The next day, Xu Huizu said goodbye to the acting king and the acting princess, and the acting princess went out of the city to see off Xu Huizu in person, and brought some gifts for Xu Huizu to bring to his family in the capital.

In the long pavilion outside the city, the princess retired from everyone and sat down in the long pavilion, Xu Huizu found that the wine and food had already been arranged in the long pavilion, and he understood what his sister meant, so he sat opposite each other. Xu Miaoqing looked at her brother's dusty face, and said with some distress: "Brother, how long will it take for you to go back to Beijing this time?" ”

Xu Huizu didn't answer this question yesterday, but after a night of thinking, Xu Huizu decided to tell the truth, so he smiled and said: "Sister, that's the case, this time King Qin passed away, His Royal Highness was also very sad, so he sent his brother to patrol Shaanxi, His Royal Highness is very concerned about the frontier, so he ordered his brother to patrol the guards outside the Great Wall by the way, such as Dongsheng, Kaiping and Daning, and finally return to Beijing through Beiping, about half a year." ”

"So does my brother mean to spy on my prince by the way?"

"This is really not, His Royal Highness has no such meaning, as for adjusting the command of the Shaanxi Guard, it is actually a good intention, the King of Qin can still command the three guards of the King of Qin, and at the same time, this is also the way of the Heavenly Family's flesh and blood to protect the flesh and blood."

Xu Miaoqing sighed: "King Qin is located in the interior, and there is no major war in Shaanxi, so it is harmless to adjust it like this." Datong is a border fortress, if the prince can't command the army, how can he resist the Mongols? Moreover, the prince acted according to the edict of the imperial court, and did not make any claims, why should the imperial court be so suspicious of the prince? ”

Xu Huizu smiled bitterly and said: "Your Highness doesn't want to adjust the Datong Guards, is my sister thinking too much?" ”

Xu Miaoqing stood up, turned to look at the guards standing outside the pavilion, and said quietly: "Brother, sister is not an official eunuch who doesn't know anything, this adjustment of the Shaanxi Wei command has a great impact on the prince, he has often been angry recently, his temper is already bad, and he has become even worse recently, although he doesn't dare to do anything to me, but the maid eunuch has died several times." ”

"Brother, you are an important minister of the imperial court and a confidant of the imperial grandson, can you tell me what His Royal Highness plans to do?"

Xu Huizu thought about it, this question is very cautious, and he can't answer it casually, but he can't be too vague, so he considered it: "Your Highness didn't tell your brother about this matter, but my brother feels that His Royal Highness is generous and wants to legislate for the Ming Dynasty, so he won't do anything that will be blamed by future generations." So my sister doesn't have to worry, as long as the prince obeys the imperial edict, my brother feels that there is nothing to worry about. ”

Xu Miaoqing thought about it and found that her brother still didn't say anything, but he also knew that he couldn't ask anything, so he put down the topic, chatted about some family things, and then said goodbye in tears.

Xu Miaoqing returned to the palace of the acting king, the acting king was waiting for her, and when they met, they asked how they were talking to Xu Huizu, and Xu Miaoqing answered truthfully. After thinking about it, the acting king wrote a letter, called his personal guard Lei Xingpu, and said: "Gao Chi has just been canonized as the prince of Yanwang, you take a few people, bring gifts to Beiping, and count me as an uncle, and give this letter to my fourth brother, you must remember that you must hand it over to my fourth brother by hand, and you can't fake the hands of others." ”

Reshingpu took the order and left.

The acting king turned around and found that his princess was looking at him, and couldn't help laughing: "Miaoqing, what's wrong?" Looking at this king like this? ”

"Lord Wang, are you planning to rebel?"

The acting king suddenly laughed and said, "Rebellion? How can it be? Miaoqing, this king is not stupid, this king has only been in the domain for three years, and the hearts of the army and the people are far from good, how can he rebel? ”

"And what are you?"

"This time the incident in Shaanxi made the king a little unhappy, so he sent a letter to the fourth brother and asked him to fill in the blockage for Yunwen, he has been a vassal for fifteen years, and when he went out to fight, the king of Ning, the king of Jin, and the king of Liao were all under his control. If Yun Wei cuts the domain, this king has nothing to cut, and the fourth brother is different, it depends on whether he is reluctant to give up his military power and become a rich prince. Hahaha! When he said this, he couldn't help but laugh.

