Chapter 303: Lucky to meet the Son of Heaven

There are dozens of people who have been awarded the title of prince and marquis for their martyrdom, but these dozens of generals are now sick and dying, and most of the people who go out of the town or go south to the north are already the second or even the third generation of heroes. Therefore, Wu'an Hou Zheng Heng is over sixty years old, but he is one of the few remaining generals who are now fruitful, and he is deeply favored by Zhu Di. However, for the sudden arrival of the Son of Heaven, Zheng Heng was a little frightened after his initial joy, and actually urged Zhu Di to return to the palace.

Zhu Di looked at Zheng Heng, who had not led troops since the Northern Expedition in the twelfth year of Yongle, and his eyes couldn't help but fall on the other party's gray hair, and suddenly felt that this color was a little dazzling. However, when he saw Zheng Heng's still strong body and red expression, he quickly threw away that trace of sadness. Zheng Heng, who is four years older than him, can still ride a horse-drawn bow and fight, let alone him?

"At the beginning, the Jingnan army suffered repeated defeats, and everyone said that they should retreat to Beiping, only you and Zhu Neng tried their best to dissuade me, how did you become timid now? Today, I went to several households, and Meng Ying was less responsible than Meng Shan; When I saw Chen Yu, I couldn't help but think of the old Chen Qi who had just passed away; However, Liu Sheng is still in the prime of life...... Seeing that you are still quite old, I am relieved. ”

Zheng Heng had already surrendered to Zhu Di when he was still the commander of Mi Yunwei in the past, and then he had never had a different heart when he followed the southern expedition and the northern war, and when he heard such a commendation from the Son of Heaven, his face suddenly turned red, and he said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, the ministers are now the same as they were at the beginning, they can eat and run, and they can fight with a bow and a horse!" Wherever the emperor points out, I will hit it! ”

"Good, good! You will raise it well, I will have to take you veterans to the north again in the future, and wipe out that grassland! ”

Until Zhu Di left the Wu'an Hou Mansion with the accompanying guards in high spirits, Zheng Heng, who was standing at the door to see him off, was still in shock. Although he knows that the emperor is a rare famous and brave general, and he knows that he is a character who can never be idle, how old is the emperor now, and he still thinks about fighting? It doesn't matter which corner he throws this old bone in, but the Son of Heaven of the country frequently drives the expedition in person...... Suddenly, he saw that the horse-riding team protecting the emperor had suddenly stopped on the street, which was not trivial.

Because it is a micro suit, Zhu Di only wears a large flower robe with gold and cloud brocade today, and a silver mink coat on his head, but he is out of the palace with one hundred and twenty brocade clothes, that is, he wants to see those heroes who accompanied him in the southern and northern wars. The British Mansion without the owner is naturally not his destination, and the Zhang Mansion adjacent to the Wu'an Hou Mansion lacks that qualification. However, as soon as he got on his horse and was about to return to the palace, Hai Shou, the young eunuch of the Imperial Horse Supervisor who accompanied him, rode his horse a few steps closer, and reported with great loyalty and dutifulness that the guards had just stopped the Zhang Yue brothers. Therefore, the mighty horse caravan came to a halt after a short journey.

Since the emperor was preparing to return to the palace, this street had already been cleaned up by the Jinyi Guard's army, so the only carriage left behind was naturally extremely conspicuous, and even more conspicuous were the three people standing on the snow. Waving his hand to signal the entourage guards to stay there temporarily, Zhu Di shook the reins and galloped up with Hai Shou, but stopped a few steps away from the three of them. Seeing them hurriedly bow to the ground, he thoughtfully took the whip and tapped it lightly in his hand.

He had already recognized Zhang Yue, and his eyes directly skimmed over the coachman in the brown cotton jacket, but he looked at Zhang Yue's body, because he ordered: "I am a micro service this time, so I don't need to be so polite." It's snowing and cold, so get up. Zhang Yue, next to you is your brother? ”

If it weren't for the guard's refusal to let people in, and his refusal to let people go, Zhang Yue would never have waited outside in this cold weather, and after getting up, he heard this question and hurriedly replied: "Emperor Qiqi, it is his brother Zhang Zhen." ”

Zhang Zhen ...... The eldest and second in your family are all in the army, this is about Zhang Xin's son? Well, your family is good, the two big ones are good martial arts, and the two small ones are happy, look at his body board is thinner than you! Although it is appropriate for the peaceful and prosperous times to like literary affairs, literati should not be soft! Yang Rongjin Youzi followed my northern expedition at the beginning, and he didn't even hum when he was bumpy, if he didn't have a strong physique, how could he survive it? Go back and tell your grandmother that there is no harm in suffering a little at a young age. ”

Because the weather was sunny when he came out in the afternoon, Zhang Zhen didn't wear much clothes, and he looked a little thin standing in the cold wind of the evening at this time. It was the first time he had seen the Son of Heaven, and he had heard people describe how majestic and stern the emperor was, and how it was daunting, but it was just people's words, and it could not be transformed into a real impression. When the emperor opened his mouth to speak in front of him, he felt the suffocating sense of oppression that came to his face, let alone speak, and he didn't even dare to look up.

