lcionline Chapter 181 Summer breeze is triumphant, horse hooves slow, early morning harvest of vegetables and
Chapter 181 Summer breeze is triumphant, horse hooves slow, early morning harvest of vegetables and
As expected, this year's plan to escape the summer heat has finally failed.
But Emperor Longyun was very happy.
Because he no longer needs to pretend to be unwell and bedridden in front of those concubines, which is cause for celebration!
Overjoyed, Emperor Longyun didn't sleep a wink and set off for the capital on July 16th, ready to send the old woman to hell.
Out of respect for the Empress Dowager, he even prepared a special carriage for her overnight. It was made of pure wood with ventilation on five sides, offering excellent views and even making it convenient for the Empress Dowager to receive gifts from people along the way.
The summer breeze is gentle, the horse's hooves are slow, and early in the morning, it gathers all the vegetables and eggs.
It fully demonstrates the filial piety of Emperor Longyun.
*
"What was the situation in the capital yesterday?"
Emperor Longyun, who had been traveling all day, still chose to care about his subjects first. As soon as he arrived at the palace, he summoned Lin Shihe, who had returned to the capital a few hours earlier, to the Xuanzheng Hall to inquire about his situation.
"Your Majesty," Lin Shihe said, forcing himself to endure the exhaustion of working for a day and a night, and gave a perfunctory bow. "Last night, the Yizhou garrison attempted to attack the city, but was blocked outside the capital by the combined forces of the Capital Garrison, the Imperial Guards, and the Tingyun Army."
"At Chenshi today, the nearest Tingyun Army garrison split into two groups and rushed to the capital and the imperial palace, encircling all the Yizhou garrison in one fell swoop. They have now been captured and disarmed on the spot and are being guarded by the Tingyun Army."
"Another message sent by carrier pigeon an hour ago also stated that all the Yizhou garrison troops left along the route between Yizhou and the capital have been captured."
"What's the damage?"
"The palace guards suffered 72 casualties, palace maids and eunuchs suffered 23 casualties, the city garrison suffered 37 casualties, and the city's residents suffered no injuries. The Yizhou garrison suffered approximately 2,000 casualties."
Emperor Longyun nodded, somewhat satisfied with the outcome. The Prince of Ping's rebellion was unavoidable; the fact that casualties were kept so low was the result of many people's painstaking efforts.
"The families of those wounded or killed in the imperial palace and the capital should receive three times the normal amount of compensation, and their names should be recorded and followed up according to the law. The garrison of Yizhou... although they obeyed orders, they were ultimately guilty of treason, so their compensation should be paid at 30%. The Ministry of War should handle this in the next few days."
"Yes." Lin Shihe frowned, but still agreed. However, he did not intend to ask the Ministry of War to do it. "I will handle it myself."
The matter was actually almost settled. He originally planned to leave the follow-up handling to Emperor Longyun and his son, the Crown Prince, and then take his wife and son to the estate for a few days to relax and have some fun.
But Lin Shihe hadn't expected Emperor Longyun to bring up the issue of compensation so quickly. Changping had been relatively stable in recent years, with few soldiers dying in battle, so compensation had always been high. Even though the number of casualties this time wasn't large, the total amount was still coveted, so Lin Shihe was naturally uneasy.
"As you wish." Emperor Longyun agreed without hesitation. "I originally planned to give you a few days off, but it's better if you handle this matter personally, so that the money doesn't fall into the hands of those families."
Lin Shihe smiled slightly and said without any politeness, "The leave will still be granted. I only agree to handle this one matter; Your Majesty should ask His Highness the Crown Prince to handle the rest."
"Prince?"
Emperor Longyun scoffed.
“Unreliable! My dear minister, you don’t know, our Crown Prince said he can’t stay up late, and as soon as things were settled last night, he dragged his Crown Princess to sleep. When I set off to return to the capital this morning, the two of them were still not up.”
He wondered why he hadn't seen his troublesome younger brother today, and it turned out he had already been indulging in a sweet romance as soon as he got back.
