Chapter 3: The Fat Vice Minister Earnestly Advises the Grand Secretary

As the first light of dawn appeared and the freezing snow finally ceased, the gates of Beijing City slowly opened, accompanied by a melodious shout. The commoners who had been waiting at the city gate since early morning surged outward like a flood.

For a time, the sounds of clearing the way, cursing, and shouting were incessant.

Zhang Yunxiu and his party had dismounted early and squeezed into the city along with the tide of people.

Looking out, there was a sea of black heads, shoulder to shoulder and heel to heel, with commoners speaking in various accents everywhere.

Ever since the Chengzu Emperor moved the capital to Beijing, this once-disregarded frontier land had suddenly become the political center of the entire Great Ming.

After over a hundred years of development, the population of Beijing had grown from less than one hundred thousand in the early Ming.

To this day, it was approaching one million.

And this was even the result of them starting to drive people out since the Hongzhi era.

After dawdling for half an hour, Zhang Yunxiu finally truly entered the Inner City.

Looking around, shops stood on both sides; the wind and snow from last night covered the roofs, while the bluestone-paved streets were clean and tidy, with no filth to be seen.

On the main roads, soldiers were sweeping along the streets.

"Fifth Young Master, if we come like this without giving Father a heads-up, won't it be a breach of etiquette?" Standing on the street, Zhang Fu, who was to the side, felt a bit apprehensive.

Zhang Yunxiu didn't care about anything else and just shook his head, saying, "This is none of your business. If there is to be punishment, let me be the only one punished."

Having said that, he strode toward Shamao Alley on Dengshi Street.

Seeing this, Zhang Fu and the others looked at each other, then led their horses to follow Zhang Yunxiu's pace.

Dengshi Street, where Zhang Juzheng's Grand Secretary Mansion was located, was a prosperous area of the entire capital, separated from the Forbidden City by only one street.

Because it was on the essential route to the offices of the Six Ministries, those who came and went were either wealthy or noble.

High buildings stood on both sides, either the villas of wealthy merchants or places where certain big shots hid their mistresses.

Every night, Dengshi Street was ablaze with lights, the crowd flowed like a stream, carriages and horses were as numerous as crucian carp, the sounds of pipes and strings never ceased, and the young men of the capital vied to show off their wealth, all to win a beauty's smile.

Following his memory for a while, Zhang Yunxiu and his party arrived in front of a residence.

They saw two large white marble stone lions standing at the gate of the residence, and between the stone lions, a plaque made of red sandalwood had the four large characters "Grand Secretary Mansion" written in gilded font.

Under the plaque stood four men.

They were all wearing round hats, black round-collared robes, and black boots, looking very imposing.

Seeing Zhang Yunxiu walking toward them, one of them had sharp eyes and recognized him.

He was startled and hurried forward to greet him, but asked a foolish question: "Fifth Young Master, why have you come?"

Before Zhang Yunxiu could answer, the flesh on Zhang Fu's face twitched, and he gritted his teeth and questioned, "Does the Fifth Young Master need to report to you why he has come?"

"We dare not, we dare not." The servants shook their heads repeatedly in fear.

"Is Father in the mansion today?" Zhang Fu asked again.

"Master has not gone out today," the servant replied.

After hearing this, Zhang Yunxiu took a deep breath and stepped into the vermilion gate. Along the way, his heart was tense to the extreme, feeling as if it were about to jump out.

That feeling was comparable to checking his own college entrance exam results.

The closer it got to the time to check the scores, the more nervous he became.

In his impression, Zhang Juzheng had always been quite strict with his children.

Coming all the way from his hometown like this, at best he would receive a scolding, and at worst, he might even get a beating with the board.

Just as he was pondering, inside Zhang Juzheng's study, two people sat opposite each other.

Sitting in the main seat was Zhang Juzheng, and to the side sat a fat man in casual clothes.

The man was about fifty years old, of medium height, fair and fat, with a big belly, wearing a green scholar's robe, leaning back in his chair; at first glance, he looked just like a Maitreya Buddha.

He was none other than the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Li Youzi.

He and Zhang Juzheng were both successful candidates in the twenty-sixth year of the Jiajing era and were also from the same hometown; he had exerted considerable effort in the process of defeating Gao Gong.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng trusted him quite a bit. Li Youzi also took great pride in this.

Taking a small sip of tea, Li Youzi moved his stool forward and whispered, "Shuda, that Li Wei is already past the age of sixty, I fear he doesn't have many years left to live, so why must you offend the Empress Dowager for his sake?"

