Chapter 173 Xie Jin’s Letter of Allegiance
By the time Zhu Gaoyu got his father to pay homage to the imperial mausoleum, Zhu Di had almost finished his business.

He followed his three brothers and sat under a small roadside stall, slurping noodles.

The noodles are very simple, with a handful of chopped green onions, a small spoonful of lard, and a bright yellow poached egg.

good smell.

For the brothers who had rarely had a good meal for most of the year, it was a real pleasure to have their older brother and younger brother by their side and to be able to quietly eat a bowl of noodles on a clear autumn morning.

Soon, as the sun gradually rose, the outer city became bustling.

Peddlers and hawkers, and horses and carriages run side by side.

More and more people gathered at the stall.

Zhu Gaoyu had a bit of a social-minded character.

When he saw a lot of people around, he couldn’t help twisting and turning when he sat on the long bench, and he looked like there were nails under his butt.

Zhu Gaoyu’s eyes, in particular, were always wandering around the streets and stalls, like a silly roe deer full of curiosity.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoyu suddenly heard whispering sounds in his ears.

Because he was close, Zhu Gaoyu could hear it clearly.

“…”

“Really dead?”

“Of course not. When he came out that night, some people saw him crying. After returning home, he didn’t say anything. I thought it would be fine after one night. Who would have thought that he would have committed suicide by drinking poison in the middle of the night.”

“…”

The following conversation was a bit blurry.

However, Zhu Gaoyu roughly understood the cause and course of the incident.

It was nothing more than three scholars getting together to discuss the Yan army approaching the city. However, at the end of the conversation, one of them saw the Yan army breaking into the city, Zhu Yunwen committing suicide, and the King of Yan about to ascend the throne. For the sake of loyalty and righteousness, he chose to commit suicide by drinking poison.

Zhu Gaoyu sighed and felt unexpectedly calm.

He had to harden his heart.

Although Zhu Gaoyu was good at persuading people to surrender during the Jingnan Campaign, it is undeniable that there are people in this world who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the values ​​in their hearts.

Zhu Gaoyu could not fully understand this, but he chose to respect it.

When I think about it carefully, I still feel a little sad.

After a while, Zhu Gaoyu saw a steaming hot sugar cake in front of him.

The sad feeling disappeared in an instant.

Zhu Gaoyu and his brothers dressed simply and mingled with the people in the outer city. Apart from their aura being somewhat different from others, they looked like ordinary people.

It was at this time that a dark-skinned scholar came near Zhu Gaoyu and his companions, smiling warmly:

“My dear brothers, the seats in the booth are all full. Can we squeeze in here?”

Zhu Gaoyu glanced at him.

Yo.

This guy doesn’t look like a scholar.

I wouldn’t say he’s ugly, I can only say he’s a little dark and looks a little shabby. He looks fundamentally different from the traditional, fair-skinned and gentle scholar. But he just happens to wear the kind of long gown that only scholars wear.

Zhu Gaoyu didn’t think much about it. He moved his butt to make a more than enough space and started talking:

“Sit, sit, sit.”

He stretched his head and looked into Xie Jin’s bowl.

At first glance, Zhu Gaoyu’s skull was about to explode.

This bowl of wontons had a layer of dogwood floating on top. Zhu Gaoyu could feel the spiciness coming from it without even having to look closely.

His eyes widened:

“Why did you add so much dogwood? Shouldn’t a little bit be enough?”

Xie Jin smiled:

“I am from Ji’an Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. I like to add some spicy food to my meals.”

Zhu Gaoyu felt the disparity between regions.

Is this called a little?
Xie Jin looked at Zhu Gaoyu and said as if deliberately:

“You can’t eat spicy food, right?”

Zhu Gaoyu immediately opened his eyes wide and sneered:
“What a joke! I, Zhu Gaoyu, am the hot-tempered king of the Ming Dynasty!”

After he finished speaking, he picked up his spoon, scooped a full spoonful of soup, and then, with a calm appearance, he poured the soup into his mouth with a fearless attitude.

In an instant, Zhu Gaoyu felt himself sublime.

So… so spicy…

Zhu Gaochi and others just looked at Zhu Gaoyu, feeling speechless.

If for no other reason, it was because of Zhu Gaoyu’s temperament that could not be provoked, and this also exposed their identities.

As expected, after hearing Zhu Gaoyu reveal his name, Xie Jin said to himself, “As expected”, but the smile on his face remained impeccable.

But when he looked up, he passed over Zhu Gaoyu who was still grinning, and his eyes met with Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui.

Compared with Zhu Gaoyu, who is sometimes clever and sometimes childish and stupid, there is scrutiny in the eyes of these three people.

While Xie Jin was startled, he quickly realized that Zhu Gaoyu was just a child, but his three brothers were not.

Especially Zhu Gaochi, as he was the former prince of Yan, and Xie Jin was once known as a child prodigy. Even if Zhu Gaochi did not recognize him at first, he came to his senses now and discovered the identity of this “old friend”.

