novelAbuy Chapter 112 Prince Yong's Newlywed Rebellion in Hedong
Chapter 112 Prince Yong's Newlywed Rebellion in Hedong
The 13th day of the fourth month of the third year of the Qingtai era, the day of Xinwei.
Zhang Zhaoyuan, a drafter in the Imperial Secretariat and a compiler in the Imperial Academy, was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites for his work in compiling the Veritable Records of Emperor Mingzong.
In his youth, he served as a servant to the late emperor. Li Jinquan, the former military governor of Cangzhou, was then appointed as the Right General of the Imperial Guard.
That month, a bear entered the capital and attacked people.
Beneath the seemingly calm surface, undercurrents are surging, about to erupt.
The fourth day of the fifth lunar month, Gengyin day.
Tomorrow is the fifth day of the morning court session.
Li Congke, though lacking in intelligence, made up for it with diligence. On days when he did not attend court, he would often consult on foreign affairs. He would often order Li Zhuanmei, Li Song, Lü Qi, Xue Wenyu, Zhao Yanyi, and others to stand guard in the Zhongxing Hall, where they would often talk until late at night without tiring.
That night, Li Song, the Vice Minister of Revenue and Academician of the Duanming Hall, asked for leave due to some business, while Xue Wenyu, the Academician of the Privy Council, stayed alone in the palace.
When Li Congke inquired about the situation in Hedong, Xue Wenyu replied with a sigh, "There is a proverb that says, 'Building a house in the middle of the road will not be completed in three years.' This matter is of great importance and depends entirely on Your Majesty's will. As your ministers are all concerned with their own interests, how can they speak freely?"
"You may speak."
Xue Wenyu bowed again, then rose and said, "In my opinion, Shi Jingtang will rebel whether he moves or not; it's only a matter of time. We might as well make a move now!"
"Zhao Yanyi, from the Imperial Observatory, came from a family of astrologers. He was proficient in the three arts of Dunjia, Taiyi, and Liuren, and was especially skilled in the physiognomy techniques of Yuan and Xu."
Li Congke readily praised, "He said that the country needs wise ministers, ingenious strategies, and the ability to stabilize the realm this year. Does Minister Xue truly deserve such a position?"
"Hearing your words has quelled my anger; I am determined to proceed, regardless of success or failure!"
He then issued an oral edict, which was given to the Hanlin Academy to draft at midnight.
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Xinmao day.
At the morning court session, the imperial envoy read out the imperial edict.
Shi Jingtang, who was appointed as the military governor of Hedong, concurrently the commander-in-chief of the cavalry and infantry of Datong, Zhangguo, Zhenwu, and Weise, and the Grand Tutor, concurrently the Chancellor and the Imperial Son-in-Law, was appointed as the military governor of Tianping Army in Yunzhou and was further enfeoffed as the Duke of Zhao.
Song Shenqian, the commander of the Imperial Guards Cavalry and Infantry and the military governor of Heyang, was appointed as the military governor of Hedong.
Previously, Gao Xingzhou, the military governor of Zhangwu Army, was the commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry and Infantry.
Upon hearing Shi Jingtang's name called, the two groups, one from the east and one from the west, looked at each other and paled.
Everyone knew that once the edict was issued, Shi Jingtang faced only two choices: obey the order and move to another post, or refuse to comply. The latter would mean treason, and the court would certainly send troops to suppress him.
Today's decree is merely a pebble thrown into the water; no one knows whether it will create ripples or towering waves.
The eighth day of the fifth lunar month, Jiawu year.
Once the imperial court decides to launch an operation, it will inevitably be a series of interconnected steps.
An imperial edict appointed Zhang Jingda, the former military governor of Jinzhou and deputy commander of the Datong Zhangguo Zhenwu Weisai Army, as the commander of the cavalry and infantry of the northwest front, and ordered Shi Jingtang to go to Yunzhou to take up his fief.
General Gao Hanjun of the Left Jinwu Guard succeeded Zhang Jingda and was assigned to guard Jinzhou.
The ninth day of the fifth lunar month, the day of Yiwei.
Zhang Yanqi, the military governor of Zhongzheng Army and commander of the Imperial Guard Infantry, was appointed military governor of Heyang and commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry.
Fu Yanrao, the commander of Zhangshengdu and the prefect of Raozhou, was appointed as the military governor of Zhongzheng Army and concurrently served as the commander of the Imperial Guard Infantry.
The tenth day of the fifth lunar month, the year of Bing Shen.
Prince Yong, Li Chongmei, married the daughter of Fan Yanguang, the Privy Councilor and Military Governor of Xuanwu Army in Bianzhou.
Prince Yong is the emperor's only heir at present, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will surely inherit the throne.
Many people in the capital wanted to witness this grand wedding and see what the future crown prince and crown princess, or rather the emperor and empress, would look like. Gao Huaide and his two siblings also squeezed into the crowd to watch the spectacle.
The handsome fourteen-year-old boy left the palace, rode in a carriage, and arrived at Fan Yanguang's residence with gongs and drums clearing the way.
When the ceremonial procession arrived at the gate of the Fan residence, the attendant, who was already standing on the east side of the gate, led out in court attire to request permission. The attendant then knelt before the carriage to announce the arrival of the procession.
Prince Yong alighted from his carriage and announced loudly, "Chongmei has been ordered to personally welcome you."
The ceremony was conducted by the master of ceremonies. The master of ceremonies entered to announce the arrival of the bride and groom, who then led them out of the house to greet them on the west side.
