Thief Emperor

Chapter 909 I am helpless

Chapter 909 I am very helpless

The spring rain is continuous.

In Luoyang City, there was a sparse drizzle that lasted for four or five days. This rain, on the one hand, greatly benefited the spring ploughing in the Central Plains this year; on the other hand, it also slightly washed away the bloody atmosphere in the Central Plains over the past decade, making this ancient capital look much fresher in terms of weather.

In fact, it is indeed newer, because since the Minister of Works Zhuo Guangrui came to Luoyang, he has led people to repair the city walls more than once, and recently he has been busy expanding the city. The whole look of Luoyang is indeed brand new.

At this moment, the Minister of Works, accompanied by two prime ministers, was meeting the emperor in the Ganlu Hall of the palace, which was also the emperor's study.

After the two prime ministers saluted the emperor, Minister Zhuo bowed deeply and respectfully to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

Li Yun looked at the three of them and smiled, "Today, I asked you to come here to settle a few things. Don't be too reserved. Sit down and talk. Sit down and talk."

The two prime ministers nodded in thanks and sat down. Zhuo Guangrui hesitated for a moment, then bowed to Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty, I have something I would like to ask for your judgment."

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "No matter what it is, let's sit down and talk."

Zhuo Guangrui responded with a "yes" and sat down. Then he looked at Li Yun and lowered his head again: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty established a workshop in Jinling to prepare for various matters. The number of craftsmen in the Jinling workshop reached thousands. Now that the court has been established, some of the craftsmen in the Jinling workshop have stayed in Jinling, and most of them have moved to the capital. I think."

"It seems that this workshop should have its ownership determined."

Li Yun was thoughtful after hearing this, then he looked at Zhuo Guangrui and said slowly: "Brother Zhuo, do you mean that this workshop should be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry?"

Zhuo Guangrui lowered his head slightly and said, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that we should determine the ownership of the workshops. For example, the workshops that produce gunpowder, firearms, weapons and armor should be assigned to the Military Equipment Supervisory Bureau."

"The rest should be assigned to the Ministry of Industry."

"This way, responsibilities are clearly defined, and when we do things in the future, we can be clear and organized without confusion."

Li Yun touched his chin, thought for a moment, and then looked at Du Qian: "Brother Shouyi, what do you think?"

Du Qian thought for a moment and replied, "Minister Zhuo once told me about this matter, and I agreed with him. In the past, the court was in Jiangdong, and the various government offices were not formal, so many things could only be done in a makeshift manner. Now the court has been settled, and Your Majesty is about to unify the country."

"Many things seem to need to be established."

"Well."

Li Yun reached out and knocked on the table, and said, "I agree to this matter, but how to split it specifically, you have to make a charter first and send it to me. I agree, and then we can do it."

"besides."

Li Yun said calmly, "I don't plan to bring some of the craftsmen in the workshop to the government office. I plan to separate some of the categories and do business with them separately, and then hire people to take care of them."

Li Yun had thought of this matter a long time ago.

For example, the glass industry.

Glass is a product that Li Yun created in the Jinling workshop a long time ago. Nowadays, the technology and various processes have become quite mature.

If this category were to be managed by government agencies, the profits would not be great. However, if it could be separated out, it would be a monopoly business for at least ten to twenty years.

This business alone can bring in huge income.

However, if this thing were always held in the hands of the government, there would be no income at all.

Du Qian and Yao Zhong looked at each other, Du Qian frowned slightly, bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, if the court does this business, or if Your Majesty does it, isn't it..."

“Is there any suspicion of competing with the people for profit?”

Li Yun knew they were going to object, so he said calmly: "Take from the people and use it for the people."

"As long as we ensure that those who are sent out to do business do not bully others, I don't think there will be any big problems. The money earned from this business can be used for the people again. The money earned by the local merchants will never be used for the people again."

Du Qian said silently: "Your Majesty, the people sent out to do business should conceal their identities as court officials and imperial merchants..."

"it is good."

Li Yun nodded and said calmly: "I will pass on this matter."

"As for how the income from these businesses will be distributed in the future, we will discuss it later."

"All right."

Mr. Li knocked on the table, skipped the topic, and then looked at Zhuo Guangrui, smiling and said, "Originally, I invited Brother Zhuo here today to discuss Brother Zhuo's appointment as Prime Minister. Who knew that Brother Zhuo would give me such a difficult problem as soon as he came."

