After the dispersal of the dynasty, Zhu Quan slowly walked on the royal road and headed towards the East Palace.

Zhu Biao, who was sick in bed, saw Zhu Quan's arrival, and his pale face couldn't help but be filled with a hint of joy, and he hurriedly ordered the eunuch Bai Zheng to move the embroidery pier to the bed and let Zhu Quan sit down and talk.

"Since Brother Quan became a fan of Daning, our brothers haven't seen each other for a long time, I don't know if you and your brother and sister have always been good?" Zhu Biao smiled.

Seeing the extremely cordial meaning in Zhu Biao's eyes, Zhu Quan couldn't help but feel guilty, recalling that when he was in the early dynasty, he only cared about North Korea and the matter of Wara, and completely forgot that the prince of the East Palace did not participate in the early dynasty. This eldest brother Zhu Biao, who has always cared for him, actually has nothing to do with him, let alone his brothers and sisters. It's a pity that this secret can't be told to Zhu Biao for the rest of his life, maybe it is because of this unavoidable deception that he still gets the trust and kindness of the other party, maybe because Zhu Biao and his father Zhu Yuanzhang are completely different from Zhu Di, or maybe because of the guilt in his heart, which makes him either intentionally or unintentionally want to stay away from the East Palace and stay away from Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao saw that Zhu Quan frowned and was silent, his face was not very good-looking, and he didn't know that he was guilty, so he smiled and said: "Brother has been feeling unwell for the past two days, and it's not a big deal, Brother Quan doesn't need to be too worried." ”

When he heard that Xu Ying was pregnant, Zhu Biao was very happy and muttered: "When the next time I turn back to Yingtian, Brother Quan must bring my nephew here." ”

As soon as the words came out, Zhu Quan couldn't help but wonder in his heart, Xu Ying was pregnant, and he didn't tell Zhu Yuanzhang, nor did he tell Zhu Di, but today he gossiped like a homely person and said it without paying attention to it, without considering the stakes.

Since Zhu Quan became the domain of Daning, Yingtian's Ning Wangfu has been cleaned and cared for by the Zongren Mansion, and everything is as clean as before. When Zhu Quan returned to the gate of the palace, Ma Sanbao led a group of guards and maids to hurriedly greet Zhu Quan, respectfully playing Zhu Quan, saying that His Royal Highness King Zhou was visiting, and he had been waiting for Zhu Quan for a long time.

Zhu Quan was stunned, recalling that when he chatted with Zhu Di, the king of Yan, in the past, he had also heard that this was the fifth in line, and he was the younger brother of the same father and mother, named Zhu Hu.

Seeing that the small lake in the backyard of the palace was as calm as before, and the small building under the shade of the bamboo forest was the same as before, but Xu Ying did not accompany him, and the master Qin Zhuofeng, Jing Kun, and Ma Sanbao also stayed in Daning, Zhu Quan couldn't help but feel a sense of loneliness in his heart.

The figure in the bamboo forest swayed, and a person slowly walked out, and came to Zhu Quan with a smile: "Brother Quan's courtyard is also very quiet and elegant, and it doesn't match your identity as the commander of the first army." ”

Zhu Quan looked intently, and saw that this young man of the same age as himself was wearing a blue python robe, but his eyebrows and eyes were seven or eight points similar to Zhu Di, but he did not have Zhu Di's dignified and calm temperament, but he had a little more cynical demeanor. It turns out that although Zhu Yuanzhang has many sons, in terms of literary style, he is the first to recommend the title of King of Shu, and Zhu Chun in Shu. The second is the former capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Zhou King Zhu Hu of Kaifeng, Henan. He is studious, likes to read, can fill in words and poems, and writes a good hand, once according to the Yuan Dynasty palace relics, wrote "Yuan Palace Words" 100 chapters. Helplessly, he had no talent for military affairs, so he was sealed to the country of Kaifeng by Zhu Yuanzhang early.

Zhu Quan couldn't help laughing and said: "Could it be that the fifth brother thinks that as the commander of the first army, he can only live in the military tent?" He is also considered to have been on the battlefield for a long time, and he is used to seeing battles, and when he met Zhu Hu for the first time today, he was not flustered at all, and asked casually: "Fifth brother was also summoned by his father to heaven this time?" ”

Zhu Hu couldn't help but sigh when he heard this, picked off two leaves from a green grass in his hand, put it in his mouth and chewed it, slowly shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Once our brothers are in the country of the domain, they are not allowed to have personal contacts on weekdays. It is only a three-year period, and it can still be turned back once a day. Speaking of this, he looked at Zhu Quanqi and said: "From what the fourth brother knows in his letter, the two of you have been in the domain for less than three years, how can you also return to Yingtian?" ”

When he heard that Zhu Quan was accompanying the Goryeo envoy, and the leader of Warat turned back to Yingtian, Zhu Hu was relieved.

