Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 222 There are no treacherous ministers, only wise ministers!
"Master."

"Teacher."

In the hall.

Zhang Juzheng followed the etiquette of a disciple and a great-grandson, and met Nie Bao and Xu Jie successively.

After completing his mission of entertaining the guests, Old Master Zhang returned to his room to rest with the help of his two sons, Zhang Juyi and Zhang Juqian.

The Zhang brothers wanted to return to the hall, but they were stopped by Old Madam Zhang, who scolded them and sent them back to their room.

After helping Old Master Zhang to bed, Old Lady Zhang said, "Wenming, if there is a chance, send the third and fourth sons away, right?"

The Zhang family was not a wealthy family and did not have many rules. Zhang Juyi and Zhang Juqian only showed respect to their eldest son Zhang Juzheng as an elder brother and lacked the respect for the prime minister of the dynasty.

Although as a woman, she did not understand the situation in the court, but Madam Zhang often went to buy vegetables and meat in person. When she walked through the streets, all she heard were praises for the emperor and the cabinet.

The simple sense of right and wrong made Mrs. Zhang understand that the world had become better. The eldest son was not only her son, but also the chief minister of the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty. With just one stomp of his feet, the whole world would tremble.

However, the third son Juyi and the fourth son Juqian were fond of the School of Mind since childhood, were close to the Jiangyou School of Mind, and admired Nie Bao, Xu Jie and others.

This obviously conflicts with the policies of the Ming Dynasty, and conflicts with the emperor and the eldest son.

The third son already harbored resentment towards the eldest son because he was dismissed from his post. If this continued, they would become enemies.

As a mother, Mrs. Zhang couldn't bear to see the brothers turning against each other.

The emperor and the imperial court were relaxing their control over the prime minister's residence, and the Jinyiwei's surveillance of the prime minister's residence had also decreased a lot. If possible, she wanted to send her two younger sons out of the residence.

"Where to send it?" Old Master Zhang turned over, turned his back to Old Madam Zhang, and said dissatisfiedly.

As the saying goes, "An old father loves his youngest son."

This is the case with the Zhang family. Old Master Zhang loves his third and fourth sons to the core. The Zhang family has few rules, and a big reason for this is Old Master Zhang.

When Old Master Zhang heard that his wife wanted to send his two beloved sons away from home, he immediately became unhappy.

"The third son always says that it was the eldest son who delayed him, otherwise he would have become a general in time. I heard that there is a war in the northern border, and the marshal of our Ming Dynasty army is Wang Chonggu, and the vanguard general is Qi Jiguang. These two have always had contacts with the eldest son and often send things to the house. I think they can fulfill the third son's wish." said Old Lady Zhang.

Mrs. Zhang thought about her sons' affairs for a long time. Combining her sons' wishes and her family's power, she found a "good place" for her third son.

Northern Frontier Battlefield!

If it were an ordinary family, they would definitely not be willing to send their son to the battlefield. Although the Ming Dynasty had an advantage over the Tatars, going to war would mean deaths, and who knew if it would be themselves who would die.

However, in the eyes of Old Lady Zhang, the battlefield was just like that. As for the Ming army, the marshal was Wang Chonggu, who had been promoted by the eldest son, and the vanguard general was Qi Jiguang, who had been promoted by the eldest son.

Wang Chonggu's family was born into a wealthy family of the Shanxi merchant gang. Over the years, they had given many gifts to Zhang Juzheng. Most of them were not expensive, just rare things, and Zhang Juzheng and his family had all accepted them.

When Qi Jiguang came to Beijing, he specially went to the prime minister's residence to visit Old Master Zhang and Old Lady Zhang, and brought some fine silk and some Western toys from Zhejiang. The gift was small but the sentiment was great.

Old Lady Zhang felt that Qi Jiguang was like a retainer of the Zhang family, reliable and trustworthy.

If the third son is sent over, with the Marshal and the Vanguard General taking care of him, how could his military exploits be small? By then, when he returns from the Northern Expedition, he can be made a general or something, if not a marquis. The Zhang family can be called a family with both civil and military talents.

Bringing honor to the family is just around the corner.

Madam Zhang painted the vision in her heart to Old Master Zhang, and when Old Master Zhang heard it, he couldn't help but be moved.

He was once just a down-and-out scholar, but he had the ambition to rule the country in the court and to command the troops on the battlefield. Unfortunately, he was unlucky and was unable to realize his ambition.

Fortunately, the eldest son was a good scholar and a successful official, and he held the highest position among the ministers, becoming the chief minister of the cabinet, which helped him realize his ambition of ruling the country.

But in terms of martial arts, the third son used to be a deputy commander of the Right Guard in his hometown of Jingzhou, Hubei, and he was doing quite well. However, due to the "affected by the eldest son", he was dismissed from his post and went to Beijing, where he stayed in the mansion all day. He thought that his ambitions could not be realized, but after his wife's suggestion, Old Master Zhang felt that she was right.

The Ming Dynasty ruled the country with culture. With his status as the eldest son and the abilities of his two trusted retainers (Wang Chonggu and Qi Jiguang), he would surely be able to return with numerous military exploits without any physical harm.

By then, the Zhang family will also have a marquis, and all their civil and military achievements and ambitions will be realized, and they will be worthy of the word "civilized" in their name.

"Okay, I'll tell my eldest son tomorrow." Old Master Zhang said excitedly.

Although Old Master Zhang has not been in the capital for long, his hometown accent is basically gone and he speaks authentic Beijing dialect.

After solving the problem of the third son, Mrs. Zhang was recognized and became more excited. She said, "Doesn't the fourth son like the sea and Western things? I heard that the court will send ships to the West in the spring of next year. Let the eldest son give the fourth son a position, let him manage a few ships and go to the West for a tour.

I heard that anyone can make a lot of money by traveling back and forth to the West, and if they can manage a few ships, they will have more money than they can spend.

The eldest son cannot be the prime minister of the cabinet for life, as he will have to return home one day to be raised. Even if the third son becomes a general and is granted a title of marquis, the current royal system does not allow titles to be passed down from generation to generation, and they will end with his death.

It is not good to have no money at home, let Si'er go on board to get some money, so that future generations can also enjoy the happiness. "

Earlier years.

Before Zhang Juzheng entered the cabinet, the Zhang family lived in poverty, and the family's daily necessities were all managed by old lady Zhang.

A big family has to wear clothes and eat from the moment they open their eyes. There are places to spend money everywhere. They are tired of being poor and are used to living a frugal life.

The threshold of the Zhang family is high nowadays, but there is really not much silver in the Zhang family’s warehouse.

All expenses of the Prime Minister's Mansion were covered by the court. Old Madam Zhang looked at the several hundred taels of salary her eldest son received as Prime Minister every month, the occasional rewards from the Emperor, and the filial piety of many "householders". It had been almost a year, and the treasury had only added a few tens of thousands of taels of silver. She was very worried.

少！
Too little!
The Zhang family will never become rich relying solely on the eldest son's salary. Even if the third son earns another salary from the imperial court, it will not be enough. Relying solely on the salary will take a long time to achieve success.

So, Mrs. Zhang started to think and divided her sons into different categories: the eldest son was good at literature, the third son was good at martial arts, and the fourth son was good at making money.

In this way, the Zhang family, generation after generation, has always been able to hold high positions, have fine horses to ride, and have endless money.

Old Master Zhang turned around and looked at his wife with admiration, "I think it's okay!"

"Tomorrow?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)