At the beginning of April of the seventh year of Yongle, the layout of the Northern Expedition was basically completed. Zhu Gaoxu drove the expedition in person, and the generals Ping'an, Qu Neng, Wang Bin, Wu Gao, Zhang Fu, Liu Sheng, etc. accompanied the army to the north; The total number of troops to be dispatched by the imperial court was about 250,000 cavalry (real number); Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, was responsible for supervising the transportation of food and wages along the way.

Previously, an edict had been issued to transfer 13,000 guards from the Zhao Wangfu in Beiping, and 10,000 guards from the Lu Wangfu in Yanzhou, the Zhou Wangfu in Luoyang, the Qin Wangfu in Xi'an, the Jin Wangfu in Taiyuan, and the Datong Dynasty Wangfu in Shandong; Then 5,000 cavalry were mobilized from the Suwangfu and Qingwangfu in the northwest. The Northern Domain's Guardian will gather 73,000 men!

and transferred more than 70,000 elite soldiers from the nine sides and provinces; and 100,000 cavalry of elite soldiers from the Beijing Division. The total strength of the Ming army in the northern expedition will reach 250,000 troops!

The guards of the northern kings numbered at least 17,800 and more than 20,000. Zhu Gaoxu did not transfer all of their troops at once, but he also reduced the overall escort of the vassal kings by half.

The ministers of the DPRK and China are almost silent on this matter.

Except for Qi Tai, who was about to leave Beijing, there was no objection, and no one wrote to speak for the vassal kings. Qi Tai wrote a recital before setting off, and sent it to the palace through the political secretary. The chapter said that Emperor Taizu built vassal states in various places, and the original intention was to guard the territory and screen the border; Now the imperial court took the initiative to attack Hulu in the north, and the vassal king should send troops to accompany him.

Zhu Gaoxu sat in the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, and rummaged through the chapters of the last few days, but he did not find anyone else to write about this matter. Maps of all parts of Mongolia are still hanging in the Dongnuan Pavilion, and he has returned here in the last two days after reviewing the recitals.

People may not be affected by others, and occasionally Zhu Gaoxu will secretly question himself: Will he be too anxious?

This kind of mood is often encountered on the battlefield, and whenever the battle situation becomes confusing, the manager will inevitably waver from time to time. State affairs are more abstract and complex than battles, and Zhu Gaoxu feels that his slight vacillation is just a normal performance.

It was already dark, and Zhu Gaoxu's dinner was also eaten in the East Warm Pavilion.

There were already several oil lamps lit in the house. After Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, he did not encounter a particularly urgent situation, so he did not need to work overnight; So the scene of Dongnuan Pavilion under the orange and yellow lights, it was the first time he saw it.

The light of the fire is naturally not as bright as the lamp, even if there are many lamps, there are only relatively bright colors in the East Warm Pavilion, which can be seen clearly, and the darker walls, tables, chairs, and bookshelves have become hazy.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu felt that someone had bypassed the partition door. When he raised his head to look, he saw Miaojin walking in wearing a big shirt and a phoenix crown. She folded her hands and bent her knees in front of her abdomen, and saluted: "The concubine greets the saint." ”

The concubine's regular clothes are also intricate and gorgeous, and the gold and precious stones sparkle in the light. Zhu Gaoxu was stunned for a moment, he still rarely saw Miao Jin Zheng'er dressed up like this.

Accustomed to the fact that she used to wear Taoist robes and plain clothes, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but take a few more glances at her current appearance.

However, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt that the graceful and gorgeous clothes should be more suitable for Miaojin. She is tall, with a straight neck and straight shoulders, and she is a little dignified; The expression is slightly cold, if you are dressed luxuriously, it is like the cold arrogance of a noblewoman; The apricot eyes at the corners of the eyes, the beautiful face with red lips and white teeth are very charming, and the jewelry embellished with makeup and phoenix crowns adds a little more to its bright color.

The glamorous appearance and gorgeous clothes are matched with each other, and they complement each other to add color.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at her for a while, and Miao Jin raised his head slightly to look at him.

"Excuse me, sit here." Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly said at this time, "I sent someone to summon you to sleep, thinking that you would find an excuse to prevaricate; So I accidentally forgot about it, and I haven't returned to the dormitory yet. ”

Miaojin stood up straight, her lips opened slightly, but she finally didn't speak, she just looked at the recital and file on the imperial case, and then looked up at the map behind Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu asked again: "I heard that the concubines met the queen in Kunning Palace, and you hardly went. Do you have any grievances? ”

Miao Jin showed a reluctant smile, shook his head lightly, and said, "The Holy Lord doesn't need to be distracted, you know that I have such a temperament." Although he rarely went to see the queen, he also sent someone to speak, and the etiquette followed the dignity of the upper and lower levels, and the queen did not take this matter to heart. Please rest assured. ”

"Di Bao made it clear, my mother once treated you as a righteous daughter. However, Wei'er and the three of them know the truth, and they may be a little embarrassed at first...... Zhu Gaoxu muttered, "Neither the queen nor I will blame you." ”

When Miaojin heard this, her eyes showed a look of emotion, and her tone was a little softer than just now: "Is the Holy Lord busy deploying the Northern Expedition?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The arrangements are almost in place, and I am not in a hurry to go north." Now let the Jingying and Zhulu armies march to the territory of the political envoy in Beiping; I can wait about two months, and lead the cavalry north at the end of June and the beginning of July, and there is still plenty of time. ”

