btmnovel Chapter 1476 You are the first
Chapter 1476 You are the first
"My name is Zhu Qiwu." The young man placed the wine pot on the table. "Mr. Chen has come all the way from Suzhou without even saying hello. As the host, shouldn't I at least offer him a toast?"
Chen Liang's hand stealthily reached for the short knife in his sleeve, but he found nothing—the knife was gone.
Zhu Qiwu brandished the short knife in his hand and said with a smile, "Mr. Chen, are you looking for this?"
Chen Liang's expression finally changed.
"How...how did you get in? Where's Zhao Shunzi?"
“Zhao Shunzi is downstairs having tea; I had someone invite him.” Zhu Qiwu pulled up a chair, poured himself a glass of wine, and said, “Mr. Chen, let’s be frank. I know perfectly well why you’ve come to Yingtian Prefecture. I also know perfectly well that you’re trying to sabotage Enke.”
Chen Liang forced himself to remain calm: "Seventh Young Master, you jest. I'm just a cloth merchant..."
"A cloth merchant, hiding a dagger in his sleeve?" Zhu Qi slammed the dagger on the table. "Chen Liang, from Suzhou, Zhang Shicheng's advisor, specializing in shady dealings. I noticed you when you set up your recruitment hall in Hangzhou. Did you think I wouldn't recognize you just because you changed your clothes?"
Chen Liang's face turned completely pale.
Zhu Qiwu picked up his wine glass, took a slow sip, and then said, "Mr. Chen, I'll give you two choices. First, you should get back to Yingtianfu now and tell Zhang Shicheng not to interfere in the imperial examination; it's pointless anyway. Second..."
He paused, his smile turning cold.
"Secondly, you must stay in Yingtian Prefecture and not go anywhere else."
Chen Liang's lips trembled: "You...you dare kill me? I'm Zhang Wang's man. If you kill me, Zhang Wang won't let you get away with it!"
“Zhang Shicheng?” Zhu Qiwu put down his wine cup. “Mr. Chen, go back and tell Zhang Shicheng that if he wants to fight, my fourth brother’s troops are ready to meet him at any time. But if he wants to pull any tricks in the shadows, I advise him to save his breath. Yingtian Prefecture is my territory, and no one who causes trouble on my turf ever ends well.”
He stood up, walked to the door, and glanced back at Chen Liang.
"By the way, I've already had someone keeping an eye on your Zhao Shunzi. If he dares to spread any nonsense in the city, I'll have Tang He invite him for tea. Tang He's way of inviting people for tea is a bit different from mine, so you'd better tell your men to behave themselves."
After saying that, Zhu Qiwu left without looking back.
Chen Liang sat alone in the room, covered in cold sweat. He looked down at the pot of wine on the table, then at the short knife left behind by Zhu Qiwu, his hands trembling so much that he couldn't even lift the cup.
When Zhu Qiwu came out of the Yuelai Inn, it was already broad daylight. The streets of Yingtian Prefecture were bustling with people, breakfast stalls were steaming, and several children were chasing each other in the alleys.
He was about to walk towards the examination hall when he suddenly saw a crowd gathered in front of him, as if they were watching something exciting.
He squeezed through the crowd and saw an old woman sitting on the ground crying, with a young man lying next to her, his face covered in blood and unconscious.
"What's going on?" Zhu Qiwu grabbed a bystander who was watching the commotion.
The man said, "Young Master Qiwu, this young man is a scholar who came to take the imperial examination. He was just beaten by a few people. Those people said they were Zhang Shicheng's men and told him not to take the special examination and to go back to Suzhou to take the literary examination instead. The young man refused and was beaten."
He crouched down and looked at the unconscious young man. Talent Assessment Technique automatically activated—Literary Talent: Average. Integrity: Superior. Injuries: Facial trauma, not serious.
Fortunately, no vital organs were damaged.
"Someone come here!" Zhu Qiwu shouted, and two bodyguards immediately ran over.
"Take this person to the clinic; I'll cover the medical expenses. Also, investigate and arrest those guys who assaulted him."
"Yes!"
The guards carried the young man away, and the old woman followed, profusely thanking them. Some people in the crowd began to murmur among themselves.
"Young Master Qi Wu is truly a good person."
"Indeed, His Highness the Prince of Wu's younger brother is different from other officials."
"Those men of Zhang Shicheng are utterly despicable; they beat up scholars!"
Zhu Qiwu ignored the discussions; his mind was racing. Zhang Shicheng's men had already begun their operation, faster than he had anticipated. It seemed Chen Liang hadn't come alone; there were other Zhang Shicheng's men in the city.
He quickened his pace and arrived at the examination hall.
The examination hall was in complete chaos. Xu Da was leading people to move tables, Tang He was directing people to set up tents, and Zhou Dexing was checking the list of candidates.
