Princess Changde did not embarrass her cousin, of course she understood that Zhu Qiming was trying to maintain her reputation, so she used extraordinary means to block Xue Huan's mouth in time.

"You go to the emperor to reply." Princess Changde squirmed.

Zhu Qiming pursed his lips, "I'm afraid that you don't agree with him." ”

"Nonsense! I've measured all the eight characters. Princess Changde made a gesture and wanted to reach out and grab Zhu Qiming's ear.

"Okay, okay, don't regret it." Zhu Qiming stubbornly agreed.

This kind of thing is not Zhu Qiming's turn, so Zhu Qiming quickly found King Yu to discuss the matter.

Although King Yu and Zhu Qiming both had a bad impression of Xue Huan, it was a lifelong event related to Princess Changde, and the two did not dare to come by their own temperament, so they could only succumb to Princess Changde's wishes.

Surprisingly, the emperor did not summon Xue Huan, but ordered Xue Huan and the other three to go home and wait.

For two days in a row, Princess Changde was closed in Zhuyuxuan, anxiously waiting for news from the emperor's side, and Zhu Qiming was often called by her to Zhuyuxuan for questioning.

But Xue Huan was really a lover, and when he returned home, he saw that the edict had not been issued for a long time, so he "made people haggard for Yi", and fell ill two days later. This news quickly spread to Zhuyuxuan, and Princess Changde didn't think about tea and dinner after hearing the news.

Thinking that the emperor has absolutely no reason to embarrass his own sister, the selection of the concubine Du Wei has fallen to such a point, it must have a lot to do with the opposition from the previous dynasty, and at this time, it is inconvenient for people in the Forbidden City to speak rashly, and even the empress dowager can only stay out of the matter. Zhu Qiming faintly felt that the emperor seemed to be facing a difficult choice.

On the third day, finally a close attendant of the Son of Heaven came to Zhuyuxuan, and the person who came was Jin Ying, the eunuch of the ceremonial supervisor Bingbi!

When she saw Jin Ying, Princess Changde's face was full of expectation, but to her disappointment, Jin Ying came to find Zhu Qiming.

"His Royal Highness the King of Yue, the Emperor will send His Royal Highness to the Yongsu Palace." Jin Yingwang glanced at Princess Changde, and said casually: "Alas, several scholars in the cabinet are old, and it is expected that they will be sent to the cabinet one after another this year and next year. ”

Bachelor of Age? Zhu Qiming tasted Jin Ying's semantics, and his mind opened up for a while, trying to distinguish what this matter had to do with the selection of the horse captain. In contemplation, he glanced at Princess Changde blankly, and saw Princess Changde slowly stand up, look at him blankly, and stop talking a few times.

"Princess Changde, you can wait for good news."

Dropping these comforting words, Zhu Qiming walked out of Zhuyuxuan and went straight to Yongsu Palace.

As soon as he entered the Yongsu Palace, he saw the emperor leave his seat and come to him, preventing him from giving a salute.

"Third brother, is the imperial sister okay?"

Zhu Qiming wanted to say something to deal with the scene, but when the words came to his mouth, they turned into the truth: "It's not good." ”

"I gave hundreds of officials a ten-day leave, but the important ministers of the court still couldn't stay idle, and came to persuade one after another, saying that Xue Huan's family background was illustrious, and it was suspected of violating the system to canonize Xue Huan as the captain of the horse, and this move was unfair to Princess Shunde, which would cause the matter to boil. Hmph, when they don't want to meddle in the affairs of the Forbidden City, they say that it is my family matter, and if they want to interfere, they say that the Son of Heaven has no family affairs, which is really a human mouth! ”

For Zhu Qiming, it was not a wise choice to discuss the government at this moment, but when he thought of the eyes of Princess Baba Changde at the moment of parting, he put aside his instinctive scruples. "Your Majesty, the drunkard doesn't mean to drink."

The emperor was stunned, and then stared at him, "Are you saying that someone is playing on the topic of my wedding?" ”

"I'm afraid so. In the past, the hundred officials had never talked much about such matters, but now they are bothering to make it a common practice for the hundred officials to interfere in the family affairs of the Son of Heaven, and when His Majesty's marriage is finalized, they will have something to say. ”

The emperor pondered for a moment and waved away the only attendant in the palace. "According to the system, I should get married at the age of sixteen, and next year I will be fifteen years old, and I will get married ahead of schedule, and the officials will naturally have something to say. But what if I decide to get married early? ”

"Your Majesty's wedding is the first time that the emperor has married the queen since the founding of the Ming Dynasty more than 70 years ago, and everyone in the world is looking forward to the grand ceremony. Since His Majesty ignores the advice of the hundred officials, the hundred officials have an excuse to make a temperament, and some people can excuse themselves from the big wedding ceremony, if so, it will definitely cause real material discussion! ”

"You mean Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong?" There was anxiety in the emperor's eyes, "Yes, Er Yang's absence from the big wedding ceremony will inevitably lead to criticism, and some people will say that in order to pro-government in advance, I do not hesitate to let the hard-working auxiliary ministers be wronged!" ”

