Zhu Di smiled and said, "You are quite mysterious; Say, what matters so much? ”

Shen Ruoliao trembled and said, "Lord Wang, please forgive Ruoliao for lying just now; I don't have anything important to report to the king. I was just...... I have a question that I want the prince to answer to me. ”

King Yan was silent for a moment, not as if he was not very surprised. He smiled faintly:

"No wonder you're going to want everybody out. Lone was still thinking, what kind of important thing could be so secret that even Lord Yao couldn't hear it? You have any questions, but it doesn't hurt to ask; As long as Lone knows the answer, he will definitely tell you. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "This question, Lord Wang, you must know the answer." If you don't ask the prince to tell me, just ask the prince, if you tell me, please don't lie to me. ”

Zhu Di's two dragon eyebrows raised slightly. "Say it."

Shen Ruoyu said in a low voice: "Lord Wang, Huang Lizi told me a lot of things at the head of Madame City. Later, when I was recuperating from my injuries in Wudang Mountain, I got confirmation from Huandan Zhenren. I know that you know more about me from the beginning than you know yourself. You know who my dad is, what he's done, and what his notoriety is. You know everything about me inside out. I just want to know, why are you willing to let me deliver a letter for you, my lord; Since "The King of Shu Enters Sichuan" is highly confidential, you handed it over to me, have you never been worried, I will be like my father? What do you think of me in your heart? Emperor Gao's last order, after Shen Rufeng could not be reused - sending one or two letters is naturally far from being reused; It's just - do you think I've only been a messenger all my life? ”

He kept his head down, trembling all over, and didn't dare to look at King Yan. Zhu Di didn't answer immediately, and he didn't stay silent for too long. King Yan opened his mouth and said softly:

"Lone actually guessed a long time ago that when you came back this time, you must ask me this question. Ruo Xiao, you raised your head and looked at Lonely. ”

Shen Ruoyu raised his head and met the smiling gaze of the Shangyan King. The gaze was bright and warm, solid and open, and immediately made his cold heart melt quickly.

"Lord ......"

King Yan smiled gently: "Ruoxiao, do you know that from childhood to adulthood, the two words that Gu heard most frequently and hated to hear the most, are they?" ”

Shen Ruoyu shook his head blankly.

Yan Wang said: "One is 'the son is not like the father', and the other is 'quite fatherly'. You can guess who these two words that I hate but hear so often come from? ”

Shen Ruoyu didn't dare to answer; For a while, his ears were full of insults from his former father, scolding himself for being useless, not like him at all.

Zhu Di said lightly: "'The son is not like the father', it always comes from the first emperor's examination, and 'quite fatherly' comes from everyone except him." Lone grew up in the never-ending criticism and blame of the former emperor's examination since he was a child; No matter what you do, you can never satisfy him; 'The Son is not like the Father' is his most frequent comment to me. Later, Gu grew up and contradicted the imperial examination on many things, and this 'son is not like the father', and he continued to cover Gu's head. I have also worked hard for many years to meet his requirements, so that he can truly feel that I am his son and be proud of me; Then one day, because of another question, Lone insisted on his own opinion, and he scolded him as 'the son is not like the father', and at that moment, I suddenly figured it out. I was wrong, but I wasn't wrong about not being like a father, but I was wrong about trying to be like a father. I can't be like him and at the same time assert myself, I am two completely different people from him. If I can leave a name in history, the name I dream of leaving is the word Zhu Di, not the son of my father. ”

Shen Ruoyu listened quietly and did not make a sound.

Zhu Di smiled calmly and continued: "Ironically, except for my father, it seems that everyone in the world says that I, Zhu Di, am 'quite fatherly', which is completely contrary to the emperor's own opinion. When I led my troops out of the fortress once, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty said that I was 'quite fatherly'; I wrote a poem when I was bored, and the sour and rotten literati also came out to chew the words, saying that I was 'quite paternal', and the words were all emperor's weapons; several times and three times, the court became more and more suspicious of me, and even the former emperor, who had always scolded me for 'the son is not like the father', suddenly became wary of me. Now, the former emperor has passed away; The new Son of Heaven is even more convinced that my King Yan is 'quite paternal' and will want to seize his throne; the imperial court is in full swing to cut the feudal domain, targeting me, the fourth son, who has always been regarded by my father as an unworthy father. Tell me, when you hear these two words, how can you not have a headache! ”

Shen Ruoyu stood quietly in place, looking at King Yan sincerely. The bitterness and doubt that had accumulated in my heart for three months had dissipated before I knew it. From beginning to end, King Yan did not mention his father or himself; However, at this moment, facing King Yan, he felt as if he had been talking about himself, his own life experience, his own burden, and his own life; This feeling of listening is better than pouring out, and it is warm and comfortable like never before. He empathized with King Yan, and only had understanding and admiration in his heart, as well as some sympathy.

