Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 527 Candidates

Zhang Luan spoke freely in front of Zhu Youtang.

He seemed to be an expert in river management. The string of new terms that came out of his mouth startled not only the emperor, but also Huai En, Qin Chang and others who were listening nearby.

There are often surprising words that make people think deeply.

"Father-in-law, I never thought that although you have never been involved in river management, you are so familiar with the details." Zhu Youtang couldn't help but sigh.

Zhang Luan looked ashamed and said, "No, no, it was my sons who taught me. I specifically asked them for advice on river management."

Zhu Youtang asked with a smile: "Is my brother-in-law Yanling among them?"

"That's the brat."

Zhang Luan smiled and nodded.

I was thinking to myself, thanks to my good son and my close friend Li Zisheng, I did not show my weakness in front of the emperor.

Of course, when talking about the credit, I will not mention Li Zisheng, but only "my son and his people". It's not that I want to take all the credit. The point is... you, Li Zisheng, didn't mention me much! You only said that you would help me raise manpower and material resources. Didn't my son say all the things to pay attention to in river management?

Classifying you as “them” is already giving you enough face.

Zhu Youtang was full of admiration: "I never thought that Yanling, at such a young age, could know so much. It is really rare."

Zhang Luan said: "What he has learned is quite extensive and he knows a lot. This is also related to the fact that he has been in the market since he was a child and has a certain amount of experience. The more he has seen, the more he knows."

"Oh……"

Zhu Youtang has a relatively simple mind.

After hearing his father-in-law say this, he felt that this was a heartfelt statement that was worth his deep consideration.

It turns out that if you spend some time in the market, you will automatically gain more knowledge and experience... Doesn't that mean that the emperor knows less than a commoner in the market?
If you want to govern the country well, you need to interact more with the people in the market...

"Oh, by the way, father-in-law, the Queen asked me to invite you over to have dinner with her."

Zhu Youtang extended the invitation with a smile.

Zhang Luan declined immediately: "No, no, my body needs to rest and I should try to avoid moving around. If there is nothing else, I would like to go home early. There is still a lot of time to come."

If it were an ordinary person, how could he dare to reject the emperor's kindness outright?

But Zhang Luan's situation was different. From the very beginning, he did his utmost to safeguard Zhu Youtang's interests, allowing Zhu Youtang, who was then the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, to truly feel Zhang Luan's kindness.

Now, in the eyes of the little emperor who lost his father, Zhang Luan is half his father… He is not only his father-in-law, but also helps him in how to govern the country, and he has even been a lecturer in the Eastern Palace and his teacher… Now, whatever he talks about seems very organized. What reason is there not to rely on him and respect his choices?
Zhu Youtang didn’t know whether an emperor who didn’t appoint people based on personal connections was a wise ruler, but he was definitely not a smart emperor.

Since ancient times, any small circle has been clearly divided into close and distant relatives.

……

……

Zhu Youtang did not force his father-in-law to have dinner with him in Kunning Palace, so he arranged for Huai'en to send Zhang Luan out of the palace and asked Huai'en to give Zhang Luan some advice... There were some things that he was not convenient to say, or that he forgot to say during the meeting, and Huai'en would give the reminders, so that at least the emperor could rest assured.

Now Zhang Luan realized that perhaps because the young emperor spent so much time with Huai En, Huai En's current status far surpassed that of others, even including his wife Tan Ji.

Even he, the father-in-law of the emperor, had to stand aside.

On the way out of the palace, Huai En walked briskly beside the sedan chair, and said to Zhang Luan in the sedan chair with a smile: "Mr. Zhang is well-versed in history and modern times, and knows astronomy and geography. He even has his own theory on river management. It is really admirable."

Zhang Luan said modestly: "Eunuch Huai, please don't flatter me... I know exactly what I am like... I am just an ordinary old man, not worthy of being on the stage."

The eunuchs and guards who heard this were all shocked.

The eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department was walking outside, and it would have been fine if you were sitting in the sedan chair, but you actually called him an "old man" in front of him?
Who are you comparing your age with?

Huai'en, who has served in the Xuande, Zhengtong, Jingtai, Tianshun and Chenghua dynasties, is now nearly seventy years old. Is there any eunuch in the palace older than Huai'en?
No matter how old you are, you are only in your early forties now, and those eunuchs in power in the palace are all in their fifties or sixties, right?
Even the new eunuch Dai Yi from the Imperial Household Department is now over fifty years old. How dare you, Zhang Luan, call yourself an old man?
Huai En didn't mind at all, as if he had long been accustomed to Zhang Luan's unrestrained and uninhibited way of speaking, and said with a smile:
"Mr. Zhang, let me ask you a more practical question. If we start to control the Yellow River now, how many years do you think it will take to completely complete the diversion project?" "Ah!?"

When Zhang Luan heard this, he instantly became nervous.

It seems that the Emperor and your eunuch Huai are not just asking casually to complete some logistics matters, but also involve the specific implementation?

That's a trick.

I hope this task doesn't fall on me...

When I said I wanted to control the river, it was just talk. I still want to have a few days of peace and quiet!

My son has suppressed my ambitions and made me face the reality.

Don't even think about pushing me into the fire!
Huai En smiled and asked, "Isn't it hard to say?"

Zhang Luan replied helplessly: "If it is after a major disaster, and everyone is united, the court only needs to mobilize all the local soldiers and civilians to build a new river channel. There will be great progress in about a year... and it will be basically completed in about two years.

"But if we start without the impetus of the disaster... unless we have strong financial and human support, it may take three to five years or even seven to eight years..."

Wynn nodded: "It's about the same as I expected."

Zhang Luan thought, you already know the general idea in your mind, why are you still asking me?

Huai En smiled and said, "But...if Mr. Zhang is there to help, maybe it won't take that long, right?"

"This is not okay."

Zhang Luan said quickly, "I am not very capable. The Yellow River diversion project involves the deployment of a huge amount of manpower and material resources, and concerns the interests of all parties. It costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver, and it is also necessary to ensure the logistical supply of hundreds of thousands of civilians... That is definitely a huge number. Just thinking about it makes my scalp numb. I can't do it!"

Huai En smiled and asked, "Then who do you think is more suitable if we find someone in the court to be responsible for this?"

"This one……"

Zhang Luan heard something wrong.

It was as if Huai En was deliberately giving him a hint.

But he couldn't figure out where the pulse was and was stunned for a moment.

Huai En continued to ask: "What do you think of Li Zisheng?"

"Ok?"

Zhang Luan finally understood at this moment.

So Huai En was going around in circles, waiting for him here?
Zhang Luan quickly asked back, "Eunuch Huai, I want to ask you something honestly. Do you really think Li Zisheng is the right person?"

Huai En sighed, "To be honest, there are so many people in the court who are impeaching Li Zisheng, and almost no civil official has a good impression of him. Most people want to put him in an irretrievable situation.

"Your Majesty has not dealt with Li Zisheng, not because he is impeccable or because he has made great contributions, but because..."

Just when Zhang Luan pricked up his ears, ready to listen to a big news, Huai En suddenly kept silent.

Zhang Luan's face turned cold, thinking, are you deliberately keeping me in suspense?
Why? You tell me.

Zhang Luan suddenly thought of something and asked, "Is it because of me?"

Huai En smiled but said nothing.

Zhang Luan suddenly felt unhappy.

In particular, he disliked Huai En's character as an old fox who only spoke half of the words. He thought to himself, how come you, an old fellow, are not as frank as Li Zisheng?

(End of this chapter)