Ishawa asked Meng Ji if King Chenla was involved in the conspiracy. She is a sensible person, knowing that the eunuch Meng Ji may deceive her, but she does not dare to bully the king easily.

When Zhu Gaoxu saw Meng Ji, he suddenly remembered this and asked Meng Ji.

Meng Ji's expression was a little embarrassed at first, and then he told the truth, he really said it, but he actually knew almost nothing about the details of the conspiracy that happened in Zhenla Kingdom. Meng Ji did not explain why he wanted to lie to Issuva, and Zhu Gaoxu did not continue to ask; Things are indeed a bit embarrassing, why did he Meng Ji have to let Issuva have no choice and then come to Daming to avoid trouble?

However, someone who may know more will soon return to Beijing. He is Liu Ming.

Zhu Gaoxu received the medal, and the main force of the naval fleet was returning home. The navy has avoided the storm-prone season along the southeast coast and is expected to reach the lower reaches of the river this month, entering Liujiaxiang on the Taicang side. The music is from Liu Ming's hand.

Liu Ming had gone to Phnom Penh City in Zhenla Country in person despite dissuasion and stayed there for a long time. Thinking about what Liu Ming can know, there must be more than Meng Ji.

Most of the main forces of the Ming Navy have returned, and the commander Chen Xuan and Wang Jinghong have returned. Only two commanders, Lin Zixuan and Tang Jing, remained at the Longya Gate in Malacca and the new envoy city in Saigon Bay. The loss of naval warships and men, mainly in that great storm, resulted in thousands of casualties; On the contrary, in the subsequent major battles in the south, the number of ships lost very little.

Judging from the results, Chen Xuan and Wang Jinghong have made great contributions. So Zhu Gaoxu quickly issued an order, asking Honglu Temple and other government offices to prepare a celebration banquet, and ordered the household department to calculate a sum of money to reward the soldiers.

However, Chen Xuan had something before, which made Zhu Gaoxu a little dissatisfied.

After the end of the battle between the Ming army and the Zhenla army, the official army wanted to continue to attack the Manchurian country, and the time was inappropriate, because it was about to enter the hot season; Moreover, the Manchurian state took the initiative to send an envoy to sue for peace, agreeing to all the demands of the Ming Dynasty, and the attitude was very respectful. At that time, it was obviously no longer necessary to continue the war. Chen Xuan still used various means, including arbitrarily driving out the Manchurian envoys, so that the Chinese army reached a decision to continue to attack the Manchurian country.

Zhu Gaoxu remembered these things, and thought about Chen Xuan again.

Ordinary people may meet a lot of people in their lives, but most of the people who really put their heart and soul into it are probably bosses or close companions. But Zhu Gaoxu is different, he has a lot of people to ponder, but he is afraid of using the wrong person. So sometimes he gets angry with someone, but then he forgets about it.

Zhu Gaoxu is like this to Chen Xuan, if it weren't for the recent recital and reminding Chen Xuan to return to China, Zhu Gaoxu would have almost forgotten what Chen Xuan had done.

However, in any case, the reward should not be less, after all, it is better to be based on results on the surface. Since Chen Xuan won the bet, Zhu Gaoxu did not plan to publicly calculate the process with him.

In mid-April, Zhu Gaoxu led the ministers of civil and military affairs to give a banquet in the Fengtian Palace, where he invited meritorious soldiers, civil officials, eunuchs, and others who had returned, and rewarded them with a lot of money and goods on the spot.

The next day, after the imperial gate listened to the government, Zhu Gaoxu called the eunuch to go and summoned Liu Ming directly to the Rouyi Hall in the west.

After the two gentlemen and ministers saw each other, they took their seats on both sides of the coffee table in the northwest corner. The palace maid Xiaohe was beside her, boiling water unhurriedly to prepare Chaozhou tea. Zhu Gaoxu looked at Liu Ming, who had been separated for a long time, and saw that he was black and thin this time, wearing a bright red official uniform, which made his face look even darker

The sun should be strong on the other side of the country.

Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth and said: "Meng Ji came back first, saying that Liu Yuanjun did not listen to persuasion and followed the Zhenla people to Phnom Penh City. I was worried for a while, for fear that something would go wrong with you. ”

When the emperor said this, Liu Ming's face was slightly excited. Even Xiao He, who was concentrating on fiddling with the tea set, quietly glanced up at Liu Ming.

Liu Ming arched his hand and said, "The sinner doesn't dare to let the saint be so concerned. ”

"Whether it's your problem or your stepfather's business, I can tell." Zhu Gaoxu said, "You went to the south once, it's been almost two years, and the matter has long passed, and it is estimated that not many people remember." ”

Liu Ming said: "The minister is not familiar with the place in Zhenla country, and he is indeed a little uneasy. However, once he was willing to give up his wealth, the minister saw many new things. The houses, the water and soil, the rules, the customs, and the people's minds are completely different, which is an eye-opener. ”

"That's all for the fun of adventure." Zhu Gaoxu said casually, "If you don't go through the unknown road, of course, it is difficult to see new scenery." ”

Liu Ming echoed, and said: "The scenery is difficult to count, and after the minister returns to Beijing, he plans to write some articles about what he has seen and heard." The article is completed, and then it is dedicated to the saint. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Very good." ”

Liu Ming said: "There are many temples in Zhenla Kingdom, in addition to the famous temple in Angkor Thom, there are also floating temples and temples in Phnom Penh. Minister's view, the Buddhist temple is made of stones, the temple is magnificent, the floating temple is 100 feet high, it has to consume manpower and material resources hugely, can not be built. The former country of Zhenla must have been a very powerful country. ”

He paused for a moment and said in a sighing tone, "However, they spend their national power on palaces and temples, and their extravagance is limited to the places near the left of the capital, and the frontier is neglected to govern, and the government is not repaired, and the source of its decay may arise from this." ”

Zhu Gaoxu responded.

