Chapter 915: New Life and Old Age

On the same day, the Son of Heaven added a son, and Zhang Yue got a daughter, and all of them were underterm. Compared with Concubine Wu Xian, Du Juan gave birth to a child in her early eight months this time, and she was even weaker, so Xiao Wu simply took her son to live in and dedicated herself to helping her sister recuperate.

Although the birth of the second son of the emperor is not as celebrated by the whole country as the eldest son of the emperor, it is also a major event that makes the government and the opposition celebrate, at least, the death row prisoner is absolutely postponed, even if it is a prisoner who is executed, the sentence must be postponed first, at least not in the full moon of the second son. As for the King of Jin, who has already committed suicide, since it was before this, it is naturally not in the way.

As for Zhang Yue's new daughter, she also ushered in a lot of joy. Because Zhang Yue said in advance, everyone in the yamen did not give a gift, but everyone made up one. But it is a set of sterling silver collar bracelets and anklets, things are ordinary, but the words and sentences engraved on the top are all a dry and not to mention the result of the meditation of the subordinates of the six products, which is naturally unconventional. And after giving this gift, naturally you don't need to spend another part of the money when the full moon wine, but you can also come to the door to drink a meal, in the eyes of everyone, this is naturally the sympathetic subordinates of the main officer, and they work harder.

So, in the joyful atmosphere of the birth of the second son of the emperor, the Hongwen Pavilion Sutra Feast was reopened again. As usual, the selected lecturers talked about the etiquette for an hour, and then a group of officials who had already stiffened their legs turned their eyes to their seats. After all, this time it is not as different as before, according to the emperor, this time will not only reveal the future issues, but also make a summary of the previous issues. It's just that it was Yang Shiqi who came forward to speak.

In the court where he is now promoted and gradually following his qualifications, Yang Shiqi, who is not from a jinshi, is an old man admired by many jinshi. Not only because of Yang Shiqi's demeanor, but also because of his unsparing efforts to promote his juniors, in the past few years of Xuande alone, those who have never met Yang Shiqi, but only fell into the eyes of others because of their articles and conduct, etc., and there are more than ten or twenty people who have been reused after that, so as soon as he stood up at this moment, the prime-aged faction who was still a little muttering suddenly raised his spirit.

“…… The vassal king is not allowed to leave the fief without permission, and his concubines are descended to the title, and the sons of concubines who are not genealogical are not included in the genealogy...... Can be a scientific examination, can be a farmer and mulberry ......"

"At the request of Zhang Yue, the left attendant of the Quasi-Military Department, he set up a martial arts. The martial arts examination is held every three years and is recommended by the Tianxiawei. Each province's martial arts examination shall be conducted by the examination officer recommended by the Ministry of War, and the quota for each province shall be set. ”

“…… Investigation of the case of fraud in Nanzhili's fields and acres, so that Yu Qian was promoted in the middle, and if there was anyone who hid the land population, once it was found out, he would be in the official ranks. Ordered Beizhili, Zhejiang, and Shandong to check the acres of fields, and the host was selected to be recommended by the scholars of the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Six Ministries of the Metropolitan Procuratorate......"

Yang Shiqi's prestige is unique for a while, and he is full of energy at this time, after reading the words, he was silent from top to bottom. Naturally, those who supported it in advance were overjoyed, but those who opposed it in advance were not very annoyed, but they were just thinking about the changes in the world after this series of moves. However, when Yang Shiqi slowly said the topic of the next few Hongwen Pavilion feasts including military households and military service, everyone was in an uproar for a while.

"One is the enslavement, the people are suffering from the errands, they dare not open up the wasteland, and the taxes are sent to Beijing and even the bandits are intercepted and killed halfway, so the farmland enslavement is now renegotiated and agreed. Since the trial collection of commercial tax by the city shipping division, the annual income is hundreds of thousands, so the treasury is full, and the boat bridge disaster relief is no longer stretched. ”

"Second," Yang Shiqi bent down his second finger and said unhurriedly, "military households are like cheap service, and in the yellow books of household registration in various provinces, the population of military households does not increase but decreases, and in the long run, it will become a problem for military households to make up for them, so the second article is the matter of military households." As for the third ...... It is the overseas strategy, that is, the strategy of the West and the South Seas. ”

Yang Shiqi is old-fashioned, although he is a little conservative, but in the face of a determined son of heaven, coupled with a junior like Zhang Yue behind his back to persuade and explain, he will naturally choose the most suitable path, after all, today's Ming Dynasty is richer and more stable than in the Yongle period, this is a fact. It's just that for this third article, he really grinded with the emperor for a long time, and called Zhang Yue to his house last night, and carefully interrogated Du Zhen together, when Zhang Yue took out the chart he got from Fang Rui, they were a little moved, but at this time, those deep-rooted concepts could not be changed immediately, so they just agreed to discuss.

