Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 252: Convincing the Public

Zhang family.

On that day, Zhang Luan was about to hold a grand banquet, as he wanted to tell everyone that he was about to be promoted to the actual position of Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

"How can these dishes be enough? Add a few more dishes and some of Yanling's favorite dishes... By the way, what does he like to eat?"

Before Zhang Luan even saw his son, he was already preparing to reward him.

Jin said, "Lord Li just sent someone to tell you that he wants to arrange an official position for you, and it will be the same official position you have now. Are you so happy about it?"

Kim was not too happy with her husband's reaction.

In her opinion, her husband was originally the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Although she did not understand what the Minister of the Ministry of Rites did, she was just continuing to be the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Moreover, in Jin's view, once her husband really became an official, he would basically ignore the family in the future. His spending time drinking and partying outside was just a necessary official social activity and she would no longer be able to control it, which meant that he was officially out of her control.

"Women, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand."

Zhang Luan sat there, like a hands-off shopkeeper, crossing his legs and said smugly, "Let's wait for Yanling to come back and tell him. He will understand where my joy comes from."

……

……

I waited until it was completely dark, but still didn't see any sign of my two sons.

This made Zhang Luan very anxious, so he sent people out to look for her, but in fact he just asked them to wait at the street corner.

Until the morning shift, Zhang Yanling was not brought back, but Li Zi Province was arrived.

"Minister Li?"

When Zhang Luan heard the news, he ran out of his house to greet him. When he saw Li Zisheng coming alone in front of his door, he was still a little confused.

"What, am I not welcome?"

Li Zisheng asked with a smile, then stepped into the gate of Zhang's house and said as he walked, "It's really cold today. It hasn't really warmed up since the beginning of spring this year. I feel like I can't stretch my legs anywhere I go."

Zhang Luan echoed, "That's right, and the winters will get longer and colder over the next 100 years. People's lives will be hard... The mansion has prepared a banquet. How about having a drink with me, Minister Li?"

"Oh? Laizhan can even predict what will happen a hundred years from now? Amazing! And I just said I wanted to visit you at the last minute, but you had already predicted it? Laizhan, you are truly... a great talent!"

Li Zisheng didn't want to eat at first. He declined everyone's invitation to a banquet at their home because he was very afraid of death. What if someone poisoned the food?
People like Li Zisheng, who relied on some shameful means to get to the top, are afraid that others will use the same sneaky means against him, so he is very careful in everything and does not give the enemy any chance.

But when he came to Zhang Luan, he was not so reserved.

At this time, Zhang Luan was also a little confused.

He had heard from Zhang Yanling that the weather was getting colder, and his son was also planning to develop some heating appliances for sale in order to make some money from it.

As for the wine and food prepared in advance, wasn't it a family dinner to celebrate his promotion? He just waited until his son came back before starting the dinner. He didn't expect that it would cause Li Zisheng's misunderstanding. He didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Soon the guests and hosts were seated in the main hall, and Zhang Luan personally filled Li Zisheng's glass with wine.

Li Zisheng took the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile: "I can tell it's imperial wine as soon as I smell it... This is the reward from the palace when our niece got married, right?"

"Yes."

Zhang Luan nodded repeatedly and said, "Otherwise, where would I get such good wine? I'll just consider it as a token of my gratitude."

Li Zisheng smiled and drank it all, then put it on the table, with a look of emotion: "Thinking back, when you first came to the capital three months ago, I felt that you had great magical powers and would definitely be able to thrive in the court. I thought it would take some years... Hmm, I didn't expect that in such a short time even His Majesty would appreciate you so much, it's really amazing!"

The prince hasn't even ascended the throne yet, but you, the prince's father-in-law, have been appreciated by the emperor and have the opportunity to be promoted. This makes me, Li, look at you with new eyes.

Zhang Luan said: "It depends a lot on the support of Minister Li."

Li Zisheng asked: "Come to think of it, how did you come up with the idea of ​​presenting a storybook to His Majesty? Your storybook..."

