In the Wuying Palace, more than a dozen exquisite palace lamps are hung high above the coiling dragon pillar of the main hall, illuminating the hall as bright as day.

Zhu Yunwen stood on the side of the dragon case, looking indescribably worried.

In front of the dragon case, Huang Zicheng, the official of Chunfang, stood calmly, and beside him, Ru Yu, the secretary of the military department, the left servant of the military department, Qi Tai, the head of the household department, Yu Xin, the left capital of the imperial history, and several important ministers of the court and the central government stood side by side.

Not long after the urgent military report from Beiping reached the palace, these ministers were quickly summoned into the palace by Zhu Yuanzhang to discuss countermeasures.

Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing a bright yellow civilian clothes, sitting on the chair behind the dragon case, his hair was slightly messy and scattered a few strands on his sideburns, and a few age spots on his face were particularly eye-catching and old under the light of the palace lamp.

It is hard to imagine that an old man who is old and dying of old age can burst out with such a shocking momentum at this moment.

The atmosphere in the hall was very dull, and everyone didn't dare to come out, bowing their heads and waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to speak.

After being silent for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head, slowly glanced at the ministers, and his tone was extremely gloomy: "I, thirty years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, thirty years ago, I drove out the Tartars and recovered my Han people, and the Northern Yuan and Mongolia were defeated again and again by me, they lost their armor and fled back to the grassland desert, and never dared to cross the Great Wall for half a step!" After I established the country, I knew that the country was easy to get and difficult to defend, and regardless of the dignity of the princes, I ordered them to go to the border one by one, govern the army and the people, and prevent the resurgence of the Northern Yuan Tartars, which has been going on for more than 20 years......"

All the ministers hurriedly bowed down and said, "Your Majesty is heroic and sage, and you are in the United States-"

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored the perfunctory compliments of the ministers, but slapped the dragon case fiercely, and roared angrily: "But, why does a small tribe of 50,000 people dare to surround my Beiping Mansion now?" Do those Tartars think that I am old, and they will not be able to hold their swords? Tartar Ann dares to deceive me like this! ”

The anger of the Son of Heaven was thunderous, and the hall was suddenly filled with a fierce murderous aura, which frightened the ministers to their knees in a hurry, and said in unison: "Your Majesty is angry-"

Zhu Yuanzhang's cloudy old eyes were bloodshot, his face was gloomy, and he said calmly: "Do they think that when I am old and can't hold a sword, I can act recklessly?" I'm not dead yet, and it's not the turn of those damn barbarians to run rampant! I'm going to take the lead and let those Tartars see if my sword is as sharp as it was back then......"

When the ministers heard this, they suddenly felt a thrill, and they were really panicked.

Huang Zicheng took the lead in playing: "Your Majesty, don't do it!" It's only 50,000 people, how can Your Majesty hastily recruit in person? The so-called son of a daughter, he can't sit down, His Majesty is the respect of the Ninety-Five, the co-lord of the world, how can he give up his roots and take risks? Your Majesty, I hope Your Majesty will take back your life! ”

Zuodu Yushi said violently: "Your Majesty, the Son of Heaven can not be easily conscripted, since ancient times, the Son of Heaven has been conscripted, nothing more than two reasons that have to be done, one of them, the country is in danger, the country is in danger, the country is hanging in the line, the Son of Heaven is conquest, is to turn the tide, to help protect the community is not lost, the other two, the universe is decided, the victory is in hand, the Son of Heaven needs to go in person, inspire the morale of the soldiers, and decide the world in a war." Otherwise, the Son of Heaven can not easily go out to fight, and now it is just a small tribe in the Northern Yuan Dynasty to surround Beiping, which is not a national difficulty, nor can it be said that the situation is decided. ”

All the ministers bowed down and bowed together: "The ministers seconded the proposal." ”

Zhu Yunwen hurriedly said on the side: "The emperor's grandfather is old, how can he travel long distances for the mere clown?" The grandson is not good, and he is willing to represent the emperor's father, sweep away the Northern Yuan Dynasty for his grandfather, and drive them back to the grassland desert again. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed, and he looked at Zhu Yunwen lovingly, and his face couldn't help but become more and more complicated and inexplicable.

With a long sigh, Zhu Yuanzhang sat back on the chair dejectedly, his body was only known to him, just now he was just talking about anger, now he is old and sick, and he has to rely on decoction to survive, how can he have the physical strength and energy to drive a personal expedition?

