Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

The eleventh year of Chongzhen, New Year’s Eve, Qianqing Palace.

In the evening, the Duke of England and his family rode in two carriages and headed for the imperial city under the escort of servants.

Zhang Shikang's biological mother was so happy when she learned that the emperor had invited her family to a family dinner and only invited their family. In Sun's view, this was an extremely glorious thing.

Sun started busying herself early in the morning, preparing gifts and dressing up.

Zhang Shikang finally got a chance to take a vacation. He lay in bed and just wanted to enjoy the rare time of playing around, but he was always called by his mother, sometimes asking him to try on clothes, and sometimes asking about things in the palace.

Zhang Shikang didn't get angry with his mother, and the family finally had peace until the evening.

In the carriage, Duke of England Zhang Zhiji and Zhang Shikang and his son were all wearing bright red robes, which looked particularly festive. This was of course all Sun's work.

Zhang Zhiji and Zhang Shize didn't think anything of it, but Zhang Shikang felt that he looked like an idiot in such red and would definitely scare people if he went out in the middle of the night.

"Shikang, prices are rising everywhere. I heard that there is public resentment in some places. Do you have any idea about this?

Alas, this group of people are good at strategy, have a large number of people, and are well versed in court etiquette and rules. You are too impatient to fight them." Duke of Yingguo Zhang Zhiji said with a little worry.

His son's status in the court has now surpassed that of his father, but Zhang Zhiji never gets involved in court affairs.

But tax reform is a matter of great importance. Although Zhang Zhiji did not say anything, he has been secretly helping his son to keep an eye on the reactions of various places.

"Don't worry, Dad. I know what I'm doing." Zhang Shikang said with a smile.

He admitted that his father was right. In terms of strategy, talent, and familiarity with court etiquette, rules, and unspoken rules, he was inferior to him.

But what if he had no intention of competing with them in strategy or following the rules?

He really admired a guy named Crow, because he looked so handsome when he flipped the table!

Zhang Zhiji stopped talking after hearing this. In more than half a year, Zhang Zhiji's opinion of his third son had already changed.

Apart from anything else, the third child is very similar to him in one respect: he will eat anything but refuses to suffer any loss.

After the two carriages reached Chengtian Gate, all the servants stopped and the carriages finally stopped at Wumen. As soon as Zhang Shikang and his family got off the carriages, Wang Chengen from the Imperial Household Department was already waiting there.

By this time, the sky had darkened and festive red lanterns were hung all over the palace walls.

When the family arrived at the Qianqing Palace, there were already quite a few people sitting at the tables in the hall. However, except for Chongzhen's brother and Queen Zhou, Zhang Shikang did not recognize most of them.

Emperor Chongzhen did not sit down at the banquet, but sat beside the imperial desk, still reading through memorials sent from various places, sometimes calm, sometimes frowning.

The table with the most people was headed by Empress Zhou and another woman Zhang Shikang had never seen before. They were probably the concubines of Chongzhen's brother.

Sitting at the wine table closest to the center was a boy about ten years old.

The young man sat upright with a calm expression, his hands on his knees, looking particularly dignified and polite.

The third table was shorter, and the stool was actually the small stool that Zhang Shikang sat on during court meetings.

This table is full of little kids.

There were five or six of them, the oldest was eight or nine years old, and the youngest was estimated to be only three or four years old. Two palace maids were looking after them and serving them.

There were so many people in the hall, but it was surprisingly quiet. Even the children at the table didn't dare to speak loudly.

Until Zhang Shikang arrived.

"Your Majesty! Your humble servant Zhang Shikang wishes you a happy New Year! Hahaha!"

Zhang Shikang walked into the hall with two extra-large gift boxes in his hands and smiled.

He didn't even know what was in the gift box. It was said that his mother had her servants run all over the capital to choose it.

This was Zhang Shikang's first New Year since he came to the Ming Dynasty, and he was very happy.

But this laughter seemed a bit unbridled in the hall. The young man at the single table frowned, and the children at the table also saluted him, which made Zhang Shikang scratch his head.

I thought, isn't it Chinese New Year? Is it time for a banquet?

Why are they all acting like puppets? There is no New Year atmosphere at all.

