As one of the most wealthy families in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Siwei moved to a better residence in the capital after joining the cabinet. The location was not far away, from Hebao Lane to the north to the east side of Huichang Street.
But this location is incredible. Going east over a wall is Taiye Pool, also known as the "Three Seas". To be more specific, it is the large area of Lingjing Hutong to the west between Zhonghai and Nanhai in later generations.
The reason why it is "a large piece" is because this house occupies a larger area than the bachelor's residence left by Zhang Juzheng. Gao Jingshi's two houses in the capital city are not too small, but in terms of area, they can't keep up with Zhang Siwei's residence for the great scholar.
After all, the Zhang family is a wealthy salt merchant, and they always pay attention to a certain style. This can actually be seen from the Cherry Spring Villa that Zhang Siwei gave to Gao Pragmatic. Moreover, the fact that the Zhang family is rich has nothing to hide. With a business as big as Changlu Saltworks, what can you hide? Therefore, Zhang Siwei does not have to be secretive like some officials who came from a poor background but made a fortune because of their official positions.
This situation is somewhat similar to the Wei Guogong Mansion in Nanjing - anyway, everyone knows that my family is rich and I love someone.
Gao Pragmatic would come to visit the day after arriving in Beijing, which Zhang Siwei had long expected. Although in theory, of course, the uncle should be closer than the teacher, the king of heaven and earth is closer to the teacher! But in fact, in the Ming Dynasty, respect for masters must be more obvious at certain times, not to mention that Guo Pu is the first assistant. If Gao Pragmatic came to visit him first instead of visiting Guo Pu first, Zhang Siwei would be a little embarrassed. .
Since it had been anticipated, a delicacy was a must. Even if it was a family banquet that only Zhang Siwei and Gao Pragmatic could eat, they had to be careful.
For example, Gao Jingshi came from afar, so in addition to the table where the two of them actually ate, there was also a "dismounted table". As the name suggests, this table is actually not for eating, and it is a side table for the reception banquet. , not a top-notch rich family, can't afford such waste.
Because if you don’t eat, you won’t eat. You have to prepare everything. It is necessary to use eight cake ingots, eight sugar buckets, five candy mountains, five candies, five plates of sugar cakes, one plate of lychees, one plate of round eyes, one plate of dates, one plate of walnuts, and one plate of chestnuts. , one elbow of pork, one elbow of mutton, one side of beef, one soup goose, two white bream tails, four large steamed buns, one live sheep, one high-top flower, two large double flower arrangements, ten elbow flowers, and fruit Twenty branches of hood flowers, ten branches of Dingsheng flowers, two branches of velvet flowers, and one bean wine.
In this life, Gao Pragmatic is now considered a top rich man, but he still doesn't like this kind of waste. However, the other party is his uncle after all, and setting up such a table is to show his face, so he can't say much. , I can only endure it.
Zhang Siwei had given up drinking because of his poor health. Gao Qingshi had a tolerance for alcohol, but he had been forced to drink too many times in his previous life, and he almost felt a little psychologically disgusted. The two of them said a few words casually and stopped drinking first.
It is easier to talk without wine, because the things we want to talk about today are very important, and not drinking can ensure that we will not talk nonsense all of a sudden.
Of course, Zhang Siwei already knew what happened yesterday, but he was an elder, so he would not take the initiative to mention it. Therefore, after Gao Pragmatic took a few bites, he took the initiative to talk about it: "Uncle, Ling Benbing didn't come to your place yesterday. A complaint against my nephew?"
Zhang Siwei smiled slightly: "He didn't complain, but he came to me to beg for mercy."
Although Zhang Siwei is considered a "young cabinet minister", just like the "young cadres" in his previous life, this "youngness" must be viewed in relation to his rank and status. Just like a forty-year-old senior official, of course he is very young, but if he is just a section chief, he cannot be said to be young. Zhang Siwei is actually fifty-four years old this year, so he can certainly call himself an old man.
After hearing what he said, Gao Pingshi looked genuinely surprised: "He came to you to beg for mercy? Isn't that right?"
Zhang Siwei glared at Gao Pragmatic: "What are you pretending to be? You still don't know why he came?"
Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "I don't know! Uncle, he shouldn't know the identities of those two people, right?"
"Humph!" Zhang Siwei looked helpless: "Of course he didn't know before, but it's not like he had no place to ask in the capital. After a few tries, can he still guess what the problem is? If nothing else, Just tell me who donated the money to build the Buddhist temple, how secret do you think it is?"
Gao pragmatic smiled and said disapprovingly: "But because the Queen Mother believed in the lamas' exorcisms, she secretly sent the two princesses to this unfinished Buddhist temple to offer incense. How could such a thing be done with such a big fanfare? Since she won't do it with a big fanfare, then He's probably just pretending not to know, so what does he have to worry about?"
Zhang Siwei curled his lips: "What does the Queen Mother think? How dare he, a minister in Lingyangshan {Lingyun Yihao Yangshan} who has been serving as governor in the local area all year round, dare to make random guesses?"
Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "Isn't there Mr. Shen Ge who can help him with reference?"
Shen Shixing is not only a disciple of Xinxue, but also a fellow student of Xu Jie. At the same time, his teacher is Zhang Juzheng, so he is actually the core figure of Xu and Zhang's lineage. If Ling Yunyi is in trouble, he must consult Shen Shixing. , which is the proper meaning of the title.
"Shen Yaoquan is good at dancing and speaks only a few words when meeting people. Moreover, since he entered the cabinet, he has never been willing to directly offend important figures in the practical school. He may not be able to distinguish clearly from Lingyangshan in detail."
Gao pragmatic said, thought for a moment, and said with a smile: "Then you always help him analyze?"
"Why do I want to help him analyze? He is not the same year as me, let alone my student." Zhang Siwei pointed at Gao Pragmatic and said: "But you are my nephew! Besides, you have had your own opinions since you were a child. Very, he offended you this time, and it seems that he has offended you quite a lot. If I don’t ask you what you mean first, will your mother be asked to tell you that I don’t take care of the younger generation? Everything will be well with the family! "
Gao Pingshi laughed and said, "Then my nephew should thank my uncle first. I'll give him a toast with tea instead of wine."
Zhang Siwei waved his hand: "When you eat, you eat, and you drink whatever tea you want. You are young now and don't know how to take good care of yourself. When you become like me and don't know what will happen next year, you will know how powerful you are and how you will regret it."
"Thank you for the advice, uncle." Gao pragmatic smiled, put down his tea cup, pretended to think for a while, and said solemnly: "Uncle, my nephew, I think it's better not to do this, Mr. Ling. ”
Zhang Siwei suddenly looked stunned.
Although he guessed that his nephew might be resentful towards Ling Yunyi, he never expected that Gao's pragmatic attitude would be so resolute. Moreover, he, who was just an official, would actually tell Ling Yunyi, a minister of the Ministry of War, "No!" Done"!
As one of the core members of Gao's party, Zhang Siwei was not unaware of some of Gao Pragmatic's previous "glorious deeds" and also knew that he had many plans in the inner court.
What was strange to him was that his nephew had been quite tolerant before and would not make a move until he could hold back enough to defeat the enemy with one move. But why did he not ask any questions this time and just wanted to get a knife from a dignified minister of the Ministry of War? ? This is the Minister of War, not the military ministers who are used to being lackeys!
What's going on here?
Zhang Siwei even doubted for a moment whether he had any secrets that he hadn't figured out yet. This situation was wrong!
