Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2415: The Duke is not an assistant, but a regent (VI) Honorific title and welcoming the king

When Gao Youshi returned to the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, it was already dusk. The copper bells on the eaves rang softly in the cold wind, and the light of the snow reflected on the lanterns under the corridor, making the word "Gao" on the screen wall flicker. He had just taken off his fox fur coat when the doorman came forward and whispered, "The Duke of Yingguo's mansion sent two jars of Xuanfu grape wine, saying that they were for the master to calm down."

"The Duke of England is the best at this kind of water-grinding work." Gao Fusi turned the jade ring in his palm for half a circle, and without saying anything else, he walked into the inner courtyard, and suddenly heard the crisp sound of porcelain colliding from the east wing. He stopped to listen carefully, and recognized the laughter of his sister Wu Ping, mixed with Li Rumei's whisper with a Liaodong accent.

"Why are you so angry, little sister? Did you drop the Duan inkstone in my study?" Gao Fushi opened the curtain and came in, seeing his sister hiding the broken porcelain pieces behind the antique shelf, while Li Rumei awkwardly held a half-cracked teacup. On the "Jixiao New Book" spread out on the desk, the notes with wet ink were exactly what he had written this morning.

Gao Wuping knew her brother's temper, so she pushed the broken porcelain pieces in front of him and said, "Brother, look, this is the teacup that your brother-in-law broke on the top of Deshengmen that day." She glanced at her husband, who looked quite embarrassed, and said, "He said that he wanted to place the broken pieces in the ancestral hall to warn his descendants not to learn from the old general's foolishness."

Gao Fusi glanced at the empty sword ring on Li Rumei's waist - where Li Rusong's sword should have been hung. He turned around and handed the fox fur to the maid, waved his hand to let all the servants leave, and then looked at the fire basin crackling and bursting with sparks without saying a word.

Li Rumei's complexion flickered in the light of the brazier, and she finally couldn't help but say, "Yuan Fu, my father...he..."

"Is Earl Ningyuan currently confined in the Earl's Mansion to reflect on his mistakes?" Gao Youshi suddenly pressed the paperweight on the desk heavily on the "New Book of Historical Efforts". "Our dynasty's military system has been reformed several times over the past 20 to 30 years, but he still wants the Li family to rule the area forever. Could it be that he wants to emulate the Mu family?"

Gao Youshi shook his head, his fingertips swiping across the words on the page, the scent of ink mixed with the smell of snow blowing in his face, "Fortunately, the wisdom of you and your wife and Li Rusong's decision at Shanhaiguan preserved the reputation of the loyalty of tens of thousands of Liaodong warriors."

Gao Wuping suddenly knelt down and said, "Brother, do you know that my uncle is currently taking inventory of the Li family's horse farm?" Her pearly hair trembled slightly. "He said he wanted to escort 5,000 war horses from his own horse farm to the Western Regions to atone for my father's sins."

Gao Fusi stared at his sister, and suddenly swept the broken pieces of the teacup into the copper furnace. The charcoal fire "boomed" and rose half a foot high, reflecting a cold light flashing in his eyes: "Erdemtu and Boshektu suffered a minor setback in the Caspian Sea thousands of miles away, and have already returned to Qihe. I calculated that Liu Jing's Ili First Army needs to increase its elite cavalry by 10,000."

He tapped the Western Regions on the Great Ming Geomancy Map, "I want Li Rusong to select the most elite 10,000 soldiers from the Liaodong Iron Cavalry, each with two horses, and let Earl Ningyuan choose a son to lead the team personally—" He suddenly turned his head and stared at Li Rumei, "Let's say that Duke Jingguo wants to make a bet with Earl Ningyuan on whether this 10,000-man team can cross the desert within three months and report to Liu Jing's command."

Li Rumei suddenly looked up, only to see Gao Wushi sitting down calmly. He said calmly, "An imperial edict will be issued tomorrow. You can take my words to the Ningyuan Marquis's residence later." Gao Wushi glanced at Li Rumei and said, "Tell these Liaodong men that if they encounter the Russian Cossack cavalry next year, they should not show mercy. Once they have performed meritorious deeds, I will let them return to Liaodong in triumph."

