When Zhu Yuanzhang sold Chen Biao, he still put the blame on "Zhu Yuanzhang": "Son! I told the master to keep it a secret, but he said it was fine, fine, and immediately made you famous, saying it was for your own good!"
Chen Biao believed it.
Chen Biao believed Chen Guorui's lies again! He even comforted Chen Guorui!
"Dad, the lord probably thinks that when his subjects do good things, they should publicize them. This is also a gift to us. Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all the emperor's grace, we just need to accept it. Don't be sad, and don't harbor any grudges against the lord!"
Ever since Chen Biao knew that his family was already on Zhu Yuanzhang's boat and couldn't get off, he changed his style of encouraging his father to run away and began to persuade his father to be patient.
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has become the King of the Ming Dynasty, and is getting closer and closer to the Hongwu Emperor. How can we not tolerate this?
The people who watched this incident were particularly speechless about Zhu Yuanzhang who was disguised as Chen Guorui.
Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou officially joined Zhu Yuanzhang's camp relatively late, and were shocked to see Zhu Yuanzhang's behavior.
Zhu Sheng asked, "My Lord, you are putting all the blame on yourself now. When Biao'er knows your identity in the future, have you thought about how to appease him?"
Zhu Yuanzhang put his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky: "I will handle the future myself."
Zhu Sheng: "..." My lord, you are so awesome (derogatory).
Ji Renshou once again understood why his junior brother Liu Bowen always looked at him with a hint of disgust whenever he mentioned Zhu Yuanzhang.
My Lord, you are truly amazing. This shamelessness and the scheming that even betrays your future self make you truly well-suited to being an emperor.
However, Chen Biao would not "sit and wait for death" and wait to be "hated" by the generals together with the king of internal circulation, Chang Yuchun.
Since he was already involved, he decided to muddy the waters. Chen Biao immediately wrote to his pen pal, Daming Wang, saying that "practical achievements" and "moral education" should go hand in hand. If one only knew how to do things without cultivating morality, he might become a bad official who was very efficient in doing things.
So, my lord, you understand, don't the great masters compile some ideological and moral teaching materials? Write them in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and they can also be used as one of the literacy teaching materials!
Zhu Yuanzhang deeply agreed, and the literati under Zhu Yuanzhang agreed even more. Their already ridiculously high favorability towards Chen Biao reached new heights.
Ji Renshou choked up, "Good boy, what a clear-headed boy. With such understanding, he must be a wise and enlightened monarch!"
Zhu Sheng sighed and nodded, completely won over to the Zhu family father and son.
Just with this sentence, he could feel relieved of his many dissatisfactions with the policies implemented by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang was worried that Ye Zheng would be dissatisfied, so he specially sent Chen Biao's letter and his own explanation to Ye Zheng.
When Ye Zheng saw Chen Biao's proposal, he was not angry, but clapped his hands and laughed.
"Who says my School of Utilitarianism only cultivates utility and not morality? We simply prioritize results, and moral education is one of the outcomes we pursue." Ye Zheng smiled. "Biao'er truly continues to amaze me. Chen Lin, do you have any further concerns?"
Chen Lin said in a convinced tone, "The reputation of the young military advisor and teacher is indeed well-deserved. It was Lin who underestimated it."
Chen Lin is one of Ye Zheng's three disciples. He is a relative of Chen Fuliang, the representative of the Yongjia School. He is good at business, taxation and other matters.
Ye Zheng's three disciples did not know Chen Biao's true identity. Ye Zheng had long wanted Chen Lin to follow Chen Biao, but Chen Lin was not happy about it because of Chen Biao's age.
They naturally wanted to follow the generals and strive for merit. Only by achieving greater success in their official careers could they more freely display their talents and ambitions. Even if Chen Biao had a promising future, it was strange that they were not going to make merit now, but were just playing house with a child.
Ye Zheng did not argue, but simply let the three disciples consider it for themselves. If they ever wanted to follow someone else, whether it was Chen Biao or another general, Ye Zheng would help them get it.
