Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1018 Exploring
As an emperor, you also have to follow political rules.

The root of long-term and stable imperial power lies in the rules.

If you do whatever you want and let your temper decide, then you will destroy your own foundation.

Zhu Yixi thought for a long time, picked up the pen, took a stack of Chengxintang note paper, and wrote and drew on it, unable to lift his head for a long time.

Power is fascinating and at the same time a headache.

"Your Majesty, it's time to eat."

"Oh?" He looked up, the sky was getting dark, and the glass was gray: "What time is it?"

"It's almost six o'clock." Liu Afu glanced at the chime clock next to him and said, "You can write after dinner."

"Fine!"

After thinking about it all afternoon and working on it all afternoon, he really felt a little hungry, so he put the paper away, got up and went to Dongnuange.

Liu Afu smiled, and said "Pass the meal" to the eunuch guarding the Ming Hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and the eunuch in the hall passed this sentence to the eunuchs standing outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and passed it on layer by layer.

Before the echo disappeared, a dowry-like procession had already left the imperial dining room. This team consisted of dozens of well-dressed eunuchs, carrying seven or eight dining tables and dozens of red lacquer boxes with golden dragons painted on them. box, headed straight for the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

After entering the hall, the little eunuch with white sleeves took it over, and set it up in Dongnuange. There were two tables of dishes, three tables of dim sum, rice meal, and porridge, and a small table of pickles.

Delicate and small.

"Grandpa, look, this is a chive and egg crystal bag specially created by the chef in Yangzhou. The skin is as thin as a cicada's wing, and the inside is a leek egg. It not only looks a little bit romantic, but also tastes delicious."

Liu Afu seemed to know that the emperor had a heavy heart, so he hurriedly brought a crystal bag between his hands.

Zhu Yixi took a look and found that it was really light and thin, the yellow-green stuffing was faintly visible, and there was a circle of regular folds on it, which showed that it was done with care.

Small and exquisite, only the size of a baby's fist, it is not only a delicacy, but also a work of art.

After taking a bite, my mouth is full of leeks, but the taste is not strong, but there is a faint smell of meat.

Although he knew that leeks had little effect, he still had some inclinations toward them.

"Not bad, reward—"

The emperor casually said a word, and a person came outside the hall, with a big belly, and immediately knelt down to thank him.

A group of eunuchs seemed to have prepared a long time ago and brought out a plate of food.

On the top, there are two small gold ingots weighing ten taels, three silver melon seeds, and a gold-rimmed spatula.

Obviously, all appreciation has a formula.

After eating pastries and dinner, he seemed to be in a better mood, and continued to review the draft.

Suddenly, he saw a memorial, and he was in a bad mood:
Wang Yingxiong is critically ill.

Wang Yingxiong was born in 1589 and was a Jinshi in the 41st year of Wanli. Now in 1666, he is already in his seventies, and his body has always been strong.

When he sent troops to Sichuan to pursue Zhang Xianzhong, Wang Yingxiong joined him in Chongqing, comforting many gentry for him, and at the same time getting him a lot of money and food, ensuring logistics.

You must know that when he entered Shu with an army of tens of thousands, he didn't have much money and food. Naturally, he relied on the wealth and prosperity of Shu, and the gentry recruited them.

Without the help of court officials like Wang Yingxiong, it would have been difficult for him to raise the food and grass he needed in a short period of time.

Later, Wang Yingxiong entered the shogunate and became the first high-ranking court official to surrender under his command. The power of his example is infinite.

Later, he teamed up with Zhao Shu and formed Shaowu's cabinet in the early years. Later, when he was really old, he stepped down after serving as the chief assistant for two years.

However, unlike Zhao Shu who stayed in the capital, Wang Yingxiong returned to his hometown in Chongqing, and enjoyed playing with his grandchildren.

The old man's illness came on very violently. He was fine when he had dinner, but suddenly he fell ill, half of his body was crooked, and his mouth was drooling. He couldn't even tell who came.

"Send the imperial doctor over there for treatment, give medicine—"

After a moment of silence, Zhu Yixi said, "Also, let the Ministry of Rites know."

Liu Afu nodded.

At this time, he informed the Ministry of Rites that since he wanted to give Wang Yingxiong a posthumous title, this was the treatment only given to important officials of the imperial court.

Apparently from the news from Chongqing to Beijing, it is normal to prepare for a critical illness and possibly a real death.

Thinking of this, he was startled in vain.

Zhao Shu, Lu Daqi, Zhang Shenyan, etc. are all in the same age group, so they may be in danger in the past few years.

