The sunset hung in the sky to the west of Jingshi, the color was red, not dazzling at all, giving people a sense of tranquility and tranquility.

It's time to get off work, the officials of the six yamen and the generals of the five military governor's mansions have gone home from work, for a time the East Chang'an Street is full of people, bustling, most of the military generals ride horses, and most of the senior civil officials have the carriage given by the emperor to travel, as for the low-level officials, the choice of transportation is various, rich horseback riding, or buy their own carriage, if they are really too poor, then they have to walk, as for the sedan chair, there are fewer and fewer. Because I don't know when it started, there is a rumor in Jingshi that the emperor especially hates officials who sit in a sedan chair, although there is no specific evidence, but for the sake of safety, everyone tacitly excludes the possibility of sitting in a sedan chair.

But for low-level officials, raising a carriage is also a big expense, and over time, there is a business of renting a carriage in Beijing, which is simply a monthly payment and commuting to and from work; If you can't afford this, it doesn't matter, there is also a temporary rental carriage business, which is to pay for the car, charge according to the distance, and if it is too expensive, then you can only walk back by yourself.

After coming out of the palace, the king of Shu returned to the Zongren Mansion, but did not go to visit the king of Chu and his family, but practiced calligraphy in the study. Since Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, the restrictions on officials have become stricter and stricter, such as officials who go out during working hours, if they delay their official duties and are reported, regardless of their grade, they will be severely punished, and the King of Shu has just arrived in Beijing and does not want to touch this mold.

The carriage of the king of Shu was given by the emperor, and it was carefully built by the skilled craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, and it was obviously different from the ordinary carriage in terms of regulation, so when the carriage of the king of Shu entered Chang'an Street, other vehicles avoided the side of the road, and waited until the carriage of the king of Shu passed, and then they set off.

Zhu Chun, the king of Shu, leaned on the soft sofa, heard the hustle and bustle outside, frowned, in all fairness, Zhu Chun didn't like such a crowded street very much, if he was in his hometown and traveled by himself, then the road would be emptied in an instant. But when it came to Jingshi, it was all different, alas......

The king of Shu received an edict from the emperor on the first day of the Lunar New Year, ordering him to rush to Beijing, but he only said that the imperial court had appointments, but did not say anything specific. Although the palace was decorated with lights to celebrate the New Year, Zhu Chun could only say goodbye to his family and go out with the chief eunuch Mark, Xixi Wu Fuzi and some subordinates and guards.

From CD to Jingshi, there is a convenient condition, that is, you can take the waterway, although the fleet was delayed for a period of time near the Three Gorges, but on the tenth day of the first month, Zhu Chun still arrived in Wuchang, originally he planned to visit the sixth brother Chu King in accordance with the regulations, but found that there was no New Year's atmosphere in Wuchang City, the pedestrians on the street came and went in a hurry, from time to time there were officials and soldiers rushing into some houses, and caught out a group of crying officials and their women and children, and even the phenomenon of arrest on the street, but basically the officials and troops won.

This atmosphere made Zhu Chun very puzzled and a little worried, could it be that the troops were sent out in chaos?

Fortunately, Yiguo Ping'an quickly rushed over, and after inquiry, Zhu Chun learned that it was the King of Chu who rebelled, and Ping'an came to arrest his family and henchmen. When Zhu Chun asked about the whereabouts of the King of Chu suspiciously, he was shocked to find that this sixth brother was actually in Beijing, waiting for the emperor to come to the urn to catch turtles, could he be so confident in his rebellion? I don't understand!

After learning about these things, Zhu Chun did not go to see the family of the sixth brother, but stayed for one night and set off, two days earlier than the time when the family of the king of Chu was escorted to Beijing.

After arriving in Beijing, Zhu Chun first went to see the emperor, and the emperor asked him to preside over the Zongren Mansion, and by the way, he chatted with the King of Chu, why did he rebel, and of course, more importantly, what other henchmen were there?

When he saw the king of Chu, Zhu Chun was very surprised to find that the sixth brother was much older, his hair was already half white, and he described it as withered, and the heart palpitations of death in his eyes, seeing Zhu Chun coming, the king of Chu just nodded, and talked about some family things, but avoided talking about the reasons for his rebellion, if he asked in a hurry, the king of Chu closed his eyes and said nothing.

However, Zhu Chun found that the sixth brother Zhu Zhen's eyes were a little excited when he heard about the situation of his family, so when Zhu Zhen's family arrived in Beijing, Zhu Chun personally arranged for the King of Chu to meet with the princess and the princes. After the meeting, Zhu Zhen made an appointment to meet with Zhu Chun, told him about being coerced by the Mongolian envoy, expressed his great regret, and hoped that Zhu Chun would return to the emperor, sin one of them, and spare his family.

