Chapter 681: Great changes are coming

On the fifth day of the fifth month of May, the palace gave the ministers colorful silk threads and wormwood and other things as usual, and the houses were also busy cooking zongzi. These days, the weather in Jingshi is particularly weird, often yesterday the sun was still shining and people were dizzy, but today it was a heavy rain downpour that caught people off guard, and the heat and cold were also up and down. Those who are in good health are just that, the old and frail often can't afford to toss, at least one-tenth of the six yamen are on leave due to illness, and Huang Huai of the cabinet is also begging at home due to illness.

Almost all of the military attaches have been practicing martial arts since childhood, and most of them are still young, so no one is absent from the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies. However, Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, who has been on leave due to illness since the new monarch ascended the throne, has still not returned, and the Duke of Chengguo's mansion has been closed for several months without guests. However, on this day, the doors of the three five-frame gold-lacquered beast-faced tin rings were opened for the first time, and Zhu Yong's eldest son, Zhu Yi, who was only five years old, also came to the door to greet him in person.

To say that the Zhang family and the Zhu family were originally world friends, Zhang Fu's mansion did not need to be so grand. However, even Zhang Fu has not been able to set foot in this Guogong Mansion for several months, and on this day, it was only because of the emperor's mention that he could enter the door, so he had to toss around. After the article on the top of the ceremony was finished, he and Zhu Yi walked all the way inside and asked a few more questions. However, Zhu Yi is still young after all, although her every move is clear-sighted, but she can't tell the details.

The Ming Dynasty was never easy to confer knighthood for non-military merits, and the position of the Duke of the Kingdom was even more rare. Among the many princes canonized by the Hongwu Dynasty, only the Xu family of the Duke of Wei remains, the Deng family of the Duke of Wei, the Feng family of the Duke of Song, and the Li family of the Duke of Korea were all involved in the Lanyu case and the Hu Weiyong case, and the Chang family of the Duke of E and the Li family of the Duke of Cao were demoted and reduced after the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di ascended the throne, and the title of Duke of Xinguo was vacant for decades after the death of Tang He due to the attack of his descendants.

Therefore, really speaking, there are only five Guogong today, the British Duke Zhang, the Chengguo Duke Zhu, the Wei Duke and the Dingguo Duke Xu, and the Qianguo Duke Mu. Mu's Yongzhen Yunnan, Wei Ding's two families are already vain, and only Zhang Zhu's two families are still noble. Zhang Fu watched Zhu Yong grow up since he was a child, and although the relationship between the two was extraordinary, they relied on each other for assistance.

At this time, when he entered the main house, he saw Zhu Yong getting up from the Xiangfei couch with the help of the girl, Zhang Fu immediately sank his face and shouted angrily: "Don't pretend to me, I know that you are healthy and not sick or sick!" I've been avoiding shrinking at home for more than half a year, if you play sloppy with me again, be careful that I pull you out! ”

Hearing this, Zhu Yong embarrassedly shook off the two girls, and scolded everyone to retreat with a straight face, and then said with a smile: "Brother Wen Bi, aren't I hiding from the limelight at home?" I'm not as good as you, I have no military merits, and I don't have any experience, the titles are all passed down by my father, and I have already publicized it once when I was the first, and now I still have a good time to recuperate and study properly behind closed doors......"

"Reading? You have a reputation as a scholar and a doctor who has become a national prince, so do you really plan to take the top exam? Zhang Fu looked at Zhu Yong, and saw that he was wearing a plain silk collared shirt with a pair of half-old black cloth shoes underneath, and couldn't help but think of the last time he was impeached for drinking at a funeral, so he asked, "What happened when you were impeached for drinking?" You are the most polite person, who instigated or instigated it? ”

"I don't have two brothers like you, I am the master of the family, who is so bold?"

Zhu Yong smiled and asked Zhang Fu to sit down, and then spread his hands and said: "I was not the only one who was impeached that time, but a few people gathered together, and some people couldn't help but drink a drink, so I just happened to be tied up." Don't mention this matter, I'm not better than you, it's better to hide. By the way, your girl's marriage ......"

"Your sister-in-law has a complaint about the queen, and the daughter of the Marquis of Ningyang may marry, how old is the girl? Therefore, this marriage will not be mentioned in the future, and the queen has promised that my family will make its own decisions at that time. Seeing that Zhu Yong nodded his head in agreement, and moved Jindun to sit down opposite, he said, "The King of Han has just returned to Le'an, and now the prince of Han and the rest of the princes have arrived in the capital again, and now there is a mess outside. Of course, I came to see you today because the emperor mentioned it, and there is another thing to discuss with you. ”

Zhang Fu rarely put on such a solemn attitude, so Zhu Yong did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly sat upright. However, even if he was mentally prepared, after listening to that sentence, he was still stunned.

