Xuande

Chapter 881: Are we... working in the cabinet together?
The conscience of heaven and earth, after all, they also have good family backgrounds. When have they ever done such manual work?
Even Zhuge Liang, who was the top pick, was Chen Yao's errand boy and ran around without any preferential treatment.

I just came back from the Ministry of Personnel and went to the Ministry of Works to deliver a message.

Let me tell you something. The officials from the Ministry of Industry and Chen Yao were playing riddles, each other being the riddler.

Zhuge Liang ran back and forth six times before the two men finished communicating the matter. Then Zhuge Liang still didn't understand what the two men were communicating for a while.

Then there was the back-and-forth about the next question.

The time for eating and resting at noon is very short. Chen Yao is a workaholic, so once he starts working, it is a nightmare for six people. Once, even Zhuge Liang and the others were forced to run to the Ministry of Household Affairs before they finished lunch. The official from the Ministry of Finance sent a message.

After more than ten days like this, except for Zhuge Liang, the other five people really couldn't bear it anymore. This was really a double torture both mentally and physically.

When they left the official office and went to the rental house to rest in the evening, one or two people were crying and lamenting that "life is difficult" and "or else just give up" and so on.

"I haven't learned anything. I just run around and run around. My legs are going to waste. I have worn out two pairs of the four pairs of shoes issued by the imperial court. The soles of my feet have blisters and they hurt terribly. , I still want to run away, then Chen Yao won’t give me a way to survive! Did I offend him somewhere? "

"That's right! We are here to observe the government, not to serve him! He simply treats us as his servants!"

"A eunuch can do such a thing! Why should we do it? I have studied hard for many years and taken three exams just to be a servant?"

"That day I asked him how to deal with some things, but he actually scolded me for a long time, saying that I interrupted his way of handling things! Who else could I ask if I didn't ask him? Isn't he the superior officer responsible for guiding us?"

"Yeah, you get angry at every turn and don't answer our questions. What do you expect us to learn?"

Zhuge Liang's teammates were all in a state of intense mental infighting, and their dissatisfaction with Chen Yao could no longer be contained.

Finally, they looked at Zhuge Liang who said nothing.

"Brother Kong Ming, you should say something!"

"Being sent like this every day, don't you have any ideas?"

"You are the number one scholar! The number one scholar! His Majesty gave you the Golden Horse of Sweat and Blood. This is your only gift! How many people are watching you! You must have a temper!"

They seemed to be very dissatisfied with Zhuge Liang, who had been silent and suffered silently.

Zhuge Liang seemed to have been thinking about things with his head down. Now he heard them calling his name and raised his head to look at them.

"What temper?"

"Kong Ming, you..."

Teammate Li Wei couldn't bear it anymore and held Zhuge Liang's hand: "You are very talented. Can you think of a way? If I keep running like this every day, I really don't know where the future is! Kong Ming, give me some guidance!" "

Others also clamored for Zhuge Liang's advice. Zhuge Liang looked at them and felt baffled.

"What are you pointing out? What did you just say?"

"what?"

Teammates, you look at me and I look at you. Finally, Li Wei looked at Zhuge Liang with a puzzled look on his face and said, "Kong Ming, what were you thinking just now?"

"I was thinking about the imperial court's intention to use troops in Yizhou."

Zhuge Liang sighed with emotion: "It has only been more than a year since the Western Regions used troops, and the world has only been stable for more than a year. Yizhou is about to use troops. It is really not a good thing. And I heard that the road from Yongzhou to Yizhou is very problematic. So Once this happens, will the logistics be unable to keep up?"

"Huh? Yizhou wants to use troops?"

Levi looked shocked: "When was the news? Why didn't I know? Do you... know?"

Li Wei turned his head and saw that the other four teammates also looked shocked, so he could only continue to look at Zhuge Liang.

"Kong Ming, how did you know?"

"Isn't the message obvious?"

Zhuge Liang spread his hands: "In the past few days, we have been running errands, mainly to the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Military Ministry. There are more errands, especially to the Ministry of Industry, and they are all about road construction in Yizhou. This matter started from Zhenguan It has been promoted since the beginning of four years, but until now, the road from Hanzhong to Shu County has not been repaired.

His Majesty was very angry and asked the cabinet to supervise the Ministry of Works at all times. However, the Ministry of Works seemed to be slow to act and failed to provide timely feedback many times. There were also shirk actions. The cabinet was also very dissatisfied with this, so it sent me and others to the work many times. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce inquired to prevent the Ministry of Industry from continuing to push the envelope.

In addition, the imperial court is also concentrating grain, ordnance, and military expenditures in Yizhou, so the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Military Affairs need to act together. The cabinet also needs to monitor the progress of matters related to the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Ministry of Revenue at all times to prevent them from delaying the work.

