The Lantern Festival just passed, and the temperature was a little cold because of a spring rain.

However, the activities of the world are still as accurate as the rotation of the sun and the moon. As the New Year Festival comes, people immediately start a year of busy work. In the court, all the governments have opened seals and offices, and the officials have returned to the yamen.

Zhu Gaoxu participated in the morning court in the rain, and he didn't care. He had an umbrella cover anyway. Most of the ministers' robes and boots were wet.

After leaving Fengtian Gate, Zhu Gaoxu went to the Rouyi Hall closer to this side. He immediately summoned Qi Tai, Ru Wei, and Hou Hai, and only said he wanted to discuss military affairs... In fact, he wanted to arrange a tour this year to lead troops on a patrol, leaving the capital that he had been in for several years, and going out for a walk. Of course, such major events must be discussed with the court officials first.

Although several people were summoned, the person Zhu Gaoxu wanted to meet the most was Qi Tai. This person was effective in speaking in front of the old ministers, and he was more willing to obey Zhu Gaoxu, and he was the best candidate for mediation.

It was probably a while before people came. Zhu Gaoxu looked at the memorial behind the table for a while, then stood up and walked around the gate of the main hall.

The rain outside was drizzling and not heavy, but after gathering on the glazed tiles, water also formed, flowing into a row along the eaves.

At this moment, two umbrella holders walked in outside the courtyard gate. Zhu Gaoxu didn't see his face, but soon recognized one of them as eunuch Cao Fu. Zhu Gaoxu was in the palace almost every day and was too familiar with these close eunuchs, so he could tell them by looking at his walking posture.

When they came over, they took off the umbrella and saw that the eunuch in front was indeed Cao Fu. Cao Fu immediately stepped forward and bowed.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the woman behind him. He didn't know him, but he couldn't help but take a look.

After first glance, he immediately had some vague desire. When he looked at it again, he found that she was not pretty. Her facial features were very ordinary, and her light yellow skin was incomparable to the fair and delicate appearance of Yao Ji and the others. The palace lady looked not too young, but she had a special temperament, and Zhu Gaoxu couldn't tell what was going on.

I saw that she had black hair and wooden hairpin, without any jewelry, and her dress was covered with quashy light gray, and her style was extremely simple. Perhaps it was because of this simplicity that her charming beauty was very obvious.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at her twice, and then couldn't help but look up at the clear water flowing under the eaves. Suddenly, he felt that this woman was very compatible with this scene.

"Her name is Xiaohe, and I found her in the Jiuwu Feilong Palace." Cao Fu said. Of course, Xiaohe is not young at all, maybe she was just young when she entered the palace to name her.

"I bow to the emperor." The palace maid Xiao He immediately wanted to kneel down.

Zhu Gaoxu reached out his hand calmly and accurately held her hand steadily. He raised his chin and looked at the ground and said, "The rain is coming, and the tide on the ground is gone."

Xiaohe was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly turned her head slightly, lowered her head and looked at the dragon pattern on Zhu Gaoxu's chest, and bent her knees and said, "I thank you for your kindness."

Seeing this, Cao Fu, who was standing aside, showed a very happy look on his face.

Cao Fu also said a little more, "Xiao He entered the palace during the Hongwu period, and later he was sent to the Jiuwu Feilong Hall to clean the palace. I saw in the Rouyi Hall yesterday that Shangshenjian sent some Chaozhou tribute tea from the Guangdong Provincial Administration and the Minister of the Government of Guangdong, so I wanted to find a palace maid from Chaozhou, which was good for Jing'er. After asking, I couldn't find it. In the afternoon, I heard that there was a Chaozhou person from Jiuwu Feilong Hall, Xiaohe."

"Well..." Zhu Gaoxu made a habitual, meaningless voice casually. Although Cao Fu tried his best to make Zhu Gaoxu feel comfortable, Zhu Gaoxu was indeed not very picky about these minor matters and was not very interested.

However, this little hee must be quite happy. In the Jiuwu Feilong Hall, Taizu loved to live in it for a long time, but it has lost popularity in recent years. The coffins of Taizu and Taizong were both parked there.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the gate of the courtyard before it was still moving, so he turned around and walked into the main hall, turned to Xiaohe and said, "Then you go and make tea."

Next to the bookshelf in the northwest corner of the main hall, there was a coffee table, a few chairs, and a stove with red mud. Zhu Gaoxu also sat over and waited for a cup of tea to refresh himself. He would meet the minister later.

Zhu Gaoxu was thinking about something else, but inadvertently noticed Xiaohe again. She saw that she was gentle and smooth when she took the tea, and her movements were very skillful and very beautiful.

Xiaohe put the tea leaves into the cover bowl, shook them slowly for a while, then picked up the lid of the cup and sniffed it gently.

She also noticed Zhu Gaoxu's gaze, looked up at him, and immediately lowered her eyes to avoid it. A subtle and pleasing smile on her face flashed and she quickly regained her tranquility.

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "What tea has smelled it?"

Xiaohe said softly: "Returning to the emperor, Chaozhou Dancong Dawuye leaves were roasted with charcoal, which made it cool and gentler."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "Yes, you seem to be an expert."

Xiaohe said again: "The people of Chaozhou love to drink tea."

