The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 299

There was deathly silence in the upper study. Dai Quan and Li Yuan from the Imperial Hospital were holding their breath and secretly looking in the direction of the imperial desk.

Emperor Yongchang sat on the dragon throne, staring blankly ahead without moving.

Finally, he picked up the pen, spread out the blank chapter and began to write quickly.

After finishing writing, Emperor Yongchang was distracted again, and then looked at Dai Quan.

Dai Quan understood and walked over.

Emperor Yongchang pushed the edict forward and said, "Send it to the cabinet and let them draft it."

Dai Quan took a glance and was slightly stunned. He added the title of "Grand Tutor and Prince Grand Tutor" and gave him the posthumous title of "Wen Zhong".

Among the posthumous titles of Dashun, Wen Zhong is the second only to Wen Zheng. Loyalty means to promote virtuous people and be loyal to them. Is the Prime Minister loyal? Is it possible that the Prime Minister of the Cabinet died of typhoid fever? He would rather die than continue to be the Prime Minister of the Cabinet!

The posthumous title of Wen Zhong shows that the emperor still had resentment in his heart.

Dai Quan held up the decree with both hands, bowed and walked out.

The study fell into silence again.

Suddenly, Emperor Yongchang stood up and paced back and forth rapidly.

Li Yuanzheng's heart suddenly rose, he held his breath, and his eyes quietly followed the footsteps of Emperor Yongchang.

Emperor Yongchang walked to the imperial desk and suddenly stopped: "Are you sure there are no problems with the prescription and the medicinal materials?"

Li Yuanzheng: "I swear in the name of my ancestors"

Emperor Yongchang interrupted him and said, "Okay, you can go down now."

Li Yuanzheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Doctor Wang and the others are still kneeling outside."

Emperor Yongchang waved his hands impatiently.

Li Yuanzheng felt relieved, bowed to Emperor Yongchang, and walked out.

Emperor Yongchang walked to the window and looked at the sky outside. A strong sense of loneliness came over him. For the first time, he began to doubt his decision. However, it was only for a moment. Then a sense of pride rushed up. He straightened his back, his eyes sparkling: "Wait, wait!"

Suddenly, the eunuch's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and Earl Zhongyong are here."

Emperor Yongchang's eyes flashed. Why did they come together? Are they here to see me make fun of myself?! After thinking for a moment, he said, "Please come in."

The word "please" left the new eunuch confused, and it took him a moment to respond with a "yes".

The prince walked in front and Li Hu walked in behind, one after the other.

At this time, Emperor Yongchang sat on the dragon throne again and looked down at the memorial.

The two men exchanged greetings. Li Hu consciously went to the compartment to bring a chair and helped the prince sit down, while he stood obediently.

Emperor Yongchang saw it from the corner of his eye, but without looking up, he asked, "Why don't you sit down?"

Li Hu: "Your Majesty and the Crown Prince are in front of me. I dare not accept this."

"Is there anything that General Li doesn't dare to do?" Emperor Yongchang raised his head.

Li Hu was stunned for a moment, then replied: "I am a deputy general, not worthy of the title of 'big'."

Emperor Yongchang was silent for a moment, opened his mouth, but finally suppressed the words in his heart. He turned his gaze to the prince and looked at the rice paper in his hand.

The prince stood up by holding the armrest of the chair, "Your Majesty, this is the treasure presented to you by General Li."

Emperor Yongchang: "Oh?"

The prince walked forward, unfolded the rice paper and spread it flat on the imperial desk.

Emperor Yongchang also stood up, took a look, and asked, "Is this a musket?"

The prince looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu understood and replied, "Your Majesty, this is a breech-loading self-fired musket designed by me. This musket not only has a fast loading speed, but also a much higher firing rate than a self-fired musket. In addition, a breech-loading self-fired musket can be loaded not only by squatting or lying down, but also on horseback."

Hearing this, Emperor Yongchang's eyes lit up: "Can it be loaded on horseback?"

Li Hu: “Yes.”

Emperor Yongchang: "No, the warhorse is galloping, and the bullets are easy to deal with, but how do you load the gunpowder?"

Li Hu suddenly remembered: "Well, I also designed a kind of ammunition that is easy to load, but I forgot to bring the blueprint."