Gao Wuping suddenly stood up, glanced at her husband, and turned to Gao Youshi: "Brother, do you know that before the Zheng family was defeated, they sent 100,000 taels of silver to the Ningyuan Earl's Mansion?" She sighed, "But after my uncle found out, he had all the silver exchanged for corn horse feed and alfalfa seeds. Now they are being distributed in the Liaohe River, in order to expand the scale of the horse farm."

Gao Wusi glanced at Li Rumei. They both knew that the horse farm Gao Wuping was talking about was not the imperial court's horse farm, nor the horse farm in Beijing, but the Li family's own horse farm in Tieling.

Li Rumei's face flushed, and she was about to blame herself when Gao Youshi chuckled and said calmly, "Tomorrow morning, remember to have the memorial of Earl Ningyuan appear in the Tongzhengsi." He stood up and opened the glass window, letting the cold wind blow snowflakes into the room, "Just say... he wants to donate the Juliu River Horse Farm west of Changshanbao to the Liaodong First Army."

Li Rumei suddenly knelt on one knee, her forehead knocking against the tile with a dull sound: "I would like to thank Yuan Fu on behalf of my father!"

"Why thank me?" Gao Youshi looked at the snow outside the window. "If you want to thank someone, thank your wife." When he turned around, the annotations in the "Jixiao Xinshu" on the desk were rustled by the wind. "Remember, the cavalry sent to the Western Regions must be elite. Otherwise, it will not only go against my will, but also lose the face of your Liaodong Iron Cavalry, which will be very embarrassing."

Li Rumei kowtowed again and said, "Don't worry, Yuanfu, my brother is a loyal and upright man and would never do such a thing."

Gao Youshi nodded. Li Rusong might have a bad temper and some other problems, but if he was described as "loyal and upright", that was indeed true.

"Go." He ordered the guest to leave in a light tone without even standing up to see him off.

The next morning, Yu Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, was waiting at the steps of the Qianqing Palace with a jade book and a golden seal in his hand. Snowflakes fell on the lapis lazuli book, making the six characters "Cisheng Xuanwen Wensu" flicker. Gao Youshi looked at the red lacquer and gilded ceremonial carriage and suddenly remembered that when Empress Dowager Li was ruling the country from behind the curtain in the early years of the Wanli reign, she used this same golden book to confer the title of Empress Dowager Cisheng.

"Prince, the auspicious time has arrived." Yu Shenxing's tablet shone coldly in the snow. Gao Fusi stroked the ivory plate on his waist and followed the master of ceremonies into the warm room. The warm room was filled with sandalwood incense. Empress Dowager Li was wearing a blue phoenix sedan chair, but she only had a plain silver phoenix hairpin in her hair - this was her first public appearance since the emperor's death.

"I am just a Buddhist now." Empress Dowager Li traced the words "Grand Empress Dowager" on the jade book with her fingertips and suddenly started coughing violently. Empress Wang, who was serving beside her, hurriedly handed over the ginseng soup. Her newly made Zhaiyi was embroidered with hundreds of sons and thousands of grandchildren, which shone with auspicious luster under the candlelight.

Gao Youshi knelt in front of the two palaces, feeling the chill coming through the floor tiles, wondering why even the floor heating was not turned on. He said, "The late emperor's will says that the empress dowager's title should be added with the four characters 'Xuan Wen Ming Su'." He unfolded the yellow silk, "As for the Holy Mother Empress Dowager..."

"No need." Queen Wang suddenly interrupted him, "I just want the two words 'filial piety'." She presented the "Book of Filial Piety" copied by the little emperor last night to Queen Mother Li, "This is what the emperor copied yesterday. Today he said in Wenhua Hall that he wanted to imitate the etiquette of Song Renzong serving Queen Mother Liu."

Empress Dowager Li did not think that the grandson who had just started talking knew anything about Emperor Renzong of Song and Empress Dowager Liu. But when she stroked the clumsy handwriting on the "Book of Filial Piety", she suddenly pushed the jade book back to Yu Shenxing: "This 'Xuan Wensu' is too ostentatious." She took out the copper paperweight used by the late emperor in his childhood from her sleeve, and seemed to be reminiscing about something, "Let's use the word 'Kang Jing' - I only hope that the world will be peaceful and free of troubles."

Yu Shenxing's tablet almost touched the floor tiles: "The Holy Mother Empress Dowager's Golden Book already uses 'Ci Sheng'. If it is changed again..."

