Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 767 I'm here to work.
After Zhang Yanling showed the merchants the mines and gave a brief introduction, the rest was left to the people of the Imperial Household Department, who, together with the Embroidered Uniform Guard Qin Yun and others, informed them of the specific details of all the mines, as well as the specific auction numbers.

By this time, Zhang Yanling had basically completed all the preparations for the auction the following day.

Whether he will be present at the event is no longer important.

As long as those merchants know that the mines he has opened all have high development value, that no one else has his ability to see through mountains and that he also has the means to split rocks, that will be enough to proclaim to the world that the Zhang family is unparalleled in the history of mining in the Ming Dynasty.

"Your father has arrived."

Before Zhang Yanling had even returned to the temporary inn on the mountain where he was staying, Chai Meng came over to greet him.

Zhang Yanling frowned and asked, "What is he doing here?"

Obviously, no one would have expected that Zhang Luan, the emperor's father-in-law who was known for his laziness, would actually travel all the way to Xishan.

Zhang Yanling didn't believe that his old father's trip out of Beijing was just to visit Xishan and enjoy the scenery; he must have had some unknown purpose.

Judging from the situation, it should be related to money.

……

……

The father and son met directly at the post station.

Because Zhang Luan did not inform anyone when he arrived, even Zhang Yanling only received the news at the last minute. The merchants did not know that the emperor's most favored minister, the dignified second-in-command of the cabinet and the right vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was on the West Mountain. Otherwise, many people would definitely have come to visit him.

Zhang Luan seemed very tired at this moment. In the dimly lit room, he sat there as if he was dozing off. His head bobbed up and down like a chick pecking at rice, and his eyelids drooped, looking drowsy.

Didn't sleep well last night?

Zhang Yanling walked over and handed her a cup of strong tea.

Hearing his son's voice, Zhang Luan looked up and glanced at him, a flash of surprise crossing his face. He took the teacup and said with a smile, "It's a rare honor to be able to drink tea served by my son."

Zhang Yanling said irritably, "Father, are you making fun of me? Or are you deliberately acting like you're taking advantage of your age? It's as if I'm some kind of unfilial son..."

"I knew you were up to no good."

Zhang Luan took a sip of tea, savoring the bitter taste on his lips and teeth. The smile on his face slowly faded, and he frowned and said, "It's not good to stay in the capital all the time... Anyway, I don't have to go to court or join the crowds at the government office, so I came here to take a look around and broaden my horizons."

"Really? Dad, stop trying to fool your son. Just get to the point... I'm very busy here..." Zhang Yanling clearly told Zhang Luan that he didn't need to hide his philandering thoughts from his son, since he couldn't hide them anyway.

Zhang Luan nodded and said, "Sigh, your brother-in-law is short of money again."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yanling seemed to understand, but also seemed not to fully comprehend it.

“Your words are vague and ambiguous. How am I, as your son, supposed to understand them?” Zhang Yanling said. “No one in the world is without money, and as an emperor, who has to take care of all the people, he is even more lacking in this regard. But the problem is, whether your brother-in-law is short of money or not has little to do with you! Your brother-in-law is not going to ask you for money, is he?”

Zhang Luan said with a mournful face, "It's infuriating to think about... Why does our Zhang family always encounter these kinds of things? A son-in-law can't keep taking advantage of his father-in-law, can he?"

"hehe."

Zhang Yanling smiled, clearly dismissing Zhang Luan's statement.

Although your son-in-law has asked you for money, most of the tasks were taken on by our family to help you gain more prestige in the court and rise to a higher position.

When did Zhu Youcheng intentionally frame you?

They always feel really embarrassed!

Your son-in-law is a very proud man, and he especially likes to take care of relatives. He wouldn't ask you for money for no reason.

Zhang Luan then recounted his meeting with Qin Ji to his son, and vaguely indicated that he needed Qin Ji to raise funds and provisions to help the court resolve its practical difficulties.

