"Who is knocking on my window? Who is plucking the strings of the harp?"
Chengdu in late May has already entered summer. After a short thunderstorm, the air in the whole city is filled with a fresh smell.
A long white leg stretched out from the gap of the sliding door, and then another long white leg followed. After that, the owner of this pair of proud long legs sat leisurely on the lounge chair on her balcony. With her slender jade fingers, she picked up the green tea beside the lounge chair and took a sip slowly. Her beautiful eyes looked at the sunset that appeared again in the sky after the thunderstorm in the distance, and her ears listened to the songs played on the phonograph in the living room. She breathed a long sigh of relief: This is life.
"Hey! It's starting! It's about to start. Come and watch, everyone!"
"Come on, Lao Wang, get some beer and start grilling!"
"Zhu Guo, you are here. You brought so many brothers to our store to watch the game? Thank you for your support! Well, today we have passenger pigeons from Xuan Country in North America, alpaca meat from Song Country in South America, and kangaroo meat from Xin Country in Australia. Can you get some of them?"
"Forget the kangaroo meat, it's too tough to eat. For the rest, give me 100 skewers of each!"
"Great! Come on, guys, let's get to work. Come on, bring out the TV stand!"
The beautiful girl upstairs had just entered an elegant mood, but she didn't expect the rough guys downstairs to make a noise and completely ruined the mood. The beautiful girl stood on the balcony angrily, leaning on the railing and cursing. The rough guys downstairs whistled lustfully: "Hey! Girl, your pants today are shorter than yesterday's. You won't be able to wear them tomorrow."
The helpless white rich beauty returned to the living room in a rage and called the Environmental Protection Bureau to complain. The rough men downstairs helped the boss to carry a 25-inch TV with a spherical mirror to the yard outside the house.
"Dear viewers, dear viewers, this is the Sports Channel of the Ming National Television. Today is May 20th, the 534th year since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. It is 5:45 pm Beijing time, 6:45 pm Osaka time. In 15 minutes, the 38th round of the Ming Men's Football League, which is the last round of ten games, will start at the same time. Today, our station will broadcast the highlight of this round of games, the away game between Sichuan Quanxing and Japan Kamikaze, which will determine the champion of this league. This game will still be explained by Song Laoxiong and Sun Buping."
"Dear audience, before this round of matches, Sichuan Quanxing had 32 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses and 99 points, ranking first in the league. Japan's Kamikaze team ranked second with 31 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses and 96 points. Although they have three points less, in terms of head-to-head record, Japan's Kamikaze team has defeated Sichuan Quanxing team in an away game. Therefore, in this round of matches, if Kamikaze team wants to win the league championship, they only need to defeat Quanxing team, and they can win the championship with the head-to-head advantage even if the points are the same. And Quanxing team only needs a draw to win the championship."
As soon as the word "draw" was heard on TV, a burst of cursing came from the yard outside the TV.
"It's a tie, we must win!"
"That's right! In recent years, the Ming men's football team has basically lost all the games where they would have qualified with a draw or won the championship with a draw. Especially in the World Cup two years ago, my God, they would have qualified with a draw in the last round, but in the end the defending champions didn't even make it to the group stage. It was so embarrassing!"
"That's right. They keep thinking about a draw and don't even dare to attack. How can they possibly win? Gui'er and those two idiots are talking nonsense again. Quanxing team, cheer up! We must win!"
Of course, one could not hear on TV the curses that were already raging in Chengdu, thousands of miles away; the two commentators were still performing crosstalk to their own ends.
"Teacher Sun, if I remember correctly, it has been six years since the Guangzhou Sun God team won the league championship seven years ago. A local team in Daming has not won the league championship."
"Teacher Song is right. In the past six years, the Fuguo team has won the championship twice, the Japanese team has won the championship twice, the Laiguo team has won the championship once, and the Xinguo team has won the championship once. It is true that the local team of Daming has not won the league championship for six years. Not only that, among the twenty A-level teams, the number of local teams has gradually decreased from 18 to 12."
