After Princess Merriam-Webster took her leave, the few people who had gathered together also dispersed. The Xu family still followed Duan Xue Hate to the room where the two of them lived.

The two of them stepped into the threshold in silence, and Duan Xue suddenly turned around and said, "Don't listen to Princess Zhao complaining there just now, but her position is very stable. You can't compare to her, you don't have to think about King Zhao. ”

Xu said: "I don't want to compare with Wei, and I can't expect to be Princess Zhao again." ”

Her expression was very tangled. Duan Xue hated to look at her as a person, she was usually thoughtful and liked to inquire about all kinds of things, but when she faced her own affairs, she seemed to be very confused.

Duan Xue said unceremoniously: "In that case, what do you want to do when you come to Zhao Wangfu?" You are a waste princess, you can't be a concubine, and it is impossible for you to be the wife of King Zhao. ”

Xu looked at Duan Xue Hate aggrievedly, shook his head and said, "I don't know." I often don't know who I am. ”

When Duan Xue heard this, his heart was a little touched. She has been in such a situation before, and she has not changed her surname back to Mu, which is proof of this. However, after she was canonized as a concubine, this is the most important identity.

Duan Xue hated it very seriously for a while, and then kindly suggested: "You might as well become a monk, if you don't want to shave your hair, you can become a Taoist priest and take another Taoist name." ”

Xu nodded slightly, noncommittal.

…… Everyone stayed in King Zhao's mansion for a few days, and there was a banquet almost every day. King Zhao found celebrities from Zhangde Mansion and local officials to accompany him, and the palace sang songs every day. After a few days like this, Zhu Gaoxu decided to leave Zhangde Mansion.

At the same time, Zhu Gaoxu asked Gao Xianning to write a holy decree and send it to Beiping and Jinan, and sent a military order to the Liaodong Wei Station near Shanhaiguan with the Beiping Metropolitan Department and the Shandong Political Envoy Department to send people to Beiping to report on their work; And let the Uliangha people go to the north plane of the saint. (The Liaodong Prefecture is subordinate to the Shandong Political Envoy Division, and its seat of governance is in Liaoyang, which is far away from Beiping.) ）

In the evening of the same day, the army had not yet left the boundary of Zhangde Province. At this time, Gao Xianning took a fellow Shandong villager to the Chinese army and introduced him to Zhu Gaoxu.

They entered the house and bowed, and the Shandong people claimed to be the seven-rank pusher of Jinan Prefecture, named Zhu Heng. Zhu Gaoxu saw that he was a young scribe who was less than thirty years old, with a Chinese face, and his face was flat and stable.

After the two got up, Gao Xianning said first: "Zhu Tuiguan used to be a student of Jinan Mansion, and he can be regarded as a classmate with the minister. He was sent on an errand by the political envoy of Shandong Province and came to see the ministers. Chu Wei did not go to the chapter, which means that Zhu Tuiguan asked the ministers to advise the saints through the relationship of the ministers, and reduce the taxes of Shandong and the conscription for the construction of canals. ”

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu was a little curious, and said that this kind of thing can be done directly, why bother so much? Moreover, a seven-rank official who is not a close relative and friend of Gao Xianning can actually let Gao Xianning personally introduce him to the emperor, which is quite unusual.

However, Gao Xianning is one of the advisors that Zhu Gaoxu relies on, so Zhu Gaoxu will try his best to give him face, and listen for the time being.

Sure enough, Gao Xianning then said: "If it's just such a thing, the minister won't disturb the saint." It was because Zhu Tuiguan was a person who dared to speak out, and he told him that there was another inside story. As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Zhu Heng and nodded slightly.

Zhu Heng bowed his hand and said: "Weichen, please play the saint, Shandong has suffered many military disasters since the 'Battle of Jingyan', and at that time, the fields were barren and the families were ruined. During the Yongle period, the imperial court wanted to move the capital to Beiping, build a palace, dredge the Grand Canal, and levy levies in the provinces near the left, and Shandong was also among them.

