Chapter 114: There is only one illness in this world, the

Unknowingly, it was already the latter part of the twelfth month.

In the city of Beijing, for the first time ever, a mix of rain and snow began to fall, drizzling down and quickly stirring up a hazy mist. In no time at all, more than half of Beijing was shrouded in the misty rain.

Located in the east of the city, at the Li Banxian Fortune-Telling Stall, Li Banxian rose early.

He first swept the room, then lit three sticks of incense before the shrine he worshipped, before sitting down at the Eight Immortals table, eyes slightly closed, waiting for today's fish to take the bait.

Time quickly reached the hour of the dragon (7-9 AM) when a four-bearer warm sedan chair stopped at his door. Someone lifted the curtain, and out stepped a beautiful woman dressed in fine silk, with bright eyes and white teeth, possessing a refined temperament.

Li Banxian opened his eyes, and with just one glance, he immediately gathered his full attention.

The person who arrived was none other than Li Taihou.

It is said that recently, monks had been causing trouble one after another, and Li Taihou's mood was like fifteen buckets drawing water—all topsy-turvy.

The days of restlessness made it impossible for her to calm her heart and practice Buddhism.

Just at this time, she heard those around her say that there was a living immortal in the capital known as "Li Banxian" who could determine one's fortune.

Holding the mindset of treating a dead horse as a living one, Li Taihou quietly arrived at the Li Banxian Fortune-Telling Stall early this morning.

As soon as Li Taihou walked in, Li Banxian hurriedly stepped forward to welcome her: "I was wondering why the magpie kept calling at my door today; it turns out a noble guest has arrived. Please, noble guest, have a seat."

"You fortune-tellers have such glib tongues; you could talk a dead person back to life." Li Taihou covered her lips and smiled, taking the opportunity to walk forward two steps.

Li Banxian was not annoyed by this mockery; instead, his attitude became even more respectful. He invited Li Taihou to sit, then took out paper and brush, asking with a smile: "Does the noble one wish to have a character interpreted?"

"Mm."

Li Taihou nodded slightly, then picked up the brush and wrote a single character.

Because Li Banxian did not hold it steady, a gust of wind blew, and the white paper fell to the ground. Li Banxian bent down to pick it up, took one look, and immediately exclaimed: "The noble one must be a member of the imperial family."

"How so?" Li Taihou suppressed the shock in her heart.

"Look at this 'one' character you wrote; when it falls upon 'earth', it becomes 'king', and added to that, it is currently daytime.

'White' plus 'king' becomes the 'emperor's' 'emperor'. If you are not a concubine in the palace, you are at least a princess." Li Banxian spoke calmly and methodically.

Li Taihou raised her delicate eyebrows and nodded with a smile: "I suppose you guessed it."

Li Banxian felt quite pleased with himself and gently stroked his graying beard.

"I shall test one more character. If you interpret it well, I will reward you." As Li Taihou spoke, she scrutinized Li Banxian, then picked up the brush and wrote a large "Buddha" character.

Li Banxian took it, looked at it, and lowered his head in deep thought.

Seeing his brows knit into two large knots and his hands clenched tight, Li Taihou could not help but feel nervous.

Originally, she had not believed it, but seeing this old gentleman's extraordinary appearance and his words containing a certain mystery, she was now truly starting to believe.

After staring for a long time, Li Banxian let out a long sigh, looked up at Li Taihou, and asked: "Is the noble one a follower of the Buddha?"

"Yes." Li Taihou nodded her head slightly, then asked urgently, "What is it, old gentleman? Is there a problem with this character?"

"Look at this 'Buddha'—'person' plus 'not' makes 'Buddha'. Right now, besides myself, there is no one around you. Listen to the outside; it is rare for it to start raining and snowing.

'Water' plus 'not' makes 'boiling'."

Li Banxian paused for a moment at this point and continued: "Now there is no 'Buddha', only 'boiling'. This means there are too many monks, leading to a decrease in the common people, which leads to public grievances rising everywhere."

"Could it be wrong to sincerely follow the Buddha?" Li Taihou pouted and asked, very unhappy.

"There is nothing wrong with sincerely following the Buddha; the mistake lies in the fact that many people are not sincerely following the Buddha, but are merely making up the numbers." Li Banxian replied.

"Then what does the old gentleman mean?"

