Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 114 There is only one disease in this world: poverty!

Before we knew it, it was already late December.

For the first time in history, sleet and snow began to fall in Beijing, which soon stirred up a hazy mist. Soon, most of Beijing was shrouded in mist and rain.

In Li Banxian's fortune-telling hall in the east of the city, Li Banxian got up early.

He first cleaned the house, then lit three incense sticks in front of the altar, and then sat down in front of the Eight Immortals table, closed his eyes slightly, and waited for today's fish to take the bait.

Time soon came to noon, and a sedan chair with four carriages stopped at his door. Someone opened the curtain, and a beautiful woman dressed in silk, with bright eyes, white teeth, and a sophisticated temperament walked out.

Li Banxian opened his eyes, took a quick glance, and immediately became alert.

The person who came was none other than Empress Dowager Li.

However, monks have been causing trouble recently, and Empress Dowager Li's mood is as tense as fifteen buckets of water - up and down.

The restlessness she had felt in recent days had made it impossible for her to concentrate on her Buddhist practice.

Just at this time, she heard from people around her that there was a living immortal in the capital, known as "Li Banxian" who could predict people's fortunes.

With the idea of ​​trying everything possible, Empress Dowager Li quietly came to Li Banxian's fortune-telling office early this morning.

As soon as Empress Dowager Li walked in, Li Banxian hurried forward to greet her and said, "Today we heard that the magpie has been calling in front of our door. It turns out that there is a distinguished guest. Please take a seat, distinguished guest."

"You fortune tellers can even bring the dead back to life." Empress Dowager Li smiled and took two steps forward.

Li Banxian was not annoyed by this ridicule, but became more respectful. He asked Empress Dowager Li to sit down, then took out a pen and paper and asked with a smile, "Does your Excellency want to have a fortune-telling?"

"Ah."

Empress Dowager Li nodded slightly, then picked up the pen and wrote a word.

Because Li Banxian didn't catch it firmly, a gust of wind blew and the white paper fell to the ground. Li Banxian bent over to pick it up and exclaimed, "Your Excellency must be from the royal family."

"Why?" Empress Dowager Li suppressed her shock.

"Look at the character '一' you wrote. When it falls on the ground, it becomes '王'. And now it is daytime.

"Bai" + "Wang" becomes the "Huang" of the emperor. If you are not a concubine in the palace, you are at least a princess." Li Banxian spoke calmly.

Empress Dowager Li raised her eyebrows and nodded with a smile: "You guessed it."

Li Banxian was quite pleased with himself and gently stroked his graying beard.

"Let's guess another word. If you guess it right, I'll reward you." Empress Dowager Li said, looking at Li Banxian seriously, then picked up the pen and wrote another big "Buddha".

Li Banxian took it, looked at it, and lowered his head to think.

When Empress Dowager Li saw that his brows were furrowed into two big pimples and his hands were clenched, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

She didn't believe it at first, but seeing that the old man had a strange appearance and spoke in a mysterious way, she now actually believed it a little.

After staring for a long time, Li Banxian sighed, looked up at Empress Dowager Li, and asked, "Are you a Buddhist believer?"

"Yes." Empress Dowager Li nodded slightly, then asked anxiously, "What's wrong, old sir? Is there any problem with this word?"

"Look at this Buddha. 'Man' + 'Buddha' is 'Buddha'. Now there is no one around you except me. Listen outside, it is raining and snowing.

'水' + '弗' equals '沸'. ”

Li Banxian paused for a moment and continued, "Now there is no "Buddha", only "boiling". This is because there are too many monks, which has led to a decrease in the number of people and caused public resentment."

"Is there anything wrong with being sincere to Buddha?" Queen Mother Li asked with a pout, looking very unhappy.

"There is nothing wrong with being sincere in devoting oneself to Buddhism. The mistake is that many people are not sincere in devoting themselves to Buddhism, but are just filling in the gaps," Li Banxian replied.

"What does the old gentleman mean?"

