"The autumn clouds in the north of the Yangtze River are half-open, and the dawn clouds are rainy but lingering low. The green mountains are winding and there is no way, and suddenly I see thousands of sails looming." Li Jinglong stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the mighty river, full of pride.
In his thirties, Li Jinglong was extremely excited to perform an independent mission for the first time. Cao Guogong, who has had smooth sailing since childhood and is full of confidence, will surely impress everyone this time!
Soon after crossing the Yangtze River, Li Jinglong led the team to rush north.
King Zhou Zhu was the fifth son of Ming Taizu. He was only one year younger than King Zhu Di of Yan. The two were brothers from the same mother. The history books after the Ming Dynasty claimed that the Crown Prince, King Qin, King Jin, King Yan and King Zhou were both the direct sons of Empress Gao Ma's family. However, a large number of early history books and local diaries recorded that the mothers of King Yan and King Zhou were concubines of Taizu.
The king of Zhou established Kaifeng in the 14th year of Hongwu, and was demoted to Yunnan for two years for leaving the fiefdom without authorization. However, these two years were not in vain. Zhu had always had great ambitions to help the people and liked medicine. When he saw that the local people were in short supply of medical care and medicine in Yunnan, he compiled a "Pocket Prescription" together with Li Bai, a good doctor in the government. This small medical book was so convenient and practical that the king of Zhou placed a copy in every household. It saved quite a few people and laid the foundation for the later masterpiece "Ji Huang Materia Medica" on plant famine relief.
This time Li Jinglong led the troops directly under the imperial control of the Central Governor's Mansion, totaling more than 1,200 people. We stayed overnight at dawn and marched for seventeen days to Kaifeng. We entered the city and went straight to the Prince of Zhou's Mansion.
The Prince of Zhou's Mansion is located in the northeast corner of Kaifeng Mansion and occupies a very large area. In order to study medicinal plants, the King of Zhou established a special botanical garden in the palace and planted various wild plants for observation and experiments. This was the ancestor of the method of building botanical gardens to study plants, which is still used today. In addition, the King of Zhou had a large number of books, which were known as "Kaifeng Zhou Di's Book Jita Fan", and the prince's palace had a huge library.
Li Jinglong led his troops to the gate of the palace. From afar, he could smell the fragrance of plants, floating among the sounds of frogs and cicadas. Li Jinglong waved his hand, and Deputy General Li Ping commanded the brigade to be divided into three teams. The two teams surrounded him from left to right, quickly surrounding the entire palace. Li Jinglong led the remaining troops and went directly to the main entrance of the palace with his head held high.
It was late summer and it was still hot. Several servants of the palace sitting at the door were waving cattail fans and chatting. When they saw the army invading, they hurriedly stopped them.
Li Jinglong held up the imperial edict and shouted: "We have been ordered to capture the imperial convict Zhu Xi, and those who resist the edict will be killed without mercy!" The servants were so frightened that they knelt down and the whole palace was in chaos.
Li Jinglong arrived unexpectedly, and the Zhou Palace was completely unexpected. King Zhou and his sons were studying plants in the botanical garden. Princess Feng of Zhou and her family members were admiring lotus flowers in the back garden. There were also people practicing riding and shooting on the school grounds, people reading in the library, and people lying in bed, immersed in embroidery and writing. Yes, it's fun in the boudoir. . The family of fifteen princes and ten princesses, except for Zhu Youxuan, who harbored evil intentions, were all living as usual. No one expected that a sudden disaster would fall from the sky.
Li Ping led the sergeants to search around, and soon brought King Zhou, Princess Zhou and the princess to the main hall. The concubines, servants, and servants gathered in the courtyard, about four hundred people in total. Li Ping roughly divided the men, women, old and children into groups, assigned sergeants to each group to guard them, and restrained them from crying.
