Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 267
Overnight, martial law began in the entire capital, and Sun Yingyuan, who was in the governor's office of the Five Armies, began to mobilize Shence and Jinwu from Yanshan, and Wuxiang and Tengxiang from Tongzhou to gather in the capital.

Because they traveled lightly, they galloped hundreds of miles to the capital in just one night.

When the civil and military officials were still waiting for the news the next morning, they knew the news that the four guards had gathered at Yongdingmen.

"The Seven Guards and Six Battalions have nearly [-] soldiers and horses. It seems that something terrible happened to King Qi..."

On the way to Wenhua Hall, Ye Xianggao, Zhao Nanxing, Zuo Guangdou, Han Yu and others who heard the news frowned.

But they are not as stupid as Yao Zongwen and others, and they don't believe that Zhu Youjian, who is fierce and fierce, will die suddenly because of an illness.

They were waiting for the emperor to give an explanation, and this explanation was sent by the eunuch immediately after they arrived at the Wenhua Palace.

"Long Live has a decree. Tomorrow is the time to offer captives as normal. King Qi will lead the troops into the capital from Yongding Gate. The cabinet should formulate a procedure for offering captives."

"Old minister, take orders..."

Ye Xianggao, Zhao Nanxing and others breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the imperial decree sent by the eunuch.

Among them, especially Zhao Nanxing.

Although he and Zhu Youjian were half political enemies, the problem was that Daming under the management of Zhu Youjian basically became a dynasty ruled by half of the army.

If Zhu Youjian passed away at this time, and the military power overwhelmed the civil power of the Ming Dynasty, when no one in the military power could show restraint, things worse than the invasion of Jianlu and Beilu would probably happen.

Apart from other things, will Huanglong, which is thousands of miles away, stand on its own based on the old port?
After all, without Zhu Youjian, no one can suppress Huanglong at sea. If Huanglong really stands on his own, then with Shen Tingyang's Shibosi, it can be said that he can completely form a dynasty with a population of millions and tens of thousands of armies.

The disadvantages of being alone overseas are vividly displayed at this moment, and the news from the Supervisor of Rituals has calmed many people's hearts.

After the eunuch in charge of ceremonies left, Ye Xianggao also turned around and told the officials of the Ministry of Rites:
"A few days ago, the king of Qi had something to delay the offering of prisoners. The Ministry of Rites sent a message to cover up the matter. I think the people should be considerate of the king of Qi."

"Yes..." Lin Yaoyu, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, bowed in response, and did not feel that such a notice was difficult.

After all, the common people have a relatively high degree of understanding and tolerance for Zhu Youjian.

After all, the existence of Huangdian is equivalent to promoting Zhu Youjian's martial arts and martial arts all the time.

Eliminate three rings, assign troops to garrison fields, and organize resettlement of refugees...

These policies are promoted by Zhu Youjian, and whenever the policies are promoted, the detailed process and results can be seen on the billboards that can be seen everywhere in the imperial store.

Compared with the secretive mansion newspaper, the common people prefer the vernacular notice of the imperial store.

After such a long period of observation, it is normal to have a good impression of Zhu Youjian. After all, who doesn't like a person who relieves the burden on the people?
Therefore, after Ye Xianggao ordered, Lin Yaoyu quickly re-planned the process of the prisoner offering ceremony tomorrow, and sent people to Xuqin Palace to cooperate from the notice on the city wall to the notice in the imperial store.

For such a good deed, Cao Huachun had no reason to refuse, and he agreed on the spot, and then arranged for the printing factory affiliated to the Huangdian to start printing notices and spread them all over the [-] Huangdians in the capital.

Although the capital city has been expanded, there are only over ten million people in Beizhili. After all the land is distributed equally, most of the people have land in their hands. Naturally, they would not choose to live in the capital city, even if the houses in the outer city are cheaper.

Therefore, from the expansion of the city to the present, the population of the capital has remained at around one million, and the first city of the Ming Dynasty is still Nanjing City in Yingtianfu, South Zhili.

Fortunately, Huangdian is not a small family, but a collection of gardens and landscapes, similar to a scenic spot.

So twenty imperial stores are enough to spread the news to most common people.

Just as Ye Xianggao and Lin Yaoyu expected, the people's tolerance for Zhu Youjian is indeed very high.

On the second day after the notice was issued, when the morning bell began to ring, many people appeared on the street one after another.

