Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 130 The real sky in the north!

The wind from the north is strong and fierce.

Beiping.

The gate of the Ming Dynasty.

The most elite border troops of the Ming Dynasty are stationed here.

From deep within the camp, there were bursts of sounds of martial arts training breaking through the air.

A burly and powerful man, his body full of strength like a leopard and eyes as sharp as an eagle. All these extraordinary qualities indicate that this man is unusual. As the long sword in the man swung up and down, the goose-wing sword drew beautiful arcs in the air.

Click!

A dull chopping sound was heard, and the surroundings returned to silence.

The man threw the goose-wing knife in his hand to the ground. The sharp long knife pierced deeply into the soil. When he turned around, his cotton robe was blown by gusts of cold wind.

clap clap clap!
There was a clear sound of applause in the camp.

A man with a thin face, sharp eyes, and wearing a black monk's robe strode over and said, "Your Highness's swordsmanship has improved compared to the past."

Zhu Di smiled proudly, "It's just a daily warm-up. The so-called sword skills, if really put in the midst of thousands of troops, will not play any role at all. It's just used to strengthen the body and perform some warm-up moves."

Zhu Di pulled the goose-wing knife from the ground.

The blade is a bit black.

It's not a new knife, but the blade is extremely sharp and bright.

This is Zhu Di's sword.

This sword is not a precious sword, but just an ordinary sword used in the Ming army. However, it was given to him by General Chang Yuchun when he first went to the battlefield. It was also a witness to his drinking with enemy heads during battles over the years.

Zhu Di handed the knife to the attendant beside him.

He straightened his wet collar and walked side by side with the black-robed monk in the camp.

Zhu Di is in front and the black monk is behind.

The guards only dared to follow from a distance and did not dare to get too close.

"Hasn't there been any news from the capital yet?" Zhu Di did not stop, but his breathing had calmed down.

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "I'm back."

"Oh?" Zhu Di paused, his face changing from gloomy to bright, but soon returned to normal, and he said calmly: "What is the response from the court?"

Yao Guangxiao said: "I agree."

"Really?" Zhu Di's face lit up with joy, a little incredulous: "Will my elder brother agree to open an iron mine in Shuntian Prefecture?"

Yao Guangxiao nodded, then shook his head and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did agree to open the Zunhua Iron Smelting Plant, but it will not fall into His Royal Highness's hands."

Zhu Di smiled, looked up at the sky, and said proudly: "I am the King of Yan, the king of the old land of Yanyun in the Han Dynasty."

"I have the final say on everything here."

"As long as Shuntian Prefecture can open a mine, no matter who is in charge of Shuntian Prefecture, it must go through my hands."

"I am the king of Shuntian Prefecture!"

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint Your Highness. The court did agree to open a mine in Shuntian Prefecture, but the mine will not fall into Your Highness' hands. The court has arranged for someone else to take over, and this person is said to be on the way."

"Your Highness should have heard of this man's name."

"Who?" Zhu Di looked at Yao Guangxiao suspiciously, then said indifferently: "No matter who this person is, the mine is in Shuntian Prefecture, so it belongs to me, Zhu Di."

"I don't agree, no one can take it away."

"Except your majesty, of course."

Listening to Zhu Di's domineering and cowardly manner, as well as his self-righteous appearance, Yao Guangxiao also laughed out loud and said, "I'm afraid it won't work this time."

"The person coming is Xia Zhibai!"

"Xia Zhibai?" Zhu Di frowned. He was not familiar with the name, but it sounded somewhat familiar, as if he had heard of it before.

Yao Guangxiao said: "This year's top scholar."

"Is it him?" Zhu Di showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He has remembered.

Peking is some distance away from Kyoto.

The transmission of information was not that convenient, and he had heard about what happened in Yingtian Prefecture.

He has never been interested in the affairs of scholars.

If it weren't for the fact that Xia Zhibai was indeed a bit out of line and had forced his father into a rage many times, yet had managed to survive every time, this would have left some impression on Zhu Di, but it was only a barely noticeable impression.

His eyes were not on Nanjing.

Further north!

"What is he doing in Beiping?" Zhu Di asked.

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "Of course he is here to mine. This guy is not simple."

"Really? Since you know something about Xia Zhibai, then tell me in detail what makes this person so extraordinary. Let me open my eyes and see how extraordinary the new number one scholar is. Does he have an extra head and two more hands than ordinary people?" Zhu Di smiled contemptuously, with deep contempt in his cold eyes.

Yao Guangxiao said: "I don't know much about this person."

"I've been to Kyoto before, and I know your Majesty's temper. In the past, anyone who angered your Majesty, regardless of whether they were right or wrong, almost always lost their head. Especially after the Queen passed away, whoever angered him would die. Even the Crown Prince couldn't protect him, but this person was able to escape time and time again."

"If it's just once, maybe your majesty has a kind heart."

"But if it happens two, three, or even more times, it means that this person is indeed extraordinary."

Zhu Di nodded.

He agreed with this point.

If his father really got angry, even he would feel palpitations.

Yao Guangxiao said in a serious tone: "This man is the top scholar, but he is unwilling to become an official. Instead, he humbles himself and goes into business."

"In just three months, they monopolized the salt market in Yingtian Prefecture."

"It has a good reputation among the people."

"Get to the point." Zhu Di was a little impatient.

He hated these literati talking about a lot of irrelevant things, but after talking for a long time, they were all meaningless.

It makes people want to doze off.

Yao Guangxiao nodded, then he suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice: "He is very similar to me, but he is better than me."

