Convoys transporting overseas tributes are constantly coming to the capital. There are hundreds of carriages alone, and there are even thousands of people responsible for transporting them.
Zhu Youtang waited with great anticipation for the arrival of this windfall.
At the same time, an internal exam between Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Xiurong has come to an end. Unlike the previous exam, which was scored and judged by Zhu Youtang himself, this time Zhu Youtang directly scored and judged the two test papers. Send it to Zhang Zhou, the examiner, for Zhang Zhou to make the final judgment.
Inside the theater.
Yang Peng came to deliver the answer papers in person, and both papers were answered in the form of eight-legged essays, and the articles they wrote were considered to be for the imperial examination.
According to Zhang Zhou, these two articles are very average, basically at the level of county examination. No one is much higher than the other, probably between the brothers.
"Mr. Zhang, you should be able to tell which copy is which?"
Yang Peng seemed to be afraid that Zhang Zhou would not be able to tell which copy was written by the prince and which copy was written by the prince. Written by Zhu Xiurong, I need to give some special guidance.
Zhang Zhou said: "Since we have to make a judgment, it's better that I don't know about this kind of thing."
Yang Peng just smiled and said nothing more.
Immediately, Zhang Zhou put down the two papers and asked: "Your Majesty will not let you go alone just for this matter, right?"
"Your Majesty is "I am concerned about the progress of the war in the northwest." Yang Peng said, "Sir, you may not know that there are many people in the court who believe that the dispatch of troops to the grassland should start from Datong, probably because they want to use Xinjian Bo as the commander, and they seem to be uneasy about Tang Yin."
Zhang Zhou nodded and said: "In terms of the past record against the Tatars, Uncle Xinjian is indeed much better."
Yang Peng also said hurriedly: "But Tang Junmen is here There were more achievements in Liaodong and North Korea. On the other hand, Xin Xinbo did not make much progress against the Jurchens in Liaodong." Zhang Zhou said: "That is more because the imperial court did not make great progress. So he was transferred to the northwest. Up to now, Uncle Xinjian has been focusing on fighting the Tatars in the northwest, but it is really rash to deny Tang Yin's intention to send troops to the grassland."
"Don't do it either. Take it from your heart." Yang Peng said with a smile, "Your Majesty still has great trust in that Tang Junmen. This battle had better come to fruition. Otherwise, everyone in the government and the public will feel that Tang Junmen is not qualified for this job." p>
"Yes." Zhang Zhou nodded.
Yang Peng said again: "In the south of Guangdong and Guangxi, there are also bandits in places that need to be wiped out. Coupled with the banditry in the Central Plains, the world is not peaceful now. Some people are saying that Your Majesty wants to clear up the bandits after the spring. To launch a war on the grassland, everyone said that the time was not right."
Zhang Zhou knew that this was because Zhu Youtang had discussed sending troops to the grassland in the spring during the previous inner court meeting. Announced to the public.
At that time, the ministers did not express any objection to this, but in private, their opinions were too great.
No one will support the emperor’s personal conquest, even if othersIf someone comes to launch a war on the grassland, they will have great opinions. In the eyes of people in the government and the public, war can be fought in the northwest, but it must not be "tossed around."
It seems that in their opinion, it is best to be content with the status quo. Tang Yin is just making trouble by sending troops in winter.
This is also the reason why Tang Yin is not respected by the ministers in the court.
You, Tang Yin, are basically an outlier in the court. You are on the same path as Zhang Zhou. Who would recognize a freak like you?
……
……
The judgment results were immediately brought back to the palace by Yang Peng.
Not surprisingly, Zhu Houzhao is still slightly better in the "liberal arts" competition. After all, he studied for a long time and wrote articles, especially when it comes to classics and meanings, like Zhu Houzhao. Children with active brains seem to have certain advantages.
When the results were sent to Wenhua Hall the next day, Zhu Houzhao was very excited after seeing his results.
"Your Highness, you still have to listen." Seeing Zhu Houzhao's excuse to show respect, Gao Feng was about to run in to find his sister to show off his power, so he quickly reminded him.
Zhu Houzhao said excitedly: "Gold will shine, and jade is still jade after all. Some people are not strong enough, but they still want to compete with me? Why don't I show my face in front of her!"
< p>When Zhu Houzhao ran behind the screen, he realized that his sister was not inside at all."She didn't come?"
Zhu Houzhao looked disappointed.
He won his sister and wanted to show off in front of her, but she didn’t give him a chance.
