According to the records of the two voyages of the Ming naval fleet to the West, as well as the knowledge gathered by civil and military officials from the south, the imperial court had gained some climatic experience. The sea east of the Strait of Malacca is generally affected by the monsoon, with southwesterly winds prevailing from July to October in the lunar calendar. Northeasterly winds prevail from January to April.

If the naval fleet is only sailing, it is undoubtedly the most favorable time to sail in the South China Sea from the first month to April, because of the tailwind.

However, the main fleet had to land and fight in at least two places this time. Therefore, in the opinion of the ministers, the battle of the Southern Expedition should be chosen between the month of Lunar and March.

From the month of wax to March every year, it belongs to the cool season in the dry season in the South China Sea. This season is less rainy, less preferred, cooler, and with the least number of mosquitoes. It is very conducive to the army's combat.

Therefore, after collecting the opinions of various yamen, Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, submitted a strategy:

The main force of the Ming naval fleet should appear near Saigon Port at the beginning of the fourth year of Wude; Before the fourth month of the fifth year of Wude, he arrived in the capital of Manchurian Canada and ended a large-scale land battle. When the hot season came, the Ming army and land divisions could retreat in fortifications and fortresses for defense.

With such a deployment, the route of the naval fleet north of Saigon Port could no longer be navigated quickly by the monsoon. Fortunately, from Guangxi to Annam Songtaiwei (Haiphong City) and then to Da Nang, there were port supplies from the Ming army. The fleet could depart early, sail slowly, and reach Saigon in the month of Wax.

In the fake yard of the Imperial Sinan Department, there is a room dedicated to the storage of documents for HNA technology. Among them, there are nautical charts, shipbuilding, star positioning, all kinds of compass drawings, speed test skills, command of the formation of drums, monsoon climate and other knowledge, the Ming Dynasty is mastering the law of conquering the sea surface of Shenzhou.

Only the wind and waves at sea are still extremely dangerous, and the way is to increase the displacement of the sea vessels, strengthen the hull structure, and use large ships to resist the wind and waves. For this reason, Zhu Gaoxu specially issued an edict, stipulating that the size of sea ships would no longer be limited by etiquette. (The size of the single building in the Ming Dynasty cannot exceed the Fengtian Temple, otherwise it is overrun, and the treasure ship was considered a single building before.) ）

The major event of the southern expedition was decided at the court meeting. Of course, there will be opposition, but the final decision is still in the hands of the emperor.

After the court discussion, Zhu Gaoxu left Fengtianmen and climbed the Dongjiaomen Tower. Only then did he gradually realize that there were not many opposing voices in the court this time, and the ministers and attitudes who put forward opposing ideas were not so strong.

He quickly guessed why. The decision to conquer Japan last time really brought a real huge return to the imperial court. Nowadays, almost every month, there are cargo ships returning from Japan to transport the silver to the "banknote and paper bureau" of the Beijing Division.

A large amount of silver money and new copper coins spent in vain were transferred to the household department and other yamen through the central bank, and the life of the imperial court this year was unprecedentedly better, and it should never have been so rich. In order to circulate the new money to the whole country, the imperial court even mainly considered which province lacked money to circulate when procuring, rather than paying attention to the freight.

The new money, which is beautifully worked, circulates very smoothly, after all, it is minted in silver and fine copper, and it is valuable in itself. Compared with the original Daming treasure banknote, this kind of money will hardly be rejected by anyone. Japan, Korea, and Annam all wanted to trade with the merchants of the Ming Dynasty because the new copper coins they obtained were too useful in their own countries.

The only people who were disgruntled were the feudal kings of the various clans, who could have been rewarded with a large amount of money from the royal family. But now the royal family does not directly control the issuance of coinage, and can no longer give them cash rewards, only salt introduction, so that the interests of the clan are greatly lost.

Just then, there was a sound of "crunching" wood coming from the stairs behind. Zhu Gaoxu turned around, and after waiting for a while, he saw the civil official Liu Ming climb up. Liu Ming knelt on the ground, bowed several times and said: "The minister knocks to see the saint, and the saint has no borders." ”

"Get up." Zhu Gaoxu said casually.

Then, he still spoke to himself: "I remember that I had a remark, Yao Fang was also present at the time, and Liu Tiju didn't seem to have been admitted to the Jinshi. For thousands of years, we have developed in the form of unification and monopoly, and the monarch and ministers pursued a stable order, until the Ming Dynasty and centralized power reached an unprecedented level.

The spirit of Confucianism and Legalism has always been used for unification. Confucianism alone is not the practice of various dynasties and generations, external Confucianism and internal law are the things used by the superiors, and Legalism is also the pursuit of centralized power (Shang | Junshu). ”

Liu Ming looked very nervous, and he was already a little at a loss. This sallow-skinned, mediocre-looking young jinshi looked a little wooden, but it was obvious that he was not stupid at all, and he should immediately understand the danger of talking about the topic at this time.

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "This is the words of my family. But elsewhere, it seems to be developing in a different way. Many small states are intricate and unified, and there are various competing powers, and they have never been able to eliminate each other. So at first, they would be very chaotic, similar to the chaotic division of our Central Plains Dynasty, and even there were many big businessmen like Lü Buwei, sectarian forces, etc., which could not be eliminated. In the midst of destruction and heavy losses, they will gradually learn to coexist and check and balance; The order formed is based on rules as the most important principle, not authority.