However, the Ministry of Industry should be most responsible for the matter. The road to Shu was not a matter of one or two days. It has been two years since the fourth year of Zhenguan. The imperial court mobilized a large amount of manpower and material resources to repair roads. It should not be that not even a single road has been repaired until now. .

Because important roads have not been repaired, the transportation of many things will take a lot of time and the losses will be greater. Therefore, the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs are also dissatisfied with the Ministry of Industry. They have complained to His Majesty through the cabinet many times. The cabinet has responded to this matter. I also have a bad headache. "

Li Wei and the other four looked at Zhuge Liang stupidly. After hearing what he said, they suddenly felt that they were not in the same class or doing the same job.

No?
Levi rubbed his eyes.

"Kong Ming, you...how do you know so many things? Are we...working in the cabinet together?"

"Why not?"

Zhuge Liang said in confusion: "Although the documents cannot be read casually, the contents are still easy to distinguish when the message is sent. The replies from the eight ministers are also very clear. They are all about the transfer of materials to Yizhou. The cabinet is asking about the time and department. They were thinking of ways to postpone it, and wanted the cabinet to help them speak in front of the emperor.

The Ministry of Military Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs probably want to get things done, and they have a lot of opinions about the Ministry of Industry. When I went to the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs, I heard that their officials were complaining about the Ministry of Industry's slow actions, saying that the Ministry of Industry was building roads. It was not repaired well enough that their transportation of supplies had to be delayed, which was a huge delay.

It’s hard to tell the Ministry of Works. I feel that maybe the Ministry of Works has too many things to do, and many people have been dispersed to do other things. When I went to the Ministry of Works to send a message, I heard officials from the Ministry of Works complaining. He said that all the pressure in the world was given to the Ministry of Industry, and they wished they could break it in half and use it alone.

As for the cabinet, it seems that it is also very dissatisfied with the Ministry of Industry. When talking with colleagues, Cabinet Minister Chen said that the Ministry of Industry has a lot of people, but it is not very clear about the priorities of things. It disperses many people to do insignificant things, and the result is that When it comes time to hire people, they won’t be able to come back.

Cabinet Officer Zhang also said that the Ministry of Industry is now in a mess. It is said that His Majesty is also very dissatisfied with the Ministry of Industry. Yan Butang was summoned by His Majesty three times and reprimanded by His Majesty each time. Judging from His Majesty's attitude, the situation in Yizhou is already very serious. , I heard that the generals of the Yizhou Military Region were already mobilizing troops and horses to prepare to go south. "Li Wei and the other four people looked at Zhuge Liang dumbfounded, while Zhuge Liang continued to talk.

"But in my opinion, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on the Ministry of Works. Yesterday I went to the Ministry of Works to deliver a message, and I heard someone saying that Yan Butang and Hubu Zhenbutang had a quarrel in front of the imperial court yesterday. Yan Butang said that Yizhou Those things that happened were caused by the local captors.

Affected by the land of Jiaozhou, the officials of all counties in Yizhou became restless. Too many Yizhou people went to arrest the natives and sell them for money. This led to the Yizhou natives rioting. The Ministry of Households was happy to collect taxes, but it did not care about the resulting It is completely unreasonable to blame the Ministry of Industry for its ineffectiveness in handling matters.

Originally, the Yizhou Main Road was expected to be completed in the eighth year of Zhenguan, but now because of these things, all the pressure has been poured on the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Works is also very embarrassed. From this point of view, the reason why the situation in Yizhou is tense is because there are too many The Yizhou people imitated the Jiaozhou people and captured the natives.

The Yizhou people arrested so many natives for trafficking that they seriously irritated the natives in the southern counties of Yizhou and made them very dissatisfied. Therefore, now the natives in each county have a tendency to riot. The number of people is quite large and the situation is serious. , it is estimated that the court was also in a dilemma.

No matter how wild Jiaozhou is, there are still waterways and sea roads that can be traveled. The transportation of troops and materials is not very difficult and the losses are small. However, the roads in Yizhou are difficult. The imperial court has a large number of materials and troops, but it is difficult because of the roads. Quickly enter Yizhou.

From this point of view, if the counties in southern Yizhou launch riots in a short period of time, the pressure on the Yizhou Military Region will be great. I heard that the imperial court has 3 troops stationed in Yizhou, which is not small. But according to the current situation Judging from this, the imperial court obviously believed that [-] people were not enough. "

Zhuge Liang sighed repeatedly as he spoke.

"I heard that the strategy of arresting natives was started in Rinan County, Jiaozhou. The effect was very good in Jiaozhou. However, I think that the good policy promoted in Jiaozhou may not be good in Yizhou. Jiaozhou has the full support of the imperial court. And smooth sea transportation, if there is a shortage, the court's transfer speed will be very fast.

