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

Chapter 245 Study Tour
It was late at night and Zhang Xijun had not yet fallen asleep.

After he returned to his own residence from Wei Liangqing's mansion, he wrote a letter in which he summarized the content of his drinking and chatting with Wei Liangqing and Tian Ergeng today.

This letter was written to Zhu Shenzhui. The changes in the capital and Wei Zhongxian's arrangements were all in the letter. It not only mentioned the matter about Tian Ergeng, but also mentioned the matter in Shanxi.

Originally, Zhu Shenzhu planned to use Feng Quan to let Wei Zhongxian find evidence of collusion between the Donglin Party and Shanxi merchants, and then let Emperor Tianqi target the Donglin Party and muddy the waters in Shanxi, so as to get a handle to deal with the mastermind behind the scenes.

But unexpectedly, Emperor Tianqi did not do so. Instead, he handed the matter over to Ye Xianggao to deal with, which was somewhat unexpected.

After careful consideration, Zhang Xijun soon understood the intention of Emperor Tianqi. He had to admit that although this method was unexpected, it was the best choice for Emperor Tianqi himself. As Emperor Tianqi was about to be in power for two years, the young emperor who ascended the throne at the age of sixteen was now eighteen years old. The political ability and vision of Emperor Tianqi were truly admirable.

Such a young emperor was really not simple. Thinking of Zhu Shenzhu, whom he was familiar with, Zhang Xijun could not judge who was stronger between the two. He did not know whether Zhu Shenzhu's plan would be successful in the end. If Emperor Tianqi continued to reign like this, Zhang Xijun thought it was only a matter of time before the Donglin Party collapsed. After Emperor Tianqi dealt with the Donglin Party and firmly grasped the imperial power, the future would be difficult to predict.

In this case, can Zhu Shenzhui's plan really succeed? Zhang Xijun was a little confused for a while, but after careful consideration, he still felt that Zhu Shenzhui might have some possibilities. After all, the current situation in the Ming Dynasty is not optimistic, and the world is in turmoil and anything can happen. In addition, Zhang Xijun has already boarded Zhu Shenzhui's ship, and the two have become one. It is impossible to break away from Zhu Shenzhui now.

After writing the letter, Zhang Xijun read it carefully again. Only after he was sure that the content was correct did he seal the envelope, stamp it with sealing wax, and then put it aside, waiting to send someone to deliver it to Shanxi the next day.

After doing these things, Zhang Xijun opened the window. It was pitch black outside and the cold winter wind blew in through the window. Even though there was a floor heating in the room, he still felt a little chilly.

But Zhang Xijun had no intention of closing the window. Although the cold wind was cold, it could calm his mind. He carefully thought about what had happened in the past few days, and couldn't help but think of Wang Wenyan mentioned by Tian Ergeng today. Compared with Wang Wenyan, Zhang Xijun was much more low-key. Since he came to the capital, he has been deliberately avoiding the attention of the Donglin Party. The reason is that Wang Wenyan was his precedent.

He didn't want to become the next Wang Wenyan, and he didn't want to be noticed by the Donglin Party. He had always been walking on thin ice in the capital, and Zhang Xijun was very careful. But now the situation has changed, Wei Zhongxian has made some moves. If Zhang Xijun guessed correctly, once Tian Ergeng took over as the commander of the Jinyiwei, Wei Zhongxian would definitely launch an attack on the Donglin Party.

"It seems that Eunuch Wei can't wait any longer..." Zhang Xijun said to himself. Zhang Xijun could understand Wei Zhongxian's idea of ​​doing this, but could Wei Zhongxian win this battle? The Donglin Party was not an ordinary political group. Now the power of the Donglin Party was still strong. Wang Wenyan's imprisonment did not damage the foundation of the Donglin Party. With the strength of the Donglin Party, Wei Zhongxian was still far behind, even if he took down the Jinyiwei. Zhang Xijun felt that Wei Zhongxian might suffer a loss this time.

The Chinese New Year is here in a blink of an eye. This year, Zhu Shenzui's family is very lively. Not only was his legitimate son born not long ago, but his brother-in-law Xu Xiancheng is also spending the New Year in Pingyang. There are more people in the family than in previous years. With the addition of two servants, the Zhu family is no longer as simple as the three of them, Zhu Shenzui, his sister-in-law Zhang, and his niece Qiaoer.

As the man of the family, he naturally does not need to be busy with those trivial matters. His sister-in-law Zhang, his wife Xu Jingqiu and the servants keep the house in order, not to mention New Year's goods. The Zhu family is no longer short of money, and they have prepared enough things for the New Year. As the sound of firecrackers rang out, the day of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new arrived, and the old year finally passed.

After the tedious ancestor worship, it was time for the New Year's Eve dinner. It was a rare occasion for the family to gather together for such a meal. It was normal that women were not allowed to sit at the table, but Zhu Shenzhui's family never had this rule. His sister-in-law, niece, wife and children all sat at the table, but his sister-in-law and Xu Jingqiu did not stay long. They just sat there for a while and then left with the children, leaving Zhu Shenzhui and Xu Xiancheng to drink and talk.

"Come, Xiancheng, I'll toast you. New Year, new hope. I wish you success in the next provincial examination and eventual success in becoming a Jinshi!" Zhu Shenzhui raised the wine glass in front of him and said to his brother-in-law with a smile.

"Thank you, brother-in-law." Xu Xiancheng cheerfully picked up the wine glass, raised his hand to drink it, put down the wine glass and filled it with the wine pot, then raised it again and said: "Brother-in-law, I also wish you and my sister and nephew a harmonious family, and all the best!"

