At the entrance of the city, the imperial guards wore armors and stood upright in two rows on both sides of the gate. The imperial symbol was stitched onto the bright yellow imperial canopy, and the canopy was followed by feather fans that were embedded with precious jewels as the procession led them into the city. Music was playing, people were singing, and the sound of a drum could be heard. The emperor donned a bright yellow dragon robe and sat on the luxurious carriage. The officials of the court crowded around the carriage, escorting the emperor as they headed for the imperial city.
The commoners that were standing on the two sides of the procession held their breath as they watched. Marching orderly behind the officials was a row of black-armored guards with their armored horses. Among all the guards, one man was clad in silver armor, carrying an épée on his waist. He sat upright on an ink-colored warhorse. The man exuded a dense and austere aura. Next to him, was a lean and competent man, carrying a unique bow. The black flag fluttered in the wind; the words “Great Ming” were written flawlessly and powerfully on the flag!
Royal Prince Yang took the lead in the procession. He lifted the reins of the horse, urging it to move forward. The armored horses followed after him unanimously in order. The warhorses’ hooves hit against the ground in a neat and orderly fashion, which resonated within the people’s inner hearts…
It took awhile for the commoners to snap out of their trance after the army passed by. They began to gossip in low whispers.
“The man clad in silver armor, leading the procession, has such an imposing aura that I didn’t even dare to look straight at him. I heard that he is the famous ‘God of War’ of our Great Ming Dynasty. As soon as he led the soldiers to the northwestern border, they managed to defeat the different tribes to the point where they didn’t even dare to raise their heads anymore!!”
“I just wanted to see how our great general, who is always victorious, looked like. However, when he glanced back at me with his ice-cold and murderous gaze, I immediately lowered my head and almost fell to the ground in fear. Even now, my legs are still trembling from the shock! He was so scary!!”
“The man next to him is Old General Zhao. Although both his hair and beard has turned white, he is still strong despite his age. He isn’t weaker than any of the young men following behind him. If it were not for Old General Zhao, who was stationed in the northwest for a long period of time, how would we have been able to live such a stable and peaceful life?”
“Look at General Zhao! He has a tall and sturdy build. He is the best of the best of all the men on the battlefield. It doesn’t matter whether he is leading his soldiers or slaughtering the enemy, he always does a great job. Unfortunately, he fell into the foreign tribes’ devious traps; otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked Royal Prince Yang for help.”
“Although General Zhao is brave, he is not as skilled as Royal Prince Yang. The father and sons of the Zhao Family have been stationed in the northwest border for many years now, but they have never managed to defeat the different tribes occupying the borders. However, Royal Prince Yang was stationed by the border for merely a little over a year yet he managed to drive the tribes far away like he was herding a group of chickens. The tribes don’t even have the courage to bother us again!!”
“Did you see the young girl next to the emperor’s carriage? Is that Royal Princess Jinan? I’ve heard that Royal Princess Jinan managed to cultivate rice fields in the Imperial Plantation that produce up to four to five hundred catties per mu this spring! It has only been five years since she’s taken office, and she already has produced cornfields that yield more than a thousand catties of corn per mu and high yielding winter wheat. She also grows fruits and vegetables in greenhouses, which allows the people of the capital to continue to be able to eat fresh vegetables in the winter…all the meritorious deeds she has contributed helped the country immensely! Now, her experiment of creating high yielding rice fields has also succeeded. Who could’ve imagined that a young girl would be able to make such major achievements?”
“Yes, that’s right! I have a distant relative who is married to someone from the northeast. When I went to visit them, I heard that the northeast could only plant one type of crop in a year due to the climate and the yield from the crops was always low. As a result, they have a famine every year. However, ever since they started planting the corn and high yielding winter wheat, the family could finally eat without fear of having another famine!”
