Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 170
Because of Young Master Zhang's well-informed and deceitful personality, he suddenly received an order from Wei Zhongxian to call him back to Beijing to report on his duties. How could he not guess that his return to Beijing this time would definitely be related to the Shaanxi peasant uprising?The only thing that depressed Young Master Zhang was that Wei Zhongxian's excuse for summoning him back to Beijing was exactly the same as Zhang Yan's, without any creativity. Throughout the ages, at home and abroad, has a governor returned to Beijing to report on his duties twice in less than half a year?This person who doesn't know the inside story may think that Young Master Zhang is too outrageous to act as a supporter and is too bad at doing things, so he was called back to the capital for training every three days. Where is Young Master Zhang's face?
Depressed and depressed, Wei Zhongxian had to listen to the orders. First, he roughly dismissed Lu Wanling and his wife who stayed in Jimen with shameless faces, and then hurriedly entrusted Man Gui and Song Xiance, one of the official military affairs payers, to Zhang Da in the early morning of the next day. The young master led twenty soldiers to leave Jimen and hurried back to the capital.Fortunately, Jimen is only a day's journey away from the capital. On the evening of the departure day, that is, the evening of the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month in the sixth year of Tianqi, Young Master Zhang and his party returned to the city.Entering the city, Young Master Zhang didn't go home first, he just sent someone home to report a letter, and led Zhang Shitou and others to bring gifts for Wei Liangqing, Fu Yingxing and others, and rushed to Wei Ran Hutong non-stop to meet Wei Zhongxian— ——Fortunately, Wei Zhongxian, who was always busier than Young Master Zhang, happened to be at home.

Young Master Zhang is indeed more and more valued and trusted by Wei Zhongxian. Hearing that Young Master Zhang is back, Wei Zhongxian, who is dealing with the dispute between Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan, actually left the two eunuchs and went to greet Young Master Zhang in person.Seeing this scene, Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan, who were still arguing upside down about the placement of a chief official position just now, looked at each other, secretly rejoicing that Young Master Zhang took the initiative to ask to be released as an official, otherwise, if Young Master Zhang stayed in the capital to serve , Is there a role for the two of them in the eunuch party? ——Of course, if Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan knew that the reason why Wei Zhongxian agreed to release Young Master Zhang was to allow Young Master Zhang to avoid the vortex of struggle within the eunuch party and calmly establish his own power, I am afraid that Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan would be more Eyeballs will pop out with jealousy.

"What's the point of my child, how dare I ask my father to greet me in person? I'm ashamed of my child, I'm guilty of death, death penalty." Young Master Zhang didn't expect Wei Zhongxian to come to the gate to greet him in person, so he knelt down on his knees and kowtowed in fright. Try to express your flattered mood.Wei Zhongxian, on the other hand, laughed and helped Young Master Zhang, patted Young Master Zhang on the shoulder and said lovingly: "Monkey boy, what's the point of welcoming you in person if you are fighting for our family outside? Our family has heard about it. When the army of Jiannu and Horqin Tatars colluded together in the Karami Grassland, they used to make plans for the Jimen Great Wall, but when your banner was launched at the entrance of Xifeng, Jiannu and Horqin Tatars were all scared away—— With a son like you who is both civil and military, our family should speak louder in the court, right?"

"Thank you for the compliment from my father. In fact, this is also due to my father's reputation. Jiannu and Horqin Tatars frightened away when they heard that my father was considering sending more troops to Jimen. The children just followed my father's glory." Young Master Zhang's mouth was as sweet as honey, but he knew very well in his heart that the Jiannu and Horqin troops joined forces to fight chickens, and the reason why they did not launch an attack on the Great Wall of Jimen was because they were not prepared enough, and they never thought about attacking Jimen in advance. Afterwards, even if it is impromptu, there is no time to prepare food, weapons and siege weapons.It wasn't until this time that Young Master Zhang took the time to greet Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan, "Brother Cui, Mr. Feng, are you here too? It's so dark, today's government affairs are not finished yet?"

"Don't bother with these two bastards. They've been arguing at our house for more than half an hour about a candidate for the head of the Ministry of Officials Ji Xun, and the quarrel hasn't ended yet." Wei Zhongxian shouted angrily.Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan bowed their heads together to express their remorse. At the same time, Cui Chengxiu winked at Young Master Zhang, signaling Young Master Zhang to speak for her.Young Master Zhang understood, and asked Feng Quan: "Master Feng, who do you plan to recommend to take over as the head of the Ji Xun Division of the Ministry of Officials? Do you want to give you a reference?"

