"Hey, Princess Yining, wait for me!" Zhu Quan shouted angrily.
The two of them agreed to go out to race horses. King Ning did not expect that Xiaoxue of Lianhua ran so fast and was left far behind. I was so angry that I yelled and shouted, but I still couldn't catch up.
Lotus chuckled: "Then you run faster!" He took the reins and slowed down a little.
Zhu Quan rode his horse to catch up and said with a smile: "You have been fooled! Fortunately, I didn't risk my life on you. Did your fourth brother give you this horse?"
"yes."
"It's so young, I didn't expect it to run so fast!" Zhu Quan said while looking at Xiaoxue: "This horse is only two years old, right? It's such a good horse. Fourth brother treats you really differently."
The speaker was unintentional, but Lianhua blushed: "Don't talk nonsense."
"What nonsense, to be honest. I have never seen Fourth Brother treat anyone so kindly. When I was the best when I got married to Fourth Sister-in-law, I never saw him give anything as a gift."
Lianhua was curious: "What kind of person is Princess Yan?"
"The fourth sister-in-law is the daughter of the King of Zhongshan and the Duke of Wei, Xu Da. She is very virtuous, and she is good at riding horses and holding guns. She treats us well." He then looked at Lianhua: "Unlike you, she is more like Queen Mother, relatively..." It seemed that he couldn't find the right words for a while, so he said after a long time: "Majesty."
Lianhua chuckled: "I've never heard of my sister-in-law being described like this."
"Really, I'm a little afraid of her anyway. She has a serious face, just like the mother..." Zhu Quan said solemnly: "Also, my father was very helpful to her, and neither did the Duke of Wei at that time. It's easy to mess with. The fourth brother's marriage was arranged by two old men. They got married when he was seventeen, and no one asked him if he liked it. "
The lotus was silent, the royal in-laws were originally dominated by political interests, and King Yan had already settled this. Think about it, why not? It doesn't matter whether the emperor or the emperor's grandson marries anyone, there is actually another purpose for coming to the Ming Dynasty.
But is it really the same for everyone you marry? Zhu Di's careless smile drifted through his mind, and Lianhua couldn't help but feel sad.
Zhu Quan then smiled and said: "Fourth brother has always been careful. There are many rotten scholars in the court. It is taboo for him, a vassal king, to have personal relationships with his vassals. It would be troublesome if he was involved. Fourth brother knew this and sent someone to help you deliver the letter. No. Once, two royal soldiers were killed, and Wang Jinghong was specifically asked to take people to the King of Korea again. I have never seen my fourth brother treat anyone like this."
Lian Hua blushed and changed the subject: "Last time King Yan asked Dao Yan, who is Dao Yan?"
"That's Monk Dao Yan, the abbot of Qingshou Temple in Peking. His name was Yao Guangxiao before he became a monk. He was from Changzhou, Suzhou. He came to Peiping with his fourth brother. He is said to be a monk, but he has never been seen chanting sutras. He is a bit crazy. Fourth brother is very close to him. able to talk to."
"The monk doesn't chant sutras? That's a little strange."
"Yes!" Zhu Quan said even more happily when he heard that Lianhua agreed with what he said: "Fourth brother is different from us. He suffered a lot when he was a child, and he fought outside for more than ten years. He has feelings for the common people and has three religions and nine schools of thought. He also knows many different characters." Looking at Lianhua, he laughed at himself: "His world is too big, unlike us who only play by ourselves."
Lotus comforted softly: "You are still young."
The two of them were talking and running, and heard bursts of drill shouts. Looking along the sound, they saw that troops were being trained on the Daning Military Academy in the distance, and the burly figure standing majestically next to him was King Yan.
"Fourth brother is practicing his Mongolian soldiers again." Zhu Quan looked around and praised: "Fourth brother is really amazing. In just a few days, he has already formed a formation to practice."
"What Mongolian soldiers?" Lianhua asked curiously.
"They are those Mongolian prisoners. There were more than 2,000 people brought back from Checher Mountain this time. Including the previous surrenders, there were almost 3,000 people in total. Fourth brother organized them into a separate guard. He didn't tell you ?"
Lianhua shook her head: "Mongolian soldiers? Are you willing to be here?"
"They want to keep it themselves. The military pay given to them by the fourth brother is the same as that of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, which is a lot of money for the Mongols!" Zhu Quan sighed exaggeratedly: "Money can make all the difference, let alone... Mongolian soldiers. But no matter what, they will never attack the Mongols themselves. Fourth brother is training them so actively, I don’t know why."
Lianhua's heart moved for some reason, and she asked casually: "Which tribe are these from?"
"Most of them are from the Uliangha tribe," Zhu Quan said, looking at Lianhua as if he didn't know much. "They are from Duoyan Mountain. In the 22nd year of Hongwu, my father established Duoyan there, and Taining and Fuyu Three Guards, these three Mongolian cavalry are now under my command. Fourth brother's team, he named it Three Thousand Guards."
