As soon as Liu Jin entered the British Palace, he could feel that the entire British Palace was filled with sadness and solemnity. The old Duke, who was already in his seventies, was about to die. The servants in the palace walked carefully for fear of
If something bad happens at this time, I still don’t know how I will die.
"Mr. Liu!"
When Liu Jin arrived, Zhang Mao's grandson Zhang Lun came to greet him personally.
"Brother Zhang"
"Mr. Zhang, how is he doing?"
Seeing Zhang Lun, Liu Jin also asked with concern.
Liu Jin and Zhang Lun are also old acquaintances, and they are about the same age, so they have more topics in common.
"Oh, the situation is very bad. I coughed up blood last night."
"Professors and doctors from Daming Medical College and Tai Hospital were all invited here. After looking at it, they all said that there was no way to save the life and that we had to prepare for the funeral."
Zhang Lun said with red eyes.
His father passed away early and was raised by his grandfather Zhang Mao. The relationship between grandfather and grandson is very deep. Although Zhang Mao has always been very strict with him, this also made Zhang Lun a promising person.
People are not like other second-generation ancestors who are lazy, uneducated and ignorant.
His performance in the Royal Military Academy and the army was remarkable. He was originally going to follow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on the Western Expedition this time, but because Zhang Mao was not in good health, he had to stay at home to fulfill his filial piety, so he missed it.
This is a good opportunity to make a difference.
Of course, judging from the situation of their British government, it has reached its extreme, and there is no longer a strong need for achievements.
"Um"
Liu Jin nodded slightly.
It is already the winter of the twenty-seventh year of Hongzhi. If we calculate the time, Zhang Mao died of illness in the beginning of the tenth year of Zhengde. If we calculate the time, it is the beginning of the twenty-eighth year of Hongzhi. In other words, he may only have a few
It's been months.
Thinking of this, Liu Jin couldn't help but sigh.
Time flies by, and in a blink of an eye, it will be twenty years since I traveled back through time.
Zhang Mao is quite good to himself. His career can be so smooth, and Zhang Mao's contribution is indispensable for this.
At the beginning, Zhang Mao took the initiative and allowed himself to take away two beauties at once. Xu Waner went to the mansion of Dingguo Gong, the top wealthy family in the Ming Dynasty. She was the granddaughter of Xu Yongning, Dingguo Gong. Li Zhen was also born in a famous family and was the granddaughter of Li Hui, the minister of the Ministry of Rites.
Being able to marry two beauties at once, both of whom were from top wealthy families, was indispensable because Zhang Mao personally acted as a matchmaker.
Otherwise, even if Liu Jin is the number one scholar and is handsome, it is impossible for two wealthy families to marry you at the same time.
Liu Jin relied on marrying a wife and also had close ties with the Ming Dynasty's Xungui Group and the Civil Service Group.
Therefore, when Representative Liu Jin went to war, he was able to convince his generals because the influence of Duke Dingguo and Duke Ying in the army was unparalleled.
When Liu Jin was a civil servant, he was able to rise rapidly. In addition to his own talent and the appreciation of Emperor Hongzhi, Li Hui also provided a lot of help. With him, he gained more support and was able to be promoted quickly.
, he was already a cabinet minister and chief minister in his thirties.
This is what officialdom is like. Ability is very important. Appreciation from the superiors and a strong enough relationship are also indispensable. Without these, it is not easy to rise to the top.
Liu Jin has always been very grateful to Zhang Mao, and he also gave a lot of rewards. Many businesses were brought to Zhang Mao, which also made such a British government not only extremely noble, but also wealthy.
The wealth in the world is so huge that it is difficult to count.
If any industry comes out, it is an extremely huge industry, and it is a big business that earns millions of taels of silver every year.
In addition, there are shares in the First Bank of the Ming Dynasty, which is a priceless treasure. As the only bank in the Ming Dynasty that legally issues banknotes and coins, the First Bank of the Ming Dynasty has business all over the world, and the amount of money it handles every year is unimaginable.
Just being the only legal issuing bank of silver notes and silver coins was enough for the Zhang family to not have to worry about having no money. With the Ming Dynasty, bank notes were sold all over the world, including merchants from various European countries, nobles of the Ottoman Empire, and merchants.
When they are all being used, just printing banknotes every year can earn a huge amount of wealth. Appropriate inflation is completely acceptable.
Just like the green coins of later generations, huge amounts of wealth can be plundered from the world by printing money every year.
What's more, Ming Dynasty's silver notes and silver coins are now widely used in many places. Overseas vassal states, colonies, Ming vassal states, etc., almost all use Ming Dynasty silver coins and silver notes.
Its reputation spreads all over the world.
The Zhang family owns shares in the First Bank of the Ming Dynasty, and the value of this wealth alone is simply immeasurable.