Zhuo Guangrui bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I am just saying something that should be said. Besides, Your Majesty is now the Supreme Ruler..."

"I know."

Li Yun lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, then said with a smile, "It's just a question of address."

"Many people have told me this, but I think that we should still address him the same way as before. I am not a different person just because I became the emperor."

"If one day I call you Zhuo Qing all the time."

Li Yun looked at the three people and said with a smile: "Then you must be afraid of me." "Okay, okay, let's talk about serious matters."

"The Secretariat has already drafted an edict, which will be issued in the next few days. The three ministries have not yet been established. We have discussed that in order to ensure efficiency in the next few years, we will not establish the three ministries for the time being, and will use the Secretariat's Political Affairs Hall to discuss matters and appoint prime ministers."

"Brother Zhuo, you will still be the Minister of Works. As the Minister of Works, you will be allowed to attend the Secretariat to discuss matters."

At this point, Li Yun paused and continued, "The Zhongshu has vacated a public house for you. You can work in the Zhongshu or in the Ministry of Industry in the future."

"If there is anything important, the three of you should discuss it together."

Having said that, Li Yun paused, said the most important eight words, and also set the scope of responsibilities for the three prime ministers.

"Assist the emperor and coordinate the six ministries."

Zhuo Guangrui stood up, knelt on the ground, and bowed his head deeply: "Your Majesty, I kowtow to thank you for your grace."

Li Yun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Get up, get up."

"There are no outsiders. It won't be too late to thank you when the court meeting is held and the announcement is made."

Zhuo Guangrui then stood up and sat down carefully.

Li Yun coughed and said, "The most important thing in the next half of the year is the first imperial examination of the new dynasty. Originally, the imperial examination should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites, but this is the first imperial examination since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, so we want to show our importance."

"I am going to send a chancellor to take the exam."

He looked at Du Qian and Yao Zhong, and said with a smile: "Brother Zhuo has just been appointed as Prime Minister and is also in charge of the Ministry of Works. He should not go. Who of you is willing to be the chief examiner?"

Upon hearing this, Du Qian and Yao Zhong both lowered their heads slightly, their eyes burning.

Back then, the first section of the Jinling Literary Society produced many talented people, such as Yao Zhong and Xu Kun, who had even entered high-level courts.

This first imperial examination of the new dynasty was destined to be full of talented people. Among those who entered the officialdom through this examination, there would definitely be a large number of talents who would emerge and occupy important positions in the court in the future.

Whoever serves as the chief examiner will be equivalent to the "mentor" of this group of officials and will have a great influence in the future.

Yao Zhong's heart was extremely moved, and his eyes were eager, but he kept his head down and said nothing.

Du Qian stood up and bowed his head slightly, saying, "Your Majesty, I have too many things to do and I am afraid I don't have the time to spare. Let Brother Juzhong preside over this imperial examination."

Li Yun looked at Du Qian with a smile, and Du Qian also looked up at Li Yun. The two old partners smiled at each other, showing a tacit understanding.

Du Qian had become the dominant figure among the civil servants of the new dynasty. Yao Zhong was no match for him at all and could only consider himself his student.

Under such circumstances, Du Qian naturally would not want to be in the limelight anymore. He even hoped that Yao Zhong could rise up and compete with him.

So, without any sound, he and Li Yun reached a tacit understanding.

"Well."

Li Yun made the decision: "This year, Mr. Yao will be the chief examiner for the first subject, and Minister Tao from the Ministry of Rites will be the deputy chief examiner."

Yao Zhong took a deep breath, knelt in front of Li Yun, and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

After Yao Zhong stood up, Du Qian looked up at Li Yun, coughed, and then said, "Your Majesty, I think there is another important matter that needs to be done in the first half of this year."

Li Yun looked at him.

"Brother Yiyi, just say it directly."

"Your Majesty, we need to expand our harem."

He said seriously: "Nowadays, royal blood is far from enough..."

Up to now, Li Yun already has three sons and one daughter.

The three sons are Li Yuan, Li Zheng, and Li Cang.

Princess Lu Huan was pregnant again.

Such a scale of offspring is enough for a successor monarch, but it is far from enough for a founding monarch.

Li Yun must have two children in the double digits so that the country can completely eliminate all worries about the issue of succession.

Hearing Du Qian's words, Li touched his nose and thought of the extremely beautiful princess of Wu Zhou whom he had met a few days ago.

"I am not a lustful person, but I am the emperor."

Emperor Li sighed deeply.