Uncle from a poor family - Chapter 730 The human heart is sinister

Zhu Youtang hesitated for a while before he smiled and said to Zhang Yu, "Yu'er, don't be angry. Why not wait until after today and see how Huai Daban performs.

"I don't think he will deliberately target the Zhang family again. After all, what happened today has perfectly demonstrated the abilities of my father-in-law and Yanling. They can help the court... uh..."

Having said this, Zhu Youtang suddenly fell silent.

Obviously thought of something.

Huai En told him clearly that the research and manufacture of the new cannon was done by others, and that the Zhang father and son were taking credit for other people's work. He also said in front of Huai En that he would find Zhang Yanling to find out the truth after he returned.

But as soon as he returned to Kunning Palace, he was busy listening to Tan Ji's crying and facing his wife's questioning, and he forgot about this matter.

Zhang Yu put his hands on his hips and pouted, "If Huai Daban can come to his senses and stop, I won't let him go... Everything depends on his performance!"

When Zhu Youtang heard this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, Huai Daban, oh Huai Daban, I am grateful for your past contributions. As an emperor, I am even willing to lie to my wife for this.

"Yanling, I want to ask you something. When did you start researching those two cannons, and when were they made?" Zhu Youtang turned to Zhang Yanling and asked seriously.

When Zhang Yanling heard this, he roughly understood what had happened.

Obviously, this question was most likely raised by Huai En again.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see the power of those two cannons. They indeed had a suppressive effect on the Tatar army and might even change the battlefield situation in the future.

In this case, in order to undermine the reputation of the Zhang family father and son, they can only start from the origin of the two new cannons. It happened that Zhang family patriarch Zhang Luan was now recuperating at home, and Zhang Yanling, who represented the Zhang family in public, was too young. Neither of them looked like someone who had the ability to invent new cannons. It was very likely that Li Zisheng was abusing his power for personal gain, and he would definitely hold on to it.

Zhang Yanling pretended to be ignorant and replied: "Brother-in-law, you are really forgetful... Didn't I tell you everything when I entered the palace last time?"

"Oh, I remember now. You seemed to have mentioned that one of the cannons was invented by the Portuguese. After you learned about the structure of this cannon, you immediately organized craftsmen to carry out technical breakthroughs and modifications, and finally it became what it is now... What about the other cannon?"

Zhu Youtang continued to ask questions.

Zhu Youtang saw that his wife's eyes were not right again, so he quickly denied it: "No, absolutely not, I was just asking casually, I didn't mean anything else."

In order to keep his wife smiling, Zhu Youtang tried his best.

Cold sweat broke out on my head.

Zhang Yanling shrugged and said nonchalantly: "If someone really thinks so, let them go find evidence, they won't find it anyway.

At this moment, Zhang Yanling's mind was extremely clear.

Once you get into the self-proving stage, it is easy to make mistakes.

It is still very difficult to find evidence to prove that those things are indeed invented by yourself, because no matter what, there will always be people who stand up to question you, and no matter how much evidence you provide, others will not recognize it.

The best way is to put the stuff there. If you suspect that it wasn't done by us father and son, then go find evidence to disprove it.

Zhu Youtang said, "Of course. But I also believe that the people in the court can still distinguish right from wrong... Just after the artillery performance, I heard many people praising your father's ability... Maybe everyone doesn't know you well enough, Yanling, you have to work hard. I think your future achievements will not be inferior to your father's."

After hearing this, Zhang Yanling thought, Brother-in-law, who are you scolding?

Am I going to compare my accomplishments with my cheap dad?An old-fashioned guy who likes to act tough in front of others and doesn't even dare to compete with others head-on. He always needs his son to push him forward... Who wants to compete with him?

Zhang Yanling said, "Brother-in-law, when I came here, I told my sister that my stomach was growling... Can we have dinner now? We have been busy all afternoon."

"Speaking of which, today is a good day for universal celebration."

……

……

After lunch, Zhang Yanling left the palace accompanied by Qin Ji.

In name, the emperor sympathized with him and allowed him to rest and recuperate, and only return to work after he had fully recovered from his illness.

