The news that Chen Xi was about to lead his troops back to Zhangjiakou Fort reached Zhu Houzhao's ears not long after.

Because it was approaching Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhu Houzhao felt homesick, but unfortunately his attention is not on returning to Beijing now.

August 14th, approaching dusk.

Zhu Houzhao called Xiao Guozi, Dai Yi, Gao Feng, Qian Ning, Xu Tai and others to discuss the celebrations in the coming days. Obviously, he believed in Xu Tai very much in employing people. As for Qian Ning, although he was not as favored as before, he was far from falling out of favor.

Xiaotiaozi presented the preparation status to Zhu Houzhao in detail, including the number of flags, the length of the welcoming team, etc.

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao said with satisfaction: "Tomorrow I am going to go out of the city to greet you, and I will also hunt on the grassland north of Zhangjiakou. You can prepare for it!"

The emperor suddenly had a whim, which made everyone present stunned.

After a while, Dai Yi and Gao Feng realized it and immediately looked at Xiao Guozi, thinking that Xiao Guozi knew about this situation, but they deliberately kept it from the Silijian. Only Xiao Guozi himself knew that this was Zhu Houzhao's intention.

Xiao Guozi hurriedly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, why did you suddenly go out of the city to hunt? This... If you want to prepare it completely, you will probably not be able to do it in one or two days."

Zhu Houzhao laughed: "I suddenly remembered that Mr. Chen won the battle this time, and I didn't accompany him to go to the battle. I felt very regretful. Since this is the case, I might as well let me and him hunt on the grassland north of Zhangjiakou, and just take a look at the scenery of the grassland. I can also exercise my ability to shoot bows and prepare for the next battle."

Emperor Zhengde's words revealed a lot of things, and it took a long time for those present to digest them.

Although they may not be able to grasp every intention of the emperor, they still noticed some details, that is, Zhu Houzhao planned to go to war again. In other words, in the eyes of Emperor Zhengde, Chen Xi did not completely conquer the grassland this time, and he was a little unsatisfied.

Xiao Guozi wanted to complain and persuade Zhu Houzhao to change his mind. Qian Ning next to him responded with a smile: "Your Majesty wants to hunt, and I will protect you and swear allegiance to the death."

"Haha, with you loyal ministers accompanying you, I will naturally feel at ease... You have made arrangements tomorrow that I will not go up to the city and wait. Just see Mr. Chen outside the city. Early in the morning, I will lead my troops out of the city and hunt in the two wings outside the pass. When you have gained something, I will join forces with Mr. Chen. This will make me great achievements." Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.

Xiao Guozi and others looked at each other, but did not dare to openly violate Zhu Houzhao's orders. Then Zhu Houzhao went to the backyard with a sense of excitement.

Xiao Tiaozi stood there and thought to himself: "It's not a masterpiece of Concubine Li again, right? Why doesn't the Empress discuss with me in advance when doing things now?"

"Duang Dao, what do you think? I have already asked the garrison to prepare before, but His Majesty changed his mind temporarily. Let's wait..." Gao Feng hurried over for help, hoping that Xiao Guozi could give a countermeasure.

Qian Ning seemed very relaxed: "Your Majesty wants to go out of the city to hunt. If the military cannot provide protection, let the Jinyiwei be fully responsible for Your Majesty's safety... Twist the father-in-law, there should be no problem, right?"

Faced with Qian Ning's provocative words, Xiao Zhuozi naturally would not give in and said with his head raised: "Since Your Majesty is going out of the city to hunt, our family will arrange everything, and there is no need for money to command the commander to worry. Tomorrow, you can just send your people to protect them in front of the Holy Driving!"

...

...

Xiao Twist was worried.

He was preparing for many days of celebration, and all the procedures were planned. Suddenly, Zhu Houzhao was about to go out to hunt in the city on a whim, and everything was invalid, which caught him off guard.

After leaving, Xiao Guozi hurriedly sent someone to inform Lu Wan and Wang Shouren of the news, so that the military could know that the situation had changed and respond in a timely manner.

While the sky was not completely dark, Xiao Guozi went back to find Zang Xian and asked about some situations.

Zang Xian was not too surprised. After all, he was Zhang Yuan's confidant. He knew about Emperor Zhengde's temperament at will. He immediately said: "Your Majesty wants to go out to hunt, and he just needs to arrange people to protect the carriage. There is no conflict with the previous arrangement."

Xiao Tiaozi frowned: "There is no conflict in this way? Zhangjiakou Fort is not a royal hunting ground. After the barriers, jackals, tigers and leopards are not scary. The key is how to attack the Tatars suddenly? Also, when there are too many people, they will be loud, and beasts will avoid it when they hear the sound. Where can you hunt for your Majesty in a short time?"

"In the past, the royal family hunted in Nanhaizi, south of the capital, and could temporarily release some prey. Where can I find it now? As for the welcome ceremony, I relied on Zhangjiakou Fort and left the city blockage. Several miles were valleys. His Majesty said that he would join forces with Lord Shen after the hunting was harvested. How can it be legal?"

