Two days later, Zhang Yanling and his party arrived in the capital.
Outside the Yongding Gate in the south of Beijing, colorful flags were fluttering, gongs and drums were beating loudly, and there was a sea of people. The formation to welcome Zhang Yanling's triumphant return was grand and enthusiastic. The specifications were also of the highest standard. Because the Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao personally came out of the city to greet him, this was definitely top-notch treatment.
Although the success of a counter-rebellion did not require Zhu Houzhao to greet him in person, it would seem to be making a fuss. Officials in the inner and outer courts also informed Zhu Houzhao, telling him that he did not need to come to greet him in person. However, Zhu Houzhao insisted on going out of the city to greet him in person.
The people who tried to dissuade him had no idea what Zhu Houzhao was feeling.
Only half a year after Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, the vassal king rebelled. This was a rather embarrassing and annoying thing for Zhu Houzhao. The young emperor Zhu Houzhao had a high self-esteem in his bones, and he regarded himself as the same as the Ming Dynasty.
My grandfather was also full of martial virtues, wise and mighty. However, he had just ascended the throne when a feudal prince rebelled. This was like a slap in the face and made him quite embarrassed.
The young emperor had a strong sense of self-esteem. Even if he did not hear his ministers’ comments about this matter, he believed from the bottom of his heart that others must privately think that he was incompetent. Otherwise, why would nothing happen to the late emperor during his seventeen-year reign?
The vassal king caused rebellion. As soon as he ascended the throne, someone rebelled.
Therefore, Zhang Yanling was able to quell the rebellion in a very short time. Zhu Houzhao was naturally very happy. This relieved himself and eliminated his worries. So he wanted to come to greet Zhang Yanling in person and give Zhang Yanling plenty of pomp and face.
.
The emperor personally welcomed him, and naturally all the main officials from the imperial court arrived. Main officials from the inner and outer courts and nobles came to the scene one after another.
Up and down, hundreds of officials, big and small, came with the Holy Emperor. Regardless of whether they wanted to or not, no matter how unhappy they were, they all had to come to greet Jianchang Hou.
Before Zhang Yanling led the army to suppress the rebellion, many people were not optimistic about it. Many people were secretly prepared to see Zhang Yanling's jokes. But at this moment, they had to come and greet him with a smile. No matter what their mood was, they had to
Let’s admit the fact that this Mr. Zhang has two skills.
After Cao Xiong's defeat, there were a lot of noises in the court. Some officials were actually quite worried.
Some people even pessimistically believed that the rebellion would be difficult to quell for a while. When discussing counter-rebellion actions, many people proposed the idea of holding on to the area from Lingzhou to Qingtongxia on the south bank of the Yellow River to prevent the rebels from going south to attack the inland areas.
Some people even think that if the rebels can be stopped north of the Yellow River, that will be the best result. At worst, letting King Anhua separatist power north of the Yellow River will just lose a piece of territory.
What’s even more outrageous is that some people plausibly said that even if the land of Ningxia was divided by King Anhua, it would not be a bad thing. Anyway, the land still belongs to the Ming Dynasty, because no matter what, King Anhua is also the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. And Anhua
The king's separatist rule here instead became a buffer zone. The pressure of the Tatars' attack on Ningxia was borne by King Anhua. The court did not need to worry about this matter.
These strange talks have been quite popular for a period of time. Basically, they are actually due to the fear of the rebels after Cao Xiong's defeat.
But Zhang Yanling slapped them in the face with practical actions. He led three thousand cavalry to attack Ningxia City and proved the final word that the rebels were vulnerable. Let these noises and fog be blown away by the wind.
Apart from Zhu Houzhao, the happiest person is the Xungui Group. Now that Xungui is in decline, Zhang Yanling's success in counterinsurgency has undoubtedly greatly consolidated the status of the Xungui Group. At the critical moment, the Xungui Group is still effective and can
Share the worries of the imperial court.
