Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 264: How did you complete the tasks assigned to you?

Yingbin building.

The 'West Lake Vinegar Fish' that Xia Zhibai was looking forward to was not served.

What was served was just a very ordinary steamed fish.

tasty.

But in the end it lacked some flavor.

This banquet was very dull. Zhou Ziliang did not say much, and the same went for Tang He and Xia Zhibai. It seemed as if both parties had come for the richer banquet and they ate with relish.

half an hour.

The banquet gradually came to an end.

Xia Zhibai, Zhou Ziliang and others all had a pretty good meal.

Many officials also put down their bowls and chopsticks one after another.

Everyone has a smile on their face.

Although the specifications of today's banquet were not very high, the appearance and taste were very good, which attracted praises from many officials present.

Hua Lun put down his chopsticks and nodded with satisfaction.

He really enjoyed his meal this time.

As a southerner, I prefer light food.

The food at this banquet was very much to his taste.

Especially the bowls of white rice, which made him linger and he couldn't help but eat several more bowls.

Not only Hua Lun, Lian Zining and others also looked satisfied.

With their current status and position, although they cannot be said to live a life of luxury, they can get by very well. However, it is still unrealistic to expect to have delicious food and fish every day. After all, the salary given to them by the current emperor is really meager.

There is enough to make a living, but luxury is hard to come by.

I don't know who arranged the seats, but the two sides are clearly separated.

The officials who came with Xia Zhibai sat together, and the local officials from Zhejiang sat together. The two sides rarely saw each other. They basically ate their own food and rarely even spoke to each other.

After a good meal and a good drink.

Zhou Ziliang wiped his mouth and said with a look of enjoyment: "This time, it is really thanks to you, Duke Xin and the Imperial Envoy. If you hadn't come here under the order of His Majesty, I don't know how long it would take for our officials in the Provincial Government to have such a sumptuous meal."

"My eating manners were a bit awkward just now. I'm sorry to have embarrassed Duke Xin and the Imperial Envoy."

Zhou Ziliang smiled innocently.

He seemed to realize that his eating manners were not very good before, and took the initiative to apologize to the two of them.

Tang He said: "It's just a meal, why are there so many rules? As long as you can eat well and be full, what does the table manners matter?"

Zhou Ziliang took a sip of tea, moistened his greasy mouth, looked at Xia Zhibai calmly, and said, "Your Excellency, we have seen the West Lake and eaten the meal. I hope you will act in accordance with the law. The salt administration in the south has been corrupt for a long time and it is time to rectify it thoroughly."

"If you have any needs, please feel free to ask us. We will do our best to meet your needs within our authority and will never refuse."

"Local officials like me also hope that peace can be restored in the area soon."

“People’s lives are so difficult.”

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Don't worry, Councillor Zhou. If there is any need, I will definitely ask for it."

Zhou Ziliang seemed to have received a satisfactory answer, and nodded with a smile, saying, "That's good, that's good."

He looked at the official next to him, his eyes rolled around, and swept around the room. He scanned the officials brought by Xia Zhibai with his eyes, and said, "The person next to me is the one I just introduced to you. He is Wang Xuanfan, the governor and councilor of Zhejiang Provincial Government. Most of the officials who came this time are from the Provincial Government. The first person the Imperial Envoy met was Lin Shijia, who is my experience in Zhejiang Provincial Government."

"The one next to Lin Shijia is Zhou Jing, now..."

Zhou Ziliang seemed worried that Xia Zhibai wouldn't be able to find anyone for help, so he went out of his way to introduce someone to Xia Zhibai.

now.

It was very quiet in the restaurant.

Only Zhou Ziliang's introduction was echoing.

Every time Zhou Ziliang mentioned an official, an official would stand up and signal him.

The whole occasion was harmonious, even a bit intimate.

Xia Zhibai nodded in response to Zhou Ziliang's introduction.

After introducing all the officials coming to the banquet, Zhou Ziliang sat down with satisfaction.

Zhou Ziliang sat down, but Xia Zhibai stood up. He smiled and said, "Since the governor is so enthusiastic and polite, and not arrogant at all, I, Xia Zhibai, will return the favor today and introduce the officials I brought with me this time to you."

Hear the words.

Zhou Ziliang's eyes lit up.

Isn't this what he wanted to achieve?

As the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger.

As a Jinshi in the fourth year of Hongwu, he was well aware of this truth. Therefore, from the very beginning, he had been showing goodwill and favor in order to lower Xia Zhibai's vigilance, and then let Xia Zhibai take the initiative to introduce the officials who came with him to them, so that other officials of the governorate would have a general idea in their minds.

How can collecting by yourself compare to Xia Zhibai’s own introduction?

Even if the imperial court knew about it, it would not be able to find any fault with it.

Being an official requires being tactful.

It is also necessary to be appropriately proactive and obtain useful information, even if it means bending over backwards. As for face, he has been an official in the Ming Dynasty for so long that he has already mastered it to perfection. As long as the goal is achieved, everything can be introduced.

Wang Xuanfan's eyes lit up with joy. They actually knew some news.

But Zhejiang is some distance away from Yingtian Prefecture after all, and it is indeed difficult to investigate the background of the officials brought by Xia Zhibai. They are unable to do so in a short period of time, and being too blatant will undoubtedly leave evidence. Especially this time, the Jinyiwei are accompanying them, so they dare not make too many moves.