Ye Zheng asked his three disciples to follow Chen Biao, not with the intention of getting close to the prince in advance.
Given the lack of civil officials under Zhu Yuanzhang, his disciples had a bright future after becoming emperor, as long as they could hold their own. Even if Chen Biao inherited the throne, he would continue to use them and would not need them to curry favor with him.
It’s just that what Chen Lin is good at happens to be what Chen Biao is best at. Ye Zheng is thinking about his disciples and hopes that they can learn from Chen Biao.
Ye Zheng also found targets for other students.
It would be most appropriate for Chen Qi, the eldest disciple who is good at talking about military affairs and raising troops through farming, to continue to follow Chang Yuchun. The process of implementing the well-field system and the labor reform camp would surely allow Chen Qi to learn more.
Chen Qi plans to find an opportunity to let his third disciple Xue Zhimo, who is better at academic theoretical research, return to Yingtian and study under Ji Renshou.
Ji Renshou was well versed in the Four Classics: The Book of Changes, The Book of Songs, The Book of History, and The Spring and Autumn Annals, earning him the nickname "The Master of the Four Classics." Studying under Ji Renshou would surely allow Xue Zhimo to reach new heights in theoretical knowledge.
However, Xue Zhimo was young and hot-headed, and he had some objections to Ji Renshou's status as a disciple of Zhu Xi. Ye Zheng was also waiting for Xue Zhimo to figure it out on his own.
It doesn’t matter if Xue Zhimo doesn’t want to, I can teach him myself, it’s not a big deal.
Ye Zheng said hello to Chang Yuchun and asked Chen Lin to return to Yingtian with his letter.
Yingtian was in need of clerks, so the lord would definitely keep Chen Lin by his side. As for whether Chen Lin could be trusted by the lord, learn of Chen Biao's identity, and become Chen Biao's "housekeeper", it all depended on Chen Lin's own luck.
Although Chang Yuchun was extremely busy, he would not stop his subordinates from making progress and let Chen Lin leave very readily.
He was just a little confused: "Won't Mr. Ye answer to Heaven? Why don't you fight for the establishment of moral rules?"
Ye Zheng smiled and shook his head: "Don't fight, and there's no need to fight."
Chang Yuchun shut up immediately when he saw Ye Zheng playing a riddle. He was annoyed by the way these scholars wouldn't say things directly, but would beat around the bush and make people guess. Every time he saw Ye Zheng playing a riddle, he was too lazy to ask any more questions.
Anyway, if there was something he needed to know, Ye Zheng would always tell him directly when he didn't ask or want to guess. Chang Yuchun and Ye Zheng had already developed a tacit understanding.
Ye Zheng really didn't want Chang Yuchun to ask about this riddle.
Although Chang Yuchun already knew Chen Biao's identity, he had not yet read the Heavenly Book. Therefore, Ye Zheng would not tell him that if the lord wanted to conduct ideological and moral education, he would most likely extract passages from the Heavenly Book.
He was not wrong.
Zhu Yuanzhang took out the heavenly book and asked Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou to study it carefully and change the plain words into elegant and parallel sentences.
Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou were almost frightened to death.
Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled: "Didn't I show you the Book of Heaven?"
Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou almost had their hair loosened.
Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, I forgot because I was so busy."
Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou finally understood why Li Shanchang raised his fist against Zhu Yuanzhang. They also wanted to fight back.
Zhu Yuanzhang noticed the anger in the two masters and said awkwardly, "I was so busy that I forgot. I didn't mean to hide it from you. Biaoer said that the contents of this heavenly book will definitely come true in the future, but not now, but hundreds or thousands of years from now."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed. "Biao'er also said that by then, China's prosperity wasn't just about people not starving to death; it was taken for granted. I really want to see the splendor of that time."
Zhu Sheng immediately said nervously, "My Lord! Be careful with your words! How can you tell others about what Biao'er said about the future?"
Ji Renshou hadn't reacted yet, but after Zhu Sheng reminded him, his expression changed drastically: "My Lord, the secret cannot be revealed!"
