Daming prepares the emperor

"I have to admit."

Zhu Biao was walking on the corridor in front of the Hall of Martial Arts with a few latest documents between his arms. In front of him was Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Yang Xian is indeed easier to use than Mr. Liu." Zhu Biao continued, "...It has nothing to do with abilities and opinions, but a matter of personality."

Hearing what he said, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately lifted his spirits. For some reason, he agreed with everything that Zhu Biao disapproved of Liu Bowen.

"That's the truth, Biao'er, you finally understand. Let's see, using one Yang Xian is better than ten Liu Ji."

"When you become an emperor, you have to have obedient ministers. I have so many ideas, why do I want to be an official? Let him arrange everything, so I just ascend the throne by myself, and treat us as fools!"

Then he went on to ask: "What happened? You would say so."

Zhu Biao raised his hand and handed over a memorial: "Yang Xian put Yuan Kai's name in it."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened a bit: "Let's take a look."

He turned it over and saw that at the bottom of the neat list, there was a name lying there that did not match the other handwriting. Looking carefully at the movement of the ink, he could see that it was written with a different pen, and the ink was not quite the same. , apparently a temporary addition.

"He is very good at pondering the holy will." Zhu Biao smiled, "In this way, we don't need to arrange Yuan Kai's affairs, and other officials will not bully Yuan Kai because of Yang Xian's power. Father , when will you decree to pardon Zhang Chang's family?"

"...in the next year." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I just have to say something. Biaoer, no matter how pitiful you are for them, it is a fact that Zhang Chang's heart is for Yuan Ting, and it is even more true that he lost to Yang Xian. Exile, otherwise it will be difficult to block the mouth of the world, and we will have no way to convince the public."

Zhu Biao said: "My son understands."

"Understood, what are you talking about?" Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Go, change into ordinary clothes, put away your odds and ends, and we two will go out of the palace to buy new year's goods."

New Year's Eve passed quickly.

The troops departing for Sichuan were fully assembled and divided into two groups. One was led by Fu Youde, starting from Henan, Shaanxi, and headed for the Jiange plank road, and the other was led by Tang He, who went up the Yangtze River and arrived at the Three Gorges. The plan of the Ministry of War was to coordinate the two Into the pass, won Sichuan.

Lan Yu led an army to follow Fu Youde, and Zhu Xi and the other three were arranged to follow him closely. Whether it was gold-plated or really knowledgeable, no one could say for sure whether it would be successful or not.

---

heavy rain.

Yuan Kai lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage with support.

The hands of several personal soldiers were kept on the scabbards around their waists, and their sharp eagle-like eyes scanned the surroundings without stopping for a moment.If there was any movement, they would all unleash their knives and cut the person who had the accident into seven or eight pieces.

The big guy in the lead was as strong as a bull, his brown skin was faintly shiny, a lot of rainwater dripped down his hair, and his clothes stuck to his body wetly, outlining his strong muscles.

His two arms were as hard as iron, he took them out and put them in front of the postman, then retracted them, the movements were so simple that they didn't look like living people, it didn't look like he wanted the postman to verify him, but he wanted to verify him.

The postman saw that although their formation was not large, they were very powerful, and guessed that they were imperial envoys from the capital to handle the case, so they didn't dare to ask more questions, so they hurried to the back kitchen to ask for a few dishes, and then led the horses to feed the grass.

There are five dilapidated tables in the hall, barely able to fall over, the floor is covered with miscellaneous bricks, with a lot of moss growing in the cracks, and a pair of muddy shoes stepped in, quickly making the place messy and messy. There are a few of them crowded in the big room, which is already the limit.

Yuan Kai looked outside at the curtain of water flowing down the eaves, and sighed in his heart. It's not that he was so extravagant and licentious in the past, just talking about wars on paper, but that he never hid his name to avoid officialdom and completely broke with life other than ordinary people.

The trousers of the soldiers were still dripping, they looked at each other a few times, went out in turn, stood by the door and twisted it, and then sat back, one of them found a dry towel from his leather bag, and handed it to him. Yuan Kai.

