In the Taishou Palace, there was silence in the west side hall.
Luo Chuanan sat down and ate by himself. Among the civil servants, neither Dou Qiushi and Xie Wushang, who had stopped eating chopsticks before, nor Yan Tieying, whose name was called by him, remained silent for a while.
There were only a few of them sitting in the main hall, so they were quite far apart from each other. Even exchanging glances would feel too conspicuous.
But Luochuan was not in a hurry. He just ate leisurely without any intention of urging him.
After a long time, Yan Tieying, whose name was called earlier, saluted Luochuan and said, "Please forgive me for being disrespectful, the Grand Administrator. It is true that the matter of the County Cheng mentioned by the Grand Administrator is of great importance, and I was a little lost for a moment..." ..." He raised his head and saw Luo Chuan waving his hands to indicate that it was okay, then he spoke very slowly, "The county magistrate is the head of the civil servants in a county. He has the responsibility of assisting the prefect in inspecting hundreds of officials. He is also responsible for screening and reporting the affairs of the six ministries. The core positions that are passed down to the Grand Administrator have always been held by people who are knowledgeable about the affairs of the six ministries and who are mature, prudent and loyal. I think..." He lowered his head and said slowly and surely, "I thought that he had served as the Secretary. Lord Zhou Zhongqing, the adjutant of the two departments of agriculture and treasurer, and now the chief officer of the household, is the most suitable!"
Luo Chuan smiled noncommittally. He glanced at Zhou Zhongqing, who could still lower his head and eat white rice with a pair of chopsticks as stable as ever. He tilted his head slightly and asked Mu Zeyan, "Master Mu, what do you think?"
Yan Tieying tilted his head slightly and looked in the direction of Shoumu Zeyan.
Mu Zeyan did not look back. He just said politely when he heard the words, "I have been an official in the court for a short time, and I am not familiar with several adults. However, the head of the household, Mr. Zhou, has a very good personal relationship with my father. My father has been there many times." At a private family banquet, he praised his moral character and said he was a rare and honest official."
These words were so straightforward that even Luo Jiang, who was watching the excitement on the other side, couldn't help but glance at Mu Zeyan with wide eyes.
Luo Chuan smiled even more, "Oh? So Lord Zhou is indeed a good candidate for the position of county magistrate." He then looked at Chen Yu, the chief agricultural officer, and Xie Wushang, the chief treasurer, and asked, "Master Chen, Sir Xie, what do you two think?"
Chen Yu heard the words and said politely, "Reporting to the Grand Administrator, I believe that Master Zhou, the head of the household, is indeed of high quality in terms of character and ability. He has both local governance achievements and the ability to coordinate the court, but..." He After a brief pause, Luo Chuan looked over and said with some regret, "But it's a pity that Mr. Zhou has never been in charge of the Si Lifu Yamen. You must know that the Si Lifu Yamen is the head of the six departments and has the responsibility of promoting hundreds of officials. Responsibility is closely related to the responsibilities of the county magistrate. In the past 900 years since I left the county, there have been forty-two county magistrates. Thirty-six of them were promoted by chief officials. The reason for this is self-evident. , so I think it is most appropriate for Dou Qiushi, the chief official of the department of civil servants, to serve as the county magistrate!"
Luo Chuan glanced around and saw that Dou Qiushi and Zhou Zhongqing were just eating with their heads down, as if the current debate about their futures was not important.
After Chen Yu finished speaking, Xie Wushang naturally took up the topic, "Reporting to the Grand Administrator, I also believe that the most suitable position is for the Chief of Staff, Dou Qiushi, to serve as the county magistrate. Master Dou served as the first governor of Taiming County before entering the court. As the chief official in the governance of a place, he has made great achievements. The prefect has also been to Taiming now. The governance of Taiming is attributed to Mr. Dou. After Mr. Dou entered the court, he worked conscientiously as the chief official without any slack, especially Since the Grand Administrator came to the throne, Master Dou has taken the initiative to take on too many responsibilities and pressures to protect the army and Gu Wuyu. The rumors are increasing day by day and he has not changed his mind. In fact, he has put aside his personal honor and disgrace for the sake of the stability of my Lijun Dynasty. , I sincerely admire Wushang for taking such responsibility, and in my opinion, Lord Dou cannot bear the responsibility of the county magistrate!"
