Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 650: Diseases of Wealth

Zhang Luan was recuperating at home and hadn't gone out for several days.

Then, like a coward, he asked his youngest son to diagnose him every day, which almost made Zhang Yanling speechless.

"Son, I feel like I'm getting weaker day by day. Please take a look at me right away to see if I have some strange disease... Oh, is it an incurable disease? I haven't had a few days of good life yet, I don't want to die like this..."

Zhang Luan spoke in a sad tone, looking eagerly at his son who was taking his pulse.

Zhang Heling, who was serving beside him, spoke first: "Yes, Second Brother, hurry up and check, is our father dying?"

"Get lost! You bastard, are you hoping that I will die so that you can inherit this huge fortune? Get out! Don't disturb your brother from treating me!"

Zhang Luan almost wanted to pick up the cup next to him and throw it at his eldest son.

Zhang Heling's concerned expression suddenly fell, and he cursed, "You are so kind... I just hope you get better soon... I am more anxious than Lao Er.

"Tell me, what good will your death do me? The longer you live and the more you earn, the lighter the burden will be on me in the future, and the easier it will be to live... If you die now and let me build up my fortune by myself, wouldn't that be tiring?

"Hmph, don't curse me so harshly... If you want someone to burn paper for you during the Qingming Festival, the Ghost Festival, and the New Year, be nice to me!"

"roll!"

Zhang Luan became more and more upset as he listened, and started cursing at his eldest son.

This time the cup really flew out, but didn't hit anyone.

Only after the people left did Zhang Yanling take his hand back.

"Dad, you are full of energy when you curse, it doesn't look like you have a terminal illness." Zhang Yanling said, "I can't tell what's wrong with you. It may also be that my medical skills are not good enough."

Zhang Luan said dissatisfiedly: "You are the only one who doesn't have good medical skills? If I can't even rely on you, who can I rely on? How about you take another look?"

"Dad, I really can't do this."

Zhang Yanling shook his head first, then analyzed, "Looking at your complexion, I don't think you have a serious illness. Could it be that you have been overworking women recently, causing kidney deficiency and qi deficiency? Or you can try some warming and nourishing methods? Anyway, I have no other ideas."

Zhang Luan said angrily, "The late emperor was ill in the palace. You knew his condition without even seeing him at home. Your medical skills were superb. But now you say you can't do anything? What? My life is not as precious as the late emperor's?"

"Old Zhang, are you a little bit overly sensitive? Is your illness comparable to that of the late emperor?"

Zhang Yanling said unhappily.

"Eh? What did you call me? What kind of disease is this neurosis you mentioned? It sounds weird. Is it serious?"

Zhang Luan wanted to scold his youngest son as well, but he swallowed the words back as they reached his lips, because he had no confidence at all facing Zhang Yanling, so he could only ask with eager eyes.

Zhang Yanling didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "I think you might have a heart disease, and you need to observe it further... Anyway, some diseases are caused by long-term fatigue. Of course, this fatigue comes from all aspects of life, accumulated over time... The main reason is that your body is not very good. You have been used to a poor life in the first half of your life, which is completely different from the luxury you have enjoyed in the past year. This makes your body unable to accept it for a while."

"What do you mean? Rich man's disease? Are you saying I'm not destined to be rich?"

Zhang Luan stared at his son and asked.

"You could say the same thing."

Zhang Yanling did not give in at all and nodded in agreement.

"Hey, you little brat, you are just like your big brother."

Zhang Luan scolded him in embarrassment, and then asked, "But at the moment, I don't have any obvious signs of being terminally ill, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, I can't see anything right now. Just rest first. When you have symptoms, I will be able to make a diagnosis and try every possible way to treat you. I can only prescribe the right medicine for the right disease..."

Zhang Yanling said.

"oops……"

Zhang Luan suddenly exclaimed, and said tremblingly: "I remember that Huai En's illness is the same as that of Concubine Wan and the late emperor. I must not be infected by Huai En. In the end, it was obviously he who got the disease first, but I died first. That would be meaningless... My son, please prescribe some medicine for me so that I can take precautions."

"Dad, you should rest for two days and ignore everything. In particular, you should cultivate your character and avoid women... I will think of a solution carefully."

Zhang Yanling said, "You were short of breath and had occasional coughs before. You probably just caught a cold. After treatment, you are almost well now. You don't have any problems with your legs and feet. It's unlikely that you had rheumatism. The reason you feel heavy is probably due to old age."

"I'm not old..."

Zhang Luan seemed very dissatisfied.

"Looking at your frail state, if you indulge in women and cannot extricate yourself, how many years do you think you can last?"

Zhang Yanling said unhappily, "I once predicted for you that if things develop normally, you won't even live for ten years. If you continue to mess around..."

"Less than ten years? Is that true?"

Zhang Luan became visibly nervous.

Zhang Yanling thought to himself, I was already being polite by not telling you that you only had four or five years left to live, and I had reason to say that.

After all, history has proven that even if not everything can develop as it originally did, some things always follow certain rules. Otherwise, why would you die just a few years after becoming the father-in-law of the emperor? "Master, Second Young Master, Eunuch Tan is here."

Chang Shun's voice came.

"I... Help me up..."

Zhang Luan struggled to get up.

