In the King Yan's residence, Zhu Di was half-lying on a rattan chair, with two maids fanning him.
Although it was mid-autumn and the heat had subsided a lot, it was still stuffy at noon. The weather was a little gloomy as if it was going to rain.
Zhu Gaoxu told Zhu Di that Emperor Jianwen appointed Li Jiujiang as the Zhennan General and that he was about to go to Guangzhou.
After Zhu Di heard this, his face suddenly darkened. He waved his hand and let the maid leave. Then, he said to Zhu Gaoxu,""There are pirates in Guangzhou? Is this true?"
Zhu Gaoxu quickly said,"According to the news from the General Administration Department, there are indeed pirates in Guangzhou." A few days ago, the governor of Guangzhou had even submitted a memorial saying that he had killed 700 pirates. He should be taking credit for it and did not seem to have lost control.”
The corners of Zhu Di's mouth twitched, and his eyes were filled with worry as he said,"A small pirate actually used the High Duke? If it was a bigger bandit, wouldn't His Majesty have to personally lead the army?! There's something fishy about this!"
"Father!"
Zhu Gaochi limped over. After bowing, he said solemnly,""Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was intended for Liu Bang."
Zhu Di raised his eyebrows, looked at Zhu Gaochi, and said seriously,""Are you saying that His Majesty's actions are targeted at us?”
Zhu Gaochi nodded solemnly and took out a booklet from his pocket. He handed it to Zhu Di and said,""Father, look."
Zhu Di opened the booklet and took a look. Inside was a list of people who had followed Li Jiujiang to the south. Most of them had good personal relationships with him. In fact, they had even interacted a lot in the past few days.
In other words, this was a group of nobles who were loyal to the King of Yan.
Xu Da's sons, Xu Zengshou, had also been sent out, and Xu Zengshou could be said to be a hidden chess piece that Zhu Di had left in the capital!
But now, this chess piece was about to be taken out of the capital!
"Xu 'er, learn from your big brother. This is how you should handle things.”
Zhu Di glanced at Zhu Gaoxu and then said to Zhu Gaochi,""You did well in this matter. It seems that His Majesty's eyes and ears are already extremely intelligent. This Dark Forest Division is indeed powerful!"
Zhu Gaochi was secretly happy to receive Zhu Di's praise, but his face remained calm as he said,"Father, our every move seems to be under the surveillance of His Majesty. We won't be staying in the capital for much longer, so why don't we leave after the mourning period is over?”
Zhu Di sighed and said,"That being said, if we want to leave, I'm afraid we have to wait until after the Mid-Autumn Festival."”
For the first time, Zhu Di was afraid of Zhu Yunwen.
This nephew knew his hidden chess piece and knew who was or might be on his side. Therefore, he cut off his hand!
This was a silent warning to him.
Zhu Di didn't like the current situation. He was tied up everywhere.
After a while, Ping An and Sheng Yong should have arrived at Beiping Prefecture. By then, would Beiping Prefecture still be his?
Zhu Di felt troubled. He stood up and looked at the gloomy sky. He said solemnly,"It's going to rain."
The rain finally fell.
It wasn't a storm, but a cold drizzle. Although it wasn't fast, it was long. It didn't stop from afternoon to evening.
Zhu Yunwen, who was reading memorials in the Hall of Martial Valor, suddenly heard that Jiang An had reported that Li Jiujiang wanted to see him. He put down his cinnabar pen and said slowly with a cold look in his eyes,"Let him go to the Venerated Body Palace."
Walking out of the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yunwen looked at the autumn rain and stretched out her hand to feel the cool rain. She said to Jiang An who wanted to put on more clothes,"No need. Let's go."
Hall of Honesty.
Li Jiujiang knelt down and bowed." Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" he shouted.”
"Stand up, give me your seat."
Zhu Yunwen arranged with a smile and then asked,"Duke Cao isn't preparing for the expedition and is entering the Palace overnight. If you have any difficulties, you can tell me and I will solve them for you.”