Zhu Di looked at the look on his face and said with a faint smile: "Ruoxiao, Lone knows that the people around you have always kept things about your father from you. In the end, it is cruel for you to learn the truth in this way. Lone may have told you a long time ago, but he hasn't been able to bear it. As for what Lone thinks of you—if I have a formed view from the beginning, whether it is good or bad, it must be unfair to you, because Lone doesn't know you yet; Until now, it cannot be said that I know you completely. Lonely asked you to help me deliver the letter twice, both to give myself a chance, and also to give you a chance, so that we can get to know each other better. Sending a letter may not be reused, but it can be used to examine whether a person is worth reusing. The answer you give to Lone on this question is yes. Lone also wants to continue to understand and discover you; I've discovered a lot about you, and it's refreshing for me. ”

He got up and left his seat, walked up to Shen Ruoxiao, and pressed his shoulder.

"Ruo Xiao, when your father went around fighting, Lone was still a child; When he left the imperial court and roamed the world, he never set foot in military politics again, and he was only eleven years old; He retreated to Yanshan, and two and a half years later, he came to Beiping to take up the domain. I have never known your father all my life, and I know nothing about him; I don't care what kind of person he is. The first emperor had a will; It is not the first time that Lone has disobeyed the emperor's last order. When the imperial examination was alive, Lone frequently acted against the will of the imperial examination, which caused many scoldings of 'sons are not like fathers'. Han Wu deposed the hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone, didn't it also violate the ancestral teachings of Huang Lao Wuwei? Lone has tasted all the hardships myself, and I no longer want to be troubled and stumped by this 'father-like' problem, which hinders me from pursuing my own path. Lonely hope, you can be the same as Lonely; Only by freeing ourselves from this burden can we calmly cope with the eyes of the world. ”

Shen Ruoyu took a deep breath and nodded. Zhu Di looked into his eyes, but sharply detected the remnants of the shadows inside. King Yan asked:

"Do you still have doubts in your mind?"

Shen Ruoxiao was silent for a long time, and suddenly knelt down in front of King Yan and said:

"Lord Wang, you treat me like a mountain, far better than my own father; I don't deserve your love. If you live up to the prince's trust and make an unforgivable mistake, please punish the prince. ”

Zhu Di looked at him in surprise. "Did you make a mistake? What's wrong? ”

Shen Ruoyu didn't dare to raise his head: "In the matter of "The King of Shu Enters Sichuan", when the King of Shu sat alone in the study and looked at the map, he was seen by Fang Xiaoru from afar; Mr. Fang reported to the Son of Heaven. Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng and Mr. Fang discussed for a long time, and they couldn't guess what the meaning of the picture was, but they all concluded that there must be a deep meaning. If he is derelict in his duties and fails to keep it secret, he hopes that the prince will punish him. ”

King Yan didn't speak for a while, and he didn't have any expression.

Shen Ruoyu paused and continued: "Also, Lord Fang Zhengxue asked me to bring a letter to Jinan to Lord Tie Xuan, who participated in the politics of Shandong, and he said that the letter was to discuss with Lord Tie about the reduction of the imperial court. Shen Ruoyu directly sent the letter to Lord Tie Xuan, and didn't bring it back to the prince—"

He couldn't go on.

Zhu Di didn't move at all; It was quiet in the Xingsheng Palace, and the needle drop could be heard.

After a long time, King Yan opened his mouth and said in a low voice:

"Since it was the King of Shu himself who was discovered by Fang Xiaoru, there is nothing you can do. Why do you want to punish you? ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Because I'm not clever enough; Fang Xiaoru mentioned it in front of the Son of Heaven, but I couldn't think of words to explain and excuse myself, but it made them feel that I was weak-hearted. ”

Zhu Di shook his head, bent down, pulled him up from the ground, and smiled helplessly:

"Silly boy, the court has been staring at me for more than a day or two, and it won't be suspicious of me because of a picture scroll, and it won't let me go just because you excuse me. Do you understand. Whatever you say is actually secondary. Secret letter is not secret letter, deep meaning is not deep meaning, they believe it or not, in fact, there is no difference, the result is the same. The imperial court is cutting the feudal domain step by step, and it is bound to be won. At times like these, my own talent is what I can really rely on; You are all my pillars, and I can't support anyone without me. If you are alone, you need to be by Lone's side at all times to help Lone overcome this difficulty. Don't have any more doubts in your heart. ”

King Yan saw the gratitude and relief in Shen Ruoliao's eyes, as if the sunshine had returned to that face. He shook his head and smiled:

"Silly boy. Now, you tell Lone, what did Founder say in his letter to Tie Keystone? ”

When Shen Ruoyu heard the three words Tie Dingshi, his heart moved, thinking that what Tie Xuan said was indeed true, and the prince and he had some friendship.

