I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 443 Busy Xu Wei

The Dongbianmen Wharf in the capital was as bustling as ever. One ship after another, like an inconspicuous fish in a school of fish, passed through the dense crowds of ships of various colors and slowly approached the shore.

Hai Rui stood at the bow of the boat. Yu Xiucai and his family supported each other and stood closely behind him, looking curiously at the majestic and prosperous capital city which was getting closer and closer.

Their faces were filled with hope for the future, just like the capital city under the bright sun, full of vitality.

Yu Xiucai and Xu Wei became related.

Yu Xiucai had a great-aunt who married back to her hometown and became Xu Wei's aunt.

When Xu Wei was a child, he often went to his uncle's house to play, and often heard his aunt mention relatives far away in Shandong.

But my uncle’s family was not well off and could not afford to send anyone to contact us, so we had lost contact long ago.

Chen Ju was careful and discovered clues while sorting out the files. He then went to the East Factory's archives to find the connection and reported it to Xu Wei.

When Xu Wei learned that the names and hometowns all matched, he couldn't help but burst into tears and quickly wrote a letter to Hai Rui, asking him to help bring Yu Xiucai and his family back to the capital.

Yu Xiucai turned to look at Hai Rui and sighed, "My benefactor, I am sorry that I did not see your parents hang the mirror and severely punish the criminals."

Hai Rui turned his head and looked at him, then smiled and said, "I am good at telling the truth, which can only help me find the cause of the problem; Zijian is good at being pragmatic, and he is better than me at scraping the bone to heal the wound. Governing a country does not only rely on telling the truth, but more importantly, it relies on the implementation of measures.

Since you are Mr. Wenchang's relatives, he will take care of you, and I am relieved. He is now highly regarded by His Highness and is able to take care of you. Yu Xiucai, your son Yu Suiliang is a smart young man. If you train him well, he will surely bring honor to the family. "

"My family is grateful and lucky to have been saved by a benefactor. Now God has found my cousin, Mr. Wenchang. I don't ask for anything else, but only hope that I can be safe and healthy for the rest of my life."

Yu Xiucai sighed.

Hai Rui smiled calmly: "Mr. Yu, when Wen Chang finds a livelihood for you, you should also work hard to at least live up to the name of Mr. Yu."

After Yu Xiucai became famous, everyone forgot what his real name was.

He smiled awkwardly and didn't dare to answer.

"A father should be a role model. If you yourself are not clean and diligent, but you want your children to be clean and diligent, don't you think it's ridiculous?"

Yu Xiucai bowed solemnly and said, "I will keep your words in my heart."

Yu Suiliang and Yu Yuner looked at the two of them with flickering eyes.

The boat docked at the pier, and after a busy period, Shu Youliang finally found two carriages.

"The carriages at the East Gate are damn expensive. Everything is more expensive here than anywhere else, apart from anything else. Sir, we have hired carriages. One for you, one for Mr. Yu's wife, and the rest of you can follow the carriages, just as an exercise for your legs."

Hai Rui waved his hand and said, "I will walk, and give the carriage to Yu Xiucai's family, as they have many female relatives."

"My Lord, don't be stubborn. You are a celebrity, and many people in the capital know you. If you are recognized on the street, none of us will be able to walk.

You'd better stay in the carriage and stay out of the public eye."

Shu Youliang looked like he was worried sick about this family, and Hai Rui's face became even darker.

Yu Yuner burst out laughing, and Yu Xiucai asked unhappily, "What are you laughing at?"

"Uncle Liang said that Hai Gong showed up in public"

Everyone tried to hold back their laughter. Hai Rui angrily scolded Shu Youliang, "You son of a bitch! I told you to study hard, but you didn't listen. You made a fool of yourself and even the master was laughed at."

A new four-wheeled carriage, with several horse-riding guards leading the way, squeezed into the East Gate Wharf.

The carriage stopped and a man came out. He was wearing a scarlet robe with a peacock patch, a black gauze hat, and official boots. He hurried forward.

