Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Although Prince Lu Zhu Changxun did not interfere in state affairs, he knew Zhang Pu's name.

This was not only because Zhang Pu and the inner court jointly founded Ming Pao, but also because he played an important role in the establishment of the Han vassal state.

It was after asking him for advice that King Han Zhu Danshen made the decision to move his fiefdom.

Zhu Changxun naturally paid attention to such close ministers of the emperor.

Zhang Pu naturally couldn't tell Prince Lu that he was here to see the famous prostitute Xu Fo, so he smiled and said to them:

"I heard that the Royal Orchestra is recruiting talents to perform at this year's music festival."

“The students were overjoyed and came to see it.”

Chen Zilong and others also said the same thing, saying they came to experience the music of the Royal Orchestra.

Prince Lu Zhu Changxun truly loved music, and even wanted to be listed in the Purple Pavilion like Prince Duanqing Zhu Zaiyu.

When he heard that Zhang Pu and others were also interested in music, he immediately said with great interest:

"You are right to come here today."

"Today, those who come to participate in the Royal Orchestra audition include not only famous masters of the time, but also their disciples."

"The next person to take the stage is Xia Rukai, who was selected by Zhang Dai."

Zhang Pu had never heard of this person's name, but Chen Zilong knew something about it.

As a famous romantic talent and wealthy idler, the news that Zhang Dai selected the famous Kunqu opera actor Xia Rukai into the Jiale Wujun troupe last year spread widely in Jiangnan.

Chen Zilong was also somewhat curious about this. He wondered what ability Xia Rukai had that could have caught the eye of Zhang Dai and earned the praise of Prince Lu.

While everyone was talking, Xia Rukai had already appeared on stage with makeup on. He was good at playing the role of a clown, and when he was on stage, he was full of laughter and jokes.

The audience all laughed and praised Xia Rukai for his wonderful performance as the clown.

So he was naturally selected into the drama troupe and became one of the inner court staff.

This is also the reason why Xia Rukai did not stay in the Zhang family and insisted on coming to the capital.

No matter how well he performed in the Zhang family, he was just a servant. After coming to the capital and being selected into the royal orchestra, he became a staff member of the inner court.

Not only will you be more respected in the future, you will even have the opportunity to serve as an official in the royal orchestra and other inner court institutions.

If someone wants to bully him, they have to consider their status and think about whether they can afford to offend the officials in the inner court.

It can be said that after joining the Royal Orchestra, one’s status will be elevated.

This is also the reason why many famous actors and prostitutes wanted to join the royal orchestra.

However, because the emperor separated the musicians from the prostitutes, the prostitutes continued to remain in the lowly class. Famous actors had a better chance of joining the imperial orchestra and were not discriminated against. It was extremely difficult for famous prostitutes to join the imperial orchestra.

In particular, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang had an ancestral precept: no one was allowed to have intimate contact with prostitutes.

Therefore, famous prostitutes basically had no chance to join the royal orchestra.

No matter how outstanding your skills are, you cannot pass the test of ancestral teachings.

The Queen even issued an order that in addition to examining their skills, female artists joining the royal orchestra should be tested according to the standards of palace maids.

Those who failed to meet the requirements of the palace maids would be dismissed to prevent prostitutes from taking the opportunity to sneak into the inner court.

It was precisely because of this that Xu Fo himself was not eligible to participate in the selection. He could only take his unfinished apprentice to participate in the orchestra selection.

Many famous prostitutes had the same idea and came with their favorite disciples. Some famous actresses with clean backgrounds even went on stage in person in the hope of being selected into the royal orchestra.

Xu Fo watched this scene nervously, fearing that the Royal Orchestra would be full and his disciples would not be selected.

Her Guijiayuan is very famous in Jiangnan, which is why the current situation is very dangerous.

Some people who were jealous of her took the initiative to report her to the government, so that the Suzhou government, which was not very active in implementing the court's policies, had no choice but to send people to close her Guijiayuan.

If she didn't have some connections, she might not even be able to come to the capital. She would most likely be thrown into prison and charged with human trafficking.

While watching the performance on the stage, Zhang Pu, under the guidance of his companions, saw Xu Fo who was accompanying his disciples.

Xu Fo's nervous and haggard appearance also caught his attention.

This made him secretly shake his head, feeling that meeting in person was not as good as hearing about him:

Although Xu Fo has a great reputation, it seems that he is just that famous now.

Some famous actresses who perform on stage are even more beautiful than her.

As for his demeanor, he did not seem cultured. Zhang Pu could not appreciate his flustered look.

So he was disappointed and stopped paying attention to Xu Fo. He just thought he was there to watch the orchestra's performance and enjoyed it seriously.

