"Goo... Goo..."

At night, amid the croaking of unknown birds, a house in the bustling inner city of Nanjing is also rejoicing in the news it has just received.

"It seems that Donggong is not omnipotent."

"After all, he can't rule the world alone, but how can he balance this little Western trade conflict with the South Seas trade?"

"There are too many enemies, and it is not surprising to make appropriate profits."

"Having said that, it doesn't feel like it's his character......"

In the water pavilion, several officials who had changed into Taoist robes were drinking and chatting, discussing the news they had just received from the household department.

The person at the head is Li Zhigang, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites in the Jianwen period and the current Yongle period.

He was dressed in a Taoist robe, wearing a net scarf and a square scarf, and a cyan Taoist robe made of silk.

At this moment, he was holding the wine glass in one hand and stroking his beard in the other, and the smile on his face could not be hidden, and it seemed that the news he received from the household department made him very happy.

In recent days, he has endured the questioning of the wealthy squires who "donated gold" to him in the past, and the thing he asked was nothing more than the attitude of the imperial court towards Nanyang.

This kind of questioning reached its peak after the imperial court announced that Zheng He would go to the West next year, and he and most of the officials who were questioned could only be forced to join forces and ask Yu Xin and other officials in the household department for news.

The establishment of the small Western private trade zone was the news that they immediately found in the palace after hearing the folk rumors, although it was not sure what the situation was, Li Zhigang still mobilized many officials to inquire about the officials of the household department.

Today, Yu Xin's departure to the Chunhe Hall was also concerned by him, and soon after Yu Xin's return, he learned from some officials of the household department that Yu Xin was formulating the "Little Western Trade Book".

Two years ago, they didn't know why the four words of the "Trade Document" were unknown, but now after the events of Zheng He's trip to the East, they have understood that the so-called "Trade Document" is the imperial court's commodity pricing table for a certain region.

The imperial court began to formulate a "trade book" for the small Western Ocean, which was basically determined as a private trade zone, which also represented that the matter they had been asking about finally came to fruition.

Once the small Western private trade zone is established, many smuggler gangs can be laundered into coastal merchant gangs.

This kind of whitewashing was not difficult for Li Zhigang and other officials who accepted political donations, and the only thing they were sure of was whether the profits in the small Western trade area and the "Little Western Trade Book" that was being drawn up would satisfy the rich squires on the coast.

"We have to continue to investigate the news from the household department, and after this matter, we still have to focus on the imperial examination."

"Last year, many of my Jiangdong children were implicated, and there are many talented people."

"Through the imperial examination, it is just enough to let his children be promoted to rescue them from the status of military households in Yunnan, and they can also occupy many official positions."

Compared with Xie Jin's self-esteem, Li Zhigang, who is the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, is very tactful, not offending everywhere, and his tone is also discussed.

His tone gives people a feeling of being bullied, but his official position as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites is not to be taken lightly.

"The major affairs of the country are in worship and Rong."

Although the Ministry of Officials is the most powerful yamen, the Ministry of Rites in the early Ming Dynasty is not lagging behind, after all, since the Hu Weiyong case, the Ministry of War directly belongs to the emperor, only the right to transfer troops, no right to command the army, and the military power is all in the hands of the emperor.

Although the local capital guards are subordinate to the Ministry of War, they are subordinate to the Governor's Office of the Five Armies, and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies has the right to command the troops, but not the right to transfer troops.

In this way, the Ministry of Rites among the six parts is particularly important.

Li Zhigang can sit firmly in this position, and his ability is also very outstanding.

From his personal point of view, going to the West is a good thing to expand the influence of the Ministry of Rites, but the coastal merchant gang has not supported it, which makes him in a dilemma.

Now that the imperial court has given in a step and given the coastal merchant gang a chance to launder his name, this has made him feel a lot more comfortable.

Because of this, he had time to focus on the imperial examination.