Zhang Yanling immediately seized on the key point and asked, "Your brother-in-law didn't ask you directly. You took on the task yourself, and then realized that you couldn't raise the money at all, so you came to me for help, right?"

"..."

Zhang Luan, who had been talking to himself, was stunned when he heard his son recount the whole story as if he had witnessed it himself.

Already feeling somewhat embarrassed, he now felt even more ashamed and sighed, "As the Vice Minister of Revenue, didn't I want to help the court solve its problems? What I was thinking was that since I had experience raising funds and grain before, I couldn't possibly do any worse this time, could I? If I could bring back tens of thousands of taels of silver, wouldn't that make me look capable?"

Zhang Yanling nodded approvingly upon hearing this, then asked, "That's truly commendable courage! Perhaps I underestimated Father... I wonder how much you've raised so far?"

Zhang Luan turned his head to the side, barely daring to breathe, which was also a way of telling his son that even if he hadn't managed to raise a single tael of silver, the situation wasn't much different.

Zhang Yanling sighed, "The last time we raised money and grain, it was Li Zisheng and Steward Pang who helped with the planning behind the scenes, and the Hui merchants also contributed money and effort. Do you think you could raise so much silver on your own?"

Zhang Luan scratched the back of his head and said embarrassedly, "So now I realize that I definitely can't raise money on my own. Li Zisheng and Steward Pang aren't here right now, so I have to rely on you, right? Even if you don't say it, I know that you were the one who contributed the most to the fundraising last time..."

“Father, there are some things that don’t need your help with; everything will proceed smoothly.” Zhang Yanling said with a wry smile, “Actually, the total amount of silver from the Ministry of Revenue’s salt permits has already exceeded one million taels. We can just give them about 500,000 taels from the Northwest to fill the previous shortfall in military pay. Why are you getting involved?”

"A million taels? You've already paid it back?"

Zhang Luan clearly hadn't expected that all his fussing was just that of a clown.

Once he calmed down a bit, he slapped his forehead, as if he had made a shocking discovery: "I knew your brother-in-law was ripping me off! The treasury clearly has a surplus of a million taels of silver, yet he's been pleading poverty with me? Isn't this just a roundabout way of ripping me off..."

Zhang Yanling said, "I think my brother-in-law wasn't trying to complain about being poor; he was just asking for your opinion to show respect. I bet even he didn't expect that you, as his father-in-law, would be so generous. While you're recuperating and refusing to see anyone or handle any court affairs, you still dare to take on things you don't understand... Sigh, as your son, I really don't know what to say to you."

"Cough cough."

Zhang Luan coughed twice, his face full of worry, and said, "My son, please help your father out. Can you scrape together a few tens of thousands of taels of silver so that I can save face? Is that alright?"

"Tens of thousands of taels..."

Zhang Yanling rolled his eyes upon hearing this and said, "Father, do you think money falls from the sky? You want so much all at once? Where am I supposed to find it?"

Zhang Luan retorted, "What can I do? I've already joined the cabinet and am even the Vice Minister of Revenue. I can't just stand by and watch when my son-in-law is in trouble, can I?"
"The reason I volunteered was because of the bad example you, Li Zisheng, and Butler Pang set for me before, which made me think I was very capable. But when I actually took charge, I found that nobody wanted me!"

"I'm really defeated by you."

Zhang Yanling said, "Once you're here, just stay on the mountain quietly. Starting tomorrow, there will be several auctions on the mountain that will last for four or five days. Just stay here and keep an eye on things."

Zhang Luan's eyes lit up again, and he asked expectantly, "You mean I can use the money from the auction and give it to your brother-in-law?"

"No."

Zhang Yanling said firmly, "This batch of silver is for building artillery and is also a reserve fund for future mining development. How can it be misappropriated for military pay?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Luan deflated like a punctured balloon, his face crestfallen. "Then what am I supposed to do here? Be a mascot?" he asked.