No wonder the emperor was in a bad mood.

The next day, the emperor woke up from the dragon bed, two beauties were lying tightly beside him, their faces were flushed, and the other was curled up at his feet, warming his feet with fullness.

To get rid of the depressed mood, you still have to rely on women.

The gloom in her heart dissipated, and Zhu Yixi got up and left the palace.

Yuquan Villa has been continuously expanding over the years. It has Mongolian scenery, West Asian style, and even a European castle, which keeps the emperor fresh.

After wandering around, Zhu Yixi suddenly said, "Let's go to Yanwu Hall to have a look!"

The Martial Arts Hall is near the Yuquan Villa, which was insisted by the emperor on purpose. He can spy on it at will, get to know this group of martial arts scholars, and win the hearts of the soldiers.

The date of the Martial Palace Examination has not yet been set, but the atmosphere in the Martial Arts Hall is getting worse day by day.

Most of the people can't stand the loneliness, and they start the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, each showing their own skills, wanting to find a good place and draw a golden talisman for their future.

Zhu Yixi looked into the distance, holding a binoculars in his hand, seeing these people's powerless appearance, a surge of anger suddenly rose in his heart, but it disappeared in no time.

Think about it, this group of people is like college students in the graduation season of later generations, who the hell still has mood training?
The future and the future are in front of us, and no one can be calm like water.

However, under this general trend, there will always be talents who will be pulled out.

I saw that during the training, several big men were still practicing, and they seemed to be unaffected.

Zhu Yixi became interested: "These people are calm, it seems that they have a plan in mind!"

"What are their names?"

The head teacher of the Martial Arts Hall at the side hurriedly took a look with the binoculars, and instantly fell in love with the emperor's words, and immediately said:
"The leader is a man with a black face and a long beard. Now there are three out of thirty. His name is Hu Guozhu."

"The one on the left has a broad face and big ears. He is called Zhao Liangzhu. He is quite unusual. He was originally the deputy battalion officer in the army, and he passed the Wu Jinshi examination a few years ago."

"The pale-faced one on the right is the captain recommended by the army, named Wang Jinbao..."

The Martial Arts Hall is not purely the Hanlin Academy of Wu Jinshi, there are other personnel entering.

For example, nobles, sons of the clan, and outstanding officers recommended by the army.

Let these people come to gilt to study, and help their future last time.

However, although the number of recommended places is very rare, there are very few mid-level officers, basically all low-level officers.

Because once the exam is not good, it is tantamount to giving up the original official position and downgrading the position.

Besides, even if you pass the exam, you will still have to study for two or three years, and the most you will be assigned in the future will be a team officer, deputy battalion officer, why bother?
"Zhao Liangzhu?"

Zhu Yixi murmured, why does this name sound so familiar?

But what he did was indeed audacious.

But visionary.

Born in Yanwutang, it will take a few years to climb to the original position, and the promotion will be faster. Only the visionary will give up the immediate interests to pursue the future.

In a sense, this vision is also very rare.

"Assign these people to the Guard Division."

Zhu Yixi had an idea in mind.

He had to observe closely for a period of time before releasing them to other places.

Over the years, the nobles have also been getting older. Although the second generation is gradually rising, the preparations for the third generation of generals are also starting.

Even, Zhu Yixi plans to focus on training a group of generals every five years, let them serve in the border, and polish them well.

People without thought, he must worry about.

At noon, the Martial Arts Hall ended the practice and began to eat lunch.

As a benchmark institution with the Hanlin Academy, the Martial Arts Hall covers an area of ​​nearly two hundred acres, and there are only a hundred war horses. There are also muskets and artillery, but the ammunition is scarce.

In terms of food, Yanwutang is not stingy, almost every meal has meat, and there is still unlimited supply, with meat and vegetables, but there is no wine.

The three of Zhao Liangdong saw the roast duck, steamed sea bass, tofu with vegetables, fried pork with bean sprouts, and eight-treasure rice on the blackboard. They couldn't help saying:
"Today, there are three pieces of meat in this meal."

"It's not about distribution, it's natural to have to pay for it."

Wang Jinbao smiled and said, "Cherish it, there will be no such good days in the future!"

Hu Guozhu was very straightforward. He picked up his rice bowl and lined up: "Eat quickly, it's been a day in the sun today, and my stomach is almost hungry, and my heart is sticking to my back."

Zhao Liangdong shook his head and also lined up.

The three of them form a group, but they are better friends.

While enjoying lunch, the three of them discussed.

"Pillar, where do you want to go?"

