Bright Spring

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and said to the palace people behind him, "Please come here, Queen."

The palace said: "The servant obeys the order."

When Guo Wei waited for a group of people to come to see the ceremony, Zhu Gaoxu accompanied Guo Wei to continue walking in the imperial garden.When he got to the side of the rockery, Zhu Gaoxu stopped and looked at the rockery thoughtfully.

When he turned to look at Guo Wei, the two of them looked at each other, as if they both remembered something.

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Where did the empress put her clothes that were not suitable for her size?"

Guo Wei said a little embarrassedly: "Of course I have to pay it back...the Holy Majesty actually remembered such a small thing for so long."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "I'm afraid I won't forget it."

Guo Wei sighed softly: "Suddenly looking back on the past, eight years have passed, but it seems that not many days have passed."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The most fair thing in the world is probably only this, which makes people feel short-lived for decades."

Guo Wei hurriedly said: "The Holy One will live forever."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled, noncommittal.

Chapter 7: Tuanlong, Sun and Moon

The monsoon in the East China Sea in the Ming Dynasty is a northerly wind in March and April. This season is not the best time to sail Japan from the lower reaches of the river, and ships are sailing against the wind. If you wait until May and June, the monsoon will become a southerly wind , Sailing in Japan becomes a tailwind, and that is the best time.

However, considering other factors, the imperial court ordered in mid-March that the first part of the navy headed to Japan was ready to leave the shore.Although it is against the wind, the fleet can still sail in a "zigzag" shape, but the sailing speed will be slower.

Longjiang Port on the west side of Wai Jinchuan Gate is very lively today, not only there are people from the army and the court, but also many onlookers.Zhu Gaoxu also came outside the city to bid farewell to everyone.

The navy that set sail first today is a fleet headed for Japan, with only a few thousand officers and soldiers on board.The fleet with the most ships is the navy going south. They will go to Annan and the West, and they will also sail this month.

Zhu Gaoxu first met Hou Xian, the envoy who led the fleet, and Zhou Quan, the envoy to Japan, at Jinghai Temple. Both of them were eunuchs.

What Hou Xian has to do is to escort the North Korean envoys back home, and then escort the Japanese envoys and the Ming Dynasty envoys to Japan.

After discussions between the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Japanese envoys, the two sides have reached an agreement; the navy of the Ming army should not approach the coast of Japan easily, and should first send someone to report to the Japanese officials, and then let the fleet approach after obtaining permission, or follow the instructions to let the embassy board. Japanese ships landed.

Zhouquan has three public missions. One is to commemorate the dead Minamoto Yoshimitsu in the name of the Ming court, the other is to confer the title of the new Japanese king, Minamoto Yoshimitsu, and the third is to submit the request of the Ming Dynasty, asking the Japanese government to eliminate the Japanese pirates as soon as possible. .But Zhu Gaoxu told Zhou Quan some other secret decrees.

First of all, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive investigation and find out the power context, will to resist, and armaments in Japan; secondly, to collect the distribution of local gold, silver, copper, and sulfur mines.

Therefore, the 30-member mission led by Zhou Quan is relatively complicated.There were literati and officials in the mission, businessmen from the Shen family (Yao Fang was actually the leader), craftsmen, officials who used to manage mining in Yunnan, and guards who were good at fighting.

Zhu Gaoxu talked with the eunuchs and officials for a while in Jinghai Temple, rewarded him with wine, and led the crowd to the port.

The wind from the river was blowing on the port, and there was a lot of noise around.Thousands of sailors and soldiers, most of them have gathered ashore, and the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp brought fine wine, and each soldier was given a big bowl of wine.There are still a lot of onlookers and wharf workers nearby, but the guards have set up a sentry post, and no one else is allowed to approach.

Zhu Gaoxu led the crowd to the front of the army with wine bowls in hand. He raised the bowl and shouted: "I wish the officers, soldiers and sailors a smooth journey!"

