Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

All the information came from Sima Guang's people, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

This situation, where it's difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, is incredibly draining.

Fortunately, from this moment on, everything will be very different.

The thirteen successful candidates in the imperial examinations have all entered the Jingzhao Prefecture.

From this point on, the power isolation stemming from Sima Guang was destined to diminish.

Jiang Zhao glanced around and sighed, "I was fortunate enough to be appointed by the Emperor to govern Shaanxi Province, intending to govern the region and achieve great things. I never imagined that the Transport Commission would become a place where the Deputy Envoy could dictate everything. The millions of people in Shaanxi have suffered for too long."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhao looked intently at the group and asked, "Gentlemen, would you be willing to lend me a hand?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young official in his thirties stood up abruptly and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Your Excellency is a chief official appointed by the imperial court. The deputy envoy's disobedience to the imperial edict and his arbitrary decision-making are treasonous."

"Your humble servant Wang Shao shall serve you, sir."

Thirty-year-old Wang Shao had a resolute expression on his face.

He wants to progress so much!

As a man from a humble background, he had no one to support him. Even though he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), he was only appointed as a minor official of the ninth rank in a remote area.

Even with a thousand schemes in his heart, a ninth-rank official would find it difficult to put them into practice.

Jiang Zhao's imperial edict made him realize that there was an opportunity.

Jiang Lang of Huaizuo was a figure who enjoyed both imperial favor and immense power.

Such people rarely encounter difficult situations.

The young Grand Secretary became an apprentice of the down-on-his-luck Grand Secretary Han because of the story of "Standing in the Snow at Han's Door," and suddenly had a powerful backer.

He could certainly help the young Grand Secretary and use him as a patron.

The young Grand Secretary's progress was not necessarily slower than that of Han Jin, the Grand Chancellor of the same period!

At the same time, all thirteen officials rose in unison, bowed, and said firmly, "Please give your instructions, Your Excellency!"

Just like Wang Shao's thoughts, the remaining twelve officials had similar ideas.

The beautiful story of Jiang Zhao and Han Zhang has spread so widely that it has deeply resonated with people.

Behind the respect for teachers and the importance of education lies the potential for rapid advancement in power, which is truly inspiring.

Throughout his life, Han Zhang's career in officialdom was unstoppable, and he rarely experienced setbacks.

Jiang Zhao's life was also one of unstoppable momentum.

Even those who can fight their way through the halls of power are now in a predicament simply because they have no one to rely on.

In this era, one could not become a member of the Hanlin Academy without passing the imperial examination, and one could not enter the Grand Secretariat without being a member of the Hanlin Academy.

Without the support and recommendation of important figures, and not being a member of the Hanlin Academy, it is extremely difficult for a low-ranking official of the ninth grade who is only a second or third-class graduate to rise in rank.

The so-called "merit of following the dragon" does not necessarily refer to following the dragon; rather, it refers to the benefit of all those around the emperor when one attains enlightenment.

Now that we have this opportunity, if we don't seize it, then we truly don't deserve to achieve anything.

"Hahaha." Jiang Zhao nodded with satisfaction and gestured for everyone to sit down.

The thirteen successful candidates in the imperial examinations took their seats.

Jiang Zhao beckoned, and his pageboy Hesheng stepped forward, handing each of them a document.

Sima Guang stayed in the Transport Office for eight years, during which time he won over many officials.

Those officials were all listed in the Ministry of Personnel's register.

It's late June, and the performance evaluation for officials has long since passed.

If one wanted to adjust the official position, it was simply a matter of "recommendation." Officials at the prefectural and county levels recommended themselves to the Pacification Commissioner, while officials at the circuit level recommended themselves to the Ministry of Personnel.

However, recommending one or two people is acceptable, but recommending more than a dozen people at once, which would free up more than a dozen official positions in the Transport Department, would have a negative impact.

Furthermore, most of the officials in the Transport Office were of the seventh or eighth rank.

These thirteen Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were all from the second or third class of the imperial examinations. Except for a few who were already of the ninth rank, the rest were only of the ninth rank.

There is a significant gap in official rank, and it would be problematic to rashly allow more than a dozen people to skip ranks, especially through a "recommendation" process.

Therefore, the thirteen Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were all appointed to the Transport Department under the title of "assisting in the administrative operations of the Transport Department".

He remained in his original post, only temporarily transferred to the Jingzhao Prefecture. His position was that of a minor official, not directly responsible for any particular aspect of the duties.

However, having a low official position and little power and responsibility is not a problem.

Since they were in charge of the administrative operations of the Transport Commissioner, regardless of their official rank, they were nominally required to obey the Transport Commissioner's orders and perform certain duties and tasks.

As the person in charge, Jiang Zhao was a man of "great righteousness".

A document personally written by the chief official represents the authority, enough to allow thirteen officials to openly vie for power and seize the authority and responsibilities of the officials on Sima Guang's side.

When they went to the prefectures and counties to carry out certain tasks, no one dared to stop them.

Sima Guang's hands weren't that long.

"Cheng Hao and Zhang Zai were responsible for drafting documents and copying government orders."

These two are academic talents, and are suitable to stay in the administrative office.

"Jiang Zhiqi and Wang Shao are responsible for supervising officials along a certain route, conducting financial audits, and thoroughly investigating corruption. No matter who it is, they are all subject to investigation."

