The next day was the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the New Year. Although Yunxi had received an urgent report from the northwest that Timur planned to conquer the Ming Dynasty the day before, Yunxi also summoned several noble families to the palace.
Preliminary discussions were held on the matter, but the officials and people in the capital were not affected by such bad news and celebrated the New Year lively. Yunxi also put the matter aside for the time being and celebrated the New Year with his wife, concubines and children.
However, it was impossible for him to completely relax. This year, Yunxi summoned all the vassal kings in the north to come to the capital to see him. Except for King Qin, none of these vassal kings refused. They came to the capital with their entourage to eat, drink and have fun.
Keep in touch with the emperor and other feudal lords.
In addition, Zhu Yunwen, who was conferred the title of King of Wu, probably knew that Yunxi treated him differently than other vassal kings, so he went to Beijing to pay tribute every Chinese New Year, and he had to bring all his wives, concubines, and children with him every time. Fortunately, he left Hangzhou
The capital is not far away, and there is a direct waterway, so it is not too troublesome. However, Yunxi was in Guangzhou last year. He was worried that he would get sick if he took his children to Guangzhou, so he went to Guangzhou alone. This year everything is as usual, and he
Naturally, I have to bring everyone with me.
Yun Wen was his biological brother and elder brother. In order to show his brotherly respect, Yun Wen would go out of the city to greet him whenever he was free in the capital. This year was no exception. On this day, the twenty-seventh of the twelfth lunar month, Yun Wen heard the news.
The guards of Prince Wu's Mansion said that His Highness Prince Wu would be able to arrive in the capital before noon today, so he got on the carriage and rushed to the north gate of the capital with the guard of honor.
Yun He led people to rush to the north gate and took a short rest. Yun Wen had already led his family off the boat and walked slowly towards the capital. Hearing the emperor's guard of honor at the city gate, he hurriedly got off the carriage and took his official
Concubine Ma walked up to Yunxi and saluted: "I have seen your majesty, long live long live!" Ma also bowed and said: "I have seen your majesty."
"This is impossible." Yunxi hurriedly stepped forward, helped Yunwen up with both hands, and ordered the eunuch to help Ma up, and said to him: "Second brother, why are we brothers talking about these false etiquettes? What's more, the second brother is
My elder brother, it is the younger brother who should salute the second brother."
"National etiquette is more important than family etiquette. Your Majesty is the king of the world. Although I am your majesty's brother, I am also a minister. I naturally have to salute your majesty. How can I dare to accept your majesty's salute?" Yun Wen said immediately.
Yunxi still liked these words very much, but he still said: "Hey, how good is this. But when we meet privately in the palace, we must not do this. Just follow the etiquette of brothers meeting."
Yun Wen evaded a few words and nodded in agreement.
Yunxi also asked Wenkui to come forward and salute his father. Wenkui went to Beijing to study in the Royal Academy in the third year of Jianye's reign. He never returned to Hangzhou. He could only see him every year during the New Year when his parents paid tribute. Yunwen and Ma went to Beijing every year, and some
Because I want to see Wen Kui.
Yun Wen was still very excited when he saw his eldest son, but he restrained his emotions and only asked about his studies. But Ma couldn't help it, hugged his son, cried several times, and asked him repeatedly about his stay in Beijing.
How is the food there, how is the accommodation, whether the servants are obedient, etc.
Yun Wen couldn't hold back his face and scolded: "How unbecoming is this! With His Majesty and the Queen taking care of us in the capital, how can we not have enough food for Wen Kui!"
Mrs. Ma seemed to be a little afraid of Yunwen. Hearing this, she had to let go of Wenkui's hand, wiped her tears and saluted Yunxi: "I'm rude, your majesty, please forgive me."
"It's natural for mother and child to kiss each other. What's wrong with that? Why should I apologize?" Yunxi said with a smile.
The brothers chatted and joked for a while, and Yun Wen suddenly looked at a little girl behind Yun He and asked, "Your Majesty, is this Min'er? We haven't seen her for two years, and she has grown so big."
"No, she is not Min'er. She is Lan Siqi, the niece of Lan Zhen, Duke of Liang." Yunxi said with a smile.
"Let me tell you, there is indeed a big difference in appearance from Min'er. I have never dared to recognize her." Yunwen then raised his head and said to Yunxi: "Your Majesty, you are here to greet me. Why did you bring her with you?"
Yunwen had always been opposed to raising Siqi in the palace, thinking that he was overly favored by the Lan family. However, both Yunxi and Zhu Yuanzhang, who were still alive at the time, were willing, and he couldn't care less. But it would be inappropriate to bring Siqi with him when he came to welcome him.
That's it.
"Oh, Siqi is going home for the holidays. She happens to be leaving the palace today, so my brother took her out with him. Later, he will send her to the Duke of Liang's mansion," Yunxi said.
"Your Majesty, no matter what, she is just the daughter of a minister. It is not appropriate for Your Majesty to personally send her back to the mansion." Yun Wen said immediately.
"It's not just to send her off. My brother thought that four old generals had passed away this year, and he felt that there were fewer and fewer old generals who fought bloody battles for the Ming Dynasty, so he went to visit before the New Year and passed by the gate of Liang Guogong's Mansion.
Just put her down when the time comes." Yunxi explained.
Now that Yunxi said this, even if he still felt it was inappropriate, he could not say anything. He said a few words to Yunxi, said goodbye to Yunxi, and took Wenkui to Prince Wu's Mansion.