He said: "He told me that he was talking about the imperial court's cutting of feudal domains; I don't know anything else, and I didn't take it apart. It was Mr. Fang's personal letter, and since I promised him, I had to help him deliver it to Lord Tie no matter what, so that others could not see it. ”

"Lone understands; You're very righteous, and you're doing the right thing. Zhu Di said, "Have you seen Tie Keystone?" Did you say anything? ”

Shen Ruoyu hesitated: "I said; He asked me what I thought of cutting the feudal domain, and he said, "I hope I can understand the righteousness, understand the general situation, serve the imperial court, and not help the prince to rebel." And Mr. Fang Zhengxue, who also said the same thing. ”

Zhu Di sighed softly: "Even the lonely people began to rob." What about you, what do you think? ”

Shen Ruoyu asked, "Lord Wang, do you really want to be a soldier?" ”

Zhu Di said: "If I want to, how about you?" What if I don't want to? ”

"So, do you still think about it, prince?" Shen Ruoyu asked cautiously.

Zhu Di examined him for a moment, and asked lightly: "Ruoxiao, Madame, in the city, Huang Lizi claimed to be Jinyiwei who was ordered by the Son of Heaven to investigate and collect evidence; There is also the Jingshi Palace, in the face of the inquiries of the Son of Heaven and the courtiers - you have two chances, you can choose to cooperate with the imperial court, so as to go all out to oppose my Yan Wang's army. The first opportunity, but you chose to throw yourself into the river and destroy your letter; The second time, he chose to stand on Lone's side and help Gu speak. You don't know in your heart whether Lone really has the intention of raising an army; Can you tell Lonely, why did you choose this way? ”

Shen Ruoyu thought for a long time and said, "Lord Wang, I'm ...... It's hard to explain. I just don't want the court to treat you like the king of Zhou; The whole city will be heartbroken. Lord, I have always felt that it was a mistake for Emperor Taizu Gao not to pass on the throne to you; But now, the truth is that it is your own nephew who sits on the throne, after all, if you raise an army, is it—however, he has indeed gone too far in cutting the feudal domain, and has no regard for flesh and blood affection. But should we fight mistakes with a tooth for a tooth, fight violence with violence, and fight mistakes with mistakes - to be honest, my lord, I don't know, I can't figure it out. ”

"I can't figure it out," Zhu Di sighed, "You're confused; Lone was also confused, and I didn't know what I was going to do. ”

Shen Ruoyu hesitated for a moment and said, "Are you still hesitating?" ”

Zhu Di looked at him, pondered for a moment, and said, "I'm hesitating. Do you want to persuade me anything? ”

Shen Ruoyu shook his head: "No, I just have some ideas." ”

"You say."

"Lord Wang, the current situation is becoming more and more urgent, if you haven't started to prepare for the army, then I advise you to give up. Because the imperial court is already taking action, the people of the two divisions of Beiping have changed, and if you haven't started preparing now, it's already too late. It is better to give the Son of Heaven a table, honestly hand over the army, and maybe be able to keep the title of Prince of Taiping, not as miserable as King Zhou. ”

Zhu Di pondered for a moment. "What if the other one?" He asked quietly.

Shen Ruoyu said: "If the other is true, right? ”

Zhu Di remained silent: "Lone is just talking about if." ”

Shen Ruoyu said softly: "Lord Wang, by now, if you are willing to believe me, if you really regard me as your pillar and want me to stay by your side, then don't hide it from me anymore." As I passed by the Taiye Pool, I heard the cries of countless motley fowl; You know my martial arts, I can hear it clearly, in the noise of chickens, ducks and geese, there is a faint sound of iron, coming from the ground. ”

Zhu Di was not surprised, and looked at him quietly.

