Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 280 A person with a tragic fate will not be let down in the end!
Chen was not one to forget kindness, but she couldn't find a good opportunity for herself right away. After all, they had some money, but no one in their family held a high-ranking official position.

She herself held the title of Lady of Imperial Decree, and her son was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital. The Embroidered Uniform Guard didn't have much prestige in official circles, but the common people didn't know that the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Western Depot were extremely famous among the people and could be used to stop a child from crying!
The fact that she was a titled lady made the local officials afraid to make things difficult for her, and her son's status as a commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard made even江湖人 (jianghu people, people from the martial arts world) dare not extort money from her family.

Their lives were slowly returning to normal. Although they couldn't become rich and powerful, things would eventually get better.

Three or five generations later, perhaps a few more people in the family will become officials, and then Xiong Tingbi's portrait will be hung high in the family ancestral hall.

Normally, to become a high-ranking official like Xiong Tingbi, one needs ability, good fortune, and family influence. His family no longer has these conditions, so Xiong Tingbi will most likely remain the highest-ranking official in the Xiong family.

However, her youngest son suddenly perked up, accelerating this slow process.

When her son passed the military examination, Madam Chen both laughed and cried. He was her only son left! At that time, she did not know the emperor's arrangements for Xiong Zhaobi, but according to the new regulations of the court, all military graduates had to be sent to the front line and could not stay in the court to do nothing.

The past few years have been filled with war, and more than a handful of the military graduates from the first year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign have already perished. The sudden misfortune at home delayed her son's marriage. She had tried to arrange a marriage for Xiong Zhaobi, but ultimately, due to the distance between them, it didn't work out.

Xiong Zhaobi worked year-round without a break, and he needed to ask for leave to rest. Even if his superiors approved his marriage leave, he couldn't accept the situation of living apart from his wife. He didn't want to hold back a good girl.

He had only seen Xiong Tingbi a handful of times since he was a child. He had seen his mother secretly wiping away tears behind others. Although being an official's wife was glamorous, the bitterness inside was something only he could understand.

When Xiong Zhaobi was a child, he even suspected that his father was keeping another concubine. He could not forget the doubts he had as a child, so after he was stationed in Beijing, he liked to collect comments about his father and ask the older generation about his father.

These matters were previously kept secret, but after the emperor exonerated Xiong Tingbi, they could now speak freely about them.

As he learned more about his father, his hatred turned into a mixture of love and hate. As fellow subjects, he admired Xiong Tingbi's talent and character, but as father and son, he still looked down on Xiong Tingbi and hated him to the core!

The Marquis of Champion said, "How can I have a home when the Xiongnu have not been destroyed?" Although Xiong Zhaobi did not have the same grand ambition as Huo Qubing, he was determined to prove himself and set a good example.
As a military officer, one must maintain a group of servants. Chen was unable to train a personal guard for her son, as she was not skilled in military affairs.

The Xiong family was not a prominent clan. The most successful member was Xiong Tingbi himself. Xiong Tingbi's grandfather, Xiong Daxuan, and father, Xiong Bai, were both commoners and could not raise a clan army for Xiong Zhaobi. Perhaps Xiong Tingbi's death was also related to the weakness of his family.

Even if commoners passed the exams and crossed class boundaries, it was difficult for them to be accepted by the truly powerful and wealthy. If officials from commoner backgrounds wanted to rise in rank, they could only take the most dangerous and difficult positions and risk their lives to get ahead. People at the time praised Xiong Tingbi as "talented and courageous, capable of handling the Liaodong affairs".

Back then, Xiong Tingbi was brought back by his father through a "marriage-taking" scheme. Now, Xiong Zhaobi has also resolved his marriage in the same way. He, a martial arts scholar who ranked third in the imperial examination, was actually captured by Duke Zhang Weixian of Yingguo.

When Zhu Youjian learned of this, he exclaimed that it was outrageous. Who would choose a son-in-law from the list of successful candidates in the martial arts examination?
Zhang Weixian explained, "Those scholars who passed the imperial examinations all looked like little chicks; I looked down on them!"

Zhu Youjian asked him, "Aren't you only in your thirties? Where did you get a daughter who's about to get married?"

Zhang Weixian said, "Yes, I'm thirty-five years old now, and I have a sixteen-year-old daughter getting married. Isn't that normal?!"