When Zhang Luan heard this, he immediately became nervous.

"Actually, my daughter asked the East Palace attendant to tell her that she was depressed in the palace and felt like she was living a miserable life. So I took some scripts and sent them to the palace. Who knew..."

Zhang Luan was unable to explain for a moment.

Li Zisheng nodded: "You have a keen eye. You know that the prince is filial, so you use all the resources you can. Your method is really smart."

Li Zisheng drank a few more glasses, his face was flushed and his eyes were sleepy. He glanced at Zhang Luan from time to time, as if he wanted to ask for something but was unable to open his mouth.

Zhang Luan wanted to toast a few more times, but found that he couldn't drink much either.

There was no way around it; the alcohol content of this imperial brew was a bit high, and the two of them couldn't drink it anymore without realizing it.

"Laizhan, your methods are the best I have ever seen in my life. As for how to please His Majesty, I have tried my best but still can't find the key. I am ashamed of myself."

Li Zisheng actually made fun of himself, which was rare.

Zhang Luan was a little surprised and asked, "Minister Li, you are joking. Who in the court knows how to please His Majesty better than you? Otherwise, your claim of being the most popular person in front of His Majesty is simply untenable..."

Maybe he was drunk, Zhang Luan spoke very directly and didn't know how to be subtle at all.

Li Zisheng felt very comfortable after hearing this, because he didn't like people beating around the bush, nor did he think Zhang Luan was exposing his past. Instead, he thought Zhang Luan said these things because he was sincere to others.

"Different."

Li Zisheng shook his head and said, "Last year, Deng Changen, Zhao Yuzhi and others relied on their alchemy skills to deceive the emperor, causing him to gradually lose trust in me. It was only thanks to your prophecies that I was able to establish the image of a Taoist master, and that made his majesty change his mind... It's all thanks to you."

Zhang Luan was also very excited when he heard it.

Li Zisheng was able to attribute the credit to him in front of him, which was also a kind of sincerity.

I, Zhang, don’t have great abilities, but I am a very reasonable person. If others treat me sincerely, how can I let them down?

"Minister Li, drink, drink."

"Wouldn't such a title be disheartening to brothers? I call you my brother, what should you call me?"

"Brother...Brother, come on, Brother Li, let's drink!"

There is no hierarchy among drinking buddies. Originally, the two were quite restrained in drinking, but when they got happy, they drank too much.

……

……

When the two brothers of the Zhang family returned home, they heard Zhang Luan screaming at the top of his lungs from the backyard.

Jin asked the maid to bring in a dish, then pulled Zhang Heling, who was about to go over to watch the fun, and whispered, "You two little ones, stay away from that place."

Zhang Heling leaned over to take a look and asked curiously, "Mom, who is drinking with Dad?"

"Isn't he the powerful Minister Li you mentioned? I don't think he is a powerful official. He came alone without even a follower... I'm afraid your father has been deceived by that man."

Jin said with a frown.

Zhang Yanling stood on tiptoe and took a look. Through the open door, he could clearly see two rough old men drinking and being friendly with each other. They were arguing over who should drink more, and then they burst into hearty laughter. It seemed that they were drunk.

"Yes, it is indeed Lizi Province."

Zhang Yanling nodded after careful identification.

"That's it……?"

Jin frowned.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Mother, our family is very different now. My sister is now the Crown Princess. Is it strange for Minister Li to come to our house for a drink? Mother should also change her mindset in due time."

"Crown Princess... Sigh! The Crown Prince only met her once, and didn't even come back for three days. My daughter has become someone else's wife, and I can't even see her face."

Perhaps Jin didn't want to show her sad side as a loving mother in front of her two sons, so she turned around and went back to the kitchen.

Zhang Heling asked, "Second brother, Dad is having a feast over there, what shall we eat?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "How about drinking northwest wind?"

"Oh my god, I knew it would be good to eat a bowl of noodles outside, but you insisted on coming back to eat good food... Hey, we said that you would get rich by becoming the king's uncle, why are you living a harder life than before? It's really weird! Hey, hey, hey, where are you going?"

