The rise of the poor

Chapter 2195 Flattery or Talent?

Zhu Ping'an was surprised to see Liu Dadao return to report and asked him how he had traveled so quickly.

"Young master, it's like this..."

Liu Dadao recounted in detail his journey and how he met Xu Wei.

"You must be tired from your journey, Big Knife." Zhu Ping'an, seeing the bloodshot eyes and the dusty clothes on Liu Big Knife's body, couldn't help but pat Liu Big Knife's shoulder and said with emotion.

“Young master, I eat well and sleep well. I’m either riding a horse or on a boat. I haven’t used my legs much. It’s not tiring.”

Liu Dadao scratched his head and chuckled as he spoke, dust falling from his head with a series of puffs.

The hardships they endured along the way are evident from this.

"Oh, right, young master, this is the congratulatory letter written by that fat bastard Xu Wei. When that fat bastard opened your letter and saw the silver notes, his eyes lit up. He held them and kissed them. After reading your letter, he squinted and pondered for a few breaths, then picked up his pen and wrote it all in one go. I asked him to check it, but that fat bastard patted his chest and said with a confident look that this congratulatory letter was a gift from heaven. No matter how much he thought and checked, he couldn't make a better congratulatory letter than this one."

As Liu Dadao spoke, he took out a sheepskin bag from his pocket, from which he took out a carefully preserved, spotless, and watertight congratulatory scroll, and handed it to Zhu Ping'an with both hands.

Zhu Pingan took the congratulatory letter, eagerly opened it, and began to read it carefully:

"...I humbly believe that the lingering fragrance of ambergris, the jade tortoise's symbolic appearance, and the auspicious inscriptions on the precious scrolls all indicate that this is a time of enlightened rule. As for the dragon's roar and the appearance of the jade tortoise, this is unprecedented in history, a truly wondrous and auspicious event. This is an auspicious omen, signifying the pacification of the Japanese pirates, the stability of the borders, and the peace of the four seas. I humbly acknowledge Your Majesty's virtue surpassing that of Emperor Yao and your achievements exceeding those of the divine Yu."

After reading it, Zhu Pingan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Wow, Xu Wei truly lives up to his name!"

Flattery is something that really requires talent, and Xu Wei was truly gifted in this regard.

It is once again a time of enlightened rule.

It was another auspicious omen, a sign that the Japanese pirates would surely be pacified, that the borders would surely be secure, and that the whole world would be at peace. This omen immediately caught the attention of the Jiajing Emperor.

It was also said that the Jiajing Emperor surpassed Emperor Yao and his achievements exceeded those of the divine Yu.

This flattery highlights the idea that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, directly reaching the heart of the emperor!

No need to change a single word, just copy it directly later, along with today's battle report of the Battle of Merlin, and send it to the capital.

"Not bad, very good, excellent." Zhu Pingan nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

"That fatso really wrote that well? Really? I thought he was just slacking off. He finished it in a flash and didn't even check it." Liu Dadao looked incredulous. The fatso's hastily written stuff actually received praise from the young master.

“Really, I spent several hours writing congratulatory memorials last night, but they are far inferior to his. In terms of writing congratulatory memorials and official documents, I can hardly compare to him,” Zhu Pingan said earnestly.

"I never expected that fatso would actually have some skills!" Liu Dadao exclaimed in disbelief.

"He's not just skilled, he's incredibly capable. Otherwise, why would I have repeatedly visited him, hoping to persuade him to come out of seclusion and lend me a hand? It's just a pity that he's still obsessed with fame and fortune and refuses to come out of seclusion to help me. If he had helped me, I would be even more confident in quelling the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan," Zhu Ping'an said with a regretful expression.

According to historical trajectory, Xu Wei would have to take the imperial examination one or two more times, and only after suffering another heavy blow would he give up on the imperial examination.

Only then would it be possible for me to invite Xu Wei to my headquarters to lend me a helping hand.

"Young master, what's there to regret? I'll go again and bring him here by force. That fatso is all show and no substance; I can take on ten of him by myself." Liu Dadao patted his chest and said confidently.

puff

Zhu Pingan nearly spat out his tea, waving his hands repeatedly, "No, no, we're asking him to come out of seclusion and help us, not kidnapping him. You can't force a melon to ripen; he's still obsessed with fame and fortune, he won't willingly lend me a hand." Zhu Pingan hurriedly waved his hands.

Liu Dadao really does have some of Zhang Fei's style.

"Ah, he still has to take the imperial examination. He's so good at writing congratulatory messages, even the young master praised him and said he's not as good as him. So if he takes the imperial examination, won't he pass it on his first try? If he passes, will he give up his official career to come and help the young master?" Liu Dadao asked with some concern.

“Writing congratulatory letters and essays is different from taking the imperial examinations. Xu Wei was good at writing essays, but he was not good at taking the imperial examinations. I told him about his problems, but he couldn’t change them. He was destined not to pass the imperial examinations.”

Zhu Pingan said with a sigh.

"The young master has already pointed out his problems to him, so why doesn't he change them?" Liu Dadao asked, puzzled.

The young master is a top scholar, yet he points out his problem and refuses to change it.

"He is Xu Wei, Xu Wenchang. If he could be changed, he wouldn't be Xu Wei, Xu Wenchang," Zhu Pingan said calmly.

what? !

Liu Dadao looked completely bewildered.

"The time is not right now. We should ask him to come out of seclusion and help us after the imperial examinations. That should be fine," Zhu Ping'an said slowly, looking towards Yingtian.

"Then I wish him failure," Liu Dadao muttered under his breath.

"Big Knife, what did you say?" Zhu Pingan vaguely heard this and looked at Liu Big Knife.

"Ahem, I said the sun has set." Liu Dadao coughed and stroked his chin.

Zhu Pingan looked up outside the tent and saw a red sun setting behind the western mountains, with a crimson sunset glow on the horizon.

"Sure enough, the sun has set. Big Knife, you did a great job on the mission. You must be tired from the journey. Go down and have something hot to eat, then get a good night's sleep."

Zhu Pingan patted Liu Dadao on the shoulder again, telling Liu Dadao to go down and eat and rest.

"Alright, young master, then I'll be going now." Liu Dadao clasped his hands in a fist salute and left.

After Da Dao left, Zhu Ping'an laid out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, copied Xu Wei's congratulatory letter, and read it again, becoming more and more satisfied with each reading.

I couldn't have written this congratulatory letter myself, but luckily Xu Wei wrote it for me, allowing the two white turtles and ambergris to play their best roles.

With these two white turtles, the dragon's birthday incense, and this congratulatory letter, Emperor Jiajing should not pursue the matter of his unauthorized surrender of Wang Zhi. If Emperor Jiajing does not pursue it, even if others want to, it will be to no avail.

Then, Zhu Pingan picked up his pen and gave a detailed summary of the battle situation at Meiling that day, truthfully listing the battle report of Mao Haifeng's Japanese pirates annihilating the Japanese pirates west of Meiling.

At the end of his battle report, Zhu Ping'an stated that the Japanese pirates in Yoshiya Village would be wiped out the next day, and that all Japanese pirate strongholds along the Zhejiang coast, except those of Wang Zhi and Xu Hai, could be eradicated within a month. He even made a promise to the Jiajing Emperor that the elimination of all Japanese pirates within Zhejiang was just around the corner. (End of Chapter)