After meeting with Louis the Sixteenth and a few other benevolent individuals last time, the old dog Qian Long was once again locked up in prison. Although he had food, drink, and clothing, Qian Long, being eighty-one years old and without his usual daily dose of deer blood or bird's nest porridge, coupled with the dark and dreary prison life, meant that when Zhu Jinsong saw him again, Qian Long's mental state was significantly worse.
Of course, Qian Long was a man of dignity. As the saying goes, one might lose in substance but not in spirit. Even though he was imprisoned and had deeply regretted his actions behind the scenes, Qian Long had no intention of bowing down.
Upon seeing Zhu Jinsong, Qian Long began to taunt him, "Speak, who do you plan to swindle this time? If you continue to swindle Louis the Sixteenth and the others, I'm still willing to help you."
Zhu Jinsong felt a bit displeased.
If you're afraid of death, just say so. If you want to cling to life, just say so. But who are you trying to put on this act for? If someone who didn't know the inside story came, wouldn't they think you were my father?
Suppressing the urge to slap Qian Long, Zhu Jinsong snorted, "You old dog, you like to go on tours, don't you? This time, I'll give you an opportunity to travel with me."
After speaking, Zhu Jinsong waved to Ke Zhiming and instructed, "Please escort Lord Qian Long into the carriage. Take good care of him on the journey, and do not let Lord Qian Long die along the way."
Ke Zhiming, suppressing the urge to burst into laughter, cupped his hands towards Qian Long and pointed to the prison cart not far away, "Lord Qian Long, please?"
Ancient prison carts had no seats, nor was there any mention of humanity; there was only an extremely narrow wooden cage. The prisoner's head had to stick out of the cage, and they would also wear a cangue and shackles on their feet.
Qian Long snorted and, quite obligingly, walked towards the prison cart nearby.
Although the prison cart couldn't compare to the imperial carriage, and the soldiers surrounding it couldn't compare to the grand procession during his southern tours, the prison cart was still a form of transport. There were soldiers escorting him... The key was, if he didn't obediently get into the prison cart, who knew what tricks that fellow surnamed Zhu would come up with?
Judging others by himself, Qian Long could think of many ways.
For instance, his hands tied with ropes and being led; or someone behind him holding a whip, whipping him as he walked; or...
In any case, there were plenty of such nasty tricks, so it was better to obediently get into the prison cart and save himself from further physical suffering.
This caused Zhu Jinsong, Zhu Erdan, Zhu Sanshun, along with Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, and a host of other important figures, to feel a great sense of regret.
Disrespecting the elderly?
If anyone were to say these people disrespected the elderly, it would be completely untrue. The Great Ming Code explicitly stipulated that at seventy, one could be punished with a staff in the province; at eighty, one could be punished with a staff in the court; and at ninety, if the Son of Heaven had questions, he would visit their residence.
Simply put, a seventy-year-old could take a cane and cause trouble for a provincial administration commissioner. An eighty-year-old could take a cane and cause trouble for Zeng Cheng, the Grand Secretary of the Great Ming, or even Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming. Those over ninety, if they wanted to cause trouble for Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Jinsong would have to obediently go to their homes to be lectured. Those over a hundred, even if they wanted to defecate in the Fengtian Hall of the Forbidden City, Zhu Jinsong could only pinch his nose and tolerate it.
Note that these regulations were not copied from the Book of Rites, nor from the Qin, Han, or Tang laws, as the wording and phrasing were completely different, and punctuation marks were also added, so they were definitely not copied!
The Great Ming Code also had a clause concerning the implication of family members, which usually included a provision that "for those over seventy or under seven, this clause shall not apply." In simple terms, elderly people over seventy who committed crimes would have their cases handled separately, and if implicated, their cases would also be handled separately.
Who dared to say that the Ming dynasty, led by Zhu Jinsong, did not respect the elderly?
The problem was that this thing Qian Long couldn't really be considered an elderly person.
Seeing Qian Long obediently boarding the prison cart, Zhu Jinsong could only sigh regretfully, then board the imperial carriage. Zeng Cheng and the other important figures also either boarded carriages or mounted warhorses, and the emperor and his officials of the Great Ming began to advance towards Shun Tian Prefecture.
According to Zhu Jinsong's original plan, this return to the capital was to be as quick as possible. Zeng Cheng and the other important figures would depart first and reach Shun Tian Prefecture, then Zhu Jinsong would slowly follow with some of the imperial concubines and Qian Long. This would save time and money, and not delay court business, thus achieving multiple objectives.
However, Zeng Cheng and the other important figures disagreed, and even Liu Huaiwen, who had been complaining about the empty treasury, disagreed.
The reason these people gave was simple: "The Divine Continent has been submerged for over a hundred and fifty years. This return to the capital is a time to boost the morale of the people. How can it be treated as a jest?"
"If we cannot return to Shun Tian Prefecture in a grand manner, not only will the court lose face, but the people of the world will also not be pleased!"
"..."
There were many such miscellaneous reasons, all in all, they not only wanted to properly display Qian Long, allowing the people along the way to get a good look at him, but also to make it a grand occasion to boost morale.
If this process were missing, it seemed something would be lacking.
The facts proved that the theories of Zeng Cheng and the other important figures were correct.
The roads outside the city of Jinan Prefecture were already crowded with people. Three elderly men, trembling and appearing as if a gust of wind could knock them down, directly blocked the city gate of Jinan Prefecture. Behind the three elders was a sturdy young man holding a tray. The tray contained three cups of wine and a bag of soil wrapped in red cloth.
