Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 281 Undercurrent Dormant
"According to this, this guy is going to frame the salt merchants in Lianghuai, settle the matter between the salt merchants and Xungui, and then use the recovered money to smooth out his own shortfalls?"

In the study, when Zhu Youjian summoned Cui Yingyuan, Li Ruolian, and Lu Wenzhao, Cui Yingyuan quickly had people investigate Wei Zhongxian's motives.

"According to Yang Huan's information, Wei Zhongxian probably embezzled and embezzled more than [-] million taels from internal funds in the past few years, and collected more than [-] taels from Lianghuai salt merchants..."

Facing Zhu Youjian, Cui Yingyuan spoke very humbly.

Lu Wenzhao and Li Ruolian beside him gasped when they heard that Wei Zhongxian had embezzled more than [-] million taels.

On the contrary, Zhu Youjian bowed his head and took a sip of tea indifferently:
"What he was greedy for will sooner or later be made up for, isn't that the case right now?"

"It just happened to be at the Lianghuai salt merchants, and I have no plans to deal with them."

"Since Wei Zhongxian is afraid that Lianghuai salt merchants will reveal his affairs, then he should deal with Lianghuai salt merchants."

Zhu Youjian's idea is very simple, Wei Zhongxian is a matter of the eunuch party, and all officials know it.

Now Wei Zhongxian directs Yang Huan to ransack the Lianghuai salt merchants, so just sit and watch the show by himself.

Even if Wei Zhongxian could make things bigger and attract everyone's attention to him, then Zhu Youjian's campaign to sweep the North would be very easy.

"Let Yang Huan hand over all the criminal evidence of the Lianghuai salt merchants to Wei Zhongxian, and let him make things bigger."

Zhu Youjian gave Cui Yingyuan an order and he obeyed obediently.

After dealing with Wei Zhongxian's matter, Zhu Youjian looked at Lu Wenzhao and Li Ruolian and said:
"I have already discussed with the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies about the battle of sweeping the North. On the seventh day of March, Wuxiang, Tengxiang, Shence, and Jinwu Four Guards will take the lead in going north."

"At the same time, Sun Yingyuan went to Liaodong, and Xiong Tingbi waited for the opportunity."

"If the old slaves don't support Hutudun and the others after hearing the news of the dispatch of troops from Baima Pass, the Liaodong soldiers and horses will take advantage of the time when the Shandong disaster victims arrive in Liaodong, recruit them as civilian husbands, and start the Kaiyuan Northern Expedition on March [-]th. "

"Jin Yiwei, find a way for me. There are some tribes in Horqin who are dissatisfied with Nurhachi, so win them over."

"Yes!" Lu Wenzhao and Li Ruolian immediately responded, and Zhu Youjian waved his hand to signal them to leave.

After they all retreated, Zhu Youjian also leaned back on the chair, closed his eyes and meditated.

However, within a few seconds after he closed his eyes, he heard light footsteps. After a few seconds, the tips of his ten fingers touched the top of his head and began to knead slowly.

The scent of the sachet came into the nose, and Zhu Youjian straightened his waist slightly, allowing the owner of his hands to knead better.

After dealing with military affairs, this rare relaxation made him feel more comfortable, and after a cup of tea, the owner of his hands said:

"Your Highness, are you still eating in the study today?"

"Hmm..." Zhu Youjian responded, and Yang Yuanai, who was the owner of both hands, also picked up the hot towel next to her and spread it on Zhu Youjian's face, while looking at her niece who was holding a tray next to her.

"Ask the cook to prepare meals. Your Highness will go to war in a few days, so prepare more."

"En!" Yang Ai responded, turned around and ran out of the study.

It is necessary for a general to build up a body of fat in order to shoot horses on the battlefield, not to mention preventing cold arrows, fat can not only relieve force, but also store energy, so most generals eat more before the battle.

Before Zhu Youjian went to Hetao, his weight soared to one hundred and forty catties, which is equivalent to more than one hundred and sixty catties for later generations. He looked like a fat man.

