Chapter 72 Great Victory
On Qianmen Street, every household hung big red lanterns in front of their doors and set off firecrackers to celebrate the court’s great victory in Hetao. The sound of firecrackers filled the entire city with noise.

Wang Daniu led a group of personal soldiers to escort Li Hu’s carriage into Yongding Gate.

Inside the carriage, Li Hu finished reading the copy of the military newspaper, closed it gently, and concentrated on thinking carefully.

The imperial army defeated the Ikh Zhao League coalition forces in the east of the Barsuhai Temple in Hetao, beheaded nearly 30,000 people, captured one prince, dozens of Beile and Beizi, more than 20,000 prisoners of war, and more than 100,000 horses, camels, cattle and sheep. In this battle, the Ikh Zhao League was completely defeated and severely damaged. It had to either completely withdraw from the Hetao Plain or be completely wiped out by the imperial army.

Another possibility is that the Jurchens and other Mongolian tribes rushed to support them.

This was a technical encirclement and annihilation battle. Duke Shan Guo Shi Guangzhu first adopted the combat strategy of feigning defeat and retreating, then luring the Ikh Ju League coalition forces out of the advantageous terrain, and then dividing, encircling, and annihilating them.

From the military newspaper, Li Hu could fully appreciate Shi Guangzhu’s experience and sophistication in using troops. He was slow when necessary and fast when necessary, and his grasp of the situation was perfect. As expected of a veteran who had experienced many battles, every step he took contained great wisdom and great planning.

Cheers of “Victory” came from outside the car window. Li Hu couldn’t help but open the curtains and look out. It was a great victory in Hetao, and every citizen of Dashun had a happy smile on his face.

Li Hu sighed deeply. The Hetao Campaign was a great victory, otherwise the imperial court would be in turmoil!
He had originally planned to return to the capital the next day, but because he was worried that the prince would do something irrational, after explaining the military affairs, he hurried into the city.

Li Hu said to the guard beside the carriage, “Go home and tell Uncle San that I’m back in Beijing. Also, tell him not to tell Miss Lin.”

The personal soldier: “Yes.”

Li Hu slowly lowered the curtains, thinking about how to persuade the prince to take the initiative to submit a memorial to request credit for the second prince.

Just as Li Hu was rushing to the imperial city, Jia Yucun hurried to Yuqing Palace.

In the western warm room, the prince sat in front of his desk, staring upward in a daze.

A blank page was spread out on the table, and the ink on the brush placed on the pen holder beside it had dried.

Suddenly a beam of light shone in and the door curtain was lifted.

The prince came to his senses and saw that it was Zhao Tong.

Zhao Tong carried a small copper kettle to the desk and brewed some tea. Then he spoke, “My Lord, Minister Jia is here.”

The prince picked up the tea bowl and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Zhao Tong: “He said that the matter was of great importance and requested to report it to the Crown Prince in person.”

The prince thought for a moment and said, “Please come in.”

Zhao Tong: “Yes.” and walked out.

What was he doing here? Could it be related to the great victory at Hetao?

The prince took a sip of tea, put it down, picked up the brush, swung it in the inkwell, and then wrote the four neat regular script characters “Your son respectfully submits” on the chapter. He paused, put down the brush, and sighed.

At this time, Zhao Tong’s voice came from outside the door: “Your Highness, Minister Jia is here.”

The door curtain was lifted, and Jia Yucun, dressed in official uniform, walked in.

Jia Yucun bowed with both hands and said, “Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

The prince smiled and held out his hand to support her: “No need to be polite, sit down and talk.”

Jia Yucun: “Yes.” He bowed to Zhao Tong and then sat down on the edge of the stool he had brought.

Zhao Tong brought him another cup of tea before leaving.

The prince was listening to Zhao Tong’s footsteps. He was silent for a moment and asked Jia Yucun, “Minister Jia has come here in a hurry. I’m sure he has something to teach me?”

Jia Yucun stood up and said, “I dare not.”

The prince waved his hand and said, “Sit down, sit down. Are you here for the great victory in Hetao?”

Jia Yucun: “I came here for this very reason. Please forgive me for being so bold and blunt. Your Highness should take the initiative to submit a memorial to ask for merit for the Second Prince.”

Prince: “Oh?”

Jia Yucun: “The longer the time drags on, the more unfavorable the situation will be for Your Highness. Many people are watching you! His Majesty is also waiting. As long as Your Highness asks for merit for the Second Prince, the court officials will see Your Highness’s broad mind as the crown prince, and His Majesty will see Your Highness’s brotherly love for his younger brother.”

The prince smiled bitterly and said, “I also want to do this to protect my capital, but I am so confused that I can’t write anything.”

