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

Chapter 808 First meeting
When Zhang Xianzhong arrived in Beijing, Zhou Anmin had already made arrangements.

The mansion granted to Zhang Xianzhong was already prepared. It was the result of a property confiscation from an official who was punished during the imperial examination. Although the official's rank was not high, the area of ​​the mansion was not small. Of course, this was referring to the capital city where every inch of land was worth a lot of money.

A plaque with the name of Dingbian Marquis' Mansion was hung on the gate of the mansion, and the mansion was fully staffed with servants and maids. It could be said that the arrangement was very appropriate. However, which of these servants and maids were spies of the Jinyiwei was unknown to outsiders, and only Zhou Anmin knew.

In addition to these, Zhu Shenzui also gave some gold and silver rewards. Although these rewards were not much compared to the property in Zhang Xianzhong's hands, they were the grace of the court and were completely different in nature. After hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong knelt down in front of everyone to express his gratitude, kowtowed repeatedly towards the direction of the imperial palace, and looked very grateful.

After Zhang Xianzhong was settled, the messenger told him that he had just arrived in Beijing and should rest for two days. In a few days, the palace would issue an imperial decree to bring Zhang Xianzhong to the palace to meet Zhu Shenzhui.

Zhang Xianzhong thanked him repeatedly and quietly put the gift he had prepared long ago into the other party's hands. The other party was very happy to see that Zhang Xianzhong was so considerate. After sending Zhang Xianzhong to his mansion, he chatted with him for a few more words before leaving. After sending the visitor away, Zhang Xianzhong looked at his new home. Although he still had a smile on his face, there was another layer of loneliness in his eyes that was difficult to see clearly.

After staying in the mansion for two days, Zhang Xianzhong did not go anywhere. He had just arrived in the capital and had to keep a low profile. Moreover, his identity was sensitive and he did not want to get into any trouble. Anyway, he had no worries about food and drink in the mansion, so Zhang Xianzhong stayed there peacefully waiting for the palace's order.

On the evening of the third day, the palace issued an order, asking Zhang Xianzhong to enter the palace early the next morning, and brought him the robes given by Zhu Shenzui. After receiving the order, Zhang Xianzhong kowtowed to express his gratitude. On the morning of the next day, Zhang Xianzhong bathed, changed his clothes, put on the robes given, and followed the people who came to pick him up to the palace. After a while, he arrived at the palace gate.

"This is the Forbidden City!" As he got closer to the palace, Zhang Xianzhong was more and more moved. The center of the world, the palace of the Ming Dynasty, he had dreamed of this place countless times in his dreams, and even dreamed of the scene of him leading his troops into Beijing and stepping on the palace. But now he was standing in front of the palace gate, but it was not what he dreamed of, but entering the palace as a surrendered general to meet the emperor.

While checking the badges and identities at the palace gate, Zhang Xianzhong also kept his eyes on the guards at the palace gate. He felt that the walls of this imperial palace were really tall, taller and thicker than the walls of the cities he had led troops to capture over the years. Moreover, the defenses outside the palace gate were strict. Not only were there fully armed infantry, but there were also guards patrolling back and forth from time to time. Coupled with the layout on the top of the city, it was not an easy task to lead troops to break through.

Just as he was daydreaming, after the inspection was completed, Zhang Xianzhong hurriedly followed the guide into the palace gate. From here, he entered the real palace. After entering the palace and walking for a while, the guide stopped and told Zhang Xianzhong that he could only take him here and could not go any further. At this time, a eunuch who had been waiting for a long time came forward and politely said that he would lead Zhang Xianzhong from now on. Zhang Xianzhong did not know the other party's identity. Since he was a eunuch, he must be a high-ranking eunuch in the palace. Zhang Xianzhong did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly thanked him before continuing to walk with the other party.

As they walked, the eunuch leading the way did not take Zhang Xianzhong to the Wenhua Palace, but went straight to the Imperial Garden. Zhang Xianzhong had never been to the palace before, so he naturally did not know the layout of the palace. He just followed the other party's lead.

As they arrived at the Imperial Garden, the large open space was gradually replaced by trees and gardens. They passed through an alley and entered a moon gate. There was a courtyard-like area in front of them. Before they got close, they could faintly hear the sounds of fists and weapons inside.

"Marquis Dingbian, His Highness is here, please come with us." The eunuch turned around and said to Zhang Xianzhong, and took Zhang Xianzhong into the courtyard. After stepping in, Zhang Xianzhong saw a flat courtyard in front of him with several tall ancient trees, two east and west wing rooms and corridors. There were seven or eight people on the open space in the middle. One of them was practicing martial arts in shorts, holding an iron spear in his hand. The gunshots were whistling and he came and went like the wind.

Zhang Xianzhong was stunned at first, and then his pupils tightened when he looked carefully. This skill really surprised him. When he was young, Zhang Xianzhong was a constable, and later he was a frontier soldier and fought against the Mongols. Later, he was dismissed from the army for violating military law and returned to his hometown.

After a few years in his hometown, due to the natural disasters and man-made disasters in the Ming Dynasty, life became unbearable. At that time, Wang Jiayin, Wang Ziyi and others gathered people to riot. When Zhang Xianzhong learned about it, he took a risk and gathered people in his hometown to join the riot, thus embarking on the path of rebellion.

