Royal Palace.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Xu Da, who rushed to the palace immediately, quickly walked into the hall after being notified by Pang Yuhai.

"I am here to see Your Majesty!"

Xu Da walked closer, bowed respectfully and said.

"I love you for your life."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and raised his hand to signal.

"Your Majesty, the army has been assembled and can set off at any time."

Xu Da stood up slowly and said excitedly.

He thought that His Majesty summoned him today to discuss the Northern Expedition.

"It's not urgent."

"I summoned you here today to tell you that the attack on Beiyuan, which was originally scheduled to be launched before the Chinese New Year, has been postponed and will be stationed instead."

But Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said slowly.

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Xu Da froze on the spot and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in surprise, thinking that he had heard wrongly.

"Your Majesty, why?"

Xu Da looked at Zhu Yuanzhang puzzled and asked with confusion on his face.

"I have thought about it. The New Year is approaching and it is not appropriate to start a big war. You can lead the troops to the north and station them secretly within the border. Remember not to attract too much attention. We will wait until after the New Year."

"But if this happens, I'm afraid Xu Qing will have to spend the New Year in the north."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xu Da and explained slowly.

"What your Majesty said is indeed reasonable, but it is precisely because of this that attacking Beiyuan at this time will catch Beiyuan unexpectedly and unprepared. It will be beneficial to our army."

"Besides, once the news of the army massing at the border leaks out, Beiyuan will definitely be on guard, and we may lose the opportunity by then."

Xu Da frowned and tried to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang.

"That's why I specially told you that you should not be too ostentatious during this trip and should be cautious. It is best to hide it from the Beiyuan spies and let them relax their vigilance. As for whether you can cover up others' eyes and ears, it depends on Xu Qing's ability. I believe you can do it.

arrive."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xu Da who looked confused and said with a smile.

"But why did you suddenly change your mind, Your Majesty?"

Xu Da was still puzzled and couldn't help but ask.

"There's only so much I can say. Just follow your orders. As for the rest, I will tell you when the time is right."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said in a deep voice.

Hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said, Xu Da didn't dare to ask any more questions, but the questions in his heart became deeper and deeper, and he still couldn't figure it out.

"Your Majesty, Generals Tang He and Fu Youde are also waiting outside the palace."

At this moment, Pang Yuhai walked in quickly and said respectfully.

"Please."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand and said loudly.

Soon, Tang He and Fu Youde walked into the main hall.

But when they saw Xu Da's face, they immediately knew something was wrong.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang told Tang He and Fu Youde what he had just meant.

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's decision, the two of them looked confused. They turned to look at Xu Da and found that Xu Da's expression was not much better than theirs.

For a moment, the minds of the three of them were all covered with a layer of puzzling doubts.

Later, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Pang Yuhai to get a map of the northern border, and he and Xu Da and the others carefully considered and negotiated the deployment of defense.

Hu Fei, who had caused such a change in Zhu Yuanzhang, was like an outsider at this time. He had already taken Princess Anqing out of the capital and went out to play outside the city.

Since Xiao An was not in the capital, in order to protect Hu Fei's safety, the Jin Yiwei almost dispatched more than a hundred people to accompany him, which made the people in the city think that something big had happened in the capital.

...

The Duke's Mansion of the State of Wei.

Front yard main hall.

Xu Da, Tang He, and Fu Youde were sitting on chairs, each holding a cup of tea, each looking uglier than the other.

After coming out of the palace, the three of them returned to the Duke of Wei's mansion together.

The three of them were all puzzled by Zhu Yuanzhang's sudden change of heart, but they could not ask the truth in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, so they could only stay in the dark.

"Why did His Majesty suddenly change his mind? Why was there no warning in advance?"

Fu Youde frowned and murmured to himself.

"This matter is not that simple. There must have been something wrong in the middle, otherwise His Majesty would not have suddenly changed his mind."

Xu Da said slowly with a calm face.

"But the question is what went wrong?"

Tang He glanced at the two of them, spread his hands, and said helplessly.

"I have already ordered people to go and inquire about it. I hope I can find out something."

Xu Da said with a sullen face and unwillingness.

Attacking Beiyuan and conquering the northern border, looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, he was considered the most active one.

Nowadays, he is getting older and knows that there are not many opportunities to fight on the battlefield like this.

At this moment, footsteps were heard, and a middle-aged man quickly walked into the main hall.

"General, we have found out the information."

The visitor was none other than Xu Da's deputy general, Lu Chong.

"Say it!"

When Xu Da heard this, his eyes lit up and he immediately said loudly.

"When I got back to the general, my subordinates found out that your majesty met with Duke An Guo not long before summoning the general."

Lu Chong cupped his hands and answered slowly.

"Gone?"

After hearing Lu Chong's brief answer, Fu Youde and Tang He looked at each other, looked at Lu Chong with disappointment and asked.

"Gone..."

Lu Chong looked bitter and replied slowly, feeling a little embarrassed. This was news he had finally found out.

"As the commander of the Royal Guards, isn't it common for Duke An Guo to be summoned by His Majesty? What does this mean?"

Fu Youde sighed helplessly and said.

"This already explains the problem!"

"If my guess is correct, the reason why His Majesty suddenly changed his mind must be related to Hu Fei!"

Xu Da said coldly with a sullen face.

"But why does Duke An Guo want to obstruct the Northern Expedition? Doesn't he even want to interfere in military affairs?!"

Fu Youde looked puzzled and asked in confusion.

"Today, he is no longer the playboy that he was before, and His Majesty has great trust in him. Is there anything else that he dare not interfere in?!"

"I conclude that this matter must have something to do with him!"

Xu Da snorted coldly and said in a deep voice.

"Since it is related to Duke An, perhaps there is another mystery to this matter, otherwise His Majesty would not agree. And it is obvious that His Majesty did not say something clearly, and there must be other deep meanings."

At this time, Tang He nodded thoughtfully and spoke slowly.

"If that doesn't work, the three of us will go find Marquis Jiu'an and ask him what's going on!"

Fu Youde hesitated for a moment and said loudly.

"If His Majesty even refuses to tell us, how can Duke An Guo tell us? In my opinion, we should just act according to the order. When it is time for us to know, we will naturally know."

Tang He shook his head and said slowly.

After listening to Tang He's words, Fu Youde sighed helplessly.

But Xu Da glanced at Tang He meaningfully. He knew that although there had been some friction between Tang He and Hu Fei, the relationship had always been good afterwards.

"This has come to this, and that's all it can do."
To be continued...