There was a commotion in the crowd, and the soldiers shouted thank you, long live, etc., and saluted with wine bowls.

At this moment, the military music on the ship played, and everyone looked back one after another.On all the warships, the "Tuanlong Sun and Moon Flag" with a blue background and a yellow pattern was raised. The picture of the dragon was almost exactly the same as the Tuanlong embroidered on Zhu Gaoxu's robe. The dragon coiled into a circle ; and in the middle of the tuanlong picture, there are patterns of the sun and the moon, symbolizing the word "Ming".The blue flag surface can be regarded as the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty being ordered from the sky, or it can be regarded as the color of the sea.

This flag is the first to appear.Because Zhu Gaoxu felt that the fleet was at sea and needed a more eye-catching official and military logo, he designed such a national flag himself.

After a while, something even more surprising happened.Many children of seven or eight years old came from both sides, there were probably hundreds of them, and they came here in a line.

The boys wore uniform uniforms, custom-made at the Shenjia Weaving Factory.They wore a kind of big-brimmed hat, and wore blue clothes with trousers and jackets separated (blue for sailors and gray for land troops). The jackets had straight lapels and cloth buttons; they wore soap boots on their feet.The material for spring and summer is a cotton and linen blend, ironed and lined with white, the boys look very neat.

The other side is full of little girls, they are wearing peach red gauze high-waisted skirts, combing their temples, with some bangs on their foreheads, they look very beautiful and cute.People have seen a group of singing and dancing girls gather together, but it is very strange that so many little girls are dressed up and standing together.

Zhu Gaoxu and others stood on the sidelines and watched. He was very satisfied with the children's outfits today, and he also thought that the feelings of the soldiers and the people watching were not bad; Wearing good material.

At this time, a green-robed civil servant walked up to the front of the naval formation and said loudly: "The orphans of the soldiers who died in the Northern Expedition, for the officers and soldiers of the Daming Navy, present a ditty "Spring Cold". ..."

The civil official took out a piece of paper from his sleeve pocket, glanced at it, and continued to say loudly: "For the soldiers who have made meritorious service in the battle, died or become disabled for the country, their families will be compensated by the court according to the order of the Holy One.

The government of Jiangning County in Yingtianfu allocated official land to build a town, which was built by the Construction Department of the Ministry of Industry to build houses for each family.Parents, widows and children of fallen soldiers can move here.

The military pay of dead or wounded meritorious sergeants in the regular army is converted into rations, supplemented by treasure banknotes, until the eldest son is 16 years old.The Ministry of War is in charge of this military supply, and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies is informed (supervised).

The wives of soldiers killed or disabled in battle can give priority to working in the nearby Shen’s weaving factory to subsidize their families; the royal family appointed the wife to lead.

The imperial court also set up the Meng School, the Academy, the Armed Forces Academy, and the Xianshu Hall.The descendants of soldiers who died in battle can study here for free, without the use of gifts from teachers, clothes, paper and ink.The halls and courtyards were built by the Construction Department of the Ministry of Industry, operated by the Ministry of Rites, and informed by the Governor's Office of the Five Armies.Scholars who have completed their education can choose to study in the academy and participate in the imperial examinations in Yingtianfu and Jiangning counties; they can choose to study in the Armed Forces Academy and participate in the military examinations of the Ministry of War, or after passing the examination of the Ministry of War, they can be appointed as officers and soldiers.

The young lady studied in Xianshutang, and the queen sent female officials to teach literacy, female virtues, etiquette, weaving and other skills. When she grows up to fifteen, she can choose a good family to marry, and the inner government subsidizes the dowry. "

For a while, the navy officers and soldiers were in an uproar, and everyone looked at the children in front of them.Those lively children who are well-dressed and have no worries about food and clothing are undoubtedly the envy of all soldiers.The military households in the Ming Dynasty were somewhat similar to serfs, and most of them were poor; the treatment promised by the court officials just now was obviously very high for the military households.