After the rebellion, Zhang Xianzhong called himself "the Eight Kings" and became one of the leaders of the rebel army. During the years of fighting in the south and the north, Zhang Xianzhong fought countless battles and his strength continued to grow. After Gao Yingxiang was defeated, he became the most powerful and numerous team in the rebel army.

It is no exaggeration to say that Zhang Xianzhong has been through hundreds of battles and is no stranger to fighting on the battlefield. When he saw the movements of the man practicing with a spear in the courtyard, Zhang Xianzhong was quite surprised. As the leader of the bandits and a man who had fought on the battlefield, how could Zhang Xianzhong not see the other party's ability?
Zhang Xianzhong has seen many people who can wield guns in the world. Some people can even wield a gun so well that water cannot even get in. But in Zhang Xianzhong's eyes, these are nothing surprising, because they are just fancy moves. If they really go to the battlefield, they will probably be killed by the enemy in a few rounds. This is not a fancy move. How can you wield guns like this? There is only a thin line between life and death on the battlefield. Often, a gun and a knife will decide the outcome. No matter how good you are, in such a scene, before you can get ready, someone's knife will have already chopped your neck. Zhang Xianzhong crawled out of a pile of dead bodies, so of course he knew the dangers of the battlefield and had a better vision. But when he saw the man playing with a gun in the yard, he couldn't help but be secretly frightened. Zhang Xianzhong had a sharp eye and he could tell at a glance that what the other party was practicing was not some fancy tricks, but real skills of killing the enemy on the battlefield. Although the other party's spear moves seemed ugly, with only a few moves coming and going, each move was not only as fast as lightning and with measured advance and retreat, but also with tricky and vicious angles, and each move was fatal. Every move was never used too long, and he reserved three-tenths of his strength. Even Zhang Xianzhong could not match this kind of skill. He felt that if he faced the other party head-on, he would probably be stabbed to death within a few moves.

Zhang Xianzhong had never seen such a sharp spearmanship, let alone compare to it. The man who practiced martial arts did not look very old, probably in his thirties. How could such a person exist in the palace? Could he be a master of the imperial guards?

Just as Zhang Xianzhong was secretly frightened, the opponent's spear thrust out and then he stood up. Then he heard the man say, "You guys, come on!"

"Yes!" The onlookers dispersed in response and went towards the man with various weapons in their hands. Although the other side had more people and their moves were vigorous and showed quite some kung fu, the man with the spear was not afraid at all. His steps were steady and he moved flexibly left and right. The spear in his hand was like a poisonous dragon. His moves were astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, two people were defeated and retreated, while the remaining few cooperated with each other and continued to attack.

There were a series of clanging sounds, and two more people retreated in a few breaths, leaving only the last two besiegers. At this time, the gunman who had been surrounding them did not retreat but advanced. He first took a step to the left, and then twisted his body to the right at an incredible angle, and the gun in his hand suddenly shot out from behind. The man on the left had no time to react and was stabbed directly in the chest by the gun tip. He could not stand and retreated four or five steps and sat down on the ground.

The last man saw that the situation was not good, so he quickly swung the knife in his hand and only defended without attacking. However, the man wielding the gun did not stop his moves at all. He lightly pointed the tip of the gun forward and actually hit the other person's wrist holding the knife. The guard's hand suddenly felt numb and the knife slipped out of his hand. Before he could react, the tip of the gun was at his throat, only inches away from his vital throat.

The whole process took only a dozen breaths, and the man wielding the gun defeated the siege of six people by himself. If his gun tip had not been replaced with a wooden one and wrapped in soft cloth, the six people would probably have been killed long ago.

"Thank you, Regent, for showing mercy..." The man whose throat was held came to his senses and saluted respectfully to Zhu Shenzhui.

The few people who were defeated first also stood up, saluted respectfully towards Zhu Shenzhui, and said the same thing.

"You still need to practice more. As children of noble families, you should not bring disgrace to your fathers. If you don't have enough skills, how can you go to the battlefield in the future? What's more, I have given you important positions." Zhu Shenzui said to them in a serious tone.

Everyone quickly agreed, saying that they would practice martial arts diligently, live up to the regent's expectations, and not bring shame to their ancestors.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded, looked at Wang Jinwu who was watching the fun, and asked with a smile: "Why? You want to practice with me too?"

"Regent, stop joking. I learned these skills from you when you taught me. Wouldn't it be asking for trouble if I spar with you? I'm not that stupid." Wang Jinwu, who was wearing a dragon robe, laughed and refused to go into the arena no matter what.

He knows his own business. Although Wang Jinwu is the bravest among the three armies, Zhu Shenzhui is much stronger than him in terms of martial arts. He couldn't beat him back then, and he is even more unable to beat him now. What's more, Wang Jinwu is now the general and the left commander-in-chief, and he has several guards around him. These guards are all sons of nobles. He is also a man with a sense of dignity, so how could he possibly make a fool of himself?
"It's boring. The higher your official position, the more timid you become. You don't even dare to stand down? This is far worse than before." Zhu Shenzhui scolded with a smile. Wang Jinwu was not embarrassed either. He laughed on the side. He took Zhu Shenzhui's gun and handed it to the guard behind him. He took the sweat towel that had been prepared long ago and gave it to Zhu Shenzhui, asking him to wipe his sweat.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong's heart was in turmoil. He was still wondering who the other party was, but when he heard what everyone said, he realized that this was not a master of the palace, but clearly the number one person in the Ming Dynasty, the Regent King of Wu Zhu Shenzhui!
(End of this chapter)