The trio rode along the riverbank, and the fleet slowly followed each other in the canal. Zhu Shiyang's energy on land is really much better than on the boat, all the way through the flowers and willows, so uncomfortable and leisurely, when passing through a willow forest, he also broke a tender willow in his hand as a whip, but unfortunately it does not hurt or itch on the horse, and it is not of much use.

When the group had a cup of tea, Zhu Shiji saw that Zhu Shiyang was really happy, and couldn't help laughing: "Tang poems have clouds, the spring breeze is proud, and you can see all the Chang'an flowers in one day." I'm afraid it's like the royal brother. ”

Zhu Shiyang immediately glanced back at him: "The title of the gold list, Jinshi Dengke, is worth celebrating, but as an emperor, I can't even appreciate the three happy events in my life, so what is there to be proud of?" As he spoke, he pouted, but he was a little depressed.

Zhu Shiji was originally kind, but he annoyed him, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, but after thinking about it, he felt helpless. Just because of the three happy events in life, when the gold list was inscribed, Zhu Shiyang, as an emperor, did not have to participate in the imperial examination, so he could not understand it. He prefers Longyang again, and it is probably impossible to spend candle nights in the cave room. As for meeting his old acquaintance in another country, Zhu Shiyang didn't even take a step in the Forbidden City, let alone talk about it, and he didn't blame him for being so lost.

Zhu Shiji couldn't bear to look at the imperial brother sadly, smiled, pointed to the boat on the river and comforted him: "The dragon among the imperial brothers, why are you burdened by the joys and sorrows of mortals?" You see the boats in this river, bustling, shuttling back and forth, which shows the prosperity and strength of today, and the peace of the country and the people. As an emperor, what can be more worthy of pride than the prosperity of the country? ”

Zhu Shiyang's heart was moved by what he said, and he raised his eyes to look in the direction of his finger, only to see that there was indeed a prosperous scene on the surface of the canal. It was midday, the most frequent time of the day, and from time to time there were cargo ships passing by the majestic royal fleet, all the ships were piled up with goods, neatly tied with tarpaulins, and the boatmen and men were shuttling back and forth on the bow.

Zhu Shiyang saw that he couldn't help but stop his horse and count the number of boats in the river on the side, and in just a short tea hour, he counted dozens of boats passing by in a short time, and there were many missing. Zhu Shiyang also wondered, Fang Cai's depression and unhappiness had already been swept away, turned his head to look around, and said: "I see that there is a hill not far ahead, why don't we wait to ride up the mountain together, and see the grand scenery of the canal from a high place?" Before he could say anything, he had already pulled the reins of his horse and ran towards the hill first.

Zhu Shiji has always followed the footsteps of the imperial brother, and soon rode a horse to catch up, but Lu Wenyuan was not in good shape, and his horseback riding skills were also very unfamiliar, and he was left far behind, shouting one after another: "Wait for me." ”

The young horse's green horse walked up the mountain road as if walking on the ground, and Zhu Shiyang and Zhu Shiji quickly climbed the mountain, waiting for Lu Wenyuan to come over. Lu Wenyuan gripped the reins hard, and as the horse jumped and bumped among the steep rocks, it took a long time to approach the mountain rock where the emperor and the prince were stationed, and the three of them walked towards the highest mountain together.

At the end of the hill is a cliff that plunges into the canal, with only a few branches of the cliff pine trees slanting horizontally in the air. The three men hurried their horses forward a few steps and stood on the edge of the cliff. The green horse under the seat was afraid of heights, so he became a little restless, and shook his head with a snort with his front hooves. Zhu Shiyang was bold and stood a little forward.

From here, the view is truly extraordinary. I saw that the top of this mountain was more than ten zhang high, and the boats on the canal became a small piece, like fallen leaves floating on the water. Zhu Shiyang's fleet was neatly arranged, but it did not lose its magnificent momentum, and at this time, it was like a long snake winding under the cliff, dragging out white waves in the river. The surrounding boats, some of which were moving in the same direction, and some of which were coming from each other, slowly staggered past each other, like ants of all sizes clustering around the fleet. The sun shines on the sparkling river, making the whole body of the ship exude a magnificent color, which is very dazzling from a distance.

Such a magnificent scenery makes people feel far away. Zhu Shiyang looked at it with great eyes, as if he could see the noisy and prosperous Jingzhong where the canal came from, the beautiful and vast splendid mountains and forests along the way, and the water Jianghuai in the distance. Somehow, Zhu Shiyang felt a feeling in his heart that he had never felt before, this magnificent thousands of miles of rivers and mountains was owned by him alone, which was a bit incredible when he thought about it.

