The night was dark, but Zhu Di was still working in the imperial study, lighting a green lantern and immersed himself in the paperwork on the dragon case.
The emperor's errand can be exhausting. In the past, the prince shared the duties, and later he became the superintendent of King Qi. Zhu Di had a lot of leisure, and could even go to Jiming Temple for a walk if he had nothing to do. Now that King Qi has gone to the Northeast, the old man is the only one left.
"Tang Cheng."
"My slave is here."
While correcting the papers, Zhu Di asked casually: "Ta... um, the King of Gan is still unwilling to go out?"
"The King of Gan has been imprisoning himself in the palace. He said that as long as Long Live Lord has his will, he can take over the vassal status at any time without delay." Tang Chengdao.
"That's it..." Zhu Di paused while holding the pen in his hand, and then said, "Since he is willing to stay in the palace, then he should stay in the palace. After King Qi finishes the war, he should almost die. Become a vassal."
Now that Zhu Gaochi is staying in the capital, the remaining princelings in the capital are also watching eagerly. They always feel that Zhu Gaochi will not fall so easily. As long as King Qi does not make him a prince, and as long as Zhu Gaochi does not give him a vassal, then everything will still have a chance. .
However, if King Qi annihilates two kingdoms within ten months and returns to Beijing with his extraordinary achievements, the pressure will shift to Zhu Gaochi's side.
Yes, you, Zhu Gaochi, have been the prince for so many years and have made a lot of achievements, but King Qi has already conquered three provinces for the Ming Dynasty. How can you compare your achievements with King Qi's Mansion?
To achieve military success is both the most difficult and the easiest.
For ordinary people, it is really difficult to accumulate military merit. No matter how good you are at playing tricks, it will not help on the battlefield. An excellent politician does not mean that he is a qualified military strategist.
However, for people like King Qi, it is difficult to defeat the enemy. With the huge military achievements accumulated through repeated battles and victories, he can completely convince the crowd.
If he waits for King Qi to return to Beijing and the princess gives birth to a son, if the daughter is okay, but if Princess Qi gives birth to a son, it will undoubtedly be a disaster for Zhu Gaochi.
If King Qi had a son, his only shortcoming would have disappeared.
"Tired."
Zhu Di closed his eyes lightly and leaned on the chair to give his tired body a short rest.
Upon seeing this, Tang Cheng quietly walked out of the room, trying his best not to make a sound.
After walking out of the imperial study, he called over the eunuch on duty and whispered: "Your Majesty is going to rest in the imperial study. Ask the eunuchs and maids working here to sew their mouths shut so that they can make some noise. , Sorry to bother you, Long Live Lord, I will make your little head disappear before you spend the night."
Since the death of Empress Xu, the emperor's residence has not been fixed every night. He often reviews papers in the royal study until late at night, and then falls asleep casually.
The palace was silent at night, but Zhu Di was lying on the couch in the imperial study, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
In his mind, there was always a familiar figure of a woman flashing past her. She seemed very close, but seemed to be separated by a chasm. This was a despairing distance called "life and death."
In the end, the old man gave up the struggle, got up from the bed, and continued to sit in front of the dragon case to prepare for work. However, when he saw the fold, he felt upset and did not want to write to correct it.
Zhu Di hesitated for a long time, and as if he had made up his mind, he took out a painting that had been dusty for a long time from the cabinet, slowly opened it, and hung it on the wall. Sitting opposite the scroll, he looked at the portrait painting obsessively. There was reminiscence, nostalgia, sadness in his eyes, and most of all, he was longing for the person he loved.
The painting depicts a beautiful woman, graceful, dignified and elegant, with a phoenix crown and a halo. Exquisite lines and paintings outline the beauty's face, and her eyes contain the gentleness of flowing clouds.
——Zhu Di’s first wife, Queen Xu.
After Empress Xu passed away, the emperor kept her in white clothes for a whole year, and the Yongle Dynasty never restored her to the position of empress.
"I miss you so much. Sometimes, I wish I could see you right away, but when I think about where this Ming Dynasty will go after I leave, I can only stay in this world."
Zhu Di held his forehead and murmured to himself, "Our baby has grown up. Do you still remember the fourth child? He is no longer the docile and harmless child he was before. He is now the pillar of the Ming Dynasty. After I leave, Ming Dynasty is counting on this boy."
"At the beginning, I hated him because his personality was really at odds with mine. He was too gentle. Why should such a gentle child be born into the royal family? But after you left, I hated him even more."
"Because... he looks so much like you, sometimes I can't tell whether he is King Qi or you are here to see me."
