Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

Today's Taiji Palace is different from the past. There are no naked women, nor the clattering of mahjong tiles. There is only a group of men chatting and laughing here.

Li Yu dared not imagine what a scene of smoke and mist would have filled the palace if cigarettes had appeared in the Tang Dynasty.

No one in the house was surprised by Li Yu and his group's visit. After all, this was a royal custom, held whenever the harvest was good.

"Greetings, Your Majesty, and greetings to all the elders."

After exchanging greetings with everyone, the four of them took their seats.

"Is this the young master of the third family? He has a decent appearance and looks like he's destined for a good education!" An old man who had never met Li Yu before praised him upon seeing a new face.

Once he started, everyone else followed suit, looking on with the satisfaction of an elder looking at a younger generation, showering him with compliments like "handsome appearance" and "well-educated and polite."

Li Yu thought to himself that they didn't even know if he was a spendthrift, yet they praised him for being knowledgeable and polite. It seemed that he really had nothing to boast about.

After the praises subsided, Li Yuan asked Li Yu, "Boy, I heard the Emperor sent you to the Ministry of Works on an errand? And even gave you some kind of assistant minister title?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was secretly surprised and turned their gazes toward Li Yu.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It is true. My uncle saw that I had some knowledge of mathematics, so he assigned me to the Ministry of Works..."

When Li Yu spoke with certainty, everyone became even more alarmed.

They didn't understand what Li Er wanted to do. Before, when he appointed Li Xuanba as Minister of Works, they didn't say much because it was just a nominal position. But now he's sending Li Yu to the Ministry of Works. It's obvious that he wants this father and son to gradually take over the power of the Ministry of Works!

Although the Ministry of Works did not hold an important position in the court like the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of War, it was still unreasonable to let a member of the imperial family take charge of the Ministry of Works.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under everyone's gaze, Li Yu looked at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was nodding with his eyes closed when he suddenly noticed that the surroundings had become silent. He opened his eyes and met Li Yu's gaze.

"Very good. Do your job well, kid. And don't forget to visit this old man here from time to time."

After saying that, he silenced the royal family members who wanted to speak with a look, waved to Li Yu and the others, and continued, "Go on, go on. It's not appropriate for you to stay here while the elders chat. Go find somewhere to have some fun!"

.........

Li Yu walked out of the Taiji Hall with a heavy heart, followed by Li Chengqian and two others.

He always felt that Li Yuan's words had a hidden meaning, but he couldn't understand the mystery he was trying to convey.

Thinking back to the hesitant expressions on the faces of those members of the imperial clan when they heard he was to be sent to the Ministry of Works, Li Yu always felt that Li Er was pushing him into a fire pit, and Li Yuan and the others all knew this...

He had had this feeling before, after all, he was too young, and it was rare for someone so young to be an official in the imperial court. But after he asked his father, he was scolded and told not to overthink it and just do what he was supposed to do.

Li Yu had always felt that these words were ambiguous, but now he thought that his father probably knew about Li Er's plans. Since his father hadn't reminded him, it meant that this wasn't something that would get him beheaded.

With this in mind, Li Yu felt completely enlightened, and at the same time, he gradually began to make plans.

When he took up his post in the Ministry of Works, he only cared about accounting and ignored all matters of power struggles and profit-making.

.........

The power structure of the Ministry of Works, from top to bottom, is roughly as follows:

The positions of Minister of Works and Vice Minister of Works were the core of power. The Minister was the head of the Ministry of Works and held the rank of third grade. The Vice Minister, as the Minister's deputy, was an official of the fourth grade and below, whose main responsibility was to assist the Minister.

However, the current Minister of Works is Li Xuanba, who has hardly ever visited the Ministry of Works. Therefore, all matters of the Ministry of Works, big and small, have been handed over to the two Vice Ministers, Duan Lun and Quan Wanji. In particular, Duan Lun not only holds the power of the Minister of Works, but also takes away some of the power of the Vice Minister, Quan Wanji. This is also the reason why that old guy is unhappy with his father.

If Li Xuanba did not hold the title of Minister, then Duan Lun would be the Minister of Works, and the Ministry of Works would only have Quan Wanji as its Vice Minister, who would also be a full-fledged Vice Minister...

Besides these two high-ranking officials, the next ones were a physician and an assistant physician.

The Ministry of Works had four subordinate departments: the Department of Works, the Department of Land Reclamation, the Department of Forestry, and the Department of Water Resources. Each department was assigned a full-time secretary and an assistant secretary.

Li Yu was an assistant director in the Ministry of Works, responsible for the construction of cities, palaces, government offices, and civil engineering projects.

There are many places in the court where they are needed, but no one respects them.

After all, the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was such that artisans were only one class higher than merchants.

In addition to the above, there were three other supervisory agencies that directly liaised with the Ministry of Works: the Supervisory Office of Works, the Supervisory Office of the Imperial Household Department, and the Supervisory Office of Water Conservancy.

It was approved by the Ministry of Industry and implemented by three supervisory agencies.

The Directorate of Works was responsible for building houses, repairing palaces, constructing city walls, ancestral temples, and imperial tombs; while the Directorate of Imperial Household was responsible for royal artifacts, gold, silver, copper, iron, weapons, textiles, and coin minting.

The most unique department was the Water Conservancy Bureau. As the name suggests, they were the water transport department responsible for matters such as canals, water conservancy, and ferry crossings. However, they were usually shrouded in mystery and no one knew exactly what they did. It was said that the people in the Water Conservancy Bureau were basically people whom the emperor absolutely trusted.

Therefore, Li Yu wisely refrained from inquiring about them. After all, the people he mainly dealt with were the Directorate of Works, so he only needed to find out about them.

"Your Highness, could you at least take a look at the documents in your hand? This old minister is waiting for your answer!"

Inside the Ministry of Works, a scholar sat in a chair, anxiously looking at Li Yu.

"Hey Old Yan, why are you, a junior craftsman, coming to me, a mere assistant minister, instead of Duan Lun and Quan Wanji for this kind of thing?"

Reclining on the main recliner, Li Yu answered while munching on fruit.

Li Yu had heard of that Confucian scholar's great reputation in his previous life.

His father served as the Junior Director of Works during the Sui Dynasty, and his mother was Princess Qingdu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, whose surname was Yuwen.

His own surname was Yan, his given name was Rang, and his courtesy name was Lide. He was usually referred to by his courtesy name.

Few people may have heard of this person, but his younger brother, Yan Liben, is a famous painter who frequently appears in history textbooks.

Yan Lide, the elder brother, was also a first-rate talent. At the tender age of thirty, he was appointed as the Junior Supervisor of Works.

His eldest daughter, Yan Wan, had been engaged to Prince Wei, Li Tai, long ago. Once she reached marriageable age, she would marry into the Prince Wei's household and become a proper Princess Wei.

.........