Zhang Yangquan was overjoyed and asked about the two people's plans. Both of them refused to explain clearly and only made several requests.
Ma Yulin asked the General Manager's Office to play a show with him and throw him out of the General Manager's Office so that he could vote for Zhang Shicheng.
Luo Guanzhong hoped to arrange ten scouts for him and asked for another ten taels of gold.
Zhang Yangquan agreed one by one.
Half an hour later, Ma Yulin was thrown out of the recruiting hall by several soldiers.
He got up and stood with his arms akimbo outside the door of the Talent Recruitment Hall, cursing. He only said that Zhang Yangquan was too busy with dramas and disrespected talented people, which attracted a group of common people to watch.
These common people originally respected the scholars of the Recruitment Hall, but when they saw him yelling at the General Manager, they immediately became unhappy, and several people came out to scold him.
Ma Yulin then rushed out of the crowd and returned to the recruiting hall angrily.
Before the city gate closed that day, he packed his bags, fled from the north gate of Jiangdu, and headed straight for Gaoyou Mansion.
It is said that after Zhang Shicheng became king, he also built a recruitment hall. However, there were very few scholars who stayed in the recruitment hall, and they were all relatively unknown people.
Zhang Shicheng felt very depressed and asked his subordinates: "I listened to Mr. Yuan's suggestion and changed my name to Shicheng to show my sincerity in recruiting wise men. Why are there no wise men in the recruiting hall?"
Zhang Shide said: "Brother, Zhang Yangquan built a recruiting hall in Jiangdu very early, and the wise men were all recruited by the General Manager's Office!"
Zhang Shicheng became even more depressed, and asked Zhang Shide to increase the salary in the talent recruitment center, and sent another person to Jiangdu to carry out secret activities, and tried every means to poach a few talents from the Jiangdu talent recruitment center.
As a result, not long after the people sent there left, Zhang Shide reported that a talented man named Ma Yulin came to invest.
Zhang Shicheng was so overjoyed that he went out to greet him personally, took his hand into the palace, and held a banquet in honor of him. All his civil and military officials attended to show how much he valued Ma Yulin.
At the banquet, Ma Yulin showed his wild look. After drinking a glass of wine, he suddenly laughed loudly.
Everyone frowned, thinking he was too rude.
Only Zhang Shicheng showed no signs of abnormality and asked with a smile: "Why are you laughing, sir?"
Ma Yulin said loudly: "I don't laugh at others, I only laugh at His Highness Prince Cheng, who was deceived by Zhuzi and devalued himself without knowing it!"
The faces of the officials became even more ugly. Lu Zhen snorted and said, "Are you trying to please the public and scaremongering?"
Ma Yulin sneered and said: "I laugh even more at the fact that all of you civil servants and generals have a pair of empty eyes. You see your lord being humiliated and no one even notices it!"
Everyone showed anger, and several generals even stood up.
Zhang Shicheng stretched out his hand to signal everyone to return to their seats, cupped his hands towards Ma Yulin and said, "Sir, you have something to say, but it's okay to say it."
Ma Yulin raised his head and said: "I would like to ask first, who named His Highness King Cheng?"
A civil servant at the table changed his face and shouted: "Ma Yulin, don't talk nonsense!"
Ma Yulin held up his palms and said with a smile: "This is called not asking for trouble!"
Zhang Shicheng felt a chill in his heart, and his eyes flickered back and forth between the civil servant and Ma Yulin.
"Mr. Ma, Mr. Yuan asked me to change this name to show the world my sincerity in recruiting talents. Is there any problem?"
Ma Yulin smiled and said: "There is no problem at first, but I wonder if Mr. Yuan, who named you, told you such a passage?"
"What words?"
Ma Yulin stood up and said loudly: "There is this sentence in Mencius and Gongsun Chou Zhang: A scholar is a sincere villain! If you change it a little, it is: Shi Cheng is a villain!"
After everyone heard this, they all looked at Mr. Yuan.
Mr. Yuan said anxiously: "Ma Yulin, I have no intention of ridiculing His Highness, and you should stop spewing blood!"
Ma Yulin smiled and said: "If I were you, I would tell King Cheng this allusion first when choosing the name. Only in this way can I show my lack of selfishness!"
Mr. Yuan hurried to attend the case and knelt on the ground: "Your Highness, don't listen to Ma Yulin's nonsense. He is sowing discord!"
Lu Zhen's anger had shifted from Ma Yulin to him, and she said solemnly: "Mr. Ma doesn't know you, why are you trying to sow discord?"
Mr. Yuan said anxiously: "Jiangdu is the most prosperous place in Yangzhou. I heard that Ma Yulin entered the recruiting hall in Jiangdu. Why did he abandon him and join our army? Isn't this suspicious!"