Young Master Zhang will never speak for himself. Of course Feng Quan understands this, so Feng Quan hesitated for a while and was about to evade, but Cui Chengxiu rushed to answer: "Master Feng intends to recommend Mr. Yang, a Jinshi in the 41st year of Wanli and the former magistrate of Binzhou Yang Mingshi. Appointed. Yang Mingshi served in Binzhou for three years and failed the assessment for three consecutive years, so I don’t think it is suitable. I plan to recommend the former Andong County Magistrate Wang Danian. Mr. Wang served twice as the Huainan County Magistrate. It is very fair, not to mention the excellent grades in the annual official assessment, and when he left office, the local people even gave him the Wanmin Umbrella."

Young Master Zhang smiled and nodded, knowing that Feng Quan was also a Jinshi in the 41st year of Wanli, so the recommended Yang Mingshi must be his own person, and Cui Chengxiu was the governor of Huaiyang, and Wang Danian, the magistrate of Andong County, was naturally also his person.After doing some calculations, Young Master Zhang smiled and said to Wei Zhongxian: "Father, my son thinks that although the official position of the Jixun Division of the Ministry of Officials is small, it is in charge of the civil servants' system, end-of-life care, succession, naturalization, and rehabilitation of officials. Renaming names and surnames is a matter of heavy responsibilities, so it is not suitable to promote officials, it is better to be transferred at the same level."

"Huh?" Both Feng Quan and Cui Chengxiu's eyes widened, and they thought that Young Master Zhang had taken the wrong medicine today—the Zhizhou and the principal were both of the sixth rank, and the county magistrate was of the seventh rank. Young Master Zhang suggested that he be transferred at the same level, but Became supporting Feng Quan!Wei Zhongxian was also taken aback, and asked, "Monkey boy, do you really think so?"

"Yes, my child thinks so." Young Master Zhang nodded solemnly, and added: "However, since Mr. Yang failed the assessment for three consecutive years at Yang Mingshi, he is not suitable for this position. Let Mr. Feng be the one in the official department." Mr. Xie Sheng, the fellow townsman and the head of the Ministry of Officials, was transferred to this position. As for the position left by Mr. Xie, Mr. Wang Danian, who was recommended by Mr. Cui, can be taken over by him. Inspecting the big plan, Mr. Wang Danian, who is always excellent in the official assessment every year, is suitable for this position...hehe."

Having said that, Young Master Zhang couldn't help laughing out loud, but Feng Quan's face turned pale, and Wei Zhongxian laughed too, lightly slapped Young Master Zhang, and scolded with a smile: "Monkey boy, fortunately you are not Minister of the Ministry of Officials, otherwise the officials below will have to be played to death by you——Can Ji Xun of the Ministry of Officials have half as much power as the Secretary of Kao Gong? You want to speak for Cui Chengxiu, but you don’t want to help Cui Chengxiu?” Cui Chengxiu was complacent, Quickly echoed: "Nine thousand years old, I also feel that Tan Hualang's recommendation is appropriate, Jiu Qiantui may wish to consider one or two."

"Okay, you two monkeys, don't bully Mr. Feng by singing and singing together. Our family really arranged it like this, he must cry." Of course Wei Zhongxian would not casually transfer the head of the examination department with important powers, pointing to Feng Quan and said: "Boheng, don't argue about this matter. The director of the examination department will not move, and the director of the Jixun department will be Wang Danian. When you were named Yang in the same year, wait for him to be excellent in the examination for three consecutive years. Do you hear me?" Feng Quan cried and agreed, but in his heart he aggravated his hatred for Young Master Zhang by three points.Wei Zhongxian waved his hand again and said, "Stop standing here, for the sake of this person who is as big as a sesame mung bean, our family hasn't eaten yet, monkey boy, you haven't eaten dinner, have you? Go to the back hall and ask for a table." Food and wine, we father and son talked while eating."

"Daddy hasn't eaten yet? Daddy has worked hard for the country, how can he not cherish his body so much? If Daddy is not satisfied with the cook, there is a good cook from Shandong at my son's house, and I want to dedicate it to Daddy... .”

………………

Maybe it was because of brainstorming, Wei Zhongxian rarely asked Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan to have dinner together, during the dinner, Wei Zhongxian said straight to the point: "Monkey boy, it's just a cover for our family to ask you to return to Beijing to report on your work. , the real reason must have been guessed by you. The rebellion in Shaanxi is getting bigger and bigger, and has spread to Gansu and Shanxi. In a fit of anger, the two officials were dismissed at the same time, but it is difficult to find someone to replace these two useless people—monkey boy, do you understand what our family means?"

"Tanhualang, you have a very high voice for the position of Governor of Shaanxi." Feng Quan, who has suffered two big losses from Young Master Zhang these days, said with a smirk on his face, "Even Tanhualang, your chief minister Zhang Ruitu and Tangguan Zhang also wrote a letter suggesting that the imperial court should make an exception for promotion, and directly appoint Tanhualang as the governor of the three sides, and I have great expectations for Tanhualang.” ——Feng Quan’s implication is, of course, Young Master Zhang, you must not Live up to your teacher's expectations.

