The envoys of the Jiaozhi rebels finally arrived at the city of Kunming, and they will enter the city through the east gate. Zhu Gaoxu was dressed in cloth, standing on the city tower, and saw the group of people and horses on the official road in the distance, some riding horses and some sitting in cars.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to greet them at the city gate, so he didn't identify himself in a cloth shirt, he just happened to walk here to take a look. The morning sun was facing his door, and he squinted to see the approximate number of the men.

Beside him, there was still Duan Xue Hate in green clothes, who was wearing a big hat to cover most of her face. Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at her, he was tall and looked down at Duan Xuehe, so he could only look at her mouth and small chin.

The lips are slightly thick, the chin is slightly pointed, and the white is quite delicate. After the hat covered the rest of her face, only her mouth and chin could be seen; Zhu Gaoxu felt even more that she looked really similar to Mu Zhen.

Duan Xue Hate was looking at the corner of the wall below the city tower. She seemed to notice Zhu Gaoxu's gaze, so she raised her head and peeked her eyes out from under the big hat, and said, "Is it three zhang high from here to the ground?" ”

"There should be." Zhu Gaoxu replied casually. He suddenly felt a little strange again, because Duan Xue hated to be silent, and he rarely chatted like this. He couldn't help asking, "Why do you want to ask this?" ”

Duan Xue hated and said without raising his head: "When I stand on a high place, I feel that there seems to be some temptation below, and I always have the idea of jumping down." The ground is made of masonry, and you will fall to death if you are so high? ”

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Why?" ”

Duan Xue Hate asked softly, "It is precisely because I should die in the dark that I have such thoughts?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't understand why she wanted to commit suicide because she was living a good life and hadn't encountered anything recently. He pondered for a while, pondering that she used to resent the Mu family and tried to assassinate the Mu family, but now that she knows her life experience, she is still very confused and can't face herself?

Zhu Gaoxu gently persuaded him: "Those who don't know are not guilty, and the victims are even more innocent." ”

Duan Xue hated raised her head, showed a strange expression, and shook her head slightly, "I'm guilty." ”

This sentence reminded Zhu Gaoxu of the teachings of Western religions, and he said: "In this way, all of us are sinful, so we need to be redeemed." ”

Duan Xue hated to lower her head, her big hat covered her face, and she stopped talking.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the people who were about to arrive at the gate of the city, then turned around and said, "Back to the palace, I will change my clothes and see the messenger of Jiaozhi first." ”

So he said that, and went down the tower with his attendants.

Now the territory of the Jiaozhi Political Envoy Division is still nominally under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, and these envoys are traitors who are not lawful. Although Zhu Gaoxu didn't plan to talk to them about sin now, he didn't need etiquette, and he could keep it simple.

He changed into a dragon suit and black gauze hat, and summoned the messenger in the study of the front hall nearby. There are not many people around, only Mr. Li and Hou Hai, the military general Zhao Ping, the eunuch Wang Gui, and Duan Xue who came back with Zhu Gaoxu.

Two people walked in outside the door, and Zhu Gaoxu was a little surprised when he saw it. Walking in front was a young woman, wearing a white Taoist robe and a scarf, clearly a female Taoist priest; Another man in a round-necked official uniform came in parallel, but he was slightly behind the female road.

The man's round-necked robe, at first glance, looks similar to that of a Ming Dynasty official, but it seems to be a little ill-fitting, and it looks particularly wide and cumbersome on that person. In today's world, the customs of Western maritime merchants have not had much impact on Cochin, and the clothing customs that can be borrowed from all over the country in the entire East Asian region can only come from the Ming Dynasty.

The woman hugged her left hand with her right hand and said, "Poor Dao Chen Xianzhen, meet His Royal Highness the King of Han." I ask Your Highness to accept the letter of our monarch. ”

The man hugged his fists and said: "Ruan Jingyi, the deputy envoy of Xiaguan Yueguo, will meet His Royal Highness the King of Han." ”

Seeing this, Duan Xue hated and walked up silently. The female Taoist priest Chen Xianzhen glanced up at her and handed over the national letter in her hand.

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "So, Chen Daogu is the right envoy?" ”

Chen Xianzhen bowed and said: "Exactly, Poor Dao was born in the Chen royal family and became a monk since childhood. Now sent by my country's monarch (Chen Jikuo), I hope to reconcile with the king of Han. ”

Zhu Gaoxu moved his body slightly, and said directly: "The people here are all people close to this king, Chen Jikuo wants to talk about it, just say it." ”

Chen Xianzhen looked sideways at Deputy Envoy Ruan Jingyi. Zhu Gaoxu saw her expression in his eyes, and suddenly understood in his heart that this Dao Gu was nominally a righteous envoy, but she might not know much about military affairs; The person who really has the final say is probably Deputy Envoy Ruan Jingyi.

Ruan Jingyi hugged his fists and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Han is not only a god and a martial artist, but also a happy and decisive. Today, the Vietnamese army has won successive battles and has recovered most of the land of the country. His Royal Highness the King of Han recognized the king of Yue, and there will be great rewards in the future. ”

Zhu Gaoxu waited for him to finish before he spoke: "First of all, what Deputy Envoy Ruan said is that Lian Zhan Lianjie is not in line with the facts. Now our Ming Dynasty is in a civil war, my eldest brother is illegally called the emperor, tired of dealing with the mainland, there is no time to look south for the time being, the Ming army is shrinking in the Shenglong area, you don't fight much at all, how can you say that you are fighting and winning successes?

