Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 183 Everything is said without words (vote request)

That day, Shen Lu came to inform Zhang Luan about the next steps in the wedding ceremony of the Eastern Palace, but was forced to stay for dinner.

Zhang Luan asked about the Ministry of Personnel's assessment of officials across the country, and then mentioned Zhang Yin's instructions.

"What I'm thinking is, why not... ask Minister Li first to see if he can help with this matter?" Zhang Luan asked in a consulting tone.

Shen Lu was somewhat curious and asked, "Laizhan, you are new to the officialdom and haven't even been given a real position. Even if there are a few officials in Hejian Prefecture, they are not powerful and they can't do you much good in being an official. Why do you have to help them so wholeheartedly?"

"This one……"

Zhang Luan was speechless.

If Zhang Yin hadn't come to him about this matter, he might not have wanted to care about it, after all, it had nothing to do with him.

But because of Zhang Qi, the Zhang family had always regarded themselves as the leaders of the local party in Hejian Prefecture. Now that Zhang Luan has become the person with the highest status in the entire Zhang family, he naturally wants to take over everything.

Shen Lu added: "Besides, I have been able to enter the Li Mansion several times recently, but I have not seen Minister Li himself. If you rashly go to visit, I am afraid that Minister Li will not meet you."

Zhang Luan's expression changed and he asked, "Why is this?"

Shen Lu shook his head and said, "Maybe he doesn't want to have too much contact with you before the Donggong wedding is completed, and he also wants to ignore me. Or maybe he has other plans... Although I have established a connection with Minister Li, can you say that you are Minister Li's confidant or direct descendant?"

"I……"

When Zhang Luan heard this, he immediately felt depressed.

I have done so much for Li Zisheng, but he still treats me as an outsider?

"No wonder, no wonder..."

Zhang Luan shook his head and sighed sincerely.

Shen Lu asked curiously, "What do you want to say?"

Zhang Luan sighed, "Someone told me before that unless I can marry into the East Palace, Minister Li can only use his relationship with me and may abandon me afterwards... Ruxue, I only tell you this because you are one of us. I won't say a word about other people!"

"This person...what he said is not wrong. I wonder who he is?"

Shen Lu nodded in agreement and then asked further.

Zhang Luan smiled helplessly.

I can't tell you that it's my son who's acting as my military advisor behind the scenes, right?
Although you already know some details, I won't be able to save face if I tell you too much.

Shen Lu asked, "Among the officials in Hejian Prefecture, is there anyone you want to protect? Tell me and I will help you raise the issue. I won't be able to take care of the rest."

Zhang Luan said, "I just want to help Chen Li... He is a Juren from Hejian Prefecture, and now he is the magistrate of Sanhe County under Tongzhou. He has a deep connection with our Zhang family. As for other people, I really don't have much to do with them."

Shen Lu nodded and said, "Then I will go and talk to someone. Maybe I can find a chance to meet with Minister Li in the Yintai Division."

Zhang Luan asked in surprise, "Why, isn't Minister Li often in the Yintai Division?"

"Ah."

Shen Lu said as a matter of course, "Minister Li is very busy. He moves around a lot of government offices, from cabinet ministers to the six ministries. Who wouldn't give him face? It's said that he is currently the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty. I'm afraid it's not a lie, but the more so, the easier it is for people to target him.

"After all, you should try to keep a low profile recently. If someone doesn't want to see you, you can't be tactful. Do you understand?"

……

……

Wan'an Residence.

Li Zisheng held a list of officials for promotion in his hand, with a strange expression on his face, as if he was smiling but not smiling.

This list was handed over by the chief minister of the cabinet, Wan'an, and it actually contained a list of gifts. Li Zisheng found it as soon as he opened it, and he was secretly proud of himself. After all, the other party's status was not ordinary, and he enjoyed the feeling of such a generous gift.

"It's just a token of my appreciation, don't worry about it!" Wan'an seemed to be afraid that Li Zisheng wouldn't see it, and he even gave a special reminder as if it was unnecessary.

Li Zisheng didn't care about the names and positions of the officials. Whoever was promoted would be promoted? He was very concerned about the gift list. After reading it carefully, he smiled and said, "Such a generous gift makes me feel ashamed. It's too much, too much..."

"No, no, I have worked with you, so how can I not express my gratitude? Besides, all the gifts added up are only worth two or three thousand taels of silver, which is not a big gift. I will give you another one after the matter is completed."

As the top civil servant, Wan'an was extremely respectful to Li Zisheng, treating the Minister of Public Security as his own superior. He was simply going against the will of Heaven.

Li Zisheng was quite satisfied with the other party's one-time gift of two to three thousand taels of silver. After all, in those days, this was definitely considered a "big deal".