This is not the case in Yizhou. I heard that the natives in the southern counties of Yizhou are very large, probably even more than the natives in Jiaozhou, and the transportation is blocked. It is difficult for the court to support it, and the unrest can easily expand. Therefore, it is not wise to blindly adopt the strategy of Jiaozhou. As a result, I went to ask Official Chen, who also lamented that Han Hao, the governor of Yizhou, was in big trouble this time. "

After saying that, Zhuge Liang shook his head. In a blink of an eye, he saw five teammates looking at him like they were aliens, and he suddenly felt strange.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Kong Ming, you...how do you know so many things?"

Li Wei said with surprise on his face: "Did you really hear it just by listening casually? Also, Mr. Chen can only curse people, so why would he talk to you? Is this true?"

Zhuge Liang looked at Li Wei, then at the other teammates, and he was convinced, and he fully understood their doubts.

"Do you think you have learned nothing except being tired these days?"

The five nodded.

Levi couldn't stop complaining.

"When we asked Mr. Chen some things, he always made angry accusations. How could he answer your questions? How did you do that?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"How can this be so? Gentlemen, Mr. Chen is our superior but not our teacher. The teacher's duty is to teach students. If students have questions, of course the teacher is willing to answer them, but Mr. Chen is an official or a cabinet official.

He is busy with work and has great responsibilities. His main responsibility is to handle cabinet affairs, not to be our teacher. We can indeed ask him for advice, but he does not necessarily answer our responsibilities. This is not his Responsibilities.

He was even a little dissatisfied with being entrusted with the task of guiding us. Didn't he say so outright before?We are obstacles and burdens. To him, this is indeed true. "

Levi was puzzled.

"But...but isn't this a task assigned to him by the court?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head.

"Tasks are tasks, and tasks have priorities. Li Jun, do you think, as a cabinet official, which is more important, the affairs of the cabinet itself, or is it more important to guide students like us who know nothing?"

"This……"

Levi didn't know how to answer, and the other people also looked at each other, obviously realizing something.

"So, for Cabinet Officer Chen, on the premise that we know nothing, we are really his obstacle and burden. Coupled with the heavy government affairs and interpersonal problems of the cabinet, can he not get angry in a hurry?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "In such a state, if you are in the position of Chen Geguan, what kind of attitude and thoughts should he have towards the six of us? How can he speak harmoniously and calmly? Can you help us answer our questions like a teacher from Zhouxue?"

The other five people looked at each other and said nothing.

"We have seen how busy the cabinet is these days and how severe the tasks are. Therefore, we cannot expect Cabinet Officer Chen to have enough time to guide us in learning cabinet affairs like a state academic teacher. You have to learn by yourself.”

Zhuge Liang said slowly: "Whenever you have a task, you must perform it as quickly as possible. While performing the task, you must pay attention to the surroundings. For example, you can go to the Ministry of Works to deliver a report or send a message. You can check the work." What is the Ministry doing now? Is anyone from the Ministry of Works officials talking about official business?

When you go to deliver a message, it is a good time to learn about official affairs. The other party's court official will directly tell you many things to let you know. You should keep it in your heart and remember the conversation between them. When the message is over, what is this matter? Then you will know.

From their messages, as long as you pay attention, you can also find some skills in communication between various departments, how to communicate, how to convey the superior's instructions, how to make the other party act according to your requirements, and how to deal with the other party if they have difficulties. These are all in the news.

When there is nothing else, you can listen carefully to the conversations of cabinet officials and you can also know what is happening at the moment, what important things are there, or personnel changes. These can let us know the latest developments in the court, and you can know What happened in the court.

Gentlemen, what a privilege it is to be able to observe politics in the cabinet?The cabinet is the busiest department in the entire Han Dynasty, and it is also the department with the most exchanges of reports. All affairs in the world can be summarized in the cabinet, and then dispersed to all parties.

If the cabinet doesn’t know something, other departments will not know it either. So during this period of time, I slowly figured out why so many people said that entering the cabinet is a fast track to promotion.

Although the cabinet cannot make decisions, it can pass down the chain of command. It knows everything, can participate in everything, and can deal with everyone. All matters that need to be handled by the government's service departments must go through the cabinet process.

The cabinet must deal with these departments, and the secret of interpersonal communication lies within it. In the cabinet, from Luoyang to the local area, everyone knows what is happening in the entire world and what is about to happen.

The emperor obviously believed that only capable officials with such sharp ears, eyesight, and exquisite means could be good officials of a land, so the capable officials that the emperor valued should be trained in the cabinet.

After being tempered by the cabinet, they will be put to the local government for further training and appointment. Finally, the best among them will be selected to enter the Eight Divisions of Luoyang and dominate the world.

Therefore, gentlemen, we are able to be assigned to the cabinet to observe government affairs. This is a blessing in itself. Not everyone has the opportunity to enter the cabinet to observe government affairs. However, we were able to enter the cabinet to observe government affairs before we became officials. Compared with As for other colleagues, we are already at the forefront. Isn’t this good? "

(End of this chapter)