I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 583 Snow (I)

Zhu Houxuan quickly rushed to the manor in the western suburbs where Zhu Houzhao was recuperating.

Before he arrived, Zhu Houzhao had been unconscious for a quarter of an hour. After waking up, he felt weak all over and even had difficulty breathing.

Although the imperial doctors did not say it explicitly, Zhu Houxuan understood that Zhu Houzhao probably did not have much time left.

"Brother Emperor, my younger brother is here." Zhu Houxuan said softly.

Zhu Houzhao's heart and lung function had weakened to the extreme, and breathing was difficult. In addition, the blood supply to the whole body was not smooth, and his head was always dizzy. The room was not cold, but he was so cold that he needed to wrap himself in a quilt.

Seeing Zhu Houxun, Zhu Houzhao seemed to be in high spirits and smiled, "Brother, you are here. The news of the victory of the Southern Expedition is the best gift for me. I will die without regrets after hearing this news."

Zhu Houxuan's eyes immediately turned red, and he said, "My brother, God has blessed me, and I am sure you will live a long life."

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "I have never thought about living a long life. If I could drink less, I might live a little longer. But if I cannot drink the wine in front of me, what is the meaning of living?"

Zhu Houxuan was silent. He knew that Zhu Houzhao had had a very hard time in the past three years. Even though the prince provided a lot of comfort around him, he also knew that Zhu Houzhao had been drinking secretly, but not in large quantities each time. Zhu Houzhao was very clear about this. Drinking too much at one time would cause great harm to the body. He still wanted to spend more time with the prince.
Zhu Houxuan did not stop Zhu Houzhao from drinking secretly because he did not know how to stop him. Zhu Houzhao was just that kind of person.
Zhu Houzhao's free-spirited and uninhibited soul has been trapped in this broken body for three years.
Zhu Houzhao stopped talking and seemed to be lost in thought. The room was so quiet that one could hear the sound of a pin drop.

"Brother, I understand," Zhu Houxuan said after calming down.

"Go!" Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.

On October 26, the sky was dim and a heavy snow was brewing, but Zhu Houxun did not cancel his scheduled schedule.

According to ancestral rules, at the ceremony of presenting captives, the emperor could not wear formal attire, but had to wear the emperor's regular clothes - the same attire that was worn in portraits of Ming Dynasty emperors.

Today Zhu Houzhao violated the rules again, and this might be the last time he violated the rules in his life.

The inner garment is similar to a Confucian shirt, white with blue edges. The outer garment is black, embroidered with patterns of the sun, moon, stars, and ascending dragons. The skirt, knee-length skirt, shoes, and socks are all bright red, with jade pendants, ribbons, and other decorations.

"Your Majesty, please be crowned." The eunuch attending him held up the Pingtian crown.

Zhu Houzhao stretched out his hands: "I will do it myself."

The eunuch attending him hurriedly bent down and presented it. Zhu Houzhao slowly took the emperor's crown. His arms suddenly trembled slightly, and his breathing became rapid and he had difficulty breathing.

"His Majesty!"

Zhu Houxun and the crown prince hurriedly supported him from both sides and gently stroked Zhu Houzhao's back to help him calm down.

The eunuch wanted to take back the crown and put it on the emperor, but Zhu Houzhao held on tightly. Finally, he pushed the eunuch away and shouted weakly and heavily: "Get out of here!"

No one dared to say anything and could only watch Zhu Houzhao crown himself.

It was difficult to put the Pingtian crown on his head, and it seemed that Zhu Houzhao had used up all his strength.

Zhu Houxuan picked up the jade hairpin, put on the Pingtian crown, and tied Zhu Ying and Zhu Hong. He looked around for a while and forced a smile: "My brother is very majestic today!" Zhu Houzhao smiled, turned to look at the prince and said: "My son, help me put on the medal of honor"

The prince was six years old at this time and had already understood a lot of things. He took out the medal of honor from the wooden box opened by the eunuch and put it on Zhu Houzhao.

This is an act that violates the rules, because the contents of the emperor's ceremonial robes are fixed and cannot be added or subtracted, but now no one dares to criticize this.
Zhu Houzhao had more than 200 medals of honor, including many battle medals. In addition to the medals of honor from the Ming Dynasty, many vassal states also made medals of honor to please him, and presented the highest-level medals of honor to Zhu Houzhao. Some even customized medals of honor for Zhu Houzhao every now and then. For example, Korea gave Zhu Houzhao five medals of honor.
Zhu Houzhao himself was very fond of various medals of honor and he accepted all of them.

Zhu Houxuan walked to the prince and looked at the medals of honor in the wooden box. From the medals of the Yingzhou battle to the medals of honor for the battle in the Western Regions, these medals of honor seemed to condense Zhu Houzhao's life.
Zhu Houxuan could not help shedding tears when he saw it. All the important medals were awarded to Zhu Houzhao by him personally. He remembered every medal he awarded to Zhu Houzhao.
"These medals of honor are not light, pick the important ones to wear." Zhu Houxuan sniffed and whispered to the prince, then pointed out to the prince which medals of honor were the most important.

The prince obediently listened to Zhu Houxun's advice and awarded Zhu Houzhao many medals of honor.

Zhu Houzhao watched this scene with a smile.
In the end, Zhu Houxun selected five Hongwu medals for Zhu Houzhao to wear on his chest.

Zhu Houzhao had a total of five Hongwu Medals, representing the battles of Yingzhou, Hetao, the second capture of the Mongol Khan, Mobei and the Western Regions respectively.

Given Zhu Houzhao's current physical condition, Zhu Houxun only dared to let him wear so many. The weight of the five Hongwu medals added together was not light.

"Not enough yet," Zhu Houzhao said softly. He didn't want to say too much now. He was gathering his strength.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houxuan immediately went to search in the wooden box and soon found his target - the First Class Bayonet Assault Medal.

This medal was given to commend Zhu Houzhao for killing Dayan Khan in battle. This medal represents Zhu Houzhao's courage of a young man who is not afraid of a tiger.
He picked up the medal and put it on Zhu Houzhao himself, putting it on top of all the medals.
Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied with the result and said with a smile: "Brother, you understand me best."

The First Class Bayonet Assault Medal should be the most cherished medal by Zhu Houzhao. In the future, someone may receive more Hongwu Medals than Zhu Houzhao, but that person cannot receive the First Class Bayonet Assault Medal like Zhu Houzhao.
"Let's get going," said Zhu Houzhao.

The emperor's ceremonial guards were already waiting outside. Zhu Houzhao pushed the eunuchs aside and allowed only Zhu Houxun to support him. He took the prince onto the imperial sedan and gradually came to the Meridian Gate.

Wait a moment, the auspicious time has arrived and the ceremony and music will begin.

"All officials come to serve!"

"All officials come to serve!"

"All officials come to serve!"

From near to far, one voice louder than the other, all civil and military officials lined up one after another and stood in neat rows in front of the Meridian Gate Tower.

"The feudal envoy is here to serve you!"

The delegations from the vassal states that came this time were also very complete. This was thanks to Zhu Houxuan's reforms in Ming Dynasty diplomacy in recent years. Each vassal state had a permanent envoy in the capital.

"Go upstairs!"

Zhu Houxun and the Crown Prince helped Zhu Houzhao climb up the Meridian Gate Tower, which was a serious violation of the rules, as even the Prince Regent had to stand under the tower.

(End of this chapter)