Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 58 I am a loving father! How could I be angry?
With a rustle, Yin Zhengmao gripped the memorial tightly in his hand, as if a fire had been ignited in his eyes.

He suddenly stood up, looked at Zhang Juzheng, and said angrily.

"Uncle, what are you saying? Are you looking down on me, Yin Zhengmao? In the early years of the Longqing reign, I quelled the rebellion in the southern border region. In the sixth year of the Longqing reign, I resisted the Japanese pirates in Guangdong. In the second year of the Wanli reign, I captured and killed more than 800 Japanese pirates at Shuangyu City!"

"I, Yin Zhengmao, have never been afraid!"

Zhang Juzheng said, "The battlefield is not the officialdom."

“I can’t stand the hypocrisy of officialdom,” Yin Zhengmao said bluntly. “But now I’m getting old, I can’t ride a horse, I can’t lift a sword, and I can’t lead troops.”

If you wish to use your aging body to do something for the people of the world, this is the perfect opportunity!
I will make those scoundrels run for their lives!

Zhang Juzheng, seemingly moved, said, "Lord Yin's words make me feel deeply ashamed!"

He took out another document with a smooth motion and handed it to Yin Zhengmao.

"This is merely Ju Zheng's humble opinion on Lord Yin's trip, not worth mentioning. Lord Yin can just take a look and that will suffice."

After Yin Zhengmao left, Zhang Juzheng sat alone in the main hall.

In the brief silence, it was unclear whether he was contemplating the dangers of Yin Zhengmao's journey or simply seeking a moment of rest amidst his busy schedule.

After a long while, a noise suddenly came from outside the door.

"master."

It was clearly You Qi's voice.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "Come in."

Zhang Juzheng only spoke after You Qi entered the room.

"I haven't seen Zhang Shiyuan for several days. Last time I asked you to go to the Imperial Academy and his trading post to investigate, how did it go?"

You Qi hesitated for a moment before replying, “To be honest, sir, I went to the Imperial Academy yesterday only to find it empty. I had barely arrived at the Imperial Academy when the young master was summoned to the palace by His Majesty.”

"The Emperor is seeing Zhang Shiyuan?"

"Yes."

Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment, then asked a question instead of saying anything.

"What happened next? Did he cause any trouble at the Imperial College?"

You Qi was still thinking of helping Zhang Yunxiu to cover it up, but it was clear that Zhang Juzheng did not believe that Zhang Yunxiu was someone who would not cause trouble.

With a sigh, You Qi said helplessly.

“I met with the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, and he told me about what happened to the young master at the Imperial Academy yesterday.”

"So, he really caused trouble after all?"

Although he was mentally prepared, Zhang Juzheng was still a little uneasy.

You Qi hesitated for a moment: "It's not a big deal."

He told Zhang Juzheng in detail about how Zhang Yunxiu answered questions fluently in class, how he deceived the students and doctors under the name "Yun Jiye," and how Yu Youding eventually exposed him, as well as how Doctor Wang Honghui lost his composure.

Zhang Juzheng's expression froze for a moment.

Finally, two words escaped his throat.

"Nonsense."

Although he said that, You Qi could tell that Zhang Juzheng did not mean to blame him. In fact, he almost laughed when he heard about Yunxiu's deeds.

Of course, given Zhang Juzheng's composure, it was naturally easy for him to cover it up.

So, You Qi tried to salvage the situation for Zhang Yunxiu, saying, "Young Master is still alright; in the end, he didn't bully his classmates."

"Enough, enough." Zhang Juzheng rubbed his temples. He had already lowered his standards considerably for his youngest son.

He could accept it as long as there was no more incidents of beating up censors during court assemblies.

"And then there's more." You Qi hesitated for a moment, but finally told Zhang Juzheng the truth. "The young master recently rented out a soy sauce workshop in the city, spending a lot of money, and also bought up all the garlic in the capital, causing the price of garlic to skyrocket several times over."

"Why did he buy so much garlic?" Zhang Juzheng frowned deeply.

If it's about hoarding and speculation, then who hoards garlic?

In this era, people either hoard cloth or grain; even without garlic, no one would starve.

Instinctively, Zhang Juzheng seized upon a crucial point and quickly inquired.

"How much silver did he spend?"

"It's not much," You Qi said, his eyes darting around and his voice stammering.

Zhang Juzheng's eyebrows immediately shot up: "Speak!" You Qi had no choice but to say, "There are indeed over ten thousand taels of silver."

hiss~
Zhang Juzheng took a breath, his eyebrows immediately furrowing, and a surge of anger welled up within him.

