Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 260 I think your Excellency has a good opinion!

Zhejiang, Lin'an Prefecture.

Lin'an was the seat of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office.

The current governor of Zhejiang is Zhou Ziliang, a Jinshi in the fourth year of Hongwu.

Zhou Ziliang was from Luling County, Ji'an Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. Before he became the governor of Zhejiang Province, he was the head of the Ministry of Works.

Now it is in the Governor's Office.

Zhou Ziliang looked at the letter sent from Yingtian Prefecture with a hint of annoyance in his eyes. Beside him stood the Right Governor, the Provincial Administration Officer, the Chief Secretary, the Ambassador of the Warehouse and other officials. At this moment, they also learned the news from Yingtian Prefecture.

Right Governor Wang Xuanfan sneered, "This Xia Zhibai is really painstaking. He probably knows that he is too weak to convince the public, so he directly breaks the rules and clearly lays out his bottom line, so that we can back down."

“That’s a good idea.”

"It's a pity that it's not used in the right way."

Lin Shijia, the administrative secretary, chuckled and said, "Xia Zhibai is young and proud. He won the first place in the imperial examination in his early twenties. He is a little arrogant. But what he did made many of our plans go awry. And the most important thing right now is whether we will listen or not."

"Listen, doesn't that mean we have to bow down to a fifth-rank official?"

"But if we don't listen, and His Majesty knows about it, he will think that we are being negligent, and I'm afraid we will be criticized a lot."

"It does pose a problem for us."

Zhou Ziliang nodded.

He could of course see what Xia Zhibai was thinking.

It was nothing more than showing his true colors and making an attitude of fighting to the death, forcing them to make certain concessions so that he could successfully complete his journey south. However, all this was not so easy, with so many officials and so many interests involved. How could Xia Zhibai just open his mouth and make them give up?

Zhou Ziliang frowned and said, "Don't underestimate Xia Zhibai."

"This guy has some ability."

"He has contradicted His Majesty many times, and yet he has not punished His Majesty. There are not many people in the world who are as capable as him."

"He actually invented a steam engine and has been in the north for more than a year. Although he is only a fifth-rank official now, he has shown his fangs again. As soon as he entered the court, he attacked the salt administration. With his cunning mind, how could he not know the hidden vortex under the salt administration?"

"I don't know what Xia Zhibai is thinking."

"But he did go south in compliance with His Majesty's order."

"As local officials, how can we be so careless and negligent?"

"Besides, we are also accompanied by Duke Xin and the current Metropolitan Imperial Guards, so there can be no mistakes in this reception. We don't need to take Xia Zhibai too seriously, but we must give Duke Xin the due respect."

Wang Xuanfan nodded.

He said in a deep voice: "This is natural."

"It's just that Xia Zhibai's matter is a little difficult to handle."

"He clearly wants to bypass us officials and directly put pressure on the local salt factory owners."

"Given Xia Zhibai's own strength, and the support of Duke Xin and the Imperial Guard, if we really fulfill his wish, it will probably cause dissatisfaction among some people. We won't be affected much now, but those people behind him are powerful and influential after all, and it's hard for us to offend them."

Officials including Lin Shijia also nodded repeatedly.

What Xia Zhibai confessed actually had little to do with them.

As officials of the local provincial government, as long as there is no major chaos in the local area, it is basically difficult to shake their official positions. The riot of the kitchen residents seems to be a big deal, but in fact it is just that. They know the real situation better than anyone else. If someone really makes a big deal out of it, it will not be difficult for them to deal with it.

The difficulty now lies in not offending all parties.

Zhou Ziliang looked at the officials standing beside him, a scornful smile flashed in his eyes, and he said indifferently: "What's so difficult about this? Xia Zhibai is looking for trouble with the Salt Administration, but the Salt Administration is not under our jurisdiction, but the Salt Transport Bureau. We just need to receive Duke Xin and his men well."

"others"

"Whoever caused the mess should deal with it!"

"You will pass on the news from Yingtian Prefecture to me word for word."

"They also asked the officials below to do it 'truly' according to the will of the court."

"I, Zhou Ziliang, have always been obedient to the imperial court and have never had any second thoughts. I do whatever the imperial court tells me to do, and I have never complained or been dissatisfied."

"I will obey the imperial decree in everything."

Hear the words.

Wang Xuanfan was stunned.

Then he looked at Lin Shijia and others, with a hint of surprise and excitement in his eyes.

Wang Xuanfan gave Zhou Ziliang a thumbs up and said, "Haha, Lord Zhou still has a good idea."

"As officials of the imperial court, we should faithfully carry out the imperial decree. But whether the people below listen to us or not is not up to us. We have passed the message down anyway, and we will take care of the reception when the time comes. What can the imperial court blame us for?"

"Besides, the salt administration does not belong to the local government."

"Our local government has never had any jurisdiction over this matter."

"I can only pass on the message."

"high."

"Your Excellency is truly great!"

Wang Xuanfan had a smile on his face, but his eyes were narrowed into slits.

