gnovel Chapter 78 Preparing a Gift for a Close Friend's Birthday
Chapter 78 Preparing a Gift for a Close Friend's Birthday
The 26th day of the 11th month of the first year of the Qingtai era, a Jiazi day.
Li Siyuan's two cousins, Prince Yang Li Congzhang and Prince Jing Li Congmin, gathered at the palace.
On this day, Li Congke held a family banquet in the palace, reminiscing about the late emperor. Overwhelmed with sorrow, he drank cup after cup.
In the midst of his drinking, he glanced sideways at the two princes and asked, "Who are you two, daring to occupy such a powerful fiefdom?"
Li Congzhang served as the military governor of Hezhong Protectorate Army, and Li Congmin served as the military governor of Songzhou Guide Army. Both were famous and powerful military governors. After Li Congke ascended the throne, both of them were dismissed from their posts and lived in their private residences in Luoyang.
In particular, Li Congmin, whose Bozhou was under the jurisdiction of Guide Army, was involved in the death of Li Chongji and was especially hated by Li Congke. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he uttered some harsh words.
Li Congzhang and Li Congmin were terrified and at a loss. Fortunately, Empress Dowager Cao was present and scolded them, saying, "The Emperor is drunk. You two must leave immediately!"
The two fled in a panic.
The first day of the twelfth lunar month, Dingmao.
Li Congke issued an imperial edict to repair and maintain the mausoleums of the emperors of the current dynasty.
Most of the ministers were puzzled. The late emperor's mausoleum had only been newly built, and Emperor Taizu Li Keyong's mausoleum was in Yanmen. Could it be that Your Majesty was grateful for the kindness shown to Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu and wanted to renovate his mausoleum?
December 3rd, Ji Si day.
An Shuqian, the commander of the northern cavalry and the prefect of Yizhou, was appointed as the protector-general of Anbei and the military governor of Zhenwu, and promoted to the rank of Grand Protector.
An Shuqian was a descendant of the three tribes of the Shatuo and could speak a foreign language. This time, he accompanied Shi Jingtang to defend Yanmen Pass against the enemy. He fought a Khitan general one-on-one and captured him alive. Therefore, he was rewarded for his merit and was granted the title of Jiezhen (military governor).
On the same day, due to Shi Jingtang's suggestion, Yin Hui, the defense commissioner of Qizhou who had not previously received an official insignia, was promoted to military governor of Zhangguo Army in Yingzhou, thus planting another thorn in the side of Hedong.
December 4th, Gengwu day.
An imperial edict ordered the burial of Li Congrong, the former Prince of Qin and a commoner. Officials submitted a memorial stating, "He should be buried with the same rites as Li Chengqian, a commoner during the Zhenguan era."
Half a month later, two new tombs were erected within the Huiling Mausoleum area of Li Siyuan.
One tomb belongs to Li Congrong, and the other to Li Conghou, who was deposed and made Prince of E. The mounds, one on the left and one on the right, are only a few feet wide, resembling young children nestled against their loving father, a sight that evokes sorrow in the viewer.
This was merely a small act of compensation made by Li Congke on the anniversary of his adoptive father's death.
In Li Congke's mind, as an emperor, he would surely build his own mausoleum in the future, and he was afraid that he would not be able to accompany his adoptive father.
December 6th, Renshen day.
Shi Jingtang reported that the Khitans withdrew, ceased hostilities, and returned to Taiyuan.
Yelü Deguang has indeed led his army back to his homeland. This time, the tribal chiefs and soldiers did not return empty-handed, and they were quite satisfied.
Yelü Deguang was extremely dissatisfied with the results of his campaign. He mobilized a large army to march south, but the round trip took two months. He failed to expand his territory even by a single county, let alone conquer the fertile lands of the Central Plains. He then hastily returned to the north.
