"The holy relics of the Qilin Heaven and Earth are also non-peaceful, non-living, non-peaceful, non-living. Even to civilization, the beginning of the Qiling, the fire Lin Rui beast, Yi Zai Jiawu, the head of the four spirits, but the beast of the uncle, the world peace Jingtai, otherwise the foot. Virtue to defend the body, not cloth tooth corners, majestic beauty, to show the blessing, bless the glory of the Han, and always maintain the community. ”

Lu Zhen finished reciting a piece of Qilin Fu endlessly, winning sparse applause, the emperor's gaze swept over the faces of these people, as if they were all excited or happy, but he clearly felt that the real emotions of these people did not seem to be so.

And he was just about to speak, but suddenly he heard a burst of laughter, which seemed to have such a straightforward mockery, and after laughing, there was a humane: "Look at this strange beast, do you think that although all characteristics can match the unicorn, only a little bit of brilliance is missing, a little strange?"

Zhang Zhaohua smashed the giraffe with the branch in his hand, and saw that this thing jumped away in fright: "Just such a delicate and timid guy, why doesn't he look like a mighty and noble divine beast written in the book, right?

Zhang Zhaohua called another giraffe over, handed the branch in his hand to its mouth, and said: "You see this is no different from the domestic elk, it has long been domesticated, can the unicorn be domesticated by people? I heard that there are many such guys in the Bang Ge country, Zheng He only brought back two heads, maybe the people of that country, everyone has a thing to ride, maybe, they have never seen a horse, our horses from Middle-earth are sent to their country, and they will also quote scriptures, so as to think that the 'horse' is a strange beast!" ”

"Is there such a thing as a unicorn?" asked a palace man.

"That must be there," Zhang Zhaohua said: ""Spring and Autumn has said that Lu Ai Gongxi hunted the dead lin. This thing must have appeared in Middle-earth, but then it disappeared, but in the second year of Jiayou of the Song Dynasty, Jiaozhi offered two beasts, like a buffalo, and thought it was Lin. During the Zhihe period, Jiaozhi once again offered a lin, indicating that the people of the Song Dynasty had also seen the same strange beast, and both times caused a lot of controversy, some people said it was a unicorn, some people said it was a mountain rhino, and in the end there was no official conclusion. It is right that there is no conclusive conclusion, and if you rashly qualify something that is uncertain, then you have to take into account the ridicule of later generations, in case there is a real lin in the future, then wouldn't it be ridiculous for eternity?"

When the emperor heard this, he nodded slightly, and he really can't be gullible. Lu Zhen could see it clearly, and couldn't help wiping the sweat from his forehead, he was about to swallow back his previous words.

"So, do you think this thing isn't a unicorn?" the Emperor asked as he walked over slowly.

Zhang Zhaohua had already discovered the emperor, she saluted, and said with words: "I don't think this is not a unicorn, whether this thing is a unicorn or not still needs to be studied slowly, I just think that some adults say that the unicorn is prosperous when it comes out, which is a little ridiculous." ”

"Why is it ridiculous?" said the Emperor.

"Lu Aigong has seen the Qilin, is the era of Lu Aigong a prosperous age?" Zhang Zhaohua spread his hands and said: "On the other hand, the rule of Wenjing, Zhaoxuan Zhongxing, Guangwu Zhongxing, Mingzhang, Yuanjia, Kaihuang, Zhenguan, Yonghui, Kaiyuan, Xianping, which one is called the prosperous era because of the appearance of the Qilin Phoenix?"

"Even if it's a unicorn, it doesn't mean anything," Zhang Zhaohua said: "Some people say it's auspicious, but I don't think so." The five grains are abundant, the wind and rain are smooth, the country is rich and the people are sufficient, and the people of Li have enough food and clothing, which is auspicious, and the appearance of the unicorn, what does it have to do with the people of Limin, can they be fed and clothed, or can they live a good life?"

"Lord Lu just praised the unicorn, virtue to defend the body, not to show teeth. Zhang Zhaohua said: "Then I also want to say that the world is safe, why do you want a unicorn?"

The emperor laughed, and said meaningfully: "Although there is nothing to do today, but the floods, droughts, and epidemics in the four directions have never been stopped. The crown princess said that the appearance of the unicorn has nothing to do with the people of Limin, you can't let them be fed and clothed, and you can't let them live a long life, but you, the ministers who eat Lu, have less of the habit of sycophancy, do more practical things, assist me in practicing virtue and politics, and let the people of the Ming Dynasty and the court be of one heart and one mind, so why worry that there will not be a prosperous scene of the country being rich and the people strong!"

Zhang Zhaohua secretly breathed a sigh of relief, some people in later generations said that Ming Chengzu needed the "unicorn" to prove that his rule was legitimate, so he ordered someone to paint a portrait and pass it on to future generations, making people laugh off their big teeth. In fact, this is not the case, in fact, the emperor does want to prove that his rule is legitimate, and there is no shortage of sycophants and complicit people in the court, and they do their best to flatter and flatter, taking the Lord Lu Zhen in front of him as an example, no matter what he encounters, such as offering silkworm cocoons (wild), offering Jiahe, Dan birthday stars, etc., they all ask for hundreds of officials to "congratulate", but the emperor almost every time, did not agree.

Many times, the emperor would say: "People and ministers do things according to the way, sycophants are not the work of gentlemen and sages, and you and other ministers must distinguish between right and wrong." But once, the emperor still spoke his heart, he said: "I am cool and thin, how can I be auspicious." ”

My virtue is not enough for Heaven to bring auspiciousness.

In this way, when Jing Nan finally attacked the palace city, the emperor said it once. For so many years, he has been so tireless, diligent in government, loving the people, and making meritorious contributions, perhaps all of which come from the guilt that gnaws at him all the time in his heart.

Eleven years have passed, and the hatred has not been settled.

The unicorn is raised in the rare bird garden, but it is no longer called "unicorn" to the outside world, but it is said to be a strange beast presented by the Banggara country, of course, there are many things that Zheng He brought that Zhang Zhaohua is familiar with, such as durian.

At this time, it was not called durian, Zheng He said that this thing was called "gambling Eryan", and there were many Nanyang island countries, and when they first started eating it, they couldn't smell it, saying that it was like "the smell of rotten garlic". But some people are simply crazy, and they are even more like they have smelled something terrible.

After this thing was dissected in front of the people in the palace, everyone looked at Zhang Zhaohua with wrong eyes, and they were all frightened, as if to say, such a stinky thing can be eaten? Could it be that Nanyang is so poor that they can only eat such a rancid thing?

Zhang Zhaohua didn't care about them, cut out fourteen or fifteen pieces of meat, and ate them all in one bite, and just wanted to sigh with satisfaction. When it was time for the second durian, these people took away the pulp, and when they ate it in their mouths, they all showed a look of "it's so delicious".

"I'm going to ask Zheng He to bring me a boatload of durians next time," Zhang Zhaohua patted his stomach: "Leave some for me, and distribute them to each palace to taste them." ”

Zhu Zhanji's children fell in love with this taste when they ate durian for the first time, and he shared it with Sister Yu, but Sister Yu couldn't eat a bite, so he laughed at Sister Yu and deliberately took the durian shell and threw it over to tease her. When he heard that this thing was gone, he secretly made up his mind to let Zheng He get it back for him - so the determination of a foodie cannot be underestimated, which is also the reason why the great voyage in the Xuande period was worse than Yongle, but that is another story.