After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 303 Benefits

When Xu Zhenying received the letter from Wang Sanniang, she couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips.

Seeing this, Xu Yinxi smiled and complained to the secretaries on duty today: "Look at the cheerful smile of our Highness, he must have tricked someone else."

It is rare for Xu Zhenying to show some girlish innocence. It is strange to say that Xu Zhenying started a business at the age of thirteen. At that time, he had an old and serious look. But now she has grown up, and now and then she shows a kind of coquettishness that does not belong to her age.

But Xu Yinxi finally understood.

What a coquettish thing, it is clearly the pride of having deceived the wrong person.

"People feel good when happy events happen. Someone has kindly provided our military expenses for next year, so I am naturally happy."

"Oh?" Xu Yinxi's interest returned and she saw a letter from Shouzhou placed on Xu Zhenying's table. The smile on her face became even wider, "Did Prince Ming donate generously?"

"Yes, our batch of scrap metal, as well as the discarded black gunpowder of poor quality, were all sold this time, including ten Tianyuan beads. Wang Sanniang got us a total of nearly 600,000 taels of military expenses. Next year, we can have another prosperous year.”

Xu Yinxi covered her lips and snickered, "It's hard for Sanniang."

Qu Min, who was on one side, said: "Shouldn't we pity His Highness Prince Ming? We have tricked him too many times. This trick makes me sympathize with him."

Chang Yuanshan interrupted at the right time, "A fake drawing cost King Ming hundreds of thousands of taels. The people in Qiongzhou are also stupid, and they actually believe the lie that gunpowder is mixed with Tian Yuan Pearl. Isn't that Tian Yuan Pearl? There are many glass balls in our Royal Highness’s room.”

Xu Yinxi was even more mean-spirited, "I think today is a bad day, so let's play with glass beads——"

Pang Xiaohua was very calm, "In the entire Zhou Dynasty, our government office is full of treasures. The people in the Propaganda Department are also very powerful. Just change the name of a glass bead and it can suddenly become a toy of a wealthy family. They have fetched a sky-high price. I also heard that in Bianjing City, this glass bead was promoted as a sacred object blessed by an eminent monk. It is ridiculous to wear it on the body and have the effect of prolonging life. "

"So...knowledge changes destiny." Xu Zhenying said with a smile, "If those people in Qiongzhou read more, they wouldn't be deceived so miserably. So people still need to read more."

Qu Min said: "It's fortunate that His Highness is so knowledgeable that he actually thought that they would start from Fang Ruyu, so he changed a fake firearm blueprint early. Now that we have attacked two cities of King Ming, he is now afraid It’s like sitting on pins and needles.”

As he was talking, the hour hand pointed to nine o'clock, and the entire Jinzhou Mansion began to get on track with the nine o'clock bell.

Xu Zhenying subconsciously looked at his pocket watch, "It's nine o'clock, it's time to go to work. Is there a regular meeting today?"

Xu Yinxi said: "Yes, the ministers are already here. Secretary Zhou is also at the venue."

"Okay." Xu Zhenying stood up and stretched, "Then let's have a meeting."

When passing Xu Yinxi, Xu Yinxi clearly heard Xu Zhenying mutter: "Hey, I work every day, when can I retire?"

Xu Yinxi hid her smile and said, "You should lead us to earn this merit from the dragon first. If you retire, I will retire with you, and then we will go sightseeing."

The secretaries on one side shook their heads helplessly and remained silent.

Everyone in Jinzhou Prefecture is working hard to make contributions, but the man with the most power thinks about retirement every day——

If this guy retires, will the world be shocked?

And before nine o'clock, while they were talking, the large conference room was already full of people.

Today is the regular meeting at the beginning of the month, and all ministers and deputy ministers, as well as military representatives need to attend.

As soon as Xu Zhenying walked into the conference room, everyone immediately stood up and looked at her, accompanied by cordial greetings from time to time.