Zhang Yanling tried to dissuade him: "Since you are unable to move, just lie down... I will go and receive you. Eunuch Tan must be here for the salt tax."

Zhang Luan asked curiously, "Didn't they say that the salt permits were selling very well? Now people are scrambling to get them outside. They sell as many as the Ministry of Revenue issues. Why are they coming to our house when the sales are so hot?"

"Maybe they want to sell more? Or maybe they are afraid that if they sell too much, the salt permits will become waste paper, which will be unfavorable for subsequent sales?" Zhang Yanling analyzed it and then laughed. "In fact, I have told my brother-in-law about the countermeasure, which is to increase the output of the salt field. Now that spring is coming soon, it is time to release the winter salt from the warehouse."

Zhang Luan closed his eyes, waved his hand and said, "Then go ahead. I want to take good care of my body recently... My goodness, you only have ten years left to live? How long can you enjoy it? I really can't accept this!"

Zhang Yanling curled his lips in disdain when he heard this.

God has given you ten years of wealth and glory, and you are still not satisfied?

What you experienced this year is more colorful than your first half of life combined. Why are you still complaining?

……

……

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

It's the Qianqing Palace again.

Huai'en and Qin Ji were reporting state affairs to Zhu Youtang.

Even at the beginning of the new year, when court ministers were still on holiday, Zhu Youtang did not allow himself to relax. He reviewed memorials as usual every day. However, most of the memorials were sent to the capital from various places before the New Year to congratulate the new emperor. There were not many important matters, let alone any urgent matters.

However, there was one thing that Zhu Youtang was concerned about, and that was the matter of Li Zisheng, Tan Chang and Zhu Yong leading troops to escort cloth, grain and fodder westward.

"Your Majesty, there is a memorial from the Military Department, impeaching the Duke of Baoguo for his slow march, failure to deliver food and fodder in a timely manner, and his troops often causing disturbances in the local area."

Huai'en took out a memorial and handed it to Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang read it carefully and asked, "Oban, is Zhu Yong at fault in this matter?"

Huai En analyzed, "The soldiers in the Beijing camp are arrogant by nature, and it is common for them to have some disputes with local officials along the way when they go to the northwest to perform official duties. Moreover, this time they are escorting 200,000 shi of grain and grass, and the team is huge. The team stretches for more than ten miles, so it is understandable that the marching speed is slow."

Zhu Youtang asked: "Since you know this journey is difficult, why do the censors still want to impeach me?"

"This……"

Although Huai En felt that this question should not be explained, he still said helplessly, "It's probably a routine matter... Just like, many people have impeached Li Zisheng and Qin Chang who were on official business in the northwest before, impeaching them for failing to complete the court's entrustment in time and delaying the journey."

Zhu Youtang seemed very unhappy and said, "But Li Zisheng and Tan Chang have already reported the situation and explained it in detail. It's all because of insufficient authority that the local authorities refuse to cooperate. Right now, the northwest border is in turmoil. If the Tatars rob the military uniforms and fabrics, the majesty of the court will be gone. It's understandable to be cautious."

Huai En said: "Your Majesty, in fact, in my opinion, you should urge the governors and generals in the northwest to actively drive away the invading enemies, instead of just staying in the city like now, so that the Tatars can act recklessly and often infiltrate the outer Great Wall from some defensive blind spots..."

Zhu Youtang looked depressed and said, "My dear, I want to ask, if it was in the past, when the Tatars invaded, would it be the same as now, with all places just reporting the enemy's warning without even distinguishing whether it was true or false, and not sending troops to resist?"

Huai En shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty, in fact, the Tatars have not been so rampant for many years."

"why?"

Zhu Youtang seemed to blame himself and said sadly, "Could it be that my father had just left and the Tatars thought that I, the new emperor, was easy to bully, so they brazenly attacked?"

"no."

Huai En quickly explained, "As far as I know, after decades of turmoil, the Tatars have gradually stabilized in the past few years. In addition, the snowstorm in the north this year was particularly severe, making it difficult for them to survive... In addition, the market in the northwest has not been open for a long time, and the Tatars have difficulty obtaining the materials they need to survive. This is why they have invaded the border so many times this year."

Zhu Youtang said, "My dear, you don't need to comfort me. I know that when my father was alive, he appointed many famous generals and fought against foreign enemies with almost no defeats, which stabilized the border. When the title for my father was being drafted, didn't a minister suggest that he should be Emperor Wuzong?"

Huai En nodded and said, "The late emperor's achievements were unparalleled, and he was a sage and wise ruler who was rare in the world, but Your Majesty is also a wise ruler."

"Then, Oban, is there anyone who can help me settle the Northwest?"

Zhu Youtang said, "As far as I know, during the time of my father, many famous people were used to defeat the barbarians and make them flee... Who do you think can quickly stabilize the morale of the army by going to the northwest?"

Huai En shook his head and said, "I don't know."

When Huai En said this, Qin Ji on the side couldn't help but look at Huai En in surprise, with a strange look in his eyes.

Zhu Youtang sighed, "I just hope that this time Li Zisheng and Zhu Yong can successfully complete the task I have entrusted to them and make the Tatars retreat.

"This is the first war after the change of era name. We don't seek merit, but we do seek to avoid mistakes."

(End of this chapter)