But being able to bring this kind of thing to the table for discussion, Zhang Yue is already very satisfied. So when he left Hongwen Pavilion, he didn't pay attention to the ministers who were talking about it, and went straight out of the palace to return to the yamen of the military department, but when he arrived at the door, a soap subordinate came up to report that the prince was waiting in the front hall. Remembering that he had just seen the imperial eunuch Wang Jin beside the emperor, no matter how fast his legs and feet were, he would not be more ahead of him, Zhang Yue was a little surprised, and when he saw people on the ground, he suddenly realized.

"I also said that I just saw the prince of the royal prison in the palace, but I didn't expect it to be you! It's also my bad memory, I heard this morning that you and Gonggong Zheng came back together yesterday. ”

Sitting in the guest seat and waiting was a sturdy old man in his early fifties, compared with those fair-skinned eunuchs raised in the deep palace, due to years of exposure to the sun and rain at sea, his face had a healthy copper color, and he looked more masculine. Arching his hand to Zhang Yue with a smile, he smiled and said, "I just came back, and it's not surprising that Lord Xiao Zhang didn't expect it." I have traveled far this time, and many places have been added to the original nautical charts, and I have even been to several large countries in the far west. Originally, I wanted to go back to the house, but Lord Xiao Zhang was so happy that the threshold was broken, and he might avoid it, so Gonggong Zheng simply asked me to come to the yamen. ”

The person who came was Wang Jinghong, who had gone to sea many times with Zheng He. He was originally a seaside man, and he was proficient in going out to sea to watch the heavens, so he had been separated from Zheng He for a short time before, and continued to travel west with several large boats, but this time he came back together after the rendezvous between Siam and Zheng He. This trip was farther than he had ever been, but it was also very rewarding, and he smiled and joked, and pointed to a pocket on the table.

"This can be regarded as a congratulatory gift from me to Lord Zhang's daughter."

Zhang Yue was really taken aback when he heard this. Although he said that his friendship with the lieutenant officials was quite good, he had only heard of officials quietly giving gifts to lieutenant officials, and very few had heard of lieutenant officials giving gifts to civil and military officials. However, after all, he had done a great favor to the next officials and soldiers in the past, and his friendship with Zheng He and Wang Jinghong was different from that of ordinary lieutenants, so he couldn't refuse that kindness after thinking about it, so he had to smile bitterly: "This intention of the prince is really unbearable for me, this is the yamen, I will take out your sheepskin bag, and tomorrow there will be an impeachment of the imperial history." ”

"That's better, presumably Lord Xiao Zhang really wants to make those imperial histories suffer a dumb loss, right?" Wang Jinghong was also a strict person in the past, but now he was in a very good mood and joked, "It's not a mundane thing like a gem, Lord Xiao Zhang might as well open it and take a look." ”

Thinking that Wang Jinghong looked rude, but in fact he was a person with a careful heart, Zhang Yue hesitated slightly, and then stepped forward to open the pocket. Seeing that there were all kinds of fruit seeds inside, he couldn't help but light up his eyes, and then looked at Wang Jinghong and said, "Could this be those plants from overseas?" ”

"That's right! Didn't Master Zhang ask me to look for these last time? At that time, I was in a hurry, and I was just looking for a sergeant who liked this way, but this time I was looking for someone on purpose. In addition to this, there is also an illustrated book, which I will send to the house with the boxes of seeds. These are just samples, just look at the pictures and look fresh, but it takes a lot of effort to preserve those things, after all, they have been floating on the sea for a long time. By the way, Lord Xiao Zhang, I don't know if I've been to the big island where you can't see the edge, there are only a lot of uncivilized barbarian countries on the sea, and you can't visit them one by one, so you can only wait for later. ”

Zhang Yue didn't know whether today's technology could support ocean voyages to North and South America, but Wang Jinghong said this, and he felt quite excited in his heart, so he had to thank the pioneer of navigation and asked Zheng He about the situation by the way. This was originally just a greeting, but he didn't expect Wang Jinghong to hesitate for a moment and sigh.

"Gonggong Zheng contracted the disease at sea this time, and it was easy to come back, and he barely got up his spirits yesterday, and then he couldn't hold on, and the emperor sent a doctor to take a look, but the situation was still very dangerous."

