Chapter 69: That Yang Xiuzhen Deserves to Die

"Your Majesty, you must not utter such inauspicious words." The Duke of Zhenguo knelt and saluted.

"When it comes to this matter, does what I say still count or not?" the Emperor asked indifferently.

The Duke of Zhenguo lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty's words are law. How could anyone dare disobey the will of Heaven?"

"Minister Niu, rise," the Emperor said. "At my age, I no longer shy away from speaking of life and death. Life and death are the great matters of mankind—who can avoid them? Before I die, I naturally wish to leave a few military talents for my descendants, so that the court will not harbor resentment in the future. At your advanced age, have you not given any thought to the future?"

"The virtue of a gentleman ceases after five generations. Even if the court bestows grace and favor, one must have the capacity to receive it. A parent's love for their child is one of far-reaching plans. Duke of Zhenguo, am I right?"

Was Niu Xiaoqing not here to test the waters?

The Emperor simply laid the matter out in the open.

He held no special prejudice against the founding meritorious nobles; in fact, he still retained some affection for them.

The founding emperors and the founding nobility treated each other like family. During the reigns of the founding emperors, the children of the meritorious nobility entering the palace was as common as eating and drinking. Take Niu Xiaoqing before him—in his youth, he too frequently entered the imperial palace.

Having known the Emperor for decades as an old acquaintance, how could there be no affection?

Yet the imperial court cannot run on affection alone.

The Emperor did not expect the founding nobility to possess extraordinary abilities or turn the tide as legendary generals. But the descendants of the founding nobility should at least be able to shoulder their responsibilities and understand what is at stake.

Even if they could not achieve great things, they must at the very least not ruin things.

Yet such a requirement was already a high bar for the present generation of noble scions.

A bitter smile crossed Niu Xiaoqing's face. He finally understood the Emperor's intentions and knew how he should act as the Military Commissioner. However, this matter would not be easy to handle.

The Emperor was explicitly telling him that he agreed in principle to the Zheng family entering the Bureau of Military Affairs.

However, there is a difference between the Zheng family entering the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Zheng family wielding absolute control over it.

If the Eight Founding Dukes had the ability to make the Zheng family obediently play a secondary role, so be it. But if they lacked that ability, and in the future a couple of the Eight Founding Dukes disappeared to let the Zheng family take their place, that would also be only natural.

This was drawing a boundary for both sides, leaving them to fight it out within those limits.

"Your Majesty's lesson is well-taken. Your subject has indeed grown somewhat lax in the education of his family's descendants in recent years," the Duke of Zhenguo said respectfully, thinking inwardly: *In the future, it will probably be difficult for the younger generation to grind through seniority all the way to become Military Commissioners.*

*The way we cultivate our descendants must surely change.*

As for how to change, the Duke of Zhenguo had not yet figured it out. But recalling the palace school that Zheng Bangcheng had been fussing over, he thought to himself: *Perhaps this is an opportunity.*

With the matter decided, the Emperor dismissed the two men.

The Emperor appeared to be admiring the plum blossoms, but his gaze drifted toward empty space as he fell into deep contemplation. After a long while, he asked, "Little Fu, do you know Chang He?"

"Master, I have never read historical books; how would I know?"

The Emperor had not mentioned that Chang He was a historical figure.

Zhao Fu knew that the Emperor was not really talking to him, but simply needed someone to play the straight man in conversation.

"Chang He was a minister during the Zhenguan era. One day, Emperor Taizong ordered his ministers to submit memorials discussing state affairs. Chang He's memorial was exceptionally brilliant, incomparable to anyone else's. Emperor Taizong felt this was beyond Chang He's capability, so he questioned him. Only then did Chang He reveal that it had been ghostwritten by his aide, Ma Zhou. Taizong summoned Ma Zhou, and Ma Zhou became a renowned minister of his generation."

Zhao Fu caught the drift instantly and said, "Your Majesty wishes to know who Zheng Bangcheng's Ma Zhou is."

"Indeed. Do you have any news on that end?"

