Bright Spring

Zhu Gaoxu stood up from the chair, walked to the table and took a look.A court lady hurriedly squatted down and lifted the quilt, and took out a cold cotton towel from inside.He received it in his hand and covered his hot face, feeling a lot more comfortable immediately.

In the cold touch, somehow Zhu Gaoxu suddenly remembered a dead person, Duan Yang.Sometimes, Zhu Gaoxu would look at the past from Duan Yang's standpoint. Duan Yang's resentment towards the Mu family seemed to be understandable. She was desperate for hatred, but did she escape to justice in the end?There are rules in this world, but they should have nothing to do with justice, good or evil.

Zhu Gaoxu was pacing in the main hall, no one dared to say a word here.In a clean environment, he picked up the Annan Express and read it carefully several times.

After a while, Zhu Gaoxu's voice calmed down quite a bit: "Wang Gui, go and call Queen Annan, Mrs. Chen, and then call the Duke of the Five Armies' Commander's Mansion and the officials of the courts to come to Rourou in half an hour. The Palace of Rites discusses matters."

Wang Gui bowed and said, "Your servant obeys the order."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Miao Jin who was sitting on the side. When he came to Rouyi Hall today, he really wasn't going to see Mrs. Chen.

Sensing his gaze, Miao Jin raised her head and said, "The Holy Majesty didn't make a big decision out of anger, the country is lucky."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The thing that people are born to fear should be death? Therefore, I have experienced hundreds of battles, and I still fear war. But those veteran brothers in the army, they were sent to Annan by myself, and they were killed when they arrived. Killed for no reason! Who cares about their miserable lives?"

After hearing this, Miao Jin looked at Zhu Gaoxu with a complicated expression, without saying a word.

After a while, Queen Chen came in from the north door, and she knelt down on the ground to salute.Zhu Gaoxu asked her to flatten her body, and then handed her the memorial of Liu Ming and others.

After seeing it, Mrs. Chen said the first sentence: "Your Majesty must be careful about Li Li. I have seen him a few times, and I have a deep impression on him. He is a very ambitious hero."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, suddenly remembered something, and muttered: "King Pingding..."

Chen Shi echoed: "His self-proclaimed name shows that he has a lot of ambition."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I also feel that he has thought deeply about the rise and fall of our Central Plains dynasty. This Li Li seems to have a political program. He is not the most powerful rebel army, but he should be the most vigilant force. "

Chen Shi said: "In Liu Shijun's memorial, it is believed that there is a person among the assassins who is in the same group as Li Li's men. Could it be that the two groups of men were all ordered by Li Li?"

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, then shook his head slightly and said, "Although we can't be sure, it's not very likely. The people from the Southern Office (Secretary of Defense) and Ruan Zhi both reported the assassin's behind-the-scenes instigation, and they were Chen Jikuo's generals. Ruan Shuai, it is very difficult for a famous person to be framed. Moreover, Li Li is not very powerful in the rebel army. If he wrote and acted in Thanh Hoa, the feasibility is too low. Annan Metropolitan Government reported that the rebels all Lu is indeed increasing troops to the north, and their hostile movements also coincide with the assassination-killing incident.

There was no secrecy about that matter, and it was leaked to several people in advance.Therefore, I judge that Li Li is just taking advantage of the situation and taking advantage of it.Of course, these judgments can only be regarded as a guess, and then I sent Xue Yan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, to the Annan Governor's Mansion for further investigation. "

Chen shi pondered: "What benefits does Li Li want?"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The national strength of Annan Kingdom is far from that of the Ming Dynasty. With the population and national strength of Annan Kingdom, it is almost impossible to win the war. Li Li should be a rare calm person, and he realizes this. I guess , Le Loi's strategy is to fight for peace."

After all, Mrs. Chen is a woman. Obviously, her knowledge of war cannot keep up with Zhu Gaoxu's train of thought. She asked suspiciously, "Use war to seek peace?"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "If the weak defensive side can make the Ming court realize that the continuous war quagmire will cost too much military expenditure and casualties; the court will reconsider the strategic value of An Nanguo and whether it is willing to continue Bearing a serious price, it is possible to retreat in the face of difficulties. At this time, through peace talks, the two sides can relax and end the war early and get what they need."