Zhou Houfang immediately stepped forward and said secretly: "Your Highness, the Ministry of Military Affairs has an urgent report. I have arranged their report first. The second agenda is to discuss the official evaluation method formulated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. There is also the end of this year. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Finance Department have already discussed the performance and benefits of officials, and have jointly submitted a plan. The Finance Department also has a year-end settlement and next year's budget to report, and the relevant information is on your desk. "

Jiang Chaoping also immediately said: "The Medical Department has a matter regarding the allocation of the first batch of medical students after graduation that they want to discuss with His Highness alone. They have selected a dozen student representatives to wait outside."

Zhou Houfang added: "The Ministry of Commerce has also brought some business representatives. They also want to meet His Highness, saying that they want to talk to His Highness about some business matters."

Xu Zhenying listened calmly and saw what seemed to be a group of people in the waiting area hidden in the woods outside. It was a cold day and it was still snowing outside. They were so cold that they stood up and walked back and forth.

Xu Zhenying frowned slightly: "Did they come early?"

"Waited an hour ago."

"Find a craftsman, make a baffle, and get some charcoal fire. Oh, it's best to change the waiting area and move it indoors. It's winter and the weather is freezing, which is perfect for people to sit in the cold wind. Waiting here? And ask the soldiers in charge of reception to help with the diversion and don’t let anyone wait here.”

Zhou Houfang explained: "The soldiers who received us have told them not to wait all the time, but they didn't listen. They just wanted to get acquainted with our government office. We had no choice but to wait outside in a hurry."

Xu Zhenying was also helpless.

Pang Xiaohua, on the other hand, immediately said, "I'll assign them a number so they don't have to wait all the time."

Xu Zhenying walked into the room. She and her secretaries sat down one after another, facing dozens of officials below.

Soon, the person responsible for the logistics of the conference came to pour tea for everyone.

It's just that in today's regular meeting, no one is in the mood to drink tea.

Before Xu Zhenying arrived, this group of people had already exchanged general information in the room, so they even learned about the battle situation on the front line earlier than Xu Zhenying.

Judging by the solemn expressions on the representatives from the Ministry of Military Affairs, we knew that the situation on the front line was probably not optimistic.

Sure enough, the first sentence that man spoke made people's faces freeze.

"Your Highness, the followers of King Zhoushan to the west are so powerful that our people cannot penetrate them no matter what. General Da Zhuang originally wanted to seize the city with minimal casualties, but the believers counterattacked fiercely, and most of them were unarmed civilians. We Despite repeated setbacks, the front was never able to advance westward."

Some people were anxious first, "Should we send propagandists into the city to promote our Jinzhou Prefecture's policies? What about the cowpox vaccine? They had a plague the year before last, and they should still remember the horrors of the plague. Don't they want to Get vaccinated against cowpox?"

Speaking of the plague, Xu Zhenying still felt a little uncomfortable.

Even though she had secretly executed Hu Wei and nailed him to the pillar of shame forever, Xu Zhenying still couldn't let go.

"They only believed in the King of Zhoushan and had no doubts about his teachings. The King of Zhoushan said that our cowpox vaccine was fake, and also said that the people here were living in dire straits. He kept vilifying His Highness and made him as terrifying as the Yaksha of the underworld. Then The people on the border ran away when they saw us. As soon as someone said something good about Jinzhou Prefecture, they were immediately arrested as spies. We have already included several propagandists. "

Xu Zhenying frowned slightly, "The King of Zhoushan is probably prepared for the public opinion offensive launched by An Peilin and the others last time. Now that his power has been greatly weakened by us, he must naturally hold on to the remaining power in his hands."

"That's right. Although the King of Zhoushan has retreated to Yazhou and Shuzhou, there are not many remaining forces. But on the one hand, the mountain roads over there are complicated and it is easy for them to hide; on the other hand, they are now united like an iron barrel. We There’s no way anyone can break it from the inside.”

Xu Zhenying nodded and said, "The roads in Shuzhou are as difficult as climbing to the sky, the terrain is complicated, and it is all mountainous, so it is naturally difficult to break through."