Zhu Youjian was completely shocked. He counted on his fingers and realized that he was about the same age when his daughter was sixteen. At this thought, Zhu Youjian felt a pang of heartache and vowed that he would never let his daughter marry before she was twenty!
Zhang Weixian couldn't marry off his daughter without informing the emperor, but it seemed he wasn't qualified to host a banquet for him. Zhu Youjian didn't show up uninvited; if he did, everyone would have to kneel before him. The young couple was bowing to heaven and earth and their parents—why would he interfere?
Finally, Zhu Youjian rewarded them with several bolts of new cloth. Zhang Weixian certainly didn't lack such things, but these were gifts for the young couple. Chen's heartache was thus resolved in this strange way; Xiong Zhaobi not only gained a wife, but she also became pregnant. As a top-ranking nobleman, Zhang Weixian generously provided him with land, houses, and servants.

However, Chen's arrangement was not entirely meaningless. Xiong Zhaobi made his cousin his advisor, and his two nephews, who were tall and strong, became his personal guards. It was not easy to arrange for his cousin's sons. They were too old to join the army, so they could only continue their studies and learn martial arts.

Before setting off, Zhu Youjian summoned Xiong Zhaobi, but after meeting him, he found that the boy was a taciturn fellow. Zhu Youjian didn't know how to start a conversation, and an awkward atmosphere filled the space between the emperor and his minister.

Zhu Youjian's decision to send Xiong Zhaobi to Guangning to cultivate land was somewhat ill-considered. Zhu Youjian was sometimes not very serious about his work, liked to use puns, and was somewhat arbitrary in his personnel arrangements.

The reason they had Xiong Zhaobi raise bears before was simply because they remembered that they had someone with the surname Xiong under their command; and Guangning had a deep connection with Xiong Tingbi, which reminded them of Xiong Zhaobi again. But after verifying Xiong Zhaobi's family situation, they were afraid that he might really cause Xiong Tingbi to have no descendants.

Zhu Youjian's eyes were sore from staring that he had to speak first: "Guangning City is guarded by other troops. Your task is neither to defend the city nor to kill the enemy. I can only give you two hundred men."

You can register the servants your father-in-law gave you and receive their pay from the imperial court. Of course, the court only gives each person three dou of rice and one tael of silver per month. If that's not enough, you'll have to find a way to make up for it yourself.

The funds and provisions will only be provided for three years. After three years, you must achieve self-sufficiency. The grain you grow must be enough to pay the court, and the rest is yours. However, if the war becomes urgent, you may be conscripted to fight. During the war, the court will manage the military pay, and you will be rewarded and promoted normally if you make meritorious contributions.

The Guangning Thousand-Household Garrison is now just a name; you'll have to find a way to recruit enough men to fill the 1120-strong force yourself. I know it won't be easy, but you are Xiong Tingbi's son, and I hope you won't tarnish your father's reputation!

It seemed that Zhu Youjian's last words spurred Xiong Zhaobi on, for with tears in his eyes, he said heavily, "Yes!"

Zhu Youjian thought for a moment and finally said, "It is still somewhat dangerous for you to be stationed outside Guangning City. Once the Liaodong Military Commissioner re-establishes Xiping Fort, the safety of Guangning will be basically guaranteed."

But if you really encounter the Jurchens, don't be foolish and try to fight them head-on. You have no duty to defend the territory. I allow you to run away. Run when you should, understand?!

Xiong Zhaobi replied, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

Zhu Youjian looked at the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, his expression revealing a hint of helplessness. How did this taciturn fellow pass the exam? Could it be that the chief examiner was corrupt or cheating? Could the chief examiner be a friend of Xiong Tingbi? It seems we need to investigate this thoroughly!

Zhu Youjian waved his hand to dismiss Xiong Zhaobi, who backed out of the Maoqin Hall. Suddenly, Zhu Youjian heard several strange noises. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Xiong Zhaobi kowtowing three times outside the door.

"Don't die outside!" Zhu Youjian shouted.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Sigh! Zhu Youjian sighed deeply. It seems that being a silent person isn't something one is born with. This guy's face is written with a big word of bitterness. The bitterness of life has really seeped into him!

(End of this chapter)