Chapter 186: We are going to see our grandson tomorrow
In fact, for Zhu Di and Zhu Fan, the incident of Japanese pirates along the coast was simply not worth mentioning.
The main thing is not to fight, but to find.
But compared to Zhu Di, Zhu Fan is obviously much happier.
We just arrived, and we already have a lot of information gathered in our hands.
In a certain city lord's palace, Zhu Fan and many of his soldiers gathered together. Among them, there were also several businessmen.
These businessmen are the heads of the Chamber of Commerce under Zhu Ying.
However, although each of these responsible persons is dressed as a businessman, in terms of appearance, they do not really match up with businessmen.
Not to mention his tall and majestic figure, his face also has a ferocious look, and he is not willing to give in to many generals.
If there is going to be a conflict, roll up your sleeves and get started at any time.
However, this was more in line with Zhu Fan's taste. If they were really those philistine businessmen, he would still look down upon them.
It's not that all merchants are like this, it's just that the incoming traffic is a little more chaotic along the coast, so it's definitely impossible to get along here without something.
"I would like to thank you all this time for bringing this news to me. In just a few days, hundreds of Japanese pirates have been captured."
"Tell me, how do you want this king to reward you..."
Zhu Fan smiled and said to the two businessmen. He was in an extremely smooth mood now. Before he arrived, the two men started sending information.
All the soldiers needed to do was lead the men and horses and march straight to Huanglong to eliminate the Japanese pirates. The most troublesome thing was to find people. With a guide, Zhu Fan felt like he was traveling there.
He doesn't even need to go out, he can just send a few teams of troops there.
These unscrupulous people disguised as Japanese pirates were directly eliminated when they encountered the official army who had no ability to resist.
"Your Highness, King Jin, is too polite. We are just following orders. This is all arranged by our employer. Please stop mentioning the reward."
The leading businessman bowed and replied after bowing.
Hearing this, Zhu Fan also sighed a little. He, the emperor's nephew, is really powerful. Apparently, the situation in the entire coastal area has been figured out.
"I would like to ask, do you know the situation of my fourth brother?" After a slight hesitation, Zhu Fan asked.
Hearing this, the two businessmen looked at each other. After a moment of hesitation, the businessman who had been silent before nodded gently.
Obviously, even when facing Jin King Zhu Fan, the two businessmen had some reservations. It seemed that the businessman in front was the one who spoke most, but in fact the real boss was a relatively silent businessman.
"Reporting to His Highness, His Highness King Yan has arrived in Jiao'ao now. The army is stationed there. There is not much movement, but..."
"Ahem."
Just when the businessman in front wanted to continue talking, the businessman in charge suddenly coughed twice and interrupted him.
"Why, is there anything you can't say to me in front of this king? Didn't your boss say that we will do our best to help you come here to pacify the Japanese?"
"Or do you want to hide something, or hide something from your boss?"
Jin Wang Zhu Fan's tone was a little unpleasant, with a slightly scolding tone, and his eyes were focused on the businessman in charge.
Hearing that the boss was involved, the businessman in charge An couldn't hold back and quickly explained: "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. We are absolutely loyal to our boss and there is absolutely no way we can hide anything."
"I thought you were mute." Jin Wang Zhu Fan said angrily.
The businessman in charge smiled bitterly, since he had already exposed himself, there was nothing he couldn't say.
The reason why he interrupted the merchant in front was because he did not want the Chamber of Commerce to get involved in the fight between the two feudal kings.
They were unaware of the current situation of their boss, and the order they received was to assist Jin King Zhu Fan in eliminating Japanese pirates along the coast.
Telling King Yan's information to King Jin also meant that they were exposed to the fact that they arranged personnel to monitor King Yan.
"Reporting to Your Highness, we only have a vague guess. There is no real evidence, so I interrupted it. If this kind of speculation leads to misunderstanding and makes Your Highness misjudge, it will be a sin."
After the businessman in charge bowed and apologized, he explained what had just happened.
"Then tell me, what speculations can lead to wrong judgments by this king?" Zhu Fan asked.
When this happened, the businessman in front lowered his head, and the businessman in charge behind him had no choice but to say:
"According to our observation, Zhu Di's army is exploring villages in the coastal areas of Shandong."
"It seems that they may be looking for traces of Japanese pirates, but when I waited for intelligence feedback, the other party Tan Ma didn't even enter the village. They just observed outside the village every time and then turned around and left."
"It doesn't matter just one place. In fact, under our investigation, almost all the detective horses sent out by Zhu Di were like this."
At this point, the businessman in charge stopped talking. The people present were all military generals, and they had all said it. There was nothing else they could not understand.
"Tsk tsk, these four younger brothers of my king really dare to do this. They can come up with such methods as killing good people and taking credit for their merits. They all say that I am cruel. Isn't this even more cruel than me?"
