Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

After going through all the road signs, Lu Chen finally picked out two that were barely usable.

Furthermore, the current timeline has been roughly determined.

All of these travel permits are from the fifteenth year of the Jiajing reign (1546), with the most recent being the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign (1558).

The travel permit has the reason for the trip and the date of issuance, but it is actually time-limited.

If it's been expired for too long, it's unusable, and there's no need for blacklisted shops to keep it.

In other words, it is very likely that we are now in the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign.

The two men were about the same height as me, and they didn't have any obvious facial features.

One description of his appearance is "fair-skinned and beardless, with no unusual features or eyebrows," while the other describes him as "average-looking, with a slightly yellow complexion and no moles."

It seems that having no distinctive features on one's face can also be considered a feature!

The original owners of these two travel permits were at least not freaks. Although the physical descriptions did not perfectly match the appearance of Lu Chen's current body, at least they wouldn't be easily recognized.

However, there are some problems with impersonating them.

One of them was a twenty-two-year-old boy from Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, who was a student visiting relatives in Luoyang.

Age isn't a problem, but dialect is. People in Zhangzhou speak Minnan dialect, which Lu Chen doesn't, so it'll be easy for him to give himself away.

The other person was born in August of the fourteenth year of the Zhengde reign, and the travel permit was issued in April of the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign.

Although Lu Chen didn't know the exact day, it was most likely early summer.

This person should be turning nineteen soon.

His name is also quite coincidental; it's Lu Chen, which sounds the same as Lu Chen but has different characters.

It does seem that it is indeed easier to impersonate someone else.

However, his identity is a problem!

According to the information written on the travel permit, this Lu Chen is from Chengtian Prefecture in Huguang Province, and his father is a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) commander serving in the capital!

Chengtian Prefecture, surnamed Lu, Imperial Guard?!

Lu Chen immediately thought of a legendary figure. That's right, it was Lu Bing, the only commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Ming Dynasty who held the positions of Three Dukes and Three Ministers!

When Emperor Wuzong of Ming, Zhu Houzhao, died, he had no sons. At the same time, he was the only son of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, and the entire line of Emperor Xiaozong had ended.

Therefore, the only option was to find a successor among the sons of Emperor Chenghua, the younger brother of Emperor Xiaozong.

Fortunately, Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianshen, was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty with the second largest number of offspring after Emperor Taizu, Zhu Yuanzhang, so there were many candidates for his succession.

According to the traditional rites of succession by younger brother upon the death of an elder brother, Zhu Youyuan, the Prince of Xingxian and father of the Jiajing Emperor, became the first in line to the throne.

At this time, Zhu Youyuan had already passed away before Zhu Houzhao.

The heir apparent, Zhu Houcong, is still observing mourning for his parents, waiting for the 27-month mourning period to end before inheriting the throne of the Prince of Xing.

Who would have thought that someone sitting at home could be hit by a pie falling from the sky?

Zhu Houcong did not receive the imperial edict that would allow him to inherit the title of prince. Instead, he was taken directly to the capital and ascended the dragon throne!

Prince Xingxian, Zhu Youyuan, was the first Prince Xing. He had only two sons and one daughter. His eldest son, Zhu Houxi, died young, and Zhu Houcong, like Zhu Houzhao, was also an only child.

After Zhu Houcong succeeded the main line as a member of a minor branch of the family, Xingguo had no successor and was renamed Chengtian Prefecture.

The Chengtian Prefecture mentioned on this travel document is the former Xingguo, Anlu Prefecture in Hubei.

Lu Bing's father, Lu Song, was originally a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who followed Prince Xingxian, Zhu Youyuan, to his fiefdom.

Lu Bing's mother, Fan, the wife of Lu Song, was the wet nurse of Zhu Houcong, the heir apparent of the Prince of Xing.

The Lu family had a close relationship with the Prince of Xing's mansion. After Zhu Houcong ascended the throne, the Lu family father and son also went to the capital and rose to prominence.

Before his death, Lu Song had risen to the position of Vice Commander of the Rear Army and concurrently in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, making him one of the most powerful figures in the Embroidered Uniform Guard system.

After Lu Bing succeeded him, he completely took control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and served as its commander.

