Chapter 127: Eve of departure

"Son, please see your father!" Zhu Biao knelt down and respectfully kowtowed to his father.

"The emperor's son is not a favor."

"Yes!" Zhu Biao stood up. Today was New Year's Eve. It was originally a day for the whole family to reunite, but just two hours ago, Li Wei was visiting him urgently and told him about Ye Tianming's situation, begging him to plead for Ye Tianming in front of the emperor and to clear his relationship with the King of Qin. Although Li Wei was asking the prince for help from his personal affairs, what Zhu Biao thought of was a liquidation storm that his father might set off. Taking the Qin King Party as an opportunity, Daxing the imperial prison, once again implicated the ministers in the court on a large scale. This was something Zhu Biao would never want to see. The empty seal case and the Guo Heng case implicated tens of thousands of people. Zhu Biao repeatedly dissuaded him ineffective, and for this, he had a serious confrontation with his father.

But this time, the party case had not yet begun, and he had to persuade him to cancel the purge of the Qin King Party before his father made up his mind.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know that the prince came to save people. He picked up a memorial from the imperial case and handed it to Zhu Biao and said, "The emperor came just right. This is the ten kings' titles drawn up by the Ministry of Rites according to my wishes. What do you think?"

Zhu Biao sighed in his heart. His father's title of king became even more powerful. Instead of not limiting the princes who were originally conferred early, he added variables. This letter is the ten kings, and all the key places in the world belong to the vassal states. Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to feel something. He smiled gently and said, "Don't worry, these are your younger brothers. With them in charge of the world, my Zhu family's country can be as solid as a god, so that those who have ulterior motives cannot take advantage of the opportunity. As for the vassal kings who are discussed, I will use the system to make them guardians of the imperial court, take advantage of their advantages and prohibit their disadvantages, and use the blood relatives of the Zhu family to guard the border for generations, which will no longer be the Anshi Rebellion in the past!"

Zhu Biao didn't say anything, so he opened the memorial and read it silently: Zhu Zhan is King Qing, King Zhu Ligu, King Zhu Song Han, King Zhu Ying'an, King Zhu Min, King Zhu Dongying, King Zhu Quanning...

When he saw Zhu Quan's place, Zhu Biao was stunned. "King Ning", he didn't understand where the fief of King Ning was. He pointed to Zhu Quan and asked his father, "Father, I don't know where the King Ning was named by his seventeenth brother?"

"Daning, do you know?" Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "The Northern Yuan Dynasty is about to fall apart. Many small Mongolian tribes have successively defected to the Ming Dynasty. The Duoyan tribe had defected to our dynasty in Daning last year. I saw that their clans were strong and numerous, so I established the Duoyan three guards. In addition, the three guards of Daning, Taining and Guangning three guards, a total of six guards. I am preparing to establish Ningguo, and Quan'er's vassals are unified in the jurisdiction."

Zhu Biao nodded and returned the letter to his father and said, "The arrangements of the father are very appropriate, and my son has no objection."

"Just agree. I am going to enthrone the title as soon as possible so that they can stand alone as soon as possible." Zhu Yuanzhang accepted the note and asked again: "When will the emperor be going to govern Shaanxi?"

"My son is about to set out in February."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said solemnly: "Your son, please go there with confidence. I have ordered Duke Wei Xu Huizu, Duke Cao Li Jinglong, and Duke Liang Lan Yu to go to Shaanxi to prepare for borders. If something happens in Xi'an, you can directly call the three generals, but I hope to solve the Qin king's vassal state peacefully. You must keep this in mind."

Hearing that his father wanted to solve the Qin King's affairs calmly, Zhu Biao immediately seized the opportunity and said, "My son has this idea. Although the second brother was confused for a while and made a big mistake, he was the younger son of his father and the second son of his father.My son wanted to plead with his father not to make a big deal of this matter, and use other excuses to reduce the vassals so that the court can maintain stability."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao deeply. He seemed to understand what his son meant and couldn't help but sneer: "Are you pleading for Luo Ziqi?"

Zhu Biao knelt down, and he kowtowed repeatedly, "This is the intention of my son. I beg my father not to implicate the ministers due to the fault of the King of Qin. Now the court is stable, and it is a critical moment for everyone to work together to revitalize the Ming Dynasty. If the father implicates the court officials with the Qin King Party case, not only will the court be in turmoil, but the emperor's brothers will be panicked, and the second brother cannot protect himself. It will inevitably shake the country of our Ming Dynasty. It is of great importance. Please think twice!"

