Chapter Thirty-Seven: Punctuation Marks

  Zhong Jinwei was getting anxious, raised his voice and continued to shout: "A Qi, are you there, A Qi......" Before he finished shouting, A Qi's handsome figure appeared before Zhong Jinwei's eyes.

  Zhong Jinwei thought to himself: You scared me, I thought you weren't here. He asked Aqi: "Did you just leave?"

  Ai Qi walked over with small steps, her face red, and glanced at Zhong Jinwei with a mischievous look, saying in a low voice: "I'm not married to you yet, wife, wife, shouting so loudly, do you want to humiliate me to death?"

  Zhong Jinwei let out a silly laugh and didn't retort back, looking at A Qi's shy expression made him feel delighted in his heart.

  "Master, what business does your humble servant have?"

  "Nothing, just thinking of you." Zhong Jinwei was quite wooden in his previous life, but now this mouth is really sweet. It seems that he has been influenced by those online shows he watched all the time.

  A Qi's face, which had just faded from its previous redness, turned bright red again after being spoken to by Zhong Jinwei.

  Zhong Jinwei still remembered that there was something important to do, so he said to Aqi: "Bring the four treasures of the study, I'll tell you, write a memorial to the emperor."

  Aqi nodded obediently and went to fetch the four treasures of the study without asking any questions.

  Zhong Jinwei looked at Aqi's slender hands, pinching the ink stick elegantly grinding the ink, thinking about what he had just said to Emperor Chongzhen in his mind.

  Ai Qi was about to speak when Ai Qi suddenly spoke up: "Young Master, I don't know the format of the memorial."

  "Oh, and the format, I don't know either. Anyway, I said to Aqi: 'Never mind, no matter what the format is, just write it down.'"

  Archie nodded, indicating everything was ready.

  Then Zhong Jinwei started talking, but unexpectedly Archie still didn't make a move. Zhong Jinwei asked Archie with his eyes.

  "Sir, this is plain talk, can it be written down?"

  "It's okay, just write it."

  Then one person speaks and another writes, after finishing writing, it is given to Zhong Jinwei for examination.

  Firstly, Archie's handwriting is very beautiful and nice to look at, I like it. But writing vertically is a bit awkward, especially when there are no punctuation marks, it makes me dizzy.

  Written vertically, this may be unavoidable. At this time, everyone writes like this, others are used to it, but I am not. But there isn't even a single punctuation mark, which is unbearable.

  "I'll teach you some punctuation marks. You add them in, or else it's hard to tell which sentence is which and it's easy to misunderstand."

  "A Qi blinked his eyes and looked at Zhong Jinwei: "Young master, are you saying that breaking sentences is a basic skill?"

  Zhong Jinwei's face turned red, but he immediately retorted: "Then you haven't misunderstood the meaning of the article?"

  Just now, Archie didn't mean to mock Zhong Jinwei, he just said it naturally. When Zhong Jinwei asked back, Archie nodded.

  "So, we need to add punctuation marks, come on, I'll teach you." Zhong Jinwei clapped his hands and drew a conclusion.

  Ke'a Qi still blinked his eyes and looked at Zhong Jinwei with a strange expression: "Young master, the punctuation you mentioned is to assist in breaking sentences, I can do it too."

  "What? There are punctuation marks at this time?" Zhong Jinwei found it unbelievable and asked: "Can you really do it?"

  "Yes, young master, you see, our family crest has these several kinds, other sisters like to use those others." Ah Qi drew out the symbols she mentioned with a brush while seriously explaining to Zhong Jinwei.

  "Your symbols are all different?"

  "Yes, privately you can use whatever symbols you want, it's just that when writing articles you can't use these symbols."

  "You scared me, I thought there were really punctuation marks now. Come on, I'll teach you a set of punctuation marks that are easier to make the article clear and express clearly than yours."

  Zhong Jinwei likes teaching beautiful women, Aqi likes letting Zhong Jinwei teach, and when the two get together, they start learning.

  Then Zhong Jinwei began teaching Archie about the usage of punctuation marks.

  A Qi is naturally clever and soon mastered the use of punctuation marks after thinking about it, his IQ won't be low if he can carve out a work on a peach kernel.

  So Archie added the punctuation marks he had just learned to the original composition, and after being checked by Zhong Jiwei for errors, he rewrote a copy.

  After Qi finished copying, Zhong Xingwei asked Qi to write another memorial, which was about the significance and usage of punctuation marks, attached to the first memorial, preparing to present it to Emperor Chongzhen to promote the use of punctuation marks.

  Just then, Wang Cheng'en escorted Emperor Chongzhen to his place and came back to see if the memorial had been written.

  Zhong Jinwei handed the memorial to Wang Chengen and then asked, "Old Wang, oh, Duke Wang, I have something to ask you, don't know if it's convenient or not."

  Wang Chengen was about to leave when he heard someone speaking and turned back: "Mr. Zhong, if there's something on your mind, just say it."

  "Aqi's family is in Tongzhou, don't know how they are doing now, can you help check?"

  Wang Cheng'en turned his head to look at Archie on one side, who was also looking at him with an expectant gaze.

  "It should be fine, Sun Ge has been watching in Tongzhou all along and just came back. If you're still worried, our family can let the Dongchang guards go take a look, just give them the address."

  Aqi hastily went forward and recited the address of his home.

  "Alright, let's wait for some good news from our family." Wang Chengen said with a smile to the two of them, then bid farewell and left.

  "Thank you very much, sir," Archie said, bowing his head in gratitude.

  "Don't be so polite, they're also my mother-in-law and younger brother-in-law." One sentence made Archie's face turn into a red apple.