Zhengyangmen Street on the central axis of the capital, also known as Qianmen Street in later generations, was twenty-five or six feet wide at the beginning of its construction, but was later invaded and congested by the common people, and finally gradually formed the width of Qianmen Street in later generations. .

However, with the expansion of the new city, all the shops and houses that occupied the official street were driven to the East and West New City.

Not only that, in order to take care of the possible influx of more people into the capital in the future, the Zhengdong and Zhengxi squares on both sides of Zhengyangmen Street were retracted by more than ten feet, and more than [-] people moved to the East and West New City.

So far, Zhengyangmen Avenue has reached a width of forty-nine feet, which is comparable to the Zhuque Street in the heyday of Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhengyangmen Avenue, forty-nine feet wide and five miles long, is enough for more than [-] people to watch along the street while leaving a [-]-foot marching road.

This is only inside the city, and the prisoner offering ceremony will start outside the city.

Outside Yongding Gate is not a desert, but a patchwork of market towns.

After the market town was rectified by the Ministry of Industry, a forty-nine-foot official road was set aside, six miles long to the south, enough to accommodate more than [-] people.

Therefore, the beginning of the prisoner offering ceremony began with the scene where more than [-] people came enthusiastically.

From Maoshi onwards, the number of people on both sides of the street continued to increase, and at the time of Chenshi, it was already a dense mass of people, like two long dragons of five colors, spreading from Zhengyangmen to Yongdingmen, disconnected in the middle, Continue outside.

Among the Beijing officials, more than [-] Beijing officials went to Daming Gate one after another, except for the officials who needed to stay on duty and could not go.

The "Prisoner Offering Ceremony" was very grand in the Ming Dynasty. Unlike the last time the Dutch captives were captured, the one captured by Zhu Youjian this time was, after all, Su Nang, the leader of the three major ministries, with hundreds of thousands People sweat profusely.

Therefore, even if it is for him alone, this "prisoner offering ceremony" cannot be hasty.

Arrived on time at Chenshi, starting from the three guards of the Imperial City, the Dragon Tiger, Fei Xiong, and Yiluan, formed a formation from the Taimiao, stopping one person every ten feet, from the Taimiao to the Daming Gate and stood, wearing golden mountain armor.

However, the more than [-] steps from Taimiao to Daming Gate naturally cannot take up more than [-] people, so the remaining people will be guarding around Daming Gate and the walls extending from Daming Gate of the Outer Court.

For more than four hundred steps from Daming Gate to Zhengyang Gate, Jin Yiwei's Tiqi stood.

Outside the Zhengyang Gate, there are guards from Shangzhi standing guards according to the rule of one person per step.

This queue continued to Yongding Gate, and outside Yongding Gate, the four guards of Shence, Jin Wu, Wu Xiang, and Teng Xiang continued to spread to the official road in the south.

Compared with the inside of the city, the layout outside the city needs to spread fifteen miles to the south to be enough to show the national prestige of Ming Dynasty.

When all the soldiers and horses were arranged, Zhu Youxiao, as the emperor, went to the altar of mountains and rivers to pray to heaven and earth, and then turned back to the gate of Daming, ready to be captured.

However, when everyone arrived at the position they should be at, they all became uneasy at the same time.

Can today's offering of prisoners be completed?Will Zhu Youjian appear?
These questions weighed on the minds of hundreds of thousands of officials and people, and such questions were broken by the large cavalry that appeared on the horizon.

"coming!"

"I'm coming!"

The clear and dense sound of horseshoes sounded on the official road, and the Shangzhi Four Horse Guards who had returned from the expedition appeared on the official road, which attracted a large number of people who watched and offered prisoners to cheer enthusiastically.

The voices of "Qi Wang Qiansui" gathered together from the chaos at the beginning, and finally formed a unified shout.

The sound spread from outside the city to the outer city, and finally to the inner city, the imperial city...

At this moment, everyone's hanging heart was relieved, and hundreds of vassal princes standing behind Zhu Youxiao on the Daming Gate tower also breathed a sigh of relief.

The only ones who are unwilling are probably Yao Zongwen and other party leaders, as well as Zhu Chunchen, Xu Xigao and a large number of nobles.

"King Qi is a thousand years old!"

"King Qi is a thousand years old!"

