Chapter 1152 Geng Scroll Dynasty Affairs, Temple (1)

  The person who came was an acquaintance with a good relationship, and the hard look in his brows could tell at a glance that this was a difficult person to deal with, so Cui Jingrong greeted him from afar.

   "Brother Bofu, are you here to pay a visit to Brother Chengfeng?"

  Sun Ju met Cui Jingrong, he also stopped, his face softened, "Ziqiang, long time no see, I'm here to talk to Brother Chengfeng."

   "Oh?" Cui Jingrong looked at Sun Juxiang's expression up and down, thinking that this person might come to find Qi Yongtai to make a theory.

  He is not surprised either, Sun Juxiang has a strong and stubborn temper, no matter who he is facing, he must fight with reason, bluntly saying that he is right about the matter and not against the person.

Although Sun Juxiang is also a Shanxi scholar, he is not satisfied with Qiao Yingjia, the leader of the Shanxi scholars and his former boss. Very respectful.

   "Brother Bofu is doing well in the Ministry of Punishment, right?" Cui Jingrong laughed, "Brother Chengfeng is not in charge of the Ministry of Punishment. Brother Bofu is going to call me?"

  After Sun Juxiang came back from Jiangnan, he was promoted from the Metropolitan Procuratorate to the right servant of the Ministry of Punishment.

"Hmph, although brother Chengfeng is not in charge of the criminal department, he is the elder of the court. Some things he speaks out are more effective than those of us. If I don't ask him, who should I look for?" Sun Juxiang said firmly: "Ziqiang, I heard that you The left servant of the household department has been working for a long time? Are you going to the Ministry of Industry to pick up Li Sancai's mess?"

  The minister of the Ministry of Industry has been vacant since Li Sancai resigned. There have been many rumors about who will take over the position of minister, and there are several candidates. Cui Jingrong is one of the more popular candidates.

  Sun Ju was also very dissatisfied with Li Sancai, so he spoke very rudely.

Li Sancai's slickness and close relationship with Jiangnan scholars are also the main reasons why Sun Juxiang is very disgusted. Of course, few northern scholars have a good impression of Li Sancai, and they all think he is a traitor in the skin of northern scholars. However, Li Sancai squeezed out Zhang Jingqiu and Zhang Huaichang and joined the cabinet because of his background as a scholar in the north and his close relationship with the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. This also made the scholars in the north gnash their teeth.

"Brother Bofu, do you believe these rumors?" Cui Jingrong shook his head, "I'm in the household department for a day, so I have to do the work of the household department for a whole day. Although brother Boxiao is in good health, his energy is not good enough. Now, the imperial court has been undecided on the candidate for the Minister, I want to see how long it will be delayed, it has been so long, and Ye Fang and the two are still arguing, which will delay the opportunity of the war."

The two candidates for the Ministry of Officials and the Minister of the Ministry of Households have not yet been decided. This is also the result of the internal game between the scholars in the north and the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. It is eye-catching. In addition, the establishment of this round of the Ministry of Commerce is also being discussed within the imperial court to see if it will be established at the beginning of next year and the candidates will be arranged.

According to the usual practice, both the Ministry of Officials and the Secretary of the Ministry of Households will be scholars from the south of the Yangtze River, but this will make the people in the Northland very emotional, so there are rumors that letting Cui Jingrong as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry can ease the tension of the scholars in the Northland. Attitude.

"Self-improvement, I'm afraid this is not a rumor." Although Sun Juxiang is a tall and unruly person, he is also a member of the northern scholars, shaking his head, "The rotation mechanism of the official department and the household department secretary, according to me, has already been established. It’s outdated, meritocracy is not a matter of words, why should a scholar in the north be a scholar in the south of the Yangtze River after retiring from office?

  Cui Jingrong laughed, "Brother Bofu, it's not that no one has mentioned this idea, but the court has been in troubled times and turbulent these past few years, so it's not a good time for reform."

  Sun Juxiang sighed sadly.

  He also has to admit that what Cui Jingrong said is true, and it is not a good time to promote this kind of move that will obviously trigger a new round of shocks within the imperial court. At least it is appropriate to wait until the internal and external troubles are calmed down.

   But having said that, if the situation is really peaceful, who else has the motivation to promote this kind of reform that is obviously beneficial to the long-term and less painful in the short-term?

   How big is the world if one is dedicated to the public?

Seeing that Sun Juxiang was silent, but the expression on his face said a lot, Cui Jingrong also sighed secretly in his heart, the situation in the court is not good, but internal disputes are still endless, even they have difficulty getting out, sometimes they are in the arena and cannot help themselves .

   "Let's go, brother Bofu, you must have made an appointment with Qi."

According to the practice of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only the first assistant and the second assistant can be called prime ministers, but whether it is the court or the people, more and more cabinet ministers who enter the cabinet are called prime ministers and ministers, so they are called prime ministers. Not too much.