"If the rain hasn't stopped, we won't fix these false things."

"Yes." The man answered, walked back quickly, sat down and waited for the food to be served.

It's also interesting to say that half of these guards are temporarily seconded Jinyiwei. I don't know if it's intentional by the superior or just a coincidence. They are the team that monitored Yuan Kai outside the Yuan Mansion. The leader is the first to find out. The big man Yuan Kai ran around in the courtyard and "eat shit" was surnamed Han, so let's call him Han Baihu.

Han Baihu was secretly ordered by Eunuch Wei in the palace, knew what the crown prince wanted, and took good care of Yuan Kai along the way, doing everything according to his wishes. Shutong, under his influence, no one dared to say no to Yuan Kai.

Of course, he will not betray his basic work - wiretapping, informant and murder.Jin Yiwei is the emperor's dog on a leash, everyone knows this.

But it's not wrong to please the next emperor's valued officials, not to mention that he saw Yuan Kai's tragic past with his own eyes.

Those who can survive under the hands of the emperor must have a great fortune!

This is a rural inn, and there are not many high-ranking officials who usually come and go. This kind of battle has long frightened the people inside and outside, and the service is attentive and thoughtful. small stone.

Yuan Kai ate the dry food made by his wife, drank the well water, and slowly looked at the postman standing in the corner serving him.

The postman noticed the gaze, raised his head cautiously, and smiled at him.

"Excuse me, how many days will it take to go from here to Hangzhou?"

"A day and a half." The postman answered immediately, "If there are good horses and carts, one day will be enough."

"Yeah." Yuan Kai nodded, "Before the rain stops, you feed our horses."

Now that he said so, even though he had fed the horses before, the postman had no choice but to go and have a look again. After saying yes, he picked up the bamboo hat from the table and ran out, one foot at a puddle, and ran to the backyard.

The horses stood in the stable, leisurely drinking the rainwater that flowed into the trough, some of them didn't bother to eat the dry feed, and ate the weeds growing by the fence, seeing the stranger who gave them food Come over, they turned their heads to look.

The postman picked up the fork in the corner, picked up the fallen fodder, poked it in, and muttered, "I think I've fed enough, I'm afraid I won't be able to eat any more. The weather will be fine tomorrow, so I still have to go." Buy materials."

A flash of lightning struck, the postman shivered, and was about to look up at the sky when suddenly a cold hand stretched out from behind covered his mouth, and then a second hand grabbed his wrist holding the fork , I don’t know which acupuncture point was pressed, but he couldn’t use any strength, and the thing fell to the ground with a clang.

"Don't yell, what do I ask, what do you answer." The man behind him said, "You'd better not lie, if not, it's not just you, your whole family's life is in danger."

"No, no, no!" The postman nodded desperately.

"What kind of official is there?"

Hand released.

"Young one, I don't know about it, I don't dare to ask." The postman said in a low voice, "Just by looking at it, he should be from the capital, at least he must be a second rank?"

"A second-rank official, would he come to this kind of place?"

"It's so small." The postman trembled, "It may be that the people above have made some big moves."

As he spoke, his feet and hands began to behave dishonestly, and his neck moved a little, trying to look back.

The hand that was covering his mouth quickly strangled his throat, so strong that the postman let out a wail and turned his eyes upwards: "Do you dare to turn your head?"

"Ahem, I don't dare, I don't dare."

"Do those people have badges on them?"

"They are very tightly dressed." The postman said, "The small ones can't see their waists."

The person behind was silent for a moment: "Did they ask you anything, did they say what they were going to do?"

The postman said: "Well, that gentle old man asked the younger one how many days it would be before we arrived in Hangzhou, and he didn't say anything else."

"...Do you know whose order I am here?" The man behind him was silent for a moment and asked a terrible question.

"Ah?" The postman was already drenched. Hearing this, his heart was cold, and his two sides were fighting, "Little one, I don't know, I don't want to know, I can't know, your boss is merciful, please forgive me." It's a small one."

"I've said it before, what do I ask, what do you answer."

"You, maybe you belong to Lord Fang, or else you are Lord Lu, Lord He..."

