Feng Ziying, who was on duty at the Ministry of War on the second day of the first lunar month, arrived on time.
Each department has a member of staff or chief executive who takes turns, but it seems very leisurely.
Indeed, according to custom, there is basically no big deal at this time. The ones that are a little more serious are probably Shuntian Prefecture, Wanping and Daxing counties.
Fire and water accidents and human traffickers abducting children should be the most likely things to happen during this period, and they are also the most likely to attract attention.
With the great success of "Today's News", it has increasingly become the "authoritative state media", and other newspapers have also appeared one after another, with different sizes and audiences.
Some tabloids even choose areas that are most attractive to the public as their themes, which have become the favorites of restaurants, restaurants, and some businessmen and ordinary people. They can still survive by selling advertisements.
News such as a missing child leading to a shocking mystery or a fire causing huge losses are often the ones that attract the most attention. Of course, there are also all kinds of current affairs and romantic gossip, and even Feng Ziying will inevitably become the protagonist.
For example, at the age of twenty-three, Feng Ziying became the right minister of the Ministry of War and a third-rank minister. His history of success has also become the focus of many tabloids' in-depth excavations.
Inevitably, the story of the marriage between the Feng family, the Shen family, the Xue family, and the Lin family will be narrated here, as if they were personally pulling the strings and knowing it as clearly as the palm of their hand.
Even the story of Feng Ziying's romance with Li and Zhen in Nanjing could not be hidden from anyone. This was the main reason why the three daughters Shen, Xue and Lin were unhappy and treated Feng Ziying coldly.
If it weren't for this, Feng Ziying would have taken a concubine or kept an extramarital wife, and she really wouldn't be worthy of what they were doing.
Feng Ziying herself didn’t know that the Pandora’s box she opened and the release of press freedom would bring so much trouble to herself. Of course, major newspapers such as "News Today" will not pay attention to these, but there are always some "boring tabloids" who will pursue these to seek eyeballs and thereby boost sales.
I didn't sit in the Ministry of War for long. I only saw those extremely bored officials and bosses flipping through some tabloids to pass the time. Feng Ziying felt that the spring break was really long.
But before he felt that the time was unbearable, someone came from Wenyuan Pavilion and asked him to go there. Fang Congzhe was on duty in the cabinet today, and he summoned Feng Ziying, but he didn't know what to talk about.
"What do I think? Prime Minister Fang, why would you ask me this question?" Feng Ziying found it a little funny, "The emperor has only been on the throne for a few months, is he already in trouble with us civil servants? Isn't that right?"
"Everyone is worried that if this continues, the situation may get worse. In fact, we really want to achieve perfect harmony with the Emperor, but it's so wonderful to imagine..."
Fang Congzhe shook his head with some regret: "You should know why we had peace talks with the Nanjing puppet dynasty in the first place. We couldn't support it financially, and we were faced with the harassment of the Jurchens and Mongols in Jianzhou. There were also internal civil unrest from the White Lotus Sect and Shanxi. The war is not over yet. We are very worried that such a string will suddenly break at some point and we will not be able to deal with it, which may lead to an irreparable catastrophe. Therefore, I discussed with Jinqing and Chengfeng, and we still cannot take the risk. , I would rather be more conservative and be more steady..."
It was rare for Fang Congzhe to talk to Feng Ziying in such a calm tone.
It felt to Feng Ziying that Fang Congzhe did not communicate with her on behalf of himself, or even Ye Xianggao.
Feng Ziying even estimated that this was not entirely for herself, but for a group of more influential ministers in the DPRK who wanted to have such a communication.
It can be regarded as a large-scale exchange of opinions among the entire Shilin civil service community, but it is only done in this way. This method is not limited to geographical areas, but is presided over by the so-called core three-person group in the cabinet.
Ye, Fang, Qi, the three core members, and Li Sancai are not yet recognized as core members of the cabinet, at least half of them, and Gu Bingqian, Tang Binyin, and Miao Changqi are not even considered.
So why did Gu Bingqian not want to leave the capital? He was worried that after finally joining the cabinet, he would stay away from the capital and become increasingly marginalized in the cabinet. When he returned in the future, his status would be inferior to that of Tang Binyin and Miao Changqi.
That's really tragic.
If you want to truly have the right to speak after joining the cabinet, qualifications are one of the conditions, and your authority, character and ability are also very important.
Qi Yongtai actually hasn't been in the cabinet for too long, but he has had many ups and downs. Not only did he serve as the mountain chief of Qingtan Academy during his retirement, but he also worked in the important position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for several years. As the leader of the Dishi people, he naturally became one of the core members.
"Prime Minister Fang, if you want to ask me for some advice on military affairs, I can give it to you, but when it comes to other things, I can only give you some personal advice."
Feng Ziying thought for a moment and then answered carefully.
Unexpectedly, Feng Ziying was so solemn and cautious, which surprised Fang Congzhe.
