My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 171 The most lacking thing in this world is opportunity

As soon as the boat stopped at the pier, Zhang Zhong couldn't wait to get off the boat. When he saw Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Yong on the pier, he also showed a bright smile.

"My God, Brother Zhang, how did you become like this?"

When Zhu Yong saw Zhang Zhong coming off the boat, he was stunned for a long time before he dared to recognize him.

Zhu Zhanhe was also very surprised. It had only been a month since we last saw each other. Not only did Zhang Zhong look darker, but he also lost a lot of weight, but he also looked leaner, and he no longer had the same rouge as before.

"Haha~, the sun on the sea is very poisonous. I peeled off a layer of skin within a few days after boarding the ship, and it turned darker and darker!"

Zhang Zhong laughed loudly, showing his white teeth.

Although he is dark and thin, Zhang Zhong's spirit is much stronger than before, and his whole person is full of vitality.

"Why are you alone, Chang Wei didn't come back?"

Zhu Zhanhe suddenly looked back with his head, but he didn't see Chang Wei's figure, so he asked curiously.

"Brother Chang stayed in Suzhou. The imperial fleet assembled there, and the ship he was in charge of was also there, so he didn't come back, but he asked me to bring him a letter to his family."

As Zhang Zhong said, he took out Chang Wei's letter from his pocket, and handed it to Zhu Zhanhe. Giving it to him was equivalent to giving it to Chang Wei's family.

"Let's go, we've prepared wine for you, let's chat while eating!"

After Zhu Zhanhe received the letter, he pulled Zhang Zhong into the carriage.

The three came to Shililou, which is the most famous restaurant in the capital, and Zhu Zhanhe had already booked a private room here.

As soon as the food and wine were served, Zhang Zhong picked up his chopsticks and swept away the dishes like a wind blowing away.

"This is the reincarnation of a starving ghost. Could it be that you haven't eaten anything on the boat this month?"

Seeing Zhang Zhong eating, Zhu Yong couldn't help asking in surprise.

"There are more than 100 people on a boat. Every time they eat, it's like fighting a war. If you slow down, you will starve. If you don't go fast, you can't!"

Zhang Zhong threw a piece of bone that he had gnawed into the plate, and looked at the empty plate, and said unsatisfactorily.

"Brother Zhang, you can do it. Your appetite has more than doubled. You didn't eat like this before!"

Looking at the mess on the table, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help exclaiming, and then asked someone to serve another table of food and wine.

After the second table of food was served, Zhang Zhong was not polite, and ate again, without the slightest elegance of before.

After eating and drinking enough, Zhang Zhong let out a sigh of relief and said: "The food in the capital is still delicious. Although there is no shortage of meat on board, the cooking is too confusing. Everything is cooked in one pot. It is said that this is still good. If we go out to sea in the future, we may not be able to fire on the boat, and we can only eat dry food every day."

"In the past, I only heard my father talk about the hardships in the army, but I couldn't imagine what it was like. Today I finally saw it."

Zhu Yong was speechless, originally he was determined to enlist in the army yesterday, but now seeing Zhang Zhong's tragic situation, he was a little shaken again.

"Brother Zhang, how are you and Chang Wei? After suffering so much on the boat, can you persevere?"

Zhu Zhanhe was also worried that Zhang Zhong couldn't bear such suffering, so he asked again.

"Don't worry, although the boat is bitter, there is also fun in it, especially after leaving the Yangtze River, the big ship is driving on the endless sea, the world is so big that people feel that they are so insignificant. I have seen such a world , Even my heart has opened up!"

When Zhang Zhong talked about his experience at sea, his whole body exuded a different kind of radiance. It could be seen that he still liked life at sea very much.

Zhu Zhanhe was also very curious about what Zhang Zhong and the others experienced at sea, so he asked Zhang Zhong to tell them in detail.

Following Zhang Zhong's narration, Zhu Zhanhe also had a general understanding of life at sea in this era.

Zhang Zhong and Chang Wei boarded a big blessing ship together, which was Zheng He's treasure ship on their voyage to the West. The ship contained a lot of supplies and was going to Quanzhou.

There are other ships traveling with them. Apart from supplies, most of them are newcomers like Chang Wei and Zhang Zhong. They need to learn various skills on board under the command of some veteran crew members, such as manipulating the ship, observing the water regime, watching Wind direction, weather and so on.

Generals like Chang Wei have to learn to jump gang battles, which is also the mainstream tactic of naval warfare in this era.

Both Zhang Zhong and Chang Wei were not quite used to the life on the ship at first, especially Chang Wei, who vomited as soon as he boarded the ship, and became very seasick.

However, the two still gritted their teeth and persisted, and even slowly began to like this kind of life on the sea.

As the sons of honorable nobles, Zhang Zhong and Chang Wei have received a good education since they were young. They are capable of both literature and martial arts, and they can learn things faster than others, so they are quickly appreciated by the ship's officers.

Moreover, the directions of their studies are also different. Zhang Zhong mainly studies the control and command of ships, while Chang Wei mainly studies the tactics of naval warfare. After all, he is a general, and fighting is his main duty.

"Brother Chang is a member of a hundred households in the army. He has already served on the official ship he is in charge of. He needs time to get in touch with his subordinates, and I need to go back to Beijing to board the ship, so I came back alone."