"When will the two of them return to the capital? Convicting Prince Ping is one thing, but dealing with the Empress Dowager will likely lead to another court battle. Removing the Empress Dowager from the family register and issuing a proclamation to the world will take time. If we want to resolve this completely before the Mid-Autumn Festival, we should have a decision in the next few days."
Emperor Longyun knew, of course, that time was of the essence! He was in a great hurry, for he was King Jiji! But now, the crown prince wasn't worried, but the emperor was!
Although he and Lu Yuxi were blocked at the back by a group of court officials last night, they could still see what was happening in front of them amidst the crowd. Don't think he didn't notice; when Lin Shiming came in, his good son was staring at him intently, to put it bluntly, his mouth was practically watering!
After Prince Ping and the Empress Dowager were suppressed, that kid didn't even bother to be reserved. He dragged them away without saying a word. Otherwise, why would an emperor like him stay up all night cleaning up the mess?
He's forgotten his father now that he has a wife!
"Ignore them." Emperor Longyun was furious just thinking about it. "I want to see when these two unfilial sons will remember to share their father's burdens if no one reminds them."
Even if it's difficult, you definitely won't see a trace of them for at least ten days or half a month.
Lin Shihe inwardly complained, but outwardly remained calm, still respectfully replying, "The two princes are both filial and might return tomorrow. Your Majesty need not worry. You can ask them for help once they return."
Unaware of the dangers of the world, Emperor Longyun was comforted by Lin Shihe, who knew his younger brother's temperament well, and nodded in agreement without further thought.
"That's natural."
Lin Shihe remained calm and continued to set the trap, saying, "Then I will go and get busy. I will take a few days to rest after I'm done."
Completely unaware that something was amiss, Emperor Longyun casually waved his hand, "Go ahead, but be careful when you leave the city."
"My minister retire."
*
This retreat lasted for a full ten days.
On the morning of July 27th, Lin Shihe, who was enjoying a leisurely vacation at his estate in the suburbs of Beijing, received a secret order from the palace.
The one who came to deliver the imperial decree was none other than Li An, the chief eunuch of Emperor Longyun. He had traveled a long way and was accompanied only by two guards. His haggard and frightened appearance made Lin Shihe immediately guess what had happened.
"His Majesty's secret order."
Inside the main hall, Lin Shihe bowed respectfully, accepted the letter with both hands, and opened it slowly and deliberately.
Inside was Emperor Longyun's calligraphy, which was bold and elegant.
"Take a squad of men, go to the palace, and bring them back to me bound! Go immediately!"
In just a few lines, the handwriting is bold yet sloppy, the brushstrokes are casual yet powerful, revealing the Emperor Longyun's devastated state of mind.
Lin Shihe couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Oh dear. Your Highness, please stop laughing!" Li An said with a bitter face. "You should bring the two princes back as soon as possible. You don't know, His Majesty has been handling state affairs by himself these past few days, busy from morning till night, and he has only been able to squeeze in a few bites of food during meals. This morning, before I left the palace, I was furious."
Lin Shihe's smile deepened.
"Your Majesty has actually endured until today?"
“That’s right!” Li An leaned closer to Lin Shihe and whispered, “His Majesty has been holding back his anger for ten whole days, and today he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.”
Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming truly opened Emperor Longyun's eyes this time.
Two days ago, he patiently waited for the two to return, feeling that their separation was almost like a honeymoon, which was understandable. On the fourth day, he felt that he was, after all, a father, and should have a bit of a loving father's heart, so he might as well be busy for a few more days. On the sixth day, piles of memorials were almost burying Emperor Longyun, and his ministers were starting to urge him on how to deal with the rebellion of Prince Ping and the Empress Dowager. Emperor Longyun's fatherly love was almost exhausted, and his anger was starting to rise.
On the eighth day, "I refuse to believe it! I want to see just how many days they can escape!"
Finally, on the tenth day, Emperor Longyun's patience collapsed.
"Go and tie those two unfilial sons up and bring them back to me!!!"