Zhao Fu lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and said, "Of late, there have been no unusual visitors to the Prince of Nanhai's estate. However, one of the Prince of Nanhai's daughters has arrived in the capital. As for the others, none seem quite suitable."

"Your subject believes that if there truly is a Ma Zhou, Your Majesty already knows this person."

"Who?"

"He Chong'an," Zhao Fu said. "The timeline of He Chong'an's visits to the Zheng estate highly coincides with this affair."

This was the unique skill that allowed Zhao Fu to remain standing by the Emperor's side for decades without falling from favor:

his super-human memory.

Whenever the Emperor asked, he could answer most matters fluently.

"He Chong'an." Only now did the Emperor recall the sense of familiarity he had felt today—much like being neatly arranged and managed by He Chong'an during the Laba banquet.

His feelings toward He Chong'an were complicated.

Overall, however, they leaned toward aversion.

Today, he felt even more averse.

Because only fools can resonate on the same frequency with fools. But smart people repel other smart people.

Dealing with those old foxes every day was already troublesome enough.

And now, a troublesome little fox had popped up out of nowhere.

The Emperor suddenly sighed, "Today I finally understand the mind of Cao Mengde."

That Yang Xiu truly deserved to die.

*******

Because he had exerted himself too aggressively, He Chong'an had landed on the Emperor's blacklist.

For the past few days, he had waited in the Zheng estate every day for news. Today, the news finally arrived.

Zheng Bangcheng said, "For the past few days, I have been discussing the selection process with the Prince of Yue and the Duke of Zhenguo. The Duke of Zhenguo has also thrown his heart into this matter."

Zheng Bangcheng let out a cold snort, making it clear that the discussions among the three had not been pleasant.

"The Prince of Yue has finally finalized the regulations. There will be a total of three trials. The first is martial arts: spear, bow and crossbow, and firearm—choose one of the three. Passing is all that is required.

"The spear trial involves two people dueling with spears, judged by victory or defeat. This is the most common method in the army.

"Archery and firearms both involve shooting at targets, judged by accuracy.

"Next are recitation of texts and explanation of meanings, based on the Bureau of Military Affairs' version of the *Seven Military Classics*."

Text recitation was essentially ancient fill-in-the-blanks, where sections of the original text were omitted for candidates to complete.

Meaning explanation was recitation from memory, selecting a passage from the original text.

"However, this time it will be based primarily on *The Art of War by Sun Tzu*."

"Finally, there is policy interrogation."

"The Prince of Yue will use policy interrogation to determine superiority and inferiority. As for the specific questions, we will only find out when the time comes."

He Chong'an remarked, "This is far too simple, isn't it? Martial arts can be chosen? And recitation and explanation are mainly based on *The Art of War by Sun Tzu*?"

The *Seven Military Classics* were seven military treatises compiled during the Song Dynasty, serving essentially as textbooks for later martial studies. *The Art of War by Sun Tzu* was one of them, consisting of a mere six thousand words.

The most difficult part was supposed to be the policy interrogation, yet it was only used to judge superiority without any elimination.

This could no longer be called going easy on them.

This was opening the floodgates entirely.

"I actually wanted to be stricter, especially since you said you were confident. But the Duke of Zhenguo steadfastly refused," Zheng Bangcheng said. "I heard that the Duke of Zhenguo gathered the scions of the Eight Founding Dukes together days ago. Having by now figured out the baseline of his own family's descendants, he was utterly unwilling to raise the difficulty."

"Still, you must not lower your guard," Zheng Bangcheng said with a solemn expression. "Although the Prince of Yue is presiding over this, the entire Bureau of Military Affairs is filled with their people. If you fall victim to someone else's tricks during the exams, I won't be able to rescue you."

"And you," Zheng Bangcheng said, turning to his younger brother Zheng Bangji, "you as well. Stay at home these next few days and practice diligently. Just honestly focus on practicing your firearm."

Zheng Bangji was extremely confident about this, nodding in agreement without further ado.

He Chong'an asked Zheng Bangcheng for advice: "Uncle Zheng, if they resort to underhanded tactics, where are they likely to strike?"