At seven o'clock in the morning on the 19th day of the first lunar month in the thirty-fourth year of Taiping.
Zhu Jingyuan said goodbye to his parents and left home, leaving his two personal maids Chunxiang and Qiuyue at home. They had already started studying at the craftsman school.
His parents prepared a salute for him and asked two teams of soldiers from Guan Tianpei's command to escort him, first to the Capital Old City Railway Station.
Under the escort of Guan Tianpei, he went to the palace to bid farewell to the old emperor.
Different from the previous morning visits, this time Zhu Jingyuan went directly to the emperor's palace, Qianqing Palace.
When I walked into the lobby of Qianqing Palace, the first thing I saw was the old emperor, already wearing regular clothes and sitting on the throne.
At the second glance, he saw his ninth uncle, Zhu Jianfeng, standing sideways under the throne, looking better than the previous few days.
Zhu Jingyuan originally thought that he came very early, but he didn't expect that his ninth uncle Zhu Jianfeng was already inside.
Although he had expected it and knew that he would have to come to say goodbye, Zhu Jingyuan still subconsciously stopped when he saw the other party directly in this situation.
Then he subconsciously looked around and found an elegant middle-aged man standing opposite Zhu Jianfeng, wearing a third-grade civil service uniform.
Zhu Jingyuan met him with his father and knew that he was Shen Fu, the young minister of Honglu Temple.
Now the Minister of Honglu Temple is on the same level as the Minister, and the Shaoqing is on the same level as the Minister.
Next to Shen Fu were two young men in their twenties, both wearing brand new scholar uniforms.
Graduates of the Ming Dynasty National University can obtain the "Scholar" certificate and the status of "Scholar" after passing a special graduation examination.
Similar to the degree certificates and cadre status of later generations.
In name, they can all become officials directly, but in fact only a very small number of very outstanding ones will be directly assigned to be grassroots officials.
Ordinary scholars have to register themselves at an agency affiliated to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and pass the special assessment of the necessary sections before they have the opportunity to become a grassroots official.
All officials start from the rank of scholar, and they all start from the ninth rank official position.
Those who are talented and famous can be appointed as chief officials at the county level at most. If they want to continue to be promoted, they must be officials while continuing to take exams.
If you pass the exam, you will not be promoted directly, but it will increase the promotion limit. The most you can do is become the chief official of the state government.
If you continue to pass the exams and get the title of Jinshi, you can at most become the chief officer of the Chief Envoy.
Only those who are at the top among the Jinshi have the opportunity to become ministers, bachelors, and military ministers.
When Shen Fu and the two young scholars saw Zhu Jingyuan coming in, they immediately bowed and saluted.
The old emperor seemed to have been waiting for a while, and at this time he stood up and got down from the throne.
Now he is not going to court, but talking in his own palace, so the old emperor speaks much more casually:
"I asked you to go to Honglu Temple to study if you had nothing to do, but you didn't go even once, and you still haven't even said hello to Shen Shaoqing?"
Zhu Jingyuan quickly saluted the old emperor first, then saluted his ninth uncle, and finally replied to Shen Fu and the two scholars, while explaining casually:
"Grandpa Qi, I have been looking for ideas for more than a month. It is enough to study on the road. Anyway, there is nothing wrong on the ship.
"When I stay in the capital these days, I will try my best to arrange other things as well as possible to avoid any mistakes after leaving.
;/a>
"My grandson and Shen Shaoqing met at Honglu Temple, so they didn't make a special trip."
The old emperor did not comment, but Shen Fu smiled and said:
"What His Highness the Food King said is absolutely true. The journey is boring, so I'm looking for something to do."
The old emperor waved his hand and said:
"Shen Shaoqing doesn't need to spoil him. He will behave like a teacher on the road. If he doesn't study hard, he will discipline him seriously."
Shen Fu smiled and cupped his hands:
"I obey."
The old emperor looked at the two people here and said hello, then pointed to the other two young scholars:
"These two scholars are among the best among the graduates of Imperial College in the capital last year, Lin Zexu and Niu Jian.
"Now that you're an official, you'll start with your staff. If you have anything to do in the future, you can discuss it with them."
When Zhu Jingyuan heard these two names, his eyes widened immediately.
Guan Tianpei was arranged for me a few days ago, and Lin Zexu is here today? And Niu Jian, the imperial master of the Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties?
Guan Tianpei is twenty-four years old this year, and Lin Zexu seems to be only twenty years old this year!
The public collective schools in Daming include five years of primary school, five years of middle school (regardless of junior high school and high school), and four years of university, for a total of fourteen years.
There is currently no compulsory education, so the court does not limit the age of schooling. If you start school at the age of six, you will graduate at the age of twenty.
After the Renwu Dynasty, staff were also integrated into the national official system. Officials were not allowed to hire staff themselves and had to be arranged by the Ministry of Personnel.
So the old emperor arranged these two for himself?
When Zhu Jingyuan was astonished, the two young scholars bowed their hands to Zhu Jingyuan again:
"Students have met His Highness the Food King."
They now have no rank and are commonly known as low-ranking people, so they can only use their status as scholars and call themselves students instead of subordinate officials.
Zhu Jingyuan quickly adjusted his identity. Although the two had rich experiences in history, they were both young men in their prime now.
