Hearing Li Jinglong's words, Yunxi froze on the spot. Zhang Wen was in poor health. Yunxi had known for a long time, but he didn't expect that he would die on the road, on the eve of his arrival in the capital!
Yunxi grabbed Li Jinglong who was kneeling in front of him with all his strength, as if he was asking him, but also seemed to be talking to himself: "How could Zhang Wen, how could he suddenly die of illness?"
"Your Majesty, Zhang Houye was not in good health when he was in Annan. He just tried to support his illness. After leading the army from Guangzhou to Hengzhou, Huguang and boarding the ship, I learned that Zhang Houye was in Annan.
I've vomited blood, but it just caused it but didn't come out."
"At that time, I persuaded the Marquis to disembark from the ship and recuperate locally, but the Marquis refused to comply and wanted to return to the capital with his army. He also said: 'It will not be too late for me to recuperate after I return to the capital.' I thought that no matter what happened in the capital,
The doctors' medical skills and the conditions for recuperation are tens of thousands of times better than other places, and because Mr. Zhang's situation seems to be able to survive, I didn't urge him."
"But I don't know that Mr. Zhang has actually reached the moment when the oil is exhausted. He just holds on to his body and must bring the army back. After arriving at a place dozens of miles away from the capital yesterday, the army will return safely. Supporting
Mr. Zhang's anger was relieved. He seemed to be in much better condition before resting last night, but Mr. Hou's body was found in the cabin early this morning." Li Jinglong said with tears.
While he was talking, eight strong generals got off the boat, carried Zhang Wen's body and walked forward step by step. Yunxi pushed Li Jinglong away and walked a few steps quickly to Zhang Wen's body.
He came forward and cried loudly: "Zhang Aiqing, Aiqing, why did you leave me and leave the Ming Dynasty!"
Suddenly, mournful music sounded over the pier. It turned out that when Wang Xi saw the emperor burst into tears, he immediately ordered Xie Lulang, who was in charge of the music, to start playing mournful music. The atmosphere suddenly became sad and solemn.
Two of the generals in the lineup suddenly burst into tears. They were Zhang Wen's third son Zhang Xian and fourth son Zhang Quan. Zhang Wen only had five sons, of which the second son died young, the fifth son was still young, and the eldest son was on duty in the Northeast.
Only the third and fourth sons were in Beijing, so Yunxi called them both to greet Zhang Wen. But he never expected that he would receive the bad news of his father.
The two of them were crying and ran towards Zhang Wen's body. The guard responsible for protecting Yunxi's safety moved slightly, but finally stood still and did not stop him, letting them run to Yunxi's side and pounce on him.
On Zhang Wen's body, tears flowed like rain.
All the civil and military officials present also burst into tears. Although most people just howled, it also brought the sad atmosphere to its peak.
Yunxi cried for a while, stopped his tears, and comforted brothers Zhang Xian and Zhang Quan, saying: "People cannot be resurrected after death. My dearest friends, I express my condolences and accept the change."
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Quan cried to Yunxi: "I have been naughty since I was a child, and I was often beaten by my father for this. At that time, I was just unconvinced. It was not until I was on duty the year before last that I understood my father's painstaking efforts and wanted to admit my mistakes to him, but
My father was busy at that time, and I always comforted myself that I still had time, so I never admitted my mistake to my father. But I didn’t expect that I would never have the chance to admit my mistake to my father.”
Yunxi didn't know what to say. No words could soothe the sadness of his father's death. All Yunxi could do was to gently caress Zhang Quan's back.
I don't know how long it took, but Zhang Xian and Zhang Quan cried dryly. Yunxi ordered people to send their brothers back to Huininghou Mansion, and said to Wang Xi: "Put Zhang Aiqing's body in my car.
Send it back to Zhang Mansion."
"Your Majesty, no!" Wang Xi said: "Although Marquis Huining has worked hard and made great achievements, he does not deserve such preferential treatment from your Majesty!"
"Zhang Aiqing died for his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. Why not? I have made my decision and have no more words to say!" Yunxi said.
Wang Xi had no choice but to let them take Zhang Wen's body back to the Marquis of Huining's Mansion, and at the same time whispered: "This carriage has also been given to the Marquis of Huining's family."
Yunxi no longer had any intention of reviewing the returning troops, so he let all the officials present disperse, mounted his horse, and returned to the palace under the escort of his soldiers.
The atmosphere was very depressing because Yunxi kept a sullen face along the way. Yang Feng couldn't help but advise: "Guan family, although Mr. Zhang died of illness halfway, he was over sixty years old, so he could not be considered premature. The official family still expresses condolences."
Change along the way.”
"I understand what you said. But I feel bad when I think that there are fewer and fewer generals who followed the late emperor in his army to sweep across the wasteland." Yun He said.
Yang Feng was secretly surprised, but he still just tried to persuade without raising any questions. Yunxi felt better after his persuasion.
But after Yunxi returned to the palace, his mood became worse again. Cao Zheng, deputy director of Gezhiyuan, asked for leave: his father, Cao Xing, was also ill and wanted to go home to serve his father.
"I have approved this memorial!" Yunxi said to Chen Ji: "You can draft another decree and tell the family of Marquis Huaiyuan that if you want an imperial doctor to diagnose and treat you, just tell me. If you need any special medicinal materials, just tell me.
I, I will never be stingy."