" Your Majesty," Li Jiujiang said after expressing his gratitude," I have been ordered to go on an expedition. I will do my best. I will not return to the court until the pirates are destroyed!" I came here tonight because I have something to report to Your Majesty in secret.”
"Oh?"
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Jiang An. Jiang An led the eunuch out and closed the door.
Seeing that there were no outsiders, Li Jiujiang quickly knelt down and said,""Your Majesty, please forgive me for my rudeness!”
"How rude?"
Zhu Yunwen asked indifferently.
Li Jiujiang took out a memorial from his sleeve and moved forward on his knees. He placed the memorial two steps in front of Zhu Yunwen and then knelt back down and said,"I was rude!"
Zhu Yunwen picked up the memorial, glanced at it and said,"Prince Yan has second thoughts? You're trying to drive a wedge between us!”
Li Jiujiang kowtowed violently and shouted," Your Majesty, everything I said is true. I had arranged for Li Zengzhi to secretly contact the King of Yan. I found out that this person is relying on the soldiers in his hands to covet the throne. If Your Majesty doesn't cut off the vassal state as soon as possible, I'm afraid there will be trouble!”
"Hehe, it's just tens of thousands of soldiers. They can't cause any waves.”Zhu Yunwen put the memorial aside and said to Li Jiujiang,"You also mentioned Xu Huizu. Do you think Xu Huizu is loyal?”
Li Jiujiang narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly said,""I believe that the Duke of Wei is intelligent and open-minded, has extraordinary abilities, and is extremely powerful in governing. He is the leader of the military, so he must be loyal to Your Majesty. However…the Prince of Zhongshan's Mansion and the Prince of Yan are not only related by marriage. They are also very close in private…I hope Your Majesty will pay more attention.”
Praise came first, belittling came later.
First raise and then suppress, hit the heart.
This was the art of speech.
If Zhu Yunwen was really the Emperor Jianwen in history, just these words were enough to make him not dare to use Xu Huizu, at least not to hand over the absolute main force to Xu Huizu.
However, Zhu Yunwen knew the history and knew that Xu Huizu was loyal to Emperor Jianwen.
Li Jiujiang was a shameless traitor!
"I-I know."
Zhu Yunwen got up and nodded solemnly at Li Jiujiang. Then she turned around and blocked Li Jiujiang's line of sight. She took out a memorial from her sleeve and hid Li Jiujiang's memorial. Then she stood up and took the memorial. She walked to the oil lamp and lit the memorial. She looked at Li Jiujiang and said,"We are a family. Zhen is counting on you to make a great contribution.”
Li Jiujiang was pleasantly surprised. He quickly kowtowed to express his loyalty. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the memorial burn to ashes.
Zhu Yunwen motioned for Li Jiujiang to sit down, then took out the report from Guangdong and handed it to Li Jiujiang."Actually, there aren't many pirates in Guangzhou.”
Li Jiujiang naturally knew this, but he still pretended to look at Zhu Yunwen in surprise and asked,""Then why did Your Majesty…"
Zhu Yunwen laughed and said,"Because I sent you to Guangzhou not only to fight the pirates, but also for a more important mission." Otherwise, why would I send you to Guangzhou?”
Li Jiujiang was pleasantly surprised. No wonder His Majesty arranged for him to go to Hainan. It turned out that there was a big mission. He thought that His Majesty was setting him up…
"Your Majesty, please tell me."
"Build ships and build a navy."
"Navy?"
Li Jiujiang blinked and looked at Zhu Yunwen in confusion.
Since when did Big Ming have a navy?
Wasn't it always the Ming Navy?
"I want a naval fleet that can sail the sea!" Zhu Yunwen said solemnly. Guangzhou was close to the sea, and its shipbuilding industry was developed. Moreover, it had rich experience in long-distance voyages, so it should have nautical charts. After you arrive in Guangzhou, on the surface, you will be attacking the pirates. In fact, you will need to help me build a powerful navy!”Li Jiujiang still didn't understand.
Wasn't it enough to have the Ming Navy?
Sailing across the sea?
What could be in the depths of the sea?
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