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly covered his mouth and nodded vigorously several times before releasing his hand and saying, "Biao'er always says that the contents of these books cannot be made public, but after taking a look, I found nothing undisclosed."
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at the heavenly book and said, "The sages of Confucianism said that the people are more important than the emperor, that the system of abdication should be restored, that the world should be shared by all and that there should be no private property... The sages of other schools of thought also said that if a prince breaks the law, he should be punished just like a commoner, that equality, universal love, and non-aggression should be upheld, and that the best policy is to do nothing..."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "These words may be quite offensive to the emperor. But no dynasty has ever banned such speech. So if it is just academic theory, it doesn't matter even if it doesn't fit the current situation."
The two old Confucian scholars, Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou, thought carefully and then agreed with Zhu Yuanzhang's words.
When sages described their ideal worlds, they generally envisioned either no emperor, a non-hereditary emperor, or a mere mascot. The emperors took them lightly, and the sages' books remained official textbooks for the imperial examinations.
Zhu Sheng sighed and said, "Based on what Biao'er said, I suspect these books may be banned in some overseas countries in the future. I think the reason for the ban may be that someone has turned the theories in the books into reality."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "Yes. So as long as it doesn't become a reality, it won't cause anyone to be wary."
Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his chin and laughed, "That's really strange to say. In the future, the ones who will be most afraid of this book should be me and Biao'er, hahahaha."
Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's hearty laughter, Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou couldn't help but smile helplessly.
Zhu Sheng smiled bitterly and said, "My Lord, what exactly are you thinking of when you promote the Heavenly Book?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "There is no such thing as an immortal dynasty in this world. Rather than letting some unworthy descendant of Biao'er and I cling to the throne and become a sinner for the Chinese nation, it would be better to let the Red Turban Army reappear in a few hundred years, so that our unworthy descendants can cleanly become the ruler of a fallen emperor instead of the ruler of a ruined country."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled again and said, "Future generations who possess our book will undoubtedly owe us a debt of gratitude. By then, we'll be known as the Great and Small Zhuzi, wouldn't our reputations be even greater than the founding emperors of certain dynasties? Promoting this book won't threaten our current rule, and we might even be hailed as saints hundreds or thousands of years from now. Why not?"
Listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's carefree and even mercenary words, the two old Confucian scholars with high moral standards were stunned for a long time.
Then, they couldn't help but look at Zhu Yuanzhang with disgust in their eyes.
Big and small Zhuzi? My Lord, are you worthy? You are just the father of little Zhuzi!
As for the great Zhu Xi...Neo-Confucianism disciples were all over the world, and the literati under Zhu Yuanzhang were also Neo-Confucianism disciples. It was unlikely that Zhu Xi would be carried out of the Confucius Temple.
After listening to Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou's tactful persuasion, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little unhappy.
My son will definitely be Little Zhuzi in the future, but I am not happy that I will be the Big Zhuzi.
Even if Zhu Yuanzhang knew that it was impossible to do anything to Zhu Xi, Zhu Xi was the ancestor of his scholars!
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "It's alright. It's not bad if future generations call me and Biao'er Little Zhuzi."
Zhu Sheng couldn't help but ask: "My Lord, how can you be so sure that future generations will also respectfully call you Little Zhuzi?"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "In the future, whenever Biao'er wants to publish a book, I will write my name after Biao'er's, hehe."
Zhu Yuanzhang let out his signature "hehe" laugh, and Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou both showed shocked expressions, as if they had never seen such a shameless person.
According to the standards of literati, a person like my lord deserves to be infamous for eternity!
Poor Chen Biao didn't know that the books he would compile in the future would have his father as a "second author".
He hasn't even thought about what books he will compile in the future.
The moral teaching materials for the generals would not be compiled for a while. Zhu Yuanzhang had already summoned his trusted scholars to finish their current work and then return to heaven to compile the book. However, it was unknown when these poor and oppressed scholars would finish their work.
For example, when Liu Ji received a letter from Zhu Yuanzhang asking him if he could come back this month, he tore the letter in half and roared, "Even if I really am the reincarnation of Zhang Liang, it is impossible for me to conquer Fujian and Guangdong this month! Even the marching time is not that fast! My lord, where is your brain!"
