After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 621 "Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses"

The initial sea trial at Tongzhou Wharf was successful; the next step is to conduct a formal sea trial at Tianjin Port.

Before heading to Tianjin Port, Qiu Cheng needs to recruit at least fifty people.

These fifty people were trained before they could participate in the trial launch of ships at Tianjin Port.

For the first voyage, the route won't be very long, just a few hundred miles.

At that time, the ship will be fully stocked with fresh water and food to ensure that the fifty people have enough for the round trip.

However, when Jiang Xiaoqi was listing the goods and food in Qiucheng, he suddenly thought of something.

Some of the lemons I planted on my estate have ripened, and it's time to pick some.

The second prince naturally could not accompany Qiu Cheng to Tianjin Port for ship testing; all matters would continue to be handled by Qiu Cheng.

Of course, Qiu Cheng is not short of helpers now.

The students who were sponsored by their family during the imperial examinations all passed and became Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). Now, some of them are interning in the Six Ministries, while others have gone to other places to serve as officials.

Of the three people who interned in the Sixth Department, one of them happened to go to the Ministry of Industry.

Back then, several young people from the Jiang family also passed the imperial examination, although two of them were among the top three scholars.

However, thanks to the efforts of Jiang Changqing and Jiang Changshou, they all found good places to go.

Jiang Hao achieved the best score, just as Jiang Xiaoqi predicted, ranking third in the top three.

He has now returned to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors and is expected to return after autumn. At that time, Jiang Xiaoqi will be able to meet his cousin at the Hanlin Academy.

It is quite rare for a family to have two members who have passed the imperial examinations.

However, the new batch of top-ranking scholars are about to enter the Hanlin Academy, while Jiang Xiaoqi, Liu Peng, Xiao Ming, and other "veterans" are still stuck in their original positions in the Hanlin Academy, which is not a good look.

The Liu family has been making frequent contacts on Liu Peng's behalf lately, hoping to get him to move up in rank.

The awkward thing is that Jiang Xiaoqi, the former top scorer, hasn't been moved yet, and Liu Peng, the runner-up, can't be moved too much either.

Therefore, the Liu family could only look for a vacancy for Liu Peng at the sixth rank, hoping he could at least be promoted one rank first.

There were few scholars in Xiao Ming's family, and even fewer who became officials.

Xiao Ming's achievement of becoming the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination was entirely due to his own hard work, without any reliance on others or connections.

When it comes to situations where connections are crucial, Xiao Ming's situation is worse than Jiang Xiaoqi's. In fact, Jiang Xiaoqi might be Xiao Ming's biggest connection.

The Jiang family had considered trying to get in touch with Jiang Xiaoqi and his sons-in-law, but Li Haisheng and Xue Xu had already been promoted on their own.

After all, the Imperial Diarist is a sixth-rank official, so the Jiang family doesn't need to worry about these two for the time being.

However, Dong Jin, Wang Jue, and Xiao Ming are more difficult to deal with. All three are steady and reliable, and they haven't really made any outstanding achievements in the past three years.

If it's true that promotions are given when one reaches a certain age, then there are plenty of officials like that in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Why should it be the turn of a few inexperienced individuals?

Jiang Xiaoqi had also discussed this matter with Landlord Jiang, but the discussion ultimately yielded no results.

After some hesitation, Jiang Xiaoqi finally dropped the bombshell of the Second Prince on his grandfather.

Landlord Jiang was naturally stunned by the explosion and didn't react for a long time.

Jiang Xiaoqi had no choice but to wait patiently for her grandfather to digest the information before continuing the topic they hadn't finished discussing.

Before a ship sets sail, it needs to recruit soldiers and horses. The Second Prince doesn't have much time now, so he also needs to gather all the available forces.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt a sense of calm as she thought of the message her mother had just sent back via carrier pigeon.

My mother is really capable; she actually managed to bring my master back. This will be a great help to my side.

Jiang Xiaoqi only thought of her master's skills and did not connect it to the matter of the Ouyang family's ears.

In his mind, since his master was unwilling to mention his identity or get close to the Ouyang family in the capital, he had to respect his master's wishes.

My master is my master, and the Ouyang family is the Ouyang family. Even if the Ouyang family is deeply rooted and has the power to shake the imperial court, so what?

As a disciple, his greatest filial piety towards his master was not seeking medical treatment or indulging in frivolous pleasures, but rather giving his master sufficient understanding and respect.

Of course, if my master arrives in the capital and is unwilling to get involved in the struggle for the throne, I will not force him.

While Jiang Xiaoqi was lost in thought, Landlord Jiang gradually came to his senses, his eyes filled with contemplation.

"Little Seven, the Second Prince's move... is not a good one."

He stroked his beard, his brow furrowed.

“Grandfather, the Second Prince has the world in his heart, and he is already the most suitable candidate to sit in that position among all the princes.”

Furthermore, if this voyage succeeds, it will greatly benefit the Great Zhou. Your Majesty, whether considering kinship or merit...

No, perhaps it wasn't a choice made voluntarily or involuntarily, but rather that His Majesty had no choice at all.

Landlord Jiang nodded. The princes' performance during the imperial examinations was truly... unsatisfactory. His Majesty's test had clearly ended in failure.

However, the only point is that it made him realize that he might really have no successor.

"In that case, our Jiang family will take the gamble. However, this involves many complexities, so you need to be even more cautious in your actions."

Jiang Xiaoqi understood this from the beginning, which is why she didn't want the Jiang family to get involved.

However, when the emperor was poisoned, the second prince naturally had to change his strategy and could no longer proceed slowly.

It's not that the Second Prince doesn't have much time, it's that His Majesty doesn't have much time.

Everything must be settled before next spring.

The so-called longevity elixir only lasted a year at most. Jiang Xiaoqi felt it wasn't reliable, so he secretly used a method to extend the emperor's lifespan by a few months.

So even if the longevity pill isn't as effective as legend says, it should at least last until next spring.

By then, the Second Prince's ship should have already brought back the first batch of silver ore.

“Grandfather, you should still find some time to discuss this with your great-uncle.”

“That’s natural. Our Jiang family is all connected. We share the same fate, and we share the same fate. Especially with such a big matter, it’s only natural that your great-uncle should know about it.”

What Landlord Jiang was more worried about was that his cousin had already chosen a side in the court. If the two families were not supporting the same person and were on opposing sides, that would be truly dramatic.

However, Jiang Xiaoqi was not worried about this. His great-uncle had always been close to Minister Wu of the Ministry of Works. Minister Wu was a royalist and never had much contact with any princes.

His own great-uncle would likely be influenced by his direct superior and wouldn't foolishly take sides.

Qiu Cheng has already issued recruitment notices in various suburban counties of Beijing, selecting the best candidates.

The Li brothers also arrived and formed a six-person team with Qiu Cheng's original subordinates to be responsible for the recruitment, interviewing, testing, and training of sailors and crew members.

Both Jiang Xiaoqi and Qiu Cheng are sparing no effort in recruiting and building up the Second Prince's career.

Especially after autumn arrives, everything seems to have been accelerated.

It's hard to tell whether people are racing against time, or whether time is urging people forward.