It is not my intention to comment on the principle of which is better or worse. It's just that I gradually understand that although the new policy is very novel and will confuse many people, I still use the former idea; Therefore, from the bottom of their hearts, the ministers will never really feel fear and hostility. Our worries about the New Deal may be a bit overdone. ”

Liu Ming buried his head, his eyes staring at one place for a long time and moving. He seemed to be pondering something.

Zhu Gaoxu also writes articles in classical Chinese, but when he talks, he is always straightforward. However, his words are a bit abstract, perhaps in Liu Ming's heart, much more complicated than classical Chinese.

The attic was quiet for a while, and Zhu Gaoxu said again: "Of course, I can only choose the former concept, after all, I am the biggest beneficiary of the stability of the government and power." Therefore, a force similar to the Shen Xu Shang Gang cannot hold more than half of the shares, and there must be infiltration of the palace and noble forces. ”

Liu Ming suddenly came back to his senses at this time, and hurriedly arched his hand and said, "The saint is wise." For the new policy, the minister will go all out, and he will never dare to be afraid. The ministers are a grass people, and now they are standing under the palace, and they are also willing to repay the grace of the saints and break their bones. ”

"I will protect you." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Liu Ming was stunned for a moment, and looked up at Zhu Gaoxu in surprise. Perhaps the scholars were not accustomed to such a direct approach.

Liu Ming said: "The saint is a vast ancient Mingjun, and the depth of Tao's wisdom is beyond the ability of Weichen to understand it. Only the saint is the head of the horse, and he can do his best to make the best of his meager talents. ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and was noncommittal. He believes that Liu Ming understands at least part of the meaning. If you don't understand at all, you won't think about it for that long just now.

"I don't look down on businessmen." Zhu Gaoxu said quietly, "If Shen Wansan had passed the Jinshi examination and had some understanding of the imperial court, would he still show off his strength in front of Emperor Taizu?" The world is like this, what does he play with the court? ”

Liu Ming was a little embarrassed, and hurriedly said: "What the Holy Lord said is extremely true. ”

Zhu Gaoxu stopped talking for the time being, and looked through the window lattice, looking at the large expanse of magnificent eaves in the palace. At this time, he remembered something, turned his head and said, "I remember that I didn't summon Liu Tiju, did you come upstairs because you had something to say?" ”

Liu Ming bowed down and said, "When the minister saw that the entourage of the saint had come to the east, he came to meet him without authorization. This time, the official army went on the expedition, and the minister wanted to ask for the edict to be the envoy of the imperial court. ”

Zhu Gaoxu responded without hesitation: "No." It is more useful for you to stay in the court, and I will choose another good minister as an envoy. ”

Liu Ming said cautiously again: "After Weichen arrived in Zhenla Kingdom, he will no longer go south, and after returning to Jingshi, he will continue to saddle his horse and be loyal to the saint. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Although the imperial court has made a lot of preparations, it is still very dangerous to sail to sea and land in tropical areas. Why do you have to go to the land of Chenla? ”

Liu Ming bent down and said with some hesitation: "If the minister does not tell the truth to the saint, he is deceiving the king, and if he speaks truthfully, he is favoritism." The ministers asked the Holy Lord to condemn their sins. ”

He knelt on the ground, and then said: "Chen Zhang, the cousin of the minister, was harmed by the Zhenla people. In addition to his duties, he tried to find out the culprit. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded after hearing this, he didn't mean to blame Liu Ming at all, after all, how can a mortal have no personal feelings? But Zhu Gaoxu still insisted on the decision: "I will explain to the officials who went south, and try my best to help you find out the truth of this matter." You don't have to go in person. ”

Liu Ming had no choice but to kowtow and say, "The ministers are grateful." ”

Zhu Gaoxu walked towards the staircase, and Liu Ming also followed. The eunuchs carried the sedan chair to the east corner gate, but Zhu Gaoxu did not get into the sedan chair and continued to walk westward. In terms of speed, the eunuch carrying the sedan chair did not walk as fast as Zhu Gaoxu, and he also happened to maintain his daily activities to avoid his body becoming lazy and fat.

Liu Ming's voice came from behind him: "Congratulations to the saint." ”

In the midst of the hugs in front and back, Zhu Gaoxu, who was walking, looked particularly tall. He was taller than all the eunuchs and palace maids, and the sight was even more obvious when those people were still bent over beside him. He walked very fast, and when he first arrived at the Wulou, the heavy gasps of the people around him were already coming and going, and some people were wiping their sweat with their sleeves.

Wulou is the place where former political enemies set up ambushes and wanted to use fancy incense to murder Zhu Gaoyu, but at this time, the eunuchs guarding the door all knelt on the ground, and Zhu Gaochu swaggered past Wulou.

He came to the Rouyi Palace, where he was going to deal with the recital and other matters. There are only palace maids and eunuchs in the Rouyi Palace, and the person who sleeps today is the queen Guo Wei, and the queen generally does not come, and she has to manage the harem.

The place where Taizu Yanju studied was rarely used by later emperors. Zhu Gaoxu has spent a lot of time here, and he has read a lot of ancient classics here, and he has indeed benefited a lot.