Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 511 Human Heart
"Sure, Dad, you're really good at winning people over!"

In the carriage, Zhang Yanling said with a smile.

Zhang Luan looked up with his nose in the air, and said with a smug look: "What the hell, it's just a little trick... Do you really think that your father's life in the market these years was in vain?

"Our family has suffered too much cold stares from others in the past, so wherever my father goes, he has to be careful to smile and make it easier for him to understand what others are thinking.

“Perhaps, this can also be considered a kind of talent!”

"hehe."

Zhang Yanling was so happy that he thought, I told you you were fat, but you really started panting?

It turns out that people cannot stand being praised!

Zhang Luan asked, "But son, I've always wanted to know, when did I get involved in the Peng Hua case? His Majesty is pushing very hard... You saw it with your own eyes, even Zhu Ji was busy asking me to close the case. If I continue to delay this on purpose, will it be... not good?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and comforted: "Don't worry, Dad. If things don't get serious, how will others know that this matter is related to you? Delay it appropriately, and you can take this opportunity to establish your authority!"

"If you really want to establish your authority, you should kill them. I ran to pardon Peng Hua and Liang Fang, how can I establish my authority? But it's good to be out for a while."

Zhang Luan said with a smile.

"Why, you're not going home?"

Zhang Yanling asked curiously.

Zhang Luan said, "I'll go back when I should, but I have to go out again in the afternoon... I finally get to have a few days of fun. I don't have to think about going to court and official business all day. I can just focus on solving the case. Isn't that great? With you by my side, you can give me advice. I don't have to think. I can just be your mouthpiece. Don't let your life be too comfortable!"

Zhang Yanling said helplessly: "Dad, can we pursue something a little bit?"

"no!"

Zhang Luan said firmly, "I don't want to pursue anything. Being an official is too tiring. If it weren't for my promise to you, I would have quit long ago!

"In fact, what Li Zisheng said is right. Being in a high position is lonely at the top."

"Are you sure that Li Zisheng said this?"

Zhang Yanling frowned.

"How can this be false? Li Zisheng is well versed in human nature. I am far inferior to him in this respect. But I always feel that ten Li Zishengs are not as good as you... It is better to learn from you than from Li Zisheng. Li Zisheng only succeeded to the throne by currying favor with the previous emperor, but you... directly helped your sister become the queen. Obviously, you are more powerful!"

When Zhang Luan reached this point, he expressed his sincere admiration.

Zhang Yanling curled his lips and said, "Alright, Dad, I feel embarrassed if you keep praising me...You can go wherever you want, I have things to do too.

"How about we just go our separate ways when we get to the street corner and accept our fate?"

Zhang Luan said: "You are full of clever ideas, but your word choice is still so crude and not accurate at all. You should study harder."

"Dad, how many ways are there to write the word 'fennel'?"

Zhang Yanling asked.

"Four kinds? Huh? What do you mean by that question?"

Zhang Luan asked curiously.

"Hey hey hey..."

Zhang Yanling had a cheerful look on his face, as if he had no intention of explaining his doubts to Zhang Luan. "Dad, you should think about this carefully. This is a matter concerning your future and your happiness for the rest of your life. You have to think it through."

Zhang Luan's eyes widened, bewildered: "You kid are not lying to me, are you? There are so many ways to write a word? I have to study it carefully when I go back."

……

……

Zhang Yanling went to see Qin Zhao.

Qin Zhao has been trying to find a way to meet him in recent days, but Zhang Yanling is also a very busy man now, and not everyone can meet him.

The reason for this meeting was that Qin Zhao introduced him to many businessmen from Huizhou, intending to establish a new circle to replace the previous business group, and Qin Zhao himself would be the leader of this business group.

"Master Qin, I know your purpose is still to obtain the salt permit."

Zhang Yanling said, "I'll be frank. My father can't take care of the salt permit issue for now, and he doesn't have the energy to take care of it. I can't help with how the court will issue salt permits next year, or how the situation of the salt fields in various places will change."

Qin Zhao said quickly, "Second Master, you misunderstood. How could we be short-sighted? I brought them to meet you so that we can have better cooperation in the future. Now that you have power and we have money, we can move forward with power and money. Why would we care about the small benefits of salt permits?

"The political situation is turbulent right now. After the new emperor ascended the throne, the power in the court is being reshuffled... Wan'an has fallen, and now all the bigwigs in the court are in danger. All the major forces are shaky, but you are the only one here, as solid as a rock, or a towering tree, standing tall and unshakable... Naturally, we have to come over, as the saying goes, it's nice to take shelter under a big tree!"

"That's it!"

Zhang Yanling listened to Qin Zhao's explanation and nodded. "I also happen to have some projects that I want to find someone to cooperate with. So today I will sell your face and meet with them. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation and make money together in the future!"

……

……

Li House.

Li Zisheng had just returned from outside when he saw Pang Qing approaching him with a serious look. His heart sank and he asked, "What happened?"

Pang Qing said, "Master Dao, it's nothing serious. I just heard that the former Minister of the Imperial Ministry of Rites, Deng Chang'en, died in the prison cell a few days ago."

"died?"

Li Zisheng asked in surprise, "He died just like that? Wasn't it time for execution yet? How could he die so soon?" Pang Qing shook his head and said, "We don't know exactly how he died, but I think it was because the environment in there was too bad. The weather has been cold recently, and he was tortured. It's understandable that he couldn't hold on."

"That's really a pity."

Li Zisheng felt a little sad, and felt a sense of grief for the loss of a rabbit.

