The wind blowing on the river was very strong, but it was very damp and wet, and there was no discomfort on the face. After Qi Tai resumed his breathing, he only felt very comfortable.

"Jingle ......" rang for a while, and when he opened his squinted eyes, he saw a fully loaded sand boat slowly approaching the nearby pier. And farther away, a huge treasure ship floated on the surface of the river, suddenly appearing in sight, and the scene was indeed a bit shocking.

"General Tang just said, what happened to Liu Ming?" Qi Tai retracted his gaze, and then remembered the topic of the conversation they had just had.

Tang Jing said: "An old watch of Liu Tiju died, and he was killed by the Zhenla people, and he died a miserable death. ”

"Oh." Qi Tai responded, and his face inevitably showed a slightly boring look.

Tang Jing continued: "At the beginning and the end, I didn't care much, and Liu Tiju also said, don't pay for it privately, it doesn't seem to be a big deal. But the second time they met, he talked about the old watch again, and the last general felt that something was wrong. ”

Qi Tai also asked with a little curiosity, "What's wrong?" ”

Tang Jing said: "Liu Tiju talked about the past, and he said it very carefully. Liu Tiju talked about the old cousin Chen Zhang, when he was still young, he was sent to Liu Tiju's house; When Chen Zhang saw his father leaving, he cried non-stop at first, but then took a loquat branch to play with, and then forgot about the sadness. When the two of them went to private school together, Liu Ming had an accident and was left in the school, and after dark, he found that Chen Zhang had been waiting for him outside and wanted to go home together.

There are other trivial matters that I will not be able to elaborate on in the end. Liu Tiju mentioned and said a sentence many times, Chen Zhang didn't have a good life for a few days. At that time, the general realized that his old cousin might be even closer than Liu Tiju's own brother. ”

Zitai nodded.

Tang Jing said again: "Liu Tiju is really bearable, the last general was stunned at first without the slightest notice, he was so sad, he was simply a person who was moody." ”

It was only then that Qi Tai felt a little strange. He said in his heart: If Liu Ming is a person with a deep city government, how can he be the first bird of the new party? The cunning people in the officialdom all understand the truth; Even if someone is favored for a while, if they offend too many people, it generally doesn't end well.

Qi Tai didn't say what he thought in his heart, what did he have to say to a general?

At this time, he diverted the topic and asked, "Has General Tang been to Liujiagang recently?" ”

Tang Jing nodded and said, "I only went there at the beginning of the month." ”

Qi Tai asked directly: "What is the morale of the soldiers?" ”

Tang Jing pondered for a while, frowned and said, "The last general led the army to the sea twice, and he understands the thoughts of the soldiers very well. If they knew that they would be going to fight ashore in the countries of Chenla and Manchuka, I am afraid that their morale would not be good. ”

Qi Tai said: "Why? ”

Tang Jing glanced at Qi Tai: "Miasma, plague, people in those barbarian places, they don't know how to die!" ”

Qi Tai said straightforwardly: "The Tai Hospital has already discussed that there is no miasma, mainly malaria. ”

Tang Jing nodded and did not refute.

The two of them had walked a long way along the riverside of Longjiang Port, and seeing that the sun was approaching mid-heaven, Qi Tai proposed to return. At noon, Qi Tai invited Tang Jing to Longjiang Temple for fasting. Although it was a light tea and light meal, it would not make Tang Jing feel that Qi Tai looked down on him.

A day later, Qi Tai went to the Rouyi Hall to meet and make some more specific suggestions on the preparations for the southern expedition of the official army.

When Qi Tai talked about the soldiers' fear of plague diseases, Zhu Gaoxu reacted the same as Qi Tai: "Malaria and other military diseases are not miasma. ”

Qi Tai immediately said, "The Holy One is reasonable. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "When I led the army to conquer Annan, I encountered these problems. In the camp, it is necessary to pay attention to boiling drinking water, dispose of the filth of the latrines, reduce travel during the rainy season, and burn the vegetation around the fort to prevent malaria as much as possible. Malaria, on the other hand, is transmitted by mosquitoes and is a very small living organism, so it is necessary to isolate the sick person and treat it with a focus on mosquito control.

There are also those Chinese medicine doctors who have found medicine to cure, yellow artemisia soaked in cold water, and any prescription for relieving evil spirits, which are recorded by the Tai Hospital. When the time comes, the Tai Hospital will be called to check the roster, and those doctors who have participated in the battle of Annam will be selected and go to the sea together. ”

Qi Tai said: "Shengshang Mingjian, the minister asked the people in the Tai Hospital, the seriously ill people, the treatment is not good, and the most important thing is to prevent the disease." ”

Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaoxu thought about it slightly, and immediately agreed with Qi Tai's words: "Qi Butang is right, malaria is not easy to treat. However, if handled properly in the military, a large number of infections can be avoided. In a war, the people who die on the battlefield are never in the majority......"

