After the early dynasty, the imperial gate listened to the government, and I don't know when the time began to get shorter and shorter.

Many of the rules set by Emperor Taizu back then were quite reasonable, and Taizu has been diligent and particularly rigorous in governing since he ascended the throne. For example, the imperial gate listens to the government, and there are officials on duty in the Hanlin Academy in Fengtianmen, who are responsible for recording the content of government affairs and writing holy decrees on the spot; All major decisions are made under the witness of various government officials, and it is almost impossible for them to make mistakes.

But later emperors gradually no longer liked to govern like this, including Zhu Gaoxu today. Probably because in full view of everyone, the emperor should pay attention to his words and deeds at any time, and it is easier to get tired after a long time, and few emperors can compare their energy with Taizu. Moreover, the emperors should not like a process that is too transparent.

After the evolution, the emperor often conveyed his will through the mouths of eunuchs and close ministers. The Imperial Gate listens to the government, and many times does not talk about the really important content.

So far, there has been no problem with such changes. Emperors, including Jianwen and Hong Xi, also often met with civil and military ministers. So no one dared to take the risk of a serious crime, after all, when the monarch and the minister saw each other, they could immediately expose the false edict.

Today, the royal gate listens to the government, and Zhu Gaoxu is also preparing to go through the motions. He signaled Hou Hai in advance and asked Hou Hai to raise the matter of the northern expedition to Liaodong in public, so that more people in the court could know and make some preparations for follow-up decisions.

The officials spoke of various propositions in the Fengtianmen, and expounded their strategies for war and peace with the principles of righteousness and morality.

At this moment, Xue Yan, the secretary of the Criminal Department, came out and said: "The minister thinks that attacking the Horqin people between Taining and Duoyan Erwei does not need to change the original strategy of the imperial court, that is, let the Warat tribes and the Tatar tribes contain each other. ”

Zhu Gaoxu, who was sitting on it, did not say anything, and listened to him first. So Xue Yan continued: "The place that the Warat people are familiar with is the vast grasslands and deserts of Western Mongolia, and they have never been to the east of the Harawen Mountains (Great Khing'an Mountains). After the failure of the Tatar conspiracy, it was temporarily impossible to use the Ming Dynasty to attack the Warat tribes, and more attention should be paid to the retreat; The area of Duoyan Sanwei east of the Haravan Mountains is not in the range of the Warat people's threat, and it is the place where Arutai retains its strength. Therefore, Arutai supported the eastward advance of the Horqin Department, and his posture became more and more public. ”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he immediately nodded.

Previously, Zhu Gaoxu thought that Arutai's approach was unreasonable, and Xue Yan's statement seemed to make sense. Although everyone is just speculating on the enemy, this is at least the word of the family.

Xue Yan said again: "The Ming Dynasty marched from the northeast of Liaobei to expel the forces of the Horqin people in Duoyan Sanwei. The Tatars were restless in their retreat, and were reluctant to give up their territory to the west, lest they lose their land. In time, Arutai may be willing to rebuild relations with the Ming Dynasty in order to avoid being exposed to the enemy. ”

Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth and said: "Xue Shangshu's words have some truth. ”

Xue Yan bowed and took a few steps back from the queue.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes glanced at Xue Yan a few more times, and then he realized that this official, who was not old, was actually an elder of several dynasties. What Xia Yuanji and Jianyi's old parties are not necessarily older than Xue Yan; During the Hongwu period, when Xue Yan already had some status in the imperial court, those old ministers were nothing.

Xue Yan entered the government in the Hongwu period, and in the Jianwen year, he was an envoy to the "Jingnan Army" as an envoy to the "Jingnan Army" to pretend to negotiate peace, wanting to delay the Jingnan Army to go south and buy time for the Qinwang army. Unexpectedly, after Xue Yan saw the military formation of the Jingnan army, he went back and persuaded Emperor Jianwen to sincerely seek peace and try to divide the river and rule, so he was squeezed out by Jianwen's monarchs and ministers. Later, when the Jingnan army entered the city, Xue Yan matched the relationship between the Guo family, the Marquis of Wuding, the founding hero, and the Zhu Di family, and continued to be an official in the Yongle Dynasty.

In the years of Hongxi and Wude, Xue Yan changed from a minister of the Hongxi Dynasty to a senior official of the Wude Dynasty because he was the matchmaker of Zhu Gaoxu and Guo Wei.

In the past few years, because of the change of the throne and turmoil within the Zhu family, there were many officials who were forced to change their faces. Compared with the surviving bookish spirit of Hu Guang and others, Xue Yan is more sleek and knowledgeable about current affairs. Hu Guang got fishy, and Xue Yan's situation was much better. Moreover, Xue Yan was also a prisoner in Annan, and he still did not have a bad reputation.

Xue Yan's sophistication lies in the fact that he knows who to stand with, but he doesn't make his face ugly.

Just like just now, he must have clearly discussed the "Battle of Liaodong", and the emperor was the main battle faction; But instead of looking at the emperor indefinitely, he thought of a reasonable reason to support the war, and expressed his position very generously.

The same is true of Xue Yan's proposition on the "Wude New Deal", and he may not necessarily think that the New Deal is good; But because the emperor supported the New Deal, Xue Yan didn't seem to let himself have the mentality of resisting the New Deal.

What's more, Xue Yan had a deep friendship with Guo Ying, the Marquis of Wuding, back then, and was the matchmaker of the current emperor and empress, and his relationship with the royal family was even stronger......

