Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 307 Return

At nightfall, a huge motorcade arrived at the foot of Dafu Mountain. Emperor Longqing and the Queen were the first to get off the Dragon Boat Festival and slowly climbed the mountain carrying the Buddhist lanterns prepared by the Ministry of Rites in advance.

Behind them, the royal family members, civil and military ministers also climbed the mountain in order of rank.

At this time, the entire Dafu Mountain has been controlled by Jinyiwei. Except for the monks in the temple, other lay people and pilgrims who were temporarily staying in the temple have been invited to come down from the mountain.

Dafu Mountain is just a small mountain. It only takes an ordinary person about a quarter of an hour to climb from the foot of the mountain to the top.

However, Emperor Longqing was relatively weak and did not let others support him, because this would make his ministers feel that he was not in good health, so he walked for half an hour before climbing to the top of the mountain.

When he arrived at Yong'an Temple, Emperor Longqing was already panting from exhaustion and sweating profusely.

According to the usual rules, for formal sacrificial activities like this, Emperor Longqing, as the Ninth Five Supreme Being, had to climb the White Tower by himself, while others could only wait under the tower.

Emperor Longqing did not allow anyone to help him, and the queen was very worried about his health, so she persuaded him: "Your Majesty, the weather is getting cold and the wind is strong up there.

Just don’t climb this tower. Just choose a prince to go there for you. "

Emperor Longqing also felt it was very difficult, but letting a certain prince climb the tower in his place would definitely cause unwarranted speculation among the courtiers.

He waved his hand and said, "No, I came here today just to climb the White Pagoda to pray for blessings and eliminate disasters. How could I give up halfway?"

"But this tower is so high, and your body..."

"It doesn't matter, I'll just walk slowly."

Seeing that Emperor Longqing insisted on climbing the tower, the queen turned around and waved to Princess Mingyue and said, "Mingyue, go and accompany your father to the tower."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

Mingyue nodded knowingly, quickly walked a few steps to follow the tower, and held Emperor Longqing's arm.

Emperor Longqing turned his head and saw Mingyue. He was about to ask her to go back, but Mingyue was the first to say coquettishly: "Father, I haven't climbed the White Tower yet. Can you take me up with you to have a look?"

"You are so naughty even though you are married."

Emperor Longqing no longer insisted and slowly climbed the tower with Mingyue's support.

"I heard from your mother that you took Yuan Xi out of the palace a few days ago."

"It's too boring for me to be alone in the palace, so I asked Yuan Xi to come out of the palace and stay with me for two days."

"Your garden should be repaired soon."

"The garden is too big. It will probably not be completed until next spring. I will definitely invite my father and mother to visit it then."

……

The two chatted while walking, and before they knew it, they had reached the top of the tower.

Emperor Longqing hung the Buddhist lamp in his hand in front of the Bodhisattva statue on the top of the tower and prayed silently.

After praying, he saw Mingyue still kneeling beside her and praying devoutly with her eyes closed. Then he strolled outside, holding on to the railing and looking toward the east.

The Jurchens and Oara people only went south this time for plunder. After getting enough benefits, they stopped attacking, so now the war on the nine sides has eased.

Although the losses in various places were not small, fortunately the imperial court had abundant finances, so it could still bear it.

What worries Emperor Longqing the most now is the rebels in the northern provinces.

At the end of every dynasty, there will be large-scale peasant uprisings.

For example, the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang Uprising in the late Qin Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Uprising in the late Han Dynasty, the Huang Chao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty, and the Song Jiang and Fangla Uprising in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Although these peasant uprisings ultimately ended in failure, they greatly consumed the national power and popular support of each dynasty, and paved the way for the demise of the dynasty.

Now that such a large-scale peasant uprising has broken out in Dachu, does this also indicate that the state of Dachu is about to come to an end? This made Emperor Longqing not worried.

After Mingyue finished her prayer, she saw Emperor Longqing standing outside with a sad face. He walked out and asked, "Father, how is the scenery outside?"

Emperor Longqing calmed down, put away the worry on his face, and said with a smile: "The moonlight is beautiful tonight. Mingyue, what wish did you make to the Bodhisattva just now? Why did it take so long?"

Mingyue said: "I pray to the Bodhisattva to bless my father, the emperor and my queen to be healthy and live a long life.

What I ask for is very sincere, and Bodhisattva will definitely fulfill my wish. "

Emperor Longqing asked with a smile: "That's all? It won't take so long."

Mingyue said a little shyly: "I also asked the Bodhisattva to bless the prince-in-law to return safely.

Father, what about you, what wish have you made? "

Emperor Longqing looked to the east and said leisurely: "I only made one wish. I hope that the rebellions in the provinces can be quelled soon."

Mingyue smiled and said: "Father, you are the True Dragon Emperor, and the Bodhisattva will definitely help you realize your wish.

It's windy here, so let's go down first, so as not to worry our mother. "

At this time, thousands of miles away in the East China Sea, a huge fleet approached the coastline.

Jia Qiong set out from Dongyingruoxia Port on September 17th. The original plan was to arrive at Songjiang Prefecture five days ago.

However, this time the fleet encountered typhoon weather during the voyage, so it deviated from the route, delayed the trip, and only found land today.

"General Qi Shen, where is this place?"

Jia Qiong asked, standing on the bow of the boat, looking at the dark coastline.

Qi Xiang observed for a moment and said confidently: "The future will pass here, this should be near Yancheng.

If we walk a dozen miles northwest along the coastline, we should be able to see the port. "

Jia Qiong nodded and said: "Okay, we are finally docking. If we delay for a few more days, we will run out of food.

The magistrate of Yancheng happened to be my classmate, so we docked in Yancheng and rested for two days before making any further plans. "

Qi Xiang said with some worry: "Captain, we are already very close to the coastline. Yancheng is a prosperous port. Normally we should encounter some merchant ships.

But in the past few days, we haven't seen a single merchant ship, so the general feels a little bad. "

Jia Qiong nodded and said, "That makes sense. Let's rest here for a while while you send a speedboat to the port to inquire about the situation."

Qi Xiang clasped his fists and said, "Captain, this is a serious matter. I won't worry if I leave it to someone else. I'd better go in person."

"Okay, then it's all down to General Qi."

An hour later, Qi Xiang returned after investigating the situation, followed by a little old man wearing a green gown.

"Captain, the situation in Yancheng is not good now. This is Song Xingyuan, the subordinate of Magistrate Zhang of Yancheng. Magistrate Zhang sent him to introduce the situation to you."

Song Xingyuan stepped forward and cupped his hands and said, "Song Xingyuan, a young man, came to see Marquis Wu Ning on the orders of County Magistrate Zhang."

Jia Qiongxu gave him a hand and said, "Mr. Song is exempt from courtesy. I wonder what's wrong with Yancheng?"

"Back to the general, more than a month ago, a group of rebels appeared in Huaibei, and the leader was Zhang Shicheng.

This group of thieves is quite powerful. In less than two months, they have already occupied several nearby counties. I heard that they now have 50,000 troops.

Three days ago, Zhang Shicheng sent people to Yancheng to persuade him to surrender, and asked County Magistrate Zhang to surrender to the city within five days, otherwise he would send troops to attack.

There are only a few hundred soldiers in Yancheng, how can they resist it.

Magistrate Zhang is currently seizing the time to recruit strong men and organize the defense of the city, so he has no time to come to welcome him, so he still asks the general to atone for his sins! "

(End of this chapter)