I studied in modern times

Chapter 1059 Personnel
Soon it was June of the third year of the Yuan You era.

Bingzi (the first day of the lunar month).

Ouyang Fei, who served as Chaofeng Lang and Kaogong Yuanwai Lang, later became a Zhuzuo Lang and a reviewer in the Shilu Yuan.

Undoubtedly, this was a political deal—since Ouyang Xiu's death, none of his sons had had a smooth career in government.

The eldest son, Ouyang Fa, needs no introduction—this unfortunate boy was falsely accused of having an affair with his wife, Wu (Wu Chong's eldest daughter).

This case almost led to Ouyang Xiu's execution (the reasons are complex and cannot be explained in a few words, but the main reason was that Ouyang Xiu had offended too many people by speaking out and making sarcastic remarks for decades).

As a result, he could never make any progress in his official career and could only stay at home to study epigraphy.

Now, he and Lü Dalin of the Imperial Academy are the head and deputy head of the Bianjing Epigraphy Society.

The second son, Ouyang Yi, doesn't seem very clever.

He's in his fifties or sixties, and he's still just wasting his days in the Imperial Household Department.

That's basically how my life will be.

The youngest son, Ouyang Bian, was a bookworm who only knew classical Chinese all day long, but he had none of his father's literary talent.

As a result, he was practically invisible within the inner circle of officials in Bianjing.

Therefore, among Ouyang Xiu's sons, the only one who could be considered worthy of being called upon was Ouyang Fei.

Therefore, when Ouyang Xiu passed away, he made a special effort to pave the way for his third son, Ouyang Fei, to write his will on his behalf.

As a result, when the will was sent to the capital, Zhao Xu's father, the emperor, said: "This was written by the emperor himself! What does it have to do with Fei?"

This directly led to Ouyang Fei being branded with the crime of "deceiving the emperor".

Who would dare to recommend him?
Therefore, for more than ten years after Ouyang Fei finished observing the mourning period, he served as an official in local areas.

The official positions they held were mostly insignificant.

It wasn't until Zhao Xu ascended the throne that, through Sima Guang's efforts, the official position was finally changed.

Then, with the help of relatives and friends, he rose step by step to the rank of Chaofeng Lang (a seventh-rank official).

Now, he has been specially appointed by Zhao Xu as a compiler and reviewer of the Veritable Records Institute.

This is equivalent to entering Zhao Xu's circle, where one can work alongside Zhao Xu, starting from doing odd jobs.

Similar to a modern-day secretary in a secretariat.

Such a prestigious position naturally attracts many competitors.

Originally, Ouyang Fei's appointment would not have been approved.

But what could be done? Ouyang Xiu had taken on a good student—Su Shi asked Zhao Xu for two things in his letter of farewell to the emperor.

One reason was to take care of his younger brother, Su Zhe, and to beg Zhao Xu not to punish him should his brother accidentally cause trouble.

Another request was for Zhao Xu to consider Ouyang Fei's past contributions.

Big Beard is a man of great taste.

Zhao Xu couldn't afford to lose face either!

Therefore, they directly intervened in Ouyang Fei's personnel appointments and removals.

Of course, Zhao Xu did not personally participate in the event.

He only hinted at Pu Zongmeng and Wang Zishao.

Then, these two ministers, who were eager to advance their careers, automatically and consciously began to protect and support Ouyang Fei.

The day after the appointment was issued, Ouyang Fei went to the palace to express his gratitude.

Zhao Xu received his homage in the Chongzheng Hall.

After going through the motions of courtesy, he was told to go home and prepare, and to officially enter the palace in late June to start working at the Chongwen Academy.

Two days later, on the fourth day of the sixth month (the day of Yimao).

In addition to issuing a series of personnel appointments and dismissals, the Ministry of Personnel also issued a series of such decisions.

A large number of corrupt officials who had been punished, dismissed, or exiled by the Empress Dowager after Zhao Xu ascended the throne in the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era saw a resurgence.

In the Song Dynasty, this was actually quite normal.

After all, it's not easy for the imperial court to cultivate a scholar-official.

We shouldn't easily dismiss them because of a small mistake!

Besides, although they had made mistakes, the chief ministers and the emperor in the palace all felt that they were loyal and devoted, so they acted hastily and aggressively.

Besides, the imperial court has already punished them.

Haven't you seen that in the past four years, these people have either been ordered to stay at home to reflect on their mistakes, or have been placed under house arrest in a certain state, or have been demoted to minor officials in remote military states?

Moreover, they all deeply reflected on their mistakes.

He would submit a self-reflection letter every three months, and on every imperial birthday, he would present a memorial to offer congratulations, while also reporting his reflections at home.

The principle of learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the disease to save the patient means giving people a chance to start over, right?
Thus, these "cruel officials" and "ruthless officials" who were once despised and vilified by the world were brought to justice.

One by one, they took up their new posts.

Liu Dingzhi, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fifth year of the Huangyou era, served as the Transport Commissioner of Qinfeng Road during the Xining era, and was the Chief Logistics Officer for Wang Shao and Li Xian in their border expansion.