Mo Jinchun immediately said: "Your Highness, although the Shu land is fertile, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. King Zhoushan occupies a favorable terrain, which may be disadvantageous to us. In fact, the west is not a must-win area for us. If it takes too long, , I think it would be better to abandon the western battlefield, just defend rather than attack, and concentrate on attacking Qiongzhou. "

Ming Xiaoshuang suddenly said: "I remember that Zhu Kui who surrendered two years ago was the subordinate of King Ming. He used to guard Fancheng. He seems to be from Shu, right? The terrain there is complicated and our people have no roads, but Zhu Kui Kui should be familiar with the road there, why not send him there——"

"Zhu Kui?" Xu Zhenying was thinking hard in his mind, but Mo Jinchun on the side immediately said, "Zhu Kui, he was incorporated into the Xishan Camp after surrendering, and now he has reached the position of regimental leader. This person passed our After orthodox training, he is outstanding in both culture and physical strength. If he only serves as a guard in the west, he should be able to do the job. "

Xu Zhenying nodded, "I remember that these surrendering soldiers have been training for a year or two, right? They are mules or horses, and they must be pulled out. They must also be given the opportunity to make contributions. Recently, I have paid more attention to the eastern battlefield. I guess They might be making firearms soon, so we need to speed up a little bit."

These words made everyone feel happy and worried.

If King Ming and the others failed to make firearms, they could take advantage of the situation and head east, perhaps reaching Qiongzhou within a year or two.

But once they make firearms, it can be said that the situation of the war will immediately turn around, which is quite disadvantageous for them. The cities they currently occupy are most likely to be lost.

So it's a battle of time. Whoever can seize the opportunity can occupy most of the Zhou Dynasty!

After all, it's all Fang Ruyu's fault!

Many people were still unconvinced when they thought that His Highness Prince Zhao had let everyone in the Fang family go so lightly. "On the eastern battlefield, Zhu Kui has been temporarily appointed as the general to assist Liu Dazhuang. Everyone else can withdraw and rush to the west." Xu Zhenying knocked his hand on the table and narrowed his eyes slightly, "Although we emphasize that we should use the minimum cost In exchange for the greatest benefit, our kindness cannot become the opponent's weakness to take advantage of us. The west side's strategy must be adjusted. At the critical moment, Liu Dazhuang should not be merciful. If there is another crazy cultist counterattack, I don't mind carrying tens of thousands more. human life.”

Looking at the slightly shocked eyes of everyone, Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows and said, "Why, do you think I am a soft-hearted person?"

Mr. Lin immediately said: "No, it's just that His Highness has a reputation for benevolence and righteousness. If he rashly changes his marching strategy, I'm afraid he will end up with the same reputation as the one in Qiongzhou."

Xu Zhenying laughed: "Didn't we build up the reputation of King Ming? I started a newspaper just to control the right to speak in public opinion. In a war, why was it fought, how was it fought, and what was the result? Although the newspaper was based on facts, it said After all, newspapers and public opinion serve politics, and whatever results the people in power want it to produce will be what they want.”

Mr. Lin's eyes lit up, "Your Highness, you mean that if we attack the west side, we can beautify the reasons for the attack?"

"Although I don't want to admit it, it is true. History is a little girl who can be dressed up. How she dresses up is all decided by the Propaganda Department."

Mr. Lin also immediately understood: "The so-called winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. There is a lot of tampering in history books. What's more, the followers of the Zhoushan King are too crazy. We must eliminate this power, otherwise we will win the piece in the future. The land is also difficult to manage.”

"Yes, that's why I have always said that we must break up the local powerful forces, family forces, and religious forces, and replace them with laws to govern the country. It is also because these forces are beyond our control and can easily be counterattacked."

Mr. Lin quickly handed over his hands to show that he was taught.

Previously, there were some objections to Xu Zhenying's insistence on breaking up the clan power, but now he was thoughtful.

His Highness has always said that the clan system has good and bad aspects.