Jiang Zhao did not say it explicitly.

But those in official positions should naturally be discerning and clear-headed.

Jiang Zhiqi and Wang Shao naturally understood why they were specifically investigating corruption.

Sima Guang!

As long as you are human, you will inevitably have overlapping interests.

Sima Guang must have felt the same way.

Jiang Zhao made arrangements for the remaining people, assigning them either to act as informants or to carry out practical work.

"Let's try to adapt to it for a while."

Jiang Zhao stopped.

In truth, these thirteen Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) did not significantly impact the overall situation.

The purpose of bringing in thirteen people was primarily to cultivate a core team.

When governing a region, those who have long-standing relationships with Sima Guang are destined to remain untrustworthy; it is still necessary to cultivate one's own people.

Transport Deputy Envoy's Office.

Sima Guang signed several government decrees and looked up at the judge.

"Shouldn't the thirteen Jinshi selected by Jiang Zhao have arrived in Jingzhao Prefecture by now?"

As a junior Grand Secretary, Jiang Zhao must have his own pride, and Sima Guang did not believe that Jiang Zhao would sit idly by and wait for his doom.

If this is indeed the case, Jiang Zhao crossed out the names of thirteen people in one fell swoop, intending to seize power in one fell swoop.

"We've arrived at the Transport Commissioner's Office now," Liu Ping replied.

At some point, dark circles appeared around his eyes, indicating that he had a sleep disorder, perhaps due to insomnia.

"Ah."

Sima Guang nodded; this was within his expectations.

In essence, governing a region means holding real power through subordinates.

When Jiang Zhao first entered Shaanxi Province, he had no one to rely on, so he had no choice but to summon some Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who had no vested interests in him to serve him.

Even though he had been preparing for this for eight years and had even taken the initiative, it was almost impossible for him to truly strip Jiang Zhao of his power.

Just by having the title of "commander," Jiang Zhao has a considerable amount of room to maneuver.

To truly make Jiang Zhao uncomfortable, it's necessary to combine public opinion manipulation.

Sima Guang pondered for a moment, then picked up the paper tablet, called Liu Ping, and headed towards the Transport Commissioner's Hall.

The so-called "anchor book" is a ledger that records information such as the area of ​​the land, its boundaries, and the landowner.

This is an important document for collecting land taxes.

Now, naturally, Jiang Zhao should be tasked with collecting taxes.

Jiang Zhao's background is too intimidating to ignore.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, we must act decisively and swiftly.

"Master Jiang."

In the hall of the Transport Commissioner, Sima Guang walked up with a refined smile on his face.

At this moment, Jiang Zhao was reading some account books and documents.

These were all contents that had already been reported to the Three Departments, so it was not surprising that the Transport Commissioner would read a bit of them.

In fact, according to proper procedures, Jiang Zhao has already begun to take power at this point.

Unfortunately, it encountered a fictional situation.

Sima Guang strolled leisurely, while Liu Ping, the transport judge, became much more restrained.

Whether it was Sima Guang or Jiang Zhao, they were people he couldn't afford to offend.

"Junshi, what's wrong?" Jiang Zhao asked calmly.

"I just heard that you have summoned some Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) for appointment. I wonder what you plan to do with the officials left behind by the previous pacification commissioner?" Sima Guang asked, putting aside the matter of the account books for the time being.

As the boss, before he can sideline anyone, he must at least protect the positions of his subordinates.

"Junshi's information network is indeed very efficient."

Jiang Zhao made a sarcastic remark and asked calmly, "What do you think should be done?"

“The officials under you have been carrying out government orders for a long time and are all capable and good officials. I think that since Your Excellency has just been appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi Circuit, it is really not appropriate to replace these officials so soon. Otherwise, some people will say that Your Excellency is tyrannical and domineering and eager to form a faction!” Sima Guangping advised calmly.

Having said that, he didn't believe Jiang Zhao would dare to arbitrarily replace him.

Otherwise, he would have actually written to the court to have Jiang Zhao impeached for "eagerly forming factions".

“That makes sense.” Jiang Zhao nodded.

"How about assisting in government affairs?" Jiang Zhao glanced at Sima Guang indifferently and asked in return.

Assisting with government affairs?

Sima Guang's expression changed slightly.

The summons was issued under this pretext, and the Pacification Commissioner did not even need to intervene.

With official duties so busy, I specially invited a newly appointed scholar to help out in an emergency. Is there a problem?

Sima Guang frowned slightly and shook his head.

It's alright, it won't affect the overall situation.

If the issue of taxation can label Jiang Zhao as "mediocre and incompetent," then he can still win.

"My lord, these are some account books concerning taxation. The chief treasurer of the Transport Bureau has been focused on collecting taxes lately."

Sima Guang presented the account books.

Jiang Zhao took it and then waved it away.

Sima Guang and Liu Ping exchanged a glance and were about to leave.

Just then, a gentle voice rang out: "Junshi, what do you think of Judge Liu?"

Upon hearing this, both Sima Guang and Liu Ping turned around.

Sima Guang turned around and saw Jiang Zhao looking at him with a sincere expression.

Sima Guang considered it for a moment and replied, "Judge Liu has outstanding political achievements and works diligently. He is undoubtedly a first-rate official."

These are his old subordinates, so he must have praised them too highly.

"That's it!"