However, the strength of the Central Plains army should not be underestimated. The Zhenwu Army reacted in time and repelled the probing flanking force. Before the battle, Zhai La Jie Li, who had shot down a flying goose and presented it as an auspicious omen, was defeated in a one-on-one duel by An Shu Qian and became a prisoner. Li Yi Chao of Xiazhou, who acted as an inside agent, suffered an even more miserable defeat.
Yelü Deguang sighed deeply, his mother had been right again, and decided to withdraw his troops.
December 26th, Ren Chen day.
Yelü Deguang's second son, Abosa Geli, was born.
This made him very happy for a while, but Empress Xiao Wen suffered a difficult childbirth and lost too much blood, which made him very troubled.
"Ginseng, bear bile, tiger bone, just pick the best ones and use them, you must ensure the Empress's safety."
Xiao Wen was the daughter of Shi Lu, the younger brother of Shu Lü Ping. She was intelligent and pure, and was always accompanied by him on military campaigns and hunting trips, where she was especially favored. Yelü Deguang's relationship with her was somewhat complicated, even a bit mind-boggling.
Yelü Abaoji had a daughter named Zhigu, who married Xiao Shilu, the younger brother of Empress Chunqin, and gave birth to a daughter named Xiao Wen.
Therefore, for Shulu Ping, Xiao Wen was not only her daughter-in-law, but also her niece and granddaughter.
For Yelü Deguang, Xiao Wen was not only his wife, but also his cousin and niece;
Furthermore, it can be deduced that Yelü Deguang was not only Shulü Ping's son, but also her nephew-in-law and granddaughter's husband...
Regardless of these complicated relationships, Empress Xiao Wen was unable to move around easily, so Yelü Deguang stationed himself southwest of Baihu Lake, where he obtained ginseng from nearby mountains and used the fresh gallbladders and bones of the black bears and tigers he had hunted to treat her.
More than a hundred years later, a descendant of the Xiao family came to this place and did the same thing to save a woman's life. But that's another story.
However, even with the precious medicinal herbs given to prolong his life, Xiao Wen still could not survive past the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and died at the imperial camp. (Note 1)
There's a saying in the Central Plains: "He lost both his wife and his army," which perfectly describes Yelü Deguang's situation at this time.
This invasion of the southern barbarians, like countless others in the past, seems to be no different.
……
Upon returning from the Battle of Sanchuankou, Gao Huaide recounted the events to his mother and sister, exaggerating the perilous parts as usual.
Madam Gao gave him a few perfunctory reprimands, telling him not to be willful in the future, and then turned to complain about her husband, saying, "Luckily my son is safe and sound, otherwise I would never let you off the hook."
Madam Gao's protectiveness of her son was unreasonable, leaving Gao Xingzhou helpless. The matter of Gao Huaide sneaking out of the house was thus forgotten, and from then on, he became even bolder.
As the year draws to a close, there is a folk rhyme in Yanzhou: "On the 23rd, worship the Kitchen God; on the 24th, write couplets; on the 25th, make tofu; on the 26th, cut New Year's meat; on the 27th, slaughter the rooster; on the 28th, prepare the dough; on the 29th, steam the buns; stay up all night on New Year's Eve; and on New Year's Day, twist and turn."
The New Year was not just a private matter for the Gao family; the governor's mansion held a grand banquet to worship the gods of heaven and earth and pray for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest in the coming year.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The food offering ceremony consists of thirteen dishes: five meat dishes, four vegetarian dishes, and four main courses, collectively known as the "Thirteen Flowers." (Note 2)
The meal includes five meat dishes: pig's ears and trotters, with pig's head meat served as the main course; four vegetarian dishes are seasonal cold dishes; and the main dishes are whole chicken, whole fish, whole pork hock, and meatball soup. There are also thirteen bowls of staple food, including four meat dishes and one vegetable dish, served with white flour steamed buns and yellow millet buns, and thick wine poured over them as a libation.
In the backyard, firewood was piled up, resembling a pagoda, and sprinkled with oil. Gao Xingzhou lit it with a torch wrapped in oilcloth.
"Keep a close watch on it, remember to add firewood, and don't let the fire go out."