Lianhua smiled sweetly: "That sounds pretty good. How about we go over and have a look?" Before Zhu Quan could answer, he shook the reins and ran away.
Zhu Quan yelled from behind again: "You wouldn't have run away first! Just wait!"
King Yan was a little surprised when he saw Lianhua and Zhu Quan running over on horseback, but he was very happy: "Why are you here? What are you playing for?"
"Fourth brother! You have to take care of the eldest princess of Yining. This Xiaoxue is obviously a thousand-mile horse, but I was fooled and thought of racing with her!" Prince Ning looked annoyed.
Lianhua chuckled: "Who told you to look down on others? You are the one who wants to race." Then she lowered her head and stroked Xiaoxue's long mane: "Right, Xiaoxue?"
Zhu Di couldn't help but smile: "I'm willing to admit defeat. Seventeenth brother, what did you lose?"
"It's nothing." Prince Ning was coy and refused to say anything. Lotus pursed her lips and smiled.
It turns out that the two of them bet that if Lianhua loses, they will go to Taiqing to listen to the scriptures for ten days; if Ning Wang loses, they will go to Guangji Temple to listen to the scriptures for ten days. Zhu Quan accompanied Lianhua to Guangji Temple once. He disliked Huiguang's poor image and boring words and told him to leave. Lotus couldn't help but laugh as she imagined that he would stay there for ten days.
As for King Ning becoming good friends with Hui Guang because of this, Hui Guang even used the word "Tiandao" two years later to persuade King Ning to relieve his worries and make up his mind to cooperate with King Yan in the matter, but Lianhua was not expecting it.
Seeing Zhu Di's questioning expression, Zhu Quan hurriedly wanted to change the subject: "Fourth brother! Your three thousand guards are well trained! Are you planning to take them back to Peking to serve as soldiers?"
Zhu Di shook his head: "Leave this here for you."
Zhu Quan asked with a smile: "Leave me here? What do I want them to do? I have three Mongolian soldiers guarding them." After some thought, Wei blurted out: "You don't want to use these three thousand guards to go to Korea to fight against Japanese pirates, do you? "
Zhu Di frowned: "So many words!" He then softened his tone and said: "I haven't thought about it yet, and I don't know when my father will order me to leave here."
Zhu Quan couldn't help but feel sad and said reluctantly: "Fourth brother, please don't go back to Peking! Otherwise, I will be the only one left here."
Zhu Di patted his younger brother on the shoulder, also reluctantly, and said: "Both battle reports have been reported to the Ministry of War, and the Mongolian border has been temporarily calmed down. My ex-son has given my father another excuse. It depends on his will."
When Lianhua saw the appearance of the two brothers, she couldn't help but think of Cao Min and Cao Xiu, and felt sad in her heart. He quickly looked up at the school grounds and saw the 3,000 Guards cavalrymen lined up neatly and with a solemn appearance. He couldn't help but admire them in his heart. He asked curiously: "What weapons are they holding?" It looks like an iron rod, with one end bulging like a hammer.
"That's called Guduo, which relies on striking power to injure the enemy." Zhu Di explained: "It's used to deal with armored soldiers. The Mongolian cavalry itself is fast and powerful, and the Mongolian soldiers have extraordinary physical strength. Guduo directly hits the armor. From the outside, No injuries, just broken bones.”
Lotus couldn't bear to hear it, "Guduo", such a beautiful name. .
Zhu Quan said with a smile: "The princess of Yining has softened her heart again. The Book of Changes has long said that 'a gentleman curbs evil and promotes good, and surrenders his life in accordance with nature'. How can it be like your Buddha who asked you to endure the five precepts and ten good deeds? Could it be that the enemy is coming to kill you?" Are you craning your neck to wait for death?"
"Of course not. The Buddha abstained from killing because of his own selfish desires and harmed lives. As for fighting to defend the country, it is a manifestation of compassion and bravery. The "Da Dharma Drum Sutra" records, "For example, when King Pasana was fighting against an enemy country, the soldiers of that time ate their husbands. If you are not brave, you will not be a husband.'" Lianhua and Prince Ning often argued when talking about Buddhism and Taoism: "Abandoning killing does not mean that you cannot defend the country."
Zhu Di looked at the two of them with a smile. He was quite interested in hearing what Lianhua said. Seeing that Zhu Quan wanted to say more, he quickly smoothed things over: "Okay, okay, 'Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are interlinked, and the three religions have always had the same ancestral style.' You two It all makes sense.”
Zhu Quan looked at Zhu Di's protective look and said with a smile: "I'm not crazy to argue with you two! I still listen to Zhuangzi, 'arguing is not like being silent', just rest."
Zhu Di patted Zhu Quan's head and said with a smile: "You know the current affairs."
The three people looked at the school field. Three thousand Mongolian soldiers were in great momentum. The formations spread out and the sky and earth changed colors. It was "cigarettes and murderous intent, driven by the wind." King Ning and Lianhua were full of admiration, and Zhu Di was also a little proud.
