Hu Hu and others returned to Beijing. A household department went to the city in the middle of the matter, without much pomp and circumstance, and did not attract people's attention.

He Fu also went to the court, waiting for the door to open under the imperial tower, and only then did he hear someone whisper about it. It's like saying "I didn't eat", and after saying it, it sank into the sea and didn't cause a trace of waves.

But He Fu's eyelids suddenly jumped, and he walked all the way to the palace hall, and he was not well.

Zhonghe music was played in the main hall, and every time the chime struck, He Fu felt his heart tremble slightly. Maybe it's too much to worry about?

At this time, the musicians were singing: "The sun and the moon are bright, and the eight directions and the four seas celebrate peace." In the dragon tower and phoenix pavilion, the curtain is opened. The spirit of heaven and earth is sage, longevity, and Hong Fuzeng. The auspicious light king is angry, ascending to the throne, forever|Kangning ......"

Somehow, the joy of this grand palace sounded more terrifying than the roar of the war drums on the battle array.

Finally survived the early dynasty, He Fuhun spent a day in a daze, and left the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies early in the afternoon. Anyway, the whole day passed without incident, and it seemed that nothing happened.

He Fu was surrounded by honor guards and rode towards the mansion. At this moment, a man wearing a big hat was stopped by the guards, and the guard sergeant shouted, "What are you doing? ”

The man said, "I'm the one who delivered the letter." I respectfully ask the governor of He to open it personally. ”

The guard sergeant was about to scold, but He Fu said, "Let him come over." ”

The man in the big hat showed only half of his face, and handed over a letter with both hands. He Fu looked at the lacquer seal, tore open the envelope, and opened it to take a look...... Before he could read the contents, he saw the handwriting and immediately took the letter and put it in his arms. He Fu glanced at the man in the big hat again, and then rode away without saying a word.

He Fu rode to a wine shop and dismounted, only to call a close servant to follow him. As soon as he entered the wine shop, he didn't care about Xiao Er's nod and bow, and said a few words to the slave in his ear.

The person wearing the red official robe, He Fu was immediately led by Xiao Er to the private room inside. He took out the letter again and read it carefully several times, and confirmed that the words on it were indeed written by his younger brother He Lu!

The content of the letter is very simple, it is written that He Lu encountered some difficulties, fortunately with the help of King Han, and now that he has settled down, everything is fine, please rest assured that the eldest brother will be relieved.

In a short time, the man in the big hat was led into the room. He Fu waved his hand and let the slave out. Then he went to the door and closed it with his own hands.

It was in the afternoon, and there were not many people in the liquor store, but the noisy sound came into the private room in a row. It's not a private place, but it's great for conversation, because it's too far away to be heard.

The man stood there, took off his big hat, hugged his fists and said, "My surname is Chen, and I am a general manager of the Han Palace." The last general will meet with Hoduk. ”

"Chen will always sit." He Fu pointed to the chair across the square table.

When Mr. Chen sat down, He Fu immediately asked in a deep voice, "The letter that King Han asked you to send?" ”

Chen said: "I was ordered by the King of Han to escort several officials and eunuchs back to Beijing, just to send a letter to the prince." ”

He Fu's face was stiff, and he asked again in a low voice, "Hu Hu has found someone?" ”

Mr. Chen nodded and said in a deep voice: "The person is gone, and I accidentally fell off the cliff when I fled." But don't worry, Hu Hu didn't see General He Lu. Because Hu Hu owed us a big favor, he didn't ask about it at all, and he wouldn't necessarily report it after returning to the court. ”

He Fu frowned and said, "Where is my brother?" ”

Chen said: "It's still in Yunnan, a place that can't be found." The prince has confidants who treat him well, and the governor doesn't have to worry. ”

He Fu asked a total of three questions, and immediately stood up: "You can't stay here for a long time, please see His Royal Highness the King of Han and bring me a word." The last general owes His Royal Highness the King of Han a favor, and he will not dare to forget. ”

Mr. Chen took out half a piece of jade and held it with both hands: "Our prince gave He Dudu a small gift, please take it away." ”

"Thank you, Your Highness." He Fu immediately took it.

"On Jubaomen Jade Street, there is a shop with the door open upstairs. Our prince hopes that He Dudu will write a reply. Chen always clasped his fists and saluted, opened the door and went out.

He Fu continued to stay in the private room, ready to wait for a while.

He glanced at an oil lamp on the table, reached over and lit it, and watched as it burned to ashes. He Fu took the half piece of jade in his hand, rubbed it and played with it for a long time, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

When he heard the news of Hu Hu in the morning, he was always worried. Now he was holding half a piece of jade and looking at the paper ashes on the ground, feeling that things had become more complicated, but somehow, his heart had dropped a lot.

Perhaps the most worrying thing is not the bad outcome; But it's an unknown speculation.

……

In late February in Yunnan, as long as it is sunny, you can wear single clothes.

In the second year of Yongle, Zhu Gaoxu has had more frequent contacts with the Shen Mansion. Although he traveled lightly every time, and most of his guards were covered with cloth clothes over armor, I am afraid that he still couldn't hide it from the world.

Caihaizi's pear orchard, the garden behind it is called Shen Garden, but most people don't know this name. On the shore of the pond in the garden, the willow trees seem to have grown many new branches and leaves in the spring, and the slender leaves hang down to the water, and the breeze blows and makes ripples.

