Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1464 Shangshu’s Fantasy!
November 22, early morning
Gu Sansi left home after being seen off by Chen Wanting and got on a carriage to the Ministry of Personnel. At first, Gu Sansi didn't feel anything in the carriage, but after the carriage had been going for a cup of tea, the Minister of Personnel of Daqian felt that the carriage was very cold and he couldn't help but hug his body tighter in an attempt to warm himself up.

However, the cold air outside continued to pour in through the crack in the carriage door, making Gu Sansi shiver a little.

Gu Sansi was also a little helpless about this. Ever since he fell ill some time ago, he became a little afraid of cold for some reason. He didn't feel so cold at this time before, but now it was no longer the case!

The temperature has dropped especially in the past two days. There was a heavy snow last night. Although the snow has stopped now, the air is still cold!

As the Minister of Personnel, Gu Sansi was treated very well. His carriage was specially made by the First Manufacturing General Administration and was much more comfortable than ordinary carriages. However, due to the limitations of materials and technology, cold air still inevitably entered the carriage in winter.

Gu Sansi also knew that he was afraid of the cold, so he wore more clothes to avoid being frozen. Unfortunately, he was still shivering in the carriage.

In fact, in response to Gu Sansi's current fear of cold, Chen Wanting also advised Gu Sansi to go to the medical school to see a royal physician, but Gu Sansi himself did not take it seriously. In his opinion, his fear of cold was entirely caused by his aging and declining physical fitness!
The imperial physician may be able to cure diseases, but he cannot delay one’s aging!
Gu Sansi's coachman, Lao Chen, seemed to sense Gu Sansi's situation in the carriage. He immediately took out a small wine bag from his arms and handed it to Gu Sansi, saying:

"Sir, if you don't mind trying this?"

“The authentic Yijing Wangji Shaodaozi, one sip will warm your whole body...”

Hearing this, Gu Sansi's eyes suddenly lit up and he picked up the wine jug and took a sip. As soon as the wine entered his mouth, Gu Sansi felt it was very spicy, and then he started coughing due to the irritation.

Hearing Gu Sansi's coughing behind him, Old Chen, who was driving the carriage, was a little at a loss for a moment. He was also worried that he had done something bad with good intentions. At this moment, Gu Sansi's voice came from behind him.

"Old Chen, why is your wine so spicy?"

"Sir! This wine is really strong! How else can it keep you warm when it's so spicy?"

"To be honest, sir, this Wangji Shaodaozi is very popular. When I went to buy it yesterday, I waited in a line that lasted almost half an incense stick. Moreover, Wangji limits each person to two pots of wine. If you want to buy more, they won't sell it to you. If they didn't limit the purchase, I would definitely buy five pots of Shaodaozi!"

Listening to Old Chen's story, Gu Sansi looked at the small wine bag in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then drank it again. However, compared to just now, this time Gu Sansi was much more cautious and only took a small sip.

Although the taste was still spicy, Gu Sansi's reaction was not that strong because he only took a small sip. Seeing this, Gu Sansi drank two more sips in succession. Soon he was surprised to find that his body was slightly warming up.

Seeing this, Gu Sansi wanted to pick up the wine bag and take a few sips, but then he thought again that he had to go to the Ministry of Personnel to work. How could he do his job if he was drunk?
Thinking of this, Gu Sansi returned the small wine bag to Old Chen and said:

"Your wine is good!"

Hearing Gu Sansi praising his wine, Old Chen was also very happy and said:

“Your Excellency, your opinion is profound! I also think this wine is good, especially in this winter. A sip can warm up your body quickly. It’s a pity that the purchase is limited. I don’t know where Wang Ji learned this stupid rule…”

Gu Sansi smiled and said:
"Old Chen, if there was a purchase limit, you could still buy two bottles of wine. If there was no purchase limit, I'm afraid all the wine would have been bought by others!"

As soon as these words came out, Old Chen slapped his forehead and suddenly realized:

"Your Excellency, what you said makes sense! Why didn't I understand this? Your Excellency is worthy of being the Minister of Personnel!"

"No wonder others say that you are the god of literature incarnate!"

