Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 477 Asking for Advice
As the greetings deepened, the first phase of the emperor and empress's visit to the patient came to an end.

Zhu Youtang waved his hand and asked Huai'en, Qin Ji and others to deliver the condolences to the mansion. At the same time, he asked his wife to spend time with his mother-in-law, Jin, and express her feelings after separation. He himself stayed and continued to talk to Zhang Luan.

Originally, for such a private discussion, everyone should have been dismissed, but Zhu Youtang himself knew Zhang Yanling's status in the Zhang family, so he kept his brother-in-law as well.

In this way, Zhang Yanling could stand beside Zhang Luan openly and listen to the conversation between the two. In principle, he could not speak unless someone asked him.

Zhu Youtang began to introduce what he knew: "After my father-in-law was injured, Huai Daban told me that some people in the court now suspect that my father-in-law was faking his injury."

"No, there is absolutely no such thing."

Zhang Luan shook his head and smiled bitterly, pointing at his leg and said, "Your Majesty, you saw it with your own eyes, this cannot be faked."

"I know."

Zhu Youtang was very easygoing and said with a smile: "Father-in-law is fine, how could he fake an injury? But Huai Daban and others said that it might be a good thing to let others think that father-in-law faked an injury, so that we can use it to rectify the affairs of the court. I don't quite understand this."

Zhang Luan pondered for a moment and nodded slightly: "Actually... what Eunuch Huai said makes sense, but it depends on who we want to discipline."

Zhu Youtang said, "I just ascended the throne and don't understand many things. I rely on Huai Daban, Qin Chang and others to give me advice... They told me that the most important thing now is to replace all those people who were just sitting there doing nothing when my father was in power, but I need a reason, otherwise people will think that I am disobedient and unfilial, and I am not following the policy and route designed by my father."

"Ah."

Zhang Luan nodded in agreement at first, then he remembered to look at his son.

He wanted to see if his son had any other reaction, so that he could give a different answer.

But seeing Zhang Yanling's calm demeanor, his son seemed to agree with this statement.

Zhu Youtang sighed and said, "But I really don't understand... Huai Daban has been telling me to use the Liang Fang case as a basis and gradually expand it to involve more people. This way, even if the people involved in the case are not held accountable, they will retreat and take the initiative to resign, thus achieving the purpose of replacing the old with the new."

Zhang Luan recalled what his son had once reminded him of, and thought to himself that now was finally my chance to perform. I should have talked more with my son and learned from him. Wouldn't that come in handy now?

It seems that all the effort was paid off!

"Your Majesty, do you think this is the case? Old ministers of the court, let's not move anything that can be left untouched for now."

Zhang Luan suggested.

Zhu Youtang was very surprised and asked with his eyes wide open: "Even my father-in-law thinks that we shouldn't start a war now, right?"

Zhang Luan was stunned.

I thought, is my son-in-law coming to me for recognition?
Why are his eyes so bright?
As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers. Shouldn't he think about how to support his own people to the top?
Oh, yes, my son once said that our emperor's son-in-law is introverted and shy. He doesn't like to mess around, especially when meeting strangers. He doesn't even want to see strangers at court meetings, so he tries to reduce the size of court meetings to a certain range. My son also said that this kind of introvert is most afraid of trouble, and sometimes he will appear to be very lazy in interpersonal communication.

My son is wise!
With a clear mind, Zhang Luan said solemnly: "It is true that we should mainly keep it still, but there are still a few key positions that need to be moved to appease the people of the world."

Zhu Youtang asked curiously, "Father-in-law, which people should be moved, and which positions should not be changed?"

Zhang Luan asked, "Your Majesty, do you think that the cabinet's affairs are on the right track now? Can it complete the review of the country's affairs in a timely manner, and even do a good job as your Majesty's advisor?"

"This one……"

Zhu Youtang didn't expect his father-in-law to be so professional.

Whether or not to move a person's position does not depend on how close they are to the position, but entirely on whether they are capable of doing the job.

The capable ones go up, the mediocre ones go down!

When the cabinet was first established, cabinet ministers only had an advisory status, the emperor had the final decision-making power, and cabinet ministers rarely had the opportunity to participate in decision-making. It was not until the Renzong and Xuanzong periods that their status was increasingly respected. During the Jingtai and Chenghua periods, the cabinet began to take charge of the six ministers and finally became the emperor's highest staff and decision-making body.

On the premise of making it easier for the new monarch to control government affairs, business assessment should start from the cabinet.

“It really doesn’t seem to work.”

Zhu Youtang shook his head and said, "I have sent people to the cabinet several times to ask for the opinions of the cabinet ministers on certain court affairs. Unfortunately, their handling strategies are not as good as those of Huai Daitomo and the others in the Imperial Household Department. It is very disappointing... This is not the performance of a civil servant leader with strategy..."

Zhang Luan said jokingly, "Wan'an may have had some talent when he was young, but now... he is called 'Long Live the Lord'. Apart from shouting 'Long Live', he can't do anything else. He is simply a representative figure of being in office but doing nothing... Let's move him first, remove him, and let Liu Ji be the Prime Minister. Maybe this can change the current suspended official environment."

Zhu Youtang asked, "Isn't Liu Ji known as 'Liu Cotton'? It generally means that he is a man of great political skills, good at maneuvering and self-disguise. Although he was often impeached by the censors, he never lost his position and even continued to be promoted. Instead, the people who impeached him were demoted and dismissed, just like cotton is resistant to elasticity and even becomes more elastic the more it is elastic... Oh, yes, this is what my father-in-law... and Yanling told me."

"hehe."

