The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 449

After Zhu Youtang's health improved, his pursuit was different from before.

Apart from obtaining the necessary health, he also wants to obtain the quality of life. There is a future that I can't live without. Just let me enjoy life in the past few years. After fifteen years of ups and downs, I am willing to die.

Zhang Zhou was not ashamed to tell him, Your Majesty, according to history, your body has only four and a half years left to live. Of course, I am here. If you have pneumonia or something, I can help you cure it, but who knows your destiny? Is it just over four years?If God really wants to take you away, I can't stop you.

Regarding the "prescription" for conditioning, Zhang Zhou also knew that he should order "strong medicine".

However, if one wants to improve one’s physical fitness, it is still nothing more than paying attention to diet and exercising frequently. It is precisely that these two are not easy for Zhu Youtang to fulfill, because Zhu Youtang has a meek temper and picky eaters , coupled with being sick and not wanting to exercise...even going out for a walk is troublesome.

This gave Zhang Zhou a big headache.

Zhang Zhou stayed at the listening office to study his prescriptions.

Originally this was a place to deal with important affairs of the imperial court, but now it seemed to be the office of the Royal Pharmacy of the Imperial Palace. Just when he lowered his head and yawned and was bored, Zhu Houzhao appeared bouncing in front of him.

"gentlemen."

Zhu Houzhao grinned, looking somewhat smug.

Zhang Zhou said: "Sneaked out?"

"No, my father said that as long as I study hard, I can come here. He also said that in the future, if there are any important military affairs to be discussed here, I can also come and listen in. Today I have finished all the homework assigned by the lecturer before coming here. " Zhu Houzhao said, "It's getting late."

Zhang Zhou looked at the sky, and sure enough, it was almost sunset.

However, the days are short in winter, and the Shang Hearing Office has just been established, and the rules for commuting to and from work have not yet been set. Zhang Zhou is also thinking about whether to make the Shang Hearing Office into a yamen where three days of fishing and two days of drying the net .

But since he wanted to challenge the cabinet, or the yamen that the emperor ideally wanted to replace the cabinet, he couldn't be too slack.

"Is there any major event in the northwest?" Zhu Houzhao continued to ask excitedly, "I heard that the Tartars are fighting among themselves again, and the fight is fierce. Is there a mantis catching cicadas and orioles behind us? Uncle Xinjian sent troops Or send troops from three sides and push the defense line of the Hetao to the north, I think it is very good."

Zhang Zhoudao: "It's the end of the year, if it's not necessary, Daming will not send troops."

"What's the point of that?"

Zhu Houzhao sat on the chair next to him, but that chair was exactly where Zhu Youtang sat when he came here before. He crossed Erlang's legs and said, "I learned a lot when I went to Jiangnan this time, next time we will go together Northwest, right? Make arrangements, we can wipe out the Tartars in one go! Then let the emperor look at you with admiration."

The young man is very ambitious.

But still tender.

Zhang Zhou didn't want to pay attention to Zhu Houzhao's argument, but it was Liu Jinli who stood at the door and said loudly, "Your Highness, the Central Palace sent someone to tell you to come over."

"Didn't you see that I'm talking about court affairs with Mr. Zhang? Just lean in." Zhu Houzhao looked impatient.

Even when he returned to the capital, Zhu Houzhao liked to pester Zhang Zhou, not for studying, of course, but because Zhang Zhou had something that he longed for and was curious about.

Zhang Zhou said: "It's getting late, and it's time for me to go back. I'll talk about it in Japan when I have time."

"Aren't you coming tomorrow?" Zhu Houzhao seemed to know Zhang Zhou very well.

If you say "tomorrow", you may not know the day when we will meet.

Zhang Zhou curled his lips and said: "The upper hearing department is just a prototype, and the personnel have not been fully staffed yet. I have to do errands when I come. Besides, it is approaching the end of the year. How can the imperial court have so many important military affairs for me to deal with? Or I need to worry more about things in the Ministry of War."

Zhu Houzhao said: "What's the point of being a Minister of the Ministry of War? It's better to be a leader. You can tell me if there are any major events in the future. I'll be right next to you. How close are we? I want to give you a copy too." Li, do you see how pure my heart is? I didn't do it for fun! Mr. Zhang, you must trust me!"

……

……

Zhang Zhou can see that it is really convenient for Zhu Houzhao to set up the listening office next to the Wenhua Hall.

