Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 100 Draw a circle on the East Sea of ​​Daming
After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

After a while of drinking, Zhang Yunxiu got straight to business: "County Magistrate Wei, where is the sea chart you mentioned? Don't hold it like a treasure. Take it out and let us have a look."

"Oh, look at my memory." Wei Ming slapped his forehead, stood up with an apologetic look on his face, and comforted him: "Zhang Sicheng, wait a moment, I will get it for you right away."

As he spoke, Wei Ming walked briskly out of the dining room, and returned a few moments later with a scroll wrapped in yellow satin in his hand.

Zhang Yunxiu stood up and called Wei Ming to come to the side.

The two men unfolded the scroll on a small table. Wei Ming brought an oil lamp, and Zhang Yunxiu could see it clearly.

The big black dot represents the island, the horizontal line represents the water, and the long hook represents the line.

Going south, you will first reach Luzon, and then go further to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island, and then cross the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Malacca between the two and enter the Indian Ocean.

Although it's a bit crude, it's better than nothing.

"Good!" Zhang Yunxiu applauded after reading it. He looked at Wei Ming and smiled, "County Magistrate Wei, you have done a great job this time. Just this small blueprint is enough to save us several years of work."

"That is my duty, it is nothing." Wei Ming smiled modestly and reminded, "Zhang Sicheng, I have to remind you that this sea chart is an old item from hundreds of years ago, maybe some parts are different now."

"Let's save it."

Zhang Yunxiu nodded and pulled Wei Ming back to the round table.

More than a hundred years may seem a long time, but for the mountains, rivers and oceans, it is just a blink of an eye.

He didn't believe that there would be any major changes in this route in just a hundred years.

However, to be on the safe side, we still have to send someone to familiarize ourselves with the road first.

At the same time, it is urgent to establish supply ports along the coast, as it is inevitable to encounter wind and waves at sea.

This coastal supply port really saved my life.

Suddenly, Zhang Yunxiu remembered the geographical advantages of Songjiang Prefecture, and hurriedly stood up and asked, "County Magistrate Wei, do you have a map of the entire Songjiang Prefecture at home?"

Wei Ming nodded and ordered someone to bring it. Zhang Yunxiu took it and took a look.

Today, the territory of Songjiang Prefecture extends to Jinshanwei in the south, Shanghai County in the east, Jiading of Suzhou in the north, and Qingpu in the west.

Zhang Yunxiu had a bold idea - to separate Songjiang Prefecture and place it directly under the jurisdiction of the central government.

He took a deep breath, picked up a pen and drew a big circle in the above place.

"Zhang Sicheng, what are you doing?" Wei Ming asked in confusion.

Zhang Yunxiu did not answer him directly, but asked with a smile: "Do you want to be promoted?"

Is not this nonsensical?

Wei Ming muttered something in his heart, then he straightened his clothes and bowed in the direction of the capital, pretending to be calm and replied: "Whether to be promoted or not will be evaluated by the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, and I dare not make any rash comments."

Pretend. Pretend and then pretend.

Don’t you want to get promoted, be a filial son and grandson of the Xu family, and lower yourself to beg a little kid like me?
Smiling and shaking his head, Zhang Yunxiu told the whole story under Wei Ming's gaze: "Songjiang Prefecture is strategically located. It can contain the East China Sea. After we return, we plan to ask the emperor for permission to separate Songjiang Prefecture and place it directly under the emperor's jurisdiction."

"Directly belong to the imperial court? Will Yingtian Prefecture agree to that? We will lose such a large piece of fertile land for no reason. This verbal battle will last for quite some time." Wei Ming was a little surprised.

"Why do we need him to agree to anything? Isn't it enough for you to agree?" Zhang Yunxiu smiled and waved his hands, and then said, "If Songjiang Prefecture becomes independent, the rank of all officials can be promoted to a higher level. County Magistrate Wei will directly become a sixth-rank county magistrate. Isn't that great?"

Now County Magistrate Wei was tempted.

The sixth-rank county magistrate was a treatment only given to county magistrates in the northern Zhili region.

"If this can be accomplished, it will be of great benefit to both Songjiang Prefecture and the imperial court." Ignoring the change in County Magistrate Wei's mind, Zhang Yunxiu continued, "Songjiang Prefecture has developed maritime transport, and the maritime trade will flourish in the future, so there will definitely be a lot of tariffs. If it is separated, officials sent by the Ministry of Revenue can directly collect the tariffs, and Yingtian Prefecture can avoid concealing the truth."

