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

When Zhang Zhiji heard this, he immediately became alert, thinking that he was still the same son, he hadn't changed at all, and if he didn't squander the family fortune, he wouldn't be Zhang Shikang.

"My son has such a heart. Even if His Majesty knew, he would be relieved. My son does not understand the government, so how could he know the ins and outs of it?

There is indeed some spare money in our house. It’s not that Dad is reluctant to give up this little fortune, but do you know the consequences?

Doing so will only bring disaster upon yourself and bring you everlasting disaster!"

Zhang Zhiji's words were meaningful. He certainly knew what his son wanted to do, but matters in the court were not that simple.

If no one else says anything, it means that you, the British public, are aware of the situation?

Since your Duke of England has paid the money, do others have to pay as well? How much?

No one's money comes from the wind. Doing this will put others in an unjust position and you will definitely become the target of public criticism.

No matter whether they are noble and old friends or current officials, they will never let go of this black sheep in their family.

Which noble of the current dynasty dares to say that he is absolutely clean? Not to mention being targeted by everyone, just the bunch of trolls in the Censorate would be enough to make Zhang Zhiji suffer if they go crazy.

As long as it's not too excessive, we are all nice to each other on a daily basis. This is how we have been living for more than two hundred years.

To put it bluntly, what's the point of risking your life for a salary of a few hundred dollars?

Zhang Shikang naturally understood what his father meant, that the first bird to stick its head out gets shot, but he also knew that his father did have some awareness, he was just worried that his father would do something bad with good intentions.

So he said:

"Of course I know the importance of this. Dad will tell me how much cash we have in our bank account. Even if I go out to play in the future, I will have a rough idea, right?"

Every month, Zhang Shikang himself withdrew a hundred taels of silver from the government office, not to mention the money his parents gave him in private.

You have to know that in normal years, the monthly expenses for an ordinary family of five are only about one or two taels of silver.

Although the north is currently suffering from a disaster, which has caused food prices to rise, spending one hundred taels a month is still something that ordinary people dare not even think about.

The Duke of England's family has enjoyed the emperor's favor for more than two hundred years and has a vast business portfolio, so I imagine the family wealth must be considerable.

Zhang Zhiji glared at Zhang Shikang, feeling that this boy had become a different person. However, his son had grown up after all, and he should know something about the family situation.

"There is not much money left in the mansion. Most of it has been invested in business. The cash is only about 200,000 or 300,000 taels."

It’s not much, just two or three hundred thousand taels of spare money.

The words were lighthearted and carefree, and compared to the British government's cards, they might not be much.

But it really scared Zhang Shikang. You know, there was not only one duke in the Ming Dynasty, but also many marquises and earls.

Was the Ming Dynasty poor? Only the imperial court was poor.

Zhang Shize felt helpless when he saw his father really told this matter, because he knew his younger brother's character.

He was not surprised at all if they were all spoiled and did something out of the ordinary, so he reminded them:

"Shikang, you must not act recklessly. We are where we are now because of our ancestors' hard work. We should remember how hard it was to come by."

"Brother, I know. I will be the champion next year. I am not that stupid Sun Dasheng."

After saying this, Zhang Shikang looked at his father again, stood up, bowed deeply to his father and said:

"Father, I want to see the emperor. Can you help me pass a message?"

Zhang Zhiji stood up suddenly after hearing this.

"Mian Sheng?"

It’s not that Zhang Zhiji is not steady enough, but his youngest son has given him enough shocks today.

For the Duke's Mansion, meeting the emperor was not a big deal. He could see the emperor every day when he attended court.

It is not a bad thing to show face in front of the emperor, but his son is not very reasonable. If he says something wrong and offends the emperor, his life will be difficult in the future.

After all, the Duke's Mansion will definitely belong to the eldest son Zhang Shize in the future. Even if he dotes on his youngest son, he has to get the approval of the current emperor if he wants to seek an official position for him.

Considering his son's future career, Zhang Zhiji had to be cautious.

"Yes, I will be twenty years old next year, and I have been a playboy for twenty years. I don't want to waste my time like this in the future. I want to bring honor to my ancestors and share the worries of Your Majesty."

Zhang Shikang spoke nicely, but he didn't really mean it.

The historical books do not have a very good evaluation of the emperor of the time, Emperor Chongzhen, saying that he was mean and ungrateful, stubborn, eager for quick success and quick gain, and suspicious.

If this is true, Zhang Shikang is definitely not a pedantic person.

If the situation is really hopeless, there are still six years left. If he makes preparations in advance, Zhang Shikang will be able to save the lives of his entire family.

However, Zhang Shikang did not fully believe in historical books, especially the records in the History of Ming Dynasty.

Although the History of Ming Dynasty is an official history book, it is well known that the History of Ming Dynasty was compiled by people in the Qing Dynasty, and many chapters in it are narrated from the perspective of the Qing Dynasty.

The predecessor of Manqing was Later Jin, and the predecessor of Later Jin was Jianzhou Wei. Jianzhou Wei was clearly recorded in history books as one of the many guards of the Ming Dynasty.

No matter how ridiculous the history books are, this is an indisputable fact.

To put it bluntly, you, Qing, came to power by rebelling. As for why you rebelled, it must be because the emperor was unjust, right?

What else can he do? It can’t be that it’s really because of Wild Boar Skin’s so-called seven hatreds?

The butt determines the head, so Emperor Chongzhen must not be a good emperor, at least that is what must be said in history books.

As to whether this was really the case, Zhang Shikang didn't know, so he had to go and meet the emperor to see what he was like before deciding how to respond in the future.

After hearing what Zhang Shikang said, Zhang Zhiji looked at his youngest son seriously and said with a comforting smile:

"Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, my son will reach the age of coming of age.

Dad has never taken revenge on you before... ahem, Dad only hoped that you would be safe and sound. Even if dad is gone in the future, with your brother here, he will ensure that you will be rich and prosperous throughout your life.

I really didn't expect my son to have such ambitions. This is my negligence as a father.

Don't worry, I will find an opportunity to inform His Majesty of your request when I go to court in the next two days."

After listening to his youngest son's passionate speech, Zhang Zhiji actually felt a little ashamed.

It’s a good thing that my son is ambitious. He can’t always live under the protection of his family.

Although the court is full of intrigues, but relying on the merits of his ancestors, as long as his son does not speak nonsense, His Majesty will definitely not blame him.

Even if the emperor is really displeased, he will have his father to protect him. After all, His Majesty cannot treat him like a child.

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhiji felt at ease again.

After encouraging his son for a few words, he heard from the people in the mansion that Xu Wenyuan, the second son of Duke Dingguo, and Sun Dasheng, the eldest son of Marquis Huaining, came to visit, so Zhang Zhiji and Zhang Shize left one after another.

Upon hearing that his good friend was visiting, Zhang Shikang's eyes lit up again, not knowing what he was thinking about.

……