Recently, Zhu Gaoxu did not go to the Xuanwu Gate, and as soon as he came out of the Imperial Concubine Palace in the morning, he went straight to the Imperial Gate and met with the ministers.

Then he took the eunuch Hou Xian and went to the Rouyi Hall in the west; The Rouyi Hall is located to the north of the Wuying Hall.

The former queen of Annam, the Chen family, and her son Chen Zhengyuan lived in the Rouyi Palace. Not long ago, they entered Beijing with the family of the Han Dynasty, and then they were settled in the palace and lived here temporarily.

The Rouyi Hall is not in the harem area, and the original Taizu Emperor Chang Yan lived here, reading books and chatting with the old brothers. But later emperors rarely stayed here.

"Emperor, did the slave send someone to inform the Chen family?" The square-faced eunuch Hou Xian said next to the sedan chair.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "No need, I will see the second envoy of Jiaozhi Province first." ”

Hou Xian hurriedly said: "The slave and maid will arrange it immediately." ”

Zhu Gaoxu's foreign strategy is obviously completely different from that of Emperor Taizong.

The relationship between the imperial court and the Mongol tribes deteriorated, but after Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, he had no intention of sending envoys to Mongolia at all (the province was killed again, and he brought humiliation on himself); At this time, the rebels from Jiaozhi Province sent an envoy over, and Zhu Gaoxu did not officially meet him, but chose this place where Taizu Yanju lived.

When he arrived at the Rouyi Hall, he took his seat on the throne above the main hall, and this chair seemed to have been sat by Taizu. Zhu Gaoxu imagined the situation of the emperor sitting here reading a book, and also found a book, and was very relaxed while reading the book, while waiting for the person to be summoned.

But the book in his hand had not turned a page for a long time, and he did not even know what the book was in his hand. Perhaps this is just a posture of thinking, and it is also very consistent with the decoration of this palace with calligraphy and paintings hanging on all sides.

After a long time, a man and a woman entered the temple. The second envoy of Jiaozhi is still the original two, Zhu Gaoxu has seen it in Yunnan. The envoy is a female Taoist priest named Chen Xianzhen; The deputy envoy is a military general, named Ruan Jingyi.

"The ministers meet the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty." The two of them saluted.

They did not kneel, which was inappropriate according to the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the province of Jiaozhi. But there is no minister here, and Zhu Gaoxu doesn't want to be in a hurry; This was one of the reasons why he was reluctant to receive the envoys in formal settings.

Daming has its own etiquette, and the etiquette of both parties expresses the relationship and attitude; If it is in the main hall, it will fall out directly because of the number of rites, is there still room for negotiation?

Zhu Gaoxu's body was on his side, facing the middle of the palace with his side face, and he said without looking back: "Originally, I asked Chen Jikuo to make up for his crimes, but he was unwilling to support the 'Crime Suppression Army'; Chen Jikuo has no merit for me, and he still wants to be crowned king, how is it possible? ”

Chen Xianzhen said: "The monarch (Chen Jikuo) and the ministers also regret this matter. ”

Ruan Jingyi, who had tanned skin, said: "My country's monarch is the clan of Annan, and today I am preparing to pay tribute to Beijing, and I just want to be canonized by the Ming Emperor, and I will pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty!" I hope the emperor's favor will be granted. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Chen Zhengyuan, the son of the former king who was killed by the Hu family, is in Beijing, and he is more legitimate than Chen Jikuo in terms of legal rites. ”

Ruan Jingyi said: "I'm afraid that Annan's civil and military forces will not recognize this person." ”

"Embrace the army and respect yourself!" Zhu Gaoxu threw the book in his hand on the table and said coldly, "Since you want to be canonized in the imperial court and recognized by the Ming Dynasty, you must abide by the universal morality of our dynasty!" The righteous king's concubine cannot inherit the throne, is there still morality and order in this world? ”

Ruan Jingyi was stunned there, and said with a sentence: "The situation is like this, sometimes I am afraid that we can't only pay attention to etiquette and morality......"

Zhu Gaoxu didn't wait for his words to land, and immediately said: "If you don't pay attention to etiquette and morality, then why do you want to play the banner of the Chen clan?" And Le Li, who occupies Nghe An City (Nghe An Province), Blue Mountains and other places, has self-respecting troops and wants to be king, who should I canonize? ”

Chen Xian is really a Taoist priest, but she is also a woman, her words are more gentle: "The emperor is angry, I heard that the Han Dynasty is divided into Western Han and Eastern Han; The candidate for the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty is not just based on etiquette. The Chen clan of Annan was destroyed by the rebellious Hu clan, and now the royal family is revived, and the person with high clan merit should be the king. ”

"It was the Ming Dynasty that helped the Chen family the most; Otherwise, now in the Jiaozhi area, the surname is already Hu! Zhu Gaoxu said.

He paused, then suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "But according to Deputy Envoy Ruan's words, let's put aside etiquette and morality first, and it's okay to talk about reality." ”

Chen Xianzhen said: "Please show the emperor." ”

If he hadn't wanted to talk about reality, Zhu Gaoxu wouldn't have had to meet the envoy in person.

He first recounted briskly: "I learned from the recitals of Huang Zhong, the general stationed in Jiaozhi Province, and Zhu Wenwu, that the situation in the Jiaozhi region at this time seems to be rather chaotic. In addition to the Ming garrison in Dongguan City (Thang Long, Hanoi), there are probably three larger forces in Cochin Province. Chen Jikuo, Chen Yi, Li Li.

These people have grievances and suspicions against each other, but because they think that the Ming army is a great threat, they have now formed a dense alliance and want to fight against the Ming official army together.