Only when you really can't hold the sword can you deeply understand the sadness of the hero's twilight.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang didn't speak, the ministers in the palace couldn't help but look up at him, their eyes were very resolute, and they clearly told a message that if Zhu Yuanzhang insisted on driving the expedition in person, they would not hesitate to die to admonish.

After a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled sadly and self-deprecatingly: "I ...... I'm really old. ”

Hearing this, the ministers breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.

Everyone thinks the same, a small tribal soldier surrounding Beiping may be a bit abnormal, but after all, there are only tens of thousands of people, if you alarm the great tomorrow son to conquer in person, it will become a laughing stock if it is not big or small, where is the royal majesty at that time? Where is the decency of the imperial court?

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes and looked at Zhu Yunwen, shook his head slowly, and said: "The grandson is the inheritance of the Jiangshan Society, and he can't lead the army to take risks, Zhu Aiqing, how should this matter be handled?" ”

Huang Zicheng said: "Your Majesty, Beiping was surrounded, it was really unexpected by us, the military newspaper only said that the Northern Yuan Qiergis tribe sent troops, but did not say the reason why they besieged Beiping, Beiping Mansion is the fief of the fourth prince Yan Wang, Yan Wang is still in Beijing now, the minister thinks that His Majesty can call Yan Wang to ask the ins and outs of the matter first." ”

Huang Zicheng's steady words made everyone nod in agreement.

Zhu Yunwen thought for a while and said: "Imperial grandfather, Jinyiwei is responsible for espionage, lurking, suppressing the enemy and other matters, and the grandson thinks that in response to the siege of Beiping, he might as well summon Li Jinglong, the commander of Jinyiwei, and Xiao Fan, the same knowledge of Jinyiwei, to discuss this matter together." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him, knowing that Sun Er was deliberately promoting Xiao Fan's status in the court, and a mere Tongzhi was not qualified to participate in such a major state discussion, but since Sun Er had the intention of promoting Xiao Fan, Zhu Yuanzhang was inconvenient to object.

So Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Quasi, come here, King Xuanyan, Li Jinglong, Duke Cao Guo, Xiao Fan will meet you." ”

The eunuch outside the door responded respectfully and hurriedly ran outside the palace.

Huang Zicheng, Huang Guan and others saw that Zhu Yunwen did not forget to lift Xiao Fan at all times, their faces suddenly became a little ugly, and they stood in front of the dragon case without saying a word.

Xiao Fan received the summons from the eunuch in the palace It was almost a watch, he didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly put on his official uniform and rushed to the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him late at night, and he didn't know what was wrong, Xiao Fan rushed to the palace, and he was nervous in his heart.

Lao Zhu shouldn't have found anything, right?

Xiao Fan's most heart-warming thing now is the matter between him and the county lord of Jiangdu, if Lao Zhu is aware of this matter, I am afraid he will not see the sun tomorrow morning.

The closer he got to the palace gate, the more trembling Xiao Fan became. - Therefore, if you don't do bad things for others, you are not afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang knocking on the door in the middle of the night, Xiao Fan feels that it is better to speak and do things above board in the future.

The hired carriage stopped under the stone plaque of Chengtianmen, Xiao Fan got out of the carriage, looked around with his eyes, but saw that the surroundings were bright, the brocade-clothed pro-army held torches or palace lanterns, patrolling back and forth in a neat line, and the eunuchs on duty at the Jinshui Bridge did not dare to slack off and walk around, and they could feel the strict guard of the palace before entering Chengtianmen.

As soon as Xiao Fan took two steps forward, a team of brocade-clothed pro-soldiers vigilantly surrounded him, and only after checking his waist card did he let him go.

Xiao Fan was ordered to enter the palace, of course, he was not worried that someone would treat him as an assassin, and after the identity verification, a team of brocade-clothed soldiers escorted him to the palace.

When I walked to the side of the bridge, I saw a very luxuriously decorated car parked in front of me, the carriage was decorated with distilled gold, decorated with white jade pearls, and the front of the car was double-pulled, and it was the carriage of the prince's family at a glance.

Xiao Fan's expression froze, and he turned his head and asked the Jinyi Baihu officer who escorted him into the palace beside him, "Who else did Your Majesty summon?" Whose carriage is this? ”

The officer knew that Xiao Fan was a fellow of Jinyiwei, and the Jinyi pro-army was under the jurisdiction of Jinyiwei, and Xiao Fan was his immediate boss, so he didn't dare to slack off, and said respectfully: "Lord Xiao, Your Majesty summoned Lord Huang Zicheng, the official of Chunfang, Lord Shangshuru of the Ministry of War, Lord Lang Qi, the left attendant of the Ministry of War, etc., this is the car of His Royal Highness King Yan, and His Royal Highness King Yan has just arrived......"