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes and stared at the prince for a long time without saying anything. Very good! The prince dared to speak to himself in this tone. Is he full of wings? Anger gradually rose in his heart, but when he thought that it was New Year's Eve, Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed his anger and changed the topic and said lightly: "What do you think of me who named Li Weizheng the commander of Weihai Guard?"

Zhu Cangbei tried to persuade him to give up his plan of inciting him, but unexpectedly, his father suddenly changed the subject. He didn't understand his father's intention for a moment, so he replied carefully: "My son thinks his father is training him."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and said, "Yes, I want to hone this person well, because I promised to return him to you, but I don't want to return a thousand households of the Jinyiwei to you, but I want to return you a general who can stand alone. I am always considering you, but have you considered me? Do you really think I am a bloodthirsty person?"

Zhu Biao felt panic in his heart, and he hurriedly said, "Father calm down. My son-in-law knows that everything my father has done is for the sake of the Zhu family for generations. But my father is too tired. He is also working hard for national affairs on New Year's Eve. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. My son-in-law begs to take care of the dragon body and enjoy the joy of family like an ordinary father."

Although Zhu Biao's answer was a bit incorrect, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger disappeared. The eldest son has been kind-hearted since he was a child. The offensive words just now should have been out of good intentions. He nodded and continued Li Weizheng's topic just now: "It is certainly one thing that I want to hone him, but I actually have deeper plans."

He walked to the wall and pointed to the map on the wall and said, "This time I have left a deep impression on me. I have been anxious about the lack of military rations of the northern border troops. This time, I have transported grain from Zhejiang to Guangdong by sea. I found that it is not only fast, but also less than half a% of the food along the way. But if we use civilians and trucks to transport grain from land to Guangdong, it will not only damage the people's strength, but also consume at least 50% of the food. I suddenly discovered that this problem also applies to transporting military rations to the northern border. Over the past decade, I have sent a large amount of military rations from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huguang and Sichuan to the north. Most of them have been by land. At least 40% of the food is consumed by the road. If we change to the sea route, we can save a lot of food, which will increase the northern military rations by nearly 30%. Isn't this a big problem?"

Zhu Biao seemed to have a sudden realization. In fact, this has always been the way for the Yuan Dynasty to transport grain from Jiangnan to Dadu. Moreover, this issue was raised by a minister a few years ago. However, it was discussed at that time when the sea ban was released, but he was killed in anger by his father. No one dared to mention this matter anymore. The father obviously forgot about it. Zhu Biao quickly praised: "The father is far-sighted, and the sons admire him!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed. He was quite content with his discovery. In fact, he also knew that this was the way of transporting grain in the Yuan Dynasty, but he would never admit that the Ming Dynasty was following the footsteps of the Yuan Dynasty.

He pointed to Tianjin Wei Road: "Food from the capital, take the sea route to Tianjin Wei, then go to the Wei River to enter the Grand Canal, and finally to Beiping, the road is unobstructed, so I don't need to spend a lot of effort to clear the Huanghuai Canal, which not only saves manpower and material resources, but also saves time. But there is also an obstacle here, that is, the increasingly rampant Japanese pirates, they will inevitably hinder the grain transport ships. I have thought about it again and again. In order to open up the sea grain transport channel as soon as possible, the Ming Dynasty had to change its strategy of suppressing Japanese troops, from simple defense to taking the initiative. A few months ago, the 2,000 naval navy of our Guanghaiwei annihilated 500 Japanese pirates. This shows that these Japanese pirates are just mobs. This is my fundamental intention of appointing Li Weizheng as the commander of the Weihaiwei and the Thousand Houses of Penglai. Since he can kill 500 Japanese pirates in Guangdong, he will definitely be able to clear the many Japanese pirates who have been harassing the coast of our Ming Dynasty for many years."

At this moment, Zhu Biao's sudden realization came from his heart. Only then did he understand the profound meaning of the emperor's father's appointment of Li Weizheng as the commander of Weihaiwei, and that he wanted to establish a sea grain transport channel. He immediately bowed deeply and said, "My son thanked Emperor Li Weizheng for his cultivation."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly, and he took out a pair of jade rings and handed them to Zhu Biao and said, "I heard that he had a pair of twin daughters today. It is a joyful congratulations. These rings are my gifts to him. You will give them to him for me, so that he can set off for Weihai in three days, and tell him that he has the right to deal with changes when fighting Japanese pirates at sea. If he can defeat Japanese pirates for me, I will not only grant him a title, but also grant him an imperial decree to both his wives and concubines."

"My son obeys the order!"

The father had just stated that he was not a bloodthirsty person, so Zhu Biao could no longer mention the Qin King Party, so he had to retreat. As soon as Zhu Biao left, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately ordered: "I ordered the Jinyiwei to be executed immediately for the crime of accepting bribes. His family was exiled to Yunnan, and the case was settled."

