Chapter 135 Recruitment

The Prince of Mu rushed back to the capital overnight, and happened to arrive at the hottest time of the year. Even if humans can endure such a scorching summer day, horses on the road definitely cannot bear it. Therefore, he had to take a short rest at the post station in Henan, and use the dispatch order from the Ministry of War to obtain spare horses from the surrounding post stations. As a result, most of the post horses in the surrounding areas had been transferred away, and there was really no transportation capacity for the time being; the prince simply stayed at the post station and waited until the weather was cooler before leaving.

It was really boring to stay like this, so Mu simply went to the Yellow River every day to watch the river workers and observe the dam renovation project. With the courage and personal practice of Master Feixuan, the emerging reinforced concrete technology eliminated all political interference and was immediately promoted to the water conservancy repairs of various rivers in the north. Large amounts of cement and steel bars are continuously transported from a workshop not far away to fill the never-satisfied mouth of the river workers; the efficiency of industrialization after technological innovation far exceeds that of backward manual labor, so the number of laborers summoned this year is much less than in previous years, and the cost is much more sufficient; as long as the factory produces continuously for one or two months, it can generally meet all the needs of the southern section of the Yellow River.

This efficiency is insignificant in modern times, but it could bring about quite obvious changes in ancient times. At least the prince took his men to visit the construction sites of the dam one by one. They found that the villages they passed by were prosperous in all kinds of businesses. There was basically no desolate scene of empty villages and only strong women guarding the doors when able-bodied men were forcibly conscripted in the past. In fact, because there was enough funding and food and rice for the river work, and occasionally wages were paid according to working hours, small vendors from all directions came to join in the fun, hoping to get some leftovers from the adults.

Until now, the little bit of industrialization supported by the steel, cement and textile industries has been just a little embellishment on the surface; but even this superficial embellishment is enough to trigger some subtle and profound chain reactions. For example, as Mu Qi walked along the way, he saw a large number of iron utensils being sold in the streets and alleys. They were roughly made of simple materials. The vendors probably bought scrap iron discarded from nearby workshops and processed them again. Although simple, they were cheap enough to allow the lowest-level people to enjoy a little bit of the benefits of industrialization without having to endure the high monopoly of salt and iron in the past.

In fact, as the prince and his entourage walked slowly, they saw with their own eyes the nearby villagers calcining lime, filling sewage, and using wood ash to treat garbage - it seemed that the disinfection and centralized management processes in the factory had also spread out along with the useful tools.

There are no heavy labor service and taxes, the world is peaceful without drought or flood, and there are handy tools to improve life; the advancement of disinfection technology can isolate most plagues... Perhaps the most dreamed of peace and order in the feudal era is nothing more than this; although it has been tossed around by the True Lord several times before, the vitality of the country is still there. As long as the people above can lie down and not make trouble, the people of the world should be able to live a good life for a dozen years.

However, just like this newly renovated dam, even if new materials are used to reinforce the project, its service life is only slightly extended. The old water management concept that has been in place for hundreds of years is unable to cope with the new situation. Even if thousands or tens of thousands of tons of reinforced concrete are thrown at it unremittingly, there will come a day when the Yellow River cannot be contained... Not to mention a permanent solution, even if we just want to seek long-term stability, we must adopt a new approach to water management.

As for where the new ideas come from... this is why the prince deliberately stayed at the post station and was willing to waste time waiting alone.

After wandering around for seven or eight days and trying all the snacks along the Yellow River, the prince finally waited for the key person he had been waiting for for a long time.

On August 7, Pan Yinchuan, the Left Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, the Provincial Inspector of Guangnan Circuit, and in charge of maritime trade affairs of the Guangdong Special Economic Zone, was ordered to go to Beijing to report on his work. He also passed by the Henan Post Station, and was immediately welcomed into the post station by the officials who had been waiting for a long time. They presented him with an invitation that had been prepared long ago by the Prince of Duke Mu, inviting him to "come and have a chat nearby."

In the official circles, banquets and conversations are held in large mansions. How could they be held in such a cramped and shabby post station? However, Pan Yinchuan, who had experienced a lot in the world, dared not disobey the important minister who held the cabinet's confidential information. So he washed and changed his clothes obediently, and tried every means to collect a small gift from his luggage, and took it to the court to congratulate his superior.

