Chapter 16: The Longyang Army Shakes the Military Might

Ever since Lord Lord Murong Murong Yunhai departed, the Crown Prince's invitations to Jiang Jiang Mingyu have become increasingly frequent!

In the past, it was only on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, taking advantage of the Lady's absence, that he would occasionally invite Jiang Jiang Mingyu to the Eastern Palace for a meal; but after the Dragon Boat Festival, it became a small banquet every three days and a grand banquet every five!

This even provoked Tang Yuqi to start complaining: "Why don't we just move into the Eastern Palace altogether!"

Hearing Yuqi complain thus, the Steward Zhang tried to offer gentle advice; after all, the Crown Prince is the heir apparent, and maintaining a good relationship with him would greatly assist Jiang Jiang Mingyu's future career.

Though Yuqi felt unwilling, she could only sniffle and swallow her grievances.

On the day of Liqiu, Jiang Jiang Mingyu accepted an invitation to dine at the Eastern Palace.

That evening, the Lady happened to be present, so the three of them sat together in the dining hall to eat.

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu dining alone with the couple, his figure appearing somewhat lonely, and having eaten only a few bites, the Lady pretended to be full and withdrew on her own; and only after the Lady left her seat did the Crown Prince begin to beam with joy!

"I wonder if Mr. Jiang and the Lady... also became a couple by parental command and matchmaker's words?" the Crown Prince asked.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded and replied: "You could say so..."

"You could say so?" the Crown Prince asked, slightly puzzled: "What do you mean by that?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "My wife and I were betrothed by the binding of our bellies; our engagement was settled while we were still in the womb..."

The Crown Prince smiled understandingly and asked again: "Forgive my abruptness, but do you truly love the Lady?"

Upon hearing this, it was now Jiang Jiang Mingyu's turn to feel puzzled. He asked in return: "I wonder what Your Highness means by that... how should I understand it?"

The Crown Prince drank a cup of wine, let out a long sigh, and then spoke slowly.

"For instance, although Your Highness and the Lady have been married for many years, we both know clearly that our marriage was merely a political alliance, with no other option but to proceed as we did."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "But... but the Lady possesses the beauty of the nation and the sky, a face that makes the moon hide and the flowers blush; has Your Highness never... felt any attraction?"

"Hahahaha..."

After laughing heartily, the Crown Prince confessed frankly: "To be honest, I have truly never felt any attraction to her!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes widened, and he stared at the Crown Prince like a stunned chicken for a long time, not knowing what to say.

"I wonder, Mr. Jiang, in this life, besides the Lady, have you ever felt attraction to any other woman?" the Crown Prince asked.

Coming to his senses, Jiang Jiang Mingyu quickly replied: "Never..."

The Crown Prince: "Why?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "To speak shamefully, I studied books from childhood; apart from clan members and relatives, I rarely associated with women; after marrying at sixteen, I only knew the Lady and knew no others."

The Crown Prince: "You... must be twenty-eight now, right?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "Replying to Your Highness, twenty-eight is correct."

The Crown Prince: "From sixteen to twenty-eight, during these twelve years, have you never encountered a woman who pleased you?"

"There... truly hasn't been one," Jiang Jiang Mingyu said shyly.

Upon learning this, the Crown Prince stood up, stroked his beard, wore an unreadable smile on his face, and slowly walked from the opposite side of the table.

He came to Jiang Jiang Mingyu's side and said with meaning: "I wonder if Mr. Jiang has ever thought that perhaps the problem lies not with the women..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked confused and asked in return: "Your Highness... what do you mean by that?"

"Hahahaha..." After laughing loudly, the Crown Prince continued: "Have you ever heard of the 'Longyang Zhenwei Army'?"

"As thunderous as the sound of thunder!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu continued: "The Longyang Zhenwei Army is also known as the 'Longyang Army'; when the founding Emperor conquered the world, he personally led the Longyang Army, pacified the twelve tribes of the Northern Hu, and subdued the south, conquering five kingdoms, eight circuits, and thirty-six prefectures; it was an army that shook the world and was famous throughout the Four Seas; even I, in my stupidity, could not have failed to hear of it."

The Crown Prince nodded and asked again: "Then do you know what the true secret is that makes the Longyang Army so brave and skilled in battle, winning every fight without exception?"

This question directly made Jiang Jiang Mingyu laugh!

He had grown up listening to stories about the Longyang Army from his teachers and clan elders; his ears had long since calloused from hearing them, and he knew them by heart!

"The invincible tactics of the Longyang Army are three..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu confidently continued: "The armored soldiers of the Five Army Camps, the firearms of the Shenji Camp, and the iron cavalry of the Three Thousand Camp..."

Before Jiang Jiang Mingyu could detail one by one the deeds of the Longyang Army he knew, the Crown Prince directly refuted him! He said: "None of those!"

Corrected by the Crown Prince like this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu was stunned on the spot!

Could the stories he had heard from elders since childhood all be untrue?

