Uncle from a poor family - Chapter 733: A Bad Reputation Can Be Made Up For

In addition to resigning on the pretext of illness, he also requested the court to start the Yellow River project as soon as possible and recommended Li Zisheng to handle the matter. He also recommended several people who had been recommended to him by Li Zisheng before.

Originally, a massive impeachment campaign was to be launched against Zhang Luan and Li Zisheng in the court, but due to the great success of the previous military parade, the impeachment was obstructed, and in the end, the censors impeached Li Zisheng alone... They did not talk about his military exploits in the northwest, but brought up old issues again, and produced a lot of evidence to prove that Li Zisheng had embezzled a lot of money from selling official positions and titles during the Chenghua period.

Compared with the previous calls from the court to punish Li Zisheng, this time the impeachment was made with reference to Huai En's opinion, striving to make Li Zisheng "return the stolen money."

Li Zisheng, you have been corrupt and committed crimes, and your reputation has long been ruined!

You have embezzled so much money and caused so much trouble to the court. Do you still want to pretend that nothing happened and continue to live a carefree life?Do you even want to launder the money you embezzled?Even if it is used for river engineering or to continue bribing Zhang Laizhan, it is not allowed!Because the impeachment was so intense, for a time, the court stopped discussing the previous military parade, and everyone talked about Li Zisheng's past misdeeds. Even the common people sat down and talked about how greedy Li Zisheng was by nature. During the Chenghua period, he closed the way for people to speak and deceived the emperor, which led to widespread corruption in the court and the people's misery...

You have Zhang Laizhan's support. If the emperor doesn't punish you, then your reputation will be completely ruined.

You have made military achievements in the northwest, how can you make up for your mistakes?Sorry, we will not publicize this matter. Instead, we will say that you committed evil deeds in Xuanda and Shanxi Town, usurped military and political power, and used some conspiracy means to force the Ming soldiers to follow you to the border areas, but ended up returning in a dismal defeat. Although you reported your military achievements, they were killing innocent people and claiming credit for them, and as in the past, you lied about military intelligence in order to protect your personal interests.

It was common for the Ming army to falsely report military achievements, and the people below were deceived and thought they had really won a great victory.

After all, public opinion is controlled by civil officials. As long as the upper class gives their opinions, the middle and lower class scholars will publicize them, and then the people in the market will know about them...and the people often don't care about right or wrong, they just follow the crowd and believe what others say.

……

……

That day Zhang Yanling met Pang Qing.

Once public opinion ferments, it is very difficult to suppress it!

"Second Young Master, you must help me." Pang Qing's face was sad, as if he was saying, "If you don't help me, I will die."

Zhang Yanling said: "This time the public opinion is fierce, and it is obvious that someone is secretly building momentum. With Mr. Pang's connections in the capital, how could he only think of asking me for help now? In fact, facing the storm that has already formed, I may not be able to help."

Pang Qing sighed, "Of course I know that the current situation is not easy to resolve. But you also know that although I did a lot of wrong things in the past, I had no choice."

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "Speaking of which, many of those who were brought down during the reign of the previous emperor are now...dead."

Does Li Zisheng dare to say that he is innocent?Even if all of this was done at the behest of Emperor Chenghua, how arrogant and domineering was Li Zisheng in the past?

In the court, even Liang Fang could not compete head-on with Li Zisheng. At that time, even the cabinet ministers and chancellors had to rely on smoothing the relationship with Li Zisheng to get promoted.

Now people want you, Li Zisheng, to "return the stolen money", and their request seems reasonable.

"I can meet you, but as for whether I can help you, that's not certain!"

Zhang Yanling nodded.

Pang Qing's heart sank when he heard this.

If he was not allowed to see him, he felt that the Zhang family might have some clever tricks that they hadn't used yet.

Zhang Yanling said, "My father has already proposed to His Majesty that Minister Li go to Henan as soon as possible to complete the diversion of the Yellow River, but His Majesty has not yet approved it. This matter may be temporarily withheld by the Cabinet or the Imperial Household Department... I believe you also know that they are the main force attacking Minister Li."

Pang Qing asked tentatively, "Look, is it feasible to have the Taoist priest not return to Beijing but go to Henan to tame the river?"