Li Taihou stood up, looking at Li Banxian with eyes full of anxiety. Li Banxian shook his head and smiled mysteriously, "I am merely a man of the countryside; such national affairs are for those great figures to scheme about."

"I understand. Many thanks to the old gentleman for the enlightenment." Li Taihou smiled and turned to walk out of the small courtyard.

"Whew."

Seeing Li Taihou leave, Li Banxian's tense nerves finally relaxed.

It is said that yesterday at noon, someone came to find him, saying that a noble guest would arrive tomorrow, and even revealed that person's identity and the character they would ask to be interpreted.

He had not wanted to get involved in the power struggles of these great figures, but that person had pressed him too hard.

Helpless, he could only follow along and spout nonsense based on those two characters.

"Forget it, forget it. I have grown tired of staying in this capital; it is time to go out and travel." Muttering these words with a bitter smile, Li Banxian paced into the inner room to pack his gold, silver, and valuables.

University Scholar Mansion.

Zhang Juzheng and his son Zhang Yunxiu sat opposite each other in the study. Zhang Yunxiu asked cautiously: "Father, regarding the monks and Daoists who have been dismissed, how do you intend to deal with them?"

"What do you mean, how to deal with them?" Zhang Juzheng looked full of confusion and said directly, "Did I not have them all returned to their hometowns to engage in farming and other such matters?"

"The son has a better arrangement."

"Let's hear it."

"The son wishes to recruit the young and strong among them to go overseas to earn silver, and they could incidentally spread Buddhist scriptures and Daoist scriptures as well." Zhang Yunxiu smiled as he spoke his thoughts.

"Overseas, again with the overseas. Could it be that there really are mountains of gold and silver overseas?" Zhang Juzheng knit his brows and shouted angrily, "The most important thing for you right now is to study the classics of governance, not to spend your days thinking about making money."

"The son is doing exactly that—governing the country." Zhang Yunxiu defended himself, "This country is like a person; in truth, there is only one illness that cannot be cured, and that is the 'poverty' illness."

"That is an illness you cannot cure, and have no way to cure."

Zhang Juzheng did not speak upon hearing this.

Zhang Yunxiu, thinking he had the upper hand, continued: "Father, you reformed the tax laws, measured the land, and now you are purging the Buddhist and Daoist ranks; when it comes down to it, you are treating the country's illness."

"The son is also treating the country's illness, only my method is more brilliant than Father's."

"Fine, then tell me, where is your brilliance?" Seeing himself criticized by his son, Zhang Juzheng's stubborn temper flared, and he puffed out his beard and glared, "If you cannot give me a good reason, I will not spare you!" Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said loudly: "The internal forces of the Great Ming are intertwined; it is like a middle-aged man of forty or fifty.

If Father wants to change him now, it will inevitably be met with resistance from all sides. And I happen to be one of them; if I start wielding the knife, it is easy to hurt myself."

"Overseas is different; that is a child of five or six. If we go now and support him, this child will be able to provide us with a steady stream of labor and treasure in the future."

There was one more point Zhang Yunxiu did not mention, and that was shifting the conflict.

Shifting internal conflicts into external conflicts.

When those noble lords learn that there are vast lands and gold and silver treasures overseas, who would still care about these trivial matters at home?

They could hardly wait to build big ships immediately and go overseas for a wild looting spree.

"Fallen leaves return to their roots; I fear no one is willing to go overseas," Zhang Juzheng sighed.

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and replied, "I think it should be 'fallen leaves sprout roots'—wherever the leaves fall, that is where they sprout roots. There are already many Han people living in the Southern Ocean, where rice is harvested three times a year, and there is even a strait that controls the passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean."

"As long as we take that place and establish ports along the way, Father won't have to offend all the court officials for the sake of a few pennies."

"You scoundrel, what do you mean by 'a few pennies'? Do you know how much silver that is?" Zhang Juzheng slapped the table and cursed through gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine, fine, Father has great merit." Zhang Yunxiu made a face at his father and then said with a smile, "Father, do you still remember that I said we live on a ball?"

"And then?" Zhang Juzheng asked suspiciously.

"Have you ever heard of the 'Sun Never Sets Empire'?"

"What empire?"

"The Sun Never Sets Empire, meaning the sun always shines upon its territory and will never set."

