As an emperor, you must also follow political rules.
The foundation for the long-term and stable imperial power lies in rules.
If you do whatever you want and let your temper decide, you will destroy your own foundation.
Zhu Yixi thought for a long time, picked up the pen, took a pile of Chengxintang paper, and wrote and drew on it. He couldn't lift his head for a long time.
Power is both fascinating and vexing at the same time.
"Your Majesty, it's time to have dinner."
"Oh?" He looked up and saw that the sky was getting dark and the glass was gray: "What time is it now?"
"It's almost six o'clock." Liu Afu glanced at the chiming clock next to him and said, "You can write after dinner."
"Fine!"
After thinking and writing all afternoon, he really felt a little hungry. He put the papers away, got up and went to Dongnuan Pavilion.
Liu Afu smiled and said "pass the meal" to the eunuch guarding the bright hall of the Yangxin Hall. The eunuch in the hall passed this sentence to the eunuch standing outside the Yangxin Hall, and so on.
Before the echo disappeared, a dowry-like procession had already left the imperial dining room. This was a procession composed of dozens of neatly dressed eunuchs, carrying seven or eight dining tables and dozens of red lacquer tables with golden dragons painted on them.
Box, coming straight to the Yangxin Hall in a mighty manner.
Entering the palace, he was taken over by the young eunuch wearing white sleeves and placed in the Dongnuan Pavilion. There were two tables of dishes, three tables of snacks, rice dishes, porridge, and a small table of pickles.
Exquisite and compact.
"Sir, look, this is a leek and egg crystal bun specially created by a master from Yangzhou. Its skin is as thin as a cicada's wing, and there are leek and eggs inside. It not only looks a bit fancy, but also tastes delicious."
Liu Afu seemed to know that the emperor was worried, so he hurriedly brought a crystal bag between his arms.
Zhu Yixi took a look and saw that it was indeed thin and light. The yellow-green filling was vaguely visible, and there was a circle of regular folds on it, which showed that it was carefully put into it.
Small and exquisite, only the size of a baby's fist, it is not only a delicacy, but also a work of art.
After taking a bite, my mouth was full of leeks, but the taste was not strong, but had a mild meaty aroma.
Although he knew that leeks were not very useful, he still had some inclination toward leeks.
"Not bad, reward——"
The emperor said something casually, and a man with a big belly came outside the palace. He immediately knelt down to thank him.
A group of eunuchs seemed to have been prepared for a long time and brought out a plate of things.
On it, I saw two small gold ingots weighing ten ounces, three silver melon seeds, and a shovel with a gold edge.
Obviously, all appreciation has a formula.
After eating the pastries and dinner, he seemed to be in a better mood and continued to review the tickets.
Suddenly, he saw a memorial and felt very bad:
Wang Yingxiong is critically ill.
Wang Yingxiong was born in 1589 and was a Jinshi in the 41st year of Wanli. Now in 1666, he is already in his seventies and has always been in good health.
When he sent troops to Sichuan to pursue Zhang Xianzhong, Wang Yingxiong surrendered in Chongqing and appeased many gentry for him. At the same time, he also obtained a lot of money and food for him and ensured logistics.
You must know that when he entered Sichuan with an army of tens of thousands, he did not have much money and food. Naturally, he relied on the wealth of Sichuan and the gentry to recruit them.
Without the help of a court official like Wang Yingxiong, it would be difficult for him to raise the necessary food and grass in a short period of time.
Later, Wang Yingxiong entered the shogunate and became the first high-ranking official of the court to submit to him. The power of his example is endless.
Later, he teamed up with Zhao Shu to form Shaowu's cabinet in his early years. Later, when he got too old, he served as chief minister for two years and retired.
However, unlike Zhao Shu who stayed in the capital, Wang Yingxiong returned to his hometown in Chongqing and was happy to entertain his grandson.
The old man's illness was very severe. He was fine when he was having dinner, but suddenly he became ill. His body was crooked, his mouth was drooling, and he couldn't even tell who was coming.
"Send the imperial doctor to treat you and give you medicine——"
After a moment of silence, Zhu Yixi said: "Also, please notify the Ministry of Rites."
Liu Afu nodded.
At this time, he informed the Ministry of Rites that since he wanted to give Wang Yingxiong a posthumous title, this was a treatment only given to important officials in the imperial court.
Apparently, news from Chongqing reached Beijing that he was critically ill and might actually have died, so it was normal to prepare.
Thinking like this, he was shocked in vain.
Zhao Shu, Lu Daqi, Zhang Shenyan, etc. are all of the same age, and I'm afraid they may be in danger in the past few years.