Zhang Yanling asked back, "Should we just let this wave of public opinion continue to spread and ignore it? Do you think my father can make the decision on this matter? In the end, doesn't your Majesty have to make the decision? Right now, it's only the stage of public opinion fermentation. I believe it will be brought up for discussion in the court soon, right?"

This is a reminder to Pang Qing.

Perhaps Li Zisheng himself didn’t care whether outsiders talked about it or not, as long as the emperor protected him.

But the problem is that your reputation is too bad, and all your past has been exposed. How can you still have the face to continue serving as an official in the court?Pang Qing said: "You are now alone. If you really want to find out, where can you get the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver that are rumored to fill this hole?"

"Yes, hundreds of thousands of taels... It must be a rumor. It's impossible for it to be that much, right?"

Zhang Yanling said this, but the expression on his face was that they wanted hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, which was already cheap compared to the suffering they had experienced in the past.

"If we can escape this disaster, I and the Taoist will never forget the kindness you and your father have shown us."

……

……

After Zhang Yanling met Pang Qing, he immediately went to see Zhang Luan with his request.

After all, it is still the leap month of the first lunar month, and it is the Little Ice Age, so the weather is relatively cold. Pneumonia like Zhang Luan contracted requires long-term care. After all, the treatment conditions in this era are still too primitive... and Zhang Luan's living habits in the past few decades were very bad, which made him very weak and unable to withstand the invasion of serious illness. Historically, he would have died a long time ago.

It's already pretty good to be able to save my life after such a long period of debauchery.

"Bingkun has a point."

Zhang Luan sat in a chair and said with emotion after listening to his son's story.

Zhang Luan said disapprovingly, "When others attacked our family before, they said we were bullying the market, competing with the people for profits, and even said we beat people. How did that matter just pass?"

Zhang Yanling said, "You have to be upright to avoid being slanted by your own shadow. Because the business we run is indeed unprecedented in the market... and we were not the first to take action. We just fought back after being falsely accused! With the support of my brother-in-law, this matter has finally been resolved."

"Yeah."

Zhang Luan nodded repeatedly and said, "Now that you put it this way, I understand what you mean... You mean that Li Zisheng is not a good person?"

Zhang Yanling said unhappily, "Just because Li Zisheng has helped us in the past two years and has a close relationship with you, you can't see the chaos he brought to the Ming Dynasty's political arena, nor can you blame everything on the late emperor.

"Besides, from my brother-in-law's perspective, even if the late emperor was wrong, it must be the fault of his subordinates. Does he, as a filial son, want to judge his father's merits and demerits?"

Zhang Luan said, "Hearing what you said, Li Zisheng is in trouble this time. I thought he was imprisoned before and the matter was over. How come he is... making a comeback?"

Zhang Yanling sighed, "Dad, don't you see? In fact, the people in the court did not want to plot against Li Zisheng, but they chose to temporarily give in, or avoid your edge, during that period before the New Year.

Zhang Luan was stunned for a moment before asking, "Are you saying that your father harmed Li Zisheng?"

“This is inevitable.”

Zhang Yanling said, "If we hadn't been more skilled at the military parade this time and suppressed that group of people, your current situation would actually be no different from Li Zisheng's. The means they are using now have skipped the stage of debate in the court and directly started from public opinion to guide the subjects to launch an attack!"

Zhang Luan said, "The situation is very dangerous. How can I maintain my current advantage? You can't come up with new artillery every day, right? What should I do?"

Zhang Luan frowned and asked, "You want to control the people's mouths? How... is this possible?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "I'm going to tell my brother-in-law that we must be responsible for the imperial gazette in the future. All notices posted at the government gates and the vegetable market must be reviewed by the court. And all the court events, big or small, must be posted and publicized as quickly as possible, and must not be used by those with ulterior motives..."

Zhang Luan asked: "Will this work?"

"You won't know if it works until you try it."

"You're still letting him come back now? Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Zhang Luan said in surprise.

"If he is allowed to escort the Tatar prisoners and bring back the heads they have captured, and parade them around the city..."

Zhang Yanling asked, "If he takes the spoils of war and parades them in front of ordinary people, do you think it will help to make up for his declining reputation?"

"That's what I mean."

Zhang Yanling nodded.

"Okay."

Zhang Luan said, "I just don't know, the few people he killed and the prisoners he brought back, are they enough to establish his authority in front of others? He couldn't even build a Jingguan."

"But what?"

Zhang Luan hurriedly asked.