At the beginning of Wu De, the Holy Majesty decreed to reduce and exempt grain taxes in Shandong for three years. But at the same time, the Holy Emperor drove a personal expedition and issued a large number of strong men who were forced to serve; Later, the king of Zhao changed the title of Zhangde, and also built the palace from all over the country, and Shandong could not help but levy the levy again. However, the heaviest major task is still the construction and dredging of the Grand Canal, which is constantly forced and the people are struggling to run every year. ”

The magistrate's face was pale, and beads of sweat were already soaked on his forehead, and he still seemed to be very afraid. After all, he said something to his face that the emperor was not so good.

Zhu Gaoxu was very calm and said, "You just say it." ”

Zhu Heng took a deep breath and said, "What makes matters worse at this time is the candidate to serve as the political envoy of Shandong. Lord Chu is a timid and fearful person. ”

This person is really bold, first talked about Zhu Gaoxu's problem, and then criticized his superior.

"I have set a national policy, and the north-south grain transportation is mainly by sea, supplemented by water transportation. And all matters related to the relocation of the capital to Beiping have been stopped, and the Grand Canal does not need to be dredged in a hurry, and this matter can be slowed down. As the governor of a province, Chu Yun only needs to write a letter to ask for the reduction of forced labor, so that the people can recuperate, why didn't he say anything? Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Zhu Heng said: "Returning to the saint, Lord Chu is timid, he is afraid of offending the princes of the court. If the Cao Yun is prosperous, the relevant officials such as the Ministry of Household and the Ministry of War can get filial piety from it; Lord Chu was worried that when the book mentioned the construction of the canal, some people in the center would be dissatisfied. ”

He paused and said, "In recent years, due to the hardships of the people's livelihood, the Shandong White Lotus Sect has grown stronger and stronger. Lord Chu did not report it, but also adopted the wrong strategy, at least Weichen thought it was a big mistake! Lord Chu pursued the strategy of appeasement in order to appease the White Lotus Sect, but because he was worried that the White Lotus Sect would coerce the people into rebellion, he wanted to make Lord Chu responsible. But Weichen thought that the White Lotus Sect had been recognized as illegal by the imperial court since the beginning of Hongwu and was banned by the world. The right and wrong are clear in black and white, but if the government does not deploy troops to suppress it as soon as possible, the situation will only become more and more out of control. ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened and said: "This Chu Xun, if it is as Zhu Tuiguan said, is indeed not suitable to be an official in an eventful place. ”

"Ban the White Lotus Sect, and then reduce the burden of the people of Shandong from all aspects, so as to recuperate. These things have to be done this year. Zhu Gaoxu continued, "But we have to come up with a systematic strategy first, otherwise casually issuing the Holy Decree may not be effective." ”

Gao Xianning and Zhu Heng hurriedly bowed together: "The saint is wise." ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Zhu Heng and said in an appreciative tone: "It's a good thing that officials dare to tell the truth. I hate people who deceive and deceive those who disobey the yin and the yang, and such people will only increase the cost of governance. ”

He waved his hand, and the two of them thanked him and took off.

When it comes to the White Lotus Sect today, Zhu Gaoxu remembered a very famous event, the Tang Sayer Uprising, which seems to have happened in Shandong in this era.

In addition, at the beginning of Yongle, Zhu Gaochu and his eldest brother fought for the crown prince, and once did one thing, that is, to use the reason that Gao Chi sent people to help the hungry people in Shandong, and made Gao Chi make up the name of "benevolent and holy son of heaven", which made Gao Chi tremble in front of his father.

At that time, Zhu Gaoxu was a vassal king, he couldn't manage government affairs, he only cared about fighting, and he didn't ask about the truth about Shandong; Now that he thinks about it, he suddenly feels a little sad in his heart.

