Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 242: The Second Assistant Comes to Welcome
The imperial court sent an envoy ten miles out of the city to comfort the Red Army. The envoy was an important figure - Wen Anzhi, the Grand Secretary of the Dongge.

Wen Anzhi was nearly sixty years old and had a lot of experience. He was a Jinshi in the second year of the Tianqi reign, a native of Yiling, Huguang, and had a good reputation throughout the world. During the Hongguang reign, he was appointed as Zhanshi, and during the Longwu reign, he was summoned to be the Minister of Rites. Wen Anzhi was tossed around in the war and refused to go.

During the Yongli reign, Wen Anzhi and Wang Xiyan were both appointed as Dongge Grand Secretaries by Qu Shisi, but they also refused to attend. Qu Shisi was a Jinshi in the 44th year of the Wanli reign and was two years older than Wen Anzhi, so he was qualified to recommend Wen Anzhi.

This person has a strong personality. When the situation eased, he was unwilling to fight for power in the court. After the defeat of He Tengjiao, Jin Shenghuan and others, the overall situation was corrupt, but he became more courageous and rushed to the imperial court this spring to assist in the administration.

The first assistant, Yan Qiheng, knew that he was not a talent for suppressing the rebellion, and was willing to give up the position of first assistant. Wen Anzhi refused to accept the position, but because he passed the imperial examination earlier, he was ranked second assistant, above the Grand Secretaries Zhu Tianlin and Wang Huacheng.

The fact that the imperial court sent the second assistant as an envoy shows how much importance it attached to the Red Army. Presumably, the Yongli emperor and his ministers also took great pains to arrange for Wen Anzhi to go on the mission, considering that Qu Shisi was the one who recommended Wen Anzhi.

The second assistant personally came to welcome him, so Danchu could not be negligent, so he got off the boat in advance and rode to Wuzhou. If nothing unexpected happened, Wen Anzhi would test Danchu's attitude and try his best to meet Danchu's requirements so as to urge the Red Army to go east to aid Guangdong.

At 3 p.m., Danchu and his party arrived at the reception pavilion. Although it was a turbulent time, the officialdom was still as grand as ever. The court temporarily built a reception pavilion, which was simple but presentable.

When he saw Wen Anzhi, Danchu dismounted and bowed, saying solemnly: "I am Cen Danchu, nice to meet you, old gentleman."

The Ming Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials. The most honorable title in the officialdom was "old gentleman". At first, only the chief assistant could be called that. Later, the title became more and more common, and even the university scholars could be called "old gentleman". Later, the great nine ministers, the small nine ministers, and even the senior poets could all be called "old gentleman".

As for "Sir", it was originally a title of the highest honor, but by the late Ming Dynasty, it was no longer honorable. Some narrow-minded officials, especially those with official seals, would be very unhappy if they were called "Sir".

Wen Anzhi also bowed in return and said, "General, I have long admired you."

According to the official customs of the Ming Dynasty, military officers above the rank of general can be called generals. Given Wen Anzhi's status, calling Cen Danchu a general was already a demotion. Perhaps he also wanted to lower his profile to win over Danchu.

After entering the reception pavilion, both parties sat down as host and guest.

Wen Anzhi smiled slightly, looking happy, and said, "I have heard for a long time that Jia Weng got a good son-in-law. Today I saw it with my own eyes, and it is true. The general is dignified, elegant and suave, he is really a great man."

"Thank you for your compliment, old sir." As a newcomer, Danchu didn't say much, as he didn't want to give people the impression that he was overbearing.

Wen Anzhi asked again: "Does the general have a title?"

This was to test Danchu to see if he would address him by his name.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were active in thought and brilliant in writing. It goes without saying that a gentleman must have a surname, given name, and courtesy name. Once he became an official, he could not use his courtesy name easily and had to use his given name instead to show respect. Therefore, the people of the Ming Dynasty joked that if a successful Jinshi became an official, it was nothing more than "taking a courtesy name and marrying a concubine."

Qu Shisi's nicknames were Jiaxuan, Yunye, and Bolue. Because he was older, he was called Jiaweng.

In addition to titles, people in the Ming Dynasty also used nicknames. Emperor Hongguang was nicknamed "Toad Emperor" because he caught toads to make traditional Chinese medicine; Ma Shiying liked to fight crickets, so he was nicknamed "Cricket Husband", which was very lifelike.