But in fact, even Qin Ji himself knew that after he informed on Huai En, it would be impossible for him to continue working with Huai En. It would be best for him to stay at home and not go out, not seeing anyone, in the few days before Huai En retired. He would then come back to take charge of the work of the Silijian after Huai En left the court.

"The palace banquet is over there, let's go through Donghua Gate."

Tan Ji reminded.

The two of them walked out of the palace together. Qin Ji kept his head down, looking very ashamed.

It was obvious that he had received many favors from Zhang Luan, and Zhang Yanling also respected him very much. Together, the father and son helped the young prince overcome numerous difficulties and ascend to the throne. However, when the Zhang family suffered an unjust accusation, not only did he not help, he also secretly condoned Huai En's series of unconventional targeted measures. He was such a bastard.

Zhang Yanling said, "Eunuch Tan, do you really not want me to treat you? Or let's find a place, sit down, and let me take your pulse. It will be fine in a moment."

"No... no need."

"That's good."

Zhang Yanling smiled like an innocent child, showing a happy expression, "I have to go back quickly and tell my father the good news that the military parade was successfully completed. I think he will be proud of me."

The muscles on Qin Ji's face twitched a few times.

Why did these words sound so ironic to him?……

Huai'en returned to the palace early in the morning, but as he was not summoned by the emperor, he went back to the Imperial Household Department to do his work, completely ignoring the officials gathered at Fengtian Gate, as if the palace banquet had nothing to do with him.

In the room of the Imperial Household Department, Huai En was reading the first batch of memorials. Li Rong pushed open the door and walked in. He came to his desk and whispered:"Eunuch Huai, today's drill was not about inspecting the troops, but about performing artillery exercises. This is really unexpected. That artillery... is quite powerful. If... this matter continues to ferment, perhaps that Zhang Guofu will get involved in the Ministry of Works and try his best to promote the casting of artillery, which will inevitably cost the people a lot of money and time."

Saying good things as bad things is also a common tactic used by civil servants to attack political opponents.

Huai En put down the brush in his hand, looked up, and said, "I have asked, and the cannon casting will continue, but it is said that the required funds do not need to be allocated by the Ministry of Works, and all will come from the inner court."

Huai En asked, "How much income do you think Zhang Laizhan can bring to the inner court in a year?"

"This……"

Li Rong seemed unable to understand for a moment.

Huai En sighed, "I think that the little income Zhang Laizhan brought to the court is not enough to cast cannons. After all, he wants to make a difference in the Ministry of Revenue and also wants to help the inner court privately. How can he do this with just his relatives? Can he get money from heaven?"

"Ah."

Huai En nodded, seeming to be very satisfied with Li Rong's awareness. "Where's Ke Gong?"

Wynn asked.

"He was supposed to stay in the duty room, but now... I don't know where he went."

It is obvious that Xiao Jing is a smart man.

Seeing Tan Ji rushing into the palace and saying some ambiguous words to him, it was obvious that the next head of the Imperial Household Department had something to hide.

If Tan Ji really went to see the Queen and said something he shouldn't have... in order to prevent himself from being dragged into it, his best option would be to make an excuse to do something, find a place to hide first, and come back after the situation becomes clear... then he can also use the excuse that he hasn't met Tan Ji, or that they met in a hurry and didn't talk in detail.

This way you can keep yourself out of it.

Li Rong was dumbfounded and asked in astonishment: "Is there such a thing?"

Obviously, Huai En had spies everywhere in the palace, and because of his prominent position and the emperor's favor, there were countless people who informed him of the incident.

Huai'en paid close attention to the movements of important figures in the palace. Moreover, it was he who "arranged" Qin Ji to recuperate at home today.

Tan Ji's sudden entry into the palace must have some agenda.

"This……"

Li Rong thought for a moment and said, "I think it should be true. After all, the artillery exercise this time seemed to be going smoothly overall. Your Majesty will love Zhang and his family, and will definitely think that Zhang the Young Prince has some real skills."

"But in my opinion, this kid was just pushed out to fill the gap. With so many people doing things in the court, when will it be the turn of a kid to give orders?"

Huai En was a little angry: "But the problem is, this guy obviously didn't go to the scene to command, why did the artillery performance go so smoothly in the end?"