Xu Da almost laughed to death.
Hu Shen, a poor senior general and marginal figure, who surrendered, could not help but cover his ears.
I don't want to hear bad things about my lord. I don't want to hear it.
Zhang Yi patted his old colleague on the shoulder and said, "You'll get used to it."
Hu Shen covered his ears and shook his head vigorously. No, no, no, I don't want to get used to it at all!
Xu Da almost laughed to death again.
If he had continued laughing, he would probably have died earlier than originally thought in history, falling off a horse from laughing so hard, which would have become a great amusement in history.
…
As a wise king, lord, and leader of a faction, Zhu Yuanzhang was like Party A in later generations. After putting forward his demands, he would pat his butt and get on with the next thing, without caring how troubled his subordinates were.
Zhang Shicheng was an indecisive man.
He had clearly reached an agreement with Zhu Yuanzhang and released Liao Yongan from prison and sent him to another courtyard for recuperation, but he had never made up his mind to exchange Liao Yongan for the soldiers captured in the previous battle of Quanzhou.
Knowing that Zhu Yuanzhang had called himself "King of Ming" as promised and did not snatch his title of "King of Wu", he felt so embarrassed that he stopped procrastinating and was willing to negotiate with Zhu Yuanzhang face to face at Taihu Lake.
The center of Zhang Shicheng's sphere of influence was Pingjiang (Suzhou) and Hangzhou, and Taihu Lake happened to be within his sphere of influence; Zhu Yuanzhang's navy was weak; Liao Yongan was captured in Taihu Lake... Zhang Shicheng's choice of Taihu Lake was almost the same as the Hongmen Banquet. He gave Zhu Yuanzhang no face at all and was extremely arrogant.
But considering the current strength of both sides, Zhang Shicheng is not Xiang Yu. He did not crush Zhu Yuanzhang, but was actually being crushed by Zhu Yuanzhang. His behavior made his advisers quite dissatisfied.
When Zhu Yuanzhang readily accepted this outrageous negotiation location and fearlessly advanced deep into enemy territory, Zhang Shicheng's advisers became even more dissatisfied with Zhang Shicheng.
Zhang Shicheng's provocation was like that of a narrow-minded clown. Compared with Zhu Yuanzhang's magnanimity, it was simply unbearable to watch.
Shi Er, who was about to leave after Zhang Shicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang signed a ceasefire agreement, couldn't help but get drunk and cry.
He was even too lazy to analyze the pros and cons with Zhang Shicheng because Zhang Shicheng was quite proud of himself, as if he had once again surpassed Zhu Yuanzhang.
When Liao Yongan learned about this, he was so angry that he wanted to commit suicide if Yang Xian had not stopped him.
If it weren't for him, how could the lord suffer such humiliation!
Not to mention that the lord went to Taihu Lake to sign a ceasefire agreement, the fact that the lord gave up the title of "King of Wu" was unbearable for Liao Yongan.
In ancient times, those who claimed to be kings and had territories would name their titles after the territories they occupied. If they created their own titles, they were generally from humble backgrounds, with either no territory or no education.
Only when one proclaims himself emperor would he create his own title.
Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian were all home to the former Wu Kingdom. My Lord has already taken almost all of the former Wu territory, with only a small area in western Zhejiang still in the hands of Zhang Shicheng. My Lord is the true King of Wu!
Liao Yongan knew his own status and position, and was not worthy of Zhu Yuanzhang's concession in exchange!
He brought the Chaohu navy to Zhu Yuanzhang, but the Chaohu navy only had 10,000 men, about the same number as Deng Yu, who had come with his tribe. Moreover, the Chaohu navy was not his own, as some of the soldiers were from the tribe of Yu Tingyu and Yu Tonghai, father and son.
His status was only slightly higher than that of other generals who defected to Zhu Yuanzhang because Zhu Yuanzhang lacked naval forces.
