The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Nowadays, great work is booming, and Sikong is his own job. Since Zhao Wenhua is ill, he has been ordered to return home and is hungry, so he recommends those who are diligent and capable of fulfilling Sikong's post."

Emperor Jiajing's words were still ringing in his ears. Yan Song and Xu Jie had already tremblingly walked out of the gate of Xiyuan, and unconsciously turned back and glanced inside again.

Thunder, rain and dew, that’s it.

A quarter of an hour ago, Zhao Wenhua was still the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and a dignified second-rank official in the imperial court. But now, he is nothing.

From the moment Emperor Jiajing told Zhao Wenhua to go home to recuperate, everything was irreversible.

The Son of Heaven speaks golden words and carries the Constitution of Heaven, which is nothing more than this.

Yan Song had actually thought about it at this time. The explanation he gave to Emperor Jiajing that day seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

If Emperor Jiajing was still hesitating whether to replace Zhao Wenhua before, then after he revealed that Zhao Wenhua fell ill while supervising the army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang last year to suppress Japanese invaders, Emperor Jiajing was already determined to capture him.

Jin Yiwei is not an ordinary person. The things Zhao Wenhua did in Jiangnan could not be hidden from others but Yan Song. Maybe Emperor Jiajing also knew about it, but when it comes to hiring people, the emperor does not decide the fate of officials based on their character, but based on your ability to do things. .

Those who are capable are on top and those who are mediocre are on the bottom. This is the way to govern.

If a person with high moral character is mediocre in practice, he cannot be used. If he is used, it will only harm the place.

Those with strong abilities and low morals can be used, because they can govern the place well. Even if they are greedy and make the people they govern more miserable, they can still keep the place safe.

Of course, everyone wants to find a few talents with high moral character and outstanding abilities, but such people are hard to find. What's more, in a big dyeing vat like Chaotang, they may persist at first, but there are only a few people who can persist in the long term.

It was getting late at this time, but for Mr. Ge, he could still wander around Beijing with the sign issued by the palace.

But for Yan Song and Xu Jie, they didn't have anything else to think about at the moment. After saying goodbye outside Xiyuan Gate, they got into their respective sedans and said, "Let's go quickly."

Yan Song now has to go back and discuss with his son who should take the position of Minister of the Ministry of Works. The Ministry of Civil Affairs made the selection. It was easy to talk to Wu Peng, but it would take a while to find a suitable candidate, and it would be a bit troublesome to ask Emperor Jiajing to nod.

Naturally, Xu Jie also wanted to have some clues. Last time, he had already agreed with Gao Gong to recommend the person to Prince Yu's palace, namely Jia Yingchun.

Did he really push him as he said before, or did he change his side?

As the sedan swayed, Xu Jie finally made up his mind to recommend Jia Yingchun. He had enough qualifications to sell the Prince Yu's house. Whether he succeeded or not had nothing to do with him.

As for the possible accusations from Yan Shifan, since he is not one of his people, he can just say that he is public-minded and feels that all the ministers in the court are inappropriate.

When Jia Yingchun was promoted to be a minister in Nanjing, he thought he would live in the south for the rest of his life. Unexpectedly, he still had contact with Prince Yu's Mansion, and he unexpectedly caught up with this good thing.

On the second day, the six ministries and nine ministers were all summoned to the cabinet meeting. The purpose was naturally to have the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel represent them on the list recommended by the Minister of the Ministry of Works.

Except for Zhao Wenhua, everyone else arrived. After all the scribes in the hall voluntarily left, Yan Song, who was sitting on the left side of the table, lowered his eyelids and said: "I'm calling everyone here this time. I think you have guessed that these two There was a big fuss over the Ministry of Heavenly Works, and it was just a matter about a city gate building.

It's not a big deal, but this is the emperor's decree. Naturally, we ministers should do our best to do it well. This is also my usual approach. "

When saying this, Yan Song raised his hand and hugged Xiyuan, "The Ministry of Industry did not do a good job this time. The emperor also expressed his gratitude to Wenhua for the imperial court's two missions to suppress Japanese invaders in the south of the Yangtze River a few years ago. Now he is ill and needs to rest. , so Zhao Shangshu was allowed to return to his hometown to recuperate.

Zhao Shangshu has left, but the work of the Ministry of Industry cannot stop. We need to elect a new Minister of the Ministry of Industry."

Yan Song panted and told everything. During this period, he stopped to cough twice and take a sip of tea, but he finally made it clear.

Zhao Wenhua resigned, and they wanted to select a new candidate for the Minister of Works, who would be replaced by Wu Peng, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

The first few ministers of the six departments and the officials from the Duchayuan, Taichang Temple, Dali Temple and other departments nodded in tacit agreement.

They didn't see Zhao Wenhua when they came here. According to the news from Lenovo yesterday, they already had a rough guess that it was related to the Ministry of Industry, but they didn't expect that Zhao Wenhua would leave his job directly and go home to recuperate.

After all, Zhao Wenhua is Yan Song's godson. This is news known to everyone in the court, and Yan Song must protect his godson.

