Chapter 512 Buying wine to offer to Buddha

Kunning Palace.

Zhang Heling came to see Queen Zhang that day, nominally to check on her sister's condition, but in fact the purpose was to talk about Zhang Yanling's merits, demerits, rewards and punishments in the northwest, and the ultimate purpose was to gain some benefits for herself go back.

"Sister, I just came over from the Dudu Mansion and asked them about the second child. They said that the second child also delayed his march in Ningxia this time and was also on the list of punished persons. You talk to your brother-in-law, don't punish him, why bother as we are all a family."

Zhang Heling came prepared, and he could be said to speak for his younger brother.

Queen Zhang looked very lazy. She picked up the gift sent by Zhang Heling and frowned slightly, because the gift was of no use to her at all, and most importantly, it was not valuable.

"Next time you come, you might as well bring some fruits from outside. You don't have to bring these things anymore." Queen Zhang said.

"Oh, Queen, why do we still care about this? I'm telling you about my second brother." Zhang Heling was anxious first.

Empress Zhang rolled her eyes at her younger brother and said, "I didn't hear your brother-in-law say that he was going to be punished for his age extension. Didn't it mean that he wanted to serve the court? As long as he has the intention, your brother-in-law will not blame him."

"Pa"

Zhang Heling slapped his thigh and said, "Sister, you are right. The second brother is different from Zhu Hui and Zhang Rui. These people are capable. He was doing things but he didn’t have the intention. The second leader didn’t follow him. It was simply because of his lack of ability. Even if he was asked to do it, he wouldn’t be able to do it.”

A sneer appeared on the corner of Queen Zhang’s mouth and she said, “You are quite right in what you say. "I heard it."

Zhang Heling said with a proud look on his face, "That's right, I'm not sure about other things, but I have been with the second child for so many years. I don't know what kind of urine he has. Others can walk a hundred miles a day and deliberately walk five." Ten, and he could only do forty-eight for his life, which is still a little worse than others."

"Shut up." Queen Zhang couldn't stand it, and shouted angrily, "You can't hope. Your brother has ordered you to be capable. Why let him come if you go?"

"This is called division of labor. We agreed early on that I would join the new faction and work with Zhang Bingkuan, and he would join the old faction. The ultimate goal of stabilizing the hearts of those old guys is to make our Zhang family invincible." Zhang Heling still feels good about himself.

Queen Zhang said, "There is no need to play both sides. Your brother-in-law is optimistic about Zhang Bingkuan now, so you can all go to his side."

Zhang Heling sighed, "But if I have the opportunity to lead the army, I will You can't go without the second brother. I heard that the second brother had already led the troops in Shigou City this time, but because of his lack of ability, he didn't kill him. He missed the opportunity to gain military exploits, but it was cheaper. That boy from Lao Cui's family has a lot of luck. I don't think the second brother is that lucky." The more Empress Zhang heard, the more she felt that this brother was here to cause trouble, so she didn't bother to talk to him anymore. nonsense.

She rolled her eyes and said, "If you have nothing to do, go back. I still need to rest."

Zhang Heling smiled and said, "Then next time I will bring some precious herbs to my sister, such as Ganoderma lucidum and tiger root." Bone"

"No need. "Queen Zhang said coldly, "That's not the right way, and what you said is available in the palace pharmacy. "

Zhang Heling said, "Then I will bring a famous doctor here next time, the kind who can heal the dead. I know there is such a famous doctor. ”

Empress Zhang said angrily, “If you have a doctor like this, I’ll cure your brain first. If your brain doesn’t work all day long, why don’t you bring someone in, stuff him with something, and tell him to get out of here as soon as possible.” ”

As a sister, she naturally knows that her younger brother is so "attentive" and that she wants to deliver medicine and a doctor. She is clearly trying to please her and beg for things from her.

When the palace maid moved things here, Zhang Heling still smiled and said, "Farewell, sister, I'm so embarrassed. People always say that I came to the palace to ask for rewards. It's not nice to gossip, and maybe people say that I want to The palace has been evacuated. "

"Humph. "Empress Zhang glanced at her younger brother, as if to say, you still know that I'm sorry

"Then my brother is disrespectful. My sister must remember to tell her brother-in-law to help the second brother, if someone deliberately makes things difficult. We, the Zhang family, might as well be on guard. We still don’t know how the rewards and punishments for merit and demerit in the Northwest are determined. "Zhang Heling said.

