The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 642 Yao Jin Returns to Beijing

On the morning of the second day, when Li Yan and Wang Xuance returned to the Eastern Palace, they saw a group of horsemen galloping quickly on the official road north of Chang'an. All of them had solemn expressions and were covered in dust, and it was obvious that they had traveled a long distance.

The cavalry entered Chang'an City from the Jinguan Gate in the west. Without stopping, they headed straight for Yongxingfang in the east of the city.

A burly, bearded military commander in his forties, accompanied by more than a dozen guards, came to the residence of Duke Lu in Yongxingfang and stopped.

Looking at the gate of the luxurious mansion, which was hung with black and white wreaths representing funerals, and the servants and servants guarding the door were also wearing mourning cloths, the middle-aged man had a gloomy face, his heart was full of sadness, his brows were furrowed, and if you looked closely, there was some deep and unresolvable worry in his eyes.

This person was none other than the Right Guard General, Duke of Lu, Cheng Yaojin, who had returned to Beijing from the Dingxiang front to attend the funeral.

Seeing Cheng Yaojin return home, the guards at the door fell to their knees as if they had seen their leader. Butler Cheng Lu stepped forward and cried, "Master, you are finally back. Come in and take a look. The second young master is waiting for you."

After saying this, the butler burst into tears. At the gate of Duke Lu's mansion, an atmosphere of sadness filled the air. Cheng Yaojin handed the reins to his men, took the mourning belt handed to him by the butler, tied it around his waist, and strode into the mansion.

As soon as he entered the mansion, Cheng Yaojin's wife, supported by her youngest son Cheng Huaibi, came up to him with red eyes and a haggard face, crying sadly: "Master, you are finally back. It was my fault that I didn't take good care of Huailiang and let him..."

"Madam, I know everything!"

Cheng Yaojin held his wife's hand with a sad look and persuaded her, "Huailiang fell into the water while repairing the Yongtong Canal. The emperor and the court said that Huailiang was loyal to the country and wanted to posthumously confer him the title of Marquis of Pingyuan. He will be worshipped in the Martyrs' Shrine forever. This is also an honor. Madam, please don't be too sad."

He supported his wife to the mourning hall which was filled with white banners and elegiac couplets. Although he had expected it, after seeing the coffin placed in the main hall with his own eyes, Cheng Yaojin, a veteran who had lived through troubled times and had witnessed life and death, was still heartbroken when facing the departure of his own son.

Cheng Yaojin walked to the open wooden coffin with a heavy face. Looking at his son who seemed to be sleeping, his mind was as if struck by lightning. His eyes suddenly turned red, and tears slid down his face and sank into the thick beard under his chin. He trembled and stretched out his rough, calloused hands and gently stroked his son's fair face.

Cheng Yaojin had three sons. The eldest son, Cheng Huaimo, followed him to command the army in Dingxiang and was always kept by his side. The youngest son, Cheng Huaibi, was only eleven or twelve years old and was still at the age of reading. The second son, Cheng Huailiang, was spoiled since childhood and was active in mind and had always been restless.

Unable to stay in the frontier and unable to bear the bitter cold there, Cheng Yaojin thought that his eldest son would inherit his title and be the future pillar of the Cheng family. His second son didn't have to inherit the family business, so he could let him act up a little. With the foundation he had laid, it would be nice for him to live a carefree life.

Cheng Huailiang hung out with the King of Shu, who was also quite skilled in military strategy, and Cheng Yaojin didn't take it too seriously.

For the sake of the stability and inheritance of the family businesses, the civil officials and military generals in Chang'an City who had come through the turbulent times, generally the eldest sons who inherited the family businesses did not have a clear stance. Most of them chose not to take sides, so as to avoid getting their families dragged into the party struggles in the court and destroying the family businesses that their ancestors had worked so hard to build.

As for the other young sons and illegitimate sons, it is up to them to decide which prince they want to be close to, and the adults will not favor one over the other based on the closeness of the younger generations to them. Some ministers have several sons, who are close to several princes, but this will not affect the adults' stance and standing.

The only time was in the ninth year of Wude, when Cheng Yaojin was a little anxious because he missed the Xuanwu Gate Incident. He was instigated by his second son Cheng Huailiang. Coupled with the situation between the crown prince and the King of Shu, the brotherhood was quite similar to that of Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin.

Cheng Yaojin was confused for a moment and got involved in the fight for the throne, but after all those messes up, Cheng Yaojin felt a little scared and frightened. After the Bianqiao Alliance, he took the initiative to apply to Li Shimin to be transferred to the north to command the army, which was a roundabout way of apology.

He knew that Li Shimin, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others in the court were all extremely talented and wise men. It was inevitable that they would guess some clues and intend to murder the prince. This was a serious crime, enough to destroy the family business he had worked hard for for many years.

Regardless of whether those people guessed it or not, he had to make an attitude of apologizing, so he went to Dingxiang for three or four years, and only returned to Chang'an during festivals. Then after the Lantern Festival, he left immediately and did not stay in Chang'an.

He also took Cheng Huailiang away to prevent him from getting involved with the King of Shu!

