Lu Chen, who was explaining the follow-up work to a group of officials from the Ministry of Industry in the camp, heard the sudden shouting, felt the love and affection in it, and couldn't help but have mixed feelings.
"Master Lu..."
A clerk came over with a flattering look on his face.
"The people love you so much, why don't you go out and take a look first?"
"What are you looking at?"
Lu Chen glanced at him and said expressionlessly: "Look at how many 'good things' our people from the Ministry of Industry have done to them in the past, so that this small favor can make them feel deeply grateful and grateful?"
Hearing this, the young official's face suddenly froze and he was speechless.
Others looked a little weird.
A small favor?
Damn it, looking at ancient and modern times, which official in the past dynasties would be as kind to the working people as this man surnamed Lu? Under this policy, can this labor still be considered labor?
They are not so comfortable farming, right?
"snort!"
Lu Chen snorted coldly and asked Zhang Xuan to appease the people while he continued the meeting.
His serious attitude immediately made everyone temporarily put away their little thoughts and concentrate on writing down Lu Chen's instructions.
Most of the day passed quickly. Lu Chen, who was chairing a meeting at the Ministry of Industry for the first time, was so thirsty that he finally explained the things he had to explain, such as the bidding procedures, the standards and verification methods of materials required for each project, and other matters. Finished with the notes.
"Okay, that's it for today."
Lu Chen closed the homemade memo in front of him and said calmly: "In the future, I will check from time to time to see if you are strictly following what I said today. If someone is doing the same thing behind your back, or has other ideas, then You were sent to Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate by me, so don't blame me for not making it clear to you in advance."
When he said this, his face suddenly became solemn, and there was a hint of coldness in his voice.
"Remember, as long as you act in accordance with the regulations, no matter what the result is, even if something goes wrong and your Majesty blames you, I will shoulder all the blame and will never implicate anyone. On the contrary, I will never be lenient!"
"Don't expect that if something goes wrong, some so-called big shot will stand up to intercede with you and support you. In this official's case, things are as they should be, and it doesn't hurt anyone's face!"
"If you don't believe it, you can give it a try and see if I dare to punish you on the spot in front of the big shot in your eyes!"
Hearing this, most of the officials from the Ministry of Industry couldn't help but look stern, and the remaining ones looked at Lu Chen with a hint of fear in their eyes.
"Please don't worry, sir. I will definitely obey your instructions!"
A middle-aged official was the first to stand up and express his position.
Immediately afterwards, after the officials around him came to their senses, they also patted their chests and promised that they would strictly abide by Lu Chen's orders from now on, and would never dare to relax in the slightest, let alone have other thoughts.
When everyone agreed, Lu Chen nodded, and then said to Wang Qi beside him:
"The repair of Wuji Palace and Xinyuan Grand Ceremony cannot be done without the chief officer. Wang Qi, you and Zhang Xuan will temporarily take over the position of chief officer from today on and manage this place for me. If there are any problems or problems that cannot be solved in the future, If you have any trouble, come to the Ministry of Works and see me."
Wang Qi bowed his hands to Lu Chen respectfully: "Yes, sir!"
Then Lu Chen handed Wang Qi the official seal he had taken back from Xu Sanping and the others, then turned and left the camp.
A group of officials followed Lu Chen and respectfully sent him to the gate of Wuji Palace. Then they all bowed to Lu Chen and handed him over:
"Congratulations, Mr. Lu!"
"Master Lu, walk slowly."
Although I really wanted this guy named Lu to get out of here, I still had to do a good job on the surface.
After all, even if Lu Chen was not the most favored minister in the dynasty, he was the empress's absolute confidant. With his status as the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, ordinary officials would not dare to be presumptuous in front of him.
Don't look at the fact that Ge Shizhong and Yushi, who are both seventh-rank officials, often try hard to correct the third-rank officials in the court, and sometimes even make high-ranking officials lose their temper. But that's because Ge Shizhong himself is a high-ranking official. Special official positions that are humble and powerful, and the rules that crush people at the highest official level have limited effect on the situation.
How can ordinary officials have the courage?
What's more, Lu Chen is so favored.
When the identities of favorite minister, direct minister, meritorious minister, and capable minister are combined into one, and he really wants to use his official body to do things, the effect is not as simple as one plus one equals two.
After Lu Chen left, Wuji Palace became busy again.
