Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 43 Pork
There are eighteen gates in the outer city of Yingtian, most of which are located in the south of Yingtian. However, there is only one Yaofang Gate on the dozens of miles long city wall in the northeast for the people to enter and exit.

Although Zhu Cilang was not sure of the detailed reasons for making such an arrangement, according to the current situation, the majority of it should be for guarding against enemies coming from the east.

The Yangtze River and its tributaries embrace Yingtian. Although this has prevented the enemy from attacking Yingtian from the west, south, or north, it has also put great pressure on Yingtian's defenses in the east.

Under such circumstances, the designers of Yingtian Outer City would naturally reduce the number of city gates on the east side, and would use all conceivable reinforcement measures on Yaofang Gate.

When Zhu Cilang looked west from the Yaofang Gate Tower, the first thing that came into his sight was not Zhongshan Mountain or the sunset, but the square city wall.

Looking down from the city wall, this city wall is as simple as a farmhouse.

But everyone knows that once the enemy breaks through the city gate, this place will become a Shura-like place.

After looking for a while, Zhu Cilang felt that he couldn't figure out the ins and outs of it, so he smiled and said to Li Chaodong who was following him, "Captain Li, our dinner is up to you."

"It is an honor for me to have a meal here, Your Highness. However, the food is simple."

Even though Li Chaodong's official title only changed by one character, his rank was raised three levels by the prince, and now he is a genuine fifth-rank official.

Even though in the Ming Dynasty, civil officials were respected and military officials were despised, no one could find fault with him calling himself a minister.

At the beginning, Zhu Cilang was completely in the dark. Based on his own knowledge, he thought that there was only one level difference between a hundred households and a thousand households. So he promoted a large number of hundred households to thousand households without any pressure.

Now that he knew what the Ming military system was like, he was somewhat confused about the officials' reactions.

You know, that day when he wanted to increase the salaries of the clerks and runners, he was spit on in the face. It was really abnormal that he promoted nearly a hundred people by several levels but no one came to complain to him.

"It doesn't matter. We'll eat whatever you eat. No need to prepare anything."

"Yes."

Li Chaodong responded and left the city wall. He obviously knew that His Highness's words "We will eat whatever you eat" were not just a courtesy.

This is not to say that he knows the prince very well, but the fact that a newly promoted captain had eaten the feast because he prepared a separate table for the prince had already spread.

Not to mention what kind of meal Li Chaodong would prepare for Zhu Cilang and the others, after he left, Zhu Cilang finally couldn't hold back his doubts and turned around to ask, "I still don't understand how the winner of this competition between the two of you is determined?"

The previous competition was decided in just one encounter, and the result surprised Zhu Cilang.

Fortunately, there were only two parties around him, so he asked the questions in his mind as if it were just a casual chat.

"Your Highness, the second young master's knee hit me so hard that my internal organs churned and all my strength was gone. If I really fight with him, I will die."

After he finished speaking, Zhu Cilang became more and more confused: Xiang Rensheng said this like a veteran soldier who had been through many battles?
"Have you ever fought against my brother?"

"No."

"Then what about you..."

"Your Highness, we were not the only coolies in Yingtian City before. Sometimes we had to fight for our livelihood..."

At this point, Zhu Cilang suddenly realized.

In ancient times, there was almost no grass-roots governance. It was normal for coolies to fight over jobs or villagers to fight over water. However, in Zhu Cilang's imagination, the coolies only used fists, kicks and sticks to fight, and the most they suffered were just flesh wounds. How could he know how many lives would be taken by this "fighting"?

"Didn't your fist hit the second young master's throat at that time?" With his doubts resolved, Zhu Cilang brought the conversation back.

"Your Highness, at that time my fist had been clamped by the Second Young Master's arms, and it was only by the weight of my body that I was able to reach his throat."

"I am too modest, Your Excellency. I was ready to admit defeat, but the pressure on my throat made it impossible for me to speak. Otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain."

After explaining to Rensheng, Xu Renjue spoke at the right time.

His words not only affirmed Xiang Rensheng's statement, but also saved his face. He can truly be regarded as a model of high emotional intelligence.

Although the outcome of this fight was decided in just one encounter, Xu Renjue demonstrated his years of hard work and practice, while Xiang Rensheng fought him on equal terms with his rich practical experience.

In this way, the two people who originally looked down on each other naturally developed a feeling of heroes admiring each other.

"Does that mean that the difference in strength between you two is not too big?"

Xu Xiang and the other person didn't say anything. They just nodded at the same time and explained the competition to him in detail from their own perspectives.

It’s not like Zhu Cilang hasn’t seen martial arts movies or anything like that, but how can the one-way reception of that kind of information compare to the interaction with the person involved.

He was listening with fascination, and Xu Xiang and the others were also talking excitedly. If Li Chaodong had not brought in dinner, they might have had to practice again in this city wall.

"Is this also what the soldiers eat?" Zhu Cilang asked with a frown when he saw Li Chaodong holding a large bowl full of braised pork in one hand and a plate of steamed buns in the other.

Seeing that His Royal Highness had a strange expression, Xu Renjue, who was originally somewhat excited, also frowned: This captain is so ignorant, how can His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have such a crude meal?
"Your Highness, I have taken the initiative to distribute some of the pig you rewarded to other centurions."

After hearing Li Chaodong's explanation, Xu Renjue secretly glanced at Zhu Cilang.

He didn't know how much resentment the Crown Prince had for the neglect of food, but the centurion's irrelevant answer must have made the Crown Prince very dissatisfied, otherwise why would the Crown Prince have a gloomy face and not respond at all?
"What did your highness ask? And what did he answer? He really has no sense at all."

Although he complained in his heart, Xu Renjue had no intention of watching the show. Instead, he was thinking about how to win back the favor for this thousand households.

The Second Young Master Xu is not a pushover. He has such thoughts only because he has his own plans. Otherwise, given his background, why would he care about a small thousand households?

However, he had only known Zhu Cilang for half a day, and he thought that Li Chaodong was a little neglectful, so he didn't know how to start the conversation for a moment.

Just when Xu Renjue was thinking about how to properly resolve the situation, he saw Xiang Rensheng pulling a chair from the side and placing it between the few people. The captain placed the bowl directly on the chair as if nothing had happened.

Then something even more surprising happened.

Although Zhu Cilang was still frowning, he squatted beside the chair like an old farmer.

Then His Highness took a bite of the steamed bun from the bowl and muttered, "I'm afraid this will give me diarrhea."

As soon as the words fell, Li Chaodong and Xiang Rensheng were shocked, but after Xu Ergongzi realized what was happening, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "It turns out that the prince appointed by the previous emperor can use such an excuse to make things right in a blink of an eye."

(End of this chapter)