Throughout history, the clan system is actually a manifestation of Confucianism. The benefits of the clan system are unity and cohesion, and one person can ascend to heaven if he or she attains enlightenment.

Many uprisings in history were actually secretly initiated by the nobles of the old dynasty, so it can be seen how powerful the family is.

But at the same time, the Xila small circle of clan power, and even some powerful families, formed a political force that opposed the local area.

Of course, as a member of the clan, there will actually be victims.

At that time, Bianjing City was very strict with women, and the atmosphere was tense. Some women were even executed by clan honors just for saying a few words to men. However, the Yamen had no right to interfere, which is really ridiculous.

However, Mr. Lin was deeply touched by Xu Zhenying's words, "History is like a little girl who has been dressed up arbitrarily."

As expected of His Highness Prince Zhao, even though he does things openly and aboveboard, he also has a weird air of being a true villain.

A gentleman deserves it, and so does a villain. This is the true king!
Liu Jianlin from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said: "Your Highness, we currently have 60,000 civil servants. As the new year is approaching, does your Highness have any thoughts on this year's assessment, grading, and welfare?"

Xu Zhenying flipped through the staff management regulations submitted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, reading ten lines at a glance and reading them very quickly.

Since the matter is related to the welfare of everyone present, the first thing everyone pays attention to is the front line, and the second thing is naturally the affairs of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

After all, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the department that provides them with salaries and benefits, is closely related to them.

However, Mr. Lin actually saw it faster than Xu Zhenying. He pointed to one of the items and said: "In addition to the taxes issued at the beginning of the year and whether per capita income has increased, the assessment scores also include the construction of civilized new villages, enrollment rates, literacy rates, etc. How come the masses are still satisfied? How to survey the public satisfaction? The total score of 100 is only 30%.”

Qian Zhenniang also asked: "What is this internal democratic evaluation?"

Liu Jianlin explained: "Crowd satisfaction means asking the people whether they are satisfied with the local government's governance, and asking the people to rate the yamen."

Mr. Lin said calmly: "I understand, this idea is very good, and it coincides with the idea of ​​increasing people's participation in politics proposed by His Highness a few years ago, but it is difficult to implement it. Since ancient times, it has been said that the people do not agree with the people. In terms of official fighting, even though the bureaucracy in our Jinzhou government is many times better than that of the Zhou Dynasty, there are very few people who dare to stand up and say that the government is not good, let alone this kind of scoring related to the local government assessment? , I’m afraid people are not forced to score high.”

"It is indeed very difficult to implement. But we have also thought of many ways to avoid it."

Liu Jianlin glanced at Xu Zhenying, his face a little bitter. This was not His Highness's order, but now he was asked to argue with the Confucian scholars. It was really too difficult for him.

"For example, the Supervision Department is an independent department. The Supervision Department, the Propaganda Department, and the Human Resources and Social Security Department can cooperate with each other to conduct assessments through random inspections and blind voting by passers-by."

Mr. Lin disagreed: "The implementation of this policy has always been distorted wherever it goes. Just like the famous Green Miao Loan in history, it is obviously a good policy, but when it comes to the place it turns into a tiger that exploits the people. It can be seen that the implementation Policies are more of a test of governance than formulating them. Can your so-called randomness be truly random? I'm afraid that once our people go there, the place will know exactly where we go, how many people we have, and our itinerary. Not to mention the crucial matter involving the assessment of local officials. If we set an assessment standard above, the local government will have ten ways to deal with it. "

"Not to mention this, but what is this internal democracy assessment?"

"It's local grassroots officials who rate the top leaders."

"Okay, the original intention is very good, but these grassroots officials still have to live under the top leaders. Which one of them dares to give low scores? Minister Liu, can you tell me how to prevent this internal democratic assessment from becoming a tool for top leaders to falsify their political achievements?"