"Well, modern football was invented by the Holy Emperor of the Ming Dynasty when he rebuilt Henghaiwei nearly three hundred years ago. Since then, football in the Ming Dynasty first became popular in the army and later spread to the people. Now, it is not only extremely popular in the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states, but also in Europe and Africa. The challenges faced by Ming Dynasty football are getting bigger and bigger."
"I think this is a good thing. After all, it's nice for family members to have fun. But the more competition there is, the more attention there will be."
"That's true. Then, Mr. Song, who do you think will win the league championship after today's game?"
"Haha, both teams are very strong. The result of the game is indeed difficult to predict. But I want to remind everyone here that today is the 250th anniversary of the ascension of the Divine Ancestor Saint Emperor. As the inventor of modern football, I think his will may affect this game to some extent..."
"Competition is a good thing. I just like to watch the Quanxing team dominate. As long as they win beautifully, it's fun no matter how weak their opponents are." Outside the TV, a shirtless fat man with greasy mouth guzzled a large glass of beer. "Zhu Guo, you are a royal family, you have seen a lot. Tell me, why is the men's football team in our Ming Dynasty getting weaker and weaker?"
MMP, how can you ask me such a question? How dare I answer it? It's not that the men's football team in the Ming Dynasty is getting weaker and weaker, but that the men's football teams in various vassal states and even other countries in the world are getting stronger and stronger. As for why the men's football teams in other countries are getting stronger and stronger, isn't it because with the development of technology and convenient transportation, the wealth of the world is increasingly concentrated in the Ming Dynasty?
For the native people of the Ming Dynasty, as long as they graduate from college or even high school, they can enter any industry and at least live a comfortable life. But for people in vassal states and even other countries, if they do not have excellent academic performance and cannot get a doctorate, then football is almost the only way for them to change their fate. In a word, the current male football players in the Ming Dynasty play football for their hobbies. They play football for the food and clothing of their entire family, young and old, and even for their survival.
This problem is obvious to all knowledgeable people, but no one will say it out loud. In recent years, the only thing they have done is to increase the funding for sports support in other regions outside their own country, and even to increase investment in various sports and entertainment industries: at least to give the locals a little hope of social advancement, right? Although the social status of the sports and entertainment circles is not high, if you really become a star, the income is still very substantial.
Therefore, he knew the deep reasons for the decline of the local men's football team. But he didn't dare to say it. In response to the stupid fat man's question, he just smiled and waved his left hand, raised the wine glass in his right hand and extended it to him: "What do you want to do? Come on, cheers!"
As a result, before the cup even touched him, a dripping sound came from his belt.
"MMP, this pager is a lot more convenient, but I think it just makes it easier for others to find you."
"Haha, brothers, I'm sorry." The man, called Zhu Guo by everyone, took a look at the contents on the pager, quickly got up, found a public telephone booth, and called back.
"Oh, oh, I see." After hanging up the phone, the guy walked back while taking out his wallet with an unhappy look on his face: "Brothers, there is an emergency at home. I have to go to the airport right away and take a flight back to Beijing tonight."
"ah?!"
He took out a thick stack of 'Zhu Yuanzhang' from his purse and said, "I'm really sorry for tonight, Lao Wang. I'll cover all the expenses. Don't leave any money left over! If there's any extra money left, I'll come back next time to make up for it!"
…
"Report, Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division Captain Zhu Xiansuo reports in."
"Oh, the Sixth Prince is back. He did a great job on the Chengdu deal."
In the early morning of May 21st, Zhu Xiansui, who was 35 years old that year, appeared in a building complex surrounded by four buildings, the tallest of which was only eight stories high, in the western suburbs of Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
It was the 534th year of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and the year 1902 in the Western calendar. Although all the travelers had left this plane in 1652, they did greatly promote the advancement of technology in this plane. Therefore, Beijing at this time was already full of high-rise buildings over 100 meters high. This group of buildings, with only eight floors at the highest, seemed particularly inconspicuous.
However, although the facade is inconspicuous, old Beijingers all know that the smaller the building height and the larger the courtyard, the more difficult it is to mess with the departments inside.