Wang Jinbao said impatiently.

"Nonsense, of course it's the frontier army." Hu Guozhu said casually: "I'm getting old, and I can't compare with you young people. I can only go to the frontier army to make meritorious service, so that I can be promoted as soon as possible."

"I don't ask for any great credit. It would be nice to get a Baron."

"Bah, I want to fart." Wang Jinbao couldn't help rolling his eyes: "If you are assigned to the navy, you may have to learn to swim."

"Nonsense, why can't I go to the navy?"

Hu Guozhu hurriedly said, with rejection written all over his face.

For the distribution of the Martial Arts Hall, the best is to go to the Guards Department, followed by the capital and the frontier army, and the worst is the Navy Division.

Because there is not much difference between the navy and infantry at this time, and they all pay attention to the same art of war. They only need to get used to it a little, and they can command calmly.

However, it is difficult for naval generals to go ashore to command infantry.

This will greatly restrict the future of the navy.

Even if the navy has made great achievements in suppressing pirates, but for the sake of the future, no one wants to go to the navy's yamen.

That's why everyone in Yanwutang fears the navy.

But there is no way, the navy will recommend people from time to time, and at the same time there will be a shortage of people, the martial arts hall will randomly send some people to the navy, sometimes there are a dozen or so, and sometimes there are two or three.

After all, it is impossible for the navy to play by itself all the time, and placing manpower is a necessary means.

"Have you heard?" Zhao Liangdong said in a low voice: "Recently, the frontier troops seem to be mobilized frequently. Several of my friends wrote to me and moved their positions accordingly. The drills have also been stepped up."

"where?"

After staying in the martial arts hall for many years, the three of them were extremely vigilant, and immediately woke up to the breath of war.

"Chahar, Suiyuan—"

Zhao Liangdong said softly: "It seems to be in the north."

"It should be so." Wang Jinbao was full of regret: "Unfortunately, we will be assigned soon, and we will definitely not let novices like us go to war. There is not much hope."

"Hey!" Hu Guozhu also regretted: "The next time we catch up with such a war, I don't know when it will be. If you miss it, it will really be gone."

As a soldier, there is no dislike of war.

Especially the knighthood hanging in front.

Even among those noble children, there are quite a few who want a double or triple rank, which is an extremely honorable thing.

"It's no wonder those nobles have been in a hurry these days. In the past, they were the most calm. Distribution is not a big deal." Wang Jinbao sighed:

"Now they are probably anxious whether they can be assigned to the frontier army to fight!"

The three were silent one after another.

The background is different, and the desire at this time is also different.

A few days later, the Ministry of War sent a servant to come to Yanwu Hall to announce their whereabouts.

Those who went to the bodyguard department naturally smiled; those who went to the navy division had a bitter face and could not accept it.

Zhao Liangdong and the others were equally anxious.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, I heard their names.

"Hu Guozhu, the bodyguard department, the third-class bodyguard."

"Ma Jinbao..."

"Zhao Liangdong..."

The three of them are all guards, the same third-class guards, and they are inexplicably surprised.

Similarly, the Martial Arts Hall was extremely surprised.

You must know that there are generally only 50 people assigned to the Guards Department every year. These people are basically divided among nobles and elites, but it is really strange that these three people have no background power to be selected.

Unknowingly, time quietly came to October.

Several horse-drawn sleighs galloped past without stopping at the river, until they reached the bank, and then they stopped the horses. A man on the sled stepped down, took off his appearance, and revealed Shi Nai's face:

"Brother Qian, Brother Zhang, Brother Li, Brother Cheng, come down and take a few steps?"

He was dressed in mink fur, but there was a pair of inner armor inside, which wrapped him tightly, leaving only a pair of big eyes.

Then, several sleds stopped, and several generals stood on the river.

Beside them, an army composed of sleds was running slowly, the speed can be described as slow.

On the road by the river, there were many infantrymen on horseback. They were stepping on the snow, and their speed was even slower.

"In front of me is the place where the Selen River and the Shilok River meet, and not long ago is the so-called Lake Baikal."

Shi Nai took out the map, breathed hot air, and said softly.

"It should be." The 40-year-old Qian Ming squinted his eyes and said, "According to common sense, we should have to walk for about three days before reaching Lake Baikal."

"But we are at least a thousand miles away from the so-called Fengjing Mansion."

Several people gasped for breath and told the way forward.

"The location here is just right. Set up a camp to meet the army behind."

Shi Nai said to Qian Ming, "Then I will leave this place to you, Brother Qian."

(End of this chapter)