The last time Zhu Gaoxu had just picked up the dragon, he was invited by Queen Chen to sit in the hall, but he did not accept it; And today he took the initiative to visit Chen, because Zhu Gaoxu felt that the current situation was a little unworthy of her.

It rained for several days, and it was very wet everywhere. Zhu Gaoxu put away the umbrella and put it outside the door, he looked back again, the sky was gloomy as if it was going to be dark, but the hour had just arrived in the afternoon.

Chen invited him to sit down, and the two exchanged a few words. Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a moment, and finally said: "The imperial court is unwilling to recognize Chen Zhengyuan's princely status, and Annan may want to set up three prefectures and counties, which will be directly included in the governance scope of the Ming court. Yesterday, I received a holy decree to escort the Hu family and his son into Beijing as soon as possible, and I am afraid that I will no longer be able to take care of the affairs of Annan. ”

Chen's eyes changed when she heard this, her expression changed, she didn't respond for a long time, and sat in her chair in silence. Zhu Gaoxu naturally wouldn't blame her for being rude, and when others suddenly felt very disappointed and emotionally uncertain, he didn't care about such trivial matters.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu wanted to show the holy decree to Chen, so that she could believe what she said.

Because in his previous life, he gambled uncontrollably, was unable to maintain his credit, and was not trusted for a long time, so he subconsciously always wanted to try to prove his words...... But he finally held back the words that came to his lips. Now it seems that Zhu Gaoxu does not need to do this anymore, his identity, and his words and deeds that have always been more sincere and trustworthy, can make Chen believe his words.

"I have come today to apologize to the Queen." Zhu Gaoxu said again.

Chen finally spoke: "Why did His Royal Highness the King of Han say that? ”

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything, he felt that there was no need to explain, and it was not easy to explain clearly. He paused and said, "But I can't resist my father's holy will. ”

Chen lowered his head and said "um".

The two of them remained silent for a while, both seemingly thinking about their own thoughts. Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but think a lot at this time......

In his messy mind, he actually thought of a joke. It is said that the children of Buddhism and Confucianism are talking together, and the monks say: All beings are equal, why does the king want his ministers to die, the ministers have to die, the father wants the son to die, and the son has to die? The Confucian slammed the table and said, "You are a great rebel!"

The joke of later generations is just a joke, but it is different now. The most important thing that has maintained the order of the world for thousands of years is probably filial piety. That is not only a problem of Confucianism, but even Li Kui, the dead disciple in "Water Margin", who treats human life as a mustard, has to be filial to his mother.

If a son dares to openly oppose his father, this kind of thing is no longer a question of right or wrong, and it will surely rise to the height of challenging the basic morality of the world!

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu never felt that disobeying his father's orders in this kind of world could have any results. I don't want to fight hard for right and wrong for the sake of Annanguo. As a son, all he can do is to act perversely and disobediently, and people will only accuse him of being pampered and arrogant, and playing nonsense, and no one will reason with him at all.

It was Zhu Gaoxu who quietly rescued Qu Neng and the others before, not to fight against his father by force, but to guard against the future people.

War is like gambling, if the chance of winning is too small, then it becomes a gamble. Zhu Gaoxu used to be a gambler, but he would not spare his life to buy lottery tickets.

At this moment, Chen's voice said, "The concubine is rude." ”

Zhu Gaoxu came back to his senses, glanced at her, and found that Chen was also looking at him. Her eye sockets are slightly deeper than those of Han women, but a pair of clear eyes are more and more pitiful.

She said softly: "I haven't complained about King Han, and I can't force anything, don't be careful." Now that this is the case, what else can be done? Our mother and son had no choice but to accept their fate. ”

"Hmm......" Zhu Gaoxu made a voice.

At this time, Chen reluctantly showed a smile, and Zhu Gaoxu didn't know why. She looked at Zhu Gaoxu, there was a faint flush on her cheeks, and then she slowly raised her slender hand and gently stroked her neck. She was wearing a loose collar inside, and when she made a move, her fingers inadvertently opened a little collar fabric, and her collarbone was seen by Zhu Gaoxu. Her chest is not too high but very wide, and the skin near the collarbone is soft and plump. Zhu Gaoxu's eyes couldn't help but stare at her collar, and Chen's jade white ears gradually reddened.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt a little uncomfortable breathing. However, he was still very sober in his heart, and he felt a little strange for a while.

The Chen family fell into the hands of Zhu Gaoxu a few months ago, but she abided by etiquette, so Zhu Gaochu naturally did not embarrass her. Although when he was not masked, Zhu Gaoxu was a little looking forward to seeing the queen's face, but he was mainly for business.

In the past, the Chen family had asked for himself, but he always kept the courtesy. Now that the attempt to restore their mother and son has failed, why is she doing this?

Zhu Gaoxu restrained his impulsiveness, and said in his heart, if I wanted to do something to her, I could easily coerce her into submission; So why bother with it now? He didn't even know Chen's intentions at this time, in case she wanted to exchange it, hoping that Zhu Gaoxu would return to the court to fight for them again. If he can't do it, how will it end?

So he picked up the teacups on the table, lifted the lid and looked at the water, avoiding her gaze.

