“Clatter, clatter!”

The sound of rain outside was much louder at noon than in the morning.

It was almost time for dinner, and several prime ministers tidied up the documents on the table and prepared to get up.

Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan had just finished exchanging interests and were also planning to go out for dinner.

At this moment, the door of the Constitutional Yuan was pushed open with a bang.

A cold wind blew in from the gate, causing several prime ministers present to look up at the door with displeasure.

No one dared to push the door of the Constitutional Court so rashly when it was closed in winter, not even the prime minister. It was the rule to open and close it gently.

But after a moment, everyone changed their expressions, looked at each other, and started laughing.

Because they saw that the door was not pushed open violently, but someone slipped at the door, bumped in and fell to the ground.

Especially since that person was Jia Changchao.

Actually, Jia Changchao is not that old. At the age of 55, he is considered young at least in the Constitutional Court.

So when the old men saw him, a man who was more than ten years younger than them, fall down, they were all very happy.

Only Zhao Jun saw him fall. Thinking that Jia Changchao had been a little anxious recently, even walking in a shaky manner, he could probably guess that it was because of his upcoming retirement.

This year also marks the end of Jia Changchao's second term. He was appointed prime minister at the age of 45. In addition to standing on Lu Yijian's side, what was more important was that he could repair the river.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to pass Zhao Jun’s test.

But precisely because he took office too young, he retired too young. Fifty-five is already old in other positions, but it is the golden age in officialdom.

It is not about extending the prime minister's term of office, but about what will happen after the prime minister retires.

He had never thought about it before because many prime ministers died of illness during their term of office. Even if they were able to retire peacefully, people like Cai Qi, Song Shou and Jiang Tang are now over 60 years old.

In ancient times, this was considered a relatively long life, so many people in their 40s in the officialdom of later generations were only at the department level, but in ancient times they could become prime ministers.

However, we cannot ignore the fact that some prime ministers lived longer lives, such as Zhang Shixun, who lived to be over 80 years old.

These people have rich experience in governance and even various specialized abilities. For example, Jia Changchao has unique insights into river management. He is also a great scholar of the time and is proficient in the interpretation of ancient texts.

If such people enter the Constitutional Yuan in their forties and retire in their fifties, it would be a waste of talent for the country.

At present, Jia Changchao is the only one who is facing retirement in his fifties.

Thinking of this, Zhao Jun thought that even if Jia Changchao retired, he still had to be assigned a position to allow him to make use of his remaining energy, and he could not be allowed to retire and return home.

"The bluestone slabs at the entrance need to be replaced. With more people passing through, they become slippery and easy to fall on rainy days."

Jia Changchao didn't know whether he was hinting at something or genuinely complaining about something. With the help of a clerk near the door, he stood up. He stretched his right hand, which had just supported him when he fell, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Or maybe I'm just getting old."

"Prime Minister Jia is still young."

Du Yan stroked his beard and said, "Compared to me, I think Prime Minister Jia can be Prime Minister for another ten years."

That's true.

In the Constitutional Court, Jia Changchao is 55 years old, the youngest after Zhao Jun. Then there is Zheng Jian who just turned 60, and the rest are between 60 and 80.

After the death of the oldest Zhang Shixun and the second oldest Li Di, Du Yan, 74 years old, is currently the oldest.

Therefore, it can be said that the Constitutional Yuan is currently basically in a state of gerontocracy.

To change this situation, we probably have to wait until this term ends and let Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Han Qi and other "post-00s" come to power to change the blood.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Zhao Jun rolled his eyes and said jokingly with a smile, "I think Prime Minister Jia is still very young. It would be a shame if he left during this term. I will ask the emperor to let you stay on so that you can make use of your remaining energy."

"Um?"

Fan Zhongyan frowned and said, "Isn't this breaking the rules?"

"Rules are made by people, and Prime Minister Jia's situation is rather special. Some things should be handled specially."

Zhao Jun winked at him and said, "Although I'm currently finalizing the idea that state-owned enterprise employees should retire at 50 and receive a pension, that's because the average life expectancy in the Song Dynasty is still relatively low. Once the average life expectancy increases, I can postpone the retirement age. But how can being an official be the same as working in a factory? You can't just retire in your 50s and stay home idle. That would be a waste of talent."

"That's true."

Fan Zhongyan was no longer the ignorant and foolish boy he used to be. Seeing Zhao Jun's eyes, he probably understood that his request for mercy from Zhao Zhen was fake, and his real intention was to give Jia Changchao a separate position.

After all, Fan Zhongyan actually knew that since Zhao Jun proposed a ten-year term for the prime minister, this order must be maintained.

Otherwise, if every prime minister can stay in office in the future, wouldn’t that lead to the emergence of powerful ministers?

There is a high probability that after Zhao Jun's death, his successor would only hold the position of Zhiyuan for ten years at most, and it would be impossible for him to control the government for a long time.

It can only be said that Zhao Jun was extremely special. Otherwise, according to the convention of the Song Dynasty, he would have been demoted to a local prefect long ago. How could he have sat firmly in the position of prefect for fifteen years like he is now?

"If that's the case, thank you so much, Master."

Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Jia Changchao was stunned for a moment, then revealed a look of ecstasy. He quickly adjusted his expression and said, "It's not that I'm obsessed with power, but I'm really worried about the Yellow River control project. Furthermore, the Ministry of Works has been exploring the major rivers in recent years. If we can build a water conservancy hub on the major river and regulate the water, it will definitely benefit the people."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!