There were more than 6,000 guards in the Zhou palace. The guards on the left and right and several thousand households naturally knelt down and obeyed the imperial edict without any resistance. You must know that at that time, the power of the monarch was sacred and supreme. The basic three cardinal ethics were the loyalty of the king and his subjects, the righteousness of the father, the son, the husband, and the husband. Li Jinglong dared to come to Kaifeng with more than a thousand people to arrest people, because he was sure that the king of Zhou did not dare to resist.
Li Jinglong held the imperial edict and stood proudly in the main hall. When King Zhou saw the imperial edict, he and his family hurriedly knelt down. The timid little princesses trembled, and several young princesses burst into tears.
"The Emperor Bingtian Chengyun issued an edict: As a vassal king, King Zhu Ji did not want to serve the country with all his loyalty. Instead, he complained that the imperial court had a conspiracy and wanted to commit great treason and lawlessness. I thought of my flesh and blood and was exempted from the death penalty. I will demote him to a commoner immediately. Moved to Menghua, Yunnan. Zhu Youyi, the king of Runan, has made great achievements and is allowed to stay in Kaifeng. I commend him for his loyalty. This is your honor!"
At that time, Yunnan was an extremely remote place. Menghua was located west of Kunming and south of Dali. It was simply a place outside of China. King Zhou's family were all shocked when they heard the imperial edict, and several princesses cried louder.
King Zhou fell on the ground and said nothing. Princess Feng of Zhou was the daughter of Duke Feng Sheng of the Song Dynasty. She was a timid daughter of the general. She looked up at Li Jinglong and said, "Sir! On what basis does your majesty say that the prince has rebelled?"
Li Jinglong snorted: "The princess is in the deep palace. She doesn't know many things, right?" Raising his hand, Li Ping took a package, opened it, and placed it in front of Princess Zhou.
Feng looked over and saw several letters and official documents.
The first letter was written by the King of Zhou to the King of Yan, "I heard that my brother went to Chuzhou for funeral and was sent back. His unscrupulous son is here. Brother Wang, why don't you think about it? I have been unjust for a long time. I hope you can work together for great things."; the other is Among the official documents written by the King of Zhou and his subordinates, one of them was addressed to Wang Han, the chief historian, with the words "Taizu died, the emperor has no plans, and he will not be able to do anything in the near future." There were also several other letters written with various rebellious words, addressing the emperor. They are all "boys", "ruzis" and "straight boys".
Princess Zhou looked over and couldn't help but tremble all over. He turned sideways and said angrily to King Zhou with tears in his eyes: "You! How can you be so rebellious!"
King Zhou didn't answer, he just looked at Zhu Youxuan fiercely and said bitterly: "You gave birth to a good son!"
It turned out that only two of the fifteen princes were the legitimate sons of Princess Feng of Zhou Dynasty. The eldest son Zhu Youdun was established as the crown prince; the second son Zhu Youxu was only granted the title of King of Runan, but he did not even have the title of royal palace. He was always jealous. Princess Zhou always comforted her with words of comfort. Unexpectedly, Zhu Youyi grew jealous and resentful. When King Zhou sent him to arrange a letter to King Yan this time, he actually reported it to the court. Whether King Zhou was just complaining or really planning to rebel, only King Zhou himself knows.
Princess Zhou shed tears. Her husband was unfaithful to the king and her son was unfilial to his father. What more could she say at this point? Treason is the first-class crime, and it is not an exaggeration to punish the nine clans with the death penalty. The new emperor only punished them with "relocation", which is really very lenient.
Princess Zhou straightened her clothes, prostrated herself and cried, "Thank you Lord for your kindness!"
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In Prince Yan's Mansion in Peiping, not long after the mourning hall was evacuated, the family members were still wearing burlap mourning clothes, and the palace was still filled with gloom. Zhu Di did not change his appearance, but he was sitting casually in the Guan Yu Pavilion, with Dao Yan accompanying him.
The two of them couldn't help but frowned when they heard Ma Sanbao's report that "the King of Zhou rebelled and was demoted to a commoner and moved to Yunnan."
