Chapter 166 The Little Duke Becomes a Disciple
It is said that Emperor Jiajing was furious today and scolded the generals and officials of the Five Military Commandery, saying that they were just sitting there doing nothing.
The Minister of War won the prize, and Emperor Jiajing praised Wang Yiqi for his humility and the demeanor of a great minister.
"Ministerial body?"
On the steps at the back door of the Xiao family's house, Xu Wei and Hu Zongxian, a pair of drinking buddies, were enjoying themselves.
"My uncle hasn't come back yet, and I don't know the details." Hu Zongxian was also itching to get back.
"Your uncle is enjoying great success in the northwest this time!" Xu Wei ate a meatball and felt the delicious taste in his mouth. "The White Lotus Sect's rebellion was suppressed, but no one thought it was just his bait.
He immediately wiped out the subordinates sent by Altan Khan to take advantage of the situation. To be honest, this calculation is similar to Xu's. "
Hu Zongxian pointed at him and said, "Your face is thicker than the walls of the capital. By the way, the provincial examination is coming soon. How are you preparing for it?"
The Xiao family treated him well, and after some connections, they successfully got Xu Wei's student status transferred to the capital. So this year Xu Wei could take part in the provincial examination in the capital without having to return to his hometown.
Xu Wei took a sip of wine and said, "I will definitely pass the provincial examination this year!"
Hu Zongxian said: "The provincial examination is just a few days away, aren't you anxious?"
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Xu Wei patted his belly, "I am full of talent, just waiting to blossom!"
A voice came from the backyard, "Uncle is back."
Hu Zongxian stood up and patted his butt, "I'll go back and ask."
After he went in, Xu Wei leaned against the back door, closed his eyes, and whispered: "I, Xu Wei, became famous at a young age, but I was repeatedly frustrated in the examinations. It was fate. However, now that I have left my wife's family, this damn fate should also change, right?"
Xu Wei was a son-in-law of the emperor, which is one of the reasons why many people looked down on him.
"Jiang Qingzhi is a scholar from No. 13 High School. He is talented, but compared to me, Xu Wei..." Xu Wei felt a little guilty, "He is still a little bit behind."
Hu Zongxian came back, sat down, took a sip of wine, then shook his head and sighed.
Xu Wei sneered: "It keeps people on suspense!"
Hu Zongxian said: "When Lord Bo went to the Ministry of War today, the whole ministry was full of hostility. When he left the Ministry of War, dozens of officials, led by the Minister of War Wang Yiqi, saw him off."
"This!" Xu Wei couldn't hold back any longer. "What did he do?"
Hu Zongxian pointed at the wine pot, and Xu Wei cursed, "You bastard, you only know how to take advantage of the opportunity." But he had no choice but to pour wine for Hu Zongxian.
Hu Zongxian drank the wine and praised: "The wine poured by the great scholar Xu is so fragrant!"
Xu Wei raised his wine gourd and said, "If you don't tell me, I will fight you to the death today."
Hu Zongxian said calmly: "My Lord mentioned the situation on the border of the Ming Dynasty in the Ministry of War today and pointed out something wrong. Altan knows about it. If he takes advantage of the situation and sneaks in, the capital will be in danger!"
"where is it?"
Xu Wei boasted of his talent in both civil and military affairs. Later, he traveled to the grassland, met Sanniangzi, the grassland leader who was the successor to Altan Khan, and made friends with her.
"That's a secret." Hu Zongxian refused to tell anyone no matter how he threatened him.
"Unless you are one of us." Hu Zongxian said this, patted his butt and left.
"One of our own!" Xu Wei laughed. "Old Hu is really persistent. He wants me to assist that uncle. But I, Xu Wei, gave up the proper path of taking the imperial examination and becoming an official, and went to praise paintings for others... Hehe!"
……
Jiang Qingzhi was very busy and just when he got home and wanted to take a rest, he was dragged away by Zhu Xizhong.
"Hey! Uncle, uncle..."
Zhu Shou'an stood outside the gate, helplessly watching her cousin being dragged out by Zhu Xizhong.
"Shou Mei!" Jiang Qingzhi got a headache at the thought of drinking, so he gave his niece a look.
