The holy car stayed in Kaipingwei for three days, and then set off immediately, heading to Daning.

The Son of Heaven passed by the honor guard, and the old father in the middle of the road greeted him, serving rice, wheat and sorghum. Hearing that there was an old man, Zhu Di immediately summoned him.

The old man was supported by his children and grandchildren, and walked tremblingly to the front of the car, and Zhu Di turned over and dismounted to show his respect for the old man. With Hu, Wenwu dismounted one after another and saluted the old man.

The old man's beard was white, his eyes were a little cloudy, and his speech was still clear.

"I can't help it!" His teeth had fallen out, and his hands were old and thin, like dry bark. was supported by Zhu Di, but he didn't know what to do, "Your Majesty, don't do it!" ”

"The old man can stand it." Zhu Di smiled, "This is my son, and my grandson." Zhan Qi, come here, and see the elderly. ”

Zhu Zhanyan was dressed in a coiled dragon suit, walked to Zhu Di's side steadily, and saluted the old man.

"Old man Kangtai."

Zhu Zhanyan's etiquette is excellent, and even the ceremonial officials can't find the slightest fault. The white and fat little face, when he spoke, two dimples faintly appeared on his cheeks,

The old man became more and more excited, on the side of the road. The people who saw this scene all knelt on the ground, their cheeks flushed, and the sound of the mountain shouting long live was endless.

"The Lord of Virtue and Benevolence, the Son of Heaven!"

After today, Emperor Yongle's reputation among the people will surely reach a new level.

The rice and sorghum offered by the old man are properly stored, and the abundant ears of wheat show the joy of the good year.

Since Zhu Di ascended the throne, the north and south sides have been uneven, and floods, droughts, and locusts have continued in the provincial capitals, prefectures and counties. In the border land of northern Xinjiang, the Daning Xuanfu, which was once known for its desolation, has had bumper harvests year after year, and the official warehouses are full. This autumn's harvest requires the old wheat to be transported out of the silos before it can be fed into the new grain.

"In the good year, did Sansizhou County use the excuse of miscellaneous taxes to exploit the people?"

Bai Yan led the eunuch to put down the light wooden chair, Zhu Di helped the old man to sit down, sat down next to the old man, and opened his mouth to ask about taxes.

"Back to His Majesty, no." The old man is old, but his head is not confused. Listening to the Son of Heaven's question, he did not hesitate for a moment, "Relying on His Majesty's benevolence, the grain tax has been reduced and reduced for many years, and the grass people's family has more than ten families, and the family has been surplus for three consecutive years." “

"That's fine." Zhu Di was pleased, "In this way, it is not against Emperor Gao's policy of loving the people." ”

Hearing this, Meng let out a long breath, and his highly tense nerves instantly relaxed.

Daning has set up a political envoy, and the two seasons of taxes and grains are in his charge every year. But he is still the guard of Daning, and if someone takes advantage of his absence to attack the tax and grain, or to collect harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes under the pretext of blatant purposes, he will not escape responsibility.

Thinking of what the Daning Bu Political Envoy and the Inspector had done before, Meng secretly gritted his teeth.

I have long wanted to clean them up, but I have not been able to find a suitable opportunity, and I have to take care of the emperor's face, so I can only put it down first. If he is burdened by it because of a moment of hesitation, is he wronged?

After a conversation with the old man, Zhu Di was in a good mood and asked a lot about the people's feelings.

When the old man answered, he worked hard to write a book with the historian, and he was afraid that he would fall into the next sentence.

Hu Guang, a Hanlin scholar who accompanied him, had a slight flash in his eyes, and when Emperor Yongle asked the old man how the official reputation of Daning officials and civil officials was, he seized the opportunity and took Meng out.

"The minister heard that Xingning Bo served as the town guard of Daning, opened farmland and Xinghu City, and had many contacts with grassland herdsmen, and had an excellent reputation among the people. Dare to ask the elderly, can there be such a thing? ”

Hearing this, Zhu Di lost a smile in his eyes. Meng's heart jumped, and the secret way was not good. At the beginning, this person gave him eye medicine in front of Emperor Yongle, saying that he "can't lose his tail, and he is afraid of having different hearts". Now, it is said that he "has many contacts with the grassland herdsmen and has an excellent reputation among the people", which is to spare no effort to put him to death!