Last time, it was somewhat understandable that Zhang Yunxiu started a newspaper; he could at least say it was to educate the people and make some money through the newspaper.

But what are we going to do this time?
The amount of garlic needed for almost a month in the entire city—enough to flood the entire Zhang residence!
Does he want to drown his old man with garlic?!

Zhang Juzheng's chest heaved, and he looked ready to get angry again.

But then he remembered his previous argument with Zhang Yunxiu about "parenting".

"How can we expect wild grass to grow on the right path if it has no sunlight?"

Upon careful consideration, perhaps I shouldn't get angry so easily.

The way to raise children is to give them love, sunshine, and patience!

It's just ten thousand taels of silver, nothing to worry about. My Zhang family has accumulated over a hundred thousand taels of silver over the years, hasn't it?
What is ten thousand taels of silver? It's just a tenth of the family fortune!

I am a loving father, how could I be angry about this?

Young children are playful, so what's wrong with letting them play?
You Qi stared wide-eyed at Zhang Juzheng's expression, which shifted between murderous intent and gentle warmth, his features contorted as if he were about to unleash his fury.

Fearing that Zhang Juzheng might go astray if he continued like this, You Qi quickly added.

"Master, from what I understand, the young master isn't acting recklessly. He knows there's a plague in the city, so he's thinking of making a miracle medicine out of garlic to help the people. He even said he'd use the miracle medicine."

You Qi ultimately refrained from mentioning Zhang Yunxiu's desire to treat Zhang Juzheng's hemorrhoids with a miraculous medicine.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng finally had something to comfort himself. He exhaled and his expression gradually returned to normal.

"A miracle drug? That's a bit far-fetched, but ultimately it's for the benefit of the people."

“Yes!” You Qi quickly reassured him. “Young Master is still young and has some wild imaginations. He will definitely be different in the future after he encounters some setbacks.”

Zhang Juzheng did not want to discuss this topic anymore.

Ultimately, it was Zhang Juzheng who gave the painting of immortals to Zhang Yunxiu. If Zhang Yunxiu wanted to use the painting to make money for whatever he wanted, Zhang Juzheng had no reason to stop him.

He looked at You Qi and asked.

How do you know these things?

You Qi said somewhat embarrassedly, "I overheard some of it when the Fourth Young Master and the Young Master were discussing matters last time."

Zhang Juzheng stared at You Qi for a long time before exposing him without any mercy.

"That kid did it on purpose so you could hear him."

"Huh?" You Qi was taken aback.

Beijing.

Jianghuang Hutong.

As its name suggests, this alley is famous for making pickles.

In order to produce allicin, Zhang Yunxiu specially purchased an abandoned soy sauce factory here and set it up as his "Renmin Pharmaceutical Factory No. 1".

The soy sauce factory occupied a large area, with the main space used to store garlic. Piles of garlic were stacked together, and garlic was often being crushed inside, emitting a pungent smell that filled the air. Many soy sauce factories in the surrounding area dared not speak out against it.

Everyone knows that this sauce factory has an owner whom no one in the entire capital dares to offend.

The carriage swayed and bumped all the way to Jianghuang Hutong, where it stopped in front of the workshop with the sign "Renmin Pharmaceutical Factory".

But as soon as he got out of the car, the strong, pungent smell of garlic hit him, almost making Zhang Yunxiu faint.

He was flustered and quickly took out a homemade mask and put it on, then put on a pair of custom-made glass goggles, which relieved him a little.

As we entered the "Renmin Pharmaceutical Factory," before even reaching the workshop, we heard a series of "thump! thump! thump!" knocking sounds.

Upon entering the workshop, one is greeted by dozens of men dressed in tight-fitting clothes.

Zhang Yunxiu naturally knew their identities. Some of these people were servants of the Zhang family, some were former employees of the soy sauce factory, and some were even Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) under Zhang Jianxiu.

Everyone was divided into three groups, organized into three battalions, and operated in an assembly line fashion.

"Hurry up, all of you, put your masks on properly! If I see anyone taking them off, I'll break their legs!"

A shout came from inside the workshop.

Zhang Yunxiu looked toward the source of the sound and saw that it was none other than his fourth brother, Zhang Jianxiu.

　Note 1: Eyeglasses already existed in the Ming Dynasty. In the eighth year of the Yongle reign, the King of Malacca paid tribute with "ten 'Aida' coins." The "Miscellaneous Sayings of Fangzhou" from the Jingtai era describes them as follows: "Two of them are as large as coins, their shape and color are very similar to mica, like glass, but very thin. They are outlined with gold, and the handle is held together. The end is buttoned. When they are together, they are one; when they are apart, they are two, like the coin boxes in the market."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)