"It is not surprising that Jiangxi and Zhejiang are the ones with the most students in the imperial examination, although my Jiangdong Liufu is rich and extraordinary, but the number of students is not as good as theirs."

"That's why we have to pay close attention."

Li Zhigang said, toasted: "I'm tired of everyone......"

"Shang Shu's words are serious." Everyone raised their glasses in response, with modesty in their mouths.

The things they discussed were also discussed by many dignitaries and dignitaries in the capital today.

Since the Song Dynasty, both the subsequent Yuan and the current Ming Dynasty have imposed strict maritime bans, in order to prevent private smuggling trade and try to monopolize the government.

The Song Dynasty was successful for a while, but with the corruption of officials and gradually declined, the Yuan Dynasty was because of the lack of local restraint and frequent smuggling, not only a large number of manual technology outflow, many copper coins also flowed out with trade.

When Zhu Yuanzhang took over the world, he found that the Ming Dynasty at this time was a real waste waiting to be revived.

The outflow of copper coins has been repeatedly banned because of smuggling merchants, and the reason why Zheng He was able to bring back so many copper coins from his trip to the East can be explained.

Smugglers don't understand what the outflow of copper coins means, or even if they do, they will continue with the idea that "if I don't buy and sell, others will buy and sell."

In order to stop the outflow of copper coins and guard against coastal pirates, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to ban the sea, after all, it is a ban on merchant ships and not fishing boats.

However, this gave the local area the opportunity to exploit loopholes, and all kinds of fishing boats with hundreds of materials appeared in an endless stream, and it was not completely solved until Zhu Yuanzhang's life came to an end.

It's just that this problem has now been solved, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that the imperial court is co-opting smuggling maritime merchants who want to launder their whitewash, and at the same time cracking down on smuggling maritime merchants who refuse to cooperate.

In fact, there is no need to crack down, as long as the amount of trade of ships going to the West is large enough to feed the market of the Ming Dynasty, then the smugglers will have no way to continue to live.

The same is true of the Lower Oriental Trade, where the first trade of the Lower Oriental Fleet, coupled with the establishment of two trade markets with Japan, directly lowered the prices of all kinds of goods that had been traded to Japan in the past, and satisfied the appetite of the Japanese nobles and guardians at one time.

Smugglers can also take this trade route if they want to, but the profits are definitely not as high as before, and the risks are even higher.

After all, Zheng He's journey to the West was not without discovering smuggling merchant ships, but once discovered, the shelling was over.

These news can't be said on the surface, but in private it is spreading, no one wants to block their lives for that limited profit, after all, if you can be a maritime businessman, your family has already accumulated a lot of wealth.

If you want to avoid encountering official ships, you can only open up new routes, but no one wants to pay this cost, so the coastal smuggler gang will attach so much importance to the small Western trade area.

It's not how good the small Western trade area is, but they only have this road to choose.

Such news began to spread, but at this time, Zhu Gaoxu did not pay attention to this matter.

The next day, when Zhu Gaosui returned from washing up and participating in the morning court, he received the news that Zhu Gaosui asked to see him after only one hour of being dealt with in the Chunhe Palace.

"Let him in, give him a seat."

Zhu Gaoxu put down the pen and leaned back in the chair to signal the eunuch on duty to summon Zhu Gaosui.

After a short time, Zhu Gaosui walked into the Spring and Hall with high spirits.

At the age of nineteen, he was still as domineering as ever, and after entering the Chunhe Palace, he just saluted Zhu Gaoxu, and then sat on the chair.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Gaoxu frowned slightly: "I let you sit?" ”

"Huh?" Zhu Gaosui didn't understand what gunpowder Zhu Gaoxu was eating, so he could only pouted and got up: "Second brother, I can sit down." ”

"Sit!" Zhu Gaoxu responded, and he also sat down.

