Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 359: The Warrior with No Way Out
Don't cause trouble when you go out, but if you do, don't be afraid of it. This is what Zhu Tingfang told her yesterday. Zhu Ying was just perfunctory to her brother, but she still remembered it in her heart. So at first she just casually stabbed the prefect's son, but when he started to get angry and retorted, she was not polite.
Compared to family background, who would she be afraid of?
However, Miss Zhu never expected that even though she had already established her authority, there would still be people who were not afraid of death and came up to chat with her. That would have been fine, but the purpose of chatting with her was actually... to recommend himself to be her bodyguard?
She frowned, then turned her head to look over, and saw a man dressed as a pilgrim, wearing a short shirt, a cloth belt and cloth shoes. He had a sturdy build and big hands. At first glance, he looked like he had some strength.
Before she opened her mouth to speak, Zhu Hong stepped forward expressionlessly and said in a deep voice, "Duke Zhao's mansion has no shortage of guards."
Even though Zhu Hong refused, the man who spoke was still not discouraged. He seemed not to notice the furtive eyes around him, and said, "I know that Duke Zhao has made great contributions, and there are naturally many experts in the palace, but this time the eldest son, General Mingwei, is in charge of Cangzhou City, so he is out of reach for the other two counties under Cangzhou."
"Now those lawless merchants and evil gentry have been severely punished, but people in Cangzhou are still uneasy. Miss, please report to General Mingwei on my behalf and give everyone a chance to make amends."
The eldest brother sentenced a lot of people to death and exile in one go, probably more than the number of people killed in Cangzhou in the previous year, plus many guys who had lived in luxury for decades and were called masters by the people were also punished with canes, so the people applauded. But this guy in front of him said that the people's hearts were unsettled, and he also said that he would give everyone a chance to make amends...
Plus, he just said he was willing to serve...what does that mean?
Zhu Ying was suspicious, and the look she gave him was more scrutinizing and vigilant. It was true that the young lady was impulsive and willful, but she was not a fool, so after hesitating for a moment, she said calmly, "Since you are a native of Cangzhou and you are here to recommend yourself, then you can replace Guan Tao and be my guide."
"Thank you, Miss!" The middle-aged man was overjoyed. When he heard Zhu Ying asking his name again, he quickly bowed and said, "My humble name is Cao Wu. I am familiar with this Maliu Mountain. The best scenery here is Yuejiao Lake..."
So, a group of scholars and pilgrims stared in amazement at the guy who came from an unknown background but recommended himself, diligently accompanying the unpredictable eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao, and diligently explaining the scenery of Maliu Mountain. No matter how proud of their talents the scholars were in the past, they all felt like cursing at this moment.
The prefect's son, who was showing off his talent, was ruthlessly kicked over and chased down the mountain by the young lady - of course, he was really stupid to think that such a strong young lady was from some brothel - however, a seemingly rough peasant who came out of nowhere was actually left behind as a guide.
Has the world turned upside down?
Zhu Ying didn't care what other people were thinking. She came to Maliushan today purely at the instruction of Zhang Shou. Zhang Shou asked her to help go to Wanghai Temple first to find out the details of Monk Zanghai, and by the way, go around Maliushan to see if there were any clues.
And she thought that Zhang Shou had Ah Liu with him, so she asked a little monk to be her guide and went out directly.
On the way, Cao Wu kept talking, and she listened absentmindedly - of course, she admitted that the scenery of Maliu Mountain was very beautiful, but she had just been ruined by such a nasty person, and she was thinking about Zhang Shou, so naturally she was not as excited as she was at the beginning. If it weren't for the little monk Guan Tao who often said nice things to amuse her, her mood would be even worse.
Seeing that Wanghai Temple was not far away, Zhu Ying suddenly asked with a dull look, "It must have taken a lot of effort to build this Wanghai Temple on the mountain. More than a hundred monks gathered here. How many people are needed to support them?"
Cao Wu's eyes flickered, and he immediately smiled and said, "Although this Wanghai Temple has not been conferred an imperial title by Emperor Taizu - Emperor Taizu said that no one would be conferred an imperial title by imperial title, except for Taoist temples and Buddhist temples, lest people in the world hide in Buddhist temples and Taoist temples to evade responsibility when encountering problems - however, it is also one of the famous temples nearby. Most importantly, the abbot of Wanghai Temple, Master De'an, is fair and compassionate."
Although he didn't know the character of this young lady before, he was frightened by Zhu Tingfang's behavior in Cangzhou City. Seeing that Zhu Ying just treated the prefect as an irrelevant official, he didn't dare to take the lead and let him confront Wanghai Temple.