Queen Mother Li stood up and looked at Li Banxian with anxious eyes. Li Banxian shook his head and smiled mysteriously, "I am just a country boy. Such national affairs will be planned by the great men."

"I understand now. Thank you for your enlightenment, old sir." Empress Dowager Li smiled, turned and walked out of the courtyard.

"call"

Seeing Empress Dowager Li leave, Li Banxian's tense nerves finally relaxed.

But yesterday at noon, someone came to see him and said that a distinguished guest would be visiting tomorrow. He also told him the identity of the man and the word he wanted to predict.

He didn't want to get involved in the game of these big shots, but the man was pushing him too hard.

Helplessly, he could only make up these two words.

"Forget it. Forget it. I'm tired of staying in the capital. It's time to go out for a walk." Muttering a few words with a wry smile, Li Banxian walked into the inner room and packed up his gold and silver jewelry.

The residence of the Grand Secretary.

Zhang Juzheng and his son Zhang Yunxiu sat opposite each other in the study. Zhang Yunxiu asked carefully, "Father, what are you going to do with the monks and Taoists who have been dismissed?"

"What do you mean by what to do?" Zhang Juzheng said directly with a puzzled look on his face, "Aren't we supposed to let them all return to their hometowns and let them do farming and mulberry work again?"

"There are better places for my son."

"Tell me."

"I want to recruit the young and strong among them and go overseas together to earn money. We can also spread Buddhist and Taoist scriptures at the same time." Zhang Yunxiu said his thoughts with a smile.

"Overseas, overseas again, is there really a mountain of gold and silver overseas?" Zhang Juzheng frowned and shouted angrily, "The most important thing for you now is to study the classics of state governance instead of thinking about making money all day long."

"This is how we govern a country," Zhang Yunxiu said in defense. "This country is like a person. There is only one disease that cannot be cured, and that is poverty."

"You can't cure this disease. It can't be cured."

Zhang Juzheng said nothing when he heard the voice.

Zhang Yunxiu thought he had the upper hand and continued, "Father, you reformed the tax law, measured the land, and now you are investigating Buddhists and Taoists. In the final analysis, you are curing the country's illness."

"I am also curing the country's illness, but my method is more clever than yours."

"Well, tell us what you are good at." Zhang Juzheng was criticized by his son, and he got angry and said, "If you can't explain it, we won't let you go!" Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said loudly: "The forces within the Ming Dynasty are so complicated, he is like a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties.

If my father wants to change him at this time, he will inevitably encounter resistance from various forces. I am one of them, and if I use a knife, I will easily hurt myself. "

"It's different overseas. That child is five or six years old. If we go there now and support him, he will be able to provide us with a steady supply of labor and treasure in the future."

There is one point Zhang Yunxiu didn't mention, which is to divert conflicts.

Transfer internal conflicts into external conflicts.

When those noble lords learned that there were vast tracts of land and gold and silver treasures overseas, who would still care about these trivial matters at home?

They were eager to build a big ship immediately and go overseas to grab things crazily.

"Landscapes return to their roots, and I'm afraid no one would be willing to go overseas," Zhang Juzheng sighed.

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and replied, "I think it should be like fallen leaves taking root. Wherever the leaves fall, there they take root. There are already quite a few Han people living in Nanyang, where rice can be harvested three times a year, and there is a strait that controls the passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

"As long as we take down a certain place and build a seaport along the way, father won't have to offend all the officials of the imperial court for a few trivial matters."

"Asshole, what do you mean by three melons and two dates? Do you know how much silver that is?" Zhang Juzheng slammed the table and cursed through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay, father has made a great contribution." Zhang Yunxiu made a face at his father, then said with a smile: "Father, do you remember that I said we live on the same ball?"

"Then what?" Zhang Juzheng asked suspiciously.

"Have you ever heard of the 'Empire on which the Sun Never Sets'?"

"What empire?"

“The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets” means that the sun always shines on his territory and never sets.

"Rebellious son, are you suffering from hysteria again? The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. This is an eternal truth. That is why we work at sunrise and rest at sunset." Zhang Juzheng chuckled and taught his son a lesson in a stern manner.