Now Li Rong couldn't answer.

They created a lot of trouble, secretly set up obstacles and tripped up people, and even blocked Zhang Yanling's communication with others. They even bribed the Imperial Stables, and in the end, this is the outcome?

Huai En asked: "Who are the people responsible for the artillery performance?"

Li Rong shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

Li Rong asked: "But...what if it was really forged by the Zhang family father and son?"

Huai En stood up angrily and shouted, "Do you think that you, as a mere relative, are qualified to change the history of Ming Dynasty firearms? In addition, with the cannon, will Ming Dynasty still need to use the crude firearms from before? Do you know how much manpower and material resources are needed to replace the firearms that have been equipped? And if the new firearms have disadvantages in some aspects in the future and have to be eliminated, how much loss will the court suffer?"

"This……"

Li Rong couldn't answer.

Li Rong looked surprised.

I thought, can we find other ways to attack Zhang father and son from these aspects?

Why didn’t I think of this before?

I only thought that casting a new cannon might be a waste of money and time, but it turns out there are so many tricks and techniques?Huai En calmed down a bit, and then said: "The gunpowder and firearms cast in Wanggongchang and other places have been verified for at least a hundred years. They can be used safely on the battlefield, and they have a certain lethality, and the soldiers are more skilled in using them... If we replace the new firearms, let alone the stability, let's say that the soldiers are trained to use them, can they do the same as the previous firearms?"

Regardless of whether it is possible or not, I can only follow Huai En's thoughts.

Li Rong probably understood that if he wanted to gain an advantage in the ranking of the Silijian after Huai En retired, he could only cater to Huai En.

After all, it was too late to temporarily join Zhang Luan or other forces.

Huai En said: "In this case, we need to find the person who designed this cannon and bring out the specific furnace temperature, the weight of iron used, the time it took to cast the cannon, as well as the efficiency and the number of people used, to prove whether it is really necessary to cast a new type of cannon in the future."

Li Rong nodded repeatedly and praised, "Eunuch Huai, you are really thoughtful. This is what you should do."

"Then what are you waiting for? Why don't you go?" Huai En said angrily.

Li Rong was very embarrassed.

I thought, you came back from outside the city and went straight to work in the Imperial Household Department, you seem to be very hardworking.

But you just get angry at me and urge me to do things. Isn't this unreasonable?

……

……

Inside the house where Zhang Luan lived.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up at the door. After seeing his son, he deliberately coughed twice to show his inner dissatisfaction.

"My son, you're back? Is everything going well?"

Zhang Luan sounded very weak when he spoke.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Fortunately, fortunately, we have fulfilled our mission. The two cannons have played their due power and presented the expected effect. My brother-in-law is very satisfied with this. He let me stay in the palace to have dinner with my sister, and then asked Qin Ji to send me out of the palace."

Zhang Luan asked curiously, "He recovered so quickly? He is much older than me, but he recovered so quickly? Who was the imperial physician who treated him?"

Zhang Yanling rolled his eyes at Zhang Luan and said, "Didn't I tell you that Eunuch Tan was just pretending to be sick! He went to the palace today to inform on the emperor. He first found my sister, and then went to tell His Majesty everything he knew about Huai En's conspiracy."

"Damn, did that old guy finally find his conscience? I really didn't realize it... I thought he wanted to continue to please both sides and make everyone think he was a good guy."

Zhang Luan's words were no longer as weak as before.

But it's just an illusion.

Because he is still a long way from being truly cured.

Zhang Yanling said: "Next, Huai En will definitely cause trouble for us... He will say that this cannon was not cast by us, and that we are using other people's names to gain fame for ourselves. He will also say that there will be harm in casting cannons in the future, and it is best to maintain the status quo, or cast a few cannons and put them there as flower racks, specifically for intimidating foreign countries..."

"Alas, I didn't expect Huai En to act so extreme. I thought he was a good person before!"

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "That's it. Oh, no, there's one more thing. Butler Pang asked me to tell you that his Taoist master will soon arrive at Juyongguan, and asked us to find a way to get him back. I already told my brother-in-law about it this afternoon, but he didn't agree to it in person. It seems that things...are not going to be easy!"

(End of this chapter)