Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 110 Shen Yongmao

In December, Beijing was already freezing cold with snowflakes flying everywhere. The howling wind mixed with snow particles was wandering around the streets of Beijing, and there were few pedestrians on the streets.

Even Tianxianlou, the busiest restaurant in the city, became a little deserted.

It was already past noon when two horse-drawn carriages came slowly from a distance, followed by a team of Ti riders.

When the carriage stopped, a man opened the curtain and walked out.

It was Zhang Yunxiu.

The curtain of the carriage behind him was also lifted, and a young man wearing a green cotton robe and a Chengzi scarf on his head walked out.

That was Shen Shixing's son, Shen Yongmao.

The two of them were both Jinshi from the same imperial examination, of similar age, and both had special identities, so there was a natural sense of intimacy in their relationship.

The two men met each other, Shen Yongmao rolled up his sleeves and made a "please" gesture.

"Brother Jingzhong is the guest, so you should go first." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and then became modest.
"There's no need to be polite between you and me. Let's go in together!" Shen Yongmao smiled, grabbed Zhang Yunxiu's arm and rushed in.

The doorman inside saw the two men coming and immediately stepped forward to greet them, "Oh, why are my eyelids twitching so early in the morning? It turns out that there are distinguished guests coming to visit, gentlemen..."

"Okay, stop talking nonsense to me." Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand to interrupt, and then said with a dignified look: "Bring us all the signature dishes in your restaurant and send them to the private room on the third floor. Serve us well, and you will pay for it."

"Well, please come with me, gentlemen."

The waiter smiled and led the two to a private room on the third floor. He lit incense for them, refilled their tea, and then left.

Shen Yongmao turned his eyes and took a look around. The private room was luxuriously decorated, with everything from the tables, chairs, benches and six-fold screens to the teacups, utensils and palace lanterns, all of which were carefully selected.

Even the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls are from famous artists.

Shen Yongmao tutted his tongue, retracted his gaze, looked at Zhang Yunxiu who was calm and composed, and said with a smile: "Brother Zhang really knows how to make money. We didn't dare to come here casually before."

"Please, Brother Jingzhong, then we have to choose some upscale places." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and waved his hand, pouring a cup of tea for Shen Yongmao.

Shen Yongmao hurriedly stood up to greet him, took the teacup with both hands, took a sip, and then smiled and pulled the wild cotton: "Brother Zhang, you are now a celebrity in the Hanlin Academy."

"Oh? Tell me about it?" Zhang Yunxiu became interested.

"You should be the first person in our Hanlin Academy who does not report to the Hanlin Academy except for mourning. You didn't see that the president of the Hanlin Academy, Yu Xueshi, was so angry at you that his face turned green."

"Yu Shenxing?"

"Yes, that's him."

"It's not that we don't want to go, it's just that we're really busy. We'll go and apologize to Dean Yu in person in the spring of next year." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head. He still had some respect for this man.

This man was upright and did not curry favor with Zhang Juzheng when he was in power.

When Zhang Juzheng passed away and the whole country was looking for his crimes but dared not speak of his merits, he dared to stand up and speak for Zhang Juzheng.

Glancing at Zhang Yunxiu, Shen Yongmao reminded him, "Be careful, this guy doesn't get along well with your father."

"It's out of the way."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head, then took the opportunity to change the subject to Zhao Yong: "Brother Jingzhong, do you know about the fight that happened in Zhaoning Temple before?"

Shen Yongmao was stunned, thinking to himself: This matter has caused a lot of uproar, who in the officialdom of the capital doesn't know about it? In the end, it was determined to be a fight, and the old monk still refused to agree, insisting that it was the fault of his own monks.

Could it be that there is some hidden story here?
Seeing Shen Yongmao remained silent, Zhang Yunxiu smiled, picked up a cup of tea to moisten his throat, and asked indirectly: "Brother Jingzhong, what do you think of these monks?"

"How do you see what?" Shen Yongmao was a little confused.

