Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 42: Walking on Thin Ice.

The autumn wind was bleak, and after a loud thunder in the evening, the sky began to pull up cold rain the size of beans.

In an instant, piles of withered yellow leaves piled up under the red walls and green tiles of Beijing city.

The air is filled with coldness and corruption, which makes people feel tired.

Just after the hour of You, when it was completely dark, a warm sedan chair carrying four people slowly stopped in front of Zhang Jing's residence.

A servant came forward with a smile, pulled open the curtain, and Zhang Siwei bent down and walked out.

By this time, the rain had stopped.

There was still some water on the ground, which reflected a bright light under the reflection of the waning moon.

He lifted the belt on the front of his robe and walked straight into the mansion.

After entering the hall, he and Zhang Jing met in the study, bowed and sat down. The two maids lit the octagonal palace lantern and then retreated.

In an instant, the small study was illuminated as if it were daytime.

Because the two were old acquaintances, after a few simple pleasantries, Zhang Jing got to the point: "Lord Zhang, since we were tricked by that filthy Feng Bao, we are now walking on thin ice."

"The emperor has shut down more than 20 mines. Now that we are in his presence, we have to hold our butts close together, fearing that our farts will get too big and rice grains will pop out."

Zhang Siwei waved his hand and consoled him, "Eunuch Zhang, you are too serious. You are in the emperor's favor now. The emperor still relies on you to help him fill the inner treasury. How many of the twenty-four supervisors can match you?"

"Don't we still have Feng Bao and Empress Dowager Li above us?" Zhang Jing muttered with a bitter face, then looked at Zhang Siwei and said, "Now, the emperor has to rely on that brat Zhang Yunxiu to find another source of income."

"I'm here for this matter." Zhang Siwei nodded in agreement.

As a businessman, he naturally knew the huge profits and horrors of "fighting for treasure".

The capital is small, but the bet is huge. A penny may seem small, but when accumulated, it can be very considerable.

No matter how much the bet is, the dealer always wins half.

Low risk, high return, this kind of deal is rare in the world.

"Mr. Zhang, do you have any way to deal with it?" asked Zhang Jing.

"Just send a few people to mess him up." Zhang Siwei smiled, as if he had seen through Zhang Yunxiu's trick. "If the common people knew the secret, they would naturally not fall into the trap."

What kind of idea is this?
Zhang Jing frowned and replied, "Lord Zhang, you don't know how greedy these people are. I don't think your method will work."

"Then let him help others make wedding dresses!" Zhang Siwei smiled sinisterly.

"What do you mean?"

"This kind of money-making method should be managed by the Ministry of Revenue to replenish the Taicang warehouse, improve border defense, and build water conservancy projects."

"Wow!" Zhang Jing clapped his hands, stood up from his chair, walked back and forth in the room twice, then turned to look at Zhang Siwei and said, "A father and a son fighting each other is exactly what the scene is about."

It is true that old ginger is still spicy.

Zhang Siwei stroked his graying beard with a smile, and then talked about another matter: "Yesterday, Zhang Juzheng came to the cabinet to discuss matters. He said that he wanted to reform the household registration system and allow craftsmen to redeem themselves from the craftsman registration system with money."

"Why does he care about these people?" Zhang Jing asked puzzledly.

"I don't know about that," Zhang Siwei smiled, his eyes suddenly shining, "but do you know how much silver each craftsman can earn?"

"I don't know." Zhang Jing shook his head.

"One hundred taels." Zhang Siwei stretched out a finger.

"so much!"

Zhang Jing's eyelids twitched in shock.

There must be 60,000 to 70,000 craftsmen in the whole country. If each family has 100 taels of silver, that would be several million taels of silver.

I will use this one hundred taels of silver to squeeze the blood out of those craftsmen.

Zhang Siwei waved his hand, motioning him to sit down, and continued, "The 100 taels are not to be paid off all at once, but to be paid in installments of 30 years at most, with an annual interest of 1%. " Zhang Jing heard this, his eyes flashed with a thief's light, and he said, "What Lord Zhang wants is for us to whisper in the emperor's ear and then confront that stubborn old donkey."

