Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 244 Humanity and Sophistication
Although Wang Maozhong still gave the officials who stayed behind a big red date, he promised that as long as they followed his arrangements, he would guarantee their promotions in the future.

But to be honest, this wish did not move those officials. They really had no choice; they were under someone else's roof and had to bow their heads. After all, the officialdom was not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and social interactions.

Your Ministry of Works isn't isolated from the world; the officialdom is interconnected.

You, Wang Maozhong, have offended so many people today. If you get too close to me now, you will definitely be ostracized and suppressed when you are promoted to another department in the future.

After all, there is a lot of room for promotion for officials in the Six Ministries, and no one intends to stay in the Ministry of Works as a minor official for their entire lives.

All I can say is, Wang Maozhong, you truly live up to your reputation!

As expected, you've given everyone another reason to dislike you.

But that's just Wang Maozhong's style—a rather domineering one. Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish. Because he was born a servant, his current position is due to Li Longji, so he is only loyal to Li Longji, with the master-servant concept outweighing the ruler-subject concept. Therefore, his goal is to complete the tasks assigned by Li Longji, and he usually doesn't care much about interpersonal relationships.

That's why he was able to cure the corrupt horse administration. He didn't care about powerful figures, nobles, or social niceties. He was determined to raise good horses for the emperor, and anyone who stood in his way would die.

This is why not only the Ministry of Works, but all the officials of the Six Ministries were strongly opposed to Wang Maozhong's appointment as Minister of Works. However, Li Longji put on a good show and forced Wang Maozhong to take the position.

However, even though everyone was mentally prepared, no one expected that Wang Maozhong would play such a huge joke on them on his very first day in office.

They were actually ordered to study at an unnamed academy.

Listen to this command.

Is that true?
It's not that Xu Jin and the others deliberately went against Wang Maozhong. Although they opposed Wang Maozhong, they were planning to temporarily back down because he was a new broom sweeping clean. But who would have thought that Wang Maozhong would be so outrageous?

It's no exaggeration to say that even if they were sent to study at the Imperial Academy, they would probably curse and swear, let alone go to an unnamed academy.

This is simply an insult to their family background, education, and social status.

This man can be killed but not humiliated.

The key point is that even you, Wang Maozhong, don't have that power. There's no precedent for a minister having the authority to force subordinates to study at an academy.

Therefore, once this matter was reported, it immediately caused a great uproar in the imperial court.

You're already a troublemaker, and you keep sticking your nose into people's faces; that's just too much.

Zhang was also in a real bind. He had thought he had made a huge profit, but now he understood why Li Longji had reciprocated such a huge favor.

Whether it's a profit or a loss, it's really hard to say.

An unnamed academy.

The once bustling Wuming Academy is now quiet. Some of the female students go to the music academy every day to rehearse operas, while the male students go to play in the Wei River. Some of the female students take pleasure boats to the river to sing and make merry.

In fact, Wang Xi and the others are the same. They have been playing in the suburbs recently, unless they have something to discuss, like right now.

This morning, the four senior brothers rushed to the academy.

"Wow, your dad is too radical."

Wang Xi looked at Wang Shuang with a frustrated expression, "At least you should have discussed it with us first!"

Wang Shuang said aggrievedly, "I discussed it with you guys!"

"When?"

"Didn't we agree that my father would help you investigate Pei Zhouxian, and you would help my father teach those officials a lesson?"

"???"

Wang Xi said, "Brother Shuang, that was just a promise before, it didn't say it would start right away, I'm not ready yet!"

Wang Shuang said, "As you all know, my dad is an impatient person. If I were to say this to him before you were all ready, he would beat me to death."

I've already thoroughly investigated Pei Zhouxian's case, but you're still not ready. What are you doing?
"I do not believe."

Wang Xi shook his head and asked again, "How about we test your father's limits this time?"

Wang Shuang immediately looked at Wang Xi with a resentful expression.

Wang Xi returned an even more resentful look.

This is why they were initially unwilling to support Wang Maozhong: he was too capable, too impatient, too opinionated, and completely unreliable.

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Now that things have come to this, we must make preparations quickly."

Li Jie asked blankly, "How do we prepare for this? Are we really going to have those officials come here to study?"

Huangfu Sengnian frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "I also think that Uncle Wang has gone too far. We must take a step back on this matter."

Wang Shuang shook his head and sighed, "My father has made up his mind and will not back down. When he was in charge of the horse administration, the problems he encountered were much more serious than this. My father also refused to budge an inch. He said that there is absolutely no way to back down on this kind of thing."

Huangfu Sengnian said, “The situation with Ma Zheng is different. In Ma Zheng, the other party was in the wrong first, your father had the right to do so, and he also had His Majesty’s support, so of course he could do it. But now we are forcing officials to study at private academies, which is indeed a bit unreasonable. If your father is unwilling to back down, then we will have to help your father back down.”

Wang Shuang shook his head and said, "I'm not going to try to persuade you."