The gift-giving in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, especially in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, was not very generous. Among the recorded gift-giving cases, Liu Jin can be used as a reference. "…When I first accepted bribes, I hoped to give no more than 100 gold coins. Yu Shou gave me 10,000 gold coins as a gift. I was very happy and said, 'Mr. Liu, how generous you are to me?'"

It is said that Liu Jin usually accepted gifts of a few hundred taels of silver, but Liu Yu, an important member of the eunuch party, set a precedent by giving a gift of ten thousand taels of silver at one time, which moved the knowledgeable Liu Jin deeply and promoted Liu Yu. In the end, Liu Yu was promoted to the positions of Minister of War, Minister of Personnel, and Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, and he was dismissed from office only after Liu Jin fell.

Wan An asked cautiously, "I heard recently that His Majesty was ill and could not ask questions...I wonder if this is true or not?"

Li Zisheng smiled and shook his head: "How can I know so much about the affairs of the palace? But for the sake of this gift list, I will say a few more words...

"Your Majesty, it's just that after the death of Empress Wan, you were in a bad mood, which made you depressed and sick. It's not a rare thing... Haha, I said a little too much, please be magnanimous!"

I told you not to ask, but I will still tell you the truth as I know it.

The emperor is ill, and it is a mental illness.

Our Majesty, who is deeply in love, has almost lost his appetite because of the death of his beloved concubine. It would be strange if he was in good health.

Wan An said cautiously: "Recently, some people in the court proposed to jointly submit a petition to ask Your Majesty to have the Crown Prince consult in the Wenhua Palace. What do you think..."

This is another test.

The first is to find out what the relationship between Li Zisheng and the Eastern Palace is. Before, Li Zisheng repeatedly sided with the prince, making it unclear where he stands and needs to be treated with caution. The second is to find out what the emperor's attitude towards the prince is now.

The emperor himself does not want to get involved in matters, and now the prince is about to get married. Throughout the dynasties, when the prince is older, he should come out to help the emperor share the pressure of government affairs, and at the same time accumulate reputation and connections as the crown prince, so as to avoid a power gap in the handover between the old and the new.

Only after finding out how Emperor Chenghua views the crown prince can we decide on the next course of action. This is called making plans before taking action.

Li Zisheng did not answer but asked: "What do you think, Lord Wan?"

Wan An was stunned at first, then he understood the reason and nodded, "In my opinion, it's better... not to do it. Your Majesty has not completely given up the idea of ​​changing the crown prince. If you mention this matter now, it will inevitably make your Majesty angry... It's better to have less trouble than more. It's good for you, me and everyone else!"

It is obvious that if Li Zisheng wanted to support the prince, he would definitely say it without hesitation. After all, there is no need for him to show up in person, as there are people who will take the lead.

His ambiguous attitude now means that Li Zisheng does not approve of the crown prince taking charge of affairs. At least for now, he has not completely established his position and is taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the issue of changing the crown prince.

Li Zisheng smiled but said nothing.

What I mean is, I am not giving you any advice, I am just telling you to act according to your heart. In fact, I am telling you in disguise that it is better to maintain the current situation.

Don’t think that just because the prince has grown a few feathers on his wings, it means his wings are strong enough for him to fly. He is still far from it.

"But what if..."

Wan An probed again and asked quietly, "If someone reported this to His Majesty at this time, would it disgust His Majesty?"

If I don't bring it up, I can let my political opponents bring it up.

Some people claim to be incorruptible and they keep accusing this and impeaching that all day long. I have disliked them for a long time. If I let them raise the issue and do taboo things now, wouldn't I achieve the goal of suppressing dissidents?

Li Zisheng asked with interest: "Can you still influence other people's thoughts?"

Wan An smiled and said, "Some people in the court just like to fight. If I show any signs of doing something, they will rush to fight for it... In fact, sometimes you only need to spread a little rumor and some people will ignore it... They are all upright people and cannot be stopped..."

"Lord Wan is really good at this. I admire him." Li Zisheng bowed.

Wan An asked again in a questioning tone: "Well... look at the officials on this list..."

Li Zisheng waved his hand and replied with a smile: "If you can use him, use him. Oh, by the way, I need to inform Lord Wan that the Ministry of Personnel has just promoted a Right Vice Minister, Xu Xueshi from the Nanjing Hanlin Academy."

"heard."

Wan An twisted his beard and said with a smile, "He just arrived in Beijing yesterday and hasn't come to my house to deliver his visiting card yet, but I expect to see him today or tomorrow. He has been idle in Nanjing for many years, how did he get the favor of you, Li Xianchang?"

Li Zisheng said righteously: "There is no special reason. I just heard that he was very effective in his work at the Nanjing Hanlin Academy and that he was a rare talent, so I transferred him back to the capital for employment."

"Oh."

Wan'an understood something in an instant.

You, Li Zisheng, specifically mentioned this person to me, which is to tell me clearly that this is your person and I should take special care of him.

This is really the case where you say one thing and I understand ten things.

it is more than words!
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(End of this chapter)