In the middle of the city, somewhere in an inn.

Zhang Ye had just come back from outside, entered the cramped room, and saw his grizzled son Zhang Ping, who immediately sat on a stool and scolded angrily: "Officials protect each other, and they deceive people too much!" If the Daxing County Government refuses to accept it, even Shuntianfu doesn't ask! The upper and lower colluded up and down, and they simply didn't take the benevolence and filial piety of the Ming Dynasty seriously! Daming is almost over! ”

After speaking, he picked up the teacup and poured the cold tea into his stomach.

Zhang Ping was stunned, different from the past, this time he heard his father's complaints, and he didn't say a word.

"Son, don't worry, you will never give up for your father! Even if it's a lawsuit, you have to straighten it out! Zhang Ye comforted.

Zhang Ping raised his eyes and looked at his father and said, "Father, are we running out of money?" ”

"You...... Alas! Your mother really doesn't give much silver, plus our two laborers, but also add a car, and eat a little more, this accommodation in the capital is much more expensive than in Nanjing, but don't worry, you can't starve to death for our grandfather! Your dad and I'm still a little ...... Stick to your own money. ”

Will Zhang Ye let himself starve to death?

The small treasury has not been used, and in recent years, he has been fighting wits with his wife to hide the small treasury, anyway, the Zhang family's family business is basically taken care of by the old ladies.

He's just an errand boy.

Zhang Ping said: "Dad, let's go, I just heard from the outside that the second uncle won the champion." You said that officials protect each other, then others protect him even more now. ”

"What do you say? Champion? Just him? Zhang Ye stood up with a look of disbelief, the muscles on his face were twisted at first, and then turned into surprise, "This is a good thing, Wu'er, he is the champion, and the position of the military household is still not let out?" Hurry up and clean up with your father, let's go visit your second uncle, this kid is really good, Jiangnan's Xie Yuan took the top prize? Hahaha...... The Zhang family is about to develop. ”

Zhang Ping glanced at his father with strange eyes.

The Zhang family is developed?

It seems that the second uncle's family is developed, and this development has something to do with our family?

Is this self-inflicted affection by my father?

"Do you want to bring some door-to-door salutes?" Zhang Ping asked.

"No, who is me with your second uncle? When he was down, he even asked me to borrow 200 yuan, and he still hasn't paid it back! ”

“……”

……

……

Imperial Palace, inside Qingning Palace.

Zhu Youzhu was greeting the Empress Dowager Zhou, and was left by the Empress Dowager Zhou for questioning.

"Bingkuan hasn't been in the palace recently? I heard that he won the champion, the mourning family admires him very much, such a capable and talented person, blessed by God, is for the blessed ministers of the Ming Dynasty, the mourning family has always been the most blessed and blessed, Your Majesty, you should also make some preparations for him to enter the office in the future. ”

Between the words of Empress Dowager Zhou, she was very concerned about whether Zhang Zhou's official was smooth.

Zhu Youzhu said: "The emperor's grandmother bothered, his grandson has paved the way for him, let him enter the Hanyuan, and then promote him to be a waiter, and he can often enter and leave the palace gate." ”

Empress Dowager Zhou smiled: "You are right to think about him, but have you ever thought that with what he did for the royal family before, those civil servants can easily tolerate him?" ”

"This ......"

Zhu Youzhi is actually very worried about this.

Although Zhang Zhou is the champion, but to put it bluntly, he is just a new science and technology scholar, and the fame and fortune that Zhang Zhou has obtained are beyond the reach of those princes, pavilion elders, and scholars.

If you want Zhang Zhou to mix well in officialdom, I'm afraid it's not so easy.

"The mourning family thinks that you should let him be a backer in the court." Empress Dowager Zhou said.

Zhu Youzhu said: "My grandson doesn't understand what the imperial grandmother means. ”

As the emperor, I can't be Bingkuan's backer, so I have to find him a backer again?

Which backer is better than me?

Empress Dowager Zhou said with a smile: "In and out of officialdom, the most important thing is to be able to integrate into it, Bingkuan, as a civil servant, should let him worship a gentleman, such as those pavilion elders and scholars, and then promise him a marriage, so that he can form a family with those pavilion elders and scholars, so that others will let go of their prejudices against him and treat him as their own." ”

"Huh?"

Zhu Youzhu was taken aback.

The heart said that you still have a lot of tricks for the old lady.

"Imperial grandmother, with his identity, he probably doesn't need to apprentice, plus he already has a family, and there is no way to talk about marriage."

Zhu Youji's meaning, even if your old lady has a good idea, it will be in vain.