He finally accepted Zhu Biao's advice and gave up the Qin King Party case. However, this was not because he was ruthless, but because he was planning another major case. Once the Yan kings were full of wings, the new ten kings could stand alone. At that time, it was time for him to kill the donkey. It was not advisable to use murder intent to avoid alarming the enemy.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ye Tianming received news early in the morning that Luo Ziqi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was killed last night for accepting bribes. His family was exiled to Yunnan. A guillotine held high above his head was quietly put down. Ye Tianming breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, the Eastern Palace sent eunuchs to convey the message. The prince would formally summon him on the fifth day of the first lunar month. At the same time, the eunuch who came to pass the order quietly told Ye Tianming that the prince was preparing to recommend him to replace Luo Ziqi as the new Right Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Ye Tianming couldn't help but be extremely happy. At the same time, he also understood that Li Weizheng played a role. The emperor gave up the Qin Wang Party case and must be the reason for the prince's persuasion. He was also secretly shocked by Li Weizheng's methods, and he also knew that Li Weizheng's position in the prince's heart was extremely high.

Just as he received the news, Mrs. Ye learned that the eldest son had given birth to two little babies, and she was impatient to go to the Li Mansion to carry her granddaughter. Ye Tianming was abnormal and not only did not object, but also asked his wife and youngest daughter Su Tong to visit her. In this way, three generations of grandparents and grandchildren rode in a carriage and took the servant maid and went to Liu Jun Shiqiao in a mighty manner.

Li Weizheng had just returned from the Eastern Palace. Not only did he accept the emperor's will to eliminate the Japanese pirates, but he also received a pair of rings given to him by the emperor's twin daughters. But at the same time, he also received unfavorable news. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered him to set off for Weihaiwei on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, which means that he had only been with his wife and daughter for three days.

Li Weizheng returned home with great worries. Three carriages were parked at the gate. Dozens of servants from the Ye family were waiting outside. Li Weizheng knew that Ye Tianming had received the news. As soon as he walked to the steps, Mr. Li came up and smiled and said, "Dalang, the old lady of the Ye family, your mother-in-law and Su Tong are all here. You should have gone to the Ye family to pay New Year's greetings, but they understand you and come to the door in person. Go and meet the elders!"

Li Weizheng nodded with a forced smile. Seeing his father holding five or six posts, he asked in surprise: "Dad, what are these in your hands?"

Mr. Li quickly gave him the post and said with a smile: "This is when you are not here in the morning, some of your colleagues sent gifts. Congratulations on your happy fortune and you have to give it back to others."

Li Weizheng took the post and saw that it was sent by his colleagues from the Jinyiwei. Jiang Yan, Fei Ting'an, Leng Qianqiu, Luo Guangcai and the new deputy Qianhu Chen Ying were mostly given gold and jade items. However, the last congratulatory post was given by the Censor Xie Jin. He congratulated him on winning a thousand gold and handwritten calligraphy and paintings. This really surprised Li Weizheng. He and Xie Jin had no friendship, and only had a one-time relationship on the day the Jinyiwei Qianhu was enthroned, but he remembered himself, which touched him a little.

"Okay! I'll write a gift now." Li Wei was about to enter the door when he suddenly heard someone calling him behind him: "Sir Li stay!"

Li Wei was turning back and saw a man galloping on a horse. He recognized that this person seemed to be Zhu Quan's personal bodyguard. The person who came turned over and walked quickly to Li Wei Zheng, handed him a brocade box as big as a book and a congratulatory note and said, "My Lord Li, this is a gift from my little prince. Congratulations to Mr. Li for being happy to be a twin daughter. Please accept it. My little prince originally wanted to come to congratulate him in person, but he wanted to attend the Taimiao sacrifice and could not come. Please forgive me."

Li Weizheng hurriedly thanked Jinhe, "Please tell the little prince that Li Weizheng is very grateful for his feelings."

The guard bowed and said goodbye. Li Weizheng opened the brocade clothes and saw two pairs of very small agate bracelets inside, suitable for wearing by a five or six-year-old girl. One pair was red and the other was green. They were all made of top-quality agate without any trace of miscellaneous patterns, which showed that they were of great value. Li Weizheng couldn't help but smile and shook his head. He could understand Zhu Quan's intentions completely.

At this time, Mr. Li suddenly pointed to a speeding carriage and smiled: "Dalang, I guess this is here to congratulate you."

Li Wei was looking up and saw a carriage slowly stopping in front of him. The door opened. When a man came down, he bowed and smiled at him, "General Li, it's been a long time since we saw each other."

