Daming prepares the emperor

The evening wind blew down from the sky with warm orange light and blew into the courtyard wall of the palace. After shaking the green grass by the roadside for a moment, it was stepped on by four paws with pads.

Zhu Jingjing crossed the path, with a very happy mood, throwing the ball in his hand into the distance.

The weather has cooled down significantly recently, which indicates that autumn is coming.

"Xiaobai, get the ball back."

This is a gratifying event. With the passage of time, Zhu Jingjing, who grew up, finally learned the correct way to play, and no longer ran to grab the ball with the dog by himself.

The ball hit a man's leg, and it was all gone. It first lowered its body to face the stranger in an aggressive posture, then realized something, and wagged its tail at him.

Xu Da forced a smile, rubbed Liu Chubai's head, and hurried away, not even noticing Zhu Jingjing who was running not far away.

"Who is that?" Zhu Jingjing asked, "Is it for elder brother, or for father?"

Liu Chubai raised one leg and pointed in the direction Xu Da left, and a little further there was Zhu Yuanzhang's yard.

"It turns out that he came here to find Dad. He looks very anxious."

Zhu Jingjing bent down to pick up the ball, put her hand on her forehead, looked at the sunset and said: "Sometimes I really want to grow up, and I think I can do what I like when I grow up, but adults always seem to have a lot of troubles. The ones you like must be hated, but the ones you don’t like must be held in your hands. Fight with friends today, and fight with relatives tomorrow..."

Liu Chubai turned his head abruptly, his blue pupils trembling violently, as if he was wondering how Zhu Jingjing could suddenly say such philosophical words.

"Your eyes are saying that you look down on me." Zhu Jingjing seemed to be able to communicate with Liu Chubai without barriers. She threw the ball hard and threw it far away.

This is not a punishment for Gouzi, so he ran over in vain.

There was a bang, a crackling sound.

The teacup, worth several taels of silver, was thrown on the wall and shattered. The brown liquid splashed onto the curtain, staining a large wet spot.

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly withdrew his hand, and almost immediately added pain to his anger. He thought he should throw something cheaper, but he threw it all away, and there was no way to repent, so the expression on his face became even more ferocious.

Xu Da couldn't figure out why Zhu Yuanzhang called him here, nor where did Zhu Yuanzhang's anger come from, so he could only stand there blankly.

"Look for yourself." Zhu Yuanzhang took out a memorial and threw it on the table like a knife.

Xu Da hesitated.

"What are you doing in a daze, come and get it! Do you still want us to pass it to you?"

Xu Da was confused, walked quickly to the table, glanced at a few lines of writing, his expression changed drastically, he knelt firmly on the ground, and kowtowed.

"My lord, I have absolutely no intention of treason!"

After kowtowing, he didn't straighten his waist, but still knelt down, showing his neck and the back of his head to Zhu Yuanzhang, so devout that he seemed ready to commit suicide at any time.

"..."

No one speaks.

There were neither hoarse begging for mercy, nor harsh questioning. The atmosphere fell silent, and a terrible thunderstorm was brewing in the calm.

One kneels below and the other stands above.

As the sun went west, the light that turned crimson entered the room through the window, as if pinning Xu Da in that position, and then it covered half of Zhu Yuanzhang's side face, rubbing his scrutinizing gaze with unknown meaning. Close into his body, and take it into a dark corner.

"We know you don't."

I don't know how long it took, Zhu Yuanzhang finally uttered a word.

How can ordinary people understand his thoughts? This sentence may be a temptation, it may be a monologue before the murder, or it may even be an irony.Xu Da was still kneeling obediently, without even raising his head.

"Do you want to know who wrote this?"

"I don't want to. The secret memorial system is for the ministers to put aside their worries and speak to the monarch so that they can report traitors and judge right from wrong. How dare I break this rule."

"Take a guess."

"I dare not."

"We want you to guess." Zhu Yuanzhang said gently.

Such a gentle tone, the voice is not loud, but Xu Da didn't panic when the teacup was smashed, and he didn't panic when he saw the content of the memorial, but now his cold sweat soaked the clothes on his back in an instant.

"Chen, I really don't dare."

"It's okay, just guess, guess whatever you want." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled suddenly, squatted down slowly, and sat on the floor, staring at the sweat beads on Xu Da's forehead at the same level of sight, "We will never What are you punished for?"

"Chen, minister..." Xu Da's arms trembled slightly, "I thought this person must hate me, so I slandered him."

"Well, keep talking."

"This person probably wants to take this opportunity to establish his prestige in the army and promote his faction to suppress the minister."

"anything else?"

"Also... If the prince really doubts the minister, then the deployment of our army will definitely be temporarily disrupted, and the promotion and transfer of civil and military officials will also have a turning point. Once the muddy water comes out, you can fish. This person's purpose has been achieved.”

Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak.

Xu Da had no choice but to continue to bite the bullet and make nonsense: "So this person must be Zhang Shicheng's spy. Based on the recent developments, I dare to guess that he is Xie Zaixing who just defected."

"...Xu Da, Xu Da." Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and said coldly, "Do you treat yourself as a fool, and you also treat us as fools?"

The drop of sweat fell down suddenly and splashed on the ground under the tip of Xu Da's nose.

"I dare not!" He kowtowed again.