As a result, the battle ended, and the whole person lost more than [-] catties, which has been maintained until now.

The battlefield is unpredictable, especially during the pursuit battle, it is simply whimsical to want to have a full meal.

Having experienced such a time, Zhu Youjian also knows why some generals are prone to illnesses in old age.

However, judging from the genes of the old Zhu's family, Zhu Youjian still felt that as long as he didn't take any elixirs and didn't take too many medicines, it would not be a problem to live to his sixties.

Fifty years later, maybe Daming's medical system will be several levels ahead of the current one, so there is no need to worry about it.

When he was thinking this way, Yang Yuan'ai, who was helping with the massage, suddenly said:

"Recently, there have been rumors in the capital that Her Highness the Empress is going to choose a concubine for you."

"Well... I heard..." Zhu Youjian responded without saying a word.

Seeing this, Yang Yuanai asked curiously, "Isn't Your Highness curious about your princess?"

"General..." Zhu Youjian responded lazily, because he really didn't care about the so-called princess.

When he became Zhu Youjian and stepped into the political arena, he knew that it was impossible for him to get such a thing as love.

Ever since he became the king of Qi and took charge of the five armies' governor's mansion, he has become less interested in the so-called independent love.

A lot of things are waiting for him, in his opinion, as long as the princess can see it, it will be fine.

Besides, as long as he wants... what woman can't get?

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian stopped talking, and Yang Yuanai also shut up.

In the days that followed, Zhu Youjian was either practicing basic martial arts, or went to the palace and Zhu Youjian to train equestrian skills.

The court hall was very quiet, perhaps because of the presence of Zhu Youjian, the parties in the capital did not dare to go too far.

In short, spring and autumn came, one and a half months passed quickly, and Zhu Youjian also ushered in the time to go to Baima Pass.

On February [-]th, when the Eight Guards of Northern Zhili and [-] civilian husbands were transferred to Baima Pass, Zhu Youjian also embarked on the road to Baima Pass early in the morning.

The reason for choosing early in the morning is very simple. He is afraid that his brother will come over to greet him again, and the chat between the two of them will not end in an hour or two.

Therefore, when he arrived at Deshengmen, Dang even led the cavalry with Xiao cavalry guards and began to ride northward.

However, he can predict Zhu Youxiao's thoughts, and Zhu Youxiao can naturally predict his thoughts.

When he rode his horse to the north, Zhu Youxiao was not in the palace, but appeared on the gate tower of Deshengmen, behind the female wall, watching Zhu Youjian's back walking away from the city, and finally sighed One breath:

"Ugh……"

"Long live, Yang Huan has brought people to Yanzhou Mansion. It is estimated that when His Highness sweeps north, what happened in Lianghuai..."

Zhu Youxiao was sighing, while Liu Ruoyu whispered about Wei Zhongxian behind his back.

Zhu Youxiao, who owns Jinyiwei, is almost very clear about Wei Zhongxian's actions. The only thing that Zhu Youjian is not as clear as Zhu Youjian is about how much money Wei Zhongxian ate from internal money.

But even so, Zhu Youxiao also knew that Wei Zhongxian was very greedy.

But at the same time, he also felt that people who are greedy for money are the best to control...

"The salt merchants in Lianghuai are very powerful in Jiangbei. They sent someone to tell Cui Yingyuan, be careful, don't arouse public anger..."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Liu Ruoyu slightly, and Liu Ruoyu nodded in response.

Seeing Liu Ruoyu's actions, Zhu Youxiao turned his head to look at the cavalry guards who had disappeared into the sky, and muttered to himself:

"With my younger brother leaving, I'm afraid the party struggle in the court will start again."

Zhu Youxiao knew very well the difference between his younger brother being in the capital and not being in the capital.

In the capital, among the eunuchs, the five parties of Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuan and Kun, as well as a group of small parties, as well as Donglin who was dying, did not dare to do anything too extreme.

But now he is gone, to open up the territory for Ming Dynasty, and to stabilize the frontier fortress.

But the frontier fortress is stable, but what about the court...

Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly, and Liu Ruoyu behind him also looked at the emperor's back thoughtfully.

The behavior of the master and servant was a little unclear, and it was not until Zhu Youxiao turned around a quarter of an hour later that the weirdness came to an end.

The two returned to the palace under the guard of the big Han general, but at the same time they returned to the palace, a group of rich and noble people also welcomed in the old port tens of thousands of miles away.

"put!"

"Bang bang bang-"

The Nanyang climate in February is pleasant. Under the white clouds and blue sky, above the blue sea and waves, the twelve gun salutes from the Old Port Province and the Palembang Wharf made the atmosphere of the whole Palembang very festive.

Cargo ships with [-] materials docked, and then lowered their ladders, followed by people in silk and satin disembarking in an orderly manner.

On the pier, Huang Long did not meet the group of people in person, but sent Li Dan, who is currently serving as the governor of the navy and is in charge of the fourth rank, to greet them.

More than a year is enough to change a lot of things, and Palembang, as a Malay Peninsula with millions of natives, once these millions of natives are united, it can be said that it is easy to build a prosperous city.

Palembang County, the seat of Palembang Prefecture, is located in Kuala Lumpur in later generations.

After the construction of millions of people, a large city with a wall circumference of more than [-] miles has been erected along the coast here.

There are nearly [-] mu of land in the city, and some flat land has been initially reclaimed on the east and west sides outside the city.

But the strange thing is that looking at the flat land from the pier, all the flat land is Han Chinese, and the number of Han Chinese is only a few thousand.

"Li Dan, the governor of the navy, welcomes you all..."

When hundreds of palace officials were still amazed at the prosperity of Palembang, Li Dan's sudden opening broke their astonishment instantly, and they bowed in return.

Among the vassals, Chang Shi, the powerful vassal king, still stood at the forefront, and when Li Dan reported himself as his family, a Chang Shi who didn't know him very well said:

"Qin Fan Chief Shi Sunyu, Zi Jianxin, may I ask where the governor of Huanglong is now? When can I set off for Xiaoxiyang?"

Sun Yu's words asked the questions that the chiefs of the feudal clans cared about, but Li Dan said with a leisurely smile:

"Captain Huang is still organizing the encirclement and suppression of the rebels in Dongshan Mansion. Right now, I will be in charge of the voyage to the West."

"Everyone, please rest here for two days. Tomorrow, after the Huangshan Fleet arrives at the wharf with [-] supply ships from Nanhai Prefecture, the fleet to the West will start."

Li Dan's words let everyone breathe a sigh of relief. They were most worried about the shortage of supplies in the old port, which made them need to stay here for a long time.

"The resting place for the long history has been arranged, please..."

Li Dan didn't give Sun Yu a chance to speak, and immediately bowed to signal them to enter Palembang County, and didn't want them to stay at the pier for too long.

Although many long histories were suspicious, after all, they did not do anything excessive on their territory.

Shi Sun Jianxin, the chief of the Qin clan who spoke first, took several officials of the Qin clan to escort him first, and other clans also entered Palembang County one after another.

Li Dan watched them leave, and after arranging a host to entertain them, he turned and walked towards the reclaimed land not far away.

After the chiefs of the feudal clans all entered Palembang County, a general who followed behind Li Dan also said:

"This group of clans come to Palembang to rest for two days, and they don't know how many things will delay us."

"Take it as a holiday for those natives." A general next to him followed suit, while Li Dan said:
"Don't look down on them too much. In the future, after the development of the old port natives, maybe we need to obtain some gold and silver from their vassal states to engage in trade."

"Tell me about the new land reclamation situation in Palembang Prefecture." Li Dan looked at a general behind him, and the other party responded immediately:
"From the first month of last year to the present, more than [-] million mu has been reclaimed hastily. This year, we only need another year of intensive cultivation, and we can plant rice next year."

"Well... not bad, but the speed is a bit slow." Li Dan nodded slightly, and a general next to him said:

"The governor ordered that the arable land in Jiugang next year must reach [-] million mu. Judging by this speed, I'm afraid I'll be exhausted..."