“I’ve heard that the important officials from Jiangnan requested Royal Princess Jinan to help them improve the rice seeds a few days ago. Royal Princess Jinan has a kind heart. She planted dozens of rice fields on the Imperial Plantation at the beginning of spring to improve the yields of the rice seed. It was unexpected that she managed to succeed in such a short time frame. Each field managed to produce over five hundred catties, which is more than double the original output. Reportedly, Royal Princess Jinan isn’t satisfied and is determined to improve the rice seeds until it yields a thousand catties per mu!
“Rice seeds that yield a thousand catties per mu? Stop joking around! Aren’t you worried that your tongue might be cut off? A mu of rice yielding five hundred catties is already quite high. Rice seeds are not like sweet potatoes and corn, it’s impossible for one mu of field to yield a thousand catties of rice!”
“Why would I lie to you? My younger cousin is a tenant farmer at the Imperial Plantation. He told me that he heard Royal Princess Jinan say this to the Imperial Plantation’s steward!”
“You didn’t make it up? Royal Princess Jinan actually said that? If that’s the case, then it’s us, the commoners, who will benefit in the end. If she succeeds, then everyone will be able to afford to eat white rice and white noodles. Every family will have a surplus amount of food. We won’t have to worry even if there’s a disaster!”
“Do you think Royal Princess Jinan is the Child of Fortune sent by the Heavens? No matter what she grows or raises, the crop will always produce high yields; it seems like she’s able to communicate with the spirits. She’s definitely not an ordinary person since she’s able to grow vegetables in seasons where vegetables aren’t supposed to grow.”
“It must be because of the emperor’s concern for the country and the commoners that moved the Heavens. The Heavens have sent an immortal girl to assist the emperor and establish a foundation for this country that will last throughout the ages. The heavens protect the Great Ming Dynasty and the commoners!
…
The commoners that were watching the procession were originally talking about the army stationed in the west. But now, the topic changed to ‘the Child of Fortune’, Royal Princess Jinan.
Xiaocao didn’t know that in the blink of an eye, she was branded as a little fairy who had descended from the Heavens. At the moment, she was watching the ‘soldiers being promoted to nobility’ with great interest!
The emperor’s carriage had just arrived in front of the imperial gate. The emperor straightened his dragon robe before he descended from the carriage. He was escorted by the civil and military officials as he entered the Jinluan Hall and sat down upright at the Dragon Throne in the middle of the hall.
The civil and military officials stepped into two neat rows on either side of the hall. Xiaocao was standing in one of the rows, fading into the background. She stood upright and remained quiet as her large eyes watched the scene unfold in front of her with great curiosity.
At this moment, her gaze was solely focused on the tall and heroic general clad in silver armor. He stopped at the imperial gate and raised his right hand slightly. The soldiers behind him immediately stopped moving forward. Zhu Junyang got off his horse and slowly walked forward with a straight back. He was shrouded with a murderous aura. His face was so handsome that it made the heavens angry and the mortals resentful. His solemn and serene expression gave off a frightening feeling.
Xiaocao’s gaze remained on his enchanting face for a long time. He had been fighting in a war all year round, so his originally fair skin had now turned a healthy wheat color. His charming phoenix eyes were brimming with anger and might. His straight nose bridge was like a delicate work of art sculpted using a carving knife. She originally thought that his thin lips weren’t that sexy, but now, it gave off a majestic feeling.
The corners of her mouth curved up slightly and her eyes shone with pride——that man was her man, a man that can support both heaven and earth with just his bare hands! She suddenly recalled a well-known sentence from ‘Journey to the West’ in her mind: ‘My sweetheart is an unrivaled hero. One day, he will ride a seven-colored magical cloud to pick me up’…Fairy Zixia never received the mystical treasure, but she found her ‘unrivaled hero’!
The ‘unrivaled hero’ in Xiaocao’s heart, had already quickly arrived in the throne room. He walked up the marble staircase one step at a time and unhurriedly stepped into the throne room. He slightly lowered his gaze and kneeled down. There were several generals who had contributed to the war kneeling one after another not far behind him.
“Fortunately, this official has not failed your orders!” Zhu Junyang’s words were resounding, powerful, and concise. He immediately raised the tiger tally over his head. Su Chi bent his waist and took the tiger tally from him with both hands, then, he presented the tiger tally to the emperor. In the beginning, many of the officials were worried and feared that giving the tiger tally that commanded the army would incite disloyalty in Zhu Junyang.