But the Chaohu navy includes his younger brother and Yu Tonghai, and over the years it has completely become the Zhu family army, no longer his Liao family's tribe.
Liao Yongan was no longer of any use to the Chaohu navy, nor to Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang came to rescue him out of pure emotion.
Liao Yongan wept bitterly. He hadn't been under Zhu Yuanzhang's command for long. How could he have deserved such high regard from Zhu Yuanzhang?
Yang Xian consoled him, "Don't stress yourself out. My Lord and Master Chen have calculated the cost. It's not a big deal. What's the King of Wu? My Lord is now the King of Ming, and will be the Emperor of Ming in the future. It's just a title, an empty reputation. In exchange for you, my Lord and Master Chen both think it's a good deal."
Liao Yongan still can't let it go.
Yang Xian said, "If you feel bad, when you return to your lord, be nicer to him and Master Chen. You still have decades to live. Can't you repay this kindness in decades?"
Liao Yongan immediately said, "My life belongs to my lord and Master Chen!"
Yang Xian smiled and said, "Then why are you worried? But don't tell anyone that your life belongs to Master Chen, especially not in front of Master Chen."
Liao Yongan wiped his tears and said, "I understand. I'm just telling you what's in my heart. I believe you won't tell anyone else."
Yang Xian thought to himself, I am the inspector, and I will tell my lord and my young lord everything you say now.
However, Liao Yongan should only tell his master this, and not the young master. This would prevent the young master from being frightened and thinking about his achievements surpassing his master's.
Whenever Yang Xian thought of the young lord's expression as he was worried that the Chen family's achievements would overshadow his own, he couldn't help but laugh.
He was really looking forward to the day when the young master would learn his true identity. He wondered if the young master would use the excuse of going on an expedition or a tour to escape the young master's wrath.
Well, even if you can't escape for a lifetime, you can only escape for a while, but given the lord's character, he will definitely think that escaping for a while is the best, right?
Although it is wrong for a loyal subordinate to laugh at his lord, who can resist laughing at such a thing?
Liao Yongan's emotions finally calmed down, and he became curious again: "I wonder if Mr. Chen will come to this negotiation."
After being imprisoned for a long time, Liao Yongan was imprisoned in a separate courtyard after being released. No one told him about Chen Biao. The only person who passed on information to him, Yang Xian, was a secretive person and deliberately concealed Chen Biao's age. As a result, Liao Yongan still didn't know that Chen Biao was a nine-year-old child.
Oh, it’s already the first month of the twenty-fourth year of Zhizheng, and Chen Biao, who just turned eight, is now ten years old in terms of age.
This virtual age is really fake, one fake is actually two years more. A ten-year-old child is too talented, maybe it won't scare Liao Yongan?
Yang Xian laughed and said, "Mr. Chen won't be coming. He's editing a book in Yingtian. My Lord is preparing to teach the generals to read. In the future, all the generals under my Lord's command will be both civil and military, capable of holding any position, and won't be manipulated by the civil officials. Haha, I'm a civil official myself, isn't it a bit strange to say this?"
Liao Yongan said: "You are also a fierce general on the battlefield, and you call yourself a civil servant..."
Yang Xian laughed again and said, "I am indeed a scholar, but don't say that. I am far inferior to General Chang. Now General Chang is recognized as the most accomplished man in both civil and military affairs under the lord's command."
Liao Yongan was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of his head.
When he was captured, Chang Yuchun was illiterate! How could Chang Yuchun still be recognized as the best in both civil and military affairs? Is this recognition too exaggerated?
"General Liao, you'll understand when you return to Yingtian. Dramatic changes have taken place under our lord's command." Yang Xian smiled again and said, "These changes are almost all caused by Master Chen."
Liao Yongan was even more yearning for the omnipotent Mr. Chen that Yang Xian mentioned.
In his mind, Master Chen looked exactly like the man with a feather fan and a blue robe in the historical novels he had read.
In February, when the dragon raises its head, Zhang Shicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang met for the first time at Taihu Lake.
The two had been enemies for a long time, and this was their first meeting. They looked at each other and couldn't help but admire each other's heroism.