But now, judging from Yan Song's words, Zhao Wenhua is finished. Now everyone can nominate a new candidate for Minister of Industry.

Xu Jie was sitting next to him with his eyes slightly closed, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

The officials below all lowered their heads, seemingly thinking.

"Do you have any candidates?"

Seeing that no one was speaking, Yan Song asked again, "Everyone, please speak freely."

The so-called ministry recommendation, but several senior officials had not heard about it before, so naturally they could not recommend a suitable candidate at this time.

After talking in the cabinet for a long time, we couldn't find a few suitable candidates.

At this time, Yan Song, who had been drooping his eyelids since the topic was introduced, opened his eyes and looked at everyone in the room.

His gaze was very penetrating, and everyone quickly noticed it, and then they all closed their mouths and waited for the chief assistant to speak.

"Colleagues, everyone knows that this time the Ministry of Works made a mistake in handling the emperor's order, so the Minister of Works chosen this time must be a minister who is familiar with the Ministry of Works. In addition to Zhengyang Gate, there are also three main halls in the palace. To cultivate, you have a great responsibility, and it must be presided over by a mature and prudent person."

When Yan Song said this, everyone in the room couldn't help but nod.

The people they recommended at this time, to be honest, although they were promoted, they also had great responsibilities on their shoulders. If they were wrong, their careers would be ruined.

Here, it is obvious that only someone from Yan Song's lineage is the most suitable person to serve as Minister of the Ministry of Industry, because as the chief minister, Yan Song actually had a great influence on the financial power of the imperial court.

As long as you put a little pressure on your finances, your errands can be disrupted.

Xu Jie couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Yan Song at this time, and then quickly returned to normal.

"I have thought about it, and the most suitable candidate to serve as the Minister of Industry at the moment is only"

Yan Song paused for a moment when he said this, but looked at Ouyang Bijin, the Minister of Punishment, "Mr. Ren, when you were the chief envoy of Zhejiang, you made a human-powered cultivator to solve the problem of local labor shortage. You want to take care of the project." You should also be involved in construction. I wonder if you are willing to transfer from the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Industry?"

Yan Song proposed to let Ouyang Bi come and go as Minister of the Ministry of Industry?

Xu Jie on the side frowned slightly and nodded after thinking. Indeed, it seems that when Ouyang Bijin was appointed as the governor of Zhejiang and Guangdong and Guangxi, he built many projects that benefited the country and the people, so it is appropriate to take over the Ministry of Industry.

When the others heard Yan Song's proposal, they were all shocked at first, then agreed, and nodded. Only Ouyang Bijin sat there silently, seeming to be thinking about the pros and cons.

No one sitting here pays attention to the relationship between Yan Song and Ouyang Bijin. They must be in the same party. They are relatives. Ouyang Bijin's smooth career is also because of Yan Song's efforts behind the scenes.

However, Ouyang Bijin is a man of both ability and good character. He is not the same person as Yan Shifan. He is not greedy for money. On the contrary, he has done a lot of good things in the local area.

It's just that the transition from the Criminal Department to the Work Department is not necessarily a good job.

Before Ouyang Bijin could speak, Xu Jie on the side suddenly said: "Since the Chief Assistant has proposed a suitable candidate, I will also propose one here. Let's discuss it and see if we can submit it to the emperor."

Xu Jie spoke only after Yan Song spoke. This is an unwritten rule in official circles. The leader must speak first.

When Xu Jie said this, his posture was also very low. He just recognized Yan Song's nomination. He added one more to make up the number.

The nine ministers below were not prepared at all. They had no candidates. They just made random remarks before. Now the first and second assistants have to propose candidates. They don't know whether they are the people who have been approved by the cabinet, so they have not expressed their opinions and are waiting to see what happens. Who makes the decision anymore.

Yan Song was not surprised that Xu Jie proposed candidates. Xu Jie was there yesterday, and one night was enough for him to consider candidates.

"I think Jia Yingchun, the current Nanjing Minister of Household Affairs, is qualified for the position of Minister of Industry."

After Xu Jie named the person he recommended, Yan Song first turned to look at Xu Jie. Someone in the court wanted to seek the return of Jia Yingchun from Nanjing to Beijing. His eyes and ears had informed him, but he had never figured out the answer. What official positions can be done in Beijing?

At this time, Jia Yingchun's name was reported by Xu Jie. Naturally, Yan Song thought that Xu Jie had been promoting this matter for a long time.

Wasn't Jia Yingchun transferred to Nanjing just to eliminate the influence of Prince Yu's palace in the court?

I just don't know when, this Jia Yingchun leaned on Xu Jie's thigh again.

In a short period of time, Yan Song had already made his own guess. Nanjing and Songjiang Mansion were so close that Jia Yingchun probably got involved because he had some connection with Xu Jie's family.

At least in Yan Song's memory, he had never received any news about Jia Yingchun giving gifts to Xu Jie, so Jia Yingchun's things should have been sent directly to Xu Jie's hometown in Songjiang Prefecture.