Liu Bowen and Song Lian also arrived. The two sat in the main hall of the examination hall, with a pile of papers in front of them, discussing the examination questions.
As soon as Zhu Qiwu entered, Liu Bowen looked up at him and said, "Young Master Qiwu, you've come at the right time. I've prepared three sets of questions for the first round of classical studies; come and see which one you like."
Zhu Qiwu walked over, picked up the three pieces of paper, and looked at them.
The first set of tests covered the Four Books, the second set covered the Five Classics, and the third set covered the Spring and Autumn Annals.
“Mr. Bowen, none of these three sets will do.” Zhu Qiwu put down the paper.
Liu Bowen raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What's wrong with it?"
“That’s too conventional,” Zhu Qiwu said. “The Yuan Dynasty’s imperial examinations also tested these things. If we still test these things, what’s the difference between us and the Yuan Dynasty? Scholars can tell what you’re going to test just by looking at the questions, and they’ve already memorized the answers. I don’t want to test their memorization; I want to test their ability to apply what they’ve learned.”
Song Lian chimed in from the side, "Does the Seventh Prince mean that the test won't be based on rote memorization, but on applying knowledge in a practical way?"
“Yes,” Zhu Qiwu said. “For the first session on classical texts, I will give you a question—if you were the magistrate of a county, and the county suffered a disaster and there wasn’t enough food, what would you do? Answer using principles from the Four Books and Five Classics, but you cannot recite them verbatim; you must write down your own solution.”
Liu Bowen's eyes lit up: "This is excellent! This question will filter out those who only know how to read books by rote."
"I'll set the agenda for the second round of policy discussions," Zhu Qiwu said. "There's only one topic—imagine you are the strategist for the King of Wu, and you have three things to do: first, defeat Zhang Shicheng; second, win over Chen Youliang's former troops; and third, pacify the people. You can only do one at a time. Which would you choose? And why?"
Song Lian gasped, "This question... is too harsh. No matter which one we choose, we'll offend the other two groups."
"That's exactly the effect we want," Zhu Qiwu said. "Those who dare to choose are truly courageous. Those who don't dare to choose, no matter how well they've memorized their books, will never become officials."
Liu Bowen put down his folding fan, looked at Zhu Qiwu, and his gaze held a deeper meaning.
"Seventh Prince, if you had been born in peaceful times, you would surely have been a renowned minister. It's a pity you were born in this chaotic era..."
"Chaotic times are good," Zhu Qiwu laughed. "Only in chaotic times can things be changed."
Just then, Zhou Dexing rushed in, his expression grim. "Seven-five, something's happened."
"What's up?"
"Just now, Tang He arrested three people, claiming they were spreading rumors outside the examination hall. But after interrogation, it was discovered that these three were not Zhang Shicheng's men."
Zhu Qiwu was taken aback: "Not Zhang Shicheng's man? Then whose man is he?"
Zhou Dexing glanced at Liu Bowen, then at Song Lian, and lowered his voice, saying, "They're former subordinates of Chen Youliang. They're not here to sabotage Huang Enke; they're here to kill."
The room fell silent.
Liu Bowen's folding fan stopped in mid-air, and Song Lian's brush fell to the ground.
"Murder?" Zhu Qiwu's voice turned cold. "Murder whom?"
“To kill you,” Zhou Dexing said. “Those three men confessed that they were sent by Zhou Heita, a subordinate of Chen Youliang. Zhou Heita is currently hiding in Yingtian Prefecture with a dozen assassins. Their target isn’t Enke, it’s you.”
He hadn't expected Chen Youliang's former subordinates to get involved. Zhang Shicheng wanted to sabotage Huang Enke, while Chen Youliang's former subordinates wanted him dead. When these two groups clashed, things became far more complicated than he had imagined.
Where is Zhou Heita?
“We don’t know yet,” Zhou Dexing said. “Those three only know that Zhou Heita is active in the southern part of the city, but they don’t know exactly where he’s hiding. However, they did tell us one thing: Zhou Heita is going to make his move tonight.”
"Tonight?" Zhu Qiwu glanced at the sky outside the window; the sun was already high in the sky. "That means I still have most of the day left."
He turned to Xu Da: "Brother Da, immediately double the number of men patrolling around the examination hall. From now on, anyone who approaches within fifty paces of the examination hall should be arrested and questioned."
Xu Da nodded: "Understood."
"Tang He!" Zhu Qiwu called out again.
Tang He rushed in from outside, holding half a sesame seed cake in his hand: "What's wrong?"
"Put down the sesame seed cake you're holding and listen to me," Zhu Qiwu said sternly. "Someone might come to kill me tonight. You and your men will set up three guard posts around my courtyard. The first post will be at the alley entrance, the second outside the courtyard wall, and the third at my door. No one is allowed to enter without my permission."