"Yes, there is such a thing." Cui Chengxiu was rarely on the same side as Feng Quan, and echoed: "There is also Wang Tangguan from the Ministry of War, and he even suggested that Brother Zhang, you take the positions of governor of the three sides and governor of Shaanxi concurrently." Get up, so that you don't have to worry about being restrained by others, and concentrate on destroying the thieves in Shaanxi. Brother Zhang might as well think about it, with your ability, isn't it easy to wipe out a group of thieves?"

"This guy is starting to fear me too." Eldest Young Master Zhang pondered in his mind calmly - he was too much favored by Wei Zhongxian, and he had made outstanding achievements in both civil and military affairs. Just break it immediately. Not only will Feng Quan be defeated, Cui Chengxiu may also repeat Feng Quan's mistakes and be knocked down by himself. Even if he stays in Jimen, because the distance is too close, he can still easily affect the political situation in the capital. The idea of ​​sending myself to Shaanxi.Rolling his eyes a little, Young Master Zhang pretended to be surprised and asked: "Concurrently serving as the governor of the three sides and the governor of Shaanxi? The governor of the three sides needs to be a second rank. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, is there a second rank who is 22 years old?"

"No." Wei Zhongxian said calmly: "However, after Wang Yongguang put forward this proposal in the early court, not only did none of the civil and military officials object, but many people agreed to second the proposal, including many from Donglin Academy. officials."

"Donglin Party? No way?" Young Master Zhang was really surprised this time.Wei Zhongxian nodded, and said lightly: "Since the first year of Tianqi, the national treasury has been overwhelmed by the slave rebellion in Liaodong and the southwestern Miao rebellion. In order to quell the rebellion, our family has been under pressure to collect commercial taxes. Last year you hit us hard. The slavery was established, the Miao chaos in Southwest China was put down, and the pressure on the treasury had just been reduced. Of course, the officials of the Donglin treacherous party began to look for ways to persuade our family to reduce business taxes. It turned into nothing. In this way, of course, they hope that the bandit chaos will be quelled as soon as possible and the military expenditure will be reduced. Who else has the best hope of quickly quelling the bandit chaos, except you? That's why they rarely stand on our side and advocate breaking the rules Promoted to you."

"Yeah, Tanhualang, what a great opportunity, let's do it!" Feng Quan pretended to encourage, "As long as you nod, the 22-year-old Zheng Erpin, a member of Fengjiang, is yours!" Cui Chengxiu over there also strongly encouraged , I said in my heart that as long as you are willing to go to Shaanxi, not to mention that you concurrently serve as the governor of the three sides and the governor of Shaanxi, even if you concurrently serve as the governor of Sichuan and the governor of Shanxi. You are also indispensable for the annual ice and charcoal tribute.

"Father, what do you mean?" Young Master Zhang tentatively asked Wei Zhongxian.Wei Zhongxian smiled wryly, and replied: "Our family called you back just to hear what you mean - our family promised you to give you a year of military training, and now it's only half a year, and our family doesn't want to break our promise to our son. "

"Fortunately, the old eunuch Wei hasn't made a decision yet." Young Master Zhang heaved a sigh of relief, and then sighed secretly, "But this old...old man is really good to me."

After making some calculations, Young Master Zhang gritted his teeth and said, "Father, my child doesn't want to go!"

"Why?" Wei Zhongxian raised his gray eyebrows, waved his hand to stop Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan's exaggerated screams, and asked calmly: "The reason is that you are not sure? Or do you want to continue training your soldiers?"

"There are both." Young Master Zhang spoke surprisingly, peeking at Wei Zhongxian's face and said, "I really don't have the confidence to quickly put down the riots in Shaanxi, and I want to continue to train the slave army well, so I don't want to go to Shaanxi."

"You are not even afraid of building slaves on the battlefield, yet you say that you are not sure that you can quickly put down the rebellion in Shaanxi?" Wei Zhongxian asked suspiciously, "Even if you are not sure about putting down the rebellion in Shaanxi, then who is sure to put down this rebellion?"

Young Master Zhang was silent, and after a long time, Young Master Zhang said slowly: "No one can quell this rebellion quickly, and no one can completely quell this rebellion—only food! Only food can quickly quell the rebellion, and only Food can completely quell this rebellion! The root cause of this rebellion is famine, and it cannot be quelled by pure force."

"Isn't Tan Hualang's words too biased?" Feng Quan, who was born as a gentry, said in a strange way: "We can't put down this rebellion by force alone? Kill all the rebels who rebelled, wouldn't we put it down?"