The emperor would definitely be tempted by such a big piece of cake.

Even if he could only pry off a piece, Zhang Jing would have done a great deed. Besides, the rules of the craftsman register were set by Emperor Hongwu, so how could they be changed at will?
While Zhang Jing was thinking, Zhang Siwei had already stood up. Zhang Jing came back to his senses and raised his eyes to look at him.

"Eunuch Zhang, we are both walking on thin ice, so we should hug each other." Zhang Siwei straightened his robe and said with a chuckle.

Zhang Jing smiled, cupped his hands and replied: "If we don't have you, Elder Zhang, we really can't do it."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and Zhang Siwei shouted outside.

A servant walked in hurriedly, holding a purple sand pot in his hand.

Zhang Siwei took it and handed it to Zhang Jing: "It is said that Master Zhang loves the tea ceremony. We have looked around and found that your family has everything except this top-quality purple clay teapot."

"This must cost a lot of silver." Zhang Jing took the sand pot in surprise, lowered his head to look at it, then raised his eyes and asked.

"It's just a small gift between friends." Zhang Siwei waved his hand.

"It is said that Mr. Zhang's family is the richest in Shanxi, so I won't be polite to you. I will accept this sand pot." Zhang Jing smiled brightly and said, "Don't worry, no matter what happens, I will definitely stand on your side."

Zhang Siwei responded with a smile, and the two of them sat back in their chairs, drank a cup of tea from the purple clay teapot, and then left.

It was already the evening hour when he left Zhang Jing's residence, and the entire city of Beijing was shrouded in the darkness. He had no time to appreciate the night view, and could only urge the sedan bearers to move faster.

Inside the sedan, Zhang Siwei closed his eyes and rested.

He had a vague feeling that the emperor's mood towards Zhang Juzheng seemed to have changed. In the past, there was a mixture of fear and respect, but now there was less fear and more respect.

If this rate continues, it won’t be long before Zhang Juzheng becomes “Mr. Zhang” in the emperor’s mouth, just like in the early years of the Wanli period.

The two have had a teacher-student relationship for more than ten years, and that cannot be changed overnight.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng has been much more tactful in his handling of matters recently.

Especially when it comes to matters concerning imperial power, he tries his best to avoid confronting the emperor, taking the case of Concubine Gong giving birth to a prince last month as an example.

The emperor also had to allocate 200,000 taels of silver from Taicang to reward concubines and eunuchs.

In the past, Zhang Juzheng would have rejected it directly.

Because the emperor had to use the money from the treasury to reward the eunuchs, although there was a lot of silver in the Taicang warehouse, it could only be used for the country.

This time, Zhang Juzheng went to the palace in person, and after a conversation, he reduced the price from 200,000 to 100,000.

Although the emperor did not achieve his goal, he did get money after all.

"Stop!" A loud shout rang out, and Zhang Siwei in the sedan trembled and almost fell off the cushion.

Outside the sedan, seven or eight patrolling soldiers gathered around. The leader of the sedan bearers stood in front of the sedan and shouted, "What do you want to do, you beasts? Do you know who is doing this inside?"

The leading soldier was a young man in his mid-twenties, full of vigor and vitality. He was so angry that he grabbed his scabbard and attacked.

The scabbard fell with a sound, and the squad leader screamed "Wow", and blood filled his forehead.

As the saying goes, the prime minister's servant is a seventh-rank official.

Zhang Siwei was the second-in-command of the cabinet. As the leader of the group, had he ever suffered such humiliation in the past?

He covered his forehead with one hand and pointed at the few people with a trembling hand, and said indignantly: "How dare you. How dare you offend the current deputy prime minister."

"If he's the deputy assistant, we're your father!" The leading young man took a step forward and kicked the squad leader, "Brothers, kill these bullies who rely on their superiors for power."

As soon as he finished speaking, seven or eight people rushed forward and started punching and kicking the bearers of the sedan chair.

Half an hour later.

Seven or eight soldiers walked away, leaving behind only wailing and screaming.

(End of this chapter)