"Okay, those things don't need to be said, just need to complete the military orders of the governor and His Highness." Li Dan interrupted what the other party wanted to say, then knelt down and squeezed a handful of soil, and sighed:

"Except for Dongshan Prefecture, which is relatively barren and difficult to cultivate, the land of the other islands in the Old Port Islands is very fertile."

"It's a reckless waste of such fertile land that these natives have occupied for thousands of years and haven't developed it yet."

"What I said is that compared with these native people, the people who migrated from our Ming Dynasty can suffer more." A general echoed, and the general next to him also said:

"Hey, the Huangshan Fleet is sent to escort the Xiaoxiyang Fleet this time, will the number of troops be too small?"

"The Huangshan Fleet is just a pawn, to find out the sea area and route for the following fleet. Governor Huang has already sent several other first-class fleets here." After Li Dan said, he also looked at Jugang County not far away.

He didn't quite understand why Zhu Youjian entrusted these vassal kings to Tianzhu. After all, if any of these vassal kings wiped out the other vassals in the future, they might become Ming's enemies.

Feudal kingdom disputes, this kind of thing has happened countless times in history...

Li Dan's idea is actually the idea of ​​most Ming military generals.

However, this kind of thinking is just thinking in my heart, if anyone dares to speak out, I am afraid that he will be taken away by the Jin Yiwei of Beizhen Fusi the next day...

Thinking of this, Li Dan also let go of the thoughts he shouldn't have, and started to continue to arrange some government affairs of the Palembang government.

He is not a person who is specially resident in Palembang Mansion, but a person who is accompanied by Huanglong.

If the sailing fleet didn't come, I'm afraid he is exploring the big island south of Dongshan Mansion with Huanglong right now.

"I don't know where the governor has explored..."

Thinking of the big island in the south of Southeast Prefecture, Li Dan's thoughts drifted thousands of miles away.

While his thoughts were drifting towards Huanglong, a ship thousands of miles away also ran aground on the reef due to improper operation.

The captain who found the grounded immediately had someone wave a flag to the rear fleet to warn the semaphore, and many captains who saw the semaphore also avoided the reefs.

"This place is a bit interesting. Compared with going south, the vegetation is more lush."

When the binocular clairvoyance was put down, the yellow dragon with a short beard appeared on a huge warship.

The sail was blown by the strong wind, the sea was beating the hull, the dark clouds in the sky and the stranded warship did not stop Huanglong, he looked at the coastline on the right side of the fleet, turned his head and said to the people beside him:

"Order the whole army to continue going south, find a place where they can dock in front, and wait for the supply ship behind."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing the words, the deputy captain immediately ordered people to wave the flag and pass on the semaphore, while Huang Long leaned on the fence with both hands, watching the scene of the raging sea, feeling indescribably happy.

Since the settlement of all the natives along the coast of Dongshan Prefecture half a month ago, Huanglong left behind a battalion of arch guards, and then marched to the south of Dongshan Prefecture with a first-class fleet.

The fleet walked for half a month, from the lack of interest in the barren coastline at the beginning, to the enthusiasm when the vegetation increased, to the current curiosity, all satisfied the man's nature of wanting to take risks.

Soon, the cloudy sky began to rain heavily, but the naval fleet faced with the heavy rain did not stop, and they stubbornly headed south.

When the waves came, the whole deck was covered with salty sea water, and Huang Long himself was heartbroken, but this didn't dampen his enthusiasm.

Seeing all the sailors swaying on the deck and seeing the ups and downs of the warship, Huang Long wanted to roar loudly at this moment, in order to vent his suppressed emotions for a year.

It's just that no matter how high the enthusiasm is, it will eventually turn into hunger and cold after being slapped by sea water several times in a row and blown by strong wind countless times.

Fortunately, before night fell, Huanglong and the others found a long sheltered bay.

All the boats drove close to the beach, and then lowered their anchors before entering the shallow water. After fixing, everyone ran back to the cabin, panting heavily, holding a bowl of hot tea in their hands.

