Gunsmoke is rising

  The return journey was not as pleasant as the one on the way, although Yongzhao still shared a horse-drawn carriage with Longyintian, but he was noticeably quieter.

  When he heard the news of Da A Ge's passing, Yongzhang was initially hard to accept. He really didn't expect that his brother who had been talking to him not long ago would leave like this. After all, it was the first time for him to experience the separation and farewell between relatives.

  The other brothers were fine, mostly just feeling a little regretful because they didn't have a very deep relationship with the eldest brother, so naturally they weren't as sad as Yongzhang.

  Ever since he got on the carriage, Yongzhang didn't say a word except for the necessary greetings, and from the start of the journey, he leaned against the window, expressionless, gazing out at the scenery through the half-open window as if there was something novel outside that was attracting him, but his slightly lifeless eyes betrayed all his inner thoughts.

  Looking at Yongzhen like this, Long Yitian's heart was filled with nothing but a sigh and a faint sense of helplessness. He wasn't very good at comforting people to begin with; moreover, he had only experienced such a situation once before, when his father the emperor passed away a long time ago. But that was so long ago that he couldn't even recall how he felt back then.

  In such a silent and oppressive atmosphere, the imperial carriage still rushed back to Beijing at the fastest speed. Although the funeral procession of A Ge was not as grand as that of Empress Xiaoxian, it was enough to keep the Ministry of Rites busy for a while.

  Long Yintian had originally planned to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Yongzhang, although it might not have much effect, but at least it could make the child's mood better; moreover, Yongzhang was not young anymore, after this period of learning about government affairs, he basically understood the difference, but these consecutive battles made Long Yintian's plan drag on again and again.

  As the autumn wind gradually rose, after having lunch one day, Yongzhang was about to go find Yongyan to discuss government affairs, but unexpectedly the Emperor sent someone to summon him, saying that the Emperor specially invited him to take a stroll in the Imperial Flower Garden.

  Yongzhao was slightly stunned at first, then quickly reacted and responded hastily. He followed the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict to the Imperial Garden.

  Yongzhao walked and pondered, but still couldn't understand what his imperial father wanted to do. Sometimes he had to admit that when it came to guessing the emperor's thoughts and intentions, he was indeed inferior to Fourth Brother Yongyan.

  However, he himself also understood that these days he was indeed a bit down in the dumps, but fortunately, Yongyao always came to find him to play and fool around during his free time, which made his mood much better, and at the same time, he and Yongyao were closer than before.

  In the pavilion of the imperial garden, Long Yitian was sipping tea and listening to Ji Fu reading aloud from the memorial submitted by the Ministry of Rites. (Ji Fu, a Manchu from the Plain Yellow Banner, had served in various offices and was currently serving as Vice Minister of Rites and Deputy Commander-in-Chief, with the title of Commander-in-Chief.)

  In fact, the memorials written here are not about anything major, just trivial matters such as the envoys entering the capital and festival arrangements. The funeral of the eldest prince has also been basically taken care of, after all, the Ministry of Rites is also handling it according to its usual procedures, so there's no need for Long Huitian to worry at all.

  Jingyuan was also puzzled in his heart as he read the imperial edict, and didn't know what the Emperor wanted to do by summoning him alone this time.

  He had thought that there was something wrong with his own draft and had been worried for a while, but the situation in front of him clearly denied his speculation.

  He naturally understood the principle that "it's hard to measure a person's heart", so he calmed down and carefully read the memorial, concentrating his energy and responding perfectly to every question asked by the emperor.

  Yan Jian Yongzhao walked over quickly, and Long Yitian slightly waved his hand, indicating that Jiefu didn't need to continue reading.

  Jie Fu was also a sharp-eyed and quick-witted person, immediately putting the memorial together neatly on the stone table. After San Ge gave the emperor his respects, he hastily paid his respects to San Ge with a reverent expression, not showing any disrespect due to San Ge's young age.

  As the emperor was present, Yongzhao only nodded slightly to Jiefu and then came to Longyue Tian's side, asking with a hint of puzzlement: "Imperial Father, you summoned me in such haste, I wonder what instructions you have?"

  "This isn't the imperial study, no need to be so formal." Long Yitian just smiled faintly and didn't answer Yongzhang's question. Instead, he pulled Yongzhang's hand over and had him sit beside him. "I've noticed you haven't been in high spirits these past few days, that's why I called you out for a walk. Relaxing your mood might make things feel much better."

  As for Long Yitian's move, Yongzhang felt very surprised. He had never thought that the Emperor would still notice him in his busy schedule.

  Because he knew that the Emperor had been busy with state affairs recently, due to the outbreak of internal strife in Dzungar, both the Military Machinery Office and the Ministry of War had been extremely busy for days. In addition, there was the funeral of the eldest prince and the early death of the tenth prince Yongye, so the atmosphere in the imperial study could be described as more oppressive by the day. Even the number of times the Emperor scolded his officials had increased significantly.

  Although it was a bit unexpected, Yongzhang's heart was still warm and fuzzy. He found that as long as the emperor said one extremely simple sentence of concern, it was worth more than others saying thousands of sentences.

  He slightly pursed his lips and Yongzhang raised a gentle smile, looking at Long Yitian and saying: "It's all the fault of this humble subject, making the Emperor worry again."