Yunxi also got on the carriage and ordered the honor guard to return to the palace, while the rest went to Hongwu Street.
Siqi was also sitting in the car, biting his lip with his teeth, and said softly to Yunxi: "Uncle, is it because Siqi's presence makes His Highness King Wu a little unhappy?"
"He just follows the rules too much, it's not that he's unhappy." Yunxi comforted him.
"Uncle, but," Siqi started to say but stopped.
"Don't worry." Yunxi touched her head and said, "Uncle is not afraid of these rumors. If you worry about this or that all day long, there is no need to do anything. Since uncle raised you in the palace, he won't care.
What others said."
"Yes, uncle." Siqi nodded.
After a while, the carriage came to Hongwu Street and drove to the door of Changxing Hou Geng Bingwen's mansion. Yunxi left Siqi in the car, got out of the car, and ordered the guards to call the door. Geng Bingwen was among the first batch of knights awarded by Zhu Yuanzhang in the third year of Hongwu.
He is also the only existing person who was awarded the title of Spyker in the third year of Hongwu. His qualifications are unparalleled in today's Ming Dynasty. When Yunxi came to visit the veteran, of course he had to be the first to visit him.
As soon as the door to the Marquis of Changxing's residence opened and he saw the person calling, he knew it was someone from the palace. He immediately said respectfully: "I have seen this Lord Guard. But your Majesty has something to give to my old man? Is there an imperial edict?"
Do you need my old man to come to the atrium to receive the order?"
"Hurry up and open the middle door. Your Majesty is here to visit Lord Geng!" Zhang Wuji stretched out his hand, grabbed the handle, and patted it again.
The disciple's heart trembled when he heard this! Darling, the emperor has come in person! He immediately agreed: "Just open the door! Just open the door!" Then he ordered the other two disciples to quickly open the middle door, and he ran into the house quickly.
The two younger doormen were also very frightened. They were stunned for a moment, not knowing what to do. Zhang Wuji impatiently knocked on the door handle again, and the two of them woke up from a dream and hurriedly opened the door.
.
After a while, Geng Bingwen led his entire family, dozens of men, women and children, all dressed in formal attire, and knelt down at the door and said: "I have seen your Majesty, your Majesty, Geng Bingwen..."
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, Yunxi had already stepped forward to help him up and said with a smile: "Old General, there is no need to salute. It's freezing cold today, and it won't be good for the old general to catch the cold again."
Already."
Geng Bingwen knew that although he had not been seriously ill yet, his health was getting worse year by year. If he got cold and sick, it would be against the emperor's original intention, so he did not insist on performing a full ceremony, but exchanged a few words with Yunxi and went with him.
Walk into the house and sit down in the living room.
Yunxi sat at the main seat, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "Is this Dongting Biluochun? It's really good."
"I'm not particular about tea. As long as you can drink it, it doesn't matter whether it's tea or not. These are the tea leaves that my children and grandchildren have found. It's their blessing to be able to enter your majesty's mouth." Geng Bingwen said with a smile.
"Tea is not psychic, so what kind of blessing is there? You are also an old general of the Ming Dynasty. You can't just flatter me like some people do. If I want to govern the Ming Dynasty well, I can't just hear flattery every day.
words." Yunxi said.
"Yes, yes, I know it. I will definitely change it next time, I will definitely change it." Geng Bingwen said hurriedly.
Yunxi asked him how his health was now. Geng Bingwen replied: "Thanks to the emperor, my body is still strong, I have no illness or disaster, and my legs and feet are still sharp. Even if I am asked to go into battle to kill the enemy, I will not hesitate."
"That's good. There are fewer and fewer of you veterans who followed the emperor's grandfather in the north and south. I am still young. Without your assistance, I will feel panicked when encountering war."
"Your Majesty, now that Lan Zhen and other generals have shown their abilities, even the ministers feel ashamed. Your Majesty, there is no need to worry."
"This is different. You are all people who have gone through great wars and adversity. These generals now are at their peak as soon as they lead the Ming Dynasty. They have always had the upper hand in the battles they fought before and after. Even if they win, it is not too big.
I still need your guidance to live up to my abilities."
What Yunxi said is the truth. Now these Mesozoic generals, even the oldest Xu Huizu and his like, were already more than ten years old in Hongwu when they grew up and led the army. The Ming Dynasty had already had the advantage, except for fighting wars other than Mongolia.
It is equivalent to beating up a kid in kindergarten. Even if he attacks Mongolia, as long as the generals who lead the troops are cautious, they will not be defeated. Although he attaches great importance to the recent attack on Annan, he still bullies the minority, and Hu Jishen has no official ambitions.
There is no support from the people, and the army will definitely win.
But the upcoming battle against Samarkand is different. The total strength of the two sides will not be much different. Timur's military morale is also high because he is invincible. Although Yunxi was very confident about this battle earlier, but in the exact
After the news came, I couldn't help but feel anxious.
And Geng Bingwen was the most famous guard general in the Ming Dynasty, so Yunxi couldn't help but express his worries in front of him.
Geng Bingwen also knew that he was worried about the battle against Samarkand. After Yunxi finished speaking, he comforted: "Your Majesty, I am not born with the ability to fight. I have learned these skills through experience in the flames of war. Now these are
Generals are all talented and intelligent, so they are certainly no worse than their ministers."
After listening to Geng Bingwen's words, Yunxi felt a little relieved. Just as he was about to say something else, he suddenly smiled and said: "Look, I said I came to visit you, why did I talk about this?" Then he stopped mentioning the topic just now and said it was easy.
