Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 543 Powerful Officials
"My son, you didn't tell me that you wanted me to be a powerful official, to form a party, and to be responsible for so many things in the court.

"I thought being an official was just about eating and drinking, occasionally meeting with close friends like Li Zisheng, or at most going to the palace to entertain the Empress Dowager, or meeting the Emperor and Empress..."

In the evening, after having dinner outside, Zhang Yanling returned home.

Then Zhang Luan called his youngest son to the study and began to complain.

Zhang Yanling frowned and asked, "Dad, what's wrong with you?"

So Zhang Luan told his youngest son in detail about his meeting with Xu Qiong and Shen Lu during the day.

It can be said that he told me everything, no matter how big or small.

"Dad, you have a pretty good brain. You can learn anything. After hearing what you said, your son understands everything. Not bad, not bad."

Zhang Yanling laughed and teased.

"You kid, you really want to make fun of your father, right?"

Zhang Luan had a sullen face and yelled at him, then tried to save his reputation: "It is precisely because I have no other talents that I often force myself to write things down so that I can come back and ask you about them. Do you think it is easy for me to develop such a talent?"

"hehe."

Zhang Yanling just stood there and laughed.

Zhang Luan then said with a droopy face: "Tell me, does your father really want to form a clique? Your two uncles are more obsessed with power than the other, and they are all trying to climb up. I can't stop them. Sooner or later, they will drag me down..."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "You can't say that. Everyone has their own ambitions. Just like you, Dad, have your ambitions on women, but you don't allow others to have their ambitions on the court and climb to the peak of power? In fact, from a certain perspective, their pursuits are much higher than yours, because with power, they have everything..."

"Bah! When you say that, why does it make me want to hit you so much?"

Zhang Luan was very angry after hearing this.

Now that his youngest son frequently complains about his lust, he, as a father, feels really embarrassed.

Zhang Yanling did not indulge his cheap father at all, and said bluntly: "Dad, I didn't want to hit you before, so I didn't say such excessive things, because at that time your power was not as strong as it is now, and you were still a newcomer in the court. No matter how much you messed around, no one would pay attention to you, and people would just watch you as if you were watching a monkey show.

"But the problem is that you are now a powerful official, and you are highly regarded by His Majesty and the Grand Empress Dowager. Even if you want to keep a low profile, you can't. You have already attracted the covetousness of conservative civil servants headed by the lecturers of the Eastern Palace. At this time, you have to rise to the challenge and take the initiative to expand your power.

"As a person in a high position, everyone has a group of followers. Even Qin Hui has three good friends. Otherwise, you will be in the court in the future and no one will take care of you. Even your words will not work well."

"What!?"

Zhang Luan frowned and asked, "You compare my father to Qin Hui. Are you trying to make my father a traitor?"

"Hey, father, what kind of good person do you think you are in the eyes of the literati?"

Zhang Yanling said truthfully, "After all, it is the literati who hold the pen and control public opinion. In their eyes, only traditional scholars are recognized by them... Dad, who do you think you are?"

"Eh? I studied hard for my father for decades, so I am not considered a scholar?"

Zhang Luan asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh, Dad, what is your origin? How dare you call yourself a scholar? You are just a scholar, not even a juren, but you have stolen a high position and even want to influence the affairs of the court. How can you expect those scholars who are jinshi to treat you as one of their own? They may stab you in the back every day!"

Zhang Yanling said bluntly, "Besides, Dad, did you really get to your position by studying?"

"I...seem to rely on medical treatment..."

Zhang Luan thought about it carefully and said helplessly.

"Dad, you really know how to flatter yourself... You rose to power by curing illnesses? Then why didn't you just stay in the Imperial Hospital and become the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?
"What's the difference between you and Li Zisheng? Oh, maybe you're not as good as Li Zisheng. At least Li Zisheng knows how to do things. But you just rely on your daughter to marry into the palace, and you easily ascend to a high position as the father-in-law of the emperor. You also control the government and suppress dissidents. You say you're not a traitor, then who is...?"

Zhang Yanling said this in a very loud voice, as if he was deliberately trying to provoke Zhang Luan.

Zhang Luan was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick. He slammed the table and said angrily, "If you had told me earlier, I would not have been an official. You are getting into trouble for no reason."

"Do you think that if you don't do something wrong, people will let you go? There will definitely be a paragraph like this in the history books. At the beginning of the Hongzhi period, there was a treacherous minister named Zhang Luan. He relied on his status as the father-in-law of the emperor to suppress dissidents in the court. He was very close to the evil Li Zisheng and others, and did things that controlled the government and angered the heavens and the people..."

"Alright, alright..." Zhang Luan couldn't bear to listen any longer, and raised his hand and said, "Father is afraid of you, so this should be all right, right? Then...according to what you said, father should form a clique to avoid being wronged...from now on, I will be a treacherous minister who does all kinds of evil...right?"

Zhang Yanling pouted and said, "Dad, a gentleman should be in a group but not in a party. This is the principle of life. As a scholar, do you still need me to teach you this?"