Xu Miaoqing looked at the acting king, he didn't know what to say, his feelings were a troublemaker, and when the acting king stopped, he said: "Lord, no matter what, let's have less contact with King Yan, I talked to my brother today, I don't feel very good, if King Yan rebels, how can he be the opponent of the court, if you do this, it is easy to be caught." ”

The acting king waved his hand: "No, no, I didn't do anything, Wei Guogong is your brother and the brother of the fourth sister-in-law, I will tell the fourth brother and the fourth sister-in-law about his situation, no one can find fault, you don't have to worry." ”

Xu Huizu and his entourage came out of Datong, went to Dongshengwei, passed through Yulin, Dingbian, Zhenyu and other guards along the way, the entire Shanxi Xingdu Division except for the left and right guards of Datong, the other twelve guards are outside the fortress, these guards outside the fortress are the external barrier of Datong, protecting the safety of Datong. In particular, Dongshengwei, it is located in the northeast corner of the Yellow River, close to Junzidu, Junzidu is the Central Plains to Mongolia traffic artery, the river here is narrow, whether it is a ferry or a pontoon bridge is very easy. The circumference of the Dongsheng Acropolis is about 15 li, 3.5 zhang high, and the establishment of such a big city outside the uninhabited fortress cannot but say that the majestic strategy of Emperor Hongwu and the bloody loyalty of the soldiers on the border are not to be said.

Xu Huizu often exchanged ideas with Qu Neng and Wang Du along the way, and the request of the imperial grandson this time was to be clear about the actual situation in the border areas, Shanxi Xingdu Division, Saiwai Twelve Guards, a total of 67,200 people, 100,000 stone of grain per month, 1.2 million stone of grain per year, if you can't be self-sufficient, it is obviously unrealistic to rely on people's transportation. Therefore, Zhu Yunwen asked them to have a detailed understanding of the situation in the border areas, including the surrounding enemy situation and people's feelings.

When they arrived at Dongshengwei, Geng Xuan, Song Xuan and others had arrived, and the total strength of Dongsheng, a border city outside the fortress, had reached 30,000 people, but fortunately, Zhu Yunwen had already ordered Shanxi Xingdu Division to transport an additional 10,000 stone of grain to Dongsheng, so it was enough for the time being. After Xu Huizu observed for a few days, he convened a military meeting, which was also attended by Fang Junfei, the commander of the left guard of Dongsheng, and Tian Yufeng, the commander of the right guard.

First of all, Fang Junfei introduced the situation: "Generals, adults, the last general will introduce the situation of Dongshengwei, Dongshengwei is on the verge of Junzidu, guarding the main road of the grassland into the Hetao, if Dongsheng loses, then Hulu will enter the Hetao from Junzijin, the west of the Hetao is the Yinchuan Plain in Ningxia, and the south is the capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi is bound to increase the guard post on the Jingbian and Yulin lines, and the Great Wall will also be built, and Ningxia will also rely on Helan Mountain and the Yellow River for defense. Dongshengwei currently has two guard posts, garrison 11,200 people, 16,800 stone of grain per month, 200,000 stone per year, tuntian is not enough to supply, and the imperial court needs to allocate at least 100,000 stone of grain every year. ”

Xu Huizu said: "Why is Tuntian not enough to supply? Is there not enough land here? ”

Tian Yufeng said: "Wei Guogong, the last general said, the life of Hulu on the grassland has not been good in recent years, all kinds of iron tools are lacking, not even pots, pots are made of sheepskin, so they will come to Daming to grab things, Dongshengwei is in the westernmost part of Shanxi Xingdu Division, more than 300 miles away from Datong, so it has become the target of Hulu's looting, the soldiers have heavy combat tasks, and there is no time to take care of the crops, so the land is often barren, plus the cattle are scarce, the land is not fertile enough, and the lack of hydraulic facilities and so on, Tuntian here has always been a problem. ”

Wang Du asked: "This place is not far from the Yellow River, how can there be a lack of water?" ”

Tian Yufeng said with a smile: "The rainfall here is insufficient, so we can only rely on the water of the Yellow River and the Dahei River, but if you want to water it in the fields, you can only rely on manual diving now." ”

"Didn't canals and ponds be built to store water?"

