Lan Yu has a huge influence on the current Ming army.

This is not just because of the Second Battle of Fishing Sea. When it comes down to it, his influence initially came from his brother-in-law Chang Yuchun.

Lan Yu's elder sister was Chang Yuchun's legal wife. Although Chang Yuchun was cruel, bloodthirsty, and would massacre people in the city at will, he was very good to the Lan family.

When Lan Yu first joined the army, Chang Yuchun brought Lan Yu to his side as his trusted personal guard.

At that time, the soldiers under Chang Yuchun were very familiar with Lan Yu.

With Chang Yuchun's personal care, Lan Yu was in high spirits in the military camp. At that time, Chang Yuchun's son was still too young, so Lan Yu had a large number of military connections at an early stage.

After all, at that time, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were the emperor's right-hand men and were trusted by him to the utmost.

Lan Yu also behaved generously and magnanimously, and quickly rose to prominence in the military camp by relying on this relationship.

He was brave and often took the lead in fighting. He even helped his brother-in-law Chang Yuchun to formulate strategies to a certain extent.

Although Chang Yuchun was ferocious, he was actually a pure rough man. With the help of Lan Yu, his battle record was even more brilliant.

Chang Yuchun not only valued his brother-in-law more and more, but also kept introducing him to Zhu Yuanzhang.

After Chang Yuchun's sudden death, Lan Yu, with Zhu Yuanzhang's permission, quickly took over Chang Yuchun's soldiers.

These soldiers were already very familiar with Lan Yu, so there was no reason for them to be dissatisfied.

Chang Yuchun had an influence over almost half of the Ming army, and the legacy he left behind was extremely huge, directly elevating Lan Yu to the level of a top military general.

It was not until after the Battle of Buiyuhai that he reached the peak of his achievements and was conferred the title of Duke of Liang.

Looking at it from another angle, the first half of Lan Yu's life can be described as going smoothly.

Chang Yuchun's daughter married the crown prince Zhu Biao. After inheriting Chang Yuchun's influence, he once again became the leader of the Huaixi military generals and nobles group in the Ming Dynasty.

He is also a core member of the Prince's Party and the Crown Prince's confidant.

In Lan Yu’s own words:

What's wrong with me being a little arrogant? If this isn't domineering, then it's better to walk in the night in fine clothes.

What's wrong with me stealing some land from the people? It would be fine if the censor wanted me to return it, but he didn't even give me any face and just drove me away.

As one of the earliest rising military generals of the younger generation, it can be said that Lan Yu really has the capital to be so arrogant.

Lan Yu, who had never experienced adversity, almost always obeyed the orders of Crown Prince Zhu Biao. He was also completely loyal to Zhu Biao.

Of course, if it weren't for this, Zhu Yuanzhang would have killed him long ago.

After all, although Lan Yu has many faults, his strengths are also very obvious. He is extremely generous and magnanimous and does not care about trivial matters.

Lan Yu is very smart and patient, otherwise she would not have reached this level.

He entered the city at around dusk. At this time, the Five Military Governors' Office had also closed for get off work, so Lan Yu's first stop was Chang Mansion.

The person he trusts the most is of course his sister Lan.

The current helmsman of the Chang Mansion is the Lan family. Don’t underestimate the influence of the Lan family.

She was the wife of Kaiping King Chang Yuchun. Although Chang Yuchun had passed away and the title of king was only posthumous, Lan was still alive and could fully enjoy this honor.

His daughter was the legitimate wife of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, and his younger brother was a duke.

Her status and position were so precious that even Zhu Yuanzhang would give her some respect when he saw her, let alone other people.

Regardless of the outbreak of the Lan Yu case or Zhu Di's later rebellion, the Lan family had never been persecuted and had never lacked wealth and glory.

The Chang Mansion is a large mansion with seven courtyards, and it is located in the inner city area, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money.

Of course, this courtyard was not bought by Chang Yuchun himself, but was given to him by Zhu Yuanzhang.

After Lan Yu entered the capital, he quickly arrived at Changfu.

He is very familiar with this place because he has a very good relationship with his sister Lan, so he comes here often.

The servants in the mansion were also very familiar with Lan Yu.

After Lan Yu entered the room, he didn't even need to report. He just asked the servant where his sister was and went straight there.

"Xiaoyu, why are you here? Didn't you go out to quell the rebellion?"

Lan was very surprised about her brother's return. After all, it was Zhu Yuanzhang who gave the direct order to summon Lan Yu back to Beijing, and it was not through the Ministry of War, so Lan was not very clear about it.

