Chapter 245: Yao Guangxiao is riding a tiger but cannot get off
As Zhu Yuanzhang woke up, there seemed to be a pair of pushing hands inside and outside the palace, and all the slight movements magically calmed down.
Everything seemed to be back to before, and the guards outside Li Jinglong's mansion retreated quietly.
For several days, there was no more waves.
Only at this time, in the courtyard beside the Qinhuai River.
Annan Anxiu Princess Chen Muyue is already starting to get a little anxious.
When she first came, she was not so anxious, but what people fear most is seeing hope.
Since Zhu Ying moved to the palace, she rarely comes here.
Ye Yueqing followed him to the palace. Zhao Xiangxi, who came from Korea, was now focused on the Gunpowder Department, racking his brains every day to study everything related to the matchlock gun.
The purpose is to make contributions as soon as possible, so that the Fengyang Zhao family can rise again.
For Zhao Xiangxi, it doesn't matter who is in charge of Goryeo. Even if it is included in the Ming Dynasty, she has nothing to care about.
As an aristocratic family, we just want to make the clan take off.
Furthermore, the members of the Zhao family in Fengyang can basically speak Chinese and have a deep understanding of Chinese culture.
Goryeo's return to the Ming Dynasty was a good thing for the Fengyang Zhao family.
It means that the Pongyang Cho family will change from a Goryeo family to a Ming family. They will suddenly be upgraded. How can this be bad?
At this stage, the Ming Dynasty is undoubtedly the most powerful country at home and abroad.
This is well known.
In the view of Fengyang Zhao, being attached to or merging into a more powerful dynasty was not a bad thing.
So now Chen Muyue and her maid Xiaoqing are the only ones left in the courtyard beside the Qinhuai River.
Oh, and Uncle Zhang is here as the housekeeper.
"When will this day end? Your Highness obviously said it would be soon, but two months have passed and there is still no movement. Your Highness may have forgotten this matter."
Chen Muyue said to the maid Xiao Qing in a somewhat bored tone, complaining endlessly.
No one restricted her freedom, whether it was food or other aspects, she was pretty good.
It is worth mentioning that especially in terms of food, Annan is not on the same level as here.
In the first month, Chen Muyue's appetite was directly captured by Ming Dynasty delicacies, and she even forgot about Annan.
But after eating it for a month, I can’t say I’m tired of it. I just kept repeating it all day long, which reminded Chen Muyue of what Zhu Ying had promised before.
Send troops to support the Annan royal family.
"Princess, why don't we tell Uncle Zhang? Your Highness's status means that he has to take care of everything, which is definitely different from us in Annan."
"The Ming Dynasty is so big. There must be many, many things happening every day. Our Annan is a small country. It is normal for His Highness to forget."
The maid Xiaoqing suggested, and immediately grabbed a small snack and ate it.
In the past two months, Chen Muyue has not changed much. Although she likes to eat, considering her status as a princess, she has not yet entered the palace.
So I pay more attention to my body shape.
As a maid, Xiaoqing, she doesn't care so much. She has gained weight in the past two months.
If it weren’t for the fact that there are so many things to do and consume every day, I would probably have become a chubby person.
Chen Muyue was a little hesitant when he heard this.
She is actually quite courageous, as can be seen from the fact that when she came here before, she dared to exchange identities with her maid Xiaoqing.
But the affairs of the Annan royal family involve tens of thousands of troops, so we need to be extremely careful.
She was worried that her urging would arouse His Highness's dissatisfaction, and that would be bad if the matter was abandoned.
After finishing the snack, the maid Xiaoqing noticed the princess's worries, rolled her eyes, and started to come up with ideas.
"Princess, I think your Highness may have forgotten. The Ming Dynasty has so many armies, and tens of thousands of people are just a matter of a word from Your Highness."
"I want to come here, my dear servant. The reason why His Highness agreed to send an army of 50,000 people was probably because of the princess."
Xiao Qing analyzed and said.
Chen Muyue frowned slightly and asked, "Because of me? What does this mean?"
"Hey, I have a princess. I'm afraid you don't know how beautiful you are. Although Your Highness is wise and powerful, you are still a man after all."
"The princess is our most beautiful woman in Annan. Your Highness is not a monk, so how can you not be tempted."
"Look, slave, even a monk might think of returning to secular life when he sees the princess."
Xiaoqing said with a smile.
"If you are talking nonsense, His Highness is not the kind of person who is easily swayed by beauty. Besides, this is the Ming Dynasty, and there are thousands of people under his command. There are no beauties of any kind."
"I'm just in Annan and other places. Even the ones I saw in the yard before, no one is worse than me."
