Author: West Lake in the Rain

Zheng He left with steps that were heavier than before, but the smile on Zhu Di's face faded.

"There are still four classes left and Jiang Xinghuo will be released from prison."

A spark of fire suddenly exploded in the stove and disappeared in an instant with a "pop" sound.

"Your Majesty is unsettled."

The old monk Daoyan reached out and grabbed a delicate spatula and turned over the smokeless charcoal at the bottom of the fire. The fire instantly became vigorous, and countless sparks crackled and made tiny popping sounds.

Zhu Di said nothing, but stood up slowly from the stool, holding his knees.

The black gold-woven dragon robe seemed a little tight on his body, and the cuffs and hem were pulled into two small arcs, falling down as he raised his body slightly.

The body of the emperor in his prime was as straight as a javelin. He looked through the half-open window at the evening stars twinkling on the Nanjing Imperial Palace.

There is one brightest star that shines particularly brightly in the night, and it seems that even the surrounding stars have dimmed a bit.

"How should I use Jiang Xinghuo, this double-edged magic weapon?"

Dao Yan didn't seem to understand the meaning of Zhu Di's words, so he just said.

"Such a magical weapon can help His Majesty implement the New Deal in a drastic way and greatly enhance the national power of the Ming Dynasty; it can attack the voice of the gentry class and fight against the increasingly rigid Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism; it can teach future generations of kings and help the Ming Dynasty to survive for a hundred years.

What reason does your Majesty have for not using it?"

Zhu Di just put his hands behind his hands and remained silent.

Dao Yan turned the fire and said: "In other words, your majesty thinks that if Jiang Xinghuo does not come out, how long will it take for the Ming Dynasty to complete the national power accumulation required by your majesty's dream of 'governing the Tang and Song Dynasties, and far reaching the Han and Tang Dynasties'? Conquer Japan, conquer Annan"

, conquered Mobei, conquered Tianzhu, and even the Timurid Khanate that was about to move in the northwest, didn’t the Ming Dynasty need to be careful? Timur was slightly inferior to Genghis Khan, the genius who conquered the world on the grassland. Judging from his achievements at this time

, I’m afraid it’s not too different, right?”

When Dao Yan mentioned the name "Timur", Zhu Di's eyes flashed with a hint of fear.

If there is one person in the world at this time who can be feared by Zhu Di, who claims to be the best general in the world, then it is only this neighbor to the west who is still in his sixties.

If only there could be a God's perspective to separate Zhu Di.

The Imperial Palace, Nanjing, Zhili, Ming Dynasty, on the huge world map, there are two great kingdoms standing side by side, the Ming Empire and the Timurid Khanate.

The Timur Khanate is the biggest imaginary enemy in the countless war plans of the Five Military Governors of the Ming Empire, and it is also the only opponent with the same size. What is dangerous is that the territories of these two top powers in the world are already closely adjacent to each other.

Together.

The reason why no war broke out between the Hongwu Dynasty, Jianwen Dynasty, the Timur Khanate and the Ming Empire was because the Timur Khanate was busy conquering in other directions.

Timur was born into a Turkic Mongolian nobleman. In his early years, he was subordinate to the Eastern Chagatai Khan Tulhulu Timur. Later, he raised an army to rebel against the Eastern Chagatai nobles. He divided and conquered Hezhong by supporting the puppet Habil Shah and occupied Western Liao.

Old Land. After becoming powerful, he killed Mili Hushin, seized the power of the Western Chagatai Khanate, called himself the "Great Emir", established the Timurid Empire, and later moved the capital to Samarkand and renamed it "Sultan".

From then on, Timur got the script of Genghis Khan and conquered Khwarezm and Afghanistan one after another, and surrendered to the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. During this period, he made many western expeditions, conquered the entire territory of Persia, and conquered the Kundulqa Valley.

, the Golden Horde Khan was defeated in the Battle of Terek River, and Tuo Tuo lost his way, and he went north to sweep the Golden Horde Khanate.

When Zhu Di raised troops in Peiping and Fengtian was in peace, Timur was not idle either.

In the first year of the Jingnan period, Timur led his army to conquer the Delhi Sultanate in India, destroying Delhi, Punjab, and Kashmir; in the second year of the Jingnan period, Timur once again personally conquered Syria and defeated the Mamluk dynasty; in the fourth year of the Jingnan period, Timur led an army to conquer Syria.

, that is, at this point in time, Timur defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Ankara and captured Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I alive.

At this moment, Timur had already established a great empire stretching from Northern Tianzhu in the east to Asia Minor in the west, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf in the south, and reaching the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea in the north through forty years of conquests in the north and south.

His martial arts skills are outstanding and will never be inferior to any unparalleled hero.

Dao Yan looked at the flames and said: "According to the news from Songpan not long ago, Timur has ended his conquest of the distant empire in the west, and his hundreds of thousands of troops are returning to Samarkand one after another."

Zhu Di fell into deep thought.

As the world's number one general, his instinct reminded him that the next target of this powerful opponent was probably the Ming Dynasty.

"Timur, he is going to attack the Ming Dynasty."

"No." Zhu Difu shook his head again, "Even if Timur takes action immediately, he still has at least two to three years of preparation time. He has been fighting continuously for a long time and wants to take action against the Ming Dynasty. He needs to prepare massive supplies. After all,

When attacking the Ming Dynasty from the Western Regions, there were not many supply points on the road, let alone supplying hundreds of thousands of troops. He had to bring his own baggage. After all, Timur's army was no longer a Mongolian army that could drive cattle and sheep to fight.

