"Welcome home!"

After the dust washing banquet in the palace, Zhu Mingzhong, who was a little drunk, returned to his mansion in Nanjing, and listened to the neat words of a row of stewards and servants standing outside the door, Zhu Mingzhong's heart couldn't help but move.

We are also family people in Nanjing!

This mansion is his home!

The first home after coming to this era, although it was the mansion of other people seized by the "dove occupies the magpie's nest", but Zhu Mingzhong still regards this place as his home, after all, even in Qinghe, what he lives in is only the back house of the government office, which is the so-called "official residence", and if he leaves office, he needs to be handed over to the next person to live.

Only this former Guogong Mansion is his home!

Of course, this is not only home, but also Jiangbei's base camp in Nanjing, just like Li Shaojie, the housekeeper at home, is ostensibly a housekeeper, but in fact he is the intelligence director of the Military Department in Nanjing, and as for the servants in this family, most of them are secret agents of the Military Division, and they are responsible for collecting intelligence in Nanjing.

Nanjing, like the Beijing Division, has always been the focus of the intelligence work of the Military Division, but unlike the Beijing Division, which is completely underground, although the activities of the Nanjing Military Division are also extremely secretive, Zhu Mingzhong's residence is the base camp, and this is more or less a protective umbrella.

Correspondingly, after coming to Nanjing, Zhu Mingzhong naturally needed to meet Li Shaojie and listen to his report, in fact, the so-called report, that is, to report on the situation in Nanjing in recent days.

“…… Since Zhang Shangshu arrived in Nanjing, in addition to meeting with Zheng Wangye many times, he has met with scholars from all over the world many times during the period. ”

Win over the scholars everywhere!

Zhu Mingzhong naturally knew why they were fighting for scholars from all over the world, just to win the hearts of the people!

What is the will of the people, it is naturally those scholars.

Now those attached hypocrites are already panicked, and there are people who abandon India and return to the south every day, and what about those scholars who went to the Manchu Qing imperial examination to achieve fame? The punishment for them was only the removal of their fame, and if they wrote a letter of repentance, they were exempt from the collection of money and food accumulated over the years. Even in this township test, the scholars who have been dismissed from their fame are still allowed to refer to them in white, which can be said to be extremely benevolent to them.

Zhu Mingzhong did not object to this, and nothing could be expanded. The removal of fame is just a means, a way to force the scholars to make a choice. In Zhu Mingzhong's view, there is only one choice between Yu Ming and Qing, and he can't tolerate those people making a choice between snakes and rats.

"Let them fight for it!"

Zhu Mingzhong, who knew the reason why Zheng and Zhang were fighting for the intention of the scholar now, smiled and asked again.

"So, how old is the oldest of the township test scholars this year?"

"Among the 3,869 scholars who have signed up at present, the oldest is seventy-one years old this year, and I heard that he was a tribute student during the Chongzhen period, and he never tried after entering the Qing Dynasty."

Li Shaojie replied.

After entering the Qing Dynasty, he never tried, and the simple six words were the same, which made Zhu Mingzhong praise softly.

"Rare! More than ten years of loyalty has not changed, and now the country has been restored, and at such an advanced age, he can still take the exam on the spot, which is loyal and worthy of praise. ”

Whether the imperial examination can select talents, it does not prevent Zhu Mingzhong from expressing his heartfelt admiration for this old scholar, after all, he has been taking the examination all his life, in the past ten years, in the face of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in order to attract the hearts of the people, constantly "expanding" the move, it is not easy to hold the heart of seeking officials, why those ordinary scholars are willing to take the examination in the past ten years, the reason for correcting it is because the Manchu government examination, the township examination and the general examination are quite easy to pass, which is also deliberately done by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the purpose is to attract scholars to participate in the imperial examination, Establish their legitimacy through the imperial examinations.

"Well, although it is now spring, but the weather is still quite cold, he is too old, and he turned around and ordered someone to send him two new quilts and pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

Subsequently, Zhu Mingzhong said deliberately.

"In the second half of the year, after the three games are over, you will go to see him as a representative of your own official to show encouragement. If he really wins, let him wear a big red flower and accept everyone's congratulations to him in the downtown area, and Yao Yiyao has been studying hard for decades and the glory of old age. At that time, the Nanjing newspaper should also start to publish, well, you can help him spread it,"

If you want to make a fuss, Zhu Mingzhong naturally knows how to do these articles, and for him from the 21st century, how to attract people's hearts naturally has a set of methods that belong to the 21st century. The reason why this old man was chosen to offer condolences was not only because it was really rare for him to take the exam at the age of 71, but more importantly, Zhu Mingzhong believed that this old man would never reject his gifts, because he was a widow who "did not try to enter the Qing Dynasty".

"What's the youngest, then?"

Zhu Mingzhong asked again.

"The youngest is only fifteen years old."

Li Shaojie replied truthfully.