"These projects are too big for the health center to realize."

"Oh, okay." Wang Du took out a notebook and wrote it down.

"Are there people around?"

"Basically, this place is not very safe, even if it is Wei Suotian, he doesn't dare to leave the city very far."

Xu Huizu finally asked a question: "Can you tell us about Wu Xin's embezzlement of rewards?" ”

Fang Lingfei and Tian Yufeng glanced at each other, and Fang Lingfei said: "This Wu Xin is the hundred households of the left guard, and the end will be clearer. What do adults want to know? ”

"All the things."

Fang Lingfei sighed and told the story of the matter. It turns out that Dong Shengwei is basically a soldier and his family, basically no people, so the means of living are very lacking, the necessities of life are very few, said Hu Lu bitter, in fact, Dong Shengwei is not much stronger, especially the lack of medicine, this Wu Xin is an inconspicuous person, and relatively honest, but his wife has been sick, the child is not in good health, there is only one pharmacy in Dongsheng City, the doctor said that to cure his wife's disease, he needs good ginseng, but he didn't, and then his wife was going to die, just the reward for the attack was sent down, So he moved his mind and greedy for the reward to buy ginseng and treat his wife. Later, he was denounced by soldiers and sentenced to beheading. Now his wife has not been saved, and there is only a small child left in the family, and now it seems that he has lived with his uncle.

There was silence at the scene, and except for a few people, they didn't know that there was such a background.

After a long time, Xu Huizu said: "Two commanders, the prince still wants to ask, is the matter of embezzlement of rewards just like this?" ”

The two looked at each other and said, "More than together, but not many." ”

"So is there a matter of the soldiers of the guard station fleeing?"

"Yes, but not much."

"Very good, Song Xuan, tell me about it."

Song Xuan took 5,000 cavalry to reconnoiter in Hetao, and then went around along the north bank of the Yellow River and south of Yinshan, the whole person was dusty, but his eyes were still sharp, he stood up and walked to the map and said: "The last general was ordered by the military of the Duke of Guo, on April 20, he went out of Yulin, divided into five roads, explored the situation of the Hetao grassland, and then crossed the Yellow River to the southern foot of Yinshan, and it took a total of 43 days before and after. Now I will tell you about the discoveries of our cavalry. ”

"From Yulin to the north, less than 150 miles, is the Mu Us Sandy Land, and the conclusion of the Qianhu Maoyu who is responsible for the exploration is that this sandy land is about 50 miles from north to south, and more than 100 miles from east to west, and there are very few people."

"Beyond the Mu Us Sandy Land, there is a large grassland, which is about 400 miles northeast of Junzidu. To the northwest, about 100 li, is the Kubuqi Desert, the Kubuqi Desert is about 200 miles from east to west, 50 miles from north to south, its north goes straight to the Yellow River, after crossing the Yellow River, it is the Houtao grassland, my cavalry reached the southern foot of Yinshan, and then went east along the Yellow River, about 400 li, to Dongshengwei. ”

"On the northern bank of the Yellow River, every 20 miles or so, there is a pier in the Ming Dynasty, about 50 soldiers, responsible for sentry, if Hu Lu wants to cross the Yellow River, will use beacon fire to alarm."

Xu Huizu said: "What else have you discovered?" ”

Song Xuan said: "There are two points, on the grassland between the Mu Us Desert and the Kubuqi Desert, there are quite a few people, and the last general has asked, and their composition is very complicated: there are herdsmen left behind by the Northern Yuan, the people of Shaanxi, and," Song Xuan turned to look at the two commanders of Dong Shengwei: "The soldiers of Dong Shengwei escaped. ”

Fang Lingfei and Tian Yufeng stood up all of a sudden, their faces pale: "Where is it?" How many people are there? The general caught them? Did you bring it back? ”

Song Xuan shook his head and said, "No, His Royal Highness Taisun is merciful and told me that no matter what you find this time, you must report it truthfully, but don't interfere with the normal defense work of Dong Shengwei, so the two commanders, don't worry, Your Highness will not punish you." His Royal Highness hopes to find the problem, how to better make the soldiers of the frontier better, and if they can better resist the Mongol invasion. ”

Fang Lingfei and Tian Yufeng knelt on the ground and said, "Thank you Your Highness for your kindness, the last general will definitely be loyal to His Highness!" As he spoke, he couldn't help but cry bitterly.

