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Chapter 695: Versatile in Civil and Military Affairs
Whether they hated him or not, that's for sure. They hated him to the core. But in the hearts of a large number of officials, while they hated him, they also hoped that the emperor would live a few more years and sit on the throne for a few more days.

Because in addition to depriving officials of some of their power, Emperor Jingyang also bestowed them with great wealth and dignity.

In the past, you had to flatter and bribe to secure your position, but now you can keep it just by doing your job well, and even get promoted. If there is a normal path to promotion, who would be willing to spend all day robbing those below them and flattering those above them?

As long as you are not a stubborn old man and seize the opportunity to invest part of your property in factories, mines, shipping, or farms, the annual income will be considerable.

Earning clean money, doing my job, watching the country getting richer and stronger, even if I hate it out of selfishness, I can't really focus my hatred on the emperor. At this time, if I try to appreciate the words in the books of sages, it seems that the taste is different.

Of course, there were supporters, neutrals, and of course opponents. Two dukes, a marquis, and an earl fell from the top families of the Ming Dynasty to obscurity in an instant.

Fortunately, the emperor still showed them some mercy and did not make a final judgment in the newspaper. He only gave them vague charges: failing to provide disaster relief, making irresponsible remarks about the new law, and disrupting the new policy, and sentenced them to death!

Speaking of the drought in the twelfth year of Jingyang, it was fierce when it came, but it was peaceful when it left. With the emperor's great victory outside the Great Wall, the drought demon seemed to be frightened. From the end of July, rain and dew fell in various provinces in the north, and the drought was relieved.

Although the impact on autumn crops was great, it did not make matters worse, allowing the people in the disaster-stricken areas to breathe a sigh of relief. As long as they can hold on for another month or two and wait for the autumn crops, they will most likely not starve to death. As for what will happen next year, the people at this moment really can't think that far ahead. Even if they think about it, there is nothing they can do, so they can only leave it to fate.

As the saying goes, after suffering comes happiness. At this time, the emperor's decree came, exempting the disaster area from taxes for two years. Then, Duke Dingguo Xu Xigao, Duke Chengguo Zhu Yinghuai, Marquis Yuan Chang Yinxu, Earl Yongnian Wang Mingfu, Earl Wuqing Li Mingcheng and other royal relatives and nobles donated money to repair the river, dig wells and canals, and build water conservancy facilities in their hometowns.

When the local government saw this, they thought, well, the big guys are all working, so let's not sit idle either. Those who have money should contribute money, those who have strength should contribute strength, and let's all make some preparations for the drought that may come again next year.

Even if he was not happy about it, he had to grin and pull the silver from his ribs. Didn't he see that the first-class duke was sentenced to death for failing to provide disaster relief? Did a small official like himself really have to wait for the Jinyiwei to come to his door?

Throughout the second half of the 12th year of Jingyang, the government and the people were busy with one thing: overhauling the water conservancy project in preparation for a rainy day. The newly appointed Minister of Construction, Chen Jiashu, was the busiest. He took the memorials submitted by the local governments every day and begged the emperor to grant him a calligraphy.

The first thing this son of a Guangdong fruit merchant did after taking office was to present a memorial to praise the merits of a Henan landlord, saying that his family had invested in repairing a river channel of more than ten miles and dug two irrigation canals, and he requested the emperor to issue an edict to commend him and allow him to erect a memorial archway at the entrance of the village.

Of course, Hong Tao would not be stingy with such verbal praise, so he readily issued an imperial decree and personally nominated the family of good deeds. Then Chen Jiashu became unstoppable and became a middleman for wholesale memorial archways and stone tablets.

He also learned to use public opinion. While using the power of newspapers to publicize the matter, he instigated officials from the Ministry of Construction to mobilize landlords and gentry to invest in the construction of water conservancy facilities. Then he turned around and asked the emperor to issue an edict to commend them. The effect was not good. In ancient times, gentry and landlords did not lack money, but they lacked status. Unless there was a person above the level of a juren in the family, no matter how rich they were, they were still landlords and were not respected by the mainstream class.

But it was too difficult to have a juren in the family. From the total number of people, there were very few who could get one, not to mention jinshi. If one could get the honor of an imperial edict archway by paying for the repair of water conservancy facilities, no one would be unhappy.

After all, the money was not wasted, and it was used in the hometown anyway, so it must be considered a good deed. And the reputation was actually on their heads, and it reached the ears of the emperor, so it was profitable.

Chen Jiashu was even happier. The Ministry of Construction wrote a few articles and published them in newspapers. He then shamelessly begged the emperor for help, and then the water conservancy facilities construction project for the whole year was completed.

Is it embarrassing? Chen Jiashu really doesn't think so. How can it be considered shameful to ask the emperor to commend you for doing good deeds? Mercenary, opportunistic? Pah, even the emperor didn't say anything, you are nothing, I am at least a second-rank minister of the court, whoever dares to humiliate me in person, I will drag him to see the emperor immediately.

"He is a role model for officials who are willing to ignore their own gains and losses and only care about their work. If all Ming officials are like this, I can go to the East China Sea to find a small island, go boating and fishing every day and never miss home. You go to the Imperial Household Department and ask Wang An to notify the Ministry of Rites to go to Guangdong to build a memorial arch for Chen Jiashu."

Soon the sound reached the palace, and was first heard by Wang Chengen, who then reported it to the emperor. As a result, Chen Jiashu was severely praised. Although they were all archways, his was much more advanced, as it was built by order of the emperor and funded by the local government.

How can I put it? Even if he died tomorrow, as long as the memorial archway stood, his Chen family would not decline in the local area. When the county magistrate took office, he would come to pay a visit, get off the sedan chair and horse and walk into the village. This is called honor and grace, and it will benefit his descendants.

Another person who was honored was Sun Chengzong. Without mentioning any military achievements, the fact that he led his troops to rush thousands of miles to rescue the emperor was a sure thing for him to be promoted by the emperor. However, at the imperial court meeting, when the emperor announced his appointment himself, the officials present were shocked.

The Associate Commander in Chief, General Zhaoyong, Deputy Governor-General of the Army, and concurrently the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, in charge of the Central Army Governor's Office!

Yuan Keli led the navy to victory, so it was not wrong for a civilian to hold a military post. If Sun Chengzong also held a military post as a civilian, serving as the deputy governor of the army and concurrently in charge of the Five Military Commandery, it would not be too outrageous.

But he also served as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, which is a standard civilian position. He held both civil and military positions, and both were real positions, which was a bit strange. Moreover, both the Commander-in-Chief and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War were of the third rank, so which one was the real position?
"They are all full-time positions. Training and fighting are originally one thing, but they have to be divided into the Ministry of War to command and dispatch, the Governor's Office to train and register, and also divided into civil and military. They are not under the command of each other and are opposed to each other. How can they be ordered like an arm? From now on, all matters related to the training of the army will be handed over to Sun Chengzong, and the navy will be planned by the Navy Staff.

In the event of a major war, the Army and Navy staffs will jointly plan the needs of the war and report to the General Staff for approval. The Ministry of War and the Governor's Office will be responsible for managing the existing border garrisons, verifying the number, registration, and location of the troops, and supplying food and fodder.

(End of this chapter)