Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 95
"Your Highness has achieved success in his studies. There is no need to study in Duke Ying's mansion in the future..."

In Duke Ying's mansion, when the eunuch of the inner court told the contents of the edict, Zhu Gaoxu and the other three people except Fu Youde were stunned.

Fu Youde seemed to have guessed that Zhu Yuanzhang would do this early, but brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Fu Zhong did not.

In other words, they guessed it, but they didn't dare to think about it.

"Stop Zhu Gaoxu's study at Yingguo Duke's Mansion", does this sentence mean to stop studying literally, or does it mean something deeper?

Zhu Gaoxu turned to look at Fu Youde, and when he saw the expression on Fu Youde's face, he knew the answer in his heart.

At this moment, he only felt that Zhu Yuanzhang might have been forced to do so. He clearly didn't want to kill Fu Youde, so why did he insist on issuing the order just for Zhu Yunwen?

If it was just for Zhu Yunwen, then as long as he gave him an excuse to shut Zhu Yunwen's mouth, Fu Youde might be able to be saved.

"I'm going to find grandpa..." Feeling somewhat confident, Zhu Gaoxu turned around and walked out of the main hall.

"Gao Xu..." Fu Zhong wanted to stop him, but was stopped by Fu Youde shaking his head.

Fu Youde knew very well that only Zhu Gaoxu could save them now. If Zhu Gaoxu couldn't save them, then Fu Youde would really die.

"Your Highness, this servant will accompany you back to the palace."

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu was going to the palace, the eunuch who delivered the instructions quickly followed him in a flattering manner, ignoring Fu Youde and others.

After Zhu Gaoxu and the eunuch left, Fu Youde sat on the main seat in the main hall, as if he had aged a few years.

"Dad..." Fu Zhong's face showed a bit of sadness, and Fu Rang was also indignant: "There are seven members of our family who have not made meritorious service to the court, why are they treating us like this!"

Fu Rang's words came out, but no one responded. In the end, he had no choice but to wave his clothes and sit down angrily.

The palace of Duke Ying seemed to be as dead as it was a few months ago, and Zhu Gaoxu rode Chi Huan towards Xihua Gate.

After several months of care, Chi Huan is much taller than when he was brought before, and he can now run while carrying Zhu Gaoxu on his back.

In just a quarter of an hour, he arrived at Xihua Gate, handed Chi Huan to the guard of Xihua Gate, and rushed to Wuying Hall impatiently.

Liuke Corridor, Sanlong Bridge, Wuying Gate...

Time seemed to pass quickly at this moment, and Zhu Gaoxu soon saw the Wuying Palace on the white marble platform.

"Your Highness..."

At the entrance of the palace, Yi Shiha, who was on duty, looked at Zhu Gaoxu, who was rushing over in a hurry, and subconsciously stopped him, wanting to ask him what happened, but Zhu Gaoxu grabbed his arm with a force like two iron pincers.

"Tell grandpa that Yan's second descendant, Zi Xu, wants to see you!"

Zhu Gaoxu and Yishiha looked at each other, and there was a bit of anger in their eyes, which made Yishiha swallow his saliva.

"Slave... this is the message."

Yi Shiha had a good sense of Zhu Gaoxu, so he was naturally willing to communicate for him. After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu also let go of his hand and bowed to Yi Shiha.

Yi Shiha did not dare to neglect, and after returning the gift, he turned around and went to the palace to deliver the message.

Looking at his back, Zhu Gaoxu felt that the days at this moment were like years.

In his anxiety, Yi Shiha entered the Wuying Hall and came to the door of the side hall to bow:

"Your Majesty, Yan's second descendant, Zi Xu, would like to see you."

His voice rang in the palace, and it was already past the lunch break and morning time, and Zhu Yuanzhang was managing politics in the palace with his four grandchildren.

Regarding Zhu Gaoxu's arrival, Zhu Yuanzhang did not show any surprised expression, but looked at the memorial in his hand indifferently, and at the same time picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tribute tea.

Such behavior was seen by Zhu Yunwen and the others.

Zhu Yunwen was very indifferent, while Zhu Shangbing and Zhu Jixi didn't know why, and just watched it as a excitement.

Zhu Gaochi didn't understand why his grandfather would neglect Zhu Gaoxu, but as an eldest brother, he still stood up and bowed:

"Grandpa Huang, Gao Xu is still waiting outside..."

After he said this, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even raise his eyelids, still looking at the memorial in his hand that he had already read.

Zhu Gaochi was very nervous, but he couldn't sit down. He could only continue to bow and stand there blankly.