"I am in charge of the military capital of the Governor's Mansion, and I am also ordered to take charge of the Beijing camp, which was originally an expedient measure after the new monarch ascended the throne. I think that after I returned to the dynasty after the four expeditions, I have never been involved in military power, and now this heavy responsibility is on my shoulders, it doesn't matter for a while, it will inevitably happen after a long time. After these two years, I plan to return the command, and when the time comes, it will be your place. ”

After swallowing several mouthfuls of saliva, Zhu Yong recovered from his extreme consternation, and only after a long time did he smile bitterly: "Brother Wen Bi, you really gave me a huge problem. If I hadn't pretended to be sick at home this time, I would have to add one more to follow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to Nanjing. Now there are not many important figures over there, and His Highness can be less constrained and do things cheaper...... That's it, since you pushed me into the fire pit, I'll do it next! ”

The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time. After talking for a while, Zhang Fu was worried that staying too long would attract gossip from others, so he stood up and said goodbye. When he got out of the Chengguo Mansion and got into his own sedan chair, he couldn't help but close his eyes, thinking about the words he had heard and the clues he had noticed these days.

"There are constant disputes outside the Sai, if Kaiping Daning Xinghe is really abandoned, then wouldn't those measures during the Yongle period be in vain? If the capital is moved back to Nanjing, what will happen to this Jingshi that took more than ten years to build? If that day comes......"

Just when Zhang Fu took a deep breath and made up his mind that he would definitely fight for reason and never back down when the time came, he only felt that the sedan chair suddenly shook, and then stopped. Frowning, he opened the curtain and looked out, and saw that it was Rong Shan, the housekeeper who stayed at home, who trotted over, he only felt that his heart sank, and he had a sense of foreboding.

"Master, the palace is urgently called. Madame was afraid that there was something big about it, so she told the little one to come out and look for it quickly, and it happened that the little one heard that you were going to the Chengguo Mansion, so he hurriedly looked for it. Rong Shan wiped the fine beads of sweat on his forehead as he spoke, then bowed down and lowered his voice and said, "It was Gonggong Zhang who came to summon, and he seemed to have some angry posture on his face. Madame asks the lord to take a sedan chair directly to the imperial city, don't delay the hour! ”

Zhang Fu listened with a calm face, and immediately nodded to let Rong Shan go back, and immediately ordered to rush directly to the palace. When the sedan chair stopped at the left gate of Chang'an, the eunuch who had been waiting here ran up to greet him, and after saluting neatly, he hurriedly said: "The emperor is waiting in the Qianqing Palace, please follow the British prince into the palace." ”

Although the outside of the imperial city was no different from a normal day, following the little eunuch all the way in, Zhang Fu was always a little uneasy in his heart. When he entered the palace city through the left gate, he instinctively felt that there was a dull and oppressive atmosphere in the air. Glancing at the right door, he couldn't see any movement in the cabinet room and the cabinet room from a distance, so he had to suppress the urge to ask.

Entering from the west corner gate of the west of the Fengtian Gate, there are three major halls such as the Fengtian Temple. In the past, the majestic and majestic hall is now only left with this bare white marble base, the ruins and broken walls and wood and stone on the top have all been cleaned up, the field of vision is naturally much broader, Zhang Fu overlooks the distance, and can even see the Qianqing Gate and the Qianqing Palace at the back. When he passed through the middle and left door and came to the Qianqing gate, a guard immediately stepped forward to check the waist card.

Although this is a necessary pass to enter and exit the palace, Zhang Fu is a British duke, and everyone in the inner court knows from top to bottom, and it is just a false story on weekdays. But on this day, the majestic guard with a red face turned over and over to check the gold medal of the Dulong Panyunhua with the name of Renzi, and then saluted and let people go, but the little eunuch who led the way was led to the house in the front yard of the Qianqing Palace.

Ascending the steps to the front of the main hall, Zhang Fu had just dressed properly, and the voice of the call immediately came from inside. He entered the house with a straight face, and when he stood in front of the yellow bamboo curtain, he heard the familiar voice of Empress Zhang: "Please British duke." ”

Hearing such a word, Zhang Fu couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. When someone raised the bamboo curtain high, he lowered his head and entered, but he saw that there was a bright yellow tent hanging on the big bed of the huanghuali carved dragon, and the shadow was full of people inside. On the boxwood chair in front of the bed, Empress Zhang, whose face was as heavy as water, was looking at him. He had just bowed down, and immediately a little eunuch stepped forward to pick him up, and someone moved to Jindun and asked him to sit down. Although it was the same in the past, but today the emperor announced that he only saw the queen, and his heart was already raised.

