The emperor had just returned to Beijing yesterday and today he gave a banquet in Fengtian Hall to celebrate the meritorious soldiers of the Northern Expedition. The palace was busier than usual. But at this time, the queen actually went to this yard south of the Imperial Garden to visit Guo Yan.

The queen exchanged a few greetings in the living room, and handed a letter to Guo Yan.

At this time, Guo Yan had just finished reading the content of the letter. The letter was written by their father, Wuding Hou Guo Ming: Guo Ming asked for an order and sent Guo Yan to Fengyang to live!

Once a person in the royal family is sent to Zhongdu, Guo Yan knows clearly what it means. He will probably be completely abandoned and forgotten by the world and live a secluded life. Of course, there will be a very grand statement, which is beautifully called etiquette, law and morality.

In an instant, Guo Yan seemed to hear a "buzzing" sound, and her mind was blank.

After a long time, Guo Yan slowly regained consciousness. She first vaguely heard the sound of bells and drums in the distance south, which should not be her illusion; as I knew before, there was a celebration banquet in the palace today.

The bell and drum music sounds at this moment, making people feel a sense of trance. Perhaps because of the bustle and noisy, it has nothing to do with Guo Yan.

"Sister?" My sister's voice came.

Guo Yan moved her eyes away from the letter paper and looked up at the queen. She saw that the queen's expression was a little complicated, as if it was difficult to face Guo Yan.

The two sisters looked at each other for a moment, and the queen looked away first, turned her head and waved her hand naturally. The two palace maids standing beside each other immediately bowed their knees and saluted tactfully, and turned around and walked out of the living room.

At this time, Guo Yan asked in a daze: "There is no banquet in the palace today, why is the queen here?"

The queen said, "The emperor only invited ministers at the celebration banquet. The soldiers who were meritorious did not let the wife attend the banquet, so I didn't have to come forward. The banquet was organized by people from the Honglu Temple, Shangshenjian, Jiafangsi, and Etiquette Department."

Guo Yan didn't say anything. In order to avoid embarrassment, the queen casually talked about irrelevant things: "An Yuan Bo Liu Sheng has made great contributions. Today, the emperor issued an order to grant him a title of marquis."

Liu Sheng? Guo Yan had heard of this name before. It was originally a general who was loyal to Emperor Hongxi Zhu Gaochi; but she was not familiar with it and did not care much about it. So she did not react at all.

The living room became quiet. Guo Yan's fingers squeezed her father's handwritten letter and racked her brains to guess the complicated inside story.

Why was this incident brought up by their father Guo Ming?

Guo Yan guessed: Maybe it was related to the Mu family, it was all because of power!

It is rumored that Zhu Gaoxu started a military campaign in Yunnan, and Mu Sheng's support played a huge role. Therefore, after the new emperor ascended the throne, the Mu family's favor was endless, and Mu Sheng was named Duke of Qian. In order to marry Mu Sheng, the emperor also specially added the title of imperial concubine for Mu Sheng's daughter. Now the imperial concubine is pregnant with Liujia and may give birth to a prince.

The Mu family's family situation has obviously far surpassed the Queen Guo family.

However, the queen is Zhu Gaoxu's first wife and has the eldest son, so her rank is difficult to be shaken, and all the civil and military officials of the court will not agree... Unless something happens, the Mu family will find sufficient reasons.

The Guo family must prevent problems before they happen and cannot let the Guo family make any mistakes. And Guo Yan seems to be the hidden danger?!

After the deposed prince's family was burned to death, the palace was afraid that Guo Yan would feel resentful, so it sent two palace maids to monitor her in the yard. Her father and sister became more and more restless.

So they should send Guo Yan away as soon as possible to avoid the risk of any exogenous problems?

These are all Guo Yan's own thoughts, and she cannot be completely sure. But after so many years in the palace, she has gradually understood a lot of things.

"Sister..." As soon as Guo Yan opened her mouth, tears suddenly burst out of her eyes. Her emotions were a little out of control, "Do you really hate me so much?"

The queen's eyes suddenly turned red. She shook her head vigorously, and the bead ornaments on her hair shook violently. The queen choked and said, "When I brought my sister to the palace, it was the love I begged for in front of the saint. If it were not forbidden, I would not want to see my sister sad."

Guo Yan wanted to speak but stopped. Her father and sister chose to give up on her, but her mother Xu was not her biological mother. She seemed to feel a chill, which was slowly rising from the soles of her feet.

The queen's voice became very light: "At this point, no one can change anything. My sister has to think about it. If she leaves the capital, she may be able to be purified."

"Is this fate?" Guo Yan asked.

The queen did not answer, and the two were silent again.

Guo Yan pondered for a long time, but finally did not beg her sister, nor did she blame her again. After a long time, Guo Yan seemed to calm down and said, "I want to ask my sister for one thing in the end, can I meet the emperor?"

The queen looked strange and asked back, "Why do you want to meet the emperor?"

Guo Yan said: "What happened in the middle of last year."

