Chapter 626: Reward

In early March of the seventh year of Yongle, after the palace was ready, Zhu Gaoxu summoned a group of military generals in Fengtian Hall.Today, I rewarded the merits and gave them banquets to entertain the vassals.

Seven Dukes: Duke of Qian Mu Sheng, Duke of Ba Qu Neng, Duke of Shao Sheng Yong, Duke of E Gong Ping An, Duke of Ding Wang Bin (issuing the order to Xu Jingchang, son of Xu Zengshou, ascended Xu Da to the title of Duke of Wei), Duke of Wei Wei Da, and Duke of Zheng Liu Ying.

There were more than ten marquises, including Chen Zhen, Chen Dachui, Zhao Ping, Yin Desheng, Du Erlang, Wang Yu, Zhang Sheng, Li Rang, Xu Hua, Wan Quan, Yao Fengji, Lu Bing and others, and they were all granted marquises; there were several Counts.

At the banquet, the dance music composed by Jiaofangsi began to be performed one after another, including "The Song of the Taiping Field Breaking Formation" and "The Song of Baoqing's Victory".After drinking for several tours, there is also the opera "The Legend of Wushan".

Songs, dances and operas are all programs prepared by the Jiaofangsi after Zhu Gaoxu became emperor; the time is too short, and the music, operas, etc. are not very exquisite, but the meaning is here!

The generals of the Crime Army were extremely satisfied with such kind rewards; the banquet was very lively and everyone was very interested.

The actor waved his sleeves in the hall and said in a slander: Now the emperor is kind, but why are the traitors in the court slandering? What should Sheng do?

Another actor dressed up as a blushing face said: I have always heard that the King of Han in Yunnan loves soldiers and takes the lead in righteousness. It is better to vote for the King of Han, save his life and serve the country... What?

good!good!The generals shouted loudly for the actor Sheng.

After a burst of noise, Sheng Yong Ping'an and others did not say anything. Wang Bin, who was a little drunk, picked up the wine cup and said loudly: Brothers, let’s join Jinlan, join the King of Han together to serve the King of Han!

Everyone picked up the wine cup and said, "Salute to the Lord!"

Zhu Gaoxu raised his glass and signaled to drink with the guests.

The musicians in the Jiaofangsi were also very suitable. They immediately paused the song halfway. After everyone finished speaking, they beat the drums and drums together, as if they were celebrating together for the king and his ministers...

But every big thing is often difficult to satisfy everyone.The generals of the former Han Palace were happy, and soon others were dissatisfied!

Just one day later, Zhu Gaoxu received a memorial from Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. There were quite some complaints about the uncontrollable rewards and continued to pay hundreds of thousands of troops in Beijing.

Because these things will increase the financial burden in the long run, the Ministry of Revenue's revenue and expenditure may be unsustainable in the long run.

However, Zhu Gaoxu only approved four words: increase revenue and reduce expenditure.He means saving money, and saving from other places.When Zhu Gaoxu set the year name as Wude, he did not plan to reduce military expenditure!

In the most critical point, Zhu Gaoxu felt that there were many old people in the court, and he had not thought about purges for the time being; so he had to support the direct forces of the Han Palace and gain an absolute advantage in the court!

Perhaps sometimes killing people is the simplest and most direct way to deal with it, but Zhu Gaoxu doesn't want to spread it too much.There is a case where the death of the father is placed, and we have to take it as a warning.

The second person who was a little dissatisfied was Qiu Fu, Duke of Qi.

Qiu Fu submitted a memorial that the Mongolian tribes harassing the border and the Urianha tribe betrayed the court, and they must send troops to the Northern Expedition to punish the rebellion in order to demonstrate the prestige of the Ming Dynasty!

Moreover, this fall, the north may disturb the border, so the Ming Dynasty's official army should take the initiative as soon as possible!

Qiu Fu recommended himself and volunteered to fight north.

Qiu Fu's memorial and Zhu Gaoxu read three times in a row, and he murmured: Duke Qi is in his sixties and is still very competitive.

The eunuch Wang Gui next to him echoed: The emperor said yes.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Wang Gui, stretched out his hand to stroke his broad forehead, and thought for a while.He has a bit of understanding of Qiu Fu's thoughts...

Qiu Fu was not convinced by these juniors when he saw so many people who had been named Duke and were almost on par with him.

But Qiu Fu should also understand that in the war against the throne, the new Dukes were fighting bloody battles; while Qiu Fu did almost nothing and had no achievements in military achievements!

So he couldn't say anything.

So Qiu Fu wanted to ask for an order to lead troops to the Northern Expedition and clarify his seniority and status through his military achievements!

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and was about to keep Qiu Fu's memorial before sending it out.

Zhu Gaoxu could not make hasty decisions in order to satisfy Qiu Fu.

Most people in the world seem to be too easy to stand on their own standpoint, consider things, at least they will be affected; how many people are there who put big things first?

Zhu Gaoxu was too lazy to care about it.

The first thing that is placed in front of Zhu Gaoxu is two major events: one is Mongolia and the other is Annan.

The problems in these two places are very difficult!

Among them, the Mongolian issue has been working hard since the Hongwu period and has not been solved so far; while Annan Kingdom was something that could not be completely solved during the Taizong period, and it seems to be a little easier than Mongolia.

Zhu Gaoxu also felt that these legacy issues were not that simple and had to be discussed in the long run.

...Zhang Sheng, the commander of the Jinyiwei who was named Lezhihou, failed to catch up with the banquet given to Fengtian Palace.It took him a few days before he quietly returned to Beijing, escorting a key figure: Xiao Jien.

