Seeing Zheng Chenggong speaking eloquently, before Li Ruolian could say anything, the Imperial Guards became somewhat curious.
"Whose child is this? So precocious for such a young age?"
Zheng Chenggong completely ignored them and walked directly towards the new recruits.
Several Imperial Guards were angered by this.
"Huh? He actually dares to ignore us?"
They were about to confront Zheng Chenggong when Li Ruolian stopped them.
"Hehe, do you know who that child is?"
Facing Li Ruolian, a newly appointed martial arts graduate and a confidant of the emperor.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards dared not act rashly.
Not to mention them, even their leader Luo Yangxing would have to give Li Ruolian face.
The men cautiously shook their heads: "We don't know."
"Could he be your child?"
Li Ruolian laughed.
"That's not true, I don't even have a wife yet."
"Then who exactly is he?" the group asked again.
Li Ruolian chuckled.
"He is a disciple of Master Gao from the palace."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the several Imperial Guards turned deathly pale.
"Huh? He's Master Gao's disciple?"
Their voices trembled slightly as they spoke.
Seeing this, Li Ruolian became somewhat curious.
He knew that if he revealed Zheng Chenggong's identity, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would definitely not cause him any more trouble.
But their fright was still somewhat beyond his expectations.
Li Ruolian asked, "What's wrong? You know Master Gao too?"
The Imperial Guard immediately gave a wry smile.
"Of course we know!"
They seemed to remember something, but hesitated to speak.
In fact, Li Ruolian didn't know that others in the Ming Dynasty court might not have known the power of the name "Master Gao".
But for the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, this name was a complete taboo.
Not to mention that when Gao Qingyun first transmigrated, Zhu Youjian had the Embroidered Uniform Guard secretly investigate him in order to find out his origins.
Later, when Wei Zhongxian was executed for the second time and forced to make human flesh sashimi.
Rumors were spreading like wildfire throughout the Embroidered Uniform Guard that Gao Qingyun had whispered a few words in the emperor's ear, which led to Wei Zhongxian's downfall.
How could they dare to act recklessly again?
Even when facing the legendary "Master Gao's" apprentice, they were extremely cautious.
The group immediately ran over, rubbing their hands together as they apologized to Zheng Chenggong.
"Young man, we misspoke just now, please don't take it to heart."
Zheng Chenggong wasn't angry.
"Alright, I didn't take it to heart anyway!"
"How about this, you buy me some good food as an apology."
The Imperial Guards, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly ran away.
Li Ruolian then walked over and smiled at Zheng Chenggong, saying, "You're quite the opportunist."
Zheng Chenggong raised his little head and made a face at Li Ruolian.
"How could I be taking advantage of someone's misfortune? I was clearly showing them mercy!"
"Otherwise, if I insist on pursuing this matter, they'll suffer a great loss."
Li Ruolian nodded to herself, once again confirming that Zheng Chenggong was no ordinary man.
Other children who are a few years old cannot say such things.
He asked instinctively, "Xiao Zheng, how do you know about these things?"
Zheng Chenggong pouted and deliberately sighed, "Ah, these are all life experiences."
"You'll understand when you reach my age."
Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian was speechless.
However, at this moment, Zheng Chenggong had already walked up to the new recruits.
He tilted his little head up, revealing an innocent expression, and asked those people, "Uncles, what are you doing here?"
When the new recruits heard the noise, they looked down and saw a beautifully sculpted child. They instinctively felt a sense of closeness to him.
"This little kid, we are new recruits from the Northwest."
Zheng Chenggong nodded his little head, and then asked:
"Oh, so you're a new recruit. I heard from my family the other day that the imperial court is going to send people to the southeast to enjoy a life of luxury."
The new recruits looked surprised: "Enjoying a life of luxury?"
"How come we heard that we're being sent to the southeast for training?"
Zheng Chenggong smiled and said:
"The southeast is incredibly prosperous. If you go there, won't you be enjoying a life of luxury?"
But the new recruits were still somewhat uneasy.
"That's not necessarily true."
"What we fear is that the imperial court may have other ulterior motives."
"Don't let them say they want us to go to Jiangnan, but actually they're trying to lure us to Liaodong to fight the Jurchens!"
Zheng Chenggong shook his head.
"Hehe, uncles, you're so wrong to think that way."
"If the imperial court really wants to send you to Liaodong to die, then they will definitely not give you food and drink, so as not to waste food."
“But you all look very energetic. Although you seem to be sick, you don’t look like you’re starving.”
Upon hearing this, the new recruits lowered their heads and thought for a while, and realized that it seemed to be true.
"Yeah, if those corrupt officials send us to our deaths, they'll be lucky if they don't squeeze us dry, let alone give us food and drink."
After they figured it out, they were indeed relieved.
He smiled at Zheng Chenggong and said, "Little boy, you're quite clever."
Zheng Chenggong laughed triumphantly, "That's right!"
“My family is in business. If I’m not smart, how will I inherit the family business?”
Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian, who was not far away, felt a bitter smile on her face.
"Your family are pirates, what kind of crappy business are you running? A business with no capital?"
He walked over, picked Zheng Chenggong up, and carried him away to a distance.
"Alright, Lord Zhou should be arriving soon, let's hurry over and greet him."
The two walked toward the dock, and sure enough, before long, they saw a line of large ships approaching.
On the foremost large ship, Zhou Yanru stood at the bow, his face full of high spirits.
He didn't know that the emperor had assigned him the task because he didn't want him to return to the capital.
Zhou Yanru simply assumed that the emperor was paving the way for him.
"I reckon I'll be able to join the cabinet and become a Grand Secretary this time I return to Beijing!"
He was very happy. After meeting Li Ruolian, he exchanged a few casual pleasantries and then wanted to head north back to Beijing.
However, Li Ruolian stopped him.
"Lord Zhou, please wait."
"His Majesty has issued another decree, ordering you to accompany me to Jiangnan to oversee the opening of the sea route."
Zhou Yanru was stunned: "What?"
"What does this matter of opening the seas have to do with me?"
He had a past ambiguous relationship with the Donglin Party, so he naturally knew about the situation in Jiangnan.
“Not only is that the stronghold of the Donglin Party, but the local gentry also wield considerable power. I can’t afford to get involved in this trouble.” Countless thoughts flashed through Zhou Yanru’s mind.
He quickly said, "I'm only responsible for sending the new recruits here; the rest is none of my business."
But Li Ruolian had already produced the imperial edict.
"Lord Zhou, please look, this is indeed His Majesty's order."
Zhou Yanru took a look, his brows furrowed tightly, and he was already having second thoughts.
"Oh no! Why is the emperor sending me to fill this fire pit?"
"No, I have to think of a way to get rid of this job right away!"
"The late emperor once sent people to the southeast, but they were beaten half to death by those gentry."
“I had already broken ties with the Donglin Party long ago, and even tricked them.”
"If I were to go to Jiangnan now, it wouldn't just be a matter of being half-dead..."
His eyes darted around rapidly.
But at that moment, Zheng Chenggong suddenly laughed.
"Uncle Zhou, your eyes are darting around so fast, are you sick or something?"
"How about I examine your illness?"
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