“Do you think the more they have, the better or worse it will be for the country?”

"Of course it's a bad thing!"

Shen Yongmao gave a direct answer, and then said worriedly, "My father is in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and he is busy with this matter every year. The Ministry of Ordination issues 2,000 certificates to various prefectures and cities every year, but the actual number of people who want to become monks far exceeds this."

"Every time this time comes, ruffians try their best to squeeze in. They are not monks at all, but just a bunch of hooligans."

"Then tell me, what should we do?" Zhang Yunxiu rolled his eyes and took the opportunity to move the stool towards Shen Yongmao.

"I think," Shen Yongmao opened his mouth to say, but when he saw Zhang Yunxiu's bright eyes, he immediately came to his senses and asked, "Brother Zhang, you called me here not just to treat me to a meal, right?"

"Yes."

Seeing his true colors exposed, Zhang Yunxiu was not panicked and directly said what he was thinking: "My idea is to have your father, Lord Shen, submit a memorial to examine all monks in the world, and force all those who fail to pass the test to return to secular life."

"Then these monks will come to Beijing to cause trouble?" Shen Yongmao was shocked.

"They make a fuss? Can they be more powerful than the sticks in the soldiers' hands?" Zhang Yunxiu didn't care.

"Brother Zhang, I advise you to think it over carefully. This matter is of great importance. Even your father may not be able to handle the resistance." Shen Yongmao calmed down and advised earnestly, "What's more, there is Empress Dowager Li behind the monks. Don't try to kill the snake, but end up getting bit by it. It's not worth it."

"The pressure from Queen Mother Li is beyond your consideration."

"This matter is too big for me to decide. I have to go back and discuss it with my father."

"Brother Jingzhong, please don't sit on the fence. If you hesitate to make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. This time, the Queen Mother Li's tone has softened a bit. If we don't take this opportunity to rectify Buddhism, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find another opportunity in the future."

"Actually, actually, there's nothing wrong with having more monks."

Seeing Shen Yongmao change his words, Zhang Yunxiu cursed him secretly for being cunning, but on the surface he could only persuade him kindly: "Your father is also an assistant minister. If you don't do such a good thing that benefits the country and the people, won't the scholars laugh at you?"

After these words were spoken, Shen Yongmao tilted his head and said nothing, wondering what he was thinking about.

A strange atmosphere spread in the box.

At this time, a voice came from outside the door: "Dear guests, the dishes are ready. Do you want to serve them now, or can you two set a time?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was depressing, Zhang Yunxiu raised his eyebrows and asked Shen Yongmao with a smile: "Brother Jingzhong, do we want to eat now or talk later?" "Let's talk while we eat." Shen Yongmao took advantage of the situation.

The sun sets in the west and the sky is filled with sunset clouds.

Before I knew it, two or three hours had passed, the afterglow of the setting sun faded, and the sky darkened.

Zhang Yunxiu took out a written memorial from his arms and handed it forward. Shen Yongmao took it and saw that the three grand secretaries except Shen Shixing had all signed their names.

"Brother Zhang, are you waiting for me here?" Shen Yongmao suddenly felt that he had fallen into a trap.

"Well, your father is in charge of the Ministry of Rites. He should be the one taking the lead in rectifying Buddhism this time. If such a great achievement is successful, it is no problem for him to be recorded in history." Zhang Yunxiu said confidently.

Shen Yongmao's mouth twitched, he closed the memorial, clasped his hands and said to Zhang Yunxiu, "Shen will do his best."

"With Brother Jingzhong's words, we feel relieved."

The two of them exchanged a few polite words and then left Tianxian Tower together in the night.

Rubbing his hands, he came to his fourth brother's house. Zhang Yunxiu met him in the reception room. Zhang Jianxiu asked directly, "Has that old fox Shen Shixing agreed to follow our father and fight the second round together?"

"It's probably possible." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and blinked his eyes, and said with a hint of amusement, "The most important thing is that our father was able to convince the Queen Mother Li. This is called ability."

