Chapter 217 Wish Fulfilled
Some people in Chang'an discovered something strange in recent days.
In the past, before going to the government office and for a period of time after leaving the office, several roads in Chang'an were extremely congested, and the entire street was filled with the officials' carriages and sedan chairs.
But in the past two days, the congestion on those streets has been greatly reduced.
People living on these streets are still a little uncomfortable when they open the door and don't see crowded roads.
The common people were only a little uncomfortable with it, but the officials in various departments in Chang'an were much more uncomfortable with it.
Your Majesty has not been involved in state affairs for ten years, and the management of various government offices was relatively lax before.
As the head of a department, there will be no consequences if you are late for a while or leave early.
But not now.
Several heads of departments with lax management were summoned by the three provinces for talks. After returning, they naturally imposed strict requirements on officials within their departments.
After learning about the court's direction, even the departments that were not mentioned began to take notice.
In just two days, the phenomenon of lateness and early departure in various departments of the court almost completely disappeared.
Many officials would stay in the yamen for a while even after leaving the office and then walk home.
They originally traveled by car or sedan chair.
However, the Ministry of Rites submitted a petition saying that they were too greedy for enjoyment. It was obvious that the government office and the mansion were only one or two streets away, but they insisted on taking carriages and sedan chairs, blocking traffic and causing inconvenience to the people. Who would dare to commit such a crime against the wind?
These are just small things.
Of the seven chief officials in the entire Ministry of Revenue, six were suspended. All matters, big or small, fell on the head of the Shangshu alone. I heard that the Shangshu already lives in the Ministry of Revenue yamen, and except for eating and sleeping, he is busy handling official business.
The Ministry of Personnel is not feeling well either.
An official from the Ministry of Personnel was dismissed for supporting his mother. Is there something wrong with being "filial"?
When this memorial was submitted, even the two prime ministers personally inquired about it.
Filial piety is the first of all virtues. Confucianism puts "filial piety" at the top of all virtues, which is also the guiding principle of Confucian morality.
Giving up wealth and a bright future in order to support his mother is worthy of praise and celebration, and is an example for officials and ordinary people.
He could resign on this basis, but the Ministry of Personnel would not approve it. Not only would they not approve it, they also had to find a way to help him resolve his predicament.
If this incident had not happened in the Ministry of Personnel, but in the local area, from county magistrates to provincial governors, as many people as the resignation notes passed through their hands would have been punished.
Even so, officials of all ranks in the Ministry of Personnel were ordered to reflect on themselves.
Officials from other departments have no time to watch the excitement of these two films because they are also busy with their own affairs.
In the past few days, the Ministry of Rites has been flooding with impeachment memorials to the Secretariat like snowflakes.
The fact that the officials of Jingzhao Prefecture had forced their wives to divorce and marry the daughters of powerful people twenty years ago was dug up and secretly criticized by the people of Chang'an.
Some officials kept mistresses and secretly visited brothels. They were called in for questioning by the Ministry of Rites, and their original wives were also notified. I don’t know how many officials had their families in turmoil. When they arrived at the yamen the next day, there were blood marks on their faces and necks.
They couldn’t understand why the Ministry of Rites had gone crazy and was being so hard on everyone.
The rules of etiquette and law are established based on the standards of saints. Who can guarantee that they will not violate any of the rules of etiquette and law?
It’s not something particularly serious. I’ve studied so hard for so long and finally became an official. Can’t I enjoy myself now?
Is it the purpose of the Ministry of Rites to use etiquette and laws as a token of authority and cause chaos in various departments of the court?
They wanted to know who was so disappointing. They didn't believe that he had not behaved in any way that violated etiquette. Even if he was just a little late for arriving at the government office, they wanted him to have a taste of being collectively impeached.
After finding out the truth through various channels, officials from various departments fell silent again.
It turned out to be the new number one scholar, Li Nuo, the Deputy Minister of Rites.
That's okay.
He is an extremely special existence in the court.
He cannot be judged simply by his official position and rank.
But I still feel angry when I think about it.
I'm not angry at Li Nuo, I'm angry at those above me.
He was the top scorer in six subjects, with excellent grades in all six subjects, the best in the history of imperial examinations. Yet those people above him were senile and only gave him the rank of Vice-Minister of Rites?
If he hadn't been the Deputy Minister of Rites, wouldn't all these things have happened?
Secretariat.
Many officials in the Secretariat also thought so.
I thought that sending him to a noble government office like the Ministry of Rites would make him quieter, but who would have thought that he would be so troublesome in the Ministry of Rites. The Secretariat has to deal with countless trivial matters every day, and they now feel a headache when they see the memorials from the Ministry of Rites.
Especially Du Yu, who was responsible for reporting to the Ministry of Rites. He looked haggard, with sunken eyes, and had lost a lot of weight.
The most speechless thing is that there is nothing wrong with what he did from a legal perspective.
As a member of the Ministry of Rites, this was exactly what he was responsible for.
A Zhongshu Sheren rubbed his brows, sighed, and asked: "What should we do? If this continues, half of the officials will have to be suspended. How can the court function..."
Another Zhongshu Sheren sighed: "Why didn't we think of this at the beginning? He has been in office for less than half a year and cannot be transferred. How can we stop him? Master Du is about to collapse..."