After a while, Zhu Gaoxu spoke: "The army is a division of the Keri class, and the guards of the Han Wangfu go first." Is the queen willing to go to the Han palace with the guards? I'm worried that it won't be good for you to stay in Thang Long. ”

He said it cautiously, and did not explicitly say that the war in Annam might continue.

Chen was also very interested, and had already sat up straight, as if the subtle gesture just now had not happened, avoiding the embarrassment of being rejected. She hesitated for a while, leaned forward, and finally replied, "Thank you King Han for your protection." ”

As she spoke, her gaze was like a tangible thing, caressing Zhu Gaoxu's face from time to time. Zhu Gaoxu couldn't understand her thoughts, after all, people can't read minds, at most they can guess simple emotions of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness from their demeanor, how can he know her complex thoughts?

Zhu Gaoxu also exhaled a long breath, and said in his heart: I am about to leave Annan, and it is very good to keep a little distance from her, so as not to be reluctant when parting.

…… There were nearly 300 civil and eunuch officials in Zhu Gaoxu's army. There is a decree of the imperial court and a military order of the commander, and everyone has nothing to say about the withdrawal of troops. As a result, the Chinese army immediately began to arrange for the troops to be withdrawn from Thang Long and Thanh Hoa.

Most of the 100,000 people of the original West Route Army were guards and horses from the Sichuan and Yunnan capitals. The army traveled from Annan to Yunnan, and some people returned from Yunnan to Zhuweishu in Sichuan, and the roads along the way were narrow and mountainous, and they were not easy to walk. The Chinese army agreed to set off in batches.

Most of the guards of the Han Wangfu were led by Wang Bin and Liu Ying to return to the capital of Yunnan. Zhu Gaoxu also wrote a letter to the princess Guo Wei, asking the eunuch Cao Fu to take it back. He personally told Guo Wei that after entering Beijing to offer prisoners, he would soon return to Kunming.

Then Zhu Gaoxu arranged for the guards to command Wei Da, and led a royal palace escort to accompany him into Beijing; In addition, most of the troops who followed him to escort the traitors Hu and his son were guards in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places. In this way, after the escort mission is completed, the guards who have entered Beijing will return to their respective guards.

Zhu Gaoxu led the crowd to leave the Chinese army first, but Chen did not come to see him off. But as soon as he went out of the gate and lifted the curtain of the carriage, he found a white dress on top of a pavilion, and sure enough, Chen was standing there.

The two looked at each other from a distance, unable to say goodbye at this time.

Nearly 10,000 people and horses all the way out of the gate of Thang Long City. There were a large number of military generals and civil officials in the farewell crowd, and even Zhang Fu rushed back from Qinghua.

The brigade walked nearly ten miles and came to a wooden archway on the main road, and the army stopped moving forward for the time being. There was an open house with a straw roof on the side of the road, and Zhang Fu and others welcomed Zhu Gaoxu into the house. Although the thatched hut was old and dilapidated, many civil and military officials did not even have the qualifications to enter the house at this time.

"Sending the king for a thousand miles must be goodbye in the end, and I wish His Royal Highness the King of Han a safe and sound journey." Zhang Fu picked up the wine brought in by a military general.

Zhu Gaoxu also accepted his kindness, and said with a smile: "The Hu traitor was obtained by the Marquis of Xincheng, and this time my father issued an edict to escort me back to Beijing. ”

Zhang Fu said with a smile: "Don't dare, don't dare." In the battle of Annam, the king of Han sat in the middle army and strategized, and the last generals were favored by the king of Han. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said quietly: "When the Marquis of Xincheng returns to Beijing, he should be crowned as the Duke of the Kingdom." ”

Zhang Fu hurriedly said: "The last general will not dare to take credit. ”

Having said that, they are clear in each other's hearts. Back then, Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng, and Zhang Yunai were the most trusted generals of the Yan Palace, and their merits were similar; Zhang Yu died in battle, and everyone else was crowned the Duke of the Kingdom. Zhang Fu has now made great contributions in the country of Annam, and it is almost certain that the emperor will give him a knighthood.

After saying a few words, Zhu Gaoxu said: "Xinchenghou will stay here, and there is no need to send it far." Today, the army still has to hurry, and we will reunite in Beijing tomorrow, and it will not be too late. Farewell! ”

After saying that, several people in the hut drank a glass of wine, and Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the door and called Duan Xue Hat, who was beside him, to get back into the carriage. After a while, when he lifted the curtain, he saw Zhang Fu still standing on the side of the road watching, and Zhu Gaoxu also waved his hand.

The two have been in Annan together for more than half a year, and there are some fights between them, but on the whole, Zhang Fu is still a very disciplined person in the army. Now that I said goodbye, some of the unhappiness of the past seems to have been forgotten.

Today's weather has cleared, the sky is clear and sunny. On both sides of the road, there are endless fertile plains, and the rice fields are already green and secluded. Except for the noise of the Ming soldiers and horses on the road, the fields on all sides are very quiet.

Zhu Gaoxu's men and horses walked to the south bank of the river on the first day and set up camp, and then crossed the river the next day on the warship of the sailors.

The way back to Beijing was to take Beijiang Mansion and Polei Pass (Zhennan Pass) to enter the ground of the Guangxi political envoy in the Ming Dynasty, and then take the post road in Guangxi to go straight to Beijing.

There are still thousands of miles ahead, and Zhu Gaoxu estimates that it will be difficult to complete the march in less than three months.