"It's interesting to say that the fourth child, whom I was least optimistic about back then, has now become the hope for the future of the Ming Dynasty."
"He is fighting in the Northeast now. When he comes back, I will take him to see you, okay?"
"Why don't you answer me? Queen, I miss you so much, I miss you so much... I really want to hear your voice again."
Zhu Di felt his cheeks were cold and moist, and when it fell to his lips, he tasted a hint of bitterness in his mouth.
"Are they tears? How could I shed tears?"
When you become an emperor, you can no longer shed tears.
He is stronger than anyone else, more cunning than anyone else, and more cruel than anyone else.
However, to this day, Zhu Di still couldn't hold back the moisture in the corners of his eyes.
The huge emptiness and sadness filled his heart, bringing endless loneliness. It was as if a person was holding a small boat and floating on the boundless sea. At first glance, there was emptiness. Apart from himself, there was nothing in the world. None.
"Queen, I won't keep you waiting for too long."
Zhu Di whispered, "I will go find you after I finish my work in the human world."
…
"Come!"
"Ten more!"
"I want one to fight ten!"
In the school field of the Liaodong Army camp, Zhu Gaojie was naked, exposing his strong tendon meat, which was as hot as steam from a stove in the winter. The sergeants in the school field raised their fingers.
On the ground, seven or eight sergeants had been beaten to the ground. They said to the other sergeants with ill intentions: "Who is that, Lao Wu? Aren't you usually awesome? Come up and try your hand?"
"If you can't beat me, I won't go. If you go up there, you'll get beaten. Whoever wants to go can go."
"What, why are you no longer awesome? Are you a coward?"
"Get out!"
Liu Rong looked on and was dumbfounded: "Is this Prince Qi usually so heroic in the military camp?"
Lu Chaoyang laughed at the side and said: "When the prince was in the capital, he often went to Songlu Mountain to train troops and compete with the sergeants in martial arts. The one time I remember the most was when the prince single-handedly defeated twenty warriors in the army without any harm."
Liu Rong sighed: "Prince Qi's military training methods are impossible to learn."
How can one learn to defeat twenty tough soldiers in a single fight?
While the two were talking, Zhu Gaojie had already knocked down ten more fierce men and walked to the two of them.
Taking the white towel from Su Wen, he wiped off the white steaming sweat on his body and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Su Wen, who used to be very arrogant, now serves as his little secretary and puts a furry fox fur on Zhu Gaojie's shoulders.
"The general and Mr. Lu are sighing with emotion, Your Majesty, you are so brave. It is rare for you to have such martial arts rivals. You are no worse than the overlord of Chu in the past." Liu Rong flattered him calmly.
"It's cold. I came to the school grounds to warm up and stretch my muscles." Zhu Gaojie said.
When he was sparring with the sergeants, the strength of his hands was merciless. It looked fierce, but in fact it did not hurt the muscles and bones at all. The sergeants who were knocked down could continue to be active and active after lying down for a while.
In this way, it can not only activate the fighting spirit of the sergeants, but also make Zhu Gaojie's prestige appear more humane in the army.
"It is said that the King of Han is so brave that he can defeat thousands of others on the battlefield. But compared with Prince Qi, the King of Han is not so brave. He is just brave but without any plans..."
As Liu Rongyue spoke more and more enthusiastically, Zhu Gaojie interrupted: "General Liu, don't say these words that are not conducive to unity."
"No matter how good the King of Han is, he has contributed to the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Gaojie looked like an old leader. "Only when an official has an upright heart and uses power impartially can he win the hearts of the people. We must objectively evaluate how we treat others. General Liu is also a veteran general. Now, the court and the people have given us trust. Only by being down-to-earth will we be able to succeed in the future, you know."
Liu Rong was in awe: "Your Majesty's lesson is that you will benefit a lot in the end. Your Majesty's words are worth ten years of reading."
Look, this is the pattern of Prince Qi!
As soon as he opened his mouth, it was the court and the people. This pattern quickly rose up. Even if he did not agree with the King of Han, he would maintain the magnanimity that a person in power should have. It is no wonder that King Qi was able to kick down the King of Han and the prince.
Zhu Gaojie nodded slightly and patted Liu Rong on the shoulder: "General Liu still has room for improvement. If this continues, in my opinion, General Liu can still make progress."
Liu Rong's eyelids twitched, and the emotions in his heart began to surge.
He didn't understand what this "progress" meant.
Liu Rong, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, is not among the ranks. Strictly speaking, he is a senior official of the first rank, because he also has the false title of "Right Commander of the Central Military Governor's Mansion" and has reached the extreme in his official career. But if If you want to "progress" further, there is still room for improvement.
——Knighting.