This lasted for half a quarter of an hour, and both Zhu Shangbing and Zhu Jixi realized that something was wrong this time, and Zhu Gaochi, who was bowing and bowing, was already sweating profusely.

His body was already weak and he did not do any equestrian or horseback riding sports all year round. After bowing like this for half a quarter of an hour, he felt that his waist and arms were no longer his, and a pool of sweat dripped down from the area where he lowered his head.

"grandfather……"

Perhaps feeling that the time was almost up, Zhu Yunwen stood up and bowed: "The sun is very hot outside, let Gao Xu come in."

"Pass" Zhu Yuanzhang heard the voice he wanted to hear, and then he closed the memorial and spoke to Yi Shiha, who had also been bowing at the door of the palace for a long time.

"Servant, take your orders." Yishiha bowed and bowed for a quarter of an hour. He felt that his whole body was sore, but he still held on to his strength, straightened up slowly, and turned towards the palace door with a painful expression.

Here, he saw Zhu Gaoxu, who had been waiting for a quarter of an hour. At this moment, his face was covered with sweat, and his eyes could only see the pain of walking.

"Your Highness, wipe your sweat before going in."

Yi Shiha took out a coarse cloth handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Zhu Gaoxu, hinting him to tidy up his appearance.

"Thank you!" Zhu Gaoxu took the handkerchief and said solemnly.

Zhu Gaoxu breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that he could enter the palace, but he also knew that there were more serious things waiting for him later.

After hurriedly wiping his sweat, Zhu Gaoxu walked into the Wuying Hall, and after a few breaths, he came to the door of the side hall, bowed and said, "My grandson, Zhu Gaoxu, see you, grandpa."

Zhu Gaoxu bowed, and Lao Zhu did not embarrass him a second time in front of so many people, but his words were a little dissatisfied: "You were not informed of your entry into the palace today, what's the matter? Have you disliked Mu Xiu too many times?"

"It's not..." Zhu Gaoxu shook his head, straightened up without Zhu Yuanzhang opening his mouth, put down his bowing hand, and walked straight into the hall.

In the eyes of Zhu Yunwen and the other four people as well as the eunuchs in the palace, his behavior seemed like he was suffering from some kind of madness.

"Gao Xu! Don't be rude!"

Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Gaochi scolded him in unison, but their attitudes were different.

Zhu Yunwen's tone was businesslike, but Zhu Gaochi had a hint of urgency.

"We'll talk about it after we think about it." Zhu Yuanzhang leaned on the chair and looked at Zhu Gaoxu, who was walking towards him, with flat eyes.

Facing the reminder, Zhu Gaoxu stopped seven steps away from Zhu Yuanzhang, bowed again and said:

"Grandpa, you know what your grandson is going to say, and your grandson also knows what you are going to say, but your grandson still wants to say..."

Zhu Gaoxu did not say it directly, but gave Zhu Yuanzhang a face.

Others in this hall may not know it, but both their grandfather and grandson know each other's thoughts very well. There is nothing to hide, and it is just a show to the outside world.

It's just that although these two grandsons knew about it, Zhu Gaoxu's behavior still made Zhu Yunwen a little nervous. Zhu Gaochi and the other two people were so angry that they didn't dare to breathe. They just thought that Zhu Gaoxu was arrogant and confused.

What they didn't expect was that when faced with Zhu Gaoxu's words, Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head slightly and looked sideways at Zhu Jixi:
"Except for the grandson, you all should exit first."

"My grandson (servant) resigns..."

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, although everyone was surprised, they still stood up and returned the greeting, and then walked out.

However, when passing by Zhu Gaoxu, they couldn't help but glance at Zhu Gaoxu curiously.

His expression was neither humble nor arrogant, which surprised and admired everyone.

In any case, in today's world, he is probably the No. 1 person in the world besides the Zhou vassal kings of Qin, Jin, and Yan who dares to speak to the emperor like this.

Therefore, whether it is Zhu Shangbing or Zhu Jixi, they are very curious about Zhu Gaoxu's situation after this incident.

The only person who showed a worried expression when passing by Zhu Gaoxu was undoubtedly his eldest brother Zhu Gaochi.

Looking at the expression on Zhu Gaochi's face, Zhu Gaochi only felt a deep helplessness and frustration.

For him, his second brother had changed so much that he did not dare to recognize him.

As for this matter, it was far beyond his ability. At this moment, he could only hope that Zhu Gaoxu would not get carried away and say anything disrespectful.

"Alas..." With helplessness and frustration, Zhu Gaochi followed everyone and left the side hall.