Looking at the tearful sixth brother, thinking of his former high-spirited appearance, Zhu Chun's heart was like a knife, on the way to the palace, he even made up his mind to desperately intercede for the sixth brother, even if he was demoted to a concubine, it was nothing, as long as he could live.

But......

Zhu Chun hugged his head tightly and curled up in the sofa, but he didn't dare to cry.

......

The palace of the king of Shu is located in the west of the imperial city, this generation of palaces is numerous, each of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons have built a palace near here, even if the son is a vassal later, Zhu Yuanzhang still keeps it, leaving his son to return to Beijing to meet as a temporary place to stay.

After Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, except for naming this street "Wangfujing", he did not make much changes, of course, the mansions of the former King Yan and King Zhou have been taken back by the imperial court because of rebellion.

Because he came to Beijing in a hurry, Zhu Chun did not have many attachés around him, so it was a little difficult to take care of the palace, but fortunately, there were some people left behind in the palace, and the emperor also sent some people to assist him in taking care of the palace, so after a few days of hard work, the palace gradually became lively and noisy.

But after returning home, Zhu Chun went directly to the study, ordered someone to bring the food over, and sent someone to call Xixi Wu Fuzi to come over.

......

"The prince is overjoyed, the prince is overjoyed, the little old man is here to congratulate the prince!"

“...... Hehe," Zhu Chun laughed dryly, and said astringently: "What a joy, this king is left in the capital to take care of the Zongren Mansion, how can it be comfortable to be the king in the domain?" ”

"Hehe, Lord Wang, you can't look at it like that, don't you understand what Your Majesty means?"

"Understand, Your Majesty wants this king to be the knife and manage those brothers of this king for him, this kind of messenger is thankless, and it is easy to attract envy!"

"Doesn't the prince want to be His Majesty's sword?"

"Whether you want to or not, you have to do it." Speaking of this, Zhu Chun sighed: "Your Majesty's will, how dare this king disobey?" ”

"Yes, since His Majesty has chosen the prince, then the prince has no other choice. But there are still benefits to this thing! ”

"What's the benefit?"

"Your Majesty is a great king, since his accession to the throne, the rebellion of the king of Pingyan, the king of Zhou, and the king of Chu, captured the Mongol Khan Erlebok, the prince Harguchuk, and the male of the golden family is almost extinct; In addition, he also sent troops to pacify Korea and open up the northeast, and his cultural and martial arts were not under the first emperor; ”

"Looking at Your Majesty's measures, the next step should be to conquer the Japanese Kingdom, completely eliminate the Japanese Invaders, and restore the peace of the Ming Sea Frontier, so that Your Majesty's strategy of opening the sea can be fully implemented."

"However, the army has been raised year after year, and the cost is huge, although the people in the south of the Yangtze River are rich, but after crossing the Yangtze River, the north is a different scene, so according to Xiao Lao'er's estimate, Your Majesty will have a big move next, and the first step is the vassal king!"

"He's going to cut the domain?" Zhu Chun was stunned for a moment, and Huo Ran sat up straight.

"This," Wu Fuzi pondered slightly: "It shouldn't be, as long as the vassal king doesn't rebel, it doesn't matter much, but if you think about it as comfortable as before, I'm afraid it's difficult." ”

"Oh, these two years have been too pleasant, this king also feels uncomfortable, when the first emperor is here, our brothers can still take care of some things, after ascending the throne today, all the vassal kings are like sparrows in a cage, they can't get out of that cage!"

"So, it's a good thing for the prince to be a sect, not to mention the promise of two kings, even if there is no this, the prince will do it!"

"Why?"

"It's very simple, seize the opportunity, pursue the advantages and avoid the disadvantages!"

"Well, this king understands!" Zhu Chun pondered for a while, clasped his hands into fists and said: "Thank you, Master, listening to your words, this king is really open!" ”

"Don't dare, don't dare!" Wu Fuzi said with a smile, raised the wine jug in his hand and said, "Although the little old man is powerless, at least he must be worthy of these fine wines provided by the prince!" ”

"Hehe, wine is a small thing, as long as the master speaks, he can have as much as he wants!"

"Then the little old man will thank the prince!" As he spoke, Wu Fuzi tilted his neck again and took a big sip of wine.

Looking at the wine beads on Wu Fuzi's white beard, the wine stains on the front of his collar, and the smell of wine in the entire study, Zhu Chun had mixed feelings in his heart.

