noffsinger Chapter 376 Meritorious Service
Chapter 376 Meritorious Service
"…Your Majesty, this time, it was fortunate that Du Youchuan, Feng Qi'an and others persevered and continued to break the traps at the foot of the mountain. Only then were they able to save me and burn hundreds of bandits in the Thirteen Villages to death. From now on, there will be no Thirteen Villages in Jingkou anymore."
"Your Majesty, please reward Du Youchuan, Feng Qian'an and others."
Emperor Fu sat on the dragon throne, listening with a gloomy face as Fu Jinyuan talked about the process of wiping out the bandits in the Thirteen Villages.
I couldn't listen to a single word.
Who are Feng Qian'an and Du Youchuan? One is the prince of the Kangwang Mansion, and the other is the youngest son of the Dingguo Duke, both of them are well-known dandies and good-for-nothings!
How could they burn down the Thirteen Villages and kill hundreds of bandits in the Thirteen Villages?
Who believes it!
They dare to say it, but no one dares to believe it!
"Did you really save Prince Chen?" Emperor Fu asked, staring at Du Youchuan and the other two.
Du Youchuan and Feng Qian looked at each other.
Don't ask them.
They too were like dreaming.
I have been following the commander back for the past half month, and it felt like I was walking on clouds all the way.
They didn't think that they had saved the commander because the commander didn't look like he had been captured and taken to the Thirteen Villages.
But since the prince said so, then... right?
"Your Majesty, after the prince was taken to the mountain, we attacked from the foot of the mountain. It took us a month to break the mechanism, and then we... set fire to the Thirteen Villages." Du Youchuan answered guiltily, but still kept his back straight.
In fact, they are also confused.
Just after breaking the mechanism and preparing to rush up the mountain, I saw a flash of fire flickering on the mountain.
They met Fu Jinyuan who was coming down the mountain. He said that it was fortunate that they had broken the mechanism, which gave him the opportunity to escape down the mountain.
All the people in the Thirteen Villages were burned to death.
The fire was caused because they broke the mechanism.
I just... feel that Prince Chen’s explanation is both reasonable and mysterious.
"Were all the hundreds of bandits in the Thirteen Villages burned to death by you?" Emperor Fu asked with gritted teeth.
Du Youchuan: "Your Majesty, due to the dry weather, all the houses in the Thirteen Villages are wooden houses. Half of the hilltop has been burned down, and there is no one left alive."
He Zhiyuan asked coldly: "There are no survivors, so where are the bodies?"
Feng Qianan: "They are all burnt to ashes. Even if they are not burnt to ashes, there are only some broken arms and so on. If Lord He wants to see them, he can go to the Pacification Office to see them."
"Then what about those dozens of Ti cavalry you brought back?" Emperor Fu stared at Fu Jinyuan sharply.
Fu Jinyuan said helplessly, "The Pacification Division is in need of personnel right now. I am going to Jingkou to recruit talents. Although they are a motley crowd, after training, perhaps a few of them will be useful."
Emperor Fu was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
We all know that there are many problems with Prince Chen's trip to Jingkou, and that the matter of wiping out the bandits in the Thirteen Villages was definitely faked by Prince Chen.
But he has no evidence!
"Du Youchuan, you know that the crime of deceiving the emperor will result in the execution of the entire family. Did you really go to the Thirteen Villages to suppress the bandits?" He Zhiyuan asked sternly.
"Master He, who are you looking down on?" Du Youchuan straightened his back and shouted back.
"You think that we in the Pacification Division are all useless, and only you, Lord He, are capable, right?"
Duke Dingguo coughed heavily and said, "How can I allow you, a child, to be so presumptuous in front of His Majesty?"
He Zhiyuan sneered in his heart, and seeing the proud expression on Duke Dingguo's face, he couldn't suppress the upward curve of his mouth.
Du Youchuan muttered, "Before we went to Jingkou, the entire capital city thought we would die at the hands of the Thirteen Villages bandits. Now that we have fought hard to suppress the bandits and returned, they still think we are faking it."