Zhu Quan saw Zhu Hu put the grass in his hand into his mouth and chewed it from time to time, and couldn't help but be a little funny, and couldn't help asking, "What kind of grass is this?" Is it so delicious? ”

Zhu Hu said with a smile: "Wandering around in the Shicai Garden, I saw that this grass looked very peculiar, so I picked it and tasted it." It's sour and astringent, and there's nothing delicious about it. ”

Zhu Quan couldn't help crying and laughing when he heard this, and asked, "You don't know if it's toxic or not, but it's such a mess?" ”

"Brother Quan doesn't know that there are countless strange flowers and plants in this world, and they are where the aura of heaven and earth is gathered. Because my brother has nothing to do on weekdays, he included it in the "Materia Medica". ”

Zhu Quan asked in surprise: "Saving the Famine Materia Medica"? ”

Zhu Hu said proudly: "It's the ...... made up by the foolish brother" Speaking of this time, he vaguely felt a faint pain in his abdomen, and it was obvious that there was some toxicity in the herbs he tasted, and he had already flareed up at this time.

Zhu Quan saw that Zhu Hu's face was faintly blue, and it was obvious that it was a symptom of poisoning, so he hurriedly helped him to his study to rest, and called the imperial doctor in the palace for diagnosis and treatment.

Fortunately, Zhu Hu had a shallow taste of those strange flowers and plants, and the poisoning time was not long, after taking a dose of vomiting medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor, the stomach couldn't help but turn over the river and the sea, and finally vomited out all the poisonous plants under the intestines and scraping the stomach.

Zhu Quan saw that Zhu Hu, who was rinsing his mouth with hot tea, looked much better than Zhicai, so he put his mind at ease, and couldn't help complaining: "Fifth brother really bought dried fish and released it." ”

Zhu Lu was stunned and asked, "What's the explanation?" ”

"I don't know if I'm alive or dead." Zhu Quan scolded angrily when he heard this.

Zhu Hu tasted poisonous weeds by mistake several times in the past, and almost lost his life, he didn't care about today's situation, laughed when he heard the words, and felt that there was nothing abnormal in his body, so he immediately walked into the courtyard with great interest, found the grass he had tasted and returned to the study, and took out the unfinished volume of "Saving the Famine Materia Medica" from his arms, painted the poisonous grass on it with a brush, asked the imperial doctor the name of this poisonous weed, and solemnly noted the word poisonous, turned his head to Zhu Quan and smiled: "In the year of famine in the Kaifeng land of the brother's domain, Many of the people searched for wild vegetables in the mountains and fields for food, and those who accidentally ate poisonous weeds always had them, so they made a volunteer, and they had to compile a book to record these strange flowers and plants that could be used to satisfy hunger without poison and poison for medicine. ”

Zhu Quan saw Zhu Hu tasting strange herbs, he thought it was just a strange hobby of this dissolute King of Zhou, but at this time, he could hear him say so casually, seeing his still slightly blue complexion, recalling that Western medicine in later generations verified that drugs were the use of animals, and these ancient Chinese Shennong clans often verified herbal poisons by themselves, but they couldn't help but feel an indescribable cordiality in their hearts, and sighed secretly: Although the book "Saving the Famine Materia Medica" will not be like the "Compendium of Materia Medica" It is so well-known to later generations, but I think that just by virtue of Zhu Hu's seemingly absurd behavior today, and with the book "Materia Medica for Saving the Famine" compiled by him, it is possible that countless people will live, and it should be remembered in history more than those rotten Confucians who talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality all day long.

In the night, on the imperial road of the Forbidden City, a middle-aged man with a face of Chinese characters, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and wearing a second-grade civil official costume walked quickly.

Qi Tai came to the outside of the Wuying Palace, and after waiting for about a cup of tea, he saw several officials of the Ministry of Rites exiting the hall, bowing slightly, but silently walked into the hall under the guidance of Xue Jing, the head of the imperial study, and walked towards the imperial study.

Zhu Yuanzhang summoned the officials of the Ministry of Rites tonight, originally for the Spring Examination, but after the explanation, he suddenly thought about the military affairs in Shaanxi, so he summoned Qi Tai, who had been waiting outside the palace for a long time.

Seeing that Qi Tai, who was a senior official of the Ministry of War, answered fluently, and told in detail the number of soldiers and the names of the generals in the Shaanxi Guard, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel satisfied, and picked up a letter from the Hanlin Academy on the table to check it with a slight bow. It turned out that more than a month ago, the head of the prince of Xi'an, his second son Zhu Zhang, the king of Qin, received an urgent report of the military situation, and surrendered to the rebellion of the Tubo tribe of the Ming Dynasty. Compared with other civilian officials in the DPRK and China, the biggest advantage of this Qi Tai is that he is well-read and has a strong memory, which can be said to be unforgettable, and the names of the garrison generals who guarded the important towns on the nine sides and the key guards in various places can be said to be true, and there is absolutely no mistake. Therefore, he was summoned to the palace by Zhu Yuanzhang at night to inquire about the military affairs in Shaanxi.

