Gao Jizhi sat beside the bed, wearing a leather robe, and turned his face towards the brazier on the ground, staring blankly at the fire.
Just as he was about to reach out to touch the poker, he suddenly heard a sound on the door and said calmly: "But Minister Chen is here?"
"It's me," Chen Tongpao leaned against the door. He first untied his fox cloak and knocked his snow-covered boots on the threshold a few times before walking in. "I heard that your Excellency has called me for something urgent."
"Close the door," Gao Jizhi poked the charcoal with pliers, "sit down and I will tell you in detail."
Tongpao Chen shut the door tightly and sat on the chair in front of him.
Gao Shangshu slowly turned around: "You have been here for a few months, so you should know the court's customs. Before the end of the year, all ministries must report the management situation of the year one by one, to comfort the temple, and to inform the emperor. Nothing will happen until next year. But in recent years, there have been many crises. No matter how careful we are, there is no guarantee that something will go wrong somewhere. Last night, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue sent someone to tell me that this year he was unable to make ends meet and had a huge deficit. In addition to the money accumulated in previous years, Other than that, most of it has been spent on disaster relief and resettlement of refugees. The local master is in a state of confusion and cannot collect taxes. I hope we can provide him with a cover."
Chen Tongpao said: "Our official department is the head of the six departments, so we should set an example."
"Yes, everyone wants to have a good year, and we are no exception," Gao Jizhi sighed. "This official department controls the future of thousands of people. Every year, many people come here to pay homage and beg. How can I Can you reject them all? Although you have the ambition to appoint officials according to their ability, there is nothing you can do. But the black and white words are cold. Once discrepancies are found in the performance appraisal, it will not end well. How should the court deal with the appointment and dismissal of tens of millions of officials? Not only for the sake of households For the ministry, for us, for the country, and for the sake of the people, we must persevere through this difficult period."
"I would like to add something more," Tongpao Chen shrank and exhaled a few puffs of white air, "Ye Yongjia and other reformists have just been suppressed, so they must be dissatisfied. If they get even the slightest clue, they will kill others. To die."
"This reminds me that I need to be on guard." Gao Jizhi looked up at him and gently kicked the brazier over. "When it gets cold, warm up by the fire."
"I don't dare, I don't dare..." Chen Tongpao knew that he was going to give an order next, so he hesitantly put his hand in front of the brazier.
"I have two things for you to do." Gao Shangshu saw that he was already prepared, so he went straight to the point without making too many excuses. "The first one is the most important. Go to the Ministry of Revenue and Shangshu Liu Mian to discuss it. How to implement this matter? Then go to the Yushitai on the way, and take this year's performance appraisal documents for internal and external officials, let the Yushi read it carefully, and try to hide those who have different transfers and appointments that are not in compliance with the rules, so that outsiders have no clues. Do you remember clearly?"
"Remember it clearly. But the second thing..."
"Oh, did Ye Yongjia come on the same road as you?" Gao Jizhi asked lightly.
Chen Tongpao's expression did not change, and he replied calmly: "He served in Nanjing, and his subordinates cannot compare with him. Although they are on the same road, they have never met, so how can they be promoted at that time?"
"You are also a prefect, so why are you superior?" A satisfied smile appeared on Gao Jizhi's face, "But you have to persuade him. The country has no money and food now, and all ministries and departments are tense. A string cannot withstand such torment."
"This person is stubborn in his behavior and will not understand our plight. What he says will only do bad things. It is better to remain silent."
"Alas," Gao Jizhi shook his head, "this type of character is the most troublesome. They usually pretend to be aloof and never forgive others, but they don't know how to act according to the truth. It doesn't matter if they are 'whitewashing peace' or by other names. Well, without us to maintain the people's support, this huge empire will really collapse."
"Your Majesty's words are very true. People can carry a boat, but they can also capsize it."
"If they are allowed to capsize the boat and fall into the water, they will miss the good governance at this time," Gao Jizhi continued to lament, "It is said that 'good medicine is bitter in the mouth and good for the disease.' If they survive the current difficulties, they will be able to live in a prosperous life. We are here for their own good. Just go ahead and do it."
"Then the official is leaving." Tongpao Chen bowed and put on his cloak again. He felt warm by now.
He went to the back room to get the official performance appraisal documents, trudged across the snowy road, avoiding the cold wind, and got into the Yushitai.
The former imperial censor here, Xie Zanyi, was dismissed from his post. The new candidate was recommended by the three provinces after discussion. His name was Ding Mingwei. He was originally promoted by the Liu Party and naturally had no independent opinions. He relied on Liu Zhennian's orders for everything, so he was deeply loved. trust.
Seeing his colleague's visit, he asked urgently why. Chen Tongpao put down the stack of documents and repeated Gao Jizhi's words.
"You want me to help you hide something?" Ding Mingwei muttered.
"This matter concerns six ministries, and most of the people employed by Duke Liu are among them." Chen Tongpao opened the document and pointed to the names in it and said, "You don't want to... bring trouble to the country, do you?"
"Of course," Ding Mingwei stared at the list closely, feeling shocked, "But this is a matter for the officials. You can just modify it yourself. How can I help?"
"Sir, according to the inspection method set by our court, the promotion and removal of officials is handled by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and verification is carried out by the Yushitai. If you block it here, there is nothing we can do."
"This..." Ding Mingwei saw that he could not evade, so he had to accompany them to jump into the pit, "What does Mr. Chen want to do?"
"Your Excellency, if you read through it and find any unusual transfers, you can use the name of verification and modify them to be legal and reasonable. In this way, no one will notice."
After hearing this, Ding Mingwei laughed several times, pressed his shoulder and said, "The minister really has a good idea! Just give me this document and I'll do whatever you want."
Tongpao Chen thanked Lord Ding, said a few good words repeatedly, and then left - less than half an hour later.
He felt that the trip was going well and thought that it would only take a few words to get to the Hubu. So he walked slowly and confidently to the Hubu Yamen.
Hearing from the clerk that Mr. Liu was still eating, he waited in the second hall, eating tea and lighting a fire in the back room. After a while, he heard someone talking outside the room. He hurriedly pushed the table away and went to look in front of the curtain. Sure enough, a shadow came in.
His colleagues thought it was Liu Mian, the minister, and hurriedly raised the curtain to greet him. Unexpectedly, he was confused - it turned out to be Jie Wenwu from the Ministry of War.
The two looked at each other and smiled awkwardly at each other.
"Chen...Chen Shilang," Jie Wenwu rubbed his hands and asked, "Are you also here to see Liu Hubu?"
"What's the matter with the Ministry of War?" Chen Tongpao had just bowed.
Jie Wenwu seemed to be unable to speak. When the two sides were silent, an old voice came from behind: "What a coincidence that both of you are here! Maybe it's the same thing."