Local and central governments have been in opposition since ancient times.

Local officials are eager to save more money under their jurisdiction to prepare for emergencies.

The central government is different. It needs to consider the peace of the entire world and spend more money.

The Yellow and Huai Rivers were under control, and soldiers in the nine frontiers were provided for. When disasters occurred in various places, the imperial court also had to go to provide disaster relief as soon as possible.

Therefore, whether a dynasty can continue depends on how much money and grain there is in the capital.

Wei Ming thought for a moment, raised his eyebrows, and couldn't help but teasing: "In this way, the Ministry of Revenue can have a lot of income, but the officials of Yingtian Prefecture will probably curse their mothers directly."

"Let him scold us, and we'll do our own thing." Zhang Yunxiu didn't care at all and continued to speak, "Not only Songjiang Prefecture, but also Tianjin Wei must be allocated and directly placed under the jurisdiction of the central court."

Zhang Yunxiu paced back and forth as he spoke, and Wei Qing beside him nodded repeatedly.

At this time, the sky had completely darkened, and the chirping of a nightingale interrupted Zhang Yunxiu's thoughts.

He smiled and shook his head, self-deprecatingly saying, "Forget it. For such an important matter, I still have to go back and discuss it with the Emperor before deciding."

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Zhang. The dishes are getting a little cold. How about I ask someone to change the table?" Wei Ming interrupted with a smile.

"No need, just eat something simple."

Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand and sat back at the mahogany round table. Wei Ming followed suit and sat down. He raised a glass of wine and said flatteringly, "Zhang Sicheng is in the emperor's heart. It is my honor to invite you to dinner. In the future, if you have any orders, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"You're too polite, County Magistrate Wei." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and raised his glass to clink with him.

The banquet lasted until the evening. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Yunxiu stood up and said goodbye.

County Magistrate Wei tried to persuade him to stay, but Zhang Yunxiu refused with a smile, saying, "County Magistrate Wei, please stay. We are not willing to let you see us off.

Remember what I said, if Songjiang Prefecture becomes independent, its status will be so prominent that you cannot imagine it."

"I understand."

County Magistrate Wei bowed and replied with the previous sentence.

The next morning, Zhang Yunxiu struggled to sit up from the bed, rubbed his aching head, and regained consciousness after a long time. Last night, he got a chart of Zheng He's voyages to the West, and finally had some ideas about going to sea.

There is another thing, which is to make Songjiang Prefecture independent and build it into a mega-urban cluster in the east.

The significance is even greater.

On the one hand, it can produce a siphon effect, attracting wealthy businessmen from Suzhou to flock in, making Songjiang Prefecture more prosperous.

Secondly, the central government had such a fertile and prosperous enclave in Jiangnan, which was like driving a nail into Jiangnan.

Not only can it disgust the officials in Jiangnan, but it can also increase the tax revenue of the court.

The prefect of Yingtian Prefecture is only a third-rank official. If the head of Songjiang Special District is also a third-rank official, then he would certainly not be underestimated.

Just as he was thinking about it, the warm sunlight outside shone through the window and fell on Zhang Yunxiu's face, forming golden spots.

Outside the house, there was a sudden sound of footsteps, and then they stopped and called out, "Master Zhang, are you awake?"

"It'll be ready soon."

Zhang Yunxiu was in a hurry. He packed up everything in a hurry, pushed the door open, and followed the servants to the main hall.

In the hall, Xu Yuanchun had already been waiting there.

When she saw Zhang Yunxiu, Xu Yuanchun stood up with a smile and called him "brother-in-law", motioning him to sit down, while asking the servants to serve tea.

The two of them sat down. Zhang Yunxiu took a sip of tea, then looked at Xu Yuanchun and asked, "Brother, you invited me here so early in the morning. I am really overwhelmed."

Her return date had been set, and Xu Yuanchun had also told her privately that the dowry given to Xu Ruoxi by the Xu family was enough to include 10,000 acres of land.

Now, it must be time to harvest.

Although Xu Yuanchun could hear the teasing in Zhang Yunxiu's words, she was very good at keeping her temper and was not moved at all. She only wanted to ask back: "We will be a family in the future. What's the matter? Is it possible that I can't meet my brother-in-law if I want to?"

