The old man, there is clearly something behind his words.
When he returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors, he couldn't reach Huai'an. Besides, even if he wanted to go to Huai'an, why didn't he say that when he left the capital, he would take the water route to Huai'an. Instead, he said that when he came back, if he was not in a hurry, he would go to Huai'an.
look.
Huai'an is Zhu Yunwen's fiefdom and the seat of Huai Fan.
Thinking back to the several letters sent by the Jin Yiwei commander's envoy, Zhu Yunxi was sure that the old man would never act on a whim or aimlessly.
The emperor's grandson drove slowly out of the capital. In the magnificent carriage, Zhu Yunxi leaned on the soft couch, closing his eyes and thinking.
Zhu Yunwen has been very low-key and honest since he became a vassal.
Huai'an is close to the canal. Although it is not the richest place in the world, it can still be considered prosperous. Zhu Yunwen is the vassal there. It is definitely the old man's special treatment for this concubine's eldest grandson.
After arriving in the fiefdom, Zhu Yunwen seldom appeared in public. It is said that he read and wrote at home every day, and the people who came and went were also literati.
For his character who is calculating but not responsible, has ideas but has no skills, and is anticlimactic, this is the best destination.
However, his dealings with several vassal kings were real. Moreover, there were some minor doubts.
But no matter how stupid he is...
Slowly, Zhu Yunxi opened his eyes in the carriage and stretched out his hand to open the curtain.
"Your Highness!" Fu Rang, the commander of the cavalry guards next to the carriage outside the carriage, bowed his head and said, "What are your orders?"
"It's okay, let's get some air!" Zhu Yunxi smiled casually, and then his eyes fell on Zhang Fu, who was wearing fish scale armor next to Fu Rang, "Wen Bi (Zhang Fu)!"
"I'm here!" Zhang Fu jumped off his horse, followed the ruts of the carriage, and saluted.
"When the ancestor worship is over, I will give you a few days' leave and let you go back to Peking to visit relatives!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
Suddenly, Zhang Fu was overjoyed and said, "My lord, thank you for your kindness!"
"Hey, what a favor! Reunion of flesh and blood is the law of nature and human relations. You and your family are separated in the south and north, and you suffer from the pain of missing your relatives!" Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, "You are Gu's bodyguard. Speaking of which, you follow Gu.
After such a long time, it can be considered as some merit, let’s go home and have a good reunion!”
He said, without waiting for the other party to thank him, "By the way, when you return to your hometown, pick out some specialties from the capital and bring them with you. I heard that your mother is in poor health, and there are many tonics in the palace. I have sent a message to the hospital, so you can take it.
!”
"Your Highness is so kind to me, I am deeply grateful!"
Zhang Fu looked grateful and said that the emperor's grandson was really good to him. At that time, he was brought from the command of King Yan and was given a palace, clothing and food in the capital. He was also admitted to the palace as a guard, which can be said to be a deep kindness.
Let alone the son of a foreign minister, even a descendant of the noble family does not have such favor.
It's just that in his heart...
~~~
The emperor's grandson drove slowly along the official road. On both sides of the official road, hard-working farmers began to plow the land that had not yet completely melted in preparation for spring plowing.
In the evening of that day, the carriages came to Chuzhou City again. Civil and military officials of all sizes in the capital, as well as the country gentlemen, all came out of the city and knelt to welcome him.
Last time, as soon as Zhu Yunxi left Chuzhou, he heard about the great changes in the capital and rushed back to the capital overnight.
This time, coming here again, Zhu Yunxi couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
Lan Yu returned to his hometown to farm, and the military princes of the Blue Party were relatively unscathed under his protection. However, many of them also lost their sacred hearts. Without the power to lead troops in battle, they lived a low-key life in the capital.
Live life with your tail between your legs.
There has always been no right or wrong in anything involving power. How many people can really see clearly in the whirlpool of power?
Anyone who sees clearly and retreats bravely from the rapids has great wisdom.
For example, in Chuzhou City, the old Fengxiang Marquis Zhang Long lived and died for decades. When he got old, he did not help his children or grandchildren, but only focused on eating, drinking and having fun. This was great wisdom.
"My lord, please pay homage to His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Emperor. Your Highness is a thousand years old!"
Inside and outside the city gate, the sound of roaring mountains and tsunami rose loudly. The sun was setting in the sky and quickly dropped in shock.
"Old Marquis, you are well!" Zhu Yunxi stood at the steps of the carriage shaft and said with a smile to the old Marquis who was picking him up, "Hurry and help the old Marquis up!"
Zhang Long was helped up by several people, and his complexion was much worse than last time. He grinned and said, "Oh, you're fine! I'm telling you, Your Highness, you almost lost sight of me!"
"What's wrong?" Zhu Yunxi stepped out of the carriage, took the old Marquis' hand and said with a smile, "But you are sick?"
"I had a fall last month and almost killed me. Look!" The old man pointed at his teeth. "I lost all my teeth and I was unconscious for two days!"
"At that time, my children and grandchildren all thought that the old minister was about to die, and their shrouds were all prepared."
"You are blessed with great fortune!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
"The old minister was thinking, I never died under the sword of the Tatars in my life, but I fell to death, what a coward!" The old man laughed, "So, the old minister held his breath and lived again!"
