The good news on the southern ocean and the arrival of the Ming Jingshi were already at the beginning of the fifth year of Wude.

This is already considered a divine speed, thanks to the complete post road of the imperial court from Songtaiwei of Annan to Jingshi; The post stations and official shops along the road provided fast horses for the messengers, so that the news could be delivered to the capital so quickly.

At the beginning of the year, he received such news, and Zhu Gaoxu was naturally very happy. He immediately asked the six branch rooms to copy the chapters and inform the yamen of the imperial court, and ordered the Jinyi guards to go to the city to make a big show and post the transcription of the good news at the city gates. to boost morale.

Since the implementation of the new policy, there have been many hidden dangers, which can be maintained for the time being.

However, within the civil service, because of the power to collect commercial taxes in various localities and the collection of the municipal shipping promotion division, the old laws and regulations and "bad rules" were destroyed, resulting in various contradictions between the Beijing officials and the local officials. And when the vassal king was dissatisfied with the loss of interests, the emperor and civil officials in the court were grasshoppers on a rope.

At this time, the victory of the navy in the south and the opening of the channel of ocean trade undoubtedly gave the New Deal a shot in the arm. Zhu Gaoxu's mood has changed a lot.

On the Rouyi Palace, the eunuch Wang Gui read out the good news in public, "...... Before October 27 of the fourth year, the officers and troops encountered the enemy in Sai Kung Bay, were defeated, chased for dozens of miles, sank and burned 100 enemy ships, and beheaded the captives. That night, the officers and soldiers returned to their division and broke through to the Qianjiang and Dong Nai rivers. On the 28th, the officers and troops landed on the shore to attack the camp of Zhenla, breaking its large array, the enemy broke and scattered, and the corpses were all over the field. ”

"When the Siamese kingdom did not dare to refuse the king's division, it sailed north with a sea ship and joined the thieves. The ministers and princes and princes intend to march south in an attempt to destroy their country. ”

There was a lot of discussion in the hall, and Zhu Gaoxu sat behind the table, looking comfortable.

Gao Xianning, the secretary of Dali Temple, said: "The local climate is unpleasant, the jungle is dense, and the enemy army is very numerous. However, General Chen was able to quickly break through the enemy's army within two days, and he could not help but shock the four seas. First of all, the princes thought that Xuan was unbearable to fight, but only the saint was important, but now looking at it, there are no weak generals under the command of the saint. ”

Before the navy sent troops, many ministers of the DPRK and China opposed the choice of the chief general, really because of Chen Xuan's bad reputation. At this time, Gao Xianning said eloquently, everyone pretended to forget, and no one mentioned the past again.

Zhu Gaoxu also did not praise Chen Xuan, because Chen Xuan surrendered twice, once to Zhu Gaoxu's father and once to Zhu Gaoxu, can it be said that Chen Xuan surrendered wrong?

So everyone had to praise one after another: "The saint is wise and powerful." ”

The ministers talked for a while, and then left the Rouyi Hall and went back. At this time, Zhang Sheng, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, walked in alone from the outside without saying a word.

Zhang Sheng took out an envelope from his arms and stepped forward to put it in front of Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu picked up something and asked, "What is this?" ”

Zhang Sheng replied: "There are some brothers in the army who are Jinyiwei, and their identities are unknown to everyone. This time, there is a sergeant in the messenger team, who is one of our men. He secretly reported something that was not written in the cantata. ”

Zhu Gaoxu took out the secret letter and read it, but it was written briefly.

Zhang Sheng bowed his head and whispered, "The minister has seen that person himself. At the beginning of November of the fourth year of Wude, Chen Xuan and Wang Jinghong chose a place in Saigon Bay, where they wanted to build a fortress and build an embassy city. After that, Wang Jinghong left Saigon Bay and went to the camp of Dong Nai River, but Chen Xuan did not leave.

A few days later, an envoy from Manchu arrived at Saigon Bay by boat, as if to sue for peace. But Chen Xuan didn't ask, and he didn't even see anyone, so he drove away the envoy of Manchu Jia. ”

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and quickly guessed a rough idea. He has been in the army with generals all the year round, and of course he understands that generals are greedy for merit. Chen Xuan may be too shun in Zhenla Kingdom, so he is even more reluctant to miss the great achievement of defeating Manchu Thorn. As for the interests of the Ming court, they have been put in second place by Chen Xuan.

After being silent for a while, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly tore up the secret letter in his hand and said, "I'll see the results first." ”

Zhang Sheng bowed down and stood beside him and answered.

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "Don't say this, just act as if it never happened." ”

"I understand." Zhang Sheng picked up the shredded paper on the table, stuffed it into his mouth in front of Zhu Gaoxu, and then swallowed it.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at him in amazement and said, "I know the matter, and your errand is doing well." ”

Zhang Sheng knelt down and kowtowed: "The minister thanked him and retired." ”

As soon as the commander of the Jinyi guard left, Cao Fu, the young eunuch of the celebrant and the chief eunuch, walked in again.

Cao Fu held a piece of music in his hand, bent down and bowed: "Emperor, the general political envoy received the music of Marquis Ning Yuan (He Fu), and quickly sent it to the palace." The slave was afraid that she would delay the emperor's major affairs, so she took it herself. ”

Zhu Gaoxu, who was a little distracted, immediately came back to his senses when he heard this, and opened He Fu's recital to take a look. He took a general look at it first, and found that He Fu did not lose the battle, so he was a little relieved. The content is not good news either.

After He Fu became the chief military officer of Ningxia, he took a Beijing cavalry to the northwest. After that, he mobilized troops and horses from the guards of the Shaanxi Political Envoy Department (including most of Gansu) and increased the troops to Ningxia Prefecture. Then he led his army north, stationed along the Yellow River, and built a fortress there; Today, please add "Ningxia avant-garde".