Listening to Old Chen's somewhat clumsy flattery, Gu Sansi smiled but said nothing. A moment later, the carriage stopped steadily in front of the gate of the Ministry of Personnel.

After Gu Sansi walked towards the carriage, he went straight into the yamen. Seeing the arrival of the Shangshu, all the people in the Ministry of Personnel bowed and greeted him. Gu Sansi waved slightly in response and went into his own classroom.

Just as Gu Sansi entered the classroom, his full-time clerk Feng Wei walked into the classroom with a pot of Longjing tea. After pouring a cup of tea for Gu Sansi, he also said:
"Sir, there is nothing important this morning, but it seems that Lord Shen wants to report something to you..."

Gu Sansi picked up the teacup and took a sip, then asked:
"Do you know what it is?"

Feng Wei shook his head and said:

"I'm not sure about that! But just now, when Minister Shen came to the government office, he asked me if you were here!"

Gu Sansi nodded slightly when he heard this and said:

"If Minister Shen comes to see me later, you don't need to inform him, just let him in!"

"Yes!"

Just as Feng Wei was about to bow and leave, Gu Sansi seemed to remember something and said:

"My carriage has some leaks! Ask the craftsmen from the First Manufacturing Bureau to take a look and make sure it is kept warm!"

"Yes! Sir, I'll arrange it right away!"

After explaining this matter, Gu Sansi started today's work. As the Minister of Personnel, his workload was still very heavy.

Especially now that Ye Mingsheng has asked the entire Daqian, from the imperial court to the provincial governments and counties below, to cut staff, reduce costs and increase efficiency, but the provincial governments and counties below are complaining bitterly, which makes Gu Sansi, the Minister of Personnel, caught in the middle and can be said to be in a difficult position!
In order to solve this matter, Gu Sansi was not only physically tired, but also mentally exhausted. His hair, which was originally thick, now has a tendency to grow into a Mediterranean style. Just as Gu Sansi was looking at the memorial sent by Zhao Wanxian, the governor of Hebei and Henan, the door of the classroom was opened, and Shen Changhong, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, walked into the room.

Gu Sansi raised his head and saw Shen Changhong coming. He also put down the memorial in his hand and asked:
"Minister Shen, what can I do for you?"

Under Gu Sansi's gaze, Shen Changhong nodded first, closed the door of the classroom, and then reported to Gu Sansi:

"Sir, I heard that there was a gathering at the Coordination Office last night, and thousands of spies were taken out..."

Gu Sansi was shocked when he heard this. After pondering for a moment, he asked:

"Where did you hear this news?"

Facing Gu Sansi's question, Shen Changhong hesitated for a moment and said:
"I heard it from a friend of mine!"

Seeing that Shen Changhong's words were vague, Gu Sansi's eyes became sharper, making Shen Changhong dare not look at him.

Seeing that Shen Changhong was really unwilling to say who the other party was, Gu Sansi did not force him and continued to ask:

"Where did these people from the Coordination Office go?"

"I heard that they split their troops into three groups. Chen Chaozhong led his men to Jingchu, Wang Yinchuan led his men to Yunbing, and Li Jinhong led his men to Guanzhong!"

Gu Sansi, who had originally held a glimmer of hope in his heart, had his last fantasy immediately shattered when he heard where the three commanders of the Coordination Office were going. The Minister of Personnel, who was extremely sad, could not help but sigh.

Hearing Gu Sansi's sigh, Shen Changhong hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively:

"The Coordination Office must have received instructions from His Majesty to do this. Do you think we should make plans early?"

Hearing Shen Changhong say this, Gu Sansi looked at him coldly and said:

"Make plans early? What do you have to plan?"

Feeling the cold attitude in Gu Sansi's words, Shen Changhong, who originally wanted to say something, became a little embarrassed...
Seeing that Shen Changhong stopped talking, Gu Sansi continued:
"Minister Shen, you are the Minister of Personnel, you just need to do your job well, as for other things, they have nothing to do with you, stop thinking about those messy things, they have nothing to do with you!"

After saying this, Shen Changhong also put on a humble and teachable look and said:
"I understand! I understand! I will follow the instructions of the Minister!"