Zhang Yanling said, "This is for the future. With you here, the effect will be very different! Oh, Father, just think of it as helping out and making the buyers feel at ease. That's the situation now, Father, so what do you say, are we going to do it or not?"

“My son has a request, how can I, as his father, stand idly by? Very well, so what if I'm just a puppet, being played with like a puppet?” Zhang Luan sighed. “As long as you can make sure I can get out of this smoothly afterward, that will be fine!”

……

...Zhang Luan went upstairs to sleep at the post station.

Zhang Yanling knew very well that his father was a night owl who used to party and revel every night. Even though he had toned it down a bit, he still wouldn't go to bed early.

However, in order to seek help from Xishan, they had to set off from the capital early in the morning and travel a long and bumpy way. When they arrived, they were exhausted and would definitely need to rest first.

Or rather, Zhang Luan was using sleeping as a way to avoid doing things.

When Zhang Yanling left the post station, it was already dark.

Qin Yun leaned closer and whispered the situation: "Second Young Master, we've already taken several groups of merchants to visit the various mines, and they all praised your mines highly. We heard that a nobleman will be coming tomorrow. Would you like to meet him?"

"no need."

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "There's someone in charge upstairs. With my father here, who would dare to cause trouble? Let's just let him go and receive the guests. We're not afraid of anyone who comes."

Just when they thought Zhang Luan had nothing to do, they sent their cheap old man to entertain the powerful figures from the capital. Those guys definitely wanted to use connections to directly obtain the coal mine contracting rights, but given Zhang Luan's usual slickness and irresponsibility, it would be extremely difficult for them to get anything out of him.

Qin Yun asked curiously, "Did Grand Secretary Zhang come here just for... the auction that starts tomorrow?"

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Brother Qin, why do you have to ask so clearly? My father came here purely because... Sigh! Never mind, let's think about how to get a high price for the first auction tomorrow. How are the pits that were already excavated? We can take some people to take a look again tomorrow."

Currently, in addition to the mine pit that Zhang Yanling is about to auction off, Xishan also has a mine kiln that has already started operating and producing refined coal to manufacture honeycomb briquettes at the foot of the mountain, as well as coking for iron smelting.

Qin Yun said, "We can't work at night. The coal we've dug out is already piled up into a small mountain."

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "This is a good place. The coal produced can be sent to the capital for sale, or it can be sent to Tanggu, Liaodong, or even westward to Xuanfu. If an industrial system is established, the soldiers in Jiliao and Xuanda will no longer have a problem with heating in winter."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yun immediately felt that Zhang Yanling was doing something truly great, and hurriedly asked, "What about the soldiers in the three border regions?"

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "The entire Ming Dynasty can't rely solely on the coal production of Xishan, can it? Shanxi has more coal mines, which are more concentrated and have richer reserves. However, some of the mines there are buried very deep, which will make mining somewhat inconvenient. We need to improve our methods as soon as possible to prepare for a larger-scale mining operation in the future."

Just then, a junior officer from the Embroidered Uniform Guard came to report: "Greetings to the Second Young Master and Commander Qin. The Duke of Yingguo from the foot of the mountain has arrived and wishes to invite you two to come and have a talk."

Qin Yun paused for a moment, then looked at Zhang Yanling.

Zhang Yanling called to Chang Shun, who was outside getting the carriage ready. After Chang Shun came over, he instructed, "Go up and call the old patriarch, and tell him to go and receive the distinguished guests."

Chang Shun asked curiously, "Young Master, didn't the Master just lie down?"

Zhang Yanling said, "He finally made it to Xishan, how can I let him sleep? He has to do something now that he's here! Otherwise, he'll keep causing me trouble and giving me more work."

"Yes."

Chang Shun glanced at Qin Yun and immediately went upstairs.

Zhang Yanling pointed at Chang Shun and asked Qin Yun with a smile, "Don't you think this guy is clever?"

Qin Yun said, "What does the Second Young Master mean...?"