Shen Xuan's face sank, Zhu Gaoxu picked up Zhu Zhanyan, patted his son's back, and looked at Hu Guang's eyes, as if he was looking at a dead man. It's not good to provoke anyone, but to provoke Xingningbo, looking for death.

"I don't dare to hide it from this official, since the imperial court sent Xingningbo to guard Daning, the days of the grass people are getting better and better." The old man smiled and said, "However, the grass people and others know that this is relying on the kindness of the Son of Heaven, if there is no holy virtue of the Son of Heaven, how can there be such a good official as the town guard, and how can the grass people live today's life?" ”

Hu Guang didn't expect that an old man in the countryside would say such a thing.

According to the old man's meaning, Xingningbo is an official appointed by the imperial court, and if he is grateful to him, isn't he grateful to the imperial court and the Son of Heaven?

Was it by mistake, or deliberately?

Whatever the reason, Meng was able to get out successfully.

Hu Guang was unwilling, and wanted to say something, but Xia Yuanji intercepted the conversation, missed the opportunity, and it was difficult to speak.

"The villagers of Chenguan offer ears of grain, which can be screened as grain ......"

After some response just now, everyone present saw that the old man was extraordinary.

Hu Guang was very annoyed, but he was still too impatient.

I thought I was just a common person, but I never thought that after the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, I lived in the land of Northern Xinjiang for several generations, five generations were in the same house, and I had abundant food and clothing, how could I be an ordinary person?

But it has come to this, and it is too late to regret it.

Only then did he understand that the Son of Heaven was not provoked by his words, but was dissatisfied with him. Thinking of the gaze of the Son of Heaven just now, Hu Guang's face couldn't help but turn pale.

Zhu Gaoxu put away the sneer at the corner of his mouth and turned to Meng, "Master Hu is just a rafter, the person hiding behind him, he will not be caught, Xingningbo still needs to be careful." ”

"Your Highness Xie reminds."

Zhu Zhanyan patted Zhu Gaoxu's arm, "Father, let the child go." ”

"Not tired?"

"I'm not tired." Zhu Zhanyan said seriously, "As the child gets older, he shouldn't be tired of his father." ”

The red New Year's picture doll is upright, with a straight look, a board and a glance, no matter how you look at it, you will feel happy.

Zhu Gaoxu was very moved, his son knew that he cared about his father!

Unexpectedly, this emotion only lasted for two seconds, and it was broken by a punch from the three heads.

"Less insurance." Zhu Zhanyan walked in front of Meng, raised his head and said, "I am still young, and when I am strong, I will follow the example of the emperor's grandfather and punish the traitor." “

Translated, I'm still young, and someone bullies Shaobao, and I can't do anything yet. When I grow up, if someone doesn't open his eyes, he will definitely be angry for Shaobao. Dare to stab, shoot all to death!

The moved one was replaced by Meng.

Zhu Gaoxu grinds his back molars, who is this bastard's father?!

Shen Xuan didn't say anything, his eyes skimmed over the three-headed body, and directly "killed" the three-headed body's father.

"His Royal Highness is superb in martial arts, skilled in footsteps, how about he fights in the school field every day?"

Zhu Gaoxu was petrified in an instant, looking for him to fight alone? Why is that?

"His Royal Highness King Zhao said that His Royal Highness has been very lonely without an opponent for a long time." Shen Xuan said with a smile, "His Royal Highness and His Royal Highness King Zhao really have a deep brotherly relationship. ”

Zhu Gaoxu: "......"

Brothers? What kind of brother?! Back-plugged - knife brother! If Zhu Gaosui was in front of him, Zhu Gaosui was not sure whether he would not be able to control it, and he would pull out a knife and slash his brother.

Meng Zhidang didn't hear what Shen Xuan said, squatted □, thanked Zhu Zhanyan with a smile, and continued to be moved.