"It's good that you know." The human behind said, "If you know, don't tell the outside world. The news of these people's arrival is not allowed to leak in the slightest!"

"Yes, yes, the little ones dare not."

"Don't think that you can ask them to make decisions. Even if the emperor from Beijing comes, this place is still under the control of Hangzhou. Do you understand?"

"clear."

"Close your eyes now, count to a hundred, and leave after counting. When those people ask, they will say that you have gone to the latrine. If you dare to secretly look behind—"

"I don't look, I don't look!"

The people behind him seemed to have disappeared, but the postman didn't hear any footsteps, only the splashing raindrops hitting his bamboo hat, like a group of rabbits hopping, each one echoing his heartbeat.After a long time, he didn't dare to move even when he counted to the thousandth number, until a horse snorted and woke him up.

He hurriedly turned his head, as if there would be a ghost behind him, fled back to the post station, broke into the door, panting heavily, when he looked up, all the people in the room looked at him with surprised eyes, a few guards He also drew a knife.

"Little man, after feeding the horse, the little man went to the latrine, and his legs were numb." He forced a smile, found the outermost stool and sat down, staring outside without blinking. .

Fortunately, no one in this room was interested in him anymore. After Yuan Kai finished his last mouthful of dry food, human voices disappeared in the world. Slowly, the rain stopped, and the place was as quiet as a pool of stagnant water.

The brocade guards looked at each other for a few moments, and their elbows were hidden under the cloak again.

Han Baihu got up first, walked to Yuan Kai's side, and said softly, "My lord, let's continue on our way."

Yuan Kai nodded: "Okay, let's go on the road overnight, our burden is heavy, we can't rest."

"The lord is right."

Orders and prohibitions are fully reflected at this time.Before Han Baihu could speak, those Jin Yiwei immediately stood up, led other soldiers, and walked to the door together. Those who should lead the horse led the horse, and those who should watch the car watched the car. A serious and calm look.

The postman respectfully saw Yuan Kai off at the door, lowered his head and did not dare to make a sound, watching Yuan Kai get into the car, a gust of wind blew over, and he saw a waist card from the corner of Han Baihu's upraised clothes, which read a few words impressively. A big word that made his heart beat wildly again!

---

The wheels rolled and the mud ideas were left behind.

Jin Yiwei, who was sitting in the front, was driving the car, and said to the man on the horse in front: "Boss, how did you scare him, that kid's face is as white as paper."

Han Baihu said: "I won't tell you, you will know when you become a hundred households."

"Master Han walked for so long, what did you do?" A voice came from the car.

"This subordinate is going to frighten that postman." Facing Yuan Kai, Han Baihu stopped being sloppy and pulled the reins and said, "No matter how shabby the postman in this kind of place looks, there are backers behind him. To deceive him, he named three people, and these three people must have something to do, so someone greeted him recently."

"What's your opinion?"

"Hangzhou has already gotten wind, and my subordinates suggest that we first investigate Fang Keqin, the current magistrate, and Lu He, who is in the Hedao Yamen, and then follow the clues to make a long-term plan."

Yuan Kai was silent for a moment: "Before leaving, everyone must remember what His Royal Highness told you. The water in Zhejiang is very deep. No matter whether we can complete the task or not, at least I hope that we will not fight among ourselves. As long as we are united, we will There is hope that this pool of muddy water will be filtered out.”

When Han Baihu heard him say "one of my own people", he showed a friendly smile, and replied, "Lord Yuan, don't worry, we all rely on the Holy One for food, so we can clearly distinguish the priorities, and we know that they are loyal to the emperor and the country." If someone doesn't understand the truth, I'll get rid of him first without you talking."

Knowing that Jin Yiwei is a monolith, his worries are superfluous, but Yuan Kai still can't help worrying when he reaches his destination. Han Baihu's assurance really reassures him a lot. He leans against the window in the car, thinking Can't help but drift to the benefit performance on the stage a few months ago.

He closed his eyes, put his right hand on his knee, tapped his index finger lightly, and hummed the words.

"The minister will tell the king about his side-"