But surprisingly, the Mu family, who came from a noble family, did not hold a grand banquet to show off their power. Instead, they only set up a small table on a high building next to the post station and served a few dishes of wine and meat. The prince himself even stood up and invited him to sit down, addressing him as "brother" instead of his name; he also took the initiative to recall the friendship between the two:

"Come to think of it, Brother Pan Shi and I once met at a meeting at the Foreign Affairs Office. I never expected that it has been several years since we parted so quickly!"

Two years ago, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was first established, in order to implement the instructions of the True Lord to expand maritime trade and strengthen coastal defense, so-called "special zones" were specially designated in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Qingdao, Shandong to pilot the policy of opening up to the outside world and free trade. When a new policy is first implemented, it is especially necessary to have the right people. Among them, Hai Gangfeng, who is in charge of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Tan Zili, who is in charge of Qingdao, both have the support of senior cabinet officials behind them. They sent their trusted generals to the local areas to do something spectacular - only Pan Yinchuan, only Pan Yinchuan, a mere minor official of the lowest rank of the third-class Jinshi, who had no idea where he got this good fortune, but was actually chosen by the big boss as the leader of the Guangdong Special Administrative Region!

This promotion was a meteoric rise, and it was a simple move that was amazing. It saved at least ten years of effort. Pan Yinchuan himself was in a daze and had no idea why the green smoke came from his ancestral grave. He could only follow his colleagues to Beijing for training, receive instructions from the Foreign Affairs Office regarding the "Special Zone", and memorize various documents and materials. During the training two years ago, the small Foreign Affairs Office was truly packed with stars. Almost all the bigwigs in the cabinet came to watch several times and said a few good words, including, of course, the Prince of Mu, who was in charge of maritime trade at that time. The so-called "meeting once" is not empty talk.

But if you are serious about it, this "meeting once" is really just meeting once. After all, the central area is very different. The big guys at the top may not be able to remember whether the areas below are high or low at a glance. The fact that Mrs. Mu actually addressed him by his name already made Pan Xun'an so grateful that he was speechless with fear. So he carefully considered and did not dare to lose his sense of proportion:

"Your Highness actually recognizes me, I feel so ashamed!"

"In fact, we only met once in the Foreign Affairs Office, so I may not recognize you." The prince smiled and said, "But Hanlin scholar Zhang Taiyue praised you for your ability many times, and I am familiar with it, so of course I remember it clearly."

Pan Yinchuan was stunned for a moment. He remembered that when he was working in the Foreign Affairs Office, he actually spent several days with Zhang Taiyue who was on duty. They had a very pleasant conversation with each other. But I never expected that just a few days of communication and conversation would actually win me such great honor and appreciation - every horse longs for a good horse trainer, but when a good horse trainer comes too quickly, it is really scary.

The appreciation from important officials at the central government is like a rocket that can fly straight into the sky; but the person concerned should also think about it: with just his few weak arms and legs, can he withstand the pressure of the rocket?

Pan Yinchuan hesitated and said, "I really can't take on this responsibility..."

"I haven't even repeated what Zhang Taiyue said yet, how do you know that you can't take the responsibility?" The prince smiled, asked Pan Yinchuan to sit next to him, and changed the subject lightly: "Mr. Zhang talked about your ability to me, and what he admired most was not your writing and political achievements, but your insights on river management and water conservancy, calling it 'unparalleled in the ages' and 'competing with Xia Yu'; his admiration was overflowing. I am very curious about this, so I waited here specially, hoping to ask you a question or two."

"He can compete with Xia Yu"! This statement really elevates people's status too high and is too exaggerated, almost to the point of deifying oneself. But Pan Yinchuan remained silent for a moment, and only said:

"I'm afraid Zhang Hanlin is overpraising me. I have only talked about it on paper and have not put it into practice."

The prince raised his eyebrows and immediately realized the subtle emotion in this humble remark: although Mr. Pan praised him too much and seemed to be nervous, he never denied the almost extreme metaphor in the praise, but merely used "no practice" as an excuse - in other words, in Inspector Pan's mind, his method of flood control was truly worthy of the four words "unparalleled through the ages"; it was hard to say whether he could compete with Xia Yu, but looking at the history of more than a thousand years of flood control in the Yellow River, he was not necessarily worse than his predecessors!

