Half a month had passed when Cai Yilin walked out of the sanatorium in high spirits.

Then, under the shade of the tree outside the cordon at the gate, a thin young man wearing a long robe, a net scarf on his head, a single-shoulder leather bag on his back, and thick glasses on his nose was waiting eagerly.

"Second brother!" Seeing him come out, the young man waved his hands excitedly and ran towards him.

"Yi Sen!" Cai Yilin was overjoyed and quickly walked over to the young man, gave him a bear hug, then put his hands on his shoulders and looked him up and down from a distance. "Good boy, you've grown into a big man!"

"Second brother, I'm almost thirty years old!" Cai Yisen was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Oh, really? Hahaha!" Cai Yilin laughed awkwardly, "Time flies so fast? By the way, how are your parents? Is everything okay at home?"

"All good, all good." Yisen nodded hurriedly and said, "But I haven't been back to Jinling for two years. My eldest brother wanted to take them to Coconut City to retire, but they refused..."

"Deputy Director Cai must be disappointed that he can't show his power to his parents." Cai Yilin put his arm around Yisen's neck and laughed loudly as he strode towards the dock.

"I'm afraid that's the case." Yisen held his glasses, fearing that they would be squeezed off by his strong and powerful second brother. He was extremely nearsighted and couldn't live without glasses, so he didn't get into the police academy and became a reporter after graduating from high school.

"Deputy Director Cai is busy with official duties, so he asked me to pick up my second brother on his behalf."

"I don't dare to bother you, a great journalist." Cai Yilin said with a smile: "I often see your articles in Europe. Our commander also said that he would invite you to Lisbon one day to write some great articles for our fleet."

"That's great..." The two brothers talked affectionately and came to the dock, ready to take a boat to Coconut City.

"Chief, wait!" At this time, a silver bell-like voice sounded behind him.

Cai Yilin looked back and saw a girl in a light blue work skirt running towards him carrying a basket.

After making sure it was him that was called, he stopped and looked at the girl from the epidemic prevention department with a smile.

The female labor participation rate in Jiangnan region has always been high. Even the group president is a woman, so it is not surprising to have female staff.

The girl came over panting and handed the bamboo basket full of tropical fruits to Cai Yilin's guard, saying breathlessly:

"According to the date, today the leader is released from quarantine... oh no, he is finished recuperating. I have asked for an hour's leave and am here to see him off on behalf of everyone else."

"Thank you, and thank you everyone." Cai Yilin felt warm in his heart and said, "You all take care of yourselves."

"By the way, Chief, four mu nian  (péng)!" The girl suddenly blurted out another sentence, leaving Cai Yisen confused.

"Not bad, not bad, there's a prize for the right answer." Cai Yilin laughed and asked the guard to take out a sapphire from the luggage. He took it and handed it to the girl, saying, "This thing is not worth much in Africa, it's pretty good to make a pendant or something like that at a jewelry store..."

"This is too expensive." The girl quickly put her hands behind her back and shook her head like a rattle.

"Keep it." Cai Yilin said with a smile, "I have to keep my promise."

"I don't want it. I want to ask you a question, is that okay?" The girl said calmly.

"Ask me." Cai Yilin nodded, "I'll try my best to answer."

"I want to know..." The girl's eyes flashed with confusion, and she asked carefully, "Who is stronger, our coast guard and soldiers, or the imperial army?"

"Haha, this question is not easy to answer..." Cai Yilin laughed dumbly and said, "The government troops are divided into different types. Some of them are always hungry and don't even have decent weapons. Some are fully armed and can fight in a hundred battles. I can only tell you that we are definitely better than most of the government troops. But compared with the real elite... I haven't fought against them, so who knows?"

Cai Yisen smiled, his second brother's speech became more and more sophisticated. He was flawless and yet still looked impressive.

"What if one day," the girl kept asking, "it really happens?"

"Then I can only say that we always despise our opponents strategically and take them seriously tactically." Cai Yilin has eaten more rice than the other party has walked, so how could he be stumped by a little girl's question?

Before the other party could continue to ask, he continued: "Girl, you only need to remember one thing, we are the strongest navy in the world."

The girl felt relieved after hearing this. She pursed her lips a few times and then stopped asking.

When she came to her senses, she found that the sapphire had come into her hands without her knowing.

Cai Yilin had already boarded the boat and waved to her from the deck.

The girl waved goodbye to him quickly.

~~

The passenger ship was sailing slowly in the strait; the pier and the island were no longer visible.

Cai Yilin still stood on the stern deck with his arms folded, looking somewhat solemn.

Cai Yisen walked up to him, lit two cigarettes and handed one to his second brother.

The two brothers smoked together while looking at the sea.

"Are you still thinking about that girl's problem?" Cai Yisen asked softly.

"Yeah." Cai Yilin said slowly, "Her question makes me a little uneasy."

"Is that a question she wanted to ask but didn't ask?" Cai Yisen said with a chuckle.

"The reporter really has a keen eye." Cai Yilin nodded, took a deep puff of cigarette and said, "In fact, this issue is often raised among the coast guard. I can feel that everyone has become more and more anxious in recent years."