"According to the old regulations of the dynasty, no relative of the imperial family by marriage may be enfeoffed higher than a Count," Zhang Juzheng replied coldly with an expressionless face. "If we break a precedent for him, and later other relatives without a shred of merit demand to be enfeoffed as Dukes, where will the dignity of the imperial court be? Wouldn't that be chilling the hearts of meritorious officials for nothing?"

"That may be so, but there must always be a first time for a precedent."

"Then wait until I am dead to talk about it."

Zhang Juzheng slapped the table heavily as he spoke, then added, "Is his family not wealthy enough? When the Longqing Emperor ascended the throne, he rewarded him with three thousand mu of Grain Field and even bestowed Yan Song's mansion upon him."

"Since the Current Emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor have bestowed rewards several times; it is already the height of favor, yet he still..."

At this point, the dignified image of Li Taihou appeared in Zhang Juzheng's mind.

It was this woman who made him feel both love and apprehension.

He loved that she let go of the power, allowing him to connect the Outer Court and the Inner Court.

He feared that she would sometimes be unreasonable, and once it involved her father and brothers, it would mostly put him in a difficult position.

Seeing his firm attitude, Li Youzi earnestly advised, "Sigh, when the Hongzhi Emperor was on the throne, the Zhang brothers had no shred of merit, yet one was enfeoffed as a Marquis and the other as a Count. Did the Grand Secretary at the time, Li Dongyang, not fail to stop it?"

"You rejected Li Wei's Grain Field a few days ago, and now you are clashing with him again; I fear this is not a good strategy."

Zhang Juzheng remained silent upon hearing this.

The Hongzhi Emperor was indeed too indulgent toward the Zhang brothers.

Looking back over the two hundred years of the Great Ming, one probably couldn't find such relatives by marriage.

"Shuda, it's a hereditary title anyway, why must you be so serious about it?" Li Youzi struck while the iron was hot. "Actually, if you find it difficult to handle, you can just play deaf and dumb and let Shen Shixing handle it; as it happens, he is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

"He is a master of playing tai chi."

Zhang Juzheng frowned, waved his hand to stop the conversation, and pulled the topic back: "The 'Single Whip Law' implemented in Jiangnan and other places last year has been quite effective. This year, your Ministry of Revenue must increase efforts to implement it nationwide."

Great, another major problem.

Li Youzi only felt his head swelling, and after pondering for a moment, he replied, "I think there is no need to be so urgent. The New Policy is being implemented, and the powerful and wealthy families have great resistance; it would be better to stabilize it first."

"The 'Single Whip Law' has a hundred benefits and not a single drawback; why must we wait?" Zhang Juzheng stood up and sighed with emotion, "During the Jiajing Era, the former Cabinet Secondary Minister Gui E once promoted this law in the provinces, but in the end, it was all thunder and no rain, resulting in a dismal failure."

"You know this, yet you still insist?"

"It is different."

"How is it different?"

Zhang Juzheng smiled and shook his head: "At that time, Gui E had no foundation in the provinces and lacked the full support of the Emperor in the court, which is why the reform failed. Tell me, can it be the same?"

"Shuda."

"Yuanshu, I know you have my best interests at heart, but there are some things upon which one cannot compromise." Li Youzi wanted to say more, but Zhang Juzheng interrupted him bluntly, speaking in a tone of earnest advice.

Seeing that he could not persuade his old friend, Li Youzi raised an eyebrow and teased: "Heh, I never expected that our Grand Secretary, at this age, would still retain the stubborn temper of a youth."

Zhang Juzheng smiled and replied: "Sometimes, the hot-bloodedness of youth is exactly what can accomplish great things."

"That is true; who in the entire capital does not know of the romantic affairs of Grand Secretary Zhang?" Li Youzi pursed his lips and said sourly, "They say that a man who isn't romantic is not a true youth, yet even at your age, you remain as dashing as ever."

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard lightly and laughed triumphantly: "To indulge in romance, to sleep drunk on the lap of a beauty, and to wake up holding the power of the world—this is how a real man should be."

"Then I certainly cannot count as a real man."

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Juzheng burst into laughter. Just as he was about to reply, he suddenly heard someone report from outside the door: "Master, the Fifth Young Master has arrived from Huguang and says he wishes to see you."

Yunxiu?

Did I not tell him to stay in Huguang to prepare for this year's Provincial Examination? Zhang Juzheng furrowed his brow, remained silent for a moment, and then said: "Make that rebellious son wait!"

Li Youzi, being tactful, said a few simple words and found an excuse to slip away.

(End of this chapter)