Bright Spring

The next day, after the Yumen hearing was over, Zhu Gaoxu asked the eunuch to go and summoned Liu Ming to the Rouyi Hall in the west.

After seeing the ceremony, the monarch and his ministers took their seats on both sides of the tea table in the northwest corner.The court lady Xiaohe was beside her, boiling water to prepare Chaozhou tea.Zhu Gaoxu looked at Liu Ming, who had been separated for a long time, and saw that he was dark and thin this time. He was wearing a red official uniform, which made his face look even darker. The sunshine in Chenla Kingdom should be stronger.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Meng Ji came back first, saying that Mr. Liu did not listen to the persuasion, and followed the Chenla people to Phnom Penh City. I was worried for a while, lest you make any mistakes."

When the emperor said that, Liu Ming was slightly excited.Even Xiao He, who was concentrating on playing with the tea set, quietly raised her head and glanced at Liu Ming.

Liu Ming cupped his hands and said, "The guilty minister dare not let the Holy One be so concerned."

"Whether that matter is your problem or your stepfather's matter, I can tell the difference." Zhu Gaoxu said, "You went to the south for a while, and it's been almost two years. It's long gone, and not many people remember it. .”

Liu Mingdao: "I am not familiar with the place of life in Zhenla country, so I am indeed a little uneasy. But once I am willing to lower my family, I have seen a lot of novel scenery. The houses, water and soil, rules, customs, and people's minds over there are completely different. Eye-opening."

"That's the fun of adventure." Zhu Gaoxu said casually, "Of course it's hard to see novel scenery if you don't go through the unknown road."

Liu Ming echoed, and said: "It's difficult to explain the scenery in words. After I return to Beijing, I plan to write some articles about what I saw and heard. Once the articles are completed, I will present them to the Holy One."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Very good."

Liu Mingdao: "There are many temples in Chenla. In addition to the famous temple in Angkor Thom, there are also pagodas and temples in Phnom Penh. From my point of view, the Buddhist temples are built of stones. The temples are magnificent and the pagodas are hundreds of feet high. It would take a lot of manpower and material resources to build them. The former Chenla Kingdom must have been a very powerful country.”

He paused for a while and said with a sigh, "But they spend their national power on palaces and temples, and their luxury and pomp are only limited to the left and right of the capital, while the border areas are neglected and the officials are not well-organized. The source of their decline is Or from there."

Zhu Gaoxu responded.

Liu Ming went on to say: "I have never been to Siam, but I have inquired a lot about the situation of Siam. Siam used to be a vassal of Chenla. At this time, Ayutthaya was established as the capital, and they are constantly learning about Chenla. , Champa, and Annan, and took the initiative to communicate with other countries. From the perspective of the Siamese I have made friends with, although the Siamese also believe in Buddhism, they are more secular and pragmatic.”

Liu Ming took a breath, thought for a moment, and said: "It's like us scholars of the Ming Dynasty who believed in the teachings of the saints and sacrificed their lives for righteousness. The sage article cultivates one's morality."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "Liu Shijun really dares to say it."

"My minister made a mistake." Liu Ming cupped his hands, "However, the newly-established Siam Kingdom should soon overwhelm Chenla. What's more, the Chenla Kingdom recently lost in the war. Luo Jun ransacked, and the two countries became stronger and weaker, and became faster."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "A victory or defeat will affect a country's national fortune for a long time. For a small state like Chenla, the prospect of decline is obvious."

"Your Majesty is wise." Liu Ming said, "When the old minister was in Saigon, he strongly opposed the Siamese continuing to seize the land. He only worried that the imperial court would deal with Siam in the future, which would be more difficult than Chenla."

"Hmm..." Zhu Gaoxu made a sound.He pondered for a moment before saying: "What Liu Shijun did at that time is not wrong."

After a while, Zhu Gaoxu asked: "How much does Liu Shijun know about the secrets of the former queen Yisuwa of the Chenla Kingdom?"

Liu Mingdao: "Most of the inside information, I also learned from the criminals in the Chenla case. At that time, the clan brother of the Minister of the Palace, lured the queen to leave Phnom Penh City. After that, there were two villains who accompanied the queen.

One of them was a subordinate of the minister of palace affairs. When he was about to commit adultery, he was killed by another person; the other person was the criminal captured by the minister.He threw himself into the trap, intending to bring the queen to the army camp to receive the reward, but was immediately arrested by the ministers and others. "

Liu Ming continued: "Through the experience told by the queen and the confession of the gangsters in Chenla, I got the general process. The Chenla palace minister and the general should be in the same party, and they have a gap with the queen; they personally planned and implemented it. the case.

One of the most important steps was that the clan brother of the Minister of the Palace took a secret letter and asked the queen to leave Phnom Penh and go south quietly.The secret letter was written by the minister of the palace and signed by the king.But the secret letter was burned on the spot, and it is really hard to distinguish the authenticity of the handwriting signed by the king. "

Zhu Gaoxu almost knew what Liu Ming said before.

The two were silent for a while, Liu Ming frowned and thought for a long time, and seemed to have something to say.Zhu Gaoxu waited patiently.

Sure enough, Liu Ming finally said: "When I arrived at Phnom Penh, the Siamese had stopped using troops and began to withdraw from the left side of Angkor City. Therefore, I received courtesy in Phnom Penh, and one of the nobles explained to me that Tu-- An En's family, who killed the envoys of the Ming Dynasty, has been put to death. The minister has lived in the local area for several months, and can confirm this by visiting various people.