When Zhang Luan heard this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It seems that what I said before had a great impact on my son-in-law. At least it gave him an opportunity to look at court issues from a different perspective.

Through comprehensive comparison, Zhu Youtang realized that the Prime Minister Wan'an was the culprit of all the problems. As for Liu Ji, he was just a foolish bureaucrat who was good at quibbling.

Zhang Luan analyzed, "Your Majesty, do you think the situation is like this... Wan'an has controlled the cabinet for too long, and there are many students and old friends in the court. He is reluctant to let go of his power, which has led to the slackness of government affairs. If we want to restore the clean government, we can only let him step down and let the wise take over. In this way, even if Liu Ji is still the 'Liu Mianhua', as long as there is Xu Ge Lao to support him, I think the court will not deviate too much."

Zhu Youtang frowned: "Father-in-law, can you explain it more clearly?"

"This..." Zhang Luan looked at his youngest son and waved his hand, "Let my son talk about it."

"Yanling, you speak."

Zhu Youtang then turned his attention to his brother-in-law.

Zhang Yanling was not at all nervous and spoke eloquently: "My father meant that the reason why the cabinet is not doing anything now is mainly because Wan'an is not a good leader... As long as Wan'an retires, there will be a sense of urgency in the cabinet, and those who were not doing anything before will have to do something. That 'Liu Mianhua' may suddenly become diligent and become a powerful assistant to Your Majesty."

Zhang Luan nodded: "Yes, it means to kill one to warn the rest."

Zhu Youtang smiled with relief and said, "After listening to what father-in-law and Yanling said, I finally understand that it doesn't matter who you change or how many people you change. The important thing is to pick out the person who is least capable of doing things, get him out of the court, and correct the official style. Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah."

Zhang Luan responded with a smile.

Zhu Youtang said: "But... what's the reason? Many people have submitted resignation petitions recently, except... Wan'an."

Zhang Luan was a little embarrassed for a moment and didn't know how to answer.

Zhang Yanling, however, was laughing secretly.

At the end of the Chenghua period, when Zhu Jianshen was seriously ill, Wan'an submitted petitions for resignation many times because he knew that if he did not leave, Emperor Chenghua might take revenge on him later.

As the new emperor ascended the throne, Wan'an prided himself on being the one who supported him, and he would not leave even if he was asked to.

Zhu Youtang meant that Wan'an was a fool who refused to submit his resignation petition. I couldn't ask him to just kick him out, could I?
As an emperor whose foundation is benevolence and righteousness, I cannot do such a thing!
Zhang Luan seemed very confident at this time, and said: "Your Majesty, you don't have to worry. Wan'an thinks highly of himself, and he will make mistakes on his own...

"I believe it won't be long before he does something so abominable that he will be forced to leave the court. Your Majesty, just wait patiently."

Zhu Youtang asked with a smile: "How did my father-in-law know?"

"This one……"

As Zhang Luan spoke, he subconsciously glanced towards his son.

I thought to myself that it was precisely because I had a son who was like a "living Zhuge Liang" and I communicated with him more often that I found that dealing with this son-in-law who had become emperor not long ago and was still a little immature, was easy and effortless.

This may also be related to the fact that the people I usually deal with are old foxes like Li Zisheng and Xu Qiong. They can talk big with them, but they can't handle a little fledgling like you?

Zhu Youtang nodded slightly: "Then I can only wait."

"Yeah, just wait for things to happen."

Zhang Luan nodded in agreement, and then laughed at himself, "It's a pity that my leg was injured at the wrong time... I hope it can heal quickly so that I can return to serve the court."

"Father-in-law, don't worry too much. If there is anything, I will ask my wife and others to come and ask you. It may be troublesome for you... Sometimes I really need your advice."

Zhu Youtang had a look of apology on his face.

Look, I came to visit you when you were sick, but I asked you to work for the court. I feel guilty!
But Zhang Luan thought, am I trying to monopolize all the power?
Staying at home to recuperate actually brought me good fortune?

Will the emperor send people to ask for advice from time to time in the future?

Does that mean that even if I don't join the cabinet, I can still advise the emperor on state affairs as his father-in-law?

No wonder Li Zisheng is trying so hard to curry favor with me now. It turns out that whoever is close to the emperor has a natural advantage!
Zhang Luan quickly expressed his opinion: "These are what I should do... Besides, lying down all the time is really boring. I am willing to do something for the court and share your majesty's worries. My life will be more fulfilling."

"hehe."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "Father-in-law can say whatever he wants, which is great! There are few people around me who speak so frankly and directly like father-in-law... When I talk to you, I don't know why... I feel very relaxed and all my worries are gone..."

Zhang Luan was stunned.

Am I so friendly?

To the point that an autistic teenager opened his heart to me?

No, that's because I'm already very familiar with him...

My son once told me that if an autistic person can open his heart to someone, he will not mind getting along with that person, and may even be more enthusiastic and cheerful than the average person.

Zhang Luan smiled and explained himself: "I am just like this. People may think I am not serious, but I don't like to hide things. I say whatever comes to my mind, but sometimes I don't even know I offend people!"

"It's okay if I've offended you. People with different ideals cannot work together. As long as I appreciate the goodness of my father-in-law, that's enough... In the future, if I have any problems, just bring them up. If there are any problems, I will correct them. If there are none, I will encourage you. I hope that my father-in-law can help me become a wise and capable ruler!"

After Zhu Youtang finished speaking, he nodded encouragingly at Zhang Luan.

Obviously, as an emperor, he also felt that it was better for a person to be honest than to have others guess his thoughts and motives all the time.

(End of this chapter)