This is the headquarters of the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was still firmly in the position of the world's only superpower, so there was no possibility of a world war, and the presence of the Ministry of National Defense was extremely weak. This place, on the contrary, became the busiest and most powerful department of the Ming Dynasty.
"Commander Yuan, you are too kind. The special forces of the Chengdu Qianhu Suo were the main force in killing those foreign elements who were plotting independence in Chengdu. I was just following along to join in the fun."
"Hehehe~" The middle-aged man called the commander by Zhu Xiansu laughed heartily. He wanted to reach out his hand to pat the shoulder of the sixth son of the emperor, who was also his Jinyiwei subordinate. But after reaching out, he found that his short and fat body and unusually short arms could not touch the shoulder of the young man who was over 1.85 meters tall.
He withdrew his hand awkwardly and laughed again: "Sixth Prince, although I, Yuan Shikai, am in Beijing, I am still keeping an eye on the news from Chengdu. You led the way in the suppression of the separatists and killed three of them yourself. How can you say that the Chengdu special forces are the main force? You are all the main force."
"Haha." After responding with an awkward smile, Zhu Xiansu said, "The commander called me back in such a hurry, is there something urgent?"
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to talk about business. Come with me."
Zhu Xiansui followed Yuan Shikai into an elevator and went directly down to the ninth floor below ground.
After exiting the elevator and undergoing an extremely complicated inspection, the two entered a closed room. In this room, there were already seven or eight people waiting inside.
After Yuan Shikai motioned Zhu Xiansu to take his seat, he also sat down at the first seat on the right side of the table: "Okay, now everyone is here, let's get started."
"Yes." A heroic and capable female captain stood up and turned on the projector on the conference table: "Ladies and gentlemen, in the past decade or so, Europe has had a so-called "Renaissance Alliance" movement. Some lawless elements who are dissatisfied with our Ming Dynasty have formed the "European Renaissance Party" and promote "Philipism". Their own goals are to expel our Ming Dynasty garrisons, restore Europe's independence, and emulate the Spanish King Philip IV more than 200 years ago to rebuild the European Union.
Over the past decade, the organization's activities have gradually evolved from peaceful demonstrations to violent activities. They have demonstrated their stance by assassinating European officials who advocate friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty, attacking Ming Dynasty garrison bases, and killing Ming Dynasty civil servants and businessmen in Europe. At the same time, they have also established military training bases in the Alps and the extremely cold places in Northern Europe...
In the past ten years, our Ming Dynasty Jinyiwei and the troops stationed in Europe, as well as the violent agencies of European countries, have dealt a strong blow to it. However, some European people have been deceived by it, and even some government officials have been deceived by its fallacies and heresies, and they have covered and shielded them openly and secretly. Therefore, although we have killed many members of this organization in recent years and successfully uprooted several of their bases in the Alps and Northern Europe, we have never been able to completely eliminate this organization.
Recently, our national security personnel in North America sent a message saying that the organization's second-in-command, Erich von Ludendorff, was found in North America. "
At this point, the female captain changed the picture: "Erich von Ludendorff is a German. His ancestors were small landowners. In his early years, he served in the German Wehrmacht and reached the highest rank of lieutenant colonel. He participated in the second campaign of the Ming Dynasty to conquer Russia. During the campaign, the infantry battalion he led performed well and made outstanding achievements. His command of the battle was very flexible and efficient... Since we discovered that he joined the European Renaissance Party six years ago. In recent years, his status in the party has risen sharply and he is already the second most important person after the party leader, the Spaniard Martítegui.
At present, our Jinyiwei North American Thousand Households Office has joined forces with the Jinyiwei of 12 North American vassal states, including Xuan State, Canada, and Ba, to search for him. At the same time, the route from North America to Europe has been closed. At present, according to reliable information, Ludendorff has been forced to hide in the Rocky Mountains..."
"Okay." Yuan Shikai clapped his hands: "That's all for the intelligence overview."