After he took his seat, Zhu Gaoxu asked him: "Since the Zhao Wangfu is almost ready, why do you want to delay the transfer of the domain?" ”

"Changsha is barren, and you have to deal with the barbarians in the west from time to time, how can the capital be prosperous."

Zhu Gaosui was still the same old rhetoric, but after hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu asked him: "I heard that your palace guards have been recruited a lot recently, and it seems that the number has exceeded the number stipulated by the imperial court." ”

The number of vassal kings' guards in Beijing is strictly controlled, and Zhu Gaosui's excess guards are not a trivial matter, but Zhu Di dotes on him and doesn't care.

Zhu Gaoxu saw that Zhu Di didn't care, so he didn't bother to care about this younger brother, but now it seems that this kid is not only domineering but also a little stupid.

"Dad didn't say anything......

"Then I can't lecture you?"

Before Zhu Gaosui's words fell, Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth to ask.

His tone obviously suppressed his temper, and Zhu Gaosui frowned when he saw this: "Second brother, it's true that you are the prince, but your father is the emperor, and the emperor didn't say anything, why do you care about me?" ”

Zhu Gaosui's words, Zhu Gaoxu didn't react, and several eunuchs on duty in the Chunhe Palace looked at each other, as if they didn't expect this King Zhao to dare to say such a thing.

"Hehe......" Zhu Gaochu was also laughed at, he understood why Zhu Gaosui felt that poisoning Zhu Di in history would make him the emperor.

Before he co-authored, his understanding of politics was so shallow.

"I'm grown up now, but I'm not afraid of you!"

Zhu Gaosui saw Zhu Gaoxu's mocking smile, and instantly thought of his move to buy the hearts of the people with himself on the street, and his temper turned up for a while.

"Grown up?"

Zhu Gaoxu also stood up when he heard this, and walked in front of Zhu Gaosui step by step.

Zhu Gaosui's temper, which had originally swelled up, gradually lowered as the distance between Zhu Gaochu and him gradually approached.

Until Zhu Gaochu walked in front of him, he could only look up at Zhu Gaochu forcibly, although he was also quite powerful, but he looked so thin in front of Zhu Gaoxu.

At this moment, even if Zhu Gaochu didn't do it, Zhu Gaosui knew the gap between the two.

"When the time comes, you will go to the domain, and after you arrive in Changsha, you will be the king of Zhao in peace and stability, and someone will do the things that pacify the caves, and you will be honest."

Zhu Gaosui knew that Zhu Gaochu looked down on him, but he didn't expect Zhu Gaochu to think that he couldn't do anything, so he could only eat, drink and have fun.

"Why?" Zhu Gaosui looked at Zhu Gaoxu angrily, as if it was very deterrent in his eyes.

However, in Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, Zhu Gaosui is just a child with an underdeveloped mind and is not good at fists and feet.

"I'm not talking to you."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Zhu Gaosui and turned around to return to his position.

It's just that his contemptuous eyes seemed to stimulate Zhu Gaosui, and Zhu Gaosui stretched out his hand to grab him, but he reacted and grabbed Zhu Gaosui's wrist with one hand.

"Uhh......h

Just a little hard, Zhu Gaosui shouted in pain, where did he suffer this kind of grievance when he had never suffered before.

He subconsciously kicked towards Zhu Gaoxu's leg, but before he could react, Zhu Gaoxu let go of his hand.

When he reacted, he only felt that his left calf was in great pain, and he fell to the ground, three or five steps away from Zhu Gaoxu.

Apparently, he was kicked away......

"Don't you want to think about yourself before you do it?"

Zhu Gaoxu looked down at him with a cold face: "What you have done in the capital during this time, do you think I don't know?" ”

Since entering Beijing, Zhu Gaosui has not done a lot of things, such as riding horses on the street and taking the royal road is a trivial matter, he is not very old, but he has accepted many thin horses sent by rich families, and revealed a lot of news to them.

With this kind of brain staying in the capital, Zhu Gaoxu is really afraid that this bastard will do something to poison Zhu Di and himself.

