Lei Chong Geng Hao and others, escorting the wife and prince of King Jingjiang, went out from the north gate of the city. They planned to go north to Huguang to spread the political envoys, and after meeting Zhang Fu, the general of the Pinghan Dynasty, and reporting the situation in Guangxi, they would go to Beijing before going to Beijing.

The Beijing officials ran away, and the attitudes of the officials of the Yamen of the Third Division of Guangxi obviously began to change. In the past, everyone was called "traitor" and "rebel", but now when it comes to the army of the oppression, it is generally said that the king of Han, the army of the king of Han, and even the people who call the army of crime......

In late August, the Han Army's Middle Route Army was the first to arrive at the south gate of Guilin Mansion.

Humanity is Guilin's best landscape in the world, and it really deserves its name. Even near the largest city in Guangxi, you can see green mountains and green water on all sides.

The clear autumn sky is extra clean, with white clouds. The quaint city towers, pavilions, and floating temples are integrated with the beautiful natural scenery, as if there is no sign of carving; It is like such a landscape scenery, which should naturally be matched with such oriental classical architecture and culture.

The gate of Fucheng, which had been under martial law, slowly opened in the heavy and unpleasant "crunch" sound of wood. Outside the city, the crowd of troops resounded with cheers one after another.

Zhu Gaoxu sat on horseback, looking at the city gate, and a smile gradually appeared on his tanned face.

The great cause has not yet succeeded, and the faint pressure is still hidden in the bottom of his heart, but the goal in front of him, Zhu Gaoxu undoubtedly thinks that it has been completed perfectly! There may be endless things to do in life, and when you have completed one of these steps, why not let yourself breathe a little relief?

The soldiers rode the way, and the banner of the King of Han began to march towards the city gate. Zhu Gaoxu, dressed in heavy armor, followed closely.

Many officials walked out of the city gates and came forward to greet them. When the cavalry in front of him passed, Zhu Gaoxu rode his horse to the side of the road, turned over and dismounted, and said to the officials who were bowing and standing on the side of the road: "This king is Zhu Gaoxu." ”

Several red-robed officials looked at each other for a moment, and were about to kneel down and salute. Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were quick, and he stepped forward and dragged the forearm of an official, and said, "Wait! ”

The officials stopped for the time being, and looked at Zhu Gaoxu with fearful and complicated eyes.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty is my grandfather, but I am not the Son of Heaven and cannot be overdone." I am not a conqueror, this world is the world of the Ming Dynasty. ”

He paused slightly, and his tone was very friendly, "Colleagues, you don't have to have the idea of giving in, you are still officials of the Ming Dynasty, but you have re-examined the truth and decisively abandoned the dark and turned to the light, which is really gratifying!" And because you love the people like sons, put the people first, and don't want this splendid Guilin to suffer a military disaster, this is a commendable virtue! ”

When everyone heard this, the heavy atmosphere gradually began to fade for a while. Finally, a red-robed official said loudly: "His Royal Highness the King of Han is wise and martial, and he is aware of the situation, the country is fortunate, and the people are blessed!" ”

In an instant, everyone echoed it, "King Han's martial arts, benevolence and righteousness are unparalleled, and the lower officials and others regret not being able to vote for the ...... as soon as possible" "The lower officials and others are looking forward to the righteous division all day long, and today the King of Han is finally fortunate to be in the mansion, and his colleagues dare not open the city to welcome ......"

Zhu Gaoxu's face was already smiling when he heard so many words of praise. Wang Bin, Hou Hai and others around him were also smiling.

"Oh, don't dare to be, don't dare to be." Zhu Gaoxu clasped his fists and saluted back, "After a while, the officials of the Han Palace's Changshi will go down to the list of the people, and your colleagues will ask the officials to help post and inform the officials and the people, I have strict discipline in the army, and it is strictly forbidden for soldiers to attack and harass civilians; Let everyone perform their duties and do their own things with peace of mind. ”

The crowd was again praising the people, and the people of the straight city were fortunate.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly asked, "Where is my virtuous nephew, King Jingjiang?" ”

An official arched his hand and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Han, who is wise and martial, victorious in a hundred battles, benevolent and virtuous, asked that the King of Jingjiang was in poor health and could not make the trip, and instructed the officials and others to ask His Royal Highness the King of Han for guilt." ”

"Got it." Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand, "Let's go into the city together!" ”

So the army entered the city, and soon the streets began to beat gongs and drums and play ceremonial music. After the whip was sounded, there were still people on the tower of the city who read the article that sang the praises of virtue.

The officials of the three divisions have prepared a beautiful garden mansion for the Han King near Fuqian Street. Zhu Gaoxu was not picky, and immediately decided to camp as the Han Palace; After he waited for his soldiers to finish the inspection, he went straight in......

Except for a few frontier vassal kings, most of the local vassal kings had no real power and could not interfere in the military and political affairs of the government; However, a figure like King Jingjiang is very famous in the Liangguang region, and his attitude is still very important.

When Zhu Gaoxu arrived at the camp, he found that many things in the mansion had not been taken away, probably because the officials of the Guilin Prefecture were in a hurry to prepare the house. Zhu Gaoxu was not polite, and asked someone to smash open the treasury and take a piece of ginseng, so he sent Hou Hai as a messenger to take the ginseng gift to Jingjiang Wangfu to see the disease.

Hou Hai came back in the afternoon, and he went to the study in the front yard to meet Zhu Gaoxu alone.

