This sleeve is broken secretly

In the ensuing 30 years of Hongwu, although the Central Plains was still relatively peaceful, the northern grasslands fell into a civil war.

It turned out that the person who intercepted and killed Princess Jiazhao and her relatives was the second son of the legendary "stupid" Dari Achi Khan.The prince, who had been struggling for decades, finally raised the banner of resistance on the eve of his father's critical illness, slaughtered the old Khan in one night, captured King Pingcheng who sent his relatives away, and took control of Dari Achi in one fell swoop. .

The eldest son of the emperor was forced to flee, and fled all the way to the border of the Central Plains grassland in a hurry, and lost his whereabouts in the reed marshes by the Rui River.And Wu Rigeng Dase, who assisted the eldest son of the emperor, seemed to be separated from the eldest son in the chaos. After a night of bloody battle, he hurriedly led a group of men to escape from the pasture of Dari Achi, and rushed to the depths of the north of the grassland.

Also missing is Princess Jiazhao. Although she escaped from birth under the desperate protection of her guards, she has not appeared in Yingzhou for a long time.There are mixed fish and dragons in the frontier, and it is still unknown whether the weak woman who lost her asylum can return safely.

However, unlike the expectations of the officials in the Central Plains, the second son of Dari Achi didn't seem to want to be loyal to Tumo.He ignored the repeated negotiations from the Central Plains, tied King Pingcheng under the scorching sun for five days, and then chopped off the prince's sacrificial flag with a knife.Immediately, he set up his tent and forced himself into Tu Mozhong's territory overnight, intending to fight the prairie overlord.

Dari Achi's forces were divided into two during the turmoil.Some old troops who supported the eldest son of the emperor died or fled, while the rest attacked Tu Mozhong under the command of the second prince.

It is really not a wise choice to start a war in a hurry when one's foundation is not stable.But I don't know whether it is Tianyou, the second prince, or he himself is a tactical wizard, and Dari Achi has the upper hand in several confrontations with Tu Mozhong.

And the other small tribes scattered all over the grassland also saw the opportunity. They had already had enough of lingering under Tumozhong's command, so many tribes took advantage of this opportunity to rush forward, and Tumozhong fell into the trap of siege from all sides. In trouble.

Under the predicament, Tu Mozhong was alone and unable to support him, so he turned to throw an olive branch to the Central Plains.However, the end of the peace negotiation with the grassland last time seems to be still vivid in my memory, so how could Emperor Hongwu be credulous again?It just so happened that at this time Xie Ling went to Shu, pointing out sharply that there were many civil strife in the grassland at this time, and the situation was uncertain. If an alliance was easily formed to open up the frontier mutual market, it would not only disturb people's livelihood, but also cause endless troubles.It is better to take this opportunity to strengthen the border defense and recuperate.This book was really written into Emperor Hongwu's heart, and he immediately dismissed Tumo's request for peace, and put all the families who wanted to profit from the mutual market back into their shells.

Since then, the gates of the frontier have been closed and the guards are strictly guarded.Horseshoes, swords and guns, and shouts continued outside the pass. Although there were fewer merchants inside the pass, at least there was a rare peace.

But at this juncture, Emperor Hongwu's body suddenly failed.

At first, I thought it was the fatigue caused by spring sleepiness, so the Tai Hospital took turns to examine for half a day, and prescribed several prescriptions to strengthen the body and recover.It looked better when I first ate it, but after summer, the state of my body repeated.

One day at the end of April, Xie Ling entered the palace with a signboard to report to Emperor Hongwu about the refugees in Yingzhou.But after arriving at Zhaoren Hall on time, Emperor Hongwu was nowhere to be seen. An imperial servant came out and said that the emperor was taking a lunch break. Please sit down for a while, Mr. Xie, and wait for a while.

But this time, I waited for two hours.

Until the sun was a little westward, the prince came.

"Mister is here?" The crown prince saw Xie Ling kneeling on the ground to pay his respects as soon as he entered the palace, and quickly stepped forward to help him up, "Are you waiting to discuss matters with the emperor?"

Xie Ling got up and replied: "It's about the refugees in Yingzhou. But the emperor may have been tired for the past two days and has been resting all the time. Actually, it's not an urgent military matter. If you don't have time today, it's the same if you hand in the sign tomorrow."

The prince pondered for a moment.

After his 16th birthday, His Highness has grown up like a willow tree, and at this moment, he looks to be comparable to Xie Jin.Although his appearance is as delicate and rich as his biological mother, it also has the resolute and upright outline of Emperor Hongwu. When combined together, he looks extraordinarily sharp-eyed, star-eyed, and extraordinary.At this time, he was wearing a red round neck dragon robe with four rounds of dragons, a jade belt around his waist, and a black gauze folded upper scarf on his head. Just standing there at random revealed the emperor's demeanor of the future co-lord of the world.

