Good morning Daming

Chapter 1065 Recruitment
As you age, you have trouble sleeping. Before he turned sixty, Chen Zheng could fall asleep as soon as he lay down, and he boasted that he was sixty years old but had the body of a thirty-year-old.

But after he turned 61, his sleep quality deteriorated. He had to get up three or five times in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep well.

There was a chamber pot next to the bed, and Chen Zheng was peeing in it.

Hey!
With a sigh, Chen Zheng put down the chamber pot and sat heavily on the edge of the bed, feeling a little depressed.

"old."

Chen Zheng, who always refused to admit his age in front of outsiders, now showed signs of decline.

He just sat there blankly until he heard some noise outside.

"Little... wuwuwu!"

"Don't shout. This isn't Xin'an Lane. If you shout like that, how many people will curse you, Master?"

It’s that Sun Chonglou!
Chen Zheng smiled and felt his eyelids were a little heavy, but he didn't want to sleep.

The sky was still dark, and Chen Zheng felt that it was just like his mood at the moment.

When he left Beijing, Chen Zheng felt that he would never be able to come back in this lifetime. It was not that he could not, but that he was unwilling to take the risk.

We cannot be enemies of everyone in the world... This was Chen Zheng's thought at the time, and for this reason he resigned from his post on the pretext of illness.

The Taoist priest was very generous. He gave you a large sum of money and appointed official positions to his two sons. In a word, he let you return home in glory.

This disciple did everything he could, but what about me?
Am I too shameless?

Chen Zheng sighed.

He left Emperor Jiajing when he was in the most difficult time, and returned when the situation was about to turn around.

Isn't this just hiding when there is trouble and taking advantage when there is benefit?
Chen Zheng thought of the moment when he met Taoist Master when he just returned to Beijing.

Daoye looked at him, his expression calm as if he had never left, and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Chen Zheng felt that this greeting was very cordial, but when he was leaving, he inadvertently discovered that Huang Jin's eyes were not right, as if he was looking at a stranger.

Since entering Prince Xing's Mansion, Chen Zheng and Huang Jin had always had a good relationship. But at that moment, Chen Zheng discovered that Huang Jin's attitude towards him had changed.

It was as if the two had never met before.

Huang Jin was a cautious man, and his every word and action was in line with the intentions of Emperor Jiajing.

Chen Zheng thought about it for a long time afterwards but couldn't figure it out.

When he had nothing to do in the capital, he liked to wander around the streets... When he was teaching the Taoist priest in Anlu, the Taoist priest liked to go to the streets to play, and Chen Zheng went with him a few times, but he didn't like such noisy places and never went there again.

The few times he saw them, he left a deep impression on him. When he was walking in the market, he saw two men who had met after a long separation, their eyes filled with tears. It seemed that they had endless things to say to each other.

He saw the way the neighbors greeted each other.

——Have you eaten?

Chen Zheng suddenly realized that in the eyes of Emperor Jiajing, his identity had changed from an imperial teacher to a neighbor.

The Taoist priest was kind, but not stupid. Chen Zheng knew that if he took advantage of his seniority, it would be fine in the short term, but over time, the relationship between the master and the disciple would be worn away, and that would be the day for him to retire.

So he took the initiative to bring Prince Jing south to relieve Emperor Jiajing's worries.

——Look, I can still do things.

He felt that young people like Jiang Qingzhi needed old people like him to assist them and give them advice.

But Jiang Qingzhi told him step by step with his actions.

The trip south will be the same with or without you.

Chen Zheng was depressed.

During many nights in the south, he thought countless times, why not go back to my hometown!
Why stay in the capital?

Are you trying to save face?
Isn't it embarrassing?!
But when he thought of his grandchildren at home, he put the idea aside.

Chen Zheng had two sons, who were mediocre in their studies and had failed many times in the imperial examinations. They all got their official positions by relying on his reputation.

If Chen Zheng died, it would be difficult for his two sons to take care of the family. So Chen Zheng turned his attention to the third generation.

He has five grandchildren, the youngest of whom is only five years old. The eldest grandchild passed the imperial examination in his early years, but was blocked from taking the provincial examination.

If everything went according to plan, the Chen family would decline in the second generation and completely fall into ruin in the third generation.

Chen Zheng thought hard and tried various methods, such as marriage... But everyone knew his background well. His two sons had no hope of passing the imperial examinations, and now they were relying on his old face to make a living.

Of the five grandchildren, the two oldest ones failed in the imperial examinations, and the three younger ones see no hope either.

The Chen family is supported by Chen Zheng. If he were to leave, the Chen family would just be an ordinary powerful family, and a local powerful family at that.

Therefore, the better families didn't think highly of his grandson at all, and Chen Zheng himself didn't think highly of the worse families.

Chen Zheng's grandson has become a difficult person after being neither high nor low.

So much so that the matchmaker was unwilling to come to the door and said directly: Mr. Chen, your standards are too high, please find someone else!
Chen Zheng's old face turned red with shame, and he took it out on his two sons when he got home. However, his two sons were good-tempered and no matter what he said, they would sincerely admit their mistakes.

Chen Zheng was in despair. Just then the news of the great victory in the Northern Expedition came. He had an idea and sought out some old friends to discuss the matter.

——The situation is about to be reversed.

Chen Zheng immediately packed up his luggage, told his children and grandchildren to study hard at home, and then he went to Beijing leisurely.

