Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 364 The Emperor’s Mental Technique
As Zhang Luan and Li Zisheng walked out of the palace, they were still thinking about what the emperor had said.

Suddenly I felt a heavy pressure on my shoulders, as if I had become the most important regent of the Ming Dynasty. That feeling is really... indescribable.

"Laizhan, have you been to Taichang Temple in the past two days?"

Li Zisheng asked casually.

"Never been there."

Zhang Luan answered.

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "Then you should go and have a look... You are the new Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the only one. When you go there, there will surely be many people trying to curry favor with you. The benefits they will offer you will be innumerable!"

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "But... I don't really like socializing."

Li Zisheng was angry and said, "You, don't you know what the Taichang Temple is? The Taichang Temple of our Ming Dynasty has gathered too many officials who rely on their salary. The biggest characteristic is that they are stupid and rich, and they like to curry favor with the powerful in the court... If you don't go, it will be a great loss for you..."

Zhang Luan thought to himself, is this really the case?

I used to be a Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple, and I went there once. Deng Changen even invited me to dinner at that time, but I didn’t see how generous those people were.

"What are you thinking?"

Li Zisheng noticed that Zhang Luan was distracted and asked curiously.

"When I was transferred to the post of Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, I went to the Taichang Temple Yamen once." Then Zhang Luan recounted his experience last time.

Li Zisheng raised his hand and said, "That's different. Do you know how many Shaoqings there are in the Taichang Temple in the Ming Dynasty? There are more than ten who are on salary alone...

"At that time, you were transferred to a sinecure. Everyone knew that you were exiled to the Imperial Palace because of a crime. How could anyone curry favor with you? But what is the situation now? You are already one of the most favored ministers in front of His Majesty. It is not an exaggeration to describe your influence as a raging fire. Everyone can heat up the stove, haha..."

Zhang Luan asked in surprise, "From what Minister Li said, does it mean that the Taichang Temple is full of people who curry favor with the powerful?"

"Look at what you said. Who in the court doesn't curry favor with the powerful?"

Li Zisheng pursed his lips and said, "For someone like me, who dares not to curry favor with me wherever I go? Of course, that includes you. We have been friends like brothers since we first met, without so many formalities... Hey, you have never gone out with me, otherwise I would have let you know what it feels like to be surrounded by people."

Zhang Luan smiled and said, "Of course I can think of that...Now everyone in the court and the public is saying that you, Minister Li, are a first-class capable minister in the court."

"They are flattering me... I am not as good as you. You have been promoted to your current high position in a short time. You have won the trust of His Majesty... Didn't you hear what His Majesty said before? You should give more advice to the Crown Prince in the future."

Li Zisheng said seriously.

Zhang Luan responded somewhat awkwardly: "I don't even take it seriously."

Li Zisheng said with a smile: "Do you think His Majesty is speaking in a sarcastic way to you, or is he testing you? Let me put it this way, the reason you are so fearful is that you know too little about our Majesty."

"I'd like to hear more about it. Please feel free to enlighten me."

Zhang Luan thought to himself, this is really a case of entering a treasure mountain and not returning empty-handed. Right in front of me is a great man who rose to power because of his ability to guess the intentions of his superiors. If I don't learn from him, it will be a huge loss for me.

Li Zisheng was pleased to see Zhang Luan trying to teach him, and said with a smile, "Let me put it this way. Your Majesty is very reasonable. As long as you have the ability and are wholeheartedly working for Your Majesty, Your Majesty will reciprocate. In the final analysis, it's all about sincerity in exchange for sincerity."

"is it?"

Zhang Luan seemed incredulous.

He is the emperor, how could he confide in others?

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "You have been in the countryside for too long. You don't understand the officialdom, let alone the people in the royal family. I don't know about others, but at least our emperor is the most polite. I can see it today. It is because of your sincerity that he has moved his majesty, so he entrusted you with an important task."

"This……"

"Don't be so rude. Let me put it this way. Your Majesty brought up the Tongzhou Warehouse issue again this time with the intention of suppressing Wan'an and Liu Ji. It was just for your sake.

"You have really helped the prince a lot this time."

Li Zisheng seemed very cautious when he said this.

Zhang Luan asked in surprise: "Is it because of me?"

"if not?"

Li Zisheng asked back, and then explained, "The incident was so serious before, I found many people to impeach him, and tried to stir up trouble several times, but His Majesty turned a deaf ear to it. What's worse, Wan'an and Liu Ji planned to counterattack, and even found Deng Changen to lobby His Majesty, but the result was also in vain.

"But today you went to treat His Majesty once. His Majesty only spoke a few words to you, and His Majesty realized that he, as a father, might not care and love the prince enough, so he decisively gave the prince a chance to go out of the palace to gain some experience. Don't you think this is not your credit?"

Zhang Luan was a little embarrassed: "Ah... this has nothing to do with me, right?"

"You must listen to me on this matter. You will be right! You should help the prince wholeheartedly and let him do the job beautifully. Don't show any mercy. Whoever should be punished should be punished. Even if it is Wan'an and Liu Ji, you don't have to be polite."

At this time, Li Zisheng was given face-to-face instructions.

But in Zhang Luan's opinion, Li Zisheng clearly wanted to use his hand to suppress Wan'an and Liu Ji, two disobedient cabinet ministers, in order to suppress dissidents.

Zhang Luan said, "But His Majesty won't let me interfere... Didn't he say that the Crown Prince should select two people from among the lecturers in the Eastern Palace?"