The Imperial Gate Listen to the Government soon ended. The civil and military officials had many opinions, but Zhu Gaoxu left Fengtianmen without expressing his position.

Everyone gathered around Luan and drove through the martial arts tower to the gate of the Rouyi Palace. Most of the entourage stopped outside the door, Zhu Gaoxu got out of the car and walked, and brought a few people inside, and the eunuch beside him was Wang Gui.

After Zhu Gaoxu entered the door, he walked along the corridor to the main hall. He stopped on the eaves at the entrance of the main hall, looked at the scenery for a while, and then suddenly said: "Xue Yan should be good at judging cases. ”

Wang Gui hurriedly echoed: "There are a few big cases, which are handled by Xue Butang. The slave maid heard that all the princes in the court and the central government used Xue Butang to judge the suspicious case. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Those smuggling generals of the Liaodong Capital Division are complicated. Ordinary people go to check, but they are afraid that they will not be able to find out clearly, and they will not be able to move people. Xue Yan may be competent. ”

Wang Gui bowed down and said: "When the slave saw Xue Butang, she told him what the emperor meant. ”

Zhu Gaoxu made a sound, then turned around and walked into the main hall.

The "Battle of Liaodong" still has to be prepared for a long time, and it has only just begun to work at this time; It is also very complicated to change the political envoy of Beiping to Beizhili and reform the supply of the nine sides. But Zhu Gaoxu has nothing to worry about, he decides on the candidate in his heart in advance, and the next step is just a step-by-step process.

It rained a few times intermittently in the past few days, and then cleared up for two days.

A few days ago, Zhu Gaoxu promised Guo Wei to take the concubines to the old mansion to enjoy the peony flowers. He roughly straightened out the affairs in the court, remembered this, and sent someone to the old mansion to see that the peony was in full bloom. Zhu Gaoxu determined the date and prepared to accompany his family members to the old mansion to enjoy the flowers.

When Zhu Gaoxu told Guo Wei, she seemed to be surprised, and said, "I thought the saint had forgotten." Her movements also became brisk, and after dinner, she pulled Zhu Gaoxu and helped her choose the dress to wear on the day of the flower viewing. Zhu Gaoxu looked at her spinning in front of her, and suddenly felt as if she had returned to the way she had just gotten married more than ten years ago.

Guo Wei was busy for a while, and probably suddenly remembered what the scriptures taught her, so she was quiet for a while, and carefully persuaded: "If there is a more important event in the saint, it should be the most important thing." ”

Zhu Gaoxu immediately smiled and shook his head, only to feel that they were not like a couple, perhaps because of their unusual identities, or because they couldn't see each other every day.

Guo Wei's face turned red and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It's nothing, but we are not outsiders, we don't need to be so deliberate, and you are also very important." In history, there are kings who ignore the government and only care about the harem, and there are also heroes who are unkind and unrighteous and only have great ambitions in their hearts. What kind of person does Weier think is good? ”

Guo Wei said softly: "It's good that the saint is like this. I don't want to be a person like Nadaji and Yuhuan, but I also hope that the Holy One will think of me from time to time in my heart. However, I didn't do anything to help the saint, but the family received a lot of favors, but I was afraid that I didn't know how to repay the saint. ”

"What do you care about?" Zhu Gaoxu held her hand and said casually: "People walk in the world once, after all, they are just loners. We are destined to become a family, fate is not easy, it is easy to get along, so as not to regret. ”

"Listening to what the Holy Lord said, it's very uncomfortable. You're right, I didn't know the Holy One earlier, so how could I have imagined the current situation. Guo Wei's expression changed subtly, she sighed lightly, and continued, "But the concubine likes to listen to the saint say such things, unlike some people who are always calculating the pros and cons and are cold. ”

"I'm just like you." Zhu Gaoxu agreed.

He was thinking about those things inside and outside the court, whether it was a major strategic matter or a small thing about employing people, thinking about it, it was indeed like what Guo Wei said, he was trying to calculate the pros and cons as accurately as possible. Only by constantly choosing favorable decisions can we accumulate an overall advantage in the situation.

Too calm days are indeed easy to get bored. And women seem to be more emotional, and a good word that is of little use, a little thing that does not matter, can make her happy for a long time. Zhu Gaoxu is sometimes willing to experience such simple feelings.

The two talked for a while without calculation, but Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but ask: "Is Xue Yan and your father close now?" It just so happened that Guo Wei was by his side, so he simply asked by the way.

Guo Wei said: "I heard my father say that no matter what happens at home, such as birthday banquets and other banquets, Xue Butang will come in person. During the New Year's holiday, the two families will definitely move around, just like relatives. The acquaintance of the saint and the concubine is still the thread drawn by Xue Butang. What's more, when his grandfather was alive, Xue Butang became friends with the Guo family; When my grandfather was snubbed by the imperial court, only Xue Yan was not so snobbish and still came to the door. ”

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but blurt out: "He's not snobbish. He paused and said, "It's just that he doesn't turn his face like a book like some people, and he is a more reliable and sophisticated person." ”

Guo Wei answered, and suddenly asked, "What big thing does the Holy Lord want to do with Xue Yan?" ”

A sentence made Zhu Gaoxu stunned, and he said: "Wei'er is very smart, shouldn't I say it at such a time, it shouldn't be the case." ”

Guo Wei shook her head.

It was a long time after dinner, and when Zhu Gaoxu looked outside the door, he found that it was not dark yet. Summer is coming, and the days are getting longer and longer.