Zhu Yunxi also smiled and said, "You are blessed with great fortune! If you survive a catastrophe, you will be blessed later!"
"What a blessing! Now I can't drink wine, I can't eat meat, I can't play with girls, I can't even open my legs..."
"Dad, Dad!" Supporting the old man, the Zhang family's eldest son's face turned red with shame, "You have some sense of propriety in front of His Highness!"
The old man also knew that he had made a mistake, but his face was neither red nor white. He grinned and said, "When people get old, they talk nonsense. Please invite me to your highness's home. I have already made arrangements for you. You must stay at my home, otherwise you will not
Give me face!"
Afterwards, Zhu Yunxi gave a few words of encouragement to the Chuzhou magistrate in brief and concise words, and then moved into the Zhang family's mansion in the city.
But after entering, it was completely different from last time.
The last time the Zhang family was full of meat and wine, everyone was red-faced. Zhu Yunxi's men were having a great time while secretly criticizing the old marquis for being old and shameless.
But this time, the Zhang family has a simple atmosphere of a kind family.
The guards first inspected Zhang's home and outside, and then they took three steps and one post every five steps.
Zhu Yunxi lived alone in the best courtyard of the Zhang family. There was a small kitchen alone in the courtyard. Inside, Zhang Long's elderly wife and several granddaughters were busy in the kitchen.
On the tea table in the square hall, Zhu Yunxi sat at the top, Zhang Long at the bottom, and the sons of the family stood in awe from a distance with their hands down.
"Old Marquis, what are you doing?" Zhu Yunxi smiled, "How come today's reception is different from last time?" As he spoke, he moved his nose and smelled the hot noodle soup outside, and said with a smile, "Home-cooked delicious food, comparable to
Your last banquet was much better!"
"Haha!" The old man smiled, "Don't you think that if you do it too openly, you will become a heretic?"
"Oh, I'm not treating you as an outsider this time. Why did you do that last time?" Zhu Yunxi drank tea and said with a smile, "I'm afraid that if others don't know, you will just eat, drink and have fun!"
The old man is also a human being, so he pretended not to have heard what Zhu Yunxi said.
"You are a veteran who followed the emperor's grandfather to join the army. You don't have to be so pretentious in front of me!" Zhu Yunxi said again, "You don't have to show it to anyone. Who can do anything to the people you support at home?"
"Old minister, it's not for myself!"
In fact, most of his extravagant and lewd style is for others to see. As for who he is showing to, both of them know it well.
"My wife, I haven't cooked in person for many years. Today I asked her to cook, firstly to welcome His Highness, and secondly to express my gratitude!"
With that said, he waved his children and grandchildren to go away, and whispered, "Last time, His Highness rushed back in a hurry and saved many old brothers..."
Zhu Yunxi didn't let him finish, patted his hand and comforted him, "Let's not talk about the past!"
Last time, the old man deliberately put on a happy-go-lucky look because he was a little defensive in his heart, for fear of being jealous. This time, it was true.
"Those old brothers are also stupid and don't know the depth of things!" The old man said on crutches, "His Royal Highness is wise and powerful, and tolerates old people like us. It is really a blessing for you!"
Zhu Yunxi wanted to tease him and said, "Oh, what you said is a bit too much. What does it mean to be tolerant? Don't others be tolerant? Otherwise, go back and say this to...
....."
"You!" the old man said anxiously, "You are not that kind of person!"
"Haha!" Zhu Yunxi laughed loudly and patted each other's hand, "You have worked hard all your life, and live casually when you are old. Don't care what others think. With Grandpa Huang here and alone, who can make you feel wronged?
"
At this time, Zhang Long's old wife tremblingly came in with a bowl of hot noodle soup, and said with a smile, "Get in the car and dumplings are out of the noodles. I don't know how to beat you up. Your Highness, you can just eat some, and I will go again."
I’ll cut you some meat with soy sauce!”
"Thank you for your hard work!" Zhu Yunxi smiled and picked out a chopstick of noodles.
"Your Highness, I have a favor to ask of you!"
"Say!" Zhu Yunxi said vaguely.
"Old Chen has a few incompetent grandsons. See if you can join that martial arts school to learn something and give them a future!"
"How many descendants do you have in the Zhang family? Just bring them!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
~~~
It's late at night, inside the Zhang family's house.
Zhang Le, the eldest son of the Zhang family, carefully said to his father, "Dad, haven't you always prevented our family from getting involved in the imperial court? How come you have changed your doctrine now?"
"You can't be rich for more than three generations!" The old man fiddled with a few dice without raising his head. "Damn it, if I don't help you while I'm alive, what will you do when I'm dead?"
"But you didn't mean to go to..."
"I have said it before, but things are different now!" The old man rolled the dice and continued, "The world has always been about life and death, not wealth. In the past, when you got involved, you were waiting for others to kill you! Now I am
I give you Zhang Luo because the Emperor Taisun is wise and powerful."
As he said that, the old man put away the dice, "Back then, when I joined the army, the person above told me that in troubled times, a warrior should find a good master to be loyal to and gain wealth with swords and guns!"
"Now is the prosperous age, and I have found a good master for you unsatisfied ones!"