Xu Guangzuo and his son are the happiest. Zhang Yanling's glory is their glory. His son-in-law has given them surprises time and time again. Xu Guangzuo not only boasts about his unique vision, but marrying his daughter to Zhang Yanling is probably what he has done in his life.
The most correct decision.
It was almost noon, and the weather was already a bit hot. The emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty were all sweating profusely. Everyone was waiting anxiously. Not long ago, it was reported that Zhang Yanling and others were several miles away, but they have not arrived yet. Everyone
They were already a little anxious.
"This Zhang Yanling has kept the emperor waiting for so long. Why hasn't he arrived yet? Your Majesty, why don't you go sit in the shade for a while and drink some tea. The weather is too hot. It's too hard to wait like this." Liu Jin stood next to Zhu Houzhao.
muttering.
"I'm not hot." Zhu Houzhao simply refused.
Liu Jin was still waiting for persuasion, but Yang Tinghe who was standing by said with a smile: "Eunuch Liu, does it feel hard? Jianchang Hou and the others came back from fighting on the battlefield. They came back from thousands of miles away. They had a good meal and overnight stay, and the sun and wind blew.
So what to say."
Liu Jin cursed angrily in his heart, this Yang Tinghe always went against him when he found an opportunity, it was really hateful.
"Coming, coming." Someone shouted in surprise.
Everyone was refreshed and raised their heads to look forward. Under the dazzling scorching sun, a yellow cloud rose in the distance from the official road and filled the air. Under the yellow cloud, a cavalry galloped towards them like a rolling torrent.
Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed and hurried forward to meet him.
Liu Jin hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, be careful and don't get too close."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "Those are my soldiers and horses. What are I afraid of?"
As they spoke, the cavalry had already galloped hundreds of steps away, but their speed did not slow down and they had no intention of stopping. The pressure of thousands of cavalry approaching quickly like a tide made everyone go from astonishment to panic.
"This...what is Zhang Yanling going to do?"
"Why don't you stop?"
Everyone was panicked, and Liu Jin shouted in a high voice: "Guard you, protect you!"
However, suddenly there was a shout. The cavalry of the Zhenwei Battalion, which had rushed less than a hundred steps away, stood up with their horses neighing. The cavalry team rushed forward for more than ten steps and then stopped suddenly. All the cavalrymen
Standing quietly dozens of steps in front of Zhu Houzhao and his ministers.
Everyone was stunned, and suddenly Zhang Mao burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, it's awesome. It moves like thunder and is as motionless as a mountain. No wonder Lord Zhang dared to attack Ningxia City with three thousand cavalry. Zhenwei Camp is not what it used to be. It's really amazing that Marquis Jianchang showed his skills."
The civil servants may not understand what he said, but the military ministers present all understood. It turned out that Zhang Yanling did it deliberately.
It is not difficult for the cavalry to charge at a gallop, but what is difficult is to slow down and stop in a very short time without losing their formation. This is what the Zhenwei Battalion cavalry did. They charged like thunder, but in a short distance of less than 20 steps, they fell from the ground.
How subtle it is to charge to stillness.
This is by no means easy. It requires the cavalry's superb riding skills, strict discipline, and strong control and confidence. This requires a lot of training to develop.
"Hahaha, that's it. Lord Jianchang showed me his hand. It's awesome, it's awesome." Zhu Houzhao laughed and said with his hands.
Only then did all the officials react, but it turned out that this was Zhang Yanling's deliberate act to show off. Everyone could not help but roll their eyes and secretly wipe their sweat. Just now they really thought they were about to charge forward. This was the first time for many of them to experience the cavalry charging to a hundred paces.
The situation inside was so fierce and powerful that many people almost peed their pants.
Liu Jin said angrily: "Jianchang Marquis is really fooling around. How can he do such a dangerous thing in front of the emperor? How can the soldiers and horses rush so close? What should I do if I can't control it? Your Majesty, you have to reprimand him."
"It is indeed a bit nonsense. This Jianchang Marquis is really a bit nonsense." Jiao Fang frowned. There was cold sweat on his back, all from the fright just now.
