Bright Spring

Haitao glanced sideways quietly, seeing that Mrs. Zhang had no intention of speaking, he opened his mouth and said: "Zheng He, Hou Xian, and Wang Jinghong brought back many Western tributes, and the emperor picked some tonics for health, specially Give it to Duke Qi. You say this..."

Zhang said: "Nowadays, the country is experiencing troubled times, and military officials are especially important. Your Majesty knows it well. Treating Qiu Fu kindly to the King of Han is to give extra importance to honorable military officials."

With an admiring expression, Haitao hurriedly nodded in agreement.

He then said cautiously: "By the way, Zheng He picked something from the Western Treasures and asked his servants to present it to the Empress."

Mrs. Zhang showed a slight smile, looking at Haitao's face with single eyelids and small eyes.The eunuch first mentioned a few people who went to the West, and then he suddenly remembered and mentioned it in passing, without any trace; but Mrs. Zhang knew in her heart that Haitao might have taken Zheng He's favor, and had been looking for an opportunity for a long time. Talk about it.

Haitao took out a box from his bosom, opened it lightly, then lifted the red satin inside, and held it in front of the chair with both hands.

Mrs. Zhang looked down and saw a string of Buddhist beads inside.

Haitao said: "Empress, the Buddha Sakyamuni is from Tianzhu. Before he became a Buddha, he often twirled this bead to understand Buddhism, and then hid it in the palace of the king of Tianzhu. The Ming fleet landed on the seashore of Tianzhu. By chance, they got this pearl. Treasure. Eunuch Zheng said that no one in this world would dare to own this thing except the Empress Dowager, so I specially selected it from the countless treasures on board and dedicated it to the Empress Empress."

Mrs. Zhang picked it up gently, but found it was heavy, so she put it in front of her and observed it carefully.She couldn't put it down and played with it for a long time before she moved her eyes away from the beads.She suddenly asked: "Did Zheng He have a good relationship with Gao Xu before?"

"This..." Hai Tao's face turned pale, and he hurriedly said, "I don't dare to lie to the empress, but I have been in the Shizi Mansion and the East Palace before, and I seldom know what happened to the late emperor."

Mrs. Zhang said: "Did you take in a godson with gray hair named Yunxiang, or the brother Meng you mentioned just now. He was the eunuch of the former Yan Palace. Go and ask him."

Haitao hurriedly bowed and said, "I will obey Yi's order."

At this moment, Mrs. Zhang asked abruptly, "Where is Zhang Fu now?"

Haitao said: "Go back to the empress, according to the recent report to the palace, the British Duke has just entered Yunnan. The British Duke was ordered to join forces with Guizhou Zhenyuan Hou (Gu Cheng) to attack Yunnan; but the British Duke marched very slowly. The mountains and forests in the south of Yunnan are criss-crossing and supplies are difficult, so he needs to build strongholds and warehouses along the way first.”

Haitao thought for a while, and then said in a deep voice: "The British Duke had written a letter before, and he was opposed to attacking Yunnan with Gu Cheng. Later, the imperial court ordered him to go north, so he set off."

"Oh?" Mrs. Zhang looked very concerned.

Hai Tao said: "After the British public learned that the Han King's army was going to Sichuan, Shangzuo put forward some propositions, which were quite different from the intention of attacking Yunnan.

He believed that Xue Lu was by no means an opponent of the King of Han.After the fall of Sichuan, the battlefields of Yun, Gui, and Sichuan were integrated. The imperial court should first appoint a Pinghan general to coordinate the overall situation of Yun, Gui, and Sichuan; instead of letting Xue Lu, Gu Cheng, and Zhang Fu fight on their own.The meaning of the Duke of England must be that he wants to be named General Pinghan by the Holy Lord; among the three nobles in the southwest, only the Duke of England has the highest title.

The British Duke also said that the imperial court should not fight in a hurry, and proposed the strategy of "siege the southwest, stick to Guizhou, and divide Yunchuan".The slave girl listened to Brother Meng's explanation, and it was probably the British princess Zhang Qiuwen who wanted to block the King of Han in the southwest first and win in a stable way, so she was reluctant to attack Kunming with Gu Cheng. "

Mrs. Zhang listened carefully, and only asked, "Is Zhang Fu a talented person?"

Haitao said: "My maidservant listened to the comparison of the military officials in the foreign court. Among the heroes of 'Jing Nan', Zhang Fu should be the most capable person."

Mrs. Zhang said calmly: "Warlords are not limited to 'Jing Nan' heroes."

Haitao was stunned for a while, and then hurriedly said: "Except for those under the King of Han, Wei Guogong (Xu Huizu), Jiangyinhou (Wu Gao), Ningyuanhou (He Fu) in the imperial court who built the Wen Dynasty, all of them died during the 'Jingnan Battle'. 'It was a headache for the first emperor, so he must have some ability! But those people are not as reliable as Ying Gong, Yang Wuhou and others."

Mrs. Zhang said seriously: "We have all received His Majesty's favor, so we have to share our worries for His Majesty. No matter what kind of people, as long as we can help His Majesty, we must consider them!"

Haitao bowed and said, "Your Majesty taught me the right thing, and my slaves will obey Yi's orders."

Chapter 4 and five

After the yamen were on duty in Youshi, the capital city was still bustling and bustling.

Gao Xianning, the attendant of the Imperial Academy, came out from Hongwu Gate and rode a donkey to the southwest direction alone.He also sent his servants home.

Gao Xianning's family lived in the mansion awarded to him by Emperor Taizong, but he didn't take this way home.He didn't want to go home today, but was going to the Qinhuai River near Jubaomen; every ten days and a half months, he would go there to take a look at the scenery along the way.