According to the current dynasty's system, when a prince takes a concubine, the marriage is officiated by a prince of the first rank. Li Congke appointed Li Congwen, the Prince of Yan, to preside over the marriage. He was the late emperor's nephew, later adopted as his own son, and was one year older than Li Congke, making him a perfect match for the status of an elder of the clan.
Prince Yong ascended the palanquin, exchanged greetings with Li Congwen, and entered the palace gate. The rest of the ceremony could not be seen.
Gao Huailiang whispered to his brother about it.
"Brother, I noticed that Prince Yong's expression is blank, and he doesn't seem very happy. The Fan family girl must not be very pretty."
"Hey, what do you know? The groom is just nervous; everyone's like that on their first wedding."
"Brother, you talk as if you've been married several times."
"Hmm, the Prince of Yan's words are not very pleasant; they sound like the King of Hell officiating at a wedding."
Gao Huaixuan couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted the two of them: "You two, on their big day, can't you say something auspicious?"
After waiting for a while, Prince Yong and his bride rode out of the palace gate in a palanquin. A phoenix sedan chair was waiting there. Prince Yong lifted the curtain for his bride, and then they boarded the palanquin and returned to the imperial city, with attendants following the same etiquette as before.
After watching the wedding ceremony, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Gao Huaide was very dissatisfied and complained, "What is this? The bride covered her face with a round fan from beginning to end and refused to show her face. She must be an ugly monster."
Gao Huaixuan couldn't help but tease him: "This round fan, even after the couple has exchanged vows and the veil has been lifted, can't be simply removed. The groom must demonstrate his talent before the fan can be taken away. You don't have much knowledge, what will you do then?"
Gao Huaide scoffed: "Who says talent is limited to reciting poetry? With my silver spear, do you think the bride won't obediently lower her fan?"
Lu Qian and Fu An exchanged a glance upon hearing this, feeling that the young master's words were quite profound.
Remembering that Gao Huaide went to see a courtesan before leaving Yanzhou, it seems the young master's heart has already been awakened by love, but unfortunately, he came out shortly after. How can we think of a way to make the young master understand the ins and outs of this?
"Brother, you mustn't be all show and no substance."
The two younger brothers were spouting nonsense, so Gao Huaixuan reprimanded them again: "There's no need for swords and spears on the wedding night. If there is genuine affection, the woman will naturally fall in love with you."
"Haha, so what does your ideal future brother-in-law look like, Sister Xuan?"
When the topic turned to her own family, Gao Huaixuan gave her younger brother a light tap on the head.
……
Gao Xingzhou was not as relaxed as his children. He had just taken command of the Imperial Guard and after several days in office, the more he sorted out the situation, the more alarmed he became.
The Zhangsheng Army, originally named the Pengsheng Cavalry, was entirely composed of cavalry, with fifty commanders on each of the left and right wings, each headed by a commander-in-chief. Each cavalry commander had a full strength of four hundred men, so even if we calculate it as 60%, the total number of cavalry would still be twelve thousand. (Note 1)
These are tens of thousands of elite soldiers skilled in horsemanship and well-equipped!
Three years ago, the late emperor asked Fan Yanguang, the Grand Councilor, how many horses he had in command, both inside and outside the capital. Fan replied, "Thirty-five thousand cavalry."
The Imperial Guard Cavalry exceeded one-third of the total cavalry, demonstrating their formidable strength and making them a decisive force capable of determining the outcome of a battle.
However, within this powerful army, Shi Jingtang's influence was deeply entrenched and pervasive. On the surface, Shi Jingtang's brothers, Shi Jingwei and Shi Jingyin, were commanders of the Zhangsheng Army, and his other former subordinates were countless.
The main camp of Zhangsheng Army and its families were placed in Huaizhou, while a part of the Right Army was stationed in Yedu, controlling the areas east and north of the Yellow River.
Since the decision had been made to deal with Shi Jingtang, it was natural not to leave military power in the hands of his younger brother and former subordinates.
Gao Xingzhou summoned Zhang Yanqi and Zhang Yanzhe, the Left Wing Commander and Governor of Caozhou, and ordered them to quickly investigate the backgrounds of the army's commanders and deputy commanders-in-chief. (Note 2)
Although Zhang Yanqi and Zhang Yanzhe have similar names, they are not related. Although they both claimed to accept the order, Gao Xingzhou observed their expressions. Zhang Yanqi seemed unconvinced, probably because he had been parachuted into the position of superior and was resentful. Zhang Yanzhe, on the other hand, had an arrogant expression, which seemed to be his nature.
"If we go to war this time, the Zhangsheng Army will mobilize at least 10,000 cavalry. This is no small battle. You must do your best."
Gao Xingzhou could only emphasize the gravity of the matter and remind the two to take it seriously, but he couldn't guarantee how it would be carried out. The incident happened so suddenly that he didn't have enough time to install his cronies and win over the people; it was a helpless situation.
Unfortunately, Fu Yanrao needed to command the Imperial Guards infantry, and Fu Yanqing was transferred to Yizhou to lead the cavalry of the northern expeditionary force. Otherwise, with their assistance and cooperation, things would have progressed much more smoothly.
As the two Zhangs stepped down, Gao Xingzhou noticed that Zhang Yanzhe's eyes were different from ordinary people's; his pupils emitted a yellow light, like a man-eating beast.
May 12th, the day of Wuxu.
Two days after the Prince of Yong's wedding, the rituals of drinking from the same cup, paying homage at court, and visiting his family were completed.
On that day, Huangfu Li, the military governor of Zhaoyi Army in Luzhou, reported that Shi Jingtang, the military governor of Hedong, had rebelled.