Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 69

Fang Chongyong and Zheng Shuqing's judgment was correct, Li Longji was "comfortable" being licked, and did not pursue Zheng Shuqing's "neglect" of Yang Yuhuan, but instead rewarded a hundred pieces of Tang brocade.Then Lao Zheng didn't keep a single one, so he took them all...to make some connections.

"What about the invincible twin sisters you promised last time?"

A few days later, in the study room of the Fang family's house, Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing and asked as soon as the two parties were seated.

"What twins? What sisters?"

Zheng Shuqing was taken aback for a moment, he had no idea what Fang Chongyong was talking about, he had long forgotten about it.

"Didn't you say that you would send me a pair of twin sisters flowers after it's done? Now I'll help you with Tang Jin's matter, right?

Shouldn't you express it?

They're all grown-ups, and they're here to coax a child? "

Fang Chongyong didn't care about accepting sisters' flowers or not, but he was extremely dissatisfied with Lao Zheng's repeated bad checks.

"Oh, you're talking about this. How can I harm you when you're a teenager in rebooting sex. The twin sisters can't give you flowers, you can't give them flowers."

Zheng Shuqing said insincerely.

Seeing that Fang Chongyong was on the verge of erupting, he quickly said: "I have prepared a big gift for you, dress more formally tomorrow, and I will take you to a place."

"It can't be a blind date, right? I'm already engaged. It's not kind of you to be so blatantly poaching someone..."

Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing with a puzzled face and asked.

"I know, you have an engagement with the daughter of the Wang family. Don't worry, it's a good thing, definitely a good thing! I'll pick you up tomorrow."

The more Zheng Shuqing said that, the more strange Fang Chongyong felt.

He sighed softly and asked, "If there's anything you can do to help, you can just say it, and you don't have to go around the bush."

When Lao Zheng looked for him, he was a night owl who came to the house for nothing.

"It's like this, I didn't go well as an official of the household department minister..."

Zheng Shuqing said with some embarrassment.

Anyway, everyone is so familiar, it's not a good feeling to ask others to ask him, and I can't believe it.

Fang Chongyong sighed, and helplessly spread his hands and said: "If you want an official, you should go to the right minister or a saint. What can you ask for when you come to me?"

"Oh, that's why you don't understand. There are Hubu Division, Duzhi Division, Jinbu Division, and Cangbu Division under the household department. There is one minister and two servants, and each servant is in charge of two departments. It seems very busy, right? ?”

"and then?"

"Then the Household Department and the Duzhi Department, which are prone to political achievements, are in charge of another minister. I am in charge of the Jin Department and the Cangbu Department."

Zheng Shuqing began to pour out bitter water.

As for the Department of Jinbu, it is in charge of the national treasury, cashier, weighing and measuring, as well as the transactions between Chang'an and Luoyang, the two capitals, the mutual market, the He market, and the palace market. Clothes and other things for officials and servants.

As for the Department of Cangbu, it is in charge of the country's treasury, taxation, payment, and granary.

Both departments have chief and deputy chief officials, and the official positions are one of Langzhong (from the fifth rank) and one Yuanwailang (from the sixth rank).There are three people in charge, ten people are responsible for making orders, 21 people are writing orders and histories, one person is responsible for making history, and four people are responsible for holding orders.

Hehe, it seems that Zheng Shuqing has quite a few people under his command.

But just think about the tens of millions of people in Datang!If we look at the number of people in the household department, we can see that it is not that there are too many people in the household department, but that there are too few people. If the procedures are followed by the rules and regulations, it may be difficult to even operate normally.

However, now that the Ministry of Accounting is operating normally, it is necessary to push back and think about whether the power of the Ministry of Accounting itself is really as powerful as the regulations say.

So the result is very clear. In fact, it is not that there are fewer officials in the household department, but that the power of the household department has been divided by other yamen, so the household department does not have so many things to do.