No wonder the emperor was in a bad mood.
The next day, the emperor woke up from the dragon bed. Two beauties were lying close to him, with flushed faces. Another one was curled up at his feet, warming his feet with their fullness.
To relieve the depressed mood, you have to rely on women.
The gloom in her heart dissipated a little, and Zhu Yixi got up and left the palace.
Yuquan Villa has continued to expand over the years, with Mongolian scenery, West Asian style, and European castles, keeping the emperor fresh at all times.
After wandering around for a while, Zhu Yixi suddenly said: "Let's go to the martial arts hall!"
The martial arts hall is located near Yuquan Villa. The emperor specifically insisted that he could spy on it at will and get to know this group of martial arts scholars so as to gain military morale.
The time for the martial arts examination has not yet been decided, but the atmosphere in the martial arts hall is getting worse day by day.
Most people can't bear the loneliness, so they start to cross the sea, showing off their magic tricks, hoping to find a good place and put a golden talisman on their future.
Zhu Yixi looked into the distance, holding a telescope in her hand. Seeing the powerless appearance of these people, a surge of anger suddenly rose in her heart, but then it disappeared.
If you think about it carefully, this group of people are like college students in the graduation season in future generations. Who has the mood to train?
The future and prospects are right in front of us, and no one can be as calm as water.
However, under this general trend, there will always be talents to come forward.
I saw that during the training, a few big men were still practicing, and they seemed to be unaffected.
Zhu Yixi became interested: "These people are quite calm, they seem to be confident!"
"What are their names?"
The chief instructor of the martial arts hall on the side quickly took a look with a monocular telescope, and immediately took a look at the emperor's words, and immediately said:
"The leader is a man with a dark face and a long beard. He is now thirty-three, and his name is Hu Guozhu."
"There is a man on the left with a broad face and big ears. He is called Zhao Liangzhu. He is quite strange. He was originally the deputy battalion commander in the army. He also passed the martial arts examination a few years ago."
"The one on the right with a pale face is a captain recommended by the army, named Wang Jinbao..."
The martial arts hall is not just a martial arts academy, there are other people entering it.
For example, nobles, sons of the clan, and outstanding officers recommended by the army.
Let these people come here to study and help their future.
However, although the recommended quota is very rare, there are very few mid-level officers, and they are basically low-level officers.
Because if you don't do well in the exam, you will give up your original official position and be demoted one level.
Moreover, even if you pass the exam, you still have to go through two or three years of study. The most you will be assigned in the future is to be a team leader or deputy battalion leader, so why bother?
"Zhao Liangzhu?"
Zhu Yixi murmured, why does this name sound so familiar?
However, what he did was indeed daring.
But it's very far-sighted.
If you are born in a martial arts hall, you can climb to your original position in just a few years, and you will be promoted faster. Only those with far-sightedness will give up immediate interests to pursue the future.
In a sense, this kind of vision is also very rare.
"Assign these people to the Guards Department."
Zhu Yixi had an idea in mind.
He needs to observe them closely for a period of time before releasing them somewhere else.
Over the years, the nobles have also continued to grow older. Although the second generation is gradually rising, preparations for the third generation of military generals are also beginning.
Zhu Yixi even plans to focus on training a group of military generals every five years and let them serve at the border to polish themselves.
People without thought, he must worry about.
At noon, the martial arts hall ended the training and began to have lunch.
As an institution that competes with the Hanlin Academy, the Martial Arts Hall covers an area of nearly two hundred acres. There are hundreds of war horses, as well as corresponding muskets and artillery, but ammunition is scarce.
In terms of food, Yanwutang is not stingy. Almost every meal has meat, and it is provided in unlimited quantities. It is a combination of meat and vegetables, but there is no wine.
When Zhao Liangdong and the others saw the five dishes on the blackboard: roast duck, steamed sea bass, green vegetables and tofu, stir-fried pork with bean sprouts, and eight-treasure rice, they couldn't help but say:
"Today's meal actually has three pieces of meat."
"This is not about distribution, it's natural to make money."
Wang Jinbao smiled and said: "Cherish it, there will be no such good days in the future!"
Hu Guozhu was very direct. He picked up his rice bowl and stood in line: "Eat quickly. It has been exposed to the sun all day. My stomach is almost hungry and my heart is pressed against my back."
Zhao Liangdong shook his head and also lined up.
The three of them formed a group and became better friends.
While enjoying lunch, the three of them started discussing.
"Zhuzi, where do you want to go?"
Wang Jinbao said impatiently.