Seeing Zhu Ying's eyebrows raised, as if he didn't believe it, he quickly explained further: "The reason why Wanghai Temple is so popular is not because everyone around here really believes in Buddhism. It's because the gatherings on the first and fifteenth of every month are held in front of Wanghai Temple. Although they are just trading things like fish and salt, Master De'an will be a witness, so the transactions are fair and everyone is happy."
Zhu Ying's expression eased a little, but he asked with a half-smile, "Oh, so monks also have a part-time job of administering justice these days? Speaking of which, the Canghai Lower Courtyard where the young monk Guantao lives at the foot of the mountain has more than a dozen monks with sticks. What about the Wanghai Temple? It is said that they even drove away pirates in the early years of Emperor Taizu. They are not now vegetarians and Buddhist monks who have forgotten the skills that got them started, right?"
The topic went around and around, and finally fell into this dangerous topic. Cao Wu couldn't help but feel a little nervous. However, even if he wanted to hide it, this powerful young lady would be able to find out from other places, so he couldn't just make excuses.
Therefore, he could only bite the bullet and say: "Most of the monks in Wanghai Temple are well versed in Buddhism, and those with good talents will of course practice martial arts from a young age."
"Oh, so you've been practicing martial arts since you were a child." Zhu Ying laughed and asked casually, "What about the Canghai Lower House?"
Seeing Cao Wu's eyes flickering, she lazily said, "Don't tell me that you came up to recommend yourself just now because you happened to hear me reveal my identity. I don't believe there is such a coincidence in the world. Since you have followed me all the way here, do you think I will believe you if you say that you don't know that I came from the Lower House of Canghai?"
Cao Wu glanced at the confused young monk Guan Tao standing beside him, thinking that if a different monk had been the guide today, it would have been much easier for him to fool the monk. He didn't know how the fat monk, who was usually very smart and capable, could be so careless as to send out such a little guy.
He thought about it in his mind, and finally smiled and said, "The abbot of the lower house was originally an orphan who grew up in the temple. But when he grew up, he didn't want to stay in the temple, so he went out to sea for many years. Later, probably because he was old and calmed down, he adopted many orphans and opened up the lower house. He is a righteous man and fair to the tenants. A small part of the reputation of Wanghai Temple depends on him."
When Guan Tao heard someone praising his master, he immediately followed suit and shouted, "Yes, my master is so good! Whenever the neighbors are in trouble, they all come to him. Previously, there was a bully from Hejian Prefecture who was rampant and domineering, but he was directly chased away by my master and his men..."
Zhu Ying listened with a smile, and suddenly reached out and touched Guan Tao's shaved head again, then signaled Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi to take the others to play. Seeing that the two guards were very worried and walked away a few steps, looking back every few steps, but unwilling to go further, she clapped her hands gently. After dealing with them like this, she already understood.
"I've heard that Cangzhou loves martial arts, but when I got there I found that it wasn't the case. But now it seems that you are hiding well, some of you are hiding in Buddhist temples, and some are hiding deep. However, if you have nothing to do with the previous incidents, I don't think you need to worry that my eldest brother will settle accounts with you, and you won't say the words "make up for your mistakes."
Seeing that Cao Wu really lowered his head and said nothing, she said with a half-smile, "As for what you just said about people's hearts being unsettled, you also mean that you knights who use force to break the law are feeling uneasy, right?"
Cao Wu only knew that Zhu Ying's brother and her future husband were both powerful figures. In addition, he had just seen how strong she was towards the prefect's son, so he subconsciously thought highly of this young lady. At this time, when his origin and purpose were revealed, he did not dare to be annoyed and just laughed dryly twice.
"Miss, you are too polite. The court has laws. A knight breaks the law with force. Common people like me would never dare to do that. Before the eldest prince passed through, the martial arts community in Cangzhou avoided him from top to bottom. Although some people followed Xian Yunhe to make trouble later, they were only people who had learned martial arts in various families. They were not even registered disciples. But..."
He paused, and then whispered, "However, the same is true of the idlers recruited by Changlu County Magistrate Xu Cheng to attack the palace. Although there are no core members of the various families, there are many who have learned skills in various families. Everyone did not understand the current turmoil and did not dare to act rashly, fearing that they would get into trouble. They thought it would not be too late to serve after the imperial envoy arrived. Who knows..."
