The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 273 Entering the Disaster Camp is Like Entering a Deep Sea
Tu Chengyu got up early the next morning.

Because the scholars who wanted to choose their own places at the Imperial Academy might arrive early to report, Tu Chengyu also wanted to go there as soon as possible.

Yesterday, because he was in a hurry, Tu Chengyu only glanced at the answer sheets, let alone observed the scholars.

Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the scholars' arrival today to observe them.

For this reason, he arrived earlier than usual.

After getting up, washing up, and having breakfast, Tu Chengyu set off with his guards.

We arrived at the South Gate, which had only recently been opened.

It seems we arrived quite early.

Tu Chengyu wondered if there were any scholars who had arrived even earlier than his group.

He was still guessing when he came out of the city gate and looked towards the tent. He saw Mr. Quan sitting on a chair outside the tent, with two scholars standing opposite him.

It seems there were scholars who arrived earlier than Tu Chengyu, and there was more than one.

Tu Chengyu was delighted upon seeing this and hurriedly rode over to see what kind of two people they were.

The city gate wasn't far from the tent; it only took a few breaths to get there on horseback.

The arrival of Tu Chengyu and his group naturally attracted the attention of the two scholars.

When the two turned around, Tu Chengyu spotted a familiar face among them.

The one on the left of the two scholars was none other than the person recommended by Yang Jijiu through the back door yesterday afternoon; his name seemed to be Zheng Fengzhi.

As for the one on the right, Tu Chengyu had no recollection of him.

However, this person did have one thing in common with Zheng Fengzhi: in addition to their outer scholar's robes, their inner clothes were all patched.

Such attire was extremely rare in the Imperial College.

The fact that the two of them arrived together so early is probably related to their attire.

Just as Tu Chengyu was sizing them up, the two men naturally recognized him and quickly came over to greet him.

"This student greets Your Highness."

"No need for formalities," Tu Chengyu said, dismounting from his horse. He then asked Mr. Quan, "Were those two the first to arrive?"

Quan Wenwei replied, "If we count today, those two were indeed the first to arrive."

Tu Chengyu immediately discerned a different meaning in Quan Wenwei's words and quickly asked:

"Did someone report for duty yesterday afternoon?"

Quan Wenwei nodded: "Indeed, there was one person who arrived before the city gates closed."

"Where is that person now?" The existence of such a person immediately piqued Tu Chengyu's interest.

Quan Wenwei said, "As soon as he arrived, he said he wanted to go and see the disaster victims immediately, so the students arranged for him to stay with Quan Xu. He stayed at the camp last night and probably hasn't gotten up yet today."

"What's his name?" Tu Chengyu asked again.

"His name is Zou Xicheng, and he is from Beijing."

After hearing this, Tu Chengyu silently noted down the person's name, thinking that once he finished his work here, he would go and see what kind of person he was.

After asking about Zou Xicheng, Tu Chengyu turned to look at the two people from before.

"If I remember correctly, your name is Zheng Fengzhi, right? Where are you from?" Tu Chengyu asked Zheng Fengzhi first. "Yes, Your Highness, I am Zheng Fengzhi, from Liaodong."

"Very good, it's good that you came so early. It was worth recommending you by Chief Minister Yang." After speaking to Zheng Fengzhi, Tu Chengyu turned to another person: "What's your name? Where are you from?"

"Student Guo Huaiyu is from Longyou."

After the two finished their introductions, Tu Chengyu asked Quan Wenwei, "Mr. Quan, what are their arrangements?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Let's not make any arrangements for the two of them for now. Let them help the students out by acting as registration clerks here first, and we'll talk about it after everyone else has registered."

Tu Chengyu nodded in agreement with Quan Wenwei's arrangement.

Zheng Fengzhi and the other man had no room for rebuttal and obediently sat behind the table, becoming their temporary clerks.

Tu Chengyu sat not far behind them, waiting to observe each of the scholars who were about to arrive.

Not long after, more students came from the south gate.

When people arrived, Zheng Fengzhi was responsible for verifying their identities, Quan Wenwei compared them with the roster he had brought yesterday, and Guo Huaiyu was responsible for writing down their names when they reported for duty.

With this man's arrival, more and more scholars followed.

There was limited space in the tent area, and not enough room for all the soldiers, so after some of them arrived, Quan Wenwei numbered them according to their numbers and gave each person a slip of paper.

Then, the people who had received the slips were taken away by the waiting soldiers and brought to Quan Xu and several other officers. After that, they were distributed to each camp with the slips.

With this arrangement, the scholars could arrive and leave at their own pace, and there was no congestion at the tents.

Moreover, this arrangement allows Tu Chengyu to observe each scholar more easily.

After a busy morning, as lunchtime approached, no more scholars could be seen emerging from the south gate, nor were there any more scholars in front of the tents.

Therefore, the reporting on the scholar has basically come to an end.

At this moment, Quan Wenwei, holding two lists, walked up to Tu Chengyu and said:

"Your Highness, there are still five people who have not reported for duty."

"Five? So many?" Tu Chengyu had known for some time that someone would skip the day, but he hadn't expected so many.

As he took the roster from Quan Wenwei and flipped through the names marked by Quan Wenwei, he asked:
"Did these people ask someone to put in a good word for them, or write them a letter?"

Quan Wenwei shook his head and said, "There is no news."

After listening, Tu Chengyu nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Mr. Quan, what do you think should be done?"

Quan Wenwei said, "In my opinion, we should first send someone to the Imperial College to find out the details before making a decision."

Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do as you say, sir. Find out the reason. If there is a really unavoidable reason, I will give him another half day. If they are innocent and don't come without giving any notice, then remove their names from this book."

"Yes, Your Highness, I understand."

After Quan Wenwei finished speaking, he turned around and copied the names of the five people off the roster. Then, he selected Song Sansheng, who was more meticulous, from among Tu Chengyu's guards and asked him to take the roster to the Imperial Academy for investigation.

Song Sansheng took the roster, mounted his horse, and galloped back to the city.

After making these arrangements, Tu Chengyu got up to go see the student who had come to register the night before.

However, before he could even get up and leave, he saw a richly dressed young man riding a horse, accompanied by two servants, arrive at the tent.

(End of this chapter)