The tribes of the Wattles who ran to the Hetao area to graze gradually found that there was no opportunity to take advantage of it, so they temporarily fled north. Unexpectedly, the Watt Thorns were not idle, and soon wandered to the west, and carried out a large-scale attack on the Hami Kingdom to harass the Kou.

Hami sent people to Ningxia Mansion to ask He Fu for help. But He Fu, a chief military officer, could not have crossed the Hexi Corridor and ran so far to save the Hami Kingdom; So He Fu had no choice but to go to the chapter and report the situation in the northwest to the imperial court.

Zhu Gaoxu took one out of a pile of maps and glanced at the distance between Hami and Ningxia Mansion on the map, which was indeed very far. The northwest side is vast and sparsely populated, and it is thousands of miles away at every turn.

In the Nahami Kingdom, there were mainly Mongols, and the king was the king of Su of the previous Yuan Dynasty. Later, the king of Su, Anke Timur, pledged allegiance to the Ming Dynasty and was named the king of Zhongshun, and actually ruled the Hami region. The tribes of the Watts, who were also Mongols, had always had an enmity with the King of Zhongshun; At the same time, the Eastern Chahat Khanate in the Muslim region of the Western Regions was also an enemy of the Hami State.

The Ming court's direct rule in the west actually only reached the Hexi Corridor and ended at Jiayuguan. As a vassal state that has always been loyal to the Ming Dynasty, Hami is an important wedge in the Western Regions. Therefore, Hami is very important to the Ming Dynasty.

Since the Tatars in the east weakened after the Ming army's Northern Expedition, the pressure on the east of the Vaspurs has plummeted, and they have been making trouble in the west. When Zhu Gaoxu saw He Fu's recital, he couldn't help but reflect again, is his northern expedition at the beginning of his ascension to the throne really meaningful?

The situation in Hami is too far away. Zhu Gaoxu had no choice for a while, so he had to put the piece on hold for the time being.

Since last year, the direction of the imperial court's attack has been the south, because Zhu Gaoxu believes that the south is beneficial and belongs to the direction of active development. There is little benefit to the north, but it is also forced to operate armaments......

Because the New Year has not yet passed, and some yamen have not yet been sealed, Zhu Gaoxu left the imperial court in the afternoon and went to Kunning Palace.

There are guests in Kunning Palace today, and it turns out that Princess Baoqing has come back to visit relatives. When Princess Baoqing saw the emperor, she made a gesture to make a big salute. Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly made a gesture to stop her: "Little aunt can't help it." ”

Princess Baoqing suddenly looked embarrassed. She is younger than Guo Wei, but she is the youngest daughter of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and her rank in the Zhu family is higher than Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu said kindly: "It's good to come back and walk often." Father and Queen Mother are gone, and this is still your maiden home. ”

Bao Qing was a little less nervous, and said briskly: "I grew up in the Yanwang Mansion, and the Holy Lord and his brothers and sisters are just like my brothers and sisters. ”

But Zhu Gaochu still felt that Baoqing was estranged from him, mostly because of Zhu Gaochi's affairs. Gao Chi's legs and feet are inconvenient, and he used to stay in Yanwang's Mansion, and his relationship with Baoqing is closer.

At this time, Guo Wei waved the colorful chain in her hand and said, "The rarity of the Western Regions, Princess Baoqing gave it to me." ”

Baoqing turned her head to look at Guo Wei, her expression was much more relaxed, and she said with a smile: "I still have a lot of them there, Ah Weng sent people into Beijing and sent back a lot of things." I picked out a beautiful one and gave it to the queen. ”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he asked casually: "Marquis Ning Yuan is in Ningxia Mansion, where did the treasures of the Western Regions come from?" ”

Baoqing thought for a while and said, "I heard that there is an envoy in the Western Regions who went to see Ah Weng. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The envoy of the Hami Kingdom? ”

Baoqing shook his head and said, "No, it is said to be a Tatar." ”

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and said, "How can the Tatars be over there in Ningxia Mansion?" ”

Guo Wei observed Baoqing's expression, hurriedly tugged at Zhu Gaoxu's sleeve, and smiled at Baoqing: "Is this a bracelet?" ”

Baoqing said with great interest: "Wear it on your ankles, and walk barefoot with a jingle sound." ”

Guo Wei said: "Sure enough, it is a rare thing in the Western Regions, how can we wear chains on our feet?" ”

Although Zhu Gaoxu felt a little strange, he didn't ask Princess Baoqing much, she was a woman after all. He changed the subject and asked, "Are you doing well in He's house?" ”

Baoqing's cheeks were a little red: "The horse is very good to me, he takes me around the house every day, and sometimes we go out quietly...... He's funny anyway. When Ah Weng was at home, he was also very polite to me. When the family was eating, my grandmother always thought I ate too little, and always served me vegetables. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said with relief: "I have done a good thing. When his father and queen mother were alive, they loved her little aunt extraordinarily. I'm relieved to hear you say that. ”

Guo Wei said: "With the saint supporting you, who dares to treat you badly?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu saw that Guo Wei and Bao Qingting could talk, so he said knowingly: "I'll go to the study first to have some business, and then call me after dinner." ”

Guo Wei and Baoqing sent Zhu Gaoxu out of the palace, and Zhu Gaoxu instructed again: "Princess Baoqing rarely comes back, and the queen will accompany her more." ”

"Don't worry." Guo Wei smiled.

Zhu Gaoxu still felt that it was a little strange for the Tatars to run to the west. Of course, it may also be that Princess Baoqing doesn't understand these things and remembers it wrongly; After all, He Fu did not mention this matter in the recital.