Hou Haiyu reported: "Lord Wang, the king of Jingjiang is really sick!" When the lower officials were allowed to see him, looking at it, his Yin Hall was black, his complexion was pale and bloodless, and he had a rotten atmosphere, and his demeanor and demeanor did not look like he was pretending to be sick. The lower officials asked Lang Zhong in the palace again, and they all said that King Jingjiang had been ill a few months ago, and everyone in the palace could corroborate it, and he had been ill for a long time. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded after hearing this: "It's not just pretending to be sick." ”

Hou Hai said again: "When King Jingjiang met, he said that he had no intention of getting along with his uncle King Han, and if his uncle had a useful place in Guilin Mansion, he just commanded it." He also asked the lower official to come back with a message, and he wanted to invite you to the palace for a talk. ”

The more Zhu Gaoxu listened, the more satisfied he became. He has been working the battlefield for a long time, and in recent days, he has felt that everything is more comfortable for the time being.

"But ......" Hou Haihai took two steps forward and bowed down, "The lower official heard that King Jingjiang had two sons, so he asked a spy of Beisi in Guilin Mansion to inquire, it turned out that King Jingjiang sent the eldest son away in advance, and only the second son remained in the palace. ”

Zhu Gaoxu had a sudden expression and made a voice of "uh-huh......". He got up from his chair, paced around the room for a while, and came to the door, thinking for a long time without saying a word.

When he looked up, he saw the shadow of Duxiu Peak. Duxiu Peak is included in the Jingjiang Palace, which makes that palace extra special.

"Tell someone to prepare, and I'll go to visit King Jingjiang." Zhu Gaoxu suddenly turned around and said.

Hou Hai cautiously reminded: "Then nothing will happen to the Jingjiang Palace?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "King Jingjiang just doesn't want to bet on the wrong treasure, nothing will happen." I have tens of thousands of elite soldiers stationed in the city, who dares to move? Call Wang Bin and bring a team of guards with him. ”

"The subordinate obeys." Hou Hai bowed.

In the past two years, Zhu Gaoxu has personally led the army, often living in straw huts and dilapidated houses, and traveling at any time, and the honor guard etiquette of many princes has long been deserted. But fortunately, it didn't take long for him to get ready, and the so-called preparation was nothing more than a change of clothes.

The King of Jingjiang belongs to the king of the county in terms of ceremony, but the Jingjiang Wangfu is obviously not the specification of the king of the county...... Zhu Gaoxu also served as the king of the county, and the Gaoyang County Mansion was not the same thing at all!

Zhu Gaoxu entered the Jingjiang Mansion from the South Gate Tower, and the name of this gate is Duanli Gate, which is exactly the same as the name of the South Gate Tower of the Han Palace.

Entering the palace, looking at its wide area and many houses, it is not inferior to Zhu Gaoxu's prince's mansion in Yunnan; The scale of various palaces is not much different from the prince's mansion, but there are mountains and rivers in the Jingjiang palace, and there are many unique pavilions and pavilions...... Zhu Gaoxu had to admit that his Han Palace's Mansion seemed to be the worst prince's mansion.

A long history surnamed Xiao came to greet him with some officials and palace people. The group led Zhu Gaoxu into the Duanli Gate and arrived at the Carrier Hall.

Fortunately, Zhu Zanyi, the king of Jingjiang, did not lie on the bed to see Zhu Gaoxu, he was supported by two palace maids, standing outside the door on the pedestal of the main hall, and was about to struggle down.

Zhu Gaoxu walked a little faster, stepped forward to support King Jingjiang, and said, "Virtuous nephew beware!" I didn't want to bother my nephew to recuperate, but it was rare to come to Guilin once, and there would always be some regrets if we didn't meet. ”

Jingjiang Wang Zanyi said with difficulty: "Uncle, the number of rituals of the younger generation is sparse. ”

"You're welcome, it's all your own family." Zhu Gaoxu said with a calm face. I saw that the man in front of him looked older than Zhu Gaoxu, and his actual age seemed to be a little older, but he was still a junior in terms of seniority.

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "Actually, our uncle and nephew have seen each other. ”

"Huh?" King Jingjiang apparently forgot.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "At the end of Hongwu, the virtuous nephew was ordered by Emperor Taizu to travel all over the country, visit relatives of various vassal countries, and once went to Beiping. But at that time, it was mainly my father who came to receive you, and you are afraid that you will not remember me. ”

King Jingjiang suddenly said: "Yes, that's right! ”

Originally, they were relatives, but they only met once, which made King Jingjiang very excited. The distance between the two seems to have narrowed a lot.

"It's windy outside, and the virtuous nephew is going to rest sick." Zhu Gaoxu said.

King Jingjiang said: "Uncle, please." ”

King Jingjiang was helped in, and Zhu Gaoxu was invited to sit on the upper seat; There were two chairs side by side, but the king of Jingjiang did not come to sit on an equal footing, and he sat weakly on the chair at the bottom of the head.

King Jingjiang gasped for a while, and after a pause, he spoke: "What the younger generation envy the most is not that your uncle can fight and conquer the world, but that you are strong. Now my body is bones, even if I have glory and wealth, and a group of wives and concubines, what is the use......"

Zhu Gaoxu said kindly: "The virtuous nephew is good at recuperation, and he will definitely be able to recover." ”

In the middle of the greetings, a eunuch bent over and walked in. The eunuch said something in the ear of King Jingjiang, and King Jingjiang listened and said, "Tell Mrs. Li to bring Zuo Min in and meet his uncle." ”

"Yes." The eunuch retreated.

After a while, a young and beautiful woman appeared outside the door, holding a child. The woman is probably the "Mrs. Li" called by the King of Jingjiang, the concubine with the title of the feudal prince's mansion, and the child should be his second son Zhu Zuomin.