Queen Zhang said casually, "Your brother-in-law has long said that the merits and demerits of the northwest will be determined by the Ministry of War. In name, it is to be discussed with the listening office, but in fact, Zhang Bingkuan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, will decide. to decide. "

"Really?" Zhang Heling said with a smile, "The rumors outside are true. It seems that those gossips are still very useful. I will definitely talk to Zhang Bingkuan when I have the chance. As long as he contributes, the second child will be considered." Even if you don't go to the battlefield, you can come back with military merit. Just watch it, sister. ”

Empress Zhang looked at Zhang Heling’s back as he trotted away from the palace with a slightly sad expression.

She didn’t seem to feel it before, but now she feels even more sad.

"Why did my mother give birth to such an unworthy son? I should talk to my mother next time and let her regulate the two unworthy sons." Empress Zhang almost gritted her teeth and said this.

Zhang Zhou. It was time to leave the palace.

Li Rong saw him off.

On the way out of the palace, Li Rong seemed to have a lot to say. After all, Xiao Jing was present when he entered the palace, so it was inconvenient to say a lot. Said.

"Sir, you should have heard something about your Majesty's consort Cui. If the eldest princess is really unwilling to reconcile, you should use Cui Consort more and let him stay in the northwest." To lead troops, there is no need to return to the capital, which also avoids embarrassment. "Li Rong seemed to be reminding her with good intentions.

But no matter what Zhang Zhou heard, he felt that Princess Yongkang had offended the old eunuch, and Li Rong was deliberately trying to separate Princess Yongkang and his wife.

Li Rongdao, "From what our family has seen, this eldest princess will never let it go. She has such a strong temper that even His Majesty can't do anything to her in many cases. It's just that she didn't have many opportunities to get in touch with her before. Your Majesty will not regulate her at will. But now if it comes toConsort Cui is doing things in the court that are inconvenient for Your Majesty to do, and you may be in trouble. ”

What does it mean

Zhang Zhou thought to himself, this means that I want to discipline his sister for the emperor

Can I do it

This princess is the eldest princess, not a child. She is a married woman. She is not much younger than me. The royal princess has a bad temper, and I don’t want to deal with her. I treat her as her husband. Preaching to her, I wonder if she can listen to me.

Li Rong said helplessly, "Our family also knows that doing this is to embarrass you, even His Majesty knows, so"

Zhang Zhou said. "Did His Majesty bring it up?"

Li Rong shook his head and said, "Although Your Majesty didn't say it clearly, he was thinking about this matter, which also made Your Majesty worried. He thought that Cui Prince Consort was just a senior citizen in the army, and was given to those emperors." Relatives and relatives set an example. Now there is an example, but it is not good to give too much credit. Your Majesty is also worried about how to arrange Consort Cui. ”

“I understand. Zhang Zhou said, "It is what we must do to share His Majesty's worries. I have accepted this job." ”

Li Rong was startled.

What did I say? Why did you just take the job?

What job

Go teach Yongkang How does the eldest princess behave?

"Is there anything else that Eunuch Li wants to remind you?" Zhang Zhou asked.

"No." Li Rong was also a little confused. >

I feel like I didn’t say much, but it seemed that Zhang Zhou understood a lot. This was a misunderstanding. Don’t wait until Zhang Zhou did something to offend someone in the royal family, then turn around and put the blame on him.

The interests of the eldest princess of Yongkang are small, but the unity of the entire royal family is big. Zhang Zhou himself has a good reputation among the royal relatives, mainly relying on the support of the families such as Queen Zhang and Queen Mother Zhou. Zhang and Zhou all had demands, but the vassal princes and princesses of Lao Zhu's family did not have much interest in Zhang Zhou, so it was easy to cause discord and make Zhang Zhou the target of public criticism.

When parting. , Li Rong also carefully reminded, "You have to be careful. Even if His Majesty said that the eldest princess will apologize to you, you still have to be kind. ”

“Yeah. "Zhang Zhou nodded, looking very kind.

The more this happened, the more worried Li Rong felt.

Although this powerful official rarely used his power to Although he is oppressive, he cannot be treated as a lamb. If Zhang Zhou really wants to punish Princess Yongkang, Li Rong's responsibility will not be small.

No matter who suffers from Yongkang or Zhang Zhou, it seems that he cannot escape the involvement. .

Cabinet duty

Li Dongyang placed a memorial written by two ministers of the Ministry of War in front of Liu Jian, meaning that Liu Jian would draw up the vote.

