Chapter 471 Trial of Gold 1
Knowing that his father was in dire straits, Chang Hao, who hadn't expected Hongjun to use Rahu as a trump card, swiftly executed Ji Fa and the other rebel leaders. He then sent Jiang Ziya to the Hongmeng World to build infrastructure, hoping that the human race would migrate there and that his Shang Dynasty would grow stronger.
After finishing all that, Chang Hao set about choosing a successor.
This successor needs to have the ability to maintain the status quo, but also the ambition to expand.
His network of spies meticulously reported on the daily lives of the candidates.
Chang Hao looked them over one by one, and with some calculations, he realized that the youngest candidate was three years old and the oldest was thirteen. He could already tell a lot about their character from the age of three.
Those who are weak and indecisive are unfit for important responsibilities and will be eliminated.
Those who are cowardly and easily swayed are unfit for important responsibilities and should be eliminated.
“Your Majesty…” Quan Chang silently handed over the next candidate.
Cruel and inhumane, who frequently beat and scolded his servants, and whose character was immoral, he was eliminated.
Those who prefer martial arts to literature and have a short-sighted vision will be eliminated.
Those who become obsessed with spiritual cultivation will be eliminated.
Dust-free now, eliminated...
Those who are indiscriminate in their likes and dislikes lack the magnanimity of a ruler and should be discarded
Mediocre and foolish men are destined to be controlled by capable ministers, becoming puppets, and will eventually be abandoned.
...
Chang Hao's face turned pale. Why was it so difficult to find a decent successor?
"Your Majesty, what kind of successor do you want to find?" Quan Changzhen really wanted to advise His Majesty to relax his requirements. If he continued to be so picky, His Majesty might as well just do more work himself.
"Find someone ambitious, knowledgeable about the people's hardships, skilled in both literature and martial arts, quick-witted, unpretentious, not arrogant or domineering, and of noble character. That's all for now." Chang Hao buried himself in his desk again, wondering why he couldn't find such a promising candidate...
Now, it was Quan Chang whose face turned pale, temporarily?
Your Majesty, are you choosing a crown prince or a sage?
“Ziwu…” Chang Hao calculated with his fingers, then suddenly stopped. The original Emperor Xin?
What a wonderful coincidence!
Chang Hao carefully reviewed the representative events recorded by the young boy Ziwu. He was strong and fierce, brave and quick-witted, and had the spirit of his father.
Looking at the selected daily essays, the writing is commendable. Although immature, they already have their own beginnings.
What's rare is that he's willing to understand the daily lives of ordinary people, unlike pampered young masters who are ignorant of basic necessities.
Chang Hao closed the bamboo slip. Since he was interested, he decided to go and see this Ziwu.
Chang Hao stood up, and Quan Chang was about to follow, but with a single glance from Chang Hao, Quan Chang stood still, tears welling up in his eyes. He was the most incompetent chief steward of the inner court in all his years of service, and even the king couldn't follow him.
……………………
Ziwu held the imperial annals, which his grandfather had personally written for him, and was reading them attentively when the carriage suddenly tilted violently to one side, and the items on the carriage overturned instantly.
Fortunately, Ziwu had practiced martial arts for many years and had a stable lower body. Moreover, as a nobleman, he was bound to encounter dangers. His alertness allowed him to react instantly, stabilize his center of gravity, and avoid the embarrassment of falling off the carriage.
"Young master, are you alright?" The coachman rubbed his hands together, looking terrified. He had checked the carriage before setting off, and there was clearly nothing wrong with it.
"It's nothing." Ziwu lifted the curtain himself and jumped down from the half-tilted carriage frame, only to find that the wheels had suddenly come off.
"My lord, I..." The coachman tried to explain, but Ziwu simply raised his hand, signaling that there was no need for further explanation. It was inappropriate to deal with any issues in public, and besides, he had ordered his personal attendants to check before setting off. If there were any problems, his attendants should also interrogate his second uncle and second aunt...
“Nothing lasts forever. Drive the car to the side of the road, fix it, and then drive it back to your residence.” Ziwu turned around, intending to stroll around Chaoge City.
"But young master, without a carriage, how will you get back to the manor?" The attendants felt that their young master was being treated too unfairly. Which young master doesn't have servants surrounding him when he goes out? But their young master only has a few rough and uncouth attendants.
Even the most uncultured man, along with his close attendants, knew that the eldest son's treatment was inappropriate.
"We'll see when the time comes." Ziwu glanced at the people beside him without leaving a trace. There would naturally be someone to escort him safely back to the mansion.
Knowing his master's temper, the attendant immediately shut up.
Ziwu wandered aimlessly, and when he saw someone selling bamboo slips on the street in a corner, his eyes lit up and he hurried over.
The attendant immediately noticed the cloth banner hanging in front of the stall and gasped, "My lord, look at this..."
Ziwu looked up, then down at the dozens of bamboo scrolls on the table. “Old man, a transaction requires both parties to feel that it is worth the price. You want to find someone to take care of you and your husband in your old age and see you off in death, to treat you as an honored guest. If you are unwilling to do so, and are only willing to sell one of them for a hundred gold pieces, I should at least check whether your books are worth the price.”
“Of course, young master. The scrolls on this table have been passed down through generations in my family. Moreover, just in case, I only bring one scroll of each book out to wait for a destined person. If it weren’t for my family’s decline, my seriously ill wife, and the fact that I have no children and am surrounded by relatives who are like wolves and tigers, I would never have traded them.” Shen Gongbao remembered that he had really become a plague god, and he didn’t even need to pretend to be sad.
No wonder the king said he didn't need to do anything, he just needed to wait here.
With Shen Gongbao's permission, Ziwu immediately opened one of the scrolls. The familiar contents confirmed to Ziwu that these bamboo slips were genuine and not fabricated. But that was all; he could recite the contents of these bamboo slips by heart.
Shen Gongbao pressed down on the bamboo scroll that Ziwu was about to open again, and looked at Ziwu with a smile, "Young master, you have already read through more than ten volumes. What do you think of my book?"
Ziwu glanced at the 'Water and Land Atlas' he had just picked out. Although he hadn't read it all yet, the scroll he had made notes on was enough to make the old man settle down in exchange for the complete 'Water and Land Atlas'.
"Someone, escort this old man and my wife to my villa. Remember, bring men with you to the old man's house." Ziwu knew his attendants would handle it.
"Yes, my lord." The attendant accepted the order.
Ziwu breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to get rid of a few of his close followers. If there were any problems with those followers, Ziwu was confident he could win against the remaining four.
After wasting most of the day, Ziwu found a teahouse to rest. When it came time to pay the bill, an embarrassing thing happened: all their valuables had disappeared without them noticing.
"My lord, how could such a shameless thief appear in Chaoge City?" The attendant was so angry that his face turned red. Was he having a bad day or had encountered a plague god?
"Go find the shopkeeper..." Ziwu had a headache. The people of Chaoge were known for their fierce and unruly nature. The shopkeeper wouldn't care if you were a high-ranking official or a nobleman. If you dared to default on your debts, he would drag you directly to the authorities.
After some 'friendly negotiations,' Ziwu left one of his close followers as collateral at the teahouse, waiting for him to come and redeem him...
...
When Ziwu arrived at Prime Minister Shang Rong's residence, his destination, looking disheveled, he had experienced more unpleasant things in one day than in the entire previous year combined.
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