"Okay; So, how? ”

Shen Ruoyu said worriedly: "Your Highness, based on my observation of the Son of Heaven and the three close ministers around him, they are not your opponents. I don't know what kind of generals in the court can be picked, maybe Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, can be counted as one - but he is only a courtier under the Son of Heaven, and all the decisive factors are on the Son of Heaven himself, and Zhu Yunwen cannot be compared with you. If you raise an army and lead it south, there will be no one to compete with you. But the Son of Heaven is not without capable people; At least Tie Hyun can be a considerable resistance; There is also Mr. Fang Zhengxue, although he may not be able to lead troops to fight, but he has enough influence, and he will definitely die for the Son of Heaven. You may eventually get the throne, but you won't get the hearts of the people; This is one of them. Second, even if you get the throne and sit down in peace for a long time,—— with all due respect, my lord, in the future history books, you can't escape the word 'usurpation'. ”

Zhu Di trembled slightly and blinked. Shen Ruoxiao's words hit the nail on the head of him, his heart disease.

He sighed, "After all, you're still trying to persuade me not to raise troops. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "No, Lord Wang, I'm saying, you have to think about the price of raising troops, this is what you have to pay, you have to think about whether it is worth it and whether you are willing." Because, after all, on top of the cost, there will be benefits you want. You need to weigh the trade-offs. ”

"Benefits;" Zhu Di repeated: "In your opinion, what are the benefits? ”

"That map, my lord," Shen Ruoyu was moved, and his voice trembled a little, "In the Dongnuan Pavilion of your dormitory, that huge map of the territory of the Ming Dynasty; What you said to me before the map, maybe you didn't mean it, but Shen Ruoyu will remember it for the rest of his life. Zhu Yunwen does not have the ideals and ambitions of yours, he does his best, at most, he can only be a king of success, and he will not be more successful than other kings in history. But if the Ming Dynasty is in your hands, after a thousand years of life, history will say that it was you and Emperor Taizu Gao who opened up the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty, laid the foundation of prosperity, and made my China enter the most prosperous era in history - you and Emperor Taizu Gao are the founding emperors of my Ming Dynasty, and their descendants will be Yongchang for all generations. ”

Zhu Di looked at him silently for a long time. There was no expression on his face except pensive; In the depths of his eyes, a flame was burning - it was not a fire on dry wood, it was just a handful of excitement, and it seemed to have been burning for tens of thousands of years, always suppressed, and gradually could no longer be suppressed, to break through the cage, break through all shackles, and rise to the sky, from then on the entire night sky as bright as day.

"Ruo Xiao, then do you know, there is a sentence, standing in front of that map, you once said it to Lone, maybe you were unintentional, but Lone will always remember it."

Shen Ruoyu thought for a while and shook his head: "I can't remember." ”

Zhu Di said word by word: "Sweep Mobei, step on the Tatars, get rid of future troubles forever, and let the Ming Dynasty revitalize the Han Dynasty." ”

After saying this, he suddenly smiled faintly, looked at Shen Ruoliao, and asked softly:

"Can you make sense? A usurper king, and at the same time a wise and great monarch who has made great achievements, can he be famous in history? What is the name of the name, is it a usurpation, or is it a generation of saints? ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Li Shimin also has a change in Xuanwumen. ”

Zhu Di looked at him, and a resolute light flashed in his deep eyes, which instantly brightened his bold and heroic dark face. He laughed out loud, laughing so fearlessly and openly, that Shen Ruoyu suddenly felt that all the uneasiness was swept away, leaving only inexplicable emotion and excited anticipation.

"Someone!" King Yan shouted loudly.

The gates of the Xingsheng Palace opened; Yao Biao, Luo Yang, and Ma Sanbao rushed in, walked into the main hall, and looked at the two people inside cautiously.

Zhu Di said loudly: "Sanbao, you go and tell the cook to roast two good fat ducks, you personally send them to Ruo Liu's house, reward him to his mother, and tell her that Ruo Liao will stay in the palace and accompany me until dinner is over, so that she doesn't have to worry about it; Luo Yang, you quickly pass Zhang Yu, Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng, Tan Yuan, Tang Yun, Zhang Wu, Chen Qi, and come to Xingsheng Palace immediately,—— right, as well as Zhang Qi and Zhang Changye, after that, you quickly go to Qingshou Temple and invite Master Daoyan over. ”

Seeing that the two of them simply took the order and left, Zhu Di sat down, looked at Yao Biao with a smile, and said:

"Shude, now it's your turn to help me come up with an idea: I plan to see Yuan Tingyu immediately, what kind of ceremony should I prepare?"