That's why this incident happened at the banquet.

Use retreat to advance.

Take the initiative to introduce the officials who will attend the banquet and hold Xia Zhibai back, forcing Xia Zhibai to introduce the people he brought. Even if it is just a simple introduction, at least they can get the corresponding information, and then it will be much easier to conduct targeted investigations.

Zhou Ziliang and Wang Xuanfan looked at each other and couldn't help but smile with success.

Tang He glanced at it imperceptibly and then shifted his gaze to the side. He didn't care much about these calculations.

This kind of open and covert struggles behind the scenes have never been absent from ancient times to the present.

There has been no shortage in the past, and there will be no shortage in the future.

If Xia Zhibai couldn't even see through this calculation, it only meant that Xia Zhibai was not suitable for the court, because the situation in the court was thousands of times more complicated and difficult than this kind of calculation. The struggle in the court was very fierce and exciting. Whether it was Li Shanchang or himself, even a casual word could shock many officials in the court.

Xia Zhibai seemed to be completely unaware of the trick.

Instead, he stood up actively and introduced himself. He first looked at Duke Xin who was standing beside him and said, "I'm sure you have all heard of this elder, so I won't introduce him in detail. He is your Majesty's childhood friend, Duke Xin."

When they heard the name "Duke Xin" three times, all the officials present stood up and saluted.

No one dared to show any negligence.

Tang He nodded slightly.

Xia Zhibai added: "With the trust of His Majesty, he has sent the current Jinyiwei Envoy, Jiang Li, this time. It's just that his position makes it inconvenient for him to meet with you, so he didn't come to participate in today's banquet."

Zhou Ziliang took the initiative and said, "It should be so."

If Jiang Li arrived, he would probably still be worried.

After all, a person's shadow is like the bark of a tree, and the Jinyiwei has a fierce reputation. No official wants to meet these murderous guys. If Jiang Li really came, I am afraid the atmosphere would not be as lively and peaceful as it is now.

Xia Zhibai smiled slightly and turned his gaze to Hua Lun.

He took the initiative to introduce: "The one on the left is Hua Lun, my current clerk in the Ministry of Rites."

“He’s from the South.”

Hua Lun stood up and nodded slightly.

When he stood up, he attracted everyone's attention.

Even though he had experienced many big scenes and been stared at by so many officials, Hua Lun couldn't help but blush. But after all, he was a person who had passed the palace examination. Although he felt a little uncomfortable and had a feeling of being stared at, in this situation, he could only smile and indicate.

Xia Zhibai added: "To the right of Hua Lun is Lian Zining. Brother Lian is the current Minister of Works."

"Next to Lian Zining is Jie Min. He is currently the Deputy Censor-in-Chief. To be more precise, he is the Central Censor-in-Chief of Fengyang. However, I got the job before he could take up the post. After this incident is over, he will go directly to Fengyang to take up the post."

Lian Zining and Jie Min stood up and bowed to the people around them.

It's just that his eyes were a little restrained.

Then, Xia Zhibai looked at the last person and said, "The last one is Ding Zhifang. After passing the imperial examination, he was appointed as the magistrate of Wuqiao. He was later promoted by the court and is now the imperial censor of the court."

"I met these four people during the imperial examination."

"Because I used to stay away from the court and was not familiar with the court situation, I wrote a petition to Your Majesty and asked him to assign a few people to share the responsibility for me."

"Besides them, I brought some other people with me."

“But most of them are engineers.”

"And there are quite a few of them. They didn't come with the banquet this time, so I won't introduce them to you."

Zhou Ziliang smiled and nodded, "Since you haven't come, there's no need to introduce yourself."

"If I remember correctly, the four people introduced by the imperial envoy just now all graduated from the same imperial examination. Our Ming Dynasty is indeed full of talents. As a Jinshi in the fourth year of Hongwu, I am really ashamed."

"But it's just right."

"It shows that the morale of our Ming Dynasty is high and the world is thriving."

"it is good!"

Zhou Ziliang laughed heartily.

But Xia Zhibai didn't laugh.

He glanced at Zhou Ziliang calmly, then looked at the officials of the Provincial Government next to him, and said calmly: "Just now, I heard from Minister Zhou that most of the officials of the Provincial Government have arrived. It is better to do it today than to wait for a day. Can you allow me to ask a few questions about the truth?"

Hear the words.

Zhou Ziliang's smile disappeared.

The atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly became depressing.

It even looks serious and solemn.

This solemn atmosphere did not last long. As Zhou Ziliang's face reappeared with a smile, everything returned to normal. Zhou Ziliang said, "Since the imperial envoy has said so, how dare we, the local officials, disobey?"

"If the Imperial Envoy wants to ask, please feel free to ask."

"We know that we will tell you everything, and we will tell you everything."

Xia Zhibai nodded, ignoring the complaints and dissatisfaction in Zhou Ziliang's words, and said, "You are all local officials in Zhejiang, and you are very familiar with the situation in Zhejiang. Before I came here, I had already sent a notice to the Zhejiang Provincial Government. I wonder how you have completed it?"

"Can you tell me the current progress truthfully?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place fell silent.

(End of this chapter)