Zhu Gaoxu's smile also disappeared in a flash, and then he sighed casually: "I'm trapped between this vast building, just watch you tinker with these cups and plates."

Xiao He probably didn't understand this sentence, so he looked at Zhu Gaoxu and smiled to show his rudeness. This palace maid has been in the palace for many years and seems to have developed some skills.

At this time, the voices of ministers paying homage came from outside the hall. Cao Fu looked at Zhu Gaoxu and received a signal, and then sent a message to let people in.

The ministers did not see Zhu Gaoxu next to the table, and quickly turned to look at the northwest corner, but walked here.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Don't kneel down, come and sit down."

Several people bowed and said, "I thank the emperor for giving him a seat."

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes swept over their faces and found that in addition to the three people he summoned, there was also a civil servant in the green robe. Zhu Gaoxu recognized him, who was a Jinshi of Ji Chou who was only selected during the Wude period, and was named Zhang Shun.

There were dozens of Jinshi in the Ji Chou Certificate, and many of them were not familiar with Zhu Gaoxu, but I remember that Zhang Shun was a Jinshi from the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commission; because Zhu Gaoxu sent Zhang Shun to Annan Kingdom and experienced the war between Annan and Chameng.

Qi Tai said: "Eunuch Meng of the Silijian, Liu Tiju and others from the Ministry of Justice have all gone to the south. Only Governor Zhang has personally been to Chameng. The minister then made his own decision and called Governor Zhang to meet the saint together."

Qi Tai, the Minister of War, mistakenly thought that Zhu Gaoxu wanted to talk about the war in the south today.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say it clearly for the time being, followed Qi Tai's topic and said in a joking tone: "It just so happens that we are drinking Guangdong tea today. Governor Zhang can comment on whether local officials are getting good tea."

Zhang Shun hurriedly bowed and said, "Before being a disciple of the emperor, I was born in poverty and had never drunk good tea. I dare not argue. But as long as I can enter the mouth of a saint, I must be a local good product."

Zhu Gaoxu pointed at Qi Tai and smiled, "When we ate horse meat and drank horse blood, those horses must have been good horses."

Everyone immediately laughed for a while.

"Sit down." Zhu Gaoxu pointed to the chair and said.

The palace maid Xiao He had already patrolled the tea, so he picked up the small cup with both hands and started to divide the tea with Zhu Gaoxu. Qi Tai and Ru Wei were both casual. Finally, when it was Zhang Shun's time, Zhang Shun politely thanked the palace maid and asked Xiao He to bow and respond.

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but look at Zhang Shun. When talking about business, this Jinshi was very stubborn and pedantic, but he usually didn't look like a stubborn person, and seemed to be gentle and easy to talk. This person is indeed a bit strange.

Zhu Gaoxu picked up a roll of maps, expanded them for a while, and then began to find reasons for his plans. "In the past two years, the thorns have been frequently active, so we must not ignore the northern defense. The four water and land transportation deployed by the Ministry of War are dedicated to the nine-sided water and land transportation. I can only look at what others wrote on paper."

He paused for a moment and said happily: "This year I want to go north to visit the hunt, see the truth in various places, and shock the Mongolian tribes, reminding them not to act rashly. It is also possible to let some soldiers of the Beijing camp go out for a walk, so as not to stay in the capital and become unbearable to fight."

As soon as he finished speaking, Rubutang immediately persuaded: "The Lord of the Nine Five, you must travel carefully. Now that the country is a little stable, the Lord of the Lord is in charge of the center, you can stabilize the overall situation and make the Ming Dynasty last forever."

Qi Tai also echoed: "There are loyal ministers and generals on the nine sides who work as the emperor. Inspectors from all over the country, you can also send imperial censors to inspect. What's more, the emperor will conduct a large-scale inspection, which will cost money and food. If the Xiamen Hall hears it, there will definitely be something to say."

However, Qi Tai's tone eased a lot. It was precisely because he could think about the advice of his old ministers that he could speak everywhere.

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he immediately changed his angle and said, "After the emperor's brother Gao Sui moved to Zhangde Mansion, he got married and got married. I did not attend. If I could go north this year, it would be better to go to Zhangde Mansion to see Gao Sui."

It sounds like the ruler and his subjects are both kind and reasonable, but Zhu Gaoxu's words have another meaning. When it comes to Gao Sui, it must refer to the matter of the vassal kings.

On the issue of preventing and arranging the vassal kings, the emperor and the officials of the capital have the same position. The ministers are very dissatisfied with the interests of the vassal kings, let alone if something bad happens, who would like to see the capital officialdom be re-swept?

Zhu Gaoxu understood the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences. As expected, the attitudes of several officials were much relaxed, but they did not agree immediately. Zhu Gaoxu was not in a hurry, so he put this matter aside for the time being.

So several kings and ministers talked about the war in the south again.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said, "Is the cool season in the south almost over? The weather is getting hotter?"

Zhang Shunguan said a little, but when it comes to this topic, he spoke very appropriately, "What the emperor said is that after the first month, the countries in the South China Sea will enter the hot season. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty may not be very adaptable, and the cold season will be much better."

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but turn to look at the eaves outside the hall, and felt that the weather in the capital was still chilly. But the southern front line where the official army was located would soon become hot.
Chapter completed!