"Nonsense, of course it's the frontier army." Hu Guozhu said casually: "I'm old and can't compare to you young people. I can only go to the frontier army and perform meritorious service so that I can be promoted as soon as possible."
"I don't ask for any great credit. It would be nice if I could get a baron."
"Bah, I want to eat my shit." Wang Jinbao couldn't help rolling his eyes: "If you are assigned to the navy, I'm afraid you will have to learn to swim."
"Nonsense, why can't I go to the navy?"
Hu Guozhu said hurriedly, with rejection written all over his face.
As for the allocation of martial arts halls, the best ones go to the Guards Division, followed by the Capital and Border Army, and the worst ones go to the Navy.
Because the gap between the navy and the infantry at this time was not big, they both followed the same tactics, and they only needed to get used to it a little before they could command calmly.
But it was difficult for naval generals to go ashore to command the infantry.
This also greatly restricted the future of the Navy.
Even though the Navy has made great achievements in eradicating pirates, for the sake of their future, no one wants to go to the Navy Yamen.
So everyone in the martial arts hall is afraid of the navy.
But there is no way. The navy will recommend people from time to time, and at the same time, there will be a shortage of people. The martial arts hall will randomly send some people to the navy. Sometimes there are more than ten people, and sometimes there are two or three.
After all, it is impossible to let the navy play alone all the time, so deploying manpower is a necessary method.
"Have you heard?" Zhao Liangdong whispered: "The border troops seem to have been mobilized frequently recently. Several of my friends have sent letters and have moved their positions accordingly, and the training has been stepped up."
"where?"
After staying in the martial arts hall for many years, the three of them were extremely vigilant and immediately woke up to the atmosphere of war.
"Chahar, Suiyuan——"
Zhao Liangdong said softly: "It seems to be in the north."
"It should be like this." Wang Jinbao said regretfully: "Unfortunately, we are about to be assigned, and we will definitely not let novices like us go to fight. There is not much hope."
"Hey!" Hu Guozhu also regretted: "I don't know when we will encounter such a war next time. If we miss it, it will really be gone."
As a soldier, there is no one who does not like war.
Especially the title hanging in front.
Even among those noble disciples, many want to be given a double or triple title, which is an extremely honorable thing.
"No wonder those nobles have been anxious recently. In the past, they were the most uncertain, and distribution was not a big deal." Wang Jinbao sighed:
"Now they are probably anxious about whether they can be assigned to border troops to fight!"
The three of them were speechless.
The background is different, and the desire at this time is also different.
A few days later, the Ministry of War sent a minister to personally come to the martial arts hall to declare themselves and announce their whereabouts.
Those who went to the Guards Department were naturally smiling, while those who went to the Navy had a sad face and found it difficult to accept it.
Zhao Liangdong and the other three were equally anxious.
It was almost a quarter of an hour before I heard their names.
"Hu Guozhu, Division of Bodyguards, Third Class Bodyguard."
"Ma Jinbao..."
"Zhao Liangdong..."
The three of them were all bodyguards, and the same third-class bodyguards surprised them all.
Similarly, the martial arts hall was also amazed.
You must know that there are generally only fifty people assigned to the Guards Department every year. These people are basically divided among the nobles and elites, but it is really strange that these three people have no background to be selected.
Unknowingly, time has quietly arrived in October.
Several horse-drawn sleighs galloped past, not stopping on the river for a moment until they reached the shore before reining in the horses. A man on the sled stepped down, took off his appearance, and revealed Shi Nai's face:
"Brother Qian, Brother Zhang, Brother Li, Brother Cheng, can you come down and take a few steps?"
He was dressed in mink fur, but he had a pair of inner armor underneath, which wrapped him tightly, leaving only a pair of big eyes.
Then, several sleds stopped and several generals stood on the river.
Beside them, an army composed of sleds was running slowly, and the speed could be described as slow.
On the road by the river, there were many infantrymen on horseback. Their speed was even slower as they walked through the snow.
"In front of us is the place where the Selen River and the Shilok River meet, and not long before that is the so-called Lake Baikal."
Shi Nai took out the map, breathed hot air in his mouth, and said softly.
"It should be." Forty-year-old Qian Mingze squinted his eyes and said, "According to common sense, we should have to walk for about three days to reach Lake Baikal."
"But we are still at least a thousand miles away from the so-called Fengjing Mansion."
Several people gasped and described their progress.
"The location here is just right. Set up a camp to meet the army behind."
Shi Nai said to Qian Ming, "Then I'll leave this place to you, Brother Qian."