"Lord Gangfeng, I'm so sorry! I was supposed to go to Tongzhou to pick you up, but I was ordered to go out of Chaoyang Gate to pick up Lord Tan, Qi Yuanjing, Li Ruqi and others who were returning to the court. I was delayed, delayed, and I hurried here without changing my official uniform. I'm late, late! Please forgive me."

"Wen Chang has official duties to attend to, what crime has he committed? Come here, Wen Chang, this is your aunt's great-nephew, Yu Xiucai, this is their family."

Mr. Yu and his wife hurried forward and kowtowed to acknowledge their relationship: "Junior generation greets uncle."

Xu Wei quickly helped the two of them up: "Please stand up, please stand up! When Wenchang was young, his aunt took good care of him, and he always felt that he could not repay her. Now God has mercy on me and let me know your whereabouts, so I have the opportunity to repay you."

He also met with Yu's mother, Yu Suiliang and Yu Yuner.

With Xu Wei's carriage, Hai Rui didn't have to walk. Everyone sat in the carriage and bowed to say goodbye.

After returning home, Xu Wei called out his wife Zhang and his five-year-old second son Xu Zhi, and introduced himself to Yu Xiucai's family. He did not avoid the women in order to show their close friendship.

Xu Wei's eldest son, Xu Mei, was born to his first wife, Ms. Pan. He was already 25 years old and had already started a family. He was now rebuilding his family business in his old house in Shaoxing.

Xu Wei gave Zhang a thorough explanation.

"Yu Xiucai is the descendant of my husband's maternal uncle, so he must be treated well. I have already asked people to clean up the left side courtyard of the central courtyard of the mansion for them to live in. You can also assign a few capable maids and servants to go there. But if there is anything missing, you don't need to report to me, just go and get it."

"Yes, sir." Zhang was young and beautiful. She was Xu Wei's second wife and her second son, Xu Zhi, was born to her.

She knew that Xu Wei's biological mother was a concubine and was driven out of the house by her stepmother when she was ten years old, separating her from her family.

My biological mother lived in her brother's home, and her brother and sister-in-law treated her very well, but their family was poor and they lived a hard life.

Xu Wei lived with his half brother Xu Huai, who was more than 30 years older than him, and they did not get along very well. It was not until he was 27 years old and had achieved some success that he went to his uncle's house to bring his biological mother back.

His biological mother was grateful for the kindness of his brother and sister-in-law, and often asked Xu Wei to repay his uncle and aunt's family.

His life was full of ups and downs after that. When he was 25, the Xu family fell into poverty, and the family property was seized by the gentry in the neighborhood. When he was 26, his first wife, Pan, died of illness. At the age of 20, he passed the provincial examination, but failed eight times.

It was not until he joined Hu Zongxian's government that he gradually rose to prominence, but his maternal uncle's family had already fallen into decline, his son died early, and his daughter married out, with no news of him. Xu Wei wanted to repay his uncle but didn't know how.

Now that he has found his aunt's nephew is still alive, Xu Wei will definitely treat him well to repay his kindness.

Xu Wei changed out of his official uniform and put on casual clothes. He also prepared wine and food at home and invited Yu Xiucai and his family, who had settled in the small courtyard, to come over.

"My dear nephew, Lord Hai calls you Yu Xiucai Yu Xiucai, are you really a scholar?"

Yu Xiucai blushed, "Uncle, I just passed the county and prefectural exams and got the title of Tongsheng, but I didn't pass the academy exams, so I can't get the title of Shengyuan. But the people in the village don't understand this, and they think I'm a Shengyuan, so they start to call me Yu Xiucai, and as a result of the rumor, everyone has forgotten my real name."

Xu Wei said: "After my nephew settles down, he should study hard and pass the examination to become a scholar. Originally, I wanted to recommend you and Suiliang to study at the Imperial Academy.

Unfortunately, after Mr. Zhuo Wu entered the Imperial College, he changed the rules. Xu thought about it and asked Liu Zihe (Liu Yingjie), the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, for a favor. You can first enter Shuntian Prefecture Academy as auditors. You can study for a period of time first, and then take the formal exam. "

Yu Xiucai was very happy. Shuntian Prefecture School was not bad, but could anyone go to this school? Couldn't only students and scholars enter?

