Chapter 601: D-Zijuan caused a sensation in the capital, followed by Jiwei

Zhongshu Kegong’s House is located in a side alley outside the Cabinet Office. Several large elm trees stand at the entrance of the alley, looking a little bleak.

  Hutong is different from the Hanlin Academy, which is separated by East Chang'an Street. Zhongshu Ke and Wenyuan Pavilion are closely connected, and the straight-line distance is only thirty feet.

 It used to be that this place was just a deserted and quiet place, but in the past two months, it has suddenly changed from a place where no one cares about to a place full of traffic.

Just by looking at the carriages and sedans waiting outside the yamen, you can tell that this place is different from what it used to be. The strong horses snorted, the bearers folded their hands, chatting in twos and threes. Occasionally, they met a few acquaintances and shouted. Circle them together to show off a few words about the scenery of the past few days.

Even the surroundings of the alley feel different. A sparrow has suddenly become a phoenix.

On the first day he took office, Guan Yingzhen completely reorganized the entire Zhongshu Department. The original Zhongshu Department was driven to a corner of the two rows of bungalows.

 The entire east and west wings were slowly enriched by the people Guan Yingzhen kept bringing in on secondment, and they were still growing.

Lian Guoshi stepped into the courtyard outside the main hall and heard Guan Yingzhen's deep and deep voice talking about someone.

"We all want to go, what can we do if we go? To cause trouble, or to disturb the autumn wind? Dreaming! I still don't know that these people can't accomplish anything, and they are prone to failure. This is how bad the reputation of Zhongshu Science Department has been. When have I ever seen them like this? Positive? How good is it now? If we give them a room, they can all huddle together, refusing to leave from morning till night, and they can go out and sell it at a good price after hearing any news. How promising! What does it mean? These people are the father of a tiger and the son of a dog!"

Not daring to go in, Lian Guoshi walked around in a circle and saw Fang Zhenru looking over there with shrinking eyes, so he quickly trotted over.

“Brother Haiwei, what happened to this grown-up today? Who provoked him?”

"Who else? It's not those people from Zhongshushe. They are really thick-skinned. I didn't know where I heard that Ziying was too busy in Yangzhou. I wrote a letter asking for help. Now I got busy. Now, all kinds of relationships have been stirred up. I heard that even Mr. Fangge couldn't bear it and sent a message to you. Prince Zhongshun also invited you to come to the house the day before yesterday. I guess he didn't react and went to the banquet. , so the scene was a bit ugly.”

Fang Zhenru also hid outside and did not dare to go in. After spending several years in Qingtan Academy, everyone knew the temperament of the mountain chiefs.

Qi Yongtai has a strong and upright personality. He will criticize people when something is wrong, but he rarely gets angry. He always discusses matters as they are and does not implicate others.

Guan Yingzhen is meticulous and steady in his work, and is good at forbearing. He rarely criticizes people in general matters, but once he criticizes others, he will criticize you enough. Anyone who tries to do it will definitely not get any good results.

 So when encountering situations like this, the best way is to stay out of the limelight and wait until the other person's anger subsides before leaving.

 “Did Ziying write again?”

It is also a bit regretful to practice national affairs. I could have gone south with Feng Ziying. If that were the case, how happy would it be to be able to do something real?

Although the department is very busy now, it is mainly about setting up rules and regulations, folding beds and building houses, or bickering with the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War, dividing responsibilities, etc. Even a scholar can master the matter, but he dare not complain to Guan Yingzhen when practicing state affairs.

"Isn't that what it is? Is this the third or fourth letter? Ziying must be very tired in Yangzhou alone, and there is no reliable and trustworthy person to help. She must complain. Before Don’t you want to drag you away, Jun Yu?”

Fang Zhenru also envied Feng Ziying's friendship with Lian Guoshi. If Guan Yingzhen hadn't stopped him, Lian Guoshi would be as high-spirited as Feng Ziying in Yangzhou City.

 Now everyone in the department is in a state of turbulence and impatience.

Feng Ziying's letter mentioned that the charter fee has been basically finalized, and it is said that the total may exceed one million taels.

This news reached the Ministry of Revenue, the Cabinet and the Emperor, and it immediately caused a shock.

The Ministry of Revenue couldn't believe it and thought it was an exaggeration. They originally thought they would be satisfied with 800,000 taels of silver, but they didn't expect it to be more than 20% more. They immediately wanted to send someone south to Yangzhou to verify it, and even intended to take over. , it is up to them to handle it specifically.

 This immediately aroused the vigilance of Zhongshuke.

Guan Yingzhen firmly opposed it. It is said that he had a fierce quarrel with Zheng Jizhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The two quarreled from the official residence of the Ministry of Revenue to the cabinet, refusing to give in to each other.

Both of them are from Huguang, and they are even close colleagues. One is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and the other is the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, the right servant of the Ministry of Revenue. However, at this time, they are not polite at all, and they almost blow their beards and glare at each other.

"What, Haiwei, you want to go too?" Lian Guoshi said with a smile: "You are from Nanzhi. If you want to go, you have to see if the adults can be merciful. It will be difficult for you and Lu You."