Zhang Yue knew Zhu Di's temper very well, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhang Di's nervous pale face, so he stepped forward and bowed down and replied: "The minister respectfully obeys the emperor's will." However, although the ministers and younger brothers are from the literature, the British government has sent generals to teach since childhood, and they do not dare to abolish the military because of the literature. Although the younger brother has no talent in martial arts, he still has a punch when he gets up early every day, and he is not as weak as he looks now. He only saw the emperor for the first time, and he was intimidated by the emperor's majesty, so he was a little out of shape, and asked the emperor for forgiveness. ”

"You'll speak for your brother!" Zhu Di, who was in a good mood, pointed at Zhang Yue with a whip, and scolded with an angry smile, "He is about the same age as when you first saw me, and I still remember it clearly, that time it was also such a big snow, and it was still in Yang Shiqi's plum garden." You talked about civil and military affairs, and at the end you recommended your eldest brother, do I remember wrong? To be able to be a brother and sister consistently, well, very good! Haishou, take a big piece that you don't need and give it to that little guy! ”

When Hai Shou stepped forward and draped a big piece on Zhang Yue's shoulder, seeing that Zhang Yue was dumbfounded and seemed to be a little overwhelmed, Zhu Di suddenly felt extremely interesting, and raised his hand to summon Zhang Yue to step forward.

"There should also be a degree of short-term protection, your brother's mouth is purple from the cold, and what do you say is afraid of my majesty, don't use it in such a small place on the spot! In three days, I will convene the six ministries and the cabinet to discuss the opening of the sea ban, and you can sort out the pros and cons and all kinds of details, and submit them to me...... Forget it, I'll have someone come to your house to get it. I've heard that you consulted with your newlywed wife when you wrote your notes? This is a good story that there is a father and a daughter, but you need to remember that the matter of the journal should be as quiet as possible. ”

Could it be that the emperor has already asked Jinyi Wei to investigate the matter? Zhang Yue was taken aback in his heart, but he hurriedly agreed respectfully. Seeing Zhu Di take Hai Shoule to turn his horse and leave, and a group of brocade guards followed the guards, and after a while, the mighty crowd disappeared into the streets under the night, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and turned his head to look at Zhang Zhen again.

It was about Zhu Di's own use, it looked half-old and not new, and it was almost dragged to the ground on Zhang Zhen's shoulders. However, what is even more annoying and funny is the little guy's blank expression, as if he has not yet recovered from that extreme shock. It wasn't until he went up and shook his hand in front of Zhang Zhen and patted his shoulder again that he heard an exclamation.

"I actually saw the emperor just now...... Oops, I couldn't say a word at the time......? ”

At this time, the snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the cold wind carries the overwhelming snowflakes into the necks of people. Zhang Yue felt that the clothes on his body were frozen and stiff, where did he still have the heart to be verbose with Zhang Zhen, and he didn't answer him, and after dragging people into the carriage, he told the coachman to catch the car. Grabbing Zhang Zhen's hand and baking on the stove for a long time, he felt that the stiff fingers would finally move, he glanced at the little guy, and saw that his face was extremely depressed, he thought that Zhang Zhen was annoyed that he did not perform well in front of the emperor, so he had to comfort him a few more words.

After all, you are used to being pampered, even if you practice martial arts every day to strengthen your body, how can you compare to those iron men who are crawling and rolling on the battlefield? It was himself who had stood in this ice and snow for half an hour, and his hands and feet were already frozen.

The news that Jinyiwei had sealed the entire street had already alarmed the Zhang Mansion, and for a while, everyone thought in the direction of the house, and all the old and young in the family gathered in the upper room of the north courtyard, all with solemn faces. Footsteps in the courtyard outside kept coming, and no one dared to shout loudly until an elderly mother walked into the yard and opened the curtain to enter.

"Back to the old lady, the Jinyi Wei closed the street because the emperor went to the Wu'an Hou Mansion, and now the emperor has driven back to the palace, and the guards on this road have all left."

As soon as he heard that this was the case, the Gu family was relieved. Although she seemed to be very sure when she sat on the kang just now, she was really in a cold sweat on her vest, and when she came back to her senses, she couldn't help but blame herself in her heart. The Dongfang clan on the side was a little envious after being nervous, thinking in his heart that if the emperor also went to the Zhang family to sit down today, how much glory would it be?

Because the men in the family were either on duty in the palace or visiting friends outside, and now they have not returned, Gu ordered dinner to be postponed for a while, and ordered Bai Fang to pass refreshments. Everyone took a few things one by one, and after about a quarter of an hour, the voice of a housekeeper's daughter-in-law came from outside: "Old lady, the third young master and the fourth young master are back together...... They met the emperor at the corner of the street, and the emperor also gave the fourth young master a big coat! ”

This unexpected news suddenly caused a lot of commotion in the room, and Dongfang Clan reacted the fastest, and the first one congratulated Gu and Feng with a smile on his face, and said a very auspicious word. Compared with the Feng family, who was full of joy, the Gu family had experienced a lot after all, thinking that since the emperor had seen Zhang Yue and Zhang Zhen brothers, there was no reason to just add Zhang Zhen's blue eyes, and he couldn't help but think about it carefully. When she saw the two brothers coming in one after the other, their faces covered with snow beads, she hurriedly put these thoughts aside, ordered them to go down to change their clothes first, and drove Du Juan over with a smile to take care of them.

handed Zhang Yue's wet clothes to the Lingxi next to him, Du Juan saw that Zhang Yue took a towel to dry his hair, Qiu Zhen took a comb behind his back to comb his hair, Amber was wring a hot towel on the side, there was no outsider in the house, so he stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Why did you meet the emperor outside so coincidentally?" Seeing that you and your fourth brother's clothes are completely wet with snow, what is going on? ”

"Don't worry, it's just one thing the emperor ordered." Zhang Yue stretched out his right hand to hold Du Juan's warm soft water, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect the emperor to know about you helping me read the article, and also boasted about the origin of the Du family, and praised you very much." ”

"The reward of the fourth brother ......"

Zhang Yue smiled slightly: "That's the fourth brother's luck, I'll talk to you about it when I come back." ”