Empress Dowager Zhou squinted, showed an old fox-like smile and said, "The prince of the country is the priest of the wine, and the Lin Shilang of the Ministry of Rites is very good." The girl in his house has seen it, and her appearance and character are all excellent. The mourning family also mentioned this matter to Bingkuan, why don't you think about it? ”

"Lin Shilang?"

Zhu Youzhu frowned.

The heart said, Imperial Grandmother, when you first saw Lin Han's daughter, were you sure that you chose the imperial concubine for me? Do you really want to match Bingkuan?

That...... Maybe I've thought too much.

I misunderstood the emperor's grandmother.

"I think Lin Shilang has been in the court for many years, his protégés are all over the court and the opposition, and he is not in the position of Zaifu or Ministry, and he has not had too many disputes with others, as long as he becomes his son-in-law, others will have to give some face, and besides, that girl is just Lin Shilang's concubine, and she is promised to be married to Bingkuan as a concubine, and there is no humiliation."

Between the words of the Empress Dowager Zhou, she was thinking about Zhang Zhou.

In this way, this grandson also let down his guard against her a lot.

Before, the Empress Dowager Zhou also obviously felt that her grandson didn't dare to come recently, but whenever she asked a few words about the relationship between her grandson and her granddaughter-in-law, the grandson would open the topic, and no longer talk about the Huanyi Bureau sisters mentioned before.

Empress Dowager Zhou was also familiar with the emperor's character.

If the mourning family is dedicated to Zhang Bingkuan, who you love, and bother with his entry into the court, you still don't let down your guard and obediently become your filial son and grandson?

can't hold your pulse, the mourning family has lived in vain for the past 70 years.

"So...... Wouldn't it be too good? Zhu Youzhu said, "I don't know how to tell Lin Shilang. ”

Empress Dowager Zhou said with a smile: "This matter was raised by the mourning family, and naturally the mourning family said it, the emperor, you don't have to take it too seriously, the mourning family will make it happen." ”

"That'...... Thank you, Grandmother. ”

Zhu Youzhu pondered for a moment, this idea is very good.

Let Zhang Zhou marry Lin Han, and let Lin Han's daughter be a concubine in the past, it seems that the foundation of this marriage is not solid, but Zhang Zhou's wife is not from a big family, if it is a marriage given by the emperor, then even a concubine can obtain a high status, which is almost equivalent to a "flat wife".

Of course, there is no concept of equal wife in Daming, whether it is a concubine or a concubine, but the identity is more secure.

Lin Han's reputation among scholars is outstanding, plus Lin Han has never competed with others, nor is he entangled in his career like Cheng Minzheng, and others also respect Lin Han.

Zhang Zhou has the endorsement of Lin Han, an old man, no matter how you look at it, he can lay a cornerstone among the civil officials.

Empress Dowager Zhou said with a smile: "Emperor, if you have time, bring the queen and the prince over to show the mourning family, there are only a few years left in the mourning family, and I will remember you juniors in my heart." Bingkuan can do things, you trust him, the mourning family also believes in him, he can still help the royal family and the court, who wouldn't like such a young man? ”

"Yes, yes......"

Zhu Youzhu had a smile on his face, and his relationship with his grandmother seemed to be much closer.

……

……

Zhang Zhou's mansion, Zhang lanterns.

Even if Zhang Zhou doesn't want to be high-profile, but if he wins the champion, if he wants to deliberately keep a low profile, it will be meaningless.

Anyway, others also know that this is his home, there are a lot of people who come to join in the fun that day, and it is rare that there are many nearby city residents who also come to please, and this kind of thing to make pleasing and rewarding money seems to be common everywhere, before Zhang Zhouzhong Gongshi had no reason to come, but if the champion did not come, it was simply a few hundred taels of silver for ordinary people.

Firecrackers rang out.

Zhang Zhou also ushered in some congratulatory people here, generally speaking, Zhang Zhou just avoided it.

But there was one person he had to meet, who was Empress Zhang's uncle, Shen Lu, who was the general political envoy Si Zuo Tongzheng.

Ordinary civil officials, at such a time, will not come to congratulate a new branch of Jinshi, will take care of their own identity, some of the ministers from close to the family want to come to see, Zhang Zhou has a lot of reasons not to meet, but although Shen Lu is also close to him, but he is from a Jinshi, and his background in the DPRK and China is still very strong, Zhang Zhou wants to give this face.

"Zhang Zhuangyuan is really a talent. I've admired the name for a long time. ”

Shen Lu is in his fifties, very rich, and his stomach is wobbly when he walks, but he gives people a sense of calmness.