The fact is exactly the same, after Zheng Shuqing's explanation, Fang Chongyong already fully understood why Lao Zheng was so anxious.

In fact, most of the power of the two divisions of the Ministry of Household Affairs is empty.That is to say, there is another person in the agency responsible for the implementation, but after finishing the work, he will come to the household department to save a file and report.The Ministry of Finance does not directly control the operation of these affairs.

The most obvious example is the "Taifu Temple", one of the "Nine Temples" at the center of the Tang Dynasty.

It is the organ responsible for the management of economic affairs, also known as Waifu Temple and Sifu Temple.Its chief is Taifu Qing, and its deputy is Taifu Shaoqing, one for each.

Taifu Temple is responsible for the management of national financial and trade affairs. Its subordinates are: the city administrations of the two capitals are in charge of financial transactions; the left Tibetan office is in charge of money and silk, which is actually the national treasury; , copper, iron and bone horns, etc.

In addition, since the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Li Longji also ordered Taifu Temple to set up a Changping Office in the two capitals, responsible for the affairs of Ping Bian, that is, the state purchased grains and stored them in good years, and prepared them for sale in lean years, so as to stabilize prices and calm people's hearts.

So here comes the problem. The Jinbu Department of the Ministry of Revenue seems to have highly overlapping functions with Taifu Temple. If conflicts arise, who will listen to whom?

This is an unavoidable question.

The answer given by the imperial court is: Taifu Temple is the main one, and the household department only has the right to know and has no jurisdiction.

In the more than 100 years since the establishment of Datang, the authority of the Ministry of Accounting has been gradually emptied by many other departments.

So Zheng Shuqing is not too busy now, but too free.The affairs of the household department can run freely, and there is no need for him to intervene.

Or to put it another way, it is not enough for Zheng Shuqing to have the official position of "servant minister". He still lacks a key "assignment".

In name, he has the official position of a servant, but in terms of power, he does not have the strength that a servant should have.This is Zheng Shuqing's embarrassing situation now.

The "dispatch" that Lao Zheng lacked is the fundamental meaning of his existence in the center.

The affairs of the household department can run in an orderly manner on their own. Is it true that the job of the household department assistant is to look at the account books every day, and then drink tea and it's over?

Perhaps looking at the account books is one of the daily tasks of the servant of the household department, but simply dawdling around is not the official rule of the Tang Dynasty.

The so-called "dispatch" in the Tang Dynasty meant that officials should be appointed whenever there was any need.Including "Jiedushi", they were dispatches at the beginning, not official positions.

What is the specific mission, this is the key to Zheng Shuqing's political achievements.

As for the daily trivialities of the household department, don't mention it.

"Yesterday, the right minister asked me if I would like to accept the order to build the canal, that is, to build the canal from Chang'an to Luoyang to facilitate water transportation. You said this order, should I accept it? If I accept it, I will be the servant of the household department Also a transport envoy."

Zheng Shuqing asked hesitantly.

The word "official position" in Fang Chongyong's Chinese vocabulary in his previous life has been clearly divided at this time. The two characters represent two meanings, and when combined, they become a new word. For more than 1000 years, the original meaning of the vocabulary has been basically maintained.

The servant is an official, and Li Linfu confessed that the dispatcher who repaired the Cao Canal was a "transport envoy", which was his job.The combination of the two is the basic configuration of the bureaucrats of the Tang Dynasty, and they are collectively called "official positions".

As for the "luxury configuration", it may be that an official is assigned several positions, and then some official titles are added.For example, "the minister of the household department, the envoy of salt and iron, and the envoy of transshipment" and the like.

The source of official power comes from dispatch rather than the official position itself.

So how can it be so easy to be an official in the Tang Dynasty!Ordinary people think that the Minister of the Household Department just hangs around in the Yamen of the Sixth Ministry all day waiting to get off work. If that is the case, the Household Department would have been abolished long ago.