Li Dongyang said, "Your Majesty has made it clear that the merits, demerits, rewards and punishments of the wars in Ningxia, Hetao and other places will be determined by the Ministry of War. There is nothing wrong with it. However, this time, the ministers were added, not mentioning the cabinet, and even asked Zhang The meaning of "shoulder-to-shoulder" on Monday is that the merits of this battle will be involved in the subsequent purge of northwest military affairs. It is obvious that Zhang Bingkuan intends to gather troops.The power is in hand. "

Liu Jian's face was calm and he didn't say anything.

Xie Qian came over and said with a smile, "From the time Zhang Bingkuan entered the court to when he became a knight and became a minister, he has always been concerned about military power. It was Ruojiruoli. After this battle, it seemed insignificant. None of his men were killed, but it allowed him to take the opportunity to gain military power. It will be lively in the future. "

Liu Jian looked good at first, but after hearing these words, he couldn't help but frown.

Li Dongyang advised, "Yu Qiao, there is no need to use this kind of thing as a distraction at this time. . ”

“Haha. " Your Majesty, when it comes to rewards and punishments for military and political merits, we must not let the Minister of War, who has a background in the Dudu Mansion, have full authority to make the decision. He is a military general himself and can lead troops as the chief military officer. He can also serve as the censor of the capital and the leader of the army. If "Leading troops in battle and declaring merit and rewards are determined by one person, so setting an example in the army is nothing but a child's play."

Li Dongyang said, "With military honors, I lead the civil servants at the head of the department and replace the military department. There is precedent. "

Liu Jiandao, "But it is unreasonable to judge the merits and demerits of martial arts by one person. ”

Li Dongyang was a little troubled and wanted to remind Liu Jian that although we all knew the emperor’s intention was to let Zhang Bingkuan handle everything by himself, the emperor never made it clear. In name, the Ministry of War and the Supreme Commander He was responsible for coordinating merits and demerits, rewards and punishments.

But seeing Liu Jian's persistence, he knew that this was a critical moment in the game with Zhang Zhou, and there were some things he couldn't say.

In the theater, Zhang Zhou is receiving guests, and here is Chen Rui's daughter. The woman who was previously given to Zhang Zhou by Chen Rui and the house, but was rejected by Zhang Zhou.

This woman is also surnamed Chen. This woman is wearing very simple clothes, even if she is not wearing linen and mourning.

"I hope Cai Guogong can help my father so that he can spend his old age peacefully. He may not join the army in the future, but if he can retain Jue Lu, he will have a chance to make the Chen family happy in the future. The door made further contributions to the Ming Dynasty. ”

After all, the woman is not young anymore. She looks very polite in her mid-twenties, and speaks in a medium-thick voice, giving people the impression that she is very shrewd and capable in her work.

It is a kind of vicissitudes that have not gone through the wind and frost.

Zhang Zhou said, "Ms. Chen, or should I call you Madam, may I ask, is there any nonsense in this house?"

The woman said, "My mother just passed away, and my brother set up a mourning hall at home to offer sacrifices.There are only a few people in the house, so I would usually be helpful. I didn't mean to be rude to Cai Guogong. "

"Oh. ”

Zhang Zhou nodded.

Chen Rui’s wife is dead.

Of course, this wife is the result of his second marriage. Chen Rui only has one son, Chen Rui. Xiong, in history, Chen Rui died in depression after being deprived of his post in the fourteenth year of Hongzhi and lived idle. Chen Xiong succeeded to the title in the sixteenth year of Hongzhi. However, Chen Xiong was demoted in the fourth year of Zhengde because Liu Jin refused to ask for a bribe, and in the fifth year of Zhengde, Chen Xiong was demoted. After Liu Jin was executed, Chen Xiong regained his title and died of illness in the sixth year of Zhengde. The person who inherited Chen Xiong's title was "Zai Congzi", that is, his cousin's nephew, Chen Gui, the grandson of Chen Rui's younger brother.

It is said that Chen Rui's lineage has been extinct by his son's generation.

Chen Rui's wife died at this time, and he himself was in the same situation in the northwest. This would be due to the defeat. Chen Rui's daughter came to ask for love because of the "friendship" between Chen Rui and Zhang Zhou, and because Chen Rui had previously given her daughter to Zhang Zhou as a slave.

"For me. If you offer incense sticks, I won’t come to the door in person. "Zhang Zhou is also polite.

My mother is dead, no matter how rude the request is, Zhang Zhou will still give her some face.