Gao Feng said: "I don't know."
Zhu Houzhao slapped the table and said: "What is this? I obviously won, but I...could I even show off in front of her?" Don’t you even have a chance?”
Just when Zhu Houzhao lost his temper, Wang Hua, the official of the East Palace, came over and said in a very polite tone: “Your Majesty, your Majesty just ordered that from now on, Princess She will no longer set foot in the Wenhua Palace."
"Xueshi Wang, what does this mean?" Zhu Houzhao frowned, "You already knew she was here."
Wang Huadao: "It is not a secret that the princess attends lectures in the Wenhua Hall, but it is always against the rules for a woman to attend lectures here. Perhaps it is for this reason that Your Majesty will let her go back to where she belongs."
< p>"No, that's because I won." Zhu Houzhao emphasized, "I competed with her, and I won, so she left."Wang Hua was too lazy to pay attention to him and turned around Go back to the podium.
This made Zhu Houzhao very embarrassed.
He wanted to get angry, but he didn’t know who to express it to. He clearly felt joy in his heart, but he didn’t know who to express it to.
This is the most depressing thing.
"Good guy, she beat me last time, which was called showing off her power. Now that I win, she doesn't even give me a chance to show off? Is this justified? No, I'll turn around. I must go find her and show it to her...…”
…
…
Zhu Houzhao refused to admit defeat.
He did not receive any summons that day. Next, he ran to Kunning Palace to argue with his sister.
When he arrived at Kunning Palace, his old mother told him that his sister would not be coming in the next few days.
"Mother, the emperor sister, she has been..." Zhu Houzhao looked over with pitiful eyes
Being the eldest brother is too unfair. If you lose, you will be looked down upon. If you win, you won't even have an outlet to vent. No.
Empress Zhang said: "Your father said that she was suitable for exercising her ability to be independent, so he made some arrangements for her. It seemed that she was going to go to a special place to exercise. Specifically, No, I didn't tell these people. "
"What do you mean? Did his father let her leave the palace? ”
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, his eyes straightened out.
Can it still be like this?
I, the winner, have not yet obtained permission to leave the palace, but the loser can. Receive special training?
Queen Zhang rolled her eyes at her son and said, "Do you feel honored that you won my sister? ”
“Mother, you don’t know that the last time she defeated me, she was so unkind and took all my maps away. She also said in front of me, those The map belongs to her and she can destroy it however she wants. I want those things back now. "Zhu Houzhao said.
Queen Zhang said with disdain: "It's just a few pictures, do you need to pay so much attention to it? "
"No, it was painted by Mr. Zhang, it is an only copy. "Zhu Houzhao emphasized.
Queen Zhang said angrily: "Don't mention those things that you have and don't have in front of me. Let me ask you, do you feel honored that you beat your sister? If this is really the case, will you compete with your sister for the crown prince position in the future? As a prince, you were even inferior to your sister in some exams. What do you want your father to think? "
"I..."
Zhu Houzhao was speechless for a moment.
Queen Zhang said: "As far as I know, you can win this time , it’s just a narrow victory. Even your father said that you have made little progress in writing articles until now. You are still a bunch of clichés and nonsense. You have been learning about feelings for so many years, why not learn it in a few days as your sister?
Zhu Houzhao was already very aggrieved, but he was even more unwilling to be taught such a lesson by his mother: "That's what writing articles is like. To be better, it also requires long-term accumulation." ”
Empress Zhang flicked her sleeves and said: “Remember that if you study well, you don’t need to compete with anyone else.” Anyway, I can’t see your sister these days. If you want to compete with her or do something in front of her, go and tell your father. I have no control over it! Come on, send him back! ”
……
……
Zhu Houzhao is so depressed.
Not only did he offend his father, he also offended his mother.
"What's going on? Have you eaten gunpowder? "After Zhu Houzhao left Kunning Palace, he was still criticizing his mother.
It turned out that he was beatingHe planned to go to Qianqing Palace and discuss it with his old father, but after thinking about it again and again, he gave up the plan.
"Your Highness, you have classes in the afternoon. If you don't go, your Majesty will find out..."
"Okay, you guys can't stop following this Are you buzzing like a fly? Do you know the disadvantages of not going to class? Where did your father take the imperial sister? Isn’t it because she has a chance to study with Mr. Zhang?”
Zhu Houzhao began to think blindly.
