Chapter 222 Ancestor, I cannot do this.
The official position of "Da Gan Zhong Shu She Ren" was a seventh-rank official, equivalent to a section-level staff member in a modern government agency. However, those who held this position generally had impressive backgrounds.
In the past, the selection of officials for major projects was half based on the imperial examination and half on recommendations. In recent years, those who could enter the Secretariat were either those who had made great contributions, such as Jiang Yu, or those who had passed the imperial examination and become Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examination).
In ancient China, the imperial examinations for the Jinshi degree were divided into three ranks. The first rank consisted of the Zhuangyuan (状元), Bangyan (榜眼), and Tanhua (探花), who were directly admitted to the Hanlin Academy. The top three in the second rank could enter the Hanlin Academy through an examination.
The remaining successful candidates in the imperial examinations would be granted official positions by the court. There were many intricacies involved in this process. Those without connections were directly assigned to local areas as county magistrates, while those with connections would remain in the capital and enter the Three Departments and Six Ministries.
The Three Departments were of a higher rank than the Six Ministries, so those who passed the imperial examinations and entered the Secretariat generally had impressive backgrounds. Their initial position was usually that of a Secretariat Attendant.
A little over fifteen minutes later, Ren Rui led four people into Jiang Yu's study and introduced them to her one by one. The four were named Kou Bin, Jiang Lihui, Lu Tianzong, and Jing Yingyu. All four were quite young, appearing to be in their early twenties.
Jiang Yu chatted with them briefly before telling them to go back to their work. After the four men left, Ren Rui smiled and handed Jiang Yu a small booklet, saying, "This humble official thinks the Duke of Chu should need it."
Jiang Yu took the booklet and opened it, finding introductions of the four people from earlier, including their backgrounds and work abilities. It had to be said, Ren Rui had put a lot of thought into it.
"Thank you," Jiang Yu said.
"I'm glad I could help you."
At this moment, Xia He walked in from outside and said, "Young Master Xie has arrived."
Jiang Yu closed the booklet in her hand. "Bring him in."
Seeing that she was busy, Ren Rui quickly excused himself. As he was leaving, he ran into Xie Ning'an. The two nodded to each other, and as Ren Rui walked out the door, he couldn't help but look back. He saw Xie Ning'an bow to Jiang Yu and then sit down to talk to her.
Both men remained calm, showing no sign of tension, as if their families had never clashed. Ren Rui couldn't help but admire them inwardly; these two were no ordinary people!
Here, Jiang Yu sat behind the table, with Xie Ning'an sitting opposite her. Xia He poured tea for the two of them and left. Jiang Yu took a sip of tea and looked up at the person opposite her. She hadn't seen him for a few days, and he had lost a lot of weight, but he seemed to be in good spirits.
She got straight to the point: "His Majesty has entrusted me with the restructuring of Jufeng Bank. There are some things I need to discuss with Young Master Xie."
Xie Ning'an nodded, "I will do my best to cooperate."
Jiang Yu took out a piece of paper and handed it to him, saying, "This is what I need. I hope you can give it to me in writing as soon as possible."
Her tone was flat and official. Xie Ning'an had never spoken to anyone like this before and felt a little uncomfortable, but he still said, "Okay, I'll leave it to you tomorrow."
Jiang Yu nodded, and then told Xie Ning'an her initial ideas for reforming Jufeng Money Shop and the business. At first, Xie Ning'an was able to keep his expression calm, but gradually his expression became more and more shocked.
He thought that Jiang Yu's so-called reform of Jufeng Bank and Trading Company was simply to add some government officials to it, gradually freeing Jufeng Bank and Trading Company from the control of the Xie family. But he didn't expect that her reform would actually change the business scope of Jufeng Bank and Trading Company.
According to her vision, Jufeng Money Shop and Trading Company would no longer be just money shops and trading companies; they would become the central management departments for agriculture, commerce, and finance.
He knew that no matter how the reforms were carried out, Jufeng Money Shop and Trading Company would no longer belong to the Xie family, but he was still quite excited after hearing Jiang Yu's reform plan.
"Is this... possible?" Xie Ning'an asked.
Jiang Yu picked up her teacup, took a big gulp, and said, "I will work hard for it."
She doesn't know if this reform will be realized, because it involves the interests of many people and will be subject to many obstacles, but this is the first step in realizing her ideal, and she will do her best to achieve it.
Xie Ning'an suddenly realized where the gap lay between her and her. She viewed and handled things from a much higher perspective, making her own narrow-mindedness seem far too obvious in comparison.
"I will do my best to cooperate." He said the same words very solemnly this time.
Jiang Yu: "Thank you."
"No need, it's my duty." Xie Ning'an got up to take his leave, and Jiang Yu saw him to the door before returning to her work.
But as soon as she sat down, an eunuch came over, smiled and bowed to her, "Duke of Chu, His Majesty invites you."
Jiang Yu put down her pen, got up, and entered the palace. Upon entering the imperial study, she saw Prince Rui there as well. Prince Rui looked somewhat disheveled today; several bruises marred his fair and delicate face, and one of his hands was wrapped up like a dumpling.
However, this did not detract from Prince Rui's elegance; in fact, this "broken" quality evoked a sense of pity. Jiang Yu thought to herself, "Beautiful people always make people's hearts soften."
The Emperor's expression was very unpleasant. After Jiang Yu bowed to him, he said, "I told you before that I would help Prince Rui gather a group of people to study firearms with him. This matter must be done as soon as possible."
"Your Majesty, your humble brother..."
"Shut up," the Emperor interrupted him. "You can continue your research once all the people assisting you are in place. This matter is not to be changed."
Prince Rui opened his mouth to try again, but the emperor glared at him fiercely, so Prince Rui stopped talking and instead pleaded with Jiang Yu with his eyes to speak on his behalf to the emperor.
Jiang Yu: "..."
Your Majesty, I cannot accomplish this.
"I will provide you with the relevant regulations for this matter tomorrow," Jiang Yu said to the Emperor, ignoring the somewhat pitiful look in Prince Rui's eyes.
The emperor nodded in satisfaction, but knowing that Jiang Yu had many things to do, he said, "Just tell me what you need."
Jiang Yu: "Yes."
She rose to take her leave, and Prince Rui, seeing this, also stood up. "Your subject will discuss with the Duke of Chu which personnel are needed."
The emperor knew he didn't want to hear any more of his nagging, so he frowned. But when he saw the injuries on the man's body, his heart softened. "Go back and take good care of your injuries. The day of the imperial concubine selection is coming up soon. You can't choose your princess while you're injured, can you?"
When Prince Rui heard him talk about choosing a consort, he looked helpless and said, "I know."
The emperor was somewhat satisfied with these three words and waved for him and Jiang Yu to leave.
The two left the Imperial Study one after the other. Prince Rui's sedan chair was waiting. A young eunuch lifted the curtain to invite him in, but he turned to look at Jiang Yu and asked, "Is the Duke of Chu available now?"
Jiang Yu nodded; she also wanted to quickly assemble a team to research firearms.
"To the Secretariat or somewhere else?" Prince Rui asked again.
Jiang Yu thought for a moment, "Let's go to the Secretariat."
She had to admit that Prince Rui was a very easy person to get along with. As a favored prince, he would consider things from other people's perspectives. For example, if it were any other person in a higher position, they wouldn't consider whether she had time or not, nor would they let her decide where to discuss matters.
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