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "I like it very much. My uncle always comes up with some tricks, which is really exciting. This shows the majesty of my soldiers and horses in the Ming Dynasty. I am not scared, I just feel refreshed."
Liu Jin and Jiao Fang heard this, but they couldn't say anything else.
From the front, Zhang Yanling gave an order, and all the cavalrymen had already rolled their saddles and dismounted. Zhang Yanling, wearing black armor and a black cape, strode forward with several senior generals from the Zhenwei Battalion.
"My minister, Zhang Yanling, led the Zhenwei Battalion officers to kowtow to the emperor. I have returned from quelling the rebellion in Ningxia and have fulfilled my mission. God bless the Ming Dynasty, and God bless our emperor. Long live, long live!" Zhang Yanling knelt down and saluted, shouting loudly.
Behind him, thousands of cavalrymen knelt on the ground and shouted in unison: "God bless the Ming Dynasty, God bless our emperor, long live, long live."
Zhu Houzhao laughed loudly, stepped forward to help Zhang Yanling up, and said loudly: "Uncle, please get up quickly. Thank you for your hard work, uncle."
Zhang Yanling stood up to thank him. Zhu Houzhao said loudly to the soldiers of the Zhenwei Battalion: "Get back on your feet. You have all worked hard."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." All the soldiers shouted in unison and stood up.
Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhang Yanling and said with a smile: "Uncle looks good, how is his injury?"
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Thanks to the Emperor's concern, my injury has recovered. It was just a minor injury. The Emperor also sent an imperial doctor there. I am truly grateful."
Zhu Houzhao said: "That's good. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain to the Queen Mother. When the Queen Mother learned that you were injured, she was very concerned about it. This time I feel at ease, and I don't have to listen to her scolding me."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "The Queen Mother cherishes the ministers, and the ministers are grateful."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "Go into the palace later and say thank you to your mother. The trick you played just now was very exciting and shocked all the adults. Hahaha. Uncle, I really have you."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "I just asked the soldiers to demonstrate in front of the emperor what it means to invade like a fire but not like a mountain. I didn't mean to scare people. It seems that I have to apologize."
Zhu Houzhao laughed loudly and said: "I'm afraid you really have to apologize. If anyone has a fever and a headache tonight, it's because of you. I'm afraid I will hold you responsible."
Zhang Yanling also laughed.
At that moment, Zhang Yanling went to meet the officials. Naturally, all the officials praised him. Liu Jin and others also praised him. The scene was quite pleasant.
After Zhu Houzhao gave a brief word of encouragement, he turned back to the city.
Zhang Yanling rode a horse and walked together with Xu Guangzuo, Zhang Mao, Zhang Lun, Zhu Lin and other nobles. Zhu Lin and others couldn't wait to ask about the process of counterinsurgency. Naturally, Zhang Yanling told them briefly. Everyone listened to it again.
Sad.
"Yan Ling, this successful counterinsurgency is a great achievement. We were very worried before, but now it seems that my worries are completely unnecessary. Yan Ling has his own means." Xu Guangzuo criticized himself on the spot.
"I've told you before. The Marquis of Jianchang is not an ordinary person. Your Xu family's son-in-law is a treasure. It's a pity that my British Duke's family does not have a princess of the right age, otherwise, your son-in-law would have been snatched away long ago." Zhang Maohehe.
smiled.
Xu Guangzuo laughed and said: "You can grab it if you want? What Yanling likes is my family Wanyi. He and Wanyi are a perfect match. You can't snatch her away."
Everyone laughed again. Zhang Mao stroked his beard and thought to himself: You old guy, not long ago you complained that your son-in-law was doing random things and causing trouble. He was treated like shit and wanted to be thrown away. Now he is regarded as a treasure again.
After everyone returned to the city, Zhu Houzhao allowed Zhang Yanling to go back to his hometown to reunite with his family for one day, and to see him in the palace tomorrow. Zhang Yanling thanked him, said goodbye to the officials, and hurried back to his hometown.