The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

"Since the Crown Prince and Princess are interested in competing in military strategy, I can give you a question."

"But it would be too hasty to answer here."

"You can take the questions home, study them carefully for a few days, and then write down your opinions based on your own understanding. As the only examiner, I may be biased. I may give your answers to the people at the Military Intelligence Advisory Office without telling them who the answers came from, and they will make the corresponding judgments."

Zhang Zhou finished his plan with a smile.

Zhu Xiurong propped up his head with his hands and asked, "Is it that troublesome?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "Why, sister, you don't dare? I think it's best to do this. Even if someone copied our papers, there is still a difference in talent between you and me. People who are familiar with us can easily tell who wrote it from the words. It would be more fair if we let more people who are not familiar with the matter to judge."

"Hey, brother, from what you said, you are sure to win? It's fine to have more people judge... But if you lose, don't say that someone helped me."

Zhu Xiurong also looked like he refused to admit defeat.

Zhu Houzhao was very proud.

Zhu Xiurong then said to Zhang Zhou: "Then please ask the question, sir."

Zhang Zhou said: "A war just ended in the northwest. The Ming army was divided into five routes, and they were sent to the grassland from various places on the three sides. If the troops from Datong Town are included, it will be six routes, but they have not achieved any results."

Zhu Houzhao asked: "Are you asking us where the Tartars are?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head and said, "Since you want to compete, why don't you go back and write an essay, detailing the matters that should be paid attention to in pacifying the grassland. Or, you two can lead the troops and attack the grassland separately. How can you pacify the grassland in one fell swoop..."

"Fuck." Zhu Houzhao said, "Is there a correct answer to this?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and shook his head, saying, "It all depends on your opinions. The prince and princess want to learn about military matters because they want to share your worries. And the biggest way to share your worries is to offer advice on how to pacify the grasslands, right?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "That sounds reasonable. No wonder you didn't hand in the paper today. This topic is a bit difficult. I should study it carefully when I get home."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "Princess, what do you think?"

"Me?" Zhu Xiurong thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know either. If you ask me to write, I can write, but I don't know as much as my brother. I don't know what the grassland looks like either."

Zhang Zhou said: "In order to facilitate the answers of the prince and princess, I will write a detailed document and give it to you for reference. I will treat both documents equally and the contents of both documents will be the same... The rest depends on your understanding."

……

……

Originally, it was planned that Zhang Zhou would teach the two younger ones.

But because they were involved in some kind of competition, Zhang Zhou simply gave them a question, spoke to them briefly, gave them an outline of the test questions, and then left from Wenhua Hall.

Because the lecturer had already left that day, their afternoon classes were considered over after Zhang Zhou left, and then the two of them went back with their outlines.

Zhu Houzhao held it in all night.

When he woke up the next morning, he had not written a single word, and his eyes were red. It was obvious that he had stayed up all night and suffered from insomnia over this policy paper, and he looked listless.

"Your Highness, you still have to attend morning classes today. If you do this..."

Gao Feng felt heartbroken when she saw this.

Why do you suddenly want to compete with the princess in military strategy?
Looking at the prince, he doesn't seem to be much of a competitor.

Zhu Houzhao said: "This topic is too difficult. It would be fine if you just asked about the gains and losses of a war, but now you want me to discuss the pacification of the grassland? Even if I have great ambitions, I don't know where to start!"

Gao Feng said: "Just write down whatever your prince thinks of."

"This is the most fatal thing." Zhu Houzhao said, "I can think of many things, from large-scale military battles on the battlefield, to sending cavalry to raid, or to ensure the supply of food and grass, to use superior forces to advance into the grasslands from all directions, and gradually squeeze the living space of the Tartars... But if I write these down, will they really be recognized by those old scholars?"

Gao Feng said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince only needs to be more knowledgeable than the princess, why bother about what others think?"

Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "My sister can be embarrassed, but I can't. If I compete with her, I will definitely win, but if I hand this thing over to my father and let him recognize me, I need some time. Besides, this is the first time I have the opportunity to participate in the discussion of such a big concept... No, I need to think about it again."

Gao Feng said: "How about... asking someone?"