The woman said, "My father is fighting. I have been away from home for many years and have not cared about my family affairs. My father had mentioned earlier that he wanted to rest for a few years. If my father-in-law could fulfill this wish for my father, the Chen family would definitely repay the favor even if they tied the knot with grass. ”

Zhang Zhou was thinking in his heart.

Did the Chen family get Chen Rui’s instruction or did they pursue it in a low way?

What Zhu Hui, Zhang Yanling, Liu Jing and others are pursuing merit rather than guilt, which is equivalent to wanting to record themselves in the credit book. Only the Chen family wants to preserve Chen Rui and let him retain a title, position, etc. It doesn't matter anymore, as long as he can come back alive.

Faced with such a request, Zhang Zhou just shook his head and said, "The Ministry of War has not yet determined the merits, demerits, rewards and punishments of the Northwest War. Everything must still follow the rules." , please come back. ”

The woman looked a little sad.

Zhang Zhou refused to help because even if Chen Rui gave gifts to Zhang Zhou before, they were not delivered, and she herself was one of the gifts.

She obviously also knows Zhang Zhou’s character. She will not accept gifts that do not comply with the rules. And she is willing to come to the door. She obviously sees that Zhang Zhou is “fair” or wants to borrow a gift from home. The funeral, coupled with their tragic past, and the little connection between them, played the emotional card.

As he was talking, Liu Gui's voice came from the door, "Master, my uncle is downstairs asking to see you. Said it was something important. "

This also just gave Zhang Zhou the opportunity to issue an eviction order.

"Miss Chen, you see I still have guests to see here, you might as well go back and wait for news. "Zhang Zhou said.

The woman stood up, bowed and said, "I hope you can understand my father's old age and give him a chance. ”

As a daughter, she almost apologized to her father., praying for Zhang Zhou’s forgiveness.

But Zhang Zhou was also thinking that this apology was completely unnecessary. It was only me that Chen Rui was sorry for. He led the army without making progress, and Chen Liangjiu's reputation was ruined again and again. , what is endangering the interests of Ming Dynasty, what's the use of expressing regret to me alone

Chen Rui's daughter was sent away, so Zhang Zhou naturally didn't have to send her off in person.

Liu Gui then brought Jiang Shantong, one of Zhang Zhou's "eldest uncles" and Jiang Pingyu's brother, into a private room on the second floor of the theater.

"I have met Zhang Shangshu."

When Jiang Shantong came up, he had to kneel down and salute.

Zhang Zhou laughed and said, "Brother-in-law, why are you so polite? If you have something to say, just say it, sit down."

Jiang Shantong was not polite either, and sat down aside, looking a little embarrassed. "Come here, yes?" I have something to tell you. But today the eldest princess of Yongkang suddenly came to visit and ordered twenty jars of wine from the Jiang family wine shop. She said that she would send it to your house. She also pointed out that it was for apology, and then asked the Jiang family to Someone sent it to my house. The wine is still on the way, so I came here to say something."

"Is there someone who bought wine from the Jiang family and came to give me a gift?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and asked, "Twenty jars of wine, what's the price?"

Comrade Jiang Shan, "They are all ten kilogram jars, which is more than ten taels of silver. They are given according to the market price."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "You spent ten taels of silver to buy wine to give me a gift. This is a big gesture. You don't have to give it to my home. You can send it directly here. I will use it when I entertain guests later." ”

“That”

Jiang Shantong didn’t understand.

Although the Jiang family didn't know what the eldest princess was up to, they also knew that the person who came was evil.

Zhang Zhou couldn’t see it

Zhang Zhou said, “The eldest princess also made it clear to me that she knows that your Jiang family relies on my relationship to do business in the capital. , she may also think that I still have a share in your Jiang family's business. She used your wine to give me a gift to warn me that if I don't drink the first wine with her, she will use her relationship to do it. I won't be able to make any money by ruining your Jiang family's business."

"Then what should I do?"

Jiang Shantong became nervous.

Logically speaking, Zhang Zhou’s backing is already solid enough, but now that he meets the eldest princess, the Jiang family can’t afford to offend him. After all, the eldest princess’s surname is Zhu.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "It's okay. Since she wants to drink the first wine with me, what can I do? Just drink it. I'll invite her over. Do you, the Jiang family, also want to send a representative?"

"That's not necessary." Jiang Shantong wiped his sweat and said, "I have also advised my father not to bring his business to the capital. I am really sorry for the trouble I have caused to Zhang Shangshu." Please remember to bookmark, the latest and fastest website is free to read without anti-theft