According to Chen Zheng's plan, he would first gain a foothold beside the Taoist priest, seek a position in the new policy, and then bring in his eldest grandson.

Failed the imperial examination?

It’s okay, the Taoist priest can directly appoint you as an official.

It's okay. I will bring my grandson to see Your Majesty. Your Majesty is kind and will definitely understand what I mean after a few times.

This is a gentleman's way of deceiving others!
Chen Zheng sighed, stood up, and groped his way to the door in the dim light.

When he opened the door, a gust of hot wind blew towards him. Chen Zheng rubbed his stomach, feeling a little hungry. He returned to the bedroom and opened a wooden box, which contained a lot of snacks.

Chen Zheng ate two snacks with the leftover tea from last night.

He was suddenly startled and stared at the cup of remaining tea.

The tea was a reward from the Taoist priest, who said that as he was old, he should drink less tea with strong flavor and eat lighter tea instead.

That disciple!
Even though he is dissatisfied with his former teacher, or even disdains him, he still has deep feelings for him.

Hey!
Chen Zheng sighed again.

"Mr. Chen."

Prince Jing has arrived. Since coming south, Prince Jing has come to visit him every morning. Chen Zheng knows that this is the instruction from Taoist Master.

There was politeness in King Jing's eyes when he looked at him, but there was no sense of familiarity.

Just like a routine, I asked him how he slept last night and if he felt unwell...

"All is good." Chen Zheng said gently. The more polite King Jing was, the more uncomfortable Chen Zheng felt.

He felt that King Jing looked down on him deep down.

At his advanced age, Chen Zheng still had to be criticized and even despised by the younger generation. He felt that he could no longer bear the shame.

"What are we going to do today?" Chen Zheng asked casually, but he was thinking about the time he spent in Anlu.

At that time, he taught with peace of mind, and the Taoist priest studied with peace of mind, and the years were peaceful.

Once a teacher, always a father. At that time, the relationship between Chen Zheng and his disciple Dao Ye was very close.

If everything remained the same, he should be able to look down upon the officials at this moment. Even Yan Song would have to bow his head respectfully in front of Chen Zheng.

Since when did the relationship between me and Your Majesty become so distant?
Chen Zheng was thinking carefully.

King Jing said, "My cousin said that after finishing the last thing, he will return to the capital."

"Oh! What's the matter?" Chen Zheng asked casually. He thought of the time when Cui Yuan came to Anlu and brought the decision of Empress Dowager Zhang and Yang Tinghe to choose their disciple to inherit the throne.

And urged Emperor Jiajing to come to Beijing.

What was I thinking at that moment?
ecstatic!

I think this is a great opportunity!
It's time to turn things around.

When one person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!

From that time on, my heart changed.

It was also from that time that Emperor Jiajing's attitude towards him changed.

Became much more polite, but also much more distant.

It's ridiculous that I was blinded by power and ignored all the differences.

"There are still some pirates in the open sea."

"Just wipe them out. The Japanese pirates are no match for us. Pirates! That's no problem."

King Jing found that Chen Zheng’s smile had changed. It seemed to become... more kind.

He then said goodbye and walked out of Chen Zheng's residence. He said to the eunuch who was accompanying him, "Why does this old man seem a little panicked?"

"Your Highness, the Lord wants you to come over to discuss something."

"it is good."

Prince Jing went to the lobby, where Jiang Qingzhi and Tang Shunzhi were talking in low voices, with Xu Wei interjecting from time to time.

"Uncle, Mr. Jingchuan, Mr. Xu." King Jing's attitude was very casual, which made Chen Zheng, who followed in, even more sad.

The Taoist priest treated him as a neighbor, and so did the child.

There was a sense of distance in the politeness.

"You've come just in time." Jiang Qingzhi put out his cigarette and said, "It's unbearably hot this day, but autumn is coming soon. Before autumn comes, we must clear out all the pirates along the southeast coast."

"Is it so urgent?" King Jing said.

"It's urgent." Xu Wei said, "My Lord has submitted a memorial this time, suggesting that we should fight against the Japanese pirates. Now those people in the capital are gearing up to stop this. If we leave and the pirates start making trouble right after we leave, what's the point of fighting against them..."

He suddenly sighed, "When Emperor Yingzong wanted to send the treasure ship out to sea again, it failed because of a rebellion in the southeast. Let's learn from the past!"

Tang Shunzhi smiled and said, "If the Japanese pirates are gone, those sea pirates will take advantage of this to become more powerful. So, the sooner we take action, the better."

"But this time we are dealing with pirates differently." Jiang Qingzhi said, "The Japanese pirates are our mortal enemies, and the pirates are just robbing merchant ships."

"He is also a thief." said Chen Zheng.

"No." Jiang Qingzhi shook his head. "Most of those merchant ships came from Malacca, heading to Japan for trade."

Xu Wei said: "It's not a Ming merchant ship. Lord, you mean to rob outsiders..."

"That's a good thing!" King Jing said with a smile.

How is this a good thing?
Chen Zheng was slightly angry and was about to point it out, but Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "This is a world of great strife. Kindness will only result in slaughter. What the Ming Dynasty lacks right now is banditry. Especially the navy, which must have a bit of banditry in order to gain the greatest benefit for the Ming Dynasty."

"Bandit spirit?" Chen Zheng felt that he was too old and must have misheard.

"Yes, banditry." Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "I'm going to send people out to sea to look for those pirates."

"What are you going to do?"

"Recruitment!"

(End of this chapter)