Zhu Di stood up, walked around for a few steps, and sighed: "Fifth brother has always had great ambitions. He only wants to help the people and save the world. He doesn't want to cause such a catastrophe!"
Dao Yan thought for a long time and said in a low voice: "I'm afraid it's not that simple for the court to act like this."
Zhu Di raised his eyebrows: "Isn't it very lenient to only punish 'migration'
"Does the prince think it is possible for the king of Zhou to rebel?" Dao Yan asked.
Zhu Di pondered: "Although the fifth brother has great ambitions, he will not lose his head. I heard that there are only a few thousand soldiers in the Zhou prince's palace, and there is no possibility of foreign aid in Kaifeng. It is difficult to rebel."
Dao Yan slapped his thigh: "But here we come again! Your Majesty was convicted of treason based on just a few letters, and it was the evidence provided by King Runan. Afterwards, he rewarded King Runan. It is precisely because of the crime that he wanted to incriminate him. Words!”
Zhu Di stood still and looked at Dao Yan: "What do you mean?"
Dao Yan said: "Since the death of King Qin and King Jin, all the kings have regarded the prince as their eldest son. After the death of the great ancestor, the prince held a heavy army and made great achievements in battle. It is normal for the court to be wary. The king of Zhou and the prince are brothers from the same mother, so the court must be special. Please note that King Runan is more likely to have been initiated by the imperial court. Otherwise, how could these letters have ended up in the hands of His Majesty?"
Zhu Di was silent and looked up out of the window. The poplar trees are lush in summer, and the sun shines intermittently through the leaves. Is there such power and suspicion in this world under the sun
Dao Yan continued: "In recent news about the Three Treasures, Qi Tai, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Huang Zicheng, Minister of Taichang Temple, have repeatedly mentioned 'cutting down the vassal'. Although Your Majesty does not agree on the surface, how do you know that this is not an action?"
Zhu Di was shocked, right
Seeing that Zhu Di was finally moved, Dao Yan said: "Your Majesty! Don't just sit back and wait for death!" Just as Zhu Di was about to speak, Wang Jinghong ran in and presented Zhu Di with an official document: "The reply from the Ministry of War has just arrived."
Dao Yan stretched his head to look, but it was Zhu Di who had last sent to the capital to visit the mausoleum. The emperor agreed, "The King of Yan is extremely filial to heaven. He can come to the capital to visit the mausoleum after the New Year and reunite with my flesh and blood." Dao Yan fell into deep thought again. .
Zhu Di is in a great mood and can go to Beijing! You can go to Beijing to visit the mausoleum and see the tombs of your father and mother! And she, too, can see her again.
After the New Year, there are still more than four months and more than a hundred days. .
When Zhu Di was excited, he didn't care what Dao Yan said. When he saw several people looking at him, he realized: "What?"
Dao Yan repeated: "I'm afraid there will be danger when the prince comes to Beijing."
Zhu Di was stunned: "What's the danger?"
Dao Yan said slowly: "The King of Zhou has been moved. Now that the court has made a move and has no intention of turning back, it will definitely take action against the prince."
Zhu Di suddenly stood up: "I don't believe it! Don't be alarmist. The fifth brother made a mistake himself, I didn't do anything!
I must go to the capital! "
Dao Yan was a little stunned when he saw Zhu Di's excitement. He paused for a while and said: "Since the prince is determined to go, then go and be more careful."
Zhu Di also knew that he was a little excited. He was quiet for a while and said: "Your Majesty is the son of my eldest brother. He was taught by his father. I believe in him."
Dao Yan knew clearly that Zhu Di didn't like to hear it, but he still said: "Your Majesty is kind and kind, but the ministers in the court are strong, and they are all worried about the prince's high achievements and military strength. Especially Huang Zicheng and Qitai, they are now your most trusted ministers .Your Majesty, think twice."
Zhu Di was silent and said after a while: "I'm tired, you can go down."