He stood up and put his hands on the table. His height of less than 1.6 meters still exuded a strong aura: "Regarding this person, it doesn't matter whether I introduce him or not. We are Jinyiwei, who doesn't know that this person's hands are stained with the blood of our Han people? But for so many years, we still haven't caught this person, which really makes my Ming Dynasty and Jinyiwei lose face. Your Majesty, we Jinyiwei are scolded every now and then. I don't know how you feel? Anyway, I feel very unhappy!"
"For so many years." He slammed the table hard. "The greatest achievement of those guys in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who can only talk is to make European countries jointly declare the Renaissance Party a terrorist organization. But the real fighters are our Jinyiwei. In the five years since I took office as the commander of the Jinyiwei, twenty-three brothers have died because of the Renaissance Party! What is the result? Whenever the Renaissance Party makes trouble somewhere, the people will mutter, "What are those Jinyiwei guys doing?" So, this time, no matter what, we must get rid of Ludendorff!"
After complaining for a while, he looked around the venue majestically: "The people present today, except for this envoy and Captain Li who will give you intelligence reports, the other eight people will organize a special service team and fly to North America on a special plane tomorrow at noon. Wu Peifu, the captain of our Jinyiwei in North America, is too young and inexperienced. We need our Jinyiwei headquarters to send people directly to effectively integrate the forces of more than a dozen vassal states to arrest this Ludendorff. And you eight people are the most outstanding elite among the special service personnel of my Jinyiwei in recent years!
This operation is codenamed "Fox Hunt". Captain Zhu Xiansu will be the team leader. Jinyiwei Headquarters will provide you with the strongest support in terms of equipment and supplies. Your mission is to rush to North America as soon as possible and capture Ludendorff alive. That way you can bring him back to Beijing and I can have a good time with him. If you really can't capture him alive, it's okay to kill him! But I don't want to hear reports that this guy has escaped again. Do you understand?"
"clear!"
"Then let's adjourn the meeting. Tonight is the time for you to get to know each other. Captain Li has already prepared a meeting room and accommodation for you. Pick up equipment and supplies tomorrow morning, and at noon tomorrow, the Air Force's special transport plane will take you away!"
"yes!"
…
"Commander Yuan." The meeting was over, and the members of the Fox Hunting Team stood up and walked out. However, Zhu Xiansui stopped Yuan Shikai.
"What's the matter, Sixth Prince?"
"Uh, Commander, I have a request."
"Let me guess." Yuan Shikai smiled slightly: "But do you want to go see Teacher Jiang?"
"That's right." Zhu Xiansui's face was a little hot. "I was in South America last year, and I've been traveling in the southwest for half a year this year. I haven't seen her for ten months. Of course." He lowered his head slightly. "If discipline does not allow it, I don't have to go."
"I was young once, too. Although I was poor and short and not liked by women when I was young, I am an experienced person after all." Looking at Zhu Xiansui, Yuan Shikai said, "Go, but don't go tonight. You are the captain, get to know your team members well. Everyone is here tonight. If you are not here, these elites from the various thousand households will not be completely convinced by you just because you are a prince. Go tomorrow morning, and I will give you two hours off."
"Yes, thank you, Commander!"
…
The next day, at 8:30 in the morning, in a classroom of the high school department of Fangshan Science Academy Affiliated Middle School.
"Stand up! We are here to greet you, sir."
"No need to be polite, just sit down."
"Thank you, Mr.
After the usual greetings, a tall, pretty female teacher in her thirties, who exuded the temperament of a mature, intellectual beauty, walked up to the podium and said, "Dear students, please turn to page 125 of the textbook. Today we will talk about Chapter 32 of the History of the National Dynasty, 'The brief decline after the peak of national power'."
"Everyone knows that 250 years ago, the Divine Ancestor Saint Emperor Zhu Youdong ascended to heaven after leading the Ming Dynasty to revival and dominating the world. Since then, the Ming Dynasty has become the most powerful country in the world, and its national power has reached its peak... There is no doubt that a saint like the Saint Emperor has made great achievements. But the way he left this world was indeed too special. Since then, except for his successor Emperor Gaozong Wei, the three emperors after Emperor Wei have been obsessed with cultivating immortals, wanting to become immortals like the Saint Emperor and achieve eternal life.
