Nothing happened that night, and the next day Wu Kangyuan came to the door early in the morning as expected.

At this moment, Zhao Hao was still sleeping in bed. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he asked, "Why did you come so early?"

"Send the invitation to my uncle. Didn't he tell your father yesterday that he would treat you to dinner today?" Wu Kangyuan handed the invitation with a red note on a green cover to Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao took it and opened it. He saw the following words written on it:

'I wanted to prepare lunch at noon on the 15th, and we would meet and greet each other, but I'm sorry, as he was late.

———I respectfully present the letter from Wu Shilai, the Zhongshun official and Shuntian prefect. '

Seeing the three words "Wu Shilai", Zhao Hao showed a subtle smugness at the corner of his mouth. He had long guessed that Wu Kangyuan's uncle was one of the "Three Sons of Wuwu", the famous Wu Shilai.

The "Three Sons of Wuwu" were as famous as the "Four Remonstrants of Yuezhong" to which Zhao Jin belonged. They were all remonstrants who dared to speak out and were imprisoned during the Jiajing period. On the list of reinstatements in the first year of Longqing, Wu Shilai's name was naturally on the list, and his rank was even higher than Zhao Jin's.

Now Zhao Jindu has been promoted seven levels in a few months and has become the third-rank Guanglu Temple Minister. Wu Shilai, as Xu Jie's favorite disciple and capable general, will naturally not fall behind. He was promoted from the seventh-rank Gongke Jieshizhong to the fourth-rank Shuntianfu Cheng, also promoted seven levels in a row.

Moreover, Zhao Hao knew that like Zhao Jin, the position of Shuntian Prefecture Prime Minister was just a stepping stone for his transfer. Soon after the new year, he would be promoted to Nanjing Right Censor-in-Chief and Admiral Caojiang.

By then, the defense of the entire Yangtze River would be in his hands, not to mention that he would later be promoted to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief. Zhao Hao had to establish contact with him no matter what.

Of course, he would never admit that he gave Wu Kangyuan a long-term private room in Weijixian in order to seduce this young master...it was clearly an expression of gratitude for his righteous help.

~~

"Ten today?" Zhao Hao put the invitation on the bedside and huddled back into the warm bed.

"Fifteen." Wu Shilai replied.

"Ah, isn't that today?" Zhao Hao sat up suddenly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I just found out about this last night. Uncle took a day off and invited you to his house for dinner."

"Don't say anything. Let's go." Zhao Hao was more and more certain that Wu Shilai must have something to ask him, but he couldn't figure it out. Why would a dignified fourth-rank official like him, a 14 or 15-year-old kid? Did he want him to tutor his son?

Anyway, he would know the outcome once he got there, so he stopped guessing and let his two apprentices help him get dressed and wash.

After some tidying up, a disheveled and bedridden boy transformed into a handsome and elegant young man.

"Master seems to have become more handsome." Hua Shuyang said with a smile while holding the mirror.

"What are you talking about? Master has always been the most handsome!" Wang Wuyang rolled his eyes at him and corrected him.

"Yes, yes, Master has always been the most handsome." Hua Shuyang quickly changed his words.

"You two can become eunuchs after shaving your beards." Zhao Hao laughed and scolded, "You are so sweet. When you become officials in the future, I won't have anything to worry about."

~~

After breakfast, he took the gifts he had prepared long ago and got on the carriage with Wu Kangyuan that had a lantern with the words "Shuntianfucheng" on it.

The carriage left Chunsong Hutong, headed north along the main street, and left the inner city through Chongwenmen.

Arriving at the outer city, the carriage slowed down. Zhao Hao pulled back the curtain and saw many beggars wearing ragged cotton jackets and tied with rotten straw ropes, begging for food with their families around the passing carriage.

"Are you all blind? You even dare to stop the carriage from Shuntian Prefecture!" The coachman waved his whip angrily to drive away the beggars who surrounded him.

The beggars were indeed frightened, so they gave way and started to bother other cars.

Begging was not uncommon in Jinling, but Zhao Hao had never seen so many beggars on the street. Looking at both sides of the street, he saw densely packed shabby sheds and thatched houses built under the walls facing the street. In each shed lived a group of unkempt, skinny refugees who seemed to be staying there permanently.

"The last time I went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, there weren't so many beggars in Beijing. I heard that it was because the Tartar invaded the interior this fall, and the common people all fled to Beijing to seek refuge."

Then Wu Kangyuan explained in a deep voice: "The Tartars withdrew from the border at the end of last month, and the martial law in the capital has been lifted long ago, but the people are unwilling to go back. My uncle is worried about this matter."

"Why don't you want to go back?" Zhao Hao asked softly.

"All the food at home has been taken away by the Tartars. What will we eat if we go back? At least the imperial court has a porridge factory in Beijing, and the rich families will also give alms. Even begging for food is much easier than elsewhere."

"That's true." Zhao Hao nodded. He believed that since Lord Xu valued his reputation so much, he would not let too many people starve to death under his nose.

"Besides, beggars are a minority after all, and most people still have dignity." Wu Kangyuan continued, "They stay here because it's easier to find work in Beijing. Even if they don't have any skills, they can still go to the Western Hills to dig coal. Under the feet of the emperor, as long as you are willing to work hard, you won't starve to death."

"Mining coal in Xishan?" Zhao Hao's mind moved.

"Yes, it's the Mentougou area west of the capital. There are countless high-quality coal there. People have been mining there since the Liao and Jin dynasties. Even now, most of the heating in Beijing relies on coal transported from the Western Hills." Wu Kangyuan is knowledgeable and knows everything he talks about.

"How many miners are there in Xishan?" Zhao Hao asked.

"I'm not sure, but there are at least 20,000 to 30,000 people." Wu Kangyuan replied: "This is the result of the imperial court's restrictions on mine owners from recruiting refugees. Otherwise, there would be more."

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded and said with a smile, "I'll go take a look some other day."

"What's so good about it? Just imagine how dirty the mine is." Wu Kangyuan didn't know why Zhao Hao was interested in coal mines. He just thought he was talking casually and didn't take it to heart.

As they were talking, the carriage stopped in an alley near the Temple of Heaven, and Wu Kangyuan led Zhao Hao into a government residence with five courtyards.

~~

Zhao Hao met Wu Shilai in the back house of Wu's mansion, which meant that the other party treated him like his own nephew, which made Zhao Hao flattered.

"Nephew Zhao Hao greets Uncle Wu."

Zhao Hao hurriedly greeted him as a junior, and Wu Shilai supported him and said with a hearty smile:

"Hahaha, I've heard of your great name for a long time, and today I finally meet you! No need to be polite, no need to be polite..."

Zhao Hao didn't really want to bow, so he stood up and looked at Wu Shilai. He was thin, with a straight back, and his face was full of the vicissitudes of life, but his eyes were still as sharp as when he impeached Yan Song.

He is upright and has the typical image of an honest official.

He was looking at Wu Shilai, who was also looking at Zhao Hao. He saw that the young man had red lips, white teeth, and a face as white as powder. He was wearing a well-cut fine green brocade robe and a pure white cloak with a white fox pattern. He looked like a young man from an unknown family, with a scent of orchid and musk all over his body.

ps. Chapter 7 has been delivered. 2900 votes and more chapters. Haha, I admit that I underestimated you. There are still so many to be paid back. Woohoo... But I still have to continue to ask for monthly votes and recommendation votes!!!