The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Caravans carrying tributes from overseas came to the capital continuously. There were hundreds of horse-drawn carriages alone and thousands of people responsible for the transportation.

Zhu Youtang waited for the arrival of this unexpected wealth with great anticipation.

At the same time, an internal examination of Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Xiurong also came to an end. Unlike the previous examination which was scored and judged by Zhu Youtang himself, this time Zhu Youtang directly sent the two test papers to Zhang Zhou, the chief examiner, and asked Zhang Zhou to make the final judgment.

Inside the theater.

Yang Peng delivered the answer sheets in person, and both papers were written in the eight-part essay format, and both were considered essays for the imperial examinations.

In Zhang Zhou's opinion, these two essays were very ordinary, basically at the level of those for county examinations. Neither one was much better than the other, and they were probably on par with each other.

"Mr. Zhang, you should be able to tell which is which, right?"

Yang Peng seemed to be afraid that Zhang Zhou would not be able to tell which one was written by the prince and which one was written by Zhu Xiurong, so he had to give some special instructions.

Zhang Zhou said: "Since we have to make a judgment, it is better for me not to know about this kind of thing."

Yang Peng just smiled and said nothing more.

Zhang Zhou then put down the two papers and asked, "Your Majesty, you are not going to make a separate trip just for this matter, right?"

"Your Majesty is concerned about the progress of the war in the northwest." Yang Peng said, "Sir, you may not know that many people in the court now think that the expedition to the grassland should start from Datong. They probably want to appoint Xinjianbo as the commander-in-chief. It seems that they are not very confident in Tang Yin."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "If we talk about the past records of fighting against the Tatars, Xinjianbo is indeed much stronger."

Yang Peng also hurriedly said: "But the Tang army has made more achievements in Liaodong and Korea. On the other hand, Xinjian Bo did not make much progress when fighting the Jurchens in Liaodong."

Zhang Zhou said: "It is more because the court transferred him to the northwest before he made any major progress. So far, Xinjianbo has been focusing on fighting the Tatars in the northwest. But it is really hasty to deny Tang Yin's dispatch to the grasslands based on this."

"Don't take it personally." Yang Peng said with a smile, "Your Majesty still trusts that Tang Junmen. This battle had better yield some results. Otherwise, everyone in the court and the public will think that Tang Junmen is not up to the task."

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Yang Peng added: "In Guangdong and Guangxi to the south, there are also local bandits who need to be eliminated. In addition to the bandit chaos in the Central Plains, the world is not at peace now. Some people are saying that Your Majesty wants to launch a war against the grassland after the spring. They are all saying that the time is not ripe."

Zhang Zhou knew that this was because Zhu Youtang had announced during a previous inner court meeting that he would send troops to the grassland in the spring.

At that time, the ministers and chancellors did not express any opposition to this, but in private, their opinions were very strong.

No one would support the emperor leading the army in person. Even if someone else was asked to start a war to pacify the grassland, they would have great objections. In the eyes of people in the court and the country, wars could be fought in the northwest, but there must be no "trouble".

It seems that in their opinion, being content with the status quo is the best thing to do. For example, Tang Yin is just making trouble by sending troops in the winter.

This is also the reason why Tang Yin was not respected by the ministers in the court.

You, Tang Yin, are totally an outlier in the court. You are on the same side as Zhang Zhou. Who would recognize a freak like you?

……

……

The judging results were then brought back to the palace by Yang Peng.

Not surprisingly, Zhu Houzhao was slightly better in the "liberal arts" test. After all, he had studied for a longer time, and when it came to writing, especially when it came to the meaning of classics, a child with an active mind like Zhu Houzhao seemed to have certain advantages.

When the results were sent to Wenhua Hall the next day, Zhu Houzhao jumped for joy when he saw his results.

"Your Highness, you still have to listen to the lecture." Seeing that Zhu Houzhao was using the excuse of going to the toilet and was about to run in to show off to his sister, Gao Feng quickly reminded him.

Zhu Houzhao said excitedly: "Gold will shine, and unpolished jade will always be jade. Some people are not strong enough, but they still want to compete with me? I will show my face in front of her!"

When Zhu Houzhao ran behind the screen, he found that his sister was not there at all.

"She didn't come?"

Zhu Houzhao looked disappointed.

After he defeated his sister, he wanted to show off in front of her, but she didn't give him the chance.

