"Father-in-law, the matter has come to this. There is no need to say more about this matter. It is too late to still have doubts about this matter. My son-in-law spent more than two years on this matter.
We have taken a step forward. Could it be that my father-in-law now thinks that this step was wrong? Then wouldn’t it mean that my hard work has been in vain, and the huge amount of money and manpower I have spent are all in vain?” Zhang Yanling said lightly.
Xu Guangzuo chuckled and said: "Don't get me wrong Yanling, I'm not doubting your decision, I'm just a little worried. It's precisely because you spend a lot of energy and time, and so much manpower and material resources, that I'm even more worried. Need to
You know, the more you spend, the more energy you expend. If the gain outweighs the loss, you will become the target of criticism from others. The more important the mistake in decision-making, the greater the harm. You should understand what I mean, and I also mean it.
You want."
Xu Guangzuo slowly took a few steps forward and said in a deep voice: "Yanling, the situation in the court now is very different from that before you went to sea. Not to mention that Jiang Bin has gained the emperor's trust by means, and it seems that he can already
The influential person in the government is the outer court, which is now very different from before you went to sea. Yang Tinghe
Liang Chu, Fei Hong, and others were united in the cabinet and advanced and retreated together. The six ministers Liu Ji, Yang Yiqing, Cao Yuan, Liu Jing, Li Sui and others were even more closely united around the cabinet. The censors on the left and right of the Yushitai were also their people.
The current outer court can be said to be a piece of iron, which cannot be penetrated by needles or splashed by water. The branches are connected with the same spirit, advancing and retreating together."
Zhang Yanling said: "Did they have any bad words or actions toward my family?"
Xu Guangzuo said: "That's not true. They haven't reached this level of arrogance yet. But not long ago, Yang Tinghe gave you a report because you did not follow the order to suppress the rebellion. Although the emperor did not give permission, this is a kind of
Testing. Yang Ting and the others are ready to take action, looking for opportunities."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "My son-in-law knows about this."
Xu Guangzuo said: "The outer court has undergone a large number of official changes in the past two years. A group of new officials have taken control of key departments and their voices have become louder and louder. Haha, they have also set up a Qingyitang. When they have nothing to do, they invite everyone
Some celebrities gathered to discuss state affairs and court policies. As far as I know, the thing these people criticized the most was your overseas expansion.
They said that if you go to sea to fight, you will waste people and money, and the benefits you get are not as good as the losses. They say that the Ming Dynasty is currently short of finances and taxes, and it is unwise to spend so much money on fighting. In the future, it will also spend huge amounts of money on food, soldiers and horses.
Maintaining these overseas ports will increase the financial and tax burden on the imperial court, saying that you are acting indiscriminately and kidnapping the imperial court's interests for personal gain."
Zhang Yanling was stunned at first, and then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, are these guys crazy? I didn't use a single tael of money from the imperial court. I raised all these things myself. These people are just sitting around talking about politics. They are a bunch of trash who don't do anything and waste food.
.”
Xu Guangzuo frowned and said: "Yanling should not be taken lightly. It's nothing more than what they said. After all, officials in the DPRK and China know the inside story. But their accusations against you are not limited to this. They say that you are massacring foreign people overseas, and your bullying and bullying behavior has caused harm.
Our reputation as a Ming Dynasty goes against the principles of Confucianism
Tao, it's just like what barbarians do. Your barbaric behavior will make the Ming Dynasty reviled by people all over the world, and will put our entire Ming Dynasty in an unkind and unjust situation. I think this is the most severe and irrefutable
Accusation. This accusation is a hundred times stronger than wasting money and wasting people."
Zhang Yanling frowned and nodded slightly. Indeed, this concept that is deeply rooted in the minds of the Ming Dynasty and has been infiltrated by Confucianism since childhood is actually a deep-seated ideology. These things are the most powerful weapons to accuse others.
As small as an individual, his or her career may be ruined due to lack of morality and etiquette. Some people were dismissed from office because they drank and entertained during the funeral. If they listened to music for fun during the funeral, they were criticized and never hired. This is the backlash of violating Confucian filial piety.