Li Zisheng laughed and said, "Those lecturers may look glorious and glamorous, but they have never presided over government affairs. Now let these young people without any political experience fight against the ministers. What qualifications do they have? You think too highly of them."

"what?"

Zhang Luan was very surprised. He thought, from what you said, it's clear that you look down on those East Palace lecturers, but why do you think so highly of me?
Can I compare with them?
As if he could see through his heart, Li Zisheng continued, "You are indeed not as good as these old scholars in teaching the prince, but you also have your strengths, that is, your insight and courage.

"Also, you have helpers in the court. If anything happens to you, I will do my best to help you. You don't have to worry about Wan'an and Liu Ji making trouble for you. After all, you still have your youngest son, the Little Zhuge, to give you advice."

"This……"

"Look at you. Why are you backing off at the critical moment? His Majesty said that you should not be too involved, but didn't he add that you can also give some advice if the Crown Prince has any problems? This is not a hint, but a clear message to you. You should help when you need to, and use all your strength."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "If the Crown Prince can bring down the two cabinet ministers through this incident, then in the eyes of His Majesty, the Crown Prince will be a capable crown prince. If anyone talks about changing the crown prince again, His Majesty will be the first to disagree and may even punish them."

Zhang Luan was stunned for a while and asked, "Is that true?"

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "I used to think that Your Majesty might have doubts about the prince's origins, but now it seems that Your Majesty is most worried about whether the prince has the ability to manage the country. He thinks that the prince is too cowardly and cannot stand up at critical moments. This is the main reason.

"You don't know the doting look on His Majesty's face when he mentioned Concubine Ji. It seems that this is another regret in His Majesty's heart. There must be a hidden reason."

Zhang Luan was confused by what he heard.

He couldn't help but think about it. It turned out that the emperor had never doubted the prince's bloodline. He just thought that the prince was not capable enough.

Then why are there so many rumors among the people?
It must be Concubine Wan’s doing!
Before, the prince was weak, so he hired people to spread rumors outside, trying to make people think that the prince was not your majesty's biological son. But why didn't your majesty make the decision for the prince?

"Laizhan, you have to do a good job this time."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "If you need help, just ask. You know I look down on Wan'an and Liu Ji. They are ambitious people. They even wanted to change the position of the crown prince. Damn it!

"In this matter, you are helping the Crown Prince, His Majesty, and me. In the end, it is a win-win situation. You and I stand together and are not afraid of any challenges."

……

……

After leaving the palace, Zhang Luan hurried to the laboratory to find his son.

He now felt that he was highly valued by the emperor, and since it involved the matter of clearing the prince's reputation, he seemed very anxious, as if he could become the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty if he succeeded.

"Dad, the Tongzhou warehouse incident is so serious, do you think you can easily find out the truth?"

Zhang Yanling disagreed.

Zhang Luan said, "Son, didn't you ask your father to help the prince prove himself wholeheartedly? Now the opportunity has come. Why are you singing a different tune now?"

"Dad, do you remember why I told you this?"

Zhang Yanling reminded.

"You said... Haha, I don't quite remember."

Zhang Luan obviously doesn't take everything to heart.

Zhang Yanling reminded again: "At the beginning, I said that we would use this incident to make Wan'an, Liu Ji and others anxious and exhausted, so that they would have no intention of interfering in the affairs of the crown prince in the future... This is our real purpose!"

Zhang Luan asked in surprise, "Does that mean that the messy accounts at Tongzhou Warehouse cannot be checked at all?"

Zhang Yanling said angrily: "There are so many corrupt officials in the court. Why don't you think your majesty investigate them before? Pick out the corrupt officials, and the country will be peaceful and prosperous. Isn't that good?"

"I rely on!"

Zhang Luan slapped his forehead and said, "Look at me, I was so excited that I forgot you told me that the biggest borer in Tongzhou Warehouse is your Majesty yourself!"

"hehe."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Your Majesty cannot be said to be the biggest pest, because this matter involves the imperial farm and the inner court, and Your Majesty was actually unaware of it. It was not until Liang Fang and others fell that he gradually realized the harm that Liang Fang and his group of treacherous villains had caused in the court."

Zhang Luan asked, "I asked my son to investigate me? What kind of a thing is that?"

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, do you think His Majesty is testing the prince's ability to handle affairs? In fact, His Majesty is testing the prince's knack for dealing with people.

"Ability is actually the same for everyone. As an emperor, you don't need to have strong ability to handle things because the officials below will always be the ones who handle things."

Zhang Luan asked: "Then as an emperor, the most important thing is the ability to control the ministers?"

"Correct!"

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "You are right, Dad... Your Majesty used to think that the Crown Prince was weak and cowardly, and that he would easily listen to the words of those around him, and even be influenced by some people... Your Majesty also doesn't want to see our Zhang family dominate the Crown Prince's side, right?"

Zhang Luan said, "Hey, after hearing what you said, I suddenly came to my senses... Your Majesty first didn't let me get involved, and then said that I could give the crown prince some advice... This is both to protect me and to test me... Your Majesty has me in his calculations."

Zhang Yanling said: "Father, please don't think that you can accomplish great achievements during the Chenghua Dynasty just because His Majesty encouraged you for a while.

"You are labeled as the crown prince and will always be the crown prince's man. No matter how well you perform now, it will be useless. What you need to do is to prove that the crown prince has the ability to control the ministers, and even control you.

“There is no other way!

"Do you understand?"

"Oh, I understand. I won't do stupid things again!"

(End of this chapter)