"Shen Tongzheng is polite, please come in."

Zhang Zhou invited Shen Lu to the main hall, but Jiang Dezhong, who was originally going to go to the main hall, retreated to the side with great interest and didn't even come to say hello.

Jiang Dezhong now understands that even if he is Zhang Zhou's father-in-law, he is not at the same level as Zhang Zhou's status, so he doesn't pretend to be a Sven person in front of these famous Confucians, so he can be a good businessman.

After Shen Lu sat down, he first greeted him briefly, and then said: "According to the previous rules, the new science and technology scholars all entered the Hanlin Academy, and although they were not in the same yamen in the future, they would have more contacts. Bingkuan, if you need help, just say hello, speaking of which, I also like to be in contact with young people, and that's how they all came. ”

Shen Lu looked like he was greeting, but in fact, he was telling Zhang Zhou that we could start a small party when we loomed.

You don't have to be a faction, but you can take care of each other.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "At that time, I may have to worry about Shen Tongzheng." ”

Zhang Zhou will not explicitly refuse.

He knew very well why the person who came was Shen Lu.

If it was Li Dongyang and Xie Qian, he would not be able to adapt to it, Xie Qian had been here before, but that was based on the fact that he was not a, if he was a jinshi, those traditional civil officials were afraid of having private dealings with him.

Is Shen Lu representing himself?

He represents a series of civil officials who have nepotism with the royal family behind him, the representative figure of the court Chinese official is Xu Qiong, and Bai Ang, the secretary of the Criminal Department, is barely one, this is only at the ministry level, and there are more people at the level of Zhengqing and Shaoqing below...... Don't look at the Ming Dynasty Hongzhi during the reign of the officials, but because of the emperor's favor to Empress Zhang's family, those who have a relationship with the Zhang family will have their own faction in the court.

Even Wang Wei, the master of Zhang Zhouxiang's test, has an in-law relationship with the Zhang family.

"Bingkuan, I never thought that you could win the champion, speaking of His Majesty's trust in you, it doesn't hurt for you to be a lord. But that's fine, in the future, there will be major events in the court, and one more person can discuss. Shen Lu saw that Zhang Zhou was an understanding person.

He also told Zhang Zhou.

Don't think about joining the traditional faction of Liu Jian and Li Dongyang, don't look at our group of people who are sometimes criticized, but we also have the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment, so many people in the court and the central government are supporting you, can you still be insulted?

Although you are the champion, you have also done a lot of things that Fang Shi does, and our side is more open-minded and can accept you.

"Okay." Zhang Zhou smiled.

Rushing to stand in line now?

Zhang Zhou is not so stupid.

Why should I form a party with someone else? Isn't it good for me to be my own party?

The emperor may have wanted him to integrate into Wenchen at the beginning, but if he had the same opinion as Wenchen, then the emperor would be worried, right? Gradually, the emperor will also understand that he wants Zhang Bingkuan, who is isolated from the Chinese vassal system of the dynasty.

Therefore, Zhang Zhou never thought about how to please Liu Jian and Li Dongyang from the beginning of his speech with the will of heaven.

As a traditional civil official, it took decades to enter the cabinet and serve as a staff member for the emperor.

And now that he has not yet become a civil official, he is already the emperor's most important staff, why do he have to follow the path of a civil servant? Just like Shen Lu said, it's good to be a lord, who makes the current Emperor Hongzhi and the future emperor Zhu Houzhao trust the people around them?

In other words, those who are emperors want to have "their own people", not rely on professional politicians who receive money.

……

……

Just when Zhang Zhou was entertaining Shen Lu in the mansion.

Zhangye father and son also arrived at Zhang's door.

"Whoever received the bounty? Line up in the back! One person who speaks auspicious words is five cents, but first say where you live, if you are fishing in troubled waters outside the city, please do it yourself! ”

Zhang Zhou was handing out money at the door.

And it is an orderly distribution of money, ordinary people don't want to talk about the rules, but today there are not only Jinyi guards on duty at the door, but also people from Shuntianfu and the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division to maintain order, so those who want to fish in troubled waters will not dare to make trouble.

Someone is shouting: "Is this a government or a private house?" ”

"Which one is who's? There's a kind of standing up! ”

Immediately, a man from the Soldiers and Horses Division came out, carrying a horsewhip and showing off his might to the people in line.

I've given you faces.

Dare to make trouble around those of us who wear the official mansion? Although there are a lot of nobles at the feet of this Tianzi, you all come to line up to get the money, what are you pretending to be here?