Emperor Yongchang picked up the red brush, swiped it in the inkwell, and then handed it to Li Hu. Li Hu hesitated. This was the emperor's special imperial brush. If he dared to use it today, it would be a reason for the emperor to kill him tomorrow. After thinking for a while, he stretched out his finger and dipped it in the inkwell, and simply drew a fixed paper shell bullet.

The prince smiled appreciatively.

Emperor Yongchang couldn't help but snorted with anger.

Li Hu pretended not to hear and gave a brief introduction to the emperor and the prince.

The prince smiled and nodded.

"What is the cost?" Emperor Yongchang asked the key question.

Li Hu thought for a moment and replied, "The initial cost will certainly be very high. But once the craftsmen have mastered the manufacturing process, it should be much cheaper." As he spoke, he mentioned asking the Wu family to help hire the Western barbarians.

Emperor Yongchang looked at him and asked, "How do you know about the Western Barbarians?"

Li Hu: "I learned about the Luosha people from Heshen. If the Luosha people have it, the Western Barbarians must also have it."

Emperor Yongchang nodded and said, "Alright, but the Western Barbarians are a foreign race after all. They cannot be trusted. We must be on guard against them."

Li Hu: “Yes.”

Emperor Yongchang was silent for a moment, then continued, "You also know the rules of the court. I will select someone from the Imperial Household Department to help you."

Li Hu: “Yes.”

The prince spoke: "This sharp firearm allows the border troops to easily suppress the Jurchen musketeers on the battlefield, greatly increasing the chances of victory for the border troops."

Emperor Yongchang understood that the prince was asking for reward on behalf of Li Hu.

He thought for a moment and said to Li Hu, "Don't worry, you will not be deprived of the rewards you deserve. As long as this new musket is really as you said, I will definitely reward you greatly and record your great merit and military merit."

Li Hu and the prince looked at each other and it was indeed a big pie.

But who can blame him for being the emperor? Li Hu swallowed his anger, saluted, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Emperor Yongchang nodded with satisfaction, and said, "I will give you a handwritten note to facilitate your entry and exit from the Military Equipment Bureau." As he spoke, he picked up a pen and wrote a handwritten note.

Li Hu took the imperial edict with both hands, blew on the ink, and said, "I heard that many sections of the Yellow River embankment have collapsed."

Emperor Yongchang: "The cabinet has sent a document to the Henan Governor's Office. As long as the officials and the people work together, the levee will surely be repaired."

Li Hu: "The weather in June can change very quickly. Once a heavy rain comes, those collapsed areas will collapse immediately."

The prince interrupted, "Isn't the Rongguo Mansion going to Qingxu Temple to pray for blessings today? Send someone to deliver the sacrifice and ask them to pray for Dashun."

Emperor Yongchang was a little surprised. He stared at the prince for a while before saying, "Okay."

Li Hu almost couldn't help himself. This father and son were really weird. They could actually rely on the illusory gods for such a thing.

Emperor Yongchang sat down, folded the rice paper carefully, and said, "You can go back if you have nothing to do."

Li Hu, Prince: "Yes."

Emperor Yongchang looked at the backs of Li Hu and the prince, then looked at the rice paper in his hand, with confusion in his eyes.
As soon as he walked out of the Qianqing Palace, he saw the Minister of War, Duke Zhenguo Niu Jizong, walking towards him with a military report with chicken feathers stuck on it.

Niu Jizong bowed to the prince.

Li Hu bowed to his immediate superior.

The prince looked at the military report in his hand: "What's the matter?"

Niu Jizong: "Your Highness, this is the military report sent from Suiyuan City." He replied and handed over the military report.

The prince took the exhibition and looked at it. Li Hu leaned over and saw that Datong Wei had taken over the two cities of Suiyuan and Guihua from the Jurchens.

After reading it, the prince handed it back to Niu Jizong and said, "Go and tell us the good news."

Niu Jizong: "Yes." He answered and glanced at Li Hu before entering the Qianqing Palace.

"Hey, what does that look of his mean?" Li Hu reacted very quickly to this kind of thing.

The prince smiled and said, "Okay, let's go to Yuqing Palace and I'll treat you to some watermelon." After that, he pushed Li Hu away.

Looking at the offerings sent from the palace, Madam Wang seemed extremely excited and agitated. The rosary in her hand spun rapidly, and then she said to Zhou Ruijia, "Tell the actors to play louder than usual!"

Zhou Ruijia answered loudly, "Yes."

Grandmother Jia's face was solemn, she always felt that this matter was not that simple!
(End of this chapter)