"Who to look for?" Zhu Houzhao seemed to be open to the idea of ​​seeking external help. Then his eyes lit up and he said, "Oh, there is also Liu Jin. He has been to the northwest and has seen more than me. It is true that we should ask him back."

Gao Feng said hurriedly: "I'm afraid it's not easy to find the person."

"What's so difficult about finding it? I'll ask someone to tell him to come to Wenhua Hall to see me. It'll be in the next two days... I guess he'll have to hand in his paper in two days."

"This time I must write something that will impress Mr. Zhang and my father!"

……

……

Inside the theater.

into the night.

The theater was very quiet that day because it was being renovated. After the theater opened, it would need to be expanded, and some things in Zhang Zhou's private room also needed to be updated.

This also serves as his office and living area.

When Chen Ying, also known as the daughter of the Chen family, arrived, it was almost the second watch, and she was accompanied by a servant carrying a silver box.

"Master, this is a batch of silver that was shipped from the south a while ago. There are more than four thousand taels. Please count them."

After Chen Ying opened the box, he saw piles of silver inside.

Zhang Zhou walked over, picked up a silver ingot, looked at it, and then threw it back, saying, "Why did you carry it here?"

Chen Ying said, "This is what I brought here as a gift to you, Master. The theater needs to be repaired, and it will cost money. Originally, this batch of money should be sent back to my hometown... I will no longer worry about the Chen family. This is all Master's property."

In the past, Chen Ying’s purpose of doing business was to accumulate wealth for the Chen family in order to ensure that her position as the head of the family would not be shaken.

Now that she has officially moved into the Zhang family, her goals have changed.

Moreover, she felt very insecure, knowing that Zhang Zhou took her as a concubine mainly to use her to make money, so she also had to demonstrate her own value, which was to earn money for Zhang Zhou.

"That's thoughtful." Zhang Zhou said, "I bought a house in the capital. You can go and take a look tomorrow and live there first."

"Yes."

Chen Ying knew that even if she had the chance to go back to the mansion with Zhang Zhou, she would not be considered a woman of the mansion.

She is more of an outer house, because she often has to take care of business matters, so she can't be like Jiang Pingyu and the others, who only take care of their husbands and children and don't care about things outside the house. She is a person who works for Zhang Zhou, not a canary in a cage.

"There is also a document about Xishan Coal Mine on the table." Zhang Zhou said, "Take it back and have a look. Go to Xishan in the next two days and take over the several industries under the coal mine. There are places for making coke and burning honeycomb coal... In short... you will help me manage this from now on."

"Yes."

Chen Ying was still very happy.

Now that she has officially entered the door, there is a new business for her to take over, which represents a kind of trust. Zhang Zhou said: "Take the information and go first."

"Yes."

Chen Ying was very surprised.

She thought Zhang Zhou would keep her in the theater that night, but Zhang Zhou didn't seem to care about her that much. He just arranged some business matters and let her go.

Originally, she wanted to gain Zhang Zhou's further trust by using her feminine qualities, but now her preparations were useless and she could only bow and leave.

……

……

After Chen Ying left, Chen Gui brought a woman into the private room of Zhang Zhou Theater.

This person is Li Song.

When Li Song saw Zhang Zhou, she knelt down and expressed her gratitude to Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou said, "You helped the court investigate cases and exposed many people's misdeeds, and your husband's family and your mother's family were also implicated. You may feel relieved, but is it really good for you?"

Li Song said with a resolute expression: "I am dedicated to serving the court and will not care about personal gains and losses."

"These days, there may be something in Princess Yongkang's mansion that requires you to do, or you may be asked to stay there for a few days. Is that ok?" Zhang Zhou said.

Li Song was very surprised.

She was already a criminal and was working for Zhang Zhou, so she had nothing to do with Yongkang.

She couldn't have expected that Zhang Zhou would actually send her to approach Princess Yongkang.

"Don't worry, I didn't ask you to do anything that would harm the court. You just need to complete the task I assigned to you." Zhang Zhou said, "Yongkang herself asked you to stay for a few days. She was afraid that you would suffer, and she might have thought that you were being tortured inhumanely here. After you go there, just bring back the news as I said."

"Yes."

Although Li Song looked puzzled, since this was a task assigned by Zhang Zhou, she had no choice but to do it.