The others all looked at the two commanders, howling and crying, but did not speak. After the two finished crying, Xu Huizu said, "Two generals, can you tell the truth now?" ”

Fang Lingfei said: "Lord Guogong, my lords, Dong Shengwei is now relying on transporting grain from Datong to maintain, Dong Shengwei's original composition was the peasants of Shanxi, as well as the rebellious barbarians from all over the country, when they arrived here, they were not adaptable, and the conditions were very poor, there was a lack of medical treatment, and the current garrison of Dong Shengwei was less than 10,000 people. The last general worked hard to maintain and strictly supervise, but the effect was very poor, some people returned to their hometowns, and some people settled in the Yellow River Loop, Dong Shengwei did not have the ability to arrest these people, because the sergeant of the guard could not leave the land of the guard without an order, and then there were robes, and those who were not good at catching also ran away. ”

Xu Huizu thought for a while and said, "Then how do you think Dong Shengwei can be maintained?" ”

Tian Yufeng said: "My lord, there is nothing good to do in the end, how can I say it?" It would be nice if there were people, merchants, shops, and enough food here, just like in the mainland. ”

Xu Huizu couldn't help but sigh, this is a big project: "I will report it to Your Highness, Your Highness must have a way." He turned around and asked Song Xuan: "General Song, do you think it is feasible to build a city along the river?" ”

"Back to my lord, it is feasible to build a city of three surrenders, but there are difficulties, it is still a food problem, and now there are problems with the transportation of grain along the river piers."

Qu Neng said: "Lord Guogong, the last general thinks that if he can deliver food from Ningxia Wei, it should be no problem." ”

Everyone's eyes lit up, yes, the Western Surrender City is actually the Black Mountain Weifu Military Division of Western Xia, which can transport grain from Yinchuan in the early stage, and then slowly become self-sufficient.

"But, ladies and gentlemen," Song Xuan walked to the side of the map and said, "Here, the west of Tang Zhixi is surrendered to the city, and the city can be built, but the effect is not great, because the opposite bank is the Kubuqi Desert, if it invades from the north of the desert, it is not very feasible to take this road." In fact, the city of Zhongshou has a similar problem. If it is just to prevent Hu Lu from entering the Hetao and protect the Shaanxi Dusi, in fact, Dongshengwei is enough, Dongshengwei is responsible for early warning, and the garrisons of Yansui and Yulin can ensure the safety of the Hetao. ”

Everyone paused for a moment, looked at the map, and discussed a lot, and then Wang Du said: "General Song, I think His Royal Highness has two meanings: first build a city here, not only for defense, but also to attack Mobei; There is also from here to the south, although you can't enter the Hetao, but if you go south along the Helan Mountain, attack Ningxia, it is also a big trouble, Genghis Khan destroyed the Western Xia is this road. ”

"Oh yes, this place can also attack Ningxia." Everyone suddenly realized, and they all felt that His Highness was far-sighted and far-sighted.

Fang Lingfei looked around: "Ladies and gentlemen, in fact, Mongolia is in great decline, it is unlikely to attack the Hetao, is it necessary to spend so much effort to build a surrendered city?" ”

Xu Huizu stood up, walked to the front of the area, and said: "I understand His Highness's idea a little today, now it is difficult for Dongshengwei to maintain, but if Dongshengwei's grain can be obtained from the Hetao, then there will be no transportation problem, and the hope of Hulu going south can be cut off forever." ”

Geng Xuan interjected: "This is indeed a good idea, but it is not easy to realize. ”

Yes, this project is too big, everyone participated in the discussion at this moment, and the atmosphere was very warm, even Fang Lingfei and Tian Yufeng were a little excited, and they also participated in the discussion.

In the end, Xu Huizu and Wang Du summarized the collected information and discussion results, sorted them out, and wrote them into a chapter and reported it to Zhu Yunwen.