He enjoyed the deep trust of the Jiajing Emperor and wielded immense power!

Chengtian Prefecture was the place where the Jiajing Emperor rose to power and also the place where the Lu family made their fortune.

It's perfectly normal that there are still members of the Lu family in Chengtian Prefecture.

Is this Lu Chen related to Lu Bing?

Picking up the road sign, Lu Chen carefully read the description on it.

Lu Chen, a commoner from this prefecture, is the son of Lu Kun, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who currently serves in the Northern Garrison Command in the capital.

This person was born out of wedlock and originally served his birth mother, Wang, at home for many years.

My mother, née Wang, passed away last year, and I am now living alone at home observing mourning.

The reason for the trip was that the father had contracted rheumatism in the capital, and his stepmother, Chen, wrote a letter to the family, ordering him to go to the capital to attend to his medical needs.

It was found that his father, Lu Kun, had a document from the Ministry of War issued in the sixteenth year of the Jiajing reign (1547) as proof of his meritorious service, and it was appropriate to show leniency.

The permitted area extends from Chengtian Prefecture, through Xiangyang Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture, via the post road to Shuntian Prefecture. Passage is permitted upon verification at all customs and ferry crossings along the way.

Lu Chen's father, Lu Kun, is most likely related to Lu Song and his son Lu Bing.

However, their relationship is probably not very close.

It was already the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign. Even if the Lu family father and son had not yet fully taken control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they should be close to it.

Since Lu Kun has an eighteen or nineteen-year-old son, he can't be very young. He's been with Lu Kun all the way from Anlu to the capital, so he's not lacking in experience.

If they were close relatives or confidants of the Lu family, they would at least be at the level of a thousand-household commander or a hundred-household commander, if not holding an important position.

He hasn't been to Beijing for seventeen years and is still just a junior officer.

Moreover, according to the description on the travel permit, this Lu Chen was Lu Kun's illegitimate son and did not live with his father, but stayed in his hometown of Chengtian Prefecture with his birth mother, Wang.

More importantly, his birth mother, Lady Wang, had passed away, and his father, Lu Kun, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had contracted rheumatism in the capital.

Lu Chen didn't know what this "wind paralysis" disease was either.

But since Lu Chen's stepmother, Lu Kun's legal wife, Chen, wanted to write a letter summoning this illegitimate son from his hometown in Chengtian Prefecture to the capital to serve medicine.

Lu Kun's illness must be quite serious; he may have even lost the ability to move normally.

Under such circumstances, even if he were the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, his power would be very limited.

If I were to impersonate this persona, as long as I wasn't foolish enough to actually go to Lu Kun's house to claim kinship, there shouldn't be much risk.

Do not go to Chengtian Prefecture or the capital. With the travel permit, you can travel freely to Xiangyang Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture.

Although Lu Chen himself was not a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as a son of a concubine, he was not in line to inherit Lu Kun's position as the head of the Imperial Guard.

However, the tiger skin of the son of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard can still intimidate some people in the local area. At least ordinary clerks should not dare to make things difficult for him, which can save him a lot of trouble.

What's even more remarkable is that although Lu Chen and Lu Chen are written differently, they are pronounced exactly the same.

With this name, I don't have to worry about accidentally saying the wrong thing someday.

This identity is usable!

After carefully putting away Lu Chen's travel permit, Lu Chen put all the other travel permits back in their original places, then got up and went downstairs.

. . .

The open space outside the gate.

After staring at the dilapidated building for a while, Lu Chen gave up the idea of ​​burning it down.

There were still two living people in the hall who had no grudge against him. As a modern person, Lu Chen couldn't be indifferent to human life.

A moment later, Lu Chen turned and stepped out of the courtyard gate, walking downstream along the path by the river outside the gate.

. . .

At the same time, in Jinchengfang Hutong, Beijing.

Above the three-bay, five-bay, gilded gate with animal-face decorations, the plaque inscribed with "Lu, Assistant Commander of the Rear Army Commandery" has been covered with plain silk.

Just a few hours ago, Lu Song, a former official from the Jiajing Emperor's former residence who held the rank of Second Grade, Assistant Commander of the Rear Army, assisted in the administration of the Beijing Garrison, and concurrently managed the Embroidered Uniform Guard, breathed his last.