"Okay, let's drink together!" Zhu Shenzhui laughed and drank another glass with Xu Xiancheng. After finishing this glass, he became a little anxious, so he picked up the chopsticks and asked Xu Xiancheng to eat a few bites of food to calm him down, so as to prevent him from drinking too fast and getting drunk.

While eating, Xu Xiancheng and Zhu Shenzhu chatted casually, talking about nothing more than family matters. After talking for a while, the two of them laughed and joked a few times, and soon Xu Xiancheng said, "Brother-in-law, I plan to go back after the Lantern Festival."

"Leaving so early? Why don't you stay a few more days? Although it's spring after the Chinese New Year, the snow hasn't melted yet, and the roads are not easy to walk on. How about staying for another half a month until the first month of the lunar year?" Xu Xiancheng shook his head: "No need, it's been a while since I left, and I have to go back to Pingshun. Besides, brother-in-law, I plan to go around when I go back this time. I've been studying at home all these years, but it's not a good idea to stay at home all the time."

"Didn't the ancients say that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles? I thought about it and decided to go back to Pingshun and prepare myself before setting off. I will go around and see more, gain some experience, and study while I'm there."

It is a common practice for scholars to travel and study. Xu Xiancheng's idea was not original, it has existed since ancient times. Didn't Confucius do the same? Traveling around the world with his disciples to gain knowledge and make friends is a good thing.

However, these years are different from previous years. With the frequent natural disasters and man-made disasters in various places in recent years, the public security in various places is not good, and there are civil unrest in some places. Although the unrest is not serious at the moment and it is suppressed by the government soon, it is not as peaceful as before.

For Xu Xiancheng's safety, Zhu Shenzhui advised Xu Xiancheng, but Xu Xiancheng didn't care at all. He smiled and said that he was just an ordinary scholar, and the places he went to were all prefectures, so he wouldn't run into any trouble. Besides, he was not a weak scholar who couldn't fight chickens. When he was studying at home, Xu Xiancheng often exercised and worked in the fields, so he had a lot of strength in his hands.

Moreover, during the days he stayed at his brother-in-law's house, Zhu Shenzhui practiced martial arts every day. When Xu Xiancheng saw Zhu Shenzhui practicing martial arts, he asked him for advice. Zhu Shenzhui taught his brother-in-law several moves personally. Although it was impossible for him to reach Zhu Shenzhui's level in such a short time, and even Li You's foundation in Wang Jinwu was far inferior to his, it was still useful after all. It was no problem to deal with ordinary people one-on-one, and even if he dealt with two people, it would be no problem as long as he had a weapon to defend himself.

Young people are always proud of themselves. Xu Xiancheng is still the same even though he is mature at a young age. In his opinion, there are not so many dangers in the world. As long as he does not take the side roads and follows the official roads, and with the skills taught by his brother-in-law Zhu Shenzhui, he will have no problem protecting himself.

Seeing that Xu Xiancheng had made up his mind, Zhu Shenzui stopped trying to persuade him, because he knew it was useless to continue persuading him. Once Xu Xiancheng returned to Pingshun, there was no way to stop him from going out to study.

After thinking about it, Zhu Shenzhui got up and left the house. After a while, he came back with something in his hand.

"Xiancheng, since you are going to study abroad, you should pay attention to your safety. Take these two things with you to protect yourself."

"What is this...?" Xu Xiancheng couldn't help asking, looking at the thing wrapped in blue cloth in front of him. Zhu Shenzhui motioned him to open it, and Xu Xiancheng reached out to take it. He felt it was heavy, and was shocked when he opened it.

One of the items was relatively good, it was a short sword, this short sword was not impressive, the scabbard was made of leather, black and looked very ordinary. But when he stretched out his hand to pull the sword out of the scabbard, Xu Xiancheng instantly felt a chill, this short sword was made of fine iron, the blade was plain, but the blade was shining with cold light, at first glance, it was known that it was a rare good sword, I am afraid it is not far from being as good as cutting iron like mud.

As for the other thing, it surprised Xu Xiancheng even more. It was actually a fire gun. This fire gun was extremely well made and much smaller than ordinary fire guns. The gun body was made of peach wood and polished very smoothly. The gun body was made of fine steel and felt heavy in the hand. There were two bamboo tubes with words engraved on them. One was filled with gunpowder and the other was filled with bullets. In addition, there was a long and short matchlock.

"You can carry the dagger with you and keep it where you can draw it out immediately. Hide this musket carefully and try not to use it unless it is absolutely necessary. But you still have to use it when necessary. Remember!" Zhu Shenzhui pointed at the two things and instructed Xu Xiancheng.

"You don't know how to use a musket yet. I'll teach you how to use it sometime in the next few days. With your intelligence, you'll be able to learn it after using it twice. These two things are for saving your life. Besides..."

As he spoke, Zhu Shenzhui took out eight more silver ingots from his bosom, one of which was five taels, for a total of forty taels. He placed them in front of Xu Xiancheng and said, "Xiancheng, you have to take these silvers with you. It's not that I don't want to give you more, but I'm afraid that if you take too much, it will attract attention. Although forty taels is not much, it is enough for you to spend along the way."

"By the way, if you run out of money on the way, you can go to the Jinyiwei Yamen for help. This is your brother Zhou's personal waist badge. He is a captain of the Jinyiwei. With this waist badge in hand, the Jinyiwei Yamen in various places can at least sell some face. Generally speaking, they will not refuse to ask for help with this waist badge."

As he spoke, Zhu Shenzhui took out a waist badge that was smaller than his palm and put them together, then stretched out his hand and pushed it towards Xu Xiancheng.

(End of this chapter)