"I asked someone to cook a dish... We don't have anything else at home, but we have plenty of meat and other things. I heard that someone even gave us some sea fish as a gift." "Really? I want to eat some too."

"Brother, who said that our family lives a hard life?"

"I never said that sea fish is delicious. I also want to eat roast duck. It tastes so delicious..."

……

……

Li Zisheng got so drunk at Zhang's house that he forgot he came to ask Zhang Luan for advice on how to flatter his superiors.

Finally, Pang Qing learned that Old Li refused to leave Zhang's house, so he personally brought people to carry Li Zisheng away. When Li Zisheng was leaving, he couldn't even stand steadily.

"Mr. Pang, are you leaving now?"

Zhang Yanling came out to see the guests off.

It was not that Zhang Luan was proud of his status, but that he really had no ability to move. In terms of alcohol tolerance, Zhang Luan was not as good as Li Zisheng. At this moment, he was lying on the table motionless.

Zhang Yanling even thought that if people didn’t know, they would think that these two people had drunk fake wine.

Pang Qing said with a smile: "Second Young Master, I am sorry to bother you... Our Taoist has never been as drunk as he is today. He used to be very restrained. I won't bother you any more, please go back."

With Pang Qing's experience, he had long seen that the second son of the Zhang family was an extraordinary person. When he had private contact with Zhang Yanling, he treated the other party as an equal and did not dare to neglect him at all.

Zhang Yanling asked, "Do you want someone to take you there?"

"No, thank you for worrying about me, Second Young Master. Let's go."

After saying that, Pang Qing helped the coachman stuff Li Zisheng into the carriage.

At this time, Li Zisheng was still shouting: "Why is it so dark here? Have we reached the toilet?"

Pang Qing said: "Master Dao, if it is convenient for you, let's move to another place. Please don't embarrass yourself."

"I'm just asking, eh? Bingkun, why are you here too? Let's fill up our glasses and drink..."

……

……

Early the next morning.

Zhang Luan, with big dark circles under his eyes, appeared in front of Zhang Yanling who was having breakfast.

Zhang Heling, who was sitting at another table nearby, complained, "Dad, you guys are so wasteful. You didn't even eat a few bites of this delicious fish and meat. Why didn't you leave some for us so we can eat it when we get back? After all, the taste will be a little different if we eat it this morning."

Zhang Luan ignored his eldest son and came to Zhang Yanling and asked with concern: "Second son, why are you drinking porridge? Are you getting angry? There are so many vegetables stored, go over and eat some."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "I don't like eating leftovers."

"Ugh!"

Zhang Luan looked apologetic, "I didn't expect that Li Zisheng would suddenly come over last night and wanted to drink with me. All those dishes were originally prepared for you... I have good news to tell you. Li Zisheng agreed to help me secure the position of Minister of the Honglu Temple. In a few days, I will be a fourth-rank official in Beijing."

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, don't be too happy too soon... Do you think being an official is fun?"

Zhang Luan was a little surprised: "It's not easy to become an official, and such a high-ranking one at that. It's not an exaggeration to say that it brings honor to the family. What do you think? Do you think that I shouldn't take this position?"

Zhang Yanling picked up the bowl and drank all the porridge at the bottom of the bowl. Then he said, "No matter how high your official position is, you are only a messenger. What power and status can you have in the court? Will others curry favor with you? By then, they will think that you and Li Zisheng are in the same party. In another six months, after that incident, if the court wants to eliminate the messenger, won't your position be very embarrassing?"

"Oh, that's right. There's only half a year left, huh?"

When Zhang Luan thought about this, he seemed to calm down a lot.

The joy of being an official was quickly diluted.

Zhang Heling stuffed a duck leg in his mouth and mumbled incoherently, "Isn't it good to be an official? Now I am an official, and I can be a higher official in the future."

Zhang Luan laughed and said, "Boss, I've heard a lot of nonsense from you in my life, but this is the only one I can listen to."

