Bright Spring

Apart from the simple and unsophisticated decoration of ritual utensils, the most conspicuous thing is his very large desk, which is placed in the middle of the hall.When summer comes, straw rugs are placed under the big case, and brick floors are everywhere else.Zhu Gaoxu really doesn't like to be too particular and luxurious in life, and he is very easy to serve in daily life.

He also doesn't like to order too many servants.Some wealthy businessmen and dignitaries have a group of servants at home at any time, and the pomp is very grand; but there are only a few people in Rouyi Palace, who can stay by Zhu Gaoxu's side.Most of the time, they were acquaintances. The two court ladies Lian Shi and Xiao He hired by Cao Fu often came to Rouyi Palace to do some work of serving tea and water.

From time to time, Zhu Gaoxu chatted with them, asking them where they lived and where they ate.At first, the maids were careful, for fear of saying a word wrong; after a long time, they gradually became sure that Zhu Gaoxu was not pretending.So the close relatives of the court ladies gradually got used to it.

After a while, the eunuch Meng Ji bent over and walked in, knelt down in front of the table and kowtowed.Zhu Gaoxu asked him to get up and talk.

There are official documents and memorials about the situation of the countries in the South China Sea.Zhu Gaoxu then said to Meng Ji, "Let's talk about your experience."

Meng Ji really didn't talk about major issues. He glanced at Cao Fu who was standing behind the major case, and then began to talk about what he had seen and heard.He started with Liu Ming's story, talked about Liu Ming's cousin Chen Zhang who died on the way to Chenla, and also talked about the trivial things between their cousins.Then he talked about Tang Jing, the commander of the navy, most of which he heard from Liu Ming.

Zhu Gaoxu listened very easily, only talking about one person, the clues are always not that complicated.

Meng Ji finally got to the point, saying, "At that time, the country of Chenla was in critical condition, and envoys were sent to the camp to ask for help, and the envoys of the Siamese country also arrived. Liu Shijun asked Ce's servants, and the servants said that they could not manage such important matters, but for the sake of The emperor ran errands; Liu Shijun received the emperor's imperial edict and was in charge of diplomatic affairs, so he had to make up his mind.

Liu Shijun said that he was deeply entrusted with the heavy responsibility of Long En, and he dared not share his worries; the emperor said many times about general ideas, and he dared not forget his earnest teachings.It is also said that Siam has grown in power over the years, and the destruction of Chenla will not benefit the court.

Then Liu Shijun ordered Siam to withdraw its troops and stop marching into Phnom Penh to help Chenla overcome the crisis.The envoys of Siam complained a lot and never promised to stop the march.Liu Shijun went to Phnom Penh City in person, but it was useless to persuade slaves and maidservants. "

Meng Ji, a Semu man in Xifan, and the eunuch who survived the Yongle period had nothing to do with Liu Ming; besides, Liu Ming was a talented Jinshi in the Wude period, and he didn't have any strong connections in the court.

Meng Ji kept speaking for Liu Ming, guessing that he, the eunuch, really appreciated some aspects of Liu Ming.While listening, Zhu Gaoxu understood why Meng Ji first mentioned Liu Ming's cousin.

Zhu Gaoxu is not completely satisfied with Liu Ming's actions, but since others are not him, and communication is inconvenient thousands of miles away, how can he be able to tickle the itch at any time?But Liu Ming went to the mainland of Chenla, and if another minister was lost, then Zhu Gaoxu would be in pain.

The matter of Liu Ming's cousin flashed through his mind, and he quickly came up with an idea, and said, "It is reasonable to say that Siam is the winning side, and it is not too much to want to share the spoils. But when the Siamese stood up, we had already I won. Adding icing on the cake, or taking advantage of the fire, how can it be compared with giving charcoal in the middle of the snow?"

Zhu Gaoxu laughed dryly again, "Again, if the officer and army's campaign is not going well, wouldn't the Siamese want to turn around and join us? There is nothing wrong with Liu Ming's thinking."

Meng Ji said, "The emperor is holy."

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he turned his head and glanced at Cao Fu.Cao Fu has been paying attention to Zhu Gaoxu, and a small movement made Cao Fu respond immediately, his waist slightly bent down.

Cao Fu's godfather is Wang Gui, the eunuch who supervises ceremonies, and Wang Gui works in the Dianbao Department of Wuying Hall.In the future, when ministers want to deal with related affairs, most prudent officials will ask Wang Gui to see if the palace has any attitude.So Zhu Gaoxu made a statement today, so he doesn't need to be long-winded in the future.

Zhu Gaoxu said calmly, "I like to listen to plain words, and I also like to explain plain words, especially for big things, and I have to try my best to be accurate. If you make a false statement, if someone guesses wrong, it will be a mess. .”

Meng Ji laughed and said, "The emperor is heroic and dares to act bravely. The slaves and servants admire him the most."

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand lightly.Meng Ji kowtowed and retreated.

The next person was Hu Wei, Minister of the Ministry of Rites. After seeing the ceremony, Hu Wei began to talk about the envoys of foreign vassals.

Envoys from foreign domains came to Beijing and lived in the Huitong Hall outside the right gate of Chang'an.The Ministry of Rituals will hold a banquet for hospitality, which is called the "dismounting banquet", as well as several times of friendly condolences of different specifications.But these activities don't talk about any substantive content, and even most of the lines are set, just like singing.When we really talked about things, it was either in writing, or it was a discussion during private visits by officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Hu Wei said, "My Majesty, the envoys of Mancijia first argued that their king, Baili Misuzi, was bewitched by treacherous ministers and the people of Chenla, so he mistakenly made an enemy of Ming Dynasty. According to the envoys, they are very respectful, and the envoys are translated literally as, The greatest emperor of the Glorious Empire of the Sun and the Moon. He also said that his monarch repented and did not want to be an enemy of Ming Dynasty anymore, so he voluntarily withdrew from the capital, hoping to restore the old relationship with the Ming court. He also promised to pay tribute to Ming Dynasty and protect the officers and soldiers in the Ming Dynasty. Longyamen New|Near Singapore’s Keppel Harbor) to set up an envoy city and establish a governor’s mansion.”