"Shut up! Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!" Wei Zhongxian, who was born as a farmer, scolded Feng Quan, and then asked Young Master Zhang with mung bean eyes: "Monkey boy, you want to say that this time the thieves in Shaanxi are in chaos. The suppression by the army will not help? Even if all the rebels are killed and the people in Shaanxi have nothing to eat, they still have to continue to rebel and become rebels again? The only way is to quickly allocate food to relieve the victims in Shaanxi, so that the people of Shaanxi If you have something to eat, you won't follow the rebels, and can the rebellion be completely put down?"

Young Master Zhang nodded, and rarely said from the bottom of his heart: "Father, among all the officials in the court, I am afraid that you are the only one who understands this truth."

"Our family understands this truth, so what's the use of it?" Facing the heartfelt praise of Young Master Zhang, Wei Zhongxian didn't have the slightest joy on his face, and said with a gloomy expression: "Can our family give so much money and food to comfort the victims? Shaanxi It has been in drought for six years, and at least [-]% of the millions of people are victims of disasters and starvation. How much grain and grain will be needed to relieve them? In addition to the loss of road transportation, it will be doubled. Our family will spend all the treasury If it’s empty, I can’t spend so much money to buy and sell food for relief. Just this, our family has not counted the part of the local officials’ private pockets!”

"There are also Shanxi and Henan, which have been drought for many years." Young Master Zhang added darkly: "The combined population of these two places is only a lot more than the population of Shaanxi. Only to appease the hungry people in Shaanxi, they can Convinced?"

Wei Zhongxian stopped talking, and Feng Quan, who barely understood a little, said unconvinced: "As Tanhualang said, there is no way to put down the rebellion this time? Then, should the rebellion in Shaanxi be suppressed or not?" Huh?" Cui Chengxiu also asked: "Tanhualang, you are the one who knows military affairs best here, tell me, besides helping the common people, is there any other way to completely put down this rebellion? The thieves are spreading and fighting."

"The way..." Eldest Young Master Zhang hesitated to speak, and looked at Wei Zhongxian.Wei Zhongxian understood, put down his chopsticks and stood up and said, "Okay, let's stop here today. Our family is tired, so you all go back first, and we can discuss tomorrow if you have anything to do."

After Wei Zhongxian spoke, Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan dared not leave no matter whether they were full or not, they stood up with Young Master Zhang and bid farewell to Wei Zhongxian, but Wei Zhongxian did not send him off either.When walking out of the hall side by side with Cui Chengxiu, Young Master Zhang looked at Feng Quan who was walking in front, and whispered to Cui Chengxiu: "Brother Cui, do you know what is brother's greatest wish in life?"

"What is it?" Cui Chengxiu asked casually.Young Master Zhang smiled and said in a low voice: "The biggest wish now is to quickly put down the slaves in Liaodong and the thieves in Shaanxi, restore the world to peace, and earn some glory and wealth by the way. The biggest wish in the future is to go to Jiangnan, a paradise on earth, to enjoy For decades, the fine wines and beauties in the south of the Yangtze River have been my brother's favorite, but the wind and sand here in Beijing is too strong, and it is really unbearable for my brother to live for a long time."

"Really? Brother Zhang is willing to take this rich and prosperous capital?" Cui Chengxiu glanced at Young Master Zhang, half-believing about the implication in Young Master Zhang's words.Eldest Young Master Zhang nodded with a smile, and said with a long sigh: "Brother Cui will be the chief assistant at that time, and I am far away from home, brother. If there is anything in the court, I still have to count on Brother Cui to take good care of you." Speaking of this, Mr. Zhang The young master smiled again and said: "I heard that Brother Cui's eldest son, Cui Duo, has grown up, but his career has been repeatedly disadvantaged. Did Brother Cui ever think about letting him join the army and work under my younger brother's command?"

Cui Chengxiu was silent for a long time, until he reached the gate of Wei Mansion, Cui Chengxiu nodded and smiled and said: "That's fine, I'll go back and ask the dog what he means, if he is willing to abandon literature and pursue martial arts, please take care of me brother." Speaking of this , Cui Chengxiu pouted behind her back, and smiled: "Brother Zhang, just send it to the gate. Nine thousand years old is still waiting for your reply, go back quickly."

As Young Master Zhang expected, Feng Quan's sedan chair stopped shortly after he had gone far, and when Cui Chengxiu's sedan chair passed by, Feng Quan got out of the sedan chair to stop Cui Chengxiu's sedan chair, leaned to the window of the sedan chair, and said with a smile: "Master Cui, The second watch hasn't arrived yet, and I can't fall asleep when I go home, so I went to my brother's house to sit down for a while and have a few drinks, I wonder if Brother Cui will do me a favor?"

"Thank you, Mr. Feng, but I'm already tired and want to rest early." Cui Chengxiu shook her head and refused, and said: "Get up the sedan chair, let's go."

(End of this chapter)