"Dad, if you think what our eldest brother said makes sense, you should let him give you advice in the future." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.

"No, no, no, don't say those angry words, I was just saying it casually."

Zhang Luan said in dismay, "My son, if you think that I am not qualified to be the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, then I will immediately tell Li Zisheng that I don't want this position anymore... as if no one wants to be one."

He said he didn't want it, but his face showed reluctance.

It seemed that Zhang Luan was very afraid that his son would suddenly say that he would simply not be an official. This would be a huge blow to him as he had been in poverty in the first half of his life.

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, you are the Minister of the Honglu Temple this time. I don't think it is just Li Zisheng who is contributing."

"Yes, yes, yes, son. If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten it... He was drunk yesterday and told me the truth. It was His Majesty who asked him to arrange this. I thought he was trustworthy. It turns out that even the emperor knows about my status... Hey, it's all thanks to your words."

Zhang Luan said with his eyes wide open.

"What else did he say?" Zhang Yanling asked.

"He also said..."

Zhang Luan thought for a moment and said, "He didn't say anything else. He just kept repeating the same words over and over again. I don't remember what he said. I guess he forgot to say something."

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, you got a proper position as the Minister of the Honglu Temple by writing a storybook. He must have admired you even more and wanted to know what other means you have to gain the favor of His Majesty... He came to you specifically to ask for advice, but he drank too much and forgot everything, so he wasted his time."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Zhang Luan scratched his head in embarrassment. "At the dinner table, he even called me a brother... Tsk tsk, I never dared to think about this before."

Zhang Heling asked, "What's the situation? Will I really have another uncle in the future?"

Zhang Luan said: "He is older than me, so he asked me to call him brother and he called me brother..."

Zhang Heling opened his mouth wide: "He is older than you, Dad? Don't you have a son?"

"I don't know." Zhang Luan shook his head blankly.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Brother, why do you care whether he has any offspring? He is a Taoist, even if he has offspring, he will not be able to hide them."

Zhang Heling asked, "Huh? Taoist priests can't have children? I remember people saying that Taoist priests in Longhu Mountain all have children... Could they be mistaken?"

Zhang Luan yelled, "Shut up! I'm talking to your brother, stop yelling."

Zhang Yanling couldn't help but roll his eyes.

The men of the family sat together to talk, one was stupid, the other was responsible for interrupting, and there were few decent words. No wonder the Zhang family had so many weird things in history. Just look at this family education atmosphere, wow...

"Dad, don't worry about why Li Zisheng wants to see you. Just tell me, do you want to be the Minister of the Ministry of Rites?" Zhang Yanling asked.

"think."

Zhang Luan swallowed his saliva, his eyes full of hope, and said, "I dream about it."

Zhang Yanling said, "Isn't that enough? If you want to escape unscathed when the imperial court takes action against the officials in half a year, you can't just rely on my brother-in-law's protection... What we need to do is to make everyone in the imperial court sincerely convinced by you."

Zhang Luan slapped his thigh fiercely: "My son is wise."

Zhang Heling complained, "Dad, you scared me so much that I almost spit out the duck meat in my mouth!"

Zhang Yanling said, "So, father, from the first day you take office, you must take up the position with the mentality of a proper Honglu Temple Minister. You cannot just sit there for the day and ring the bell. You must always restrain yourself according to the requirements of a fourth-rank official in the capital."

"Of course."

Zhang Luan straightened his back and asked, "Is this enough?"

"Of course it is not enough, far from enough! Dad, you don't think it's easy to be an official, do you? Moreover, Dad, you are an airdropped Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Let's not talk about how your colleagues in the court view you, just talk about your subordinates in the future in the government office, can you suppress those old foxes?" Zhang Yanling asked.

Zhang Luan shook his head calmly: "No. But, son, you have no experience as an official, can you... help your father?"

"Everything depends on human efforts. Let's give it a try." Zhang Yanling nodded.

(End of this chapter)