"Your Majesty, I, Zhang Zhiji, Zhang Shize, and Zhang Sun, pay my respects to you."

Zhang Zhiji and his family bowed and saluted, and Zhang Shikang also quickly followed suit.

After hearing Zhang Shikang's roar, Emperor Chongzhen threw the memorial in his hand aside.

He stood up and said with a smile:

"Zhang Qing, please get up quickly."

Seeing the emperor stand up, Queen Zhou and others beside him also stood up.

No one knew what the young man at the single table was thinking. He was a little slow and stood up abruptly, looking even more like a puppet.

"Your Highness the Queen/Her Highness Queen Yi'an/Concubine Tian, Concubine Yuan..."

After Zhang Zhiji and his family paid their respects to the emperor, they went to greet Queen Zhou and others at the table one by one.

Only then did Zhang Shikang realize that the person sitting next to Empress Zhou was Empress Yi'an, and he couldn't help but take a second look at her.

According to historical records, Empress Yi'an Zhang Yan was slender and well-proportioned, with a face like that of Guanyin, eyes like autumn waves, a mouth like a red cherry, a nose like a hanging gall bladder, and white and clean teeth.

Rumor has it that in the first year of the Tianqi reign, the most beautiful woman was selected from among 5,000 beauties in a nationwide preliminary selection, and she passed eight levels of selection. She was known as one of the five greatest queens of ancient China along with several queens of other dynasties.

Zhang Yan was the empress of Ming Xizong Zhu Youxiao, and the sister-in-law of Chongzhen's brother.

Although Zhang Yan was already thirty-two years old at this time, she was well maintained and still graceful, with a kind of tranquil beauty.

Seeing her son standing there in a daze, Sun quickly coughed softly to remind her son not to be rude.

Zhang Shikang then smiled and bowed to Empress Zhou, Empress Yi'an and other concubines.

After paying respects to the Empress and the Royal Concubine, Zhang Zhiji and his family saluted the young man at the table.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is greeted by your servant Zhang Zhiji."

Crown Prince Zhu Cilang (lang, three tones) quickly stood up and bowed in return, saying:

"No need to be polite, Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Shikang had long guessed that this boy was the Crown Prince Zhu Cilang.

According to Liu Jiawei, the second son of the group, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is only ten years old, he is well-educated and well-mannered, and has the demeanor of a wise ruler.

But in Zhang Shikang's opinion, this is nonsense!

A ten-year-old kid is still a kid no matter what. He doesn't believe that this kid can really understand all those great principles and really know what a wise ruler is.

He was just taught by those corrupt Confucian scholars. Those Confucian scholars said that a gentleman should do this or that, and he just learned them without thinking.

Even if he didn't understand, he had to pretend to understand, because he was the crown prince, the future successor to the Ming Empire, he had to do so, he had to pretend, he had to be dignified.

But he is only ten years old after all. What should a ten-year-old child do? Eat, drink, play, and then study.

This is putting the cart before the horse. He seems well-behaved, but in fact he is dull, like a puppet.

Zhang Shikang, who was neither a wise ruler nor a foolish one, didn't know it, but with this kind of education method, he would probably become another Chongzhen in the future - Chongzhen was obedient to the civil officials at the beginning.

The ministers love puppets the most. Puppets are good because they can be controlled by strings and manipulated however one wants.

"Shikang, why are you standing there? Sit down.

"Wang Daban'er, teach the Shangshenjian to serve the food."

Emperor Chongzhen saw that Zhang Shikang had been staring at the prince, and his son seemed to be a little scared by Zhang Shikang's gaze, so he spoke.

Zhang Shikang looked at the table. Emperor Chongzhen was sitting in the middle, with Zhu Cilang on his right, an empty seat on the left, and behind him were his father and brother.

Although it was a family dinner, Zhang Shikang did not expect the seating arrangement to be like this. He chuckled and sat in the empty seat.

Then, he set his sights on Zhu Cilang again.

Zhu Cilang frowned slightly. Although he did not look at Zhang Shikang, he could clearly feel that he was being stared at.

He was a little angry and felt that this was extremely rude, but the saint's teachings prevented him from getting angry.

"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has made great progress in his studies. Your Majesty, do you mind if I take a test?"

Zhang Shikang said to Emperor Chongzhen with a smile.