The same was true for Chen Zilong and others, who enjoyed performances by many famous actors in the Royal Orchestra.

Suddenly, a woman came on stage, which brightened their eyes and made them applaud.

It is hard to say how pretty this woman is. After all, she is only twelve years old and her body has not fully grown yet.

But her singing style really has the bearing of a female top scholar and is full of heroism.

This is something that many famous Kunqu opera actors do not have, and therefore they are not suitable for singing "The Female Number One Scholar".

Even Li Yu, who had heard this song many times, was enlightened and immediately made the decision:

"Who is this woman?"

"Stay here as a backup team."

Someone immediately said:

"It was Yang Ai who was sent by Xu Foguijiayuan. She has now changed her name to Liu Yin."

Li Yu became interested and asked Liu Yin on the stage:

“Why change the name?”

"And you changed your last name?"

Liu Yin said calmly:

"The emperor has forgiven us and made us good people. We can start a new life."

"So I changed my name and surname to separate myself from my old self."

This was her inner thought and also the reason why she changed her name.

After Xu Fo was reported, he sent some women with good backgrounds back home.

Because Liu Yin was sold at a very young age, she has no clear memory of her life and her origins can no longer be found.

She herself didn't want to go back, for fear of being sold out by her family again.

So he changed his name from Yang Ai to Liu Yin, and called himself "Ying Lian", which means he feels sorry for himself in this corrupt world.

Li Yu was quite satisfied with her answer, and even Zhang Pu and others praised her, because it was obviously praising the court's policy, which allowed her to start a new life.

It is hard to say whether this woman has the talent of a female top scholar, but she is so smart and heroic that she is indeed suitable to sing "Female Top Scholar".

Especially after knowing that Liu Yin was taught by Xu Fo, they began to look at Xu Fo with new eyes.

She is worthy of being a famous prostitute known throughout the south of the Yangtze River, and the disciples she has trained are also so outstanding.

Xu Fo was even happier because Liu Yin was one of her most dedicated disciples, and their relationship was extraordinary - in history, Liu Rushi was abandoned three times, and each time she returned to Guijiayuan.

Now, Liu Yin has successfully joined the Royal Orchestra and is even valued by the leader Li Yu. Xu Fo feels that his return to the family courtyard will soon be solved.

Sure enough, after she mentioned it briefly, Li Yu said:
"The court's policy was just announced last year. As for previous incidents, probably the government will not investigate unless the people report them."

"But if the victim comes to you, you will also have to pay compensation."

"If you have already violated the law, you will be punished separately."

This was the policy determined when the capital cracked down last year.

Most of those who were put in shackles and displayed in public, or even exiled overseas, had violated existing laws.

New laws and policies will be implemented after they are promulgated. We will not use unpromulgated laws to punish past crimes.

After hearing this, Xu Fo repeatedly stated that he was a law-abiding citizen.

What she had done in the past would not be investigated by the government unless the people reported it. As long as she could settle it with money, she would not go to jail.

But she didn't dare to go back to Jiangnan for the time being, so she begged Li Yu in a roundabout way to find a job in the capital.

Li Yu was a little unhappy with her for doing so many things, but because they were from the same hometown, there were Zhang Pu and other fellow villagers watching nearby.

After thinking about it, he pointed out a clear path for Xu Fo:
"The Queen is going to set up a girls' school. You can go there to help temporarily, but it will probably be difficult to become a teacher."

"But a music school is about to be established. It is jointly run by the Royal Orchestra, the Jiaofangsi, and the Yuefu. There will also be a branch specifically for training female artists."

"As long as Mr. Xu's skills are outstanding, he will most likely be selected."

The girls' school only recruited daughters from wealthy families. Even if they needed to learn skills, they would not let a famous prostitute like Xu Fo be a teacher. At most, she could be an assistant teacher and impart some knowledge.

But it is different in music schools, many of the people who came from musician families became famous prostitutes.

As long as Xu Fo has enough ability, he may be able to obtain the status of a teacher.

This made Xu Fo very happy, because the identity of a female teacher in a music school was obviously better than her previous identity as a famous prostitute.

This made her extremely grateful to Li Yu and thankful for the direction he pointed out.

Zhang Pu and others were very happy to see this scene. Even Prince Lu said a few words to Xu Fo:
"I heard that Mr. Xu is good at playing the zither. If you have time, come to my palace and play a piece for him."

This allowed Xu Fo to gain access to the capital and gain access to the houses of the powerful.
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After watching a few more performances, it was already noon, and Prince Lu invited everyone to a banquet at Zhuangyuan Tower.

This restaurant belongs to the Royal Hotel Group. It just opened at the end of last year, but it is already one of the famous high-end restaurants in Beijing.

After all, not many people have tasted the taste of imperial cuisine. Even out of curiosity, many people would try it.

