Ming Dynasty: I, Zhu Yunwen, started by resurrecting my grandmother.

It turned out that Zhu Gaosui reported to Zhu Di that the commanders Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan had stationed troops in the Kaiping, Linqing, and Shanhaiguan areas, and requested the inspection of the guards in Beiping, saying that it was to guard against the Northern Yuan.

Zhu Di immediately felt an invisible pressure coming down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

Zhu Di thought to himself, "How ruthless Zhu Yunwen is! And those treacherous villains like Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng will surely slander him."

At this moment, Zhu Yunwen handed him the letter that Qi Tai had written to Zhu Di.

The letter essentially conveyed the message that Zhu Di should understand and support the court's decision, explaining that the arrangement was made to jointly resist the Northern Yuan, and asking Zhu Di not to overthink it.

After reading it, Zhu Di was filled with indignation.

However, he didn't show it on the surface, only smiling slightly: "Lord Qi is truly a man who cares deeply about the country. I heard he has been imprisoned in the Dali Temple."

I didn't expect him to be so worried.

He should consider his own situation first.

Zhu Yunwen's heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, "Zhu Di is amazing. He even knows about this. It seems he must have spies in the capital."

night.

Beiping Inn.

Zhu Yunwen sat in the document room, deep in thought.

He thought to himself that Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao were cunning and treacherous, and not easy to deal with.

Although Zhu Di had already received the imperial edict, he refused to complete the handover procedures, simply stalling for time – a truly cunning tactic.

When you're on someone else's small piece of land, you can't easily turn against them.

Just then, the door creaked open.

A person walked in from outside.

Zhu Yunwen glanced at the newcomer and recognized him as none other than Zhu Gaoxu.

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu entered, he knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Brother, I was wrong during the day. I apologize to you."

Zhu Gaoxu was two years younger than Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen was quite puzzled when he saw Zhu Gaoxu suddenly make a 180-degree turn.

In any case, since the younger brother knows he was wrong, then the older brother has nothing more to say.

Zhu Yunwen laughed and helped him up with both hands: "Gao Xu, we are brothers, no need for formalities, it's nothing."

"Thank you, brother. I brought some wine and meat with me. Let's have a good chat." Zhu Gaoxu said, bringing over a food box containing four dishes and two jugs of wine.

"Oh, really? That's great."

The two brothers sat facing each other, with a square table between them.

Zhu Gaoxu brought out the wine and dishes, and set them out, with each of them having a pot of wine.

The two wine pots looked exactly the same, with no difference between them. They were both blue and white porcelain style, with a spout at the front and a handle at the back.

Zhu Gaoxu first poured a cup of wine for Zhu Yunwen using the wine pot in front of him, and then filled a cup for himself using another wine pot.

Zhu Yunwen examined the wine in his glass carefully by the light and found that the wine in his glass was slightly cloudy, while the wine in Zhu Gaoxu's glass was very clear.

If you don't look closely, you can't tell the difference at all.

Zhu Gaoxu raised his wine cup and said, "Brother, this is a toast to you, and I apologize for my mistake."

"That's all in the past, no need to be so polite." Zhu Yunwen picked up his wine cup, covered his face with his sleeve, and then tilted his head back, emptying the cup.

Zhu Gaoxu looked on with a smug expression: "Brother, you are truly a magnanimous man. Come, let me fill your cup and toast you again."

"Okay!" Zhu Yunwen readily agreed.

The two brothers toasted each other and drank to their hearts' content.

Zhu Gaoxu put down his wine cup: "That time at Heming Tower in the capital, if you hadn't shown up in time, I might have gotten together with that Miss Hongyu."

Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "You little rascal, you're not learning anything good. You're so young, and you're already wandering around the Qinhuai River."

"Let me tell you, that girl Hongyu is really beautiful. I miss her so much."

Zhu Yunwen looked at him and said, "If you really like her, when I return to the capital, I'll redeem her and give her to you. What do you think?"

Zhu Gaoxu sighed, "It's a good idea, but Father might not agree."

Zhu Yunwen chuckled inwardly: "Since you already know your fourth uncle won't agree, why bother provoking him in the first place?"

"That girl is so beautiful. If I could have a relationship with her even once, my life would be complete," Zhu Gaoxu paused, "but I didn't just go to the Qinhuai River to see Hongyu. I did something else too."

"Oh, what else did you do?"

"That place is a gathering place for scholars and intellectuals. Every year, many scholars from all over the country come there to participate in the imperial examinations."

However, I have heard many people complain that the imperial examinations are unfair, with many truly talented people failing repeatedly, while those without talent, through nepotism and connections, manage to pass with flying colors.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "You've actually done something worthwhile." However, what Zhu Gaoxu said wasn't entirely unfounded.

Because he had also heard about this matter, and it was indeed a problem; if not handled properly, it could block Xian Road.

Throughout history, talent has been the most important factor for a country to become strong.

The reason why the Qin state was so powerful and was able to eventually unify the six states was because it recruited a large number of talented people, such as prime ministers like Shang Yang, Zhang Yi, Fan Ju, Li Si, and Lü Buwei, and military generals like Bai Qi, Wang Jian, and Meng Tian.

The reason why the State of Wei was initially powerful was because Marquis Wen of Wei was good at employing people, such as Li Kui, Wu Qi, Zhai Huang, Ximen Bao, Yue Yang, Zixia, and Duan Muqian.

Under the leadership of Marquis Wen of Wei, these people worked together to make Wei the first state to rise to prominence, becoming the most powerful of the seven states, and even showing a tendency to annex the entire world.

Among them, the most outstanding were Li Kui's reforms, Wu Qi's military talent, Zhai Huang's ability to recognize and employ talent, and Ximen Bao's governance skills.

In the later stages, one of the main reasons for the decline of the State of Wei was that too many talented people left the State of Wei.

These included Wu Qi, Shang Yang, Zhang Yi, Fan Ju, and Sun Bin, among others. These top talents were not treated with respect or given important positions in the State of Wei; some even faced threats to their lives.

For example, Fan Ju's ribs were broken, rolled up in a straw mat, and thrown into the latrine, while Sun Bin suffered the punishment of having his kneecaps removed. Therefore, they ultimately chose to leave the State of Wei.

Most of these people went to the Qin state and were treated with courtesy and given important positions. As a result, the Wei state grew weaker and the Qin state grew stronger.

Ultimately, the Qin state conquered the Wei state and five other states.

Zhu Yunwen was deeply moved by this thought.

He wondered to himself, "Is the imperial examination system in our Great Ming Dynasty really like this?"

Is the Ming Dynasty going to follow the same path as the Wei Kingdom?

Zhu Yunwen suddenly remembered something else: "By the way, your disguise skills are quite good. Who did you learn them from?"