Zhu Zhanyan is shining with starry eyes, and his father wants to learn from the Duke of Dingguo? I've been looking forward to this day for a long time!

Zhu Gaoxu looked up at the blue sky and finally burst into tears.

Kiss the son, kiss the son......

The holy car can't stay too long in the middle of the way, summoning the old man, but it's not tea time.

The old man was helped by his children and grandchildren to retreat to the side of the road, Zhu Di jumped on the horse, Zhu Gaoxu and Shen Xuan returned to their respective posts, Zhu Zhanyan did not ask to ride a horse again, but obediently and rode a chariot.

"Shao Bao is with me."

"The prince of the world will go up first, and the next official will follow." Meng handed Zhu Zhanyan over to the eunuch and said, "I'm tired of Young Eunuch Huang." ”

When Zhu Zhan got on the chariot, Meng immediately turned around, called a familiar eunuch, whispered two words, and handed over a silver ingot, "I'm tired." ”

The eunuch flipped his hand, and the silver ingot instantly fell into his sleeve, and said with a smile: "Uncle, don't worry, our family will definitely do it properly." ”

Meng nodded, turned around and boarded the chariot.

In the car booth, the mattress carpet is made of brocade, the sill seat is slightly high, and the soft seat is covered with red carpet. The low table is wedged into the car board, and the teapots and teacups are all made of bamboo, which is a tribute to Yongle for five years and a southwest Fanbang.

Meng is not an elegant person, and he can't see what is good about this tea set, but he just thinks that it is safer to use bamboo than porcelain glass in the carriage.

The road conditions are not good, the traffic is bumpy, the porcelain is fragile, even if you spread a mattress and a blanket, it is not a trivial matter to be splashed with hot tea.

The space in the car pavilion is not small, there are two low cabinets standing against the car wall, red paint, the base is carved with auspicious patterns, each is decorated with copper flower leaves, firmly wedged into the car wall, and the car pavilion seems to be one. If you don't see the eunuch taking things from the cabinet, you won't notice that there are two cabinets in front of you.

Zhu Zhanyan sat upright, and on the low table were several plates of delicate pastries.

"Shaobao with snacks?"

A familiar sentence brought Meng's memory back years ago.

On the way to Nanjing, Zhu Gaochi, who was still the prince of Yanwang in the Shizi Pavilion, smiled gently and asked the eunuch to deliver a plate of dim sum to him.

"Meng Baihu, use some with Gu?"

Meng pinched the corners of his forehead, retracted his distant thoughts, and said, "When the prince uses dim sum, the lower official tells the prince two stories on the grassland, okay?" ”

"Good!"

Zhu Zhan's eyes are shining, and he likes to listen to Shaobao's stories the most. Although Xia Shangshu's knowledge is very good, he still feels that listening to Shaobao's lectures is more interesting.

"The prince should know that after the remnants retreated into the steppe, the tribe was divided and became today's Tatar, Warat, and Uliangha."

Zhu Zhanyan nodded, "I know." ”

"Uliangha is for my court's use. The Tatar Warats were nomadic in the steppes, and there were tribes under them, and there were contacts and enmities between them. Meng paused before he continued, "The story I told to the prince today is from the Tatar Asut ......."

The horses marched forward, and the Taichang flag sounded fiercely in the wind.

When autumn is high, the sky is blue.

The eagle eagle streaked across the sky, and its long, sharp cry broke through the gale.

Hearing the cry, Zhu Di suddenly became interested, took a longbow, took a bow and shot an arrow, and there was another sharp chirp, and the guards shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is heroic!" ”

Meng Gang finished telling a story, was holding up the teacup, heard the voice, immediately leaned against the car wall, pushed open the side of the door, "What's the matter?" ”

The eunuch replied: "Back to Uncle, Your Majesty has three arrows to get a pair of golden eagles." ”

Bow and condor?

Meng smacked his tongue, it turned out that Temujin was not the only one who had this hobby.

"Imperial grandfather - shoot - under the two golden eagles?" Zhu Zhanyan suddenly got up and startled Meng.