"You don't need to go."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "We only need to use Lao Tao's name to show that we are not virtuous or talented enough and are not qualified to educate those officials at all."

Wang Shuang said, "Aren't you going back on your word?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "It's not that we're going back on our word. We had already discussed it beforehand, and in the end, it would be Que Ge'er who would teach. Because Mr. Wuming would definitely refuse, even judging from his style, he shouldn't have agreed."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Monk Nian is right. We must refuse Mr. Wuming, otherwise it will arouse suspicion."

Then he looked at Huangfu Sengnian and asked, "So what should we do next?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Of course you should go to the Ministry of Works to teach them."

Wang Xi was taken aback. "To the Ministry of Works?"

Huangfu Sengnian nodded: "Allowing officials to re-enroll in academies, regardless of which one, is unprecedented and unlikely to be accepted by those officials. For Uncle Wang, this can be seen as taking a step back, achieving two goals at once."

Wang Xi pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. I just plan to give them one lesson, that won't do."

Li Jieman suddenly said, "It's outrageous to have them come to our academy to teach, but I think it's even more outrageous to have Brother Que go to the Ministry of Works to teach them. If Lao Tao were to say it, it would be more reasonable."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "That's why Lao Tao refused. Lao Tao definitely can't teach this kind of class. As for whether Que Ge'er can get into the Ministry of Works as he wishes, that depends on Que Ge'er himself."

Wang Xi sighed, "In the end, I was the one who bore the brunt of it all."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Only you can teach this class. We don't have your story-making skills."

After saying that, he turned to Wang Shuang and said, "Brother Shuang, once we voice our refusal, Uncle Wang will definitely ask you for the reason. At that time, you should explain everything in the name of Mr. Wuming. Mr. Wuming will never show up and will not allow those officials to come to Wuming Academy, so as not to cause trouble."

However, we can send Brother Que as our representative to the Ministry of Works to explain the knowledge of aerodynamics.

Wang Shuang blinked, looked around, and asked, "Do I still have a choice?"

This was quite different from what Wang Maozhong had expected, and he was somewhat uneasy.

“No!” Huangfu Sengnian shook his head.

Wang Xi said, "But you can ask your father to keep it a secret for now. We'll act first and report later. I'll be there, so I'll have to say a few words. That way, we can reduce the pressure on your father."

Wang Shuang nodded and said, "I understand."

Faced with the turmoil in the imperial court, Mr. Wuming was the first to stand up and say that he was not virtuous or talented enough to teach those officials. He also firmly stated that Wuming Academy would not agree to the Minister of Works' request.

This statement left everyone feeling both amused and bewildered.

Because they feel this shouldn't have happened at all—why should an anonymous teacher be instructing officials? Yet now they're forcing this anonymous teacher to come out and make a statement. It's utterly ridiculous!
A servant is a servant!

No normal person would do something like that.

Wang Maozhong felt betrayed and immediately grabbed Wang Shuang. Fortunately, Shuang was prepared and revealed his trump card before the slap landed, saying that he could send Wang Xi to the Ministry of Works to teach them qigong. This was considered a step back for him, thus avoiding a severe beating.

After careful consideration, Wang Maozhong seemed somewhat moved and appeared willing to accept the offer.

Actually, he didn't intend to humiliate the officials. He was just showing respect for Mr. Wuming and wanted the officials to voluntarily study at Wuming Academy. Now that you are willing to teach at the Ministry of Works, that would be even better.

The problem is with the selection of the right person!

"Sparrow?"

Wang Maozhong asked doubtfully, "Can that brat really do it?"

Even he himself thought it was a bit outrageous to have a hawk come here to teach!
If even Quege can't do it, then Lao Tao is even less capable. Wang Shuang patted his chest and said, "Father, don't worry about that. Among us, Quege is the most proficient in this subject. He explains it even more thoroughly than the teacher. The teacher usually doesn't go into detail."

Wang Maozhong said, "Father isn't worried about that, but if the teacher doesn't come, will that brat be able to command respect?"

Wang Shuang's eyes darted around, and she whispered, "Father can keep it a secret for now, and let everyone think it was the teacher who went."

Wang Maozhong asked, "Will this work?"

"Don't worry, Father," Wang Shuang said. "The teacher will teach Brother Que how to convince them."

That's what Wang Maozhong could barely accept.

Although the nameless man had clearly refused, Wang Maozhong did not retract his order, and the officials were unwilling to give up either.

Zhang Shuo had initially "strongly supported" them, so naturally they went to Zhang Shuo to argue about it.

Zhang had no choice but to quickly find Wang Maozhong.

Because of Li Longji's previous warning, when Wang Maozhong arrived at the Secretariat and met Zhang Shuo and Yuan Qianyao, he naturally became more restrained.

"Your humble servant Wang Maozhong greets Minister Zhang and Minister Yuan."

"Ah."

Zhang nodded and asked, "I heard that you sent officials from the Ministry of Works to the Wuming Academy to study Taoist thought. Is that true?"

Wang Maozhong nodded and said, "That is indeed the case."