Bringing forth new ideas, striving to reach new heights, reaching a realm that has never been reached by predecessors; taking on responsibilities without hesitation and without doubt; is this also a kind of romance and self-confidence of professional technicians?

...Of course, as the top water conservancy expert of this era, Pan Yinchuan is absolutely qualified to express confidence. This is because natural science, which was only for profit in the feudal era, was not valued enough. If it were in the modern world that advocates technology and rationality, the status of such water conservancy experts who were unparalleled in their time and could change the situation of Yellow River management would be far beyond the reach of the children of nobles who just lived a life of idleness and waiting for death. There are always good-for-noble families in every dynasty, and it is not surprising that there are so many of them. But if you can find a water conservancy talent who can bring prosperity to the world with a single word, it is considered a great bounty from God to find only one in five hundred years.

All I can say is that things in the world are so difficult to explain. The most outstanding and most excellent water conservancy talent in thousands of years was not born in the Yellow River Water Conservancy Office, and he even had nothing to do with river engineering and water conservancy in his life. Judging from his life resume, the only connection between this person and engineering construction was that he was probably blessed by the emperor at the age of thirty and helped the True Lord supervise the wood for building the palace.

——A supervisor who was building a palace, by reading books and searching for information, imagined the best plan to control the Yellow River from a distance of 18,000 miles. This kind of incredible and almost insulting IQ plot is probably something that even novelists would not bother to believe, right?

The prince stared at Pan Yinchuan's expression and smiled slightly:

"Whether it's an over-praise or not, I don't know. But Zhang Taiyue wrote down all your ideas, and I've read some of them."

Pan Yinchuan quickly stood up and saluted:

"My humble writing is really a disgrace to society. I hope you will give me some advice, Your Highness."

Pan Fu'an was of course extremely confident in his abilities, but ten years of ups and downs in officialdom had ultimately increased his experience. He deeply understood that promotion in officialdom was just a matter of talking and depended entirely on the bragging of superiors; if he wanted to realize his long-cherished wish, he had to convince the important officials at the central government. The reputation of the Prince of Duke Mu is a little ridiculous, but his status is there after all. As long as he can publicize it for himself, it will be a great thing.

Therefore, he did not dare to delay for even a moment, and immediately asked his servant to take out the question book that he had been considering for a long time from his luggage, and handed it to the Prince of Duke Mu with both hands. This question book is the result of his hard work in recent years. Compared with the previous superficial and simple publicity, it is a hundred times more precise and detailed. As long as the prince can understand even a little bit of it, he will surely appreciate his major innovation in water management ideas and be impressed by it.

Sure enough, after the prince took the question book and carefully flipped through a few pages, his eyes suddenly widened, as if he was greatly shocked and unable to control himself. He was stunned for a moment, then turned a few pages. His eyes became wider and wider, his eyeballs became round, and his expression was strange, as if he was so shocked that he couldn't control himself.

Could it be that the prince understood the secret so quickly? Pan Yinchuan was surprised and delighted, but he could only test carefully:

"My humble work may offend your eyes and ears, I only ask for your guidance."

“…I don’t dare.” The prince was silent for a moment, and seemed to finally react: “It’s just that I…don’t quite understand it.”

It’s okay if you don’t quite understand it! Pan Yinchuan did not find it strange at all. Instead, he felt relieved - after all, this was the result of more than ten years of hard work. He searched through numerous documents and compiled this method. It goes without saying that it was profound and mysterious. Even when he had talked with Zhang Taiyue in the past, that Zhang Hanlin was extremely smart, but after several days he could only understand the basics. It would be strange if an amateur could see it clearly at a glance!

Anyway, the whole article was written by Pan Xun'an himself, word for word, so he was not afraid of questions, so he spoke happily:

"I wonder what the prince is confused about? I dare to offer my humble opinion, perhaps I can answer one or two questions."

The prince was silent for a moment, and seemed to have made a great decision. He finally turned the book over and pointed to a column:

"…What does this word mean?"

Pan Yinchuan:? ? ! ! !

·

Of course, although we all admit that the prince's cultural level is quite limited, it is not the case that he cannot even recognize all the characters. If it was a memorial submitted by an ordinary minister, it would not be difficult for him to understand. But the problem is that Pan Yinchuan's title book "Outline of River Management" is too professional. In order to explain his new concept of water management, he had to use a lot of professional terms in the text, and even used a lot of unique allusions and variant characters that were used by famous water management experts since "Water Classics".