The emperor returned to the royal platform and sat down, looking slightly depressed, "Yang Shiqi no longer asks about the government, and Yang Rong has repeatedly asked Zhishi, but he has been retained by me, and it seems that he will follow in Yang Shiqi's footsteps." I am already in the pro-government, but I am just lacking a name, why are the two of them still so concerned about my nominal pro-government? ”

"If the name is not right, it is not good, and if Your Majesty does not marry for a day, he will not get the status of pro-government for a day. The minister heard that next year there will be a number of cabinet ministers who will be appointed to the government, and before His Majesty takes office, the replacement of the old and new cabinet ministers will be decided by the auxiliary ministers, and after His Majesty takes office, although the new cabinet ministers will be promoted by the important ministers of the court, it is up to His Majesty whether they are used or not. ”

The emperor Huo Ran got up, and sat down after a long silence, "So, I'm going to wronged the imperial sister?" ”

"Your Majesty, please be clear! Even if Princess Changde is wronged, when His Majesty's wedding is made next year, the officials will still have something to say, so the compromise now is meaningless. ”

But when he heard the uproar, the emperor pushed the recital on the imperial case to the ground, "I'm going to get married a year later, and I'll wait for the assistant minister to persuade me to get married!" Wait for them to persuade me to pro-government! ”

Zhu Qiming stepped forward to pick up the notebook one by one, and respectfully put it back into the imperial case.

The emperor left his seat again and came to Zhu Qiming's side, grabbing his sleeve, "Third brother, when will the escort you trained be able to make the trip?" I know that many people are waiting to see your jokes, but I am optimistic about you! ”

The emperor is right, there are indeed many people waiting to see the joke, otherwise the civil and military ministers would not so easily acquiesce to a prince to go on the expedition. However, the emperor's optimism probably stems from the young emperor's extreme desire for a victory, which is definitely not a real optimism based on temple calculations.

If you want to be a civil and military minister, you just don't say anything against it, and it is the emperor who really opens the door for a prince to go on an expedition, and a victory can greatly improve the persuasiveness of the emperor's pro-government, and such a vision is naturally worth looking forward to. However, the emperor is still anxious, what if the battle is unfavorable?

The emperor can ignore the consequences of going to war, but Zhu Qiming has to bear huge pressure for this, because the emperor's optimism is equivalent to asking Zhu Qiming to only win and not lose, and there is no room for maneuver at all!

"The minister does his best, he still needs to train for half a year, and he will be able to fight after the autumn of this year, when the Tartar thieves are frequent."

"It will take half a year?" The emperor let go of his hand and paced up in the hall. "Third brother, you say, if I send a large army to suppress it, wouldn't the odds be greater?"

The army is marching in? Even if the emperor can overcome public opinion and send a large army, so what? The Beijing army is a group of Taiping troops, and they are not good at field warfare at all! Moreover, the political consequences of sending the Beijing army to suppress are extremely great, and once the war is unfavorable, I am afraid that the scheduled process of the Son of Heaven's pro-government will be delayed!

The expedition by Zhu Qiming, the prince, is different, the victory can be attributed to the Son of Heaven Shengming, and the defeat can be attributed to the young and ignorant King Yue, a group of guards, although defeated, but it does not affect the prestige of the Beijing army, and even the rhetoric of losing troops and generals is very far-fetched, so it is difficult to tell the truth.

Of course, such words cannot be said explicitly, Zhu Qiming has to find a euphemistic reason. "Your Majesty, it is good to send a large army to suppress it, but it is difficult to predict when and where the Tartar thieves will enter the army, and it may be difficult to set up an ambush."

The emperor nodded, "In the vast north, where to set up an ambush?" When to set up an ambush? Well, it's hard to set up an ambush. ”

"There is another plan, that is, to send a large army to hide in the border area, and when the Tartar thieves enter the Koukou, they will be cut off."

The emperor shook his head, "The whereabouts of the Tartar thieves are erratic, when and where they will enter the prison, when and where they will return, this matter is difficult to control, not to mention that after the Tartar thieves succeed in looting, hundreds of people are probably already in the dust, this plan is not enough!" ”

"Your Majesty. If you can't set up an ambush and cut off your way back, what's the benefit of sending a large army to attack it? There are not many expensive soldiers, and there is a swift cavalry to move and flexibly intercept the Tartars, so the odds of victory are the best. ”

The emperor stared at Zhu Qiming for a moment, "I heard that you only selected eight hundred guards, is this really enough?" ”

Zhu Qiming wanted to say that it was enough, but instinct drove him to make a complicated speculation, "The soldiers are a little insufficient, and I also ask Your Majesty to select hundreds of pro-troops to train with the Yuefu guards, in addition, since they are going to go on the expedition, the identity of the Yuefu guards is different from the past, and they need to be stationed in the prison army eunuchs as usual." ”

"Well, it's time to enrich the troops, as for the eunuchs stationed in the prison army, just make an appearance, I will order to go down, and no one will get in the way of you." The emperor paused for a moment and sighed softly, "I have made up my mind, I will get married the year after tomorrow, you go and tell the imperial sister, so that she doesn't have to worry, I will immediately send the assistant minister to discuss, I take a step back, presumably the auxiliary minister will not be entangled in the matter of the imperial sister again, if so, I will issue an order to canonize Xue Huan as the lieutenant of the horse." ”