Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Order from the Northern Garrison Command!

Inside the envelope was a very formal letter of appointment!

He was reinstated after being released from prison and resumed his post.

The letter was given to Lu Chen, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Your father, Lu Kun, the commander of the Linqing Thousand-Household Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, died of illness in Beijing. You should have been observing the mourning period.

However, Linqing is located at a crucial point in the Grand Canal, attracting a large influx of merchants and making it easy for treacherous individuals to emerge.

The position of the head of the bureau is responsible for inspecting customs and pacifying the local area, and the responsibility is not light, so it cannot be left vacant for even a day.

As you are a descendant of a noble family, you are hereby granted special permission to disregard worldly affairs and exempt from the usual regulations.

You shall immediately succeed your father's position and be appointed as the Commander of the Linqing Thousand-Household Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a seventh-rank official. You need not go to the capital; you shall take up your post and assume your duties on the appointed date.

Upon arriving at the Linqing Thousand-Household Office, they immediately handed over the documents, received the official seals, official tokens, and uniforms, and organized the officers and soldiers of the office to be in charge of the duties of transporting grain, checking at checkpoints, and suppressing local thieves.

Loyalty and filial piety are difficult to reconcile, and public affairs are arduous. You should take advantage of the court's exceptional appointment, perform your duties diligently, and comfort your late father.

At the end of this appointment letter is the signature of Lu Bing, the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Director of the Northern Garrison, and it is also stamped with the official seal of the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Lu Chen simply couldn't believe his eyes!

Thanks to the Chinese characters that have been passed down for thousands of years, although Lu Chen found these ancient documents somewhat difficult to understand, he could still comprehend most of them without causing major ambiguity.

I was just wondering why Lu Bing had originally planned to give Lu Kun, but now he was giving "Lu Chen" a key position that required a trustworthy member of the Lu family!

The fact that Lu Chen was prevented from observing mourning for his father and was exempted from all procedures for inheriting his father's position was so urgent. Of course, Lu Chen had originally imagined a position in an important border region or even a war zone.

The position of Commander of the Linqing Thousand-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was certainly a key one.

But why is this position so urgently needed?!

Just from the name of the Jinyiwei Linqing Thousand-Household Office, Lu Chen knew that the Jinyiwei had a thousand-household office in Linqing!

A thousand-household garrison has ten hundred-household garrisons under it, and each hundred-household garrison has two squad leaders under it!

In other words, there were as many as twenty Jinyiwei captains in Linqing!

One of them passed away due to illness, so what does it matter if the position is temporarily vacant?

There are plenty of people who can temporarily take over.

There was absolutely no need to break the normal procedures and force "Lu Chen" to assume his post in such a rush!

What kind of place was Linqing during the Ming Dynasty?

That was one of the most important passes and ferries on the Grand Canal, known as the "throat of the world"!

Linqing is located at the confluence of the Huitong River and the Wei River, and it was a necessary route for transporting grain to Beijing.

All the cargo ships from Jiangnan that traveled north along the Grand Canal needed to change to shallower boats at Panba in Linqing.

At this time, Linqing can be considered the first key node of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal!

Thanks to its thriving logistics, Linqing was also an important commercial town during the Ming Dynasty.

Silk, porcelain, and tea from the south, cotton and fur from the north, and ginseng and medicinal herbs from Liaodong were all traded here, making it a national distribution center for goods.

The city wall stretches for more than 30 miles, its scale is comparable to that of a provincial capital, and its population reaches over one million!

With such a large city size and such a large population, Linqing naturally boasts a thriving economy and a prosperous economy.

In other words, this is a bustling metropolis that is incredibly wealthy!

Linqing was even one of the major cities that Lu Chen originally planned to go to after completely eliminating "Lu Chen" and obtaining real household registration under the identity of "Lin Chaoxi".

It ranks alongside major cities such as Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou.

If Lu Song and his son Lu Bing had sent their own trusted confidants to amass wealth for them in Linqing, Lu Chen wouldn't find it strange at all.

Before he fell ill, was Lu Kun, the General Flag Officer, just a front man for the Lu family to amass wealth?

It's not impossible. Based on my previous speculation, Lu Kun is either a distant relative of the Lu family or a servant of the Lu family.

It is only natural that he has earned the deep trust of the Lu family father and son.

After Lu Kun's death, it's possible that Lu Bing would let Lu Kun's successor take over and continue being a front man.

It still doesn't make sense!

According to the warrant, Lu Chen's position as the commander of the Linqing Thousand-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was responsible for various tasks, including checking and interrogating people at the Grand Canal and apprehending thieves in the local area.

Although it was only a seventh-rank official position, the same rank as a county magistrate, which wasn't very high, there were plenty of opportunities to make extra money.

This is absolutely the most desirable job position ever!

If Lu Bing truly intended for "Lu Chen" to succeed Lu Kun and continue accumulating wealth for the Lu family, how could he not personally instruct him on such an important matter?!

Judging from Lu Chen's travel permit, at least after he came of age, Lu Chen never met Lu Song and his son Lu Bing!

Lu Bing sent "Lu Chen" to the capital to personally explain the task; it wouldn't take much time.

The truth is far from that!

Lu Bing personally wrote the appointment letter and sent Yuan Xun, a flag officer, to intercept Lu Chen on his way to Beijing.

They even disregarded the normal succession process for hereditary military officers in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Lu Chen was to directly inherit his father's position and immediately go to the Linqing Thousand-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to take up his post.

Even the talisman, seal, and official robes were made to be collected by "Lu Chen" at the Linqing Thousand Household Office!

When officials take office, do they not even have official robes or seals?

What does this mean?!

Lu Bing signed this handwritten letter in a very hurried manner!

They were in such a rush that they didn't even have time to prepare Lu Chen's talisman, seal, or official robes.

Official robes are fine; the Embroidered Uniform Guard should have them. It wouldn't take Yuan Xun long to bring a set with him when he set off, and it wouldn't matter if they didn't fit.

But talismans and seals are different; they require time to carve or forge, and if you're in a hurry to set off, there simply won't be enough time.

Since Yuan Xun didn't even bring his official seal or badge, there was no point in him only bringing his official robes.

Not only is it meaningless, it's also quite strange.

Even if "Lu Chen" is just a young man who grew up in the countryside and has never seen much of the world, he might still become suspicious.

Yes! That's it!

Lu Bing was worried that "Lu Chen" would become suspicious of this warrant!

His true purpose should also be hidden in this warrant!

Lu Chen carefully examined each word again!

Yes, the core purpose of this order is actually just these four words: "No need to go to the capital!"

The reason for his reprimand and immediate appointment was to prevent Lu Chen from going to the capital!

Lu Bing did not want to see "Lu Chen" appear in the capital!

Will the appearance of "Lu Chen" in the capital have any adverse effects on Lu Bing?

If that's the case, given Lu Bing's power, it would be incredibly easy for him to do so!

For example, sending Lord Yuan Xun to order "Lu Chen" to return to Chengtian Prefecture would not require any reason. Would "Lu Chen" dare to disobey the orders of the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

It wouldn't be a big deal to have Yuan Xun kill "Lu Chen" to silence him.

But what did Lu Bing do?

Lu Chen was given the position of Commander of the Linqing Thousand-Household Garrison, a highly coveted post!

In order not to arouse suspicion from "Lu Chen," a country boy who had never served a day in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the warrant was made as plausible as possible.

Lu Kun was merely a distant relative of the Lu family or a servant; what right did he have to make a high-ranking official of the third rank do such a thing?!

What Lu Bing truly values ​​is not Lu Kun, but "Lu Chen"!