Zhou Yanru quickly shook his head: "What illness could I possibly have? Don't talk nonsense, you child!"
As he spoke, he deliberately made his tone sound stern, hoping to frighten the child in front of him.
But Zheng Chenggong smiled and looked up.
"Since Lord Zhou is not ill, then he can come with us to Jiangnan."
"Only if this matter can be accomplished can you be granted a title and appointed prime minister, Lord Zhou."
Zhou Yanru was taken aback.
He was indeed very tempted by the idea of becoming a Grand Secretary.
But he also knew that Qian Qianyi was standing in his way.
Not long ago, the imperial court purged the Donglin Party, and he suffered a great loss in order to escape punishment.
He escaped death by biting many of his former colleagues.
If it weren't for the young emperor's decision to send him to Shaanxi and Gansu to recruit soldiers, he would probably still be imprisoned.
If we're really talking about cabinet members, Qian Qianyi would definitely rank ahead of him.
As for becoming prime minister, he had never even considered it.
Unlike the Han Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty did not have the rule that no title could be conferred without military merit.
However, in the Ming Dynasty, civil officials who wanted to obtain a noble title could almost only do so by achieving merit on the battlefield.
For example, Wang Yangming was granted the title of Earl because he quelled the rebellion of Prince Ning.
He was posthumously granted the title of Marquis.
This title is far more valuable than becoming a Grand Secretary.
His heart warmed, and he subconsciously pressed, "You're talking nonsense again, kid. How could a trip to Jiangnan possibly lead to being made a marquis or a prime minister?"
A sly smile appeared on Zheng Chenggong's small face. He nodded slightly at Li Ruolian, signaling him to bring over a horse.
Then he mounted the horse himself, making himself about the same height as Zhou Yanru.
Only then did he begin to explain.
"Lord Zhou, do you know what our Emperor values most after ascending the throne?"
Zhou Yanru had naturally thought about this as well.
He spoke without hesitation.
"That's naturally for dealing with the Jurchens!"
"His Majesty has been on the throne for less than a year, yet he has twice sent troops out of the pass. Although both times appeared to be proactive defense, the second expedition seemed to have been somewhat deliberate."
"His Majesty sent me to the Northwest to recruit soldiers, also to strengthen the capital garrison."
"That's naturally also to deal with the Jurchens!"
Zheng Chenggong nodded his head.
"Lord Zhou is indeed intelligent; he truly deserves to be called a pillar of our Great Ming Dynasty."
Zhou Yanru wouldn't even flinch at other people flattering him.
However, Zhou Yanru couldn't help but be happy to be praised by a child.
"Haha, you really know how to talk!"
After chatting with Zheng Chenggong for a while, he began to look at the boy in front of him with new respect.
"This kid is definitely not simple. He seems to know quite a lot. I need to get more information out of him."
Zhou Yanru's eyes darted around, and he continued to ask:
"What do all these things have to do with me getting a title and position in Jiangnan?"
Zheng Chenggong spread out his small hands.
"Lord Zhou, even though I'm just a child, you don't need to lie to me, do you?"
"You already knew these things, so why did you pretend not to know?"
"Okay, I know, you were just testing me on purpose!"
He clapped his little hands, making a crisp sound, and then said:
"Since we are going to wage war against the Jurchens, the imperial court will have to spend at least tens of millions of taels of silver."
"This silver can only come from the southeast."
"Whoever can find this silver for the court, he will be at least the second or third most meritorious official in pacifying the Jurchens, if not the number one meritorious official."
"With such great merit, wouldn't it be easy to become a marquis?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanru narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
Li Ruolian, standing next to her, was already feeling a chill run down her spine.
"Zheng Chenggong is such a precocious child!"
"His explanation just now was clearly meant for Zhou Yanru to hear."
"How could that old man have thought of so much?"
"But he was afraid that Zhou Yanru would lose face and become rebellious in his anger, so he said that Zhou Yanru already knew and was just testing him."
"Such cunning, how could a child of a few years old possess it?"
Just then, Zhou Yanru finally understood.
He looked up, and there were already several red veins in his eyes.
"Little kid, who exactly are you?"
"Who told you all this?"
From the very beginning, Zhou Yanru knew that he shouldn't have gone to Jiangnan.
Whoever goes there will be slaughtered, and their reputation among scholars will be utterly ruined.
But no matter how bad something is, as long as the benefits are great enough, it can attract others to try and profit from the chaos.
The promise of being granted a title and the position of prime minister was enough to sway Zhou Yanru.
His voice was hoarse as he continued, "Did His Majesty send you to tell me this?"
Zheng Chenggong chuckled.
"Your Majesty is so busy with state affairs, how could you possibly have time to tell me these things?"
"Besides, he is the emperor. He does everything openly and honestly, so he would never secretly discuss these things with his ministers."
"These are all things I've learned from my husband's everyday words and actions."
Zhou Yanru naturally did not believe Zheng Chenggong's account.
"Heh, such important national affairs, what schoolteacher would talk about them in their daily life?"
He asked casually, "So, who is your husband?"
Zheng Chenggong, now energized, simply stood up on the saddle:
"Have you heard of your esteemed teacher, Gao Qingyun?"
Zhou Yanru was stunned for a moment, feeling that the name was very unfamiliar, but it seemed like he had heard it somewhere before.
A moment later, his pupils contracted, and he finally remembered.
"That legendary Master Gao, I think his name is Gao Qingyun?"
"Is this child a student from the Taiye Pond area?"
Even though Zhu Youjian specifically ordered a news blackout over such a long period of time, the news was still suppressed.
Even the ministers in the court could hear some rumors.
I know that Master Gao opened a school on the island in the middle of Taiye Pond, and apparently taught a few students.
The recent Battle of Shanhai Pass was won by one of the generals, surnamed Li, who killed the Jurchen commander with a single cannon shot.
Zhou Yanru bent down slightly to avoid being a head taller than Zheng Chenggong.
Then he smiled and said, "So you are Master Gao's outstanding disciple."
“Since this is Master Gao’s idea… then of course I have to go to Jiangnan.”
Zheng Chenggong smiled and waved his little hand.
“Oh, Lord Zhou, you’re being modest again. Actually, you really wanted to go to Jiangnan to serve the country.”
He casually complimented Zhou Yanru again, which indeed made Zhou Yanru happy.
Zhou Yanru straightened up, gently stroked his beard, and smiled.
"That's right, I am indeed wholeheartedly devoted to the country."
Seeing the smiles of the two people, one big and one small, Li Ruolian felt as if she were looking at two foxes.
"Goodness, they've met their match!"
He grabbed Zheng Chenggong and made him sit back on the saddle to prevent him from falling off.
Then he asked Zhou Yanru:
"Lord Zhou, when shall we set off south?"
Having made the decision, Zhou Yanru began to plan wholeheartedly.
He frowned and said, "There's no rush. The new recruits I brought from Shaanxi and Gansu are all having some trouble adjusting to the climate and water in the east."
"If we just take them south like this, they will definitely be looked down upon when we arrive in Jiangnan."
"This first impression is very important; we must not let the gentry of Jiangnan look down on us."
"Therefore, in my opinion, we should rest here for a few days before heading south in high spirits."
"It would be best to take advantage of this period to select some strong and capable new recruits for training, at least to make a show of things."
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