When Zhu Jinsong's imperial carriage arrived at the gate of Jinan City, these three elders immediately stopped the vanguard guards and insisted on seeing the emperor to bid him farewell.
When Zhu Jinsong dismounted from the imperial carriage and approached the three elders, they all knelt down with a thud. The young man holding the tray also knelt down and held the tray steadily above his head. Startled, Zhu Jinsong hurriedly helped up the three elders, "I am young and cannot bear such a grand gesture from you elders. Please rise, please rise!"
After they got up, the leader among the three elders cupped his hands towards Zhu Jinsong and asked, "Is Your Majesty returning to Shun Tian Prefecture?"
Zhu Jinsong nodded and replied, "Yes, our Great Ming's capital was originally in Shun Tian Prefecture. Now that it has been recovered, we should naturally move back. Moreover, the nation will need to deploy troops to the Western Regions and the Nurgan Regional Military Commission in the future, so moving back to Shun Tian Prefecture will be more convenient."
Although reluctant, the elder merely nodded, reached for a cup of wine from the tray held by the young man, and handed it to Zhu Jinsong, "Your Majesty was born in our Shandong, grew up in our Shandong, and raised an army from our Shandong. This is the place where the dragon ascended. We hope Your Majesty will visit when you have leisure time."
Zhu Jinsong raised the cup and drank it down, saying, "Rest assured, elder. I was born and raised in Shandong. After I pacify the Western Regions and the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, or when I have free time, I will bring the second and third ones and the children back to Shandong to visit."
Another elder took the wine cup from Zhu Jinsong's hand, replaced it with a fresh cup, and handed it to Zhu Jinsong, saying with a choked voice, "Your Majesty, please do not overwork yourself. Remember to eat when you are hungry and add clothes when you are cold. Please take care of yourself!"
Zhu Jinsong took the cup and nodded, "Elder's concern, I have noted it. Elder, you must also take care of yourself. The remaining Jurchen remnants are merely like chickens and dogs. They will be swept away within two years. When I return to Shandong, I will visit your home!"
The elder took the wine cup with trembling hands, and the third elder then handed over the third cup of wine, "We, we, we wish Your Majesty many sons and grandchildren, and ten thousand years of reign!"
Zhu Jinsong thanked the elders, took the cup, drank it, and then smiled, "With the elders' good wishes, I will definitely work hard and strive to have ten or twenty sons, and then I will bring them back to Shandong to visit you. You won't find it bothersome, will you?"
Zhu Jinsong said it lightly, but the three elders' eyes reddened.
The leading elder, with trembling hands, picked up the handful of yellow soil wrapped in red cloth and presented it to Zhu Jinsong, "Last time I sent someone to the temporary palace to bring you eggs, Your Majesty refused, saying to keep them for the children at home. You also bestowed wine, meat, rice, and noodles upon us, which I remember."
After Zhu Jinsong took the bag of soil, the elder took out two dyed red eggs from his embrace. "Today you are moving to Shun Tian Prefecture, this is an official matter for the court, and it is also a joyous occasion. I will not keep you, nor will I give you anything else. Just these two red eggs, you must accept them, right?"
Zhu Jinsong handed the soil in his hand to Zhang Dequan behind him, then solemnly took the two red eggs, tapped them against each other, peeled them, and ate them heartily, saying indistinctly while eating, "Fragrant! These eggs are so fragrant!"
After Zhu Jinsong finished the two red eggs with tears in his eyes, the three elders and the young man retreated to the side. The leading elder once again cupped his hands towards Zhu Jinsong and said, "Your Majesty's journey, safe travels!"
As the procession started moving forward again, the people on both sides of the road, like a long-accumulated flood finally finding an outlet, rushed forward, holding their eggs or steamed buns and stuffing them into the hands of the soldiers by the roadside.
"His Majesty ate the eggs, why can't you?"
"Take it! If you dare to return it, I'll get angry with you!"
"I see you dare to refuse! You little brat, take it quickly. If you take it, this auntie will find you a wife!"
"Remember to come back and visit! This is also your home, don't forget!"
"..."
Qian Long, who had witnessed all of this, couldn't help but let out a long sigh and then slowly closed his eyes, no longer watching.
During his six southern tours, except for the sixth one which was disrupted by Zhu Jinsong, that notorious rebel, Qian Long had not been without experiences of the populace welcoming the emperor.
However, those people merely knelt from afar, not daring to raise their heads, even wishing to bury their heads in the ground. Occasionally, a few brave ones who dared to rush out and block the imperial carriage were mostly there to lodge complaints.
Qian Long knew clearly that those people were afraid, afraid that if they did something wrong, they would incur the wrath of the officials, leading to the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their families.
Qian Long also knew more clearly that although he had continuously remitted taxes and grains along the way, these benefits never reached the common people. Otherwise, ever since the Qing entered the pass, there had always been those who opposed the Qing and sought to restore the Ming, and this had continued for over 150 years without interruption.
But Qian Long didn't care.
In Qian Long's opinion, an emperor needed the people's respect and fear, but not their affection. Whether an emperor was wise or not was never decided by those commoners.
However, everything before him completely overturned Qian Long's long-held beliefs.
Qian Long even began to question his life.
Did I, did I really make a mistake?
But before Qian Long could figure out whether his actions over the years were right or wrong, the people of Jinan Prefecture presented Qian Long with what they considered suitable gifts.
No eggs.
Qian Long only received rotten vegetables, not even a single rotten egg... Shandong people are so thrifty! Good eggs can be eaten, and rotten eggs can be fed to pigs and dogs, so why would they be willing to waste them on Qian Long?