Although Shen Changhong looked very humble now, Gu Sansi could feel that this minister under him did not take his words to heart!
Thinking of this, Gu Sansi felt that Shen Changhong was hopeless and also felt a little tired. He waved his hand and Shen Changhong immediately bowed and took his leave.

After Shen Changhong left, Gu Sansi, who was sitting alone in the classroom, had no intention of checking Zhao Wanxian's memorial. He looked at the snow outside the window, and his heart became cold!
Although Gu Sansi was not the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, as a senior official in the Daqian court, he was well aware that although the current financial situation of Daqian had improved somewhat compared to before, it was still very difficult overall. It was just that it was no longer like before where they had to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Therefore, after a change in his thinking during this period, Gu Sansi, in principle, supports Ye Mingsheng's request to cut redundant staff, reduce costs and increase efficiency!
But Gu Sansi felt that Ye Mingsheng was taking a big step. Daqian had just been established for a year, and it was really questionable to make such a big move!
If things are not handled properly by then, the world that has just been pacified may be thrown into chaos in an instant...

With this idea in mind, Gu Sansi also thought about persuading Ye Mingsheng to give up such a radical plan of layoffs!

Ye Mingsheng gave Gu Sansi ample time to let the Daqian Shangshu explain his ideas, but unfortunately, Ye Mingsheng had already made up his mind about this matter and wanted to solve Daqian's redundant staff problem as soon as possible. So no matter how hard Gu Sansi advised, it did not change Ye Mingsheng's mind in the end!

The moment he saw Ye Mingsheng's layoff order, Gu Sansi knew that the world was going to be in chaos again. The fact was just as he thought. Those who lost their jobs and power under Ye Mingsheng's order were not willing to lose what they had!
They were unwilling to accept Ye Mingsheng's arrangements and participate in any employment training or skills training. In order to get back everything that once belonged to them, they were willing to take risks!

Therefore, the current situation of unrest is inevitable. The only suspense is whether these small-scale unrest in various places will evolve into large-scale unrest?
Gu Sansi didn’t know the answer to this question!

But Gu Sansi hopes that this matter can be settled as soon as possible so that the people can regain their peaceful lives and no longer suffer from war!
At the same time, Gu Sansi also hopes that Ye Mingsheng can remain restrained and make some concessions to slow down the pace of layoffs, so as to ease the conflict and resolve the matter as peacefully as possible!

In fact, Ye Mingsheng did maintain restraint, and until now Ye Mingsheng has not mobilized the army. If it were the Great Zhou period, people would have been killed in large numbers by now...

Originally, Gu Sansi was very pleased about this. Although he did not agree with some of Ye Mingsheng's practices, he knew that Ye Mingsheng's starting point was still good!

After all, the salaries of hundreds of thousands of people have really put a lot of pressure on the finances of Daqian. If this problem is not solved and they continue to muddle along, the Daqian court will have no choice but to increase taxes in order to survive!

If this happens, we will be back to the old path of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Maybe it won't matter if the people suffer once or twice!
But patience has its limits, and when the people are no longer willing to endure, that will be the time for Daqian to follow in the footsteps of Dazhou!

This process can take decades, more than ten years, or even several years!

Therefore, Gu Sansi still agreed with Ye Mingsheng's solution to this problem, but he did not agree with Ye Mingsheng's drastic approach!

Therefore, when Ye Mingsheng did not remain restrained and did not send troops to solve the problem, Gu Sansi still had the illusion that Ye Mingsheng might be able to take a step back!
But now it seems that Ye Mingsheng's patience is limited!
The continuous unrest has almost exhausted Ye Mingsheng's patience. Now the Coordination Office has sent people to Yunbing, Jingchu, and Guanzhong, the three places where the turmoil is the most serious. This in itself is a strong political signal!

If the Coordination Office can't handle these places, it is obvious that Ye Mingsheng will not tolerate it anymore. Then it will be the turn of the army to take action, and massive bloodshed will be inevitable. As the Minister of Personnel of Daqian, Gu Sansi really doesn't want to see that scene happen!

As for what Shen Changhong just said about making preparations in advance, Gu Sansi could see that he had something to say, but even though he didn't say it, Gu Sansi understood what he wanted to say, and even more so who those friends he mentioned were...