Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 57: Mouth Opening
After Li Zisheng and Zhang Luan took their seats, Shen Lu stood aside and Zhang Yanling stood behind Zhang Luan.

Li Zisheng said with a smile: "I will not be so formal with you. I will call you Lai Zhan and we can be friends as equals. What do you think?"

Zhang Luan said modestly: "I dare not, I dare not, what virtue and ability do I have as a student?"

Li Zisheng raised his hand and said, "No need to be polite. When you came to the capital, I knew you were a capable person, and I specially asked you to learn how to entertain us well. You did not live up to expectations. For example, the earthquake in Ningxia, although it is not certain now, it is almost certain."

After hearing this, if Zhang Luan still had some doubts about his son before, he was now a little confused.

If I just say there is an earthquake somewhere, will there really be an earthquake?

Is it possible that my mouth has been blessed?

Then Zhang Luan thought again, could it be that Li Zisheng hired someone to secretly tamper with the situation, saying that there was an earthquake when there clearly was no earthquake?
Are you just here to contradict me now?
Li Zisheng said: "However, the court will certainly treat earthquakes with great caution. After all, whether it is the earthquake itself or the post-disaster reconstruction, the court will devote a lot of energy and will send people to investigate it carefully. It is estimated that it will take several months to finally determine the matter."

Zhang Luan said, "Minister Li, if you have any instructions, just tell me. I will do as you say."

"Please don't misunderstand my intentions." Li Zisheng said hurriedly, "I am indeed here to express my gratitude. I hope you will forgive me for my previous indifference."

Zhang Luan was confused and unsure. The earthquake sounded like it really happened, but why did it seem so bizarre and ridiculous?
You were so polite right from the start, as if I had done you some great favor. It made me feel like I was being kept in the dark, and it made me scratch my head.

Shen Lu said, "Laizhan, I heard from your son that in addition to predicting an earthquake in Ningxia, you also have other ideas, which involve changes in the stars and predictions of disasters. I wonder if it is true?"

When Li Zisheng heard this, he stared at Zhang Luan with his bright eyes.

Zhang Luan was hesitant, but he felt his son pushing him from behind. He calmed down and nodded, "Indeed, there is. But..."

"But it doesn't matter."

Li Zisheng was in a very good mood and said with a smile, "If you can successfully predict the fate of the country again, I will commend you for it. I will also help you with what you said."

Zhang Luan thought for a while before mustering up the courage to say, "Minister Li, I have something to ask that I shouldn't ask, but I'm worried about it."

"Just tell me."

Lizi Provincial Road.

Zhang Luan asked: "Do you want to help the current crown prince, or... just stand by and watch?"

"what?"

Li Zisheng was stunned.

This question was too direct, so Li Zisheng was completely unprepared. With his political awareness, he would never talk about such things in front of others. He immediately looked around and found that except for Zhang Luan's son who was considered a half-outsider, the rest of the people were driven away and should not be able to hear the conversation here.

Shen Lu shouted, "Come and see, don't act rashly."

Zhang Luan's face remained calm: "I have doubts in my mind, and I can't help but speak them out."

"Hahaha."

After a brief silence, Li Zisheng suddenly laughed heartily, "I still think you are speaking your mind. This question is only asked by you. If it were someone else, I would have thought he was talking nonsense. Let me be frank, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty is the future of the country. As his subjects, how can we not lend a hand to him?"

In this matter, Li Zisheng was not talking nonsense. He really wanted to help Zhu Youtang. This is why he pardoned his crimes after Zhu Youtang ascended the throne.

But the reason why Li Zisheng was to blame was that he offended too many people, and Zhu Youtang was not very determined to protect him, which led to his death of illness in prison.

But Deng Chang'en and his ilk were not as lucky as him. Even the evil monk Ji Xiao, who had returned home earlier, was caught and killed by the court.

Zhang Luan asked: "So that means helping each other?"

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "If you have something to say, just say it directly."