This was the custom when celebrating the New Year in Zhenwu Army before. Gao Huaide knew that this was a New Year's tradition in his ancestral home of Guizhou, called "Wang Huo" (旺火).
Compared to previous years, there was one less sibling in the Gao family, but another new face appeared.
The bright red firelight illuminated the three little faces as they spent their first New Year together since arriving in Yanzhou.
In the second year of the Qingtai era, Gao Huaide was ten years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning).
As the new year began, the Khitan invasion of the south subsided, but undercurrents surged in Hedong. Regarding the conflicts in the northwest, the imperial court issued an imperial edict to inquire about the situation, but took no further action.
Li Yichao submitted a memorial defending himself, claiming innocence and asserting that the Zhangwu Army had seized Suizhou first, and that his military action was to reclaim the lost territory. He further accused Fu Yanqing and Gao Xingzhou of colluding to annex the Dingnan Army and establish a separatist regime against the imperial court.
Fu Yanqing submitted a memorial, strongly arguing that nothing of the sort had happened. It was clearly a neighboring prefecture that had been invaded, and the Qingzhou army had gone to mediate, but Li Yichao launched an attack without distinguishing right from wrong, which is how they got involved.
While the two sides were engaged in a war of words, the initial construction of Dingbian City had already been completed.
On this day, while Yang Chonggui was still practicing martial arts, Gao Huaide slipped out of the city alone to go hunting.
Ruhua squatted on the leather mat laid on the horse's buttocks, her four paws tightly clasped together, so that she could not fall off no matter how fast and bumpy the horse was.
"That's good, at least I don't have to worry about getting lost anymore."
Gao Huaide comforted himself, then turned and cursed, "Stupid dog, you've caught nothing for two days in a row. If you don't catch anything today, I'll send you to the butcher shop in town."
Ru Hua let out a soft "Oh!" and hung her head. Gao Huaide didn't realize that she looked exactly like him when he was being scolded by his father.
Ru Hua's personality was somewhat lazy, so much so that when Gao Xingzhou learned that his son had raised such a lazy dog, he sarcastically remarked, "A person may not live up to their name, but a dog certainly lives up to its owner."
This cannot be blamed on Ruhua; the spring chill had not yet dissipated, the frozen ground was still hard, and it was still a time when prey was scarce. Gao Huaide was anxious only because Yang Chonggui's birthday was approaching, and he wanted to catch some rare insects, birds, and animals as a birthday gift.
However, fate seemed to be working against him. After a busy day, until sunset, he had caught nothing but a few unlucky rabbits and pheasants.
As Gao Huaide fiddled with the pheasant's several-foot-long plumage from its rear end, he thought dejectedly, "Am I really going to give Gui-ge this? No way."
Pheasant feathers adorning a crown certainly look imposing, like those worn by Lü Bu and Zhou Yu in traditional operas. However, Gao Huaide, a seasoned opera enthusiast, understands the etiquette: have you ever seen Guan Yu or Zhao Zilong wearing feathers on their heads?
Only when all the generals on Liu Bei's side are fully armored and in full helmets can they be considered legitimate.
Those who wear feathers are usually of humble origins or are derogatory characters. For example, the monkey wore a feathered purple-gold crown when he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, but when he went on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures, didn't he change it to a golden headband?
If sending Yang Chonggui a pheasant feather is misinterpreted as a satire of the Yang family's status as nouveau riche who are not part of the officialdom, wouldn't that backfire?
Gao Huaide was thinking about random things when Fu An came up and offered an idea.
"Young master, there's no need to worry. The young master of the Yang family is fond of martial arts. Why not go to the weapons workshop and pick out a fine weapon for him?"
Lu Qian went on another long trip. Gao Huaide guessed that his father had probably sent him to Lingzhou to contact Zhang Xichong. Fu An's words were quite agreeable and solved his problem.
"This is a brilliant plan! Let's go right now!"
-----------------
Place Name Comparison
Baihu: present-day Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province