Although he has confidence in the chefs of Bohai, the East Palace is not a place where water cannot be splashed.

"I'm going to tell my dad ......"

Zhu Gaosui turned pale and screamed in pain, but Zhu Gaosui stepped forward and grabbed the collar and lifted it up.

"What to tell Daddy? Tell him that you accept favors from the people below? Or do you privately tell your subordinates that you have something to do? ”

"You...... You ......"

Zhu Gaosui was frightened by Zhu Gaoxu's words, he didn't expect that his every move in King Zhao's mansion would be under Zhu Gaoxu's nose.

"These things you have committed, according to the Law, it is enough to be abolished."

Zhu Gaoxu threw him to the side of the chair, and Zhu Gaosui also sat down with the armrest.

"If you want to rebel, do you have soldiers and horses? Do you have a team? ”

Zhu Gaoxu laughed at Zhu Gaosui's innocence, but as long as he could have half the intelligence of the boss, he should know that he was not qualified to stay in the capital for a long time.

"Just with those three melons and two dates in your palace, do you think you can be the son of heaven?"

Zhu Gaosui's face turned pale when Zhu Gaoxu said it, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Wang Mian!" Zhu Gaoxu turned his back to greet, and after a while, a thirty-year-old eunuch walked out: "The slave and maid are here." ”

"Who's on duty in the inner city today?" Zhu Gaoxu turned his back to the inquiry, and Wang Mian replied without hesitation: "It's the governor Liu Cai and the Zhaozhou Hou Li lost (tower lost)." ”

"Let Li lose the Zhao Palace, and take Shi Gusheng, the head of the Zhao Palace, into custody!"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Gaosui with a straight gaze, and ordered Gu Sheng, the long history that Zhu Gaosui relied on, to be taken into custody.

In the face of his order, Wang Mian complied, and then sent people to pass the decree.

Until Wang Mian left the Chunhe Palace, Zhu Gaosui didn't dare to say a word.

"You can't even protect the chief of the palace that you rely on, and you still think about the son of heaven?"

Zhu Gaoxu mocked the third child, but he couldn't hold back a fart for a long time.

"You don't want to leave the capital, do you?"

"Okay, don't leave from today, and then you can go when I want you to go."

After Zhu Gaoxu's words were finished, before Zhu Gaosui could react, he heard him raise his voice: "Come on, send King Zhao to the big teaching field for training!" ”

"I'm not going!!" Hearing the three words of the Great Sect, Zhu Gaosui immediately reacted, but before he finished shouting, he was picked up by Zhu Gaochu and thrown aside.

Fortunately, the two eunuchs hugged him in time, otherwise he would probably have to fall.

"I'm not going! I'm King Zhao, I see which of you dares to do it to me! ”

Zhu Gaosui shouted madly, only two eunuchs really couldn't suppress him, but because he was kicked by Zhu Gaoxu, he was now limping when he walked, and he couldn't break free for a while.

Fortunately, several Jurchen guards at the gate of the Chunhe Hall walked in, and without waiting for Zhu Gaosui to resist, they set him up like a pig for the New Year.

Listening to the shouting that was getting farther and farther away, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but scold: "I don't need to clean up!" ”

"Your Highness, do you want to tell Your Majesty and Princess Zhao about this?"

Wang Mian on the side asked, and Zhu Gaoxu also bowed: "Tell me, tell me the truth to my father, and tell Princess Zhao that King Zhao wants to go to the big church to have fun and come back in a few months." ”

"Slave and maid to teach ......" Wang Mian made a return salute, and then went to Wuying Hall in person, and at the same time sent someone to Zhao Wangfu.

Seeing him leave, Zhu Gaoxu also returned to the chair and sat down, rested for a while, and continued to bury his head in dealing with the recitals.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhu Di, who was in the Wuying Palace, knew what happened in the Chunhe Palace, after all, the picture of Zhu Gaosui being carried away by four soldiers was seen by many people, and the news was naturally transmitted quickly.