The person who got off the carriage turned out to be a monk, none other than Yao Guangxiao, the chief confidant counselor of King Yan Zhu Di. Yao Guangxiao stayed in the capital for the time being because he wanted to arrange the fine net of King Yan. He understood the lord's thoughts very well. When Leng Qianqiu sent someone to tell him last night that Li Wei was giving birth to a pair of twin daughters, Yao Guangxiao prepared a gift for the King Yan. Today on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he personally took the carriage to congratulate Li Weizheng.

"I heard that General Li was happy to be a twin daughter. I would like to express my sincerest congratulations to the general for the King of Yan!" As he said that, Yao Guangxiao waved his hand, and the two subordinates picked up a nanmu box and opened it. It was full of fine silk and some exquisitely crafted small decorations, mostly made of gold and jade.

"These are all worthless pieces of items. They were specially brought by King Yan from Peking. The gift is light and the people are so satisfying. Please accept it."

Li Weizheng quickly smiled and replied, "I have accepted His Highness the King of Yan's wishes. Please tell Your Highness that Li Weizheng will be rewarded in the future for the favor of the King of Yan."

"General Li is so polite. His Highness wrote a letter two days ago that General Li was appointed commander of Weihai Guard. There will be more opportunities for everyone to meet in the future. Please take care of him in the future."

"Where! The King of Yan has been taking care of me. When he was in Guangdong, he was helped by the King of Yan. I haven't thanked His Highness the King of Yan yet!"

Yao Guangxiao and Li Wei were looking at each other, and they both laughed in understanding. Yao Guangxiao bowed and said, "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I won't bother you. I wish General Li a New Year and say goodbye."

"Mr. Yao is going well."

Li Wei was sending Yao Guangxiao away with a smile, and then he returned to the mansion. When he walked to the central hall, he saw Qianqian and Ye Sutong talking and laughing.

"Where are you going?"

"Several wintersweet trees in the guest room are blooming, so I'll take Su Tong to enjoy it."

When Ye Sutong saw Li Weizheng, her face suddenly turned red. She wanted to hide but had nowhere to hide. She had to bite the bullet and salute and said, "Brother Li, thank you for the gift you gave me. I like it very much." Her voice was very small, and she had to prick up her ears to hear it clearly.

Qianqian next to her glance at the pearl necklace on her neck, and couldn't help but tease her and smiled, "Your Brother Li is a bit biased! I obviously liked the pearl necklace from Annan first, but he said he wanted to give it to his elders. I don't think he can compete with the elders, so I had to give it to him and choose another Japanese pearl necklace. Unexpectedly, he gave it to you. I want to ask, are you really his elder? Why is he so generous to you and me?"

Ye Sutong's face was flushed with embarrassment. Li Wei was coughing dryly and explained: "I originally wanted to send it to the old lady, but I took the sandalwood Buddha statue. I can't give it to Su Tong! Besides, don't you like the Japanese pearl necklace too? When did Qianqian become so petty."

"I'm just kidding, and I want to see Su Tong blushing, hehe!" Qianqian covered her mouth and smiled and threw Su Tong away and ran away. Her voice came from afar, "I'll go and see my eldest sister's lunch."

Li Weizheng and Su Tong were left in the yard. The atmosphere between them was a little awkward. Li Weizheng smiled and asked, "Have you seen your niece?"

"Well! Especially that little one, she cried when she hugged her, and she looked so fierce, she was really cute."

"I feel that my sister is quiet and gentle, which makes people feel more distressed."

While the two of them were talking, they walked towards the inner house. Ye Sutong asked again: "I heard from my elder sister that you will take office after the Lantern Festival, right?"

"Originally, I planned to leave after the Lantern Festival, but I just received the news that the emperor ordered me to set off on the fourth day of the first lunar month."

"On the fourth day of the first lunar month, isn't that the day after tomorrow?" Ye Sutong stopped and looked at him in surprise.

Li Weizheng nodded and said helplessly: "I also want to stay for a few more days and see my little babies, but the imperial edict has been issued, and I have no choice."

The two walked into the room, laughing constantly. The old lady and Mrs. Ye each hugged a little guy and were talking and laughing. Yang Ying was also with him. Ye Zitong was lying on the bed and complaining to her mother about the pain of confinement. She was not allowed to go out, see the light, blow the wind, and wear so many clothes. Fortunately, it was winter, and if it was summer, wouldn't it be suffocating people to death?

Mrs. Ye patiently advised her daughter that this confinement period is very particular, and if she is not careful, she will suffer from the root of the disease. Now she can't tell that it's amazing when she gets older, so if she suffers for a month, she will endure it.