"This is the Champion Mansion, does the Champion know? Great Official! Besides, this Zhang Zhuangyuan is a celebrity in front of His Majesty, Dongchang and Jinyiwei have to give face, whoever dares to make trouble, your head will be cut off! ”

After the soldiers of the Terracotta Division finished shouting, they went back to maintain order.

Zhang Ping saw that his father was still going to squeeze forward, so he hurriedly pulled a hand and said, "Father, let's go." ”

Zhang Ye scolded: "This is also your second uncle's family, they are all members of the Zhang family, what are you afraid of?" Break bones and tendons! Besides, I haven't heard that the champion has to be a Jinyi Wei Qianhu, this position belongs to you! ”

……

……

Zhang Ye's head is very iron, or he feels that even if he goes back to Nanjing, he will not be able to deal with his mother-in-law.

Just don't rush to the door of Zhang's house with shame, it's a big deal to be kicked out again.

But he still underestimated the hostility of the brocade guards towards him.

"his uncle's ......"

Zhang Ye was directly kicked under the steps by a brocade guard, rolled a few times, and even felt that his neck was about to break when his head was down.

Zhang Ping hurried over to help his father.

"Tap, tap, break!"

Zhang Ye snorted and tears in pain.

Many people who were waiting for a reward also turned their eyes on it.

Jin Yiwei was about to carry a knife to teach these two unknown people a lesson, but Sun Shangqi came out to stop his subordinates, and also stopped the Shuntian Mansion Yacha who came over to punch and kick the Zhang family's father and son.

"Hey, Master Zhang, why haven't you returned to Nanjing yet? Do you remember what I told you earlier or what? Do you dare to come to this place to enjoy the coolness? ”

Sun Shangqi, as a brocade guard, is very clear about the details of Zhangye's father and son.

The lintel is a little shorter than that of Jinyi Wei Baihu, so you don't have to worry about being offended.

Zhang Zhou will not protect this big brother.

"You beat people!" Zhang Ye pretended to be very painful, "Neighbors, comment, I'm just here to see my brother, my brother won the champion and came to congratulate him as a brother, but this group of people didn't ......"

He wanted to say that this group of people is inhuman.

But when the words came to his lips, he saw a group of people staring at him, and he swallowed the words back.

Sun Shangqi said: "It seems that Master Zhang is not very clear about the rules of our Jinyi Guard, come and invite people to Beizhen Fusi to dry." ”

"Don't!"

Zhang Ping hurriedly walked out and said, "Everyone, my father and son just want to go back to Nanjing, and they came to say goodbye to the second uncle." Please also ask a few people to make it easier. ”

Although Zhang Ping has a strong mother, he is different from his father, his father is an old oilman who likes to fight wits and courage with his wife, while Zhang Ping's personality is a little cowardly.

There was a commotion at the door as he spoke.

It was Zhang Zhou who sent Shen Lu out of the door.

Zhang Zhou also heard that Zhang Ye's father and son came to make trouble, so he came out to take a look, today is his big day for the champion, and the door is not suitable for blood.

Otherwise, Zhang Zhou would not have come out to care about the father and son.

"Brother is in a good mood, why don't you come to practice gymnastics?" Zhang Zhou said with a smile.

Zhang Ye was going to shrink on the ground for a while, but when he heard this, he got up from the ground and patted the dust on his buttocks.

"Second brother, I'm just here to congratulate you for my brother, because my brother had no eyes before, and I never thought that you were talented, so it's also the ancestral grave of our Zhang family, why don't we go to repair together?" This time, Zhang Ye didn't say anything about driving Zhang Zhou out of the Zhang family tree.

Even if he wanted to.

It is estimated that the people from the Zhang family's side branch will not do it.

The Zhang family has a champion, can you Zhangye drive out of the family tree if you want to? As long as the second champion of the Zhang family is willing, it's not bad to kick you out.

Isn't it a separation? That's not one.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "The person who came is a guest, today a banquet was set up at the corner of the street, and my brother and eldest nephew went to the banquet if they were interested." Recently, someone mentioned to me that I should take back the ancestral house of the Zhang family and renovate it, there may be a place to offend my brother, please forgive me. When the brother will compensate you, don't be too little. ”

"Huh?"

Zhang Ye was stunned.

I'm obviously coming to the door to congratulate you, what does this kid mean?

Not only do you not plan to give me the position of Jinyi Wei Qianhu, but even the old mansion occupied by me wants to take it?

That means, you are the main branch of the Zhang family, and I have become a side branch?

(End of chapter)