So early the next morning, Zhu Gaoxu temporarily changed his route and ordered to go to Shandong first, and then to Beiping. The territory of the Shandong Political Envoy is very close to Zhangde Mansion, just east of this place, and everyone can't delay much time when they go around Shandong.

Zhu Gaoxu put Zhu Heng, the magistrate, back to Jinan Mansion. And let Zhu Heng take the words, Jinan Mansion does not need to welcome the holy driver, and the escort team will not go to Jinan City. As for the personnel of Shandong officialdom, Zhu Gaoxu has no intention of moving for the time being.

Two days later, Wang Yu's messenger came to report that the men and horses escorting the remnants of the Tatars had crossed the river. Wang Yu asked for an order to send it directly to the camp and no longer go to Beiping.

The officials who had arranged to escort the Tatars were given orders to go to Beiping. The reason for this was that the Tatars were far away, and the emperor's northern tour should have to wait in Beiping before they could meet them.

However, the Northern Patrol stayed for a long time on the south bank of the Great River; It was because he sought stability with the army and advised Zhu Gaoxu to wait for the water of the big river to decrease before crossing the river, so people waited until September to cross the river. In addition, the honor guard and the escort army walked very slowly, and they also stayed in the Zhao Palace's mansion for several days, so that the Tatars who came from afar from the Hexi Corridor had already caught up with the northern patrol team at this time.

There were some changes to the plan, but it didn't slow down.

When Wang Yu led the crowd to catch up with the Northern Patrol team, the brigade had just entered the ground of the Shandong Political Envoy. First of all, Wang Yu came to meet and reported the detailed process of the trip, how to obey He Fu's dispatch, and how to encounter the war against the Warat people, all of which Zhu Gaoxu already knew. Wang Yu is nothing more than his own experience, and he said it in more detail.

At dusk that day, the army encamped near a village.

At this time, Zhang Sheng, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, walked into the big tent of the Chinese army, he glanced at the civil and military forces present, then bowed down to Zhu Gaoxu's side, bowed his head and whispered: "Among the men and horses escorting the remnants of the Tatars, there is a captain of the Jinyi Guard. When he saw the minister, he claimed to have recognized the little Mongolian prince. ”

"Like?" Zhu Gaoxu asked casually.

Several officials sitting below all looked sideways when they heard Zhu Gaoxu's voice.

There is no need to hide this kind of thing from his confidants and ministers, and Zhu Gaoxu will speak normally.

Zhang Sheng bent down and said, "According to the captain's report, before the reinforcements of General Wang and General He arrived, the Wara army had broken through the escort formation. At that time, everyone thought that the situation was gone and the situation was critical, so the Mongolian Khan concubine Asari found a boy and held him in her arms. The lieutenant also observed that the Khan had been watching for the boy during the chaos. Therefore, the minister speculated that the boy was the son of the Khan's concubine and the little Mongolian prince, but there is no definite evidence yet. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I know. ”

"The minister retired." Zhang Sheng bowed with his fists, took a few steps back, and then turned around and walked out of the big tent.

Wang Bin said happily: "Congratulations to the Holy Lord, the truth of this matter is about to be revealed." As long as the Tatar prime minister is arrested, tortured, and beaten, and then coerced by the little Mongolian prince, the Tatars will not be recruited for anything? ”

Qiu Fu, the Duke of Qi, suddenly turned his head and showed a playful smile.

Gao Xianning said kindly: "What Dingguo Gong said is indeed valid, but in this way, he will tear his face with the Tatars." At this time, if the Warats know about the conspiracy of the Tatars, and the Tatars who hate the Tatars the most are the Warat leader Mahamu, why don't we sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight? ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Those Tatars have already entered our territory, don't worry." Let's start with the meal. ”

Everyone immediately relaxed. After walking all day and eating only dry food at noon, everyone was already hungry. After a while, the sergeants brought wine and meat into the account, and the atmosphere in the big tent suddenly became pleasant.

(Tianjin)