Miaojin took advantage of Zhu Gaoxu to talk about business, so she stopped talking about her own business. She followed Zhu Gaoxu's topic and said, "The saint seems to have encountered a problem. ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at her, during the battle of crime, the two of them got along for a long time, and his mood seemed to be unable to hide Miaojin's eyes. He said: "There are always things, Miaojin don't worry. ”

Miao Jin suddenly looked concerned and asked, "Will it be dangerous for the Holy Lord to conquer Mobei?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and explained: "In a dynasty, internal affairs are often more troublesome than external problems. After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty transferred troops to continue to attack the Northern Yuan forces in Liaodong and Mobei; Nowadays, the population of Mongolian tribes is insufficient, and it is difficult to unify the various tribes. With their current strength, if they want to annihilate the Ming Dynasty's army of two or three hundred thousand, I am afraid that they will not have the teeth to swallow it. Therefore, although our army may not be able to achieve many great results in this northern expedition, as long as we do not seek our own destruction, the Mongolian army will have nothing to do with us.

I'm just a little worried about whether the kings of the north will be able to accept this transfer calmly. ”

Miao Jin listened carefully and said softly: "The concubines don't dare to interfere in politics, but the saint must be cautious and careful when he goes on an expedition. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said with good words: "Miaojin is not only a concubine, but also my confidant. As he spoke, he reached out and naturally held Miaojin's jade hand.

Miaojin glanced at Zhu Gaoxu's hand and did not resist.

Zhu Gaoxu's hand was placed there, and he was silent for a while. The things he just mentioned couldn't help but think about it again in his heart......

For the time being, he did not want to cut the feudal domain, but to test the weakening of the northern kings. If it doesn't hurt or itch, it will seem that Zhu Gaoxu's heart is weak, and it won't play a role; But if you go too far, the kings will be persecuted too much, and it may lead to civil war! Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu issued an edict this time to transfer half of their escort troops to see the aftermath!

At the end of last year, the Mongol tribes attacked the border, and the people suffered greatly. Court

The transfer of troops is for the Northern Expedition! At this time, if the vassal king ignores the overall situation and dares to move, he will lose the hearts of the righteous people first!

So Zhu Gaoxu still tends to think that the kings will not act rashly.

Back then, Emperor Taizu divided the kings, and the idea was indeed very good, but in fact it was obviously a mistake, which caused great trouble to the subsequent emperors; This is evidenced by the fact that there have been two civil wars in 10 years.

Taizu originally wanted the kings to be outside, not only to guard the territory, but also to deter the civil and military forces of the imperial court of the Beijing division and protect the imperial unity of the Zhu family; Moreover, there were still court officials in the domain, and there was no general trend of dividing the territory and destroying the unification.

It seems to be a perfect method, but it has not been developed according to Emperor Taizu's vision. As a result, those vassal kings either did not do their proper work, and were arrogant and lascivious, and violated the law, causing great damage and burden to the local government; Either they want to rebel and threaten the central government. It can be said that it backfires and does more harm than good!

Maybe that's human nature, right?

Precisely because there were no real feudal princes, the landed vassal states were not the private property of the prince; The princes have no motive to govern the place, and they are already noble, so why are they not greedy for money and pleasure? And if a person who is both civil and military, and is very ambitious, why doesn't he want to seek to seize the world, instead of giving the emperor the power of life and death, and being subject to restrictions and suspicions everywhere?

"The fight was really scary." Miaojin's voice said suddenly.

Zhu Gaoxu was holding her hand, as if she had sensed her heart; But that's not the case, he just inadvertently clenched Miaojin's hand just now and showed nervousness.

"Therefore, those who do not avoid the world had better strive for strength." Zhu Gaoxu said in a deep voice.

Miaojin smiled reluctantly: "I was originally a person who escaped from the world, but now I am also in it and it is difficult to escape?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said in a joking tone: "We have talked about it a long time ago, and your method of escaping the world and living in seclusion is not very realistic." Living on the mountain is inconvenient, not to mention bandits, small mosquitoes can make people live very uncomfortable, it is a waste of life. ”

Miaojin was silent for a moment and did not argue.

Zhu Gaoxu stood up, pulled Miaojin and said, "It's not early, let's go back to the dormitory." ”

The two of them walked to the door of the Dongnuan Pavilion, Miaojin gently withdrew his hand, and walked next to Zhu Gaoxu, slightly behind. When you walk out of the door, you can see many eunuchs and palace maids on duty outside.

After walking for a while in the corridor with lanterns, Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at Miaojin and said: "This year's northern expedition to Mongolia, the grassland desert is really too bitter, so Miaojin doesn't have to go." ”

Miao Jin responded and said, "The book written by the concubine has been added, deleted, and polished in the past few months; When the Holy One returns triumphantly, the book will be written. ”

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "What's your name?" ”

Miao Jin said: "I haven't thought about it yet." It's written about 'The Battle of Sin,' but I'm only writing about one saint, and it's not a serious book. ”

"Then I waited to read it, and suddenly I wanted to know how Miaojin understood me as a person." Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile.

Miao Jin said softly: "Just don't get angry. ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled again: "Not really." ”

At this time, he found that Miaojin's face was already a little flushed, and when he turned around, he saw that the main entrance of the dormitory had appeared in front of him.

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