In fact, the reason why Zhu Mingzhong asked these questions was just a casual question, after all, this is indeed a big deal in Nanjing now, and as a strategic envoy of Jianghuai, he should also ask about the township test, after all, this is also to choose talents for the country, although now Jiangbei has found another way and chosen another way to choose talents.

After reporting all aspects of the information one by one, Li Shaojie said again.

"A few hours ago, an old friend of Jinglu left you a letter."

Old friends?

Confused, Zhu Mingzhong took the letter from Li Shaojie's hand, and when he opened the envelope and saw the contents of the letter, a slight smile appeared on his face.

It is indeed an invitation from an old friend.

The next morning, Zhu Mingzhong, who was dressed in civilian clothes, came to the Jiangnan Gongyuan located on the bank of the Qinhuai River as promised, although the Jiangnan Gongyuan as a whole has not been completed, but its main part has been completed, and the Jiangnan Gongyuan has two gates in the east and west. The archway of the East Gate is written with the four big characters of "Ming Jing and the Scholars", and the four big characters of "seeking talents for the country" are written on the archway of the West Gate.

After coming to the Jiangnan Tribute Courtyard, Zhu Mingzhong was quite interested in visiting this place, at this time he looked no different from ordinary scholars, but his eyes were more resolute. However, unlike those scholars who came here, he came here at the invitation of an old friend.

After walking around the Jiangnan Gongyuan, Zhu Mingzhong walked to the pavilion on the bank of the Qinhuai River, where a scholar wearing a pale cyan Confucian robe and a square scarf was standing in the pavilion with his back to him.

"But Confucius?"

Hearing his words, the scholar standing in the pavilion turned his head and looked at Zhu Mingzhong with a smile, and the smile made Zhu Mingzhong smile.

"I've seen Brother Liu Xian."

If it's not Liu Rushi, who else can it be?

In Nanjing, if you talk about old friends, I'm afraid she is the only one.

"Should I call you General Zhu? Or do you call you Zhu Jingluo? Or ......"

"It's okay to call me a benevolent, you and I are old friends, so why do you need to be polite."

Liu Ru smiled, did not speak, but stepped out of the pavilion. And Zhu Mingzhong followed behind her. The two walked one after the other, neither of them took the initiative to speak, and it seemed that the two did not have much to say.

"Chengren, when you led the troops out of Jiangyin, did you ever think that one day, you would be able to perform such miraculous feats for the country one after another?"

Finally, Liu Rushi took the initiative to break the silence.

"I thought about it!"

In front of Liu Ruyi, Zhu Mingzhong did not hide his thoughts, although there were several concubines in the family, but those women were just concubines, although she was someone else's wife, it did not prevent Zhu Mingzhong from treating her as a confidant, although he also had a desire for it.

But after the initial infatuation, I haven't seen it for a long time, and that infatuation has faded away, and now, at most, there is only the appreciation of the strange woman in this world.

"Oh?"

Liu Ru glanced at Zhu Mingzhong in some surprise, such an answer was completely unexpected by her.

"Since the day I surrendered to the army, I knew that one day, I would expel the Tartars, no matter how tortuous they were, how much they paid, for my Ming Dynasty, for my China, this Tartars must be driven out of China, otherwise, one day, China will fall under its rule, fall into the situation of national extinction!"

Perhaps, when his strength was not good, Zhu Mingzhong thought about escaping overseas more than once, but even if he was so thoughtful, what he thought about was to preserve Chinese culture, and what he considered was only to hope that the real Chinese civilization would be continued overseas under the forced situation report. So as to prepare for a counteroffensive in a hundred or two hundred years.

Whether it is Taiwan, the Philippines, or even Australia, only if the real Chinese civilization that has not been destroyed by the Tatars can be continued overseas, and after a hundred or two hundred years, they who have recovered their vitality are bound to launch the Northern Expedition again, after all, for the Chinese, in the dream of a thousand years of home and country, reunification is their constant desire.

In another history, history did not give China a chance, but at that time Zhu Mingzhong believed that even in the event of defeat, he would be able to preserve some strength and give his countrymen the ability to attack the mainland again decades, if not two hundred years later.

At that point, no one will be able to stop them. Although when the time comes, they may face more problems. But the Northern Expedition was sure to be a success.

But now, Zhu Mingzhong no longer needs to think about this problem, even if he still thinks about colonization in Taiwan and other places, but this colonization is with needs, such as Taiwan's sulfur, timber, and even the reconstruction of Nanjing, Taiwan's timber is also needed.

But Taiwan is not overseas, and in Zhu Mingzhong's eyes, Taiwan has always been a part of China, which is the least common sense.

"You, others think more than they do, and you, always, if you think, you will do everything possible to do it!"

Zhu Mingzhong's words made Liu Ru sigh.

"Perhaps, because of this, you can achieve this feat that others dare not imagine!"

Sighing, Liu continued again.

"Actually, I asked you out this time because I wanted to ask you for something."