After Zhang Shicheng praised Zhu Yuanzhang in his heart, he immediately became wary of him; while Zhu Yuanzhang praised Zhang Shicheng in his heart, he felt pity for him.
Zhang Shicheng was only in his forties, hardly an old man, but Zhu Yuanzhang saw in him the twilight years of a hero.
During the Battle of Gaoyou, even a proud man like Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply impressed by Zhang Shicheng's heroism.
Zhu Yuanzhang even thought that even if Zhang Shicheng was hostile to him to the end, he would try his best to recruit Zhang Shicheng.
He would definitely feel regretful if he didn't recruit such a hero.
Now, Zhu Yuanzhang's regret disappeared.
My son, at the age of 18, has a salary of 40,000 yuan against 600,000 yuan. Is that worse than Zhang Shicheng's?
Humph, Zhang Shicheng, nothing special!
Zhu Yuanzhang calmly discussed the armistice agreement with Zhang Shicheng.
Actually, there was nothing to discuss. Both of them knew that they would have to fight in the future, and the agreement they signed now was meant to be torn up.
Before signing the armistice agreement, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng had exchanged prisoners, and Liao Yongan had returned to Zhu's army's ship. Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to play along with Zhang Shicheng.
He said bluntly, "We both come from humble backgrounds. Let's not resort to those aristocratic tricks. Let's be direct. I won't start a war with you until we capture the Yuan capital."
Zhang Shicheng's eyebrows twitched, and he said, "Aren't you afraid that when you attack Yuan Dadu, I will attack you from behind?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "You have the same name, so you won't tear up the armistice agreement on your own initiative. Even if you do, it's nothing. When I attack Yuan Dadu, Jiangnan, Fujian, and Guangdong will surely have all fallen into my hands. I'm not afraid of your attack. But I'm a little disappointed that you asked this question."
Although Zhang Shicheng was not angered by Zhu Yuanzhang, he also felt unhappy: "What do you mean?!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I thought you would say that you would not attack me before you conquered Yuan Dadu; or that you would be the one to conquer Yuan Dadu. Then we could make a bet on who would conquer Yuan Dadu first."
Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, looking at Zhang Shicheng's increasingly ugly face, and smiled with a hint of sarcasm: "Some people compare my trip to the Hongmen Banquet, but we are not the King of Chu, nor are we the Emperor Gaozu of Han."
Zhang Shicheng really wanted to say something to defeat Zhu Yuanzhang in momentum.
But when he opened his mouth, he couldn't even lie and say that he wanted to capture the Yuan capital.
It seemed that the five words "conquer Yuan Dadu" had a huge weight. Just thinking about it made him feel unbearable.
In the end, Zhang Shicheng could only say some nonsense like "the boy is arrogant" and "the villain is successful", and then, according to what Zhu Yuanzhang said, made an agreement not to attack each other before breaking through Yuan Dadu.
When Zhu Yuanzhang boarded Zhang Shicheng's warship, Zhang Shicheng proposed to assassinate Zhu Yuanzhang on the ship.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang brought his own navy, which had already absorbed Chen Youliang's ships. Although the internal strength was unknown, it was not inferior to Zhang Shicheng in terms of style. In addition, Zhang Shicheng really did not want to go to war with Zhu Yuanzhang, so he rejected Zhang Shixin's proposal.
When signing the agreement, Zhang Shicheng had a thought in his mind: perhaps he should keep Zhu Yuanzhang here, otherwise he might never be able to kill him.
But just as he showed his murderous intention, he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's very irritating and sarcastic smile.
Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to ask him with this sarcastic smile, even if you want to kill me now, can you do it?
Zhang Shicheng's murderous intent grew stronger, but he did not take any action.
He already knew the answer. Zhu Yuanzhang dared to come here because he was sure that he could return safely. He couldn't kill Zhu Yuanzhang.
If he had to perish together, even if he relied on the fact that this was his own ship and tried his best to kill Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang's navy would rush over and leave him here as well.
