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

Chapter 1131 Surrender
Wang Zihui is different from Chen Zonghan and Zhang Shu, and even Guan Zongxiang is not as good as him.

Chen Zonghan and Zhang Shu were the third son of Chen Yanzuo, Marquis of Taining, and the nephew of Tan Hongye, Earl of Xinning. Both of them were children of noble families. Although the former had no possibility of inheriting the title and the latter was only a member of the noble family, their identities were destined to be different from those of ordinary people.

As children of nobles, their starting point was much higher than others. They studied in the Imperial College for a few years, and after graduation they could get a job through their family's connections. Even though Guan Zongxiang was from a family of officials, Wang Zihui was just a poor student.

Wang Zihui knew very well that his achievements in the imperial examinations were limited, and he would probably not pass the imperial examinations even if he continued to study. He finally sold everything he had and used his connections to get into the Imperial Academy to study and become a student, in order to find a way out. After all, according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Academy was also eligible to be an official, and although this possibility was very small, it was better than hanging himself on the rope of the imperial examination.

In the Imperial College, Wang Zihui tried his best to become friends with Chen Zonghan and others, but he knew in his heart that these so-called friends were not equal. To put it bluntly, the reason why Chen Zonghan and others treated him like this was because Wang Zihui was smart and good at dealing with things, and he was also nice to talk to. These people in the Imperial College just needed such a companion, so they let him follow them to join in the fun.

Actually, to put it bluntly, Wang Zihui is just a hanger-on, and his presence among the others is not strong. However, Wang Zihui does not care about these things, and still enjoys doing them. In his heart, he only hopes that if Chen Zonghan and others become successful one day, they can help him out of the friendship between them, and maybe he will have a chance to succeed in the future with the help of this relationship.

But as time went by, Wang Zihui gradually realized that it was not a big problem to follow Chen Zonghan and others to eat and drink, but it was extremely difficult to ask them for help. The sons of nobles were not fools. How could they give their resources to a "hanger-on" who followed them for nothing? Moreover, Wang Zihui was not a great talent. If he had outstanding literary talent and unparalleled poetry and painting, perhaps the other party would give him a chance because of this. But the problem was that Wang Zihui was not Tang Bohu. Even Tang Bohu was extremely poor back then, so it was even more impossible.

As the time spent in the Imperial College got longer, Wang Zihui became more anxious. The school system of the Imperial College of the Ming Dynasty was generally three years, and the longest was no more than four years. When the time was up, students who did not complete the credits and graduate successfully would be persuaded to drop out. Even after graduating successfully, these students did not have a future.

After graduating from the Imperial College, students generally had two options: one was to become an official through imperial recommendation, and the other was to participate in official selection after being recommended by the Imperial College.

Needless to say, this is basically the path for nobles or children of aristocratic families. For example, Chen Zonghan and others will take this path in the future. Although they cannot inherit the title due to their status, they can find a way to get an official position through the family. Even if this official position is only a nominal one, it is still a step into officialdom. In the future, they will have the opportunity to find a way to transfer to other official positions, turning from a nominal position into a real one.

The recommendation and selection of officials is for the top students in the Imperial College. Wang Zihui's academic performance in the Imperial College was only average, so he was not qualified at all. Moreover, even if you are excellent, you may not be able to get a place in the recommendation and selection of officials. You should know that Wang Fuzhi's father was like this. He was obviously an outstanding student in the Imperial College, but because he had no connections and a stubborn personality, he was ultimately not qualified for the selection of officials. After graduating from the Imperial College, he could only return to his hometown. Even though he later became famous for his research in his hometown, he never stepped into the officialdom.

Apart from these two options, there is no other way. Wang Zihui is very clear that if there is no way out after his study in the Imperial College, his only outcome will be to return home in disgrace and become a private school teacher like his predecessors, or find a way to become a legal advisor to a county magistrate.

Wang Zihui was unwilling to accept this result. He had studied for so many years and had finally spent three years in the Imperial College. If he returned to his hometown without achieving anything, wouldn't all his efforts over the years have been in vain?

So these days, as his graduation is approaching, Wang Zihui is very anxious. He thinks every day about how to find a way out and change his fate. Unfortunately, he was disappointed with Chen Zonghan and his friends, so Wang Zihui had to think of other ways. This is why he often asked for leave these days. He was looking for a way out.

Yesterday, Wang Zihui, who had been running around outside all day, returned to the Imperial College disappointedly and heard about Charles II. Although Charles II was of extraordinary status and had a good relationship with Chen Zonghan and others, in fact, in Wang Zihui's opinion, Charles II was no different from his status in the Imperial College. To put it bluntly, Charles II was an overseas student in the Imperial College, and he was an auditor. Even if he had the status of a king of a European country, it was nothing in the Ming Dynasty. You have to know that the Ming Dynasty had many vassal states. Every year, many envoys from vassal states, including princes, came to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute. Even in the Imperial College, there were princes, nobles and other overseas students from other countries.

