Zhu Biao stood in the pavilion and looked at the houses one after another. Most of them were empty. They would slowly become fuller after he married a wife and took concubines.
The weather was a bit cold, so Da Shuang'er came out holding a silver silk embroidered dragon and white fox cloak. This was Mu Ying's birthday gift to him last year.
Zhu Biao glanced at Liu Jin who was standing aside: "You don't have to call yourself a slave anymore, just call yourself a minister!"
Liu Jin hurriedly bent down, "Thank you for your favor, but I am only a fifth-grade eunuch in charge. How dare you call yourself a minister!"
Zhu Biao was stunned. He really didn't know that all his eunuchs were from the fifth grade! "
Zhu Biao smiled and asked, "You've already graduated from the fifth rank and you can't call yourself a minister? You guys want to trick me into getting you promoted, right?"
Liu Jin knew that his prince was just joking, so he replied with a playful smile, "This palace stipulates that only the fourth-rank chambermaids can call themselves ministers. If you are kind to me, my servants may soon be able to call themselves ministers."
Zhu Biao shook his head, "Is there any favored eunuch on your father's side?"
Liu Jin replied, "Grandpa Huang is not happy to use them, so naturally he doesn't favor them. Thanks to me, this servant, a steward from the fifth rank, can be brothers to the stewards who oversee the first rank."
Zhu Biao nodded clearly. Eunuchs are all smart. Naturally, they knew that Zhu Yuanzhang's favor, who could do anything, was conveying goodwill to him through Liu Jin.
Zhu Biao looked at Liu Jin with a smile, "You can already call me brother-in-law with the general manager. Why didn't you ask them to support you? Are you bragging to me?"
Liu Jin replied, "I am my slave. It is my master who has the final say on what to do. It is not their turn to support me!"
Zhu Biao nodded, this is the cleverness of Liu Jin. He is the prince's personal eunuch after all. He can get to the third rank if he wants, but he would rather stay in the fifth rank than wait for Zhu Biao to promote him.
Zhu Biao was not disgusted. He wanted to use Liu Jin, so he naturally hoped that he would be smarter.
Zhu Biao said, "You have said so. I can only reward you. Go and tell the chief supervisor of the ceremonial department how the personal eunuch of this palace can only be from the fifth rank to the father-in-law in front of the second rank of the ceremonial supervisor." Bar!
Liu Jin quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times, "I, Liu Jin, thank you for your kindness!"
Zhu Biao didn't say anything, turned around and walked towards his inner hall. The white fox cloak swayed and just swept Liu Jin's lowered head...
When Zhu Biao walked away, Liu Jin slowly got up. He knew that the prince was satisfied. After serving him for so long, he naturally knew that his prince did not mind the people around him being a little petty. As long as he could do his job well, Be smart when doing things and everything will be easier.
Just like this time, if he went to find the Supervisor of Ceremonies by himself, he would only be of the third rank at most, but now that the Crown Prince has said that he is the second rank, even in the palace, besides the masters, Liu Jin is also the number one person .
Liu Jin also carefully arranged the people on duty at night. When the weather was cold, the amount and location of the charcoal fire should not be careless at night. Seeing that it was getting late, he hurried to the Supervisor of Ceremonies to report.
After Zhu Biao returned to the room, he drank another bowl of nourishing medicinal food, read a book for a while, and then fell asleep peacefully. He didn't know what he would be like tomorrow!
When I got up the next day, I saw Liu Jin who had changed his clothes and came to wait on him. Zhu Biao joked a few words and got up to eat. Then he went to watch his younger brothers study. It was more difficult for them to go out now. Fortunately, the palace There is a place to play, but without their eldest brother to take the lead, they are a little scared.
At noon, looking at the expectant looks in his brothers' eyes, Zhu Biao said a few words to a few gentlemen, and then asked them to go to the Royal Garden to play in the afternoon, but they must not cause trouble!
Zhu Biao met with several East Palace officials in the afternoon. They were all middle- and lower-level officials, some were depressed, and they had made any outstanding contributions when Zhu Yuanzhang started his career. Now he could only rely on the prince, hoping that he would have a relationship with him in the future.
As time went by, although Zhu Biao was the prince, he was young after all. He had not yet reached the time to stir up troubles, and those ministers would not come to seek refuge with a young prince like Zhu Yuanzhang when he was in his prime.
These Zhu Biao had already realized this, so they continued to live as usual every day.
In the blink of an eye, April came, and good news came from the Northern Expedition. This good news had not stopped since last year. The trend of the Yuan Dynasty's collapse really shocked everyone.
In early November last year, Xu Da's army arrived at Xiapi and ordered Zhang Xingzu to lead an army northward from Xuzhou to capture Jining and Dongping. At this time, Wang Xuan and Wang Xin's father and son surrendered and rebelled again, and went to Juzhou to recruit troops in an attempt to prevent Zhang Xingzu from going north.
Xu Da immediately marched into Yizhou, Wang Xuan was killed, and Wang Xin fled to Shanxi. Yuan troops from nearby Yizhou, Caozhou, Haizhou, Shuyang, Rizhao, Ganyu, Yishui and other places heard the news and surrendered.
Xu Da stopped in Yizhou, ordered Han Zheng to guard the Yellow River, and led his army to attack Yidu. At the end of November, Puyan Buhua, the general guarding Yuanyidu, was defeated and defeated Yidu. Xu Da took advantage of the victory to capture Shouguang, Linzi, Changle, Gaoyuan and other places. Yuanle, Andong, Changshan, Xincheng and other places all joined in succession.
At the beginning of December, Zhang Xingzu went to Dongping, forced Yuan general Feng De away, chased to Dong'a and Anshan, forced Yuan generals Chen Bi, Du Tianyou, Jiang Xing and others to surrender, and then besieged Jining. Yuan defender Chen Bing Just run away.
In early December, Xu Da led his soldiers to Jinan, and Yuan general Duoerji surrendered. Yuan generals from Putai and Zouping in Mizhou also asked to surrender. Xu Da decided to continue to seize territory eastward and ordered Fu Youde to attack Laiyang. He led his troops back to Yidu and attacked Deng and Laizhou in the east. Seeing that the situation in Shandong was critical, Emperor Huizong of the Yuan Dynasty ordered Yi Su, the Prime Minister of the Book of Right, Tuo Heqi, the Governor of Taiwei, Hu Lindai, the Minister of Pingzhang of Zhongshu, and Tulu, the Prime Minister of Shaanxi Province, to march into Shandong. However, all the generals did not obey the order. .
In March of the first year of Hongwu, after Xu Da basically occupied Shandong, he attacked Bianliang (today's Kaifeng, Henan) from Jining. At the same time, he sent a part of his army to Xuchang via Yongcheng, Henan, and returned to Germany. He also ordered Deng Yu to lead Xiangyang, Anlu, and Jiangling's troops attacked Nanyang, Henan Province from the north to coordinate the main force of the Northern Expedition.
At the end of March, Xu Da arrived at Chenqiao. Li Keyi, the general in charge of Bianliang in the Yuan Dynasty, drove the soldiers and civilians to flee westward at night. General Zuo Junbi in the Yuan Dynasty surrendered with his troops. After Xu Da entered Bianliang, he immediately led his troops to attack Luoyang via the south and west of Zhongwan.
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