It's as if Zhu Houzhao can be informed of any major event in the future, so that this bastard will know immediately, and even participate in the planning of the matter... Zhu Houzhao's opinion does not seem to be worthwhile, but the important thing is to participate.

Zhu Houzhao is about to enter adolescence. At this time, children also have a strong desire to show off and want to prove themselves, especially for a prince of the Ming Dynasty like Zhu Houzhao. His personality determines that this kid will never settle down.

After two days.

Zhang Zhou normally went up and down, and both the upper hearing office and the Ministry of War did not relax, but after the court meeting early this morning, Xie Qian stopped him on his way to the upper hearing office.

"Xie Ge, it's not the same way, is it?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and looked towards the side of the cabinet, probably meaning that since we are not in the same yamen, I have no need to report things to you, and we should also avoid such private meetings.

Xie Qian said: "I heard that you secretly spoke to His Majesty, saying that there will be earthquakes in Shaanxi and other places, and you also asked the local authorities to make preparations first? Or even let the people move out of the house?"

"Yes." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Because it has nothing to do with his honor, the matter has not been publicized, but there is no impenetrable wall in this world.

Xie Qian frowned and said, "Why do you have to do this? Now no one wants you to be a alchemist and a sycophant, but you yourself are obsessed with it. What do you think?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "It can be calculated, regardless of whether it can be fulfilled or not, I have mentioned it to His Majesty. If it can save the life of a citizen of Daming, I think it is necessary. I am soft-hearted and don't want other people's families to be destroyed."

"you……"

Xie Qian didn't sound right.

You don't want to see other people's families ruined, but I like to see people's families ruined, right?
"In the cold winter and the twelfth lunar month, you have to deal with so many things. Are you afraid of being punished by God? If the people listen to you, they will not even be able to live in places with roof tiles. The cold wind is biting and the disease is difficult. How much impact will it have on people's livelihood? You have no worries. Have you passed?" Xie Qian asked sharply.

Zhang Zhou asked curiously: "The earth shakes, the mountains shake, and the houses collapse. At that time, there will be many casualties. Everyone has a steelyard in their hearts, right? Besides, even if the government advocates it, the people also have the right to choose. They can Choose not to move out, just stay in the house... I do what I do, it's up to them whether they listen or not... It's like I said the capital will shake, Mr. Xie Ge, do you like it or not?"

Xie Qian is usually good at bickering with others, but when he met Zhang Zhou, he immediately felt powerless.

When he quarreled with others, he always wanted to pay attention to rules and etiquette, but Zhang Zhou was different. Zhang Zhou didn't seem to care at all about seniority and inferiority.

Say what you think of, talk about baldness, even the royal family can entertain and satirize, let alone a group of ministers like them, the words of ridicule are even more open-mouthed.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Mr. Xie Ge, the place where the earthquake happened is not in the capital, it is far away from the capital, and the tossing and tossing will not be on your head, and you don't need to worry about things, how about you look at this... until next year's Mengchun." , let’s listen to the report from the Northwest to see if the earthquake has come, can you talk to me again?”

Xie Qian can see that it is not realistic to change Zhang Zhou's "behavior logic".

Originally, the cabinet's plan was to guide Zhang Zhou in the direction of a "good minister of governance" since he could not defeat Zhang Zhou, nor could he join Zhang Zhou.

But Zhang Zhou used God's will to talk about things every now and then. Could this be the work of ordinary civil servants?
Xie Qian thought to himself, I'm so kind to be treated like a donkey's liver and lungs, why doesn't this kid eat oil and salt?Have you never thought that your so-called providence will not be fulfilled one day?Or do you plan to spend your whole life on this road of sycophants, all the way to the dark?

……

……

Xie Qian saw Zhang Zhou, and with some annoyance, he returned to the cabinet to check the house.

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang walked over and asked, "How did you say that?"

Xie Qian said: "If you are stubborn and don't understand, you can't be persuaded. It seems that you will really not conspire with each other in the future."

Li Dongyang frowned and said, "The one who can say once or twice about the earthquake is a god. How did he calculate it? Can he hit it every time? Can he be so sure when things happen?"

Xie Qian said: "Can he hit it every time? In the four seas, so many earthquakes are reported every year, why doesn't it mean that he can't miss it every time?"

The three of them took their seats.