Besides, Europe was too far away for the students of the Imperial Academy, and the United Kingdom where Charles II lived was unheard of. In such a country, let alone the nobility, what about the king? Not to mention that Charles II was an exiled king who was not worthy of the title. Chen Zonghan and others were able to befriend Charles II simply because his appearance was very different from that of the Ming people, and his identity was a bit intimidating. In other words, in the eyes of Chen Zonghan and others, Charles II was just a tool for their social life. They called each other brothers and ate and drank together on weekdays, just for fun.

Therefore, Charles II's plan to recruit Chen Zonghan and others was simply a fantasy. It was a joke for these sons of noble families to not pursue a good official career, but to work under a Western barbarian king or an exiled king.
Let alone them, even ordinary students would not do it! Europe is thousands of miles away. Who would be willing to do this for a scholar from the Ming Dynasty to take risks in a foreign country?

But Wang Zihui was different. He was born in a poor family and was immediately moved when he heard about this. He was discouraged by the setbacks he had encountered in the past few days. He thought that after graduating from the Imperial College, he would have to return to his hometown in disgrace. In the future, he would either be a private school teacher or a legal advisor to a county magistrate. However, these two choices were not what Wang Zihui wanted. Wang Zihui had always been determined to make a name for himself, but unfortunately, things did not go as he wished. You can imagine how disappointed Wang Zihui was.

So when Wang Zihui heard about Charles II, he suddenly had an idea. He and Charles II were friends because of Chen Zonghan and others, and their relationship was pretty good. Moreover, Wang Zihui knew that although Charles II was not worthy of the title of king, he was treated very well in the Ming Dynasty. Not only did the court grant him a mansion, but he was also treated as a prince. From this point of view, Charles II had a high status in the emperor's heart.

Wang Zihui still admires the current Yongming Emperor. In his eyes, this emperor is an absolutely wise ruler, and he is also a wise ruler who has turned the tide and pulled the Ming Dynasty back from the cliff. Moreover, not long ago, news came from the Liaodong War that the Ming Dynasty won a great victory on the Liaodong battlefield. The Jiannu, who had troubled the Ming Dynasty for thirty years, was finally destroyed. The Ming Dynasty completely recovered Liaodong, and the emperor's reputation in the court and among the people reached its peak. Who would not cheer?
This shows the wisdom of the current emperor. Since such a wise emperor treated Charles II so well, it couldn't be because he was a foreign king, right? As mentioned earlier, the Ming Dynasty had many vassal states, so why didn't the Ming Dynasty treat the kings of other vassal states as well as it treated Charles II? So Wang Zihui felt that there must be a reason.

Although he still didn't understand the reason, it didn't affect Wang Zihui's attitude towards Charles II. While Chen Zonghan and others only regarded Charles II as an ordinary friend and tool, Wang Zihui was quite enthusiastic about Charles II. This time, when he got the news about Charles II, Wang Zihui's heart was immediately moved. He thought that perhaps joining Charles II was also a way out, which was better than returning to his hometown and ending his life in obscurity in the future.

So Wang Zihui came to visit Charles II early this morning and asked about this matter. When he learned the news from Charles II and confirmed his doubts, Wang Zihui no longer hesitated and immediately recommended himself.

Wang Zihui clearly knew that although Charles II was only a king in exile, according to the current situation, there was a high probability that he would return to Britain and become the real King of England. Otherwise, with His Majesty's wisdom and bravery, how could he support Charles II in this matter?
Once Charles II became the real King of England, his status would be completely different. Even if he was the King of a small country, he was still a King! Moreover, it was said that England was still a powerful country in Europe, not a weak country. If that was the case, wouldn't it be a good opportunity for him to join Charles II now?

Even if he is the king of a small country, he is still a king after all! Although Wang Zihui is not a talented person, he is also a well-read student. Since he can't find a future in the Ming Dynasty, it's the same to go overseas to Britain. If he can help Charles II take the throne and become the real King of England, then wouldn't this be a meritorious service? When the time comes to reward meritorious service, he can at least get a title, right?
Baron? Viscount? Or earl? Or even marquis? It was not impossible. Moreover, Wang Zihui knew clearly what Charles II was paying attention to and studying in the Imperial Academy during his interactions with him. In his opinion, if Charles II only relied on himself to learn many things about the Ming Dynasty and China, he would probably only be able to learn the basics after a long time of study. But it was different for him.

Wang Zihui knew more about the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination system, including some things about the national system, than Charles II. As for the Ming Dynasty's military system, methods and means of warfare, etc., even if he did not know them all, it would not be difficult to find out. Moreover, China has thousands of years of history, and there are countless military strategies and books handed down. These are things that Western countries do not have, and they are also the capital on which Wang Zihui can survive!

(End of this chapter)