When Chen Muyue said this, her face, which was still a little blushing, suddenly felt helpless.
The Korean princess in the courtyard and those following His Highness are all first-class beauties.
Compared with the two of them, Chen Muyue has no advantage at all. At most, they are just like brothers, each with his own merits.
Xiao Qing shook his head and said: "Princess, you don't understand. What kind of person is His Highness? He is the eldest grandson of the Ming Dynasty. How can one or two concubines do this to him?"
"In addition to the crown prince, there will be many concubines. If His Highness becomes the emperor, there will be even more concubines. There are so many concubines, they are so beautiful that they are too numerous to count."
"So, His Highness's thoughts cannot be focused on one or two people. The princess has a good chance."
"It's just that, it seems to me, His Highness was a little dazzled by what he saw, so he didn't think of the princess for a while. We have to think of a way to remind His Highness."
Chen Muyue looked at the maid Xiao Qing in surprise. She did not expect Xiao Qing to be able to say these words.
When he was in Annan, Xiaoqing was submissive and never put forward such reasonable opinions.
"You little girl, you are so smart. Tell me honestly, have you been hiding it from me for so many years? What are your intentions?"
Chen Muyue's tone seemed to be surprised and angry.
This made Xiao Qing panic for a moment, and she hurriedly explained: "Princess, Xiao Qing has grown up with the princess since she was a child. She has never left the princess for many days and nights. How can she have any intentions?"
"It's not that Xiaoqing has become smarter, but that the princess is too worried and concerned, and is lost in the situation. Ming Dynasty is a strange place, not as familiar as Annan."
"In addition, the princess didn't think about herself, so she couldn't see clearly. But Xiaoqing is a bystander, so she can see clearly."
After hearing Xiao Qing's explanation, Chen Muyue thought for a moment and found that this was indeed the truth.
In the final analysis, this method is not very outstanding, it can even be said to be a bit ordinary, but I was so confused and panicked that I didn't think about it at all.
Furthermore, when she was in Annan, Chen Muyue never mentioned that she thought about the affairs between men and women. She only focused on the affairs of the court, people's livelihood, and officials.
"Okay, I forgive you, Princess. I didn't expect Xiaoqing to be very useful at critical moments."
"Then tell me, how should I remind His Highness? If I say it directly, wouldn't it be a bit too abrupt? Once I leave a bad impression, I'm afraid it will be difficult to talk to him later."
Chen Muyue said with some worry.
Xiao Qing nodded when he heard this and subconsciously analyzed: "We must find a way to make His Highness pay attention to the princess without being too direct."
"It's definitely not possible to go to Uncle Zhang, so what else can we do? Or maybe the princess directly tells Uncle Zhang that she misses His Highness? Maybe it should be possible, so His Highness won't be blamed."
Chen Muyue said in embarrassment: "How could someone like His Highness ignore such a simple statement? No, it definitely won't work. We must find other ways."
Xiaoqing said "Oh" and began to think hard.
The two women stayed in the yard for a long time, but neither of them came up with a brilliant idea.
At this time, the breeze blew by, carrying a faint fragrance of flowers.
An idea flashed in Chen Muyue's mind and she said: "Xiao Qing, what do you think I embroidered a sachet to give to His Highness? This will not be rude and can also remind His Highness."
"Princess is so amazing. This method is so quick. Xiao Qing never thought of such a perfect method." Xiao Qing said with a smile.
Chen Muyue thought about it in her mind and felt more and more that this method was good. Without hesitation, she walked directly into the room. She was about to start embroidering the sachet now.
Influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, embroidery is also something that women in Annan must master. In this regard, Chen Muyue may not be as good as everyone else, but her skills can be considered top-notch.
...
In Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying was listening to Ye Yueqing read the information sent from Korea.
After listening, he said: "It seems that our Imperial Master Daoyan is a little unable to hold on now, but this guy is really hard-hearted and doesn't care at all about the lives of the soldiers on the Goryeo side."
"It is said that Buddhists are compassionate towards heaven and earth. After all, he is a monk. How come he only looks at heaven's heart and ignores people's hearts?"
Zhu Ying said with a smile.
This information was urgently sent by Yao Guangxiao. In addition to describing the current situation in Goryeo, it also mentioned that the morale of the army was somewhat fluctuating.
The main problem is food. The large-scale dispatch of troops cannot keep up with the logistics. Li Chenggui should be involved in this. Obviously, he does not want Yao Guangxiao, the national advisor, to go too smoothly.
If he really became famous in one battle, his prestige among the Goryeo army would probably surpass that of Li Chenggui.