Ma Sanbao and Wang Jinghong sent Dao Yan out of Guan Yu Pavilion. After walking through the corridor, Ma Sanbao asked, "Master Dao Yan, will the court be unfavorable to the prince?"
Dao Yan shook his head: "Let's wait and see. It will be a few months before the prince comes to Beijing. Please pay attention to inquire about the news in the palace." Seeing Ma Sanbao nodding his head again and again, he asked: "Your Majesty is so insistent on going to the capital. Is there anything else besides Ye Ling?"
Ma Sanbao couldn't help but hesitate, and after a long time he said: "The prince learned that Princess Yining was demoted that day, so he submitted a memorial." Looking at Wang Jinghong, he added: "That was the day Jinghong was kicked."
Dao Yan was stunned and couldn't help but sigh. He wanted to say something, but finally couldn't bear to say it and shook his head.
Wang Jinghong also sighed: "Actually, we are also worried about the princess. We don't know how she is doing, and Xiao Zhien." Ma Sanbao didn't say anything, but he admired Wang Jinghong's courage for speaking out so bluntly.
Recalling that the two of them said goodbye to Lotus in the capital, the Lotus was delivered to the door of Cao Guogong's mansion, a light blue dress fluttering in the cold wind, his clear eyes looked at him, he hesitated to speak, and finally just said softly: "Three Treasures" , cherish it!" Ma Sanbao knew that Lianhua probably remembered the time when she said goodbye to her little brother, and knew that Lianhua treated him like a brother, a brother, and a friend; but what about him? Is it just like a sister or a master
Ma Sanbao shook his head, not daring to think any more. He looked up and saw Dao Yan looking at him with a half-smile. Ma Sanbao's face turned red and he hurriedly asked Yan: "Master Dao Yan, the prince is in danger, is there anything else we can do now?"
Sure enough, Dao Yan no longer looked at him, lowered his head and thought for a while and said, "Sambo, did everyone in the army know about the pagoda you and the prince saw in the desert last time?"
Ma Sanbao thought for a moment: "All the soldiers who came back from Daningwei know this, but not necessarily others."
Daoyan looked at the two of them and said solemnly: "You two should spread this story, not only among the army, but also to the common people. Be careful not to say more about the pagoda of the princess, but more about the pagoda appearing in the air for the prince. , is the merit of the prince and the auspiciousness of the prince."
Ma Sanbao understood somewhat, but Wang Jinghong seemed to understand but not understand: "Why?"
Dao Yan sighed: "If the people of heaven and the people are with the prince, even if the court wants to embarrass the prince, it will be more taboo." He casually added: "King Yan has great merits and virtues, and the Bodhisattva shows his spirit. The pagoda appears in the sky to protect King Yan. The way of heaven cannot be violated, and the Buddha bless Yan Xing!"
Wang Jinghong praised: "Master Dao Yan, you are so talented!"
Dao Yan smiled, Wang Jinghong did not praise his strategy but paid attention to such a young poet, he was still young.
Ma Sanbao raised his thumb: "This is easy to understand and catchy. The soldiers and common people will recite it to each other, and they will respect the prince even more. Master Daoyan, you are amazing!"
Only then did Wang Jinghong understand. He scratched his head and asked, "What does this tower in the sky mean?"
Dao Yan asked back: "That's what this ballad says. Isn't it clear enough?"
Ma Sanbao and Wang Jinghong looked at each other: Yes!
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Before long, the streets and alleys of Peiping were singing:
"The King of Yan has great merits and virtues, and the Bodhisattva shows his spiritual power.
The pagoda appeared in the sky, guarding King Yan's journey.
The way of heaven cannot be violated, Buddha bless Yan Xing! "
Men, women, old and young, traders, soldiers, soldiers, merchants, and even monks and Taoists all knew about the miracle of the pagoda appearing in the sky during the Northern Expedition of King Yan in the desert; teahouses, restaurants, shops, hotels, temples, and Taoist temples were talked about everywhere. No one expected that such a jingle ballad would really change the fate of King Yan.
Except of course Dao Yan.