Zongfu, the full name of the Ji Clan’s Royal Zongyuan, or Zongren’s Mansion for short, is the institution for the Ji Clan of the Wei Dynasty to manage royal clan affairs.
Its functions include taking charge of the clan roster of the emperor's nine clans, writing the imperial genealogy on time, recording the names, titles, hereditary titles, dates of death, marriages, posthumous titles, burials, etc. of the clan's children.
In addition, he is also responsible for sending and receiving documents, managing internal affairs of the clan, educating the clan's children and even confining clan members who commit crimes.
In a nutshell, the Zongfu manages everything of the Ji clan. Even the words of Emperor Wei may not have much effect here.
"arrive."
Under the guidance of Zhao Hongmin, the carriage slowly stopped in front of the main gate of the Zongfu.
I really don’t want to come here…
Zhao Hongrun got off the carriage as he was told and stood in front of this clan mansion, or to be precise, a group of buildings.
In fact, Zongfu does not just refer to a mansion, it should be called a collection of palaces and military camps. It is located on the northeast side of Daliang City and covers an area that is said to be equivalent to half of the imperial palace.
What's more worth mentioning is that this building is the only area in Daliang City that is not under the jurisdiction of the Three Guards Army, because here, there is a direct army directly under the Zongfu, the Yulin Army, or Zongwei.
"Well, it's still the same as before..."
Zongwei Shen Yu and Lu Mu also got off the carriage and followed Zhao Hongrun.
Before they were sent to Zhao Hongrun as the prince's Zongwei, the Zongfu was their home. In fact, even now, the Zongfu still adopts the orphans of the Wei military households and instills in them the love of Ji from childhood.
clan and their loyalty to the Wei Dynasty, and taught them knowledge and martial arts to train them into the most loyal warriors.
Therefore, if you want to ask who is the most loyal army in the Wei Dynasty, it is definitely not the six garrison battalions such as Junshui Camp, nor the three guards such as Bingwei, Imperial Guard, Langwei, etc., but Zong Weiyu
Lin Jun!
"Follow me."
Zhao Hongmin guided Zhao Hongrun, Shen Yu, Lu Mu, and Mi Jiang into the main courtyard of the clan.
"Hey, are there no guards here?"
When entering the tattered main entrance of the Zong Mansion, Mi Jiang felt surprised and softly asked Shen Yu next to her, because she was puzzled to find that the defense inside and outside the mansion did not seem to be perfect.
"Heh." After hearing Mi Jiang's inquiry, Shen Yu and Lu Mu smiled strangely: Does the clan still need guards?
Just when Mi Jiang felt surprised, she vaguely heard the cry of "drink, drink".
As they walked through the main courtyard and walked along the corridor towards the inner courtyard, Mi Jiang suddenly saw thousands of young men undergoing rigorous drills in the open space that was like a military camp.
.
It was obviously only the beginning of April, and the weather still couldn't be called warm, but the young men were all shirtless and sweating profusely. Even looking from a distance, you could vaguely see the wisps of heat emanating from their bodies.
.
"ha!"
"drink!"
Those Habayashi warriors waved the sticks in their hands in a stereotyped manner, and the force with which they swung the sticks seemed to be full of force and force.
At this time, a man in charge of directing the drill shouted loudly: "Stop!... Two people fighting."
As soon as he finished speaking, the neatly arranged Habayashi soldiers in the school grounds immediately stopped waving their sticks, threw away their sticks, and faced their companions in the adjacent rows, each one assuming a posture to attack.
It was truly an exchange of fists and fists. Mi Jiang even witnessed a Yulin Army general pick up the companion he was fighting with and throw him on his back. Even though they were far apart, Mi Jiang could still do it. Feeling: That will definitely hurt.
But what surprised her was that the Yulin soldier who was thrown to the ground shook his head and immediately got up and launched a counterattack against his companions.
"Endure the pain and adapt to the pain." Shen Yu whispered.
"What?" Mi Jiang looked at Shen Yu doubtfully.
Shen Yu shrugged and explained with a smile: "One of our Zongwei's instructions."
Mi Jiang was slightly stunned when she heard this, because she just felt that the soldiers in the distance were different from ordinary Wei soldiers. Their fighting spirit was stronger and their momentum was stronger, just like... Shen Yu, Lu Mu's Zongwei.
As if he had guessed Mi Jiang's thoughts, Lu Mu smiled and explained: "We also came out of here... Before being sent to His Highness, the Zongfu was the home of these orphans like me."
Mi Jiang thought for a moment and asked in surprise: "Because you are the best among them?"
"The top ten in the Zongfu martial arts test that year!" Lu Mu said with some pride.
"The same is true for all the guards around His Royal Highnesses." Shen Yu added with a smile.
"..." Mi Jiang glanced at Shen Yu and Lu Mu, and then at the Yulin boys in the playground.
Because their sisters had fought against Shen Yu and others before, she knew very well the abilities of Shen Yu and others. It is no exaggeration to say that without the help of some special abilities, such as poison, medicinal powder, or the sword dance, It is really difficult to defeat Zongwei like Shen Yu and others.
Thinking back to Cui Xiaoxuan who was just on a waterside pavilion, facing the guards of the Yuanyang Prince Zhao Chengxiu, Shen Yu and Lu Mu easily knocked down more than a dozen of them. That kind of force was by no means simple.