"We can fake it, but can the bandits of the Thirteen Villages allow us to fake it?"
"They killed so many imperial officials. Could it be that they would look up to our Pacification Office and join hands with us to burn down their entire Thirteen Villages?"
Fu Jinyuan raised the corner of his mouth slightly. Who said Du Youchuan was useless? He is really very useful.
Both Fu Di and He Zhiyuan were stunned by Du Youchuan's question.
Yes, even if Fu Jinyuan wanted to cheat, how could he convince the Thirteen Villages to cooperate and burn down the base camp?
Unless we can find all the hundreds of people in the Thirteen Villages.
Emperor Fu regretted very much that he was too careless.
Knowing that Fu Jinyuan would return in failure, he did not send anyone to keep an eye on the Thirteen Villages.
"You... just compile this case into a book, and I will reward you according to your merits." Emperor Fu gritted his teeth, unwillingly.
Fu Jinyuan cupped his hands, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Go away. I am not feeling well. We can talk about other things later." Emperor Fu waved his hand to drive them away.
"I'll take my leave." Fu Jinyuan immediately bowed and took his leave.
Du Youchuan and Feng Qian hurriedly followed.
"Commander, Commander..."
Fu Jinyuan stopped and looked back at them.
"what happened?"
Du Youchuan touched his nose and said, "Commander, we didn't do anything. We didn't achieve any merit at all."
Fu Jinyuan said, "You risked your lives to come down the mountain to try to save me, but you didn't do anything."
He patted Du Youchuan on the shoulder and said, "You are all very good."
Du Youchuan and Feng Qian looked at each other. They had been playboys for so many years, but this was the first time someone praised them.
It's just... a bit sweet.
"You little rascal, why don't you come back with me to see your mother? She has been worried for days." Duke Dingguo scolded Du Youchuan.
King Kang followed closely behind, holding his son's ear and hurried home.
Fu Jinyuan smiled faintly, turned around and went to Kunning Palace.
He was able to successfully conquer the Thirteen Villages this time, thanks to a lot of help from Queen Ruan and the Ruan family.
When Queen Ruan heard what happened, her eyes were full of admiration for her son.
"You did a great job, better than I thought." Queen Ruan sighed. She thought her son was going to persuade the enemy to surrender, but she didn't expect that he would subdue the enemy directly.
"Although Suzhou is your fiefdom, there are not many people who can work for you. Yuan'er, you really surprise your mother."
Fu Jinyuan whispered, "Mother, although it went smoothly, the emperor and He Zhiyuan will definitely be suspicious, and they will send people to investigate thoroughly."
"Then let them investigate. What can they investigate?" Queen Ruan sneered.
Empress Ruan whispered again, "Not long after you went to Jingkou, the Empress Dowager had a dream. She said that you came on a colorful cloud in the dream and could protect her from evil spirits. Now that you are back, go and pay your respects to the Empress Dowager."
"Also, you have been away from home for a long time, and Suisui is about to give birth, so spend some time with her these days." Although Queen Ruan wanted to keep her son talking more, she knew that he should want to see Shen Sui'an more at this time.
“……”It is really hard to describe Fu Jinyuan’s love for the empress dowager.
"Mother, I will go to the Cining Palace to pay my respects to the Queen Mother first."
Queen Ruan took out a brocade box and said, "This is a hundred-year-old peach wood bracelet. Give it to the Queen Mother. She will definitely like it."
"Be sure to say that you got it by accident when you came back this time."
Fu Jinyuan took it and looked at it. He found that the peach wood was dense and fine, with a fresh fragrance. It was a rare and good peach wood that was worth a fortune.
"Mother..." Fu Jinyuan was slightly stunned.
Queen Ruan smiled faintly, "The Queen Mother likes you. With her protection, the Emperor will be afraid."
Fu Jinyuan stared at the peach wood bracelet in a daze. He and the Queen Mother had never lived together, so how much affection could the Queen Mother have for him?
The so-called love was all carefully earned by his mother.
Seek protection for him.