Chapter 66 Deng Qianqiu's Audience

Hu Weiyong and Le Shaofeng looked at each other quietly.

Obviously, His Majesty's reaction completely exceeded their expectations.

In fact, they had anticipated that His Majesty would be furious, so they had prepared excuses to shirk responsibility. After all, the two of them were responsible for the dispatch of food and fodder.

But now, His Majesty did not blame or get angry, and even showed extraordinary patience and rationality, which caught them off guard.

"What? You have anything else to say?" Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Hu Weiyong and Le Shaofeng.

Le Shaofeng thought for a moment, mustered up his courage, and said, "Your Majesty, the reason why the grain route had problems this time was because of Wang Baobao's cunning. But in the final analysis, it was still the grain supply that had problems. In the past, the court allocated 170,000 shi of grain to the Juyong Pass line every month, but now, it has been reduced to 60,000 shi."

"Your Majesty, the army's stored food and fodder has been reduced by half. If the situation becomes critical, the army on the front line may be forced to take risks."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Le Shaofeng coldly and said, "So the Le family is blaming me for not cutting the food and grass allocated by the Ministry of War. Is the root of the problem with me?"

"I dare not, I just..." Le Shaofeng said hurriedly: "I just... I think this is too risky..."

Hu Weiyong looked calm and composed, as if he was not involved in the matter.

It is natural that the Ministry of War has some complaints about the current situation. In the past, all the food for the front was allocated by the Ministry of War, which controlled the allocation of a large amount of food and grass.

But since His Majesty decided to try the policy of using salt vouchers instead of grain, the grain and grass managed by the Ministry of War has been reduced by half. Now that it seems that there is something wrong with the grain route, it is understandable to complain about it in Le Shaofeng's eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "I don't think you dare."

Although he said so, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel worried, but he didn't show it on his face.

At this time, an eunuch came hurriedly and said, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Juyongguan."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed slightly, and then he said, "It is reported that someone sent this urgent report, and he also came to see me."

The sudden news from the front line made Zhu Yuanzhang anxious. He finally showed some anxiety and uttered one word: "Hurry up."

So soon someone was welcomed into the hall, panting.

The man bowed and immediately called out, "I am Chen Tong, the centurion, and I am honored to see Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor."

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice: "Get the report."

Soon, the report in the bamboo tube was delivered to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened it quickly and immediately showed an incredible look.

He opened his tiger eyes slightly and asked, "Good news?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Duke of Wei won a great victory. He went deep into the desert and pursued the false emperor. He beheaded more than 7,000 people and captured 30,000 bandits, including dozens of false princes and grandsons, dozens of chieftains of various tribes, and hundreds of false prime ministers and generals..."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath. It would be a lie if he said he was not surprised or shocked, because he realized that the location of this battle was actually in the depths of the desert, seven hundred miles away from Juyongguan.

His eyes turned, and his sharp gaze fell on the centurion, and he said, "In other words, Xu Da led his army on a long-distance raid, and actually chased for 700 miles and found the remnants of the false emperor, right?"

When sweeping away the remnant forces of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the Ming army always encountered a problem: once these remnants failed in battle, they would immediately flee into the desert. The Ming army did not dare to pursue them easily, and each time they could not completely defeat the enemy's main force.

But now...such a steady Marshal Xu Da actually took such a risky action.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued to read the report, his pupils contracted, and his heart was filled with excitement.

He was overjoyed and could not help saying, "Great, great, great! I have Xu Da, which is like gaining an arm. Li Wenzhong and others are also very brave, which is great."

Hu Weiyong and Le Shaofeng were both shocked. Obviously, this victory was beyond their expectations.

Le Shaofeng couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, the army has penetrated 700 miles into the desert, and the retreat has been cut off. So... how to solve the problem of food and supplies? I think... there are quite a few discrepancies in this report."

Le Shaofeng was the Minister of War, so he was naturally familiar with military affairs. What he proposed was obviously to Zhu Yuanzhang's liking.

Zhu Yuanzhang then looked at the centurion and asked, "Is there a shortage of food in the army?"

The captain said, "Your Majesty, there is no shortage. There is food and fodder supplied along the way, so... the Grand Marshal just decided to pursue. Although it is very hard to sleep in the open air along the way, the basic horse feed and food can always be supplied."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but be shocked again: "Why is this?"

The captain scratched his head and said with a wry smile: "I... I don't know either..."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered something, and his eyes seemed to light up all of a sudden.

Then, he began to become anxious, and then he said: "Come here, come here, summon Deng Qianqiu to the audience, summon Deng Qianqiu to the audience."

