Summer rainstorms come and go very quickly. The hustle and bustle of the rain is gone, and the peace between heaven and earth has returned, leaving only a silent drizzle in the air, fluttering in the breeze.

Outside the Hongwu Gate, such as dragon chariots and horses gradually appeared, the mighty guard of honor went up the street, and the general of the Jinyi Guard, as well as the cavalry of the guards and hundreds of civil and military officials all went out of the city. The traveling brigade marched towards the Zhengyang Gate in the south.

After the heavy rain, the street buildings were very wet, and water had already accumulated on the pavement, and the water flowed into the ditches and drainage channels like streams. The horses' hooves trampled on the brick floor, and the water splashed.

Emperor Zhu Gaoxu did not ride in the car, he still rode a horse in front of all kinds of people. The eunuch Wang Jinghong, as a close attendant, also rode a horse to accompany him.

Wang Jinghong was a great eunuch, not only often showing his face in front of the emperor, but also the highest-ranking envoy of the navy after going to sea; On the outside, he's obviously a responsive figure too. But Wang Jinghong was beside Zhu Gaoxu, his posture was very low, and he never dared to forget his truest identity, which was the emperor's domestic slave. Since he is a house slave, he naturally has to do errands such as leading horses, following him, and serving tea and water.

The team went out of Zhengyangmen, and it was not far from the big school. There are more and more houses in Jingshi, but no one has ever dared to plan this large piece of school land.

The officers and men of the navy had already gathered in formation at the colonel's field, and the muddy grass was crowded with people and flags waving like clouds. The officials and the guards of the brocade clothes have set up thrones and honor guards due north.

But as Wang Jinghong expected, Zhu Gaoxu didn't plan to get off the horse, he rode straight into the big array. A group of officials, guards, and attendants hurriedly patted their horses to follow.

The countless pairs of eyes of the soldiers and men were focused on the approaching emperor. Today, Zhu Gaoxu is wearing a navy uniform, which seems to be very recognized by the soldiers.

Many brocade-clothed guards shuttled between the various formations and stood scattered around the main array. Wang Jinghong could see that those brocade guards were trying to relay the emperor's precepts.

The generals in the army saluted Zhu Gaoxu, who was riding a horse, and said long live. Zhu Gaoxu rode his horse in the crowd for a long time, and then he stood in place. The entourage of the brigade also stopped one after another.

The emperor rode a horse that was not very quiet, still kicking his horse's hooves in place, going around in all directions, and occasionally flicking his horse's head to throw the rain in all directions. The people were silent, and Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be pondering his words, he behaved very naturally, his eyes looked at people's faces, as if he cared about the soldiers.

When Zhu Gaoxu lectured, he never asked people to write articles, and he rarely spoke literary language, all of which were in the vernacular, which was very popular with the soldiers. Wang Jinghong, who was far behind him, also waited for him.

After a long while, Zhu Gaoxu finally looked left and right, and said with full of energy: "Looking back at the past, we passed on the torch from generation to generation, and struggled to survive under the iron hooves of the Huns, Wuhu, and Mongols. ”

He waited for a while, waited for the Jinyi guard to spread the words over and over again, and then said: "Now my dynasty is in a prosperous era, and the Ming Dynasty is strong, and the soldiers are strong. At this time, can we allow Fanbang to insult my prestige and trample on my dignity? ”

The surrounding soldiers were in an uproar and shouted: "No! Can't ......"

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth to say two words, the silent school field was immediately ignited, and the shouts came one after another, and there was a commotion on all sides. Many soldiers also raised their firearms.

"Never!" Zhu Gaoxu shouted loudly, "The sinner who killed my envoys, ghosts, ghosts, and young people, even though he is thousands of miles away, I will let the officers and soldiers go to pacify him." ”

There was a long noise on the wide flat ground. Zhu Gaoxu gradually softened his tone, and said kindly: "We have never been like some tribes, who burn, kill and loot at every turn, but we have always been generous and peace-loving.

The last two seagoing ships went to the Western Ocean to make friends with foreign vassals and exchange ideas. The military doctors learned that there were many local epidemics in Zhenla country, and kindly applied medicinal herbs into the river to treat countless local people; so that when the natives saw the sails of my ship, they regarded them as gods. The officers and soldiers never killed innocents indiscriminately, but showed more kindness without asking for anything in return. But how did the Zhenla people repay us? In the face of those treacherous enemy countries, should the imperial court suppress them by force? ”

The shouts of the army responded: "The ......" This time the shouts were much more neat, and there were bursts of shouts from far and near, and the momentum was impressive.

Zhu Gaoxu was silent for a while, and waited for the soldiers to be a little quieter before continuing to speak. Every time he said two or three words, he paused for a moment. At this time, his tone was more calm and calm, as if he was reasoning with people.

The court officials and generals generally did not reason with the sergeants and warriors, but Zhu Gaoxu seemed to like to try to make everyone understand why they were fighting.

"In ancient times, the canoe could not wade into the river, but today's sea boats can reach thousands of miles away. The countries of the world will come and go more frequently in the future. I am a self-proclaimed Heavenly Dynasty and a central dynasty, with a territory of thousands of miles and hundreds of millions of subjects. But if you can't even control the sea surface of Shenzhou, and sit back and watch the surrounding small states jump up and down and do whatever they want, is this like words?