Zhang Mao helped Liu Jin a lot, and Liu Jin also gave a lot back to Zhang Mao, which in turn firmly tied the relationship between the two families together.
Liu Jin's son was just thirteen years old now, so Zhang Mao had already decided to marry Zhang Lun's eleven-year-old daughter to Liu Jin's son.
Get married.
Originally, Liu Jin wanted to oppose this marriage. People who travel through time in later generations naturally hope that their children can fall in love freely, rather than having to marry from a young age.
But Liu Jin had no way to refuse Zhang Mao's personal talk, because the other party came to marry his beloved daughter, and he came to him on his own initiative. If you refuse, it will hurt someone's face.
Liu Jin would definitely think twice about marrying his daughter. It would not be very important for his son to marry a wife. The worst he could do was marry a few more and have more concubines.
Liu Jin, the Duke of Liao, and the Duke of England, Duke of Ding, Duke of Cheng, and Duke of Australia could almost be said to wear the same pair of pants. They were already intertwined with each other and had extremely huge interests and relationships.
Of course, this is inevitable. It has been like this since ancient times, and there is nothing to say. The Ming royal family has always maintained a tradition of selecting concubines from among the people to prevent the harem from interfering in politics, so the connection with the nobles is not that great.
close.
As for the Xungui Group and the Civil Service Group, they all have deep connections and are intricately intertwined. The same is true for civil servants, the same is true for the large families of gentry and landlords, etc. It is important to have a well-matched family, and this has been the case since ancient times.
Soon, Liu Jin arrived at Zhang Mao's room. The whole room was eerily quiet. He could only hear Zhang Mao's violent coughing from time to time and the pain of being tortured by illness.
"Zhang Gong"
Liu Jin came to Zhang Mao's window and looked at Zhang Mao in front of him.
Zhang Mao used to be tall and strong. Although he was a noble man, his martial arts skills were quite good and his archery skills were excellent.
However, now, after being tortured by illness, he has become skinny and skinny, his eyes are sunken and bright, his hair is gray and dull, his skin is old and dark, and he looks like he is about to die.
"You brat, you're here"
Hearing Liu Jin's voice, he smiled and ordered someone to sit up on the cushion.
"It's better to be young. You still don't seem to have changed much. Unlike me, I'm old all of a sudden."
Zhang Mao looked at Liu Jin and couldn't help but sigh.
The Liu Jin in front of him seems to be the same as he was more than ten years ago, as young and handsome, with the same style.
"Mr. Zhang, this is just a minor problem. Let the professors at the medical school take a look at it and take some medicine. I'm still thinking of riding a horse and hunting in Liaodong with you, Mr. Zhang."
Liu Jin's eyes were slightly red, and he felt very sad.
"Haha, I know my own situation. Don't lie to me, kid."
"Now that I'm leaving, the one I'm most relieved about is Zhang Lun. Compared with you, he's still far behind. There are a lot of things that worry me."
Zhang Mao smiled, then shook his head and said.
"Zhang Mao, you are very commendable. Brother Zhang is a just man, honest in his work, and very popular. I am far worse than Brother Zhang. I am impeached every day."
Liu Jin said with a smile.
"You are in that position, with high authority and a lot of right and wrong. Even if there is nothing, those people can still make things happen for you."
Zhang Mao smiled, then looked at the people around him, waved his hand and said, "Except for Zhang Lun, you all should go down first. Liu Jin and I have something to say."
When everyone heard this, they immediately left one after another, knowing that Zhang Mao had something important to say to Liu Jin and Zhang Lun.
After these people left, Zhang Mao said: "Liu Jin, you have already reached the position of chief minister, and you are very rich."
"I'm also worried about you about some things. Since ancient times, you should know the principle of prosperity and decline, and the moon waxes and wanes."
Zhang Mao's words were actually very euphemistic, but the meaning was expressed clearly enough.
In fact, he was telling Liu Jin to retreat immediately, otherwise he might not end well in the future.
"Mr. Zhang, I know. I know even if you don't tell me. Moreover, I have been thinking about this matter and how I can retreat safely."
"Now that I've reached this point, I'm actually already on the sword. If I'm not careful, I'll be dead."
After hearing Zhang Mao's words, Liu Jin thought for a while and nodded.
"It's good that you know that today's emperor is talented and generous, and he is a rare holy king throughout the ages. However, everything is constantly changing, and many things are difficult to say."
"If you knew it yourself, I would be relieved."
Zhang Mao was able to say such things to Liu Jin, which obviously meant that Liu Jin was very close to him, otherwise it would have been absolutely impossible for him to say these words.
This is also the reason why Zhang Mao asked everyone else to go down, because these words must not be spread out.
"Thank you Mr. Zhang for the reminder, I will keep it in mind!"
Liu Jin nodded solemnly and kept Zhang Mao's words in his heart. Zhang Mao was definitely a wise man, so it was natural to keep his words in mind.
