"Your Majesty, this is no joke." Zhu Gaochi was almost embarrassed when he spoke.
After hearing this, King Zhao of Han believed him to be true and hurriedly stood up to stop him again and again.
If it fell into the hands of Zhu Muchen, there might be a chance of improvement. If it fell directly into the hands of the prince, those ministers who were just sitting on the sidelines and watching the situation would probably be one-sided and get close to the prince.
"Your Majesty, the King of Chu is more suitable. He understands the temperament of those Oara and Tatar soldiers. He knows himself and his enemy and is victorious in every battle. The King of Chu is suitable."
The person who spoke was none other than the King of Zhao. Of course, this was also said under the instruction of the King of Han.
Upon seeing this, Prince Zhu Gaochi hurriedly spoke up and said that Zhu Muchen was suitable. Naturally, other people in the hall did not dare to have any other opinions and said in unison: "The King of Chu is training to surrender his troops, which is the most suitable one."
"King Chu, what do you think?" Zhu Di's rich voice asked Zhu Muchen.
At this time, all civil and military officials had no excuse to stop him from leading the army. Zhu Di's move could be said to be a smooth sailing.
Zhu Muchen slowly stepped out of the queue and said loudly: "My minister, I will definitely live up to the emperor's order."
Zhu Di waved his hand, motioning for him to get flat.
After the dynasty was over, everyone came out of the main hall in an orderly manner. The prince, Zhu Muchen, and the emperor's grandson Zhu Zhanji walked at the end. Zhu Muchen was sandwiched between the father and son, one on the left and one on the right.
Zhu Gaochi said that he wanted to talk to Zhu Muchen about some recent events at the Xiaoliuqiu Shipyard. Of course, he also wanted to hear Zhu Muchen talk about what happened during the Northern Expedition.
Although I heard what Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji said, one only said a few words and the other did not know in detail, but it whetted Zhu Gaochi's appetite. He regretted not being able to follow the Northern Expedition this time.
"Dad, this moment is not the best time for you to go to Prince Chu's Mansion. If you have any gifts to congratulate King Chu on his return from the great victory, I will send them to you. If I can go to Prince Chu's Mansion in a fair and just manner, I will not be disappointed.
The reason is true." Zhu Zhanji looked at Zhu Gaochi and said with a smile.
On the way back to the court, he had been listening to the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion telling them how the Chu King Zhu Muchen had made the cunning Mahamu fall into a trap. He also wanted to hear the details of that battle.
It happened that Hu Shanxiang was the person given to him by his second uncle before. He took Hu Shanxiang to congratulate the King of Chu. The King of Han knew that he had nothing to say. If he went to the King of Chu's palace, he would not be said to be wooed by the ministers.
"I don't have any valuable gifts to give to King Chu." It's not that Zhu Gaochi is reluctant to part with it, but that he really doesn't have any valuable gifts to give to Zhu Muchen.
"Prince, please don't be polite. If you come to my house to have a drink and prepare generous gifts, that would be too outrageous." Zhu Muchen said sincerely.
Zhu Zhanji also echoed a few times.
This scene was extremely dazzling in the eyes of the King of Han and King Zhao.
King Zhu Gaoxu of Han raised his head and glanced at the scorching sun in the sky, sighing: "It's really more dazzling than this vicious sun."
"Second brother, what did you say?" King Zhao was not as angry as King Han.
Zhu Gaoxu snorted coldly, thinking that the success of the Ming Dynasty was not due to Zhu Muchen alone, so why did he get all the benefits?
If in this Northern Expedition, he followed the emperor to pursue Mahamu, and let him control the three armies and arrange the troops, it would not be Zhu Muchen's turn to steal the show.
In Zhu Gaoxu's heart, Zhu Di's various actions were unfair to him.
"Second brother, are we just going to watch Zhu Muchen being so proud?" King Zhao, who was belatedly aware of the situation, gritted his teeth.
"Didn't Zhan Ji just say that he was going to the Prince of Chu's house? You should think of a way quickly. This is a good opportunity for him to break up with the prince."
Even if Zhu Gaosui didn't speak, Zhu Gaoxu knew in his heart that he was not someone who would just sit back and wait for death.
He glanced at Zhu Gaosui, took his arm, and whispered in his ear.
…
When Zhu Muchen returned home, he locked himself in the study for two days and two nights. Xu Xin brought him food and drinks. Seeing that he was too busy, Xu Xin didn't even tell him to rest.
It was late at night, Xu Xin and Bai Xiaoman were standing outside the study, looking at the brightly lit room, they both sighed.
"Your Majesty always doesn't take good care of your body. What should you do if you get exhausted?" Bai Xiaoman felt very distressed, but she couldn't bear to go in and disturb him. She stayed outside the study for a while every day when she followed Xu Xin to deliver food.
The candlelight was on, Zhu Muchen bent down in front of the case, his figure was reflected on the window, and the two women looked very distressed.
"The emperor's grandson will come to the house tomorrow, and Mu Chen can rest." Xu Xin took her eyes away from the study for a long time, and while comforting Bai Xiaoman, she was also comforting herself.
The two of them left the study one after another.
The morning light came on in the east. Aji opened the door to the study and brought a basin of water to Zhu Muchen. "Your Majesty, wash your face and lie down to rest for a while. How can your body bear it if you continue like this?"
