King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Looking at himself again, his thin body seemed particularly alone in the crowd, and he couldn't help feeling discouraged.

"Tiezhu, don't be afraid, I believe in you!"

Mother Zhang's voice sounded in his ears, gentle but firm.

When Zhang Tiezhu thought of his mother's loving eyes, a warm feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

Yes, even for his mother, he can't give up easily!
He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and began to observe his surroundings carefully.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three drum beats were deafening. The examinees immediately stopped talking to each other, straightened their backs, and looked towards the platform.

I saw a general in silver armor walking up to the platform with the gait of a dragon or a tiger.

His eyes were as fast as lightning as he scanned the entire room. An invisible pressure instantly enveloped the entire examination room. The candidates immediately held their breath and dared not even breathe.

"Everyone, I am the chief examiner of this martial arts test, General Wang!"

The general's voice was loud and powerful, echoing throughout the examination room:
"You are all passionate men of our Da Lu Dynasty. You have gathered here today to select true warriors to defend our country and make great achievements! This martial arts test will not only test your martial arts, but also your wisdom and courage! I hope you can all go all out and live up to expectations!"

"Now, I declare that the martial arts test officially begins!"

Following General Wang's order, the soldiers quickly distributed test papers to each candidate.

Zhang Tiezhu took the test paper, unfolded it, and saw that it was filled with various questions.

"Question 1: An army wants to attack a city. There are three routes to choose from. The terrain and distribution of the garrison troops on each route are different. Based on the following information, please analyze which route is the best..."

"Second question: The battlefield is changing rapidly. How can we formulate the best combat plan based on factors such as the deployment of enemy and our own forces, terrain, climate conditions, etc...."

……

The more Zhang Tiezhu read, the more frightened he became. These questions were not about martial arts at all, but about military strategies such as deploying troops and making strategic plans!

Although he is not good at martial arts, he has been sensitive to numbers since he was a child and has strong logical thinking ability.

So, he can also answer some of these questions.

He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write quickly on the test paper.

The numbers and symbols jumped under his pen like jumping notes, playing an exciting war symphony.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the examination room became more and more tense.

Some candidates scratched their heads but could not write; some candidates wrote quickly but were sweating profusely.

Suddenly, there was an exclamation from the crowd.

"what happened?"

“Someone is cheating!”

Zhang Tiezhu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall candidate secretly taking out a piece of paper from his sleeve. The piece of paper was covered with tiny handwriting.

"Be bold!"

General Wang's roar was like a bolt from the blue, making everyone's ears buzz.

He jumped off the platform, rushed to the candidate in a few steps, and snatched the note from his hand.

"Someone, take this man down!"

Two soldiers immediately stepped forward and pinned the candidate to the ground.

"Cheaters will be disqualified from the exam and will never be hired again!"

General Wang announced coldly, his voice full of unquestionable majesty.

The candidate suddenly turned pale and collapsed to the ground, filled with remorse.

The atmosphere in the examination room suddenly became more solemn, and the candidates became more cautious.

I was afraid that if I wasn't careful, I would follow in the footsteps of that candidate.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is time to hand in the paper.

The candidates filed out with different expressions on their faces, some were smug, some were dejected, and some looked confused.

Zhang Tiezhu was mixed in the crowd, feeling uneasy.

He knew that he had done well in the written test, but he had no confidence in the upcoming martial arts test.

Sure enough, the second martial arts test was a disaster for Zhang Tiezhu.

"Archery, start!"

Following the examiner's command, the candidates drew their bows and arrows and aimed at the target in the distance.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Sharp arrows shot out from the air and hit the bull's eye accurately.

When it was Zhang Tiezhu's turn, he picked up the bow and arrow clumsily, and failed to pull the bow after several attempts.

"Haha, is this kid here to make people laugh?"

"You want to be a soldier with your current physique? Go home and take care of your children!"

The candidates around him burst into laughter. Zhang Tiezhu's face turned red with shame and he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

After finally pulling the bow, the arrow flew crookedly into the sky and finally got stuck in a tree not far away, causing even more laughter from the crowd.

As expected, Zhang Tiezhu's archery score was zero, and his scores in other martial arts tests were also terrible.

"It's over, it's over..."