The jade shop quietly purchased by the King of Han is between Jubao Gate and the Qinhuai River.

That jade shop was closed most of the time, so Gao Xianning might not be able to go in once or twice a year.He used to go this way frequently, for fear that interested people would notice such strange details; so after Gao Xianning passed Yuqi Street, he usually went to another place.

There is also a very famous place here, Zuixianlou, one of the official brothels "Jinling [-]th Floor" run by Emperor Taizu himself.Before Gao Xianning became an official, he often went to brothels and restaurants; now in the capital, it is very common to go to Zuixianlou from time to time.

Between reciting poems and composing romances, and being obsessed with intrigue in the officialdom, Gao Xianning feels that the two are very incompatible.After he became an official, he had no intention of being a prostitute at all; the purpose of going to Zuixianlou was indeed to cover up some kind of whereabouts at first.

But Gao Xianning met Fu Jinghong, the top card there in Zuixianlou, and every time he went to Zuixianlou, it became a matter of his heart.

The capital is worthy of being the place where the world's wealth gathers, and even the girls are more colorful than the local ones.After meeting Gao Xianning several times, Fu Jinghong seemed to guess that he was an official, so she would not write poems or fuss, talk about piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, nor would she inquire about Gao Xianning's official affairs; Some comfort with Gao Xianning.

However, for a girl who is understanding and beautiful, and the number one celebrity in Zuixianlou, the price is indeed not affordable for ordinary people.Going there too often, even Gao Xianning felt ashamed...

Gao Xianning arrived at Dagongfang on the north bank of the Qinhuai River, changed into his official uniform in a small courtyard, and then crossed the bridge to Zuixianlou.After all, it would be unseemly to go to a prostitute and wear an official uniform.When he came here to change clothes before, he found that someone was following him, and then no one cared about it; maybe the spies found out that his weird behavior was just for prostitution.

Gao Xianning continued to ride the donkey through Yuqi Street, and then prepared to go to Zuixian Tower.

But he suddenly discovered that the jade shop had opened today!

Gao Xianning tied the donkey to the bottom of the stairs and walked upstairs to the gate.He paced in, and saw a big man in common clothes sitting behind the cabinet, with his head buried and "crackling" thinking about the abacus.Gao Xianning and the big man have met many times, the man from the Han Palace is called Chen Dachui.

When Chen Dachui looked up, his pupils immediately shrank slightly.Now that they don't even need tokens, Chen Dachui asked directly: "Are you here on horseback, or by car?"

Gao Xianning said, "I'm riding a donkey."

Chen Dachui said: "Please wait in the study for a while, I will come when I go." After saying that, he closed the door first, and then walked out the back door.

Gao Xianning went to a study room inside, picked up a feather duster and swept the chairs a few times, then sat there and waited.After a while, Chen Dachui returned to the study, rummaged through the shelves inside for a while, found a letter, and handed it up.

What was written on the letter was not Han Wang's handwriting, but Gao Xianning's teacher Qi Tai's handwriting!

Chen Dachui said: "The investigation in Guizhou is very tight. I went to Guangxi first, and I took a detour to the capital, which was delayed for a long time. This time, I was not ordered by the king of Han. The prince went to Sichuan, and I was served by the governor. The meaning of Mr. Shi Li, the deacon of the mansion and the right chief of the Han Dynasty's mansion."

"Mr. Li?" Gao Xianning looked at Qi Tai's handwriting on the letter and asked casually.

Chen Dachui said: "Li Changjue."

"Heh!" Gao Xianning immediately looked enlightened.Li Changjue is Gao Xianning's classmate and one of Qi Tai's students, but he quit the examination room a long time ago because of a serious illness.

Chen Dachui glanced at him, and said: "Before the lord led his troops to the north, he ordered the civil and military officials and eunuchs who stayed in the Han palace not to hide anything from Mr. Li. Mr. Li asked about the situation of the capital in detail, and thought that he could try to alienate Zhang Fu. The relationship with the false emperor (Zhu Gaochi); therefore, I was sent to the capital to find a few people to handle affairs."

Gao Xianning nodded.

Chen Dachui continued: "It is said that when Xie Jin persuaded the first emperor to establish a prince, he said 'good grandson'! In this way, if rumors spread to the ears of the false emperor, it is all because of a How does the false emperor feel about having a good son whom the late emperor loved? The false emperor will most likely hate his eldest son (Zhanji)!

Such things will make Queen Zhang uneasy, and Zhang Fu's eldest daughter has been named a noble concubine, second only to the queen.Empress Zhang will have a grudge with Zhang Fu's family, and many unexpected things may happen next. "

Gao Xianning interrupted briefly: "Concubine Zhang Gui is happy, the news just came out."

Chen Dachui said: "Then Mr. Li's divorce plan is more likely to work! If Zhang Guifei gives birth to a son, and the false emperor hates the queen's son, the queen's position will be shaken."

Gao Xianning was silent in thought.

Chen Dachui said with a "hehe" smile: "There are so many twists and turns in the belly of a literati, and Mr. Li can even figure out the heart of a woman! Can you tell what Mr. Li said about Empress Zhang?"

Gao Xianning asked curiously, "How did you judge?"

Chen Dachui said: "Queen Zhang and the puppet emperor are grasshoppers on the same rope. They want to keep the imperial power of the puppet dynasty, but also fight for their own power. If the two are in conflict, she can still abandon the overall situation and seek personal gain for herself. Wife That’s the case. It’s also said that the sage said that only women and villains are difficult to raise!”

Gao Xianning was noncommittal, and pondered: "The meaning of 'Mr. Li' is to borrow the hand of Empress Zhang to sow | the trust of the false emperor and Zhang Fu's family?"