From the second year of the Yuanfeng era, he served as the Chief Justice of Hebei Road and Hedong Road.

He has long been engaged in local judicial and criminal work.

They are the pragmatists!

This guy was demoted back then entirely because he was an innocent bystander – many people in the court felt that he had always been working with treacherous officials like Wang Shao, Li Xian, and Lü Huiqing.

It's definitely the New Party!
And they are the core members!
Therefore, they didn't let the guilty go free, even if they killed the wrong person!

He simply kicked him out and made him a palace official.

It was roughly equivalent to a modern-day exile union/children's palace.

Now, he has been exonerated.

Of course, the imperial court could not admit that it was wrong.

Therefore, reinstatement was a very reasonable arrangement for Liu Ding.

There were no objections, either inside or outside the court.

Because many people, including those who kicked Liu Ding to Hongqing Palace back then, now know that Liu Ding was killed by mistake—Liu Ding was Mei Yaochen's student.

Although Mei Yaochen died early, his political influence has also largely disappeared.

But even a wrecked ship has a few nails left!
Their connections go directly to the elders.

If Liu Ding's reinstatement is reasonable.

Then, those who were reinstated after Liu Ding became more and more outrageous.

Li Cha, a court official, was reinstated as Prefect of Linjiang Army; Jian Xuchen, who had been demoted to Assistant Prefect of Luzhou, was reinstated as Supervising Censor; Wu Juhou, Deputy Transport Commissioner of Fujian Circuit, was transferred to Transport Commissioner of Huainan West Circuit; Huo Xiang, Prefect of Haizhou, was appointed as Compiler of Jixian Academy, Grand Master of the Palace, Prefect of Dengzhou, concurrently serving as Supervisor of Dengzhou Maritime Trade Office, Shipbuilding Commissioner of Dengzhou, and Co-Supervisor of the Eastern Sea Warships; Lü Gongya, Prefect of Haozhou, was appointed as Assistant Minister of Revenue with the title of Director of the Baowen Pavilion…

A dozen or so cruel officials from the previous emperor's reign.

They all staged a remarkable comeback!

Especially Jian Xuchen, who was the most outrageous!
Because his father, Jian Zhoufu, was old and in poor health, and could die at any time.

Therefore, this edict of reinstatement was issued almost immediately before his father's death.

In this way, if his father were to pass away, he could observe mourning as an imperial censor.

Once the mourning period is over, he can be directly promoted to an important official in the censorate.

As for Wu Juhou, Huo Xiang, and Lü Gongya, these ruthless officials who once blew sparks from the land along Jingdong Road, the reason they were promoted so quickly is...

That's purely because of his political achievements!

These three guys, back in the day on Jingdong Road, went to any lengths to meet their KPIs.

Even now, the people of JD.com tremble at the mere mention of their names.

So much so that when the imperial court appointed Huo Xiang to serve as an official in Mizhou.

The people of Michigan were terrified.

They immediately sent people to the capital to plead with officials and nobles from Mizhou—please, please transfer this guy away!
Therefore, Huo Xiang's assignment was changed from Mizhou to Haizhou.

However, after taking office, this guy changed his tune due to the shift in political winds and transformed into Han Jiang's key figure in the "mediation faction"!
For two consecutive years, Haizhou has been the prefecture in Huainan that has achieved the best results in meeting the provincial targets!
The key point is that in the first year of the Yuan You era, Huainan suffered a severe drought, and Zhao Xu ordered Chen Mu to dispatch seagoing ships from Mingzhou to transport grain northward.

Haizhou is the main port of call for ocean-going vessels.

While in Haizhou, Huo Xiang fully mobilized and utilized existing conditions, while actively contacting and communicating with various prefectures in Huainan.

With the resources of a single prefecture, the timely transfer of hundreds of thousands of shi of grain transported by sea was accomplished.

The key is that it hasn't caused any trouble yet!

At least the scouts Zhao Xu sent didn't report anything unusual.

Huo Xiang did more than that.

After the disaster, he took advantage of cheap labor in Haizhou to build roads and water conservancy projects at a frenzy.

They also renovated and built a large number of warehousing facilities in Haizhou.

At the same time, Haizhou is also the prefecture with the most salt production sites among the prefectures of Huainan today!
Because of salt, Huo Xiang also got in touch with Cao Si.

Cai Bian even planned to arrange a marriage between their children!

Needless to say, Wu Juhou was an even bigger fish!
During Cai Que's two years in Fujian, Wu Juhou's influence was evident in all matters, big and small.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office was able to open the port smoothly.

At least one-third of the credit for the military medals should be attributed to Wu Juhou's overall planning and coordination.

Therefore, from Zhao Xu's perspective, all of this seemed reasonable.

Because these people were loyal ministers of the late emperor.

Naturally, their loyalty to Zhao Xu goes without saying.

At the same time, their abilities are also outstanding.

He is a versatile talent who can be both a ruthless and a capable official!
If we don't promote them, who will?
(End of this chapter)