Work overtime

Chapter 769

Shen Shixi lowered her head and touched the little boy's head. "Mom knows you are not tired, but your brother is tired. He wants to drink milk and sleep."

"Bayaer knows." The little boy said sensibly. But he quickly turned around and looked at the man in front of him curiously. He felt that this man was very unusual.

Li Beihong asked gently, "Would Bayar like to stay and have lunch with me?"

The little boy looked up at Shen Shixi and asked for his mother's opinion.

Shen Shixi restrained his inner emotions and said gently to his eldest son, "Bayaer, let's go back. His Royal Highness Prince Anbei still has military affairs to attend to. This is an important place, and children are not allowed to play here."

"I understand." Bayar nodded obediently.

After Shen Shixi left with his two sons, Li Beihong stood there in a daze and watched them leave.

Chen Ping, who had been silent the whole time, dismissed his attendants and poured a cup of tea for Li Beihong:
"Your Highness is not mistaken. That is the princess. But she has made her attitude clear. She has completely broken off relations with the couple and will not admit the past at all. As long as she refuses to admit it, Your Highness will have no choice. Your Highness, you and I both know that Princess Jin was killed in the massacre. The woman in front of you is the wife of the Tatar Khan. Your Highness must think twice before making any decision. As for the little boy, although his age is right, it may not be."

Li Beihong sat on the chair and waved his hand, "You should leave first. Let me be quiet for a while."

Chen Ping drank the water in the teacup in one gulp and said with a smile, "Okay. I'll leave first."

After Chen Ping left, Li Beihong took out the sachet he had been hiding and held it in his hand. Memories of Shen Shixi came flooding back.

This sachet was a token of love that Shen Shixi gave him on the morning of the second day of their wedding.

five years.

He looked at the lines on the sachet intently. After five years of caressing, the sachet had turned yellow and faded, no longer in its original state.

Thinking of the strange and distant conversation between them just now, his heart ached.

Life is unpredictable, but it's not this unpredictable.

He had spent countless days and nights blaming himself for what happened to Shen Shixi. If he had arranged for Shen Shixi in advance, she would not have suffered such a cruel fate. Unexpectedly, five years later, she would have become Batu's wife and even had children for him.

He was surprised that she was alive, but also felt sorry for the suffering she had gone through. He wanted to ask Shen Shixi if the child was his, because the child didn't look like a Mongolian child at all.

After Shen Shixi returned to her residence, she covered her face with her hands and let her tears fall. Bayar came over, took her mother's hand and put it on her cheek.

Bayar said softly, "Mom, don't cry."

As she spoke, she gently wiped away the tears from Shen Shixi's face. She had imagined this reunion many times, but she almost collapsed when she actually saw it.

Who could have imagined on that sunny March five years ago that the hand of fate would push me here?

Shen Shixi held his eldest son in his arms, kissed his forehead frequently, and tears rolled down again.

There is no going back, nothing can go back.

Just like the two princesses who lived next door. Their husband Yesiza died, and according to Mongolian tradition, they would marry Batu with their children.

Princess Taiping gave birth to a son for Yesizha in the fourth year of Jingchang, who is now two years old. Another princess was pregnant but had a miscarriage. The most favored princess, Lixia, had a miscarriage when she was six months pregnant because she was forced to have sex with Yesizha after he was drunk. It is said that she is pregnant again recently.

The princess of Yesizha took her one-year-old son with her to flee to the Oirat, presumably to use as a bargaining chip in peace talks.

The Tatars practiced the principle of "son inherits father's property" and "younger brother inherits elder brother's property". There were originally a bunch of women aged between 14 or 15 and 47 or 48, including Huanhuan Qier's concubine and Yesizha's concubine, who were inherited by Batu.

But before Batu returned, except for the two princesses who were protected in advance, all the property was divided up by his three half brothers.

Among them, Lixia had been coveted for a long time because of her beauty and enchantment, and was fiercely fought over. Even though she was pregnant, she was still forced to have relationships with the three brothers. In the end, she was abducted by Huanhuan Qier's eldest son.

Yesizha died at an inopportune time, in mid-July. So the Ming army fought, persuaded the surrender, supplied supplies, and sent the women sent by the Oirat to marry back to the capital, without exerting their full strength.

It is not until winter that they go all out. Because the grasslands are bitterly cold in winter, herders can only stay in a place with water and grass to spend the winter, waiting for migration next year, which is the most vulnerable time.

The six years in Jingchang seemed to pass by very quickly, and it was soon the end of the year. The five little ones had been in this world for three years. Because they were born in the twelfth month, they were at a disadvantage. They were already five years old in age, but they were treated like five-year-olds.

In the sixth year of Jingchang, four children were born in the harem.

In addition to Zhou Cairen's seventh princess, Concubine Jin Hui gave birth to the seventh prince on April 16, and was promoted to Concubine Xie, named Li Chenghe; Concubine Huan gave birth to the eighth prince on October 17, and was promoted to Concubine Huan Wanyi, named Li Chengze; Concubine Zhao gave birth to twins on December 15, the eighth and ninth princesses, and was promoted to Concubine Zhao, named Li Ziran and Li Ziyun respectively.

