jdhmnovel Chapter 516: Lord Shen returns to Beijing, at least this is the beginning
Chapter 516: Lord Shen returns to Beijing, at least this is the beginning
Today's morning court session ended earlier than the officials had expected, but it brought them a great shock.
On the "Ladder to Heaven", officials walked in groups of three or four. Yue Zhenchuan followed Ji Benchang all the time, hoping to find an opportunity to make another comment in his criticism.
He said: "Master Ji, what happened in the palace just now was thrilling and full of ups and downs! I was so excited, who would have thought..."
Who would have thought that Ji Benchang would make such a big joke!
Ji Benchang clenched his cheeks tightly, and his face showed two words of frustration: no money.
Moreover, he was not a pushover. If he himself was not doing well, Yue Zhenchuan would not be doing well either. "I am not worthy of receiving the congratulations from Minister Yue, but in my opinion, this Taichang Temple... cannot be repaired."
Since the Taichang Temple could not be repaired, some people in the Ministry of Works had no work to do, and without work, there was no money to be paid.
The New Year is just around the corner, who’s having an easier time than who?
Unexpectedly, Yue Zhenchuan still had that smiling face, and said loudly: "I am very sorry that the Taichang Temple cannot be repaired."
What a stubborn person! I'm afraid he has already been found other work by the people in the Ministry of Works.
Ji Benchang glared at him, and thinking of how aggrieved the Ministry of Revenue was, he swung his sleeves rustling, turned his head, and left.
"Hey——" He was still following behind Ji Benchang, and said in a pretentious manner: "Master Ji's carriage is broken down, do you want to ride with me?"
I thought Ji Benchang wouldn't even glance at him, but he turned his head and gritted his teeth, "Okay."
Want to ride together? Yue Zhenchuan is really not ready.
Now the person who was feeling uncomfortable was thrown away.
The other officials watched with great interest. After they left, they started talking about Tongan County and Shen Zheng again.
"Now that Lord Shen has made remarkable achievements, in my opinion, when Lord Shen returns to Beijing to report on his work after his term expires, at least this will be the starting point..."
He raised five fingers.
"Fifth rank? Just the beginning?"
Other officials disagreed. “That’s too fast. Many old guys have worked for decades to get promoted half a level. How could she be promoted two levels right after returning to Beijing?”
Moreover, these two levels are not ordinary levels. There is still a huge gap between the seventh level and the fifth level.
He said bitterly, "I think the sixth rank is enough. It would be great if I could be promoted. How many local officials and county officials have been in the local area all their lives? For example, among the hundreds of officials in the court today, how many have been promoted from the local area?"
This is true. Anyone without a background who goes to a certain place is "exiled" in disguise, and it will be difficult for them to return to Beijing.
Being an official also requires a certain starting point.
Just like the top scholar every year, once he enters the officialdom, he can be appointed to a position in the Hanlin Academy, and become a "Beijing official" from the very beginning.
But when the people around heard this, most of them disagreed, thinking that the words were so sour that they couldn't be more sour.
Other local officials are other local officials. How could Lord Shen be confused with them?
Just say that in His Majesty's heart, Lord Shen is a unique existence.
"Master Niu, just wait and see."
The man who was replaced by "Mr. Niu" had a visibly gloomy expression.
What he disliked most was this surname - it sounded like a farmer!
......
There is a long distance from the Golden Throne Hall to the Queen's Jingren Palace. In the past, the emperor must have ridden in a dragon chariot.
But today the emperor is in a visibly good mood.
It is said that emperors do not show their emotions on their faces, but today, he chose not to hide his emotions - he happily walked to Jingren Palace to find the queen.
When the emperor is happy, the eunuchs will be happy too.
But the only one who appeared happy was the senior eunuch Eunuch Hong, while the rest of the junior eunuchs and guards just followed the emperor from a distance, walking silently.
The emperor still held the letter in his hand, and he glanced at it from time to time.
But Eunuch Hong was a little confused, but he didn't dare to ask.
It seemed like he had...seen something he shouldn't have seen?
"Hong Banban." The emperor called him, "Ask whatever you want to ask."
Eunuch Hong paused for a moment, then immediately adjusted himself and followed the emperor's steps, "Your Majesty, this old servant..."
Did I see it, or didn’t I?
This is what it is like to be a eunuch. If they know too little, it will be difficult for them to understand the emperor's mind, and they are afraid of being called a "good-for-nothing". If they know too much, they are afraid of overstepping their authority.
The emperor chuckled and said, "Before the profits were shared with the cloth shop, it was impossible for you, a servant, not to have seen the matter of the printing house."
Eunuch Hong bowed his head and silently regretted, "I saw something I shouldn't have seen, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Look then," said the emperor.
Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the eunuchs who could serve the emperor had to be the emperor's confidants. There were some things that the empress and powerful ministers did not know, but the eunuchs knew.
The first is that the emperor trusts them, and the second is that... the eunuchs of the Zhou Dynasty have no real power, have clean backgrounds, and are not allowed to have anything to do with other officials, so they cannot cause much trouble.
The Great Zhou was not like the previous Great Viet Dynasty, where eunuchs had great power and even the royal family was wary of them.
The most important thing is that eunuchs of the Great Zhou Dynasty are not allowed to recognize godparents.
It sounds like just a small move, but once this person has a successor, he might want to try his luck. However, the eunuch's "try" is not to save a fortune for future generations, but to "leave a good reputation behind."
The emperor's trust moved Eunuch Hong again. After wiping away his nonexistent tears, he asked carefully, "Your Majesty... The printing method that Lord Shen mentioned in the letter is so powerful that hundreds of books can be printed in a day. Why do you..."
Why do you only mention cloth shops and clinics, but not printing books?
"You are still a little stupid." said the emperor.
In the past, if Eunuch Hong dared to ask such a simple question, he would have scolded him.
But today is different after all.
The emperor stopped and looked at the two trees in the distance and said, "The osmanthus tree and the red sandalwood are growing too close together. I will have someone cut down one of them tomorrow."
Eunuch Hong was stunned.
Aren't you talking about the printing house? Why do you suddenly want to cut down trees?
He followed the emperor's gaze and saw a sturdy osmanthus tree and a slightly smaller red sandalwood tree. The two trees were indeed growing very close to each other.
Autumn has passed, and the golden osmanthus flowers have long since fallen to the ground and turned into mud, but the leaves are still lush, and its branches stretch out in all directions, obviously stealing a lot of light from the rosewood.
"It is a bit unfair to the red sandalwood..." Eunuch Hong murmured, "I will order someone to cut it down tomorrow."
He wrote this down, but heard the emperor ask, "Which tree should be cut down?"
Eunuch Hong was startled and said subconsciously: "Osmanthus."
"Why do we need to cut osmanthus flowers?" asked the emperor.
——Because osmanthus flowers are cheap to grow and easy to raise, although they are a little thicker than rosewood, they are actually much younger than rosewood.
Eunuch Hong thought so, but he didn't say it.
He seemed to understand.
It is precisely because osmanthus flowers are cheap that they can grow anywhere and are not expensive. It is just an osmanthus tree, so you can cut it down. If you want to smell the fragrance of osmanthus next year, you can just transplant a few more.