Xiao Fan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned so many people at the same time, it should have nothing to do with him and the county lord of Jiangdu.

While relieving his heart, Xiao Fan's eyes rolled, and the bad water began to gurgle out again.

Walking to King Yan's carriage and groaning, Xiao Fan touched his chin and said, "King Yan's car is too extravagant, it's not good, it's not simple......"

Jinyi Baihu wondered: "What do you mean by ......?" ”

Xiao Fan smiled evilly: "I'll give it plastic surgery......

After speaking, without waiting for others to react, Xiao Fan ran up, then flew up and kicked the carriage of the carriage fiercely, with a muffled bang, and there was a long way on the side of the Jinshui Bridge in the middle of the night, and there was a black and big footprint on the outer wall of the golden carriage.

Xiao Fan still felt angry after kicking him, thinking of Zhu Di's yin hand on him, sending a dead man to assassinate him and so on, Xiao Fan's heart somehow became more and more angry, so regardless of the stunned eyes of others, Xiao Fan gritted his teeth and kicked and hit the wall of the carriage, feeling that it was not enjoyable, he grabbed the dust and sand on the ground and threw it into the carriage.

He felt very happy, and there was a sense of satisfaction with the victory of Ah Q, like Don Quixote triumphing over the windmill.

By the time Xiao Fan was tired of playing, King Yan's car was already scarred, dirty and black, full of scratches and dust, and it looked like a terracotta warrior chariot dug out of the soil, which was very ...... Quaint?

Xiao Fan stopped his hand, raised his head proudly, and saw that the carriage had been tossed by him, and his heart couldn't help but be very happy, he was very satisfied with his masterpiece.

Panting and turning his head to stare at the stunned team of brocade-clothed pro-soldiers on the side, Xiao Fan said viciously: "None of you are allowed to say what happened just now, otherwise...... This carriage is the end! ”

Jinyi Baihu was stunned for a moment, and then sighed long: "Lord Xiao, I don't think we have to talk about it anymore......"

Xiao Fan was also stunned for a moment: "What do you mean?" ”

The brocade clothes pointed behind Xiao Fan with a strange expression, and Xiao Fan suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart.

looked back in amazement, but saw a figure flashing on the other side of the carriage, and Zhu Di, the king of Yan, appeared in front of Xiao Fan with an iron face.

Xiao Fan was taken aback, then burst into tears, silently straightened the crooked wheel, and dusted off the dust outside the carriage, with a very respectful attitude...... Turning his head and blinking his teary eyes, Xiao Fan asked the hundred households in Jinyi with infinite grievance: "...... Why didn't you tell me that His Royal Highness King Yan hadn't entered the palace yet? ”

"The adults are too fast, and they can't hide their ears quickly, so don't your subordinates have time to say it......"

Zhu Di's face did not disappear until he entered the Wuying Palace.

Xiao Fan followed behind him with a frown, walking not far away, he felt that today's bad envoy was a failure.

The two of them entered the Wuying Hall in silence and embarrassment all the way.

After giving Zhu Yuanzhang a salute, Xiao Fan immediately flashed behind Qi Tai, the left attendant of the military department, in a very low-key manner, and then remained silent inconspicuously.

raised his eyes and looked around at everyone, and saw that there was no expression on everyone's faces, only Zhu Yunwen squeezed his eyes at him mischievously with a calm face.

Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly: "Everyone has arrived...... Di'er. ”

Zhu Di stepped forward and said respectfully: "Erchen is here." ”

"The 50,000 horsemen of the Northern Yuan Qiergis tribe surrounded Beiping, do you know about this?"

Zhu Di bowed down, a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then quickly disappeared, and hurriedly exclaimed in an indignant tone: "What! The Northern Yuan Tartars actually dared to violate my Ming Territory again! Father, don't spare the Tartars! ”

As soon as Xiao Fan heard that Zhu Yuanzhang asked everyone to enter the palace late at night for this matter, he knew in his heart, and the surprise in Zhu Di's eyes was seen by him alone, and he couldn't help sneering a few times in his heart.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the indignation on Zhu Di's face, and his condensed expression gradually eased a little.

No matter how ambitious the princes are for the throne, they are still quite stylish in the face of the major issues of right and wrong in the face of foreign invasion, and they have taught themselves for many years. ——While passing on the Jiangshan Sheji to his descendants, Zhu Yuanzhang hopes to pass on his life's beliefs and persistence, not bowing to strong enemies, not being a minister, not paying tribute, not making peace, the king is dead, and the Son of Heaven guards the country, this is Zhu Yuanzhang's belief, compared with the country and the throne, these intangible things are more important to the descendants of the Zhu family.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Beiping is besieged, how to deal with it?" Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes and scanned everyone, and asked slowly.