"Then it's 'Ci Sheng Kang Jing'." Empress Dowager Li pressed the paperweight on the jade book, "I will be with you forever, this emblem will be a mantra for my afterlife." She suddenly held Queen Wang's hand, "Queen, remember, after I leave the palace, on the first and fifteenth day of every month, you must bring the prince to the nunnery to copy scriptures, and stop after he takes power."

Gao Youshi suddenly remembered the report he saw in the study last night - Empress Dowager Li has donated 30% of her private property to large and small porridge factories in and outside the capital, to be used for disaster relief this winter. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, thinking: Although the old Empress Dowager has no ability in governing and employing people, it is true that she has a heart for good.

He bowed and said, "I obey your order." Then he took out two volumes of the Tripitaka from his sleeve and said, "These are the newly printed palm leaf scriptures by the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau. They will be sent to various temples and monasteries in the capital tomorrow."

Empress Dowager Li nodded and said, "Prime Minister, you are thoughtful." Queen Wang suddenly pressed the golden seal heavily on the edict of enthronement, and cinnabar splashed on the four characters "Empress Dowager Xiaoduan": "Prime Minister, do you know that before the late emperor died, he said..." Her voice suddenly choked, "He said that the right hole of the Xuan Palace in Dingling Mausoleum should be engraved with the two characters 'Zheng'."

Gao Youshi lowered his eyes to look at the cinnabar on the edict, and recalled the situation of the Dingling underground palace that was reported to him last night - on the coffin bed in the right pit, the words "Imperial Noble Consort Zheng" were clearly engraved, and he was speechless for a moment.

When he put the imperial edict into the sandalwood box, he heard Empress Dowager Li reciting the Lotus Sutra in a low voice. The sound, which harmonized with the bronze bells on the eaves, sounded like the heavenly music of paradise.

An hour later, nine cannon shots were fired from the Deshengmen Arrow Tower. Gao Youshi leaned on the red lacquered railing and looked over. At the end of the white official road, three thousand elite Mongolian cavalrymen surged like a black wave. The Tumed horses with their heads lowered left deep marks on the snow. The knights' silver-scale armor shone coldly in the morning sun. The wolf-headed banners in the front row pierced through the clouds. They were the personal guards of Hannaji.

Gao Youshi led a group of nobles and civil and military officials down the city wall and greeted the King of Shunyi outside the city gate.

"Anda!" Han Naji's voice came wrapped in the north wind. When he turned over and dismounted, his black cloak swept away the snow, revealing the Mongolian sword inlaid with turquoise on his waist. Gao Fusi noticed that his sword was wrapped with black silk made of Liaodong tussah silk - just like Li Rusong's.

Just as Gao Youshi was about to take a step forward, he was hugged by Han Naji. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's been many years since we last met, and Prince Shunyi is still so reckless."

The smell of the grassland man mixed with the smell of mare's milk hit her in the face, "I haven't changed much, but you, the Han Chinese Grand Tutor, are much more powerful than the little censor in Guihua City back then."

The elite cavalry behind Hannaji suddenly shouted in unison, their horses stood up, their iron hooves almost scraping sparks on the ice. The guards behind Gao Fusi did not move at all, and three thousand Wanli three-style muskets formed a cold iron wall in the sun. The auras of both sides collided in the snowy air, startling the crows on the city wall and flying over the arrow tower.

"I brought you a gift." As if Hannaji had not noticed the competition between the two armies, he suddenly loosened his hand and took the leather bag from the saddle. When Gao Shishi took it, his palm touched a hard object in the wool felt, and he gently opened it - it turned out to be Hannaji's Khan's golden seal.

"This seal will be useless from now on, and there is no point in keeping it, so I'll give it to Anda as a souvenir."

Gao Fusi thought for a moment, nodded, and put the golden seal into his sleeve. Suddenly, he heard the thunderous sound of hooves coming from the edge of the city. Forty-nine side carriages turned out from the city wall, carrying the Jinghua No. 2 Army Cannon, dragging deep tracks on the snow.

The guards gunners knelt on one knee, with their guns pointed at the sky. The elite cavalry of Hannaji noticed that the horses under their crotch were a little uneasy, and just as they were about to calm them down, they saw the gunners turn their cannons towards them at the same time, with the movements as coordinated as an arm, and they unconsciously stepped back half a step.

"This is our artillery battalion. We have cooperated with you over the years." Gao Youshi patted the gun barrel. "During the military parade tomorrow, you will see how it cooperates with your cavalry... We have new training results." At this point, he suddenly raised his voice, "Pass on my order: Fire 19 salutes to welcome King Shunyi!"