Guan Yingzhen has already leaked the news, and he will definitely arrange for someone to go south to assist Feng Ziying. Especially in the future when the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works may want to intervene in Kaihai affairs, it is natural to give up the basics of Zhongshu Ke Keep it safe.

Finally, it was hard to see Feng Ziying going south to open up a world. If an outsider picked up the fallen peaches, then Guan Yingzhen would become a criminal.

However, it is difficult to arrange who will go and who will stay. However, the opening of the sea involves the great interests of the Jiangnan gentry and merchants, so Guan Yingzhen’s intention is that he will definitely not let the Jiangnan scholars with deeper interests participate in it, so as not to confer power on others. In order to prevent students like myself from being involved and missing their future.

Fang Zhenru is from Shouxian County and Wu Di is from Xinghua. They both belong to Nanzhili, so it is difficult to go.

"That's not necessarily the case." Fang Zhenru disagreed, "There are only a few of us under your command, and now Ziying is asking for help. I'm afraid one or two people are not enough, so we have to have two more people to join forces. You are I'm afraid the assistant of the Lord is inseparable, so only Lu You, Meng Zhang, Ke Yao and Qing Cai and I are left. If we don't go, who can go?"

Fang Zhenru's words are not unreasonable. Although there are several chief officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works, they are not familiar with them firstly. Secondly, Guan Yingzhen still cannot trust these people. Naturally, it is impossible to send these people to Jiangnan. If you want to go, you can only go with a few of your own.

"Let's see how you arrange it." Lian Guoshi also hopes to go to Yangzhou. He has been staying in departments such as Hanlin Academy and Zhongshu Department where he is either talking or writing. He has no access to more things from the outside world, which always makes him Feeling a little stuffy.

As the two were talking, they saw He Fengsheng and Fan Jingwen sneaking over with their heads down. Seeing the two hiding here, they both smiled knowingly.

“Mengzhang, Keyao, are you two here to avoid scolding?” Lian Guoshi asked with a smile.

"We can't compare to Qingcai and Lu Youtou. They are crazy about wanting to go to Yangzhou. I heard that your Excellency received another letter from Ziying yesterday, talking about the reclamation of Dongfan, and also talked about the proximity of Dongfan. The land on the right bank of Penghu can be turned into a salt field, which can generate millions of silver for the imperial court. Ten years later, it can collect an additional millions of dan of grain for the imperial court..."

"What?!" Lian Guoshi and Fang Zhenru were shocked at the same time. "When did it happen? Didn't it mean that it was just a matter of reclamation in the east, and it would take ten years to achieve success? Why did the salt farm matter come out again? Where did this come from? As soon as it comes out?"

"Brother Jun Yu, what year are you from? This letter was delivered by express delivery from Zi Yingcai. I received it last night. I stayed up all night and went to discuss it with some elders. Unexpectedly, Someone got the news early this morning, and it is said that even the Supreme Emperor was alarmed. Someone came early in the morning, and even when the Chief Assistant returned home at midnight last night, there were still people guarding the door."

Fan Jingwen's words were not without showing off, "Mengzhang and I left a little late last night, and we just happened to catch up. The Lord just said a few words casually, and then went to the Chief Assistant overnight. I guess Wenyuan Pavilion was there last night. The lights were brightly lit, and we entered the palace overnight..."

"Then your Excellency didn't say you had a day off today, so why did you come to lose your temper so early in the morning?" Fang Zhenru smacked his lips, "But if it is true that a salt of Dongfan can harvest millions of silver taels for the imperial court, then it's really The only thing that can be done is to be kind to the country and its people."

"Isn't that what's going on? Mr. Chai from the Ministry of War has been running around between the Ministry of Revenue and our side for the past two days, just to pay for food and wages in Western Xinjiang. I didn't see that he had a few big blisters on his lips? That's all because of urgency. , the Treasury of the Ministry of Finance is empty, and the military situation is on fire, what should we do?" He Fengsheng was also very sad, "Thankfully, Ziying's letter came back, but I don't know how reliable what Ziying said in this letter is, and when I can get it. I really want to rush to Yangzhou and find out how it is going."

Lian Guoshi was the one who had the most confidence in Feng Ziying among the classmates. He said calmly and authentically: "Ziying has always been careful with his words. Since he dares to talk about a million dollars, he will have a million dollars, but he is afraid that it will drag on for three to five months." I have the talent, but I’m afraid the Ministry of War will just sit there.”

"I should still suggest to the adults that Ziying is alone in Yangzhou and is too busy with just a few heads and six arms. If a few more people come to help him, at least we can do some trivial things, and many things can be done faster and better. "Fang Zhenru couldn't help but interject.

They all had the same idea. It was unbearable to see Feng Ziying continue to gain fame and prestige in Yangzhou, while a few of them were still feeling aggrieved here.

Several people's eyes fell on Lian Guoshi. Even though Lian Guoshi was extremely calm, he couldn't hold back anymore. "We'll go talk to the adults later. We can't let outsiders take advantage of this kind of credit." .”

"Yes, we don't have much experience in making decisions about Ziying, but at least we know the basics better than others, right? We also understand his thoughts better. As he said, there is no problem with execution, right?" Fan Jingwen is the most anxious. Beiren, if he wants to go, he has the best hope, "Ziying takes the lead, shall we follow Jiwei Head Office?"

 (End of this chapter)