Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 15 In the Wuying Palace
"The king of Chu Zhen is ordered to be the commander-in-chief and the king of Xiang Bai is the deputy commander-in-chief. The two of them will lead the palace guards and the troops of the Huguang Dusi to attack the Taozhou barbarians..."

In the early morning, after a night of deliberation, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered his two sons in Huguang to put down the rebellion after Zhu Yunwen arrived at Wuying Palace.

In response, Zhu Yunwen also bowed and made arrangements.

But after the arrangements were made, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but complain to Zhu Yunwen while sitting on the throne in Wuying Palace:

"I told you last year that there is a vassal king missing in the south of Huguang. It seems that it is just as I expected. The south has always been uneasy."

"Why don't we arrange for a few uncles to go out of Changsha?" Zhu Yunwen pretended to ask Zhu Yuanzhang what he meant, but Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head:
"Compared to Huguang, the southwest and north are not as peaceful."

"Now your uncles in the palace have their places to go. If you have a child in the future, before Huguang is settled, you can seal him in Changsha and let him guard your land."

"My grandson knows, thank you, Grandpa Huang, for reminding me." Zhu Yunwen bowed in response, and Zhu Yuanzhang also waved his hand to signal him to handle government affairs.

Shortly after he exited Wuying Hall, the sound of footsteps came from outside the hall again.

Not long after, Xu Huizu, who was dressed in a gift of robes, walked to the door of the palace. While singing "Long Live Long Live", he also knelt down and bowed five times and kowtowed three times before getting up.

"Yungong, Japanese pirates have been invading the coast recently. I sent you here to ask what you think."

When Zhu Yuanzhang faced Xu Huizu, he did not use "I" as a self-identification, but used the more intimate "I".

This made Xu Huizu understand his intention, so Xu Huizu did not hide it, but bowed and replied:
"Your Majesty, my nephew is willing to go to Zhejiang to supervise and train sergeants."

"Well..." Zhu Yuanzhang got the answer he wanted, nodded slightly with satisfaction, and continued unhurriedly:

"Let Anluhou Wu Jie and the governors Yang Wen and Liu De accompany you, and focus on inspecting the Ningbo area."

"My nephew, take your orders!" Xu Huizu was tall, so his answer that was neither humble nor arrogant often echoed in Wuying Hall.

That kind of voice and courage reminded Zhu Yuanzhang of his own "Great Wall", Xu Da, King of Zhongshan.

However, this kind of recollection only lasted for a moment. After that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang came back to his senses and asked Xu Huizu about something:

"The North Koreans have been a little dishonest recently, and North Korea over Liaodong is not very stable. I am going to let King Han and King Shen patrol the border and inspect the kings. What do you think?"

"My nephew thinks your majesty's arrangements are very good." Xu Huizu knew in his heart that the emperor had already made plans, and asking him was just a test.

Patrolling the border means that his brother-in-law, King Zhu Di of Yan, is also among those being monitored.

"..." Xu Huizu felt a little uneasy. He didn't understand why the emperor didn't even trust King Yan, who was currently the pillar of the country.

It only took a moment for Xu Huizu to react.

"I'm afraid this border patrol is aimed at Qin and Jin, not Yan and Liao..."

Xu Huizu could probably guess some of the affairs between King Jin and Fu Youde, but he was not worried about the affairs between Feng Sheng and King Zhou.

The king of Zhou had no great talent, but the king of Jin was ambitious.

"In that case, let's order King Shen and King Han to visit the five brothers of Qin, Jin, Yan, Zhou and Qi in turn."

"Let them both set off on the same day. The King of Han will visit the King of Zhou first, followed by the two kings of Qin and Jin, and finally the two kings of Yan and Qi."

"King Shen first visited the King of Qi, then the two kings of Yan and Jin, and finally the kings of Qin and Zhou Zhou."

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head and looked at the eunuch who was taking notes next to him. After seeing the other person writing down his words, he withdrew his gaze and continued to look at Xu Huizu:

"That child Gao Xu, what do you think of it now?"

