Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 637 Destroy him

Zhang family main hall.

Zhang Luan and his son sat on each side, as if they were in a trial, facing Chang Shun who was kneeling in front of them to explain what had happened.

Chang Shun knelt there with his head down, looking very confused, not knowing what his fate would be.

"Second brother, what do you think about this matter?"

After listening to Chang Shun's report, Zhang Luan looked at his youngest son and asked.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "This eunuch Tan was afraid that you would run away, so he used all kinds of means to tie you to the carriage of the Ming civil servants, fearing that you would jump out of the carriage and run away halfway."

Zhang Luan frowned, as if thinking about the conflict of interest. After a while, he shook his head and said, "If I could find a job for your elder brother, or promote him, or give you a position, I would understand what you said. But you said Chang Shun... Tan Ji gave his father a position in order to tie me down? It seems that you are overthinking it, right?"

Chang Shun also became nervous when he heard this.

Judging from what the two masters, one old and one young, said, it was clear that Qin Ji had bad intentions.

If he had some ulterior motive, would he be qualified to accept the convenience given to his family by the head of the East Factory?

Zhang Yanling said: "Qin Ji wants to find a good position for me and my elder brother, but the problem is, can he decide our official positions?"

"Of course not."

Zhang Luan shook his head.

"That's it. Even though Chang Shun is just a servant in our family, he is always by your side, so he can be considered a top figure."

Zhang Yanling looked at Chang Shun on the ground with a smile and said, "Qin Ji wants our family to be involved in every aspect of the court. Even the servants have to have a court background and connections for his family.

"If I do you a favor like this, when Qin Ji comes to our house next time, he can ask Chang Shun to help him pass the message and guide him. Maybe he can even get some gossip about our house from Chang Shun...

"In short, Tan Ji has done his best to help his father become a man with powerful connections in the capital, who can easily mobilize manpower and material resources. Isn't this helping His Majesty to tie you to the court?"

Zhang Luan asked in surprise: "From what you said, Qin Ji wants to help me become the second Li Zisheng? Is he kind-hearted or is he scheming and looking for an opportunity to cheat me? Did Huai En teach him to do this?"

Chang Shun said quickly, "My two lords, please don't underestimate me. I will never betray you. I have thought about it. I would rather not accept this gift. Besides, my family's business is basically dealing with the people. We have little connection with the government, so we can't accomplish anything big."

Zhang Yanling said: "Don't worry...Eunuch Tan gave you the opportunity, you must seize it. From now on, when you mention the Chang family, you will no longer be talking about merchants doing the brokerage business, but a family of officials with a background, and you can easily get in touch with dignitaries.

"Well, go home and tell your father, follow the Jinyiwei who is in charge of liaison to the yamen to pick up the job, and accept the favor from Eunuch Tan."

"really?"

Chang Shun was afraid that his second young master was speaking in a sarcastic way.

Zhang Luan frowned and waved his hand, saying, "Just go if I tell you to go. Do you think I'm just teasing you? Hurry up and go! We are talking about something here, and you seem to be quite interested, right?"

"It was a small oversight."

Chang Shun quickly apologized and admitted his mistake, "I will go to work right away... As for what the second young master said, I will inform him later. I can't delay our family's affairs!"

"Dad, look at how capable Chang Shun is. Dad, you have to respect him more in the future, otherwise others will help us bribe Butler Chang."

Zhang Yanling laughed and teased.

Zhang Luan pursed his lips and said disdainfully: "What kind of housekeeper is he? He's just an errand boy, or a doorman! Chang Shun, you better be clear-headed. If you dare to talk too much outside, I'll show you how the master will deal with you! Go!"

……

……

As soon as Chang Shun got up to leave, Zhang Luan immediately started complaining, blaming Zhang Yanling for getting him involved in the complicated and confusing military affairs in the northwest.

"Dad, you can't just ignore it. As a qualified minister, you must first be familiar with all aspects of the court, including politics and military affairs."

Zhang Yanling said, "Look, Li Zisheng was a top figure before, but he rarely intervened in military affairs. As a result, after the death of the late emperor, it was easy for others to overthrow him."

Zhang Luan disagreed: "How do you know that Li Zisheng has no connections in the army? He once said that there is no government office in the court that doesn't have his people. Don't underestimate him."

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, let me ask you something. Where do you think my brother-in-law's power is weakest after he ascended the throne?"

"what?"

Zhang Luan was startled at first, then he thought for a while and frowned, "You mean the army?"

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "This is obvious. Which emperor does not firmly control the military power? But look at how many 'own people' my brother-in-law has arranged in the army?"

"Who is considered one of us?"

Zhang Luan said, "So it seems that there is not even one."

"It's not like there is none. For example, Jiang Cong, the Palace Attendant, has been assigned to Nanjing to supervise military affairs. In addition, he has also assigned a few people in the Beijing Camp who he seems to trust... But he has not assigned anyone to the most important nine border defenses of the Ming Dynasty... It's not that he doesn't want to, but it's difficult for him to intervene."

As Zhang Yanling was speaking, he looked across and discovered that his eccentric old father now looked much more serious than before.