The name Xiaoyu made Lan Yu feel a little embarrassed. After all, he was almost fifty years old and was still called Xiaoyu.

However, Lan Yu looked at her sister's mostly white hair and sighed. She didn't say much and explained, "It was His Majesty who summoned me back."

Hearing this, Lan's expression was somewhat heavy, and she said directly: "Xiao Yu, does His Majesty have any other instructions?"

Lan Yu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty has sent me a direct order to leave immediately, so I have no choice but to obey."

Upon hearing this, Lan frowned.

He was extremely caring towards his younger brother, even caring about him much more than his own son.

In the words of later generations, she can be called a brother-supporting demon.

This is because Lan Yu was almost raised by the Lan family since childhood.

Lan Yu is not the eldest son in the family. Above Lan Yu and Lan Shi, there is an older brother named Lan Rong, who is currently the commander of the right guard of the palace army.

It’s not that the relationship between the three siblings is bad, it’s just that the eldest brother Lan Rong is valued by their parents, while Lan Yu and the Lan family are relatively despised.

Back then, Lan Yu was almost entirely raised by the Lan family. It was a very normal phenomenon in the Ming Dynasty for an elder sister to take care of her younger brother.

Therefore, there is a big difference between Lan Yu and his elder brother Lan Rong at present. The Lan family spends more time and effort on his younger brother Lan Yu.

"During the time when you were away from the capital, a big incident happened in the capital, which involved the Xiaoling Mausoleum. I don't know why Your Majesty allowed such a thing to spread so widely in the capital."

Lan said to his brother.

Lan Yu nodded when he heard this. The news about the Xiaoling Mausoleum was not only spreading in the capital, but had also spread widely outside the capital.

When he first heard it at the post station, he was greatly surprised, but then he found that no one was shy about it, and then he understood.

Next, Lan Yu talked with his sister Lan about recent events in the capital.

But what disappointed Lan Yu was that there were not many things that had much to do with him.

Although Zhu Ying's existence was known to everyone in the palace, including the princes, no one else knew about it.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang behaved abnormally before the morning court session, matters concerning His Majesty were not something the ministers could inquire about or even investigate.

There is no need to mention the military officers. For the military officers in the capital, attending the morning court every day is just a routine. Basically, no military officer will come out to offer any opinions, and they are not much different from being just for show.

Therefore, the Lan family had no channels to obtain information about Zhu Ying's existence.

Ping'an Teahouse on the Qinhuai River is famous for its breakfast, but not everyone knows the owner behind the scenes.

Moreover, with a little investigation, one would find out that Prince of Yan Zhu Di was involved, so one would not provoke him even more.

"Oh, right, I heard from Mao'er today that His Majesty has come up with a new method of separating the military and politics, which should be a reform of the military power of the Ming Dynasty. He summoned you back at this time, I'm afraid it's not because of this."

After thinking for a while, Lan said to his younger brother Lan Yu.

Lan Yu heard this and asked, "Separation of military and political power, what does this mean?"

Lan shook her head and said, "I don't understand either. Mao'er is in the mansion. I'll ask him to tell you."

Lan Yu nodded, and Lan immediately called the servants to summon Chang Sheng over.

Chang Sheng came over and saw Lan Yu. He was a little surprised at first, and then he seemed to have thought of something and was very happy: "Uncle, when did you come back? I'm so glad you're back."

"How can you be so disrespectful?" Lan scolded.

Of course, he knew his son very well. He was so reckless, as if he was hiding something from him.

Upon hearing this, Chang Sheng gritted his teeth, knowing that the matter could no longer be concealed. Now that his uncle, the Duke of Liang, had returned, he would definitely get it done.

Thinking of this, Chang Sheng said directly: "Uncle, Chang Sen was arrested and taken to the Jinyiwei Yamen jail."

"What? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?" Lan was shocked when she heard this. She didn't even know that her youngest son was arrested by the Imperial Guard.

"Didn't you say that Sen'er had something to do and was out for a few days? How come he is in the Jinyiwei prison again? What crime did he commit?" Lan asked again.

"Mom, I'm afraid you'll worry, so I said this. I don't know what my brother has done wrong. I went to the Imperial Guards to ask several times, but they turned me away every time."

Chang Sheng said helplessly.

"Don't you know how to ask someone? You are a founding duke, but this title is useless. You can't even take care of your own brother." Lan was furious and scolded Chang Sheng.

Chang Sheng was scolded so hard that he didn't even dare to raise his head, feeling extremely aggrieved.

He was only the second son of Chang Yuchun, and almost all the connections left by his father were built on his eldest brother Chang Mao.