The smile on Luo Chuan's face faded. Upon seeing this, Yan Tieying stood up solemnly and saluted, "I would like to report to the Grand Administrator, what Chen and Xie said is true, but the position of the county magistrate is so important to the rise and fall of Lijun, how can it be just because Or is it just a matter of old practice or hard work? Lord Dou is naturally of high ability and energy, but he is still young after all. His time as a local county magistrate or as an official in the imperial court is too short. Neither qualifications nor experience are enough to convince the officials, so I still think that Lord Zhou should be the one to take on the post of county magistrate!"
Reading with rice balls
Before he finished speaking, Mu Zeyan frowned slightly.
Chen Yu and Xie Wushang each bowed their heads and remained silent.
On the other side, Zhao Wuji smiled and shook his head.
Luo Chuan, who was in charge, had a clear view of the expressions of everyone present. He picked up the wine glass and played with it twice in his hand. His tone was slightly cold, "Master Yan, I respect you as an important minister of the Six Ministries before asking for your opinion, but I don't want to let you know." You make the decision for me, not to mention..." He raised his eyes and looked at Yan Tieying, whose face was full of astonishment, and said coldly, "Not to mention that he is just a county magistrate, why does it matter to the rise and fall of my Lijun?!"
Yan Tieying immediately broke into a cold sweat when he heard the words "my Lijun" in Luo Chuan's words.
Luo Chuan watched Yan Tieying kneel down in a hurry and ignored him. He just snorted and said to himself, "My Li County now has tens of millions of people under its rule. I can't manage it on my own, so I need hundreds of civil and military officials." Handle various affairs for me, I am the head and the civil and military officials are the limbs. Lijun and I cannot do without you, but that does not mean that Lijun cannot do without any of you! Except for me, Luochuan, this Lijun If every person, family, or even several families in the county... is gone, won’t they be gone as well?!”
Yan Tieying's entire back was soaked in an instant, and he kept kowtowing in apology.
Luo Chuan stared at Yan Tieying's back for a while and then said, "Get up," he said in a cold voice, "Although Luo Chuan is still young and has just taken charge of the court, he is not a mediocre character who will punish crimes with words, but Don’t let me hear some words a second time..."
All the important officials, including Zhao Wuji and Dou Qiushi, saluted after hearing this, "I will obey the eunuch's order..."
Luo Chuan leisurely raised his glass and drank the wine, then smiled and said to Dou Qiushi as if nothing had happened just now, "Master Dou, I think what Master Chen and Master Xie said makes sense, so starting from today, you He is the Commander-in-Chief of my Li County."
Luo Chuan spoke extremely casually, as casually as a meat bone thrown by a diner to a puppy on the street.
But Dou Qiushi stood up and came out of the queue, and bowed to Luochuan with a solemn face. After kowtowing nine times, he said, "My minister, Dou Qiushi, obeys the eunuch's order!"
Luo Chuan smiled and nodded, "Get up, Dou Juncheng."
After Dou Qiushi got up, he returned to his desk and sat down and said, "Master Taishou, if I am promoted to the position of county magistrate, then the position of chief official will be vacant..."
Without thinking, Luo Chuan pointed at Zhou Zhongqing and said, "Just now Master Yan said that Master Zhou once served as a secretary of agriculture, deputy secretary to the treasurer, and chief official of a household, but he never served as chief official. Now the civil and military examination is imminent. It is not appropriate for the position of chief official to be vacant, so Mr. Zhou will be changed to the chief official of the division to handle the important matter of civil and military examinations. As for the position of chief official of the household that is vacant because of this..." He looked at the crowd. The civil servant who looked at him smiled and said, "The governor of Baitong County, Gongsun Runze, is about to leave the city now, so that's him...!"
