Chapter 97

The exam was still ongoing, and Zhou Peng and his companions were still cruelly confined in a small room, eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, and sleeping all crammed together like animals. After each exam, they would come out to get some fresh air, but within three days, they would be locked up again.

Xu Hao, feeling compassionate, thought about visiting them, but he was driven away by the foul stench emanating from the college. It was said that to prevent any favoritism or illegal activities, no one was allowed to enter or leave the exam room. The chamber pots of the examinees were emptied by soldiers into large vats, and no one was allowed to take them away.

Xu Hao was deeply moved by this, thinking, "This is what it means to labor the body and temper the spirit!"

The entire provincial exam would last for half a month, and all the surrounding houses that could accommodate people were requisitioned by the government. When the madmen like Zhou Peng finally emerged, their first priority would be to wash off the sour and foul smell, then they would busy themselves assessing their essays and discussing the upcoming exams. This was the critical moment that would determine their fate, and they could not afford to waste a single moment.

Thinking of this, Xu Hao ultimately decided not to join the crowd. On the day the county results were announced, to everyone's surprise, Xu Hao came in first place. Someone jokingly called him "Xu Jieyuan."

Mu Ang, seeing his name as the thirty-sixth, said sourly, "The top scorer in the county exam is called Jieyuan, you guys really don't know much."

Xu Hao laughed heartily, "We're just having fun. Actually, being first is a bit of an exaggeration."

Someone kindly suggested, "You should go and pay respects to the county magistrate and the school supervisor. Now you are one of their distinguished students, and you will need their support in the future. Prepare some generous gifts, and don't neglect the proper etiquette."

Xu Hao's smile faded, and he sneered, "I don't owe them anything. This first place was not given with good intentions. All this talk of being under their tutelage is just an excuse for favoritism and corruption. A gentleman would not see me, and I don't want to see them if they are not gentlemen."

With that, he pulled Mu Ang out of the crowd, leaving the other students staring at each other in bewilderment. Someone shouted, "A scoundrel has risen to power, a shameless opportunist."

Xu Hao, hearing this, pouted at his guards, and Wang Hu and Li Qiu immediately pushed through the crowd. Xu Hao strode forward and gave the man a beating.

How could a single scholar, who couldn't even defend himself, be a match for Xu Hao? A few punches sent him sprawling on the ground, groaning and clutching his face.

Xu Hao smiled at him, "That's what happens when you have a foul mouth. Why should it concern you if I don't want to curry favor with the officials? If you dare to curse me behind my back again, I'll pull out all your teeth. If you have the guts, wait until you pass the exam and come back to curse me. For now, you can't do anything about it."

Since scholars could only be disciplined by the school supervisor, even the officials couldn't intervene. In modern times, this would at most result in a warning. Thus, under the angry but helpless gazes of the crowd, Xu Hao and Mu Ang left in their carriage.

In the carriage, Mu Ang, excited like he had discovered a new world, exclaimed, "So you're a rich brat! I have to tell my sister."

Xu Hao snapped his fingers at Mu Ang and laughed, "Are you not a rich brat? You spend your days playing with servants and bullying village children. Who are you to talk? Besides, I've already told you, I'm a big shot in the capital! I've even beaten a prince. Your sister already knows all this. Besides, what's so special about beating a slanderous student? If I did it myself, that's called being a man. If I have my family do it, that's being a rich brat."

"Seems like you're right. Big Brother Xu, you were really a man just now," the simple-minded Mu Ang was convinced, covering his red forehead in admiration.

Xu Hao, shamelessly boasting about his past exploits, conveniently forgot that he almost always fought in numbers. Even when he said he beat a prince, it was because Zhu Gaohu had deliberately bullied someone, and they cornered the prince in an alley to extort benefits. Xu Hao kicked the prince to show solidarity with Zhu Gaohu, purely to curry favor and assist in his wrongdoing.

Being able to act like a lawless rich brat was one of Xu Hao's wishes. Who would want to be a polite and well-mannered gentleman all the time? If you don't do some reckless things in your youth, isn't that a sign of illness?

After sending Mu Ang home, Xu Hao threatened him with a clenched fist, intimidating him into promising not to speak ill of the great hero Xu Hao to his sister before letting him go.

His elder sister and younger sister were staying at the Mu family's house indefinitely. Yesterday, Lady Mu said she couldn't bear to let them go, but in reality, they were playing mahjong day and night. Xu Hao sighed deeply, thankful that Mu Ningsnow didn't like to play, or else he would have given up on her. Playing mahjong and gambling at such a young age would surely make her a wasteful woman in the future.

Unable to help it, Xu Hao sent his cousins Xiao Yushi, Xu Cuiliu, and Xu Cuiyun to the Mu family to take over, so they wouldn't get too tired. Besides, Xiao Yushi had been feeling lonely lately.

However, this move raised Lady Mu's suspicions. Having a cousin stay at the Xu family for a long time would raise too many suspicions. Even if Xu Qinglian explained, Lady Mu couldn't be reassured, especially since Xiao Yushi was so pitiable and lovely.

Fortunately, Lady Mu felt she had enough time to observe, so she didn't make a fuss. After a night of mahjong, she realized that Xiao Yushi was too gentle and meek. Even if the worst happened, she wouldn't pose a threat to her daughter's position as the main wife. Of course, she would never let Xu Hao easily have multiple wives unless absolutely necessary.