“I was thinking that if he were to serve in the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the future, he might not have anyone to guide him,” Zhang Yanling said with a smile. “But if Brother Qin were to look after him, he would have a mentor.”

……

……

A temporary post station on the western hill.

Zhang Luan yawned and dragged his heavy body out to greet Zhang Mao, who had come to visit.

Duke Zhang Mao of England never expected to meet Zhang Luan himself in Xishan. His original purpose was simply to meet Zhang Luan's son... the legendary little brother-in-law Zhang Yanling, who was said to have gained a firm foothold in the court and even had the inclination to take charge of the inner palace.

“Zhang Guozhang, I never imagined that we would meet here.”

Zhang Mao's face showed a hint of surprise.

Meeting Zhang Luan automatically raised the level of the conversation by a huge margin. Moreover, since he hadn't deliberately sought to see him, but had just happened to run into him, it could be said to be fate, or it seemed to be destiny that gave him the opportunity to make a lot of money.

Zhang Luan asked in surprise, "Old Master Zhang, what's going on...?"

Zhang Mao smiled and said, "I'm only a few years older than you, am I that old? We're not strangers, why be so polite? I've brought a small gift with me, I hope you'll accept it."

As he spoke, Zhang Mao had two boxes carried into the post station.

Zhang Luan thought to himself, "We're both surnamed Zhang, but you're much more cunning than me. You actually have the audacity to come and give my son a gift? If I hadn't happened to run into you, I wouldn't have known about this."

Zhang Luan then invited Zhang Mao into the post station and found an empty room to use as a reception place.

After the guests and hosts were seated, Zhang Mao spoke frankly: "There is a manager in your household who is in charge of business. He has been staying here for the past few days and has been with the Embroidered Uniform Guard to inspect several mines on and off the mountain. He has learned that the coal mine your son is opening is much better than the ones he opened on the mountain before."

"you mean……?"

Zhang Luan didn't quite understand.

Because he had long heard from his son that it was no secret that meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty were mining in the Western Hills.

There should also be several mines in the British public sphere, but to avoid suspicion, the mines are not registered under Zhang Mao's name, but the output of the mines will definitely belong to Zhang Mao.

Zhang Mao laughed and said, "You don't know until you compare. Among the sons of meritorious officials, your son is truly a genius. He has such supernatural abilities that he can cut through ore out of thin air... It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Lai Zhan."

As they spoke, Zhang Mao began to try to get closer to him.

"He...taught himself."

Zhang Luan had no idea what Zhang Mao was up to, so he casually replied, "Just some unorthodox techniques, nothing to mention."

“That would have to be because you are very capable… I’ve heard that you have great supernatural powers, Lai Zhan. You were able to accurately predict the earthquake at Mount Tai. With the help of a capable person like Master Li, how could you not succeed?” Zhang Mao said with a smile. “I will have to rely on you more in the future.”

Zhang Luan asked tentatively, "Is it because my son is mining in the Western Hills and it's affecting you, sir?"

"No no."

Zhang Mao hurriedly explained, "They're all mining. Whoever does well will naturally be envied by others, but no matter what, they can only watch with envy, right?"

Zhang Luan thought to himself, what do you mean by that?
Is this an implication that I should hand over a few mines to settle things?
Zhang Mao laughed again, "Well, I know there are good mines here, so I thought... I would buy a few mines from your son and manage them well in the future, so that I can bring some substantial benefits to the court. The Imperial Household Department can also get some income from here every year."

Zhang Luan became increasingly confused as he listened. He blinked and asked, "So, you're saying that you came here just to buy a mine?"

"Correct."

Zhang Mao nodded and said, "It's about buying mines. But besides buying mines, I also hope to get... your assistance, Lai Zhan. As you know, my Zhang family is utterly loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and we hope to make some achievements in the military and political affairs of the Northwest at the beginning of His Majesty's reign. What do you think..."

Zhang Luan stared in disbelief: "This..."

(End of this chapter)