Jia Yucun took out a chapter from his bosom and said to the prince, “I have the audacity to write a guarantee for Your Highness in private. Please take a look at it. If it is usable, please copy it immediately and present it to the emperor immediately.” As he said this, he handed it over with both hands.

The prince took the copy and read it. His eyes lit up as he read it. Then he looked at Jia Yucun and nodded solemnly. Just as the prince finished copying the copy, Li Hu strode into Yuqing Palace.

Zhao Tong came out to greet him: “General Li is here.”

Li Hu folded his arms: “Where is His Highness?”

Zhao Tong pointed to the West Warm Pavilion and said, “Minister Jia is here.”

Jia Yucun?
Li Hu frowned and asked, “Do you know what he is here for?”

Zhao Tong was shocked: “Don’t dare to make such a joke, how would I know!”

Ok?
Li Hu glanced at Zhao Tong. Why did he feel that he seemed a little guilty?
At this time, Jia Yucun came out holding a memorial, walked to Zhao Tong, and said softly, “Manager Zhao, this is the memorial from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requesting merit for the Second Prince and Duke Shan. Please present it to the study immediately.”

After listening to this, Li Hu stared at the chapter.

Zhao Tong took it with both hands and walked quickly out of Yuqing Palace.

Jia Yucun spoke up: “The prince invites General Li to the West Warm Pavilion to speak.”

Li Hu looked at him and asked, “Did you write this for the prince?”

Jia Yucun smiled and replied, “I dare not. This is written by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself.”

Huh? It’s only been a month since we last met, and this old guy has become bolder and dares to play tricks on me again!

Li Hu looked at him, smiled, and walked into the hall.

Jia Yucun followed him in.

Jia Yucun guessed correctly, Emperor Yongchang was indeed waiting for the prince’s memorial.

The study was surprisingly quiet, with only the ticking of the clock.

Emperor Yongchang could no longer sit still, so he stood up and paced quickly back and forth in the hall. He walked to the clock and looked at it intently.

Dai Quan, who was standing beside the imperial desk, couldn’t help but look at the clock. The Si hour was almost over!

Emperor Yongchang sighed, turned around, and said to Dai Quan: “No more waiting, tell the cabinet to come and see me.”

Suddenly, the eunuch on duty called out from outside: “Here it comes! The Crown Prince’s memorial is here!”

Dai Quan hurried to the door: “Quick! Express delivery!”

Zhao Tong came over holding the memorial, whispered a few words in Dai Quan’s ear, and then handed the memorial to Dai Quan.

Dai Quan nodded, then walked quickly to Emperor Yongchang with the memorial in his hand and presented it with both hands.

Emperor Yongchang took the memorial and quickly unfolded it to read. As he read, his face gradually relaxed and he smiled. He said loudly, “Go, copy the prince’s memorial and pass it on to the cabinet, the six ministries and the nine officials!”

“Yes!” Dai Quan also answered loudly.

The sun has set to the west.

A group of red-robed officials walked out of the Qianqing Palace while talking.

Li Hu, in casual robes, followed closely behind. After stepping out of the Qianqing Palace, Li Hu looked back at the study room. It was probably playing out scenes of loving father and filial son, and brothers being friendly and respectful to each other.

After reading the crown prince’s memorial, Emperor Yongchang was delighted. Not only did he send copies of the crown prince’s memorial to the cabinet and the six ministries and nine officials, he also summoned the crown prince, the third prince, the fourth prince, several grand secretaries of the cabinet, and the chief and deputy officials of the six ministries and nine officials to his study for a talk. Li Hu was a relative of the crown prince who was brought in by the crown prince.

Emperor Yongchang praised the prince highly, wishing that everyone would know that the royal family was a place where fathers were kind and sons were filial, and brothers were friendly and respectful to each other.

It can be seen that Emperor Yongchang was guilty, and Prince Zhong’s curse became a thorn in his heart.

Emperor Yongchang approved the crown prince’s memorial, and the second prince was given the title of prince. Duke Shan Guo Shi Guangzhu was promoted to governor of the Beijing camp, given the title of crown prince’s tutor, and one of his sons was granted the title of a thousand households and allowed to inherit the title. However, the imperial court had to wait until it recovered the Hetao plain before making another decree.

As a bystander, Li Hu saw clearly that the whole family was a group of acting geniuses. Everything like “kind father and filial son” and “friendly brothers and respectful younger brothers” were performed for everyone to see.

However, this is a good thing for Li Hu. The more the emperor wants to show the royal affection to the world, the less he will decide to depose the prince, which allows him to develop his power with peace of mind.

After taking another look at the study, Li Hu turned and walked towards the Meridian Gate, going home!
(End of this chapter)