Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 2 The Whole Family's Hopes for Zhang Yunxiu

"absurd!"

Zhang Juzheng straightened his face and spoke with an expression as cold as ice.

"What do you know about politics?"

Zhang Juzheng knew his youngest son all too well.

He was uneducated and incompetent from a young age.

Zhang Juzheng did try his best.

In order to discipline him, Zhang Juzheng simply made him a study companion to the young Emperor Wanli.

The original plan was to teach the two of them together.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yunxiu took the young emperor to catch chickens and dogs, swim and ride horses, and they colluded with each other.

In Zhang Juzheng's view, this undoubtedly destroyed his traditional Confucian teachings to the emperor!

If Zhang Juzheng hadn't sent Zhang Yunxiu home in time, the youngest son would have almost become sworn brothers with the young emperor.

Now Zhang Juzheng increasingly regrets his neglect of his youngest son's upbringing.

But then he heard his youngest son talking back.

"How can you know I don't understand politics if my father didn't ask?"

Zhang Yunxiu didn't frown, enduring Zhang Juzheng's stern gaze.

"Father, how can you make such a rash judgment without understanding the facts? You are truly foolish! How can you know that your son is being absurd if you don't listen to his analysis first?"

Upon hearing Zhang Yunxiu's words, the eldest brother, Zhang Jingxiu, was so frightened that he almost wet himself and quickly waved his hand.

“Be careful what you say, Fifth Brother, you must not speak to Father like that.”

Throughout his entire family, Zhang Juzheng always kept his word, so who would dare to contradict him like this?
Not to mention his family, even among the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, no one dared to point their finger at Zhang Juzheng and curse him.

"What a convenient excuse for not knowing the truth!"

Zhang Juzheng was furious; this time he was truly enraged.

Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher have been the fundamental ethical principles since ancient times.

The youngest son talked back to his elders and spouted nonsense, which had already touched a raw nerve.

Zhang Juzheng snorted coldly.

"Fine, fine, I'd like to hear your explanation. If you can't explain it well, then family discipline will be applied!"

thump!
The eldest brother, Zhang Jingxiu, knelt down first.

"Father! Yunxiu is still young! He absolutely cannot be punished by family law!"

The Zhang family rule: Anyone who talks back to their elders will be slapped fifty times.

Zhang Yunxiu, that pretty boy, could be beaten to a pulp.

Zhang Yunxiu was not afraid. He spoke with bright eyes, using the knowledge he had just acquired.

"The implementation of the land survey law is not a difficult matter to analyze. I remember you once said, Father, 'Even a sage cannot go against the times. Policies are prone to change. Adjusting to the times is just one thing: each should strive to benefit the people.'"

Doesn't this mean that systems should evolve with the times, be based on facts, and most importantly, gain the trust of the people?

"One faction."

Before Zhang Juzheng could even finish his last two words, he froze on the spot, swallowing the words back down.

He looked at the boy with surprise, feeling somewhat puzzled.

I did say those words, but it was in a memorial submitted to the court. How did this kid know that?
Then, Zhang Juzheng turned his gaze to Zhang Jingxiu, and a guess formed in his mind.

He often showed his eldest sons the imperial edicts, which may have been what they told Zhang Yunxiu.

Even so, it's still quite remarkable.
Zhang Juzheng focused his attention, his gaze toward his young son changed, but he still sneered.

"It's nothing but parroting others' ideas; do you have any insights of your own?"

"Listen carefully, Father."

Zhang Yunxiu looked confident; the database in his head was larger than Zhang Juzheng's collection of books!
Aren't these problems simple?

He continued, "Since the opening of the market during the Longqing era, silver has flowed in and commerce has flourished. This is an opportunity for reform. The land surveying method and the performance evaluation method complement each other and must be implemented together to achieve results. Therefore, the implementation of the land surveying method must be adapted to local conditions and the times!"

Zhang Juzheng squinted his eyes, lost in thought.

However, the eldest brother, Zhang Jingxiu, lacked discernment and thought that their father was going to punish his younger brother.

"Father."

"you shut up."

Zhang Juzheng glared at his eldest son, but his gaze softened considerably when he looked at his youngest son, Zhang Yunxiu. "Continue."

Zhang Yunxiu glanced at his elder brother with some sympathy.

He then continued his analysis.

"In my opinion, when it comes to a policy, some people vehemently say it's convenient, some vehemently say it's inconvenient, and some say it has both advantages and disadvantages."

Whether it's the land survey method or the Single Whip method, there must be a set of principles.

That means relying on talented people to implement laws and regulations. The key is to make laws suitable for the people. It is not a sound concept to oppose one extreme situation with another.

Therefore, we should make full use of it where it is appropriate, and not force it where it is not appropriate.

It all boils down to being realistic!

Zhang Yunxiu's eyes shone brightly as he met the gaze of his cheap father, without frowning at all.

In fact, these remarks were not his original creation.

It was a translation of his father's work, which he later adapted in his court memorials regarding the "Single Whip" law. Would Zhang Juzheng, in his future words, not approve of it?
Sure enough, after hearing this, Zhang Juzheng's nose twitched, and his eyes looked at his young son with increasing astonishment, as if they were about to light up.