  It's clear that because of the outsider, Yongzhang seems a bit restrained, so Longyintian didn't say much more. However, he could sense that Yongzhang's mood seemed to be much better than when Mulan returned. If that's the case, then leaving things to him should be fine.

  Long Yitian handed the documents on the table to Yongzhang and went straight to the point, saying the real purpose of calling Yongzhang this time: "Yongzhang, you have been in the imperial study for some time now, I'm sure you've learned a lot. However, things on paper are always dead, no matter how much you say, it's not as good as participating in person."

  The meaning of Long Hui Tian's words was very clear, which made Yong Zhen feel a little excited from the bottom of his heart, and even had a bit of being favored. He hesitated to ask: "Imperial Father, your meaning is......?"

  Long Hui Tian nodded definitely, then looked at Jie Fu with a faint gaze and said: "I plan to let you go to the Ministry of Rites to study and practice well. I see that Jie Fu has been in the Ministry of Rites for many years, and you should also get to know him. With his assistance, I can rest assured."

  As soon as Jie Fu heard this, how could he not understand the emperor's mind? His heart, which had just calmed down, was once again lifted to his throat. But regardless of whether this matter was good or bad, since the emperor had already made his intentions clear, it would be difficult for him to refuse. So he hastily responded: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely do my best to help the Third Prince familiarize himself with the affairs of the Ministry of Rites."

  Yongzhao understood that this was his own opportunity, so he also hurriedly replied: "Your son will definitely do his best and not disappoint the Emperor."

  "Uh, having confidence is a good thing, but you also need to remember that this time you go to the Ministry of Rites is mainly for learning, not for giving orders. Do you understand?" Dragon Hidden Heaven's words on the surface were reminding Yongzhang, but in fact, they were also warning Jiefu, making it clear what should and shouldn't be done, otherwise, something would go wrong sooner or later.

  Yongzhao didn't catch the deeper meaning of Long Yitian's words, thinking that the emperor was just teaching him, so he replied very seriously: "Your Majesty's words I will definitely remember in my heart."

  However, Jiefu, who had been standing by the side, was made to break out in cold sweat by Long Yitian's few words, after all, the things of Emperor Kangxi's time were still vivid in his mind, he naturally understood what the emperor's warning meant.

  After finishing the proper business, Long Yitian finally had some free time. After indicating that Jie Fu should leave, he started chatting casually with Yongzhang.

  But obviously the heavens did not intend to give him this opportunity, they had just chatted for a few sentences when Fu Heng hurriedly came with an urgent memorial.

  Long Hanyan couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration, letting Yongzhang leave first. Only then did he take the two memorials from Fu Heng's hands and carefully read them over. As he did so, his expression grew increasingly somber.

  A memorial reported that the Tibetan king Zhuermute Namuzhale was preparing to revolt, and the Resident Grand Minister Fuqing and the Left Censor Labudun discovered his intentions and had him killed; however, his party Zholo Robzangzhaxi's treacherous heart did not die, and he launched a rebellion that night, and Fuqing and Labudun were killed.

  Another one said that the internal strife of the Junggar tribe had escalated, and it had developed from a small-scale conflict to a large-scale military action, and there were several frictions with the Qing army, and the prince was unfortunately killed.

  He slammed the memorial on the table, Long Yintian suppressed his anger without saying a word, Fu Heng also knew that now was not the time to talk more, so he just stood quietly beside him, waiting for Long Yintian to speak.

  After about half a stick of incense, Longyitian finally calmed down the anger in his heart and said in a very calm tone: "The Tibetan affair is urgent, Fu Heng, do you have any suitable candidates in mind? Tell me."

  Fu Heng's heart was eager to go into battle, but at the same time he also understood that his current achievements had already made many people jealous, and there were not a few rumors and slanders. If he were to win again on the battlefield, it would be the end of the good days for the Fuca family; but sending troops to Tibet was different from other places, just the two problems of unaccustomed water and soil and high-altitude reaction were already major issues.

  After careful consideration, Fu Heng finally spoke up and replied: "I think that Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor Yue Zhongqi and Minister of Revenue Zhao Hui are not bad choices."

  As for Fu Heng's recommended candidate, Long Yitian is still relatively acceptable, but there is one thing that is very troublesome. Because Yue Zhongqi is a Han Chinese, he had just made great achievements in the previous pacification of the small and large Gold Streams. If he were to be sent out again this time, there would certainly be people in the court who would oppose it. The discord between Manchu and Han is indeed a headache-inducing problem.

  However, the headache is still a headache, but the war cannot be delayed, so Long Yintian simply gathered the people from the Military Machine Department and threw this weighing problem to them, limiting them to discuss and nominate a person before the early court session tomorrow.

  As for the emperor's decree and the impending war, the ministers of the Military Council did not dare to slack off, and after a night of intense discussion, they finally came up with a plan that made Long Hanyan feel relatively satisfied.

  The next morning, Lian Tian abolished the morning meeting and directly issued an edict, ordering Xunke, Yue Zhongqi, and Zhao Hui to lead troops into Tibet, and ordered Yin Jishan to go to Sichuan to manage grain supplies; specially appointed Fuling'an as deputy general, to follow Zhao Hui into Tibet.

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