"You have made your words so clear, and we said that we won't blame you. What are you still afraid of? Could it be that you have a guilty conscience and really plan to rebel?"

"I have absolutely no intention of treason, my lord has learned from you."

"Then you're going to tell us that you're just plain stupid? Are we letting a stupid man become our prime minister, and calling a stupid man our brother?"

The voice of questioning is louder than that of each sentence, and the sound waves are overturned like the sea.

"No, I'm not stupid, this person, this person..."

Xu Da thought of Zhu Xinglong.When there was a famine, he was still a child. He watched Zhu Xinglong pull a large family, laboriously plan wild vegetables in the field, and fight against the small officials who came to collect the goods. His mother could not afford to use the copper coins he earned from pulling the goods. The medicinal herbs are boiled and drunk.

Half a child eats a poor old man. When my lord and I were grazing cattle, even if my lord didn't have enough to eat and didn't have much strength, he was still mischievous. All the food in his family was saved by his elder brother...

I, too, called Zhu Xinglong big brother...

That is his son, Zhu Wen is his son!

Finally, Xu Da closed his eyes and said in a soft but decisive voice, "This person is Zhu Wenzheng."

Zhu Yuanzhang also closed his eyes.

The two of them are still standing and kneeling, but the mood is very different. They can't see each other's faces, but their expressions seem to be carved out of the same mold.

It’s just that Zhu Yuanzhang woke up much faster than Xu Da. He buried all the tenderness and emotion aroused in his chest, added a few handfuls of soil to step on it, erected the tombstone, and smashed the key of the cemetery into his childhood memory, which was unprecedented. wide awake.

With this awakening, all the piles and incidents that he had deliberately ignored in the past flooded into his mind. Whether it was a war or a personal problem, the new ones were no different from what happened just yesterday, clear and transparent.Love hates his life, hates his death, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't believe that he would indulge Zhu Wenzheng for so long.

When he opened his eyes again, there was only murderous intent in his eyes.

"Xu Da, go back and get ready."

"Yes." Xu Da stood up and took a few steps back silently.

The moment he was about to close the door, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped him and said, "Let's open the door like this."

After Xu Da's back disappeared, Zhu Yuanzhang moved the chair behind the table to the front of the table, sat down where Xu Da had knelt, and stared at the red sunset in the sky, which was falling behind the distant mountains, just like the life of a person going towards twilight At this time, all things are compassionate, and there will be indescribable sadness in people's hearts.

The difference is that the sun will rise the next day, but people can never, ever be retained.

Just like Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest brother and parents, he couldn't keep him. After so many years, he was no longer the poor child he was at the beginning. Countless people would be willing to die for him at the order, but he still couldn't keep his eldest brother's child.

"Master, Mr. Xu is gone, he just left."

"I see." Zhu Biao swallowed the food in his mouth, and glanced at Wanxia from the corner of his eye.

"Today's sun is really red, like a flower." Wei Zhongde said with a smile, "In the slave's hometown, people say it's a good omen, and there will be good luck the next day."

He picked up the spoon, scooped up a bowl of porridge, and respectfully placed it on Zhu Biao's right hand.

"..." Zhu Biao obviously didn't have much appetite, so he didn't move it, and said after a while, "People who are not smart always make things difficult for others."

Wei Zhongde bowed slightly, playing the role of a good listener.

"It doesn't matter if you don't have the ability or ambition. Those who want to kill him will not be embarrassed. Killing a person has always been so simple. One stabs in, blood flows out, and it's over when you die."

"It's the relatives who are in trouble."

Zhu Biao understood Zhu Wenzheng's plan since he knew the news that Xu Da was called back.

He took a dead move.

Yes, Zhu Xinglong is Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest brother. He raised Zhu Yuanzhang, helped Zhu Yuanzhang, and died in the most desperate gesture in his most difficult days, earning enough tears and memories.

Zhu Wen was Zhu Xinglong's child, but he was only Zhu Xinglong's child. The person who was really important to Zhu Yuanzhang was dead.

Xu Da grew up with Zhu Yuanzhang. They are brothers and friends, and his weight in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart is also not low.

More importantly, Zhu Yuanzhang knew Xu Da's personality and the situation in the army better. He knew that Xu Da would not betray him, and he had no reason to betray him.

This time, Comrade Zhu summoned Xu Da, in fact, to shake the mountain and make a show, in order to straighten Xu Da's heart and stabilize his reputation. This is on the bright side.Secretly, he might want to hear Xu Da's opinion on Zhu Wenzheng, so as to give himself a chance to think.

Zhu Biao guessed so.

"...You go to Li Yinbing, he knows what to do."

"Master, do you really want to look for him now?" Wei Zhongde actually hesitated, not only hesitated, but also questioned Zhu Biao's decision, "Isn't it hurting the prince too much to look for Mr. Li now?"

He knelt down neatly and explained: "The servant is not eating inside and out, but worried about you. The prince is angry now, and he definitely doesn't know what to do with the governor. If you push me at this time, if the prince regrets it, maybe he will It's your fault, what will happen to you in the future... After all, it is an uncle and nephew, and the bones are still connected after breaking the bones."

Zhu Biao was not angry because of what he said on his own initiative, but said in a very flat tone: "I just want to force him, force my father to do it, and show him my courage."

"Let him see that when I do things, I can even calculate his emotions and his status."

"Go, tell Li Yinbing to do it!"