Then the king hopes that the deputy envoy will be more specific, what can the king do for you at the moment, and what practical benefits can he obtain? ”

Ruan Jing thought for a while and said, "My monarch heard that the 50,000 Ming army that reinforced Shenglong was the defeated army of Guizhou. Now the king of Han has taken possession of Guizhou, and the families of the Guizhou guards are all in the hands of the king of Han......"

Zhu Gaoxu nodded after hearing this, admitting in his heart that the current Jiaozhi rebels have learned a lot of things and inquired about a lot of things. At least they didn't like the Hu family, regardless of dividing three by five, they killed the envoys of the Ming Dynasty first! Therefore, everyone is not born to be reasonable, and it is inevitable that after going through countless bloodsheds and understanding the cost, they can calmly think that they should talk first.

Ruan Jingyi continued: "Our king asked the king of Han to send someone to persuade these soldiers and horses to surrender and transfer them back to their hometown from Thang Long City; In the name of the Han Palace, he delivered the vassal documents to the king of Yue and recognized our monarch as the king of Yue. If the king of Han can promise to do these things, the king of Yue will ensure that the Ming officials and families in Yue will return to China safely. And when the Han King fought against the crime, he provided food and treasure to the Han Wang's army. ”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard it, he was immediately moved. This thing sounds like only practical good, and the bad is just bad reputation.

He pondered for a moment and casually asked, "How much food and money?" ”

Ruan Jing said with a straight face: "Do your best." Because only after the victory of the Han Dynasty's army and the Han Dynasty's rule of the Ming Dynasty, can our Yue Kingdom be truly recognized by the imperial court. ”

It makes sense, and it does.

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, looked up at the position of the sun shadow outside the door, patted his thigh and said, "It's not early." Wang Gui, let the messenger from Jiaozhi stay and arrange a meal. This king will reply to the two later. ”

So Chen Daogu and Ruan Jingyi bowed and retired together.

After they left, Mr. Li spoke: "In the area near the left of Thang Long City and the Jiaozhi River (Red River), there are probably 80,000 Ming troops left, of which 50,000 are remnants of Guizhou. There are two problems with the lower officials, one is that if the prince can persuade these people to surrender, why should the rebels intervene?

Second, Chen Jikuo has no real power, and this rebel army has multiple leaders. How to ensure that all the rebel leaders are willing to send grain and money to the Han Palace? If the prince submits the document to recognize the king of the Yue Kingdom, but they go back on their word, won't they make the world laugh and scold in vain? ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It seems that Mr. Li does not advocate agreeing to this negotiation. ”

Mr. Li hugged his fists and said, "What the prince said is extremely true. The lower officials have always believed that righteousness cannot be weighed with money. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "If you're hungry, let's eat first." In the afternoon, Mr. Li will come again, and I will only think about one noon, and make a decision in the afternoon. ”

Mr. Li retired and went back to the Changshi Mansion for lunch. The Changshi Mansion was a formal institution of the vassal king, and it was very mature before, and the official office was equipped with a cook, and the officials were in charge of lunch on duty. And Zhu Gaoxu was eating in the study, asked the harem to send it over, and asked Duan Xue to eat with him.

After lunch, Zhu Gaoxu left the study and went to the corridor to the east.

There was a wooden slump in this room with straw mats on it. Last time, Zhu Gaoxu was on this straw mat and had the so-called last closeness with Shen Xu. He sat on the straw mat and thought about the hand-to-toe, but he was distracted from time to time; Maybe touching the scene is always emotional, and when you see these things, there will occasionally be trivial clips and pictures that come to mind.

Duan Xue came in with tea, and silently put the teacup on a wooden table next to the wooden collapse with both hands. As she bent down and reached out, her sleeve moved up a bit. A blush mark flashed in Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, and the skin on her wrist was very white, so he could easily detect it from the afterglow.

Zhu Gaoxu reached out and grabbed Duan Xuehe's hand, her body trembled slightly, but she didn't make a sound.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt that his actions just now were a little rough, so he paused and asked casually, "Do you think I should listen to Mr. Li's advice?" ”

"What?" Duan Xue said in a daze.

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "About Jiaozhi." ”

He's just looking for a topic to talk about, but it's a bit clumsy.

Zhu Gaoxu originally thought that Duan Xue would say that she was a woman who couldn't answer such a question, and so on. Unexpectedly, Duan Xue hated and said: "Duan Yang's words and deeds have taught me that most people in the world say one thing, and what they are thinking about is another. ”

Zhu Gaoxu raised his head to look at her with a little difference, and then nodded slightly: "Makes sense......"

As he spoke, he gently held Duan Xue's hand and lifted it down, immediately exposing her wrist. At this time, Zhu Gaoxu paid attention to it, and immediately saw clearly, there was a bruise and dark red tooth mark there, and there was blood in some places, so it was scabbed.

Duan Xue's expression was suddenly very embarrassed, and he gently withdrew his hand, and then pressed it on his sleeve to cover the place.

……

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(The version published by "Daming Black Yarn" was released in Zongheng.) It's on the shelves today, if you don't mind, give a first order, thank you. ）