Zhang Shicheng said with a stern face, "I suppose you don't want to stay for the banquet?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Why not? I've heard that the singing girls and dancing girls in Pingjiang City are amazing. I want to see them too."
Zhu Yuanzhang said something serious, but his expression was very clear, without any expectation.
Zhang Shicheng smirked and said, "Since the Ming King has said so, I must fulfill my duty as a good host to the King of Wu. If there's any singing girl you like, please tell me and I'll give it to you."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "That's not necessary. I just took in a few concubines, and I don't want to push them too far and upset my wife and son. King Wu, please."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not respond to Zhang Shicheng's sarcasm at all, but instead exposed his own weakness of being afraid of his wife.
Zhang Shicheng looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and wanted to rush up and punch Zhu Yuanzhang a few times in the face of his sarcastic smile.
Zhu Yuanzhang actually didn't do anything, but Zhang Shicheng's anger kept rising and he couldn't control himself.
After the banquet began, Zhang Shicheng made it extremely luxurious in order to show off his financial resources and the talent of his own literati. The singing girls and dancers all had unique skills, and the lyrics and music they sang were all newly composed by talented people from Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Before finishing a song or dance, Zhang Shicheng would introduce to the country bumpkin Zhu Yuanzhang which great talent wrote these poems, how much sensation they caused, and what the meaning of the poems was.
Zhang Shicheng also invited talented women from Pingjiang and Hangzhou to perform their own compositions. Zhu Yuanzhang was very accommodating and praised them highly, saying that these women were indeed talented and knowledgeable, and were on par with Zhang Shicheng's advisors.
The two old Confucian scholars Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou who served as Zhu Yuanzhang's front men had twitching mouths.
My master is probably used to bickering with Biaoer at home. Although he comes from a humble background, he never uses dirty words when insulting others, and he takes his sarcasm and indirect criticism to the extreme.
Zhang Shicheng just had a hunch that something was wrong, and the faces of the staff behind him had already turned completely dark.
When they drank and wrote poetry with the female teachers, they would flatter them, saying that their talents were no less than men's. But when Zhu Yuanzhang specifically said that the female teachers were better than them, they were not happy.
Zhang Shicheng's staff were all renowned Confucian scholars, some of whom were officials from the Yuan Dynasty, and quite a few of them were Jinshi (Jinshi) or Juren (Juren) graduates. Zhu Yuanzhang actually said their talent was no better than that of a few prostitutes. This insult was so jarring that I almost wanted to draw my sword and poke holes in Zhu Yuanzhang.
What made this group of staff even more uncomfortable was that their lord Zhang Shicheng did not understand Zhu Yuanzhang’s vulgar words and was still nodding smugly?
Do you really think Zhu Yuanzhang is praising you?
Although he decided to leave Zhang Shicheng, Shi Er also wanted to restore his lord's dignity at the last banquet he attended with Zhang Shicheng.
He stepped forward and said, "I originally thought that the Ming King was an upright person, but I didn't expect that he would deceive my lord's upright heart and make indirect accusations. This is truly unbecoming of a lord!"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned in confusion: "What do you mean, sir?"
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was pretending so well, Shi Er immediately explained Zhu Yuanzhang's indirect criticism.
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression shifted into a palette of colors: three parts confusion, three parts grievance, three parts anger, and one part bewilderment. "Sir, are you overthinking this? Would most people think that? Even if you have a problem with me, how can you so easily misunderstand my words? These female teachers have always had a reputation of being just as good as their male counterparts. Am I wrong?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's question shocked Shi Er.
He couldn't understand how Zhu Yuanzhang could lie so openly that he was exposed and still pretend to be so conscientious.
Ji Renshou couldn't bear to watch this any longer and said, "When the lord is talking, how can a subordinate speak privately? You are so rude and disrespectful to your master."
Shi Er: "..." When Ji Renshou looked up and spoke, he realized that the energetic old scholar in front of him was actually his junior fellow apprentice!
The junior fellow apprentice he had met a few years ago looked even older than he does now, wearing a patched robe and with completely gray hair.
