It was sunset again, and the western sky looked like a girl putting on blue rouge and powder, so charming and beautiful.
There is no dusk in the imperial prison, only darkness.
Zhu Ping'an, leaning against the prison railings in the corridor with the light of the fire, wrote and drew tirelessly on the muddy ground.
"Hey, nerd, it's time for dinner."
The jailer came over carrying a wooden barrel, took out a long-handled spoon with rice grains on it and knocked on the prison bars to remind Zhu Ping'an. Then, like feeding a pig, he scooped two spoonfuls of rice from the barrel with the long-handled spoon, put them in a bowl, and handed it to Zhu Ping'an.
"Thank you very much."
Zhu Ping'an thanked him, took the bowl and put it at his feet, then continued writing and drawing with the wooden stick in his hand.
The first volume of Qi Jiguang's "True Records of Military Training" was almost finished. It would not be too late to eat after finishing it. As Zhu Ping'an recited "True Records of Military Training", his understanding and comprehension of military affairs were slowly deepening.
Reading a book a hundred times will make its meaning clearer, and copying a book once is better than reading it a hundred times. Zhu Pingan personally agrees with this.
As for copying the "Treatise on Soldiers" by heart, it was because the Ming Dynasty was entangled in military affairs with the northern barbarians and the southern Japanese. No matter what position I was in, it would not hurt to know more about these strategies for training soldiers and the methods of using soldiers. Even if I was in the capital, as a civil official, I would be able to understand the war reports from the military officers on the front line in the future.
In fact, Zhu Ping'an not only memorized "Treatise on Soldiers", but also memorized "The Art of War" and "Military Classics" in prison. Of course, he memorized many books on politics and economics in prison. In prison, Zhu Ping'an had the most abundant time. Although the conditions in prison were difficult, he was able to concentrate on studying the subjects he was interested in without being disturbed.
"If you are not active in eating, you have a problem with your brain. In this prison, reading and practicing calligraphy is useless, and you still want to get out. Oh, I have been working in this prison for more than ten years. So many people have come in, but I have never seen many people get out. Why torture yourself like this? You might as well sleep and live one day at a time."
The jailer couldn't help but shook his head and ridiculed Zhu Ping'an a few words. He had been inspecting the cells these days, and every time he came to Zhu Ping'an, he saw that Zhu Ping'an was either reciting books or practicing calligraphy. The ground of the entire cell had been turned over several times due to his calligraphy practice, and the muddy ground was almost turned into sand. He was very impressed by this nerd.
In his opinion, Zhu Ping'an was already in prison, so why was he still torturing himself like this? Memorizing books and practicing calligraphy was so boring, tiring and annoying. Instead of spending time on memorizing books and practicing calligraphy, he might as well sleep as much as possible like other prisoners.
muddle along.
This is the state that prisoners in the imperial prison should be in.
"If I hear the truth in the morning, I am willing to die in the evening." Zhu Pingan raised his head and smiled. In history, many people studied and researched knowledge, and they worked harder and harder in times of crisis, and finally achieved success. For example, Confucius was poor between Chen and Cai, and he didn't drink quinoa soup or eat any grain for seven days. However, he lectured, recited books, and played the piano all day long, and finally became a saint. My talent is not even one ten-thousandth of Confucius and other sages. Only by working harder can I catch up with them.
"What do you mean?" The jailer looked confused, then shook his head and said mockingly, "I don't know whether it's true or not, but I know that if you don't even know how to eat, you're not far from starving to death."
"Haha, thanks for the reminder. I'll eat after I finish writing this volume." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly.
"What a nerd! What's the use of writing in this imperial prison? What, do you want to get out?" The jailer looked at Zhu Ping'an.
"Haha, food is material sustenance, and books are spiritual sustenance. The body needs to be well fed, but the spirit cannot be hungry. Besides, to be honest, I really want to go out. A person must have some dreams, otherwise what's the difference between you and a salted fish? What if they come true?" Zhu Ping'an smiled and finally replied by borrowing Stephen Chow's famous saying.
"What if it comes true? Haha, you are such a nerd. When you finish eating, lie down there and your dream will come true."
The jailer shook his head and sneered, thinking that Zhu Ping'an was daydreaming. He wanted to get out of the imperial prison after entering it. It was simply a dream.
Zhu Ping'an smiled, said nothing more, lowered his head and continued to copy the first volume of "Records of Military Training" which was almost completed.
"What a nerd..."
The jailer felt that Zhu Ping'an was hopeless, shook his head, and walked away staggeringly with the lunch bucket.
"The imperial edict has arrived!"
But just as the jailer was about to reach the corner of the corridor, he suddenly heard a sharp sound coming from the other side of the corridor.
Imperial edict?!
When the jailer heard the word "imperial edict", he reflexively knelt down at the side of the aisle and stepped aside.
Soon, a group of people came over from the aisle, led by three eunuchs. The leading eunuch respectfully held a black ox horn scroll of imperial edict in his hand, accompanied by a team of Jinyiwei.
The group passed by the kneeling jailer and went straight to Zhu Ping'an's cell. The kneeling jailer saw from the corner of his eye that the group reading the imperial edict stopped in front of Zhu Ping'an's cell. He couldn't help but think of Zhu Ping'an's words: People must always have some dreams, otherwise, what's the difference between you and salted fish? What if it comes true...
Could this nerd really be right?!
The jailer's eyelids jumped, then he shook his head. No way, this nerd had just been imprisoned in the imperial prison by the emperor's order, how could he be released by the emperor's order? The emperor's words are golden, how could he change his mind so quickly
Could it be that he ordered the execution of this nerd? !
It was a pity that this nerd didn't seem to be a very evil person, and the jailer couldn't help but feel pity for Zhu Ping'an. In fact, although the jailer often ridiculed Zhu Ping'an, he still admired Zhu Ping'an for persisting in reading and practicing calligraphy in the imperial prison. Therefore, three meals a day were never missed for Zhu Ping'an.
"Haha, Master Xiao Zhu, we meet again."
The leading eunuch was Meng Chong who had left in the morning. He came to Zhu Ping'an's cell and said to him with a smile.
When Zhu Ping'an saw Meng Chong, he couldn't help but get excited. Meng Chong had just been ordered to inquire in the morning and came to announce the decree in the evening. Looking at Meng Chong's smiling face, it was obvious that he brought good news.
Although Zhu Ping'an had been somewhat confident about the arrival of this moment after Meng Chong's questioning in the morning, he still couldn't help but get excited when he saw Meng Chong's smiling face and the imperial edict in his hands.
"Eunuch Meng." Zhu Ping'an suppressed his excitement, bowed and replied softly.
"Captain Qianhu, please ask someone to open the prison door so that I can announce the decree to Lord Xiao Zhu." Meng Chong said with a smile to the leader of the Jinyiwei who was accompanying him.
The leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard nodded and ordered someone to open Zhu Ping'an's cell door.
"The imperial edict has arrived, Zhu Ping'an, please receive it." Meng Chong unfolded the imperial edict.
"I, the guilty minister Zhu Ping'an, pay homage to the emperor. Long live the emperor." Zhu Ping'an paid homage to the imperial edict.
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Zhu Ping'an, the lecturer at Prince Yu's Palace... ... knew the truth but did not report it, he shielded and concealed Yang Jisheng's crimes, and slandered the ministers... ... Considering that this is his first offense and he has made many contributions, he is demoted to the magistrate of Jingnan County..."
The voice of Meng Chong reading the imperial edict echoed in the imperial prison.
Really went out?!
The jailer kneeling on the ground had a look of shock and disbelief on his face.