Although the Goryeo royal family is basically half-depleted in name only, Li Chenggui is now caught in the middle, and is very embarrassed.
The only good thing is that Yao Guangxiao is just a monk. If he were a general, he would probably kill him if he turned around.
Of course, it was precisely because Yao Guangxiao was a monk that Li Chenggui compromised.
"Your Highness, we need to mobilize the chamber of commerce over there to fully assist Master Dao Yan." Ye Yueqing asked.
Zhu Ying nodded and said: "Of course I want to help. In fact, Master Daoyan is very clear. We only need to maintain it until February next year."
"When the time comes, we will cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to march to Japan. The internal conflicts in Goryeo will be transferred through the war. Even if Li Chenggui wants to take any action, he has no choice but to be forcibly tied up and move forward."
"Please notify us. In Korea or other regions, we are currently mainly supporting Master Daoyan. We have to occupy Tsushima Island and build it into a base camp."
"At that time, Ming Dynasty may be able to use the passage there to go on an expedition."
After finishing speaking, Zhu Ying made a calculation in his mind, frowned and added: "Our Qunying Chamber of Commerce alone, even if we give all our help, it will be difficult for Master Dao Yan to survive until the end of the year."
"I guess if I don't use it for two months, the chamber of commerce over there will be completely hollowed out."
Zhu Ying's Qunyin Chamber of Commerce is naturally rich, or even rich enough to rival the country.
But this incredibly wealthy country does not refer to big countries like the Ming Dynasty or Goryeo, but to smaller countries.
Even a partial supply of the 150,000-strong army is not something that the branch chamber of commerce can bear, unless all the resources of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce are mobilized and combined.
Of course, this is impossible. The cost of traveling alone is a huge expense.
"Your Highness, perhaps we can only inform His Majesty about this matter and get help from the Ming Dynasty, otherwise Master Dao Yan may fall short of his achievements." Ye Yueqing reminded.
Seeing that so many troops have been integrated, a total of 150,000, and this time almost more than 90% of the secret forces of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce in Goryeo have been used.
In other words, from now on, the entire secret forces of Goryeo have been placed in front of Li Chenggui and have completely surfaced.
This will cause great fluctuations in the future situation, and we will have a head-on confrontation with Li Chenggui.
If Yao Guangxiao loses, he will appear very passive.
If he wins, he will naturally be able to completely suppress Li Chenggui, creating a situation where two tigers are fighting each other.
You must know that the Goryeo royal family is still there. Even if they are puppets, Li Chenggui and Yao Guangxiao are still warlords.
Zhu Ying pondered for a moment and said: "The Ming Dynasty cannot directly take action on this matter. Even if it is done, it can only be done secretly. Otherwise, I am afraid that Li Chenggui will take advantage of it and use this matter to arouse the hearts of the Korean people and boycott the Ming Dynasty."
Ye Yueqing asked with some confusion: "Does Li Chenggui have the courage? It seems that he has always been very close to Daming before."
Zhu Ying smiled and said: "There are no consistent allies in this world, they are just driven by interests."
"The reason why Li Chenggui surrendered to the Ming Dynasty was probably because of the Goryeo royal family. He had to get the support of the Ming Dynasty in order to be able to achieve his own royal family."
"The area of Goryeo has been influenced by our Central Plains Dynasty since the Han Dynasty. It was a province of our Central Plains Dynasty before, and it has always been a vassal state after the Tang Dynasty."
"Don't underestimate my Ming Dynasty's canonization. At least in terms of justice, Li Chenggui is completely controllable."
Hearing this, Ye Yueqing nodded slightly, somewhat vaguely understanding, and then asked: "Wouldn't it be better if we just don't canonize Li Chenggui?"
Zhu Ying laughed and said: "It can't be that simple. Due to the restriction of distance, it is difficult for Ming Dynasty to interfere in Goryeo. This is just a matter of name."
"On Master Daoyan's side, we can only help him. We mainly rely on him to deal with it on his own."
"But from my point of view, Master Daoyan probably didn't want to settle the world at all. This guy went up to an army of 150,000 people in one breath. I'm afraid he will feel very uncomfortable now."
Ye Yueqing said: "Master Dao Yan has probably never led an army before, so he doesn't know that an army of 150,000 people has such a huge burden."
Zhu Ying heard this and said with a smile: "How could he not know? He knows it better than anyone else. There are some things you don't know Yueqing. When he followed King Yan, Master Daoyan was the military advisor of King Yan.
.”
"The reason why this situation is happening now is because he, Daoyan, underestimated my king's layout in Goryeo!"