What's all that noise outside?
Gao Qingyun frowned and turned to look outside.
The students present felt a chill and quickly looked at Wang Chengen in the corner.
Wang Chengen stood up and said with a smile, "Master Gao, here's what happened."
"There have been some happy events in our Dahe Village these past few days, so some people are celebrating."
Gao Qingyun nodded slightly after hearing this, and did not ask any further questions.
He wasn't one to enjoy joining in the fun.
Especially after he lost his sight, he became even less inclined to inquire about other people's affairs.
"In that case, let's continue the lesson."
Gao Qingyun sat up straight again and began to teach the students according to her memory.
Upon seeing this, Wang Chengen breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, I was prepared in advance, which is how I managed to fool Master Gao."
The noise outside was naturally the cheers of the people of the capital upon seeing the victorious army returning to the capital and the Jurchen prisoners being brought back.
At this point, about half a year had passed since the Battle of Liaodong.
Although it was the dead of winter, with heavy snow falling.
But from the civil and military officials in the court to the common people, everyone was overjoyed.
"The Jurchens are finally finished! Now we can finally have some good days!"
Zhu Youjian also knew that this time he had no suitable excuse to stop the people from celebrating loudly.
So they sent Wang Chengen to give Gao Qingyun a heads-up.
Wang Chengen sighed inwardly, "Alas, it's a pity that Eunuch Cao went home to retire not long ago, otherwise this job should have been done by him."
Cao Huachun was a smart man. He watched as Zhu Youjian's throne gradually became stable, and the internal and external troubles of the Ming Dynasty were also greatly relieved.
More importantly, Wang Chengen's position became increasingly secure.
So he wisely left the palace.
"Although the war in Liaodong has ended, the struggles in the imperial court have only just begun."
Wang Chengen sighed softly and looked towards the direction of the Imperial Study.
At this time, all the prominent figures of the Ming Dynasty were gathered in the Imperial Study.
Even Yuan Chonghuan, Li Ruolian, and others who had just returned from Liaodong were sitting in chairs.
However, an eerie tranquility pervaded the imperial study.
Nobody spoke.
All the ministers communicated with each other only by looking at each other.
As for Zhu Youjian, he sat at his desk, looking at several memorials.
They remained silent, just as before.
Upon witnessing this scene, the eunuch in the corner was drenched in sweat and didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, at that moment, a eunuch walked in from outside, beaming with excitement, and said:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
"The Empress has given birth to the eldest prince!"
Upon hearing this, the courtiers ceased their silence.
They quickly stood up and offered their congratulations to Zhu Youjian, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Youjian seemed unsurprised, but also showed no excitement.
He said calmly, "I understand."
"A decree is to be issued, and the eldest son of the emperor shall be immediately appointed as the crown prince, named Zhu Cilang."
"Then order the Crown Prince and the other ministers' disciples to go and become disciples of Master Gao."
The courtiers were not surprised to hear this.
Since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, generational names have been established for his descendants, and each generation of descendants must be named according to the Five Elements.
Therefore, later emperors had little room to maneuver.
As for directly appointing the eldest son of the emperor as the crown prince, it was not unprecedented; previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty had generally done so.
However, generally speaking, the eldest son of the emperor usually dies young...
Of course, no one dared to say such a thing at that time.
After offering their congratulations, the officials took the opportunity to speak about other matters.
"Your Majesty, recently Japanese pirates have been frequently harassing Goryeo, and Goryeo has reported this to us many times."
"Your Majesty, I would like to request permission to lead troops eastward to conquer Japan."
Mao Wenlong stood with his hands clasped in front of him, his face filled with indignation.
"Now our Great Ming Dynasty is strong and well-equipped, yet the Japanese pirates dare to make a comeback. They really don't take our Great Ming Dynasty seriously!"
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than someone sneered.
A civil official stepped forward and said coldly, "Lord Mao, I don't understand what you're saying."
"Goryeo has suffered from war for a long time, and nine out of ten houses in the country are empty."