"

Zhu Di looked to the west, his eyes seemed to see his old enemy tens of thousands of miles away.

Unconcealable excitement surged in Zhu Di's heart.

He is the only vassal king in Chinese history who successfully rebelled against a unified dynasty!

He is the number one general in the world!

Him, Emperor Yongle!

Any powerful enemy will only make him feel more excited.

Zhu Di never backs down.

"The Mongolian cavalry once swept across the world, spanning thousands of miles, and was powerful in all directions! But now, the Mongols have long lost their former grace! They can no longer fight one against ten, nor can they cross deserts, cross glaciers, and gallop in the vast Western Regions

!”

"If Timur dares to invade with a long march, I will definitely prevent his body from crossing Yumen Pass!"

Zhu Di's voice was sonorous and cold, full of murderous intent, as piercing as the cold edge of a cold sword.

Having said this, Zhu Di has made up his mind.

"If Ming Dynasty wants to quickly increase its national power, Jiang Xinghuo must come out!"

"I know that although some of the policies proposed by Jiang Xinghuo are of great benefit, they will damage the king's rule, but I am confident that I can put all these under my control."

"After all, Jiang Xinghuo is only one person, and I have hundreds of thousands of soldiers who fought with me to get here during the four years of Jingnan."

Zhu Di's eyes flashed with confidence.

The emperor's technique must be used and guarded against.

Zhu Di was not unclear about Jiang Xinghuo's theories that seemed to greatly enhance the national power of the Ming Dynasty but would damage the foundation of his rule, but he was confident that he could control them.

No matter what, even if the banished immortal comes to this world, in front of Zhu Di, the supreme human being, Jiang Xinghuo is just a double-edged magic weapon in his hand. As long as he controls himself not to cut himself, or not to let himself suffer too much

Damage can be a heavy blow to the enemy, which Zhu Di can accept.

Regardless of whether it is "reducing the vassal for performance" to allow more than a dozen lords to obediently return the three guards, and at the same time eliminating the big burden of supporting the clan for future generations; or "sharing the labor into the family" to gain the hearts of the people and never eliminate the trouble of Jianwen's remnants coming back; or

It was the "Ming Dynasty National Debt" that raised money for the court and at the same time collected the excessive Hongwu treasure banknotes; or it was the "Guano Fertilizer" that had been transported back from Wanli Shitang and began to be mass-produced and packaged; or it was the "Tax Guards"

Let the imperial power go to the countryside and let Zhu Di's voice reach the ears of all people.

These things, one by one, Zhu Di believes, have greatly enhanced the national power of the Ming Dynasty and his rule.

However, Zhu Di could still accept the trivial parts that would damage his rule.

Based on this judgment, Zhu Di determined.

After being released from prison, he was still able to control Jiang Xinghuo.

Looking at the confident Zhu Di, Dao Yan lowered his head and pondered for a few moments before the old monk raised his head.

"There are only the last four classes left. Does Your Majesty plan to go to jail himself?"

"You mean?" Zhu Di looked at the prime minister in black.

Zhu Di frowned deeply: "Imitating King Wen of Zhou to worship Jiang Ziya at the Weishui River, Liu Huangshu Longzhong paid three visits to Zhuge Kongming?"

"That's it." Dao Yan suddenly asked, "Forgive me for being too presumptuous, but I dare to ask Your Majesty, if Your Majesty doesn't get along with Jiang Xinghuo face to face, so that you know him well, then when Jiang Xinghuo is released from prison, there will be no more

Misunderstanding, Jiang Xinghuo also knows all this, does your Majesty think Jiang Xinghuo will give you truthful advice and not hide anything?"

"I once met Jiang Xinghuo as the 'School Captain Yan Polu'." After Zhu Di was silent for a moment, he said: "I understand what the master means. After Zheng He finishes listening to this lesson, I will take the time to

Enter the imperial prison, spend some time with Jiang Xinghuo, and get to know him carefully."

"In this way, I will have no problem using Jiang Xinghuo in the future, and there will be no problem for Jiang Xinghuo to provide me with suggestions."

Zhu Di closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes were clear again: "I know how to deal with Jiang Xinghuo."

"That's good, that's good."

Dao Yan caressed the black cassock, and a meaningful expression suddenly appeared on his cheek shaped like a sick tiger.

——————

Recently, Ji Gang, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, who had been working overtime until late at night because of the "Jiangnan Zhou Jin rebellion case", met Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Security Guards, at the Fusi Yamen in Beizhen.

The two of them immediately went to the side hall and whispered in detail, but Zheng He concealed the bad jokes such as "returning shit to the court" and "Guano Hou", and told everything about the emperor's order for him to go to jail to listen to Jiang Xinghuo's lecture.

"Isn't it right?"

Ji Gang suddenly interrupted.

Zheng He's heart trembled and he looked at Ji Gang, this guy wouldn't be so ignorant and wanted to mention those bad things in front of him, would he?

If so, Ji Gang is really drifting.

You must know that when Jinan was attacked in the Jingnan Campaign, Zheng He was already a mid-level and senior military officer commanding thousands of troops. At that time, Ji Gang was still a down-and-out scholar who was expelled from the college in Jinan Prefecture.
To be continued...