It feels like finding gold in shit...

Such a smooth answer and such profound analysis—could it really be that ignorant and incompetent youngest son?

Eldest son? Second son? Third son? They were a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), a Bangyan (second-place scholar), and a Zhuangyuan (top scholar).

But I've never seen such insightful observations from a young man!

Most importantly, it's this fearless and unconventional attitude!
Zhang Juzheng was overjoyed.

The more I look at Zhang Yunxiu, the more he resembles my former self!

This child is like me!

Zhang Juzheng was once known as a "child prodigy".

Although her youngest son is already fourteen, he is already quite handsome, almost as good as she was in her childhood!
Despite the turmoil in his heart, Zhang Juzheng remained unmoved on the surface, lowering his eyes to examine Zhang Yunxiu as he spoke.

Where did you learn all this from?

Zhang Yunxiu answered truthfully: "I learned it from historical records."

It's just the "Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty" and the "Unofficial History of the Wanli Era".
"good."

Zhang Juzheng, with his keen insight into people's hearts, saw that his youngest son was not lying, and that's why he praised him.

"History is a mirror for the nation and a thread running through the world. I am very pleased that you can glean some wisdom from history books and criticize current malpractices."

Then, he turned his gaze to his eldest son.

"You should learn from your fifth brother and keep up the good work."

Zhang Jingxiu, kneeling on the ground: "???"

What's going on? Wasn't today supposed to be about the absurd deeds of the "rebellious" fifth brother?
How did I become the one being lectured?
The eldest son, Zhang Jingxiu, was in a state of confusion and disarray, finding it difficult to accept this sudden change.

Zhang Juzheng glanced at his youngest son a few more times.

Several other comments were added: intelligent, young, and unruly.

He is a rough gem; it seems the future of the Zhang family may rest on his shoulders.

However, can the new policy and I really hold out until the young child grows up?

And the emperor's side
Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng was filled with endless sorrow.

He lost the will to speak and sighed, "I'm tired, you may all leave now."

"Alright!" Zhang Yunxiu was overjoyed and stepped forward to help his older brother up.

Seeing his son's smugness, Zhang Juzheng glared at his youngest son and said, "Don't be too happy yet. Those absurd things are no small matter. Today, your elder brother is taking responsibility for you, so we'll let it go since it's your first offense. But if you commit another crime in the future, the punishment will be doubled!"

Zhang Yunxiu was too lazy to explain to his father; he just wanted to wait until things were done so that his father would be completely astonished.

But he still had to put on a perfunctory show and said with his hands clasped.

"Don't worry, Father!"

A verbal agreement has nothing to do with thinking.

Seeing his youngest son's unruly behavior, Zhang Juzheng felt a headache coming on and rubbed his temples as he spoke.

"Go, go, go study hard and don't do anything messy. Next year is the provincial examination again. Pass it as soon as possible so you can help ease the burden on your family."

No matter what Zhang Juzheng said, Zhang Yunxiu would nod on the surface, but he didn't really care.

Despite never having participated in the imperial examinations, Yan Shifan, the son of the Grand Secretary, was able to be appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

If Yan Shifan deserves the title of "Weightlifting Champion" of the Ming Dynasty, why can't I, Zhang Yunxiu, be the one?
Most importantly, I'm familiar with the young Emperor Wanli!

After giving them a lesson, Zhang Juzheng sent the two away.

Halfway there, Zhang Yunxiu seemed to remember something and turned back.

"What is it now?" Zhang Juzheng asked helplessly.

Zhang Yunxiu thought for a moment and said, "There's something I don't know if I should ask Father."

"Ask away." Zhang Juzheng closed his eyes to rest, he was already tired.

"That's right." Zhang Yunxiu hesitated for a moment. "How is Father's health?"

"It's acceptable." Zhang Juzheng frowned. "Why are you asking this?"

Zhang Yunxiu, looking reluctant to speak, finally gritted his teeth and said it.

"I heard that my father suffers from dysentery and is deeply troubled by it."

"???"

The older brother, Zhang Jingxiu, almost tripped and fell.

This intestinal ailment is hemorrhoids.

Historically, Zhang Juzheng died from complications arising from treatment for hemorrhoids by a "famous doctor".

In ancient times, medical standards were poor, and Zhang Yunxiu was afraid that his father would go to some "famous doctor" to treat his hemorrhoids and die prematurely.

Then his grand plan would be completely ruined.

Zhang Juzheng clearly did not understand his son's good intentions. The smile on his face gradually disappeared, turning into a wine-red color as he said with embarrassment and anger.

"Insolence! You two, get out of here!"

　Zhang Yunxiu's answers to Zhang Juzheng's questions are from: Volume 2, Chapter 19 of *The Collected Works of Zhang Juzheng*, "Answering Wu Yaoshan's Words on His Great Aspiration to Save the World"; and Volume 22 of *The Collected Works of Zhang Juzheng*, "Answering the Words of Junior Minister Yang Ershan." Relevant historical materials will be marked as much as possible. While restoring history, some artistic embellishment has been included. Please distinguish them at your own discretion.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)