"The Imperial Doctor has just arrived, and here he is prescribing medicine in the next room." Empress Zhang's speech was unusually slow, as if every word had been carefully considered, "When the emperor was still sober, he ordered the crown prince to be summoned back to Beijing, and the other was to summon Zhang Qing and the ministers of the cabinet to the palace. Now I haven't sent anyone to this matter before, but I can't delay summoning Zhuqing into the palace. The ministers of the ministry are now waiting in the west wing of the front yard of the Qianqing Palace, and I saw Zhang Qing first, because the emperor said that the British Duke is an important minister of the country, and the internal and external plans can be summoned to discuss. ”

Zhang Fu had heard such words once, but now that he heard it again, he felt choked in his throat and couldn't speak. He had heard of the emperor's poor health in recent months, but when Zhu Gaochi was still the prince, he was a medicine jar, and he still needed the support of the palace maid to walk, so he didn't take these news seriously. However, at this time, Empress Zhang had already spoken clearly, and he couldn't believe it if he didn't believe it. From beginning to end, the curtain hanging from the dragon bed never moved, nor did it show any vitality.

"The queen, the emperor ......"

"After the emperor came back from Guo Guifei in the morning, he suddenly fell ill. After the judgment of the Tai Hospital and the four imperial doctors were diagnosed, it was not good news. Although Empress Zhang's tone was calm, her two hands clenched the silk handkerchief in her hand, and her nails hurt so much that she didn't know it, "If you don't feel that something is bad, the emperor will not be in a hurry to summon the crown prince." In fact, when the emperor led the minister of civil and military affairs to visit Changling, he had already noticed some heart palpitations and discomfort, but he didn't pay attention to it. ”

Speaking of Changling, Zhang Fu immediately woke up. It has always been a time-consuming and labor-intensive thing to worship the tomb or the heaven and the earth, even if it is him, when the new monarch ascended the throne and the queen was crowned, he sacrificed to the heaven and the earth twice, and rested for several days after returning. If the emperor's illness is really caused by the sacrifice of the mausoleum as the queen said, and the indulgence of lust occurs, I am afraid that the result of this disease is really difficult to say.

"The minister understands, but as soon as the defense matters are met, please ask the queen to show me."

Empress Zhang knew Zhang Fu's caution, and said that she already had a total in her heart, so she said bluntly at this time: "What the emperor means is to send Hai Shou, the young eunuch of the Imperial Horse Prison, to Nanjing to summon the crown prince, and the military affairs of the five governments and the transfer of troops in Beijing should be paid to the British duke, with Liu Yongcheng as the deputy and Fan Hong Zhong Huai as the assistant." Tianjin Weidezhou and other places are as old as last year, and as for the sons of the Han Dynasty in Beijing, they sent Shen Cewei to strictly protect them. First, internal and external affairs should be summarized by the six ministries, and the cabinet votes were drafted, and I personally reviewed and sealed. To the outside world, he only said that the emperor was sick, and he temporarily dismissed the court. ”

"The minister respectfully obeys the queen's order."

Seeing Zhang Fu get up and bow down, Empress Zhang couldn't help but take a long breath, and hurriedly ordered the eunuch next to her to help him up, and then instructed word by word: "Hai Shouchi summons the prince is one, and you also send a messenger to Nanjing to inform Zhang Yue." The capital is no better than the old days, no matter how careful you are, the news will not be able to hide it. Although the prince has the avant-garde of the government army, it takes a lot of effort to mobilize the army on the road. All in all, it was the British Duke who lived up to the trust of the emperor and decided this Ming Dynasty, and now I should also hand it over to you...... Let your horse's horse be unrestricted, in short, let him keep the prince back as soon as possible! ”

When Zhang Fu said goodbye, Empress Zhang stood up, walked slowly to the bedside, and gently hung the bright yellow tent on the tent hook. Seeing that Zhu Gaochi on the bed was still unconscious, her brows gradually frowned, and then she sighed deeply, showing resentment on her face that could not be concealed.

After more than 20 years of hard work, it is now easy to rule the world, but I don't know how to take good care of my body, I only know how to entangle with women! She has been in charge of housekeeping for him for many years, and she has served him respectfully, and she doesn't know how much energy she has spent, but in the end, no matter how much persuasion she has, it is useless. If he really can't get through it this time, she will naturally obey his wishes and let those women accompany him for the rest of his life!

Just when she made up her mind, a shrill voice suddenly came from her ears: "Queen Mother! Jin Yiwei's commander Fang Ling has already arrived, and is waiting in Xinuan Pavilion. ”

Empress Zhang suddenly recovered from her contemplation, put down her sleeves and stood up, and lightly instructed the two little eunuchs next to her: "Guard the emperor here, and report to me immediately if you wake up." The order goes down, and the Qianqing Palace prohibits outsiders from snooping, and the violator will be killed with a cane! The concubines of the six palaces in the east and west are not allowed to go out of the palace for half a step, and if the kings who are the first to divide the feudal feuds ask to see, they will stay in the old residence of the East Palace first, and the concubines and the kings are not allowed to meet! ”