Li Dongyang said: "Except for the earthquakes in the past two years that he deliberately raised, or involving the will of God and disasters, most of them did not cause any substantial damage to humans and animals, but what he said about the earthquake in Shaanxi in the coming year is like Seriously, mentioning the damage to humans and animals, and even the collapse of houses... This means that he is deliberately selecting some things, and it is up to him to decide whether to say or not to say."

Xie Qian frowned and said, "Binzhi, what do you mean, everything is in his expectation?"

"Maybe so." Li Dongyang said, "His origin has not been investigated until now. We know very little about his past, and we can't even find out his teaching and schooling before he was elected. He seems to have fallen from the sky. Yes, if there is really something magical about him, don't you think it all happened by coincidence, Your Majesty believes in Taoism so much?"

Whatever the emperor believed, Zhang Zhou would give the emperor whatever he believed.

Moreover, one perfusion and one accuracy made the emperor completely confused, and then Zhang Zhou did what he said.

Zhang Zhou seemed to be a "puppet" that God saw the emperor's temperament and sent him to the world to rule the emperor and use it to lead Daming astray. In this way, Zhang Zhou is the spokesperson of God and was led by God.

Xie Qian didn't speak.

Because he could tell that Li Dongyang was not lying. Compared with Zhang Zhou... the disadvantages of traditional civil servants are too great.

Liu Jian said: "The implication is that let us find someone who can be like Zhang Bingkuan, who can know the will of heaven at the top and understand the will of the gods at the bottom?"

Li Dongyang took out a memorial, put it in front of the two of them and said: "Master Zhang, who is Zhengyi, has invited an order to come to Beijing, and it is estimated that he will arrive in the next year."

Needless to say.

It roughly means that to treat an "alchemist" like Zhang Zhou, one should find a more powerful "alchemist", so let Zhang Tianshi of Longhu Mountain fight against Zhang Zhou.

All the people in the world who believe in Taoism regard Zhang Tianshi’s family as orthodox. After Zhang Zhou’s rise, the Zhang family will definitely think that their orthodox status will be challenged. At that time, let the two compete and let the emperor distinguish who is more powerful... Even if it is If Zhang Zhou wins, Zhang Zhou will also offend the orthodoxy of Taoism, and then Zhang Zhou will fall into a situation where he is under attack from both sides?

Liu Jian sighed: "Bin Zhi, is this for court affairs, or for a short time?"

"Did I say anything?" Li Dongyang meant that Zhang Tianshi, who was joining him, was going to Beijing for worship, and I just informed you in advance.

Why do you think I have ulterior motives?
Liu Jian and Xie Qian naturally knew what he meant. You told us in advance that you probably want us to stand on the side of Zhengyi and support them secretly?At least to dismantle Zhang Bingkuan behind his back?

Xie Qian laughed and said, "People inside and outside the capital have called Zhang Bingkuan a celestial master for a long time. I really don't know whether it is Zhang Bingkuan's exclusive right to talk about celestial masters from now on? Let me be a member of the Zhang family." , being given an advantage in Taoism by such an inexplicable kid, he will definitely not stand by and watch, there is finally something exciting to watch."

Taoist priests have too many means, and our traditional civil servants can't beat them.

Then find a master priest.

No matter how awesome you Zhang Bingkuan is, let's see how you fight against the people of Longhushanzheng. They have great achievements and a wide range of believers, no matter how awesome you are, you have to succumb to the situation...

……

……

Zhang Zhou had known about Zhengyi's coming to Beijing for a long time.

It didn't take it too seriously.

Because Zhu Youtang made it clear in advance that the Taoist affairs do not involve orthodox disputes. Now that Zhang Zhou is Cai Guogong, he does not bother to fight for the prestige of Taoist orthodoxy. That's also a big problem... Knowing that Zhang Zhou has won the emperor's trust now, but he still wants to fight, isn't that just asking for trouble?

Zhang Zhou's family members did not come back, so Zhang Zhou could only be a "monk".

In the evening, I still go to the theater building, and while listening to the rehearsal outside, I look at various official documents of the Ministry of War in my private room.

He is also very worried.

Because he did not climb up from the bottom step by step, but jumped directly to a high position, it also brought him a bad "habit", that is, he doesn't like to be perfunctory when encountering problems, and always wants to solve the problem. It is so heavy that all kinds of troublesome things on the copy are very difficult to communicate and deal with.

Official matters are suitable for "delaying", suitable for "passing the buck", not "deciding when things happen".