Huang Long was no exception. Holding the hot tea in his hand, he blew on it and took a sip to dispel the chill from his body.

He sat in the corner, did not get involved in the discussion about this new continent by the many generals on the ship, and his mind was full of things about Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian.

I don't know how long it has passed. When the clothes on my body were dried by the stove, the sound of the waves outside the cabin also became quieter.

Huanglong walked out of the cabin with a lantern, and sure enough the storm had passed.

On the pitch-black sea, only a dozen or so warships of theirs were glowing dimly, which made Huang Long feel a little depressed.

However, this depression disappears with the emergence of the fleet in the distance.

The fleet's huge supply fleet followed, and all the sailors of the fleet ran onto the deck, cheering for them.

Such a cheerful scene made Huang Long smile a little, perhaps only at this time can he forget about those political matters and relax a little bit.

"Put down the boat and go camp on the coast."

When the supply fleet arrived, Huanglong also issued a military order.

Soon, hundreds of small boats began to be lowered and rowed to shore by sailors.

They arrived at the coast in an orderly manner, and after dragging the boat to the beach, they began to set up the tents on the boat one by one.

They used small boats to form a large circle on the beach, like a fortification.

Some searched for dry firewood, others explored the surroundings.

After confirming that the beach was safe, they began to wave the semaphore using torches as flags.

When it was safe, Huanglong also landed on the beach with a large number of sailors, and the cooks of the supply fleet were the last to land on the beach.

When they landed, Huanglong had already sat in a large tent that had been built.

He asked someone to light a candle, and then took out the book of war and began to read it repeatedly.

This can be regarded as the only thing he can do for entertainment in Nanyang besides fighting and exploring.

About half an hour later, the bonfire began to light, and the inside and outside of the tent were lit up. The sailors gathered around the bonfire and sang folk songs from their hometown, which relieved Huang Long's tense nerves a lot.

At this time, a captain also opened the curtain with a plate of meals:
"Captain, the meal is ready, let's have some first."

"Hmm... Is there mutton?" Huanglong moved his index finger when he smelled the smell of mutton, and asked curiously at the same time.

After all, in Nanyang, the number of sheep is still relatively small. Even the existence of Huanglong's level can only eat one meal a month at most.

"Yes, it's the supply fleet sent by Nanhai Prefecture. At the same time, someone sent you a letter from Man Dudu."

"Huh?" Hearing that it was Man Gui's letter, Huang Long didn't care about the freshness of the mutton anymore, but directly grabbed the handwritten letter and opened it.

He nervously looked at the contents of the handbook, all because these days he has been thinking about how many people can support his ideas.

After all, if the relationship between Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian is not resolved, they will have to worry all the time.

He thought that in the letter, Man Gui would bring him a long list of people who were willing to support him, but he didn't want to open the handwritten letter, but saw the open and honest content of the emperor and Man Gui.

"..." Looking at the content in the handwriting, Huang Long frowned.

"Captain, what's the matter? Is there a war in the north?" The captain asked curiously, and Huang Long also lit the handwriting and threw it into the stove after reading it.

When the handwriting was lit, the flame illuminated his cheeks, but it quickly went out, making the whole tent into a haze.

Huang Long nodded expressionlessly: "Well, Your Highness is going to launch the second North Sweeping campaign."

"Isn't that great?" The captain didn't understand why his captain's face was like this for such a good thing.

"You go down first, I'll be alone." Huang Long waved his hand, motioning for the captain to go down, and the captain bowed and saluted after hearing the words, and then exited the tent.

After he left, Huang Long didn't speak for a long time, until the hot broth on the table was no longer smoking, then he sighed:

"Ugh……"

A long sigh has many meanings. I don't know if Huanglong is sighing for the miscarriage of his plan, or lamenting Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian's brothers and sisters. In short, Huanglong's expression is complicated.

He looked at the black ash that no longer existed in the stove, and after a while he muttered to himself:
"Brothers and friends are respectful, but uncles and nephews..."

(End of this chapter)