At the beginning of March of the seventh year of Yongle, after the palace was ready, Zhu Gaoxu summoned a group of military generals in the Fengtian Palace. Today, he will reward meritorious deeds, and give feasts to entertain the vassals.

Seven national dukes: Mu Sheng, Duke of Qianguo, Qu Neng, Duke of Ba, Duke Sheng Yong of Shao, Ping'an of Wu Guo, Wang Bin, Duke of Dingguo, Duke Wei Da, Duke of Zheng and Liu Ying. There are seven marquises, Chen Zhen (Marquis of Jing'an), Chen Dazhui (Marquis of Zhongwu), Zhao Ping (Marquis of Weiyuan), Yin Desheng (Marquis of Yongyi), Du Erlang (Marquis of Thanksgiving), Wang Yu (Marquis of Xianping), Zhang Sheng (Marquis of Zhongzhen), etc. A number of earls.

At the banquet, the dance music composed by the teaching workshop division began to be performed one after another, including "Taiping Field Breaking Formation Song" and "Baoqing Victory Song". After several rounds of drinking, there is also the opera "Wushan Knot".

Singing, dancing and opera are all programs prepared by the Department of Education after Zhu Gaoxu became emperor; The time is too short, and the rhythm and lyrics are not very subtle, but the meaning has arrived! The generals of the "Sin Slayer Army" were all extremely satisfied with such a generous reward; The banquet was very lively, and everyone's interest was very high.

The actor waved the sleeves of his robe on the main hall, and said in a pretentious manner: "Today's saint is benevolent, but the traitors in the court slander him, how should Sheng be a good ......"

Another actor dressed as a red-faced actor said: "I have heard of the Han King of Yunnan, cherish the soldiers, and the righteous word is the head, it is better to vote for the Han King, save your life, and serve the country...... How? ”

"Good! Good! The generals shouted loudly for the actor "Sheng".

After a commotion, Sheng Yong'an and the others didn't say anything, but Wang Bin, who was a little drunk, picked up the wine cup and said loudly: "Brothers, marry Jinlan, vote for the King of Han together, and serve the King of Han!" ”

Everyone raised their wine cups and bowed, "Serve the saint!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu raised his glass and drank with the guests. The musicians of the Sect Division were also very suitable for the occasion, and immediately paused the song in the middle of the song, and when everyone finished speaking, they beat the gongs and drums together, as if they were celebrating for the monarch and the ministers......

But every big thing is often difficult to satisfy everyone. The generals of the former Han Palace's mansion were happy, and soon other people were dissatisfied!

Only one day later, Zhu Gaoxu received a recital from Xia Yuanji, the head of the household department; There are quite a few complaints about the unrestrained and wanton reward and the continued payment of military salaries to the hundreds of thousands of troops in Beijing.

This is because all these things will increase the financial burden in the long run, and in the long run, it may be difficult for the household to continue to make ends meet.

However, Zhu Gaoxu only approved four words: open source and reduce expenditure. What he meant was to save money, but also to save from somewhere else. When Zhu Gaoxu set the era name as "Wude", he never planned to reduce military spending!

And the most critical place, Zhu Gaoxu felt that there were still many old people in the court, and he didn't think about cleaning it up for the time being; Therefore, he must support the descendants of the Han Dynasty and occupy an absolute advantage in the court!

Maybe sometimes killing people is the simplest and most direct way to deal with it, but Zhu Gaoxu doesn't want it to spread too widely. The death of my father is there, and I have to take it as a warning.

The second person who was a little dissatisfied was Qiu Fu, the Duke of Qi.

Qiu Fu played a song, thinking that the Mongol tribes attacked the border and the Wuliangha tribe betrayed the imperial court, and they must have to go on a northern expedition to punish the rebellion, so as to show the prestige of the Ming Dynasty! And this autumn, the north may still disturb the border, and the Ming officials and troops should take the initiative to attack as soon as possible! Qiu Fumao then recommended himself and asked for the Northern Expedition.

Qiu Fu's recital, Zhu Gaoxu watched it three times in a row, and he muttered: "Qi Guogong is over sixty years old, and he is still very competitive. ”

Wang Gui, the eunuch next to him, echoed: "The emperor is right. ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced sideways at Wang Gui, stretched out his hand to rub his broad forehead, and thought for a while. He had some understanding of Qiu Fu's thoughts......

Qiu Fu saw that so many people had been crowned the prince of the country and were almost equal to him, so he should not be convinced by these "juniors" in his heart. But Qiu Fu should also understand that in the war for the throne of Zhu Gaoxu, those newly promoted princes are fighting bloodily; And Qiu Fu did almost nothing, and he had no military merits! So he couldn't say anything.

So Qiu Fu wanted to ask for an order to lead the Northern Expedition and clarify his seniority and status through his military exploits!

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, and was ready to leave Qiu Fu's recital.

In order to satisfy Qiu Fu, Zhu Gaoxu could not make hasty decisions. Most of the people in the world seem to be too easy to put themselves in their own shoes and think about things, or at least to be affected; How many people are there who are completely focused on big things? Zhu Gaoxu didn't bother to care.

At present, in front of Zhu Gaoxu, there are first two major events left over: one is Mongolia, and the other is Annam. The problem in these two places is very tricky! Among them, the Mongolian issue, since the Hongwu period, the imperial court has made many efforts and has not been able to solve it so far; And the Annan Kingdom, which was not completely resolved during the Taizong period, seems to be slightly easier than Mongolia.

Zhu Gaoxu also feels that these remaining problems are not so simple, and they have to be considered in the long run.