Of course, they all failed without exception. Moreover, because they were too obsessed with cultivating immortals, they neglected state affairs, which led to the weakening of the Ming Dynasty. The country's science and technology stagnated, economic development was in trouble, and the military's combat effectiveness weakened. The most typical manifestation was that the navy had not been able to obtain a large ship of more than 10,000 tons for nearly 20 years... In the 340th year of the founding of the country, the Song Kingdom in the Far East and the Inca Kingdom broke out in war because of territorial disputes, and the central government of the Ming Dynasty was unable to mediate. Since then, in just a few years, quite a number of kingdoms, principalities, and marquisates have become alienated from the Ming Dynasty. The huge vassal system of the Ming Dynasty is in danger of collapse.
At this critical juncture, Marshal Li Dingguo, who was 91 years old and had retired for 21 years in the 344th year of the founding of the country, could no longer bear it after repeatedly petitioning and knocking on the door to the emperor's throne to no avail. He launched a military remonstration, deposed the then Emperor You, and established a new emperor. Only then did the national power of the Ming Dynasty rise...
Okay, that's all I have to say today. There are still five minutes left before the class ends. Do you have any questions?"
"Sir, I have read the history books and found that those who launched military remonstrations generally did not have a good ending. Do you think Marshal Li Dingguo's ending was good or bad?"
"That's a good question. As we all know, Marshal Li Dingguo committed suicide at home half a year after the new emperor ascended the throne. This was a warning to the soldiers that military remonstrances should not be done lightly. After all, forcing the emperor to do something is treason. No matter what the purpose is, if you do it, you must take responsibility.
The then
"Teacher, do you think there are really immortals in this world? Did the Holy Emperor really ascend to heaven?"
"Master, I have never seen an immortal. None of my relatives, friends or teachers have seen an immortal either. So, Master, I cannot say that there are really immortals. Of course, just because Master has never seen one, it does not mean that they do not exist. However, Master believes that even if the Holy Emperor really ascended to heaven, it was because he reversed the fate of the Ming Dynasty, which was about to perish, and brought the Ming Dynasty to its peak during his tenure. This was due to his supreme merit. In fact, since Emperor Kangzong Ding, the royal family has reached a conclusion on this. That is, even if the emperor wants to ascend to heaven, the most likely way to succeed is to govern the country well and ascend to heaven through merit. It is absolutely impossible to succeed by neglecting state affairs and simply cultivating immortality. Well, today's class ends here. get out of class dismissed."
"We are waiting to see you off, sir."
…
"How long have you been here?"
"About half an hour. Teacher Jiang, you explained it very well."
"Haha~ Did you hear anything I said in class? Hey, you won't feel uncomfortable when I say the faults of your ancestors so bluntly?"
"Fortunately, our Zhu family has so many emperors, there are always a few who are not so outstanding. Besides, we can learn from history to understand the rise and fall of nations. Our Ming Dynasty is now the only superpower in the world, but we must also face the dissatisfaction and challenges of countries around the world, even the vassal states. In such an environment, if we still cannot calmly face the mistakes of the past, then it is not impossible for the Ming Dynasty to decline again."
"Hey, why do I feel like you've become more knowledgeable recently? Didn't you say a few years ago that our Ming Dynasty is the only country in the world that has nuclear weapons, artificial satellites, and can launch long-range missiles? If anyone dares to bomb Ci, we will just nuke it. Why are you so low-key now?"
"This isn't being low-key, it's growing up. Teacher Jiang, when did I say that just now? More than ten years ago, right? We were still in college at that time?"
"Really? Why do I feel like it was just yesterday?" The intellectual beauty took off her glasses and looked at him carefully for a while: "Let me guess, you won't be away for a long time for another mission, right?"
"Hahaha, the one who understands me is Jiang Xue."
"Well, I won't ask where you're going. You can't tell me anyway. Anyway, be careful. I'll be waiting to come back."
"Don't worry, I always come back safe and sound. I'm the Sixth Prince, so everyone should protect me."
"I don't think so. All of you princes, for the throne, are you not trying your best to perform and gain the approval of the emperor and his ministers?"
