When Chen Dachang wants someone, Gu Jiu gives him to someone else.
She instructed Deng Cunli, "Select a dozen trustworthy people and send them south with Eunuch Chen."
Deng Cunli nodded in acceptance. "According to Madam's instructions, we have been keeping an eye on those refugees for years. We have selected approximately 300 young men worthy of training. This time, can we send these refugees to Jiangnan?"
Gu Jiu nodded, then shook his head, "Not enough. I'll give you fifteen places, eight of which will be given to refugees, and the other three will be nominated by the two strong men. For the remaining four, I want you to choose people from the Shaofu."
Deng Cunli was surprised, but he could understand why three places were reserved for Erzhuang.
He and Erzhuang are like Gu Jiu's two arms in the capital.
He was in charge of construction, while Erzhuang was in charge of business. They checked and balanced each other, supervised each other, and at the same time competed with each other.
Gu Jiuken gave him eight places because the talents selected from the refugees were in urgent need of opportunities to train.
But what is the purpose of reserving four places for the Shaofu?
Deng Cunli asked in a low voice: "Are we going to cooperate with the Shaofu?"
Gu Jiu laughed, "Of course not. I asked you to go to the Ministry of Rites to select people, I mean craftsmen. I will personally have tea with the Ministry of Rites's Chief, and after we have negotiated, you will go to the Ministry of Rites's Chief of Works to select people for me. This time I want two ironworkers and two shipbuilders."
As a shipbuilder, Deng Cunli could understand.
Blacksmith, are you planning to forge iron?
Gu Jiu didn't explain. "These two ironworkers are very useful to me. It would be best if you could bring the indentures of the four ironworkers out from the Shaofu."
She didn't want to wait for the master craftsmen to produce results, but let the Shaofu eat the ready-made ones.
She and the Shaofu have always had a pleasant cooperation, but it was not an unconditional cooperation.
Deng Cunli accepted the order, "I will carefully select the craftsmen and live up to Madam's expectations. Eunuch Chen wishes to bring his godson and grandson to Jiangnan. Will you help him?"
Gu Jiu nodded and said, "Go meet him and ask him to give me a list. I will find a way to get his godson and grandson out of the palace."
Deng Cunli was a little worried. "I'm afraid this matter is not easy to handle. Does Your Highness need to step in?"
"Your Highness doesn't need to step in. The Imperial Household Secretary can do it just as well, and it's legitimate."
The Shaofu was in charge of the eunuchs in the palace, and it was his job to allocate personnel. She wanted a few insignificant eunuchs in the palace, and she thought the Shaofu would not make things difficult for her.
Deng Cunli acted quickly and delivered the list of Chen Dachang's godsons and grandsons to Gu Jiu that evening.
Chen Dachang named ten people, but he would actually be satisfied with just four of them.
He circled four people in particular. Gu Jiu had heard of their names but didn't know them well.
It would be most convenient to ask Qian Fu about this matter.
He knew everyone in the palace who had a name and had made a name for themselves.
Gu Jiu invited Qian Fu to comment on the list circled by Chen Dachang.
Qian Fu didn't hesitate and circled two names with a red pen. "These two are treacherous. In the past, Eunuch Chen, as the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, was able to control them. Now, I'm afraid that's no longer possible. I suggest removing these two names."
Gu Jiu remained noncommittal. "Where are the others?"
"This person is quite loyal and righteous, but this person is not cunning enough. This person is ruthless and cruel..."
Qian Fu commented on them one by one, and Gu Jiu selected four people to pair with Chen Dachang.
There are cruel and ruthless people, there are cunning people, and of course there are also people who are affectionate, loyal and have a conscience.
Now that the personnel are in place, the only thing left to do is to get the person out of the palace.
Gu Jiu sent an invitation to the Shaofu Household Order, hoping to invite him for tea.
However, unexpectedly, the Minister of War came to the door first.
"I know that Madam Zhao is pregnant and cannot go out, so I have the audacity to come here on my own initiative. I hope Madam Zhao will forgive me."
Gu Jiu entertained the Minister of War in the flower hall, "You are so polite, old sir! It is a great honor for my humble home to have you here. Please have some tea, sir."
The Minister of War, a sixty-year-old man, smiled cheerfully and looked like a Maitreya Buddha. However, few people knew that he was also a murderous general, born into a family of military commanders.
Over the years, as a minister, he cultivated his character, hid the bloody smell on his body, and gained a bit of Buddha nature.
In Liu Zhao's words, this person is a furious King Kong who never shows mercy when it comes to killing people.
Of course, this person is also very protective of his own shortcomings.
He often fought with the Dali Temple, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Revenue.
The Dali Temple and the Censorate always make trouble for the soldiers, impeaching them today and tomorrow, without any rest for 360 days a year.
The Minister of War was not polite either, he started to criticize!
We are all veterans in the court, there is nothing to be afraid of!
His actions offended many people, but he also won the support of generals and soldiers all over the world.
Over the years, the Ministry of War has committed several major crimes, but he has been able to maintain his position as the Minister of War, which is inseparable from his prestige in the army.
As for the fight with the Ministry of Revenue, it was naturally for money.
The Ministry of Revenue wanted to cut the Ministry of War's expenses, so the Minister of War rolled up his sleeves and got to work without saying a word.
Under his leadership, everyone in the military department was full of bandit spirit. He never backed down from fighting in the court.