Huang Zicheng took two steps to the palace, looked at Zhu Di and said: "His Royal Highness King Yan, Beiping Mansion is the fief of His Royal Highness, and the subordinates dare to ask, the Northern Yuan Qier Jisi Department is just a small tribe with less than 100,000 people, why do they have such a big courage to dare to violate my Ming boundary?" His Royal Highness has been guarding Beiping for many years, do you know why? ”

Zhu Di shook his head solemnly, and said: "This king has been in Beijing for a long time, and the defense of Beiping has been handed over to the general Zhang Yu to take care of, and the Beiping Mansion has always taken an offensive against the tribes of the Northern Yuan Dynasty under the governance of the king. ”

Xiao Fan sneered, Zhu Di said innocently, in fact, he was implying that he had stayed in Beijing for too long, as soon as he left Beiping, the Beiyuan tribe came to attack, which shows his important surname to Beiping Mansion, which means that his father should let him go back.

Huang Zicheng saw that he couldn't get a result, so he couldn't help but retreat back with some disappointment.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while and said: "Beiping is surrounded, it seems to be a trivial matter, but in fact, I am afraid that there is another reason for it, what does Zhu Aiqing think of this matter?" ”

Zhu Di straightened up when he heard this, looked directly at Zhu Yuanzhang with his eyes, and said loudly: "Father, the sons dare not be arrogant, the sons have governed the Beiping Mansion for many years, and they should be familiar with the upper and lower soldiers of the fiefdom. If the sons and daughters do not avenge this soldier, what face will they have to see their father and emperor again in the future, and what face will they have to stand in heaven and earth again? The son asked his father to return to Beiping to lead the army, defeat the Tartars, and here he is willing to make a military order to his father, if he can't compete for merit, the son is willing to repay his father with a death for the kindness of his father's upbringing! ”

Zhu Di's words were impassioned and loud, and everyone in the hall couldn't help but be slightly moved, and Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard, smiling, and approving.

Zhu Yunwen looked worried, standing silently beside Zhu Yuanzhang, raising his eyes to look at Zhu Di from time to time.

When Xiao Fan saw Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction, he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, his heart was broken! Lao Zhu was moved by Zhu Di's words, and if he really wants to let Zhu Di go back to Beiping, it is tantamount to returning to the mountains, who in the world can still control him? How will Zhu Yunwen sit firmly on the throne in the future?

Xiao Fan didn't care about his own position, so he hurriedly stood up at the moment, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has a little different opinion......

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said with a smile: "Xiao Aiqing just said it." ”

"The minister thinks that tens of thousands of Tartars in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, sending His Royal Highness King Yan back to Beiping to lead the army, it is really a knife to kill chickens, Beiping Mansion has 100,000 elite soldiers, and the general Zhang Yu is a rare general in my Ming Dynasty, if he can't even defeat tens of thousands of Tartars, it is really unbelievable, so the minister thinks that there is no need to send His Royal Highness King Yan back, just order the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies to transfer the officers and troops of thousands of households in Henan, Shandong, Daning and other places, and go to Beiping, and send a powerful general to lead, and General Zhang Yu of Beiping Mansion should be outside the world, The Tartar naturally collapsed with one blow, and King Yan couldn't go back, so it didn't make much sense. ”

Zhu Di's face suddenly appeared angry when he heard this, his eyes stared gloomily at Xiao Fan, and the killing intent in his eyes was fierce and fierce, which made people shudder.

"Lord Xiao, you are just a little Jinyi Wei Tongzhi, weak crown age, what qualifications do you have to talk about state affairs?" Zhu Di asked gloomily.

Xiao Fan smiled kindly: "Your Majesty ordered the ministers to come to the Wuying Palace to discuss state affairs, since the ministers have been in the palace, the so-called in their positions and seek their own government, His Royal Highness King Yan, the ministers feel that they are qualified to speak." ”

Zhu Di's expression became more and more ruthless, and said: "It's your business to speak, but what we are talking about here is a major matter related to the Ming Dynasty, you are young, you don't know the affairs of the soldiers, you don't know how to arrange troops, you don't know anything, people with no virtue and no talent, talking nonsense in front of the emperor, aren't you afraid of taking on the eternal crime of misleading the country and the king?" ”

Xiao Fan said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, I'm afraid there are other people who have misled the country and the king, right?" ”

(To be continued)