Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 127: The clear stream goes to the turbid one, and the melon fields and plum blossoms fall under it.

There was an obvious difference on this day: it was not that matters could not be reported at the court meeting, but solutions had to be proposed, and no debate or decision would be made on the spot.

On this day, Shen Yikuan finally finished marking the papers.

Tomorrow the Ministry of Rites will be in charge of opening the papers, admitting students, submitting reports, and transcribing the results.

As a result, there were obviously more movements of all kinds that day, after all, it was obvious that there would be progress at the court meeting tomorrow.

How will the additional 200,000 taels of gold and silver be distributed and transported? Will the transformation of the Zhaiyang General into a merchant be feasible? What impact will it have on the tax and commercial bank revenue strategies of the seven major banknote customs on the canal?
These have nothing to do with Wang Dewan anymore, he is ready to set off.

We are not going by boat because grain is being transported on the canal.

Just go south by land, slowly.

Wang Dewan was from Guang'an, Sichuan. Not long after he passed the imperial examination and was appointed as a Hanlin Academy Scholar in the 14th year of Wanli, he served as the Censor of the Military Department, and later also served as the Censor of the Household Department and the Censor of the Engineering Department.

He did not work as a local official before becoming a censor, which shows that the court did not always follow common sense in employing people.

In the carriage, he recalled the time when he was summoned by the emperor.

The emperor said: When you were in charge of the military department, you suggested that "the borders waste millions of dollars every year, and the morale is declining, and the military preparations are becoming obsolete. This is because three pests have not been eliminated and two strategies have not been examined. What are the three pests? The first is deception, which means that border officials deceive their superiors. The second is flattery, which means that the market rewards are increased. The third is emptiness, which means that the border defenses are not strong enough. What are the two strategies? There are immediate strategies and long-term strategies. Keeping the oath and avoiding fighting is the immediate strategy. Repairing the war equipment so that the enemy dare not spy on the border, then there will be no trouble for a hundred years. This is the long-term strategy."

The emperor said: When you were the chief official of the Ministry of Revenue, you suggested that "waste and corruption are easy to eliminate externally but difficult to eradicate internally. We should severely punish the various treasuries in the inner court and eliminate those that are not urgent. We should also pay more attention to military farming and the salt law, open up the source externally and reduce the flow internally, so that the national expenditure can be sufficient."

The emperor said: After you appointed the Chief of Engineering, you also gave him eight advices on how to be prudent in managing finances and seven advices on how to be prudent in employing people.

"You are ambitious, capable of planning, and outspoken, and your reputation is known all over the world. You have served as an honest censor in all your previous posts. Although you know the people's sentiments, you have never managed affairs in your official capacity. If I want to use you in the future, I still need to take a step."

The next step is to really go deep into the local area. As the inspector of Yingtian, the first thing he would do is to thoroughly investigate the case of the Japanese pirates robbing the grain transport.

For this purpose, he had an imperial edict in his arms.

But Wang Dewan also knew that it would be best not to issue this imperial edict. If he did, it would only prove that he was indeed good at talking but poor at doing things.

"Mr. Guang'an, I wish you all the best on your journey!"

Xie Tingzan came to see him off outside the city, his expression very serious: "The future is dangerous, brother, think twice before you act! If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. After all, I know the situation in Jiangnan very well."

He was born in Jinxi, Jiangxi Province. Although he was not born in one of the core cultural and educational centers, he grew up in Jiangnan and took the imperial examinations in Jiangnan.

There has been a lot of discussion in the court over the appointments of Niu Yingyuan and Wang Dewan in the past few days, and Xie Tingzan couldn't help but feel a little worried about him.

Wang Dewan smiled and bowed: "Thank you in advance. As long as you have an open mind, why should you fear evil spirits? I will go for you, brother!"

After saying that, he walked towards the carriage not far away.

Xie Tingzan looked at his back and couldn't help but sigh softly.

I'm afraid having an open mind alone is not enough.

There, what is needed more is the means.

……

In the capital, Shen Yikuan only then realized how many things had happened after the last examination on February 15th.

He was the Prime Minister, and although according to the rules no other ministers should communicate with him during the review period, he did not expect that there would be no news to him.

Aren’t the so-called rules just rules?

If it has nothing to do with the admission of tribute scholars, why bother with it?
"What is Nanjing trying to do?" Shen Yi Guan slammed the table, "Why are you so impatient and aggressive?"

Xiao Daheng didn't know whether he was dissatisfied with the changes in the appointment list or with Nanjing's approach.

"I came to see the Prime Minister privately today because I couldn't wait any longer." Xiao Daheng said, "When we discussed sending the prefectures and states to the prefectures, I was alone and could not make all the decisions as the Prime Minister proposed. This time the Prime Minister is the examiner, and something unexpected happened in the past few days. Prime Minister, this is an opportunity!"

Because Shen Yikuan had escaped before, Xiao Daheng had actually made up his mind to act on his own.

However, the emperor changed his mind and suddenly raised the authority of the cabinet ministers to such a high level. These words can be regarded as his defense of his previous behavior.

Now that Jiangnan is relying on the grain transport system to gain power, Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue are planning to follow Nanjing's wishes, and the emperor needs to find sufficient support from Tian Le and others.

This is a critical moment when the emperor is dissatisfied with Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue, and Xiao Daheng wants to lean back again, hoping that Shen Yikuan can use this opportunity to re-establish the authority of the Prime Minister.

Since you are not going to leave, you have to do something.

