At the Nan'ao Island dock, Shu Tongpan was so happy that he almost fainted when he saw Lord Zhongcheng actually taking the initiative to greet him cordially.

He grabbed Zhao Hao's arm and said excitedly, "Look, my dear nephew, your uncle didn't lie to you, didn't he? I'm very generous, right? Even Lin Zhongcheng treats me as an old friend."

Before Zhao Hao could speak, he loosened his hand again, jumped forward like a rabbit, and saluted helplessly, saying: "The Minister has killed me, I should go out to greet him, I should go out to greet him..."

"Uh..." Lin Run was stunned. He looked at him for a while and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, who are you?"

"Uh..." Shu Fu's face immediately turned red, and he said after a long pause, "Your subordinate, I am Shu Fu, the magistrate of Chaozhou Prefecture, and my courtesy name is Shuangzhi. On behalf of the whole prefecture, I respectfully welcome the Lord Zhongcheng."

After saying this, he knocked his head to the ground, wishing he could bury his head in the ground and never pull it out.

It's so embarrassing that the Zhongcheng didn't even recognize me... But then again, it would be really strange for a dignified governor to know a mere Tongpan like him, right?

"No need to be polite. Thank you for your help." Lin Run politely asked him to stand up first.

At that time, the officialdom had a bad rule that it was considered impolite to address the other party by their official title. Therefore, honorifics and nicknames were used. For example, the Tongzhi was "Sima" and the Tongpan was "Biejia".

After Shu Fu thanked him and stood up, Zhao Hao stepped forward, clasped his fists and said with a smile, "Greetings, Zhongcheng."

"Oh, that's rude." Shu Tongpan saw Zhao Hao being so arrogant, and wanted to press his head down and make him kneel down. "Why don't you pay your respects to the chancellor?"

After that, he quickly smiled and explained to Lin Run: "This is our Sima Zhao's only son. He is still young and doesn't know the rules. Zhongcheng, please don't mind it."

Seeing that this person’s brain was already confused, he didn’t even realize that he was greeting Zhao Hao?

Lin Run couldn't help but frowned slightly and said, "This is my savior, no need for introduction."

"Help, help..." Shu Fu was completely stunned.

Help! It's falling to the street...

Lin Run ignored the dumbfounded Shu Tongpan and quickly stepped forward to support Zhao Hao who was about to bow down. He laughed and said, "Don't try that on me. Who are you acting for?"

"Zhongcheng is an elder, and he deserves to be bowed to by the younger generation." Zhao Hao did not take advantage of his favor and became more respectful. "Besides, my father is not here, so I have to bow to him on his behalf."

"Okay, I understand." Lin Run waved his hand and asked with concern, "What happened to your father? Is he injured?"

"I am indeed injured. A shell hit my arm." Zhao Hao curled up his right arm and gestured, "I still need someone to feed me."

In fact, it was the stones splashed by the shells that hit his arm. Mr. Zhao embezzled a few words, and the severity of the situation increased greatly.

"So serious?" Lin Run was surprised, but when he saw Zhao Hao giving him a look, he didn't ask any further questions.

~~

Since they were already there, Lin Zhongcheng asked Zhao Hao to accompany him and inspect Nan'ao Island.

In fact, the ports on the island were all blocked and there was nothing to see. The two just wanted to find a chance to chat alone.

So all the accompanying officials waited at the dock. As for Shu Tongpan, he was also left at the dock.

He looked at Lin Zhongcheng and Zhao Gongzi who were chatting and laughing as they left, and felt dizzy. It turned out that I was the clown.

Zhao Hao and Lin Run didn't care what Shu Tongpan was thinking. They walked along the crescent-shaped bay on the golden beach. They saw the azure sea rolling up thousands of layers of snow, and seagulls foraging between the sea and the sky.

Mr. Zhao then told Lin Zhongcheng exactly what had happened the day before. Of course, he did not mention the fact that he had made a big promise to the gentry of Chaozhou.

But Lin Run was not so easy to fool. He asked suspiciously, "Your father has only been in Chaozhou for a few days, and the common people are so reluctant to part with him?"

"Maybe this is what it means when a friend in need is a friend indeed." Master Zhao sighed.

Lin Run stared at him for a while and said, "It's not you who's causing trouble?"

"How can the chancellor look at me like this?" Young Master Zhao shouted, "I entered Chaozhou after the siege was lifted, a few days earlier than you. I haven't even figured out how many streets there are in Chaozhou, yet I'm still a human being?"

"Are you a human? You are a demon." Lin Run snorted. But it makes sense. No matter how capable this kid is, he doesn't have the time to commit a crime.

"Besides, why should I care what kind of official position my father holds?" Zhao Hao turned his head and looked at the vast and boundless sea and sky. He said with a smile, "Confucius said, 'The benevolent enjoy the mountains, the wise enjoy the water, but I only want the sea!"

"Is this sea really as magical as you say? Can it become the driving force for China to be glorious again?" Lin Run stood shoulder to shoulder with him, his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the reefs with rocks piercing the sky not far away, and said quietly:

"It is said that Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie had set up a small court on Nan'ao Island for a long time before retreating to Yashan. Yashan is at the mouth of the Pearl River, and I have been there to pay tribute. Although hundreds of years have passed, I can still see the scene of Lu Xiufu carrying the little emperor and jumping into the sea, followed by 100,000 soldiers and civilians, and hear the cry that lingers for thousands of years..."