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

The soldiers of the Shangzhi Four Cavalry Guards drove slowly on the official road, and gradually entered the official road of the outer city market town, and it was Zhu Youjian's appearance that caused the people to shout "Thousands of years" and "Wan Sheng".

A towering banner appeared, and the word "Qi" on it was clearly visible, and under the banner, the young hero riding on horseback with a smile on his face all confirmed his identity.

"Your Highness is so young."

"I don't know when to choose a concubine, but this appearance is much more handsome than many Tanhualang in the court."

"Didn't it mean that His Highness is sick? This doesn't look like a sick one."

"Who knows if it was spread by the foolish people in Fangshan?"

"Your Highness should be sick, but it doesn't look like a serious illness, otherwise there is no way to ride a horse."

"Look! Su Nang and Beilu's various ministries have all been escorted!"

"where?!"

Zhu Youjian's appearance certainly attracted a lot of carnival, but what aroused more carnival among the people were Su Nang who was locked behind his big banner and locked in the carriage, and hundreds of three men who were tied up behind the carriage and locked in the prison car. Mostly Taiji and Baylor.

The cavalry of the four cavalry guards put them between each other, and they were surrounded by the people like monkeys.

During the period, they heard all the discussions and abuses of the common people, and for them, this was undoubtedly a shame and suffering.

Therefore, after walking through the long and wide official road outside the city, they saw the tall city wall and the tower of Yongdingmen.

After crossing the stone bridge over the moat, they were escorted into the capital and set foot on Zhengyangmen Street.

Here, more than [-] people living in Nancheng District, that is, the former outer city, are waiting to cast aside them, while the four guards in armor and cloth face armor are closely guarding both sides of the street.

The sound of abuse and praise appeared at the same time, the former was given to Su Nang and the others, while the latter was reserved for Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian is already familiar with every plant and tree in the capital.

It's just that when he returned to Beijing after an absence of nearly a year, the changes in the capital still made him a little surprised.

Zhengyangmen Street, once occupied and long and narrow, is now wide and bright after being cleared. You can see the Zhengyang Gate and the inner city wall protruding from the skyline at a glance.

However, compared to sighing, Zhu Youjian only felt sore all over his body at the moment, wishing to lie down and ask Wang Kentang to give him a few more injections.

At this time, he was hanging on his breath, so he didn't open his mouth casually.

The long march is an honor for others, but it is suffering for him at this moment.

I don't know how many times I recited silently in my heart. When Zhu Youjian couldn't hold on anymore, the gate of Zhengyang gradually became taller, and at the city gate were Jinyiwei dressed in golden mountain armor and silver fish scale armor, and the three guards of the imperial city. Succeeded from Shangzhi Gongwei Battalion.

Arriving here, for Zhu Youjian, is just the beginning of the challenge, because...

"King Qi is a thousand years old!"

"King Qi please dismount, bring only his personal guards, and take the captives to Daming Gate for the emperor and the kings to observe the captives, and then go to the Taimiao to offer the captives!"

The three guards of the imperial city performed routinely. After bowing, Zhu Youjian was asked to dismount and walk, and walked the nearly two and a half mile-long avenue in person.

Regarding this, Sun Shoufa and Wang Kentang who followed him, as well as Man Gui and Saihan who joined them this morning all cast worried looks at him.

Zhu Youjian didn't say anything, he just pretended nothing happened, and dismounted in one go.

Seeing this, the four Sun Shoufa dismounted one after another, and then followed closely behind Zhu Youjian.

The Xiao cavalry guards separated out a thousand people. They tied white ribbons around the necks of the captives and handed over their weapons. armor, walk into Zhengyang Gate.

As soon as he moved, a group of people followed him.

The cavalry guards stepped forward to guard the prisoners on foot, while Man Gui and Sun Shoufa followed him closely.

On the contrary, Zhu Youjian, at this moment, strode into the Zhengyang Gate, walked through the long corridor of the city gate, and walked out of the shadows. The sun shone from his toes and enveloped his whole body, and a warm feeling rose on his body surface. rise.

"coming!"

At this moment, the princes of the feudal vassals, military officers and ministers, and civil servants of all parties all looked at the blurred figure in the distance at the same time, and everyone's heart "thumped".

As Zhu Youjian escorted the captives to the square in front of the Daming Gate with the Xiao cavalry guards, and as they slowly approached the Daming Gate, everyone's figures became clear.