"The battleship matter is a big deal and should not be taken lightly." Zhu Muchen stood up, stretched his muscles while speaking, and then washed his face.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor's grandson and concubine have arrived at the door of the residence."
As soon as the study door opened, a servant reported.
Zhu Muchen was really tired after staying up for so long. He didn't even bother to say anything. He raised his hand and waved to indicate that he understood and asked his servants to invite them into the house.
"Aji, go tell the kitchen to prepare today's lunch."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Aji responded and hurriedly stepped back.
Zhu Zhanji was led by his servants straight to Zhu Muchen's study, while concubine Hu Shanxiang was led to the back house by several maids, and was left to the care of Xu Xin and the others.
Hu Shanxiang also specially prepared pastries, and several women sat in the garden and shared their parenting experiences.
"When the child is born, he must be made a disciple of the King of Chu, and let the King of Chu teach him well." Hu Shanxiang put his hands on his belly, his face full of kindness, and said in a gentle voice.
Xu Xin exchanged some polite greetings and hurriedly changed the topic. Choosing a master for the royal heirs was a big deal. As the family members of the ministers, they could not discuss it arbitrarily. Xu Xin and the others knew this very well.
In the study, Zhu Zhanji was looking at the drawings of Zhu Muchen's newly renovated battleships. He was shocked. But what shocked him even more was that in just a few days, Zhu Muchen had even drawn the drawings of the weapons used on the battleships.
.
Just by looking at the picture, I can tell that this cannon is much more powerful than a mortar. Zhu Zhanji couldn't help but give a thumbs up to Zhu Muchen, "King Chu, this is awesome."
"Your Majesty, thank you very much."
"King Chu, there are no outsiders here, so don't talk to me." Zhu Zhanji carefully put down the drawings in his hand, poured Zhu Muchen a cup of tea, and delivered it to him.
"This is the first time I have seen such a powerful weapon." Zhu Zhanji said.
But he couldn't figure out what the purpose of putting this cannon on a battleship was. He didn't even know what the world on the other side of the ocean was like.
Zhu Muchen said he was listening.
Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, the sun set in the west, and the night filled the entire sky. Zhu Zhanji reluctantly left the Prince of Chu's Mansion, holding Hu Shanxiang's hand and getting into the carriage.
"King Chu, you are so naked, please go back to your palace quickly." Zhu Zhanji opened the curtain of the carriage, waved his hand and said to Zhu Muchen.
"Okay, Taisun, be careful on the road." Zhu Muchen's eyelids jumped several times as soon as he finished speaking. His intuition told him that something bad would happen.
"Aji." He immediately called Aji, "Take a pair of guards and escort the emperor's grandson back to the palace. If you find anything wrong, immediately have someone escort the emperor's grandson and the others to the palace."
Aji had doubts in his heart, but he didn't ask any more questions and immediately led a team of people to chase Zhu Zhanji's carriage.
He also sent people to strictly guard the training ground given to him by Zhu Di in the western suburbs. There has been no news in the past two days, which shows that nothing unexpected happened.
…
It was a dark and windy night, and on the empty street, several men in t-shirts suddenly appeared. They all held scimitars in their hands and rushed towards the carriage with a clear goal.
"Bold." Just as these thieves were about to rush to the carriage, Aji suddenly appeared. After an angry shout, he shot arrows at them.
The crowd was so dense that Aji even pulled out the firecracker from his waist and fired two "bang bang" sounds at the thief.
These thieves did not give up and rushed towards the carriage with all their strength. They even threw knives at the horses in an attempt to frighten the horses.
Soon enough, Aji flew forward and kicked the thief on the chest, knocking him to the ground. The scimitar thrown by the thief missed the direction and fell to the ground with a clang.
.
Aji grabbed the reins of the horse and quickly asked Zhu Zhanji if he was injured. After learning that Zhu Zhanji and Hu Shanxiang were just false alarms, Aji was relieved.
The guards and the thieves fought for a while. Seeing that there was no hope of escape, the thieves all picked up the daggers they had hidden long ago and wiped their necks directly.
"Emperor Grandson, why don't you stay at the Prince of Chu's Mansion tonight?" Aji remembered Zhu Muchen's instructions and asked for Zhu Zhanji's consent.
"No need, just escort me back to the palace. Such an accident will not happen again today." In the carriage, Zhu Zhanji held Hu Shanxiang's hand tightly. It was obvious that she was frightened.
If you return to the Prince of Chu's Mansion at this time, you will definitely leave something to say. When the time comes, the second uncle and the third uncle will take this matter to trouble the King of Chu. The safest way is to return to the palace overnight.
Zhu Zhanji insisted that Aji had no choice but to escort him all the way.
In the palace, Zhu Zhanji helped Hu Shanxiang sit on the bed. Hu Shanxiang's face turned pale and he held Zhu Zhanji's hand tightly without letting go.
"Grandson, I feel sick in my stomach." Hu Shanxiang said weakly, holding the edge of the couch with her other hand, sweating profusely.
When Zhu Zhanji heard this, he looked down and saw that blood had stained her clothes.
"Imperial doctor, call the imperial doctor quickly." Zhu Zhanji looked nervous and hugged Hu Shanxiang to comfort him: "It'll be okay. The imperial doctor will be here soon. Both you and the child will be fine."