But at this time, none of the three people thought that this 3,000-man cavalry team would not only become Zhu Di's main force in the "Battle of Jingnan", but would also be renamed "Three Thousand Battalions" during the Yongle period, and changed to "Three Thousand Battalions" during the Jiajing period. Known as the "Shenshu Camp", it featured cavalry assaults and became one of the three major battalions of the Beijing Army in the Ming Dynasty.
After a short drill break, Commander Yuan Du and Deputy General Chen came over and saluted the three of them with a smile. Deputy General Chen had seen the mirage and the glazed tower of the lotus in the desert. He had always been in awe of the lotus. He bowed and stood by King Ning's side, staying far away from the lotus. Zhu Di saw this and was secretly amused.
Commander Yuan Du asked King Ning: "I just want to see the prince. Today, the Ministry of War has sent a letter about Princess Yining. What do you think of the prince?"
Zhu Quan took the text and waved his hand, and the two generals bowed and retreated. King Ning saw that it was from Qitai, the left minister of the Ministry of War, opened it and read: "The commander of Tieling Guards reported that Princess Yining of North Korea and her party were robbed in Liaoyang, and only the bodies of the two hundred and thirteen bodyguards were left in the forest where the incident occurred. Yining The princess has disappeared, and Tieling Guards have been ordered to continue searching. Tezi has written that the guards will cooperate with the investigation after hearing this, and they must work together to find Princess Yining as soon as possible and punish the murderer."
Zhu Quan paused and then said: "There is also a line of small words here, 'Uncle Ning Wang, taking care of the close friendship between our dynasty and North Korea, took the trouble to search. The people of the two countries are very lucky! The book in the nephew's record is allowed to be written down'. Ha! Ours My nephew has spoken this time."
Zhu Di took over the text, frowned as he read it, and said nothing.
Zhu Quan looked at the lotus and smiled: "Your future husband is looking for you!"
Lianhua knew that the "Nephew in the Book of Records" here was Zhu Yunwen, the grandson of the emperor. She was shocked when she heard it just now. Seeing Zhu Quan teasing him like this, he couldn't help but blush and lowered his head in silence.
Zhu Quan was still ready to joke again, but he couldn't help but feel soft and shut up after looking at Lian Hua's appearance. The two are often together these days. Lianhua asks him for medical advice, musical instruments, tea music, and various Chinese culture, and calls himself "the great disciple of Prince Ning." Zhu Quan's lonely life suddenly became busy and colorful, and he really cared about this "disciple".
Zhu Di turned his head and asked Lianhua: "Yining, think about it, do you still want to go to the capital?"
"That's right, Princess, if you come to the capital, neither Fourth Brother nor I can help you. It's too late to change your mind now, so I'll tell the Ministry of War that I don't know. It's not our business in the first place." Zhu Quan He smiled and said: "The sky is high and the emperor is far away. Let alone the emperor's grandson, even the father can't control him."
Zhu Di's face darkened: "Seventeenth brother, be careful what you say! How dare you say such bold words?"
Zhu Quan stuck out his tongue: "Don't dare." Then he looked at Lianhua: "Princess Yining! It's just that the capital is far away. My father is very strict, and there are many people in the harem. You have a lot of mothers-in-law, please say hello every day." You will be exhausted to death. Even if our eldest nephew wants to protect you, it may not work."
Lotus couldn't help but feel upset.
Along the way, I have learned how difficult it is, and I am not as confident as I was in Seoul. But give up? So many people were willing to sacrifice themselves to go to Beijing. Nanhuo Zhao Keshanxi and Hai Shou died tragically in the forest, as well as Zheng Zongcheng. As Zheng Zongcheng said, even if reinforcements cannot be invited, North Korea's sincerity for peace must still be expressed. If he retreated at this time and asked King Ning to lie to the court, wouldn't he become the culprit of damaging the relationship between Korea and China? The Japanese pirates did not hesitate to pursue him to Daningwei, wasn't it because they were afraid of him entering the capital? There are also Mongolians and Wang Shi, who might take the opportunity to make a fuss.
Lianhua shook her head and said to King Ning: "I must enter the capital." While looking at King Yan: "I, I can't be willful."
Zhu Di and Zhu Quan were both silent.
After a while, Zhu Di said: "Seventeenth brother, please delay for a little while and wait for Jinghong."
Zhu Quan muttered: "Okay, I'll make up a reason." He looked at the lotus, his eyes full of sympathy and pity. When she came to the outside of the Great Wall alone, it felt uncomfortable to be a prince with no one to care about her; when she went to the capital alone, she was also away from home, and had to face the complicated palace, which was too difficult.
Lian Hua felt even more uncomfortable under Zhu Quan's gaze, her eyes were red and she seemed about to shed tears. Suddenly, she jerked the horse's head and Xiao Xue neighed and galloped away.