Li Wei was walking into the room and quickly apologized to the old lady and Mrs. Ye: "I went out in the morning and came back just now."

With the old lady here, Mrs. Ye didn't dare to speak casually. The old lady seemed in a good mood. She pointed to her sister in her arms and joked: "Dalang, I'll take this little guy away today. Let me tell you first, don't stop me."

Mrs. Ye also said, "Dalang, we just discussed it and wanted to take Zi Tong back to her parents' home for confinement. Our conditions are better. Your stepmother agrees, but everyone wants to hear your opinions."

Li Wei was pondering for a while and asked Yang Ying, "What does father mean?"

Yang Ying smiled and said, "Your father is going back tomorrow. He wants to arrange this year's government labor service. He wants me to stay and take care of Zitong. If Zitong wants to go back to her parents' home, I have no objection."

Yang Ying is a smart person. She knew that the topic everyone was going to talk about was inconvenient because she was there, so she found an excuse to go out. Seeing Yang Ying leaving, Zi Tong, who was half lying on the bed, immediately begged: "Dalang, you are leaving after the Lantern Festival. I also want to go back to my parents' home to stay for a while. I have a mother to take care of me. I think I will be better to my children, so you agree!"

Li Weizheng understood Zi Tong's idea. Of course, his mother took good care of her during confinement. Qianqian was inexperienced and Yang Ying was the stepmother. She was always a little uncomfortable when she called her many things. Besides, she was leaving the day after tomorrow, so he could feel at ease if Zi Tong stayed at her parents' home.

Li Wei was just smiling bitterly and said to her: "Zi Tong, I just got the latest news. The emperor ordered me to set off the day after tomorrow."

Ye Zitong was a little stunned and left the day after tomorrow. He had only been back for half a year after leaving home. He was about to leave again in less than half a month. There was no date for his return. Zitong's eyes were dull, and in the end she nodded silently.

"Okay!" Old Mrs. Ye's thoughts were different from ordinary women. She cheered loudly: "This is the true nature of a man. He puts career first. Although his family is good, it will destroy people's will. When Dalang leaves, another hero will be born in the Ming Dynasty."

Ye Sutong was meticulous. Seeing that her elder sister looked sad, she quickly pulled her mother and pointed at her elder sister. Mrs. Ye knew her and quickly comforted her eldest daughter and said, "You don't have to worry. When you have finished confinement, you can go to Shandong to accompany the army. This is the custom of the court. At most, you will meet for more than a month at most."

Zi Tong didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, she glanced at Li Weizheng and sighed quietly, "Okay! I don't feel at ease when you go to Shandong alone, so let Qianqian go with you first, she can take care of your daily life."

In the following two days, the Li family was busy preparing for Li Weizheng. Yang Ying returned home on the second day of the Lunar New Year. After Li Weizheng and Qianqian left, Ye Zitong would take the children back to her parents' home, and the Li family would temporarily lend it to the Gu family to stay temporarily.

Early that morning, Qianqian came to the pencil shop and was about to make a final explanation. The business of the pencil shop is far less prosperous than Gu's cakes. After all, it takes a certain amount of time for the Ming people to accept this new thing, but it is much better than when they first opened. They can earn 20 to 30 coins every day, mainly focusing on medium and low-end pencils, and there are already a group of fixed customers.

Since the Crown Princess visited, Qianqian has not been to the shop for nearly twenty days. The shop has been handed over to Qiuyue for care. She has regained her freedom like Chunhua. After the New Year, Chunhua will return to her hometown to get married. Li Weizheng gave her a generous dowry, while Qiuyue is responsible for managing pencils and leads. Li Weizheng gave her 20% of the shop. In addition to her, the pencil shop also hired two young women as clerks.

Qianqian walked into the shop and said goodbye to every item reluctantly. The chair she sat on, the carving knife she used, the fans she used when it was hot, and there were rows of familiar pencils and wooden racks. Qiuyue and the two clerks were busy preparing for the opening. At this time, Qiuyue suddenly remembered something, took out a few letters from an iron box and handed them to Qianqian and smiled: "This is what the prince grandson wrote to you. He has been here three times, and you are not here. He left disappointed every day."

Qianqian took the letter and saw that the envelope contained Zhu Yunwen's familiar handwriting, but it was written in small calligraphy with a brush.

‘Qianqian’

The envelope was sticky very tightly, and each letter seemed very thick, and at least three pages were said. Qianqian sighed, put the letter back to the box, and said to Qiuyue: "If he comes again, you will return the letter to him for me, and say I will go to Weihaiwei with my elder brother."
To be continued...