You want to distinguish these things, but you can't, because they are things rooted in your mind.
As far as the country is concerned, the ideas of universal unity, universal justice, benevolence and tolerance, etc., are all derived from some inexplicable sense of superiority and a holy heart derived from being at the center of the world and claiming to be a great country. This kind of Confucian morality
Accusations often resonate with the most people and trigger the recognition of many people.
Starting from this point, these people undoubtedly hit the point, but it is not useless.
However, Zhang Yanling had long expected these accusations. When he was fighting overseas, he thought about this question more than once and got the answer. Even if he was burdened with historical infamy, Zhang Yanling would never give up because of the Virgin Heart.
and the so-called sense of morality to give up on seizing the opportunity that made Ming Dynasty strong in the Age of Discovery. Zhang Yanling accepted the accusations of massacring and abusing the people of other countries and plundering other countries' resources calmly, because to a certain extent, that was what he was doing.
"These people want to build momentum? They are using public opinion to discredit me. Haha, how can I care about what they say? Are Yang Ting and them involved? Are there any important officials in the court involved?" Zhang Yanling said.
Xu Guangzuo said: "As far as I know, they occasionally participate, but not often."
Zhang Yanling said: "Then let them do the hard work. It would be best if Yang Ting, Fei Hong, Liang Chu and others participate. The more the Qing Yitang makes the situation bigger, the easier it will be to handle."
Xu Guangzuo whispered: "What does Yanling mean?"
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "This is a clique. It doesn't matter if we all agree on the same opinion in the court. If we hold a big gathering to discuss government affairs, this is a blatant clique. It seems that when the emperor comes back, I will talk to him about historical events.
The disaster caused by cronyism, by the way, recall the incident a few years ago when the emperor first ascended the throne and the foreign court forced the palace."
Xu Guangzuo was frightened. Although he was scheming, everything was based on his own interests, and he had no strong ambitions or strong thoughts of fighting for power in the court. As long as the interests of the nobles were not touched, Xu Guangzuo could ignore it. Therefore, Xu Guangzuo acted relatively mildly.
But from what Zhang Yanling said today about his thunderous methods to deal with Jiang Bin and the countermeasures he proposed in response to the actions of the outer court, he realized that his son-in-law was much more ruthless than him.
It seems to be insignificant, but he has grasped the key point. Once activated, it will be fatal. As long as the opponent crosses the boundary and touches him and feels that he needs to take action, it will be an unreserved bloody storm.
Xu Guangzuo sighed in his heart, feeling inferior to himself. Zhang Yanling was beyond his reach in terms of ability and means, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was cruel and ruthless. The good thing is that Zhang Yanling protects the interests of the nobles, is his son-in-law, and is absolutely one of his own.
The downside is that we don't know what he will do in the future.
But such a person is fortunate to be one of our own. If he were an opponent, it would be terrible.
"Since Yan Ling knows it well, I won't say much more. By the way, what do you think of that woman today... Yan Ling?" Xu Guangzuo said with a smile.
Zhang Yanling scratched his head and said: "Why did my father-in-law say this? My brother has already warned me sternly. Haha, does my father-in-law also want to warn me?"
Xu Guangzuo laughed and said: "On the contrary, I am not here to warn you. A young hero naturally has many admirers, not to mention that the woman is a beauty with good looks and a good singing voice, and she seems to have a lot of affection for Yanling. If Yanling is
It’s not surprising that you have ideas. I just need to discuss it with Wan Yi and take care of Wan Yi’s feelings. A man with three wives and four concubines is actually nothing."
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "It turns out that my father-in-law is so open-minded, so he has no objection."
Xu Guangzuo said: "I'm not that old-fashioned."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "It's a pity that you were all deceived by that woman. There is obviously something wrong with that woman."
Xu Guangzuo was stunned for a moment and was about to ask. Then he heard Zhu Lin shouting from the light in the front hall: "Hey, Mr. Xu and Mr. Yanling, have you finished talking? Do you want to drink? If not,