Not to mention that there are not only imperial chefs in Zhuangyuan Building, but also eunuchs from the palace.

This will make those who have never tasted the feeling of being served by a eunuch go and take a look.

Prince Lu was naturally not included in this list, as he had his own eunuchs in his palace. He even hired some eunuchs last year when the palace let the eunuchs go out to serve as service personnel.

The reason why I invited everyone to the Zhuangyuan Building was because I had just listened to Liu Yin's "Female Zhuangyuan". Also, Zhang Pu and others were planning to take the next exam, so I wanted to give them a good start.

He wanted to ask Zhang Pu and others for advice to see what their opinions were.

Naturally, Zhang Pu did not dare to refuse Prince Lu's invitation.

He roughly knew Prince Lu's plan, and after sitting down in the Zhuangyuan Building, he said to Prince Lu:

"If Your Highness asks about moving to another fiefdom, I have only one thing to say: it is the Emperor's decision, and Your Highness had better obey."

"And the students also said that the sooner we move to a vassal state, the better. Otherwise, all the places close to the Ming Dynasty will be occupied."

This was the emperor's instruction to him, and also his true thoughts.

Even now he didn't understand why many powerful people didn't even want a good fiefdom and insisted on staying in the capital.

If he had the opportunity to establish a fiefdom, he would have already recruited people to open up the fiefdom.

Wouldn't it be better for you to be the master of the emperor overseas than to be the master of the Ming Dynasty?
Prince Lu actually had the same idea, but when he thought of the dangers overseas, he began to retreat like other vassal kings.

For them who have no worries about wealth, going overseas is really a dangerous journey. They might get sick and die overseas.

So Prince Lu sighed:
"It's hard to open a vassal state!"

"Hasn't the King of Han's fiefdom of Beihai Island been conquered yet?"

"This prince is devoted to Buddhism, and the only thing he is good at is playing the zither."

"Without capable ministers and brave generals, how can we establish a vassal state?"

Zhang Pu heard this and understood Prince Lu's thoughts. He smiled and said:

"It's not easy to recruit capable officials and generals. Your Highness just needs to place an advertisement in the newspaper."

"I believe that many people who are frustrated in the world will respond to this."

When these words came out, Prince Lu was not only moved, but Chen Zilong was also a little surprised. He asked:

"Aren't you afraid of causing taboos by making such a big fuss?"

Zhang Pu smiled slightly and said:

"The Emperor is not afraid of the various vassal states recruiting too many people, but is afraid of not having anyone recruit."

"There are hundreds of thousands of students in the world, and many of them think they have unappreciated talents."

"If we don't allow them to go overseas to demonstrate their talents, are we going to let them create trouble everywhere?"

"Your Majesty put the princes' palaces and the university town together for this very reason!"

When this matter was told, everyone around who heard it suddenly understood.

Previously, they just felt it was strange to put the royal palaces and the university town together, and they thought that the magnificent royal palaces would not be conducive to students' pursuit of learning.

I didn't expect that the emperor had this intention, which was to make it easier for the princes to recruit people.

Zhang Pu's words completely revealed his hidden intentions.

After hearing this, Prince Lu deeply regretted his slow reaction. If he had known this from Zhang Pu earlier, he would have made up his mind to establish a vassal state long ago.

How could there be any doubt about the emperor's determination to establish vassal states when he so obviously encouraged them to cultivate their own cliques?
Just like Zhang Pu said, the sooner the vassal state is established, the better, to prevent all places close to the Ming Dynasty from being occupied by others.

Therefore, he asked the eunuch beside him to pay respect to Zhang Pu and said:

"Sir, you are so talented. I will put an advertisement in Ming Pao in a few days."

"I have another thank you gift for you, I hope you won't mind it, sir."

How could Zhang Pu dislike it? He just told Prince Lu to be careful about paying the gift tax, so as to avoid being reported for tax evasion and affecting their image.

After being reminded by Zhang Pu, Prince Lu broke out in a cold sweat and realized that he almost forgot this.

As a prince, the gifts he exchanged with others almost always exceeded the normal limit, and according to the court's regulations, he had to pay gift tax.

But no one has taken the blame on him yet, after all, he is a prince with a good reputation and who has been commended by the emperor.

But that was only in the past, he did not meddle in politics, so naturally no one targeted him. If he wanted to establish a fiefdom, he would inevitably be noticed by the officials in the court.

If someone was dissatisfied with his overseas fiefdoms, or if he had conflicts with other princes during the process, someone might use such a small matter to submit a petition to impeach him.

Therefore, before officially deciding to establish a feudal domain, he had to clean up his mess so as not to be impeached and affect the establishment of a feudal domain. (End of this chapter)