Zhang Zhou said to Liu Gui, "Liu the Deputy Captain, please send her off for me. After you send her to the place where she lives, give her the servants I have arranged. She will be the shopkeeper in the future, so please take care of the business."

"I don't know how to do business." Li Song said.

"You'll learn it if you try." Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "The business you want to do is really not something that other people can do, and I don't want anyone to know about this. After all...even Yongkang only knows a rough outline of the fact that you're by my side, and there's no need to make your identity public. If you want to realize your own value, it's up to you!"

Li Song is indeed a smart person.

After a little thought, she felt that the business that Zhang Zhou was going to give her might be shady.

Zhang Zhou has connections with many businessmen. Big business does not need to be handed over to her, and small business does not need to be handed over to her either. Only those big businesses that cannot be known to outsiders are probably what an invisible person like her should do.

"Yes. I will do my best to serve you, sir." Li Song kowtowed.

……

……

It's quiet at night.

Little Jang Geum was still singing the song. She didn't care about gains and losses. It seemed that it was a great honor for her to show her singing voice in front of Zhang Zhou.

It was a long time before Zhang Zhou came out from behind the screen with a book in his hand. Zhang Zhou had been writing and drawing on the book.

"Do you want to study medicine?" Zhang Zhou asked.

Little Jang Geum shook her head, indicating that she had no idea what Zhang Zhou was talking about.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Didn't someone tell you to follow her and she would teach you all her medical skills? What do you think?"

Only then did Jang Geum remember Ning Tong who had once "bewitched" her.

But as a stranger, little Jang Geum did not dare to have any opinions in the theater, especially when it came to matters concerning her own destiny. She seemed to know that she had no say in the matter.

"I don't know." said Jang Geum.

"If you want to learn, go ahead and learn." Zhang Zhou said, "You can learn singing and medicine at the same time. You can continue to study whichever you are good at."

Little Jang Geum opened her eyes wide, seemingly not understanding what was going on.

Then the door opened.

Zhang Lusu came in with a basin of water and saw Zhang Zhou standing in front of little Jang Geum. She seemed very scared, or thought that little Jang Geum had done something wrong.

"Hurry up and admit your mistake to the master." Zhang Lushui didn't say anything and directly pulled little Jang Geum to kneel down.

Zhang Zhou said, "You didn't do anything wrong, why are you admitting your mistake? Okay, you go down first."

"Slave..."

Zhang Lushui originally wanted to take the opportunity to curry favor with Zhang Zhou, but maybe she used her strength in the wrong direction, so she was kicked out just after she came in. She didn't understand where she went wrong.

Little Jang Geum seemed very sensible and took the basin of water directly.

Zhang Lushui was very embarrassed, and the look she gave towards little Jang Geum seemed to be filled with great vigilance.

Obviously, she regarded herself as the hostess of this theater. After all, all the Korean musicians here listened to her. Now that Jang Geum's status had risen, it had threatened her position. Naturally, she was unwilling to be suppressed by the "little niece" she had trained.

After Zhang Lushui left, Zhang Zhou said, "Go live somewhere else. This place is not suitable for you."

Little Jang Geum asked, "My Lord, do you want me to go back to Joseon?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head and said, "Now that you are here, if you want to go back and take a look, you can only wait until you are an adult. You are still a half-grown child now, and you need more time to adapt to life here. How about this, you go to the medicine shop to work as an assistant for a month... No, it should not be called an assistant, but a female shopkeeper."

"I...I don't know..."

It was obvious that little Jang Geum didn't understand a lot of things.

Zhang Zhou said, "When you get there, you will first learn to recognize medicinal herbs, and then learn how to prepare medicine. Someone will teach you. If you want to sing, choose a time when no one is around. Sometimes when I am bored, I will ask you to come over and sing for me. Afterwards, I may teach you some other things, such as... being a military doctor."

Little Jang Geum's eyes widened even more.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "You study first. When you have learned it, maybe I will let you teach others."

"Sir, why me?" Little Jang Geum asked in confusion.

Zhang Zhou sighed, "Because you are a girl, and at your age, teaching her... is probably the same. But there are some things that I am not convenient to do, so I am giving you a chance to realize your own value." (End of this chapter)