However, in this sect, are there nearly a thousand people like Shen Yu and Lu Mu?
At this moment, Mi Jiang realized that this clan mansion of the Great Wei Ji family did not need any guards to guard it. This was the headquarters of the Zong Wei Yulin Army!
"Your Highness, they have gone far, we have to hurry up and get there." Shen Yu signaled in a low voice.
"..." Mi Jiang nodded and followed them closely to catch up with Zhao Hongrun and Zhao Hongmin who were already walking far ahead.
At this time, Zhao Hongrun was continuing to go deep into the inner courtyard of the clan under the guidance of Zhao Hongmin.
As he walked, he strangely discovered that the route they took today was different from the last time he was imprisoned for seven days in the clan mansion.
So he asked tentatively: "This road doesn't seem to lead to the dark room?"
"Little dark room?" Zhao Hongmin, who was leading the way, turned his head when he heard this and asked in confusion: "What is that?"
"I mean...the meditation room." Zhao Hongrun said with a shrug.
The meditation room he refers to is a building with excellent sound insulation. There are no windows in this building. If the light brought by the pea-sized oil lamp is removed, it will be a dark place.
According to Ji's ancestral teachings, all Ji's children who make mistakes must be reprimanded here.
Or rather, punishment.
The method of punishment was to sit cross-legged in an empty, silent and dark room, facing the wall and thinking about his faults. It was stipulated that he was not allowed to make any sound or fall asleep. If he even moved, he would be punished by hitting his shoulders and back with a stick.
As for food, there is only a bowl of rice and a cup of water every day.
But then again, in a place like that, you can't even eat delicacies from the mountains and seas.
Although the clan euphemistically called it an exercise for self-cultivation, Zhao Hongrun evaluated it as an extremely cruel torture and punishment for the body and mind.
There is no doubt that any descendant of the Ji family who has experienced this kind of torture will never want to come near this place again in their lifetime.
"Quiet room?" Zhao Hongmin was stunned for a moment, then smiled and reassured: "No, no, I won't go to the quiet room today."
"Huh, that's the best..." Although Zhao Hongrun also knew that the clan would not throw him into a small dark room just because he had a dispute with Zhao Chengxiu, the prince of Yuanyang Prince of the same clan, but after hearing the news, he
Still heaved a sigh of relief.
"That means... after I record my mistakes, I can leave?" Zhao Hongrun asked tentatively.
Zhao Hongmin smiled slightly and nodded, adding: "But before that, someone wants to see you."
"Who?" Zhao Hongrun asked subconsciously.
At this moment, the two of them passed through a round gate, and saw a middle-aged man dressed in royal attire standing in front of the flower garden inside the round gate, with his hands behind his back, facing the flower garden.
The middle-aged man turned his head after hearing the footsteps, allowing Zhao Hongrun to see his face at a glance.
This man is the current Zong Zheng of the clan, and he is also Zhao Hongmin’s biological father and Zhao Hongrun’s second uncle, Zhao Yuanyan.
"Father." Zhao Hongmin walked a few steps forward, bowed his hands respectfully, and said in a warm voice, "My child has brought Hongrun here."
"Well." Zhao Yuanyan nodded slowly, his face still had the old-fashioned and serious look, and there was no trace of warmth at all because of the eldest son in front of him, and he said lightly: "Please step back."
"Yes, father." Zhao Hongmin cupped his hands again and respectfully stepped back along the way he came. Before leaving, he gave Zhao Hongrun a look.
Is it okay to take care of yourself...?
As if he understood the expression in his cousin's eyes, Zhao Hongrun smiled bitterly, and respectfully stepped forward to salute the second uncle: "Hongrun, meet the second uncle."
Although Zhao Hongrun had the courage to disobey Emperor Wei in the first place, it was because Emperor Wei was more open-minded by nature, but the second uncle in front of him, Zhao Yuanyan, was different. In Zhao Hongrun's view, he was simply the embodiment of old-fashioned and serious.
It is no exaggeration to say that Zhao Hongrun has never seen this second uncle smile. He seems to have a straight face all year round, and his eyes are enough to scare a large number of Ji's children to death.
"Hongrun."
"My nephew is here."
"You did a great job this time. You severely defeated Nan Chu. I, the Wei Dynasty, no longer bow to Nan Chu in the past. You have half of the credit."
"Second uncle is ridiculous." Of course Zhao Hongrun understood who the other half of the credit belonged to, and he said seriously: "My nephew just did what he should do. In terms of sacrifice, he is far less than Sixth Brother."
The Sixth Brother he refers to is the Rui Wang Zhao Hongzhao who is currently in Qi State as a hostage and who single-handedly facilitated the alliance between Qi and Wei.
"Hongzhao has his contribution, and you have yours as well..." Zhao Yuanyan nodded. Immediately, he slowly turned around, looked at the flower bed, and asked in a deep voice: "Your cousin Hongmin, he and
Did you tell me? About the reasons why the princes and princes of the fiefdoms joined me..."
"I told you." Zhao Hongrun said in a low voice: "Those princes want to get a share of the supplies that my nephew shipped from Chu."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanyan glanced at Zhao Hongrun and asked, "What do you think about this?"
Zhao Hongrun smiled slightly and said two words decisively.