"What did you say? Xiancai only accepted five iron pots and two pieces of soft armor, and also gave a jar of tiger bone wine as a gift."
"Then you used the remaining things from that village to buy a tiger skin?" Zhu Zhen said to the two young guards.
It was already the 21st of the twelfth lunar month in the third year of Jianye, and this place was no longer in Yunnan but in the Yangtze River, very close to the Longwandu port outside the capital.
Zhu and his family boarded a ship from Guangxi Prefecture in Yunnan Province, followed the river all the way to Guangzhou, changed to a sea-going ship in Guangzhou, and headed north along the coastline.
Going north in winter is actually not a good choice. The ocean currents on the west coast of the Pacific in winter flow from north to south, and the wind mostly blows from north to south. Although ships want to go north, they can go against the wind, but it is also very laborious. However, it is still faster than taking the inland river. Some, Zhu Zhen successfully brought a large family to Longwandu today. If he took the Xiangjiang-Yangtze River, it would probably take a few more days to reach the capital.
As for the guards who delivered things to Zhu Xiancai, Zhu Xi's original order was for them to return to the palace in Yongchang after delivering the things to her. After he returned to Yongchang, he took the entire palace to Ava City. But Because they got a complete tiger skin, in order to show their merit, they traveled day and night to the capital with the wine jar and tiger skin, and caught up with Zhu Chu at Longwandu.
At this time, the leading guard Xiao Cui said: "Your Highness, yes." With that, he took out the tiger skin from the package behind him and handed it to Zhu Zhen; the other guard carefully walked away carrying a wine jar. come over.
Zhu Chu shook twice, spread the tiger skin on the table, looked at it carefully and said, "It's really good, it's a complete tiger skin."
Zhu Xi was in a very happy mood. He had hunted tigers before in Yongchang and other places, but he had never obtained a complete tiger skin; and Yunxi already had three tiger skins, so he probably wouldn't like the one in his hand. He can keep this tiger skin for himself.
Therefore, he did not criticize these guards for failing to complete the orders he gave. He just said: "Is Xian Cai really not a princess and wants to spend her whole life in a barbarian land? Forget it, I can't control her. If Yun He asks Get up and tell him the truth."
At this time, the boat was approaching the shore. Zhu Zhen called his wife Mu Qingshuang out and the couple wanted to get off the boat together.
As soon as she got out of the cabin, Mu Qingshuang wrapped her collar tightly with a scarf, fearing that a bit of cold wind would blow into her clothes. The wide scarf even covered half of her face, and combined with the hat on her head, she Only a pair of big eyes were exposed. Zhu Zhen felt that if she could not show her eyes, she would definitely cover them as well.
Contrary to Mu Qingshuang, Zhu Zhen enjoys the current temperature very much. He always feels that Yunnan is too hot, even in winter, it feels slightly cooler. Of course, there is a big difference between morning and noon. You may need to wear leather clothes in the morning, but you can do it at noon. Wearing single clothes. But this made him feel even more uncomfortable.
Then Zhu Zhen walked off the ship surrounded by guards, and Mu Qingshuang also walked down behind him surrounded by maids.
In the port, there were already carriages prepared by the officials of the clan waiting. All vassal kings entering the capital, except for funerals, must report to the emperor in advance. If the emperor does not agree, they cannot go to the capital.
Therefore, of course, the clan government in the capital already knew that those vassal kings would come to the capital, so starting from the twelfth lunar month, they sent people to wait at the port every day to receive the vassal kings who came to the capital.
Zhu Zhen and the officials of the Zongren Mansion who picked him up had finished their greetings and were about to get into the car. Suddenly they saw many carriages with royal emblems parked nearby, far exceeding the number of carriages needed to pick up his family, so he asked: "We are coming today.
Who else is the vassal king of Beijing?"
"Your Highness, there are many vassal princes coming to Beijing to pay tribute this year. In addition to His Highness, the ones who have not come to Beijing yet are His Highness Prince Ning." said the official in charge of 'picking up' from the Zongren Mansion.
"Is Brother Seventeen coming to the capital today?" Zhu Zhen asked.
"Your Highness, the news from the day before yesterday is that it has arrived in Huai'an. It is estimated that even if it does not arrive in the capital today, it will arrive tomorrow." The official said.
Zhu Ming thought for a while and said to Mu Qingshuang: "You take people to the palace first."
"What about you?" Mu Qingshuang asked.
"I'll wait here for Brother Seventeen. He will arrive in Beijing almost today." Zhu Ming said.
"Okay, I'll enter the city first. But the form of visit given to His Majesty and the Queen is in our two names," Mu Qingshuang said.
"It's natural. If you deliver the greeting form alone, His Majesty will probably think that the two of us are having a huge conflict!" Zhu Ming made a joke and said a few more words to her. The coachman drove the carriage towards the city.
go.
Zhu Ming then looked at Dao Mudan, Dao Baifeng and others who were going to the Siyi Pavilion with the officials of the Ministry of Rites. While standing waiting for Zhu Quan, he was thinking about taking Dao Baifeng into Prince Min's Mansion tomorrow.
After waiting for a while and Zhu Quan not arriving, an official from the Zongren Mansion said to Zhu Qi: "Your Highness King Min, you'd better go into the city first. It's so cold now. Don't get frozen outside."
Zhu Min was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of a ship heading towards the port from the corner of his eye. He caught a glimpse of the "Ning" flag hanging high on the ship and said, "Brother Lone Seventeen has arrived."
The Zongren Mansion officials looked sideways at the port and saw the banner with the word "Ning", and quickly asked the clerks to prepare to welcome Ning Wang Zhu Quan.
After a while, the boat Zhu Quan was riding on docked, and the big flag with the word "Ning" lowered. Zhu Quan got off the boat with many people who didn't look like guards but more like generals.
Zhu Ming went up to him and said, "Brother Qi, long time no see."
Zhu Quan turned his head to look at Zhu Ming and said with a smile: "It turns out to be the eighteenth brother. We haven't seen each other for a long time. The last time we met was in the 31st year of Hongwu. More than three years have passed." He then said to his left and right: "
I haven’t paid my respects to His Highness King Min yet.”
These people bowed and saluted in a noisy manner and said, "I have met His Highness King Min."
"Eighteenth brother, these people are all military generals at the border. This time, as brothers, we have made military achievements and brought them to the capital to receive rewards. Eighteenth brother, don't be offended if you don't understand the etiquette." Zhu Quan said.
"Since we are from Seventeenth Brother, I will naturally not be surprised." Zhu Zhen paused and said, "Is it just that they have been fighting against the Mongols recently?"
"What? Didn't the news spread in the capital?" Zhu Quan asked doubtfully.
"I don't know about this. I have just arrived in the capital, only a quarter of an hour earlier than Brother Seventeen." Zhu Ming said.
"I see. As a brother, I won't tell you more. You will know after you enter the capital." Zhu Quan said.
Zhu Ming looked at Zhu Quan's proud look and thought to himself: 'When you enter the capital, you will know what contributions I have made.'
Then the two brothers mounted their tall horses and headed into the city.