Zhang Zhouren's qualifications in the officialdom are not enough, which requires him to gain experience from his political achievements, especially in managing the affairs of the Ministry of War, and the respect of others.

On the contrary, Zhang Zhou had to deal with the matters at hand, and many things needed to be communicated with people from the six ministries of the court, especially the Ministry of Households... At present, Shangshu Zhong of the Ministry of Households seems to be a "rising star", but he is a traditional one after all. The civil servants pushed it up, and Wang Qiong alone couldn't do a good job in the docking of the household department.

"In the spring of the coming year, Datong and Yansui will cast 240 heavy cannons and [-] faraway cannons..."

"Flint guns are four thousand rods, ammunition is not counted..."

"50 square meters of stone materials are used to build the city of Yansui, and 12 taels of salt and silver are needed..."

Zhang Zhouguang calculated the war preparation materials needed to be prepared in the spring of next year. The figure actually reached 40 taels. Compared with Daming's fiscal revenue, these expenses were a bit large. After all, Daming had been living in the Northwest in the past few years. It's a tight day.

Daming also wanted to attack with the whole army, and marched into the grassland with 10,000+ soldiers and horses to win a big victory.

However, the conditions do not allow.

The soldiers in the Northwest seem to be military households, who keep fighting, but most of the time they spend their time building fortresses, farming, transporting food, etc. Their real training time is very short, even if they are given a large amount of ordnance and supplies, without suitable instructors In some cases, they don't know how to use it.

The original intention of the establishment of the Martial Arts Hall was to first teach those generals how to use new firearms, so as to change the mentality of the soldiers of the Ming Frontier Army from cold weapons to hot weapons.

However, the Martial Arts Hall itself also needs funds allocated by the imperial court to ensure its operation.

"...The budget of the Martial Art Hall is 16 taels..."

That is to say, in the coming year, just a martial arts training hall will account for such a large expenditure of Daming, and Zhang Zhou doesn't know what the money is used for.

The house of Xiuyan Martial Arts Hall?School field?
Or is it used for public expenses?Casting cannons does not require money from the Martial Arts Hall, and the transfers are all soldiers from the Beijing camp... Even if they are in charge of food, they can't spend so much money.

But when he saw the budget for each of the following items, Zhang Zhou felt that the 16 taels of silver was still a bit stretched.

"If you're not in charge, you don't know how expensive firewood is." Zhang Zhou closed all the official documents in front of him.

Xiao Jang Jin on the side was very knowledgeable, so he hurried over to pour wine for Zhang Zhou.

But before Zhang Zhou took a sip from his wine glass, his guest arrived, Ning Tong.

Ning Tong came here to be an "apprentice" with Zhang Zhou, because he wanted to open a pharmacy together, and Ning Tong felt that this was an opportunity in his life. Maybe in the future, Ning Tong would become the number one female doctor in Ming Dynasty, so he came to Zhang Zhou. At that time, she was also in a hurry, showing a bit of an attitude of a strong career woman.

But behind her, followed by a woman, it was Chen's daughter.

"This is the plan written by Cai Guogong for my concubine. The site is located in Chongwenmen, not far from the imperial palace. In the future, there will be a special person to take care of it. As the shopkeeper, I can go out for consultation at any time. In addition, the purchase will be made of Jiangnan medicinal materials. Merchants are the guide, and the medicinal materials are selected by the best ones everywhere, as well as the annual rent expenses, and the cost of medicines, etc..."

It was Ning Tong's first time as a big shopkeeper, and she listed everything on paper.

After Zhang Zhou read it, he threw the plan aside and said coldly, "No, next one."

Ning Tong was dumbfounded when he heard it.

I've been busy for a long time, but if you say something bad, you just deny it?
Chen's daughter came over and handed a copy of the account book to Zhang Zhoudao: "Last year, Datong Coal Mine's revenue was 36 taels of silver. After excluding military expenditures, transportation expenses, etc., the net profit was 17 seven taels."

"Well. Very good." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Ning Tong heard it.

Is there such a good thing?

I have worked so hard in the medicinal material business, but I can't earn 800 taels a year. If you open a coal mine, you can make a net profit of more than 17 taels a year?

Then what kind of medicinal material business am I doing?
"Cai Guogong, may I ask, is your coal mine...still in need of someone to take care of it?" Ning Tong also asked bluntly.

(End of this chapter)