Therefore, when Wang Mian rushed to Wuying Palace, Zhu Di had been waiting for him for a long time.

"Your Majesty......"

"What happened to the second and third children? It's so big? ”

Zhu Di couldn't wait to speak, and Wang Mian also glanced at Wang Yan and Zheng He in the hall when he heard this.

Wang Yan didn't react, but Zheng He bowed his head and gave Wang Mian a hint.

Seeing this, Wang Mian also truthfully explained: "King Zhao sent Princess Zhao to the former palace yesterday to find the crown princess, saying that His Royal Highness King Zhao did not want to be a vassal. ”

"After His Royal Highness heard this, he spread the word that His Royal Highness King Zhao entered the Spring Peace Hall today and told him about this matter."

"His Royal Highness asked His Royal Highness King Zhao to go to the vassal after the completion of the Zhao Palace, His Royal Highness the King of Zhao was not convinced, and he was ready to arrest His Highness."

"His Royal Highness had no choice but to restrain His Royal Highness King Zhao, and shake out what His Royal Highness King Zhao had done these days, and let Zhaozhou Marquis Li Lose send troops to arrest Shi Gusheng, the governor of King Zhao's mansion, and at the same time send His Royal Highness King Zhao to the Great Sect for training."

After Wang Mian finished explaining, Zhu Di couldn't sit still, got up and walked in front of him: "The second child didn't break the third child, right?" ”

Zhu Di knows Zhu Gaoxu's strength, although Zhu Gaosui is also good at riding and archery, and is quite brave, but compared with Zhu Gaoxu, it is no different from a doll that has not been weaned.

Zhu Di was really afraid that Zhu Gaochu would break Zhu Gaosui, but fortunately, Wang Mian shook his head:

"Your Highness just kicked it, nothing else."

"Just a kick ......"

Zhu Di's face was as black as pork liver, if he was simply kicked, would Zhu Gaosui be carried away?

Thinking of Zhu Gaosui's limping appearance, Zhu Di was a little distressed and a little annoyed at the same time.

"Go and call the prince to see me!"

"Slave Leader ......"

Zhu Di suppressed his temper and asked Wang Mian to spread Zhu Gaoxu, but Wang Mian could only pass on the news with a weak heart.

Three quarters of an hour later, Zhu Di's temper had not subsided, and Zhu Gaoxu took Wang Mian into the Chunhe Palace.

He walked in a majestic manner, not at all like a man who had made a mistake.

"Get on your knees!"

Zhu Di took out the posture of an emperor, and Zhu Gaoxu didn't bother to frustrate his sharpness after hearing it, after all, it was nothing for his son to kneel and kowtow to his father, let alone call him a smooth kowtow to Lao Zhu.

He knelt down five times and bowed three times, and then stood up.

"Did I get you up?"

Zhu Di stood beside the chair, leaning on the back of the chair, and looked at Zhu Gaoxu with angry eyes.

"Dad, are you fighting a filial son for the sake of an unfilial son, do you want the filial son to be unfilial?"

Zhu Gaoxu was speechless, this old man is still pretending to be addicted, doesn't he just want to use himself to suppress the third child to ask for benefits.

"Okay...... Zhu Di smiled angrily: "All parties are guilty, the sin is bowing, and one or two of them have begun to disobey me." ”

"Dad, Erchen is not disobedient to you, if Erchen doesn't teach the third child a lesson, God knows what he can do in the future."

Zhu Gaoxu's expression was helpless, but at the same time he questioned Zhu Di: "He said to the palace governor Shi Gusheng that he has a genius, you know, right?" ”

"Ridiculous!" Zhu Di scolded, but he didn't refute it, which means that he really knows and has a weak heart.

