Night, Daming Jingshi. The sound of fighting has been sounding three times, and it has been three watches. Zhu Qizhen was reviewing the recital in the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, and he did not feel sleepy at all. It is now the beginning of February, when the spring is cold, and the cold air hits people at night, and the charcoal fire in the amphora stove in the room is blazing.

The yellow satin cotton curtain at the door of the house was lifted, and a red-robed old eunuch entered.

"Your Majesty ......" The red-robed old eunuch came to stand still in front of Zhu Qizhen and called softly.

"It's so late, hasn't Mr. Wang slept yet?" Zhu Qizhen didn't raise his eyelids.

"The emperor eats and wears for the country, and works hard for the country," the red-robed old eunuch was Wang Zhen, and he said respectfully: "The old slave feels sorry for the emperor, how can he fit his eyes!" ”

"Okay," Zhu Qizhen raised his head and smiled, "There is no need to say more nonsense, just talk about anything!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty," Wang Zhen said, "According to the latest reports, as soon as His Royal Highness King Yu and the Great Masters escorted King Zhongyi out of Gubeikou, the army of the Tartars withdrew. ”

"Hmm......" Zhu Qizhen nodded slightly, his face seemed to become a little more relaxed, these days, tens of thousands of cavalry of the Tertes have been circling outside the mouth of the Great Wall, making the Ming army in the border pass highly alert, and even the capital once declared martial law. You must know that once the pass of the Great Wall is broken, the Tartar cavalry will drive straight in, and they can reach the city of Beijing in half a day. Now that the threat is gone, the officials and nobles in the capital, and the people of Li can breathe a sigh of relief.

"Order the generals in the border towns not to slack off in the slightest," Zhu Qizhen pondered for a moment and said, "Always pay attention to the movements of the Tartars." This will be drawn up for me by your celebrants. ”

"The old slave obeys."

"How much grain and rice are consumed these days?" Zhu Qizhen asked again.

"This ......" Wang Zhen hesitated for a moment and said: "The Tartar army is 50,000, and the daily consumption of grain is 500 stones, and they have stayed outside the customs for more than a month, and a total of 20,000 stones of grain are consumed. ”

"What?" Zhu Qizhen's face became ugly.

"The emperor is angry," Wang Zhen hurriedly said: "The Tartars also paid tribute to two thousand horses of our dynasty, according to the market price of fifteen taels of silver for one horse, two thousand horses will get thirty thousand taels of silver, and you can buy sixty thousand stones of grain. ”

"You have a good plan," Zhu Qizhen snorted and said: "Tartar is not stupid, I'm afraid that I will use thousands of old and sick horses to prevaricate my Celestial Empire, right?" ”

"The emperor can rest assured," Wang Zhen said: "The Imperial Horse Supervisor Yin Xing'an is very careful, if the Tartar really plays any tricks, he will have stabbed in front of the emperor's imperial case." ”

"Despite this, the good horses from the Tartars will not pay tribute to me Daming," Zhu Qizhen's face was still not very good-looking, "This time let them force me to make an alliance under the city, and I will return it in the future." ”

"The emperor is sage," Wang Zhen said: "Ordinary people still know that 'a gentleman takes revenge, three years is not too late.'" 'The emperor is magnanimous, why should he be as knowledgeable as those Tartars? ”

Zhu Qizhen glanced at him, "You're quite good at talking...... What about Yang Muyun? Is there any news of him? ”

"Back to the emperor," Wang Zhen looked embarrassed, "The old slave has conveyed the emperor's will to Dongchang and Jinyiwei, Ji Xin and Ma Shun sent people out of Beijing to look around, and the news should be passed on soon." ”

"Then you should keep an eye on it," Zhu Qizhen said expressionlessly, "As soon as there is news of Yang Muyun, hurry up and report it to me." ”

"The old slave obeys!"

"Is there an urgent military intelligence from the south?" Zhu Qizhen asked again.

Wang Zhen's heart chuckled, he knew that Zhu Qizhen was asking about the news of the Luchuan war, so he said: "A total of 130,000 armies from Nandu, Yunnan, Huguang, Sichuan, and Guizhou are diverging to gather on the Jinsha River, and I believe that they will be able to gather all ...... by the middle of the year."