After just a few breaths, only Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yunwen, and Zhu Gaoxu were left in the side hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak first, so the atmosphere in the palace was very depressing. Even Zhu Yunwen, who had experienced the Lan Yu case, couldn't help but feel a little dull.

But in the face of such an atmosphere, Zhu Gaoxu still expressed his thoughts...

"Grandpa, my grandson hasn't finished learning the art of war yet!"

Zhu Gaoxu's tone was very serious, which made Zhu Yunwen glance at him in surprise. Even Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting in his seat, couldn't help but brighten his calm eyes.

But this brightness was not even able to hold a breath before Zhu Yuanzhang vented it out with words:
"If you haven't finished studying, you can go to the Duke of Song Dynasty to continue studying."

Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts could not be changed by Zhu Gaoxu's words, because his words were too far-fetched and could not convince him or his grandson Zhu Yunwen.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's answer, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but clenched his fists and had a lot of thoughts in his mind.

He knew very well that if he was just messing around like this, no matter how much Lao Zhu liked him, he would not think that he was more important than the Ming Dynasty.

If you want to keep Fu Youde, you must show Fu Youde's value, so as to give Lao Zhu an excuse to fool him.

"Grandpa, does he know Timur..."

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said a Mongolian name, which made Zhu Yunwen stunned, but he quickly reacted and turned to look at Zhu Yuanzhang.

It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was calm at this moment, and he didn't feel anything wrong because of this name.

To the Ming Dynasty, this lame Khan, who was known throughout Central Asia and Eastern Europe, was nothing more than a barbarian in a remote area.

As early as September of the 20th year of Hongwu, Timur sent Manala Hafesi and others to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and presented fifteen Central Asian war horses as tribute horses and two white camels.

Since the Ming Dynasty only incorporated the Hexi Corridor into its territory this year, Timur was actually the first country among the Mongolian khanates to recognize the Ming Dynasty and send a mission to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang also had a good impression of him.

In the following years, Timur sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty from time to time, acting as if he was harmless to humans and animals. Therefore, in the eyes of the current Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers, Timur was not harmful.

This is also true. The Timur Empire is too far away from the Ming Dynasty, and the information on both sides is very little known. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty does not understand the Timur Empire, and they do not know the news that the Timur Empire wants to conquer the east.

If Zhu Gaoxu remembered correctly, Timur actually only came to the Ming Dynasty with the help of envoys to spy on intelligence, and he already had plans in mind for the Eastern Expedition.If his grandson had not been defeated in the Indus River and the war situation had necessitated his own expedition to India, then I am afraid that his Eastern Expedition would have happened earlier.

It is now the 27th year of Hongwu. Zhu Gaoxu remembers that next year the Ming Dynasty will send Fu An to lead a diplomatic mission from the Ministry of Rites to Samarkand to discuss diplomatic relations with Timur.

It's a pity that not long after the matter was completed, Timur detained Fu An and sent people to take Fu An across tens of thousands of miles across the countries in the Western Regions, in order to exaggerate the strength of Timur's empire and intimidate Fu An. , forcing him to surrender and lead the way.

Fortunately, the Ottomans and the Egyptian Mamluk dynasty broke out wars with the Timurid Empire successively, and the war was postponed for five years.

These things are all things that Zhu Gaoxu remembers relatively clearly.

The regret in this matter is that Timur died of illness before he arrived in the Western Regions. After his death, the Timur Empire fell into civil strife and had to nominally surrender to the Ming Dynasty again and continue to maintain tribute.

However, only Zhu Gaoxu knew these things. Zhu Yuanzhang and others had absolutely no idea, so only he could use this information.

"Grandpa, I'm afraid he doesn't know that Timur has more than [-] million people and more than [-] troops under his command, and he is already preparing to invade the Ming Dynasty from the east..."

Zhu Gaoxu told the highlight moments of the Timur Empire that he remembered, but in fact, the Timur Empire at this moment has not even reached half of this series of data.

He exaggerated Timur's strength at this time and successfully attracted Zhu Yuanzhang's attention.

His calm face finally frowned because of this piece of news.

He didn't know if this was a lie told by Zhu Gaoxu to get him down, or if it was a real fact.

"Brother Xu, you can't say this casually!"

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could speak, Zhu Yunwen interrupted him: "Timur sent envoys in the early years. According to his population, Timur is just a small country with more than a million people, and it is far away from the Ming Dynasty. With the Yellow Sand Gobi Desert and tens of thousands of miles apart, how can we invade eastward?"