"The third child has today, and it's all spoiled by you." Zhu Gaoxu was blunt, and at the same time said:

"Throw him to the big church to participate in training, let him be educated, at least he can know how the army is trained and how to fight, let him understand that understanding the soldiers and temples is not as simple as he thinks, and he will not be stupid in the future."

"You can protect him for a while, I can protect him for a while, but what about you and me a hundred years later?"

Zhu Gaochu said the question with the answer, but Zhu Di didn't know how long the third child could live, after all, he was three years younger than Zhu Gaoxu, maybe he could live better than Zhu Gaoxu.

"If he is stupid in a hundred years, or if he teaches the next generation of stupid vassal kings, you don't want your grandson to be deposed when he raises an army, right?"

Zhu Di didn't answer, but he actually had the answer in his heart.

As far as Zhu Gaosui's virtue is concerned, he can be so arrogant and domineering in the capital, and he may have to turn the sky upside down when he goes to the place.

When the time comes, it's good to be deposed, don't be wiped out by the kings of later generations to know that you will regret it.

Thinking about it like this, Zhu Di also regretted his spoiling of Zhu Gaosui for so many years, and at the same time couldn't help but think of Zhu Gaoxu.

"Alas......" he sighed: "Your brother is just because I spoiled too much, so he was like Meng Lang in his early years." ”

"Now you've changed your temper, but he hasn't changed at all."

"You are right to send him to the Great Sect, his temperament has to be sharpened."

"You let this matter go, I don't care......"

Zhu Di turned around and pretended to be sad: "Recently, I often remember Beiping, and I don't know what it will look like after it is built into Beijing. ”

"The son has already sent someone to see it, so don't worry about my father."

"Forehead ......"

Zhu Di's thoughts had just been exposed, and he was blocked by Zhu Gaoxu's words, so he could only turn around and look at him with resentful eyes.

"Didn't you say that I would take care of the affairs of the north?"

"But you haven't been in charge for half a month, only Erchen himself has taken care of it." Zhu Gaoxu was also speechless, Zhu Di ran to the National Defense University every day for half a month, and after running to the National Defense University, he went to the Beijiao Field and the Dajiao Field, and it seemed that he was stealing the training method of the Dajiao Field and taking it to the Beijiao Field to Zhang Xin, Meng Ying and others in the Yan Mansion.

If it weren't for the fact that he would correct the recital every night after he came back, Zhu Gaoxu would probably be so tired that he would have scolded his father.

"I said it first, the matter of the Northern Expedition is scheduled for the beginning of the third year of Yongle, and it cannot be postponed."

Zhu Di saw that Zhu Gaoxu's oil and salt did not enter, so he could only draw a red line.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to delay the northern expedition, after all, Liaodong saw that it would be self-sufficient in two or three years, and the development of Modong would just be able to progress at that time.

"Father, rest assured, the Northern Expedition will not be delayed."

"Since there is nothing to do, the minister will retire ......"

After returning, Zhu Gaoxu also returned the salute, and then withdrew from the Wuying Palace.

As for Zhu Di, he didn't get any benefits, but he finally settled the matter of the Northern Expedition with Zhu Gaoxu, and determined that there would be no changes in the Northern Expedition.

He scratched his beard, glanced at Zhu Gaoxu, who had already walked away, and couldn't help but look at Wang Yan and Zheng He, with a puzzled face:

"You say, does the second child look like me, how do I feel that he is more cunning than me?"

"Records of Ming Taizong": "October Yi Chou, Changshi Shengyan said that King Zhao has the spirit of heaven, and King Zhao is overjoyed. After the incident, he took away Zhao's crown clothes, but fortunately the prince was spared. He was reformed and sent to the university to participate in training. ”

"Bohai Chronicle": "In October, King Zhao and Chang Shisheng conspired and said: "I have the spirit of the son of heaven", the incident happened, and the king of Zhao was degraded into the big church, and the emperor was displeased when he heard it. ”

(End of chapter)