"You rebellious son, have you had another fit of madness? The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening; this is an eternal truth. That is why we work at sunrise and rest at sunset." Zhang Juzheng chuckled and began to lecture his son in a rigid, formal manner.

Zhang Yunxiu was not in a hurry, only coaxing him step by step: "May I ask Father, in the west of Great Ming, in Shaanxi and Gansu, does the sun set later than in the capital and Hebei in the east?"

"Yes, so what?"

Zhang Juzheng retorted stubbornly. Zhang Yunxiu revealed a triumphant smile, and as soon as he spoke, his words were like thunder to the ears: "Then, as long as our territory is vast enough, before the sun in the west sets, the sun in the east has already risen; wouldn't the sun then be shining on our territory forever?"

"Hahaha, is there really such a large piece of land in this world?" Zhang Juzheng laughed out loud.

After laughing for a while, he saw his son's serious expression, felt a shock in his heart, restrained his laughter, and asked tentatively, "Does this world really have such a large territory?"

"Didn't Eunuch Zheng travel to the Western Oceans back then? That was only a part of the world; the vastness of the world is beyond human imagination!" Zhang Yunxiu answered with a smile.

In an instant, Zhang Juzheng's head was buzzing.

In his decades of understanding, Great Ming was the center of the world, and at most, Zheng He had visited some small places.

These large and small countries added together constituted the entire world.

Now, he had actually heard someone say that the world outside Great Ming was as vast as the sea, and that even the sun would never set.

A massive amount of knowledge flooded into his mind; Zhang Juzheng supported his forehead with one hand, unable to speak for a long time.

Watching his father's state, Zhang Yunxiu quietly exited the study and closed the door for him on his way out.

After leaving the room and walking to the small hall, he saw You Qi and Zhang Fu chatting idly.

The two were laughing so hard that drool was flowing; Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about? Why so happy? Tell me so I can have a laugh too?"

"Nothing much, just that Brother Qi was teaching me some moves."

"What moves?"

"Just those, Young Master, it's better if you don't listen." Zhang Fu gave a lewd smile and changed the subject: "Yesterday, news came from Han San's side that the person at Longhu Mountain has relented. As long as the Young Master goes to Longhu Mountain once a year to keep the incense burning, he will agree."

Every year?

Do you think I'm going on vacation? Zhang Yunxiu was quite dissatisfied, waved his hand, and said, "You tell that person that I will go at most once every three years; I am not some god of wealth. If I go every year, the common people will hate me to death for all the fanfare."

"Yes, I will send someone to say so right away." Zhang Fu nodded and agreed.

"Oh, right, the restaurant that Zheng Guotai and the Young Master opened together has already opened two branches. Business is quite good. Zheng Guotai said he wants to treat you to a meal; I don't know if you have time?"

"Just say I'm busy and turn him down."

"Alright. Also, there's Boss Hao; he said he wants to go into business with you. He provides the money, you provide the connections, and if money is made, it's a fifty-fifty split."

*Hiss. * This guy has quite a bit of audacity, but he wouldn't agree so readily. Besides, the connections and resources he holds are definitely not something a merchant could imagine.

Moreover, he still has to help the Emperor rake in money.

After thinking this through, Zhang Yunxiu was full of confidence, and his words were firm and brooked no refusal: "Like this, you tell him, I won't swindle him—a seventy-thirty split. I take seventy percent, he takes thirty percent."

"A seventy-thirty split? Will he agree to that?" Zhang Fu looked worried.

"I'm not taking all seventy percent for myself; I can only keep thirty percent, and another forty percent has to be given to the Emperor. You tell me, in this world, what is more important than making money for the Emperor? If you serve this master well, what can't you get?" Zhang Yunxiu asked rhetorically.

"That's true."

Zhang Fu nodded and agreed.

At this moment, You Qi, who had not spoken the whole time, felt as if his heart were being clawed by a cat and hurriedly said, "Fifth Young Master, I've been idle lately too. Why don't you give me a task as well, so I don't have to spend all day chatting with Zhang Fu."

"You are an old servant of the manor and also Father's steward; how would I dare to order you around?" Zhang Yunxiu teased with a smile.

"Young Master, saying that is just scolding me. I am a servant, what is there that I can't be ordered to do?" You Qi glared, his temper flaring.

"Then, go and procure the New Year's goods."

"Yes."

(End of chapter)