Zhu Gaoxu stood on the sidelines and watched silently. He felt that the government officials in the court were fighting for power and benefits. Even if most of the illiterate military households, didn't they care about benefits the most?The implementation of the compensation for the soldiers is probably more effective than [-] impassioned and morale-boosting words.

The soldiers should be very grateful to the royal family, because the Ming Dynasty was a system with the concept of small government, and tax revenue was mainly used for military expenses and official salaries.There is basically no public welfare, and even the construction of roads and bridges is not undertaken by the government, and those gentry who want to be famous have to raise funds to build them; education is also not popular, and education mainly depends on private schools. The son, called the county school, benefited very few people.

The soldiers and civilians at the bottom do not have the concept of welfare, and the court suddenly added this item, which is obviously equivalent to grace and gifts to the soldiers.

In order to balance the additional expenses of the various yamen, Zhu Gaoxu promised to gradually abolish half of the palace ladies, leave the palace to marry, and reduce the number of eunuchs and beautiful women entering the palace.

But these compromises cannot support his innovative ideas; such a huge expenditure is obviously not saved, and new profits need to be opened up.

The sound of the musicians' silk and bamboo orchestras gradually sounded, and the children began to sing ditties together.The singing sounded in the damp wind by the river: "Plum blossoms are floating all over the post road, and swan geese are soaring. In the cold spring, I lean on the pavilion and look at the direction of the expedition. Reminiscing about the first time I met in the rain, the swan goose sent me to my mother. Warriors are loyal to the king. Country, Chunhan will never forget..."

This ditty is simple and easy to sing, and many soldiers in the army have learned it. After a while, thousands of navy officers and soldiers also sang along.The magnificent singing seems to have resounded throughout the capital.

The silent Zhu Gaoxu looked at the scene at this time, watching the Tuanlong Sunyue flag fluttering on the battleship. What he imagined was: under the roar of guns|cannons and cavalry, the scene of the brave Ming army soldiers sweeping the world, Tuanlong The sun and moon flags are planted all over the mountains and seas... There are also boatloads of gold, silver and treasures shipped here.

Under the orders of the generals, the officers and soldiers of the navy began to board the ship one after another.Hou Xian, Zhou Quan, and a group of civil and military personnel walked in front of Zhu Gaoxu, knelt down on the ground, and said goodbye with tears.

Zhu Gaoxu helped them up and said: "Don't disappoint me. When I return, I will hold a banquet in Fengtian Palace to celebrate your achievements."

Hou Xian said: "Slaves and servants don't hesitate to lose their minds, and they will definitely live up to the emperor's trust."

Everyone clasped their fists and bowed again, and Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand.

When everyone turned around and left, Zhu Gaoxu took over the reins and got on the horse vigorously.After a long time, a strange cry came from the river: "The king of Han is our king!"

When Zhu Gaoxu looked back, he saw eunuchs and officials on a treasure ship clasping their fists in salute.

During the Yongle period, Zheng He led the fleet to go to sea once, so the navy officers and soldiers who went to sea followed the old ones and were more experienced; Only then did they surrender Zhu Gaoxu.So when the officials talked about pensions just now, they only mentioned the meritorious soldiers in foreign wars, in order to take into account the mood of the naval officers and soldiers; Pensions, they are the basis for Zhu Gaoxu to obtain the throne, and they must be wooed.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the navy shouted the words of the King of Han Dynasty in the "Battle of Crusade", which is a bit weird.

However, it seems that Hong Xichao's soldiers have gradually returned to their hearts.A civil war is always just a civil war.

Chapter 721 Fishing in Troubled Waters

Zhu Gaoxu adopted the strategy from small to large, and started to work on his vision.

At the beginning, it did not involve the rules and morals of the entire dynasty, nor did it change the existing power structure.He just didn't want to become like his father Zhu Di. While imposing fear on others, he was also in fear for a long time, and he didn't even dare to get close to his concubines at will.