Liu Ming continued: "The minister has never been to Siam, but he has inquired a lot about the situation in Siam. Siam used to be a vassal of the Chenla Kingdom, and at this time, not long after the establishment of the capital of Ayutthaya, they are constantly learning the official system of the Chenla, Champong, and Annam Kingdoms, and they are taking the initiative to communicate with other countries. From the perspective of the Siamese people who befriended him, although the Siamese people also believed in Buddhism, they were more secular and pragmatic. ”

Liu Ming took a breath, pondered for a moment, and said: "It's like our great Ming scholars, who believe in the teachings of the sages and sacrifice their lives for righteousness, but many scholars study, first take care of being able to become officials and glorify their ancestors, and then use the sage's articles to cultivate themselves." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile: "Liu Yuanjun really dares to say it." ”

"The minister lost his words." Liu Ming arched his hand and said, "However, the new Siamese kingdom should soon overwhelm Zhenla." What's more, the recent defeat of the Zhenla Kingdom in the Great War, not only defeated by the Ming official army, but also the sack of Angkor Thom by the Siamese army, the two countries are strong and weak, and they have become faster. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "A victory or defeat will affect a country's national fortunes for a long time. The prospect of a small state like Zhenla is obvious in its demise. ”

"Holy Wisdom." Liu Ming said, "When the old minister was in Saigon, he strongly opposed the Siamese people to continue to seize land, and only worried that in the future, the imperial court would have more trouble dealing with Siam than Chenla. ”

"Hmm......" Zhu Gaoxu made a voice. He pondered for a moment before saying, "What Liu Yuanjun did at that time was not unavoidable. ”

After a while, Zhu Gaoxu asked

"What happened to the former queen of Zhenla Kingdom, Issuva, how much does Liu Zhijun know about the secret matter?" ”

Liu Ming said: "Most of the inside information, the minister also learned from the mouth of the criminal in the Zhenla case. At that time, the brother of the palace minister, who deceived the queen, left Phnom Penh City. After that, the queen was accompanied by two villains.

One of them was a subordinate of the Minister of the Palace, and was about to commit adultery when he was killed by another man; The other man was the one who had been captured by the ministers. He threw himself into the net and wanted to take the king to the official army camp to receive the reward, but he was immediately arrested by the ministers. ”

Liu Ming continued: "Through the queen's account of what happened and the confession of the Zhenla gangster, the minister got the general process. The minister of the palace and the general should be one party, and there is a gap with the queen; They personally planned and carried out the case.

One of the important steps was that the palace minister's brother took a secret letter and asked the queen to quietly leave Phnom Penh and go south. The secret letter was written by the Minister of the Court and signed by the King. But the secret letter had been burned on the spot, and it was difficult to distinguish the authenticity of the king's signature on the spot. ”

What Liu Ming said, Zhu Gaoxu almost knew before.

The two were silent for a while, Liu Ming frowned and thought for a long time, and seemed to have something to say. Zhu Gaoxu waited patiently.

Sure enough, Liu Ming finally spoke: "When the minister arrived at Phnom Penh City, the Siamese people had stopped using troops and began to evacuate from Angkor Thom one after another. Therefore, the minister was courteous in Phnom Penh City, and one of the nobles also explained to the minister that the An En family who slaughtered the Ming envoy had been ambushed. The minister lived in the local area for several months, and he was able to confirm this by searching for various people.

At first, the people sent by the king were the ministers of the palace and those surnamed Naye, and later the king received the ministers, which was also arranged by Naye. The minister and the king of Chenla met many times, and they had a separate interview......"

Liu Ming hesitated when he said this.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded suddenly, looked at Liu Ming and said, "What you mean, I roughly understand." ”

Liu Ming said: "Holy and sage." And he went on again.

Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to say directly: "The conspiracy of the palace minister Nai Ye and others has failed, and those involved have been captured by the Ming army; Da Ming's side must have known a lot of things. If the conspiracy was done in secret from the king, and the people involved are guilty of false edicts, Naye may be very worried that you will meet the king and expose their crimes. Zhu Gaoxu paused, and added, "In particular, you can't be allowed to have a separate interview with the king." ”

Liu Ming bowed and said: "That's exactly what the minister meant. ”

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, and then asked casually: "Will the king be hollowed out, and Naye and the others have nothing to fear?" ”

Liu Ming said: "The king has brothers and sons. ”

"Somewhat." Zhu Gaoxu nodded. If Naye and other ministers have already seized power, and have caused shame and hatred to the king, the best way is probably to change the king.

At this time, Xiaohe handed over a small cup with both hands, and then gave it to Liu Ming. Zhu Gaoxu said: "You're welcome. ”

Liu Ming held the small cup in both hands and said, "Thank you." ”

Zhu Gaoxu finished drinking, put down the cup, and turned his head and said, "But we're just guessing after all." ”

Liu Ming echoed: "For such a secret matter, it may be difficult for outsiders to find real evidence. ”