Chapter 19: Passing the Drummer Examination

Zhu Gaoxu came out of the front hall and walked into the hall, his face full of surprise again.

There was a group of people standing next to the screen wall inside the gate. It was very strange to see so many people standing there, and they all kept silent. Zhu Gaoxu had no idea there was a group of people there before he stepped out of the door!

"Prince! Prince..." The three people standing in front discovered Zhu Gaoxu, shouted immediately, and ran over quickly.

The sudden situation caught Zhu Gaoxu off guard. Several people's faces were flushed and they looked very excited, just like a group of hungry wolves seeing chicken, their saliva was drooling.

We are all adults, why are we so upset? Zhu Gaoxu suddenly remembered his feelings in his previous life. As a person at the bottom of society, his connections and resources are very limited, and the chances of moving up a social ladder are very small. There is a saying that if you meet a noble person, you will "work less" for twenty years. If you encounter an opportunity, you will usually take it very seriously. As the grandson of Taizu, isn't Zhu Gaoxu the noble person of this group of losers in front of him?

Thinking in this way, Zhu Gaoxu understood them very well.

"The prince is finally back!" "We were here yesterday..." The three people were chattering, refusing to give in to each other, as if there were thirty people, making Zhu Gaoxu dizzy.

He placed his thumb on his temple and rubbed it gently, trying to recall these people he had "first met".

The man with a pair of round eyes and rough and dark skin should be called Wang Bin. He has a short and round face, high cheekbones, and a hard beard. He is not very old, but because his skin is like leather and his hair is like straw, he looks very old. His round eyes look fierce, but somehow, his serious look seems to be funny.

The other guy with a stubby face and fair skin, not tall but very strong, is called Wei Da. Wei Da is at least in his thirties, but he looks younger than Wang Bin, who is in his twenties. The importance of good skin... The candidate for the county princess that Princess Xu chose last year was his daughter.

Both of them were centurion officers and served in Zhu Gaoxu's ceremonial guard.

The remaining one is a civil servant, with a bird embroidered on his belly, a green robe and an ox-horn belt, his name is Hou Hai, and he is a professor of the ninth rank... In the Ming Dynasty, except for the name of a "low-rank" rank, his rank is the lowest.

Zhu Gaoxu raised his hands and glared at them. The three of them finally shut up.

Zhu Gaoxu finally had a chance to speak, "Don't worry, what could possibly happen in a trip to the capital? Don't be nervous. Let's go today and do our own things." After he said that, he glanced at the civil servant Hou Hai and waved, "I have something to ask Professor Hou, let's talk inside."

The two walked in, one in front and one behind. Behind the screen wall, there was a row of houses on one side and a wall on the other. Zhu Gaoxu randomly found a room, walked in, and sat down on a chair.

Hou Hai stood there and bowed.

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "I have been away from Peking for two or three months. What has happened here?"

Hou Hai immediately took two steps forward, looked back at the doors and windows, bowed his head and whispered, "Weida's daughter actually had an engagement before! He actually concealed the truth and broke off the engagement in order to marry the prince! I have already found out who the other party is, his name is Li Mo..."

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he said unhappily, "I am asking about the great affairs of the world!"

Hou Hai said hurriedly with a bitter face, "The whole family of King Zhou was taken to the capital by Duke Cao, demoted to commoners, and exiled to Yunnan. King Dai and King Qi were taken to the capital and imprisoned. I heard that King Dai was taken to Sichuan. The worst was King Xiang. Someone accused him of counterfeiting Ming treasure notes. When the officers and soldiers came to his door, he shouted that he was innocent. In shame and anger, he took his princess and children and burned themselves to death! Now all the vassal kings are in panic..."

"I know all this." Zhu Gaoxu was already a little impatient.

Hou Hai suddenly realized, "Song Zhong brought tens of thousands of people to Kaiping to prepare for the border, saying that there were not enough troops. The emperor ordered to transfer troops from the Prince of Yan's guards to reinforce. The commander-in-chief and the governor of Beiping were both replaced."

These pieces of news are somewhat interesting, but they are all eye-catching personnel changes in the local area, which are too easy to find out.

"Okay, okay." Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand.

He thought that the civil servants around him would miraculously turn out to be talented people, but it seems he was overthinking it.

Just as Zhu Gaoxu was filled with disappointment and sighing secretly, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind, and he immediately asked with interest, "The matter of the Wei Da family was not even discovered by the people in the Prince of Yan's Mansion at the beginning. It seems that it is unknown to the public. How did you find out?"

"This..." Hou Hai hesitated, "By chance, I found out that Li Mo went to the Wei family and asked Wei Da for help in the 'competition'. Your Highness knows that those who inherit military posts from their fathers must first pass the competition of the Dusi. If they fail the first time, their salary will be halved, and if they fail the second time, they will become ordinary military households.

Li Mo's late father was also skilled in archery and horse riding, but his son was so delicate that he didn't learn any martial arts from his father. In the first round of competition, he almost shot the drummer to death, and was directly scolded by the examiner and kicked out of the training ground. If he fails the second time, he will be finished. It is better to be an ordinary soldier than an ordinary citizen...