Finally, Zhang Zhong said again, looking at Zhu Zhanhe while speaking.

"Don't worry, the three ships of our palace have been prepared long ago. After you board the ship, you will be in charge of the ships of our palace on behalf of me. In addition, you are not polite to the merchant ships of other families. The order will be ordered, as long as it does not affect them. If you make money, there will be no problems."

Zhu Zhanhe said immediately.

Of course, Zheng He was the leader of the official ships in the fleet sailing to the west, but the merchant fleet organized by Princess Han and the others did not have a clear leader, and now mainly obeyed Zheng He's arrangements.

So after Zhang Zhong went to the Merchant Navy, he could only command the three ships of the King of Han's Mansion for the time being. As for whether other ships could obey his orders, it depended on Zhang Zhong's own ability.

"I see!"

Zhang Zhong nodded, but looking at the expression on his face, he seemed a little nervous.

"Brother Zhang, what's wrong with you?"

Zhu Zhanhe saw that Zhang Zhong's expression was wrong, so he asked again.

"This one……"

Zhang Zhong hesitated for a moment, and finally smiled wryly.

"Zhan He, I didn't know until I got on the ship that the world is so big, and it is not an easy task to command a fleet. I am afraid that only people like Zheng Neigong can do it, and I just Even if you are an honorable son who left home, it is difficult to control the entire merchant fleet, even with your support behind, so I..."

At the end of Zhang Zhong's speech, his face was full of uneasiness, obviously he had no confidence in himself.

"Brother Zhang, you think too much. Not only the three ships of the palace, but also the ships of our family will be under your command in the future, and there are also the ships of the British government. Even if you leave home, how dare they not obey your orders? Yes. The three of us take the lead, who dares not listen to you in the entire merchant fleet?"

At this moment, Zhu Yong patted his chest and promised.

"But even so, I still don't have the confidence to lead such a huge fleet."

Zhang Zhong finally expressed his worries.

"I can understand Brother Zhang. In fact, when Grandpa Huang asked me to take over the East Factory, I was as uneasy as you. I was afraid that I would not be able to do well. But don't you see that I am doing well now?"

Zhu Zhanhe laughed, and then used himself as an example to comfort Zhang Zhongdao.

"But people are different. If you can do well, it doesn't mean I can do well."

Zhang Zhong still felt guilty.

In fact, this is not to blame Zhang Zhong, he used to be an ignorant dude, no one would dare to mess with him in the capital due to his family background, but until his life changed, he went to the boat to see the wider world, and knew very well that he was in charge of a It is not easy to own a ship, let alone control a fleet.

"Brother Zhang, have you ever heard the saying 'A thousand soldiers are easy to get, but a general is hard to find'?"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhanhe suddenly smiled and asked.

"Of course I've heard it. This sentence just means that talents are rare, and I'm worried that I don't have the ability to command thousands of troops."

Zhang Zhong nodded, even less confident when speaking.

"Is it really hard to find a general? I don't think so!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhanhe shook his head again, and then gave an example: "When Emperor Taizu left Haozhou for Dingyuan, there were 24 people following him, that is, the famous 24 generals of Huaixi. Could it be that these 24 people were generals from the beginning?"

"Why not? According to folklore, it is precisely because Emperor Taizu is destined to conquer the world that Xingyun gathers around him. Otherwise, how could there be 24 random people, all of whom are generals?"

Zhu Yong disagreed with Zhu Zhanhe's opinion.

"Brother Zhu, you are wrong. In fact, there is no shortage of talents in this world. What is lacking is only opportunities!"

But Zhu Zhanhe shook his head, and said a truth that was a bit counterintuitive.

"Chance?"

Both Zhang Zhong and Zhu Yong were surprised, this kind of statement is new.

"Think about it, among the 24 generals in Huaixi, most of them are fellow villagers of Emperor Taizu, many of them are his childhood playmates, and they followed Emperor Taizu faithfully when he was at his lowest point, so Emperor Taizu naturally needs to use them highly. , give them countless opportunities to lead troops, as long as there are enough opportunities, no matter how stupid people are, they can find their own strengths and thus display their talents!"

When Zhu Zhanhe said this, he seemed to feel that it was not enough, so he pointed to Zhang Zhong and Zhu Yong and continued.

"Back when Grandpa Huang was the King of Yan, your grandfather Zhang Zhong was only the commander of Yanshan Guards, and your father Zhu Yong was only a deputy Qianhu. If you have the opportunity to be a soldier, if you accumulate experience in combat, I am afraid that you will not stand out and become a generation of famous generals."

"I understand!"

Zhang Zhong finally slapped the table when he heard this.

"Not only my father, most of Jing Nan's heroes were just middle- and lower-level generals at the beginning, but it was because of Jing Nan's opportunity that they were able to exercise their abilities. Famous generals are by no means born, but need to be on the battlefield frequently. It can only be forged through tempering!"

"That's right, the same is true for famous generals, and so is talent. Brother Zhang, you have ambitions and a heart, and we have given you the opportunity. Why don't you worry about becoming a talent?"

Zhu Zhanhe laughed.

　Today there are only two chapters, and each chapter is [-] words, dismantling it will affect reading, so I will not dismantle it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)