Hu Weiyong and Le Shaofeng looked at each other. It was obvious that they couldn't understand. What exactly was this Deng Qianqiu?
But soon, Hu Weiyong became more calm and composed. It seemed that Deng Qianqiu was becoming more and more complicated.

but……

This boy also got a lot of benefits from me. Fortunately, I had foresight and entrusted the two marquises to win him over early on. They gave him a lot of Hu concubines. Just a dozen Hu concubines gave him a connection, which was worth it.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed extremely excited at this time. Obviously, he had too many doubts in his mind.

Why can food still be supplied in the desert, and why did Xu Da dare to make such a decision?

This actually far exceeded Zhu Yuanzhang's estimation, and now he could only find the answer from Deng Qianqiu.

The eunuch hurriedly poured Zhu Yuanzhang a cup of hot tea.

Zhu Yuanzhang was distracted at this time, and subconsciously picked up the hot tea and took a sip. But then, the hot tea spurted out of his mouth, frightening the eunuch beside him and kneeling down, saying in horror: "I wish you would die."

Zhu Yuanzhang always asked eunuchs to serve him hot tea, but he usually would not drink it immediately, but wait patiently for the tea to cool down a little.

Now, he was so surprised by this great news that he forgot about it for a moment and even spit out the tea due to the burn.

He frowned, but it was obvious that he had an extraordinary tolerance for pain. He just waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "It's not your fault. Go down and change a new set of tea... cough..."

The eunuchs hurried to serve tea as if they had been pardoned.

The waiting process was quite long, so Zhu Yuanzhang simply lowered his head, picked up the victory report, and continued to observe.

"It is true that the method of using salt to carry grain solved the problem of grain and grass, but...how could it be so effective?"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

The food problem was greatly alleviated, which not only reduced the burden on the court, but also enhanced the supply capacity of the army.

How can this be possible in the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang was waiting anxiously.

However, Deng Qianqiu's mood was the opposite of Zhu Yuanzhang's.

Deng Qianqiu was so scared that he peed his pants.

When the eunuch came looking for him, Deng Qianqiu couldn't help but shiver.

Being summoned by the emperor has always been the greatest honor in the world, but in Deng Qianqiu's opinion...

This is Zhu Yuanzhang...

The legendary Zhu Yuanzhang who was good at killing nine generations of a clan.

That's it.

It's over now.

Finally...he got some attention.

At this moment, his heart was in his throat, and he looked like a duck with its neck pinched, with his head drooping, as if he was rushing to a funeral or to die.

He straightened his clothes and hat again and again, and asked the eunuch again and again, "Eunuch, when entering the palace, do you usually step with your left foot or your right foot first?"

The eunuch was very polite to him: "Captain Deng, this... is up to you."

"Ah..." Deng Qianqiu was panicking, so he asked, "Isn't there a rule? Which foot does the father-in-law step with?"

"This..." The eunuch was silent for a long time before he said, "I haven't thought about it either."

Deng Qianqiu: “Oh.”

Although he said "oh", he felt even more uneasy.

Having lived two lives, the records about Zhu Yuanzhang in his previous life left such a deep impression on him that his legs began to tremble before he even entered the palace.

Although I brag a lot to others and think I'm quite brave.

But when faced with this situation, Deng Qianqiu was not bragging. If anyone from his previous life could perform better than him in this era, he would twist their heads off.

Who doesn’t know how to brag on the keyboard?
Deng Qianqiu entered the hall with his head lowered, and took his left foot first very solemnly.

Then he walked into the hall in small steps. He was wondering if the Ming Dynasty had the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows. But a man's knees are made of gold. Wouldn't it be too unfair to his father to be so spineless? Would it be inconsistent with his status as a filial son?

But at this moment, a hoarse voice was heard saying, "Deng Qianqiu!"

"Here...here...here..." Deng Qianqiu lowered his head and said tremblingly.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Deng Qianqiu, who lowered his head and looked submissive, and suddenly became furious.

This guy is usually very brave, but today he is a completely different person.

Look at this lack of ambition and ambition...

It seems that we can only blame that bastard Zhu Gang. That guy... I don't know how many evil things he said to scare people like this.

Zhu Yuanzhang gave Deng Qianqiu a very reasonable reason for his cowardice, and said, "Do you know why you came here?"

"I...I am guilty!" Deng Qianqiu hung his head and said in a sad voice, "I have been eating the emperor's salary for a long time, but I have received the emperor's grace without any merit. I was slacking off while on duty. I really deserve to die..."

Fishing...

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

………………

It's on the shelves, and four updates have been delivered. The update plan is as follows: four updates will be made every day in the future, with 3,000 words per chapter, which means 12,000 words will be updated every day. The new book is on the shelves, and I sincerely ask for your support, subscriptions, and monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)