Li Mo probably knew his own limitations. When he heard that the Wei family's daughter was going to be a princess, he stopped asking for an engagement, but at least he wanted some compensation. So he went to find Wei Da. "

"Oh." Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

Hou Hai said, "I believe that within two days, Wei Da will come to see the prince. He doesn't have the connections of a military commander."

"Oh." Zhu Gaoxu nodded again.

After listening to the details for a long time, Zhu Gaoxu concluded that Hou Hai was suitable for investigation work and was very detailed in investigating people.

Zhu Gaoxu deliberately imitated Hou Hai's previous action because he found it inexplicably funny. He stretched his neck to glance at the door and window, leaned forward, and whispered mysteriously, "Check the background of everyone in the Prince's Mansion and report back."

Hou Hai was pleasantly surprised, as if he had suddenly become a trusted confidant. He nodded several times and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will definitely get it done."

Zhu Gaoxu hesitated for a moment, then said, "The girl I just brought back is named Du Qianrui. She was born in Fuleyuan, the capital. She said she was from Raozhou Prefecture, Jiangxi. Please find out for me what happened to her family and why she went to Fuleyuan."

"This... you only know that he is from Raozhou Prefecture? Ah!" Hou Hai immediately said seriously, "It's okay, Your Majesty, don't worry!"

Zhu Gaoxu pretended to be serious and said, "This job can only be done by you, go ahead."

"I'll take my leave." Hou Hai said with a fist salute.

After sending Hou Hai away, Zhu Gaoxu stood at the door and looked around his palace. He then thought of the subordinates he had just met, including the ceremonial guards, a total of more than two hundred people...which was quite a difference from the prince he had imagined.

The grandson of the Ming Dynasty's Taizu and a prince, is this the only strength he has?

Zhu Gaoxu was depressed for a while, and gradually faced the reality: the one who really had some strength was the Prince of Yan. Zhu Gaoxu was only sixteen years old, and no matter how strong his personal military power was, he was still dependent on his father, and was just a card in the hands of the Prince of Yan.

The current situation also makes Zhu Gaoxu very confused.

The army outside Beiping looked around, and it seemed that it was surrounded; even the old nest of the Prince of Yan, Beiping City, was mostly under the control of the court. It seemed that the real control area of the Prince of Yan Zhu Di was only the palace.

The Prince of Yan must be under great pressure at this time, but Zhu Gaoxu is a little confused about how to win the war because his father has not yet consulted him on important matters.

Zhu Gaoxu himself was under even greater pressure! Not only was he at the same risk as the Prince of Yan, but he also had to face a doomed fate: being burned to death by the Crown Prince's son.

With the current strength, how can you struggle?

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a long time in the difficult and chaotic situation, and soon determined two general strategies: reserve strength, but not let Zhu Di and the prince think that he had ulterior motives.

How could he do this? He couldn't figure it out for the moment, so he could only take it one step at a time. But when you are in the arena, you can't do without routines!

Zhu Gaoxu walked into the hallway and saw Wang Gui coming from the corridor under the eaves. Wang Gui looked up and trotted over, bending over and saying, "I slept too long and found that the prince had already woken up."

"Wang Gui..." Zhu Gaoxu seemed not to hear him.

Wang Gui hurriedly bent his waist deeper, "I'm here."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at him and said, "I remember you came from my father's house."

"Yes, yes..." Wang Gui said hurriedly, "But my heart has long belonged to you, Your Majesty. You treat me as a human being, so how can I be so heartless?!"

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and said, "What are you talking about? I want to ask you, you are from there, you must know some eunuchs in the Prince of Yan's Palace?"

Wang Gui said, "Of course! At that time, the Prince of Yan got a lot of books and invited teachers to teach the eunuchs to read and write in his mansion. We eunuchs were together every day, so who didn't know each other? Hehe, to use a more elegant word, we were all classmates."

Zhu Gaoxu said, "Very good. Go to the storehouse to get some money and goods, and hang out with your classmates. Find out who the officials and generals in Beiping are from, and come back to tell me."

He paused, and then continued, "We just returned to Peking, and we were completely blind. We didn't know anyone about the new people. It was really uncomfortable to just wait and leave everything to fate."

Wang Gui said, "I obey your command! How much...goods do you want?"

Zhu Gaoxu said, "You can do it yourself. Didn't you study in the Prince of Yan's Mansion? Just bring the accounts up in a while and let me take a look."

"Your Highness, I am so grateful for your trust in me," said Wang Gui.

Zhu Gaoxu said calmly, "I heard that the first thing you did when you came back was to check the warehouse. Very good, you should do the same in the future. Don't be careless and betray my trust."

"Yes, I've made note of it." Wang Gui said.

When Wang Gui retreated, he turned around and secretly glanced at Zhu Gaoxu, with a look of surprise in his eyes.

Zhu Gaoxu no longer cared about so many things. No matter how much he acted, his personality and work style could never be exactly the same as the previous Prince Gaoyang.