"Jia Dongyang previously served in the Ministry of War, and then was promoted to the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing for many years. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to be transferred to the Ministry of Works all at once."

At this time, the Minister of Personnel had not yet spoken, but Wu Shan, the Minister of Rites, spoke first.

"The major projects of the Ministry of Industry in recent years are actually about financial management and overall planning. Jia Yingchun has done a good job in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, so he should be competent, and he will not let the Minister of Industry build walls and do carpentry work. "

Xu Jie smiled slightly and said to Wu Shan.

Wu Shan thought about it. Those projects were major, but as the minister of the Ministry of Industry, he only needed to do a good job in scheduling personnel and raising materials. It seemed that Jia Yingchun could really do these two things well. After all, he once served as the governor of military affairs, and during this period, the construction of the border wall That's the main job.

Jia Yingchun really has the experience of doing big projects, so he is suitable to be the Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

The others also made their own choices during the questions and answers asked by Xu Jie and Wu Shan. They all nodded slightly but did not speak.

At this time, Wu Penggang, the Minister of Personnel, wanted to speak, but this was different from their plan. They only planned to put Ouyang Bijin on the list and invite Emperor Jiajing to see it. Naturally, at this time, he needed to speak to disturb Huang Xujie's nomination.

But at this moment, Wu Peng noticed from the corner of his eye that Yan Song was shaking his head slightly at him, which clearly meant that he didn't want him to speak.

With Yan Song's reminder, Wu Peng naturally chose to shut up.

"The names of Ouyang Bijin and Jia Yingchun are listed on the selection list of the Minister of Industry. Can you see anything wrong?"

Seeing that no one was talking in the room, Yan Song cleared his throat and asked.

At this time, Xu Jie half-turned to face Yan Song, clasped his fists and bent slightly, then turned back to maintain his original sitting position.

Everyone else in the hall, starting from Wu Shan, the Minister of Rites, clasped their fists and bowed to Yan Song. The meaning was very clear, and no one had any objections. If they had any objections, someone would naturally speak up.

Attending this meeting was just going through the motions.

At the beginning, Yan Song said that everyone knew about the Ministry of Industry, and immediately blocked their mouths.

They knew that the Ministry of Works was in trouble, but they didn't know that the emperor wanted to change the Minister of Works, and no one was prepared.

"In that case, Wan Li, you write a memorial here. Mr. Xu Ge and I will send it to Xiyuan later for the emperor's approval."

Wan Li, of course, is Wu Peng, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

After hearing Yan Song's instructions, Wu Peng felt confident and immediately agreed.

Wu Peng took up the post of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, turning the Ministry of Personnel into the sole proprietor of the Yan family. He was a yes-man who could stand aside from the boss.

Naturally, the other ministers would not have a good look towards him. They didn't realize that Ouyang Bijin, the minister of punishment, was a relative of Yan Song, but he didn't do everything according to the wishes of the Yan family, and he was still very fair in doing things.

Unlike Wu Peng, he is just a villain who follows the trend of others.

Wu Peng went to the next room to write a memorial. Others resigned from Yan Song and Xu Jie because the yamen was busy with affairs, and quickly left the cabinet.

The news that Ouyang Bijin, the Minister of Punishment, and Jia Yingchun, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, were selected by the Minister of Works for the list, soon spread among the yamen in the capital.

Wei Guangde naturally got the news from Lu Bu very quickly in the Hanlin Academy. Jia Yingchun was finally on the list, and the busy work of Prince Yu's Mansion was not wasted.

It is up to people to plan things, and it is up to God to make things happen. The rest is up to God's will.

Xiyuan, Yongshou Palace.

There are not many words in Wu Peng's memorial. After briefly describing the people who participated in the ministry meeting, he wrote the candidates that everyone recognized. There were two people in total, one was Ouyang Bijin and the other was Jia Yingchun.

At the same time, based on my impressions, I briefly described the resumes of Ouyang Bijin and Jia Yingchun, which were more general, but still roughly the same.

"Which one of these two do you think is suitable?"

Emperor Jiajing did not make a decision immediately, but asked Yan Song and Xu Jie, who were standing in silence with their hands lowered.

Yan Song had already spoken about Ouyang Bijin, so naturally he recounted his achievements during his tenure. Emperor Jiajing listened and nodded.

When arriving at Xu Jie, it was also emphasized that Jia Yingchun was responsible for the repair of border wall fortifications when he was in the Ministry of War, and he also had experience in engineering.

"Ren Fu must be sixty."

After the two of them finished speaking, Emperor Jiajing suddenly asked Yan Song.

Yan Song was well prepared for this, and immediately bowed and said: "Although Da Sikou is sixty years old, he is still energetic. When the outer city was built a few years ago, he would go to the work area in charge of supervising the construction. He is diligent and capable in everything he does."

After speaking, Yan Song saluted Emperor Jiajing.

Obviously, Emperor Jiajing already had a tendency. He was optimistic about Ouyang Bijin, and the biggest obstacle that prevented him from serving as Minister of Industry seemed to be age.