The other officials also laughed. Xia Zhibai used the power of the court to put pressure on them, so how could they be fooled? He just passed the pressure on to the officials below, and it was reasonable. Even if Xia Zhibai knew their thoughts, he couldn't do anything to them.

As local governors, they can't just be concerned with salt administration every day, right?

There is no such truth in the world.

Then will local affairs still be managed and handled?
As for what the salt officials of the Salt Transport Bureau would do, that had nothing to do with them. They had done what they were supposed to do. First, they had conveyed the imperial court's will and informed Xia Zhibai of his thoughts. Second, they had shifted the blame for the problem. No matter what the final result was, they were innocent.

No one will bother them.

Lin Shijia smiled and said, "Your Excellency has a good opinion."

"It really makes things clear for us now that we have adults to point out the way."

"I will go down and arrange for the people in the government office to do a great job in the reception so that no one can find fault with it. If Xia Zhibai has any other requests, or if Duke Xin and the others have other needs, I will agree to them directly."

"It's just a matter of passing on a message. I know how to handle this kind of trivial matter."

Zhou Ziliang smiled, stroked his beard and said: "In my Ming Dynasty, the most important thing for an official is to blend in with the world."

"Your Excellency is absolutely right."

A cheerful laugh came from the house.

Soon, the salt officials of Zhejiang Salt Transport Department learned the news from the Provincial Government. When they heard the news, their faces turned black and they couldn't help cursing "dog" and "evil-hearted".
They are both thousand-year-old foxes, and they both know what Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio the other is talking about.

They saw through the thoughts of Zhou Ziliang and others at a glance, and they just didn't want to get involved in trouble.

Ever since Xia Zhibai passed the imperial examination, he has been in the spotlight. The officials of the provincial government do not want to offend him, but they also do not want to be targeted by a thorn like Xia Zhibai. Even if this matter is handled, there is no guarantee that Xia Zhibai will make trouble for them again in the court in the future.

There is only a thief who can steal for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days.

Li Benmo, the salt transport envoy of Zhejiang, crumpled the document in his hand into a ball and could not speak for a long time.

a long time.

Li Benmo couldn't help but cursed: "These bastards are really disgusting. When there is benefit, they come faster than anyone else, and when something goes wrong, they run away faster than anyone else. They are so quick to calculate, making themselves look like loyal ministers, and throwing all the bad things on me."

"Why should I suffer this?"

"You want to trick me, but I won't let you succeed."

"You are the only loyal subjects of the Ming Dynasty in this world? Am I not also a loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty?!"

"hehe."

"Isn't it just a message? I, Li Benmo, can also deliver it!"

"The salt factory is now not under the full control of our salt officials. Our salt officials are only responsible for collecting taxes. As for the rest, the salt factory itself is responsible. This mess was caused by Xia Zhibai, and our Salt Transport Bureau has also suffered an undeserved disaster."

"I have long hoped that the imperial court would restore order!"

"As the saying goes, if the name is not right, then the words will not flow. Over the years, I, Li Benmo, have followed the court's laws in everything I do. However, the court has not given any clear instructions for a long time, and I really don't know how to deal with it. I am afraid that I will miss the court's important matters because of my momentary impulse."

"Since the court now requires that we take good care of the livelihood of the kitchen households."

"I will do it."

"Come here, call Yuntong and ask him to tell the governor to give enough money and grain to the Zhejiang kitchen households according to past experience."

"You took the money, but you still don't want to do anything. Then spit out what you ate!"

Li Benmo sneered.

immediately.

Li Benmo said, "Send two more people to take this document sent by the governor to the deputy transport officer and have him personally copy a few copies and send them to the salt factories. Tell them that this is the imperial decree and as the imperial salt official, I have no choice but to obey."

"They decide everything themselves!"

"If they really can't make up their mind, they can always ask the people behind them."

“These people can still make up their minds.”

"I, Li Benmo, will only do what the court tells me to do from now on."

"Remember, write down the last words I said." Li Benmo reminded carefully.

He doesn't want that.

These people are ignorant and come to ask me again.

Since Xia Zhibai intends to bypass the government and the governor is unwilling to take on this matter, then it would be better to be straightforward and do as Xia Zhibai wishes and leave all the situations to the local salt factories to make the decisions themselves. They should clean up the mess they have made themselves.

Say it.

Li Benmo thought about it for a while and made sure that nothing was missing, then nodded with satisfaction.

He had to pick himself out first.

Moreover, he did nothing wrong. It was Xia Zhibai himself who asked to bypass the government. As an official appointed by His Majesty, Xia Zhibai was just a local salt official. How could he dare not listen? He could only follow the advice from above and hand over the decision-making power to the local salt factory.

There was nothing he could do.

Just one day.

The words from Xia Zhibai sank several times.

Finally, it fell into the hands of the person in charge of the local salt factory. Looking at this hot government decree, the person in charge of the local salt factory was stunned.

(End of this chapter)