Zhu Shiyang watched quietly for a long time, gradually came back to his senses, took Zhu Shiji and Lu Wenyuan's hands from left to right, and said with emotion: "My country can be as beautiful and prosperous as it is now, and the credit of the two of you is indispensable, I want to thank you." ”

Lu Wenyuan was a little moved, and Zhu Shiji said with a smile: "Brother Huang is out of sight, assisting the Ming Lord, and supporting the government is the duty of our courtiers." If the emperor even wants to thank him, won't he kill his ministers? ”

Zhu Shiyang said: "I also hope that from now on, you can all accompany me like today, are you willing?" As he spoke, he held the hands of the two of them tightly in his hands for a few moments, and looked at the two of them with blazing eyes.

Lu Wenyuan felt that the emperor's hand was calm and powerful, and he lightly pressed down his chaotic thoughts, and the wrongs, grievances, punishments, and misunderstandings he had suffered before seemed to disappear in an instant, leaving only a pair of dark eyes infinitely enlarged in front of him. Lu Wenyuan's heart was hot, and he and Zhu Shiji both nodded solemnly.

After this day, the relationship between the three of them is better than before. The next few days were uneventful, until this day, when it rained heavily, and the rain crackled on the eaves outside the cabin, and the water of the canal was splashed with countless ripples, and the sound of wind and rain was chaotic. When Zhu Shiyang woke up in the morning and saw this scene, he felt gloomy, and still went back to sleep on the couch. When I woke up again, it was already early afternoon, and the rain outside the cabin was lighter, but there was no intention of stopping, and it was quiet in the cabin, only Zhu Shiyang was alone.

Zhu Shiyang sat on the couch and woke up for a while, then pushed away the quilt and went down to the ground to find Zhu Shiji. There was no one in Zhu Shiji's room, and he didn't know where he had gone on this rainy day. Zhu Shiyang walked around his room and felt a little depressed, so he went upstairs to the wind pavilion to breathe.

At this time, the rain and fog were in the wind pavilion, and Zhu Shiyang went up the stairs, but saw that Zhu Shiji was already in the pavilion, sitting at the table with his back to him, fiddling with something on the table.

Zhu Shiyang was so curious, he went around to take a look, and it turned out to be a vat of red and black goldfish. The group of goldfish is puffing out their eyes and competing to float to the surface, stirring the turquoise aquatic plants in the tank to swing frequently, red, black and blue are contrasting, and they are extremely enchanting. Zhu Shiyang was bored for a while, so he also grabbed a little fish food from the fish food cup next to him and fed it to the fish.

Zhu Shiji watched him sprinkle fish food into the water, but his face was gloomy and unhappy, and asked him with a smile: "When did the imperial brother wake up?" ”

Zhu Shiyang sat lazily at the table, watching the goldfish in the water grab food: "I just woke up." King Kangping was really interested, and he even came to this wind pavilion to feed the fish on a rainy day. ”

Zhu Shiji said: "Where is there any good interest, the younger brother is to see that the cabin is too stuffy on a rainy day, and he is afraid that the goldfish will turn white, so he will move the fish tank up to ventilate them." ”

Only then did Zhu Shiyang show a hint of a smile, looked at Zhu Shiji and said, "King Kangping really has the virtue of a good life. ”

Zhu Shiji said with a smile: "The imperial brother has won the award, and the younger brother is also idle, just chatting for entertainment." After a pause, he asked, "Brother Huang hasn't had lunch yet, has he?" Why don't you go down to the cabin and get it? So saying, he got up and went to get it.

Zhu Shiyang slept from morning to afternoon, and indeed missed lunch time, but he didn't feel too hungry, so he told him not to. Unexpectedly, Zhu Shiji insisted on refusing, so Zhu Shiyang asked him to bring some snacks at will.