Although he is a prince, he has never been arrogant. At this time, he is even more respectful to Xie Ling who has taught him homework for two years.Hearing what Xie Ling said at this time, he thought for a while and then smiled: "I heard that there is a famine in Yingzhou, and people fleeing famine to beg for food are endless in the market. The frontier has only settled down for a long time, but it can't stand the toss , this is not a trivial matter. How about this, please wait here for a while, sir, I will go in and greet my father and mention this matter by the way."

Xie Ling answered "yes".

The prince went in again for a cup of tea, walked out from inside frowning, and forced a smile to Xie Ling: "Father is feeling a little unwell today, it seems that I can only trouble you to come back tomorrow."

Xie Ling bowed and said: "This is the duty of the minister, and it should be. Then I will retire today."

But the prince said: "Don't worry. The tung trees outside Zhaoren Hall are luxuriant and growing gratifyingly. Why don't you come and give me a reward, sir."

After saying this, the two of them walked out of the palace gate slowly, and came to the edge corridor outside the palace.At this time, the spring is bright and beautiful, and the hundred-year-old phoenix tree casts broken shadows under the sun, and there seems to be the sound of jingling bells in the distance, coupled with the gentle breeze, it is indeed refreshing.

However, Xie Ling knew that the prince definitely did not bring him here to enjoy the spring, so he must have something to say.

Sure enough, after the two stood still on the fence, the prince glanced at the maids waiting in the distance, and said in a low voice: "Father has coughed up blood three times today, and just fell asleep."

Xie Ling was taken aback for a moment, and blurted out: "Why didn't you call the imperial doctor—"

The prince raised his hand to make him calm down: "Don't worry, sir, it was the emperor who didn't let you call."

Xie Ling frowned tightly and didn't speak.In fact, he already knew in his heart that Emperor Hongwu had never been in good health. In his early years, he was superstitious about the way of cultivating immortals and took a lot of pills. Now he has the appearance of exhaustion. He guessed that it was only the past two years. matter.

It's just that the crown prince suddenly told him this... and why?

While Xie Jin was muttering to himself, the prince was also looking at him quietly.

The prince still remembered that when Xie Ling had just been transferred to be an attendant in the Eastern Palace, when he first came to see him, he stood casually under his seat and saluted him with a smile.That was the young "Jingdu Langyu" who was incredibly handsome, with sharp eyes and brows that made people want to look at him, but his eyes were burned by his forceful sternness.

But it was only these two years, the burning fire in those almond eyes seemed to be extinguished a little.When looking directly into his eyes, you will no longer feel the scorching brightness, but will slowly sink into the dark eyes... It seems that no one can spy on what he is thinking anymore.

The torrential rain that poured overnight washed away the rugged gravel of the mountain, revealing the deep and majestic original appearance.

The prince sighed slightly in his heart, looked at the beautiful place of Chunjing, squinted his eyes slightly and said with a low smile, "Mister, do you know... Back then, the emperor chose you as my attendant, and I was actually very disappointed in my heart."

Xie Ling was taken aback, and couldn't help but also laughed: "Well, I can vaguely guess something."

"Really, I thought I covered it up well." The crown prince raised his eyebrows, "In the new batch of Hanlin back then, only you and Mr. Shen were outstanding. I have expressed to my father many times that I want Mr. Shen." Come to study with me. I didn't expect you to come in the end. Although I can't say I'm dissatisfied, I'm still quite disappointed."

Xie Ling couldn't help laughing "puchi", jokingly said: "It is true that I have lost too much to Liangqing, no wonder His Highness is not happy."

"At that time, it was just a child's temper, that's all." The crown prince smiled, "But later, Mr. Shen also came, and he asked me, 'Your Highness doesn't like editing, is it like the world, afraid of Langyu? Hard, with sharp edges and corners, afraid of scratching your fingers?'”

The smile on Xie Ling's face paused -- he didn't know that Shen Yi had such a conversation with the prince.

"How I answered at that time, I have forgotten now. I only remember that Mr. said later, 'The magic weapon is brave, and those who are not good at using weapons will definitely damage their own skin, but they blame the weapon for being too fast. It is a common problem in the world. Your Highness will also see courtiers like this magic soldier in the future. They are arrogant and rebellious by nature, and they cannot be controlled unless they are good masters.'”

There was a smile on the corner of the prince's mouth, as if he remembered the scene when Shen Yi educated him, his eyes softened.

After being silent for a while, he raised his eyes to look at Xie Ling again, and said with a smile: "I respect you like a magic soldier, but I don't know if I can barely be regarded as a good leader in your eyes?"

Xie Qin looked back, and saw the rising sun in those eyes that looked like Emperor Hongwu.

After a while, he took a step back, touched his forehead with both hands and bowed deeply to the ground, and said simply: "It is my life's fortune to be able to assist Your Highness."

The prince laughed and helped him up.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder under the porch again, looking up at the flowing clouds rolling over from the high corner of the house, it seemed as if they would never stop, as if they were traveling thousands of miles a day.

At this time, in the midst of the melting spring, the prince sighed softly: "I don't know if the spring in Jingzhou is more splendid than the capital."