…… Zhang Sheng, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, who was named the "Loyal Marquis", failed to catch up with the banquet of the Fengtian Palace. It took him a few days before he returned to Beijing quietly, escorting a key figure: Xiao Jien.

Xiao Jien was immediately sent to the heavily guarded edict prison inside the Hongwu Gate!

He was still wearing a robe, but his hat was gone, and there were no signs of torture, so he looked so alive. But he was already shackled on his hands and feet.

Xiao Jien walked slowly past a row of prison meals, and then passed by several separate cells inside.

In one of the cells, the eunuch Wang Gou'er, who had been sitting on the wooden board in a daze, suddenly came to his senses, he struggled to stand up, walked to the small door where the food was delivered, and put his eyes there to stare at Xiao Jien.

Xiao Jien also suddenly looked sideways at Wang Gou'er, and the two looked at each other silently for a long time. Zhang Sheng lifted Xiao Jien, and Xiao Jien turned his head back.

Zhang Sheng put Xiao Jien in the innermost cell, which did not even have a window, and made him sit next to a pillar and tie him, and gag his mouth! Zhang Sheng designated several jailers to take turns to guard, and the jailers were not allowed to talk to Xiao Jien.

Then Zhang Sheng took Xiao Jien's confession and hurriedly sent it to the palace in person.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu was not in the imperial gate, but in the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace. He was talking to the eunuch Wang Gui about Yao Fang's private affairs.

By the time Zhang Sheng was allowed to enter the Dongnuan Pavilion, Wang Gui had almost finished narrating.

Zhu Gaoxu stopped talking, and sat silently on the chair in front of the map, carefully reading Xiao Jien's confession......

After a long time, Zhu Gaoxu raised his head and sighed, put his palm on a stack of confessions and slapped his palms twice. Zhang Sheng and Wang Gui both bowed down and stood beside them, not daring to take the initiative to speak.

Zhu Gaoxu's sigh was both emotional and relieved. This thorn stuck in his throat and the thorn in his eye seems to be finally able to be removed! For a moment, he felt that his body was faintly lighter!

He sat thoughtfully for a while, then suddenly raised his head and said, "I know some things about the Old Yan Palace. The eunuch king dog has been in the Yan Wangfu for a particularly long time, and when he entered the Yan Wangfu, the prince of Yiwen (Zhu Biao) was not killed; There is no need for the Jingshi royal family to stuff such a person around the former emperor. (Emperor Taizu didn't like eunuchs very much, forbade eunuchs to interfere in politics, and would not use eunuchs to do such secret things.) ）

Therefore, I still have two questions: First, why is Wang Gou'er a traitor and spy of the Jianwen Dynasty? Second, Wang Gou'er has been favored, why did he have to murder the first emperor instead of trying to kill Xiao Jien and kill him? The latter is much simpler, less risky, and more beneficial. ”

Zhang Sheng arched his hand after hearing this: "The saint is wise and discerning!" The minister was ordered to be tortured on the spot at Xiao's house in Jiangxi, and Xiao Jien was in a bit of a hurry at that time, and he didn't have time to think about such things. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Loyal Marquis, you have done a good job in this matter." ”

When Zhang Sheng heard the salutation, his eyes seemed a little unaccustomed, and his face was also red. Zhu Gaoxu doesn't have to guess...... Zhang Sheng must have been very surprised that he could be crowned a marquis, how could it be so easy to be a marquis during the period of Taizu Taizong?

"On the Holy Side, Wang Gou'er is still in prison, Xiao Jien was arrested, and Wang Gou'er may confess the truth at this time." Zhang Sheng bowed and said, "The minister immediately went to interrogate Wang Gou'er, and reported to the saint within three days, and he would never dare to slack off." ”

Zhu Gaoxu has always attached great importance to this matter. After weighing it for a moment, he said, "I will personally go to the Imperial Prison and ask Wang Gou'er in person...... After the unitary time Zhu Ya was on duty, I went over again. Loyal Marquis arranges it. ”

Zhang Sheng hurriedly said: "The minister obeys the order!" ”

The edict prison is in the imperial city, but Zhu Gaoxu passed through the palace and got the noon gate, the end gate, and the Chengtian gate. In the evening, he went out lightly; He didn't bring eunuchs and palace maids, but only a team of brocade guards from the noon gate. These people used to be the people who guarded the North Division of the Imperial Mansion, and they were only recently arranged to serve in the Jinyi Guard.

In the building complex of the Imperial Prison, in addition to the various cells, there is also the government office set up by the Fu Division of Jinyi Weibei Town. Zhu Gaoxu did not enter the cell in person, but only waited in a government office and asked the Jinyi guards to escort Wang Gou'er up.

Zhu Gaoxu sat down behind a bookcase, and after waiting for a while, there was movement outside.

In the evening, the officials from all over the thousand-step corridor were on duty, the light gradually dimmed, and the imperial city was very quiet. At this hour, the sound of chains outside the room became extremely clear and heavy.

After a while, the door was opened, and Zhang Sheng walked in with Wang Gou'er.

Zhu Gaoxu's gaze stayed on Wang Gou'er, and saw that he was wearing a dirty prison uniform, his hair was like withered grass, and he had scars and injuries on his face, neck, and wrists.

"Princess, you've lost weight." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Wang Gou'er's godless eyes, like a blind man, only then did his eyes move a little, and he raised his head to look at Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Zhang Sheng stayed to make a confession. Zhang Sheng hugged his fists and said: "The minister obeys the order...... All of you are guarding the door, twenty paces away. ”

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the door that had not yet been closed, and muttered: "The day is coming to an end, and the past should be completely closed?" ”