Zhang Shide glanced at Ma Yulin with squinted eyes, and said calmly: "I am also confused. Could you please explain to Mr. Ma why you abandoned the Jiangdu Army and came to join me, the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
Ma Yulin shook his sleeves, stood up and said, "I'm kindly reminding you, but you don't know what's good and what's wrong, and you're suspicious that I'm being careful. In that case, it's okay not to stay here!"
Stand up and walk away!
Mr. Yuan said loudly: "Did you see that he was found out about his treacherous plot and felt guilty!"
Zhang Shide waved his hand, and several guards rushed into the door and were about to step forward to detain Ma Yulin.
At this moment, Zhang Shicheng stood up and angrily shouted: "Whoever let you in, get out!" The guards hurriedly retreated.
Zhang Shicheng strode up to Ma Yulin, bowed and said, "Thank you sir for reminding me, otherwise Shicheng really wouldn't have known there was such a mystery in this name."
Ma Yulin said: "King Cheng, doesn't he doubt that I am a secret agent of Jiangdu Army?"
Zhang Shicheng smiled and said: "Since I changed my name to Shicheng, I will never live up to this name. As long as there are wise men who come to invest, I, Zhang Shicheng, will definitely treat them with sincerity!"
Ma Yulin said blankly: "Are you still planning to use this name?"
Zhang Shicheng laughed and said: "That's natural. No matter what others think, for me, this name is to remind me that I will never let down the world's scholars!"
Ma Yulin said with emotion: "The sincere king's mind is admirable."
Lu Zhen strode up to Mr. Yuan, grabbed him by the back of his neck, and said, "Your Majesty, I will take this villain out and chop him down!"
Zhang Shicheng waved his hand and said: "Give him some gold and silver and let him go."
Mr. Yuan fell to his knees and cried: "Thank you so much, Your Majesty, for your magnanimity!"
The banquet continued until the middle of Xushi. After the banquet, Zhang Shicheng invited Ma Yulin to serve as the director of Zhongshu Province.
Ma Yulin smiled and said: "I have no skills in my lower body and dare not accept a high position. Please allow me to live in the recruitment hall first."
Zhang Shicheng invited him again and again, but Ma Yulin just refused to accept it, so he had to let him live in the recruitment hall first.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
After returning to Prince Cheng's Mansion, Zhang Shicheng leaned on the bench behind the desk and closed his eyes to rest.
Suddenly I heard the sound of footsteps, and it was Zhang Shide who walked in.
"Brother, I have ordered people to follow that sour scholar named Yuan. As long as you nod your head, his head will fall to the ground in an instant!"
Zhang Shicheng waved his hand and said, "Didn't I tell him to let him go?"
Zhang Shide was stunned and said: "He humiliates you so much, do you really want to let him go?"
Zhang Shicheng said: "If he dies, others will guess that I did it, and my name will become a joke! Not only must you let him go, but you must also protect him and prevent him from dying at the hands of thieves!" Zhang Shide smiled and said: "Since you can swallow this breath, what else can I say?"
Zhang Shicheng was silent for a while and said: "Send someone to Jiangdu to find out why Ma Yulin left Jiangdu!"
Zhang Shide laughed and said, "I thought you really believed in him!"
Zhang Shicheng glared at him and said angrily: "You brought that bastard named Yuan here, and you still have the nerve to smile? Finish this errand for me quickly, or I won't spare you!"
Zhang Shide smiled and said: "Before I go, I have something serious to tell you. Should we train a naval force at Gaoyou Lake? Otherwise, even if we capture Tongzhou, we won't be able to cross the river!"
Zhang Shicheng waved his hand and said: "No rush, things will happen one by one. How are the preparations in Taizhou?"
Zhang Shide spread his hands and said: "Bian Yuanheng does have some abilities. In less than half a month, we will have almost all the food, grass, men and horses gathered. In five days, we can go on the expedition!"
Zhang Shicheng thought for a while and said: "Let Lu Zhen also go to Taizhou. I can rest assured if they two attack together."
"Brother, you..."
Zhang Shicheng waved his hand and said: "I know what you want to say, no need to say more, just give the order."
Zhang Shide sighed and accepted the order.
My brother is good at everything else, but he has one shortcoming: he only trusts the old brother in Baijuchang. Even someone like Bian Yuanheng, who came to seek refuge very early, cannot gain his complete trust.
Two days later, Jiangdu scouts reported that Ma Yulin had offended the director of the recruitment hall and was not liked by Zhang Yangquan, so he was thrown out of the general manager's office.
Zhang Shicheng finally relieved his doubts and went to the recruitment center in person to find Ma Yulin.
This time, he planned to directly invite him to serve as Zhongshu Shengyoucheng.