First of all, Chen Yi, seeing the fall of Chen's Hu family's power, was the first to be called emperor; But he was in a hurry to attack Dongguan, had a mustard with his generals, and killed your Ruan Jingyi's brother. Before Chen Yu could make much of a storm, several of the larger groups of people under his command rebelled! Ruan Jingyi and the others privately found a Chen Jikuo, and a group of generals formed an alliance with this, plotted against Chen Ji, and arrested him.

Then Chen Jikuo was supported as the emperor, and Chen Jikuo attacked the states and counties set up by the 'Jiaozhi Political Envoy Division' everywhere, so his reputation was so great that he overshadowed Chen Ji. So much so that many Ming officials did not know Chen Ji and only knew Chen Jikuo.

In fact, Chen Jikuo's power is not as good as Chen Ji, he is just a puppet supported by the generals. There are still some people among the generals who support Chen Wei, and you let Chen Wei go again because the threat of the Ming army is too great, in order not to weaken your strength; The two sides reached a compromise and gave Chen Wei some men to occupy the southern part of Cochin Province and called him 'Emperor Taishang'.

In the end, the heroic man who raised troops in the Blue Mountains was Li Li, who occupied the Blue Mountains, Yi'an and other places by virtue of the dangers and mountains and forests. Li Li is smarter, he is not the emperor, and he asked Chen Jikuo for a king; If you don't make a bird, I'm waiting for you to deal with the Ming official army. Nominally, these three forces are allied and have a relationship between the upper and lower levels. But they can't control each other, and they are all relatively independent forces. Is that so? ”

Zhu Gaoxu said this, and said: "If the Ming official army really withdraws from Jiaozhi Province, can these three forces still be peaceful?" ”

Ruan Jingyi bowed and said: "The emperor is wise and knows very well. ”

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head again and sneered: "But the Ming official army will not withdraw from Jiaozhi Province!" The tyranny of the Hu clan is the merit of our dynasty, of course, we must fulfill the original intention, for the son of the former king, to take back the throne! that all the nations of the world may observe universal morality. ”

Ruan Jingyi hurriedly asked: "The emperor's intention to no longer occupy Annan as a province?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Emperor Taizong's original intention was also to seek justice for the Chen family; It's just that after the war, the Chen clan was not found for a while, and the ministers and the Jiaozhi soldiers and civilians went to Beijing to petition, and Emperor Taizong temporarily included the land of Jiaozhi under the jurisdiction of the Great Meiji. Now I have found Chen Zhengyuan, and since I have rebuilt the country of Annan, I have returned to the Chen family. ”

Zhu Gaoxu paused for a moment, and then said, "I have a way. Chen Jikuo is just a puppet who is supported by the upper position, those of you can support Chen Jikuo, why not support Chen Zhengyuan? After Chen Jikuo and Chen Wei went to the emperor, they still enjoyed glory and wealth for the royal clan; You are still the general of the Annan Kingdom. Wouldn't it be beautiful for everyone to support Chen Zhengyuan, destroy the rebel Li Li, and enjoy a peaceful and prosperous world together? ”

Ruan Jingyi and Chen Xianzhen glanced at each other, and Ruan Jingyi looked at her and shook her head slightly.

Zhu Gaoxu saw this subtle action, and knew Ruan Jingyi's thoughts in his heart: although the two candidates are marionettes, Chen Jikuo is the puppet of the Annam people, and Chen Zhengyuan is the puppet of the Ming Dynasty!

Ruan Jingyi said: "When the ministers entered Beijing, they asked the emperor to canonize him, and I am afraid that he cannot make the decision in this matter." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "You bring back my meaning and tell everyone to think about it." Don't be lucky, the Ming official army can have a 'battle to conquer the southern country', and it is not difficult to have a second time. At that time, it will be impossible to retreat to the second best place to enjoy the glory and wealth. ”

Ruan Jingyi said: "We should take the emperor's intention back to discuss." ”

Zhu Gaoxu sighed, waved his hand lightly, and said thoughtfully: "Maybe if you want everyone to sit down and talk, you can't avoid the blood flowing first, otherwise how can you be willing?" ”

"The ministers are leaving." Ruan Jingyi and the two bowed.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said: "Just make please stay, I will be alone with you and faint." ”

Chen Xianzhen clasped his fists and bowed: "Poor Dao obeys orders." ”

Zhu Gaoxu stood up and walked to the back door. The voice of the eunuch Hou Xian came from behind him: "I am please." ”

Behind the main hall, there is a smaller palace called the Retreat Hall. Inside, there are pianos and other things, which are simple and simple, and different from the grandeur of the main hall.

Zhu Gaoxu waited for Chen Xianzhen to come in, and then waved his hand. The eunuch Hou Xian bowed and retreated, covering the temple gate.

Chen Xianzhen turned his head to take a look, and then quietly paid attention to Zhu Gaoxu's demeanor.

Zhu Gaoxu knew very well in his heart: the battle of Annan during the Taizong period did play a great role; Therefore, the new forces in the Jiaozhi area are very persistent in the recognition and canonization of the Ming Dynasty, and they have continuously sent envoys to get the recognition of the Ming court.

He did not shy away from looking Chen Xianzhen's appearance and figure up and down, and finally spoke: "Chen Jikuo and those people around him, do you think I like nuns and nuns?" ”

Chen Xianzhen bent his knees and said: "Poor Dao is indeed a Taoist priest and a clan, and it is not fake. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Chen Jikuo has expressed the intention of peace, and I am also sincere, how can I repeatedly reject Chen Jikuo's kindness?" ”

Chen Xian's cheeks were a little red.

Zhu Gaoxu's gaze was still on her body, although she was wearing a robe, the outline of the woman's lines was still very obvious. Chen Xianzhen was watched unscrupulously, she looked embarrassed and embarrassed, but her hand slowly put it on her belt.