Ji Renshou now stood with his back straight, looking at least ten years younger than his actual age. Even his gray hair had turned white. No wonder Shi Er didn't recognize him.
Didn't my junior brother just go to Yingtian to be a teacher? Why is he standing behind Zhu Yuanzhang now?
Even if he had defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, the advisor who stood behind him at such a dangerous banquet, sharing life and death with him, must have been Zhu Yuanzhang's confidant. My junior brother had only been with Zhu Yuanzhang for a short time? And he was already a confidant?!
Before Shi Er recognized Ji Renshou, he thought Ji Renshou was Li Shanchang!
"He simply mistakenly thought his lord had been insulted, and in a moment of desperation, he came out to refute him. It's not considered rude," Zhu Sheng said, smoothing things over. "The lord is insulted, the servant dies. He just got a little too angry. Shanfu, don't be too angry."
Ji Renshou said lazily: "The master humiliates the minister and the minister dies, so I will do the same. I am just a subordinate, and if you rudely refute my master, I should refute you."
Zhu Sheng said, "It's just a misunderstanding. Please don't disturb the lord's elegance."
Zhu Sheng bowed to Shi Er and said, "My lord is a straightforward person who doesn't understand the twists and turns of scholars. You don't need to think too much."
After Shi Er finished being shocked, Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou had already finished speaking, and concluded that he was overthinking the matter.
Zhang Shicheng felt a little embarrassed and scolded Shi Er to leave.
Shi Er retreated silently, staring at Ji Renshou's face.
Ji Renshou gave Shi Er a nonchalant look that said "What are you looking at?", as if he took Shi Er's look as a provocation and that he was not familiar with Shi Er.
Shi Er had a slight myocardial infarction.
He could never imagine how Zhu Yuanzhang, a heretic, could win the favor of his most respectful junior apprentice?!
Could it be that Zhu Yuanzhang has some advantages that he doesn't know about?
Shi Er went over Zhu Yuanzhang's advantages in his mind, and then found out with depression that even though Zhu Yuanzhang had many shortcomings, he was currently the person most likely to become emperor. Perhaps this one advantage could offset all the shortcomings.
With Shi Er interrupting the banquet, Zhang Shicheng could no longer show off.
Because after Shi Er's interpretation, even though Zhu Yuanzhang claimed that he did not mean that, Zhang Shicheng could not help but interpret every word Zhu Yuanzhang said afterwards in a sarcastic way.
The more he interpreted it, the angrier he became, but he couldn't get angry because Zhu Yuanzhang was only saying nice things on the surface.
At the following banquet, Zhang Shicheng had no appetite and ended the singing and dancing abruptly halfway through, telling Zhu Yuanzhang to get out.
Even though Zhang Shicheng was so rude, Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry at all.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very magnanimous and bowed in farewell, with that bright but somewhat sarcastic smile on his face, which made Zhang Shicheng even angrier.
Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his ship. The fleet withdrew from Taihu Lake cleanly and efficiently without any delay, went upstream along the Yangtze River and returned to Yingtian.
After returning to Pingjiang City, Zhang Shicheng became more and more angry. He couldn't help but summon Shi Er and scold him, accusing Shi Er of embarrassing him at the banquet.
Shi Er silently endured Zhang Shicheng's scolding and indifferently discovered that he did not feel any grievance or anger in his heart.
Only then did he realize that his admiration for Zhang Shicheng had long been worn away by Zhang Shicheng's countless refusal to accept his advice.
It turned out that he had wanted to leave a long time ago, but he just didn't see clearly in his heart.
After Shi Er returned to Pingjiang City, he pretended to be sick and faded out of Zhang Shicheng's sight, and then left Zhang Shicheng under the pretext of supporting his mother.
Zhang Shicheng did not try to keep Shi Er.
In his opinion, perhaps Shi Er was too old and no longer needed him to keep him.
Seeing that Zhang Shicheng was so heartless, Robben also left Zhang Shicheng.
Zhang Shicheng didn't care either, because Robben's reputation had long been ruined by his advice to him to be unkind.