In the hall of the house behind the pond, there were two cracked stones on the wooden floor. The outside of the stone was dark.

Shen Xu said in a rhythmic voice: "This thing is hard, and ordinary sharp weapons can't be opened. The craftsman burned it with fire and poured cold water on it to crack it. Your Highness, please see, there is indeed green jade in it, called jadeite? ”

Zhu Gaoxu touched it with his finger and looked at it carefully for a while: "I didn't expect to find the jade so soon." ”

Shen Xu smiled and said, "We have a fate with jadeite." At that time, His Royal Highness only said that the jade was in the Tusi place near Burma, but did not say where it was; It happened to be in Mengyang to comfort the envoy. Our people followed the envoy of Yunnan Dusi, first went to Mengyang Xuanweisi, and inquired around to buy strange stones, so soon a villager from a nearby village sent this thing. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded: "During the Hongwu period, the Si clan was renamed in Mengyang Xuanwei Division, and this time the envoy of the Dusi just went to see Si Xingfa. God help me. ”

As he spoke, his gaze moved to the coffee table again, looking at the red and blue gems. Shen Xu said: "These gems were purchased from the Mubang Military and Civilian Propaganda Division. It is said that gemstones have been discovered here for many years. ”

"The output of jadeite is larger, let's open the mine of Mengyang Xuanwei first." Zhu Gaoxu said, "That village is in Mengyang Xuanwei Division?" ”

Shen Xu shook his head lightly and said, "The village is between Mengyang and Naga Mountain, more than ten miles away from the city of Zhisuo. ”

Zhu Gaoxu paced a few steps, turned around and looked at Shen Xu's wrist, and saw that her wrist, which was as white as mutton fat, was empty, and she wore very little jewelry. Shen Xu's face turned slightly red, and he actually shrank his slender hand into his sleeve slightly.

She said cautiously, "Your Highness is really willing to share half with the Shen family?" ”

"I do what I say." Zhu Gaoxu nodded without hesitation.

He didn't know what Shen Xu was thinking, but seeing that in her subtle movements, she didn't seem to want to get close anymore, so he didn't force it. Many people say that Zhu Gaoxu is absurd and lewd, but when he looks back, except for Shen Xu's anger last time, he really hasn't done anything to bully men and women.

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Can these two stones be made into jade bracelets?" ”

Shen Xu replied softly: "It should be possible, the concubine should ask someone to try." ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened, hugged his fists and said: "Then I won't bother much, and I will send someone to send a letter to Shen Mansion in two days." ”

Shen Xu's hand in front of his abdomen stretched out one, bent down lightly and said, "Concubine send His Highness out." ”

…… Back at the Han Palace, Zhu Gaoxu immediately summoned Changshi Qian Xun and others to inquire about the situation in Burma, and first drew a map of Mengyang Xuanweisi. At this point, the drawings are really not exhaustive, but it is just a matter of understanding the topography of the road.

According to the road that Qian Xun walked, they arrived at Dali Mansion City, and they had to go from Dali Mansion to Yongchang Mansion in the west. This section of the road is very rugged, but there is already an official road post road, so Yongchang Mansion can be placed. Yongchang Mansion is already in the Nu River Valley.

Then cross the Nu River, Hengduan Shannan, and arrive at Tengchong Qianhusuo, there are also official roads.

Tengchong Qianhu is the most remote place where the Ming army is stationed, and it is all Tusi system to go forward. Out of Tengchong Qianhusuo, follow the valley road to the southwest, after turning the road to the north, the mountain is much gentler, this road can go directly to Mengyang Xuanweisi......

In the official document sent to the Han Wangfu in the past two days, it was written that Si denied the annexation of villages in various places, and said that occasional attacks were also personal grudges. Si also wrote to the imperial court, showing his loyalty to the Ming court, and went to Yunnan Mansion first.

Zhu Gaoxu has always believed that in this kind of high mountain and far away place, the soldiers do not understand the local language and are not familiar with the terrain, so it is not the best policy to directly use troops; It's best to win over the locals.

He then consulted with Qian Xun and others, and soon drew up a general plan.

Try to make friends with the Si family, and regularly give them some goods, so that they can allow Yunnan to send people to Mengyang Xuanwei to open mines. Zhu Gaoxu's people excavated the jade raw materials and escorted them to Tengchong Thousand Households. Set up a warehouse transit there.

The ore was finally transported to Yongchang Fucheng, which was already a relatively stable place; The ore is roughly processed in Yongchang Fucheng, and then escorted to Kunming City to be finely made into jewelry and jade. After that, you can use the sales channels of the Shen family and other merchants to sell.

As long as this financial road is opened, everything in the future can be dealt with calmly.

Zhu Gaoxu said that he would do it, and wrote a letter to inform Shen Xu's strategy. After receiving a reply with no objections, he immediately sent his guards to travel again, and asked Changshi Qian Xun to be responsible for negotiating with Si.

The Ming Dynasty called the Ping-Burma Xuanwei Division, Mengyang Xuanwei Division and other places as Luchuan, and the natives there spoke the same language as the natives of the western provinces of Yunnan, and were suspected to be of the same race. There are many local officials of the Ming Dynasty in Yongchang Mansion and other places, as long as they find some local officials to accompany them, it is much easier for the officials of the Han Dynasty to communicate with Sijia.

Zhu Gaoxu was ready to test Sijia's attitude before deciding on his next step.