On the 28th of the lunar month, after a light rain fell in Hengzhou Mansion in Huguang Province, it was cloudy for several days. It's windy.

After Zhang Fu and others surrendered, in just a few days, Zhu Gaoxu led the civil and military forces and quickly reorganized the naval generals; He also sent a warship to the north of the river to make a forced landing and expel the remaining official warships.

More than 60,000 forward soldiers have also been selected, all of whom are the elite of the Han Army! The battalion of the forward army was deployed on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River outside the city at this time.

Firearms, ammunition, arrows, grain and other baggage are also being transported aboard. Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Wenwu rode around and looked at the busy crowd on a dock.

At this moment, a rider ran over from the river.

The knight said a few words to the man in the distance, and then approached the horse. He turned over and dismounted and reported: "Lord Wang, the brothers have caught a small work on the east bank, and he claims to be a protégé of 'Mr. Li' of the Governor's Mansion and took a post. ”

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at Mr. Li next to him. Mr. Li stepped forward on the horse, took the post and looked at it, and suddenly showed a surprised expression on his face. When Zhu Gaoxu saw this, he immediately remembered Gao Xianning, the proud protégé of "Mr. Li" Qi Tai; If Gao Xianning suddenly ran out of Jingshi, it would really be a surprise.

Mr. Li said, "Bring someone here." ”

The knight turned and pointed to the river in the distance and said, "It's on the boat." ”

Mr. Li said, "Lord Wang, can we change places to meet guests?" ”

Mr. Li is Zhu Gaoxu's right-hand man, Zhu Gaochu didn't ask much, and immediately nodded and said, "Go back!" ”

The various military camps of the forward battalion are stationed between two villages on the bank of the Xiang River. The group returned to one of the villages and came to an earthen walled courtyard.

It didn't take long for Mr. Li's protégé to walk into the hall. As expected, the person who came was Gao Xianning!

Gao Xianning's dusty appearance and tired face seemed to be because he had not slept well because of his day and night. However, he still behaved calmly and looked indifferent, he saluted first: "Your Majesty the official greets His Royal Highness the King of Han, Teacher." Thank you. ”

Zhu Gaoxu immediately invited Gao Xianning to sit on a stool.

Mr. Li said: "I saw Xianning's words, and thought that you still have family members in Shandong, so I invited the prince to speak here." It's all the prince's people here, and it doesn't matter if you have anything to do. ”

Gao Xianning listened to it and said indifferently: "The teacher has considered it thoroughly, and the student has thanked him." ”

The relationship between the teacher and the student is very indifferent. But Zhu Gaoxu remembered that in order to save Qi Tai's life, Gao Xianning did not hesitate to go against his will to enter the court as an official, and had to work for Zhu Gaoxu...... Looking at the atmosphere at the moment, it suddenly seemed a little weird.

Perhaps these literati are more particular about the friendship between gentlemen and gentlemen.

Gao Xianning looked at the table with a contemplative expression, and after a while he spoke: "Xiaguan guessed from many signs that Xue Yan, the secretary of Dali Temple, and Tan Qing, the commander of Jinyiwei, were investigating the death of the first emperor. ”

Sheng Yong'an and the others were puzzled when they heard this, and Ping'an said: "Didn't the puppet emperor issue an edict, saying that the first emperor collapsed because of the red pill?" What's the use of looking into this matter now......"

Ping'an laughed as he spoke, "I see that Mr. Gao came over in a hurry, dare to love our hundreds of thousands of troops, can you still make a truce because of this?" ”

Gao Xianning glanced at Ping An and ignored Ping An completely. He continued to say to Zhu Gaoxu: "The lower officials could not find anyone involved in this matter, so it was completely impossible to determine the inside story.

But after thinking about it again, Xia Guan felt that this matter was a hidden danger. It's just that he can't predict what Xue Yan can find out; Find out, who is it for! ”

Mr. Li nodded and agreed: "Lord Wang, the lower officials think that Xian Ning is reasonable. The first emperor collapsed in the palace, and the crown prince and the henchmen of the East Palace explained the cause and effect, and nothing was convincing at that time except for the queen's decree.

In the current situation, no matter what the facts are, as long as we can enter Beijing, we can easily deny everything. Then grasp the anomalies and doubts in the palace at the beginning, and re-elaborate the causes and consequences.

How to say it, the initiative is mine, and the situation is very favorable to the prince! And what Xue Yan can find out and what he can make public, is an unpredictable variable. It's not good for us. ”

Zhu Gaoxu muttered: "It makes sense. ”

Gao Xianning bowed and said: "The prince is extremely famous when he enters Beijing, and there are only two legal principles. First, he praised the martial arts of the first emperor, and had great favors to the Ming court and the people of Limin, and recognized that the 'Battle of Jingjing' was reasonable and in line with the ancestral system; Second, the legitimacy of today's puppet emperors and thrones is denied as much as possible.

In this way, His Royal Highness the King of Han, as the second son of the first emperor, had a reason to raise troops; Inheriting the throne of the first emperor is justified and can be legitimate. And what Xue Yan did was adding the hidden danger of inaccuracy to the second reason of the prince. Wang Ye should enter Beijing as soon as possible to stop this matter! ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded frequently when he listened.

When he first started the army, Zhu Gaoxu's biggest pressure was to be eliminated by force, and he didn't pay much attention to reason; And now, the military duel between the two sides has almost been divided into high and low, and he is about to get the actual power, so he wants to occupy it in reason, all of them!

This reminded him of those rich people under the evil capitalism, who did not pay much attention to morality when accumulating capital, and once they had money, most of them wanted to wash their money and make a good reputation.

Sheng Yong opened his mouth and said: "The prince has already decided on the strategy of 'elite soldiers advancing by water, and the advance is approaching the Beijing Division', which is the fastest method." ”

Mr. Li arched his hand and said: "Now it seems that the prince's decision is very wise!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I didn't expect that my eldest brother would come here in a hurry." However, the soldiers are fast, and everything can be done quickly, otherwise there may always be extraneous things. Just like now, they just want to make this king unhappy! ”

Several civil and military officers bowed one after another: "The prince is wise and martial!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled, waved his hand and said, "It's easy to say, it's easy to say." ”

He slapped his thigh, stood up and said, "The striker got on the boat overnight and will start tomorrow!" This year, that's it. ”

Zhu Gaoxu walked to the door, suddenly stood still and turned his head and said: "The identity of the senior attendant, it is best not to tell outsiders that there are more or less court spies in the army." ”

The crowd prayed, "Yes!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Gao Xianning and said, "You are in office, and the person is suddenly gone, are the family members in Shandong okay?" ”

Gao Xianning said: "Compared with the prince's major events in the world, how dare the lower officials cherish the small family? ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Gao Xianning with a complicated expression and nodded lightly. Although he didn't quite agree with Gao Xianning's concept, he didn't want to say more, but praised it: "Gao Shi's reading has made great contributions." ”

Gao Xianning said indifferently: "There is a master, and there are capable ministers." ”

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