Zhu Gaoxu fought for many years in the Ming Dynasty, and when he thought about the Anti-Japanese War in retrospect, China actually seemed to have this strategy.It doesn't mean that if you know you can't win, there is no point in continuing to fight.

He continued: "Li Li is very willing to see that the Ming court sent heavy troops to fight another war in An Nanguo. The imperial court army and Chen Jikuo's rebels consume each other, which is a good thing for Li Li. Because his purpose is not only to drive away The Ming army wants to take the position even more."

"The mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole follows?" Chen asked suddenly.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "There is probably nothing wrong with what the queen said. There are at least two benefits for Li Li to plant spies among the assassins and rescue the envoys. First, let Liu Ming accuse Chen Jikuo, which will further anger the emperor and ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and is more likely to make large-scale advances." -Suppress Chen Jikuo; secondly, to leave some leeway in front of me in private, so that we can fight for peace talks in the future and let the court recognize him as the lord of the country."

Miao Jin, who was sitting on the sidelines listening to the speech, showed an unbelievable strangeness on his face at this moment.She must have been confused: just now Zhu Gaoxu was furious with Chen Jiyao, and sympathized with what happened to the soldiers of the Ming army; in a blink of an eye, the person who paid the most attention was not the culprit of the case, Chen Jikuo, but instead began to plan to rescue the envoys. Minister's people.

Zhu Gaoxu took a look at Miao Jin, and said in his heart: If there is only morality in his heart, and if there is retribution for grievances, Duan Yang shouldn't die in pain in the grand occasion of Mu Mansion.

Chen asked cautiously: "If Li Li is willing to submit to the Ming court, what is His Majesty's intention?"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "If I agree with him, then the countless brothers who have died in Annan Kingdom since the beginning of Yongle have died in vain? Besides, the Ming court has established morals and rules, stipulating who has the right to inherit. Li, giving up these rules so easily is not justified, who is willing to abide by it in the future?"

Mrs. Chen bowed her knees and said, "Your Majesty is far-sighted, resolute and unyielding, and my concubine admires him the most."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "The first conquest of Annan Kingdom by the Ming Dynasty was very smooth, because the Hu family offended almost all nobles and common people, and the imperial court used the banner of rectifying the name of the Chen family, so there were very few people who resisted.

Now that the court wants to pay less, it can't just rely on force. It can only let Chen Zhengyuan ascend the throne and draw more Annan people into the forces that actually rule the country.I am going to send troops to escort Chen Zhengyuan to Dongguan, where he will inherit the throne in public.Does the Queen have any objections? "

Mrs. Chen said: "The kindness of the sage, the concubines, mothers and children dare not forget."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, glanced at the scene outside the main hall, and said: "I will discuss matters with the ministers in a while, please avoid the queen for a while, and talk about it later."

Mrs. Chen thanked En and resigned and left the main hall.

7 Chapter Thirty

At the hottest hour of the afternoon, the ministers of civil and military affairs were discussing matters in front of the emperor in the Hall of Rouyi, but they did not fully reach a consensus.Because Zhu Gaoxu did not make a clear statement.

All the nobles shouted and killed without any surprise, they were looking forward to such a war very much.Knowing that something happened to An Nanguo, some military commanders were so emotional under the outrageous rhetoric that one wondered if they were secretly elated.

The victory of the war will allow generals to have more say in the court; and military merit is the only reliable way for each general to establish his status and fame.

The dukes asked for Ying one after another.He Fu, Liu Sheng, etc. patted their chests and said, the indestructible traitor came to see him; they probably just hoped to stabilize their current position through military exploits.Zhang Fu also wants to lead the army, because he is a descendant of Zhang Yu, and he wants to accumulate military merits, waiting for the next opportunity to move closer to the center of power and return to the position of Duke.

Qiu Fu and Mu Sheng also fought fiercely. The titles of these two people are already high enough, but they obviously want to win the real respect of the soldiers.It will not work if it is not proved by war.

The civil officials were cautious about the Annan War, but most of them did not object to the increase in Annan's troops; they only had opinions on the scale and goals of the campaign.