"Yeah." Cai Yisen skillfully flicked the cigarette butt into the sea, turned around and leaned on the stern railing, looking at his second brother's worried face, knowing that he was also one of the anxiety patients.

"The emperor is already 25 years old, but the government is still in the hands of Prime Minister Zhang. No one would be willing to accept this." Yi Sen lowered his voice and said:

"But the whole court was full of Zhang Xianggong's followers, and with the empress dowager's pressure, he couldn't turn things around. But the emperor was a very stubborn person, and since this way didn't work, he looked for another way, wanting to learn from Emperor Zhengde and get an army of the emperor's own to support him through internal exercises."

"Oh, when did it happen?!" Cai Yilin was deeply shocked.

"It happened this spring. The emperor wanted to go to Wanshou Mountain to worship his ancestors. He used the excuse that he needed guards on the way to the ceremony and ordered the selection of 3,000 strong young men. They were given weapons and trained in the inner court. It is said that the sound of the guns could be heard clearly outside the palace." Cai Yisen sighed and said, "This matter has become the top hot topic in the capital, but the higher-ups did not allow it to be published in the newspapers, so you did not see it in the newspapers."

"Hiss..." Cai Yilin frowned as he listened, and only realized it when the cigarette burned his fingers. He quickly threw the cigarette butt into the sea. "Doesn't the emperor have imperial guards? Why do you need to train again?"

"Are you talking about the Four Guards Battalion and the Warrior Battalion of the Imperial Stables? The emperor may feel that they have been in the hands of Eunuch Feng for too long and are not trustworthy at critical moments." Cai Yisen said calmly: "The emperor personally trained the emperor's personal army, which clearly shows that he does not trust the Imperial Stables."

"What's Mr. Zhang's reaction?" Cai Yilin asked softly. This incident seemed to be aimed at Feng Bao, but Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at Pei Gong!

"Of course, Mr. Zhang will not personally intervene. There are many people who will speak for him." As a reporter, you are well-informed. Cai Yilin saw the court dispute thousands of miles away as if he had witnessed it himself.

"First, the emperor ordered the Imperial Household Department to allocate 6,000 war horses for internal exercises. The Minister of War Zhang Xueyan insisted on not giving the horses and wrote a letter to request that the internal exercises be stopped, but the emperor did not listen."

"Afterwards, a secretary named Dong Ji wrote to the emperor, saying that these 3,000 people posed a danger to the emperor's safety. He said, 'To try it lightly with weapons is actually dangerous for Your Majesty', 'I don't know that this is useless'. Moreover, because Your Majesty's training was too heavy, several people have died, and the 3,000 eunuchs have already complained, 'There is no greater danger than this'..."

"But the emperor was determined. He directly issued an imperial decree to demote Dong Ji to Wanquandusi and sent him to play in the mud in the northeast." Cai Yisen continued, "At the same time, the emperor issued an imperial decree to defend himself, saying, 'The internal officials and internal officials were established by the previous dynasty to serve as the guardians of the mausoleum and my worship of the southern and northern suburbs. They have their own orders, so why bother to say more? Anyone who makes another statement for fame will be punished with a stick in the court!"

Cai Yilin nodded. He had joined the army and could understand those official documents. He also knew that Emperor Wanli was basing his decision on the story of Emperor Wuzong, so he did not violate the ancestral system. To be honest, it was the civil officials who were making their own calculations.

He had heard Commander Xiang say that the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty were most afraid of the emperor practicing martial arts and commanding the army, and it seemed to be true.

"The emperor slapped his hand and rubbed it, then softened his tone and said that after the sacrifice, the weapons would be returned and the internal exercises would be disbanded." Cai Yisen smiled and said, "Whether the emperor is delaying the war or not, after this set of combined punches, Zhang Xianggong can only stay quiet for the time being and wait and see what happens."

"Do you think it will disband?" Cai Yilin asked.

"Anyway, I don't believe it." Cai Yisen curled his lips and said, "How can the emperor's personal army, which we have worked so hard to train, be disbanded without being put to use?"

"That's right." Cai Yilin laughed and said, "You understand it all, and Mr. Zhang must understand it even better. What happened next?"

"I don't know yet. This is the latest news." Cai Yisen lit another cigarette and said, "I am not at a high enough level. I can only see what Mingfa posted on the Dichao. If you want to know more, you have to ask Big Brother."

When you reach Cai Yimu’s level, you can see confidential references that people below you cannot see.

"Brother, how disciplined are you? You would never reveal it even if you are beaten to death." Cai Yilin shook his head and laughed.

"Then we can only wait and see." Cai Yisen pouted uninhibitedly and said, "I don't know why the emperor suddenly did this, it's quite strange. I heard that gossip cannot be guaranteed to be true--"

As he spoke, he whispered to Cai Yilin, "Mr. Zhang is dying..."

"Oh?" Cai Yilin was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. After a while, he whispered, "Then where is the commander-in-chief?"

"The group is celebrating its 20th anniversary, so the boss should still be in Suzhou." Cai Yisen said uncertainly, "But now we have the clipper ship, so it's fast to get to Beijing, and the wind is favorable this season, so it should take three days to get from Pudong to Tianjin."