"That is to say, you need to be dispatched by a transfer envoy, and then you will accept the job of repairing the canal, right?"

After a lot of twists and turns, Fang Chongyong finally understood what Zheng Shuqing was going to do.

"exactly."

Zheng Shuqing nodded slightly, with a serious expression on his face.

"Zheng Shilang probably doesn't want to do this job."

Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing with a strange expression and asked, if the other party wanted to do this job, he would probably have already made a deal with Li Linfu, so why not come to him to "learn the scriptures".

"Who said it wasn't."

Zheng Shuqing sighed and said: "I am very clear about my own virtues. Digging canals is not something ordinary people can do. It has to be ruthless. I am just not ruthless enough, and I am worried about a bad reputation. gone."

"Do you need to be ruthless to dig a canal?"

Fang Chongyong scratched his head, not understanding what kind of logic this was.

"The saint is impatient. You expect to dig for five years. The saint can't wait for you for five years. It is estimated that it will be three years at most. Then when you dig, you may encounter various problems. If the progress is normal, it will take six or seven. years.

Because of this, it is necessary to continuously mobilize corvee to let the people along the way come to repair the canal.Since the project is in a hurry, the general method will definitely not work, so it must be repaired day and night.

After the repair is completed, it doesn't count, and the tank boat has to be transported to Chang'an on time, so that the saint can see the effect.Here, how much manpower and material resources should be mobilized?
It's okay if it's done, if it doesn't work out, there will definitely be a scapegoat who will be pushed out at that time, who do you think is more suitable to be the scapegoat than me?
Right-hand man, or saint? "

Uncle Zheng said a lot eloquently and summed it up in six words: it is difficult to do and the risk is high.

The construction of the canal itself is not easy, and then the construction period must be rushed.

Not to mention the deadline, but also to be able to sail smoothly.

Let alone the navigation, Luoyang's grain, fodder and goods must be transported to Chang'an smoothly and in time!

You know, when Li Longji came to inspect the project, he didn't start from Chang'an along the canal to Luoyang to see how the canal was being repaired.

The sage of the Tang Dynasty had only one hard standard for accepting water transportation projects:
Have you delivered the goods from Luoyang to Chang'an?
If so, how much did you give?How much time did it take?
This political achievement is too difficult to achieve. Old Zheng went back and thought about it for three days. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the hole was too big to be filled at all!
"Zheng Shilang, I have something to say, can you forgive me for being young and ignorant, and let me speak freely?"

Fang Chongyong asked quietly.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Shuqing felt that something was wrong.

He sighed and said, "Speak, it's all over, what else can't you say?"

"It's like this. In fact, the geographical direction of mountains and rivers has its own number of days. It can be easily changed without manpower, but man cannot conquer the sky.

This is also the reason why man-made ditches are always prone to damage and silting.

Opening another canal from Chang'an to Luoyang is going against the sky.Maybe it will still have some effect in a few years, but I'm sure that within ten years, this canal will be abolished.

A canal that is bound to be abolished, Zheng Shilang should not be too concerned, even if the merits are made, it is only to please the saint for a while, and it is not of great use.

Zheng Shilang might as well turn down the errand. "

Fang Chongyong said very sincerely.

He didn't believe what he said, Zheng Shuqing, an old coin, couldn't see it!
The two canals, Tongji Canal and Yongji Canal, were built with topography and terrain in mind.So they are basically relatively stable. They were all local canals in the early days, and they have been in operation for hundreds of years, at least.

But the canal being dug now is a typical "go against the will of nature" and seriously violates the operating rules of the Yellow and Weihe river systems.In other words, this thing will be scrapped sooner or later. If we want to maintain the smooth flow of the canal, the manpower and material resources required will be unimaginable!

"Actually, there is indeed something wrong with this canal, but all the princes in the court have unexplainable reasons. Now you are here to say that this canal should not be built. It doesn't make any sense."

Zheng Shuqing said with a long sigh.