Xiao Jien was immediately sent to the Hongwu Gate and was heavily guarded prison!

He was wearing a long robe, but his hat went somewhere, and there was no sign of being tortured, and he looked very alive.But his hands and feet were already shackled.

Xiao Jien slowly walked through a row of food and passed by several separate cells inside.

In one of the cells, the eunuch Wang Gouer, who had been sitting on the wooden board in a daze, suddenly felt energetic. He struggled to stand up, walked to the small door where the food was delivered, and put his eyes there and stared at Xiao Jien.

Xiao Jien also looked at Wang Gou'er in a sideways, and the two looked at each other silently for a long time.Zhang Sheng raised Xiao Ji'en and Xiao Ji'en turned his head back.

Zhang Sheng locked Xiao Jien into the innermost cell with no window, and asked him to sit next to a pillar and tie it up, and blocked his mouth!

Zhang Sheng appointed several prisoners to guard them in turn, and did not allow the prisoners to talk to Xiao Jien.

Then Zhang Sheng took Xiao Jien's confession and hurriedly sent it to the palace in person.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu was not at the Imperial Gate, but at the East Nuan Pavilion of Ganqing Palace.He was talking to the eunuch Wang Gui, talking about Yao Fang’s private affairs.

By the time Zhang Sheng was allowed to enter the East Warehouse, Wang Gui had almost finished his narration.

Zhu Gaoxu stopped talking and sat silently on the chair in front of the map, looking at Xiao Jien's confession carefully...

After a long time, Zhu Gaoxu raised his head and sighed, put his palms on a stack of confessions and clapped his palms.Zhang Sheng and Wang Gui both bowed and stood beside each other, not daring to speak out.

Zhu Gaoxu's sigh felt both emotion and a sigh of relief.

The thorn stuck in his throat and the thorn in his eyes seemed to be finally removed!

For a moment, he felt that his body had vaguely lightened a little!

He sat for a while with a thoughtful look, then suddenly raised his head and said: I know some things about the old Prince's Mansion.The eunuch Wang Gou'er spent a very long time in the Yàn Palace. When he entered the Yàn Palace, Crown Prince Yiwen (Zhu Biao) had not died; there was no need for the imperial family in the capital, so he put a person next to the late emperor.(Emperor Taizu didn't like eunuchs very much, and forbidden eunuchs from interfering in politics, and would not use eunuchs to do such secret matters.)

Therefore, I still have two questions: First, why is Wang Gou'er a traitor from Jianwen Dynasty?Secondly, Wang Gou'er has already gained favor, so why did he insist on murdering the late emperor instead of trying to find a way to kill Xiao Ji'en to silence him?The latter is much simpler to do, with less risks and greater benefits.

After hearing this, Zhang Sheng bowed and said: The wise man is wise and wise!I was ordered to torture Xiao Jien on the spot at the Xiao family in Jiangxi. At that time, I didn’t have time to think about this matter.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: Lezhihou, you have done this very well.

When Zhang Sheng heard the title, his eyes seemed a little uncomfortable and his face turned red.Zhu Gaoxu didn't have to guess... Zhang Sheng must be very surprised that he could be named a marquis. How could it be that easy to be named a marquis during the reign of Taizu and Taizong?

According to the emperor, Wang Gou'er is still in the imperial prison. Xiao Ji'en was arrested. At this time, Wang Gou'er may reveal the truth.Zhang Sheng bowed and said, "I immediately went to interrogate Wang Gou'er and reported it to the emperor within three days, and would never slackew on the slightest."

Zhu Gaoxu has always attached great importance to this matter.

He weighed the pros and cons, and said: I went to the prison in person and asked Wang Gou'er in person... After the yamen are paid in the Youth hour, I will go there again.Let's arrange it.

Zhang Sheng hurriedly said: I will obey the order!

The imperial prison was in the imperial city, but Zhu Gaoxu passed through the palace and was able to leave the Meridian Gate, Duan Gate, and Chengtian Gate.

He went out in a light and simple manner at night; he did not bring eunuchs and palace maids, but only brought a team of Jinyiwei soldiers from the Meridian Gate to accompany him.

These people were formerly from the Northern Division of the Imperial Palace, and were recently arranged to serve in the Jinyiwei.

In the building complex of the Zhao Prison, in addition to the prison cells, there are also offices set up by the Fu Office of Jinyiwei North Town.

Zhu Gaoxu did not go into the cell himself, but just waited in a yamen office, asking the soldiers of the Jinyiwei to take Wang Gou'er up.

Zhu Gaoxu sat down behind a desk. After waiting for a while, something came from outside.

At night, the officials everywhere on Qianbu Corridor were paid for the taxi, and the light gradually dimmed, and the imperial city was very quiet.At this time, the sound of iron chains outside the room became particularly clear and heavy.

After a while, the door was opened and Zhang Sheng walked in with Wang Gou'er.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were on Wang Gou'er, and he saw that he was wearing a dirty prison uniform, his hair was like dry grass, and his face, neck, and wrists were scars and wounds. He was too thin and he was no longer as adult.

Eunuch Wang, you have lost weight.Zhu Gaoxu spoke.

Wang Gou'er's eyes were as dull as if he was blind, just like a blind man. Only then did his eyes move and he raised his head to look at Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu said: Zhang Sheng stayed for confession.Zhang Sheng clasped his fists and said: I obey the order... You guys are all guarding outside the door, twenty steps away.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the door that had not been closed yet and pondered: The day is about to end, and that past event should be completely concluded?