After Qi Tai finished playing, he bowed backwards and was about to leave, but he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's cheeks frosty after sitting behind the desk, and he whispered in his mouth: "How can this really be true." ”

Qi Tai knew that His Majesty the Hongwu Emperor was very calm on weekdays, but today's sudden change of color was obviously very angry, most of which was caused by Fang Cai's letter, and his heart sank and he involuntarily stopped.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang was furious was only because after the news of Zhu Zhang's victory over the soldiers of the Qin King was transmitted back to the court, most of the civil and military officials praised it, but this letter was diametrically opposed, believing that the Qin king's move was "hastily raising troops, fearing that he would be angry and angry", and the above table suggested that the imperial court quickly send envoys to appease him. Seeing that this seal came from a small official named Chen Cheng from the Hanlin Academy, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but laugh angrily: "After a long time, he talks on paper, he is ignorant, and he dares to talk about state affairs? With a wave of his hand, he threw the letter to the ground.

Qi Tai boldly took two steps forward, picked up the letter with both hands and bowed back two steps back, after carefully looking at the letter with a very strong pen, he was very anxious in his heart, and said softly: "Although Brother Zilu dares to speak out, it is not an exaggeration for His Majesty to reprimand him for talking on paper. Rebellion, rebellion, is killing people and setting fires, can it be appeased if you don't mobilize troops to suppress it? ”

Zhu Yuanzhang heard Qi Tai call this bold Chen Cheng "Zilu Xian Brother", and he was obviously quite familiar with him, so he asked with a calm face: "Are you familiar with this person?" ”

Qi Tai knew that the Chinese officials of the dynasty were only because they opposed Zhu Yuanzhang's large-scale division of the clan, and those who lost their official posts and went to the court staff did not know how many, and the matter of the clan king could be said to be the reverse scale of His Majesty the Emperor today, perhaps Chen Cheng's life and death were in the blink of an eye, and his mind was turning rapidly, trying to recall the anecdote he heard about Chen Cheng when he interacted with the officials of the Hanlin Yuan on weekdays, and replied respectfully: "Weichen is also good at civil affairs on weekdays, so he is very familiar with the officials of the Hanlin Yuan, and he is quite familiar with Chen Cheng, in the eyes of Weichen." Chen Cheng's master and apprentice can be regarded as an outlier among our Ming scholars. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly recalled that Qi Tai, the soldier in front of him, who had always valued him, although he was currently in charge of the affairs of the military department, he was also the first in the Tianxiang test in the past, and he was admitted to the Jinshi in the second year, and it was not surprising that he was familiar with the Hanlin Academy, and he thought of Qi Taiyan's Chen Cheng master and apprentice What kind of outliers were the two of them, he couldn't help but be a little curious, and his anger unconsciously disappeared by two points, and asked in a deep voice: "What is the origin of this person?" ”

"Chen Cheng is a person with the word Lu, Zhushan, Jiangxi Jishui, since he was a child, he has been Bowen Qiangzhi since he was a child, and he has studied under the great Confucian Liang Yin. I heard that his teacher once praised Chen Cheng's father, Chen Jiali: "Ruzi is smart and sharp, although it is difficult to have the talent of a general, but he can also establish the merits of the Marquis of Yuan and Bowang." Qi Tai recalled what the officials in the Hanlin Academy said about Chen Cheng's family affairs, and he couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Yuanzhang also heard of Liang Yin, and heard that this person praised his student Chen Cheng so much, comparing him to Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang in the Western Han Dynasty, and Banchao, the Marquis of Dingyuan in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and couldn't help laughing and scolding: "The master and apprentice are arrogant and bold, and they are in the same lineage." ”

Qi Tai saw that Zhu Yuanzhang's anger subsided for a while, so he immediately said: "At present, although there are countless literati in my Ming Dynasty, there are few people who are helpless to know the language ......of Fanbang, and in the humble opinion of Weichen, this person is familiar with side affairs, and it is rare to do it."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand to interrupt Qi Tai's words, and said coldly: "This Chen Cheng is proficient in Fanbang language, so he will go to the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites and deal with the barbarians all day long." At this time, all the scholars in the world are still based on the Four Books and Five Classics, and they have always been disdainful of the language and writing of Fanbang, let alone understandable, thinking of the Timurid Khanate, Wara, and North Korea have sent envoys to see him, and it is also a trouble to say that Chen Cheng is simply demoted to the official here, and punish one or two, so as to warn those ministers who are always staring at the vassal kings.

Qi Tai also knew that His Majesty had always said the same, Chen Cheng touched the scales of Emperor Hongwu this time, and it was a blessing in misfortune to get such a result, although he was quite sorry in his heart, he still kowtowed and thanked him. It turned out that Chen Cheng was a jinshi, a tribute scholar, and he was also in the top three in the palace examination and the title of the gold list. Compared with many talents who are ranked in the "first class" and "second class", although they can be said to be dwarfed, but after all, they are in the Hanlin Academy, and their future is compared to the Honglu Temple, which is regarded by many civil officials as a yamen who eats and waits for death.