Tang He's sesame seed cake fell to the ground, and his expression instantly changed: "Who? Who wants to kill you? I'll go chop him up!"
“Don’t rush to chop him down,” Zhu Qiwu said. “First, set up the guard. This man is called Zhou Heita, a former subordinate of Chen Youliang, and he has more than a dozen assassins under his command. You can’t handle him alone; you’ll have to outsmart him.”
Tang picked up the sesame seed cake, took a big bite, and said, "Fine, you tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
Zhu Qiwu then looked at Liu Bowen: "Mr. Bowen, tonight might be unsettling. You and Jinglian should return to your lodgings and take shelter."
Liu Bowen shook his head: "I'm not leaving. If I leave, those assassins will have an easier time succeeding. Young Master Qiwu, what's your plan? Tell me."
Zhu Qiwu thought for a moment and said, "I have an idea. Zhou Heita wants to kill me, definitely because of the special imperial examination. They fear that if the examination succeeds, Zhu Yuanzhang's power will increase, and Chen Youliang's old subordinates will have no way out. So their goal is to stop the examination, and the fastest way to stop it is to kill me."
“Yes,” Liu Bowen said, “but didn’t you just say you wanted to outwit them? How?”
Zhu Qiwu smiled, a hint of cunning in his smile.
“Mr. Bowen, you said Zhou Heita would make his move tonight. Let’s give him that chance.”
Liu Bowen's eyes lit up: "You're setting a trap?"
“Not only do we set a trap, we need to make him fall into it himself.” Zhu Qiwu walked to the window, looking at the street outside. “Zhou Heita is hiding in the south of the city. If he wants to kill me, he has to cross half of Yingtian Prefecture. Our people are everywhere along that route. But what if I deliberately create a weakness?”
"What flaw?" Song Lian asked.
“I’m not going back to my lodgings tonight,” Zhu Qiwu said. “I’ll stay in the examination hall, and only with two people. If word gets out that I’m staying up all night in the examination hall preparing exam questions, with only Tang He and a personal guard by my side, do you think Zhou Heita will come if he hears that?”
Liu Bowen pondered for a moment: "Yes. But that's too risky."
“No risk,” Zhu Qiwu said. “I have a talent assessment technique. As long as Zhou Heita appears within ten zhang of me, I can tell whether he’s an assassin or not. And…”
He pulled a small porcelain bottle from his pocket; it was the reward he received that morning for checking in with the system—sedative bombs. Three of them, enough to render anyone within a five-zhang radius unconscious for half an hour.
"And I also have this."
Tang He stared at the small porcelain bottle, his eyes wide with amazement: "What kind of wonderful thing is this?"
"Don't ask, you'll find out when the time comes." Zhu Qiwu carefully put away the porcelain bottle. "Tang He, go find eight of the most skilled men and have them ambush the east and west sides of the examination hall tonight. Wait for my signal. Once the signal comes, you all rush out. Remember, capture them alive is the priority; don't kill them."
Tang He patted his chest confidently: "Don't worry, I'm an expert at capturing them alive!"
Zhu Qiwu then looked at Song Lian: "Jinglian, go do me a favor. Go find Fang Zijing and have him spread a message among the scholars that the exam questions for tonight's special examination will be leaked, and that all candidates should wait at the entrance of the examination hall. The more people, the better."
Song Lian was taken aback: "Hasn't this attracted all the examinees? What if something happens..."
"The point is to lure everyone over here," Zhu Qiwu said. "If Zhou Heita sees hundreds of people gathered at the entrance of the examination hall, he won't dare to make a move. But if he's already decided to act, those hundreds of people will actually help us. Those scholars may not be good fighters, but they have many eyes. Zhou Heita's men can be easily spotted in the crowd."
Song Lian suddenly realized: "You're going to use scholars as spies!"
"A scholar's eyes are sharper than a soldier's," Zhu Qiwu said. "Go, and hurry up."
Song Lian accepted the order and left.
Zhu Qiwu then turned to Zhou Dexing: "Brother Dexing, go check all the inns, houses, and dilapidated temples in the south of the city, one by one. Zhou Heita brought more than a dozen men; they couldn't all be staying in inns. Some must be staying elsewhere. Once you find them, don't alert them; keep an eye on them."
Zhou Dexing nodded: "Understood."
Everyone accepted the order and dispersed, leaving only Zhu Qiwu and Liu Bowen in the room.
Liu Bowen looked at Zhu Qiwu and suddenly asked, "Young Master Qiwu, how old are you this year?"
Zhu Qiwu was taken aback: "Eighteen."
"Eighteen years old." Liu Bowen slowly shook his head. "I, Liu Bowen, have lived most of my life and have seen many intelligent people. You are probably the first person to have calculated people's hearts to this extent at the age of eighteen." (End of this chapter)