Zhongshan, Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Yao Guangxiao didn't take anything, he just walked around.

The surrounding area was guarded by hundreds of Xiaoling Guards, and there were also personnel from the Imperial Observatory on site.

Liu Rixin held a compass and continued to make calculations.

Occasionally, I would discuss this with the staff of the Imperial Observatory.

Zhu Di just waited quietly, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

It was mainly because of Yao Guangxiao. He didn't look like he was measuring at all. It was just like he was looking at the scenery.

Zhu Di was a complete layman in such metaphysics, numerology, and geomancy, and could only watch the fun.

About half an hour later, Yao Guangxiao seemed to have finished his divination and came over.

"How is it, Master, have you completed the divination?"

Zhu Di asked impatiently. He had no idea about this thing.

Yao Guangxiao nodded, pointed to the surrounding mountains and said, "The tall and straight ones are male, the low and crouching ones are female, these are the male and female of the Long family. The thick and plump ones are fat, the hard and thin ones are lean, these are the fat and lean of the Long family."

"A fat dragon with a thin guard will not be bloated, and a thin dragon with a fat guard will not be lonely and cold. This is the purpose of the dragon, then..."

Zhu Di was speechless and interrupted directly: "Speak something that this king can understand."

He is really not worthy of being a son of man.

Zhu Di's talent was not very high to begin with. He grew up in a military camp and found it difficult to be pedantic about words.

He also used some Taoist terms like this, which made Zhu Di look confused.

Yao Guangxiao finally reacted after hearing this.

He also knew about Zhu Di's literary level.

It's just that my mind was immersed in the deduction just now, so I didn't pay attention and just told it subconsciously.

"I just observed the direction of these mountains. The ground here is a little lower and not exposed to the sun, so the trees should not be as lush as those above."

"But the land here seems to be more fertile, and the trees are even more lush than those above."

"According to my deduction, there is only one possibility for this situation. That is, there may be an underground river, which makes the land fertile. This is the only possibility that this could happen."

Yao Guangxiao explained.

Corresponding to what Zhu Di had told him before about the rolling earth dragon, he then checked the direction of the surrounding mountains and the growth of the trees.

Yao Guangxiao quickly came to the conclusion.

"In that case, it will be extremely difficult to excavate the tomb?" Zhu Di asked.

After hearing Yao Guangxiao's explanation, Zhu Di also understood the meaning.

Zhu Di, who was good at marching and fighting, was very familiar with the geographical conditions.

Especially when looking for water sources in the desert, you have to observe the direction of the underground river.

"That's right. I just passed by the staff of the Imperial Observatory and heard their conversation. They were constantly estimating the location of the underground river."

"This excavation is extremely difficult. If we accidentally dig into the underground river, it is very likely to cause a secondary collapse."

Yao Guangxiao hesitated for a moment and whispered, "The underground river here is vast, and it is not ruled out that the mausoleum collapsed directly into the underground river."

"In this case, it won't help no matter how hard we dig."

After listening to this, Zhu Di thought for a moment and said, "If this is the case, then it doesn't matter much, but we still need to arrange for manpower. We can't pin our hopes on the underground river."

Yao Guangxiao nodded and replied, "Your Highness is right. After we return, I will draw a simple topography for you to explain. We just need to find an opportunity and dig near the underground river."

"If it collapses again and the geography changes, it won't be so easy to use."

Zhu Di was extremely satisfied when he heard this and glanced at the staff of the Imperial Observatory who were still making calculations.

Then he took everyone away.

…

Prince Zhu Chong, the second son of the Zhu family.

He is handsome like his father, intelligent when young, strict and brave, and accomplished in both civil and military affairs.

But after he became a feudal lord, he became cruel and brutal.

Last year, in the 24th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang directly summoned Zhu Chong back. If Zhu Biao had not stopped him, he would have directly taken back Zhu Chong's fiefdom and stripped him of his title of king.

Recently, his elder brother Zhu Biao passed away due to illness, and Zhu Chong has been living a very cautious life.

I usually don't go out of the front door or the back door.

After the morning court session every day, the first thing he did was to pay tribute to his eldest brother at the funeral palace.