However, the emperor reprimanded them for worrying too much at the time! The emperor was good at judging other people’s characters. Although Royal Prince Yang achieved outstanding military service by subduing the enemy army at the northwest border, his heart did not yearn for power that the tiger tally provided. Instead, he took the initiative to return the tiger tally back to the emperor. It seemed like the old generals were worried about nothing!
“My beloved officials, please rise. My beloved officials, please rise.” The emperor did not take the tiger tally from Su Chi, so Su Chi placed the tiger tally on a case. Zhu Junfan raised his hand slightly, hinting at the head eunuch, Su Chi, to announce his decree.
It was silent in the Jinluan Hall, and only Su Chi’s voice could be heard as he read the emperor’s edict in a shrill voice. The imperial edict started off politely by praising Royal Prince Yang for the illustrious feats he had done. It was only at the end of the imperial edict that something substantial was said——bestowing the title ‘Imperial Prince Xu’ to Royal Prince Yang. The meaning behind the title was quite clear; it referred to a rising sun and a bright future. The meaning behind the title was similar to the ‘Yang’ title he received.
Not only was he rewarded a lot of gold and silver, jewels, silk, gauze, satin, and so on, but his feudal fiefdom was also expanded to encompass the entire Jinwei Prefectural City. In other words, all of the taxes collected in Jinwei Prefectural City, except for the ports, was going to belong to Imperial Prince Xu, Zhu Junyang! Jinwei Prefectural City was very close to the capital, and it was the top three wealthiest prefectural cities of the Great Ming Empire. For the emperor to bestow Imperial Prince Xu this feudal fiefdom showed that the emperor regarded him highly and favored him greatly!
Zhu Junyang received the yellow imperial edict made of thin silk with both of his hands. He thanked the emperor for the rewards and rose. He turned around and faced the high-ranking military officers standing outside the throne room. He said in a respectful yet solemn voice, “This achievement and glory was achieved through the blood-soaked efforts by the soldiers of the western army. It was achieved thanks to the brothers who lost their lives on the battlefield! For the brothers who died on the battlefield, in addition to the emperor’s reward, I will also look after their family’s old and weak women until their children reaches adulthood and finds a job!”
The hundreds of soldiers in the army were all soldiers that Zhu Junyang trusted, and every single one of them was a brave warrior. The soldiers’ blood began to boil when they looked at the bright yellow imperial edict in their leader’s hand and after they heard their leader’s generous speech. They began to shout in unison, “Long live the emperor” and “We pledge our lives to protect the Great Ming Dynasty”…their voices resonated through the sky and shook the heavens and earth!
The emperor revealed a satisfied smile as he looked at the majestic soldiers standing before him with their battle regalia fluttering in the wind. These people represented the spirits of the Great Ming Dynasty’s army. With such an invincible army, he didn’t need to worry about the stability and strength of the Great Ming Dynasty.
“Your Majesty, I think Imperial Prince Xu harbors bad intentions by doing this…” One of the old officials couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward. It was the emperor’s job to reward the soldiers in the army. Wasn’t Royal Prince Yang…no, Imperial Prince Xu overstepping his boundary?
The old official’s words actually drew the emperor’s resentment. Zhu Junfan glanced at him indifferently and said, “Are you doubting Imperial Prince Xu’s loyalty? If I didn’t know how hardworking and loyal you are normally, then I would’ve already punished you for trying to sow discord!”
“In the imperial court, anyone can suddenly have a change of heart and betray me, all except for Junyang! You can’t just become suspicious of him for abusing his powers in the future just because has the skills to lead an army. A man being used cannot be suspected, but if he becomes suspected, he cannot be used. If my beloved official doesn’t understand my meaning, then you should return home and think carefully about it behind closed doors!”
[1] The character used for 'Yang' is also the word for sun. The character used for 'Xu' means the rising sun.
