn Festival has never been as lively as this year.

Although it still can't compare to the large-scale lantern festival of the Lantern Festival, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival was just as festive, with people coming out of their homes and appearing in streets and alleys everywhere.

The shops and stores along the street, and even the government offices, were all decorated with strings of lanterns of various kinds.

In front of government offices, there were mostly large red lanterns of the same style, in strings... while various shops hung all kinds of lanterns in front of their shops to attract people to stop and look.

The nighttime was even more lively than the daytime, with people coming out of their homes to admire the lanterns, gaze at the moon, and join in the fun.

Starting from the night of August 14th, there were large-scale fireworks displays every night, especially in the square in front of the Zhouwangfu gate, where colorful canopies were erected and ingenious lanterns were hung everywhere, numbering over ten thousand, vying with the stars and moon in the sky, making it as bright as day and dazzling the eyes of the people.

Prince Zhu Gongxiao of Zhou held a grand banquet in the palace, inviting civil and military officials who had made meritorious contributions in defending the city every day. Governor Gao Mingheng and Garrison Commander Chen Yongfu were naturally the main guests at the banquet, but starting from the 16th, they declined the Prince's invitations on the grounds that they were busy with miscellaneous affairs.

Zhu Zhicang, a member of the imperial clan who had fallen into poverty and was now reduced to the status of a beggar, had accumulated merits and been promoted to the rank of guerrilla general, becoming a guest of honor at the banquet of Prince Zhou, Zhu Gongxiao.

Zhu Zhicang used the chaos caused by Li Zicheng's rebellion to achieve a dramatic turnaround in his life. Now, his status seems to be above that of other princes, and he is a favorite of Prince Zhou, Zhu Gongxiao.

Although Li Banghua, the Censor-in-Chief, and Ling Yiqu, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, were on the banquet guest list, they only attended the main banquet on the fifteenth of August and then declined the invitation, citing fatigue from their journey.

However, the officials from the capital, such as Yu Shangyou, the censor; Wang Tiaoding, the chief clerk of the Ministry of War; and Ma Jiazhi, the chief clerk of the Henan Provincial Office of the Ministry of Revenue, as well as Li Ruolian, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Li Fengxiang, the eunuch in charge of writing, were frequent visitors to the Zhou Prince's palace.

The busiest place in the Zhou royal palace was the stage, where performances continued from afternoon until nightfall, with a constant stream of plays until the banquet ended.

Although many homeless men, women, and the elderly still suffer from hunger and cold in the corners of the streets and alleys of Kaifeng, it does not affect the festive atmosphere of the people in the city.

The reason why this year's Mid-Autumn Festival is particularly grand is mainly to celebrate the great victory of the Central Plains Bandit Suppression Commander, the Earl of Yongning, over the rebel leader Li Zicheng.

Unlike the previous two battles to defend the city, although they also repelled the rebels and successfully defended Kaifeng, this time they defeated the rebel army in the open field and drove them out of the Kaifeng Prefecture.

Such a decisive victory in open battle against the rebels, forcing them all out of Kaifeng Prefecture and confining them to the area around Xiong'er Mountain and Funiu Mountain, is unprecedented and something the people of Kaifeng never dared to imagine!

In the Daxiangguo Temple and the bustling Zhouqiao and Shouqiao areas, there were famine refugees leading their crying children, standing under the streetlights where they wouldn't be trampled by fireworks viewers. The children had straw markers stuck in their hair.

Drought, locust plague, and war—the people of Kaifeng are suffering terribly!
Although the chaos of war and banditry has temporarily subsided, there are still too many people in Kaifeng Prefecture who have lost their land. Although the government is willing to help, it is powerless to do so.

In a small, unlit thatched hut in the west of the city, the three children had already fallen asleep amidst their cries. The man whispered to his wife, "Thanks to the Xuanda army led by the Marquis of Yongning, we were able to drive back that ruthless Li Zetian. Otherwise, I really don't know if we could have defended Kaifeng." The woman nudged him and said, "Heavens above, we'll set up a memorial tablet for the Marquis of Yongning tomorrow. We pray that the Marquis of Yongning will live a long and healthy life, so that he can protect our whole family and our Kaifeng!"

The man readily agreed, but couldn't help grumbling, "We poor folks are worried sick, but listen to how lively it is outside!"

"I think this is just how it is. There's drought, there's locust plague, and bandits have even besieged the city twice. How can anyone live like this?"

The woman still seemed indignant, saying, "If you ask me... we should let the Earl of Yongning wipe out these bandits so that we can live in peace."

…………

The reason why the Mid-Autumn Festival in Kaifeng can continue until the end of the month is simply because they are waiting for the arrival of the great hero who defeated the rebel leader, the bandit-suppressing admiral and the Earl of Yongning!
The wealthy local officials in the city had a total of sixty or seventy opera troupes and twenty or thirty small wind and percussion troupes, so that the sounds of elegant and popular singing and gongs, drums and strings could be heard everywhere in the city where there were lights.

Fireworks were displayed in many places in Kaifeng, including fire helmets, fire umbrellas, fire horses, fire basins, cannons bombarding Xiangyang, five dragons taking water, firecrackers, fire starting, three rises and three falls, cannons shooting flying squirrels, cannons shooting lanterns, water rabbits entering the water and leaping through the waves... all vying for novelty and skill, sparing no expense.

The most spectacular sight is that the iron tower is surrounded by layers of lanterns that sway in the wind, dazzling and striking, reaching up to the floating clouds and mingling with the sparse stars in the sky.

As one of the "Eight Scenic Spots of Kaifeng", "Zhouqiao Bright Moon" has become the most attractive place at night, and the bridge is often crowded with people.

On the 27th, the Nanxun Gate of Kaifeng was bustling with people, but the main road leading into the city was deserted.

Rows of soldiers stood on both sides of the road. They were all subordinates of Chen Yongfu, the general of Henan. They were there to prevent people from rushing onto the road and to welcome the arrival of Zhang Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression campaign and the Earl of Yongning.

In front of Nanxun Gate, with Prince Zhu Gongxiao of Zhou at the center, stood a group of the most powerful civil and military officials in Kaifeng.

Not to mention Governor Gao Mingheng and Garrison Commander Chen Yongfu, even the two officials from the capital who came to investigate the Earl of Yongning, Censor Li Banghua and Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Ling Yiqu, were all present beside Prince Zhou. Naturally, no one else was absent.

As noon approached, a troop of elite cavalrymen clad in red armor came into view.

Eight hundred elite and valiant cavalrymen slowly rode in. Although their speed was not very fast, they gave people a strong sense of oppression. The dark crowd fell silent instantly, all of them intimidated by this cavalry unit.

The only slight drawback was that the armor of the slowly approaching cavalrymen was a bit worn out, with some armor even showing obvious marks from sword and axe cuts, and some stained a dark red with blood.

If you get close, you might even be able to smell a strong stench of blood!

Looking at the two rows of brave and valiant cavalry outside the Nanxun Gate, Prince Zhu Gongxiao of Zhou exclaimed, "As expected, there's a reason why the Earl of Yongning was able to defeat the traitor Li."

Standing beside the King of Zhou, Censor-in-Chief Li Banghua nodded and said, "Indeed, they are rare elite warriors who have fought countless battles!"