Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 373: Examination in Beijing
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Zhu Houzhao brought Liu Jin to see Chen Ce early in the morning and said to him excitedly, "Little brother, let's go to the Five Military Commandery. Today, all the military honors in Beijing are reviewing the exams. Let's go and have a look at the excitement!"

Zhu Houzhao had also learned martial arts in the Eastern Palace, and he was also very interested in military matters. When he heard that the military generals were going to be reviewed and assessed, he naturally became eager to try.

Seeing his excited expression, Chen Ce knew that Zhu Houzhao was full of hope for the military preparations of the Ming Dynasty, but this review was bound to surprise him.

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I'm not going. There's nothing to see."

Zhu Houzhao said hurriedly, "Why is there nothing to see? These are the elite troops of our Ming Dynasty! The generals are reviewing and riding their horses, killing the enemy in battle. They are so impressive! Don't you want to see the heroic figures of our Ming Dynasty generals?"

Chen Ce glanced at him and asked Zhu Houzhao, "Do you really think this military training can show the style of the Ming Dynasty? Aren't you afraid that you will be greatly disappointed after watching it?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "Little brother, you underestimate the military commanders in Beijing. Although my uncle and his men also went there to fill in the numbers, most of them are skilled in martial arts and have real abilities."

Chen Ce: “…”

No one knows who instilled this idea in Zhu Houzhao, making him naively believe that all the military generals in Beijing were brave.

Chen Ce said, "I'm worried about Xiaohua being alone at home. You can take Liu Jin to see her."

Zhu Houzhao was determined to drag Chen Ce to watch the show. He saw that Chen Ce seemed to be very disdainful of the military generals in Beijing, so he wanted Chen Ce to go with him to watch.

"Take Xiaohua with you."

……

Five Military Governor's Office, Review Square.

In the end, Chen Ce couldn't defeat Zhu Houzhao. He wore a black cloak, and Xiaohua wore a light blue cotton jacket and stood obediently beside Chen Ce.

The military heroes in Beijing first took the written test on military strategy, and after the test, they changed into military uniforms and came to the military training ground in a heroic manner.

Zhu Houzhao excitedly said to Chen Ce: "Look, little brother! They are coming! They are so majestic!"

Several brothers of the Zhou family rode on horses, carrying bows and crossbows on their backs. The horses galloped across the huge martial arts field. Several brothers of the Zhou family took out arrows from their backs, drew their bows and aimed at the targets.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, several arrows shot towards the target. Although they did not hit the center of the bull's eye, they barely hit the target.

This was the case for several of the Zhou family's spoiled in-laws, not to mention the others. Zhu Houzhao was full of expectations.

The Zhang brothers rode on horses, the horses were galloping, and they looked very capable. They took out arrows from their backs, drew their bows and shot.

Boom! Missed the target.

Zhu Houzhao looked at his two uncles embarrassing themselves in the martial arts arena with embarrassment. He was so ashamed that he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. He said to Chen Ce, "They don't count."

I think he was mentally prepared and knew what kind of people his two uncles were.

The next to appear were the noble generals from the Five Military Commanderies and the Five Cities Military Command. Zhu Houzhao looked forward to it excitedly.

However, their performance was no better than that of the Zhang brothers. Either their arrows missed the target, or they couldn't even pull their bows. It was so ugly that it was unbearable to watch.

All of Zhu Houzhao's fantasies were shattered at this moment. Maybe it was because of the cold weather, but his face turned red.

Xiaohua pouted and said, "These people are so stupid."

Chen Ce glanced at Zhu Houzhao from the side, and seeing that he looked depressed, he couldn't bear to hit him.

In Zhu Houzhao's view, these are all the military forces in Beijing. Even the nobles are military generals who protect the capital. How can they all be like this? Expecting them to defend the capital? This is simply a joke!
Zhu Houzhao really didn't expect that this group of useless people would be so useless. These are all military generals. Some of them almost fell off their horses, and some of them were so weak that they couldn't even pull a bow. Are these the military officers in Beijing?

Among them are some captains of the Qianhu Division! These captains are officials with real power and military authority, how could they all behave like this?

If there is another battle to defend the capital, who can protect Peking?
Zhu Houzhao looked like an eggplant hit by frost, apparently he had been hit hard.

Chen Ce glanced at Zhu Houzhao and left silently. He knew it was not appropriate to talk to Zhu Houzhao now.

Zhang Mao, Ma Wensheng, Chen Kuan and others all looked at the ugly scenes in the martial arts arena with embarrassment. Their expressions were somewhat complicated. Although Zhang Mao knew that this temporary test might be embarrassing, he really didn't expect it to be so embarrassing.

The entire review test reached its climax right from the start. I thought the Zhou brothers’ performance was not satisfactory, but unexpectedly they were the best performers.

In the afternoon, before the three of them went to report the results of the examination to Emperor Hongzhi, Zhu Houzhao angrily found Emperor Hongzhi and told him the results of today's military examination.

Although Emperor Hongzhi did not have high expectations, he never expected the result to be so embarrassing.

When Zhang Mao and the other two met Emperor Hongzhi, they saw that he looked unhappy, so Ma Wensheng said, "Your Majesty, the examination results are out."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded nonchalantly and took the assessment list sent by Ma Wensheng. Except for the Zhou brothers who passed, everyone else failed.

He said calmly: "All the assessment results for today are recorded in the book. Those who fail the assessment will be demoted one rank and their salary will be reduced by half!"

Ma Wensheng was stunned.

Emperor Hongzhi continued, "Zhou Xiang will give gold, silver, cloth and silk to several people who have passed the examination according to the regulations."

"Do you have any other suggestions?"

Ma Wensheng knew that Emperor Hongzhi was determined to reorganize the military forces of the Ming Dynasty. The result of this handling was undoubtedly a warning to military generals all over the world, and the punishment must not be taken lightly.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "I request that you conduct a severe investigation and either fine or deprive me of my salary or dismiss me from my post. I also request that you publish the "Military Classics" and give it to the military ministers in the capital and the generals on the border to help them gain knowledge."

Emperor Hongzhi agreed and asked Ma Wensheng to announce the results quickly.

……

Zhang Mansion.

The Zhang brothers had their salaries taken away, and the court no longer issued salaries to them. Although this amount of salary was insignificant to them, it still made them feel sad!

Especially Zhang Yanling, who had made great contributions in the southwest last time and was finally promoted from Earl of Jianchang to Marquis of Jianchang. Now he has been stripped of his title and restored to his previous Earl of Jianchang.

This made the Zhang brothers beat their chests and cry loudly. They never expected that the emperor would be so cruel this time, and the punishment would be so severe...

Zhou House.

The Zhou brothers were the only ones who received rewards. Changning Earl Zhou Yu felt proud. After all, he had earned face in front of so many nobles and received the personal approval of Emperor Hongzhi. The Zhou family was truly powerful.

Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes and said to Zhou Nan, "Nan'er, find some time to go find Chen Ce, bring a generous gift, and thank him in person."

This kid is good, really good! He has helped the Zhou family at critical moments time and time again, so Zhou Yu, the Earl of Changning, naturally has to thank him.

(End of this chapter)