Jin Wang Zhu Fan said with a smile, but there was no accusation in his words.
On the contrary, I was a little surprised by Zhu Di's methods.
The army these days does not say that it never commits any crime. There is not much difference between soldiers and bandits.
"In this matter, I will mark your merits with you. Keep an eye on me at all times. If you find anything, please tell me immediately."
"At that time, I will send a message directly to the Chief Secretary of Shandong to see if Zhu Di can do anything else."
Jin Wang Zhu Fan felt very happy at this moment. Being able to cause trouble to Zhu Di was the happiest thing he could experience at the moment.
"Follow the order." The businessman in charge replied helplessly. He did not expect that things would develop to such an extent.
We can only wait until we get back and report all the situation here to our boss.
If something really goes wrong because of this, I'm afraid life will not be easy.
But overall, the Chamber of Commerce is very comfortable now.
Because after these coastal local forces are defeated, the overseas market share will be released, and the benefits that can be generated by then are estimated to be at least ten times greater.
However, what the Chamber of Commerce is most interested in is the coastal area of Shandong, where the location is better and trade is relatively smoother.
Capital, Duke of Liang's Mansion.
Lan Yu is drinking with Zhu Shou.
Although Lan Yu is known as the military leader of the young faction, he is actually already forty-six years old.
Zhu Shou, who was appointed Wanhu at the age of twenty-three, followed Zhu Yuanzhang in the battle to cross the river south, and is also sixty years old this year.
In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, in fact, there are not many young generals among these early generals.
Zhu Shou was granted the title of Marquis of Shuzhou Hu, with the official position of Governor Qianshi and the commander of Henghai Guard.
Henghaiwei was less than seventy miles away from the capital. After receiving the news that Lan Yu had returned to the capital, Zhu Shou found a way to come to the capital.
Of course, as the commander of the guard post, he could not leave without permission. He was able to come to the capital in the name of reporting work to the Governor's Mansion.
Although Zhu Shou was more than a round older than Lan Yu, he showed great respect for Lan Yu.
"Dong Guo Liang, now that the prince has passed away and his grandson is young, we don't know what to do. After receiving the news that Duke Liang has returned to the capital, I feel a lot more at ease."
After drinking for three rounds, Zhu Shou spoke frankly without too many scruples.
Sixty-year-old Zhu Shou is already keenly aware of many things. In his opinion, the current situation is full of dangers, so he takes the risk to have a private meeting with Lan Yu.
For example, Zhu Shou and Cao Zhen are Lan Yu's iron partisans, and their relationship is extremely close.
"In the early days, I was very anxious, but now, there is nothing to worry about." Lan Yu looked relaxed, not as nervous as Zhu Shou.
After drinking all the wine in the bowl, he said with a smile.
Seeing this, Zhu Shou was a little anxious and wanted to say something, but immediately stopped and looked around subconsciously.
"Don't worry, I have sent my trusted soldiers to guard the place. There are no ears between us. If you have anything to say, just say it." Lan Yu said frankly.
Hearing this, Zhu Shou couldn't wait to speak, but his voice was still lowered: "Dong Liang, to tell you the truth, on the side of the last general Henghaiwei, several brothers below found traces of Jinyiwei."
"I'm worried, General, that Your Majesty will be wary of us people. My great-grandson is still young."
At this point, Zhu Shou's meaning was already very obvious.
In fact, Zhu Shou had some vague guesses about Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts.
He is sixty, has the eldest son and grandson in his family, and holds the position of marquis.
The title is hereditary. If the eldest son is absent, it will naturally be inherited by the eldest grandson.
His grandson was relatively young. If he died, how could his eldest grandson, who was in his teens, possibly stop those uncles?
The thought of empathizing with others made Zhu Shou realize that His Majesty might reduce their military power.
Of course, in Zhu Shou's view, the reduction of military power was nothing more than this. They had all shed blood and sweat for the Ming Dynasty, so they would not be executed like those civil servants.
"If you guessed it right, there must have been nothing like this in the past half month." The blue jade old god said like a fortune teller.
Zhu Shou exclaimed slightly and couldn't help but said: "That's true. How did Duke Liang know about it?"
Lan Yu smiled slightly, and instantly recalled in his mind the list given to him by His Highness Changsun a few days ago. The name at the top and third was Zhu Shou's name.
"If someone knows, it's because His Highness is back." Lan Yu said slowly.
"Your Highness?" Zhu Shou was a little confused. A series of figures flashed through his mind, all of them were princes, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't guess which His Highness it was.
"Xiaoling, His Royal Highness Prince Yu." Lan Yu said bluntly with a smile.