“Southern Goryeo is sparsely populated, so even if Japanese pirates did invade Goryeo, it shouldn’t cause any damage.”
"It's unlikely that even a very large number of people will know!"
"Lord Mao has reported on Goryeo in many places; I think there must be something wrong here!"
"Could it be that some people with ulterior motives are deliberately giving false military intelligence in order to provoke border conflicts and achieve their own personal glory!"
That's absolutely right.
More than a decade ago, Tokugawa Ieyasu of Japan suddenly launched a military campaign and, through several major battles, completely annihilated the Toyotomi family, the original hegemon of Japan.
Subsequently, the Edo Shogunate was established.
By this time, Japan had been reunified and there was no more war, so there were not many ronin left.
After the Tokugawa clan seized power, they devoted themselves to living their own quiet lives behind closed doors.
Historically, a few years later, the Tokugawa clan would have issued a nationwide isolation edict.
Therefore, there could not possibly be any Japanese pirates now.
Moreover, even if there were some Japanese pirates, they would not be a match for Zheng Yiguan.
However, Mao Wenlong would certainly not admit it.
He retorted angrily, "My lord, you are making baseless accusations!"
"I, Mao Wenlong, am wholeheartedly devoted to the country. How could I possibly lie about military intelligence?"
However, the civil official still sneered, "I never said that Lord Mao was the one with ulterior motives."
"Maybe someone else is doing it?"
These sarcastic remarks enraged Mao Wenlong, who nearly got into a fight with the civil official.
But just before he erupted, Zhu Youjian looked up and glanced at Mao Wenlong.
Mao Wenlong's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly backed down, saying, "Your Majesty, you must do me justice!"
"I truly did not fabricate military intelligence."
Zhu Youjian sneered inwardly as well.
If it were Zhu Youjian in history, even if he had pacified the Jurchens with his own abilities, he probably wouldn't have understood the situation in Japan.
However, after being educated by Gao Qingyun for more than a year, Zhu Youjian now knows that neighboring island nation quite well, if not like it.
He knew in his heart that Mao Wenlong was definitely behind this.
But Zhu Youjian knew even better that he truly intended to conquer Japan.
The civil and military officials in the imperial court would certainly oppose this view.
Since Mao Wenlong took the initiative to step forward, Zhu Youjian was happy to make things easier and let Mao Wenlong be the vanguard.
"However, I still need to give him a warning."
"So that he doesn't actually think I'm easy to bully!"
Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked Mao Wenlong:
"Minister Mao made great contributions in the Liaodong campaign, but he still wanted to serve the country and make achievements on the battlefield."
"Of course I trust you."
When Mao Wenlong heard the emperor's praise, he was not happy at all; instead, he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Could the emperor have seen through my little scheme?" He swallowed hard and turned to look at Yuan Chonghuan beside him.
I hope he will keep his promise and stand up for me.
Yuan Chonghuan did not hesitate.
He stepped forward, about to bow and speak, when he saw Wang Chengen rush in in a panic and whisper something in the emperor's ear.
Zhu Youjian jumped up instantly.
"Such a thing really happened?"
Too lazy to say anything more to his ministers, he turned and jogged out.
Upon seeing this, the courtiers panicked and hurriedly pulled Wang Chengen back.
"Eunuch Wang, what exactly is going on?"
"Yes, why did the emperor suddenly leave?"
"Could it be...could it be that the Crown Prince has suddenly passed away?"
It wasn't unheard of for princes to die shortly after birth in the Ming Dynasty.
However, Wang Chengen shook his head and said, "What could possibly happen to the Crown Prince?"
"It's...it's something that happened to Master Gao."
The officials breathed a sigh of relief at first, then frowned and asked, "What could possibly happen to Master Gao?"
Wang Chengen said with a wry smile, "I can't tell you all that!"
At the same time, Zhu Youjian arrived at Taiye Pond. Before he could go in, he heard Gao Qingyun's terrified voice.
"Where exactly did you send me?"
"And who are you all?"
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