Fortunately, the torturous days did not last long. After school, the prince told them that his father had summoned them.
The brothers asked each other in unison:
"you you……"
"You didn't do anything bad?"
"What trouble did you get into again?"
"Lao Liu, you haven't done any more tricks, have you?"
After getting "No, no..."
"No."
"I didn't do anything."
After replying, "I just want to live a happy life for a few days.", they felt relieved and followed the prince to Wuying Palace.
When Zhu Biao saw Lao Qi following him, he touched his head and said with a smile: "Lao Qi, my father didn't ask you to go."
"I'd better follow..." King Qi muttered, thinking that he couldn't give his mother and concubine any excuse.
"That's fine." Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Learn more from your sixth brother, maybe you can ride a donkey in the palace."
King Qi took a look at King Chu who was sitting proudly on the back of an ox. He didn't know what this kind of scum could teach him.
And he also kidnapped his eighth brother...
Huh, what's so good about riding an ox? I'll ask my father to agree that I can ride a donkey in the palace!
~~
Wuying Palace.
After the princes bowed politely, Zhu Yuanzhang looked up from the papers, took off his spectacles and looked at his sons, showing a kind smile and said:
"They're all here. Hey, Lao Qi and Lao Ba, why are you two here to join in the fun? Lao Qi, take your brother and go back to do your homework quickly."
"Father, my mother and concubine said, Lao Liu... I have to be wherever brother is." Lao Qi said aggrievedly: "Otherwise, you will beat me."
"That's nonsense. Why didn't you follow me when the sixth man was herding cattle in my hometown?" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and cursed: "Get out of here quickly, my father wants to discuss business with your brothers."
"Oh..." Lao Qi had no choice but to nod in agreement, thinking in his heart that since his father had spoken this time, his mother and concubine would have no reason, right?
When he turned around in frustration, he saw Lao Liu winking at him. He couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart, and finally felt the sadness of being left out...
‘Is this what the mother and concubine are worried about?’ He sighed secretly, and had no choice but to lead Lao Ba away with a few tears in his eyes...
The prince couldn't help but shake his head. Concubine Da Ding pressed Lao Qi too tightly, and something would happen if this continued.
~~
As soon as the seventh and eighth children left, the kindness on Boss Zhu's face disappeared in an instant, and he looked at the remaining son with a donkey face and a pair of bull's eyes.
These were the goods that accompanied him in the autumn harvest in Fengyang. Zhu Yuanzhang cursed in a harsh tone: "A bunch of traitors!
"We have been so kind to you, but you repay kindness with hatred, and I have raised you a bunch of white-eyed wolves in vain!"
Before returning to Beijing, he, Boss Zhu, put down his dignity, made promises to his sons, and enhanced their relationship. Wasn't it just for their own benefit? Can he help him get through smoothly? At least he couldn't do any harm, right?
As a result, they were lucky. As soon as they saw her, Ma Xiuying threw away her father's love and held a complaint meeting on the spot. As a result, Boss Zhu's buttocks are still aching.
"..." The sons all lowered their heads like quails, not daring to answer. They still had the courage they had when they enthusiastically exposed their father's evil deeds that day.
That was the courage given to them by their mother, not their own. If their mother was not present, of course they would not have the courage...
"Also, we heard Mr. Song say that these days when you go back to the main hall, all of you are distracted and your studies are in a complete mess." Zhu Yuanzhang scolded again:
"Even Lao San, who was a good student in the past, has begun to fail to learn well and brags all day long. Do you know your guilt?"
"Convicted..." Brother said with a wilting head and brain like a few frosts beating an eggplant.
"Do you accept the punishment or not?" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed ferociously.
"Accept punishment."
"Huh, let me record this slap." Zhu Yuanzhang was still on parole for medical treatment. How could he dare to stir up trouble and add insult to injury? He could only scold him and regain some of his father's dignity. Then he changed the topic:
"If you don't miss it, forget it. I'll never set foot in the main hall again!"