In the current situation, Chen Jikuo's people despise the imperial court and intend to murder the Ming envoys, which affects the prestige and face of the imperial court.Moreover, the Annan Governor's Mansion reported that the rebels wanted to besiege Dongguan on a large scale.

There are as many as [-] military households in Dongguan, as well as many officials and Han family members. The officials dare not propose to ignore it; Behavior is always bad.

Xia Yuanji, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, had some criticisms, but some officials kept silent.Only Qi Tai, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and Ru Zhen, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, made clear claims.

Qi Tai believes that the situation in the Annan Kingdom in the early days of Yongle is beneficial to Ming Dynasty, and only when the government and army have the right time, place and people can the war be ended quickly.But now the situation has changed, if a large army is used to suppress, it may be difficult to make a quick decision.At this time, reinforcements should be dispatched to thwart the encirclement attempts of the rebels in the plains around Dongguan, and strive to fight only in the dry season.

This active defensive strategy has the support of Ru Xun.

Zhu Gaoxu did not make a decision that day, but ordered Jiangning County to choose a cemetery, build a tomb for the dead soldiers, and bury those few people generously; and asked the five armies to record their names in the roster of meritorious soldiers, and pay them according to military law family.Then Zhu Gaoxu asked the Ministry of War to mobilize soldiers from the Beijing camp to inspect the army at the Dajiaochang.

A few days later, the government offices of the imperial court were arranged on the large field outside Zhengyang Gate, ready for the inspection ceremony.

The Ministry of War reported and mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers to carry out this ceremony.Zhu Gaoxu recalled that he had inspected the army twice in total, including this time, the last time was in Yunnan.

He hopes that through this military parade, the court officials will be encouraged, and both internal and external vassals will support his war.

Zhu Gaoxu put on the emperor's "official military uniform" leather uniform, a bright red robe, and a buckskin hat with some decorations imitating copper nails of armor; these features probably symbolized the military uniform.There is also a jade pendant hanging on the ribbon, which is also an accessory for this occasion, with four words engraved on it: Crush crimes and rebels.

Officials of the military court, the established King Chen Zhengyuan and Queen Chen of the Annan Kingdom, and several foreign envoys who had not yet left Beijing, followed Zhu Gaoxu to the Zhengyang Gate.Zhu Gaoxu also brought his eldest son Zhanhe with him.

A child of a few years old should know very little, but he will remember some scenes when he grows up, and it will have an impact on his future temperament and ideas.After all, Zhu Gaoxu also grew up as a child, he has such experience.

There was a large parade of umbrellas, covers, flags, and badges on the field, and the etiquette was carried out as usual, except for some sergeants who were reviewed.There was a group of officers and soldiers on the school grounds, wearing the new military uniforms issued by the imperial court, and holding the newly-made firecrackers "Chunhan".

In the eyes of the ministers, this scene should be a transformation of "Hufu riding and shooting".But when Zhu Gaoxu saw those officers and soldiers wearing big-brimmed hats and holding muskets, he immediately felt the atmosphere of a modern army.At present, the nature of the Ming army has not changed much, but at least it looks like that.

Zhu Gaoxu walked under the umbrella set up by Jin Yiwei and sat down on the chair.Soldiers like a sea of ​​people saluted their superiors and shouted long live.At this time, the musicians of the Jiaofang Division played the majestic music of bells and drums, and all the civil and military officials also came forward to worship.

Tens of thousands of people gathered on the school grounds, and it seemed that there was a huge battle. Various flags were floating in the air, as if the clouds were surging.Although guard posts have been set up around the school grounds, it still cannot stop the common people from the market who like to watch the excitement from coming, and people are watching from a distance.

Soon the dancing men came onto the stage, a total of dozens of people, wearing colorful clothes, holding paint poles, paint axes and other props, as well as shields, began to dance on it.Some people sang in unison in the music: "Draw out the sword to rise up the Huai soil, ride the horse to fix the Huan area. The king's spirit opens the sky, and the treasure calendar responds to the Qianfu. Wu Lue Wenmo, the dragon and the tiger at the beginning of the business. The general star surrounds the head, the warrior month arc"

The dance is not very beautiful, but the props and movements have symbolic meanings, not only for people to see, but also to echo with the sky.So all the ministers around watched the song and dance solemnly.