"Shizi be careful."

"It's okay, I can stand."

That being said, the wheel pressed over the stone, but it still didn't steady, but fortunately it was taken into Meng's arms.

The eunuch next to the car door was even more frightened, his hands and feet stiffened, and a cold sweat broke out.

Zhu Zhanyan stood up again, this time more carefully, walked to the door, and looked out. Sure enough, I saw the guards galloping back, holding two golden eagles in their hands. The wings and abdomen of the golden eagle have not yet been taken out, and the tail of the arrow shows that it is used by the Son of Heaven.

Meng used to hunt wolves on the grassland, but he never hunted birds of prey, just because his archery skills were really not good. However, looking all over Kaipingwei, he can shoot down two birds of prey with three arrows, which is rare in the border army.

It can be seen that Emperor Yongle's force value is really extraordinary. No wonder he can press his neighbors to the ground one by one and beat them, his nose and face are swollen, and he can only consider himself unlucky if he lacks an arm or leg.

While resting on the way, Bai Yan came back to Zhu Zhanyan's chariot, carrying two skins in his hands, and said respectfully: "The slave has seen the son." 陛xià-shoot-down-two golden eagles, so that the slave maid sent to the son. ”

After speaking, he handed the skin to the two little eunuchs behind him, and said, "These two people can raise birds of prey, and Your Majesty will use them for the prince." ”

"Reward from Emperor Xie's grandfather." Zhu Zhanyan thanked him first, and then said, "Can the imperial grandfather be in front of the car?" ”

"Hui Shizi, exactly."

"Lonely to see the emperor's grandfather." Zhu Zhanyan got up and bowed, "Please let Grandpa Bai lead the way." ”

Bai Yan responded to the promise, and his demeanor became more and more respectful.

Meng rushed down before Zhu Zhan and escorted him to the ground, but he didn't go with him to see Emperor Yongle.

Seeing the three-headed body leave, Uncle Meng leaned on the chariot, scratched his chin, and shot a bird of prey for his grandson to play, the Yongle Emperor really had martial arts and was domineering, which was not comparable to ordinary people.

Zhu Zhanyan thanked him and returned, and the car continued on the road.

In order to save time, in addition to meeting the elderly, the way through the state and county non-stop.

Meng searched his intestines and scraped his stomach and told Zhu Zhanyan a story all the way. With the speed at which the three-headed body receives knowledge, the possibility of Xia Yuanji finding Meng to fight is once again infinitely rising.

The two golden eagles were very well cared for, but the eunuch who took care of them said that the wing was injured, and one of them was afraid that he would not be able to fly again.

Can a flightless bird of prey survive?

Emperor Yongle gave two injured golden eagles to the three-headed body, does it have another meaning?

Meng didn't understand, and he didn't plan to figure it out completely. In the final analysis, Emperor Yongle taught his grandson and it had nothing to do with him. It's not necessarily a good thing to think too clearly.

At the end of October of the seventh year of Yongle, the saint drove through Daning.

At the beginning of November, he returned to Beijing.

In the same month, the Holy Decree came out of Beijing, and named the Tatar Taibao Ma Erhawe as the king of Shun'an, and the Privy Council of the Privy Council as the king of loyalty, and led 20,000 Tatar cavalry to return to the grassland.

"The only thing I am talking about is evil. Since you are obedient and a minister, you are also a child, and there is no reason to be detained again. ”

At the same time as the release of the people, Zhu Di ordered to give the two of them gold and silver cloth, and the tribal herdsmen gave rations to sheep and horses. Xu Liangbu goes to the mutual market to trade in spring, summer and autumn every year.

"I have ordered that you abide by the law, and there will be no disturbance to the border, and there will be no infringement on the border officers and soldiers."

In short, be honest and herd, and I won't send anyone to beat you. Otherwise, you do so at your own risk.

No matter what Ma Ha and Dehuo Chi thought in their hearts, they were all grateful at this time, crying breathlessly, kneeling and kowtowing.

"Heavenly Khan, your glory will spread across the grassland!"