Hurry up and find an excuse for your uncle.
Zhu Shou'an handed over a small bundle, "Uncle, this is Shou'an's return gift."
Can't you see the eyes?
Jiang Qingzhi took the bag with a wry smile, "Got it."
"Is my cousin going out? I'll come next time."
The little niece squatted politely and got on the carriage.
"Come on, I just got a pair of bear paws and a huge tiger thing. Qingzhi, I tell you, this is really good stuff. Even if you eat King Kong, he won't be as powerful as you."
Damn it!
Jiang Qingzhi thought to himself, I am still a virgin, and after eating that stuff, where can I vent my anger in the middle of the night?
But in his previous life he had only heard of bear paws and tiger paws, so out of curiosity, he followed Zhu Xizhong to the Duke's Mansion.
"Oh! Qingzhi didn't even think about coming home to visit us this time, but do you look down on your sister-in-law's cooking skills?"
Zhu Xizhong's wife came out to greet him with a smile.
Nowadays, even if the couple is close friends, it is rare to see the wife and daughter come out to greet the bride.
Jiang Qing had been through many battles in his previous life, and was no stranger to such social occasions. "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Isn't it Old Zhu who refused?"
Zhu Xizhong complained, and Jiang Qingzhi said, "What are you talking about... My wife is beautiful and virtuous, and can be a role model for women all over the world. Women like this should be hidden in the backyard and not shown to others."
The beautiful woman covered her mouth and laughed so hard that she fell backwards. "Qingzhi... you have such a clever tongue. You made my sister-in-law believe it."
Zhu Xizhong smiled and said, "I am not as eloquent as he is. His Majesty said earlier that if Qingzhi was not so young, it would not be a problem to give him the title of Duke."
"Duke?" Zhu Xizhong's wife was really moved this time.
You must know that in the Ming Dynasty, only those who have made great contributions can be granted the title of Duke.
Let’s not mention the reign of Emperor Taizu, as most of those dukes did not have a good end.
The Dukes of Chengzu's dynasty, Duke Chengguo Zhu and Duke Yingguo Zhang are still popular today, which shows that the title of Duke cannot be bestowed on anyone lightly.
Zhu Xizhong laughed and said, "Hurry up and get some wine and food."
He went in with his wife, and his wife grabbed his wrist and asked, "Do you really want to be made a Duke?"
"My dear wife!" Zhu Xizhong held his wife's hand with his backhand, feeling as if his left hand was holding his right hand. "Do you think anyone can defeat two generals under Altan Khan? Look at the past few decades, who in the Ming Dynasty can do this?"
"Throughout history, no one has been granted a title of nobility without military merit... This is nonsense from our dynasty." Zhu Xizhong said, "But the title of Duke has never been granted lightly. Your Majesty's words are a recognition of Qingzhi's military merit. Just wait and see! Sooner or later, Qingzhi will also be granted the title of Duke."
Zhu Xizhong's wife covered her chest and said, "Such a young man..." Suddenly her eyes lit up. "I have an unmarried girl at home, you can marry her."
Zhu Xizhong sighed, "Do you think I don't want to? Ke Qingzhi..." The old playboy smiled bitterly, "This guy has very high standards. Does Lu Shan'er from the Lu family know this?" "She has very high standards." His wife said, "There is a favorite concubine in the palace, and Lu Wei knows how to act. The Lu family should be able to continue to be rich and powerful. Lu Shan'er is a pretty good woman."
"But Qingzhi was not moved."
"Ah!" The wife was surprised, "If I marry Lu Shan'er, with a favorite concubine as my support, it will be a great situation!"
"My brother... To be honest, I am really not as good as him." The old playboy sighed, "You met him for the first time today, what do you think?"
"Linlang young man, his character is like pearls and jade."
"But he is so arrogant!" Zhu Xizhong sighed, "Let alone a girl from a concubine's family, even if she is the queen's sister, if he doesn't like her, I dare say he would not want her even if you pay him for her."
"A man like this is a perfect son-in-law!" The wife became more and more enthusiastic.
No, it's enthusiasm.
Later, when the food and wine were served, Zhu Xizhong changed into casual clothes and came out. Surprisingly, his wife was there too.