At the beginning, the person sent by the king to receive him was the minister of the palace, who was surnamed Naiye. Later, Naiye also arranged for the king to receive the ministers.The minister has met with the King of Chenla many times and had a private interview..."

When Liu Ming said this, he hesitated for a while.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded immediately, with a dazed expression on his face, he glanced at Liu Ming and said, "I roughly understand what you mean."

Liu Ming said: "My sage, my sage." He didn't continue to elaborate.

Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to say directly: "The plot of the Minister of the Palace Naiye and others has failed, and some of the people who participated were captured by the Ming army; the Ming side must know a lot of things. If the plot was done without telling the king, and The relevant people are also guilty of forging edicts, and Naye may be very worried that you will meet with the king, fearing that their crimes will be exposed." Zhu Gaoxu paused, and added, "Especially, you are not allowed to have an interview with the king alone."

Liu Ming said: "This is exactly what I mean."

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, and then asked casually: "Could the king have been emptied, and Naye and others have nothing to fear?"

Liu Ming said: "The king has brothers and sons."

"It makes sense." Zhu Gaoxu nodded.If the ministers such as Nayeh have already mastered the power, and the king has shame and hatred, the best way is probably to change the king.

At this time, Xiao He handed over a small cup with both hands, and then gave it to Liu Ming.Zhu Gaoxu said, "You're welcome."

Liu Ming held the small cup in both hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Gaoxu finished drinking, put down the cup, turned around and said, "But we're just guessing after all."

Liu Ming echoed: "For such a secret matter, it may be difficult for outsiders to find real evidence."

Chapter 962 The Smoke Has Not Disappeared

There is a unique fragrance of tea in the air.After brewing a pot of tea for the third time, Zhu Gaoxu asked in a casual tone, "It is reported that before the army set off from Saigon Port, there was an envoy from the Sultanate of Malacca (Malacca), didn't Liu Shijun know about it? "

"When I heard about this, the envoy of Mancijia had been expelled and was not in the army." Liu Ming spoke slowly.He seemed to realize right away that the emperor's question was not as casual as his tone.Liu Ming seemed to be thinking while answering.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded his head.

After a while, Liu Ming said again, "Before General Chen went to India to march south, there were many objections from the courtiers. General Chen surrendered twice and lost many times in previous battles. He had few decent victories. The princes did not recognize his integrity and ability. During this Southern Expedition, when I saw General Chen, I felt that he was particularly humiliated by the past. When the Chenla army was defeated, General Chen was very eager to get credit."

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu felt that it made sense.Because he remembered that before sending troops south, in order to motivate Chen Xuan, he told him to seize the opportunity to avenge his shame.

Chen Xuan launched an unnecessary battle this time, which was vaguely influenced by Zhu Gaoxu.So Zhu Gaoxu felt that Chen Xuan's actions seemed to be still under his control.

And Liu Ming's remarks, on the surface, were belittling Chen Xuan, but they were actually helping Chen Xuan.However, civil servants usually don't speak specifically for generals, and it's fine if they don't file a complaint.

Zhu Gaoxu said, "I see."

The tea was almost finished, Liu Ming then got up to pay his respects, Xie En took his leave.

For the time being, the situation in the south has eased. Manchuka, Java, and Chenla have all surrendered and asked for peace. The Siamese finally listened to the warning of Ming officials and stopped making troubles for Chenla.The imperial court successively established fortresses such as Songtaiwei, Da Nang, Saigon, and Longyamen along the ocean coast, established envoy cities, and prepared to build two major governor's mansions.

The north's strategy of using troops in Liaodong has been determined, and the army preparations have already been carried out intensively.

In May, after the first batch of Xingguang guns were equipped with the infantry of the Beijing battalion, Zhu Gaoxu personally went to the big school field outside Hongwumen to observe the soldiers practicing tactics.

In addition to the Great Han General of Jin Yiwei, Qi Tai, Xia Yuanji, Qian Xun and other civil officials accompanied him, as well as Qu Neng, Liu Ying and other dignitaries.There are also two special people, Mao Kaishan and Ma Xingguang, who are a bit eye-catching around the emperor surrounded by ministers and dignitaries.

The people in charge of coordinating the training on the school field are Wang Bin, Wu Gao, and Chen Zhen.Zhu Gaoxu specially asked them to train the soldiers so that they would know from the very beginning how the soldiers fought before the battle.

The colony field was very noisy, as soon as people left the Hongwu Gate, the sound of gunfire could be faintly heard.When I arrived at the school grounds, I saw white smoke bursting from the open ground, and countless people and vehicles were moving around, trampling the solid ground into dust. At first glance, Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be in a battle formation all of a sudden.

Zhu Gaoxu came to the side of a group of troops on horseback, and saw those soldiers skillfully reloading firecrackers.The soldiers of the Beijing camp have used firearms for a long time, and they are familiar with the matchlock gun originally named "Chunhan Gun". At this time, it is not difficult to switch to the flintlock gun, because the flintlock gun is easier to use than the matchlock gun.

The lieutenant soldiers carried two tools related to firearms, which were not used on the battlefield. One was a pincer mold for making lead pellets by oneself, and the other was a spoon shaped like a wine measurer.The soldiers will use this in advance

A measuring spoon is used to measure gunpowder in a small bamboo tube, and then seal it with oiled paper and rope.