Add a prefix surname in front, and you can basically know who it is. However, there are two cabinet ministers surnamed Li in the current court, Li Tingji and Li Sancai. Li Tingji is called Nan Li, and Li Sancai is called Bei Li. Li, and the folks also call them Big Lixiang and Little Lixiang according to the difference in the time they entered the cabinet, but in fact Li Sancai is almost 60 years old, and Li Tingji is almost 70 years old.

As soon as the two arrived, the people who were outside Qi Yongtai's mansion automatically gave way, one was the left servant of the Ministry of household affairs, and the other was the right servant of the punishment department. Power, most of the officials around are young and middle-aged officials who are going to post a post, and when they see these two people, they all come forward to salute.

   After a while, the two got rid of this custom and entered Qi Yongtai's mansion through the corner gate.

   "Brother Bofu is impatient with such things?" Cui Jingrong said with a smile as he entered the Qi mansion.

"I can't really say it. Although I don't like it, I can understand it." The stern-faced Sun Juxiang is not the kind of unsophisticated person. He can understand, but he is deeply disturbed. It doesn't refer to Qi Yongtai, but his own mansion. Isn't it the same in front of the door?

Not to mention the donated officials, just hundreds of Jinshi become officials every year, and there are even larger groups of recruits who also want to become officials. There are only five cabinet ministers in the court, and they are able to attract the relationship between the teacher and the township party. How many more?

  Not to mention in front of Zaifu’s gate, that is, in front of the six ministers’ gate, which one is not full of traffic every day? It's just that the two of them are not the same. Every day after going to court, they have to receive many people who post and visit, and they can't refuse at all.

  Recommendations from the gentry in the village, introductions from classmates of the same year, recommendations from colleagues in the old ministry and even teachers, and even entanglements from elders and relatives in the family. In life, emotions and desires are unavoidable. Which of these can be avoided?

Besides, as officials in the court, they also have to recommend and discover talents with both talents to the court. This kind of meeting and talking is the most important way. There are not many examples that stand out, so it is no wonder that these scholars and officials flock to them.

   "Master Cui, Master Sun, this way please, the master is already waiting."

   Cui Jingrong and Sun Juxiang were both taken aback. Could it be that they were interviewed together?

"The master said that the two adults came to discuss business matters, and they also have connections, so we simply discuss together..." Qi Yongtai's long-term follower has also followed Qi Yongtai for decades, Cui Jingrong and Sun Juxiang is also very familiar.

  Sun Juxiang and Cui Jingrong looked at each other and smiled, "Ziqiang, it seems that we have reached the same path, and I don't know what medicine is sold in Brother Chengfeng's gourd. My business has nothing to do with your household department."

   "I'm also thinking that my affairs have nothing to do with your Ministry of Criminal Justice." Cui Jingrong also laughed, "Let's go, we'll find out when we go in."

The slightly square cheeks have become a lot clearer due to work, the cheekbones are high, and the brows are furrowed. It is obvious that all kinds of things during this period of time have made the elder who ranks third in the Great Zhou cabinet a little exhausted. .

"Ziqiang, Boxiao, come and sit down. It just so happens that you two are here, so I don't bother to come and talk one by one." Seeing the two of them coming in, Qi Yongtai got up, greeted them into his study, and After sitting at the main seat, the servants quickly brought tea, and the door closed, leaving a quiet space.

  …

"This year's autumn tax looks good, but the court's expenditure is even greater. Shuntian Mansion has put forward a lot of needs. The five northern counties and prefectures have suffered a lot. Many people's houses have been burned. Chahar people and Waikar The Kharkha people obviously have different ideas from the Nakakhka people. They intend to destroy the economy and people's livelihood of our capital city and cause us trouble and chaos..."

  When it comes to public affairs, Cui Jingrong seems to be a different person. He no longer has the humility and indifference in private, but is replaced by focus, persistence and shrewdness.

"According to the opening made by Shuntian Mansion, it will cost at least one million taels to survive this winter and next spring. I personally think there are some tricks in it, but 800,000 taels is probably indispensable. Shuntian Mansion also needs to find a way to solve it. For a part, the imperial court estimates that at least 600,000 taels will be needed,..."

  Qi Yongtai shook his head, "Self-improvement, 600,000 taels is not enough, you need 800,000 taels."

  Cui Jingrong was taken aback, "Qi Xiang, Shuntian Mansion is not as bad as they make it out to be..."

"I know, you will understand later, the situation may be worse than we imagined." Qi Yongtai was very patient, "The Ministry of Accounting and Accounting must have a firm mind, I shouldn't have to worry about this , but I have to tell you first, and then I will also talk to Jinqing and Zhonghan,..."

  Cui Jingrong thumped in his heart, thinking that there might be some things he didn't know, so he could only nod.

"The other thing is that in South Zhili, the Japanese pirates harassed along the river. The Nanjing household department has continuously reported that the prefectures along the river have suffered great losses. I am afraid that this autumn's taxation will have an impact..." Cui Jingrong frowned, "I'm not sure about this matter. I felt a little strange, but it was reflected in the early stage, it was not that serious,..."

  (end of this chapter)