Yuan Qianyao said, "I have never heard of the Minister having such power. Even if officials are required to study certain books, that should be ordered by the imperial court."

Wang Maozhong hurriedly explained, "Lord Yuan, you are wise. I did not force them to go."

Yuan Qianyao said, "But you said that anyone who doesn't go must leave the Ministry of Works."

Wang Maozhong nodded.

Zhang said angrily, "Then how is this any different from coercion?"

Wang Maozhong said with great grievance, "Please, Minister Zhang, understand that if I did not do this, then there would be no point in me being the Minister."

Zhang asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Maozhong said, "Your Majesty promoted me to Minister of Works because I believe that the study of Qi and physics can improve the country's construction and I hope that the court will pay attention to this study of Qi and physics. This is the main reason why I was appointed Minister of Works. If we don't do this, then Xu Langzhong may have done a better job than me."

Zhang Shuo and Yuan Qianyao looked at each other in bewilderment.

That's really true.

They were aware of the hidden truth, and they even believed that, setting that aside, many officials could indeed do a better job than Wang Maozhong.

Of course, this is just a prejudice. In fact, even without qigong, Wang Maozhong could do better than most people.

From this perspective, it seems that Wang Maozhong did nothing wrong, but the problem is that doing it this way is definitely not acceptable.

In conclusion, this arrangement is still flawed.

If you rush to promote this theory of qigong in the imperial court before the officials have even been convinced of its validity, problems are bound to arise.

But who arranged it?

Li Longji!

this.!

Then we can only blame Wang Maozhong.

Yuan Qianyao knew that Wang Maozhong was deeply favored by Li Longji, so he could not openly criticize him. Instead, he earnestly said, "That may be true, but you are the Minister of Works, not the leader of that boat gang. The court is about morality and etiquette. Even though you are my superior, you cannot do this."

Wang Maozhong glanced at Yuan Qianyao with feigned grievance, then lowered his head and admitted his mistake, saying, "Lord Yuan is right. I did not think this through, but I was also eager to prove that His Majesty had not made a mistake in using me."

Zhang was taken aback. When did Wang Maozhong become so humble?

But Wang Maozhong immediately added, "But the study of qi and physics really helps a lot in construction. It's impossible to know it's good and then not use it."

Second Master, how about this? I'll go to the Nameless Academy and invite someone to the Ministry of Works to explain this aerodynamics. It won't be a formal lecture, just a brief explanation. Didn't His Majesty go to the Wei River to hear me explain buoyancy back then?

Yuan Qianyao looked at Zhang Shuo.

Zhang said he felt that Wang Maozhong's attitude was good today, and if he didn't do it this way, he wouldn't be qualified to serve as Minister of Works. In fact, it could be said that this was Li Longji's expectation.

After thinking it over, Zhang Yue also felt that he should give it a try. If it didn't work out, he should step down. In any case, Wang Maozhong had said so. He was able to become the Minister of Works because of his diligence in learning. So he nodded and said, "That will do."

"Thank you for your understanding, sir." Wang Maozhong quickly clasped his hands in a salute, then asked nervously, "What about Physician Xu?"

Zhang said, “We will talk to them over there, but you must remember one thing: you are now the Minister of Works, their superior. Uniting people’s hearts is your responsibility. If you can’t even do that, then it is your fault, regardless of right or wrong.”

This is indeed a golden piece of advice.

A truly capable person is one who can win people's hearts and minds and get them to follow them. You can't just say that because you think you're right, people have to listen to you. That's the mindset of a keyboard warrior, not the way of being an official.

Because if we only follow right and wrong, many people can do it, but the reality is that only a few people can do the right thing at the right time and achieve the right result.

This is the hardest part.

There are no difficult things, only difficult people.

The former Grand Chancellor Zhang Jia-zhen was dismissed by Li Longji because he failed to do this well.

The Grand Secretary was constantly arguing with his subordinates; it's no wonder he couldn't accomplish anything.

But Wang Maozhong didn't listen at all; he just gave perfunctory replies. He thought that those who opposed him were idiots, or looked down on him and were deliberately going against him.

Zhang Shuo and Yuan Qianyao didn't care whether he listened or not; they had done everything they could.

After Wang Maozhong left, Zhang went to the officials' resting place to explain to them.

The emperor appointed Wang Maozhong because of his mastery of Qi and physics. Although I don't agree with it, he had to be given a try. If he didn't perform well, he would leave the Ministry of Works immediately.

Moreover, Wang Maozhong realized that this was too radical, so he would not send everyone to study at the Nameless Academy, but would instead have someone from the Nameless Academy come and explain this Qi mechanics.

After hearing this, all the officials expressed their willingness to accept, but Zhang had to make sure that if it was proven that pneumatics was of little or no use, then Wang Maozhong had to leave the Ministry of Works.

Zhang said he understood perfectly well that they wanted to compete with that nameless man, which was only natural. If you can't convince everyone, then it's your problem. So he assured them of this as well.

(End of this chapter)