Chapter 064: Isn’t it good enough for Shao Rong?
Shao Rong felt even more upset after the Red Turban Army in Haozhou raised the red flag.
Shao Rong and Zhu Yuanzhang both followed Guo Zixing when he started the uprising.
Shao Rong followed Guo Zixing and became a general, while Zhu Yuanzhang was spotted by Guo Zixing and became his personal soldier.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang, due to his bravery in battle, gradually became the leader of the Nine Corps, Guo Zixing's adopted son-in-law, and the most useful general under Guo Zixing. In the later period, all of Guo Zixing's soldiers and generals were recruited by Zhu Yuanzhang.
To be honest, although Shao Rong was the first to defect to Guo Zixing, he had no complaints about Zhu replacing Guo, because Guo Zixing and his son were really complete wastes.
Shao Rong thought he was not broad-minded, but he couldn't understand how Guo Zixing could treat Zhu Yuanzhang so disgustingly.
Zhu Yuanzhang recruited soldiers and generals; he fought and fought to the death in battles and defending cities.
Guo Zixing was responsible for depriving Zhu Yuanzhang of his military power when there was no war, locking Zhu Yuanzhang in a small dark room, denying all of Zhu Yuanzhang's opinions, allowing his son to harass Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife, and quarreling with other Red Turban Army generals and being arrested, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to rescue him.
Especially the last point, which made Guo Zixing's subordinates lose face.
Guo Zixing also knew that he had lost all face and eventually died of depression.
Shao Rong truly felt that Zhu Yuanzhang had done his utmost to Guo Zixing. If it were him, he would have killed Guo Zixing with a single blow when he was repeatedly oppressed by him.
Shao Rong felt upset only because he felt that his status had been damaged.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was still leading the Haozhou Red Turban Army, he was a senior veteran of the Haozhou Red Turban Army and Zhu Yuanzhang treated him with respect.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was leading the Zhu family army, he joined Zhu Yuanzhang only after Guo Zixing's death, so his qualifications were actually less than those of other generals.
Even though Zhu Yuanzhang gave him an official position second only to himself and asked him to lead troops in battle on his behalf many times, and his reputation and status in Zhu's army were very high, Shao Rong was still very uneasy.
This uneasiness reached its peak when he tried to contact the Chen family many times but failed. Other Haozhou generals who were much lower in status than him knew the identity of the Chen family. He asked his subordinates who knew the information, but the subordinates kept silent.
When Zhang Shicheng's men approached him with Xie Zaixing's letter, he finally made up his mind.
Shao Rong spoke to Chen Biao with a smile and was very kind to him.
Although Chen Biao had never had private contact with Shao Rong, he knew that Shao Rong held a very high position under Zhu Yuanzhang, so he was extremely respectful and polite.
But when Shao Rong invited Chen Biao to have lunch, Chen Biao refused.
"I am young and prone to illness, so I can't eat many foods. My parents don't allow me to eat outside." Chen Biao said obediently.
Shao Rong frowned slightly: "Didn't you have dinner with Marshal Zhu's adopted sons?"
Chen Biao lied calmly, "When I ate at the Chen Family Restaurant, the family chef always cooked for me in the restaurant."
Chen Biao lowered his head, his expression awkward, and said, "I'm too weak. Marshal Shao is making fun of me."
Shao Rong's lips moved, and he wanted to say, "What if I have to invite you?" as he would a subordinate. But when he saw Chen Biao's small figure, the words were on his lips and he stopped.
No matter how thick-skinned he was, it was not easy for him to threaten a child.
Chen Biao looked at Shao Rong pitifully, ready to shed tears at any moment, just waiting for Shao Rong's tone to become serious, and then he would start crying.
When adults face children, they always look down on them, thinking that children don’t understand anything.
Chen Biao had lived through many lives, and having grown up in a honey pot, he had seen a lot of genuine love. So Shao Rong, who thought he was very kind, but whose tone and eyes revealed an overbearing and ulterior motive, immediately alerted Chen Biao.
There is a conflict between arrogance and ulterior motives, and Shao Rong's attitude in seducing Chen Biao is too perfunctory.
When Chen Biao rejected Shao Rong, his eyes wandered around the faces of Zhang's father and son. His pitiful look seemed to be asking Zhang's father and son for help.
But Chen Biao was actually observing the attitude of the Zhang father and son when Shao Rong threatened him.