Shen Yi Guan listened to his words, frowned and thought for a while before saying: "You mean, you agree with the Grand Marshal's proposal?"

"The opinions of the Prime Minister are now of great importance!" Xiao Daheng nodded, "Your Majesty entrusted the cabinet ministers with the power to directly take charge of the drafting of the memorials, and originally hoped that the Prime Minister and others would be loyal to the emperor and take responsibility to eliminate all the malpractices. Now that the cabinet minister is afraid of difficulties and reconciliation as before, even Wang Taicang has restrained his temper, Your Majesty is greatly disappointed. Those people in Nanjing have stayed in that prosperous place for too long, and now the court is in financial difficulties, they have indeed gone too far!"

He hoped that Shen Yikuan, who had not appeared in the market for a long time, would come out to make the final decision, and continued to express his thoughts: "If the Zhayang General Company is restructured into a merchant, Jiangnan will be more likely to be purchased. In this way, the difficulties and mistimed transportation mentioned by Nanjing will not be justified, and the real benefits will still be in Jiangnan."

Shen Yiguan shook his head: "Not necessarily. The most important thing is not the profit of the silver for transportation. The key is where the single is sent. Nanjing wants these powers. The land tax of Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and the prefectures and counties in Nanzhili is collected by the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. This involves the direct collection of part of the land tax by the Beijing Ministry of Revenue. How can they not fight?"

"If you want all the benefits, then that would be a real taboo for your majesty!" Xiao Daheng said solemnly, "I heard that Yingtian Circuit Inspector Niu Yingyuan was promoted to Governor because of the recommendation of Pinglu Earl."

Shen Yiguan was stunned for a moment: "Pinglubo? How did you know this?"

"It came from the Shen Mansion." Xiao Daheng looked at him meaningfully. "The Prime Minister had intended to retire before, so naturally someone would defect to him. Now, the news can be passed on from both sides. Your Majesty has been rejecting the proposals of the two Princes Shen in the court for several days. How can the Su Party not be worried?"

"…Soviet Party."

Shen Yi Guan spoke this name strangely.

In such a short period of time, because of the increase in cabinet power, the large-scale use of secret reports and Shen Yiquan's temporary absence from the court, has there been another Su Party?

It went smoothly...

"Besides the officials from the five prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou, there are others as well." Xiao Daheng said, "Niu Yingyuan was appointed because of the recommendation of the meritorious officials, and he approved Chen Weizhi's resignation to promote him. After His Majesty sent Wang Dewan to inspect Yingtian, he heard that Tian Xizhi recommended a Juren who was promoted to the Engineering Department! Yuanfu, His Majesty's intentions are so obvious. This is a great opportunity to take on great responsibilities and gain His Majesty's favor again!"

Shen Yi Guan said, "The concerns of Lord Shen and Lord Wang are also out of loyalty to the country. Although Jiangnan is a bit rampant, it still has something to rely on. If we follow the emperor's will, countless people in the court and the public will impeach you and me. Have you thought about these joints?"

Xiao Daheng snorted coldly, "After all, I am in charge of the criminal justice system! If you use these things to attack me, let's see who can escape. Since the emperor has favor, why should we fear the villains? Yuanfu, you can get the emperor's favor right now. If this is accomplished, the three ministries of household, punishment, and military will all be more important to Yuanfu. In the future, local officials will be appointed and new officials will be appointed. If Yuanfu can handle it properly, the Ministry of Personnel can also get closer. The Ministry of Rites was appointed by your majesty himself. With Yuanfu helping your majesty to keep the Chao Gang stable, the Su Party will not be a problem!"

Shen Yi Guan looked at him with complicated eyes.

It sounded very serious, but this was just the tacit understanding between Shen Yikuan and Prince Shen after they were summoned by the emperor that day.

Previously, the Zhejiang Party had greater momentum and more followers in the government.

By having Shen Yikuan be the chief examiner of the imperial examination, he could not only gain a group of disciples, but also lay the groundwork for the thing that the emperor wanted them to do most in the future.

After being away from the court for ten days or so, the King of Shen and the other two will be able to perform well.

Because of the matter of Jinhua and Yin Youdan, Jiangnan must take action.

If the emperor pushed them a little, many officials from Jiangnan would naturally move closer to the two men from Suzhou.

The two of them really have identities and hometowns that they cannot avoid.

Now Xiao Daheng was analyzing the exam in a very detailed manner. Shen Yi Guan was thinking about this and sighed, "Although all the examiners reviewed the exam papers together, after the seats were arranged, everyone suddenly wanted to see who would be the champion. When the names were revealed, who would you be?"

Xiao Daheng was stunned for a moment, and then reacted: "Could it be that he is Wang Taicang's son?"

Shen Yi Guan laughed, but it was a bitter laugh: "This really seems to be putting Wang Taicang in an unjust position."

Xiao Daheng laughed: "Wang Taicang is in the cabinet, but he broke his promise and let his son take the exam. This is more like the same exam paper. Wang Taicang can only bear the consequences of the gossips of the court and the public. Why should the Prime Minister worry about such a trivial matter?"

After the announcement of the results of the imperial examination, the open and secret struggles between officials from the south and the north, and between the Zhejiang Party and the Soviet Party in this matter will inevitably add a new spice.

At the court meeting the next day, the Minister of Rites Zhu Guozuo first reported the list of candidates and their rankings that had just been confirmed after all the names had been removed.

When they heard that the top winner of the imperial examination in the first year of Taichang was named Wang Heng, the court officials couldn't help but look at Wang Xijue with amusement.

(End of this chapter)