Zhang Tiezhu walked out of the examination room dejectedly, feeling that the door of hope had been closed to him.

Just when he was feeling discouraged, a soldier came over and shouted:

"Zhang Tiezhu, come with me, there is one last test!"

Zhang Tiezhu was stunned for a moment. There was still an exam? Was it to give him a chance to retake the exam?
With trepidation, he followed the soldier to a spacious room, which was already full of examinees, all sitting upright with serious expressions.

"This is the third exam, the written test!"

The examiner sitting on the podium announced.

Zhang Tiezhu was stunned. Why was it another written test?

He was not good at writing to begin with, and he had already put in all his effort in the first exam. Now his mind was completely blank, so how could he write anything beautifully?

He took the test paper with gritted teeth, unfolded it, and immediately became even more desperate.

The test paper was densely covered with various poems, songs and annotations of classics, history and miscellaneous works, which made him dizzy.

"It's over. It's really over this time..."

Zhang Tiezhu wailed in his heart, feeling like a lamb to be slaughtered.

He was flipping through the test paper carelessly, and just when he was about to write something casually to get it over with, suddenly, his eyes were attracted by the last question on the test paper.

The question was this:

Now there are pheasants and rabbits in a cage. There are thirty-five heads on top and ninety-four legs below. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?
"Chickens and rabbits in the same cage?" Zhang Tiezhu immediately became excited, this is the math problem he is best at!
He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to calculate quickly on the test paper.

Soon, he got the answer: there were 23 chickens and 12 rabbits.

“Haha, it’s so easy!”

Zhang Tiezhu was secretly delighted, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw.

He couldn't wait to look at the next question, but found it even more difficult: "Now there is an object whose number is unknown. When you count three by three, there are two left. When you count five by five, there are three left. When you count seven by seven, there are two left. How many objects are there?"

“Isn’t this the story of Han Xin selecting his troops?”

Zhang Tiezhu recognized the origin of this question at a glance.

He suppressed his excitement and began to think carefully about how to solve the problem.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the examination room became more and more tense.

Some candidates scratched their heads but could not write; some candidates wrote quickly but were sweating profusely.

Zhang Tiezhu wrote with great speed, and those math problems that seemed complicated and difficult to solve were as easy as chopping melons and vegetables.

Problems like "a hundred chickens problem", "the art of surplus and deficiency", and "Han Xin selecting his troops" were all easily solved under his writing.

Time passed by minute by minute in the tense atmosphere. When the examiner announced the end of the exam, Zhang Tiezhu was still reluctant to leave.

He put down his pen and took a long breath.

Walking out of the examination room, Zhang Tiezhu saw his anxiously waiting mother at a glance, and he walked over quickly.

"Tiezhu, how is it? Is this essay test difficult?"

Zhang's mother grabbed Zhang Tiezhu's hand and asked anxiously, with worry written all over her wrinkled face.

"Mom, don't worry, the questions this time are not difficult at all, I can do them all!"

Zhang Tiezhu patted his chest and assured that he didn't want his mother to worry about him anymore.

"Really? Tiezhu, don't lie to me!"

Zhang's mother obviously didn't quite believe it. After all, in her eyes, she knew very well what level her son was at.

"Of course it's true, mother, when have I ever lied to you?"

Zhang Tiezhu said with a solemn vow.

At this time, several candidates who were in the same examination room with Zhang Tiezhu came out. One of them, a tall and thin man, squinted at Zhang Tiezhu and said in a sarcastic tone:
"Hey, isn't this our great talent Zhang? How did you get in the written test this time? You didn't get zero again, did you? Haha!"

"That's right. He looked like a wretch. During the martial arts test, he shot arrows into a tree and ran like a pig. He still had the nerve to say that he did well in the literary test. It's really hilarious!"

Another short and fat candidate also joined in the fun.

"That's right. I saw it with my own eyes. This kid can't even write clearly. The test paper is full of scribbles. I guess he doesn't even know what he wrote!"

The tall and thin candidate said with a mocking look on his face.

"You guys..." Zhang Tiezhu's face suddenly turned red. He wanted to refute but didn't know what to say.

"Tiezhu, is what they said true?"

Mother Zhang's heart sank suddenly. She grabbed Zhang Tiezhu's arm and asked in a trembling voice.

"Mom, don't listen to their nonsense, I..."