But at the beginning of the year, when Jie Li invaded Suizhou, he helped Cheng Huailiang capture two ferry crossings in Hedong, which added some military merits to him and enabled him to be promoted.

Unexpectedly, the King of Shu took advantage of the opportunity when Zhang Daozun was transferred to the Yunzhong front and the position of Lieutenant General of the Zuotunwei Yifu was vacant, and planned to push Cheng Huailiang to take over this position. Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guards was the most prestigious position among middle and senior generals, and he commanded 5,000 imperial guards in the capital.

It can be said that every Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guards is a future general, and all the generals will fight for it. Even if they, the old generals, cannot take on the position, they can try to get it for their sons or confidants.

These positions can only be held by the emperor's confidants. After a transition period, they can be transferred to the north and take up important military positions. After a few years of experience and a few victories, they can become generals. Even without mentioning the future prospects, the Imperial Guard is a very important position. If there is a change in the capital, controlling 5,000 Imperial Guards is enough to control the situation at a critical moment and make an unprecedented contribution.

After hearing the news, Cheng Huailiang could no longer sit still, and Cheng Yaojin was also very tempted. After thinking about it, he felt that time had passed and the incident was over, so he didn't worry about it anymore and let his son go back to Chang'an. Later, unexpectedly, the King of Shu went on a mission to Suizhou and made great contributions. With this merit as a prelude, the emperor naturally handed over the Zuotunwei to Cheng Huailiang.

When Cheng Yaojin heard about it, he was also very happy. This was not only a position in the imperial guards, but also seemed to represent that the events of the ninth year of Wude were in the past and the emperor no longer cared about those things. He felt relieved.

But seven days ago, the guard he had sent to his second son broke into his central military tent at the border in a daze, and told him breathlessly that his son was dead.

Upon hearing the bad news, Cheng Yaojin could hardly believe it. He was suddenly sad and felt some fear and anxiety from the bottom of his heart.

On the one hand, there was the pain of losing a flesh and blood, but this was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that Cheng Yaojin was afraid that this accident was a continuation of the incident in the ninth year of Wude that was almost buried in history. If this was the case, Cheng Huailiang's accident was caused by either the emperor or the prince.

One is the current emperor, and the other is the future emperor. No matter which one, he is an irresistible disaster for the Cheng family.

With such worries in his heart, Cheng Yaojin asked Cheng You in detail about the details of his son's accident, and even about the beginning of his son's and the King of Shu's canal construction. He asked Cheng You about everything in detail, and waited for a whole day.

Cheng Yaojin felt relieved. Although Wu Qing tried to please him despite his status, only Wu Qing and a guard were present when his son got into trouble. Cheng You and other family generals did not see their son's accident with their own eyes, which was a little suspicious.

But at least there was no sign of the emperor and the prince. As long as they were not deliberately seeking revenge, I could take responsibility for everything else.

According to Cheng Yaojin's understanding, Wu Qing and others from the Zuotunwei Army were all old members of Li Jiancheng's old Eastern Palace and had nothing to do with the current crown prince in any way.

Although Cheng Yaojin was usually careless, he was very meticulous and still worried, so he decided to come back and check it out in person. On the one hand, he wanted to see his son off for the last time, and on the other hand, he wanted to determine the real cause of his son's death. Or to put it another way, he wanted to rule out the suspicion that the emperor or the prince was responsible.

No matter how great a son is, he cannot compare to the entire family. The Cheng family cannot accept being hated by the emperor or the prince.

During the time he was on the road, he also figured out that it was unlikely that the emperor would take action, because if Li Shimin took action, he would definitely attack him directly, and would not deal with a kid. This would risk forcing the generals leading the troops in the front to rebel. The emperor would not be so stupid.

What's more, at that time, the Zuotunwei Army was assisting the King of Shu in repairing the Yongtong Canal, which was related to the major issue of water transport.

Relatively speaking, the prince was more likely to take action. Firstly, Cheng Huailiang had once attempted to murder the prince, so from the perspective of revenge, he had this motive; secondly, his son was the right-hand man of the King of Shu, so from the perspective of striking at political enemies, he had an even greater need to do so.

These were the hidden worries in Cheng Yaojin's heart. After living for most of his life, the thing he regretted most was that when he was in Jingzhou, he listened to his son's instigation and acted impulsively, doing something that made him hate himself so much that he wanted to slap himself in the face.

And it happened that this son was in trouble, which made Cheng Yaojin have to think more. Standing in front of his son's body, Cheng Yaojin asked with a heavy face: "Have you checked everything?"

The housekeeper Cheng Lu understood what the master was asking, and stepped forward to answer sadly: "Master, the court has investigated and indeed did not find any suspicious points. In addition, after the second young master returned home, I consulted with the lady and also invited several of the best coroners in the two counties to check."

"The young master did not have any external injuries on his body. There was a lot of mud and sand in his mouth and stomach, and his fingers had traces of scratching the mud. It can be confirmed that he died of drowning."

"Ok!"

Cheng Yaojin nodded, felt relieved, and began to preside over his son's funeral.

Upon learning that Cheng Yaojin had returned home, many civil and military officials in the court came to pay their respects. Even if Cheng Yaojin was not in Chang'an, his children would come to pay their respects on his behalf.

(End of this chapter)