Chapter 112: Revenge and gratitude.

According to custom, the birthday that is ten years old should be celebrated one year in advance, which is called “doing nine heads”. This is to avoid the ominous influence of “ten” and at the same time welcome the long-lasting auspiciousness of “nine”.

June 18th of the fourth year of Yongchang is approaching. This day is the 69th birthday of the Emperor, and according to custom, it will be celebrated with great fanfare.

As early as March, the emperor issued an edict to celebrate the birthday of the retired emperor on this day and asked all provinces to present birthday gifts.

In early June, big red lanterns and red ribbons were hung on the main streets of the capital.

The lanterns were projected with words like “Congratulations on the Emperor’s birthday” and “Celebrations throughout the world”.

The weather in June changes suddenly. Last night, there was a strong wind and heavy rain.

The big red ribbons were fine, but the lanterns were not, and a lot of them were damaged.

On Chaoyangmen Street, a row of Shuntian Prefecture officials stood on chairs and used long poles to hang up big red lanterns.

In the distance, some idlers gathered together to watch and discuss quietly.

Because of the incident at the Vanguard Camp, the people of the capital were full of disdain and contempt for the emperor. There was a war going on in the north, so who would be in the mood to celebrate the emperor’s birthday? But after all, he was the emperor, the father of the day.

Life must go on and days must go on.

Therefore, wars must be fought and the birthday celebration must also be celebrated.

Of course, the national treasury was empty, and all the expenses of the Wanshou Ceremony were allocated by the emperor from the inner treasury, successfully demonstrating his filial piety to his subjects all over the world.

In addition, in order to practice filial piety and win the hearts of the people, the emperor also ordered a banquet to invite elderly people of the same age as the emperor from the capital and several neighboring provinces to come to the capital to celebrate the emperor’s birthday, regardless of whether they were officials or civilians.

As they were talking, the sound of horse hooves and creaking wheels were heard from the Chaoyang Gate. A group of soldiers came escorting a huge cart pulled by four horses. The things on the cart were covered with canvas, so it was impossible to see clearly what was inside.

Which province has presented this birthday gift to the capital?

The crowd watching from afar immediately became excited.

Someone recognized Wang Ren at a glance: “It’s Wang Ren! The birthday gift from Jiangsu has arrived in Beijing!”

An old Beijinger said: “Such a big car must be made of Taihu stone.”

An idle man exclaimed: “This is too big!”

The person riding on the front horse was Wang Ren, son of Wang Ziteng. Guarding him on both sides were soldiers sent by the Jiangsu Governor’s Office. In the middle was a birthday gift presented by Jiangsu Province, a Taihu stone that was naturally carved into the shape of the Chinese character “Shou”.

Wang Renmi carefully looked at the people on both sides. Seeing their inexperienced looks, he felt very happy. He thought that this time he could definitely give honor to the emperor. If the emperor was pleased, his favor would return.

When the convoy went far away, an idle man spoke up: “Look at how arrogant he is. He is just a Taihu stone. Do you really think that we are country bumpkins who have never seen the world?!”

“That’s right!” an idle man praised loudly.

“Taihu stones are rare, but this is Beijing”

“That’s right. Not to mention the royal family, there are many in the homes of princes and ministers.”

An idle man started to curse: “Damn it! This is a birthday gift from Jiangsu Province, not from his Wang family. Besides, giving birthday gifts is about filial piety. It’s not that whoever gives the biggest birthday gift is filial.”

Another idler said: “Filial piety? It’s not Wang Ziteng’s turn to show filial piety! Only the princes and grandchildren of the emperor are qualified to do so.”

There was a burst of laughter from the crowd.

Another idle man said: “In terms of filial piety, it has to be the Fourth Prince.” He gave a thumbs up.

Everyone nodded.

An old Beijinger spoke up: “The Third Prince is not bad either. It is said that the Third Prince wrote a copy of the Book of Filial Piety with his own blood.”

When these words were spoken, everyone was moved and cheered.

Old Beijing then said, “Our prince and the two princes are all good, unlike that one, bah!” Then he looked up and spat on the ground. There was another round of laughter.

The idler started to curse again: “Damn it! What do you mean by a guilty conscience? Isn’t it just making up for one’s crime and making up for one’s crime? I heard that building a city is a lucrative job. What the hell is this!”

The old Beijing man smiled and said, “You don’t know yet, do you? Yesterday I heard from my relative who works in the Ministry of Works that General Li drove back the head of the Ministry of Works and gave him thirty military sticks. As for the one who wanted to make amends for his crime,” he said while shaking his head.

“As expected of a Beijing man, tough!”

Everyone cheered.

A bailiff came over and shouted, “You are tired of living! Who told you to talk nonsense here?! If you keep talking nonsense, I will take you all to jail!”

Those people disappeared in an instant.

At this moment, another team of chariots and horses came from Chaoyang Gate.

The yamen runner took a deep breath when he saw this and said to himself, “The Wu family, General Yuehai’s Wu family has also come to the capital.”

As the only way for southern and southwestern provinces to enter Beijing, Guang’anmen was naturally congested today, so the section from Wanping to Guang’anmen was crowded with people and vehicles.

In such a peaceful and prosperous scene, a caravan of carriages and horses escorting a prisoner van appeared on the official road, which ruined the view. Along the way, it attracted many surprised glances at the prisoner van in the middle.

The one riding on the front horse was the dusty general of Yulin, and guarding him on both sides were the Yulin cavalry.

The majestic and winding city walls are now in sight.

The general of Yulin took the water bag and took a sip. He traveled day and night and finally arrived in the capital in half a month.

He begged for this job after kneeling outside Li Hu’s tent for an hour. He did it not for credit, but to seek justice for the living and the dead.

If the king wants his subjects to die, they have to die.

He had to listen to the emperor’s words. He could take the blame for the second prince, but the blood of the people of Yulin could not be shed in vain. The second prince must pay the price.

If it weren’t for Li Hu’s personal soldiers watching over him twelve hours a day, the second prince would have died long ago.

In addition to seeking justice, he also wants to repay Li Hu for saving his life.

He saw the situation that day clearly. How could a small official from the Ministry of Works be so arrogant? It must be because of the emperor’s attitude.

Li Hu had been suppressing the second prince and not allowing him to make amends for his crime. This made the emperor dissatisfied and he was trying to warn Li Hu.

The bundle tied behind him contained not only the victory report, but also a map of the Hetao Plain and a letter written in blood.

The map of the Hetao Plain was the birthday gift that Li Hu prepared for the crown prince. As for the blood letter, it was the accusation made by the military and civilians of Yulin against the second prince.

Since the emperor wants to protect the second prince out of consideration for the relationship between father and son, then they should seek justice themselves!
The capital is bustling now. In addition to officials from various provinces who present birthday gifts, there are also officials and civilians who participate in the longevity ceremony. If the emperor has any shame, he will have to deal with the second prince.

In addition, the bigger the commotion, the more the emperor will know how much pressure Li Hu is under, and the more his dissatisfaction and suspicion will be dispelled.

As for their fate, they never thought of leaving the imperial city alive.

The general of Yulin took a deep breath, then pulled out a mourning belt from his sleeve and tied it around his waist.

The Yulin cavalrymen took out mourning clothes from their saddles and put them on, as their family members had all died in that battle.

“Great victory in Hetao!” the general of Yulin roared.

The Yulin cavalry shouted in unison: “Great victory in Hetao!”

The sound shakes the heaven and earth!

The general of Yulin pulled the reins, and the hooves of the entire cavalry became faster, and the wheels of the prisoner cart also rolled faster.
(End of this chapter)