The Crown Prince smiled slightly wickedly, leaned close to Jiang Jiang Mingyu's ear, and whispered timidly: "This is part of the art of the emperor and cannot be spread outside! But I can secretly tell you, the secret of the Longyang Army's invincibility throughout the world... is actually 'brotherly love'!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked confused and asked in return: "Bro... brotherly love? What brotherly love?"

The Crown Prince: "You may have heard of the 'Longyang preference'?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu instantly realized the truth and stammered: "Could it be that the two characters 'Longyang' in the Longyang Army are precisely..."

"Correct..." the Crown Prince continued: "The two characters 'Longyang' in the Longyang Zhenwei Army indeed take the meaning of 'Longyang'!"

Just as Jiang Jiang Mingyu's worldview instantly collapsed and he attempted to reassemble it, the Crown Prince added further.

"This Longyang Army... I privately nickname them the 'Longlong Army'!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "Long... Longlong Army!"

The Crown Prince: "That's right, the Longlong Army."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "How... how does that sound... so cute"

"Your tone is wrong," the Crown Prince said: "It is... 'mengmeng da'!"

"Huh?" At this moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu wore a face of dumbfounded cuteness!

The Crown Prince did not further explain the origin of the Longlong Army; instead, he placed both hands on Jiang Jiang Mingyu's shoulders, lowered his head, and leaned close to his right cheek, so close that Jiang Jiang Mingyu could feel the Crown Prince's beard tickling his temple!

The Crown Prince: "Tomorrow... come with me to inspect the 'Left Guard Command', so you can see for yourself what the current 'Longlong Army'... is actually like."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "The Left Guard Command?"

The Crown Prince continued to press his face against Jiang Jiang Mingyu's right cheek while speaking softly: "After the world was settled, the birds were gone and the good bows were hidden; the founding Emperor disbanded the 'Longlong Army', retaining only elite soldiers and fierce generals, and reorganized them into the 'Guard Army'."

"In the ninth year of the reign of Renzong, it was reorganized again into the 'Guard Command', divided into the Front, Rear, Center, Left, and Right Commands, protecting the capital from the five directions: East, West, South, North, and Center."

While the Crown Prince was speaking, Jiang Jiang Mingyu could also smell the strong scent of wine, which drifted into the air with every breath.

"The autumn tiger is unleashing its power; with such scorching heat, why are you wearing so many clothes? Just looking at you makes me feel hot on your behalf!"

While the Crown Prince spoke, he began to extend his right hand, attempting to remove the green summer robe from Jiang Jiang Mingyu!

In a moment of inattention, the knot on Jiang Jiang Mingyu's right shoulder, struck by the Crown Prince, was already loosened, and half of the green robe slid down in an instant!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, his face showing difficulty, intended to raise his hand to stop him, but whether out of fear of the Crown Prince's power or his own shyness, he remained silent and allowed the Crown Prince to further untie the knot of his undergarment.

Seeing that Jiang Jiang Mingyu had no intention of resisting, the Crown Prince's wicked and lustful smile on his face grew even brighter! He quickened his hand speed, and with a few swift moves, he untied the undergarment. At this moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's two shoulders were already exposed right under the Crown Prince's eyes!

Just at that moment, the Crown Princess suddenly returned! Following behind was the maid Xiao Zhen, who held a brocade box with both hands.

Seeing the Crown Princess return, Jiang Jiang Mingyu hurriedly put his undergarment and green robe back on, and even deliberately coughed twice, pretending nothing had happened.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince could only stop and give up. He asked with slight frustration: "My beloved concubine... why did you return suddenly?"

The Crown Princess: "Replying to Your Highness, your concubine recently obtained several 'Mopan Mopan Xungu' from the tribute merchants of the Southern Seas; coincidentally, Minister Tang is visiting the Eastern Palace tonight, so I thought to take one over to gift to Minister Jiang."

"Mopan Mopan Xungu..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes instantly lit up, and he exclaimed in surprise: "Could it be the Mopan Mopan Xungu, known as the 'Southern Seas Ginseng'!"

The Crown Princess smiled and replied: "Minister Jiang is indeed the newly crowned Zhuangyuan, knowledgeable and experienced; it is indeed the Southern Seas Ginseng, the Mopan Mopan Xungu."

The Crown Prince, originally somewhat disappointed due to the Crown Princess's sudden return, had his mood instantly change upon seeing the Mopan Mopan Xungu appear. He proposed: "Do you have any more? I would like to present them to Father Emperor."

The Crown Princess: "Yes, your concubine has prepared them long ago."

The Crown Prince: "Then good, tomorrow morning, when we go to the palace to pay respects, we can present them to Father Emperor."

"Meeting the Emperor tomorrow morning!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu suddenly said with a face full of tension.

The Crown Prince smiled and said: "Do not panic. Paying respects is a daily routine for this King; it has nothing to do with you."

The Crown Prince patted Jiang Jiang Mingyu's shoulder again and continued: "Tomorrow... after this King returns, I will take you with me to inspect the Left Guard Commandant's Office."