Articles of this level are almost coded. People like Zhang Taiyue who are well-read and have a wide range of reading may be able to decipher them, but with the level of the prince... it is really too difficult for him to do so.

However, Pan Yinchuan came from a prominent family and passed the imperial examination. He had always associated with first- and second-rate scholars. He never expected that there would be Mu Lang between them. He had imagined many reasons why his talent was not appreciated, but he never expected that what ultimately hindered his success was the other party's pathetic cultural level!

But what can we do about it? If the prince only had some omissions in the principles of flood control, then Inspector Pan could try to fill in the gaps; but the problem now is that he can't even recognize a bunch of big characters, and Inspector Pan can't open a literacy class on the spot, right?

There is no doubt that there is a thick barrier created by culture between the two sides. Pan Yinchuan shuddered and his face turned wooden.

The prince was obviously quite embarrassed. He sat there for a long time and finally changed the subject:

"…However, what you learn from books is always shallow. In fact, a book cannot explain everything. You still have to see it in practice."

Isn't this nonsense? Pan Yinchuan dropped his hands and said nothing, just agreeing.

"So, sir, can you actually show me the flood control strategies in this book? Seeing is believing, and it will be easier to convince people."

Pan Yinchuan looked up in astonishment:

"Actual display?"

How else can this be practically demonstrated? His strategy was to repair the Yellow River. Could he use the Yellow River as a training ground?

The prince smiled slightly, turned around and instructed his personal attendant:

"Go to the ditch and see if they have finished their work."

·

Obviously, even if Prince Mu was extremely capable, he would not stop the work of repairing the dam to allow the newcomer Pan Xun'an to practice. But it wasn't in vain that they had been hanging around the Yellow River for so long. He managed to find the old site of the Yellow River before it was diverted, and wrote to the local government to requisition a canal that had long been silted up and abandoned. Over the past ten days, the Mu family has spent a lot of money hiring laborers to dredge the river and dig ponds upstream of the canal to store rainwater and overflowing river water, creating a miniature "Yellow River" - the same suspended river on the ground, the same silt clogging, the same turbid water, which is indeed very suitable for experimenting with water control ideas.

Of course, even for a miniature Yellow River, the cost of the experiment is staggering. From digging the canal to excavating the pond to the aftermath, it would have taken hundreds of laborers and tens of thousands of silver coins to accomplish the task. Everything is fine when the prince is in charge, but if the experiment fails and there are any consequences, if someone makes trouble in the future, they will at least be charged with "acting recklessly and disturbing the local area"; no matter what kind of person he is, if he is accused of such a crime out of thin air, he will definitely suffer greatly.

So, the prince stood upstream of the canal, looking down at the rolling mud in the pond, and said only one sentence:

"Do you have this confidence, sir?"

Pan Yinchuan, who was standing next to him, said nothing, and really had nothing to say. When he first heard the prince talk lightly about the "actual demonstration", he thought it was just a bad joke from the son of a noble family. But it was not until he climbed up the hill and saw the excavated canal with his own eyes that he suddenly woke up and realized that the other party was serious about it - spending huge amounts of money and mobilizing a large number of troops just to experiment with an illusory "water control concept". In an era when material resources are extremely precious, this can simply be called madness.

This kind of madness and confusion is actually very disadvantageous, because it is difficult for anyone in this era to accept such a wasteful pilot project. If things get out of hand in the future, a noble son like the Crown Prince might be able to escape punishment by relying on his reputation of being young and ignorant, but the minor officials involved will most likely suffer. It is better to be prudent and stay away from officials. All the scholars who have been in the Da'an officialdom for many years should understand this truth.

Therefore, Pan Yinchuan should continue to remain silent and try his best to stay out of it. Even if he was really chosen by the prince to join the group, he would try his best to show that he had no choice but to do so and fulfill his duties as a minor official, so as not to be affected by the political struggles in the future.

——But, perhaps because he was born with talent and was destined to be unwilling to be lonely, or perhaps it was some kind of subtle flicker of destiny, the caution honed by his official instincts only lasted for a moment, and he still spoke:

"I will try my best."

"Then I'll leave it all to Mr. Pan."