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and said: "Send doctors and officials to the naval division barracks to publicize, so that the soldiers can understand what malaria is all about, and there is no need to be blindly afraid." ”

Qi Tai said: "The minister has thought of a way. ”

Zhu Gaoxu pointed at him and said, "Let's hear it." ”

Qi Tai opened his mouth and recounted: "During the Yongle period, Zheng He went to the West, and after he came back, there was a recital; The minister was in the Wenyuan Pavilion and had read the book. There is a passage written in it, which roughly explains that when the officers and soldiers arrived in Siam, they sprinkled the medicinal herbs of the Ming Dynasty into the moat of Ayutthaya and cured many local people of diseases. So the people of Siam greeted the officials and soldiers on the road, ate pot pulp, and were grateful to our court. ”

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned and said: "The medicinal herbs are sprinkled into the river, and drinking water can cure the disease?" ”

Qi Tai shook his head and said, "The minister also guesses that it is unlikely to have any effect; However, this incident is not necessarily made up, and perhaps the local people mistakenly believe that the medicinal herbs in the river can cure diseases. But in this matter, there is a very important meaning, that is, the medicinal materials of the Ming Dynasty can cure the epidemic diseases in the barbarian land in the south. ”

Zhu Gaoxu looked thoughtful, and his eyes suddenly showed a look of interest.

Seeing this, Qi Tai straightened up slightly, and said calmly: "The music of the Yongle period is no longer visible to ordinary people. We can change some content and change the country of Siam to the country of Zhenla; It doesn't hurt to do that.

The imperial court could send civil and military officials to the naval division barracks to promote the ingratitude of the Zhenla country. It is said that the fleet of our dynasty once sprinkled medicine in the river of Zhenla country, treated the people of Zhenla, and saved the people from fire and water; But they will take revenge and kill my envoys!

Most of the soldiers will think that the imperial court is affirming the righteousness. But unintentionally, the idea that medicine can cure the epidemic in the south will quietly enter the hearts of the soldiers. In this way, the purpose of alleviating the fear of officers and men and boosting the morale of the military can be achieved.

The soldiers would never suspect that the officials were deceiving them, because it was difficult for the people to understand the key to this verse. The soldiers wondered at most whether the Zhenla people were really ungrateful. ”

"Hah!" Zhu Gaoxu suddenly laughed. After a few moments he stood up from his chair, his demeanor fully explained, and he was very appreciative of Zitai's suggestion.

Zhu Gaoxu pointed at Qi Tai, his fingers shook up and down, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something like "old fritters", but he should have changed his words temporarily: "Jiang is still old and spicy." Qi Butang's plan, I have to obey, you are really a virtuous minister. ”

Qi Tai also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. After all, Zhu Gaoxu once carried his head and saved him, a man who was like a lost dog, and now he has entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, and he does not hesitate to be prosperous and rich. Qi Tai really wanted to repay the favor.

He made a gesture and said with a sincere face: "The ministers do their duty, and they are not enough to worry about. If you can serve the saint for the sake of dogs and horses, the courtiers will be comforted. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It's all in the past, don't feel that you owe me, you don't need to think about repaying the favor." Qi Butang can appreciate it. ”

Qi Tai said: "The minister doesn't dare, but how can anyone who reads and is reasonable not share grievances?" ”

"Forget it, not everyone can appreciate it." Zhu Gaoxu said casually, "Qi Butang invites me to have a cup of tea." ”

Qi Tai bowed again: "The minister's decree." ”

The two walked one after the other to the coffee table in the northwest corner. There is no one else in the Rouyi Hall today, and I usually see harem concubines here from time to time, but I haven't seen them today. The palace maids and eunuchs all retreated, and Zhu Gaoxu's attitude towards Qi Tai became closer and closer.

Qi Tai saw that he was in a good mood, so he quietly admonished: "Two days ago, the law of the Craftsman Academy mentioned by the Holy Lord, the minister did not know whether to say a word or not. ”

Zhu Gaoxu immediately responded: "Qi Butang said that it doesn't matter. ”

Qi Tai said: "If the imperial court has a 'primary school', there should be an examination, and if pinyin is not included in the examination, it may be possible to reduce the opposition of ministers and scholars." This thing is designated as the function of 'aiding literacy', which means that it can be used or not, and it is easy for the corporal of the world to accept it. ”

The smile on Zhu Gaoxu's face was put away, he was silent for a while, and finally nodded: "What Qi Butang said is not unreasonable. ”

"Holy Heaven." Qi Tai said busily.

After he had said that, he picked up a cloth bag on the shelf, took out the fire sickle, flint, and other things from it, and began to make a fire. This early summer envoy could not find fire in the palace during the day. At this time, there were no palace slaves and maids around, so he had to do it himself.

The monarch and the minister have long since ceased to be confined to government affairs, and Qi Tai even talked about anecdotes, and while waiting for the boiling water, they talked and laughed as if they were old friends.

Then Qi Tai also talked about family affairs, Yang Yunniang, who was sent to him by Zhu Gaoxu, is pregnant, and the Qi family is already a successor.

Qi Tai naturally understands a truth in his heart, a companion is like a tiger. Emperors are often moody, and they can favor a certain courtier for a while, or they can immediately turn their faces and deny people, and they are very ruthless. Like Emperor Jianwen, who Qi Tai experienced, he has always had the reputation of filial piety and generosity, but in fact, he is also that kind of person, even killing his relatives, let alone a courtier with a foreign surname.

But what is very strange is that Qi Tai's intuition does not believe that Zhu Gaoxu, the emperor, will be in any danger to him. And Zhu Gaoxu is precisely known for being cunning and cruel.

Maybe people can't only act shallowly, or maybe every emperor is different, and Zhu Gaoxu is the most rare kind of person.