A young man in brocade clothes, who was about the same age as Prince Yu and the others, came out with them.
"Meet uncle!"
The young man performed a grand ceremony, which was very solemn.
"Old Zhu, you do this... get up quickly!" Jiang Qingzhi was a little uncomfortable with such a big gift.
"This is a dog."
Zhu Xizhong smiled and said, "Brother, I only have this one son. To be honest, I hope he will have a famous teacher to teach him."
No wonder this kid can't get up from his knees.
Zhu Xizhong's wife squatted down and said, "Qingzhi is a great talent. If you don't mind my son's stupidity, please accept him as your disciple and teach him."
"If you don't listen, just beat you!" Zhu Xizhong said.
The couple spoke to each other, not giving Jiang Qingzhi a chance to refuse.
Young Zhu Shitai looked up at his uncle who was only two years older than him, and felt a little uncomfortable.
"Old Zhu..." Jiang Qingzhi said sternly, "I am the sworn enemy of the Yan Party, and Lu Bing and I are also irreconcilable. In addition, all the scholars and officials in the world are my enemies. As the saying goes, once a teacher, always a father. If this child accepts me as his teacher, you must know that my enemies are his enemies."
As for the Duke's Mansion...it has nothing to do with me.
These days, in-laws just help each other and collective punishment does not exist.
You have your social circle, your grievances and hatreds, and I have mine. These social circles and grievances and hatreds have no intersection.
Lu Bing, a famous marriage expert in the Ming Dynasty, has the most say on this.
Looking at the marriage history of Emperor Jiajing's grandfather's brother and then looking at the marriage history of his children, it is truly jaw-dropping.
But all this does not prevent each other from taking sides.
Zhu Xizhong said sternly, "If there is anything, I will do the hard work. If you have trouble in the future, it will be this kid's trouble. If he dares to refuse, I will break his legs."
As for the future, Zhu Xizhong is in good health. Who can tell what the situation will be like decades later?
Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Jiang Qingzhi asked Zhu Shitai, "What do you want to learn?"
The young man said angrily, "Astronomy, geography, civil and martial arts, do you know all of them, uncle?"
Snapped!
Zhu Xizhong slapped him on the back of the head and said, "Talk to your uncle properly."
"Yes." The young man lowered his head in grievance.
Then he asked again: "Can my uncle teach me?"
Isn't this embarrassing?
Zhu Xizhong's wife laughed and said, "If you can master any of the three arts, astronomy, geography, literature and martial arts, you are a great talent. You are just talking nonsense."
Zhu Xizhong also laughed.
Jiang Qingzhi didn't laugh, he took out the medicinal cigarette, "No need for any apprenticeship gift, kid."
"Uncle." Zhu Shitai stood up.
"Light a cigarette for me."
Zhu Shitai asked someone to bring a fire and lit the incense for Jiang Qingzhi.
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of the medicinal smoke.
Reach out and pat his shoulder.
"Astronomy, geography, civil and military science?"
"Yes." The young man raised his head.
"Well, I taught you."
……
Half a day later, Jiang Qingzhi, who was drunk by Zhu Xizhong, went back.
Zhu Shitai muttered, "Uncle brags without blinking an eye."
Zhu Xizhong was almost drunk, and he burped. His wife said, "You are young, don't take it seriously."
"You learn whatever you can be taught." Zhu Xizhong felt something rising in his chest. Seeing his son's aggrieved look, he waved his hand and said, "Send someone to see Prince Yu and ask what the second master taught him on weekdays."
Since they became sworn brothers, everyone in Duke Cheng's Mansion called Jiang Qingzhi the Second Master.
Some people left as fast as they flew.
Prince Yu would naturally not neglect the issue of Duke Chengguo.
The visitor got the answer and returned quickly.
Zhu Xizhong had just drunk some sobering soup and was talking about the current situation with his wife and children.
"The Duke."
Come in and pay your respects.
"What did you teach?" asked Zhu Xizhong's wife.
"His Royal Highness Prince Yu said..." The visitor glanced at his young duke, "The Second Master taught him a wide range of knowledge. Astronomy, geography, civil and military, everything is covered."
……
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(End of this chapter)
