strictlysupreme Chapter 951: Bamboo and Silk Still Exist
Chapter 951: Bamboo and Silk Still Exist
Chapter 951: Bamboo and Silk Still Exist
Wang Shouren was a military expert, and not only Zhu Houzhao, but everyone present knew this.
He was always successful in suppressing bandits in Fujian and Jiangxi. After the successful suppression of bandits in Fujian, many bandits in southern Jiangxi were frightened and fled when they heard that he was in charge.
Later, he became the governor of Hetao, and he managed the three towns of Hetao in an orderly manner. The troops of Shuofang Town also became the elite cavalry under the Yin Mountains. Although the court did not launch a large-scale northern expedition during his tenure, he was a good commander of the troops, and he rarely suffered defeat in his repeated border patrols. The farthest he fought was one that forced the Oirat to flee westward in panic.
If the expedition to Annan is to be carried out this time, Wang Shouren is indeed a good choice. Firstly, he is indeed more experienced than other generals. Secondly, he does not belong to the traditional nobles such as Duke Yingguo and Duke Chengguo. The civil officials may not be willing to see these people become powerful. But although Wang Shouren was granted the title of Earl of Xinjian, most people see him as a civil official.
Therefore, the cabinet and the six ministries and nine officials will definitely favor him.
Therefore, whether from a military perspective or a political perspective, Wang Shouren is the best choice.
As a wise ruler, he should not have considered Wang Shouren's personal life and death. This was false leniency. Aren't the lives of those soldiers precious?
But Zhu Houzhao is, after all, a human being.
There is no final result in today's court meeting.
The emperor also kept Wang Shouren alone and took him to another place. On the way, he questioned him: "I discussed the Annan rebellion with you and Xu Jie on the way back to Nanjing. If you wanted to recommend yourself, why didn't you do it then, but today, in front of so many people?"
Wang Shouren lowered his head, "Because I know that the emperor has never considered letting me take command. The only possibility is to recommend myself in the palace."
He used this kind of pressure to make the emperor put the overall situation first in front of everyone.
Zhu Houzhao sneered, "Do you think I am forced? I will not accept your self-recommendation this time! You will stay in Nanjing!"
"Your Majesty!" Wang Shouren suddenly raised his head, but he did not want to speak in an aggressive tone, and just said silently: "I have always been confused about one thing."
"What don't you understand?"
"Your Majesty always says that I am in poor health, as if I were a candle in the wind or a lamp in the rain, and I don't have many days left to live."
Zhu Houzhao was stunned, but fortunately he reacted quickly, "Don't you know how many times you've been sick in the past few years?"
"I know. But does Your Majesty think that I am someone who values life and death above all else? I also understand that Your Majesty is considerate of me, and this is the style of a benevolent monarch. But wasting my youth is not what I want.
Confucius said: "If you seek benevolence and you get it, why complain? My lifelong ambition is to help Your Majesty and bring about unprecedented peace. Fortunately, Your Majesty is wise and brave, and you are in charge of all affairs. Your literary and military achievements are brilliant. This is the 'benevolence' I seek, and I hope Your Majesty will fulfill it!"
"You!" Zhu Houzhao pointed at him, "You have a sharp tongue. But I still don't agree. To be frank, if you die halfway through the battle, the impact of changing the commander at the last minute will be even greater. I don't want to take such a risk."
"I know my own body. This battle will take at most a year. For a year, I will hold on with all my strength and will never force Your Majesty to change commanders!"
"You can't guarantee that."
Wang Shouren insisted: "I can guarantee it."
"On what grounds?"
"This is the last thing I will do in my life. I will not be able to rest in peace until I finish it for Your Majesty."
……
……
"Your Majesty, the people have arrived."
"Oh, let her in."
Jiang Lianfeng was completely confused. After she arrived in Nanjing, she was arranged to live in a house outside. As for Zhu Houzhao, he had not been seen for several days.
In fact, there was something weird everywhere in this process, but unfortunately she didn't have much knowledge. Although she had doubts, she couldn't think of the answers. After all, no one would have thought that she would meet the emperor.
Until she was carried in on the sedan chair today, she hadn't thought in this direction.
She just thought it was a big family.
Soon, the old man who asked her to wait here came out, smiled at her, and said, "It's inside, please go in."
The girl swallowed and said nervously, "Okay."
The buildings here were so grand that she felt a little restrained.
When she walked inside, she found that the furnishings were not simple. There were porcelain palace lanterns and wall lamps. In the center of the main hall stood a throne with carved dragons and painted in gold. Behind the throne hung a huge plaque inscribed by the emperor. In front of the throne were desks, four treasures of the study, and exquisite porcelain carved with landscape paintings.
As for that person, he was not sitting on the throne, but standing on the side of the desk, flipping through something.
Turn around after hearing the noise.
Jiang Lianfeng just looked at this man. He was not dressed in a scholar's hat, but in a dark-colored gown embroidered with a dragon pattern.
She had some idea of who it was, but she wasn't sure.
"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me?" Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.
"You are..." The girl covered her mouth and asked again: "Where is this place? Who are you?"
"Ah, it's a bit rude of you to ask me this question here."
"I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it." She waved her hands repeatedly, afraid that the big shot would take it seriously.
"Okay, sit down. Sit down and I'll tell you everything. There's a chair next to it."