The queen frowned and said, "Don't sister believe in the emperor?"

Guo Yan shook her head and said, "I can't ignore it like this. I just want to ask the emperor in person. This is the last time I beg my sister."

It can be seen that the queen was hesitant, but she always felt guilty about Guo Yan. Guo Yan discovered it very early, but she never said it through.

My sister Guo Wei felt guilty because she was always fighting for her sister’s favorite toys when she was a child? Or when she first chose the Princess of Han, the first choice was her sister?

Sure enough, the queen hesitated for a while, and finally nodded, "I will do my best to arrange this."

After hearing this, Guo Yan showed a very reluctant smile on her face.

...In the afternoon, Zhu Gaoxu left the banquet at the Fengtian Hall. He drank a total of five or six cups of wine at the banquet, so he was not drunk.

This kind of formal court banquet is not free. There are rules when drinking, what you say, and what etiquette are used. It is not as interesting as when you eat together between the monarch and the ministers. However, this seems to be the country of etiquette.

There were not many dishes, each table had four dishes and one soup, plus a plate of spring cake and a few cold dishes for wine. Even so, the ministers finally packed the unfinished dishes and took them away.

It is said that since the Tang Dynasty, ministers have had the habit of packing at court banquets. Zhu Gaoxu speculated that the meaning was probably to demonstrate a concept of attaching importance to clan affection. Ministers who attended the banquet did not forget their parents and children. However, he privately believed that the world was happy about it, probably to share a glory with their families. After all, there were only a few people who could participate in the emperor's banquet, and behind it was a political status, power and interests.

Zhu Gaoxu came to Rouyi Hall, and before the alcohol had dissipated, he immediately summoned Qian Xun.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Qian Xun and two servants, led by the eunuch Hou Xian, came to the main hall of Rouyi Hall. After a few people bowed, the servants presented two long pieces of things wrapped in silk cloth and carefully placed them on the large desk in the center of the hall.

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and stretched out his hand to untie the silk cloth. In front of him, a long musket that looked a bit like a rifle appeared.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up!

Although he knew that this thing was still a smooth-bore fire gun that was ignited with black fire, medicine and lead bullets as ammunition and fuses; but in an instant, he was also attracted by its exquisite craftsmanship.

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but stretch out his hand and stroked the smooth iron tube with metallic luster, as if full of emotion, stroking a woman's skin. Even on the wooden support, there were fine auspicious cloud patterns, which looked precious and stylish. This fire gun immediately made him feel joy.

He looked up at Qian Xun and thought to himself: I will give you 200 million yuan a year, but it seems that it has not been spent in vain.

"Please come closer." Qian Xun bowed and said.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

Qian Xun walked to the table and pointed at the musket: "The emperor clearly understands that there are threads at the tail of this iron pipe. When you need to clean the gun | pipe residue, you only need to unscrew the threads and clean it with a strip. The middle of the iron pipe is riveted and fixed with a copper hoop. After using it for a while, the craftsman must pry open the copper hoop for thorough cleaning and then rivet again. It is also inconvenient for the sergeant to use the musket, because the musket is too long and requires two brackets of length..."

Qian Xun talked about his achievements very carefully. Zhu Gaoxu also listened patiently and nodded from time to time to show off.

Even if it was just the technology of the Ming Dynasty, including shipbuilding, star-shaking positioning, and firearm manufacturing, it exceeded Zhu Gaoxu's knowledge; he had indeed seen more advanced things in later generations, but he had only seen them and could not fully understand how to make something from the smallest parts.

Zhu Gaoxu kept asking some questions. He didn't have to make these things himself, but he had to understand its power, strengths, weaknesses, costs, usage methods and other specific information; so that he could consider feasibility when formulating a court strategy.

After Qian Xun reported the report, Zhu Gaoxu said again: "The trouble of repairing and cleaning up muskets is not necessarily a disadvantage. Those forces without towns, such as Tatars, will be limited and cannot use this item."

After hearing this, Qian Xun was stunned for a moment, clasped his fists and bowed, "The Lord is wise!"

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "Who made this musket?"

Qian Xun said: "The officials from the Emperor, the South Bureau, and the Iron Factory selected many craftsmen to try repeatedly; the gun body, tail, and riveting are all done by different people."

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a moment, looked up at the spring light outside the hall gate, and suddenly remembered the small song that the soldiers sang in Mobei. He said, "How about I give this gun a name, "Chunhan"?"

Qian Xun clasped his fists without thinking: "The name given to the Lord is very appropriate."

Zhu Gaoxu also asked Qian Xun to arrange manpower. A few days later, he went to the military academy field outside Xuanwu Gate to test the guns. He also ordered the Iron Factory to repeatedly test the reliability of the new guns, and then sent people to various bureaus in Zhili to make a large number of productions to take the lead in equipping the Beijing Camp.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu was also planning to prepare an academy, so that those officials who were proficient in craftsmanship would work in the academy and collect and organize technical books on navigation, farming, firearms, and iron smelting in the world.
Chapter completed!