Even if we lose in the end, we will lose our dignity but not our battle.
When dealing with the Minister of War who was full of military experience and wisdom, Gu Jiu simply got straight to the point.
"Your Excellency has condescended to come and see me. I wonder what brings you here?"
The Minister of War laughed heartily and put down his teacup. "Madam Zhao, we've worked together a few times, and it was quite pleasant. I heard that you're planning to start a courier business, delivering goods and letters. Is this true?"
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Your Excellency is indeed well-informed. This matter is still in preparation, so I'll let Your Excellency know."
The Minister of War laughed heartily, stroked his beard, and said with a smile: "How about we cooperate again?"
"How to cooperate?" Gu Jiu became interested.
The Minister of War considered carefully and said, "If you want veterans, I have a large list of retired soldiers here for you to choose from. As for the personnel, I guarantee that you will be satisfied. The only condition is that I hope Madam Zhao can open more mail routes."
Gu Jiu thought for a moment and said, "It's not impossible to open several mail routes at once, but the key is where to open them?"
The Minister of War was very straightforward: "To the northwest, to the northeast, to the Hedong Road. How do you think?"
These three routes are all related to the border defense of the Great Zhou.
It is not difficult to understand why the Minister of War wanted to open postal services to these three routes.
but……
"The imperial court has an official post station, so why did you choose to cooperate with me? It's against the rules to have the Ministry of War's documents delivered by a private courier."
"Rules are made by people. As long as Madam Zhao agrees to cooperate, I will speak to His Majesty. I even want to merge the post stations under the Ministry of War into Madam Zhao's express delivery business."
Gu Jiu waved his hands repeatedly.
joke.
She doesn't want those people at the post station.
They are all big bosses, taking bribes and having bad habits.
She would rather recruit new people with clean backgrounds and no bad habits.
However, Gu Jiu thought about it and remembered that in later history, there was a postman who was paid by the government. Because the court's finances were tight, the post station was abolished and he became unemployed.
The postman lost his job and instead of looking for another job, he started a rebellion, which he eventually succeeded in.
Although he was only emperor for a few dozen days, he did overthrow a dynasty.
Tsk!
The consequences of civil servants losing their jobs are very serious!
"Sir, if you cooperate with me, you'll be stealing the jobs of the post station down there. Aren't you worried about the people down there causing trouble?"
The Minister of War, however, asked, "Madam, do you know why I want to cooperate with you?"
Gu Jiu said, "I'd like to hear the details."
The Minister of War lowered his voice, "To be honest with you, Madam Zhao, the expenses of the post stations under the Ministry of War have been increasing year by year, which has brought a huge burden to the Ministry of War. But the Ministry of Revenue is still unwilling to pay more, which is very infuriating.
Especially those officials passing through, who ate and drank for free. In the end, the post station would bring the bill to our Ministry of War to claim reimbursement, and our Ministry of War could only go to the Ministry of Revenue.
The expenses for officials to stay at post stations were fixed, but many officials were not aware of this and always made demands that exceeded their status. The post stations did not dare to offend them and could only do their best to meet their demands.
However, the Ministry of Revenue never acknowledged these extra expenses, always asking us, the Ministry of War, to shoulder them ourselves. Year after year, even a clay Buddha would get angry.
I have considered closing the post station, but as it is an important place for the resettlement of veterans, if it is closed, I am afraid that there will be unrest among the soldiers. Year after year, the post station has become too big to be closed.
This time, I want to take advantage of my wife's courier business to firstly provide employment for some veterans and secondly, to reduce the burden on the Ministry of War. If possible, it would be best if we could earn some money to spend."
When Gu Jiu heard this, he bared his teeth.
She was 100% sure that the Minister of War was not telling the truth.
The aforementioned statements about the bloated status post stations and the dramatic increase in expenses were all true. Even the subsequent statements about reducing the burden on the Ministry of War and resettling veterans were true.
But the Shangshu's words are true, so I'll tell you half and keep the other half.
Gu Jiu was sure that the Minister of War wanted him to cooperate not for express delivery, but for the Ministry of Revenue and all the officials in the court.
The expenses of the post stations were eaten up by passing officials.
The Minister of War is clearly planning a big move, to settle accounts later and completely reform the operation model of the post stations.
Maybe he even wants to force the Ministry of Revenue to compensate the Ministry of War.
Gu Jiu shook his head secretly. The Minister of War had good intentions.
Yet she didn't think it was possible.
Unless you set a few small goals first, there is still a chance of success.
Gu Jiu asked, "How do you plan to tell His Majesty about this? How can you guarantee that you can convince His Majesty?"
The Minister of War gave a mischievous smile.
It's so funny to see a sixty-year-old man making this expression.
"Madam Zhao should know His Majesty very well. His Majesty cares most about money. What do you think of ways to save money?"
Liu Zhao was speechless.
The Minister of War has grasped the weakness of Emperor Wende.
Gu Jiu thought for a moment and said, "As long as you can convince His Majesty, I will cooperate with the Ministry of War. We can even try to relocate some of the post station staff. However, they must undergo training and pass the test before they can take up their posts."
"I understand. It's like a toll booth, isn't it?"
"Exactly!"
With the toll booth as a model for on-the-job training, it really is much more convenient. Once it's explained, everyone understands it without further explanation.
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