All of you are young and good men of the Ming Dynasty, and I have sent you to conquer the enemy country to affirm the status and majesty of the Ming Dynasty in the sea; and control the important sea pass Malacca, and establish ports, official shops, and fortresses from Liangguang to Malacca. In this way, the DPRK's strategic presence in the sea will be guaranteed.

Our dynasty not only has to fight in the northern steppes and the western desert, but also builds up national defense in the southern seas, expands its strategic depth, and avoids repeating the mistake of being plundered and attacked by others, and uses this to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and glorify the ancestors and ancestors. The great merit is in the thousand years, all the brothers are loyal to the country, I will reward the meritorious deeds, and the marquis will pay homage to the prime minister, and the gold and silver treasures will not be spared......"

"Long live the Emperor!" I don't know who shouted, and the soldiers of all departments shouted one after another, and the voices of people once again enveloped the open field. Zhu Gaoxu couldn't continue to lecture for a while.

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a moment, then grabbed the reins and turned the horse's head back, and said to a general: "Pass the order, everyone doesn't need to train today, and ask the officers and men of all departments to return to the barracks to bathe and change clothes to recuperate." ”

The military general clenched his fists and said: "The minister has an order!" ”

"Drive!" Zhu Gaoxu shouted, and rode towards the north of the school field. Wang Jinghong and a large group of people around him also kicked their horses and left the place.

Wang Jinghong turned his head to take a look, saw the umbrella cover honor guard due north, and said in his heart that the arrangement of the Honor and Guard Division was obviously in vain......

The mighty men and horses returned to the imperial city, and Wang Jinghong was not on duty today, so he left the emperor's team. In fact, the time he spent on duty by the emperor's side was relatively small, and most of them were Wang Gui and Cao Fu's gang hanging around the emperor.

After Wang Jinghong walked out of the Xihua Gate, a gatehouse appeared in the long palace wall after a while, which was the "West South Gate" that opened to the south. He walked past the gatehouse, and there was a large area of houses on the south side, like a city, with streets and alleys, and even shops for daily use, which was where the eunuchs lived and worked, called the eunuchs of the inner palace.

The eunuchs of the celebrant soon greeted Wang Jinghong and led him back to the mansion. Everyone waited for him to bathe and change clothes, and it was no problem to ask for warmth. A group of little eunuchs waited on him as if they were his own father.

The little eunuchs chattered painfully and said, "Why is the prince wet?" Yunyun, Wang Jinghong said: "The emperor is also in the rain, can we use an umbrella?" The eunuchs didn't talk about it.

After a while, Hou Xian, one of the young eunuchs of the celebrant supervisor, also came here, explained his intention, and wanted Wang Jinghong to recommend him in front of the emperor and let him Hou Xian be the deputy envoy. Today's review of the army, Hou Xian seems to be present, and the wet clothes on his body have not been changed; But the emperor did not mention Hou Xian's name on the Hongwumen Tower.

Wang Jinghong and Hou Xian had a very close relationship, and immediately agreed without much thought. Hou Xian left satisfied.

After changing into dry clothes, Wang Jinghong took some things, and then took a group of eunuchs and drove out of the palace. Ordinary eunuchs and eunuchs can't go out of the imperial city at will, but Wang Jinghong is an exception, he still has to prepare the fleet to go to sea and other things, so no one cares when he leaves the palace.

The group came to Longjiang Port, but Wang Jinghong had no intention of inspecting the dock at all, and directly asked someone to drive the carriage to Longjiang Temple.

This Buddhist temple was originally Zheng He's property, and now it is Wang Jinghong's private property. When he arrived at the temple, he completely ignored the nonsense of the monks waiting for the host, and strode into a Buddhist hall. Wang Jinghong stood in the middle of the Buddha hall and watched for a while, and asked someone to move the mud bodhisattva on it and find another place to worship.

Then several eunuchs carried a statue and placed it on the top of the temple. It was a female statue, and it was Mazu Tianfei Niangniang.

The eunuchs also put the tablet on the tablet, with the words "Zhaoxiao Pure Fuji Induction Holy Concubine" written on the left, and "Protecting the country and protecting the people, Miao Ling Zhaoying Hongren Puji Heavenly Concubine" on the right. Then put the offering fruit and incense sticks.

The monks who followed in had very strange expressions. The host cried with a sad face, and then pretended to be calm and folded his hands and said, "Amitabha." ”

When Wang Jinghong heard this, he turned his head and glanced at the old monk, and said: "In the west hall, the God of Wealth you are arguing to be a disciple of the Buddha?" ”

The old monk's expression was even more embarrassed, and he said again: "Amitabha." Of course, he couldn't say it explicitly, the incense of the God of Wealth was very prosperous, and the sesame oil money merit box in that hall contributed the most.

Wang Jinghong ignored him anymore, and led the eunuchs to kneel on the futon and began to bow. Wang Jinghong's demeanor was very religious, and while kneeling down, he was still muttering words.

He stayed in the Mazu Hall for a long time, and when he left, he wiped the boards around Mazu with a rag.

Wang Jinghong walked out of the Buddhist temple filled with the smell of smoke, and when he went out of the mountain gate, he saw the surface of the river. On the undulating river, there are many sails. He stood in front of the mountain gate for a long time, staring at the scene on the water, and did not move for a long time.