Wang Jinghong has repeatedly gone to sea with Zheng He, and when the ship docked in Guangdong, he also saw Zhang Qian, but found that he was also much older. So, although he himself is still very strong, he has a heart after all. At this moment, seeing that Zhang Yue was shocked, he smiled and said: "It's okay, it's always been the case when sailing on the sea, many sergeants are buried on those islands, it's already rare that we can be safe and sound so many times, not to mention that he finally came back." ”

Zhang Yue has not met Zheng He alone a few times, and even if he does, he will never be able to connect Zheng He with the three eunuchs in the history books. Listening to Wang Jinghong's words at this time, he couldn't help but think that Zheng He died in the seventh trip to the West, and it is said that even the people were transported back to Nanjing for burial, so his face gradually sank. Now that history has already changed completely, he can't assert the future changes, how do he know that Zheng He won't survive this time?

"After the meeting is dismissed, can the prince take me to Gonggong Zheng?"

Wang Jinghong didn't expect Zhang Yue to mention this. You must know that when Zhang Yue came to see him in Nanjing in the past, it was because he was still Ying Tianfu Cheng at that time, and he and Zheng He were both ordered to garrison Nanjing, and there were officials and troops under their command, plus the exchanges were all official affairs, and they were also mixed with the prince Zhu Zhanji at that time. But now...... The civil officials may not be bad to the middle officials, but if you really want to say that there are very few people who have dealings with the middle officials, not to mention, Zheng He is also a cautious person, and he has always been afraid that he will be jealous as an old Yongle person.

"The Imperial Doctor has already seen it, if Lord Xiao Zhang goes to see it in person, I'm afraid it will make others have some bad thoughts. Otherwise, wait two more days, and Gonggong Zheng's illness will be better......"

If it was on weekdays, when Wang Jinghong said this, Zhang Yue would definitely dismiss his idea, but this time he was very stubborn. Later, Wang Jinghong had no choice, so he had to agree to wait at the end of Dongjiang Rice Lane at the end of Shen Shimo, and then left in a hurry. As soon as he left, Zhang Yue glanced at the heavy bag, then picked it up with one hand and went out, which attracted a lot of curious eyes. As if he didn't realize it, he casually summoned a soap and ordered him to send the bag back to the house.

This thing passed through a person's hand, and everyone knew it in a blink of an eye, and it saved them from guessing. At this moment, even if the imperial historians are impeached, it will be troublesome.

At the end of the Shen period, the Yamen of the Ministry of War dispersed on time, because the ship from the Nuer Gandu Division had stopped in Tianjin, and the ship returned with the Wanshi Festival, Zhang Yue was very brisk when he went out. It wasn't until he got into Wang Jinghong's car at the junction of Dongjiang Rice Lane and Andingmen Street that he saw the other party's unconcealed worry that he suppressed the joy he had just had.

"What's the matter, but Gonggong Zheng's situation is not good?"

"When I just went to look, he didn't even have the strength to sit, but when he heard that Lord Zhang was coming, he was very happy...... I thought he was different from usual, so I was worried that he was sick and confused. If he says something wrong, please don't take it to heart. Wang Jinghong knew that once a son of heaven and a courtier, especially an internal official, his brows were almost completely screwed together, "Moreover, the imperial doctor said that he was sick from years of hard work and was not easy to treat." ”

Although Wang Jinghong had already reminded Zhang Yue on the way, when he really arrived at Zheng's house and saw the seriously ill Zheng He in the room, Zhang Yue was still startled. This former strong and energetic eunuch is now his face is thin and his eyes are deep, and his spirit is definitely not good, but he insists on sitting up when he sees him coming. Wang Jinghong couldn't persuade him, so he could only stuff his waist, shoulders, back and other places tightly, and support him beside him.

"Thank you, Lord Zhang, for coming to see me." Zheng He was already a little difficult to speak, but he still had a smile on his face, and when he saw Zhang Yue sitting down on the Jindun and asked about his illness, he shook his head and said, "It's okay, there have been more terrible than this when I was at sea, and this time it may not be really hopeless...... It doesn't matter if I can't save it, I finally got my wish and ran at sea for a few more years. Lord Xiao Zhang, this treasure ship can be turned into a Shenwei ship, and the next official army can be officially organized into a Shenwei Guard, all thanks to you. I have only one thing to worry about, and that is this Divine Ship and Divine Guard...... Hopefully they will keep it forever! ”

Zheng He raised his voice suddenly, and seeing that Zhang Yue listened carefully and was impatient, he suddenly calmed down, and then pressed Zhang Yue's hand supported on the bed board: "Lord Xiao Zhang, you are in charge of the military department, and now you are a military household, a military position, and a martial arts, etc., I only hope that the three guards of Shenwei will not be abolished, and they will not move easily." I don't know how much effort these people have spent on seasickness to the current naval war, and if they are removed, it will be as if the last thing I left in this world is gone. ”

Looking at Zheng He, who was full of eagerness, Zhang Yue nodded without much hesitation: "Father-in-law Zheng, don't worry, I can't do anything else, but I will definitely try to do it." ”