This guy did a great job in the battle to pacify Jiangnan, but he was a little messy in the aftermath.
He took Li Shouzhong's two nieces as concubines, and later even took the Zhen family's daughter as a concubine. This was a bit much. Of course, they also vaguely knew some of the reasons.
I don't want to reward Feng Ziying for his high achievements, nor do I want to make things difficult for the court, but using this method will damage the image of a scholar and your Minister of War.
After returning to Beijing, Feng Ziying proposed to obtain a royal title for his beloved concubine and a decorated official status for his concubine. This was obviously intentional. The cabinet was non-committal, the Metropolitan Procuratorate had some criticisms, and the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites were also silent. They all felt that it would be bad not to give it, and it would be bad to give it, but prevarication was not the answer.
Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe also discussed it. Indeed, starting from the Battle of Liaodong, Feng Ziying had repeatedly made great achievements, especially the Battle of Jiangnan. It was almost the Ministry of War that fought this battle at the risk of being dismissed.
If this battle does not go well, Zhang Huaichang, Sun Chengzong and Feng Ziying will come to top the tank and terminate their duties.
But now this battle is being fought very beautifully. Not only has the hidden dangers of the "Three Jiangnan Towns" been solved in one fell swoop, but it has also captured an unexpected amount of fiscal revenue, which makes the Ministry of Households like it so much that they are almost crying out for it.
Huang Ruliang has been in high spirits for a while, because more than double his expected income has entered the household bank, which makes him feel more confident.
Although there are still many assets that will take some time to be liquidated, the things are just there for time. Even if it is a discount, Huang Ru's conscience is already satisfied.
The cabinet and officials expressed their anger, but inside they were extremely happy. This round of cleansing Jiangnan's powerful officials involved a large number of powerful officials, many of whom were originally close to Prince Yi Zhong and Miutang. Now they have This opportunity is simply to put the knife into the hands of the cabinet and the staff.
They were able to free up a number of vacancies in the cabinet and staff to place officials who were favored by the court. The original so-called "Southern Selection" officials finally came to an end.
It can be said that the task of pacifying Jiangnan was really done beautifully, and all the princes and officials in the court were full of praise, and both the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Households benefited greatly.
Gao Panlong, the Minister of Civil Service, who was never easy to praise others, made an exception and fully praised Feng Ziying's performance. Under such circumstances, Feng Ziying should be rewarded with a promotion no matter what.
But Feng Ziying is now a minister of the third rank, how to reward her?
The only thing higher up is the minister, but can this minister allow a twenty-three-year-old young man to do it?
Wu Sha Mao, who was second only to a few pavilion elders, was placed in a position where a young scholar who had just been a Jinshi for a few years could take a seat within a few years. That would really cause a sensation in the entire Zhou Dynasty.
This will obviously bring great shock and turmoil, and will also intensify internal disputes within the court, so this is not feasible.
Since it is not feasible, it is even more impossible to not reward meritorious service. It will be difficult for the court to convince the public in the future, so these "crooked tricks" made by Feng Ziying seem to be an acceptable choice.
Although there is no formal agreement yet, there is already a general intention within the cabinet to choose the right time. I agreed quietly, without making any noise or showing off, just agreed like that.
Because of this, Fang Congzhe wanted to take advantage of this spring break rotation opportunity to have a good talk with Feng Ziying.
Although there are some anxious people in the cabinet at present, Tom and Miu can only count as
They are marginal roles, but Ye Fangqi and Li Sancai can basically stabilize the cabinet's motion.
The triangular relationship between the scholars from the North, the scholars from the south of the Yangtze River, and the scholars from the Huguang region is now relatively stable. Under this situation, if something happens in the south of the Yangtze River, the court will want to do something serious.
"Ziying, whether it's military affairs or anything else, I want to hear your opinions, especially your suggestions on vigorously promoting the development of industry and commerce, promoting overseas expansion and maritime trade, and some of the current political governance. I’m very interested in your opinions and want to hear them all.”
Fang Congzhe's words shocked Feng Ziying. How could he even know some of his opinions on the assessment of officials? I don’t think I have mentioned this to many people.
Seeing Feng Ziying's confused look, Fang Congzhe smiled and said, "Don't be so expressive. It's just the two of us today. Let's talk freely. You can be regarded as the leader and representative of the young scholars who came during the Yonglong period of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I also know what you are doing." The views and opinions of the group of people are somewhat inconsistent with those of us old men, but for the good of the court and the good of the people of the world, this is our common wish, then these are not problems,..."
Seeing that Fang Congzhe spoke sincerely, Feng Ziying calmed down and thought about it carefully, "I'm going to tell you about Fang Xiang. If you think it's wrong or ridiculous, just laugh it off. Don't blame me for being ignorant. Just like it is."
Fang Congzhe stroked his beard and smiled, waving his hand to indicate that he could speak freely.