The prince nodded, waved his hand to signal the laborers to come closer and obey his orders, then took a step back and let Pan Xun'an come in front of him. But as they passed by, he suddenly remembered something:

"I remember that Mr. Pan once submitted a document to the Ministry of Works, discussing the key points of river engineering. But it fell on deaf ears, and the Ministry of Works did not reply?"

"Yes." Pan Xunan was slightly stunned, and immediately replied: "That was what I did when I was young and frivolous. Each government office has its own duties, so why should the officials below interfere?"

"It may not be a nuisance." The prince smiled, "But it is true that the Ministry of Works has its own duties. Let's put it this way, if you have any plans for flood control in the future, just send them directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and don't bother the Ministry of Works."

·

Mu Qi dismissed all the outsiders and locked the door carefully. After he walked around the room and made sure there were no missing names, he sat cross-legged on the bed and pulled out a small list from his sleeve. He drew a red circle after the three words "Pan Yinchuan".

There are Gao, Zhang, Yan and others in the central government, and Hai, Qi, Tan and others in the local areas. Now they have finally managed to win over Pan Yinchuan who is far away in Guangdong. Up to now, although the Foreign Affairs Office has only been established for less than three years, it has basically gathered all the people in the court. Now that he is checking the list one by one, even with the temperament of the prince, he does not feel complacent, but feels the pleasure of having all the heroes in the world under his control.

When the stars of Daan shine, that’s all!

Therefore, although the experience of our predecessors is insidious and cruel, it is really useful. Compared with the old-fashioned and rigid six ministries and nine ministers, the temporarily established Foreign Affairs Office is much more flexible and convenient. Under the guise of imperial authorization, the prince could easily circumvent the constraints of court regulations, select the talents he liked at will, and gather them under the banner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, making them natural allies of the new political reforms. On the surface, it seems that the structure of the imperial court has never been shaken, but politics is ultimately the politics of people. When the country's top talents have been withdrawn, the six ministries and nine ministers are just empty shells.

The heroes of the world gather in the center, and the heroes of the center gather in the Foreign Affairs Office. By extension, the core power of the country is actually exercised by temporary volunteers working in the Foreign Affairs Office. The fact that the Foreign Affairs Office is full of talented people is precisely a sign of a country's prosperity. The new policy is a grand achievement, and there are good reasons for it.

...But unfortunately, no matter how carefully they are used, Gao, Zhang, Hai, Yan and others are already the last ripples in Da'an. After this wave of talents is exhausted, who can the old court rely on to take charge of the situation?

The prince shook his head and didn't think about it any further.

·

【Historical Echoes·Secret】

【Content not suitable for publication】

[The world's most powerful people gather at the Foreign Affairs Office, and the lifeline of the world also depends on the Foreign Affairs Office. If we say that in Feixuan Zhenjun's later years, the Foreign Affairs Office was just a temporary and inconspicuous agency, then after the death of Emperor Sejong, the Foreign Affairs Office rose rapidly with the help of the will, and for several years it made progress every day. The six ministries had become vases for perfunctory government affairs, and were usually just signatures. By the time Zhang Taiyue took over as the Prime Minister and was in charge of state affairs in the name of the Prime Minister of the Foreign Affairs Office, even the authority of the cabinet had been eroded and it became dispensable.

At this point, the new policy has completed its final stage. The old bureaucratic system has become a useless parasitic organ, whose greatest function is just to maintain its existence. The operation of the entire Da'an state apparatus depends entirely on the Foreign Affairs Office, its only heart and brain. Relying on the amazing micro-manipulation of top experts, it walks a tightrope with difficulty in the precarious situation.

Therefore, we can understand Mu's congratulatory remarks when Zhang Taiyue was promoted to the position of Prime Minister. As a close friend who had known each other for many years, Mu did not congratulate Prime Minister Zhang on his successful career, but only offered him a toast and hoped that he would work hard, eat more and take good care of himself.

——The lifeblood of the country hangs on the Foreign Affairs Office, which operates without any rules and relies solely on the amazing talents and skills of temporary ministers. In other words, as long as Zhang Taiyue can stay in the center, the Foreign Affairs Office can operate; as long as the Foreign Affairs Office can operate, the Da'an Dynasty can exist. The rise and fall of the world depends on this one person. For the sake of the country and the people, it is better to eat more and keep healthy.

Of course, there is always an end to self-care. When Taiyue Gong died, the Zhu family also perished. This was roughly the outcome.