Zhang Luan said, "That makes sense... The Nine Border Military Garrisons are nothing more than governors and generals, what else?" Zhang Yanling said, "Isn't the focus on military morale? The soldiers guarding the borders must be loyal to the emperor! Even if we can't increase their salaries, we must ensure that they are well fed and clothed, right? When foreign invaders come, the emperor must make a statement and can't let the frontline soldiers face the barbarian cavalry alone, right?
"Except for the governor, general, and deputy general, those native military households, including the commanders of the guards, thousand households, and hundred households, are the local tyrants! Simply replacing officials will not win over the hearts of the soldiers in the nine frontier military garrisons."

Zhang Luan was shocked and asked, "You asked me to do all this just to help your brother-in-law win the support of the Northwest Army? To control the military power of Xuanda and Sanbian?"

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "I know that just doing these things is not enough to win everyone's hearts and minds, but everything depends on human effort. Sending military uniforms and military rations is better than not sending them! Sending troops to help the border troops fight the Tatars is better than not sending them!
"If we can win one or two more battles against foreign invaders, even if it's just a small victory, how much will it enhance your majesty's prestige?"

"Depend on!"

Zhang Luan complained, "You should have told me earlier. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have asked Li Zisheng to go to the northwest to command the army... You want a Taoist priest to command the army and win the war against foreign barbarians? I'm afraid he won't even be able to get the military merit of a bandit leader!"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "This brings me to another matter."

"what?"

Zhang Luan asked eagerly.

"That is, who wants this opportunity more urgently."

Zhang Yanling said, "Father, tell me, if we send a respected old minister, such as Ma Wensheng, who has a lot of experience, to the northwest, will he lead his troops to fight the Tatars with the main purpose of advancing and gaining military merits?"

Zhang Luan asked back: "Won't it?"

"Of course not! These civil officials are too prudent. The first thing they think of is to avoid chaos and stabilize the border defense. As for killing the enemy and making meritorious contributions, it is completely unreasonable."

Zhang Yanling said, "Not only Ma Wensheng, anyone who has served as a governor or chief censor will not rashly send troops."

"Ah."

Zhang Luan's face was a little stiff. "You mean Li Zisheng is different, right? He is more eager than me to get the opportunity to make achievements. If he knew where the Tatars would attack from, he would definitely fight for the credit. He would listen to everything I say without any hesitation.

"Even if Li Zisheng died in the northwest, he would still feel that he sacrificed his life for the country and be filled with joy... He jumped from a treacherous minister to a loyal minister who will be remembered in history, and he would not hesitate to die heroically, is that what you mean?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, look, you have thought it through very clearly, haven't you?"

Zhang Luan sighed, "Just following orders... is that enough? Li Zisheng doesn't have that ability... Hey, if I had known earlier, I should have recommended Wang Yue to the northwest. At least he is a ruthless man! Whether it's managing the army or leading soldiers, he is many times better than Li Zisheng."

Zhang Yanling said: "Dad, you don't need to over-mythologize Wang Yue. The former Wei Ningbo was capable, but wasn't the premise of his achievements based on intelligence acquisition?

"Let's talk about his most proud battle, which was the surprise attack on Weininghai. He learned about the Tatars' movements in advance and found out that the Tatars' old, weak, women and children stayed in the Weininghai area. So he quietly led his troops out of the border, hiding during the day and moving out at night, and finally launched a surprise attack, which led to a great victory."

"what!?"

Zhang Luan was in doubt and asked, "Is it as easy as you say?"

"Dad, when we fight at the border of the Ming Dynasty, we often rely on the accuracy of intelligence." Zhang Yanling said, "Do you really think the Tatars are that strong now?"

"Aren't the Tatars strong?"

Zhang Luan asked again.

Zhang Yanling said: "The Tatars are now in a period of transition. Their young Khan, Batu Mongke, is still unable to win the support of the people. The grassland warlords are fighting each other and have not achieved the level of unity.

"Wait another ten or eight years, and Batu Mongke will be fully grown. Then you will see... the Tatars will come to invade every year, every month, and there will be no peace at the border every year."

"Does that mean that now is a great opportunity to eliminate future troubles?" Zhang Luan said.

"Of course it's an opportunity." Zhang Yanling said, "It's a pity that you are a lazy man and afraid of things, otherwise I think you can achieve great things by going to the northwest to lead the army."

Zhang Luan waved his hands quickly: "Stop talking, I can't do it... I don't have the ability to lead an army."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Who said victory depends on military discipline? I think victory should depend on magic weapons and powerful weapons."

"What?"

Zhang Luan almost jumped up when he heard this.

I'm talking to you about military affairs, and you're chatting with me about trivial matters?
Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, I'm researching a firearm. I've designed the blueprints and everything. When I go to the palace to pay New Year's greetings during the Chinese New Year, I plan to talk to my brother-in-law and ask him to agree to mass production."

"Don't mess around, kid."

Zhang Luan said, "I'm warning you, that's not something our family should get involved in..."

"Dad, you will be a big shot in the Five Military Commanders' Office in the future. When you become a baron, a marquis, or even a duke, you can even lead troops in the northwest as the Chief Censor. Have you ever thought about..."

"do not talk."

Zhang Luan quickly interrupted his son and said, "I hope that day will never come. You can give me the title, but I won't let you lead the army."

Zhang Yanling raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, you don't want to make achievements, but my elder brother wants to leave his name in history. Can I help him with the planning? I have been preparing for more than a year in Daming, do you really think I am just playing around every day?

"Now I am helping my brother-in-law strengthen the Ming army. I wonder who dares to criticize my strategy of enriching the country and strengthening the army! I will kill anyone who opposes me with firearms!"

(End of this chapter)