Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 106 Come again?

After hearing Li Jinzhong's words, Zhu Youxiao looked at him thoughtfully.

Li Jinzhong was a eunuch beside Li Xuanshi and had been with her for some time. Unlike other eunuchs, he did not enter the palace since childhood, but entered the palace after he became an adult.

Although Li Jinzhong entered the palace late and was illiterate, he worked very hard and was most loyal to himself. In this palace, there were few people Zhu Youxiao could really trust. Apart from the deceased emperor and his biological mother, the person closest to Zhu Youxiao was his wet nurse, Keshi.

Zhu Youxiao and Keshi had a very good relationship, almost as close as mother and son, a relationship that even his adoptive mother, Li Xianshi, could not compare to.

Li Jinzhong, the servant, happened to be Keshi's lover, so he was Zhu Youxiao's own man. In addition, Li Jinzhong had always been well-behaved, well-spoken, and loyal, so he had won Zhu Youxiao's trust in the past two years.

Nodding silently, Li Jinzhong's words reminded him that this was not a good time to confront Yang Lian and his men. The Donglin Party was so arrogant that they didn't take him, the emperor, seriously. Now that they could come up with something like this to force him to submit, who knows what they would do if he refused to agree.

When Zhu Youxiao thought of Wang An, the dog slave, he also felt hatred for him.

If Wang An had not been a traitor and colluded with foreign officials, how could things have gotten to this point?

But it was too early to say these things now. He hadn't even secured his throne yet. Facing such a situation, it was impossible not to bow his head. Although he agreed, it was a bit unfair to his adoptive mother, Li Xianshi, but there was nothing he could do now, so he could only let her down.

With a sigh, Zhu Youxiao picked up the pen and signed his name below. Then he asked Li Jinzhong to ask Wang An to seal the edict written in his name, and then give it to Yang Lian and others to inform the world.

After the matter was dealt with, when Li Jinzhong left and Zhu Youxiao was the only one left in the hall, Zhu Youxiao suppressed his anger and told himself that he would avenge today's revenge. These Donglin Party members who had no king or father would eventually die without a burial place one by one!

The 27th day passed quickly, and with the end of the national mourning for Wanli, the market gradually returned to its former atmosphere.

People's lives returned to normal again, shops that had been closed for many days finally opened, and Pingyang City's popularity slowly returned.

On this day, Zhu Shenzhui came to Hengtong Trading Company. This time he came to see how the preparations he had made before were going.

Although after the national mourning, members of the royal family still need to continue mourning due to their special status, no matter what, after these twenty-seven days, most things can be done. As long as they don't openly violate the system, they don't need to be so strict in private.

Considering the time factor, Zhu Shencui decided to go to the grassland again before winter came. The preparations had already started a few days ago, and if the preparations were almost done in the next few days, Zhu Shencui planned to go.

This trip to the grassland was different from the last time. In addition to the few people who had followed him to the grassland before, including Ma Shizhou, Zhu Shenzui also picked a few people from Wangjia Village and Yangtou Mountain, including Hu Lin.

Originally, it was not only Hu Lin, but also Lu Yisheng. However, they had just taken over Zhaowuling and Zhaowu Village, and they needed someone reliable to keep an eye on them. In addition, they also planned to open iron and coal mines privately. Li Hu was now in charge of Yangtou Mountain, and Wang Jinwu and Xia Dong were responsible for the salt and surplus salt channels respectively. So after thinking about it, it was only Lu Yisheng who was most suitable to be in charge of Zhaowuling.

In this way, the candidates were readjusted, Lu Yishen was retained and replaced by another brother from Yangtou Mountain.

Compared with the last time they went to the grassland, this time there were many more people and they carried much more goods. In addition, after going to the grassland, they had some understanding of the needs of the grassland and adjusted the types of goods they brought. As long as these goods were transported to the grassland, it would definitely bring huge benefits to Zhu Shenzhui.

"After looking at the prepared goods, I gave Kang Youfu some instructions and asked him to get all the goods that had not yet arrived as soon as possible.

Time waits for no one, and since the national mourning for Wanli had delayed the trip for a month, it would be inconvenient if we set out any later. Winter comes early on the grasslands, and the weather will suddenly turn cold after September, and heavy snow will fall in mid-October.

Uncle Ma, I have to trouble you again this time."

This time we must go early and come back early, without any delay. After finishing the instructions, Zhu Shenzhui sent Kang Youfu away and said to Ma Shizhou who was following him.

"Sixth Master, you're too polite. This is what I should do." Ma Shizhou said seriously.

"By the way, Uncle Ma, what do you think about the matter I discussed with you last time?" Zhu Shenzhui took this opportunity to bring up the old matter again.

Ma Shizhou is familiar with the grassland. He not only understands the grassland situation, but is also trustworthy. Zhu Shenzhui has no problem running the grassland himself now, but it is impossible for him to lead the team all the time. After all, it takes a long time to go back and forth to the grassland, and there may be danger along the way.