In addition to nicknames, there are also Taoist names. This is because most emperors of the Ming Dynasty believed in Taoism and took Taoist names. Taoist names were popular in the palace and outside the palace. Characters, names, nicknames, and Taoist names were first popular among the gentry, and later gradually spread to famous craftsmen, merchants, actors, and famous prostitutes. In the late Ming Dynasty, even dog butchers and gatekeepers were called by their characters, which is quite interesting.

In the atmosphere of valuing civil officials over military officials, the status of military officials became lower and lower, and the military commanders were no exception. In the early Ming Dynasty, when princes sent letters to civil and military officials, they were generally called "king" or "alias". Since Yan Hao came to power, all princes sent letters to officials by name. When Zhang Juzheng came to power, all princes sent letters to officials by name. Some princes who were able to inherit the title were even called "disciple".

Even the princes were like this, not to mention other nobles. In the late Ming Dynasty, nobles who wanted to see the governors and officials of the six ministries could not even get a seat and could only go to the other courtyards to listen to their opinions.

Now it is the Southern Ming Dynasty, Xun Zhen has troops under his command, and his status is naturally elevated. Danchu could have put on airs in front of Wen Anzhi, but he did not do so.

"My courtesy name is Zhuoru, and my pseudonym is Songpo. The old gentleman is my father-in-law's best friend, so you can call me Zhuoru." Danchu said with a smile. Wen Anzhi must know his courtesy names, pseudonyms, and nickname "Little Overlord".

According to the rules, Wen Anzhi should call Danchu Songpo. But Danchu was too young, and Wen Anzhi was a junior assistant, so calling him by his title was too cheap. Calling him Songshuai, Zhuoshuai, or Jueshuai seemed too formal. The general could only speak of him at the beginning to show his humility. If he kept speaking of him, it would become a joke.

"Then, I am too arrogant." Wen Anzhi said with a smile, and ordered his followers to bring a table of wine and food, saying: "Zhuoru, the emperor heard that you came to Guangdong after a long journey, and he was very happy. He specially gave you a table of wine and food to show his trust. When you meet the emperor tomorrow, the emperor will give you gifts in person."

A confidant? Wuzhou was Chen Bangfu's territory, so Danchu dared not eat the food and wine in Wuzhou City. If he was poisoned, it would be bad. He did not plan to come to see the emperor in person tomorrow, so as not to be taken advantage of by Chen Bangfu.

"I just had a meal before I got off the ship, so I really have no appetite now. Please accept the wine and food given by the emperor as a midnight snack."

According to the Ming Dynasty system, when the emperor gave wine and food to ministers, the ministers had to eat them in front of the envoys. The situation was so chaotic, Wen Anzhi also knew Danchu's concerns, so he smiled and gave the wine and food to Danchu's entourage.

The atmosphere was a little awkward. Wen Anzhi winked and the attendants withdrew. Danchu knew that there was something important to discuss, so he also dismissed the attendants.

Wen Anzhi carefully considered his words and said, "Zhuoru is a farmer's son-in-law, young and promising, and skilled in training soldiers. Now that Guangdong is in turmoil and the Tartars are invading, Zhuoru has no choice but to lead the army to aid Guangdong, which is truly a blessing for the Ming Dynasty."

Danchu originally didn't like the polite words in the officialdom. But these words coming from the second assistant minister made him feel very useful, so he smiled and said: "Old sir, you are too kind. The court has been kind to us and has not spared us official titles. When the country needs help, we will come as soon as we are called and do our best to repay the country. Old sir, you are my father-in-law's best friend, and we are like one of my own family. If there is anything, Danchu will serve you."

Wen Anzhi secretly praised Cen Danchu, thinking that he was calm and confident, and his responses were appropriate, which was refreshing.

Since he had said so before, he didn't need to hide it, so he said: "The situation in eastern Guangdong is urgent. Since Zhuoru is here in the name of helping Guangdong, he should enter Guangdong as soon as possible. After the audience with Your Majesty tomorrow, if there is nothing else, I hope you will enter Guangdong as soon as possible to avoid missing the opportunity to fight."

Danchu laughed and said, "There is no problem in helping Guangdong. I will take care of the food and supplies myself, so the court does not need to worry about it. However, before we move out, I have three things to do. Once I have done them, I can go east with peace of mind."

Wen Anzhi frowned, fearing that Danchu would take the opportunity to threaten him, and asked, "Which three things? Zhuoru, please tell me."

"One is to give relief to the old minister Du, two is to pardon the 'Five Tigers', and three is to cooperate with the Duke of Qing."

Fortunately, it was all official business. Wen Anzhi felt relieved and said, "Zhuoru, please tell me in detail."

(End of this chapter)