Chapter 24 Young and ambitious Zhang Juzheng
Chapter 24 Young and ambitious Zhang Juzheng
When Meng Chong heard that Zhu Zaigui wanted to buy fifty kilograms of brown sugar, he exclaimed, and then asked tentatively, "Really, Your Majesty?"
Zhu Zaiqi said while practicing Xiantian Kung: "When did I ever break my promise? If I said fifty kilograms, then it's fifty kilograms. Go quickly!"
Meng Chong didn't know what was wrong with his prince. Why did he suddenly want to buy fifty kilograms of brown sugar?
Is it just for me?
Meng Chong couldn't help but recall the question Zhu Zaigui asked before the meal. Zhu Zaigui said that he would have endless sweets to eat in the future. Now Zhu Zaigui was going to buy fifty kilograms of brown sugar. This made Meng Chong have such a self-indulgent imagination.
Meng Chong was extremely happy because of this. Although fifty kilograms of brown sugar was nothing, it was the favor of the prince!
Meng Chong happily went to the East Market, found a sugar shop and generously bought 50 kilograms of brown sugar.
When the owner of the candy shop saw the high-ranking manager, who was also a eunuch, coming, he immediately became flustered and angry, thinking that he had met some great benefactor.
The shop owner came out happily and bowed to Meng Chong, saying, "Sir, I have some excellent snowflake candy here. Would you like some?"
The snowflake sugar that the shop owner mentioned is actually white sugar, but this kind of white sugar is not as sweet as the later white sugar, except that it looks better. However, the price is extremely high!
This kind of snowflake candy is actually the frosting scraped off the brown sugar block. It has no taste at all, it just looks good.
Meng Chong lowered his eyes to take a look at the snowflake candy that the shopkeeper introduced, and calculated the money in his hand. Although he really wanted to buy it, he still held back.
Meng Chong said, "We'll buy brown sugar today, and we'll buy snowflake sugar next time. Pack it for us carefully, don't make any mistakes, or you'll lose your skin!"
The shop owner kept replying, "Yes, yes, I know."
Just as Meng Chong led his men to carry 50 kilograms of brown sugar back, the owner of the sugar shop suddenly changed his smile and complained in a low voice: "You bought 50 kilograms of brown sugar and you're pretending to be rich here? Our shop is the property of the old man Yan! You can't even afford snowflake candy, and you're still pretending to be rich here."
By the time Meng Chong and his men returned carrying fifty kilograms of brown sugar, Zhu Zaigui had just completed a large circulation of energy and felt extremely refreshed and comfortable all over.
"Your Majesty, I bought the brown sugar."
Meng Chong looked at Zhu Zaigui expectantly, waiting for Zhu Zaigui to let go and say that he would give him the fifty kilograms of brown sugar.
But when Zhu Zai'e spoke, he said, "Move the candy to the backyard and store it in an empty room. No one is allowed to enter under my order."
Hearing this, Meng Chong was stunned for a moment. What does this mean? Isn't it a reward for me?
Meng Chong did not dare to ask more questions. He could only order two young eunuchs to carry the brown sugar packages to the backyard of the palace with great effort, and then find a secluded courtyard to put them inside the house.
After Meng Chong put the brown sugar away and went to report to Zhu Zaigui, Zhu Zaigui gave Meng Chong another confusing order.
Zhu Zaigui said, "Send two people to build a big stove in the small courtyard where the sugar is stored, and then find a place to dig up some yellow mud. This king will be very useful!"
Zhu Zaigui once again said "I can be of great use to you" and ordered Meng Chong to do this confusing task.
In fact, what Zhu Zaigui wanted to do was a plot about brown sugar turning into white sugar that he had seen in a time-travel online novel.
Now Zhu Zaigui was ready to try his luck and see if he could perfectly replicate it. After all, the novel did not explain in detail how brown sugar turned into white sugar. It just said that brown sugar and yellow mud were fried together, and the yellow mud would absorb the pigment in the brown sugar, thus turning the brown sugar into white sugar.
However, Zhu Zaigui was completely clueless about the specific operation steps.
So now Zhu Zaigui could only buy 50 kilograms of brown sugar and experiment quietly to see what the effect was.
If we could really turn brown sugar into white sugar, with so many dignitaries in Beijing demanding sugar, we would be rich!
But whether it can be successful or not depends entirely on the results of the experiment. If the results are a mess, then let alone success, these 50 kilograms of brown sugar will be enough for Zhu Zaigui to eat for the rest of his life.
After all, Zhu Zaigui doesn't have his period, so if he really wants to eat 50 kilograms of brown sugar, it will definitely take him a lifetime to eat it, otherwise he will not be able to finish it even if he dies.
Meng Chong found two bricklayers and set up a big stove in the small courtyard where the brown sugar was stored according to Zhu Zaigui's request.
When the big pot and stove were ready, Zhu Zaigui took a look at it, nodded with satisfaction, and said to Meng Chong: "Thank you for your hard work, Meng Daban. When my experiment succeeds tomorrow, you will have endless sweets to eat."
After hearing what Zhu Zaigui said, Meng Chong was so moved that he wept. It turned out that the prince wanted to make desserts for him personally. What a great favor! How could he be treated like this?
But then Meng Chong also became worried. He watched Zhu Zaigui grow up. In the past ten years, Zhu Zaigui was treated like a baby and never had to do housework. But today he said that he would make desserts for him tomorrow. Could he eat this?
After a fierce ideological struggle, Meng Chong's eyes became firm. Even if Zhu Zaigui made a pot of poison tomorrow, he would eat it with pleasure!
Because this is the prince’s grace!
Just as Zhu Zaigui was preparing for the experiment of bleaching brown sugar and turning it into white sugar tomorrow, a master and apprentice in the residence of Minister of Rites Xu Jie were sitting together discussing something.
"Juzheng, what do you think?"
Xu Jie handed the secret letter sent to him by Lan Daoxing to his most valued disciple Zhang Juzheng.
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng had not yet become a prominent figure. He was just a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. He was the ninth place in the second class of the imperial examination in the 26th year of Jiajing. He was 25 years old this year, at the prime of his life. His youthful ambition was exactly what Xu Jie was optimistic about.
Therefore, when Xu Jie was teaching at the Hanlin Academy, he paid special attention to Zhang Juzheng, and Zhang Juzheng did not disappoint Xu Jie. Under his guidance, Zhang Juzheng worked hard to study the history of the court and achieved remarkable results. Therefore, the two of them are now regarded as master and apprentice.
Zhang Juzheng stood up and respectfully took the secret letter from Xu Jie. He quickly read it through, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face. He replied to Xu Jie: "Sir, this is a great event! The fact that Prince Yu is safe and sound is good news to us!"
After hearing what Zhang Juzheng said, Xu Jie asked again: "So what should we do next?"
Zhang Juzheng replied without hesitation: "Of course I will write a memorial to Your Majesty to rebuild the country and make Prince Yu the crown prince, so as to calm the people's hearts and restore the Ming Dynasty!"
Xu Jie looked up at Zhang Juzheng, as if he had something to say.
(End of this chapter)