The civil servants on both sides of the square glanced at Zhu Youjian secretly, seeing his appearance of "walking like a dragon and walking like a tiger", everyone cursed secretly in their hearts.

"This guy is really playing tricks, but luckily the old man didn't jump out!"

Yao Zongwen's voice represented more than [-]% of the voices of civil servants and military officials, while Zhu Suqin, king of Zhou on the city gate, was already thinking about how to explain his behavior that night to Zhu Youjian.

"Chen...Zhu Youjian, returned in triumph, please review the emperor!"

Zhu Youjian bowed, and this move made Wang Kentang behind him look terrified.

Under the majestic red walls and yellow tiles, Zhu Youxiao overlooked Zhu Youjian on the square, feeling indescribable in his heart.

"Pingshen..."

The indescribable feeling finally turned into the words of the ruler and the minister, and Zhu Youjian slowly got up after hearing the sound, and Lin Yaoyu, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, also said loudly: "The offering of prisoners begins!"

"The offering of prisoners begins—"

Hundreds of big Han generals conveyed in unison, and at the same time the guards who were responsible for escorting the captives also softly shouted: "Kneel down!"

All the captives knelt down knowingly, and Su Nang, who was the name of the three major captives, was "invited" to get out of the carriage, and was tied with a shameful white silk satin in front of the emperor and ministers of the Ming Dynasty.

Afterwards, he was brought to Zhu Youjian's side, and he knelt down slowly on the floor tiles without saying a word.

He looked up at the magnificent city tower in front of him, only to see Zhu Youzheng in yellow clothes overlooking them.

At this moment, he didn't know what mood he was in, but he just felt that the man standing on the tower was a little less heroic than Zhu Youjian who captured him alive beside him.

Similarly, when Su Nang looked at Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Youxiao was also looking at him.

It's just that at this moment, he didn't have any excitement and excitement when he heard the great victory in Hetao, but only apprehension and uneasiness.

Not only him, but also many officials and vassals felt the same way.

Zhu Youjian's illness fully exposed the fragile political structure of the entire Ming Dynasty. Everyone's thoughts were not on the prisoner offering ceremony, but on how to end the turmoil in the future.

At this time, Zhu Xieyuan, who was squeezed out of the cabinet but still served as Minister of the Ministry of War, suddenly shouted: "Prisoners!"

"boom--"

"Boom bang bang-"

Drums were played, salutes were roaring, civil and military officials stood up one after another, and began to celebrate the victory with anxiety, and then Honglu Temple, who was in charge of the ceremony, led hundreds of Han generals and shouted: "Salute!"

"Long live His Majesty the Ming Emperor, long live, long live..."

All the prisoners of war were lying on the ground, waiting to be released, while Qiao Yunsheng, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, began to report the grievances between Hetao Sanbu and Daming, and the whole story to Zhu Youxiao, asking him to issue an order to judge the prisoners of war.

At this time, if it is a small country, such as Reyes and Enzos in the Netherlands last time, it is basically the leader in Xishi.

However, for the northern captives, Zhu Youxiao still needs to release the goodwill of the emperor, so he said very flatly:

"The southern barbarians and the northern captives are all my subjects, they only betrayed Ming Dynasty after being bewitched."

"Pass the decree, loosen the shackles for them, seal Su Nang as An Lebo, and the rest of the Taiji and Baylor will also be given false titles."

"An Lebo and the others went to the Yale Department of Taichang Temple to do business, and they were under the control of Taichang Temple."

The Yale Department, which is in charge of the music and dance during the court celebrations, suburban festivals, and internal banquets, is under the control of the Taichang Temple with six departments and four temples.

To put it simply, when organizing some kind of banquet, Su Nang would just bring these more than a hundred Taiji Belles on stage to dance.

Such an arrangement is undoubtedly a humiliation worse than death for Su Nang, who once had tens of thousands of soldiers.

It's just that at this moment he can no longer control his own destiny. For the lives of his wife and children at home, no matter what Daming arranges for him, he has to do it.

Therefore, after a simple canonization, Su Nang was released from the shackles, and finally became the head dancer in charge of the banquet of Daming.

"A gift to the Taimiao!"

Suddenly, at this time, the voice of the Great Han General sounded again from the top of the city gate, and this time, it meant that Zhu Youxiao was going to take Su Nang and others to the Taimiao, and let them dance in front of the portraits of the previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty. up...