"I often think of the old crooked tree on Coal Hill and the noble officials of the two capitals who surrendered in Kaesong." Lin Run took a deep breath and said in a depressed tone: "I didn't expect that our dynasty is even worse than the weak Song Dynasty. There are only kings who died for their country, but no ministers who died for their country."

Master Zhao was stunned at first, then he remembered that he had told these things to Lin Run. At that time, Lin Zhongcheng was in a state of minimal consciousness before waking up from a vegetative state, and he actually regarded this information as the future he had foreseen and believed it without a doubt.

"I really didn't expect that those scholars who talk about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, those nobles who have been favored by the emperor for generations, would perform so poorly. It's so disappointing." Zhao Hao knew that this was his chance to completely transform Lin Run into an accomplice, so he slowly echoed.

"Yes, so, if we want to save the Ming Dynasty, these people are unreliable." Lin Run used the future to verify the reality, and naturally said gloomily: "But the military generals are even more unreliable, so who can we rely on?"

"So we need to cultivate new forces, progressive forces, to replace the old forces, the backward forces." Zhao Hao said enthusiastically: "The sea is the cradle of this new force!"

"Then why did this place become the place where the Song Dynasty fell?" Lin Run asked.

"Because they are actually afraid of the sea and dare not go too far from the land!" Zhao Hao pointed to the depths of the sea and said loudly: "On the other side of the sea, there is... infinite hope!"

"..." Lin Run stared at Zhao Hao again, and suddenly asked in a low voice after a while, "Why do you believe in what I said?"

"Uh..." Zhao Hao thought to himself, isn't that nonsense? How can I not believe in myself?

But he said frankly, "Because you are the loyal and brave Lin Zhongcheng, I believe everything you say."

"Nonsense." Lin Run was unconvinced: "If you were a child, I would believe it. But the things I dreamed about were too bizarre. Sometimes I even doubt whether they were real... Doesn't your science emphasize questioning?"

"..." Zhao Hao was silent for a while, then he raised his head, looked directly into Lin Run's eyes, and said something. After saying this, Lin Zhongcheng completely believed it.

"Because I have verified it..." Master Zhao answered slowly.

"Really?" Lin Run's body trembled.

"I went to Coal Hill to have a look. There really is a crooked tree there, but it's not that tall yet. If it grows for a few decades, it will be just big enough for an adult to hang himself on..." Young Master Zhao said in a vicissitudes of life tone, "I also sent people to inquire about the Jurchens. There really is a young man named Wild Boar Skin."

"Really?" Lin Run was struck by lightning. He grabbed Zhao Hao and asked in a distorted voice, "Is there really a wild boar skin in Liaodong?!"

"Yes." Zhao Hao nodded calmly and said slowly, "He was born in the 38th year of Jiajing. He is the son of Jue Chang'an, a small chieftain of the Jianzhou Left Guard. His maternal grandfather is Wang Gao, the commander of the Jianzhou Right Guard."

"With this identity and this age..." Lin Run felt a chill down his spine and involuntarily let go of Zhao Hao. He held his head and walked around on the beach like a possessed person. He didn't even notice his official hat falling to the ground.

"It turns out that I didn't just imagine it, it actually happened!" Lin Run panted heavily and muttered to himself for a long time. Suddenly, he stared at Zhao Hao with bloodshot eyes and said, "Then what are you waiting for? Kill him now!"

"Does Zhong Cheng know about the wolves on the grassland?" Zhao Hao remained unmoved and asked, "What will happen if you kill the wolf king?"

"A new wolf king will appear..." Lin Run had a very high level of understanding and understood everything at once: "You mean, we should keep him for now?"

"That's right." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "Killing him is easy. But how old is he? Twelve years old. Will killing him really work? I don't think so - as long as the world doesn't change, the court is still so corrupt, the gentry is still so shameless, the army is still so incompetent, and the people are still so numb. Even if there is no wild boar skin, there will definitely be wild dog skin, wild bear skin, and wild donkey skin."

Lin Run was stunned. This was something he had never thought of, but it made sense.

"By then, we won't know who the disaster star is, and that would be troublesome." Zhao Hao sighed and said, "So what I mean is, keep him first, keep monitoring him, and have the ability to get rid of him at any time."

Lin Run remained silent and listened to him continue:

"It's like having a sharp sword hanging over our heads, and a burning incense stick is tied to the silk thread on the hilt. As long as we look up, we can see where the incense stick has burned. Isn't it much better than being suspicious and panicking all day long? It can also become a driving force to urge us to move forward desperately!"

Zhao Hao raised his sword-like eyebrows and said proudly: "I don't believe that even if we try our best, we can still give Wild Boar Skin another chance to stir up trouble!"

When Lin Run heard this, his pale face finally turned red. After thinking for a while, he raised his head and his eyes finally became firm again.

"Good boy, you have ambition! I am not as good as you. I admit that I was frightened by the nightmare. Just like you said, I was stuck in depression all day and wasted so much time! Thank you for your wake-up call. I am finally awake now!"

p.s. My second child had a vaccination today and didn't go to kindergarten all day. That's why I only wrote one update now. I'll write another one later.