Zhu Yunwen interrupted Zhu Gaoxu anxiously, not just because he wanted Fu Youde to die, but more because he thought Zhu Gaoxu's words were ridiculous.

Even if he no longer knows how to march and fight, he still knows that three civilians are needed to support an army marching two hundred miles.

Calculated in this way, even if Timur had 2000 million tribesmen, the army that could sustain the eastward invasion would only be tens of thousands.

At this scale, I am afraid that if they can't even attack Suzhou City, they will perish in Mohai, the Western Region.

What's more, he didn't believe that there could be a tribe of more than [-] million people in that land filled with yellow sand.

"I'm not talking nonsense." Zhu Gaoxu responded to Zhu Yunwen's question in a truthful and false manner:

"That Timur has conquered Persia and Hezhong, and he even wants to marry the daughter of Besbali (East Chagatai)'s Erhuozhe Khan, and wants Besbali to prepare food and wages for his eastward invasion."

After saying that, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Yuanzhang: "My grandson heard that the imperial court was preparing to send Fu An and Guo Ji as envoys to Timur, but my grandson thought that this was no longer necessary."

"If my grandson guessed correctly, Timur should have already sent envoys. However, the envoys sent this time are the same as before, to spy on our Ming Dynasty's intelligence and prepare for his eastward invasion."

"If nothing unexpected happens, he will soon marry the daughter of Hei Er Huo Zhe, and then invade our Ming Dynasty from the east."

What Zhu Gaoxu said are all facts, but they are all things that have not happened yet.

But this does not affect these words, because even if Lao Zhu wants to send people to spy on intelligence, I am afraid it will take a year or two. At that time, Timur was already ready for the Eastern Expedition and had detained all the people. Envoys of the country.

As long as the national envoy was detained, Zhu Yuanzhang could naturally guess what Timur had planned.

Faced with a force that could gather 30 troops to invade eastward, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew what to do.

Since Song Sheng entered Beijing, there were no generals in Gansu, so Fu Youde and Feng Sheng were naturally unable to kill him.

Of course, all of this must be based on the premise that Zhu Gaoxu did not lie.

Zhu Yuanzhang relaxed his brows slightly. Naturally, he would not believe that Zhu Gaoxu would make such nonsense, but at least this incident gave him a step to block his grandson's mouth.

But what he was more curious about was where Zhu Gaoxu heard about it.

"Where did you hear this?"

"No one told my grandson, but my grandson knew what he knew based on questioning the Northern captives in Peking in the early years." Zhu Gaoxu answered calmly, because he could not think of a better excuse.

"Based on just a few words from the Northern captives?" Zhu Yunwen thought Zhu Gaoxu was being ridiculous, but Zhu Gaoxu nodded firmly:

"Based on these few words and the previous actions of Timur's envoy, my grandson can be sure."

"..." After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent.

"You step back first."

After a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang waved him off. Although he did not say what to do with Fu Youde and Feng Sheng, with Zhu Gaoxu's experience, the two would be safe at least for a while.

He could see from Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude that Zhu Yuanzhang did not want to kill Fu Youde and Feng Sheng at this time, but what he said only gave him a step down.

"Grandson, please leave." Zhu Gaoxu bowed, then turned and walked out of the side hall.

In the hall, looking at the back of Zhu Gaoxu as he walked out, Zhu Yunwen's eyelids kept twitching and he couldn't help but look at his grandfather.

At this moment, his grandfather's face showed some thoughts, and he was obviously very concerned about Zhu Gaoxu's words.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang came from the late Yuan Dynasty, so he naturally knew how vast the Mongolian activities were.

Not to mention anything else, even though there were more than ten Northern Expeditions during the Hongwu period, the Mongols still continued to come from the west, which is enough to explain everything.

If it weren't for the Mongols from the west who kept alive the Mongols in Mobei, Mobei would have been emptied by the Ming army long ago.

Every time the Ming army made an expedition to the north, the Mobei Mongols immediately fled westward. Within a few years, they would bring more of their tribes back to Mobei than before they fled westward, and continued to harass the Ming army in Monan, Modong and Gansu. Various health centers.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know how the Mongols in Mobei pulled so many people from the west, but now Zhu Gaoxu's words gave him an idea.

Perhaps, there are still a large number of Mongols in the lands west of Moxi and the Western Regions, and Timur is just one of them.

What Zhu Yuanzhang was most worried about in his life was the division between the north and the south among the Han people, and whether the northern Mongols would make a comeback.

Zhu Gaoxu's words, no matter how confident Zhu Yuanzhang was, he had to send someone to check.

"You have people go check it out to see if Timur really has tens of millions of people and 30 troops as Gao Xu said."