As the in-laws of his cousin, Zhang Jiacheng should have said a few good words for his cousin who was in such an awkward atmosphere.
Even though Shao Rong is the boss of the eldest son of the Zhang family and has a high status, it is okay for them to laugh it off and say, "The child is still young and ignorant."
The Zhang family kept silent and pretended not to hear or see anything, which made Chen Biao a little angry.
My uncle and mother chose this family because they had never done anything against the law and had no disputes with their neighbors. They should be an honest family that was easy to worry about.
But are these family members so honest and dull that they can’t even say a word to help their in-laws’ young children?
Shao Rong racked his brains to think of how to take Chen Biao away openly, and did not speak for a while.
There was an awkward silence.
Chen Biao put down the box and spoke first, "I still have schoolwork to do, so I have to go to the elementary school to see Mr. Ji. If I'm late, with Mr. Ji's strictness, my palm will be in trouble."
Chen Biao bowed and said, "My cousin's gift has been delivered. I will take my leave now."
Shao Rong immediately said: "Wait!"
Chen Biao was puzzled: "What else does Marshal Shao want?"
Shao Rong once again forced out a gentle attitude: "I'll send someone to ask for leave for you from Mr. Ji. Since we meet today, I'll take you out to play."
Chen Biao immediately said seriously, "A scholar should study hard. How can he play when he should be in class? I appreciate Marshal Shao's kindness."
Shao Rong frowned. "You went along when I asked you to go play, but why didn't you give me face? Even your father, Chen Guorui, wouldn't dare treat me like this!"
Chen Biao finally squeezed out a few tears and said stubbornly and puzzledly, "The Marshal insisted on letting me skip class when I was supposed to be in class. I refused. How can I say that I didn't give the Marshal face? I heard that the Marshal's children also studied under famous teachers since childhood. Does the Marshal think that his children should skip classes? I am only eight years old. I don't understand why the Marshal insisted on letting me skip classes. I have to skip classes!"
Chen Biao's tearful and aggrieved words confused Shao Rong.
Not to mention Shao Rong, even the Zhang family father and son found it hard to watch.
Marshal Shao was a formidable fighter, but why was he so clumsy with words? He didn't even know how to come up with a good excuse. How could he force a child to skip class?
What Shao Rong came to the Zhang family to discuss was how to quietly take Chen Biao away, and then use Chen Biao to force Chen Guorui to show up and betray Zhu Yuanzhang together and defect to Zhang Shicheng.
Chen Biao happened to run into him. When Chen Biao was waiting outside the door, Shao Rong decided that it was better to do it today than to wait, so he found an excuse to kidnap Chen Biao today.
Shao Rong couldn't rob openly because he had to hide and couldn't fall out with him right now.
At least not today.
Shao Rong had never been a smooth-talking human trafficker, and for a moment he couldn't think of a better excuse.
The Zhang family elder finally spoke to smooth things over: "Biao'er, Marshal Shao only means well, not this. I'll take you to the backyard to tidy up your appearance, and you should hurry to class."
After saying that, he was about to reach out to pull Chen Biao.
The Chen family servant stepped forward and stood in front of Chen Biao.
The old man from the Zhang family's face changed: "What do you mean!"
"Don't bother, Lord Taishan. I'm here to take over." Li Wenzhong strode in from outside the door.
Chen Biao turned around and stretched out his hand very naturally. Li Wenzhong bent down and pulled Chen Biao into his arms with one hand.
Shao Rong and the Zhang family father and son all looked terrified.
Shao Rong said angrily: "Li Wenzhong, what do you mean by this!"
The old man from the Zhang family also asked: "How did you get in?"
Li Wenzhong said with a stern face, "Marshal Shao, what do you mean by making things difficult for my eight-year-old cousin? If I have offended you in any way, please come to me. Biao'er is just a child, and you three adults surrounded him, not allowing him to leave, and even blocked the door, not allowing me to come and pick up Biao'er. Isn't that a bit too much?!"
As Li Wenzhong's voice became louder and louder, Chen Biao lowered his head and buried it in Li Wenzhong's chest, crying out "woohoo" in cooperation.
Li Wenzhong's body trembled, and anger almost burst out of his eyes.
When Chen Biao came to deliver a letter, Li Wenzhong was nervous and followed him along, but he waited at the intersection of the street where Zhang's family lived, as he was embarrassed to be discovered by the Zhang family.