Lu Liangyuan is five months pregnant and is due in May of the following year.

Jiang Yuebai is nine months pregnant and her due date is in the first month of the lunar calendar.

However, the weaker of the twins born to Concubine Zhao, Princess Nine, died three days later, and Princess Eight died ten days later. Concubine Zhao was in so much pain that she cried every day during the confinement period, and she cried until she was almost blind.

Nian Zhaoyi finally got pregnant again and was promoted to Concubine Nian. The due date was in July of the following year. This made Li Beichen and Jiang Yuebai happy and worried.

The New Year's Eve banquet was still held with great ceremony. Jiang Yuebai was pregnant and holding her belly. Everyone was afraid that she would give birth on the spot.

As a result, the next day, the first day of the first lunar month in the seventh year of Jingchang, after Jiang Yuebai got up, the fifth princess asked to be held. As soon as she was held in her arms, she suddenly went into labor, and at noon, she gave birth to the tenth princess, who Li Beichen named Li Zige.

Jie Li was beaten to a pulp and was in a state of disgrace. So he sent people to the court to negotiate. Li Beichen sent Feng Qian, a newly-appointed Jinshi from the Ministry of Rites, to lobby for negotiations. Feng Qian brought four innocent and lovely girls aged 14 or 15. He told Jie Li to kill Yesiza's wife to show his sincerity. A woman who can betray her husband and even her own son will definitely betray you in the future. Besides, what's the point of having an old woman who has given birth to a child? Look, I brought you some young and tender girls.

So Jie Li killed Yesi Zha's wife and sons and got four beauties.

Feng Qian advised again, "If you hand over the imperial seal to me, we will forgive you. We will support you as before, give you gold, silver, money, beautiful women and houses, and let you enjoy wealth and glory. If you want to move to the capital to retire, you can also live in a free house and give you a pension."

Jie Li certainly disagreed. He demanded that they divide the territory and give him a piece of land, sign a friendly agreement, and let him continue to be the Khan of the Wakhan without aggression. When the two people were arguing, Xie Lingjie and Li Tai sent people to attack them directly.

The battle lasted until March of the seventh year of Jingchang, when many Oirat tribes surrendered and expressed their willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming army took advantage of the victory to chase the stubborn resistance of Oirat to the north of Yinshan Mountain, captured Jie Li alive, and seized the imperial seal.

After receiving many beautiful women sent by the Oirat for marriage, Li Beichen sent envoys to negotiate with the tribes along the way from January, promising to marry the daughters of court officials and royal families to tribal nobles, to confer titles on the surrendered tribal leaders, to win them over with beautiful women, gold, silver and luxury goods, and to promote marriages between Oirat noble women and relatives and court officials.

In April, the Oirats jointly elected Li Beichen as the Khan of Mongolia and respectfully called him "Heavenly Khan".

As expected, these nomadic tribal leaders were ennobled by the imperial court and enjoyed aristocratic treatment. They came to the capital for pilgrimage at the end of each year and received gifts of gold, silver and silk. The two largest tribal leaders were also given a house in the capital as their liaison office. These tribal leaders were called Khans in their own tribes, and their status in the Tang Dynasty was that of local princes.

Batu thought he had greatly depleted the power of the Ming Dynasty and persuaded and conquered several tribes that had originally broken away from the rule of Yesiza. When he was preparing to counterattack the Ming Dynasty, he received a handwritten letter from Shen Shixi.

The letter said that the Ming Dynasty had defeated the Oirat, captured Jie Li, and executed the slut Toya who betrayed and killed Yesizha, thus avenging the Tatar Khan. The Ming Dynasty asked Batu to return immediately, otherwise the Ming Dynasty would regard him as a violation of the alliance and would retaliate.

The implication of her words was that she and her two sons had been controlled by the Ming Dynasty, and so come and rescue her.

Batu had not expected that the Ming Dynasty would defeat the Tatars so quickly and with such little loss. He thought that the Tatars and the Ming Dynasty would fight and lose troops to each other, and he would just sit back and reap the benefits.

National hatred, family feuds, and subconscious hostility towards Li Beihong prevented Batu from stopping. Instead, he directly launched an attack on the border of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Beichen was waiting for Batu to break the alliance, and used the excuse that the Ming Dynasty sent troops to help the Tatars to relieve the trouble of the Waqira and avenge Yesizha, but his brother Batu turned the tables and broke the alliance, so he officially launched an expedition to attack Batu. He urgently ordered the Duke of the State to completely encircle and suppress Batu and his three brothers.

The Protector of the Country did not obey the emperor's order and actively take military action. It is unknown whether he was waiting for a better time in winter or was hesitant about whether to rebel.

What is certain is that the Duke of Huguo and his eldest son Xie Yizhong were surrounded by spies. Li Beichen arranged for a new deputy to go to them, carrying a secret decree that anyone conspiring to rebel would be executed.

However, the Ming army suffered heavy casualties in the final decisive battle with Jie Li near Yinshan Mountain. While they were resting in the oasis, they were ambushed by Batu and his brothers, who attacked them from both sides and caused heavy losses.