Xu Hao had no idea that women were naturally inclined to worry about such things. His marriage to Mu Ningsnow was still uncertain, but Lady Mu was already making plans ahead of time.

Lady Mu's life was too lonely, and it seemed she would have to keep playing mahjong forever.

Xu Hao's achievement of coming in first place quickly spread throughout the village. Every household came to congratulate him, then happily returned home with generous gifts, leaving the Xu family at a loss.

The old matriarch and Lady Xiao didn't care about the money. What was money compared to the glory of being first? They boasted about it to everyone, hoping for more visitors to congratulate them.

Lady Xiao sent her steward to the estate to bring back several carts of fresh fruit, bought over a hundred boxes of Suzhou pastries from the city, and brought back fifty bolts of fine fabric from Xu Hao's shop. Feeling it wasn't enough, she added two strings of cash to each gift.

By the time Xu Hao learned of his grandmother and mother's extravagant spending, hundreds of taels of silver had already been spent. He had to accept it with a pinched nose. Thinking about it, when his second brother Xu Ji returned as a scholar, he would probably spend even more. To satisfy the elders' vanity, he quickly instructed the accountant to prepare a thousand taels of silver for them to spend lavishly.

Xu Hao wasn't short of money. A few days ago, Prince Yan Zhu Di agreed to Xu Hao's proposal to establish a business and sent a trusted person to manage it. The specifics were not mentioned, but it was likely a cover for their activities.

To reward Xu Hao's suggestion, Prince Yan offered to buy Xu Hao's four shops for ten thousand taels of treasure notes.

Initially, Xu Hao was reluctant, as ten thousand taels of treasure notes were worth only five thousand taels of silver, which was a huge loss. However, Zhu Gaohu sent someone to inform him that he would exchange the treasure notes for over eighty thousand taels of official silver, making each shop worth twenty thousand taels of silver. Xu Hao was satisfied.

After deducting various taxes, he still had eighty thousand taels of real silver. Where to put it? He couldn't just leave it lying around. Xu Hao thought about it all night and had to accept it with a pinched nose. He went to Zhu Gaohu early in the morning to ask for help in storing the silver.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaohu drew a large circle on a map, telling Xu Hao to take back ten thousand taels of silver and that the rest would be useful in the coming years. He complained that although Prince Yan's mansion seemed prosperous, it was actually in dire need of money. Thus, this large piece of land would belong to Xu Hao, and the Prince Yan's mansion would guarantee the land deed.

Xu Hao was furious. It seemed that neither Prince Yan nor his son was a good person, and they had been plotting against him from the start. This was truly unbearable. No, absolutely not.

The problem was that the silver was already in the hands of the tiger, and it couldn't be retrieved. What to do? Fine, he would take the land, but he needed some manpower. Otherwise, he would have to go and develop it himself?

After some haggling, Zhu Gaohu, representing his father, promised to grant Xu Hao a hereditary position as a thousand-household head within three years. This meant that at least five hundred households would be allocated to his land, ensuring enough labor for farming and eight hundred able-bodied men for the military.

Xu Hao was moved. Regardless of whether he would become a pawn under Zhu Di's control, he reluctantly agreed and lightly marked a small circle on the map at the estuary.

"I don't want so much land. I just want this small piece. Can you give me a straight answer?"

Zhu Gaohu asked him what he wanted to do. Xu Hao, not revealing his true thoughts, said irritably, "I fear death. The north is too unstable. With a port, I can always escape by boat."

Zhu Gaohu thought for a moment and smiled, saying, "You're planning to smuggle goods to Korea and Japan, aren't you? That's against the law."

Xu Hao sneered, "If you know so much, your Prince Yan's mansion must have done it too. Otherwise, how would you reward ten thousand elite soldiers?"

Zhu Gaohu shook his head, saying, "This is a serious matter. Even my father and I can't act openly. The place you marked is a crucial port near Beiping, watched by many officials and censors. It's impossible to meet your request."

Xu Hao agreed. Although Tianjin was not yet established, the port was crucial for Beiping, the only outlet to the sea, with a heavy military presence and a large naval force.

Without ships, how could he engage in maritime trade? Building a shipyard in Tianjin would be too conspicuous.

Speaking of ships, Xu Hao was confident that Zhu Di would not refuse maritime trade, at least not now, or there would be no seven voyages to the West.

During the Yongle Emperor's reign, China's shipbuilding technology was the best in the world. Even after nearly twenty years of a maritime ban by Zhu Yuanzhang, this miracle was still possible, showing that the Ming Dynasty was not short of shipbuilding craftsmen and talent.

Xu Hao pointed to a spot on the map, which was the location of Dalian in the future, and sighed, "This is the best natural port in Liaodong. It controls the entire Bohai Sea and is the closest and most convenient route to Korea. If the Ming navy could be permanently stationed here, they could safely reach Japan via Korean ports, trade with Japan, and work with the Japanese government to intercept pirates. If this could be sustained for a few decades, it would not be difficult to completely eliminate the pirate problem."

Zhu Gaohu was very moved and nodded in agreement, but suddenly asked, "How do you know all this?"

Xu Hao replied irritably, "I come from the future. What don't I know? Besides, a scholar can know everything without leaving his home. Is that just a saying?"

Zhu Gaohu laughed, "I don't believe it for a second!"

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