In addition, now that Zhaowuling and Zhaowu Village have been taken, Zhu Shenzhui has already made plans for the area. He has a lot of things to do next, and he can't always keep himself on the grassland, right?
So after thinking about it, he decided that he had to have someone reliable to lead the team. Ma Shizhou was the most suitable candidate. Zhu Shenzhu had suggested this to Ma Shizhou before, but was rejected by him. This time, Zhu Shenzhu brought it up again. "Sixth Master, this matter..." Ma Shizhou was stunned. He didn't expect Zhu Shenzhu to bring up the old matter again.

"Uncle Ma, we are family, I am not here to be vain, this time I really want to ask for your help. You are not an ordinary person, if it weren't for the accident back then, you wouldn't be a mere military household." Zhu Shenzhui said sincerely: "It is a waste of talent to put someone like you in the garrison as a military household, just to farm or something. You see, this is not the first time we have known each other, you know what kind of person I am, not to mention that my uncle and you still have such a relationship."

"Uncle Ma, I'm really in need of people right now, especially people like you. I really hope you can come and help me."

"Oh, Uncle Ma, apart from the half I promised you last time, if you can come, I promise to help you when I have the chance. I think you are also familiar with the affairs of the Ming officialdom. Sometimes, with money and connections, many things can be done. Although it is unlikely that you can be reinstated and return to your former frontier army, it will not be a big problem for me to find connections and arrange a military position in a garrison. If you agree, I will take care of this matter!"

Ma Shizhou was able to remain calm after hearing the previous words, but when Zhu Shenzhui mentioned the military position that would help him run the garrison, Ma Shizhou's eyelids couldn't help but twitch, and his heart moved slightly.

As a former border army officer, Ma Shizhou was extremely unwilling to be reduced to this state today. He had clearly fought for the country and made contributions, but who would have thought that he would not only be reduced to being a slave on the grassland for several years, but when he escaped from the grassland after a narrow escape, he found that everything was gone.

He lost his military position, his achievements, and even his name in the military register became a symbol of someone who had long been dead.

He was completely desperate. If it weren't for his contributions and the fact that his superiors in the border army felt guilty about him, he would not have been able to get the status of a military household.

After being settled in the garrison and becoming an ordinary military household, Ma Shizhou lost confidence in the future. In his mind, this might be how his life would end.

But who would have thought that an invitation from Wang Rong would change his ordinary life. After helping Zhu Shenzhui travel on the grassland, Ma Shizhou, who returned to Ming Dynasty, suddenly found that his life was in turmoil again. He, who had resigned himself to his fate before, seemed to have some expectations for the future again.

Now, Zhu Shencui told Ma Shizhou that as long as he nodded in agreement and was willing to join Zhu Shencui's trading company and serve as the leader of the merchants traveling to the grassland in the future, he would not only get half of the profit from each business trip, but more importantly, Zhu Shencui also agreed to help him obtain a military position in the garrison.

The former is fine, Ma Shizhou doesn't really care about money. Having money is good, but not having money doesn't matter, as long as he can get by. But the latter is different. Losing his position as a frontier soldier is a hurdle that Ma Shizhou will never get over.

Many nights, in his dreams, Ma Shizhou would dream about his years in the frontier army and the days with his brothers. But now, he is just an ordinary soldier, a soldier without even a formal military position. The past can never be returned, and it has become a deep pain in his heart.

If Zhu Shenzhui could really help him get a military position, even if it was a military position in the garrison, it would be fine! As long as he became a formal officer of the garrison, then Ma Shizhou would have the possibility of returning to the army, which was what he had dreamed of before but could not get!

"Sixth Master, are you serious?" Ma Shizhou couldn't help but ask, feeling excited.

Hearing this question, Zhu Shenzhui burst into laughter and patted his chest and said, "Uncle Ma, don't you believe me? Don't worry, I'm a man of my word, and I won't break my promise. Besides, I won't fool you about such an important matter, will I?"

Ma Shizhou's face was uncertain, and after a while he finally made up his mind: "Since Sixth Master has said so, then I can't keep it to myself any longer. Let's do this, I will finish this job first, and when I come back, I will directly join your company. I hope you will take care of me in the future."

"Uncle Ma, your words are too polite. It's not me who is taking care of you, it's you who is taking care of me. Thank you, Uncle Ma, it's settled!" Zhu Shenzhui said happily. Ma Shizhou also laughed when he said this. The two grown men laughed happily together and became closer to each other.

We were chatting happily when suddenly we heard a burst of hurried horse hooves outside, and someone was shouting something on the street.

Just as Zhu Shenzhui frowned and was about to send someone to ask what happened outside, a waiter hurriedly ran into the backyard and started shouting as soon as he entered the door.

"The Emperor... The Emperor has passed away...!"

"The emperor passed away? Didn't Emperor Wanli pass away a month ago?" Everyone was puzzled and thought that this guy was confused. Such a long time had passed, why was he still talking about the death of Emperor Wanli?

"No...it's not Emperor Wanli, it's the new emperor who has passed away!" Seeing that everyone had misunderstood, the waiter quickly gestured: "The messenger who just ran over to the post station said that Emperor Taichang, who ascended the throne last month, has also passed away!"

"what!"

Everyone was stunned, looking at each other, staring at each other, all dumbfounded for a moment.

How long has it been? The old emperor died a month ago, how come the new emperor also died just after ascending the throne? What's going on this year? What year is this? Why do the emperors of the Ming Dynasty die one after another? What's going on?

(End of this chapter)