"Establishing prestige alone is not enough to completely reverse the situation," said Zhang Yanling.

"Then... do you have any other good ideas?"

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "I'm afraid of the final outcome. Even if Li Zisheng's reputation improves, he will still be caught by the censors in the court and will be forced to return the stolen goods in the end."

"..."

Zhang Luan was speechless.

In front of his son, he had nothing to complain about, so he just started to criticize, "What's the point of all the money you've been doing? You know, most of the money was given to the late emperor, and was squandered by Liang Fang and others. It was either used in the Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in the capital, or used to buy tribute. Now he has no money left, how can he return the stolen money?"

Zhang Luan said: "I am sure he has little money left! Do you know how hard he worked to raise military rations? He almost gave everything he had... The little success my father has achieved is all thanks to him. Otherwise, even my father, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, would not be able to live in peace.

"Do you know why I don't want to work in the government office now? Because if I go there, without Li Zisheng's help, I can't do anything at all."

"Ugh!"

Zhang Yanling sighed, "Dad, you are too realistic. Li Zisheng just gave you a little to deal with you, and you think he has done his best? Don't you think about how much the house he gave you is worth? He found a troupe for you, and he also arranged things for you, and sent the people who were to be exiled... directly to your yard. Doesn't it cost money?"

Zhang Luan coughed twice and said with a straight face, "Let's talk serious."

"I'm being serious... Dad, think about it carefully. Li Zisheng's current situation is no different from that of the eunuchs in the palace. He can neither expect any followers to help him, nor can he expect his descendants to make achievements in the imperial examinations and officialdom in the future. To put it bluntly, for a person like him, money is the only thing that matters most to him, and he will never betray me..."

Zhang Yanling talked freely.

Zhang Luan pursed his lips: "How can you really leave nothing behind? In my opinion, even if you keep some for yourself, it is human nature. And according to the opinions of the people in the court, especially the amount proposed by Huai En, even if Li Zisheng loses everything, it is not enough to pay."

"Where do I get the money?"

Zhang Luan rolled his eyes. "Besides, if I help pay for my father, that would be ridiculous. Wouldn't it prove that I was connected with him?"

"hehe."

Zhang Yanling was delighted to hear this.

He said he would help Li Zisheng, but when it came to the specifics of how to help him, or even asking him to pay money, Zhang Luan immediately showed his cowardly side...

In other words, Zhang Luan is also very stingy.

It's fine if others give it to him, and he can also give it to others... At most, he can give it to others for some invisible and intangible things. If it really involves his own interests, Zhang Luan is reluctant to pay out of his own pocket.

Zhang Yanling said: "In fact, I think that this time the court put pressure on Li Zisheng, which is not a bad thing."

Zhang Luan frowned.

"You can't let Li Zisheng get carried away. You have to make him keep his feet on the ground and help you do your work well."

Zhang Yanling said.

"Tsk tsk, listen to me, is this human language?" Zhang Luan said unhappily, "Are you teaching Li Zisheng how to be an official?"

"Oh. Go on."

Zhang Luanzhu played a role in listening to advice.

Although he often expressed dissatisfaction, when it came to his own interests, Zhang Luan was very willing to believe his son's ideas.

Zhang Yanling said: "Give him pressure and make him tired of dealing with it, so that he will know your importance more and more. I told you before that you have to let him fly like a kite, but you can't let him get off the line and lose control..."

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "Let him return to the capital now! Let him feel the pressure from the people in the court, and at the same time let him know what position he should maintain in the court. If you don't push him to the limit, do you know what his ability is?"

"You... my son, your idea is very dangerous. You won't push him to the point of desperation, will you?" Zhang Luan seemed very worried.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Jump over the wall? Where to jump? To the city gate? Dad, don't worry. Li Zisheng's era is over. Now he can only rely on you... You have to recover quickly..."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Yanling said, "Because after Li Zisheng returns to Beijing, in order to escape from the predicament, he will definitely praise you to the sky. He will give you whatever you like. If you still look so sickly, can you... withstand it?"

Zhang Luan said: "So, my son, you have to hurry up and help your father to cure his illness! Your father understands! Everything will be done according to your instructions! Let him come back! If you ask your father to help, your father will help; if you ask your father to add insult to injury, your father will definitely not act recklessly! My son is the one who truly understands me!"

(End of this chapter)