On the other hand, Batu persuaded his other two half-brothers to launch a surprise attack on Anbei Protectorate, rob gold and silver, rescue Shen Shixi and his sons, and lift the Ming Dynasty's control over him. At the same time, he kidnapped the King of Anbei and the Princess An, and threatened Li Beichen in return, forcing him to negotiate, hand over the imperial seal, and redivide the sphere of influence.

Unexpectedly, the two half brothers attacked the Anbei Protectorate and captured Li Beihong and Jiang Xue, but they were met with desperate resistance from Li Beihong and Jiang Xue. The two killed Li Beihong, Jiang Xue and their one-year-old son and fled. The four-year-old eldest son, Li Chengan, who lived with his wet nurse in the next room, survived. He was immediately secretly escorted back to the capital to be raised.

Li Beichen ordered the capture of Batu and the killing of Batu's descendants to avenge the King and Queen of Anbei.

Xie Lingjie and Li Tai led their troops to fight back fiercely. Batu was hit by a grenade while escaping and hiding, and was directly killed.

Batu's two sons were beheaded in Anbei Protectorate. Shen Shixi sat in a pool of blood, holding their young bodies and crying loudly.

"That's his child!"

In grief and despair, Shen Shixi committed suicide by cutting his throat with a knife.

Before his death, he left a will, requesting that he and his two sons be cremated according to Mongolian tradition and that a prayer be held for their souls in a temple.

Chen Ping felt sorry for Shen Shixi. But with her complete change of identity, she had no choice but to do this, regardless of whether her eldest son was the King of Anbei's or not.

The historical truth is always buried with a sigh.

The Duke of Huguo disobeyed military orders and missed the opportunity to fight, resulting in the tragic deaths of the King of Anbei, the Queen and the Prince, and heavy casualties among soldiers. He was escorted back to the capital and executed by slow slicing in accordance with military law.

The former Liaodong garrison commander was replaced by Li Tai, who was a hero in the killing of the Tatars. Li Tai was given the rank of Dingyuan General, a third-rank official.

Thanks to Mrs. Xie's meritorious service, Xie was spared from exile and confiscation of property, deprived of hereditary fiefdom, and was granted an annual salary of 2,000 dan, which remained unchanged and inherited by the eldest son Xie Yizhong. Xie Yizhong was dismissed from his post as the general commander of Jizhou Town and appointed as the prefect of Shunqing Prefecture in Sichuan. Xie Yixiao was dismissed from his post as the assistant minister of the Ministry of War and appointed as the prefect of Leizhou Prefecture in Guangdong. Xie Yizhi was retained as the deputy minister of the Ministry of Works and was stationed in Anbei Protectorate.

After hearing this, Xie Zhili knelt outside Kunning Palace for a whole night begging for an intact body for his father. Li Beichen only agreed to behead him instead.

According to Li Beichen's character, he would directly kill the three clans to eliminate future troubles and shock the world.

Jiang Yuebai advised that now is the third generation of the monarch, and we should learn from history and implement benevolent governance and education, cherish the young and strong labor force, especially talents for important positions, which are very difficult to cultivate. It is better to use less torture and less punishment as possible. The Xie family is full of loyal and brave people, especially Mrs. Xie who has entered the imperial temple. It is not appropriate to kill the whole family, but to show grace and gentleness to win people's hearts and show the magnanimity of the royal family.

At night, the maid found that Xie Zhili had hanged himself, and then buried him in Jinling according to the imperial concubine's regulations.

Of course, Xie Zhili did not hang himself voluntarily, it was arranged by Li Beichen.

Based on his understanding of Xie Zhili, he would definitely do something to the Queen and the Crown Prince. He would never allow anyone to threaten the heir to the throne, especially the Crown Prince who was about to ascend the throne, and would not allow any mistakes to occur in the successor he had chosen for the country.

Concubine Xie was promoted to Concubine Xie, and the four princesses born to Concubine Xie were raised by Concubine Xie from the same clan but different branch, while the seventh prince Li Chenghe was given to Xiao Zhaoyi to raise.

The 11-year-old Bater was appointed as the new Khan of Tatar, and was given the title of King of Dingbei, a golden book and a golden seal, with a title equivalent to that of a prince. His adoptive mother, Concubine Xia, was promoted to Concubine Xia and was given the title of Lady Huaiyuan of the second rank. The great scholar Zhu Wenjing, who taught him, the palace maids and eunuchs who usually served him, and his adoptive mother, Lady Huaiyuan, were escorted by the army to Tatar, and six imperial guards were arranged to protect their safety.

Before leaving, Bater went to visit the five-year-old Second Princess, who had grown into a sweet and quiet girl. He begged Li Beichen to marry the Second Princess to him as his princess.

Li Beichen just found it funny that another young man who was only eleven years old was going to settle down.

Li Beichen patted Bater on the shoulder and solemnly told Bater as a father: After returning, Bater must appease the people, lead his people to live in harmony with the Han people, make the ruled area peaceful and stable, beautiful and prosperous, free from war and conflict, otherwise he will die in internal strife like his father and uncle, and will not be able to give happiness and stability to the second princess.