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

"Besides eating, the only things that cannot be missed are sleeping and delicious food." Zhang Shikang replied without hesitation.

It would be even better if a few soft girls could sleep in the same bed with me, Zhang Shikang thought.

But he didn't dare say it, for fear that Brother Chongzhen, the glutton, would get angry again.

"Apart from eating and sleeping, can't you be more diligent?" Emperor Chongzhen said speechlessly.

This made Zhang Shikang very unhappy. In the past two years, he had to worry dozens of times more than when he was a delivery man.

He has to deal with military affairs, people's livelihood, and maritime affairs. He went on an expedition last year and patrolled the border this year. If he can't handle it in the second half of the year, he will have to go out and do it again.

Who are you working so hard for?

"Your Majesty, your words make me feel cold.

You have food and drink in the palace, but I have been eating dirt on the side wall for two months. Don't you have a conscience when you say this?" Zhang Shikang curled his lips.

After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he realized that his words had been too harsh. Although he still thought Zhang Shikang was lazy, he was indeed always busy.

But as the emperor, he certainly would not apologize. With this in mind, Emperor Chongzhen had to skip the topic and continued:

"Okay, so besides eating and sleeping, what else do you do in your free time... to kill time?"

Zhang Shikang finally frowned, wondering what's wrong with this guy today?

Summon him for a chat and ask these boring questions.

What else can he, a young man, do except eating and sleeping?

Of course, it's import and export trade? Combining work and rest is good for the body and mind.

But Zhang Shikang thought that Brother Chongzhen definitely didn't want to ask this. He thought about it for a while and immediately knew what this brother was talking about.

"Your Majesty, are you too idle to do anything?" Zhang Shikang asked.

Emperor Chongzhen did not answer, but his expression was very strange. He thought to himself that this boy was too direct in his words. If the ministers in the court knew about this, he didn't know how they would criticize him in their hearts.

When Zhang Shikang saw this, he immediately smiled knowingly, knowing that he had guessed right.

"Your Majesty, I have said before that no matter how noble the position is, work is work.

Although people are destined to work in their lifetime, work is not everything in their life.

In addition to work, there is life, and life, in addition to eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, also requires many hobbies.

You see, work is boring, but hobbies are different, and they are the best medicine to adjust to boring work." Zhang Shikang said proudly like a life mentor.

Sometimes he also found it quite funny. This kind of thing is actually human nature. Children in later generations all know that having fun is more enjoyable than doing math problems.

But Brother Chongzhen, since he entered the palace in his teens and ascended the throne that everyone envied and respected, he abandoned all his hobbies as an ordinary person. From then on, his whole body and mind were focused on only one thing, and that was to keep the Ming Dynasty alive.

When the imperial court was in trouble both internally and externally, this old man was naturally busy all day, even staying up late every day, and had no energy to think about other things.

Now, with him as his assistant, the old man can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Thinking back to when Zhang Shikang first met this old man more than two years ago, he was obviously less than 30 years old, but his face was already exhausted, and he was wearing a patched imperial robe. Zhang Shikang felt pity for him and also found him funny.

Therefore, he did not show any sarcasm, but told the old man seriously that there are many other experiences in life.

"You brat always say so many weird things. As the emperor, I must put state affairs first." Emperor Chongzhen denied.

But Zhang Shikang didn't listen to the elder brother's denial, and it was obvious that his words were insincere and his meaning was not clear.

"If your majesty has some free time, you might try to develop a hobby.

For example, Wang Guoxing, the prince of Xincheng, is not interested in any delicacies as long as he can go fishing.

And my dad has also become addicted to fishing recently. He gets up early every morning and disappears with a bucket in hand.

Of course, in addition to fishing, fitness and traveling are also good hobbies, Your Majesty can try them. "Zhang Shikang suggested again.

Although Emperor Chongzhen still refused to admit it on his face, he had actually heard it in his heart. Zhang Shikang chatted with Brother Chongzhen for a while and then went back home.

At this time, he had already concluded that this brother summoned him for no reason at all, he was just bored.

In order to appease Zhang Shikang, Emperor Chongzhen happily gave him two days off. He also mentioned that he had killed 10,000 elite soldiers of the Jiannu in Jinzhou City, and believed that Zhang Shikang's military exploits had reached the standard for promotion.

But Emperor Chongzhen still kept it a secret, only saying that he would promote him but not revealing any specific arrangements.

This made Zhang Shikang feel itchy. He was already a hereditary marquis, and the next rank he could move up would be a duke.

The promotion of Guanjun Bo to Guanjun Hou was in line with the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty and sounded reasonable.

But it sounds strange that Marquis Guanjun was promoted to Duke Guanjun, and every duke in the Ming Dynasty basically had a unique title.

As he went back, he was still thinking about it, thinking that this old man must be holding a grudge.

For the next two days, Zhang Shikang was ordered to lie down, eat and sleep, and occasionally go to his shabby gym to tidy up.

When I was bored, I even followed my dad to watch him fishing. Unfortunately, since my dad had just started learning fishing from Wang Guoxing, although he was quite addicted to it, he was very new to it.

After fishing for a long time, Zhang Shikang didn't see a single fish. He wanted to ask his personal guards to dive quietly and put a fish on his father's hook.

Time passed quickly, and it was April 14th in a blink of an eye. Zhang Shikang received an order from his brother Chongzhen last night, asking him to go to court the next day.

So early in the morning, Zhang Shikang and his father, dressed in court robes, rushed to the Meridian Gate.

After chatting with a group of nobles about the current preparations for maritime trade, the official from the Honglu Temple called all the ministers into the court.

This court meeting was held at Huangji Gate, and the discussion process was unremarkable. It basically discussed the problems encountered in this year's new policy reform, as well as the progress of a series of projects including canal digging, construction of the General Manufacturing Administration, shipyards, military ports and civilian ports.

Zhang Shikang did not slack off and occasionally spoke up to express his opinions.

The court is no longer as chaotic as before. Even Hai Zhongqi and others approve of the current new policies and are no longer so hostile to Zhang Shikang.

Of course, Zhang Shikang didn’t actually care whether those civil servants hated him or not, and he always debated with them with a smile on his face.

The meeting lasted for half an hour. Just when Zhang Shikang began to yawn, Emperor Chongzhen said:

“Marquis Guanjun has made great contributions during his border patrol this time. Not only did he win the loyalty of the border towns of the Ming Dynasty, he also devised a plan to kill 10,000 elite Jiannu soldiers. His achievements have been confirmed by the Ministry of War.

I have discussed this with the ministers in the Cabinet, and they all agree that his merits have reached the standard for promotion.

It is my intention to promote the title of Marquis of Guanjun to Duke of the State.

Over the past two years, Wu Ji has ensured the safety of the country and the people, making corrupt officials dare not act recklessly, making the scoundrels terrified, and making the Jiannu court uneasy.

If You Wuji is promoted to the position of the Marshal of the Army, he will surely be able to deter anyone who dares to rebel, so... this is my intention.

Zhang Wuji's title is - Zhenguo. "

……