Except for the founding era, it was as difficult as climbing to the sky to be granted a title, because the best way to be granted a title was to have the merit of following the dragon. However, Yongle's many conquests still created the possibility of some titles.
Liu Rong had such an opportunity once: during the Battle of Jingnan, he repeatedly made military exploits and accumulated enough military exploits to be awarded a title. At that time, the Southern Army was stationed in Suzhou and was saving food for long-term plans. Zhu Di was very worried and planned to cut off his food routes and ordered Liu Rong to lead 3,000 people there, but Liu Rong hesitated. Zhu Di was furious and wanted to kill him, but the generals kowtowed and begged for mercy, and were absolved. Later, he was judged for his contribution to planning to cross the river. Because of his previous crimes, he was not given a title and was only awarded the title of Commander-in-Chief. Although he was later promoted to the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Governor's Mansion, he was never awarded a title.
This matter has always bothered Liu Rong. There is only a thin line between him and the title, but this thin line is so far away that it makes people despair. Therefore, he has been actively expressing himself in Liaodong these years, hoping to rely on Accumulate military merit and break through this bottleneck.
Being granted a title in the Ming Dynasty, as long as it was not a posthumous title, would mean that future generations would earn an iron rice bowl that would last as long as the country.
However, the emperor was very cautious when distributing this iron rice bowl. Liu Rong was now starting to get anxious. As he grew older, he felt more and more that he had less and less time. If he could no longer earn a title, he might not be able to earn a title in the future. No chance.
But now, he sees hope of "progress" again.
King Qi!
This time King Qi is here to destroy the country. As long as he can get a certain amount of military merit in this battle to destroy the country, he can be made a marquis, not to mention an earl!
However, the premise is that Zhu Gaojie can acquiesce in Liu Rong's military exploits.
The commander of this battlefield is King Qi. How to divide the military merits is actually a matter of his words. Zhu Gaojie is a prince and does not need military merits at all. As long as he can win this battle, even if all the military merits are given away, it will not affect him. What he needs is prestige and fame.
But the people below need military merit, and when King Qi divides the military merit, he will naturally give priority to his own people. The big share must be given to Zheng He and Lu Chaoyang, why should it be given to Liu Rong?
"I don't need you to perform brilliantly, I only need you to do one thing."
Zhu Gaojie said with some deep meaning, "The duty of a soldier is to obey military orders. You only need to obey the orders quietly. You don't need me to teach you what to do. When the battle is over, I can guarantee that you will get what you want." need."
Liu Rong lowered his head with joy on his face: "The general will understand!"
…
[Choose simulation, Zhu Youjian’s emperor’s life. 】
While Zhu Gaojie was in the Northeast preparing for the war of annihilation, Zhu Di, who was in the capital, hesitated for a long time and finally made up his mind to simulate Zhu Youjian's emperor's life.
Every time he imitated Zhu Gaochi's future emperors, Zhu Di would hesitate for a long time. It was so damn hurtful!
And this time, it was the one he was least willing to simulate.
He had a hunch that this simulation would lead to a situation he didn't want to see.
However, Zhu Di finally chose to accept the reality. Life is like this. What you don't want to accept will flock to you, and what you want will eventually fade away.
Instead of blinding yourself, it is better to walk forward with your head held high, no matter how bumpy and difficult the road is.
Zhu Di comforted himself. He had already come out of the Tumu Fort incident, so what could make him break through the defense?
[On December 24, the thirty-eighth year of Wanli, you were born in Ciqing Palace in the Forbidden City. You are the fifth son of Crown Prince Zhu Changluo. Your name is Zhu Youjian. 】
[Your mother, lady Liu, was not favored. When you were five years old, Liu died after being scolded by Zhu Changluo. After that, you were raised by two different concubines. As an ordinary prince who was disliked by your father and grandfather, you were never taught how to be an emperor and had no support from anyone. 】
[Like your brother Zhu Youxiao, you had a miserable childhood. You lived in gloomy darkness for the first half of your life. This situation lasted until the year your brother became terminally ill. 】
[On the dragon bed, your brother Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao's breath is weak, and he holds your hand tightly. He said: "My brother... should be regarded as Yao and Shun... the Ming Dynasty... is yours..."]
[Your brother entrusts you with this crumbling empire, but you are hesitant in your heart. 】
[If you take over the empire handed over by your brother, you will most likely become a subjugated king, bear the infamy of future generations, and have no peace after death. 】
[After hesitating for a long time, you still firmly agreed. 】
[I, Zhu Youjian, will follow the example of Zhu Gaojie, the king of Qiwu back then, and try my best to turn the sky! 】
