Chapter 529

The taste certainly isn't as good as what's made at home or in a restaurant.

But out here in the wild, amidst ice and snow, being able to drink a bowl of hot meat soup is truly excellent.

He glanced around; the other Embroidered Uniform Guard members each had a bowl of meat soup too, so it wasn't just him.

After asking a bit more, Ma Kui told Su Qiao that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had several skilled hunters who caught three wild rabbits and two pheasants; the main haul was three wild wolves!

Wolf meat doesn't taste good, so they just boiled it and shared it with the others.

Su Qiao and Luo Yangxing split one rabbit, while the Battalion Commander divided the remaining pheasants and rabbits.

One could say no one was left out.

After a hot breakfast, everyone's spirit and energy were revived.

Although the sky remained overcast with falling snow, the entire Tudimiao was now relatively easy to inspect.

First, the wheel tracks indeed came from the east.

As for their direction, they headed north.

Su Qiao then carefully investigated the other areas one by one.

Just then, an Embroidered Uniform Guard member discovered something.

"My lord, there's something over here!"

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn over.

Su Qiao and the others did the same, following Luo Yangxing as they strode into the Tudimiao.

Inside, an Embroidered Uniform Guard member pulled a wooden plaque out from a brick crack in the Tudimiao.

The wood seemed to be red sandalwood.

It carried a faint fragrance!

However, the characters on it were Japanese characters.

Neither Su Qiao nor Luo Yangxing recognized them.

Fortunately, among the Embroidered Uniform Guard members who came today, there was a Squad Leader who spoke Japanese.

He also knew a bit about Japanese writing.

He took a look and immediately identified the characters on it.

"My lord, these are the characters 'Yi' and 'He'; it seems to be some kind of organization."

The Squad Leader explained.

Iga?

Su Qiao immediately pressed, "Is this the token of that Iga ninja school from Japan?"

"Uh, no, Mr. Su, this isn't that Iga. It's the 'Yi' from one, two, three, four, and the 'He' from seedlings. I've only heard of it; it seems to be an organization of wandering samurai, but I don't know much."

The Squad Leader was startled at first, then quickly explained, finally making Su Qiao understand that only the sounds were the same; everything else was different.

Luo Yangxing, however, became somewhat curious about the Iga ninja school Su Qiao mentioned.

"Brother Su, what is this Iga ninja school you speak of?"

Luo Yangxing didn't know much about Japan's situation, so Su Qiao gave him a brief explanation.

Actually, Su Qiao didn't know much either.

But in the information explosion of the twenty-first century, he had still found some simple materials online.

In the past, he thought they were fictional fabrications, but after searching online...

... he discovered that the so-called Iga and Koka schools were indeed real, and their lineage wasn't short.

The other Embroidered Uniform Guard members were also curious, so Su Qiao gave a brief explanation.

"Are these ninjas very powerful?"

"Not as powerful as us, but they rely on unorthodox and eerie methods, using illusions to hide their forms and such; most operate as assassins."

Su Qiao said without hesitation.

Luo Yangxing immediately relaxed.

"Brother Luo, no need to be so agitated; whether they can even exist in the future is still uncertain."

Su Qiao said with a chuckle.

Luo Yangxing raised his eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Brother Luo, don't forget, General Zheng has now surrounded all of Japan and is advancing step by step; the destruction of Japan is imminent. Even if the entire Koka and Iga schools are powerful, they cannot stop an army!"

Luo Yangxing then exclaimed in realization, "Ah, I actually forgot about General Zheng. Indeed, that's right. Japan might become a prefecture or county of Great Ming in the future, so there's no need to fear them. Your Majesty is truly wise and majestic!"

That flattery was so smooth, even though Zhu Youjian wasn't nearby.

Su Qiao secretly curled his lip.

"Alright, let's get back to business. This wooden plaque was dropped by those Japanese samurai who attempted to assassinate Your Majesty, proving they belong to an organization named 'Yi He'! But as Brother Su just said, Japan has already been surrounded by General Zheng; they couldn't have come from Japan to carry out the assassination. Since all the ports are under our control, these samurai are very likely from within Great Ming territory!"

After all this time, Luo Yangxing's intelligence was finally online!

Su Qiao thought to himself: Even if we know they're within the territory, it's still hard to investigate!

The main issue is there are too many traitors hiding Japanese pirates, colluding with them to raid and plunder; he had witnessed such things before.

"What does Brother Su think?"

Seeing Su Qiao silent for so long, Luo Yangxing felt somewhat insecure and hurriedly asked for his opinion.

Su Qiao quickly nodded, "Brother Luo's analysis makes great sense. We can have the Embroidered Uniform Guard in various regions investigate, looking for any traces of Japanese samurai; we might very well encounter this 'Yi He' organization, and then it will be easier to track them down!"

"Hmm, Brother Su's words align perfectly with my thoughts!"

384, Huang Jin felt relieved!

Now, the clues on this side temporarily cannot be connected again.

Although a new clue, the 'Yi He' token, was discovered, since it couldn't be connected, Luo Yangxing and the others weren't particularly happy.

For the next few days, Su Qiao did not accompany the Embroidered Uniform Guard on investigations.

Instead, he was summoned by Zhu Youjian into the palace.

It had already been confirmed that the special imperial examination would reopen in April of next year.

Zhu Youjian had specifically called him into the palace; the purpose was very simple.

He was to serve as the chief examiner for this imperial examination.

The main reason was that the changes to this imperial examination were simply too great.

Students from all regions were basically bewildered by the new rules set by the court.

Especially those who studied books to death were utterly dumbfounded.

Of course, most were still quite confident.

Confident that half of the Analects could govern the world.

They had memorized The Four Books and Five Classics and could easily handle government affairs, sharing the state's burdens.

A typical case of ambition reaching the sky while fate is thinner than paper!

They imagined things quite beautifully, yet never considered whether they actually possessed the ability!

Although there was considerable controversy among the common people, those with controversy were mostly people with no ability who still hoped to obtain an official post.

As for those appointed through hereditary privilege, that was not something Su Qiao needed to consider.

That was the matter of Huang Jin, the Minister of Rites.

During this period, upon learning that Zhu Youjian had entrusted the new special examination to Su Qiao, Huang Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

Because the changes were simply too great and too numerous!

He was the Minister of Rites, a high-ranking second-rank official of the court, indeed, but comparing the interests of a few people against the interests of the majority.

Logically speaking, choosing the former would naturally be safer.

However, matters were not like that.

Zhu Youjian's changes to the rules of this imperial examination directly blocked those who wanted to exploit loopholes.

The second point was that it touched upon the interests of the majority in the officialdom.

If he agreed to it, most people offended in the officialdom might all target him.

Even if he held a high position and great power and had Zhu Youjian protecting him, he would still face major trouble.

Moreover, Zhu Youjian might not necessarily protect him.

Some might say that compared to people in the court and officialdom, the power of the common people is greater, allowing more capable people from the common folk to rise unexpectedly.

People from the common folk are not more useful than people in the officialdom.

They are truly not necessarily useful.