"You said that we both became pawns and worked in vain."

"How can you say it's all in vain?"

"What benefit have you and I gained?"

Zhang Jianxiu frowned and asked. Zhang Yunxiu stood up and replied, "Zhao Yong's life was saved. Isn't this considered a gain?"

"You are stupid, our father never intended to kill him!" Zhang Jianxiu's eyes widened, and his voice unconsciously rose a few octaves.

"Ah?!" Zhang Yunxiu realized it belatedly.

"That's really smart. He tricked us into running around, but it turned out that he had already made plans." Zhang Jianxiu said, his father's face as he strategized emerged in his mind.

"You mean, he was determined to reform Buddhism from the very beginning?" Zhang Yunxiu asked cautiously.

"Yes, he is not afraid of nobles and enemies of the world, so how could he not dare to go to war with Buddhism just because of Queen Mother Li. Now, Queen Mother Li knows that she is in the wrong, and it is not good to say anything. This time these monks are going to be in big trouble."

As Zhang Jianxiu told the story, Zhang Yunxiu felt as if he was trapped in a web, with almost every step he took being calculated by others.

"Fourth brother, since the war with Buddhism is inevitable, you, the Jinyiwei, must be prepared to prevent someone from causing trouble and disturbing the people." Zhang Yunxiu warned earnestly.

"Don't worry, whoever dares to cause trouble will be made to know how powerful our Jinyiwei is."

Zhang Jianxiu is full of confidence.

These fat and big-eared monks are no match for the Jinyiwei.

Afterwards, the two brothers briefly asked about his recent situation, and the topic unconsciously turned to Zhao Yong.

Zhang Jianxiu narrowed his eyes and asked Zhang Yunxiu with a smile: "What are you going to do with this kid?"

"I advise you to leave this brat alone in the future, otherwise he will cause you trouble sooner or later."

"He agreed to return to his hometown to practice martial arts and study hard. This time, I think he really had an 'epiphany'." Zhang Yunxiu smiled with relief and looked at his fourth brother with a proud look.

"Epiphany? It's not that easy."

"How about we make a bet? I bet he will pass the imperial examination in six years at the latest."

"What are you betting on?" Zhang Jianxiu became interested and leaned towards Zhang Yunxiu.

"Let's bet on the sword in your room."

"That won't do. It was given to us by our old Taishan. It has extraordinary meaning."

"Are you afraid of losing?"

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and tried to provoke him. Zhang Jianxiu's stubborn temper came up and he shouted, "Who's afraid of losing? This kid is like a bull. What can he achieve in the future? Not to mention six years, even if he is given ten years, he won't be able to win!"

"Let's take a gamble."

"Okay, if I lose, I'll find a good wife for Chongrun."

"My son, do you need to come and look for him?"

Zhang Jianxiu muttered something, but finally nodded and agreed.

At this time, Zhang Chongrun, wearing a yellow jacket and covered in snow, walked in from outside.

"Dad, Fifth Uncle." Zhang Chongrun rolled his big eyes and called out obediently.

Zhang Jianxiu grabbed his son and brushed the snow off him, scolding him, "Where did you go to play again? You're in this state, aren't you afraid that your mother will come back and beat you up?"

"Dad, you forgot that mother went back to Huguang to visit her grandfather."

"Oh, so your mother is gone, that's why you dare to go out and have fun." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and waved at Zhang Chongrun. Zhang Chongrun broke free from his father and ran to Zhang Yunxiu.

"Little guy, Uncle Wu just made a bet with your father. If you lose, he will find you a good wife."

"Really?!" Zhang Chongrun's eyes widened.

"Look, look at how old he is, and he already wants a wife." Zhang Yunxiu pointed at his nephew, looked at Zhang Jianxiu, and said with a smile: "Fourth brother, this kid must be strictly disciplined, otherwise he will become a bully one day."

"You don't need to tell me about my son. If you want to discipline him, you can give birth to a son and discipline him yourself."

(End of this chapter)