Zhao Ding put down his teacup, frowned and sighed, "Your uncle can't be blamed for the military exploits. His jurisdiction is in the easternmost part, and Yaoshan is in Guanxi. It's the best he could do to send Tian Shizhong and the three thousand long axe soldiers there. He shouldn't belittle himself. As for the fact that you didn't get the status of Wu Sheren, I told you, you may not believe it, but the fact is that the government has always been too lazy to remember these red tape, so they forgot it... And the provincial government, the Privy Council and other officials are not willing to interrupt and remind you about such a small matter because the Imperial Guard involves the Imperial City Department, so as to avoid embarrassment... In my opinion, you might as well forget about this Sheren and just do your job in front of the emperor instead of looking for me to deal with this matter."

Zhang Zigai opened his mouth but could only nod.

"Is that all?" Zhao Ding continued to ask. "Your uncle and I have been colleagues for many years. It is extraordinary. You don't have to hide it."

Zhang Zigai nodded, but answered carefully: "To be honest with you, sir, my uncle is not only worried about his lack of military achievements. He had a night talk with me before he passed away a few years ago. He said that he had been in Huaishang for three or four years, built seven or eight large houses, bought several thousand acres of fertile land, married four or five concubines, and had three sons and a daughter. However, the emperor's family has been poor from Nanyang to Tokyo... Before Yaoshan, he could be said to have slept on straw and tasted gall. After Yaoshan, he thought that the emperor would more or less want..."

"We should follow the old system." Zhao Ding answered casually for the other party. "Let's not talk about indulgence. Just follow the old system, repair the dilapidated harem, recruit a few hundred eunuchs, and take in a few hundred palace maids. No one will say anything. Even the officials have advised the emperor a long time ago, but the emperor just turned a deaf ear to it. He would rather use the money to organize the Cuju League than to tidy up the harem... Not only your uncle, we also think that the emperor is a bit too hardworking."

Zhang Zigai nodded repeatedly: "I was also shocked when I joined the squad... No wonder my uncle was worried."

"In fact, the emperor must know about your uncle's behavior." Zhao Ding picked up the ginger tea again, but sighed softly. "As for a military general, if he is not greedy for money and lustful, he is really incorruptible. Isn't he being closely watched by those censors like Yue Fei? As for the emperor, it may be because there are still some loopholes in the court's finances, and he doesn't want to give people a chance to criticize him. After we quell the Dongting Lake Rebellion this year and survive until summer, when we have more energy and the finances are better, we can go and persuade him again."

"It can only be done this way." Zhang Zigai also sighed. "Thinking back to my uncle's sigh that day, it's hard to be a military official. If you are greedy, you will feel uneasy. If you are not greedy, you are afraid that the government will be suspicious... Sir..."

Zhang Zigai was talking nonstop, and was about to say something else, but he saw Zhao Ding's expressionless face, sipping ginger tea non-stop. He suddenly realized something and stood up quickly: "Sir, thank you for your understanding today, and I'll take my leave now... I'll come back to play with some other brothers in a few days, but there's no need to disturb you."

Zhao Ding smiled in return and let his son send the other person out.

After a while, Zhao Fen came back and shook his head again and again: "Dad, this general is too shameless... What do you mean by not being greedy but afraid that the emperor will get suspicious? But I have never seen the emperor suspect General Yue, right?"

Zhao Ding, who had already thrown away the ginger tea, shook his head, but then nodded: "Zhang Boying's case is a little special. His greed was secretly promised by the emperor. He got it in exchange for his military exploits on the Huai River that day. In addition, he sent Tian Shizhong over this time, so he did not lose out in the end... But, in the final analysis, it's because he is greedy! Otherwise, why would he be left behind by Han Shizhong? And let Li Yanxian, Yue Fei and others catch up? Now in the eyes of the emperor, I'm afraid he is not as good as Zhang Rong and Wu Jie, and is only slightly better than Qu Duan."

Zhao Fen nodded heavily.

"Should we confiscate any valuable gifts from him?" At this point, Zhao Ding suddenly remembered something.

"No." Zhao Fen responded respectfully. "Don't worry, Daddy. I have my own ideas."

Zhao Ding then nodded heavily, and finally put aside all other matters, and just took a bath and prepared to enjoy his vacation.

Not to mention a restful night, on the next day, which was the second day of the Lunar New Year, the current provincial governor took a rare lazy sleep and slept until noon. After getting up, he took a leisurely bath and ate only some porridge. He then asked the servants to close the door and refuse visitors. Then he went to the courtyard and sat under the warm sun of early spring. He asked his son to bring him the latest court newspaper and read it for him.

As the first new official bulletin after the New Year, it should have been issued yesterday evening and copied today, so there is nothing new to say about it.

And sure enough, as Zhao Fen continued reading, one could only hear the talk about the etiquette of the New Year's Day court meeting, and about Prime Minister Lu Haowen bringing the four ministers to pay their respects to the country on behalf of the emperor. Then, he even talked about how Zhao Ding, the Prime Minister of the Capital Province, and Zhang Jun, the Privy Councilor, went to the Imperial Academy to comfort the students. Finally, he listed a few well-written New Year's greetings, and the so-called official business of the court came to an end.

Next, I turned to the last two magazines. The first one was naturally the "Miscellaneous Notes on Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", which was circulated in the palace and signed by Lan Qiao Tianren and had been serialized for two or three months.

Today's plot is about how Monkey King fought against the Black Bear Demon, but was unable to defeat him. He then wanted to go to the Guanyin Temple to seek justice from Guanyin Bodhisattva, but the story ended abruptly.

After reading it, Zhao Fen couldn't help but stand up, half feeling unsatisfied and half angry, and said, "Dad, you said that the emperor was so strong that he couldn't win in order to make up a story. How could the Monkey King not be able to defeat a black bear demon?"

Zhao Ding was not in a hurry. He stared at his son and answered calmly: "First, the emperor never said that he made this thing up. Second, it is still unclear whether it was written by Madam Wu or by a ghostwriter. Third, if I were to say, it is amazing that the Monkey King could not defeat the Black Bear Monster... Otherwise, how could we ask Guanyin Bodhisattva to come?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!