Gao Feng came over and said: "Your Highness, there are actually many people inside and outside the palace who can teach the princess. Also, there may be one thing you don't know. The palace has just added a little princess. "
Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up and he said: "I have a sister again?"
Gao Feng said: "This is how the news came out, I don't know whether it is true or not, but it should be these. God will announce it."
"Alas! It's actually quite good to have multiple sisters. How can I not be betrayed by this little devil? I want her to be a boy. "My dear, I guess it's really possible for the father to abolish the elder and establish a younger one."
Zhu Houzhao was chattering again.
Gao Feng said hurriedly: "Your Highness, you can't say these things nonsense. Your Majesty will find out about it and you won't be able to live with it."
Zhu Houzhao said: "Anyway, I am the eldest son. , may not be my father’s most beloved child, but I’m still afraid of being known? Who told me before that this Ming Dynasty will be mine alone in the future? Why is it that now...it’s both my sister and my brother’s, and now there are so many more? Sister...is there something wrong?"
Gao Feng couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this.
A few years ago, Zhu Houzhao had a younger sister, Zhu Xiurong, and the brother and sister had a very good relationship.
Even his sister almost died of illness...
But now, the prince seems to have fallen out of favor.
In the past, the emperor only spoke coldly to him, but now even the queen doesn't like to see his son.
Probably because of this, the prince had the illusion that "something was wrong".
……
……
On the grassland.
It is the twelfth lunar month, the grassland is already freezing cold, and it is snowing everywhere, but the snow is not heavy.
In some inaccessible places, even if the snow is not heavy, it will accumulate. There are many places that are not suitable for marching.
Especially when the sky becomes dark due to overcast clouds, there will be wind and snow on the grassland. For the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, this kind of weather and terrain environment brought a sense of oppression.
But for the men and horses who went out on the Ming Dynasty, there seemed to be nothing to fear, because they themselves were the evil gods on the grassland.
"Master Tang, we have completed the inventory last night, and a total of 1,400 pairs of Tatar ears were cut off. According to what you said, no one will be left alive in this battle, regardless of age or sex... ..."
Ma Yi followed Tang Yin on horseback.
Tang YinHe was just a civil servant. Even before he was admitted to the imperial examination, he was a single, weak scholar who could barely ride a horse.
But after experiencing the ups and downs of the past few years, he no longer knows what fatigue is, because the ups and downs he experienced in Liaodong and North Korea were much more miserable than the scenes before him.
Tang Yin looked at the sky and said: "If nothing else happens, there will be snowstorms on the grassland in the next few days."
Ma Yi said: "Indeed, marching against us like this It's extremely unfavorable. Should we stay and wait for the snow to pass?"
Tang Yin shook his head and said: "The previous three battles were all completed with lightning speed, and so far we have only killed more than 2,000 enemies. , and we are probably not even fifty miles away from the other main force of the Tatars. This will stop the advance, which is probably equivalent to a failure."
Xu Jing led the horse closer to this side. He walked with a slight limp and said: "Bohu, let's rest. If a big storm comes, we may all be buried here. We must first ensure that there is enough firewood to keep warm. ."
Tang Yin said: "Let the soldiers put on their last coats and stay together as much as possible to keep out the cold at night. Or we can stay in bed at night and rest within three hours a day. "
Xu Jing sighed: "Even if people can bear it, horses can't."
Tang Yin said: "Forgot what I said when we sent out troops? There is no way to succeed! And we have no way out! Now we are at least two thousand miles away from the grassland. Perhaps the Tatars will not expect that we are not coming from the south, but from the north."
"Alas!" Xu Jing could only sigh.
Because of this route, the troops first walked in a straight line until they could no longer go north, that is, when they reached the desert, then they turned around and headed east.
During the battle, this group of people seemed to be coming from the north of the grassland.
Heading eastward and southward, the path he takes is different from others.
“Let the soldiers drink more broth.” Tang Yin said, “It took three days of marching to exchange for a head-on encounter with the Tatars. We don’t have heavy artillery or long-range artillery, so we can only attack at the closest distance. This is the only way to make a sneak attack on their place and make their camp chaotic, so that we can kill them."
Xu Jingdao said: "I'm afraid I won't be able to take the credit back with me."
Tang Yin raised his whip high and said: "We will not return for the credit. As long as we can weaken the living power of the Tatars and make it easier to pacify the grassland later, we will be the heroes of the Ming Dynasty." We are more motivated and update faster. Please use your little hands to exit the reading mode. Thank you