"This question..." Zhu Xiansu paused for a moment, then said, "As a prince, if I say I don't want that position, no one would believe me. But since my father allowed me to join the Jinyiwei, I knew that I would never be able to be the emperor."
"Why do you say that?"
"Since the Holy Emperor of the Ming Dynasty abolished the system of primogeniture, the struggles among the princes have become increasingly fierce in the past two hundred years. But no matter what, as long as a prince is still in the emperor's heart, the emperor will find a way to cultivate him and prepare a group of young ministers to surround him. In this way, when the prince ascends the throne in the future, he will get the support of his own team and quickly control the situation, so that power will not fall into the hands of others. However, in the past two hundred years, which prince who finally succeeded in ascending the throne had experience in the Imperial Guard? Well, to govern a country, it is a joke to have an intelligence agent in charge of everything, isn't it?"
"So? You're just waiting for your father to make you a king, and then go to be a vassal?"
"What's wrong with being a vassal?" At this point, Zhu Xiansu grabbed the hand of the intellectual beauty opposite him and said, "Teacher Jiang, when I complete my mission this time, will you marry me? I have thought about it. In the future, my fiefdom will be either in North America or South America, and the territory will be at least 100,000 square kilometers. How about we live there for the rest of our lives?"
The intellectual beauty's cheeks quickly flushed. She didn't pull out her hand from the other party's grasp, but still said coquettishly: "Why would I follow you to the Amazon rainforest instead of being a history teacher at Fangshan Middle School? Am I going to be the queen of the wild tribe in the rainforest?"
"Well, I have to admit that there are no good places along the coast of South America now. If we really have to be confined to South America, it would probably be the inland rainforest area. But weren't you also interested in evolution and biology before? Wouldn't it be good for us to do research and academic research there together? As for the savages? Haha, the Indians are generally very civilized now, especially the Indians in South America, most of them can speak Chinese. So, it's okay for you to be a teacher there."
"Bah!" The other hand that was not held gently hit the chest of the man opposite: "I don't want to be a history teacher in South America. Is the history book of Yindian really readable? It completely ignores the facts and reverses right and wrong..."
"Stop!" Zhu Xiansu let go of the woman's hand and grabbed her shoulders with both hands. "I admit that when Emperor Gaozong and King Tai of Song compiled the Yindian history book in South America, they did ignore the facts. In recent years, many Yindians who studied in our Ming Dynasty have also raised objections. However, our Ming Dynasty did pull the Yindians out of the crisis of genocide. How can this be said to be a distortion of right and wrong?"
"I don't care. I don't like the rain forest anyway. I don't want to be a queen there."
"Hehe, you are still willing to marry me. But what if my future fiefdom is there? Well, I can't go to the moon to be a fief, right? The development plan released by Fangshan Space Agency last year has already stated that although my Ming Dynasty has achieved the goal of sending humans into space and returning , it will take at least 20 years to achieve the moon landing."
"You should think of a solution. It's better not to go to South America. Try to go to North America. How about that? I want to see Yellowstone Park."
"So you are more interested in geology than biology? Well, judging from the current situation of our brothers, the eldest brother is almost sixty years old this year, and he has already been a vassal, and has long lost the possibility of ascending to the throne. The second and third brothers are also vassal states... The fifth brother is a cultured man, obsessed with being a movie director all day long, and has no possibility of ascending to the throne. Although the seventh brother is already a colonel in the army, in recent decades, our Ming Dynasty has rarely dispatched troops, and he lacks achievements. The eighth brother has been engaged in judicial work, and has the legacy of King Xintai. However, the ministers may not be able to accept a royal family with such a personality... Only the fourth brother has served in the Privy Council, the Ministry of Public Administration, and even the Navy. He has gathered a lot of talents around him, and he has the greatest hope of ascending to the throne. When the time comes, I will first ask him for leniency, and then ask my father for permission to go directly to North America to be a vassal."
"Well... Actually, you can be a fiefdom anywhere. If you really want to go to the rain forest of South America, I will follow you."
"Axue..."
"Um……"
Just as the two were hugging each other and preparing to be more affectionate, the school radio played funeral music at an inappropriate time.