Yu Xiucai carefully asked his doubts, and Xu Wei waved his hand: "Taichang Qing Li Zhuowu has been ordered by His Highness to reform the school system. No matter who is a student, you can enter the township school, county school, and prefectural school by taking exams. There will be no academy examinations in the future."

Ah, what's going on?

Without the college entrance examination, how can I take the exam to become a scholar? How can I live up to the title?
Xu Wei did not have time to explain in detail, he just told Yu Xiucai and his family to live here peacefully, and father and son to study hard, but if there was anything they needed, they could just tell him.

Before the meal was finished, a servant came to report at the door of the hall.

"Sir, Lord Guangning, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong Town, Lord Li, has come to pay his respects to you."

"Li Ruqi is here. Please go and have a seat in the study. I will go right over after I wash up." Xu Wei quickly stood up and said apologetically to Yu Xiucai's family, "Sister-in-law, my dear nephew and his wife, I am sorry to have to leave you!"

Looking at Xu Wei's back, Yu Suiliang said admiringly: "Grandpa Xu is really an important official of the court. All state affairs depend on him. I want to be a person like him in the future.

Dad, let's work hard together and pass the exam together."

Yu Xiucai's face suddenly turned a little embarrassed.

Xu Wei walked into the study and saw Li Chengliang in a long robe with a big hat on his head put aside. He looked very depressed and asked, "Ruqi, did you go to the West Garden to express your gratitude?"

Li Chengliang nodded and replied, "After entering the city in the morning, I washed up in Sifang Pavilion and then followed Mr. Tan into the West Garden. His Majesty asked questions for more than an hour, and then sent me and everyone else out. I went back to Sifang Pavilion to change clothes and then came to Mr. Wenchang's place."

Xu Wei knew it well, so he deliberately asked, "Did His Highness not invite you to have lunch?"

Li Chengliang's face turned pale, and he said angrily: "It was all Qi Yuanjing's fault for his mean behavior, causing Your Highness to dislike Li!"

Xu Wei's expression remained unchanged. He stroked his beard and asked with a smile on his face, "Why did Ruqi say that?"

"Qi Yuanjing watched me raid the Chahar king's tent, capture hundreds of Tumen Khan's relatives, more than 100,000 people, and hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep.

Then he marched north, subdued the remaining Chahar tribe and the four eastern Khalkha tribes, annihilated the remaining Tumen Khan, captured Tumen Khan's head, and wiped out the Mongolian left wing in one fell swoop, which made him jealous.

Xu Wei suddenly said, "Ruqi, the head of Tumen Khan was cut off by Xiao Ruxun! He chased him for fourteen days and fourteen nights and got him!"

Li Chengliang argued: "Xiao Ruxun is my subordinate, I am the commander, so of course I have a share of the military merits."

"Okay, okay, you have one, so what? Who did His Royal Highness invite to have lunch in the West Garden?"

Li Chengliang glanced at Xu Wei and said, "Why do you have to bring up that matter?"

After that, he replied in a deep voice: "Mr. Tan, Xiao Jiqing (Xiao Ruxun), and someone named Qi."

Xu Wei laughed loudly and deliberately consoled him, "His Highness will not forget you. Ruqi, you, Niu Bingzhong, Fu Yingjia, Hu Shouren, Ma Lu, Dong Yiyuan, the group of you who have been summoned to the capital to report on your duties, will be given a banquet in the Western Garden by His Highness."

Zhu Yijun issued an imperial edict to summon the generals who had made contributions in the great victory in the Northeast to report to the capital and to be formally conferred titles and honors in batches. Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, Niu Bingzhong, Fu Yingjia, Hu Shouren, and Ma Lu were the first batch.

Xiao Wenkui, Chen Dalong, Guo Hu, Zhou Guotai, Wei Jianping, Gao Ce, Ma Gui, Dong Yikui and others remained in the Northeast, and continued to pacify the Northeast and the left wing of Mongolia with civil servants such as Wei Xueceng and Ye Mengxiong.

Li Chengliang became even more angry, and slammed the table and said angrily: "Qi is just jealous of me! That's why he impeached me before coming to Beijing and tried to trip me up!"

(End of this chapter)