Gao Feng said: "I don't know."

Zhu Houzhao slammed the table and said, "What kind of thing is this? I obviously won, I... don't I even have a chance to show off in front of her?"

Just as Zhu Houzhao was losing his temper, Wang Hua, the lecturer of the Eastern Palace, came over and said politely, "Your Highness, His Majesty has just ordered that the princess will no longer set foot in the Wenhua Palace. She will be taught by a special person."

"Master Wang, what do you mean?" Zhu Houzhao frowned and asked, "Did you know she was here a long time ago?"

Wang Hua said: "It is no secret that the princess is attending classes in Wenhua Palace, but it is always against the rules for women to attend lectures here. Perhaps it is for this reason that His Majesty asked her to go back to where she should go."

"No, that's because I won." Zhu Houzhao emphasized, "I competed with her in talent and I won, so she left."

Wang Hua was too lazy to pay attention to him and turned back to the podium.

This made Zhu Houzhao very embarrassed.

He wanted to get angry, but he didn't know who to get angry at. He was clearly happy in his heart, but he didn't know who to express it to.

This is the most depressing.

"My goodness, the last time she beat me, she was so proud of herself. Now that I've won, she doesn't even give me a chance to show off? Is this fair? No, I will definitely go find her and show off in front of her..."

……

……

Zhu Houzhao never gave up.

That day, without being summoned, he ran to Kunning Palace to have a talk with his sister.

When he arrived at Kunning Palace, his mother told him that his sister would not be coming over in the next few days.

"Mother, my sister has been..." Zhu Houzhao looked over with pitiful eyes.

It's too unfair to be the big brother. If you lose, you will be looked down upon, and if you win, you don't even have an outlet to vent your anger.

Empress Zhang said, "Your father said that she is suitable for training her ability to be independent, so he made some arrangements for her. It seems that he asked her to go to a special place for training, but he didn't tell these people where she was going."

"What do you mean? Did the emperor let her leave the palace?"

When Zhu Houzhao heard this, his eyes widened.

Can it still be like this?
As the winner, I haven’t even been granted permission to leave the palace, but the loser can receive special training?

Empress Zhang rolled her eyes at her son and said, "Are you honored that you defeated your sister?" "Mother, you don't know. The last time she defeated me, she was so ruthless. She took away all my maps. She even told me that those maps were hers and she could destroy them however she wanted. I want those things back now," said Zhu Houzhao.

Empress Zhang said with disdain: "It's just a few pictures, do you have to take it so seriously?"

"No, that was painted by Mr. Zhang and it is a unique copy," Zhu Houzhao emphasized.

Empress Zhang said angrily, "Stop talking nonsense in front of me. I'm just asking you, you feel honored to have won against your sister, right? If that's the case, then are you going to compete with your sister for the position of crown prince in the future? As the crown prince, you were even worse than your sister in some exams before. What do you think your father will think?"

"I……"

Zhu Houzhao was speechless for a moment.

Empress Zhang said, "From what I know, your victory this time was just a narrow one. Even your father said that you haven't made any progress in writing articles. You still use a lot of clichés and nonsense. It seems that you have studied for so many years, but you are not as good as your sister who has studied for a few days."

Zhu Houzhao was already very aggrieved, and being taught a lesson by his mother made him even more unwilling to accept it. He said, "Writing is like this. To be better, it also requires long-term accumulation."

Empress Zhang waved her sleeves and said, "Remember that if you are a good student, you don't need to compare yourself with anyone. After all, I won't be able to see your sister these days. If you want to compete with her or do anything in front of her, go and tell your father. I can't interfere! Someone, send him back!"

……

……

Zhu Houzhao was so depressed.

Not only did he offend his father, he also offended his mother.

"What's going on? Did you eat gunpowder?" After Zhu Houzhao left Kunning Palace, he was still criticizing his mother.

Originally, he planned to go to the Qianqing Palace to have a good talk with his old father, but after thinking it over again and again, he gave up the plan.

"Your Highness, you have classes this afternoon. If you don't go, and His Majesty finds out..."

"Okay, you guys, can't you stop buzzing like flies? Don't you know the harm of skipping classes? Where did the emperor take my sister? Did she leave the palace and have a chance to study with Mr. Zhang?"

Zhu Houzhao began to think about it.

Gao Feng came over and said, "Your Highness, there are actually many people in and outside the palace who can teach the princess. Also, there is one thing you may not know, the palace has just added a little princess."

Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up and he asked, "I have a younger sister again?"

Gao Feng said: "This is how the news came out. I don't know whether it is true or not, but it should be announced in the next few days."

"Ah! Having more sisters is actually quite good. But with this one sister, isn't she rebelling? She's like a little devil. If she were a boy, my father might really depose the eldest and enthronize the youngest."

Zhu Houzhao was chattering again.

Gao Feng hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please don't say these things carelessly. If His Majesty finds out, you will be in big trouble."

Zhu Houzhao said, "I am the eldest son anyway, not necessarily the most favored child of my father. Why should I be afraid of being known? Who told me before that the Ming Dynasty would belong to me alone? How come now... I have both a younger sister and a younger brother, and now I have an extra younger sister... Is there something wrong?"

Gao Feng couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this.

A few years ago, Zhu Houzhao had only one sister, Zhu Xiurong, and the two siblings had a very good relationship.

Even his sister almost died of illness...

But now, the prince has a younger brother and two younger sisters, and he is no longer the only favored one, so the prince seems to feel that he has fallen out of favor.

Previously, it was just the emperor who spoke coldly to him, but now even the queen is a little dislikeful of this son.

Perhaps it is because of this that the prince has the illusion that "something is wrong".

……

……

on the grassland.

It is already the twelfth lunar month, and the grassland is already freezing cold. It is snowing everywhere, but the snow is not heavy.

In some remote places, even if the snow is not heavy, it will accumulate, and many places are not suitable for marching.

Especially when the sky is dark due to dark clouds, and snow is about to come to the grassland, this kind of weather and terrain environment brings an extremely oppressive feeling to the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

But for the Ming Dynasty's troops, there seemed to be nothing to fear, because they themselves were the evil spirits on the grassland.

"Lord Tang, the battle last night has been counted. A total of 1,400 pairs of Tatar ears were cut off. According to what you said, no one will be left alive in this battle, regardless of gender, age or status..."

Ma Yi followed Tang Yin on horseback.

Tang Yin himself was just a civil servant. Even before he passed the imperial examination, he was a weak scholar who was alone and could only ride a horse.

But after experiencing the hardships of these years, he no longer knew what fatigue was, because the hardships he had experienced in Liaodong and Korea were much more miserable than the scene before him.

Tang Yin looked at the sky and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, there will be a snowstorm on the grassland in the next few days."

Ma Yi said, "Indeed, this is extremely disadvantageous for our march. Should we stay there and wait for the snowstorm to pass?"

Tang Yin shook his head and said, "The previous three battles were all fought at lightning speed, and we have only killed more than 2,000 enemies so far. We are now probably less than 50 miles away from the other main force of the Tatars. If we stop advancing now, it will probably be equivalent to failing at the last hurdle."

Xu Jing led the horse a few steps closer, limping a little as he walked, and said, "Bo Hu, let's rest. If a big snowstorm comes, we might all die here. We must first make sure we have enough firewood to keep warm."

Tang Yin said: "Let the soldiers put on their last coats and keep out the cold at night, and let the soldiers stay together as much as possible. Or we can hide during the day and move at night, and rest for less than three hours every day."

Xu Jing sighed: "Even if people can bear it, horses can't."

Tang Yin said, "Have you forgotten what I said when we sent out the troops? This battle can only succeed and cannot fail! And we have no way to retreat! Now we have been out of the grassland for at least 2,000 miles. Perhaps the Tatars will not expect that we are coming from the north instead of the south."

"Alas!" Xu Jing could only sigh.

Because this group of troops first marched in a straight line until they could go no further north, that is, when they reached the desert, they turned east.

During the battle, this group of troops seemed to be coming south from the north of the grassland.

One goes east, the other goes south, and the path each takes is different from others.

"Let the soldiers drink more broth." Tang Yin said, "After three days of marching, we have a direct encounter with the Tatars. We don't have heavy artillery or long-range artillery, so we can only launch a sneak attack from the place closest to them. Only in this way can we cause chaos in their camp and make it easier for us to kill them."

Xu Jing said: "I am afraid that I will survive but not be able to bring the credit back."

Tang Yin raised his whip high and said, "We will not return for the credit. As long as we can weaken the living power of the Tatars and facilitate the pacification of the grasslands in the future, we will be the heroes of the Ming Dynasty." (End of this chapter)