Liu Jianlin was overwhelmed by Mr. Lin and couldn't resist. He quickly looked at Xu Zhenying for help. Xu Zhenying could only cough and said: "In that case, we will discuss this matter in private and find a way to improve it. Since it is to assess local officials, then naturally Public opinion and the opinions of the people below must be taken into account. Otherwise, just looking at whether the local government has achieved its performance goals will only lead to deception in the local government's pursuit of quick success."

Mr. Lin nodded, "It needs to be carefully considered."

Xu Zhenying and Liu Jianlin unconsciously wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.

Damn it, Mr. Lin is indeed well-read. Even as an ancient aboriginal, he still has the insight to criticize the current ills.

"Let's talk about the next agenda."

"Your Highness, the character design is not finished yet. Will this year's benefits still be based on last year's payment? And regarding performance, last year it was an average of ten taels of silver per person at the end of the year. Will it be considered to increase this year?"

However, the Ministry of Finance also relaxed: "This year, several of our business lines have been opened up, especially private salt, which is almost a monopoly. At present, the national treasury is full, leaving aside next year's military expenditure and various budgets, it is more than enough. We can It is appropriate to increase it slightly, and it is recommended to maintain the increase of 20%.”

"Okay, since the God of Wealth has spoken, let's follow this standard."

"Are there any changes to the benefits? Last year, at the end of the year, we were given a bag of 20 kilograms of rice, 10 kilograms of pork, and 10 kilograms of oil. Do we need to increase them too?"

Zhao Qionnian of the Supervision Department intervened at the right time, "Your Highness, speaking of the year-end benefits of these officials, when we inspected the local areas this year, many merchants reported that there was collusion between the government and businessmen in the welfare of officials, and even the local county magistrate directly designated logistics to go there. A certain merchant makes purchases and then extracts rebates to enrich his own pockets. Although the amount involved is not large, if the above people follow suit, there will be a lot of articles in between! "

Xu Zhenying frowned slightly, not expecting that corruption methods that are common in modern times were so popular in ancient times.

This fully proves that no matter how the world changes, as long as there are people, there will be rivers and lakes.

Others were also shocked, "Is this happening?"

Zhao Qiaonian said with a smile: "The little tricks of this person are only you can imagine, but he can't do it. There are many people who exploit loopholes for the sake of three melons and two dates."

"These people are really hateful! Our court hasn't been properly established yet, but they have begun to poach us!"

"So, ideological education alone is not enough. We must strengthen supervision and have a complete assessment system to truly curb corruption through a three-pronged approach."

The only one present was Huang Weiguang, whose family was in business. This student of Bailu Academy who participated in the civil service examination with Lu Shiwen, although he started two years later than Lu Shiwen, now he has reached the position of deputy director of a department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Originally, some big shots were speaking in this room, and he was sitting in the corner with only the right to listen. But at this moment, he boldly raised his hand: "Your Highness, my father is a businessman, but he only put me in order to take the imperial examination." It's under my second uncle's name, so I know almost everything about the little things the merchants are doing. In fact, the merchants know best what links are prone to corruption and what methods are used. I will compile a copy of the information for you to review when I get back."

Xu Zhenying's eyes lit up, "Yes, it's a good idea. What's your name?"

Huang Weiguang seemed to be afraid that Shangfeng Liu Jianlin wouldn't like him grabbing the limelight, so he didn't dare to speak for a moment, but Liu Jianlin introduced him generously: "This is Huang Weiguang, a student of Bailu Academy."

Huang Weiguang looked at Liu Jianlin, but did not see the impatience or accusation on his face. Instead, he looked at himself with a smile, encouragement in his eyes, and even a sense of honor.

Xu Zhenying said he had no impression, but Ming Xiaoshuang on the side said: "Your Highness, I am the one who used to write letters to scold you! He also likes to lead the students from Bailu Academy to cause trouble. On the day of the first official assessment, they were still in the Jin Dynasty. I stood at the gate of the government office all day and night!"

Huang Weiguang was immediately ashamed and ashamed, and then felt a burst of fear.

It’s over.

His career was over.

There was only this thought in my mind.