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu said, "But what the people in Chenla said was that the Mancijia people took the initiative to contact them, and they wanted to organize some kind of anti-Ming alliance; After entering the hot season and the rainy season, there is no way to take the main force of Baili Misuzi. The battle is impossible to fight anyway, and Mancijia readily agreed to such a condition, so why hesitate?"

Hu Wei said, "What the Holy Majesty said is very true. However, the envoys of the Java State requested that the court come forward to stop the Manchuka people from making troubles in the port of the Java State. The Java State compensated the court's wealth worth 6 taels of gold a few years ago. Now there are It is not easy for a minister to refuse a request to the court."

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "What did the Mancijas do in Java?"

Hu Yi cupped his hands and said, "The Javanese royal family, nobles and ministers, as well as most of the common people, believe in Hinduism. But the Manjacans believe in Islam, and the religionists went to various ports and towns in Java to preach the religion, and even provoked The Javanese royal family was deeply in danger of the rebellion. After they knew that the Ming army had attacked Mancijia, they sent envoys to Beijing with the boat and wanted to ask the court to intervene in this matter."

Hu Wei thought for a while and said, "I think that the imperial court should not use force to force each other every time, so that the countries can only be afraid. If their crisis can be solved, perhaps the royal families of the various countries will have other feelings for the imperial court and have some feelings." Rely on closeness."

"The Javanese lost money because he killed the officers and soldiers by mistake. But what Hu Butang said made sense." After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he pondered for a while.

At this time, Cao Fu said softly, "I heard that during the Yongle period, there was an eunuch named Yin Qing who went to Mancijia and met their king Baili Misuzi, and he could speak Mancijia. It might be useful if Yin Qing is asked to meet with Mancijia's envoys and mediate from them."

Hu Wei frowned when he heard Cao Fu interrupted.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Hu Wei and asked, "What does Hu Butang think?"

Hu Wei hurriedly said, "Please ask the Holy Spirit to judge you."

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and said to Cao Fu, "Let Hu Butang take care of this matter, you follow his orders."

Cao Fu hurriedly said, "The maid obeys the order. But Yin Qing was sent to Fengyang, the central capital when the crown prince was abolished. Why don't the servants bring him back to Beijing first?"

Zhu Gaoxu said, "Tell him to come back and wait for Hu Butang to call."

Cao Fu said, "Yes."

Hu Wei immediately said with emotion, "The Holy One is really a holy king."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled.

Hu Wei didn't talk about what happened just now, he looked back and looked at the furnishings of the Rouyi Hall, and said, "The living place of the Holy One is simple and generous, he does not hold singing and dancing banquets, does not build palaces, works diligently for the people, it is very fortunate for the Ming Dynasty, and the people are very fortunate. "

Zhu Gaoxu said calmly, "It's just a matter of duty. The world is peaceful and prosperous, and quality must be included in the article, but everyone should keep a low profile, there will always be some people who can't eat enough."

Hu Wei's reaction was a bit beyond Zhu Gaoxu's expectation, his expression was like Boya saw Ziqi, and he solemnly bowed and bowed four times, "I would like to abide by the teachings of the Holy Majesty."

After the ceremony, Hu Wei leaves.

The eunuch Cao Fu asked in a low voice, "Your slaves are short-sighted, what's wrong with Hu Butang?"

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and glanced at him, "Hu Butang advocates that the rulers and ministers in prosperous times should be sympathetic to the people. The ideal is that the people will not be hungry or cold in the harvest years, and the famine years will not starve to death and no one will be buried. I said that, he Of course it's useful."

Cao Fu said, "It's all the courtiers who please the emperor, but the emperor treats Hu Butang very well."

"You know a fart." Zhu Gaoxu scolded with a smile.

Cao Fu also smiled and said, "The emperor is right."

Lian Shi, a maid at the side, suddenly said, "Hu Butang is really a good official."

Cao Fu turned his head and said, "It's a good thing Hu Butang is gone, otherwise you would talk too much, the leather between his brows might not be flattened even with an iron."

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head with a smile, and suddenly felt that Cao Fu still had some advantages and understood a lot.He raised his head and took a look at the scene outside the hall. The sun was already three poles high, and it had been sunny for many consecutive days, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter.For a while, he felt a little bit like rain, so that the weather would be cooler.

Chapter 9 and Eight

Cao Fu waited in Rouyi Hall all morning, and when the imperial chef brought the lunch, he supervised the palace people to try and serve the food.After lunch, the emperor took a nap, and Cao Fu went to the apse to eat by himself.

After a while, his godfather Wang Gui suddenly walked in alone.Cao Fu hastily put down his bowl and chopsticks, and stepped forward to greet him.

Wang Gui stretched out his hand from his sleeve, waved it lightly, and the two young eunuchs in the hall hurriedly retreated.

Cao Fu stepped forward and bowed, and said in a deep voice, "Report to Godfather, Yin Qing's affairs are settled."

Wang Gui nodded and said: "When he comes back and takes the money, you can keep some for yourself."

Cao Fu said: "Thank godfather for the reward, but my son's money is useless." He hesitated for a moment, and then said, "My son always feels that the emperor can guess this kind of thing, and the emperor understands everything."

Wang Gui responded, "You're right, of course the emperor understands, but don't be afraid. Some money can be taken, and some money can't be taken, our family knows it well."