The gunners responded with a roar, and forty-nine guns roared at the same time. In the smoke, Bahanaji laughed and said to Gao Youshi: "Anda, let's play a game!" He suddenly shouted a Mongolian command that Gao Youshi couldn't understand, and the three thousand elite cavalry suddenly turned their horses around and retreated quickly, then galloped on their horses, forming a battle formation in the snow.

Ma Gui, who had been accompanying Gao Youshi the whole time, looked serious and suddenly raised his hand and ordered: "Form a circle and protect the central army!"

The solid square formation of the Royal Guards, which had originally followed a group of high-ranking officials and nobles at the military parade, immediately moved forward in two groups and quickly changed into a circular formation with bayonets like a forest, protecting the bigwigs headed by Gao Youshi in the core - including Hannaji.

"Great!" Bahanaji laughed loudly. "What a great army! It is indeed well-trained and well-equipped!"

He suddenly took out a mink cap from his bosom, with a piece of Khotan jade inlaid in the middle of the cap. "This is a gift for the little... ahem, for the emperor. The mink fur for this hat was personally selected by me from thousands of whole mink furs.

Needless to say, this piece of jade is the top quality jade you gave to Erdemutu after you opened the Khotan Jade Mine. This guy suffered a small defeat not long ago, and he was afraid that I would be angry, so he sent some things to apologize... Hey, more than 300 people died in the battle, it seems that he was too successful in the previous battle and didn't know his weight. "

Gao Youshi took the mink hat and looked at it, then turned around and handed it to Yu Shenxing, the Minister of Rites: "Present it to Your Majesty, and say it is one of the gifts from the Prince of Shunyi." At this point, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the cavalry of the Imperial Guards on horseback, patrolling under the city, the short red tassels on their sabers rustling in the wind, and suddenly said: "Order: The first regiment of the Imperial Guards will practice three-stage firing and infantry artillery coordination tomorrow, and the second regiment will practice chariot battalion approach and cavalry artillery coordination."

Bahanaji suddenly pulled off the wine bag at his waist, took a big gulp, and said with a smile: "Anda, I heard that you intend to train my Tumed cavalry into the first naturalized cavalry army? I have no objection, but I want your firearms instructor. In addition to the Wanli three-style musket, I also want artillery."

He wiped the wine stains from his beard and cursed, "Erdemtu suffered a loss in the Western Regions. He said that Russia seemed to have a shooting army, which used firearms just like your Han army, and could shoot farther than our Mongolian arrows. If you don't equip us with firearms, he will suffer a loss next time he goes to the Caspian Sea!"

Gao Fusi looked at the snow at Juyongguan in the distance, and suddenly took off the jade pendant from his waist: "This is one of my tokens." He threw the jade pendant to Ba Hannaji, "After the military parade tomorrow, send someone to Kaiping to find Gao Rui - tell him that I told him to give you 3,000 Wanli three-style muskets and two bases of fixed ammunition - this is not allocated by the court, but I give it to you, Anda."

When Hannaji took the jade pendant, his fingertips touched the warm mutton-fat jade. He suddenly knelt on one knee, and the elite cavalrymen behind him dismounted and knelt down in unison: "If Anda has any orders, the 60,000 soldiers of the Tumed Khanate are ready to be dispatched at any time!"

"Hey, you are the Prince of Shunyi, how can you bow to me?" Gao Youshi helped him up and shook his head, saying, "Even if I can send someone to do something, it's not me. It has to be ordered by the court or the emperor."

As he said this, he turned and looked towards the Forbidden City. "You will reorganize these Tumed elite cavalry into two armies, the Type A Naturalized First Cavalry Army and the Type B Second Cavalry Army, and place them under the control of the Ministry of War. In addition, you will be given a new organization in the Imperial Guards. Each of the five regiments of the Imperial Guards will have an independent cavalry battalion composed of Tumed Mongolian cavalry. You will appoint the chief and deputy chief officers for the above armies, and the court will only send the chief of staff and the envoy."

Bahanaji asked, "Can I lead the First Naturalized Army myself?"

"Of course you can." Gao Youshi smiled and said, "I said that you are the one who designates the chief and deputy chief of each army. If you designate yourself, does that not count as designation? However, one person cannot hold multiple positions. You have to give the second army to someone else."
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