"You, come here."
Zhu Yuanzhang called out to this familiar guard because he saw that he was wearing the military uniform of a thousand households despite his young age.
At this age, he was not much older than his two sons, Fourth and Sixth.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang had the idea of nurturing his own Zhu family's soldiers.
The second brother, King of Qin Zhu, and the third brother, King of Jin Zhu, had already been through a lot of experience. They were just waiting for the right time to send them to their fiefs to guard the border for the Ming Dynasty.
Now that the Northern Expedition was imminent, Zhu Yuanzhang had the intention of letting the fourth brother Zhu Di and the sixth brother Zhu Zhen go out to gain experience.
The young guard walked over and knelt down." I am Zhu Xian, the Left Guard of the Rearguard Office. Greetings, Your Majesty."”
"Zhu Xian?"
Hearing the name, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that it was even more familiar. He seemed to have heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it immediately." You are?”
Zhu Xian respectfully replied,"Your Majesty, Zhu Liangzu, the Marquis of Yongjia, is my father."”
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly understood and couldn't help but reveal a doting smile on his face.
So you are the son of my old subordinate Zhu Liangzu. Your father fought for me back then.
Now that my son has entered the palace to be my guard, his loyalty is commendable.
"No wonder Zhen found it familiar! So you are the son of Liangzu, the son of my meritorious minister!”
"I remember that Liangzu mentioned you to me and said that you were on duty in Shu.”
Zhu Xian was happy to receive the Emperor's praise and answered truthfully,"Your Majesty, last year, Your Majesty issued a decree to summon the children of meritorious officials to serve in the palace. The Duke of Han said that protecting Your Majesty is the duty of the children of Huaixi.”
"When my father surrendered to Your Majesty, he said that he was willing to be Your Majesty's dog and horse for all eternity.”
"That's why I entered the Rearguard Commandery and became His Majesty's personal guard."
Zhu Xian wanted to take the opportunity to show his loyalty to Zhu Yuanzhang and win his favor.
However, he never expected that he would make a mistake if he said too much.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that he was recommended by Li Shanzhang, the smile on his face froze, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
Zhu Xian's words of loyalty, such as his duty and his dogs and horses, had already become nonsense.
Since ancient times, there had been no lack of competition between the emperor and his subjects.
With Li Shan Chang as the leader, this group of Huaixi military officers had formed a powerful alliance and were constantly trying to figure out what Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking.
Since Zhu Xian was planted by Li Shan Chang using his position to spy on me, what loyalty is there to speak of?
But now, there was no one in the imperial court that could be used. Zhu Yuanzhang needed these Huaixi military heroes to work for him, so he chose to hold back.
This showed the qualities that made Zhu Yuanzhang a great emperor.
Even in the position of Emperor, he was still willing to hide his dissatisfaction for the sake of the big picture.
After listening to Zhu Xian expressionlessly, Zhu Yuanzhang straightened his sleeves and said,"Alright!"
"This is the kind of child army that I want.”
"Ahaha!"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and patted Zhu Xian's shoulder.
It was unknown whether this smile was a compliment or a mockery.
Zhu Xian, this young man, could not understand Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts at all. Instead, he felt flattered and knelt on the ground.
"I, father and son, have received the kindness of the country for generations. I will definitely repay Your Majesty with all my strength.”
Zhu Yuanzhang brought Crown Prince Zhu Biao and Sixth Brother Zhu Zhen onto the carriage.
Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting in the main seat of the large phoenix carriage.
Crown Prince Zhu Biao and Zhu Zhen accompanied him.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his two sons and said to himself,"Father and son soldiers, father and son soldiers, it's really a good thing.”
"Sixth Brother! You have to assist your big brother in the future.”
"Your son will obey," Zhu Zhen replied.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to test him.
"Don't agree so easily. If you want to assist your big brother, you have to work hard to train your abilities.”
"Don't fool around!”
Zhu Zhen was dumbfounded.
He had always been as steady as an old dog. How could he be called sloppy?
Sloppy and mischievous, weren't these the exclusive labels of Ling?
Zhu Zhen still did not know that his old father, Zhu Yuanzhang, had long found out that he had slipped out of the palace to free himself.
No matter what, he just had to follow his father's lead.
"Yes, your son will remember."
I'm obedient and sensible. I can't let Imperial Father find fault with me.
Otherwise, whether it was the shoes or the military batons, they would not feel good.
Hold on, don't get beaten up!
Never ever, ever learn from Fourth Brother Zhu Di!
Crown Prince Zhu Biao was puzzled. Sixth Brother had always been very obedient. Why did his father say that he was sloppy?
Seeing how cunning Zhu Zhen was, Zhu Yuanzhang was at his wit's end. He simply wanted to test his political tactics.
"Sixth Brother, tell me, why did Li Shan Chang place Zhu Liang Zu's son Zhu Xian by our side?”
"Zhu Xian seems so loyal, how should we deal with him?”
Zhu Zhen was stunned. Wasn't this a matter of national importance? What does it have to do with a little prince like me?
Shouldn't Big Brother Zhu Biao be worried about this?
Zhu Zhen couldn't be bothered to think about it and casually said,""Imperial Father, this matter has to be decided by Big Brother. I'm still young and insensible.”
It was another excuse that he was still young. Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he almost laughed!
Can't you find another excuse?
Let's see how I deal with you!
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang pulled a long face." Today, I want to hear your opinion."”
"Be bold and say it. Well said. It's fine if it suits our wishes.”
"If you don't like it or don't agree with my thoughts, I'll beat you twenty times when we reach the military camp later!”
Hiss!
What kind of logic was this?
Zhu Zhen was dumbfounded!
The mighty Emperor Hongwu shouldn't be threatening people like this, right?
He used a big stick to scare people for no reason. He didn't care about martial ethics!
Zhu Biao couldn't help but laugh when he saw his sixth brother being controlled by his father.
Only Imperial Father could make Sixth Brother, this little rascal, suffer.
Zhu Biao also wanted to hear his sixth brother's thoughts.
Zhu Zhen tilted his head and began to think hard.
It was too difficult to guess what his father, Zhu Yuanzhang, was thinking.
"You don't have much time. If you still haven't answered the question by the time we reach the Xuanwu Lake camp, you'll be beaten with twenty sticks."”
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