This time, Zhu Ying was immediately amused: "So, it was my elder brother who cleaned up the mess too quickly and snatched away your chance to make amends?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant. I absolutely dare not say that!"
Cao Wu tried to defend himself, but was soon interrupted by Zhu Ying: "If that's all, then you should just put your heart at ease. You didn't get involved at first, and then you didn't dare to get involved. When you wanted to get involved, it was too late... As long as Big Brother doesn't want to investigate, then it's none of your business. But I'm very curious, Xian Yunhe and the others almost rebelled after losing their jobs, what about you? How do you make a living?"
Cao Wu simply felt that this young lady was hitting him with a hammer here and a stick there. He had taken a pill of reassurance, but the questions that followed were equally difficult to deal with. He forced a decent smile and tried to make his words softer.
"We just do some small jobs to protect the caravans. We earn money and eat with our martial arts. We are definitely not brave and aggressive, nor are we competitive. We are not heroes who break the law with martial arts..." Seeing Zhu Ying looking at him with obvious disbelief, he had to evade the main point and say, "We just opened a few escort agencies to protect the people and goods of the caravans."
"So it's a security company that protects people and goods." Zhu Ying nodded with satisfaction. "It's pretty much what I thought."
With the prosperity of maritime trade in recent years, many people in the imperial court disliked the cost of dredging the canal. However, the reason why they could not allocate a larger share of the grain transportation from the south to the north to sea transportation was ultimately due to one thing: the people who relied on this canal for their livelihood had nowhere to go.
It’s the same as what Zhang Shou said before about the new textile machine. Once the extra people were used, they needed to solve the problem of livelihood!
Thinking of some sentences Zhang Shou often told her when telling her stories, and some words the emperor once said, Zhu Ying thought about it in her heart, and then suddenly she had an idea, so she deliberately said nonchalantly: "Since Cangzhou is so prosperous in martial arts, but it can only be used to guard people's homes, this is too much of a waste of talent. Haven't you thought about seeking a way out in the army?"
Cao Wu thought Zhu Ying was recruiting them on behalf of his father and brother, and on behalf of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion. He groaned inwardly after recommending himself. But before he could cite a few examples of Cangzhou martial arts masters who joined the army but returned in defeat, or even had a miserable end, Zhu Ying said two words that he had not expected.
"Learn the civil and martial arts and sell them to the emperor. Scholars can take the examinations for the scholar, the juren and the jinshi, why don't you take the military examination? The imperial court's military jinshi examination is also held every three years, and there are also military scholars and military juren. It's better than being a housekeeper."
Although he felt that Zhu Ying's suggestion was a bit naive, Cao Wu, who was moved, could not help but pour out his biggest pain point - there was no doubt that the core children of Cangzhou Wumen had even studied, so they did not have to worry about not being able to pass the civil examination due to insufficient education. However, the military examination had been just a show for many years, with only 10 to 20 military scholars every three years, which was far from comparable to the 200 to 300 civil scholars.
Finally, he complained: "There are too many candidates for the imperial court's military exam and too few porridge. How many people can squeeze in?"
"Next, you will call on your disciples to wait for my eldest brother's assignment. As long as you make some achievements, this useless military examination, where there are too many people and too little resources, may change." After repeating the original words that the emperor had mentioned to her inadvertently before, Zhu Ying did not hesitate to rush them, "Well, it's rare for me to come out for a breath of fresh air. I don't need you as a guide! You can go see my eldest brother and say that I introduced you!"
Although Cao Wu still had a lot of questions, he had to bow and leave with a smile on his face under the strong pressure of the eldest lady. When he left, Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi hurriedly came back with the little monk. But before they could ask, Zhu Ying stretched and said, "Okay, there's no need to go to Wanghai Temple. I'm not interested in worshiping Buddha." The task assigned by Zhang Shou was almost completed!
In fact, the most important reason why she came to Maliu Mountain today was because of another rumor she had heard in the market before...
She clenched her fists and said with a fake smile, "Little Monk Guantao, go to Wanghai Temple and find someone who has been through those tunnels before to be my guide. Now that I'm here, I must go down to the tunnels and see for myself!"
Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi's faces suddenly changed, but they had no time to stop him, as Guan Tao had already run off to deliver his orders. The two looked at each other and felt a headache at the same time. Did Zhu Ying know that these tunnels were not meant for people to walk upright? Moreover, what if they got lost in the tunnels that had been abandoned for many years? How would they explain it!
Without time to think about it, Zhu Hong turned around and left. He called Zhang Shou over. He didn't believe that Zhu Ying would make a hole in front of her fiancé!