Zhu Houzhao was feeling a bit depressed, and couldn't think of any other way to amuse himself, so he asked this person to come. This dramatic experience made him feel like he was there, and it was fun, so he was able to relax a little.
However, it would not be fun to ask an unmarried woman to stay with him in such an unclear way without any explanation, especially in this day and age.
The girl also obediently sat down carefully.
"You don't have to feel restrained. This is my place. Everyone who comes in here has to listen to me, and I have no intention of harming you, so you are very safe."
Jiang Lianfeng suddenly thought: "What about my father?"
“He’s safer.”
"Can I see him?"
"Of course. Any time."
"Who are you and why do you own such a big yard?"
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "This is not a courtyard, this is the imperial palace."
Jiang Lianfeng stood up in shock, "The Imperial Palace?! Are you the Emperor's son?!"
"Close. But wrong."
The answer is actually very obvious.
The girl wasn't that stupid. She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on and fell to her knees, "Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help laughing, "You didn't do anything wrong, why are you begging for mercy? Get up, get up."
He was funny.
The little girl felt bitter and didn't even dare to raise her head. "I, I lost my temper with the emperor and glared at him. So I have to beg for mercy from the emperor. That's what they sing in the opera."
Drama? Interesting.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he stepped forward and held her shoulders, "Get up. Ignorance is not a crime, and it was me who concealed my identity, which was dishonest. I should apologize to you."
Jiang Lianfeng shook his head, "No, no, no, you are the emperor, if you don't apologize, I should apologize."
Just like that, she gradually calmed down after a while. Even so, she still felt a little unreal. "You, why don't you speak?"
Zhu Houzhao decided not to delay any longer and nodded, "There is something I want to tell you."
"it is good."
"Your father knows my identity."
"My father actually knew?"
Zhu Houzhao was helpless. "Silly girl, I am a person of unknown origin who wants to take away his unmarried daughter. He doesn't know our purpose. Will he agree to let you go with us? Or do you really think we are forcibly robbing a woman?"
When she said these four words, her face turned red.
"But my father didn't tell me a word."
"I told him not to tell anyone. So..." Zhu Houzhao stepped forward and said, "Since your father agreed, he naturally has no objection to you following me. But I am not as overbearing as the outside world says. If you are willing to follow me, I will take you as my concubine. If you are not willing, I will not force you. You can go back to Yixing with your father."
"Really?"
Zhu Houzhao felt disappointed. He thought that probably wouldn't happen, but he couldn't turn back now. "Really. You can leave anytime you want. Oh, I promised you to go to Beijing to see the city that never sleeps, so you can go to Beijing too. You don't have to worry about the cost."
Speaking of the bet, the girl recalled the scene of boating on the river that morning.
"So are you going to stay or go back?"
Jiang Lianfeng turned her eyes away and blushed, "It's not easy for a girl to talk about this kind of thing herself."
Zhu Houzhao understood what his parents meant, but he couldn't explain it himself, so he just listened to his parents.
This way he wouldn't be considered using force, right?
So he got bolder and openly pulled the bare hand that had been kneading her, causing the girl to shudder all over, "Yes, someone is there."
“They were afraid to look.”
Zhu Houzhao pulled her like this, asked her to move a few steps, and then lie down on the cushion, and then he lay down beside her.
The girl was so nervous, but she didn't take the next step for a long time. She couldn't help but turn her head, but saw the person next to her with his eyes closed, "You, fell asleep?"
"No. Think about what just happened. I have things to think about. Let's lie down for a while."
"it is good."
Zhu Houzhao did have some affection for this girl. He thought she was gentle, beautiful, shy and charming, so he felt more at peace now.
Physical impulse is another matter. He was too easily impulsive so he changed his taste and began to like this kind of mood. Those who are thirsty will die of drought, and those who are flooded will die of flooding. That's how it is.
In fact, he was still thinking about his conversation with Wang Shouren.
Perhaps he should let Wang Shouren go. On the one hand, he wanted to go, and on the other hand, this might make his life bloom more brilliantly.
According to history, he should have died the year after next, which was the 24th year of Zhengde.
It's already the end of the year, in other words, there's only a little over a year left. Even if I take better care of my health in this life, it will only take three to five years at most.
This is actually similar to a debate in later generations: for a person with a terminal illness, should he stay in the hospital with a tube inserted every day, or use the little time he has left to do what he wants to do?
There is no correct answer, the real answer lies in everyone's own hands.
For Wang Shouren, he would rather make this contribution for the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Houzhao later thought that it would be better to just treat him as a character in a historical story. Compared to enduring a dull life and eventually succumbing to the disease in the last few years of his life, readers will definitely like the grand ending.
Just like a star at the end of its life, it releases energy through explosion and emits a brighter light.
Then he suddenly sat up and wrote a sentence: My body may die but my name lives on, and it will remain on bamboo and silk.
"Someone is coming."
"The servant is here."
Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a while, and finally made the final decision, "Send this calligraphy to the governor's office and give it to Wang Shouren."
"The slaves obey the order."
This is a sentence from "Strategies of the Warring States".
This means that even though a person has passed away, if he can leave a good name in history, the value of his life will be immortal like the words recorded in history books.
This is called "the bamboo and silk remain intact".
(End of this chapter)