Wu Fuzi is more than 60 years old today, has no family and children, but he is addicted to alcohol, no wine is not happy, it is said that in the early years in the Xia country of Ming Yuzhen as a county magistrate, after the destruction of the Xia country, he refused to be requisitioned by the imperial court, and every day he made a living by writing for others, and when he had money, he took it to drink, so he was poor and miserable. Later, it may be that he can't stand it anymore, he posted to the Shu Palace, although Zhu Chun likes to make friends with handsome talents very much, but when he saw Wu Fuzi, he was disappointed, but his words made Zhu Chun leave him: "After the Lanyu case, the court talent withered, if you can save General Qu, once it is reused by the court in the future, the prince can also have a helping hand in the court!" ”

At that time, when the "Blue Jade Case" was in full swing, Qu Neng once attacked the Western Domain under Lan Yu, and was rewarded for his meritorious service, and it was rumored in the army that Qu Neng was not as brave as Lan Yu, so Jin Yiwei came to Sichuan and immediately set his sights on Qu Neng, put him in prison, and was to be escorted to Beijing for trial.

Although Zhu Chun had a good impression of Qu Neng, he didn't want to stretch out his hand to take care of this matter, but after listening to Wu Fuzi's words, he tried to intercede with Zhu Yuanzhang, and Qu Neng also aroused Zhu Yunwen's idea and also pleaded with Zhu Yuanzhang, so Zhu Yuanzhang was kind with his longan eyes, and Qu Neng survived by luck.

Since then, Wu Fuzi has lived in the palace of the king of Shu, and he drinks and has fun every day, but the things that Zhu Chun gave him can be done in an orderly manner, and this time he is in a hurry to enter Beijing, and it is a festival, so Wu Fuzi, who has the most free time and no drag, is the first to bear the brunt, and with Zhu Chun's first batch of entry into Beijing, I didn't expect it to come in handy today.

Thinking of this, Zhu Chun smiled slightly, picked up the wine glass in front of him, and drank it all.

"Old master, is there anything wrong with this king's performance today?"

"......" Wu Fuzi stared at the wine glass in his hand, looked at it for a while, and said, "Lord Wang, you have walked through the Ghost Gate today!" ”

"What? No way? Zhu Chun was a little stunned.

"Did the prince plan to intercede with His Majesty and let the King of Chu go?"

"Well, I originally planned to do so, but when it came to the end, I didn't dare to say it!"

"The king of Chu is actually uneasy and kind, the prince didn't see it?"

"This," Zhu Chun frowned, and thought for a while: "No! ”

"Hehe, the prince is still too benevolent, the fate of the king of Chu can basically be determined, he will be given death, and his children will be demoted to concubines, which is already the best result. Why did he tell you about the Mongol envoy today? ”

"Maybe it's to reduce the guilt!"

"Hahaha," Wu Fuzi suddenly laughed: "Lord Wang, can this reduce the crime?" Collusion with Mongolia and betraying the ancestors will only be even greater! ”

"This," Zhu Chun's face suddenly turned pale, and he raised his hand to point at Wu Fuzi: "You mean ......"

"The prince understands?" Wu Fuzi poured a glass of wine and drank it all again.

Zhu Chun's face was pale and silent.

"In fact, this rebellion was all because His Majesty's heart was too soft back then, if he had been killed at that time, there would have been no today's incident, and the King of Chu should not have rebelled, but Your Majesty will not make such a mistake again!"

"Lord Wang, please think about it, the Mongolian envoy, its main envoy has only two possibilities, one is the golden family Erleboke, and the other is the great leader of Walla Ugqi, the biggest of the two is Ugqi, Erlebok's military strength is limited, and he has no great ambitions, so it is unlikely that he sent it; If it is Ugqi, then it must be his national teacher Wang Xing who is planning for him, who is he? He is the staff of Lan Yu, the prince's father-in-law! ”

Wu Fuzi ignored Zhu Chun's increasingly pale face, but continued: "Now that Erle Boke is in Jingshi, Your Majesty only needs to send someone to ask if he did it." If it is confirmed that it is Ugqi and it was planned by Wang Xing, then if the prince intercedes for the king of Chu, then His Majesty will inevitably suspect you, and at that time, the prince thinks about it, what will happen to you? ”

Zhu Chun's hands trembled, and the cold sweat on his forehead was already flowing down his cheeks. Zhu Chun wiped his face lightly, and said astringently: "Sixth brother won't be like this, he is already a mortal person, what good is it for him to pull me?" ”

"Hehe, people are going to die, and there is nothing that can't be done!"

......

"Lord Wang, is that messenger real?"

"I don't know about this!"

"Lord Wang, you must be honest with me, if you have seen this messenger, hurry up and kill it, otherwise it will really be too late!"

"Well, not really!" Zhu Chun shook his head: "For you to say this, I also think that this messenger should come to this king, but it is really not!" ”

"That's good! That's good! ”

......

Wu Fuzi walked out of the door and muttered to himself in his heart: "Has this King of Shu told the truth?" Do you want to run away like Wang Xing? If you run away, I'm afraid you won't be able to find a gold owner who can drink all day long! But if you stay, I'm afraid you'll lose your head, it's really hard to decide......"