The three words came out, and the strong men of Wuliangha who were summoned at the same time were unhappy.

What's the matter, the Jurchens haven't solved it yet, and these two old boys are going to fight snakes with sticks again? No matter how unhappy it is, you must be honest in front of Emperor Yongle. As for the future, we'll see!

After sending Ma'erhawe and Dehuochi, the assembled more than 100,000 border troops were ordered to return to the guards.

Before the officers and troops set off, the list of rewards was finally drawn up.

The Duke of Wei ranked first, and the Duke of Dingguo was second. He was followed by Wang Cong, Hou of Wucheng, Huo Zhen of Tong'an, Zheng Heng of Wu'an, and Li Yuan, Hou of Anping. Meng did not squeeze into the first echelon, and was only ranked fourth in the second echelon. However, the reward was very rich.

"Give fifty taels of gold, three hundred taels of silver, eight hundred ingots of money, and twenty pieces of silk gauze and silk."

"Your Majesty."

It was not Bai Yanhui who gave the reward, Meng handed out the red envelope and didn't ask much. After sending people away, he was alone in a daze with more than a dozen boxes of rewards. The money was given a lot, even on par with the marquis. But the official titles and titles did not move. frowned, and suddenly there was no bottom in my heart.

When Shen Xuan returned, Meng was still immersed in his thoughts. It wasn't until the palm lamp that he suddenly came back to his senses. looked at the long-standing and jade grandfather of the country, hesitated, but still expressed his worries in his heart.

Is Majesty beating him?

Shen Xuan raised his eyebrows on one side, slightly different, "Why does Twelve Lang think so?" ”

Isn't it obvious?

Meng handed over the holy decree to Shen Xuan, rewarded the generals, and at least should give him an honorary title, no matter what happened. Only give money and don't get promoted, isn't it a knock or what?

Shen Xuan lowered his eyes and pinched Meng's earlobe, "Twelve Lang thinks too much." ”

Meng remained skeptical.

"Twelve Lang doesn't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe it, but I ......" he didn't know the bottom of his heart.

"Would you like to gamble with me?" Shen Xuan leaned over, his hands resting on the armrests of the circle chair, and a warm breath swept through Meng's ears, "Xuan once said that he wanted to talk to Twelve Lang at night. If this is not what Twelve Lang thinks, it can be ......"

The sound grew low, and finally barely audible.

Uncle Meng's expression gradually changed, his face turned red, and smoke came out of his head.

"What do you think? Needless to say, Xuan only should be the twelve. ”

Grandpa Guo smiled too charmingly, and when he noticed that something was wrong, Meng was just about to open his mouth, and with a cold and fragrant breath, he met the mask, and his voice was all blocked.

He doesn't bet! Uncle Meng glared and resolutely did not gamble!

Shen Xuan chuckled, holding the corners of her rosy lips, and swept the tip of her tongue over her lips.

Don't gamble? It's not Twelve's words.

Meng was clever, his head quickly turned into a mess, and he couldn't say a word.

On the same day, Uncle Meng was carried back to the sedan by Dingguo Gong from the front hall.

Three days later, Feng Meng Qingyi issued an edict for the third-class uncle. Hearing the news, Meng fainted directly.

Too excited?

Definitely.

Thinking of the gamble of the grandfather of the same country, Uncle Meng just wanted to find a piece of tofu to bump into. He is completely sure that according to the gambling contract, he will set a new record for the number of days he is absent from work.

In the end, it was the news from Nanjing that saved him.

Zheng He's fleet, which went to the West for the second time, returned to Fujian port a month ago. It is reported that the trip was very fruitful.

Zhu Di immediately couldn't sit still and ordered to leave for Beijing. Meng and Shen Xuan were ordered to return south together. In consideration of the departure date, the day of the candlestick talk has been postponed for the time being.

Uncle Meng breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a bit of a pity.

Looking up at the sky, he suddenly felt that in the face of Dingguo Gong, he was becoming more and more "honest".

Sigh, beauty-lust-misleading, it is really a wise saying.