No matter where Chen Biao went, he would be accompanied by at least five servants armed with swords. One of them would serve as a companion when Chen Biao got tired of walking, and the other four were bodyguards.
In addition to the five servants in the open, as soon as Chen Biao left the Chen family, twenty guards would immediately leave the Chen family secretly and hide in various places to protect Chen Biao's safety.
When Chen Biao was accompanied by Li Wenzhong, Chen Ying, Zhu Wenzhen, Li Zhen and others, these people automatically became the captains of the guard.
When Chen Biao was in trouble, the servants of the Chen family who were accompanying him realized something was wrong and left on the pretext of going to the toilet.
When someone followed him to the toilet, he immediately determined that something was wrong and quietly sent out a signal.
The secret guards hidden outside the Zhang family's wall received the signal. Some of them quietly climbed into the Zhang family's courtyard, and some notified Li Wenzhong.
Li Wenzhong almost had a cardiac arrest.
Biao'er helped him deliver a gift to his future father-in-law's house and found an excuse to meet his fiancée, and something unexpected happened?!
When dealing with Biao'er, Zhu Yuanzhang asked the guards to rather allow a misunderstanding than let Biao'er encounter any danger.
Even though this was his fiancée's parents' home, Li Wenzhong still climbed over the wall and forced his way in.
He was still holding on to a hope, but when he saw Chen Biao crying, the string of rationality in his heart immediately broke, and the long sword at his waist was unsheathed.
Shao Rong's face changed drastically: "Li Wenzhong! What do you want to do? Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you are Marshal Zhu's adopted son!"
Before Li Wenzhong could say anything, Chen Biao's sobs rose to a crescendo, shrieking, "I want to go home, I want to go home! Wuuuuuu! I want to go home! Brother Zhong, I'm so scared! I want to go home!"
Chen Biao's screams, as a child who had not yet reached voice change, became louder and louder, piercing the eardrums of several adults.
The Zhang family's courtyard is not big. After Chen Biao's shout, the old lady of the Zhang family, who was confused about what was going on in the backyard, couldn't help but come to check.
The old lady of the Zhang family was puzzled: "What's going on? Oh, whose child is this? Why is he crying?"
Li Wenzhong glanced at a few people, turned around and left without saying a word.
When leaving, he asked Chen Biao's guards to take away the box that Chen Biao had placed on the table.
Shao Rong kept roaring, but Li Wenzhong ignored him.
Shao Rong almost drew his knife, but was held down by Zhang's father and son, who signaled Shao Rong not to act impulsively.
After Li Wenzhong left, the eldest son of the Zhang family murmured, "He must be suspicious. What should we do?"
The Zhang family elder said calmly, "Marshal Shao has a blunt temper and carries the bloodthirsty aura of the battlefield. He just wanted to take Chen Biao out for fun, but accidentally scared him and made him cry. What can we do? Marshal Shao should take the lead in explaining the situation to Zhu Yuanzhang."
Shao Rong frowned: "Then how can we take Chen Biao away?"
The Zhang family elder said, "Forget it if you can't take it with you. The future plan is more important."
The eldest son of the Zhang family whispered, "Won't we alert the enemy today?"
The Zhang family elder shook his head. "It was just a child who was frightened and cried. Marshal Shao can just explain it. Could Marshal Shao deliberately target a child? Even if they asked Chen Biao, Chen Biao only knew that Marshal Shao first wanted to treat him to a meal and then took him out to play, but he refused. Marshal Shao's tone was not good, and he was frightened and cried. Isn't this a good intention?"
The old lady of the Zhang family was confused: "What are you talking about?"
The old man from the Zhang family frowned and said, "Woman, why are you asking so many questions? Go back to the backyard!"
The old lady of the Zhang family lowered her head and left timidly.
But when she left, she couldn't help but clutch the corner of her clothes.
After hearing what the old man from the Zhang family said, Shao Rong felt a little relieved.
"Perhaps I can use the excuse of an apology to contact Chen Guorui?" Shao Rong said, "Zhu Yuanzhang distributed the Chen family's land to the common people, used the Chen family's money to subsidize military expenses, and let the Chen family's restaurant take care of the refugees. The Chen family worked hard as merchants, but they didn't save anything. They don't live like wealthy merchants at all. I don't believe that Chen Guorui doesn't feel any resentment!"
Although there are rumors outside that these were offered by the Chen family on their own initiative.