Zhang Yunxiu was not in a hurry, and he just patiently asked: "May I ask, father, in Shaanxi and Gansu to the west of the Ming Dynasty, does the sun set later than in the capital and Hebei to the east?"

"Yes, so what?"

Zhang Juzheng stubbornly replied, Zhang Yunxiu showed a triumphant smile, and as soon as he opened his mouth, it was like thunder: "Then, as long as our country is vast enough, the sun in the west has not set yet, and the sun in the east has already risen. Does that mean the sun will always shine on our country?"

"Hahaha, is there such a large land in this world?" Zhang Juzheng laughed out loud.

After laughing for a while, he saw his son's serious expression and was startled. He stopped laughing and asked tentatively, "Is there really such a large country in this world?"

"Didn't Eunuch Zheng sail to the West in the past? That place is only a part of the world. The vastness of the world is beyond human imagination!" Zhang Yunxiu replied with a smile.

For a moment, Zhang Juzheng's head began to buzz.

In his decades of cognition, the Ming Dynasty was the center of the world, and at most it was just some small places that Zheng He had visited.

These countries, big and small, together make up the entire world.

Now, he actually heard someone say that the world outside the Ming Dynasty was as vast as the sea and smoke, and even the sun would never set.

A vast amount of knowledge flooded into his mind. Zhang Juzheng held his forehead with one hand and was unable to speak for a long time.

Zhang Yunxiu looked at his father's appearance, quietly left the study, and closed the door for him.

After leaving the room and walking into the small hall, I saw You Qi and Zhang Fu picking wild cotton.

The two laughed so hard that their mouths watered. Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about? Why are you so happy? Say it out loud and make us laugh too."

"Nothing much, just Brother Qi taught me some moves."

"What move?"

"That's it, young master, you better not listen." Zhang Fu smiled lewdly and changed the subject, "Yesterday, Han San received news that the man from Mount Longhu has agreed. As long as you go to Mount Longhu once a year to keep the incense burning in Mount Longhu, he will agree."

Per year?

Do you think my friend is going on a trip?
Zhang Yunxiu was quite dissatisfied and waved his hand, saying, "Tell him that we only go there once every three years at most. We are not the kind of people who give away money. If we go there every year and beat drums and gongs, the people will hate us to death."

"Yes, I'll send someone to tell him right away." Zhang Fu nodded in agreement.

"Oh, by the way, Zheng Guotai and the young master have opened two restaurants together. Business is pretty good. Zheng Guotai said he wants to treat us. Do you have time?"

"Just say we're busy and push him away."

"Okay, there's also Boss Hao. He wants to do business with you. He'll provide the money, you'll provide the connections, and if we make money, we'll split it 50-50."

hiss.
This guy is quite courageous, but he won't agree so readily. Besides, the connections and resources he has are beyond the imagination of a businessman like him.

Moreover, he had to help the emperor make money.

After figuring this out, Zhang Yunxiu was full of confidence, and he spoke with a tone that would not tolerate rejection: "Well, you tell him, we won't lie to him, 70% to 30%, we take 70%, he takes 30%."

"70:30? Will he agree to that?" Zhang Fu looked worried.

"We can't take all 70%. We can only take 30%, and the remaining 40% has to be given to the emperor. Tell me, in this world, is there anything more important than making money for the emperor? If we serve this gentleman well, what can we not get?" Zhang Yunxiu asked back.

"Too."

Zhang Fu nodded and agreed.

At this time, You Qi, who had been silent, looked at him like a cat's claw and said hurriedly, "Fifth Master, I've been idle recently. Why don't you give me a job to do so that I don't have to chat with Zhang Fu all day long?"

"You are an elder in the mansion and my father's housekeeper. How dare I order you around?" Zhang Yunxiu teased with a smile.

"Sir, you are scolding me when you say this. I am just a servant, so how can I not be ordered around?" You Qi glared and got angry.

"Then, go buy some New Year's goods."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)