  The Chongzhen Emperor arrived at the Zhengjue Temple and sat down, then summoned Sun Chengzong.

  Sun Chenzong's pace was still steady, only thinner, walking to the front and saluting Emperor Chongzhen: "See your majesty."

  "Master Sun has worked hard, come and give Master Sun a seat." The Chongzhen Emperor knew that since Sun Chengzong was summoned to the capital, he had been busy for a year, working diligently and conscientiously, which was not easy.

  After Sun Chengzong sat down, he reported straightforwardly: "Your Majesty, the main force of the Jian Yu enemy is heading in the direction of Shanhai Pass. I have dispatched a large number of scouts to monitor their movements day and night, but for now, I am still unable to pursue them."

  "Is Shanhai Pass in danger?" The Chongzhen Emperor stood up involuntarily and asked.

  "Your Majesty can rest assured, I have ordered several routes of the loyalist army to go and reinforce Shanhai Pass, together with the original garrison troops, and with the help of the natural danger, since the bandits have already lost their chance of a surprise attack, therefore Shanhai Pass is absolutely safe from being breached."

  Chongzhen Emperor listened and had already taken precautions against the attack on Shanhai Pass, so he put his mind at ease, but he questioned the second half of what Sun Chenzong said: "Why can't we pursue strongly now?"

  "Your Majesty, the strength of the enemy lies in field battles, while our army's strength lies in defending cities. If we pursue them, we cannot avoid a field battle, and using our weakness to attack their strength will not give us much chance of winning. If there is any mistake, Jianyue will counterattack the capital, and it will be difficult to defend."

  The Chongzhen Emperor nodded, knowing his own affairs.

  "Firstly; secondly, the various loyalist armies are hastily arriving, and they all lack food, fodder, and military equipment. Moreover, the soldiers are of uneven quality and need to be replenished with supplies and reorganized; otherwise, although their numbers may be large, as soon as they encounter the enemy, they will likely collapse at a touch."

  Sun Chengzong said this, paused slightly, and then continued in a loud voice: "Thirdly, there are also the scattered loyalist armies in other parts of the capital region that need to be contacted and coordinated to take unified action."

  "Master Sun, is there still another one?"

  The Emperor Chongzhen looked at the young emperor, knowing that the next words would hit his weak point, so he deliberately lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, there are currently about 350,000 loyalist troops gathered in the capital, and some provinces' loyalist armies are still on their way. Is the grain and military salary sufficient?"

  Chongzhen Emperor had a headache again, and it was this problem. After thinking for a while, he said to Sun Chenzong: "Sun Shifu, wait a moment, I'll call the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue over to ask him."

  Soon, the Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyuan came over and listened to this question, also a headache: "Your Majesty, I calculated last time that it was only enough for 300,000 troops for one month. I don't know how long this battle will take?"

  "This question obviously requires Sun Chengzong to answer. He pondered for a moment and said: 'Your Majesty, I think that the construction of the enemy's return to harvest their own grain and grass, as well as the time spent plundering wealth and population on the road and the time needed for rest, at least four months can be delayed inside the pass.'"

  In that case, the grain and salary for the army would obviously not be enough. Bi Zhen looked at Emperor Chongzhen with a helpless expression, thought of something, and said: "Your Majesty, the rice in the capital has risen by more than half compared to previous days, I'm afraid it will be even harder to supply the needs of the large army."

  The Chongzhen Emperor slowly sat down, weakly leaning his head against the back of the imperial chair, frowning and thinking: The grain and grass military salary is insufficient, only to advance the decisive battle, drive away the Jian Yu. But his own army was not good at field battles, and if they really fought, they might be annihilated by the other side. What is the strategy that can achieve both goals?

  After thinking for a while, he couldn't think of anything and had to ask Sun Chengzong: "Master Sun, do you have any good ideas?"

  "Your Majesty, I think that it is necessary to train elite troops first. Currently, the top priority is to reorganize and strengthen the loyalist army, eliminating the weak and keeping the strong. This will not only reduce military expenses but also increase our combat effectiveness."

  Bi Ziyuan listened and immediately agreed, thinking it would save military expenses and alleviate his pressure.

  The Chongzhen Emperor thought for a moment, and currently there is only this to be done, so he agreed with Sun Chengzong's proposal. He was a little worried and instructed Sun Chengzong: "Master Sun, the rectification of the matter still needs more attention, and it can be done quickly. The bandits are rampant in the passes, and my people are still suffering, my heart is uneasy!"

  "I will do my best!"

  Well, let's stop here for now, Sun Chengzong and Bi Zhiyan bid farewell and left.

  "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhong's memorial has been written." Wang Cheng'en came in and said, seeing that Emperor Chongzhen had finished discussing the matter.

  "Oh, bring it over quickly and let me see." Chongzhen Emperor hastily instructed.

  However, Emperor Chongzhen took one look and felt very uncomfortable. What are these messy symbols for? They're so awkward. And the whole thing is written in plain language, this is truly the first time I've seen a memorial like this.

  Wang Chengen looked at the frowning brow of Emperor Chongzhen below and knew why. He knew this because he had secretly taken a look at Zhong Jingwei's memorial beforehand.

  "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhong has another memorial, which explains those symbols."

  "Oh, bring it over."

  After reading the explanation of punctuation, Emperor Chongzhen compared it with the previous memorial and suddenly understood. After finishing reading, he leaned back against the back of the imperial chair, but was no longer frowning, just thinking for a moment before asking: "Grand Companion, what do you think about this so-called punctuation?"