But no one is a fool. When other forces do not ask merchants to "offer themselves voluntarily", who doesn't know what those merchants' "offering themselves voluntarily" means?
The old man from the Zhang family said, "I'm afraid Zhu Yuanzhang won't let you, Marshal Shao, contact Chen Guorui, but you can give it a try."
Shao Rong nodded.
As long as Zhu Yuanzhang lets him contact Chen Guorui, he has the confidence to persuade Chen Guorui to act together!
Who wouldn’t resent the person who made them squander all their wealth?
…
"Brother Baoer, there are problems with Marshal Shao and the Zhang family." After leaving the Zhang family and getting on the carriage to go home, Chen Biao, who had been crying non-stop, raised his head, without a tear in his eyes.
He managed to squeeze out a few tears at first, but by the time he fell into Li Wenzhong's arms, the traces of tears had long disappeared.
Li Wenzhong looked at Chen Biao carefully. Seeing that Chen Biao had just howled dryly and had not really cried out of fear , he breathed a sigh of relief: "What happened?"
Chen Biao said calmly, "He first tried to take me out for dinner, and after I refused, he still persisted in wanting to take me away alone. This is not common sense."
Li Wenzhong frowned.
Chen Biao added, "The Zhang family is also very unreasonable. When I pretended to be frightened and cried by Marshal Shao, they said nothing and didn't even try to smooth things over. When I was about to leave and Marshal Shao couldn't find an excuse to keep me, the Zhang family suddenly said they wanted to take me to the backyard to tidy up my appearance."
Li Wenzhong immediately understood what Chen Biao meant: "They want to take you away?!"
Chen Biao said: "This is the worst guess."
Li Wenzhong said in a deep voice: "This is indeed the worst guess."
No matter how much of a prodigy Chen Biao is, he is not worthy of being coveted by someone of Shao Rong's status.
In Shao Rong's eyes, Chen Biao has only one value, that is, he is the eldest son of the Chen family.
There is only one reason why someone wants to capture Chen Biao, and that is to use Chen Biao to force the Chen family.
But Shao Rong is the most senior, prestigious and high-ranking general under his uncle. Why would he force the Chen family, who are also his uncle's subordinates?
Could it be possible that if Shao Rong defected to other forces, his status would be higher than that under Zhu Yuanzhang?
Li Wenzhong thought of Xie Zaixing.
The uncle trusted and valued Xie Zaixing very much. He arranged for Xie Zaixing's daughter to be Zhu Wenzhen's wife, and also tried to arrange for Xie Zaixing's other daughter to marry Xu Da.
Even if Xie Zaixing didn't know that Zhu Wenzheng was his uncle's biological nephew, the fact that he was Chen Guorui's biological nephew and his uncle's adopted son was enough to show how much his uncle valued Xie Zaixing.
Not to mention Xu Da's identity.
Could Xie Zaixing be more valued by joining Zhang Shicheng than by his uncle? Yet, for some unknown reason, Xie Zaixing joined Zhang Shicheng.
Is Shao Rong the second Xie Zaixing?
Chen Biao said, "I'm just guessing, I have no evidence. Marshal Shao's status and reputation are extremely high, and we can't confront him head-on. When we get home, let's write a letter immediately to warn Dad to be careful, so that Shao Rong doesn't turn the tables on us. Brother Baoer, wait until evening and visit Marshal Shao to apologize."
Li Wenzhong's eyes flashed and he nodded with his lips pursed.
There was a moment of silence in the carriage.
After a while, Chen Biao said, "I don't understand why Marshal Shao would betray Marshal Zhu. Was Marshal Zhu not good enough to him? Or does he think that his achievements will surpass his master, so why not kill him first?"
Chen Biao had tried many times to secretly instigate his own father to rebel because he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would become very cruel in the future.
But others cannot see the future. How can we see the signs of cruelty in Zhu Yuanzhang, who is now showing so much benevolence?
Besides, Uncle Xu and Uncle Li were both highly regarded, so how could Shao Rong be the next in line? Not even his father, Chen Guorui, could be the next!
Li Wenzhong's agitated mood had calmed down. He said calmly, "Perhaps it's because Marshal Xu and Lord Li first surrendered to their adoptive father, while Shao Rong's first lord was Guo Zixing."
Chen Biao sighed: "Is that so."
The carriage stopped, Chen Biao returned home, wrote a letter to Chen Guorui telling him his guess, and then reminded Chen Guorui not to conflict with Shao Rong.