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang said these words, Zhu Yunwen knew that he would not be able to kill Feng Sheng and Fu Youde in a short time.

"My grandson accepts the order..." Even though he knew it, Zhu Yunwen still did not show any dissatisfaction, but obeyed obediently.

"The matter of the Ministry of Rites sending an envoy to Timur is temporarily put on hold."

Zhu Yuanzhang explained again, and Zhu Yunwen also followed the trend. After all, he also knew that if Timur was really what Zhu Gaoxu said, the Sai King system would be even more unshakable.

Even his grandfather would not dare to bet before he was sure of the authenticity of this matter.

However, Zhu Yunwen still felt that this matter was just nonsense made by Zhu Gaoxu. How could there be a place in the yellow sand land of the northwest that could support 30 troops and 2000 million people.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at the place where Zhu Gaoxu left.

Zhu Gaoxu's figure was no longer there, but he still felt that Zhu Gaoxu was there, seeming to come out from time to time and express himself bit by bit.

Compared with him, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the door with a smile on his lips, obviously very satisfied with the excuse Zhu Gaoxu found for himself.

He didn't want to kill Fu Youde and Feng Sheng unless it was absolutely necessary.

At the moment, as long as the third and fifth children don't involve them in the situation, then these two people may still survive until they die.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes dimmed a bit, as if he was sad for the actions of Zhu Fan and Zhu Ru.

"Second!"

Just when Zhu Yunwen was dissatisfied with Zhu Gaoxu, looking at Zhu Gaoxu walking out of the hall, Zhu Gaochi hurriedly greeted him, while Zhu Shangbing and Zhu Jixi not far away looked surprised, as if they did not expect that Zhu Gaoxu could walk out so calmly.

"Brother, it would be better for you to call me second brother in the future..."

Hearing this title, Zhu Gaoxu, who had just walked out of the hall, corrected Zhu Gaochi's title with a black line on his head.

"Okay..." Zhu Gaochi nodded, grabbed Zhu Gaoxu's arms, and looked left and right, as if he wanted to see if Zhu Gaoxu was intact.

After watching for a long time, Zhu Gaochi let go and breathed a sigh of relief:

"Second brother, you can't be so reckless in the future."

"..." Hearing the familiar title, Zhu Gaoxu didn't bother to correct himself. He could only shake his head: "I'm not reckless. If I were, how could I get out safely?"

"That's true..." Zhu Gaochi nodded subconsciously, and he was also very curious about what Zhu Gaoxu and his grandfather said, but he was not punished at all, and there was not even a loud reprimand.

"go in."

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu walk out safely, Zhu Shangbing and Zhu Jixi were a little curious, but they still held back.

However, when passing by Zhu Gaochi, they still reminded him.

When Zhu Gaochi saw them walking into Wuying Hall, he wanted to stay and ask Zhu Gaoxu what happened, but Zhu Gaoxu saw what he was thinking, shook his head and said:

"I can't talk about this matter. You should continue to manage politics in Wuying Palace."

"Okay..." Seeing Zhu Gaojiu say this, Zhu Gaochi could only put aside his curiosity and walked into Wuying Palace with three steps.

After watching him leave and disappear, Zhu Gaoxu turned around and saluted in a corner: "Thank you very much."

"How could your Highness do this? This servant is terrified..."

Yi Shiha, who was standing in the corner, did not expect that Zhu Gaoxu would express his gratitude to him and quickly returned the gift.

"If you need my help in the future, just ask, I will help you if I can."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't have so many sensational words, so he could only choose a more practical way of repaying him. Upon seeing this, Yishiha also returned the gift to express his gratitude.

Seeing his appearance, Zhu Gaoxu nodded, then turned and walked out of the palace.

He couldn't go to Duke Ying's mansion, but he needed to go to Duke Duke's mansion of Song to tell Feng Sheng what happened today and let Feng Sheng analyze the situation for him.

From Lao Zhu's attitude, Zhu Gaoxu already knew that he didn't want to kill Fu Youde and Feng Sheng, but he couldn't help but kept seeking death.

Zhu Fan will not die no matter what he does, but he will kill Fu Youde, Feng Sheng, Wang Bi and others.

Unable to kill Zhu Fan, Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to kill these people to cut off Zhu Fan's wings.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't want Fu Youde and Feng Sheng to die because of the stupid things done by his uncles. He had to find a way to save their lives.

If this method cannot be found, then even if Lao Zhu no longer wants to kill them, he will still have to do it for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. He must find a way before Lao Zhu...

(End of this chapter)