Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"But my husband is just over 20 years old!" Ma Lingqi said in surprise.

In her opinion, this age is a good time to achieve success, which is the same as working hard while young in later generations.

However, Zhang Shikang said very seriously:

"Yes, I am still young, so I should do what I want to do while I am still young."

This is a very difficult thing in later generations. For ordinary people, at this age, they have almost nothing except being young.

They have to spend a lot of time working hard and struggling, whether it is for a house or marriage, and after getting married they have to continue struggling for their children.

When the children grow up, you have to consider buying a house for them. When the children get married, you have to consider your grandchildren. In short, you have to keep working hard.

Once their children are able to take care of themselves and their grandchildren go to middle school, they can finally take a break and pursue what they really wanted to do.

But they suddenly discovered that they were old and their lives were already in the countdown.

Zhang Shikang felt that if he had not come here, his life would have been ordinary and nothing remarkable.

If you are lucky, have filial children and grandchildren, and a harmonious family, it means your life has come to an end.

But now it’s different. He has reached the finish line directly. His father is a duke, he is also a duke, and his family is not short of money.

Moreover, in recent years, he would get angry with anyone who dared to say that he had not struggled. He had worked day and night, and was always on the alert. He had killed gentry in the south, bandits in the west, and Tartars in the north.

It's time to enjoy life.

"My husband's ideas are always strange, but since His Majesty values ​​me so highly, I think His Majesty is unlikely to agree."

"Everything depends on human effort~ Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go and do something interesting."

"Husband...I...I am pregnant."

"My husband has another clever plan."

After a while.

"Oh!—be gentle! Are you going to murder your husband?"

……

Yongping Prefecture, Lijia Village.

A disaster had just passed, and there was still a drizzle of rain from the sky from time to time.

Li Zhong's family of three huddled in a corner of the dilapidated house, feeling a little restrained. The reason for their restraint was that a young master had come to their house.

The young master took only half a day to repair his collapsed house and make it habitable.

According to the servants, it was also thanks to this young master that his wife was found.

Li Zhong was originally worried that there was no delicious food at home to entertain the guests, but the young master told him very seriously that he was not allowed to add any extra food and he had to eat what they usually ate.

Li Zhong was puzzled at first, but after thinking about it, he realized that this young man might be the son of some noble family and had come to the countryside to experience life.

So they did as they were told and soaked the grain at home in water, but farmers would never throw away the grain, so they made a porridge made of mixed grains.

Fortunately, the harvested sweet potatoes were not washed away in the corner, and I also cooked a few sweet potatoes.

Zhu Cilang watched very carefully during the whole process of Li Zhong's wife cooking, and only asked questions when he didn't understand.

Because Zhang Shikang told him that it was not easy to leave the palace, and once he went out he should broaden his horizons, not only in the military camp, but also among the people, especially the lowest class of people.

As the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, if he does not know the suffering of the people, no matter how powerful the army is, it will be like a tree without roots. Zhu Cilang deeply agrees with this.

Talk less and watch more carefully was Zhang Shikang’s second advice to him.

"Young Master, this is called sweet potato. It's soft, sticky, sweet, and extremely delicious. It's not picky about the soil, and its yield is much higher than wheat. Please try it."

Li Zhong handed over a piece of sweet potato. Zhu Cilang was about to take it, but Hong Xiucheng on the side took it first, broke off a piece and put it in his mouth.

Li Zhong was a little confused, and Zhu Cilang frowned and complained a little. He was watching the whole cooking process.

"Is this the new crop that Master has been working so hard to promote?"

Zhu Cilang took the sweet potato in his hand, examined it, and then took a bite.

The taste is really good. There are few sweet foods in people’s staple food, and people’s love for sweetness is ingrained in their bones.

The multi-grain porridge was not very tasty, and there was not even a side dish for the meal. Even with sweet potatoes, it was just enough to fill the stomach. Zhu Cilang forced himself to drink half a bowl.

But Li Zhong's family ate it with relish, and the remaining half bowl was quickly finished by the family's children.

"This is all thanks to the Duke. If it weren't for him, our Li family would have died out long ago." Li Zhong looked at the tablet on the table and praised him endlessly.

"Are you talking about the Duke of Zhenguo?" Zhu Cilang asked, standing up and walking towards the tablet.

"Of course, it's because you dealt with those rich and unkind gentry that we ordinary people have land to farm.

It is thanks to the sweet potatoes and potatoes promoted by my grandfather that our family can occasionally have a full meal.

The young master didn't know the situation here at the time. All the elm trees around the village died. After the elm bark was eaten up, people started eating grass roots. Old Zhang from the next door village was so hungry that he ate the Guanyin soil and suffocated to death.

The young master has seen the current situation. Even though there has been such a big disaster, no one from our Lijia Village has come out to cause trouble.

Why? Because we have food and land at home. As long as we survive this disaster and don't starve to death, there is hope."

As he said that, Li Zhong picked up the sign and wiped it carefully. Zhu Cilang's eyes widened because he saw the name on the Changsheng sign.

Li Zhong didn't notice Zhu Cilang's surprised expression, and just said to himself:

"I, Li Zhong, almost lost my life in this disaster, but even at this critical moment, I asked my son to hold on to this longevity token.

"My Lord, you have given my Li family, and even Lijia Village, a life of great kindness."

"He is my master." Zhu Cilang said in a low voice, and then left Li Zhong's house.

Li Zhong and his family were stunned on the spot. Zhu Cilang didn't react until he had walked a long way away. They kowtowed to Zhu Cilang excitedly to express their gratitude.

When Zhu Cilang left Lijia Village, his mind was confused.

Wherever you go, as long as the Duke of Zhenguo is mentioned, the locals will praise him.

He originally thought that the people were hostile to the government offices and the imperial court. After all, in the past few years, there were suppression of military pay and training of military pay, and various pretexts were raised, and the imperial court would often make the people suffer.

This time when he followed his master to the battlefield, he truly witnessed the cruelty of war and the suffering of the people, and gained a preliminary understanding of governing a huge country.

Although his master did not teach him how to govern a country, he taught him many methods to learn how to govern a country, which benefited Zhu Cilang a lot.

"Why is Lord Hong so worried?" Zhu Cilang asked as he lifted the curtain in the carriage.

He had actually discovered this a long time ago, especially when he heard the people praising his master's merits, Hong Xiucheng always had a bitter face.

"Your Highness, haven't you noticed? People from all over the country, especially the disaster victims, are all praising my master." Hong Xiucheng sighed.

"So what? My master has done so many good things for the people, this is what should happen."

After all, Zhu Cilang was young and had not figured out the ins and outs of this matter.

"But Your Highness, since ancient times, those who have great prestige among the people have either rebelled and ascended to high positions, or died without a burial place."

This statement was a bit outrageous, but Hong Xiucheng knew Zhu Cilang, so he said it bravely. He felt that if he didn't say it, he might not have another chance.

However, Zhu Cilang obviously didn't take it seriously and just said casually:

"You know my master's character. He would never rebel."

The implication is that his master is so lazy that it is more believable to say that Prince Fu and others are rebelling than to say that his master is rebelling.

"But Your Highness, this is the problem!" Hong Xiucheng said a little excitedly.

……