After the noon break, Zhu Shouren and his two companions, feeling quite pleased with themselves, saw from the window that Zhu Ping’an had left his command tent.
They knew that the opportunity they had been waiting for had arrived.
After watching Zhu Ping’an walk away from the window, they eagerly hurried to his command tent.
Since Zhu Ping’an had granted them the privilege of entering his tent freely at any time, the guards did not stop them, allowing them to rush in without hindrance.
Once inside, the three of them began to secretly search the tent, rummaging through the desk, books, and even the corners, looking for any books Zhu Ping’an had been reading or any papers he had written on.
“Nothing?”
Zhu Shouren searched high and low but found no sign of any books that had been read, leaving him disappointed.
“I didn’t find anything either,” Xia Qiang followed up, shaking his head in dismay. He, too, had come up empty-handed.
Hu Wei also found nothing, but he was unwilling to give up. He widened his eyes and scanned the room, suddenly pointing at the bed and exclaiming in surprise, “Look at the bed! Isn’t there a book under the pillow?”
Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang followed Hu Wei’s finger and indeed saw the corner of a book peeking out from under the pillow on the single bed.
Instantly, their eyes lit up with excitement.
Zhu Shouren was about to rush over and grab the book, but Hu Wei quickly stopped him, saying, “Brother Zhu, don’t be hasty. That book is clearly the one Commander Zhu was reading during his noon break. The page it’s open to is the one he was just reading. Don’t mess it up.”
Reminded by Hu Wei, Zhu Shouren hurriedly stopped his hand from lifting the pillow and grabbing the book, avoiding any careless disruption of the pages.
Hu Wei and Xia Qiang also gathered around the bed. Hu Wei carefully pulled the book out from under the pillow without disturbing the open page.
“Quick, let’s take a look. Last time, we gained some insight that made Commander Zhu take notice of us, and our treatment improved significantly. He had meals delivered to us and even gave us silver. We’ve only been here for two days, and we’ve already received a month’s salary and a five-tael settling-in allowance. If we gain more insight this time, we’ll practically be able to establish ourselves under Commander Zhu’s command,” Xia Qiang said excitedly as he leaned in.
“Ha, establishing ourselves is nothing. Those country bumpkins who followed my nephew early on have already become officially appointed military officers. How much more so for us, who are well-read in the classics and full of knowledge? We’re a hundred times better than them,” Zhu Shouren said with confidence, feeling that he was just a few steps away from becoming an official.
“Alright, enough chatter. Let’s get back to the main point. We need to focus on studying the book Commander Zhu was reading during his break,” Hu Wei patted their shoulders, reminding them to cut the small talk and focus on the task at hand.
The three of them sat on the floor, and Hu Wei placed the book on the ground, using a paperweight to hold down the open page.
They huddled together, eagerly reading.
“Er Zhu Rong? Who is this?” Zhu Shouren scratched his head as he read about a man named Er Zhu Rong. He had only studied the Four Books and Five Classics and had little knowledge of history, so he had no idea who this famous historical figure was.
“Brother Zhu, Er Zhu Rong was the Cao Cao of the Northern and Southern Dynasties—no, he was even more ruthless than Cao Cao. He was an unparalleled villain,” Hu Wei explained, inwardly cursing Zhu Shouren for his ignorance.
“More ruthless than Cao Cao? An unparalleled villain?! How come I’ve never heard of him? What makes him comparable to Cao Cao? Cao Cao was the one who said, ‘I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.’ He was the ‘capable minister in times of peace, the villain in times of chaos,’ the one who ‘held the emperor hostage to command the nobles,’ and the ‘Prime Minister who divided the Three Kingdoms.’ His son even became emperor,” Zhu Shouren, who was quite familiar with Cao Cao, quickly showed off his knowledge.
“Ha, Brother Zhu, Er Zhu Rong was even more formidable than Cao Cao. He was the number one warlord of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. When an emperor of the Northern Wei was poisoned by the empress dowager, Er Zhu Rong used the excuse of avenging the emperor to raise an army and march into the capital. He drowned the empress dowager and installed a child emperor. Since he had no power base in the capital, he feared that the officials and nobles would oppose him, so he struck first. Under the pretext of holding a memorial for the deceased emperor, he slaughtered over two thousand nobles and officials in the capital. He then lived a life of controlling the empire through the child emperor. Although his end was unfortunate—he was lured into the palace by the child emperor and killed by埋伏的亲信—his influence was unprecedented. Cao Cao’s son became emperor, which is impressive, but Er Zhu Rong had four generals under him, and all four became founding emperors of their own dynasties. How impressive is that? Four founding emperors were once his subordinates…”
Hu Wei gave Zhu Shouren a crash course on who Er Zhu Rong was, comparing him to Cao Cao and recounting his life story.
“There was actually such a figure in history, and I didn’t know about him…” Zhu Shouren couldn’t help but sigh after hearing this.
There are many great figures in history you don’t know about. Given your lack of learning, how many could you possibly know?
Hu Wei thought to himself.
“So, this Er Zhu Rong was quite the fighter?” Zhu Shouren pondered for a moment and then caught on.
“Ha, he wasn’t just a good fighter—he was an exceptional one. You could say he was undefeated throughout the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He rose to power through one military campaign after another, suppressing rebellions, defeating invading enemies, crushing Ge Rong, pacifying Hebei, defeating Southern Liang, and sweeping through Guanlong. He reunified the crumbling Northern Wei regime through sheer military force. He fought dozens of battles in his lifetime and never lost a single one. He was even more formidable than Cao Cao, with four founding emperors bowing their heads to serve as his generals…”
Hu Wei chuckled as he explained to Zhu Shouren.
“That’s fantastic! If Er Zhu Rong was such a skilled fighter, he must have had many valuable insights on leading troops and waging war. My nephew must have learned or realized something from his story. Let’s study this page carefully—we’re bound to gain something valuable,” Zhu Shouren said happily.
“Exactly, Brother Zhu is right. We’re sure to gain something today,” Xia Qiang also nodded in agreement.
“Then let’s hurry up and study it,” Zhu Shouren said excitedly, rubbing his hands together.
“This passage is about how Er Zhu Rong, seeing the constant rebellions and uprisings across Northern Wei, recruited volunteers and formed an army, marking the beginning of his rise to power,” Hu Wei, who was more familiar with Er Zhu Rong, knew what the page was about after reading the first paragraph.
“Recruiting volunteers and forming an army? Ha, what a coincidence! My nephew’s Zhe Army was also recently formed. Just last month, he recruited over a thousand country bumpkins from Yiwu,” Zhu Shouren clapped his hands.
“No wonder Commander Zhu was reading this page during his noon break. The similarities are striking,” Xia Qiang also realized.
