diymy Chapter 63: The Hunt at Iron Net Mountain
Chapter 63: The Hunt at Iron Net Mountain
During this time, Xia Bei learned a lot of information and reported it to Xia Chengzong.
What Xia Chengzong was most interested in was the repeated appearances of Ningguo Gong Jia Daihua.
He either had to report to the emperor or be summoned by the emperor for questioning.
Yes, at this moment, Duke Ningguo, Jia Daihua, is still the military governor of the capital garrison.
He was in charge of coordinating the security arrangements for this hunting operation at Tiewang Mountain.
The Jia family and the Crown Prince were very close, but Xia Chengzong guessed that the Jia family was not really involved.
Otherwise, the Jia family would never have had a peaceful end.
Grandfather Emperor may not have been entirely unprepared for Jia Daihua.
Before we knew it, it was March 28th.
The hunt at Tiewang Mountain officially began from this day forward.
This escort mission was handled by three departments: the Inner Guard, the Beijing Garrison, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The vanguard of the Beijing garrison had already arrived at Tiewangshan. Today, as the main army sets off, they are responsible for clearing the streets and clearing the way.
The inner guards provided close protection, while the Imperial Guards were responsible for reconnaissance on the perimeter.
Emperor Yonglong rode in a dragon carriage, with several of his grandsons, who were with him, following behind on horseback.
The horses ridden by Xia Chengxu and the others were all carefully selected steeds.
However, compared to Xia Chengzong's stunning performance, it immediately paled in comparison.
Xia Chengxu, who was still a child, glanced at Jinghong with envy in his eyes.
Having come to this world and grown up, this was Xia Chengzong's first time leaving the city.
After leaving the city, I was initially excited to see the pristine green hills and clear waters of this era, but after a while, I grew tired of it.
He had seen this kind of scenery many times in his previous life, often from above.
Tiewang Mountain is located more than 100 miles outside of Beijing.
If all cavalry marched at full speed, they could arrive in about half a day.
But with such a large marching force, that's naturally not an option.
After traveling for two hours and covering more than thirty miles, they stopped to rest.
After lighting a fire, cooking, and resting for a while, they traveled for another two hours before choosing a place to set up camp.
They arrived at Tiewang Mountain at noon the next day.
The entire hunting grounds had long been surrounded by the army.
They surrounded the east, west, and north sides, leaving only an opening on the south side, demonstrating their benevolence towards life.
They would drive the prey into a small hunting area in advance to facilitate the smooth progress of the subsequent hunting activities.
The Grand Master of Ceremonies was in charge of the sacrifices, and all the officials and soldiers, dressed in military attire, entered the hunting ground in turn to the sound of drums.
Emperor Yonglong dismounted from his imperial carriage, mounted his Ferghana horse, and, holding a longbow, was the first to enter the hunting area.
A short while later, a rabbit darted out!
Whoosh!
Emperor Yonglong shot an arrow, but it landed in an open space a zhang away from the rabbit.
The rabbit was startled and fled in panic, but it was soon driven out again!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!Whoosh!
Emperor Yonglong shot three arrows before finally killing the rabbit.
The entire court of civil and military officials and soldiers immediately shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
Emperor Yonglong hunted two more prey, then felt a pain in his arms and withdrew.
Next, it was the Crown Prince's turn to hunt.
The prince was not skilled in archery, and after killing one prey, he quickly ended the task.
Next, it was the princes' turn to take the stage.
Emperor Yonglong's many sons and nephews, among whom those with outstanding archery skills and superb martial arts were not reluctant to show off.
They shot and killed many prey, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Of course, there were also princes like Prince Chungjō and Prince Chungshun who were lazy and ignorant of basic farming.
They were just going through the motions.
After the prince, nobles and sons of military officers will appear.
After everyone has made their entrances, the drumming stops, and the ceremony is complete.
Next, it was time for free hunting.
At this moment, Xia Chengren pleaded, "Grandpa, I would also like to go hunting. I hope you will grant my request."
Emperor Yonglong looked at his grandsons and asked with a smile, "Does anyone else want to go hunting?"
The princes remained silent.
Their bravery was far inferior to Xia Chengren's; they would only serve as a foil, so naturally they were unwilling to do such a thing.
In fact, Xia Chengzong's archery skills had long surpassed those of Xia Chengren.
However, for Xia Chengzong, winning this prize would not bring him much emotional value, and would also expose his true strength, making it a losing proposition.
Seeing that none of his other grandsons went, Emperor Yonglong laughed and said, "Alright, you go. The prey is secondary; just be careful not to hurt yourself."
Xia Chengren said loudly, "Grandpa, just watch how your grandson performs!"
After saying this, Xia Chengren glanced at Xia Chengxu and the others, then rode off arrogantly.
Half an hour later, Xia Chengren returned on horseback, carrying a deer on his back.
He dismounted and carried the deer all the way to Emperor Yonglong, where he presented the deer to the emperor.
"This is a gift I hunted, specially presented to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will like it!"
Emperor Yonglong laughed heartily, "Excellent! My good grandson, indeed brave and valiant!"
Deer hunting?
A lone deer stands on the plain, while heroes vie for it.
This kid has ulterior motives!
Xia Chengzong's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately sensed that this boy was courting death.
A thought suddenly struck him, and he casually glanced at Xia Chengxu, Xia Chengli, and Xia Chengyan.
He could see the murderous intent in the eyes of all three men.
Well, none of his "good brothers" are any good people after all.
Next, several of the emperor's grandsons moved into the imperial palace with Emperor Yonglong.
The palace is situated in a terrain that is surrounded by mountains and water, with a high and dry location, close to the hunting grounds, making it convenient for deployment.
Surrounded by mountains and water, and situated on high ground, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
After entering the palace, Xia Chengzong began to observe the surrounding environment.
My grandfather was not a foolish ruler; he firmly controlled the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
These two locations are unlikely to be infiltrated.
If both places were infiltrated, they wouldn't have needed to specifically choose to rebel during the hunt at Iron Net Mountain.
Xia Chengzong judged that they must have either turned or taken control of one or more battalions of the Beijing Garrison.
With these troops, they were unable to breach the palace.
But now that Emperor Yonglong has come to Tiewang Mountain, he has given them an opportunity.
After observing for a while, Xia Chengzong quickly memorized the surrounding terrain.
Next, he began to calculate, based on the terrain, how troops would be deployed and from where to attack should someone rebel.
If we are outmatched, where should we retreat from, and which route should we take?
After some calculations, he had a clear idea of what was going on and would not panic when the mutiny occurred.
Over the next few days, he paid close attention to the subtle changes in his surroundings every day.
Meanwhile, Xia Chengxu and his companions, though they harbored the intention of showing off in front of Emperor Yonglong, were still young.
But they were still young at heart; this was the first time in their lives that they had left the capital and lived in the mountains.
Therefore, these past few days, they have been roaming through the mountains and forests and playing by the water, having a great time.
Xia Chengzong, on the other hand, only rode horses every day and did not play with the others.
In Xia Chengzong's eyes, they were far too naive.
On this day, Xia Chengzong suddenly noticed something unusual.
There are 20,000 to 30,000 troops stationed here, including several thousand cavalry.
Therefore, the army had fodder delivered early.
There is hay transport every day, but today the amount of hay delivered here is at least twice as much as usual.