Zhu Di turned around suddenly, his eyes suddenly changed: "Yao Guangxiao, what did you say?" Yao Guangxiao put his hands together and bowed: "What I want is to realize my ambitions and live up to what I have learned in my life."

"Your Highness also has great ambitions, so I came to you. I don't care about money or power, but I have wasted half of my life and been ignored every time. I feel unfair. Now that I am over fifty years old, I just want to put my knowledge to good use."

"What I learned is 'slaying dragons'!"

Zhu Di sneered, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes.

What is a dragon?
Son of Heaven.

To slay a dragon is to slay the king.

Of course, it is absolutely impossible to assassinate His Majesty.

This is what Yao Guangxiao said to him at that time: "The flying dragon is in the sky, the prince died suddenly, and the country was overthrown by Your Majesty."

He also said that if he could take him to the fiefdom, he would give himself a white hat.

He is a vassal king.

The king plus the white one, isn't that the emperor? !
When Zhu Di heard what Yao Guangxiao said, he was almost frightened.

At that time, Crown Prince Zhu Biao's position was stable, and no one in the court questioned him. No matter how outrageous Yao Guangxiao's words were, Zhu Di was eventually shaken because he still had hope in his heart. The reason why he dared to have this hope was the sentence "The dragon is flying in the sky, and the crown prince dies suddenly."

"Yao Guangxiao, don't be so presumptuous." Zhu Di said coldly, "If you want to die, don't hurt me!"

"How can I be willing to die like this before I can realize my ambitions?" Yao Guangxiao said with a smile, "It's just that Xia Zhibai is indeed extraordinary. He has greater ambitions than me. My ambition is just to change my fate, but he wants to 'change the world'."

"Change the world?" Zhu Di didn't quite understand.

Yao Guangxiao nodded and said, "That's right, it means changing the world."

"I have sent someone to inquire privately. The ambition this man has shown so far is to abolish the 'scholars' system. This man is very smart and knows how to advance and retreat. He also knows the situation in the court very well. Therefore, he does not even step into the court. He just wants to do things quietly in the local area."

"Doing things in the local area?" Zhu Di sneered and said, "What can be accomplished in the local area that can be compared with an imperial edict?"

Yao Guangxiao shook his head: "This is where his cleverness lies."

"I have always been following the situation of the court, but doing things that go against it."

"It makes the court uncomfortable, but it's barely tolerable."

Zhu Di frowned, looked at Yao Guangxiao suspiciously, and asked, "What do you mean? How can it be smooth and rough at the same time?"

Yao Guangxiao said: "Your Majesty is killing people now."

Zhu Di's face darkened.

Yao Guangxiao really is talking about things that are not relevant to the topic.

How could he not know this?

The first person killed was Li Yu, the governor of Beiping.

He had spent a lot of effort to win over Li Yu, but as a result, under his father's conviction, almost all the officials in Peking were slaughtered. He was so scared that he quickly wrote a letter to prove his innocence, fearing that the emperor would be furious and chop him off.

He knows his father.

When they really start fighting, they will not recognize any relatives at all.

He really dared to kill.

During those days, he couldn't sleep well for several nights, and he always felt like someone was sharpening a knife beside him.

Only when all the officials in Peking were killed and His Majesty only issued an imperial edict to scold him did he feel at ease.

Yao Guangxiao said: "Although those killed by your majesty are all corrupt officials, they are all people who deserve to be killed, but the officials of the six ministries, as well as many officials of the direct and provincial governments, are basically all scholars."

"to some extent."

"Your Majesty actually became Xia Zhibai's knife once."

"Clear the obstacles for him."

Zhu Di was stunned.

Yao Guangxiao narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Before your majesty took action, Xia Zhibai didn't do much. After your majesty took action, Xia Zhibai first monopolized the salt market in Yingtian Prefecture at an astonishing speed, and now extends his hand to the entire north, and also extends his hand to the iron mines."

"Your Highness, think about it. If His Majesty hadn't taken action, would Xia Zhibai dare to reach out?"

"Can he reach out?"

"You mean, Xia Zhibai is plotting against Your Majesty?" Zhu Di's eyes were uncertain.

Yao Guangxiao quickly shook his head and said, "That's unlikely."

"If he really dared to plot against Your Majesty, I'm afraid that as soon as he had this idea, Your Majesty would have chopped off his head. How could he be allowed to live until now?"

"Xia Zhibai is taking advantage of the situation."

"He will use the power of His Majesty to cleanse the world to accomplish what he wants to do."

"Seeking the skin of a tiger!!!"

"I don't have the courage, and I don't dare to do that."

"But this Xia Zhibai dared, and he actually did it."

"A man who is always on the edge of a knife has come to Beiping." Yao Guangxiao looked at Zhu Di with a smile and said, "It will be difficult for Your Highness to take advantage of the iron ore from him."

Zhu Di snorted coldly and said, "You scholars only know how to plot and scheme."

"I won't play tricks with him."

"He has to pass the military camp before he can come to Peking!"

Zhu Di suddenly stopped.

He looked up.

We have reached the depths of the military camp.

It was a battle flag that stretched as far as the eye could see and an armored phalanx that had no end in sight.

This is the invincible warrior of the Ming Dynasty in the world today.

It is also the real sky in the north!

Zhu Di jumped on his horse and pulled out the goose-wing knife that had been inserted into the scabbard at some point.

He raised his sword to the sky and said passionately, "Men, form a battle line."

"Meet the enemy!!!"

　I will sort out the follow-up of the plot. There should be two updates in the next two days.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)