A long table had been set up in Xuanzhong. Zhu Qiyu took the main seat first. On the left hand side, the Marquis Xing'an, his wife Xing'an Marquis, and Princess Xuanyi sat in sequence.
On the right side, sitting in sequence are Xu Xian, Mrs. Xu Xian, and Lin Xiangyu. Qianxue and Su Xi took the prince and princess and sat opposite Zhu Qiyu.
Xu Heng's family made concessions many times before taking their seats.
At this point, Xu Heng also confirmed what he had guessed before coming to the banquet: today's banquet will change the fate of his family.
Based on this reception standard, the emperor and his family opened the front door to greet him in person; after sitting down, he was accompanied by an imperial concubine, three princesses, the prince, and the princess.
Xu Heng was very sure: even if the prince came, he should not be received like this. This is obviously the emperor condescending and trying his best to win over. And this should be the limit of the emperor's courtesy and corporal. If I go further, the emperor will kneel down.
The two sides chatted about their usual routine, and Chao Yun, Mu Yu and others brought out the food and drinks. Seeing this, Xu Heng quickly stood up with his family.
Nowadays, everyone knows that the emperor does not have maids by his side. As long as she is a beautiful woman, she is at least a concubine. How could Xu Heng's family dare to sit there carelessly and let the emperor's women wait on them with peace of mind.
Zhu Qiyu quickly dissuaded everyone: "No need to be polite, Marquis Xing'an. Today is a family banquet. Don't be restrained. Everyone, please sit down. Sit down quickly."
Xu Heng's family complained, and Fang sat down again. Xu Heng had been observing the emperor's family secretly from the moment he saw the emperor's family outside the gate to the official banquet, and made some preliminary comments on everyone:
The emperor wore a solid light blue cotton robe with a jade belt around his waist, which was quite simple and simple. It can be seen that the rumors are true, the emperor just likes simple and elegant things, and hates complicated and trivial things.
Princess Xuanyi was also dressed in plain robes, with no other modifications except a jade hairpin on her head. Apparently, as rumored, she liked Taoism and devoted herself to pure cultivation.
Looking at the emperor's favorite concubines, no one wears princess clothes, and no one has a phoenix pattern on their clothes. It can be said that they are extremely low-key.
The princess was wearing a light red skirt and a plain white coat embroidered with pink peach blossoms. Her waist was tied with a jade belt, making her appear taller, smarter, more elegant and elegant. The other concubines are all wearing white coats and pink skirts, and they are all pretty and cute.
The emperor's family speaks and laughs casually and behaves intimately. It is obvious that they are a warm and harmonious family.
Fortune-telling and physiognomy were very popular in the Ming Dynasty at this time, and Xu Heng also dabbled in it. After taking a closer look at the emperor's family, he couldn't help but secretly nod: a good wife will bring prosperity to three generations, but a stupid wife will destroy the whole family. The emperor is thoughtful and clever, so at least the harem has no worries.
The emperor's family was extremely enthusiastic and only entertained the family during the dinner. The concubine and several princesses kept the atmosphere very lively with their witty remarks. This meal was considered a feast for both host and guest.
After taking away the food, Qianxue and Su Xi took the prince and princess back to rest, and the other concubines also left one after another.
The remaining seven people talked about the main topic while drinking tea.
Zhu Qiyu smiled and asked: "I heard that the Marquis of Xing'an once discussed the world's generals with Yushi Zhang. Now that the country is in crisis, can you please ask the Marquis of Xing'an to discuss it for me again? Who can be the commander-in-chief?"
When Xu Heng saw that the topic was coming, he quickly responded with all his energy: "General, it was just a joke at the time, and I didn't want even His Majesty to hear about it.
In terms of generals, the Ming Dynasty has recently commanded more than 100,000 troops, but only four of them: British Duke Zhang Fu, Jingyuan Bo Wang Ji, Ningyang Marquis Chen Mao, and Dingxi Marquis Jiang Gui.
This year was eventful. The Marquis of Dingxi died of illness and the British Duke was killed in battle.
Now only Uncle Jingyuan and Marquis Ningyang are left. When these two men commanded 100,000 troops, they were fighting in the south. The fighting power of the Southern Barbarians was still far inferior to that of the Northern Barbarians.
Therefore, no one now has the experience of commanding a hundred thousand troops to fight against the Northern invaders. "
When Zhu Qiyu heard this, he sighed heavily: "The north is like this now. How to deal with Wala? Please give me advice from Marquis Xing'an."
Xu Heng replied: "Your Majesty, do you really want to hear your true feelings?"
"Of course, please speak freely, Marquis Xing'an."
"Then please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Okay, there are no outsiders here, just ask Xing'an Marquis."
After receiving the promise, Xu Heng replied: "The current trend of Wala is caused by the wrong strategies of three generations of Renmiao, Xuanmiao and Taishanghuang."
When Zhu Qiyu heard this, he immediately became energetic. This was the first time that someone directly attributed the mistake to the emperor.
Xu Heng continued: "Although San Yang is a treacherous minister, their absurd behavior is actually caused by the late emperor's connivance.
The rule of Renxuan was essentially different from the rule of Wenjing: Emperor Xiaowen was extremely eager to expand the territory, but was limited by the national power of the Han Dynasty at that time, and could only do the things of one generation. Therefore, Emperor Xiaowen and Emperor Xiaojing continued to recuperate and work hard to govern, and finally handed over an extremely powerful empire to Emperor Xiaowu.
But the late emperor was different. The late emperor was sincerely not interested in opening up new territories. The so-called recuperation is based on sacrificing the long-term layout of the country.
For example, the late emperor cooperated with Sanyang to abandon Dongsheng Guard and Kaiping Guard, paying no attention to the defense of the Great Wall or the rectification of military equipment. As a result, the armaments were depleted and the Great Wall defense line was ineffective.
Moreover, the late emperor adopted a passive attitude of indifference towards the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, did not carry out internal differentiation and checks and balances within the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, and sat back and watched as Oara became stronger and unified Mongolia. After all kinds of short-sighted operations, we finally had the current defeat of civil engineering. "
Zhu Qiyu was shocked when he heard this. Many civil servants and generals in the court also understood these things, but Xing'an Hou was the first one to say it so straightforwardly.
This was also a big gamble for Xu Heng: anyway, his words would not lead to death. If the emperor was really ambitious and could accept his views, then he could assist the emperor in establishing his achievements. If the emperor can't listen, then he can only go home and have his grandson.
Xu Heng's current behavior is a typical example of breaking a pot: Anyway, Renzong is like this, Xuanzong is like this, and the Supreme Emperor is like this. If the new king is still like this, then he has given up completely. He will go home to entertain his grandchildren and end up rich and noble. good.
Zhu Qiyu replied: "I want to inflict heavy damage on Oara, kill Ye first, and completely split Mongolia into several parts. Then clean up the Shanxi generals and rebuild the Great Wall defense line.
It's just a pity that now I can't even control the army in the capital. And there is no time. I am just acting as the emperor. When the emperor is welcomed back, I have to return the throne to the emperor. "
When Xu Heng heard this, he quickly replied: "How can the divine weapon of heaven be allowed to come and go? Since your majesty has accepted the throne, how can you give it again?"
Zhu Qiyu spread his hands: "The ministers disagree, the nobles are not convinced, the vassal king glares at me, and the military power is not in my hands. If I don't return the throne, can my family survive?"