Hearing this, Zhu Shou cried and laughed: "Dong Liang, please stop joking with me. Your Highness, Changsun, that happened so long ago. If I remember correctly, it must have been ten years ago."
Lan Yu nodded seriously and said, "You remember correctly, this year happens to be the tenth year."
"General, don't tease the junior general. How can these dramas be taken seriously?"
Seeing Lan Yu's appearance, Zhu Shou felt tired. I talked to you about serious things, and you told me stories.
The most famous cultural deposit left by the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty on the land of China is the Yuan opera.
Yuan opera includes Zaju and Sanqu, mainly referring to Zaju.
The spread of rumors about the Xiaoling Mausoleum, because it involved royal privacy, was extremely easy to arouse people's interest. Seeing that the government did not step in to stop it, bold people soon began to imagine and create various dramas.
As soon as these dramas related to Xiaoling came out, they immediately became a craze, and their circulation rate was dozens of times higher than before.
Along with the troupe, with the capital as the core, it quickly spread to the entire Ming Dynasty territory.
If it takes some time for it to ferment, I'm afraid it will spread across the borders. Because of dialects, there are already more than ten dialect versions of Xiaoling Yu Wang.
The Ming Empire was so powerful, and it still had the most mysterious royal Xiaoling Tomb. It can be imagined that the small tribute countries would be extremely curious about these dramas.
Maybe there is no need to wait until next year. This year's Xiaoling Yu Wang drama will probably have more than ten translated versions.
Lan Yu was speechless. I'm telling you the truth, but you still think I'm joking.
However, Lan Yu not only knows about Xiaoling Yuwang's drama, but also likes to watch it recently. Every time she has dinner, she goes to watch the drama. She has become quite obsessed with it recently.
"The incident at Xiaoling Mausoleum was probably deliberately released by His Majesty to build momentum for His Highness the Changsun. So and so had time to tease you. Others in Xiaoling Mausoleum don't know, but it is true that there is a crack in the ground and no bones of King Yu are found."
"After His Highness Changsun was buried ten years ago, the stars shifted that night, the earth dragon rolled, and floated away from the underground river. It is absolutely true that he escaped with the blessing of God."
"A few days ago, I dined with His Highness Changsun. A few days ago, His Majesty asked me to pick five thousand people to serve as His Highness's personal bodyguards. Now His Highness Changsun is training soldiers at the capital camp outside the city."
"Oh, by the way, Cao Bing, the eldest son of Jingchuan Marquis, is currently serving as a Qianhu under His Highness."
Lan Yu slowly explained that this matter was too unbelievable, and most people would just listen to it as a story. If they really met His Highness Changsun, they would be completely stupid.
Just like Zhu Shou now, his mouth was wide open and he was stunned.
The impact of Lan Yu's words on him was really great.
On weekdays, Zhu Shou has nothing to do and just likes to listen to dramas. Xiaoling's book is currently the most popular.
Sometimes Zhu Shou even imagined that if His Royal Highness King Yu really survived, then King Yu, as the eldest grandson, must be the best heir to the Ming Empire.
Liang Guogong is the uncle of His Highness King Yu. After all, their lineage will be as prosperous as before.
Now that their dream has come true, Zhu Shou and Na Ye Gong are so dragon-like that they are a little confused.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Shou picked up the wine jar next to him, took two big gulps, and then looked at Lan Yu.
He stared at Lan Yu for a long time, then patted his face, and then said: "Dong Liang, this is not a joke."
Lan Yu said angrily: "After some time, when His Highness returns from the capital camp, I will recommend you in front of His Highness and call you to the capital. Then you will know the truth of what I said by yourself."
Zhu Shou swallowed subconsciously, his whole body still in shock.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
In the Ming Dynasty Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang finished his dinner and took a leisurely walk in the palace. Soon after, it was time to review the memorials.
"Jiang Wei, what day is it today when our eldest grandson goes to the capital camp to train soldiers?" Zhu Yuanzhang stopped and asked suddenly.
"Your Majesty, today is already the twelfth day." Jiang Wei immediately replied.
"Twelve days. We haven't seen our eldest grandson for twelve days. The same goes for this eldest grandson. He sent a batch of memorials two days ago, but he didn't say anything about missing us."
"I don't know how our eldest grandson is doing in the capital camp. Whether he is eating well and sleeping well. The life in the military camp must not be as comfortable as in the capital."
"With such hard work, it seems that Dasun really wants to train some kind of soldiers. He has been training for twelve days. Could it be said that the soldiers Lan Yu gave us are not elite?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said to himself, his tone at first was a bit complaining, but soon turned to missing him.
At the end of the day, he started to think about it randomly, and even speculated whether it was the soldiers selected by Lan Yu who tricked his eldest grandson.
"No, we have to go to the military camp tomorrow to see our eldest grandson."