Zhang Luan gritted his teeth again, stamped his feet and said, "Then I will speak frankly. There may be another earthquake this month. This time it will be more serious than the earthquake in Ningxia. It is... in the Taishan area."

Although Li Zisheng had high expectations for Zhang Luan's prophecy, he was still extremely shocked after hearing these words and stood up suddenly.

"Uh……"

Zhang Luan saw Li Zisheng standing up, so he also stood up quickly. Just as he was about to explain, he was interrupted by Li Zisheng. Li Zisheng said, "Laizhan, are you saying that there will be an earthquake in Mount Tai this month? This is a matter of national importance, you can't just speak without thinking."

Zhang Luan said: "No, no, no, I am just speculating based on reason, so I can't take it as the final word."

"you……"

Li Zisheng was stunned for a moment, then stared at Zhang Luan with suspicion, his mind was almost at a loss.

You said with certainty that there would be an earthquake in Mount Tai, but you acted like this. Are you confident or not?
So should I believe you?
Shen Lu said, "Minister Li, it seems that this is true. If there is an earthquake in Mount Tai, it will affect the stability of our Ming Dynasty. At present, it involves the position of crown prince.

"That's why Lai Zhan raised the question earlier...it seems like he has some concerns!"

As he spoke, Shen Lu gave Zhang Luan an encouraging look.

It seems to be saying, you are so capable that you actually predicted an earthquake in Mount Tai and laid the groundwork in advance. I am optimistic about you.

At this moment, not only Li Zisheng was speculating, but even Shen Lu wanted to bind himself with Zhang Luan. It might be that the previous Ningxia earthquake gave them great confidence.

Shen Lu is a juren who becomes an official, so his future is destined to be limited. In the current Ming Dynasty, if he wants to break through the ceiling of his career, he must find the right opportunity to climb up.

Li Zisheng said seriously: "When will it happen?"

Zhang Luan tried hard to stop the urge to see his son. He pretended to be an expert and calculated with his fingers: "Ten days later."

"That is, the Renchen Day?"

Li Zisheng asked again.

"Ah."

Zhang Luan nodded heavily.

At this time, Zhang Luan didn't dare to look up and look at Li Zisheng, for fear that the other party would see through his heart.

Zhang Luan was also very curious. If the Ningxia earthquake had not happened, why would Minister Li take my words so seriously? Could it be that, as Yanling said, the previous prediction had come true, and he would continue to believe my words? Otherwise, he would be eager to distance himself from the matter and would not come to the clinic at all.

Li Zisheng said: "Your Majesty has already made up his mind about the change of crown prince. If Mount Tai really has an earthquake at this time, it must mean that the heavens are angry, so they sent down a warning, and the change of crown prince will no longer be possible... If it is really as you said, the crown prince's position will be stable."

Zhang Luan was confused.

Could the earthquake at Mount Tai really be of such great help to the prince?
Zhang Yanling, who was standing by, knew that what Li Zisheng said was true.

The Wanli Yewaibian once recorded:
"…When Mount Tai was shaken, the inner spiritual palace reported: 'The earthquake at Mount Tai is happening right now, and it will be resolved only when there is joy.' The emperor then issued an edict to select a concubine for the crown prince, and the succession was secured."

This means that Zhu Youtang's position as crown prince was not officially confirmed until after the Taishan earthquake.

At that time, the report was submitted by the Inner Lingtai, that is, the Imperial Observatory, and the person who controlled the Imperial Observatory behind the scenes was Li Zisheng.

Li Zisheng asked cautiously, "Laizhan, have you told anyone about this?"

Zhang Luan shook his head: "No."

Speaking of this, Zhang Luan felt a little scared.

Someone told me this through my son. Since the person who predicted the earthquake at Mount Tai told my son, how would I know whether he told anyone else?

But then I thought about it.

When I told this to others, they just treated it as a joke.

Only if this matter is told to someone like Li Zisheng who can hear directly from above, and if Li Zisheng believes it, will it have practical significance.

Could this be the fundamental reason why someone told me the story through my son?

(End of this chapter)