The title came to him because his eldest brother committed a crime.

He was canonized in the 21st year of Hongwu, which was only four years ago. He himself had no merits, so although he had an official salary of 3,000 dan, that was all.

Even many things still need to rely on mother Lan to handle.

"Sister, don't blame Sheng'er. I believe Sheng'er must have thought of many ways. But the Jinyiwei didn't even tell us the charges?" Lan Yu comforted her sister and then asked.

Chang Sheng heard his uncle Lan Yu speak for him, so he looked up and replied: "I asked the Jinyiwei through my connections, and they kept their mouth shut, but they did pass on some news."

"My brother seemed to have offended a noble, so he was arrested and thrown into the Jinyiwei prison. But it was not a serious crime. Maybe they just wanted to teach him a lesson."

"That's why I didn't tell my mother. He should be released soon."

Hearing this, Lan cursed loudly, "You rebellious son, you've pissed me off. What kind of place is Jinyiwei Prison? How dare you talk about it so lightly? As a brother, you must have seen your own brother and want him to suffer a lot."

Chang Sheng suddenly didn't dare to speak.

After listening to this, Lan Yu said, "Don't worry, sister. Sheng'er and I will go to the Jinyiwei Yamen later to pick him up."

After hearing this, Lan's anger was slightly calmed down, and she said, "You rebellious son, why don't you quickly tell your uncle what the separation of military and government that His Majesty mentioned during the morning court today is all about."

Chang Sheng hurriedly recounted what happened at the morning court session.

After Lan Yu heard this, his frown relaxed and he looked much more relaxed. He said to his sister Lan: "I think His Majesty summoned me back because of this matter."

After listening to this, Lan nodded and felt that this should be the case.

If Your Majesty wants to reform the military power, he naturally cannot avoid Lan Yu. After all, Lan Yu is currently the Left General of the Central Military Governor's Office and can directly influence nearly one-third of the troops in the world.

So from this point of view, it is natural for Lan Yu to return to Beijing.

Lan Yu believed that the separation of military and politics would certainly affect his power, but it was a good thing. As long as his military power was not directly taken away, Lan Yu felt that it was not a big problem.

Even though Zhu Yunwen was designated as the crown prince, Lan Yu never thought that the emperor would kill him. In Lan Yu's opinion, with such great contributions, the most he would do was to lose his military power, but his life would not be in danger.

"In that case, let's not delay any further. Sheng'er, follow me and go to the Jinyiwei Yamen to bring the person back directly."

Lan Yu stood up and said.

"Okay, go quickly and come back soon. I'll ask the chefs to prepare the meal, and you can come here for dinner later." Lan nodded.

With my younger brother around, it would be no big deal to go to the Jinyiwei Yamen to recommend someone.

Chang Sheng also quickly stood up and followed.

Outside the mansion, Lan Yu jumped on his horse and went directly to the Jinyiwei Yamen with more than a dozen personal guards and Chang Sheng.

…

Zhu Ying brought Ye Yueqing and Zhao Xiangxi back to the house on the Qinhuai River.

When he left Tianjie Temple, he did not ride in the dragon sedan chair, but rode back directly on horseback with the two women.

It was not that Zhu Ying deliberately did not live in the palace, but he knew in his heart that, given the current circumstances, living in a house on the Qinhuai River was far more advantageous than living in the palace.

The first thing is the integration of the forces under his command. There are many hidden cards planted on the border of the Ming Dynasty, and they can all be strengthened. Moreover, his Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce can now be called the Royal Chamber of Commerce.

Moreover, living in the palace is equivalent to standing at the center of the storm. At present, Zhu Ying has not had any contact with the military power of the Ming Dynasty.

Only after he had gained control of a certain amount of military power and had his own say, would it be reasonable for Zhu Ying to move into the palace.

"According to the time, Lan Yu should be back soon."

Zhu Ying sat in the study room of the mansion, silently calculating the time in his mind.

Next to him was Ye Yueqing in casual clothes, no longer Zhang Bo.

And the one guarding outside the door was Zhao Xiangxi.

There was always a faint fragrance in the study. Compared with Zhang Boluo before, it was obvious that Ye Yueqing's arrival had brought about a lot of changes.

Apart from anything else, the girl is thoughtful and the study is much tidier.

At this time, Zhao Xiangxi asked outside: "Boss, someone from the Jinyiwei is here."

"Come in."

A Jinyiwei came in quickly and reported: "Your Highness, Duke Lanyu of Liang has returned to the capital and is now at the Jinyiwei Yamen."