The officials left their tents and headed toward the construction site, preparing to supervise the laborers' work.
Although the regulations have changed, there are still supervisors, but their power is not as great as before. Facing these workers who once had free rein, they dare not be too arrogant, at least they dare not beat and scold them as they did before.
"well."
After they separated in twos and threes, a short and fat clerk suddenly sighed and said with a rather gloomy expression:
"This job is not easy to do."
The companion on the side responded with a look of approval: "Who says it's not the case? They are not allowed to be beaten or scolded, but they are still providing food and clothing to those Guizhou chiefs, and they are also reducing their working hours. If this continues, how can these unruly people be like before? Are you so afraid of me and waiting, and then you work desperately? If I lose my majesty, how can I control these unruly people in the future?"
The other two petty officials also spoke one after another: "Why don't the man named Lu just sit in the yamen of the Ministry of Works, thinking about how to move up, so that he can get promoted and make a fortune, or cultivate his way like Mr. Xue, but he still wants to come here?" I’m really full of food to worry about those Guizhou bosses’ business.”
"This kind of person can only gain power for a while, but he will definitely not be able to last long."
"I don't know what kind of knowledge this guy has. He doesn't know anything, so he can do bad things. He refuses to listen to advice. He is really stupid!"
Mr. Chen and Mr. Su were also among this team of junior officials.
Hearing what they said, the two of them sneered at the same time, and then said one after another: "Just wait, when those unruly people become more and more lawless, and they only do cheating and cheating all day long, when the construction deadline comes, the Wuji Palace project will not be completed on time, Your Majesty Blame it on him, there are times when he is unlucky."
"At that time, everything will return to its original state. You have to buy the Longquan spirit stone from Duke Yan's mansion. How should you control those unruly people? Let him be arrogant for half a month, and let those ignorant Guizhou leaders be happy for a while longer. ?”
At this time, not only them, but other petty officials also had similar ideas.
After arriving at the place under their jurisdiction, they didn't bother to care about the people who had benefited from the new regulations. Since they were not allowed to beat and scold the workers, they just ignored it. Anyway, this stupid order was given by the Minister Lu himself. He was doing things according to the rules, so even if something went wrong, he couldn't blame them.
Although I can't vent my frustration about losing money in gambling yesterday, there is nothing wrong with having a little leisure time.
However, while they were thinking this and leisurely leaning on the recliner and shaking their heads, the workers who had obviously not been whipped and had had enough to eat in the past two days were working extra hard and sweating profusely.
Leisurely or busy time always passes quickly, and before you know it, the sun has already set in the west.
According to the new regulations formulated by Lu Chen, laborers could not work for more than four and a half hours. Therefore, when the third quarter of the hour came, several petty officials took out the gongs and drums prepared in advance.
Bang! !
A dull sound echoed throughout the construction site.
"It's time to get off work!"
The loud orders then reached the ears of all the workers.
Hearing this sound that was like the sound of nature, all the workers immediately stopped what they were doing, then stood up at the same time and looked at each other, with obvious joy in their eyes.
The government really kept their word.
As soon as we reach this point, we immediately start work.
The new regulations set by Prime Minister Lu are true!
Everyone gathered with people they knew well, and after placing the tools in their hands at designated locations in accordance with the management system in the new regulations, they headed to the camp on the north side of Wuji Palace in groups.
That's where the kitchen is.
At this time, in front of the camp, several cooks responsible for distributing food had two large wooden barrels half as tall as a man placed on both sides. The barrels were covered with a lid, and white hot air was constantly emitting from the inside.
Then everyone politely picked up the cleaned pottery bowls from the side and walked to the cook. They looked at the cook not far away anxiously, with a hint of expectation in their humble eyes.
Mr. Lu said that he would feed them white flour steamed buns and thick porridge every day from now on. A good official like Mr. Lu would definitely not lie to them, so what is in this wooden barrel...
As if to confirm their suspicions, the cook opened the lid of the barrel and revealed the true appearance of the food inside to them.
I saw that in the wooden barrel on the left that was constantly emitting white steam, there were indeed white-faced steamed buns the size of fists placed, which made everyone's eyes widen.
Although the food in the camp was good in the past two days because of Lu Chen's words, and steamed buns were also available, they were afraid that it was just a temporary favor, so they didn't dare to finish it and hid it all secretly. Anyway, it was such a cold day. It won't go bad if you leave it alone.