"So slow?" Zhu Qizhen frowned, "It's the middle of the year, it's the middle of summer, and the heat is unbearable, how can we start a war then?" He instructed: "You go back to the celebrant to draw up another decree for me, ordering all armies to speed up their advance, and be sure to drive all of them to the bank of the Jinsha River before the end of April. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty," Wang Zhen hesitated for a moment and said, "The march of the army is expensive in the food ......."

"Okay, okay, I know," Zhu Qizhen interrupted him impatiently: "It is the business of the household department to supervise the transportation of grain and wages, and you can not ask Wang Zuo, the secretary of the household department, to do it." ”

"But Lord Wang is not in Beijing now." Wang Zhen reminded.

"Not in Kyori?" Zhu Qizhen was stunned.

"The emperor must have forgotten," Wang Zhen said cautiously: "Wang Shangshu's father has just passed away, and he has already reported to the court to go home to worry about it." Now the household department is headed by Chen Xun. ”

"Hmm," Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and said, "Chen Xun is old, and he is involved in political affairs in the cabinet, so let Jiao Hong, the right attendant of the household department, go to Yunnan to supervise the salary." ”

"The Emperor Shengming!" Wang Zhen bowed and said.

After a big call, Zhu Qizhen seemed to be a little tired.

Wang Zhen took the opportunity to say: "Your Majesty, the third watch has passed this day, you must take care of the dragon body!" ”

"I can hold on, you don't need to say more," Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, "as long as you are loyal, I will be easier." ”

"The old slave is full of liver and brain, and he will not give up." Wang Zhen bowed deeply.

"Alright, you go down."

"Yes."

Wang Zhen took a few steps back, and was stopped by Zhu Qizhen again.

"What military information has been passed on from Annan?"

"Your Majesty," Wang Zhen thought for a moment, "After Zheng Ke, the commander of the Annan Army, led his army to capture the capital of the occupied city, Vijaya, for some reason, he was urgently recruited back to Beijing by Li Yuanlong, and even the main army of 80,000 people followed his class. ”

"Oh?" Zhu Qizhen raised his eyebrows, "Why is this?" ”

"The old slave doesn't know," Wang Zhen glanced at the young emperor with apprehension and said, "If these 80,000 people are to be transferred back to the north of Jiaozhou, then the Annan army in the border area with my Ming Dynasty will increase to 150,000." ”

"Are you saying that Li Yuanlong's move is to restrain my Ming army from conquering Luchuan?" Zhu Qizhen's face changed.

"Your Majesty," Wang Zhen's face also became solemn, "According to the report of Jinyiwei's spies hidden in Annan, Li Yuanlong and Sijifa's private collusion is not a matter of one or two days, and it is difficult to say that this transfer has nothing to do with the operations of our army in Yunnan. Yunnan borders Annam, and Li Yuanlong is very easy to deal with the thinking and the machine. ”

"Ahem......" Zhu Qizhen coughed violently.

"Your Majesty," Wang Zhen was startled, hurriedly stepped forward to hold his arm, and shouted to the door: "Someone, go and call the imperial doctor!" ”

Xiao Yunzi and another little eunuch hurriedly lifted the curtain and entered when they heard this.

"What are you calling blind," Zhu Qizhen frowned. waved his hand to the two little eunuchs, "Go out, let me out." ”

The two little eunuchs looked at the emperor and then at Wang Zhen, and couldn't help but look at each other.

"Didn't you hear the emperor let you out?" Wang Zhen reprimanded, "Don't hurry up and get out yet." ”

The two little eunuchs were so frightened that they crawled out again.

"I'm fine, don't make a fuss," Zhu Qizhen glared at Wang Zhen, took a deep breath and said, "If Li Yuanlong really makes a move, I'm afraid the army of Zhengnan will not be enough!" ”

"The emperor is worried," Wang Zhen stretched out his hand and patted him lightly on the back, making him feel a little more relaxed, "The army that Luchuan Siji can mobilize is no less than 100,000, plus 150,000 Annan troops, there are nearly 300,000 horses, and the troops of my southern army plus the army in Beijing are not more than 200,000, and they can deal with two at the same time."