At this time, a voice said: "I have a solution."
Everyone looked at him, and Du Yu couldn't help but said impatiently: "What's the solution? Tell me quickly..."
The Zhongshu Sheren stroked his chin and said, "A new official is eager to make achievements when he takes office, but there is nothing to achieve in the Ministry of Rites, so he has set his sights on the etiquette. If we can find him a troublesome job to keep him busy and have no time to take care of these things, and then transfer him away once the six-month period is over, this situation will be resolved immediately..."
Du Yu frowned and asked, "What could keep him busy for so long?"
The secretary had already made plans, and said, "Isn't the Ministry of Rites going to hold a martial arts conference? This matter is even more troublesome than the spring exam. By then, he will have to contact various factions in the martial arts world and coordinate various departments in the court. He will be busy, so he certainly won't have the energy to take care of these trivial matters..."
Du Yu said: "But this matter has been rejected by all the departments."
The Zhongshu Sheren said: "You can mention it again and explain the pros and cons to them. If they still reject it, then our Zhongshu Province can do nothing about it. Let them continue to suffer..."
Du Yu was already tortured to the point of wanting to die by the memorials from the Ministry of Rites, and he immediately invited the heads of various ministries to the Secretariat.
This time, the proposal of the Ministry of Rites to convene a martial arts conference was passed very smoothly.
The Minister of Revenue stamped his seal with a gloomy face.
If Li Xuanjing's son is not found something to do, he will be the only Minister left in the Ministry of Revenue. It's just a matter of allocating some money. If he saves a little here and a little there, he will save enough.
The Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works and the Jingzhao Prefecture all agreed readily.
They have been in a lot of trouble these days. Officials in the department are suspended and interviewed every day, which has affected the normal operation of the department.
They would rather contribute some manpower and work than continue to be tortured like this.
…
Ministry of Rites.
Li Nuo was writing a memorial when Lu Sheng hurried in and said, "Son-in-law, the three ministries have issued an edict agreeing to the Ministry of Rites to hold the Wulin Conference. The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works and Jingzhao Prefecture have also informed us and will fully cooperate with us..."
Li Nuo put down the pen in his hand. He didn't need to write any more on the half-written memorial.
Not only was the original purpose achieved, but there were also many unexpected gains.
Etiquette and law are indeed considered laws. Although the punishments that can be imposed are very limited, all those punished are officials, including many high-ranking officials above the fifth rank.
The Dali Temple could no longer directly punish officials of the fourth rank, but the Ministry of Rites could indirectly force the three provinces to suspend them and fine them.
In just a few days, his life span increased by more than three hundred days.
In addition to longevity, the improvement in cultivation is even more obvious.
Because he was busy with the imperial examination before and rarely went to the Ministry of Justice after the examination, his cultivation was stagnant for a long time.
The last encounter with those assassins had improved his cultivation a lot, but it was still far less than what he had gained in the past few days. Li Nuo had already vaguely felt the barrier of the third realm.
It must be said that he has unique advantages as a practitioner of Legalism.
Looking at the history of Legalism, most of the predecessors improved their cultivation step by step.
Being able to casually stop the position of a fourth-rank official when one is at the second level of the Legalist school is probably something that not many people can do.
Now that the higher-ups have made concessions, Li Nuo cannot push his luck any further.
He decided not to write the letter of accusation and impeachment until after the martial arts conference was over.
Although the imperial court approved the Ministry of Rites to hold the martial arts conference, it was only the first step.
The officialdom and the underworld are completely different systems.
Those people in the martial arts world may not necessarily buy into the court's practices.
With his reputation among several masters, he might be able to invite the Tianshan Sect and the Five Mountains Sword Sect.
But other sects may not be willing to give face to the imperial court.
Even if they were willing to come, if they only sent a few low-level disciples, they would not be able to achieve Li Nuo's original purpose.
At this time, if there is a very prestigious person or sect to take the lead for other sects, things will undoubtedly be much easier.
Li Mansion.
Su Qing was watching his two daughters practicing sword skills when a figure walked in from outside.
She just glanced at Li Nuo and then looked away.
Although the two people see each other every day, they never talk to each other.
He obviously didn't like her as a mother-in-law.
Su Qing was also upset about him turning against Tiangang and reporting her to the authorities for arrest.
She picked up the teacup and when she brought it to her lips, she found that there was no tea in the cup.
She put down the teacup and was about to add more tea when Li Nuo picked up the teapot beside her and added tea to her cup.
Su Qing raised her eyebrows, thinking that he was being too attentive for no reason, so he must have some other purpose.
She didn't drink the tea, nor did she speak.
Li Nuo didn't say anything else. He walked to the beauty and taught her how to practice sword.
Su Qing took a glance and his expression suddenly changed.
Because what he taught the beauty was the sword technique she created herself, and he only used it once, but he actually learned it.
Not only did he learn it, he also made some changes and adjustments based on the original sword technique. After his improvements, this sword technique seemed to be more fluent...
Su Qing was immediately attracted by it and seemed to understand something, but at this critical moment, Li Nuo suddenly stopped.
She stood up suddenly, feeling anxious for a moment, pacing on the spot, looking at Li Nuo from time to time, wanting him to continue, but she didn't know how to start...
(End of this chapter)
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