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Chapter 640: Governance (Part )

Next, Jiang Shaohua appointed Ma Yaozong to the position of Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Personnel.

The previous official of the Ministry of Personnel died tragically in a palace coup. The fifth-rank position was left vacant. Ma Yaozong was originally a seventh-rank chef in the Nanyang Palace, and this jump promoted him four levels.

Although Ma Yaozong was young, he was calm and composed. He showed no sign of ecstasy and bowed to thank the princess for her grace.

Minister Zhang had just finished his meal, so it was inconvenient for him to say anything against it, and he kept winking at Minister Dai.

But Minister Dai was like a wooden sculpture today, neither speaking nor moving.

The princess went to the Wang family yesterday and promised to use Wang Jin, giving Prime Minister Wang enough respect and dignity. Prime Minister Wang turned around and sent a message to Dai Shangshu, Zhou Shangshu and others. Even Zhang Shangshu himself got a message, telling him not to go against the princess in the court.

Shangshu Dai and Shangshu Zhou both listened to Prime Minister Wang, but Shangshu Zhang was the only one who was filled with resentment and tried to make things difficult for the princess at every turn.

Minister Zhang was angry when he saw that Minister Dai ignored him, so he turned to look at Minister Zhou, who simply lowered his head.

Jiang Shaohua glanced at Zhang Shangshu who was jumping up and down and said, "What do you think, Zhang Shangshu?"

It was really making a fuss to argue with the princess over a mere fifth-rank official position. Minister Zhang quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind and replied awkwardly, "I have no opinion."

Jiang Shaohua continued to instruct Yang Zheng to assist the Ministry of Justice in thoroughly investigating the case of treason at the Gaoliang Palace and the Dongping Palace.

Yang Zheng cheered up and accepted the order. He felt a little regretful. Chen Jinyu had jumped from being a servant of the princess to a servant of the emperor, Chen Changshi would become the de facto prime minister, and even Ma Yaozong was promoted. He was the only one who was given an assignment...

The main thing is that there is one position for each person. If there is no vacancy in the Ministry of Justice, there will be no position for him.

Jiang Shaohua looked at Cui Du.

Cui Du took a step forward consciously and waited for the princess to give orders.

"The Earl of Changning is good at farming and cultivating and improving grain varieties. This is a major event that will benefit the country and the people for generations to come. From today on, a separate Ministry of Agriculture will be established, with the Earl of Changning as the Minister of Agriculture. He will be responsible for cultivating and promoting grain varieties and guiding the people in farming."

Cui Du was not interested in fame, wealth, and a bright future. He only wanted to do his old job. Now that the princess had specially set up the Ministry of Agriculture for him, he was overjoyed and immediately bowed his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your grace. In the future, I will work hard, share your worries, and let the people live a good life with enough food."

Is this another book of Shangshu?
Minister Zhang habitually questioned, "Princess, the court has been divided into six departments for a long time, and each government office has a group of officials. Now that the Ministry of Agriculture has suddenly been added, do we need to set up a corresponding official position?"

Minister Dai finally spoke up: "Where does the princess plan to transfer officials from?"

To fill a department with officials is no small matter. Take the Ministry of Justice for example. In addition to the Shangshu, there are also the left and right assistant ministers, two Langzhong and four Yuanwailang, etc., a total of more than 40 people.

How many positions does the Ministry of Agriculture need? Where do the officials come from? Should they be directly transferred or selected? These are all very important matters. They will also directly affect the structure of the court.

As an old minister, he naturally rejects too many changes.

Minister Ji of the Ministry of Revenue coughed and euphemistically said that the national treasury had been empty for a long time and was afraid that it would be unable to cover the sudden increase in expenses.

Minister Dong and Minister Ding expressed their support for the princess's efforts to establish the Ministry of Agriculture. Their reasons were also very fair and aboveboard: "Agriculture is the foundation of the country. The people of Nanyang County are rich, and every family has surplus grain. The new grain has been promoted in the north, and this is all the credit of Earl Changning. The princess attaches great importance to agriculture, and the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture allows Earl Changning to display his strengths. This is a good thing for all the people." The ministers spoke one after another, each holding their own views. No one knew whether they were muttering in their hearts, "The empress is troublesome because she wants to promote her husband before she ascends the throne."

Jiang Shaohua listened patiently for a moment, and after everyone had expressed their opinions, she said, "I know your concerns."

"First of all, the Ministry of Agriculture was established to better promote new grains and improved grain varieties. This is a major event that benefits the country and the people, and this princess has no selfish motives."

"Secondly, the Ministry of Agriculture is different from the other six ministries. It doesn't need so many officials. In addition to the Earl of Changning, two more positions can be set up to assist. The place of work is not in the court. This princess plans to choose a farm with vast fertile land, and the Earl of Changning will lead the people there. If there is anything, just report to this princess at any time."

With that said, the ministers had nothing to object to. The Ministry of Agriculture was just a pretext. The Earl of Changning would stay in the imperial farm to cultivate grain and basically not participate in government affairs. He had no real power.

Minister Zhang and others couldn't help but think that the princess was born to be a power-grabber. She was so wary of her own husband and directly excluded him from the center of political power.

This is the temporary change for civil officials, but there are even more vacancies for military officials.

Let's talk about General Bao first. He was seriously injured and it is still unknown whether he can recover. Jiang Shaohua's attitude towards General Bao is the same as that towards Prime Minister Wang. He keeps his position and lets him recover first.

There were two generals who died in the palace coup, and the traitor Gao Shan Wei Xiong, both of whom had been killed. These positions had to be filled.

Jiang Shaohua looked at Minister Ding and said, "The Ministry of War has a record of military generals' merits. Pick out the outstanding generals and present them to this princess for review. Then we can make a decision."

The princess did not rush to take over the military power, but took a steady and impartial attitude. Not to mention Minister Ding, General Zuo and General Liu and others had nothing to say.

In fact, the princess has already made it clear today that there will not be any major personnel changes, and the ministers felt much more at ease.

Next, it is time to deal with the backlog of government affairs.

Jiang Shaohua continued his previous habit and asked all the officials to report back on the matters they were responsible for one by one. If the results could be discussed on the spot, a decision would be made quickly. Some matters that required careful discussion could not be shelved for a long time and a conclusion must be reached within three to five days.

Chen Sheren took the initiative to take notes.

Wang Jin was familiar with palace affairs and could always give appropriate advice when the princess asked questions.

Chen Changshi, the de facto prime minister, was extremely low-key and hardly spoke. This was also a smart move. He first let the ministers get used to his presence, and then he could show his skills after the adaptation period.

……

After a busy day, the ministers left the palace with buzzing heads.

After Minister Yang got on the carriage, he didn't rush to leave. Sure enough, a figure quickly got on the carriage: "Uncle."

Minister Yang hummed and glanced at Yang Zheng: "This is not the place to talk, let's go back to the mansion first."

Yang Zheng swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

When they returned to the Yang family and entered the study, Yang Shilang ordered all the followers to leave, leaving only the uncle and nephew. Yang Zheng did not say anything, but sighed first.