When Fang Gang entered the officialdom, he definitely regarded this job as a very important starting point for his official career:
"Two gentlemen, there is no need to be polite. From now on, I will rely on these two assistants!"
Being called sir by a prince, the two young men were a little excited, and they were too busy to even say it properly.
The old emperor made arrangements for this side, and then finally focused on the other side and looked at his most valued son:
"Laojiu, Jingyuan, Shen Shaoqing, you three are doing well. The general direction of the negotiations and the general decision-making power are controlled by Jingyuan.
"Shen Shaoqing will preside over the detailed planning of the negotiations. Jingyuan, you must also listen carefully to Mr. Shen's suggestions and not act recklessly.
“Lao Jiu, as the representative of the clan and the royal family, supervises the behavior of the mission and does not insult the majesty of the Ming Dynasty or harm the national interests of the Ming Dynasty.
"In addition, you, Lao Jiu, will be responsible for dealing with the royal children of the various countries in the West. You must show the majesty of the Ming Dynasty royal family. I know you are good at this."
Zhu Jianfeng lost his usual seriousness, and now he smiled and said with a smile:
"Father understands me, and I guarantee that this matter will be settled."
Zhu Jingyuan and Shen Fu also bowed and agreed:
"As commanded."
The old emperor nodded gently, held Zhu Jianfeng's hand, and patted the back of his hand gently.
Then he turned around and patted Zhu Jianfeng's shoulder gently.
Then he returned to the middle of the lobby, exhaled forcefully and said:
"Okay, let's go."
"Your Majesty, please leave!"
Zhu Jingyuan, Zhu Jianfeng's uncles and nephews, Shen Fu, Lin Zexu, and Niu Jian bowed together and slowly exited the Qianqing Palace.
After going out and turning around, Zhu Jingyuan subconsciously distanced himself from Zhu Jianfeng.
Zhu Jianfeng didn't take it seriously at all, smiled and shook his head and walked directly outside the palace.
Regardless of what Zhu Jianfeng thought, Zhu Jingyuan did not intend to have too much contact with this ninth uncle.
He deliberately distanced himself and walked together with Shen Fu.
Shen Fu used to be his father's staff, and Zhu Jingyuan was quite familiar with him.
Lin Zexu and Niu Jianze followed their chief officer, and they looked at each other subconsciously when they saw this situation.
The two people, who did not understand the situation in the court, subconsciously guessed that the relationship between the uncle and nephew was very bad.
Although the direction of thinking may not be right, the result is not problematic.
Both of them regarded it as a great blessing to follow Zhu Jingyuan to the peace talks as the starting point of their official career.
But now I have a vague feeling that this peace negotiation will not go too smoothly.
The five people walked out of the palace gate and came to the Meridian Gate Square again. Representatives from all aspects were basically present.
Shen Fu gathered the staff of Honglu Temple and led the court representatives from other government offices together.
Wang Lai from the Ship Department of the Ministry of Industry brought together the craftsmen in his department who designed cutting-edge battleships with the craftsmen in the Royal Dockyard who designed large aircraft carriers.
After everyone gathered, they took a large official car of the imperial court and headed to the train station together.
However, Zhu Jingyuan did not stay. Instead, following Guan Tianpei's prompts, he took two of his staff to go ahead and took a car directly to the train station alone.
The railway station of the Old City of the Ming Dynasty is located in the southeast corner of the outer city of the old city.
Between the southeast outer wall of Jiajing Old City and the southeast outer wall of Renwu Outer City, the inner city wall extends outward to the Renwu outer wall.
In this way, the entire station is enclosed in an independent area.
The usual inspections are extremely strict, and today it was even more completely closed.
There was not a single passenger in the entire station. On both sides of the road, there were guards on one side and guards in uniform on the other.
Guan Tianpei's more than 400 naval guards also sent half of them to check the train station and the train Zhu Jingyuan was going to take in advance.
After Zhu Jingyuan arrived with two staff, he went directly to a separate carriage that had been specially prepared and inspected.
Inside the carriage, there were two teams of fifty soldiers in the front and rear compartments, and the other four hundred soldiers were divided into the four front and rear carriages.
Lin Zexu and Niu Jian, two graduates, followed Zhu Jingyuan to the carriage and felt greatly shocked.
The two of them have concluded with certainty that this Prince of Dashi is definitely not an ordinary grandson of the emperor.
Before, the two of them had just learned that it was very special for the grandson of the emperor to be directly crowned a prince. Now it seems that their previous expectations were not enough.
Now the security level is too high, and the only option is to monopolize a train. That would be the treatment of an emperor on a patrol.
Zhu Jingyuan was also quite emotional. The old emperor was too careful with him and was really afraid that something would happen to him.
Although the carriage he was in was considered luxurious, all the facilities were very exquisite.
But it is also very simple. Stand up anywhere in the carriage and you will have an unobstructed view of the entire environment inside the carriage.
There are no cabinets for large items, and all cabinets and under the seats have a comprehensive staggered grid structure, allowing you to see directly what is inside.
There were more than fifty soldiers guarding the front and rear compartments, and there were more than 400 people in the four front and rear carriages.
Anyone who enters this room must pass through them. The sheer aura of these soldiers can make many people feel stressed.
In such an environment, Zhu Jingyuan also relaxed a little.
Sitting on a chair waiting for Shen Fu and others to arrive, waiting for the train to leave for Tianjin to go to sea.