Ground, fear is not evil. ”

"You...... Is there a solution? Zhu Qizhen asked.

"Old slave ......" Wang Zhen wanted to speak and stopped.

"Say, what are you doing?" Zhu Qizhen said unhappily: "If you say something wrong, I will forgive you for your innocence." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty," Wang Zhen glanced at him and said slowly: "Li Li and Li Yuanlong, father and son, have been reporting to the imperial court since the reign of the first emperor, hoping to be officially recognized and canonized by the imperial court......"

"What do you want me to confess, what do you canonize?" Zhu Qizhen's face became ugly, "The Li family and his son stole my Jiaozhi land to stand on their own, and they are traitors and thieves, do you let me bow to them?" ”

"Your Majesty," Wang Zhen persuaded, "Annam is one of the fifteen non-conquest countries established by Emperor Taizu, which is clearly written in the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun", all overseas countries, such as Annam, Champong, Goryeo, Siam, Ryukyu, Western Ocean, Oriental and Southern Barbarian small countries, are limited to mountains and seas, and are isolated in a corner; The land is not enough to supply, and the people are not enough to command. If it doesn't think about it and comes to disturb me, then it is ominous. He is not a problem for China, and it is ominous for me to raise troops and attack lightly. I am afraid that future generations will rely on China's prosperity and strength, be greedy for temporary military achievements, and raise troops for no reason, causing injuries to people's lives. However, Hu Rong is approaching northwest China, and the world is a border trouble, so he must choose to train his troops and be careful when he is prepared. It can be seen that my Daming's henchmen are the Tartars in the north, and Annan is just a disease of scabies, so why should the emperor be more serious with the Li father and son for the sake of the past? ”

"What do you know?" Zhu Qizhen said abruptly: "The whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister." As the son of the first emperor, if I recognize and canonize Li Yuanlong as the king of Annam, wouldn't it be unfilial...... cough ......" coughed a few times, and then said after his breath was smoothed: "I was just forced by those Tartars to make an alliance under the city, and now I bow to Li Yuanlong, what am I still doing as this emperor?" ”

Wang Zhen was startled, and fell to his knees with a thud, "The old slave is talking nonsense, he really deserves to die, I hope the emperor will forgive him." ”

"Get up," Zhu Qizhen glanced at him and said, "You are also planning for me to do state affairs, I said that I said that I am wrong and forgive you for your innocence, is my words a joke?" ”

"Emperor Xie!" Wang Zhen stood up tremblingly again.

"It's easy to recognize Li Yuanlong as the king of Annan," the corners of Zhu Qizhen's lips hooked slightly, "An edict is enough." He is also at ease, he no longer has to worry about the army of the imperial court crusading against him, and I can also rest assured that I can send a large army to conquer Luchuan, and we will be safe with each other, wouldn't it be good? ”

Wang Zhen knew that the emperor was talking back, and he didn't talk about it.

"But the imperial court will forever lose the opportunity to regain Jiaozhi," Zhu Qizhen said: "Once admitted, it will be difficult to repent, which will make the imperial court lose its moral support for Annan's use of troops in the future." If you go back on your word, won't you laugh at the world? If this case is opened, and the Tusi in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty rise up one after another to follow the example of the Li family and his son, and support the army to oppose the imperial court, then what should I do? ”

"The emperor is far-sighted, and the old slave is beyond his reach."

"You go down," Zhu Qizhen's gaze became deeper, "This matter is very important, and I have to discuss it at the court meeting." As for what you just said, don't say it again. ”

"If the old slave talks nonsense again, he doesn't need the emperor to condemn him, and he cuts off his tongue!"

"Well," Zhu Qizhen bowed slightly, "Send more people from Dongchang and Jinyiwei to Yunnan and Annan, and always pay attention to every move there for me." ”

"The old slave obeys—" Wang Zhen said in a lengthened tone.

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"You said that you and the other girls were chosen as saints to be sent to the temple," Yang Muyun sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Ah Xiang and said, "What is the temple, and the people here, including Venasuva, must listen to the orders of the temple?" ”