246 thought in his heart, "Fuck, is there such a good thing?"
The third child, however, felt as if he was in mourning. He quickly knelt down and begged: "Father, please give me another chance! I promise to hang my head and prick my buttocks. No, I will use scissors. If you don't study, what's the point of living..."
246 felt a sense of boredom in her heart. Yesterday, she said that being a bad student was really fun...
"Didn't we appoint Liang Yin as the Fu of the King of Jin? Isn't it enough for you to study with him at night?" Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly. Parents always prefer children who are studious.
"What about during the day?" The brothers all looked at their father. It seemed that not being allowed to go to the main hall was not a punishment, but another arrangement.
"Continue to practice." Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly.
"Where are we going..." The brothers were trembling with fear. They had just come back and hadn't rested for a few days. Why did they come back again?
"I'm not going anywhere this time, just in Beijing." Zhu Yuanzhang said very proudly: "The cornerstone of the country is farmers and soldiers. Without farmers cultivating the land, all the people in the country will starve to death; without soldiers to defend the country, farmers will grow crops."
Crops will also be snatched away by enemies.
"When you leave town in the future, you must love the soldiers and be considerate of the farmers. As long as you do these two things, the vassal will be a good king. Do you remember it all?"
"Yes, please keep this in mind." The brothers quickly responded respectfully.
"Previously, you have deeply understood the difficulty of farmers. So this time, it is time to understand the difficulty of soldiers." Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "You can't learn it anyway, so don't waste time in the main hall, hurry up
It’s time to enlist in the army, just in time for this year’s autumn and winter performances!”
"That's great, Father!" Zhu Ping was so excited that he couldn't even stutter, and the fourth child also grinned happily. For these two children who grew up in the military camp, joining the army is just like returning to their parents' home.
When they thought about finally being able to participate in the vigorous autumn and winter military training, the two of them were so excited that they wanted to kiss their old father.
~~
The so-called autumn exercises and winter exercises are a tradition in Boss Zhu’s army.
When he was still working under Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang witnessed the mixed rebel army and was defeated several times by a small number of elite Yuan troops.
From that moment on, he realized a truth - 'Soldiers are not more valuable than many, but finesse. If you have many soldiers but no finesse, you will only be tired in battle.'
Therefore, for many years, he has been strictly requiring his generals to seize the opportunity between battles and train their troops hard. In order to quickly improve the combat effectiveness of the army, he often suddenly appeared in the military in various places without saying hello, and held military parades on the spot to test the training status and combat effectiveness of the troops.
Skill.
Unqualified generals may be demoted and trained, or served with military sticks, and then assigned to serve as top soldiers...
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the number of wars dropped sharply, and the significance of training exercises became even greater.
In the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang took the view that the world was settled and feared that Chinese and foreign soldiers would become accustomed to comfort and lose their martial arts, so he promulgated the "Laws of Trainers and Sergeants", which detailed the training standards and norms for officers and sergeants at all levels, as well as relatively objective standards of rewards and punishments.
It also required all provincial guards to take turns to "go to the imperial court for testing", that is, to go to Beijing to be inspected by the emperor and conduct competition exercises. Generally, the guards who took their turn would leave after the autumn harvest and arrive in Nanjing for training for a period of time. Then they would conduct exercises and competitions in the winter. This is
The so-called 'Autumn Exercises and Winter Performances'.
Since then, the promotion and selection of officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have been basically linked to the results of the annual autumn and winter exercises. Whether they are mules or horses, they have to be led out for a walk. Those who make up the numbers have no place at all, which greatly maintains the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.
.
Ps. In the Ming Dynasty, there was no Chief Envoy in this period. It was called Xing Zhongshu Sheng, or Xing Sheng for short. It was changed to the Chief Envoy later. Believe me, I am from the Ming Dynasty, and what I said is authentic...