Every year, countless people die due to labor, especially in the cold winter and early spring. Not only do they have to endure the biting cold, but they also have to endure hunger and work long hours for the government. Therefore, the common people who come down from labor will almost always pass it on to their children and grandchildren. A life-saving means.
For example, how to hide food;
How to save as much effort as possible under the nose of a petty official;
How to be beaten without damaging your roots;
How to endure hunger;
How to resist freezing...
If they didn't have the ability to save their lives, they would probably have died of cold, starvation, and exhaustion. How could they survive until now?
As for the work the government asked them to do? Let’s survive first.
Under this premise, do as much as you can, otherwise everyone will die, who will care about you?
This is also the wisdom passed down from generation to generation by ordinary people like them.
And now, these white-faced steamed buns were just like what was described in the new rules. They were placed quietly in the wooden bucket in front of them, and the cook took two of them with an unhappy look on his face and put them in the first person's hand. .
Mr. Lu's promise to them was once again fulfilled.
And judging from this attitude, it is not just once or twice, but as long as they work for him, even if it is just labor, he will treat all workers well...
At this thought, all the people's eyes suddenly became wet.
At the same time, a certain concept in my heart began to gradually disintegrate.
…………
Since the fall of the Demon Queen, a voice of righteousness finally appeared in the court again.
After all, the empress is a wise king. As a wise king, she will naturally not block the way of speech.
And as long as a Mingjun is in power, there will be a place for public officials in the temple.
So, during the morning court on the third day, Lu Chen was impeached again.
"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Lu Chen, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, for acting recklessly and delaying the fortifications of Wuji Palace."
The one who stood up to impeach Lu Chen, the only favorite of the dynasty, was the old censor who had impeached Lu Chen before.
An old acquaintance.
Seeing this censor named Zhou, who had always treated things differently and looked like Lu Chen when he was an engineering guru, the empress couldn't help but feel a little headache.
If it was maliciously targeting Lu Chen, she would naturally ignore it. Even if it annoyed her, he would be dismissed and investigated.
But this week, she knew that the censor was truly dedicated to serving the public good, and his impeachment was never about catching rumors and taking advantage of the power to report things, but about getting to know him on the ground before writing a letter of impeachment.
He not only impeached Lu Chen, he also impeached Qian Yiqian, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, for arbitrarily judging the case and failing in his official duties. He also impeached Zhao Bingliang, minister of Dali Temple, for failing in his moral conduct. Now these two are still desperately writing letters to defend themselves.
Although he is rigid in his work and accepts death, as a censor, he is still a good official.
If she is dissatisfied with such a person, she can naturally send him a piece of paper to return to his hometown for retirement. But don’t forget, Lu Chen is also a direct minister and a true gentleman. Not only will her doing this not make Lu Chen happy, but it will also cause trouble. Lu Chen was disgusted.
And this... is really detrimental to the Holy Spirit...
So she could only rub her temples and let him go on in detail.
When Zhou Yushi told the "good deeds" Lu Chen did in Wuji Palace and expressed his opinions, everyone couldn't help but look a little weird.
Since it is a small court meeting, only officials of the fourth rank and above, as well as officials from all walks of life and officials from the Sixth Section Gallery are eligible to participate. Duke Yan and other nobles do not need to go to court if they are not necessary or have not been summoned. Therefore, they They are not in Tai Chi Hall now.
Without some of the parties involved, the voice will naturally become much quieter.
Although Lu Chen is the right minister of the Ministry of Works, the things he does are not considered arrogance. They are all within the scope of his authority. He does have the right to formulate the relevant systems and money and food expenditures for the project, and has the right to decide which company to purchase. materials.
But...if he does this, isn't he afraid of offending Duke Yan and other noble groups to death?
Yes, now that the empress is in charge of the court, with military and political power in her hands, and with Gu Simiao, a peerless general who once conquered the Holy Land of the Alien Sacrifice, it is difficult for those nobles to overturn the situation, but they still have some power.
Most importantly, are there any benefits to offending them?
Besides, treating the working people well is indeed very Lu Chen's style, but even so, one has to look at the timing, right?
Doing this just before the New Year Ceremony is about to begin, are you thinking of going to heaven?
Aren't you afraid that the Empress will be dissatisfied?
(End of chapter)