His own feelings and judgments could not be used as evidence that Shao Rong was attempting to betray his master. As long as Shao Rong did not openly raise the banner of rebellion, he would still be Zhu Yuanzhang's second-in-command and one of the most senior members of the Haozhou Red Turban Army.
Chen Biao felt very melancholy when he sent the letter.
Shao Rong has a very high reputation in the army.
Although all the soldiers after Guo Zixing were recruited by Zhu Yuanzhang, some of them also followed Guo Zixing when he first started the uprising. The old Red Turban Army veterans in Haozhou all regarded Shao Rong as their backbone.
Zhu Yuanzhang allowed the elders of the Haozhou Red Turban Army to take Shao Rong as their backbone and let Shao Rong lead them in battle, which shows that Zhu Yuanzhang really trusted and valued Shao Rong. Otherwise, Zhu Yuanzhang would have countless reasons to take away Shao Rong's military power.
For example, Tang He had more experience in the Haozhou Red Turban Army than Shao Rong, and was the one who invited Zhu Yuanzhang to join the Haozhou Red Turban Army. Tang He could completely replace Shao Rong's position.
Zhu Yuanzhang had countless outstanding generals under his command. If Shao Rong could fight, other generals could also fight. If Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of Shao Rong, he would not have given him the opportunity to make achievements.
Doesn’t Shao Rong know this clearly?
Chen Biao couldn't understand it. He thought that he just had the perspective of a modern person and knew more about some seemingly true history.
When it comes to controlling people's hearts, he is on the same starting line as people of this era and is no better than any adult.
"If Shao Rong rebelled, the Hongwu Emperor would definitely be very sad." Chen Biao murmured to himself, "He killed so many meritorious officials, how many of them actually betrayed him?"
Chen Biao always believed that Emperor Hongwu killed his meritorious officials simply because he was afraid of them and wanted to pave the way for his successor.
Now that he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's sincere efforts, he felt a little uncertain.
Did Zhu Yuanzhang really suffer betrayals so many times that he couldn't tell who had betrayed him and so he just killed them all?
Chen Biao shook his head. Whatever the reason for Zhu Yuanzhang's madness in his later years, it was a fact that he would go mad. He should prepare to go to sea and find a way out.
…
Zhu Yuanzhang just went to appease Chang Yuchun.
Chang Yuchun was filled with resentment and wanted to return to the front to fight as a brave general. He almost fell to the ground and hugged Zhu Yuanzhang's thighs and cried. Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to bring Chang Yuchun back to Yingtian to let him calm down first.
On the way, he received letters from Chen Biao and Li Wenzhong.
After reading the letter, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression went blank.
Chang Yuchun's heart sank, and he straightened his back involuntarily: "My Lord, what happened in Yingtian?!"
Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer.
Chang Yuchun didn't ask any more questions.
After a long silence, Zhu Yuanzhang finally said in a hoarse voice, "Am I... am I not good enough to Shao Rong?"
Chang Yuchun took a breath.
Zhu Yuanzhang's question had only one meaning, that is, Shao Rong was a traitor!
Chang Yuchun immediately said, "My lord! There are capricious villains everywhere. How can you find the reason ? Please, my lord, execute Shao Rong!"
Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes and couldn't help shedding tears: "I'll think about it again."
Chang Yuchun raised his voice and said, "My lord, you have been deeply grateful to Shao Rong, yet he has betrayed you. Even if you cannot bear to kill him, how can we, your subjects, coexist with such an unjust man? I will bear the sword for you!"
Zhu Yuanzhang continued to sit quietly, shedding tears, without saying a word.
Chang Yuchun stopped urging and waited quietly for Zhu Yuanzhang to make a decision.
After about a quarter of an hour, the tears in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes dried up, and he opened his eyes and said, "I can tolerate his betrayal and not kill his entire family. But he shouldn't have set his sights on Biao'er."
Chang Yuchun was shocked.
Zhu Yuanzhang had put away all his expressions and said, "It's time to introduce Biao'er to you."
Chang Yuchun opened and closed his mouth, but couldn't speak for a long time.
Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Chang Yuchun, who was speechless with shock. He closed his eyes again, only clenching his fists in his sleeves.
This year is the 22nd year of Zhizheng.
In February of that year, Wuzhou and Chuzhou rebelled; in March, Hongdu rebelled; in July, Shao Rong, one of Zhu Yuanzhang's most trusted generals, revealed his disloyalty.