Zhang Tiezhu was about to explain when he was interrupted by the tall and thin candidate: "Hey, Mr. Zhang, we are not talking nonsense. If you don't believe me, tell me yourself. How many words do you know?"

Zhang Tiezhu bit his lip and said nothing.

"Haha, see, he doesn't even dare to speak. I think he must have failed the test again this time!"

The tall and thin candidate said proudly.

People around him cast strange looks at him, pointing and talking, as if Zhang Tiezhu was some kind of monster.

Zhang's mother's face turned pale and she weakly let go of Zhang Tiezhu's hand, as if she had aged ten years in an instant.

Zhang Tiezhu looked at his mother's lost expression and felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife.

He knew that he had disappointed his mother again.

"Mom, let's go back."

Zhang Tiezhu suppressed the grief in his heart, supported his mother, and silently left the examination room.

Along the way, neither of them spoke, only silence filled the air.

When they returned to the village, the villagers saw them and surrounded them, asking about the test results.

"Tiezhu, how did you do in the exam? Did you get into high school?"

"Is this exam difficult? You have to bring honor to our village!"

Faced with the villagers' inquiries, Zhang Tiezhu could only respond with a wry smile, while Zhang's mother said nothing and lowered her head, as if she was avoiding something.

"Oh, Aunt Zhang, don't count on your Tiezhu. I think he's in trouble this time!"

A villager with a pointed chin and monkey face said.

"That's right. I heard that this exam is very difficult. Even the scholars in the town's private school may not be able to pass it, let alone Tiezhu!" another villager echoed.

"I've said it before, Tiezhu isn't cut out for studying. Look at how big and strong he is, he's destined to do rough work. And he insists on taking an exam. Isn't this just a waste of time?"

After returning home, Zhang's mother went straight into the kitchen without saying a word, hastily heated up two steamed buns, and then hid in her room.

Zhang Tiezhu felt upset, but didn't know how to comfort her. He could only finish his meal in silence, clean up the dishes, and return to his room.

It was late at night and the whole village fell silent, with only the barking of dogs occasionally breaking the tranquility of the night.

Zhang Tiezhu lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. His mind was filled with the villagers' mocking words and his mother's lonely expression.

"Ugh……"

He sighed deeply, stood up and walked to the window, looking at the dark night sky outside, his heart filled with confusion and helplessness.

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound coming from the next room, like the sound of cloth rubbing.

He walked to the door curiously and gently pushed it open. In the dim moonlight, he saw his mother sitting by the bed, sewing something stitch by stitch under the dim oil lamp.

"Mom, it's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Zhang Tiezhu walked to his mother and asked softly.

Mother Zhang raised her head and looked at Zhang Tiezhu, her eyes full of love and helplessness: "Tiezhu, Mom is fine, you should go to bed quickly, you have to get up early to work tomorrow."

"Mom, please stop sewing and go to bed early."

Zhang Tiezhu felt sad when he saw the wrinkles at the corners of his mother's eyes and the new white hair on her head.

"Tiezhu, mother is not tired. I have to save some money for you so that you can get married." Mother Zhang said, then lowered her head and continued to mend the things in her hands.

"Mom, please stop talking. I..." Zhang Tiezhu wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.

"Tiezhu, I know you feel bad, but you can't force yourself to take the exam. You are not a child anymore, it's time for you to get married and start a family. I have asked someone to find you a marriage partner. The girl is Cuihua from the next village. She is pretty and capable. I will be relieved if you can marry her."

"Mother, I..."

"Tiezhu, I know you are filial, but don't worry about this. I have already arranged it."

As Zhang's mother spoke, she took out a cloth bag from the bedside table and opened it. Inside was a red bellyband embroidered with a pattern of mandarin ducks playing in the water. It was exquisitely made, and it was obvious that a lot of thought had gone into it.

"Mom..." Zhang Tiezhu looked at the bellyband with mixed feelings.

"Tiezhu, I'm old, and I might die any day. How can I be at ease when you're alone in this world with no one to rely on?"

As Zhang's mother spoke, her eyes became red again.

"Mom, please stop talking. I will go to the dock tomorrow to find a job and make good money to support you in your old age."

Zhang Tiezhu clenched his fist. (End of this chapter)