In the eleventh month of the twenty-fifth year of the Wanli calendar, the city of Beijing was bitterly cold.
The chilly wind, carrying with it a bone-chilling cold air, blew towards every pedestrian on the streets of Beijing, urging them to quicken their steps, warm their bodies, and hurry home to avoid falling ill.
Since the end of October, the weather in the north had suddenly turned cold. By the end of the eleventh month, it was already so cold that it was difficult to keep out the cold even with cotton clothes and trousers.
High officials and nobles wrapped themselves in cotton clothes and fur robes to keep out the cold. Ordinary people could not afford fur robes, and their cotton clothes were not thick, so they could only do their best to stay at home to keep warm.
Xu Guangqi was also one of these people who stayed at home to keep warm and did their best to avoid going out. As a southerner, when he set off for the capital after passing the provincial examination, he had not expected the capital to be so cold. As a southerner, he was not used to the cold.
In the winter, even standing by the window and exhaling cold air could freeze one's teeth, let alone going out to admire the snow and express one's feelings.
Xu Guangqi, who did not have a brocade hat or a marten coat to keep out the cold, could only stay in his small room. Fortunately, the charcoal fire was still strong, and the room was warm, so he could persevere in reading. He did not have to curl up in bed to read.
His family was once rich during his grandfather's time, but when it came to his father, the business failed, and the family declined. They could only turn to farming. Many years of savings did not disappear overnight, and they could be considered a well-off family. It was not difficult for them to support a scholar like him.
Moreover, now that he had passed the imperial examinations, his family now had a plot of land that could exempt him from taxes. With his fame, he had nothing to worry about. Of course, he had lofty ambitions and did not want to stop at the imperial examinations and live the life of a landlord.
His goal was to display everything he had learned in the imperial court, to bring Daming back on the right track, and to use what he had seen and learned over the decades to change the Daming dynasty.
Thus, he focused on preparing for the examinations in the capital. To him, he had already passed the most difficult part of the imperial examinations, the provincial examinations. If he passed the provincial examinations, he would be able to pass the court examinations and become an official. In that case, his dream would be fulfilled.
He prepared for the examination, full of hope and confidence.
At noon, he simply ate some hot food, took a nap, and then got up to study. Just as he was reading seriously, there was a knock on the door.
This was a cheap courtyard that he had rented in the capital. There were two rooms and a small courtyard, and it could be said to have all the essentials of a sparrow even though it was small. One of the rooms was for living, the other was for the kitchen, and there was also a straw shed that served as a toilet.
He liked this place very much. The price of housing in the capital was not low, at least, he could not afford it. Renting a room until the examination was over was relatively cost-effective, and it was the choice of many scholars.
With the door knocked, his train of thought was interrupted, and he had to go out to open the door in the cold. Xu Guangqi was naturally not a good feeling.
He shouted unhappily, "Who is it?", but he still put on his cotton coat and went out to open the door.
The inside and outside of the house were two different worlds, one warm, the other freezing. Xu Guangqi took a deep breath and quickly ran to the door. When the door opened, he saw a strange young man carrying a long box.
"May I ask if you are Xu Guangqi, Mr. Xu?"
Xu Guangqi frowned and looked up and down at the man.
He did not know him.
"Who are you? Why do you know my name? "
The young man cupped his hands and bowed.
"Mr. Xu, I am a subordinate of Xiao Ruxun, Marquis Zhennan. I am here to pay a visit under Marquis Xiao's order."
Xiao Ruxun?
Xu Guangqi immediately understood everything.
After passing the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture, Xu Guangqi had gone south to his hometown. When he passed through Nanjing, he had visited Nanjing Minister of War Ye Mengxiong, who appreciated his talent.
Ye Mengxiong had told him that it would be difficult for him to have any great achievements in the capital, but in a different place, he might be able to do great things.
At that time, Xu Guangqi had been very surprised. He felt that a great scholar like Ye Mengxiong should not have said such a thing.
Ye Mengxiong told Xu Guangqi about how he had been ostracized by the imperial court after he had made a great contribution. He had almost lost his life and had no choice but to go south. He told Xu Guangqi that a practical talent like him was not popular in the current imperial court.
Why? Because many of the matters that the court needed to worry about had been solved by one person. This gave the officials of the court a good opportunity to fight for power and profit.
The current court was in a foul atmosphere, and the officials were constantly fighting among themselves. It was very difficult for talented officials to achieve great things.
Xu Guangqi was very curious and asked who this person was. Ye Mengxiong revealed a nostalgic expression and said the name: Xiao Ruxun.
Xu Guangqi was no stranger to the name Xiao Ruxun. Ever since the campaign in Korea, Xiao Ruxun's name had spread far and wide. People called him Wanli's number one general, and some of his supporters even called him the Great Wall of the Empire, surpassing Li Chengliang and Ma Gui.
The reason was very simple. Ever since he had begun to make a name for himself, he had never lost a battle. When he cleaned up the aftermath of Bo Bai's rebellion in Ningxia, he had gained the reputation of being a staunch rebel. He had created a classic battle where he overturned a city as easily as a piece of paper, shocking the court.
Later, he competed with Li Rusong for the position of the chief general in the campaign in Korea and won. He commanded 40,000 troops to suppress the Japanese rebels at the age of 23.
He won successive battles in Korea and then crossed the sea to the mainland of Japan. He killed the Japanese Regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi and divided the unified Japan into two. Until now, they were still confronting each other in the east and west.
When Xu Guangqi heard this, he was greatly impressed. He felt that the Daming finally had a real general with a strategic mind, or even a talent for a commander.
In this battle, Xiao Ruxun killed nearly 200,000 Japanese pirates, completely crippling the Daming's biggest threat for many years. The coastal people no longer had to worry about the Japanese pirates coming back.
Therefore, when the news of the battle came, the happiest and most admired Xiao Ruxun were the coastal Shandong and the southeastern provinces, including Xu Guangqi who was born in Shanghai.
What was even more amazing was that Xiao Ruxun discovered mountains of gold and silver in Japan. Not only did he become stronger, but he also asked Japan to pay war reparations to the Daming every year. Therefore, Xu Guangqi felt that the Daming had enough money to do many things. This was all thanks to Xiao Ruxun.
Later, Xiao Ruxun went south to the Dongwu Kingdom and suppressed the rebels there. He built the town of Burma in the Dongwu Kingdom and was conferred the title of Marquis Zhennan by the Emperor. He was the Chief Military Officer of the Imperial Border and ruled Burma. His legend came to an end.
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