Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 162 Emperor Wanli just wants to give up!

It was the end of May.

The northern land had begun to heat up, but the Qianqing Palace was still cool. Outside, there was a hustle and bustle, war and war, and undercurrents everywhere, but this palace was not affected at all.

These palace maids and eunuchs each performed their duties and stood respectfully in their positions.

The Qianqing Palace is the most heavily guarded place in the palace, isolated from other places outside the palace. All palace maids and eunuchs are selected by the emperor himself.

Even Feng Bao, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, did not dare to place anyone there easily.

Just after two quarters past noon that day, the sun lazily climbed out of the clouds.

With the warm sun above his head, Zhang Yunxiu walked quickly along the stairs towards the Qianqing Palace.

The golden sunlight poured down, falling on the glazed tiles on the roof of the Qianqing Palace, then turned to the side and shone into the flower beds on both sides of the long stairs under the palace.

Under the sunlight, the flowers inside become more beautiful and charming.

The breeze is gentle, mixed with the scent of earth and flowers.

Zhang Yunxiu had no intention of appreciating the scenery at this time, he just lifted up his robe crotch and walked forward. When he arrived at the door of the hall, the eunuch guarding the door bowed respectfully and led Zhang Yunxiu directly inside.

Inside Dongnuan Pavilion.

Emperor Wanli sat in front of a desk with five or six memorials placed on it.

Wei Qing held a memorial in his hand and read in a shrill voice: "Shandong Governor Lu Shude reports:

"I have observed that Shandong has had little rain this spring, and I am afraid that drought will occur in the summer, leading to crop failure and displacement of the people. Therefore, I request Your Majesty to allocate 80,000 taels of silver to dig deeper wells and build more canals to prevent this from happening!"

"stop stop"

Emperor Wanli waved his hand to interrupt Wei Qing and said angrily, "Shandong has developed maritime transportation and a wide network of waterways. Why do we need to dig more wells? Even if there is a drought, it is only a small area that is suffering."

He asked for 80,000 taels of silver right away. Did he really think that this money came from the wind?

Wei Qing licked his lips and suggested, "Your Majesty, Governor Lu's concerns are not unreasonable. These wells and canals are great things that will benefit the present and future generations, and we should support them."

"Is it really worth 80,000 taels?" Emperor Wanli asked, biting his cheek.

"What about the forty thousand taels?" Wei Qing blinked and asked tentatively.

"Send it back to the cabinet for Mr. Zhang to draft."

Emperor Wanli was not tired of talking and spoke subconsciously, but suddenly he remembered that Zhang Juzheng had suffered a stroke.

Zhang Siwei is now temporarily in charge of the cabinet.

So he changed his words and said, "Let Zhang Siwei draft it."

"Yes."

Wei Qing nodded respectfully.

At this moment, Zhang Yunxiu was led in by Xiao Huo.

When the emperor and his ministers saw this, Emperor Wanli suddenly stood up and walked down the steps, saying in a gentle voice, "Yunxiu, I am deeply saddened by Mr. Zhang's situation, but birth, aging, illness and death are normal for human beings, you don't have to be overly sad."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your forgiveness." Zhang Yunxiu replied with a fist salute.

Wei Qing tactfully brought a stool for Zhang Yunxiu. The emperor and his minister sat down. Emperor Wanli could not wait to ask, "Yunxiu, tell me the truth. How much silver did you get from this voyage?"

Zhang Yunxiu stretched out a finger.

"How much is this?" asked Emperor Wanli.

"Your Majesty, please take a guess."

"Ten thousand taels?"

“That’s so stingy.”

"That's one hundred thousand taels?" Emperor Wanli said with his eyes wide open.

Zhang Juzheng still shook his head.

It can't be just one thousand taels, right?
Then wouldn’t this be a wasted trip?
Emperor Wanli was confused and stared at Zhang Yunxiu, ordering him, "I won't guess anymore. Tell me now."

Zhang Yunxiu said calmly, as if he was saying something ordinary: "One million taels of silver! That's not even counting the rare treasures."

"How much more?" Emperor Wanli thought he had misheard, so he widened his eyes and asked again, "Are you sure it's one million taels of silver and not something else?"

"I am sure." Zhang Yunxiu replied.

Emperor Wanli and Wei Qing were so shocked that their faces flushed red, and a heat rushed to the back of their heads. The death-like silence lasted for several seconds.

Emperor Wanli trembled and shouted:

"Wei Wei Qing."

"Ah? The servant is here."

"Pinch yourself to see if I am dreaming."

"Ah?! Ouch."

After receiving the order, Wei Qing pinched his thigh hard, causing him to burst into tears due to the pain.

Emperor Wanli was worried, so he pinched Wei Qing's thigh again, causing another scream. He even asked Zhang Yunxiu to pinch it as well to make sure it wasn't a dream.

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and said nothing.

It seems that this is not a dream.

Emperor Wanli murmured softly, and his chubby little face suddenly broke out into ecstasy.

One million taels, one million taels, this is just the first batch.

Just as Zhang Yunxiu said, there is no faster business in the world than stealing things.

In the Ming Dynasty, he still needed to abide by the rules and regulations and be restrained by the literati in everything.

But when you are outside, you don’t have to worry about these things.

If you want something, just send someone to steal it. It’s not your home anyway.

"Yunxiu, you have made a great contribution this time!" Emperor Wanli clapped his hands and looked at Zhang Yunxiu with a smile.

Zhang Yunxiu looked haggard and in low spirits.

"Yun Xiu." Emperor Wanli shouted with his mouth twitching.

"Your Majesty, I am a little tired, and I am afraid that I will not behave properly in front of you, so I ask for your grace to allow me to take my leave." Zhang Yunxiu smiled bitterly and said weakly.

Emperor Wanli nodded and said with earnest hope: "Oh, then you should go down and have a rest. Don't tire yourself out. I will go to the mansion to see Yuanfu in person in a few days."

Zhang Yunxiu clasped his fists, turned around and walked out of the Qianqing Palace.

"Wei Qing, you can go down too."

"Yes."

Sitting alone in the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Wanli felt a little lost.

He felt as if he had lost something precious.

It was only in the past month that he realized what it meant to be busy with government affairs.

In the past, Mr. Zhang would write the proposal in advance, including what to do, how many people to mobilize, and how much silver would be needed.

Every detail is clearly written.

He only took a quick glance at it and then ordered his companion to make a copy.

What now?
Zhang Siwei always says "follow the old system".

What exactly is the old system? There must be a charter.

This guy put all the blame on himself, which is really despicable.

If he hadn't been obedient, I wouldn't have let him off easily.

Thinking that he had been too busy recently to be intimate with his beloved concubine, Emperor Wanli was so angry that his cheeks puffed up and his two pairs of nostrils spewed out white air like a buffalo.

I think of Concubine Zheng's beautiful eyes, her white neck, her eggplant-sized breasts, and her round and well-proportioned breasts.

Emperor Wanli couldn't help but feel hot in his lower abdomen and wished he could go find her and have a kiss with her right now.

A gust of hot wind blew in, and Emperor Wanli woke up.

Look down.

There is a mountain of memorials piled on the desk!

"It would be great if Yunxiu could be the Prime Minister. This way I would be able to relax a lot and spend more time with my beloved concubine."

(End of this chapter)