After hearing Xiao Taozi's words, Zang Xian thought to himself: "Don't look at his young age, he seems to have no experience in handling matters, but he is very experienced in thinking about things. He seems to be able to predict everything in advance, much better than Eunuch Zhang before."

Zang Xian replied carefully: "The military will be responsible for completing these things. Why bother, father-in-law?"

"well!"

Xiao Tiaozi sighed heavily, "I'm afraid that if His Majesty suddenly wants to do something again after leaving the frontier, it will catch people off guard, and I'm even more afraid that someone will fuel the fire in front of His Majesty."

Zang Xian asked: "Duang Daughter, are you worried about Concubine Li..."

"Everyone is worried that Qian Ning and Xu Tai clearly know something in advance this time. His Majesty is going to go out of the city to hunt, and the Jinyiwei benefited the most, which made our family very distressed." Xiao Zhuozi said angrily.

Zang Xian asked tentatively: "Since my father-in-law is not worried about Concubine Li's interference, why don't you ask her about her opinion on this matter?"

Xiao Zhuozi said angrily: "Did you think our family have never thought about it? After Your Majesty arrived in the backyard, our family went to see Concubine Li. When we arrived at the place, we found out that Concubine Li would accompany His Majesty later. We would go out hunting with His Majesty tomorrow morning, and we didn't have time to see our family... This matter has nothing to do with her, and we won't believe it if our family beaten to death. The key is that Concubine Li seems to be very wary of our family now. What should we do if we do?"

Zang Xian looked at the little twister, and his respect instantly subsided. He couldn't help asking: "Previously, Concubine Li proposed to let her father-in-law serve as the supervisor of the seal. It can be seen that the empress trusted her father-in-law very much, so how could she interfere? I'm afraid that if His Majesty thinks about this, Concubine Li can do nothing... His Majesty always has a wild and unsightly way to find..."

"I hope so."

Xiao Guozi stopped complaining and said, "Mr. Shen will come back tomorrow... Now Lord. Shen is harnessing the power of great victory. With Mr. Xie and others away, no one can compete with Lord. He meets outside the city. I am afraid that if he sees His Majesty, he will talk about the affairs of the government. You should think of a countermeasure to make our family prepare, such as what Lord. Shen will say to His Majesty... Our family doesn't want to fight a war that is unsure."

...

...

Just as Xiao Tiaozi was worried, Zhu Houzhao went out to hunt and was indeed a behind-the-scenes inspiration by Concubine Li, but Concubine Li only mentioned it slightly. If Zhu Houzhao was not so playful, she would not agree.

The most clever thing about Concubine Li arranged this matter was to skip everyone in the court. Even Chen Xi would not have thought that such a thing would happen.

In Li Fei's opinion, this will disrupt the deployment of many people, most of whom are what she needs to be prepared for. If this move can cause the enemy to be confused, then this move will be valuable.

That night, Concubine Li said she wanted to accompany her, but in fact she just stayed with Zhu Houzhao for less than half an hour and came out of the backyard because Zhu Houzhao's interest is not at all. Zhu Houzhao had just obtained many beauties, and these days they have been addicted to the gentle land, exerting rain and dew one by one.

As for Concubine Li, her "oldness and deterioration" had greatly reduced her appeal to Emperor Zhengde. Concubine Li knew how to stop at the right time and did not force her too much.

"Empress."

Concubine Li returned to her residence, and a small person was standing in front of her.

The visitor was not someone else, but was Jiang Bin who had introduced her to her before and helped her a lot. Now she was waiting for "promotion".

"Um."

Concubine Li nodded slightly as a response.

"Guard Jiang, you have been working under my own hands for a while. You are diligent and deeply appreciated by me. I am ready to promote you."

"Thank you, Empress."

Jiang Bin has been meeting Li Fei for several months by cursing her little knitted. During this period, he provided many resources, but he has not received any chance of promotion. At this time, he is already a little unable to bear it.

Concubine Li shook her head slightly: "Don't be busy thanking me. I can only recommend it to Your Majesty as much as possible. Finally, whether Your Majesty uses you or not depends on your Majesty's intention... This time, I plan to let you go out to hunt with you, temporarily serve as a guard, protect me and the emperor, and hope you can perform well."

"Yes, Empress, the last general will devote himself to his entire life until his death."

Jiang Bin was still respectful, but he was full of disappointment.

Although it is a huge honor before the Lord of the Jiajun, the promotion of official positions is still far away. However, Jiang Bin knows how to tolerate and knows that only by making full use of his relationship with Concubine Li can he have the opportunity to get close to the emperor and then use his excellent performance to attract Zhu Houzhao's attention.

Concubine Li sighed: "I know that many people want to be unfavorable to me, so I will temporarily recruit you to follow me as a guard, and at the same time protect your Majesty's safety. You must remember that if the palace is in danger, you must rush out to protect the host as soon as possible. If the palace is safe, you will have a bright future and your future will be bright. If something happens to me, your career will come to an end!"