Who doesn’t know that there must be something wrong with the construction of this canal?
Of course I know.However, the food and fodder needed by Chang'an, as well as the materials for transshipment from the Western Regions, all urgently need this new main artery!
Whichever thing is the most urgent, do whichever thing first, there is no way around it.

"You mean, turn down the errand?"

Zheng Shuqing asked with some reluctance. He could have expected that if the canal was successfully built, he would at least be able to become a minister of the household department, or be transferred to an official position such as Taifuqing.

But if this assignment is turned down... It can only be said that Li Linfu also has a temper, so it's hard to say what will happen.

The last time Zheng Shuqing knelt and licked Yang Yuhuan, and after returning home, he went to Li Linfu's house in Pingkangfang, and explained to the right minister of the Tang Dynasty for a long time before he barely passed the test.

And it's not that Lao Zheng is eloquent, it's mainly because Li Linfu is currently employing people, and he doesn't want to cause extra problems, and he is also worried about other forces, such as Zhang Shougui, poaching from his side.

Otherwise, Lao Zheng would at least be demoted in this wave.

"Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain."

Fang Chongyong emphasized.

Zheng Shuqing nodded slightly, sighed silently, and accepted it by default.

"Actually, the all-out war between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo is imminent. At that time, the transportation of grain, fodder and soldiers to Hexi and Longyou will definitely become the top priority of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Zheng Shilang might as well ask Prime Minister Right for instructions. He is also asking for a transfer envoy, but instead of repairing the canal, he is responsible for transferring materials from Chang'an to Hexi and other places.

If the Tang army were defeated, Zheng Shilang would naturally be implicated and demoted.But if the Tang army wins, Zheng Shilang will be promoted regardless of whether the rear support is effective or not.Can you still do this assignment? "

Hearing this, Zheng Shuqing recalled some things described by Niu Xianke when he met him at the Chang'an station that day.

Indeed, the war between Hexi and Longyou is imminent.It is actually very easy to achieve political achievements in the area of ​​logistical support before troops and horses are mobilized.

The premise is that Tang Jun fought against Tubo and wanted to win.If they lose, even if Zheng Shuqing can prove his innocence, which means that the supplies are well secured, at most one of them will not be convicted.

Do you want to bet on Tang Jun winning?

Zheng Shuqing lowered his head and said nothing, as if he was making a difficult decision.

"This time, I am working on my future father-in-law, Wang Zhongsi, to go to Hexi as a frontier general. Zheng Shilang can take a gamble, and since you are in charge of logistics in Chang'an, Tang Jun has a better chance of winning."

Fang Chongyong said in a low voice.

"Okay, let's do it like this, I will go to the right minister to talk about it now."

Zheng Shuqing nodded cautiously.

"Uh, are you really sure?"

Zheng Shuqing couldn't help but asked in doubt.

"Don't worry, I will also go to Hexi. I can't let myself get into trouble, right?"

Fang Zhongyong patted his chest and assured.

Zheng Shuqing was stunned when he heard this, and then asked: "What are you doing in Hexi? You can't hold a knife!"

"It's just to experience the customs of the Western Regions."

Fang Chongyong laughed casually.

After the two parted, Zheng Shuqing immediately went to Li Linfu to discuss the matter.

Sure enough, Li Linfu was worried that he would not have the opportunity to get involved in Hexi's government and military affairs, and Zheng Shuqing's proposal was quickly approved.Li Linfu even made a decision on the spot, this job can be won without any difficulty.

And on the second day, when Zheng Shuqing brought Fang Chongyong, who looked like a dog in a Tang brocade robe, to the eighth square from the north on the East Fourth Street of Zhuquemen Street, that is, Xuanping Square , this Changan prodigy was completely dumbfounded.

"Is there anything strange going on?"

Seeing Zheng Shuqing walking into an ordinary house, Fang Chongyong suddenly stopped and asked.

(End of this chapter)