Last year, Deng Chang'en was still a big shot who could be compared with him. He was in the front of the late emperor and gave instructions on state affairs. How glorious was that? In the blink of an eye, he died silently in the dark imperial prison like a stray dog ​​without a master. Just thinking about it made him feel sad. Although he was still safe and sound, given the degree of jealousy that the civil officials had for his group of messengers, everything that happened to Deng Chang'en could happen to him at any time. Just thinking about it made him shudder.

"And one more thing."

Pang Qing continued.

Li Zisheng cursed: "You blind man, can't you tell me everything at once? If you have bad news, don't hide it. I can bear it."

"Bad news!?"

Pang Qing was stunned for a moment, then he said, "It's not all bad news. Zhang Guozhang has gotten up from his sickbed and has been wandering around outside these past two days."

"What? Laizhan recovered so quickly?"

Li Zisheng was also confused.

And you still say that old guy is faking an injury?
If someone breaks a leg, they have to take care of it for several months, but he can start running around in just half a month? Are you bullying me because I haven't studied medicine and don't understand what it means to break a bone?
Pang Qing said: "He was ordered by the emperor to deal with a case involving Liang Fang, Pang Hua and others, so he had to show up. It is said that he went in and out with a cane, and his two sons usually followed him."

"Hiss, it would be nice to have a chance to meet him."

Li Zisheng seemed very emotional. "But I can't be so shameless as to bother him all the time and make him feel embarrassed. If he is disgusted, he will be even less willing to help me."

Pang Qing said calmly, "Then you don't have to worry, Mr. Dao. He has sent someone to inform you that he wants you to come over to his house for a chat tomorrow."

"What!?"

When Li Zisheng heard this, his face was filled with anger and he looked like he wanted to hit someone. He even almost raised his hand to hit Pang Qing.

"Eh? Daoye, you are gritting your teeth, what's wrong with you?"

Pang Qing asked as if nothing had happened.

"Humph!"

Li Zisheng glared at Pang Qing, shook his head and snorted, "Bingkun, I think you are going backwards. You knew this matter was the most urgent, but you still had to wait until later to tell me...

"What? You're deliberately keeping me on edge, making me almost collapse before I hear this news, to show that you're very sophisticated and knowledgeable, right?"

Pang Qing said, "I can totally understand why the Taoist wants to see Zhang Guozhang, but I would like to ask, how should you talk to him after you see him? Should you ask him directly with soft words, or...you have to think it over in advance."

"This……"

Li Zisheng sat down and thought for a long time. Finally, he looked up at Pang Qing and said, "Bingkun, when I saw you earlier, I found that you looked gloomy. Could it be that you were also thinking about this matter for me?"

Pang Qing shook his head and said, "Master Dao, you think too highly of me. Can't I just be looking for a way out for myself in the future?"

"You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth! Tell me what you think!"

While cursing, Li Zisheng began to ask Pang Qing for his opinion.

Pang Qing said: "First you have to figure out whether you want to continue to be an official or go back to being a Taoist priest."

Li Zisheng nodded and said, "That makes sense... I need to set my own goals and results first... Please continue."

"If you want to return to the mountains, it's actually very simple."

Pang Qing said, "Perhaps you can escape unscathed without Zhang Guozhang's help."

"wrong."

Li Zisheng corrected him, "In my opinion, it's the opposite. It's easier for me to continue to be an official, but I want to get out of this unscathed... How can so many people who have been offended by me let me go so easily? Once I lose power and have no leverage, who among them would not want to control me?"

Pang Qing said: "It seems that the Taoist has already made a plan."

"Fuck, what am I planning? You don't mean to say that the reason I'm thinking so much is because I want to continue to be an official, right?" Li Zisheng said angrily, "I'm asking for your opinion now. I've spent so much money to support you for so long. As the saying goes, you raise an army for a thousand days but only use it for a moment. I want you to give me advice instead of listening to me!"

Pang Qing continued: "Then you have to think about what Zhang Guozhang can help you get..."

"Oh, he can help me in so many ways. He can gain the trust of the new emperor, and I can maintain my current position. I can even continue to call the shots in the court in the future! But I also know that if I continue to monopolize the government as before, even Lai Zhan will not tolerate me, even without the ministers impeaching me."

When Li Zisheng said this, his face was full of helplessness.

Pang Qing smiled and said, "It seems that you have figured it out a long time ago. You can go see him tomorrow."

Li Zisheng asked, "You spent so much time thinking about this and you finally figured this out for me?"

Pang Qing said: "Master Dao, isn't that enough? Whatever you need, he can give you. This is the purpose of your meeting him tomorrow."

"Look at what you said. Can't I go to visit him tomorrow to check on his injuries and sit down with him to reminisce about the past? In addition to the official social events, can't I have a little personal relationship with him?"

Li Zisheng said angrily, "Bingkun, you have known me for many years. Don't you know what kind of person I am? In the world of fame and fortune, I am greedy for money, but isn't that to satisfy the selfish desires of the late emperor? It is precisely because of this that I appear to be unkind and have a bad reputation.

"Just in the past few years, who do you think I have made friends with? Is it Peng Hua? Or Liang Fang? Are they on guard against me or using me? I have a friend like Lai Zhan. Even if there are some conflicts of interest, we have similar interests and are half Taoist priests. It has not been easy along the way."

Pang Qing said helplessly: "Master Dao, I don't know whether you are sincere to him or not. But do you really know what he thinks?"

Li Zisheng said, "People's hearts are hidden. I can't figure out other people's minds, but Lai Zhan is a man who does things in an unconventional way. He looks careless, but he is definitely a friend who can be trusted. I believe he can help me... and he won't throw me over the wall. On some things, I am willing to advance and retreat with him."

(End of this chapter)