Jiang Bin was timid, but he had already made up his mind that as long as he had the opportunity, he would perform well in front of the emperor and seize this opportunity that was most likely the first and last time he met the saint.

...

...

Early the next morning, Xiao Guozi finally met Concubine Li.

Xiao Taozi told Concubine Li in detail about Emperor Zhengde going out to hunt, but in fact he didn't need to say it at all, because Zhu Houzhao got up very early and arranged related matters.

Although according to Zhu Houzhao's intention yesterday, he had to set out early this morning, because he was not well prepared and even Zhu Houzhao was not well dressed, so he gave the people who were walking to a certain amount of buffering time.

"...Little Twist, what you said, Your Majesty had told me yesterday, so you don't need to remind me." Concubine Li looked lazy and leaned against the soft couch. She got up early in the morning to clean up herself. Now she was wearing a tight suit, highlighting her delicate figure, and this is what Zhu Houzhao likes her the most.

Xiao Tiaozi said anxiously: "Empress, Your Majesty suddenly changed his schedule and went out of the block. Are you not worried?"

Concubine Li said: "It's just going out to hunt. As the 195th master, Your Majesty wants to hunt on the grassland and relax. Do you have to dissuade him? Your Majesty is depressed because Shen Zhihou has monopolized his military achievements. It is understandable that he goes out to relax."

From the tone and attitude of his speech, Xiao Zhuozi could not tell whether Concubine Li was the key to the change of mind, but this was no longer the focus of his consideration. Xiao Zhuozi said worriedly: "I am afraid that after Your Majesty goes out of the frontier, the celebrations arranged before will not be held. At that time, I may be punished by Your Majesty... I want to make contributions in front of Your Majesty, and finally have a chance to show my performance. The Empress must help me."

"hehe."

Concubine Li smiled faintly, "Little Twist, you don't have to worry at all. It is a good thing for Your Majesty to go out to hunt. In this way, even if you have deviations in the reception ceremony, Your Majesty will not blame you, because Your Majesty is reasonable and understands that things are hasty, it is easy to omissions. On the contrary, whether Your Majesty can enjoy the fun outside needs to make arrangements in advance."

"Fun?"

Xiao Tiaozi blinked, but didn't understand what Concubine Li meant very much.

Concubine Li said angrily: "Of course, His Majesty needs to keep his body and mind happy during the hunting process... His Majesty is wise and powerful, and he definitely hopes to shoot some beasts. If there is not a single beast on the grassland, it is just a gadget such as hares and sparrows, I'm afraid I won't be happy, right?"

"This is exactly what I worry about... After all, this place is not a capital. Nanhaizi specializes in raising animals, sika deer, fox, deer, swan, black bear, even tiger, leopard, etc. Now I have to find a beast for His Majesty to shoot, how is that easy?" Xiao Tiaozi said anxiously.

"Is there nothing at all? You can't do anything, someone should have come up with a solution, right?" said Li Fei.

Xiao Guozi was very surprised: "Empress, do you want me to release wild animals for His Majesty to shoot and kill them to make a contribution?"

Concubine Li smiled and said, "That's true."

Xiao Tiaozi said, "I understand. It doesn't matter whether the Triumph Celebration can be held well now. The most important thing is to let Your Majesty enjoy the hunting process. I understand this way, I think... are there any problems?"

"Um."

Concubine Li nodded in praise, "This is what I mean. Please ask the local people to arrange it. After leaving Zhangjiakou Fort, there are mountains on both sides of the canyon, and then you will be grasslands. Although this area is not a traditional hunting ground, fortunately, Shen Shangshu has stepped on the grassland, and it is relatively safe. Letting a horse gallop in the mountains and fields is to fulfill His Majesty's dream of leveling the grassland that He Majesty had not completed before. This is also your best opportunity to make contributions! As for the ceremony to welcome Shen Zhihou's triumphant victory, even if you do it well, Your Majesty may not take it seriously."

...

...

Xiao Taozi finally understood what he should do. Although he heard from Concubine Li, he firmly believed in it.

"Yes, Your Majesty suddenly wanted to go out to hunt, of course what I care most about was the hunting process. Your Majesty did not personally participate in the war in Lord Shen to quell the grassland, and was unhappy. Now he intends to show his emperor's majesty. If Your Majesty can enjoy the hunting, then I will be very sure of being the chief seal of the Secretariat."

Due to the haste, Xiao Guozi quickly went to meet the military officer.

The three who met Xiao Guozi were Lu Wan, Wang Chang and Wang Shouren, because Hu Lian was responsible for the security work of Zhu Houzhao going out to hunt on the same day, and was not in the official office.

"Duang Ye said that you should arrange some wild animals for Your Majesty to hunt?" Lu Wan asked frowned after hearing Xiao Wuzi's words.
To be continued...