When he got here, Zhu Youjian was ready to leave, so he turned and left without hesitation.

Seeing this, the officials didn't have any other ideas. After all, the etiquette process is like this, and Zhu Youjian can indeed leave.

Because of this, after the whole scene, no one felt that Zhu Youjian was really sick like the rumors spread by Fangshan.

They hurriedly followed the emperor to the Ancestral Temple, ready to enjoy the treatment that was only available during the reign of Zhenguan.

As for Zhu Youjian, after he walked out of Zhengyang Gate, he took his men on horseback to Baiwang City, preparing to move into Qiwangfu.

He is not young anymore, and the construction of Prince Qi's Mansion has been completed, and if he continues to live in the outer court, it is inevitable that someone will gossip.

However, this is not the main reason. The main reason why he wants to go to Prince Qi's Mansion is because there are so many eyeliners in the palace, and the slightest carelessness will reveal his secrets.

Compared with it, it is easier to recuperate from illness in Prince Qi's Mansion, which is full of his own people.

Therefore, after riding his horse into Baiwangfu City, Zhu Youjian didn't care about everything about Qiwangfu at all, but relaxed when he entered the mansion and dismounted from his horse.

"Your Highness!"

Sun Shoufa and Man Gui, who were always ready, stepped forward to help, and Wang Kentang also showed his confidence:
"Help Your Highness to the bedroom to rest!"

Without further ado, Xiao Qiwei took over Qi Wangfu, and Zhu Youjian was also helped into the bedroom.

After Man Gui, Sai Han, and Sun Shoufa put him on the bed carelessly, Wang Kentang also began to check Zhu You's pulse.

During this period, his face was solemn, and the three of Man and Gui looked uneasy.

"Ugh……"

When Wang Kentang sighed, everyone's heart tightened, and so did Zhu Youjian.

"Fortunately, there is no major problem. It will be fine after a while of cultivation."

"Huh..." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Wang Kentang's words.

Similarly, Zhu Youjian also breathed a sigh of relief, and told Man Gui:
"Man Gui, from now on, we will close our doors and see no visitors, and tell the kings that we will hold a sect meeting on the first day of September."

"In addition, let Hua Chun and Cheng En find someone to pretend to be me, and go in and out of the palace every day, so that no one will know that I am recuperating."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, everything will be arranged in the end." Man Gui bowed in response, while Saihan said worriedly:

"Your Highness should rest well, don't waste your energy talking."

Saihan's opening made Zhu Youjian look at him, and said with a trace of apology:

"I fell ill on the bed, but I delayed the canonization of your father and son. I hope you will not be offended."

"What are you saying, Your Highness? If His Highness hadn't taken me in, I'm afraid I would be just one of the people kneeling in front of the Daming Gate today." Saihan knelt down to express his gratitude, and Zhu Youjian asked Sun Shoufa to help him up, and finally confessed road:

"If Cheng En and Hua Chun come, remember to tell them not to worry about me, and get busy with the autumn harvest, and pay close attention to the disaster relief in Shaanxi and Shandong."

"Don't delay the court and the people because of my own affairs..."

"Your Highness!"

While Zhu Youjian was talking, heavy footsteps came from outside the bedroom, Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen broke in, then ran to Zhu Youjian's bed, and looked at him distressedly.

"Hehe...it's just a minor illness. It got better after a few days of self-cultivation, but you have lost a lot of weight. It seems that you have worked too hard. You should pay more attention to rest."

"Besides, you didn't accompany my brother to offer gifts at the Taimiao, but came to my place, what will my brother do?"

Zhu Youjian was sick, but still cared about the people around him. This moved Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen, but also embarrassed them.

"Your Highness...we..."

"I made them come!"

Wang Chengen was still hesitating, but he didn't expect a familiar voice to appear in the bedroom in the next second.

Everyone turned around and saw Zhu Youxiao, who didn't even change his regular clothes, was standing at the door of the bedroom with a worried face at the moment, with only Zhu Youjian lying on the bed in his eyes.

"This..." Seeing Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Youjian was also helpless.

The children and grandchildren offered prisoners to the Taimiao and offered sacrifices to the ancestors. As a result, the ancestors came to have a look, and the emperor disappeared...

This kind of thing can only be done by my brother.

It is estimated that Ye Xianggao and Baiguan are looking for the emperor in a daze...

(End of this chapter)