"It's difficult."

Zhang Luan shook his head and sighed.

"So, you should socialize when you need to, and you can even visit them openly to discuss official business... As long as you don't seek private consultations with them for no reason, don't form cliques to attack dissidents, and refrain from interfering in matters outside your scope of responsibility, those civil officials won't be able to do anything to you.

"Aren't you busy with the Yellow River project right now? If you do more good things that benefit the country and the people, and benefit all people, even if you are really criticized by scholars, the history books will overturn your verdict in the future..."

Zhang Yanling persuaded sincerely.

Zhang Luan pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "My son, what you mean is that no matter what I do, I will be misunderstood by those civil servants and regarded as a traitor, right?"

Zhang Yanling shrugged and said, "It can't be helped. You are a relative of the emperor and you are not on the ordinary path.
"If you were a genuine Jinshi and became an official, even if you were a relative of the emperor, no one would say anything... Look at how many years Wan'an has been sitting on his laurels and doing nothing. Just because he was a Hanlin Academy student, even if he was a terrible official, wouldn't the censors keep silent? Because this is an internal conflict and cannot be brought to the surface!

"Since it is destined, and you want to change other people's views, then you have to rely on yourself? Work for the court, highlight your abilities, and make great contributions. Then His Majesty will trust you, the ministers will respect and admire you, and history will give you a fair evaluation."

Zhang Luan asked, "Then... should I ask about this so-called change of the order of the ministers in the court?"

"Ignore it."

Zhang Yanling said, "Is that within your responsibility? Or do you want to be the second Li Zisheng? You know how uneasy Li Zisheng is right now. Do you think he wants to be like this? It's just that he was pushed to a high position and couldn't get down for a while. He either continued to enjoy the glory or ended up in pieces... It's hard to get up, and it's even harder to land safely."

"No wonder."

Zhang Luan sighed, "He is such a noble man. He has clearly controlled the government for many years and held all the official positions in the world. How prominent is his position? But now when I heard that he was leaving Beijing to manage the Yellow River, he was so excited that he kept saying that he wanted to thank me and thanked me profusely... What do you think is the meaning of his position as an official?"

Zhang Yanling asked with a smile: "Father, do you think your job as an official is interesting?"

"It's boring."

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "It doesn't make any sense at all..."

"Oh, being an official is boring, but the extra income that comes with being an official is interesting, right? If you weren't an official, if you weren't a powerful official, where would you get so many pleasant things? It can be said that you have been enjoying endless tenderness during this period of time...

"Do you think that if you step down and become an ordinary relative, people will still fawn on you? And stuff so many female confidantes into your outer house? Wake up! Dad, all you have now is due to the benefits you brought after becoming a powerful official."

Zhang Yanling advised earnestly, "You think you are extremely loyal, but which corrupt official or treacherous minister would think that he is a treacherous villain? What you are doing now is actually no different in essence from those famous powerful and treacherous ministers in history."

Zhang Luan was completely speechless. He was stunned for a long time before asking, "What do you think I should do?"

"Do your job well in the Ministry of Revenue, ask more about the progress of the river works, and if you have time, go to the palace to meet your eldest aunt, that is, my great aunt... And don't go to places where there are many officials, especially don't express your political views in front of everyone, learn to be low-key, and the rest... you can figure it out yourself.

"Oh, by the way, Dad, I've been busy making money lately. It's so hard and tiring. Sometimes I come home very late, or even not at all. If you have anything to say, just ask Chang Shun to tell me. In fact, you know where I live. If you have any urgent matters, just come to me directly."

Zhang Luan glared at his youngest son and shouted, "You little brat, you're still a child, and you want to separate from your father? You have a family but don't want to go back? What's going on?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "It's the same with you. I learned this from you..."

"Bah, stop making fun of me. I'm seriously advising you that you can do business, but don't get too involved. Money is a good thing, but too much of it is not good. People will mistakenly think that it was embezzled money from our family, and that would be meaningless.

"I know what you're going to say. You said you earned all the money, but don't you think about it? Without your father's position in the court, could you really make money from doing business? You got all the money by bullying the market... Those civil officials and censors saw it and remembered it in their hearts. Won't they try their best to impeach you? By then, if the mud falls into your pants, it will be shit."

Zhang Luan cursed.

Zhang Yanling laughed, "Okay, Dad, you've learned to draw inferences from one example. But I still want to refute you. What's wrong with me making money? I use the money I earn for my brother-in-law and the court, and I have a clear conscience. What I want is to live a free and unrestrained life while I'm alive, no matter what my reputation will be after I die! Even if I can't be famous for thousands of years, I'll at least be infamous for thousands of years!"

"what?"

When Zhang Luan saw his son's determined expression, he suddenly seemed to understand something.

He muttered, "Could it be that this guy has been pushing me to climb up the ladder just for himself? Does he want to be infamous forever? Has he ever thought about my position? As a scholar, am I going to be implicated by this kid? Forget it, I'd better go to the outer house and calm down."

(End of this chapter)