"Teachers and students, our school has just received news from the Academy of Sciences that the 24th Emperor of the Ming Empire, His Majesty Zhu Dizhong, suddenly became unwell and died of cardiac arrest at the grand court meeting this morning. He was 82 years old. His Majesty Zhu Dizhong ascended the throne at the age of 18 and reigned for 64 years..."
"How could it be? How could this happen? How could my father collapse so suddenly? I, I didn't have time to..."
"Zhu Lang, please accept my condolences. The current emperor, no, the late emperor was the longest reigning emperor since the First Emperor. This is considered a happy funeral. What you need to do now is to quickly ask your superior for leave and then attend the funeral."
"You're right." Zhu Xiansu's eyes were bloodshot at this time: "Axue, I'm so upset right now, I'm afraid I can't drive. Can you please?"
"Okay, go to the phone booth next to you and contact your superior. I'll go ask the principal for leave."
However, before the lovers separated, a long convoy of cars drove into the campus like the wind and surrounded the two people.
Just as Zhu Xiansu quickly recovered from his great sorrow and pulled Jiang Xue behind him, his right hand habitually reaching for his gun holster, a short and fat man rolled out of the first car in the convoy and continued to roll in front of Zhu Xiansu.
"Commander Yuan?"
"Your servant, Yuan Shikai, the commander of the Imperial Guard, pays respects to His Majesty the Sixth Prince." After finishing this sentence with full of energy, Yuan Shikai raised his head and said softly: "Your servant, Yuan Shikai, pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Commander, what did you say?"
"Your Highness, the late emperor suddenly passed away during the morning court session this morning. The Prime Minister Zhang Zhidong, the Privy Councilor Chen Yucheng, and the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan jointly opened the late emperor's secret edict. The edict clearly stated that the sixth son Zhu Xiansu was to succeed him."
"ah?"
"Your Majesty." Yuan Shikai took two steps forward gently. "Our Jinyiwei has been established for more than 500 years. Since the Holy Emperor, six princes have joined the Jinyiwei in the past 200 years. Today, the seventh prince, you, finally has someone who can ascend the throne. The Jinyiwei will swear to protect your majesty and ensure that your majesty ascends the throne smoothly!"
"This, this is no joke. Commander Yuan, how can an intelligence agent become the ruler of a country?"
"Why not? Your Majesty has been respectful to the wise and humble during the years you have been a prince, and has always led by example. Who among the Jinyiwei does not recognize you? And we, the group of people who have fought for the country in recent years, have recognized you? Who else has the right to not recognize you?"
"Then, what about the fourth brother?"
"Your Highness was named the Righteous King in the late Emperor's will, and his fiefdom is in central South America, in the middle reaches of the Amazon River."
"How is it possible? Fourth brother has such a rich resume and so many ministers under his command, why did the emperor choose me?"
"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. Are you going to deny the late emperor's vision, or do you want to deny the loyalty of our brothers in the Jinyiwei? Your Highness, the Fourth Prince, no, Your Highness Prince Yi, in recent years, especially after Prince Kai became a vassal, he thought that his position as the crown prince was stable, and he acted arrogantly. How can such an impatient prince be qualified to be the crown prince? However."
Yuan Shikai looked around and said, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. His Royal Highness Prince Yi has a rich resume and many ministers. So if Your Majesty wants to ascend the throne safely at this time, my Jinyiwei has a heavy responsibility. Your Majesty, this is not the place to talk. Now all the Jinyiwei in the city have been mobilized and have sorted out a safe route for Your Majesty to enter the Forbidden City. Please follow me to get in the car, and let's go to the palace city quickly!"
"Well, I'll go with you, but Ah Xue?"
"Your Majesty, I dare to ask that Teacher Jiang should be the future empress of our Ming Dynasty. Her safety is naturally something we, as subjects, need to ensure. I suggest that Teacher Jiang take another car and go to our Jinyiwei headquarters to rest first."
"This arrangement is appropriate. Then, let's set off. Our destination is the Forbidden City!"
"As you wish!"
(End of the book)