Yun Hei's gloomy mood continued even after returning to the harem. Xiyao already knew what was going on and didn't say anything. She just restrained Min'er to prevent him from making any noise.
At court on the second day, Yunxi announced that Zhang Wen would be buried in accordance with the highest courtesy of a minister, and proposed that Zhang Wen be granted a title. None of the officials had any objections. After some discussion, the officials present finally decided to grant Zhang Wen a title.
Long Guogong, posthumous name Wu Mu. Although Yunxi wanted to be granted the title of county king, the ministers believed that even if the title was just a posthumous title, it should not be excessively rewarded. Zhang Wen's merits were still far from being crowned the king, so in the end he was not
He was posthumously crowned king. As for being worthy of enjoying the Imperial Ancestral Temple and having portraits of heroes in the temple, this was the proper meaning.
Later, Yunxi attended Zhang Wen's funeral in person. This time it was different from the previous two funerals he attended for Mu Ying and Lan Yu. In the first two times, he had not met those two people at all. Although he admired them very much, he also had the original intention.
Yunxi left behind memories, but still couldn't achieve sincere feelings.
But he had known Zhang Wen for eleven years and had frequent interactions with him. In his eyes, Zhang Wen was a flesh-and-blood person, not just a few passages in history books, so Yunxi couldn't help but cry sincerely when he attended the funeral.
He came out with red eyes to mourn Zhang Wen.
Wen Yuan, who was brought to the funeral by him, was at a loss: he had never seen Yun Xi cry bitterly. The last time Yun Xi was in such pain was the year when Zhu Yuanzhang died of illness. Wen Yuan was just born at that time, so he naturally had no chance to see it.
, this funeral refreshed Wenyuan's impression of his father: It turns out that his father also cried because of sadness.
After crying, Yunxi composed the lyrics "Man Jiang Hong" on the spot to mourn Zhang Wen:
"At the mouth of the Yellow River, the people are suffering and their homes are desolate. The eyes are filled with blood and tears, and the mountains and rivers are crying! A man with lofty ideals is in the clouds, but the fame of his youth is dust. Don't wait, but ask about the world's affairs, and go to the national disaster!
Looking at my hometown, my singing is bitter, my family and country are hated, how can I bear to care about it! Watch the general draw his sword and kill the Tartars! The laughter and laughter are still there, but the fame and fame are nothing compared to the dream! Watch the autumn wind and the clouds are rising again, and the setting sun is setting!"
The ministers were moved. Although Yunxi's poem is not a first-rate work, it is still excellent. Moreover, the emotion is sincere, and people can feel the sadness of the lyricist and the yearning for Zhang Wen at the first listen. Many people would not be able to cry at all.
The minister also cried loudly.
For many civil servants, this poem was a signal. Yunxi had not written any new poems for three years, and everyone thought that the emperor had exhausted his talents. This poem made such rumors self-defeating: The emperor is not
I can't do it, I just don't want to do it.
Yunxi wrote the poem in his own hand, stamped it with a big seal, and gave it to Zhang Wen's third son, Zhang Xian. Zhang Xian thanked the emperor for his grace with tears.
Yunxi cried for a while before getting up and leaving the place, returning to the palace.
After that, Yunxi calmed down and started to work and live normally. But the blow came again: on August 17, brothers Guo Ming of Guo Town reported the death of Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding.
After finishing Guo Ying's funeral, on August 26, Cao Zheng came again to report the funeral: Cao Xing, Marquis of Huaiyuan, passed away.
Almost at the same time, on August 27, Qiu Auxiliary Officer Li Xuhu announced the death of Chongshan Marquis Li Xin.
"God, you can't believe that because you escaped the Ming Dynasty, which had many generals in Lan Yu's rebellion, you took them all back!" After hearing the news of Cao Xing's death, Yunxi couldn't help shouting.
Not only Yunxi, four generals passed away in a month, which made many people suspicious, thinking that God was recruiting them. Cao Zhen's son Cao Xing stayed by his father's side all the time, for fear of seeing him as soon as he left.
It was not the last time I saw my father.
Yunxi was also extremely nervous. He kept a close eye on all the generals who were not in good health. Once they were found to be sick, they would immediately send famous doctors from Tai Hospital to diagnose and treat them. Fortunately, in the next few months, no generals died of illness; Cao Zhen was not in such poor health.
Hold on.
By the end of September, Yunxi, who had never heard of any more generals dying of illness, breathed a sigh of relief and said to Yang Feng: "Finally, no generals have died of illness. I can feel relieved."
"The official's heart moved heaven and earth, and God did not dare to accept any more people." Yang Feng said. Although it is now generally speculated that the reason why no general died is that the word "four" sounds the same as "death", so God only accepts people at a time.
Four people, no extra charge.
Yunxi sighed again and said: "But even so, the only four founding generals who are still alive are Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen, Jingchuan Marquis Cao Zhen, Puding Marquis Chen Huan, and Heqing Marquis Zhang Yi. Their talents are withering.
"
"In the official family, although the number of veteran generals is decreasing day by day, Ming Dynasty also has new generals to replace them!" Yang Feng said: "Generals such as Wei Guogong Xu Huizu, Liang Guogong Lan Zhen, Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, Quanning Marquis Sun Ke, Palembang Marquis He Rong, Xiping Marquis Mu Sheng and other generals are all outstanding people.
He can stand shoulder to shoulder with the veteran generals and become the mainstay of the army, so your Majesty does not need to worry."