"I just want to talk to you, brother-in-law. There's nothing else important."

"Brother, what are you talking about?" Zhang Yunxiu was in a good mood and was happy to talk about wild cotton with him.

Xu Yuanchun knew that this matter could not be handled in a hurry, so he tried to look normal and asked sideways, "I heard that you and Ruoxi have already met in the back garden?"

"I just hit the jackpot by accident." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and waved his hands, but a stunningly beautiful figure unconsciously emerged in his mind.

Since that day, the two met secretly again and decided to spend their lives together.

Thinking of how plagiarism almost got him into trouble, Zhang Yunxiu raised his eyebrows and burst out laughing.

Ok?
Is it that funny?

Xu Yuanchun didn't know what was going on and was very nervous. He glanced at Zhang Yunxiu who was grinning and asked, "Brother-in-law, what do you think of our sister?"

Zhang Yunxiu did not reply.

Xu Yuanchun became even more nervous now, and he raised his voice and shouted, "Brother-in-law!"

"Ah?!" Zhang Yunxiu just woke up from his sweet memories, looked at Xu Yuanchun in astonishment, and asked, "Brother, what did you ask just now?"

"What do you think of our sister?" Xu Yuanchun sorted out his thoughts and asked again.

"Ruoxi is well-educated, elegant, and stunningly beautiful, like a fairy from heaven. I feel ashamed to see her, for fear of disgracing this otherworldly fairy." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and praised her without reservation.

"I think you are a beauty in the eyes of your lover," Xu Yuanchun raised his eyebrows, smiled and waved his hands, "This girl has a bad temper too. If she offends you in any way after marriage, you have to bear it."

"Don't worry, brother. I will treat Ruoxi well."

The two of them chatted about this and that, pulling wild cotton, and half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Yunxiu's stomach was rumbling. Just as he was about to say goodbye, Xu Yuanchun stopped him and said, "Brother-in-law, please stay."

Zhang Yunxiu sat back down and asked, "Brother, is there anything else?"

Xu Yuanchun blushed, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "There are some things I hope your father can help me with."

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" Zhang Yunxiu slapped his thigh and raised his voice, "I really thought that you had nothing to do this morning and came to me just to pick wild cotton!"

Xu Yuanchun was frightened by this secret "stab", but she did not dare to put on airs because she needed help. She just played the emotional card: "Brother-in-law, we are a family and we don't have to talk behind each other's backs. Our grandfather was a teacher and student with your father, and you married our sister."

"You say, are we close?"

"As close as brothers." Zhang Yunxiu uttered these four words.

Xu Yuanchun heaved a sigh of relief, a smile spread across his face, and he said, "Brother-in-law, your words make me feel as sweet as if I had eaten candied fruit. Then I won't be polite to you, my brother."

"Brother, just say it."

Tell me, what kind of official position do you want after you finish your mourning period?
Xu Yuanchun was not polite and directly expressed his inner desire: "Li Shun, the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner, will take the full exam in less than three years. If I can get that position after the mourning period..."

"Great, so brother has already had this plan." Zhang Yunxiu laughed and said, "You are a doctor in the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. Your official rank is equal to that of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner. Isn't this a loss to brother?"

What a loss.

The Nanjing Ministry of Rites was a poor government office, and he was not even an official.

Although the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner was also a fourth-rank official, he had his own government office and was in charge of the salt permits for the entire Lianghuai region. He was a low-ranking but powerful official, and it was a top-notch lucrative position.

Xu Yuanchun didn't believe that Zhang Yunxiu didn't know the ins and outs of the matter, and just thought that he was trying to get more benefits.

After gathering his thoughts for a while, Xu Yuanchun continued, "Don't worry, brother-in-law. As long as we can get that position, we will need your salt permit in the future. And when Ruoxi gets married, we will give you another big gift."

Zhang Yunxiu was delighted, but he didn't say anything: "Brother, I'm not trying to shirk my responsibility. There are many people eyeing that position. If I can't do it, please don't blame me."

Seeing that he agreed, Xu Yuanchun was extremely happy and said hurriedly, "As long as you, my brother-in-law, say so, I will accept it whether it succeeds or not."

(End of this chapter)