Zhu Gaoxu never liked this kind of scholar with a mind as sharp as a sieve. He looked at Xie Jin and said sarcastically:
“Master Jie, you never come to my temple for no reason. How come you came to our stall right after we brothers entered the city?”

When Xie Jin heard this, he stopped smiling:

“Your Highness said that I would not come to the temple unless I had something to do. This sentence is correct.”

……ah? !
Zhu Gaoyu had anticipated many responses from Xie Jin, but he had never expected that Xie Jin would say it so openly.

Not only him, Zhu Gaoyu and Zhu Gaosui also stopped eating the sugar cakes.

He looked at Xie Jin, then at Zhu Gaoxu, as if trying to find something interesting between the two of them.

Xie Jin only laughed bitterly and continued:
“I know that compared to people like Wang Gen who committed suicide by drinking poison out of loyalty, I, Xie Jin, might be looked down upon for joining the King of Yan.”

“but……”

Xie Jin took a deep breath, as if he was recalling something.

“I was famous during the Hongwu Dynasty, but was later exiled and abandoned. During the years I returned to my hometown, I experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature. Only my wife and family stayed by my side and never left me.”

“If I, Xie Jin, surrendered to Your Majesty because I admired Your Majesty and was willing to be Your Majesty’s vanguard, this reason… is obviously too false.”

“I became famous at a young age, and have experienced many ups and downs. Now I just want to fight for my parents and wife so that they can live a good life too.”

“A good life?” Zhu Gaoxu sneered. “You, Xie Jin, were born into a scholarly family. Do you think your life is not good enough? Why don’t you go and see how ordinary people who live in cold and bitter places live?”

Xie Jin did not comment on this, but only said one sentence:

“Your Highness, if you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world. Now I, Xie Jin, am a reader in the Imperial Academy and can do nothing.”

After these words were spoken, the looks of Zhu Gaoyu and others changed slightly.

Without him.

Just because of Xie Jin’s honesty.

This guy openly told all the reasons why he surrendered to the Prince of Yan. Is he stupid?

However, after Zhu Gaoyu thought about it, he felt that Xie Jin might not be as stupid as he appeared.

To be precise, it is a bit straightforward, but not completely straightforward.

It is even possible that Xie Jin deliberately created a straightforward personality in order to gain their trust.

For example, Xie Jin first thought that he defected to the King of Yan for the sake of benefits, and then said that he sought benefits for the sake of his wife and parents. This is clearly a method of first suppressing and then praising.

Zhu Gaoyu felt that he was very smart again!
Zhu Gaoyu ate the last of the sugar cake in two or three bites, and at the end he did not forget to suck on his fingers several times, then he slowly said:
“So what you mean is… let us recommend you to Dad?”

Xie Jin didn’t say anything, but the meaning revealed in his eyes was exactly as Zhu Gaoyu said.

It was at this time that the brothers looked at each other and did not give a clear answer. Instead, they just muddled through the question and spoke vaguely. They did not refuse, but also did not agree to it immediately.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhu Gaochi wiped his mouth, drank the last of the soup, called a few of his brothers, and prepared to get on the carriage to rush to the inner city.

After they left, Xie Jin turned his back to the stall, watching all the eyes gathered around him. He looked calm and relaxed, scooped up wontons one spoonful at a time, put them into his mouth, and chewed them carefully.

……

After four persuasions, Zhu Di chose to ascend the throne.

But before that, at Yang Rong’s reminder, he went to the imperial mausoleum to pay homage.

When heading to the imperial city, all the civil and military officials kowtowed before the horses.

Zhu Gaoyu also knelt down and glanced at the civil officials.

On the way here, the eldest brother told him about several ministers he should pay attention to, all of whom were capable and had real talent.

Among them are Xia Yuanji, Yang Shiqi, Wang Jing and others.

Zhu Di, riding on a tall horse, took a quick look and saw his sons among his civil and military officials.

A smile appeared involuntarily at the corner of his mouth.

As expected of Zhu Di’s sons, they are all of outstanding appearance, handsome and elegant, unlike ordinary people.

However, when Zhu Di’s gaze slid from Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui to Zhu Gaochi’s belly, he frowned slightly.

Uh… the boss is…

Well, at least the boss still looks like a human being.

Seeing that he had never made any mistakes in managing the food and fodder of the Yan army during the Jingnan Campaign, Zhu Di found that his attitude towards his eldest son was much more tolerant than before.

As for Zhu Gaoyu…

Zhu Di set his eyes on the little carrot head.

Just at this time, Zhu Gaoyu was still winking and making faces at Zhu Di.

Ha ha.

Terrible stuff.

Zhu Di silently turned his head to the other side.

Even dogs would dislike children of this age!
Zhu Gaoyu just raised his head and met Zhu Di’s eyes.

At this moment, he became angry.

No!

What’s that look in your eyes!

Today 6,000

ps: There was no chili pepper in the early Ming Dynasty, so it was changed to dogwood. I have made this correction.

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(End of this chapter)