Zhu Shiji went down for a while, brought a plate of osmanthus lotus seed cake, a plate of assorted rose cakes, and a plate of glutinous rice balls, but forgot to take the silk towel to wipe his hands, and turned around and went downstairs again. Zhu Shiyang signaled that he didn't have to, took a piece of assorted rose crisp and chewed, "Where is Lu Wenyuan?" I didn't see him when I got up. ”

Zhu Shiji said: "Lord Lu is unwell today, so he went back to his room and slept after lunch. ”

Zhu Shiyang heard that he was unwell, and he didn't eat snacks, so he was anxious to visit, but was stopped by Zhu Shiji: "Brother Huang doesn't have to worry too much, my brother has asked the accompanying imperial doctor to see it, Lord Lu is nothing serious, just a little back pain, I think it's because I've been too tired recently." The emperor will let Lord Lu sleep a little longer. ”

Zhu Shiyang nodded slightly, and sat down at the table again. Zhu Shiji saw that he seemed to be a little speechless, so he asked, "Does the imperial brother have anything to say to his younger brother?" ”

Zhu Shiyang nodded as expected: "I don't want to go south by boat, I want to ride a horse by land instead." ”

Zhu Shiji pondered for a while: "It's okay to change to a land route, this trip out of the patrol brother transferred fifty imperial horses from the palace, and now they are all kept in captivity in the cabin of the accompanying big ship, which is enough for us to ride with the guards." If the royal brother really thinks about it, the younger brother will arrange it immediately. ”

Zhu Shiyang gradually showed a hesitant look and said, "But Lu Wenyuan ...... I haven't asked him what he means. ”

Zhu Shiji was a little surprised when he heard this: "When did the imperial brother become so indecisive?" The royal brother is the son of heaven, why do you have to ask others about everything? ”

Zhu Shiyang said: "Where is Lu Wenyuan someone else? He is my most loyal courtier. What he doesn't agree with, I will never do lightly. ”

Although he just stared at the pot of goldfish when he said this, there was an undoubted firm look in his eyes, and that solemn and solemn tone was something Zhu Shiji had never heard. Zhu Shiji looked at the handsome side face of the imperial brother, he didn't come back to his senses for a long time, and he only wondered for a while.

The two stayed in the wind pavilion for most of the hour, and Zhu Shiyang felt a little cold on his body, so he took Zhu Shiji down to the back cabin to visit Lu Wenyuan. Lu Wenyuan had woken up at this time, and was lying on the couch reading a book with a brocade quilt. Zhu Shiyang saw that he was in good spirits, so he sat down on the edge of the couch with a smile, stretched out his hand and rubbed his waist, and said, "What's the matter, it's a pain in your back at a young age?" ”

Lu Wenyuan smiled embarrassedly, and was not sure how to answer, but he heard Zhu Shiji say on the side: "Brother Huang just told this king that he wanted to abandon the boat and go south by land, I don't know what Lord Lu thinks about this?" ”

Lu Wenyuan was stunned: "This ...... I'm afraid it's a bit rushed, right? Turning his head to look at Zhu Shiyang: "Why did the emperor suddenly want to change to a land route?" ”

Zhu Shiyang heard that there was a "suddenly" in his words, and knew that he had never liked his temperament of thinking of one play after another, just because as an emperor, he must be strict and steady, think twice before acting, and avoid child's play. Zhu Shiyang hurriedly pretended to be deep and said: "Lu Qing's words are wrong, I have been thinking about the matter of changing to a land route for a long time, and it is not a whim." First, I am a northerner, and I am not used to boats, and secondly, although my trip is called Weifu, those magistrates are all human spirits, and I must have figured out my whereabouts in the past few days. If we continue to go south according to the original plan, these people will definitely whitewash the peace in order to cope with my inspection, how can I understand the suffering of the people? After a pause, seeing Lu Wenyuan concentrating, he seemed to be weighing carefully, for fear that he would not agree, so he hurriedly turned to Zhu Shiji: "King Kangping, you said this is the truth, right?" ”

In fact, he said that he wanted to change to the land route, but it was only because he did not enjoy riding a horse two days ago, and he could not bear the suffering of boats and boats, and the people's livelihood was not suffering, so he did not care. Zhu Shiji was well versed in the thoughts of the imperial brother, and was busy helping on the side and said: "Yes, Lord Lu, in fact, it is not a haste to change to the land route, this king has brought dozens of horses on this trip, although the carriage is not as good as the one in the emperor's palace, but it is also ready-made, as long as the emperor and the lord nod, they can go on the road at any time." ”

Lu Wenyuan thought about it, and finally relented: "It's okay, we are now close to Henan, and we can pass through Henan by land, and we can see how the fields that were abandoned by the drought last year have recovered, but ...... It's midsummer now, it's much hotter on land than on water, and it's very hard to ride a car and a horse. ”

Zhu Shiyang was very happy to hear that he agreed, and hurriedly said that he had already thought it through, and even if he ordered his subordinates to pack up, he would abandon the boat and take the land route as soon as he was ready.