He even invited many eminent monks to the mansion to chant scriptures day and night to mourn his elder brother Zhu Biao.

The reason for this was that Zhu Chong was afraid that his father would blame him for his elder brother's death.

After all, my eldest brother died of a cold after returning from an inspection tour of his fiefdom.

Although this may seem like a pretense, Zhu Chong actually has deep feelings for his elder brother Zhu Biao.

After all, before his death, my eldest brother was advising our father to forgive him.

Zhu Chong felt very guilty about his elder brother's death.

Perhaps it was because of Zhu Biao's plea before his death that Zhu Yuanzhang, although not having a good impression of Zhu Chong, did not punish him severely.

"My Lord, when will this kind of life end?"

In the Prince's Palace in the Capital, the Second Consort Deng leaned on Zhu Chong's shoulder and said with some grievance.

Since arriving in the capital, Deng felt like a bird in a cage. She no longer had the freedom she had in her fiefdom. She had to tread on thin ice and be cautious in everything she did.

"Wait for some time. You know the current situation well. If the emperor doesn't say anything, what can I do? After my eldest brother is buried, I will go and find out what the emperor has to say."

Zhu Chong looked at Deng's delicate face and comforted her with pity.

"snort."

Deng snorted and turned her head away, obviously very dissatisfied with this answer.

She is the daughter of Ninghe County Prince Deng Yu, and has lived a life of luxury since childhood.

The gap between being unbridled in the fiefdom and being cautious in the capital made her very upset.

But now, Deng family has no one to rely on in the capital.

His father, Deng Yu, Duke of Weiguo, died of illness on his way back to the capital in the tenth year of Hongwu.

Her elder brother Deng Zhen inherited the title of Duke of Shen, but was implicated by Li Shanchang and killed in the 23rd year of Hongwu.

Therefore, the only person Deng can rely on now is Zhu Chong.

"My darling, please don't be angry. There's nothing I can do about it." Zhu Chong continued to comfort her.

"Don't talk about this. I asked you to call a cook back before, but you couldn't do it. And you're still talking about this."

Deng snorted and turned her head away again.

"That's the Fourth Brother's property. Yesterday I heard that even the Third Brother's son personally went to invite people to the mansion."

"We can't afford to offend anyone right now. You know the conflict between the third and fourth brothers. If we get involved, it won't be good for us to suffer for nothing."

Zhu Chong quickly explained.

Ping'an Teahouse's breakfast is very famous, but no one has any bad intentions towards it, because ordinary people don't know about it. But how could the nobles not understand it?

That was the property of Prince of Yan Zhu Di. Anyone who dared to mess with it would offend Zhu Di.

Your Majesty is definitely on the side of your son.

"This won't work, and that won't work either. How are we going to live like this?" Mrs. Deng pouted and said angrily.

Zhu Chong hesitated for a long time, and finally said with gritted teeth: "I will invite the owner of the teahouse to come over and ask him to make my favorite cakes for my beloved concubine. That's a good idea."

"Hmph, that's more like it. The breakfast in his teahouse is so delicious, so the pastries must be good too."

After Deng finished speaking, she snuggled back into Prince Zhu Chong's arms.

She didn't consider whether a breakfast cook could also make pastries.

…

On the border of Annan, among the mountains.

A somewhat luxurious carriage moved slowly forward, guarded by dozens of cavalrymen in front and behind.

On a hillside somewhere, several big men were looking out.

"Brother, where are we taking these people?" A big man with a big beard asked the big brother in the front row.

"We have received news that the boss is in the capital, so we must take the robbery to the capital." The eldest brother said without turning his head.

"But brother, it seems they are also going to the capital." The big man behind him couldn't help but say.

The eldest brother was stunned when he heard this, and then he scolded: "Idiot, they left on their own, and they were kidnapped by us, how can it be the same?"

"I told you to study but you fell asleep. You don't care about the truth."

The big man who was scolded didn't dare to talk back.

After reading it, the elder brother asked:

"How many brothers have come here now?"

"About a hundred riders."

"That's enough. Notify the brothers and set up an ambush tomorrow."

"Yes, brother."