"Back to Your Majesty..." Xu Huizu bowed and replied:
"Maybe it's because he's getting a little older. The boy is studying military skills in the military training ground. From time to time, he goes to the market town near the training ground to see some of the people's lives."

"Not long before he arrived at the large training ground, Li Ying, the son of Xining Guard Commander Li Nange, had made things difficult for the military attache's children, but he was taught a lesson by that boy." "The other brothers in the house near his barracks were also taught a lesson by him. That kid keeps saying that he puts the people first, and it seems that he has really changed his character."

Xu Huizu praised Zhu Gaoxu's changes in the past few months without hesitation, which made Zhu Yuanzhang himself very happy.

Although he had hated Zhu Gaoxu before, Zhu Gaoxu's performance in the military attache examination did earn him a lot of face.

Coupled with the change in Zhu Gaoxu in Xu Huizu's mouth, Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy that the descendants of the Zhu family could produce such a son.

He smiled and turned his head to the eunuch who was in charge of the ceremony. He said with a smile: "Listen to the words of Duke Wei. People say that a prodigal son will not be able to exchange for gold when he returns home. I only think it is the words of those Buddhist and Confucian scholars who came to fool the stupid people."

"At the moment, Gao Xu's performance is indeed commendable."

During the conversation, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate to reward him and said: "I asked someone to give that boy two hundred ingots and tell him that if he passes the Tao Lue exam, I will give him another reward."

"My nephew thanks your majesty for that boy Gao Xu!" Xu Huizu bowed to express his gratitude. Zhu Yuanzhang did not say that he was Zhu Gaojiu's grandfather, but looked at Xu Huizu and said after a moment:

"If you go to Zhejiang to train sergeants this time, I'm afraid you won't be able to come back in three to five months."

"If Gao Xu is qualified in strategy, I will find him a good teacher to teach him and give him a general."

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard, feeling very satisfied with what he had done. However, after he finished speaking, before the next topic could start, footsteps were heard outside the palace.

After a while, Zhu Yunwen came in with a memorial.

When he saw Xu Huizu, his expression was obviously a little startled, but he quickly calmed down, walked into the palace, and handed the memorial to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Grandpa Huang, Shanxi Dusi please spread the cloth and cotton to prepare for the cold winter."

"Well..." Zhu Yuanzhang took the memorial and read it for a while, then nodded and said:
"It's normal to prepare pieces of cloth and cotton at the moment. Just ask the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Governor's Office to count the number of registered people and distribute the pieces of cloth and cotton according to their heads."

After that, Zhu Yuanzhang added:

"In addition, ask the third child to write to me in detail about the erection and fortification of Dongsheng, Hetao, and I will see if any changes are needed."

"Yes..." Zhu Yunwen bowed in agreement, and then slowly exited the hall.

Seeing Zhu Yunwen leaving, Xu Huizu also bowed and prepared to sing a ceremony and leave, but Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted him again.

"In recent years, the people in the west have been disobeying the imperial decrees, so I sent people to reduce the amount of tea trade."

"After you leave the palace, talk to Cao Guogong in person. Don't let tea farms and officials in Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places smuggle them to support those people."

"Any merchant who smuggles tea to Xifan will be punished according to the law."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished explaining the last thing, Xu Huizu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and bowed in return.

"My nephew accepted the order and will discuss the matter with Duke Cao in detail shortly."

"Well...step back." Zhu Yuanzhang responded, and immediately lowered his head and began to deal with the memorial.

Seeing his appearance, Xu Huizu also carefully exited the hall.

After a while, until the footsteps stopped, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly raised his head and looked out the window of Wuying Hall.

Looking at the blue sky, white clouds and red walls and glazed tiles, Zhu Yuanzhang burst into laughter:

"Sister, you didn't say it right this time. That kid Gao Xu has really changed his temper..."

(End of this chapter)