"Zhan Xing has been in the Hanlin Academy for more than a month. Is everything going well for him?" Liu Yu drank a cup of hot tea and said slowly to Yu Qizhe.
Yu Qizhe replied, "With the guidance and care of Cui Shidu, I am doing well."
Liu Yu knew that he was being excluded in the Hanlin Academy and usually only did odd jobs. Although he was an editor, he was unable to participate in the compilation of history books.
He won the top spot in the imperial examination, but was treated so coldly. If it were someone else, they would have been unable to sit still and would have tried to find a way to deal with it. However, he was a calm and composed person, and he never complained or had any other thoughts.
"Historically, scholars like you who entered the Hanlin Academy had to observe government affairs in the Hanlin Academy for three years before they could be granted official positions to work in the six ministries." Only a steady temperament can accomplish great things. Liu Yu admired the fact that Yu Qizhe was not impetuous at a young age. He knew that he was excluded from the Hanlin Academy because of Shen Tian's involvement. Shen's party all knew that Yu Qizhe was Liu Yu's disciple, so they would naturally make trouble for him and suppress him secretly to prevent him from being reused.
Then he said a few more words, "Although you have a calm temperament, you are still young, so it would be a good thing for you to gain more experience in the Hanlin Academy for a few years."
Yu Qizhe nodded, "It's okay for students."
Liu Yu looked at Cui Mubai again, "Mubai, you have been in the Hanlin Academy for four or five years. The position of Langzhong in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue has been vacant for some time. You should join the Ministry of Revenue in the future."
Cui Mubai's eyes moved slightly. The salt merchants in Jiangnan should pay the salt tax. In previous years, the salt merchants sent food and grass to the border in exchange for salt permits. However, some time ago, the emperor said that the treasury was empty, and issued a decree that this year's salt permits only required tax silver.
Such a huge sum of money naturally attracted many people.
The Langzhong of the Jiangzhe Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of supervising the salt administration, which is a real job that can bring in benefits. Many people are eyeing this position, but with his health... I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on for too long.
He lowered his eyes and said calmly, "I heard that Prime Minister Shen also has his eyes on this position and wants to promote his people."
Liu Yu smiled faintly and said in a deep voice, "Every year, the salt tax in Jiangnan is exploited layer by layer, and less than 30% is left in the treasury, and all goes into the hands of those greedy people. In recent years, the emperor has been cultivating the palace and mausoleum, and has carried out large-scale construction, which has caused the treasury to be empty. Last year, the treasury was already empty due to the relief of floods in Jiangbei. Now that the war in Lingnan has started again, it is a time when military supplies are in short supply. There must be no mistakes in this year's salt tax."
In recent years, the whole country has relied on the salt merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to transport grain and fodder to the border every year in exchange for salt, and Ziqi secretly purchased grain in the name of the merchant company to subsidize Lingnan. Now they are suddenly going to change to collecting tax silver. If it is deducted layer by layer like in previous years, the 200,000 soldiers in Lingnan may have no supply of food and fodder before they even start the battle with the Baiyue.
Emperor Mingzheng was unwilling to allocate military rations and military pay to Lingnan. Now that it is at war with the Baiyue, Lingnan's military equipment has been severely damaged, but he only asked the Ministry of War to provide 20% of the required amount. It is clear that if he cannot get the military power of Lingnan, he will let them suffer losses in the war with the Baiyue.
It was probably because he had strong generals guarding the border to defend against the enemy, and the throne was too stable, so he only thought about collecting military power and didn't even care about foreign enemies and the country's territory.
Cui Mubai's face straightened, "If I can enter the Ministry of Revenue, I will definitely live up to my father-in-law's expectations."
Liu Yu nodded slightly, "You are the tutor of the Second Prince, it will be much easier for you to enter the Ministry of Revenue."
Shen Tian was the person who wanted to promote him, but with the Second Prince and Liu Yu working together to negotiate for Cui Mubai, the position of Langzhong of the Jiangzhe Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue might not necessarily fall into the hands of Shen's party.
The three of them talked about other things for a while, and after drinking a pot of tea, Liu Yu stood up. He still had to go to the study to deal with other matters, so he said, "It's getting late. We have to go to court tomorrow. You should all go home early."
Yu Jiao was standing under the lattice fan and heard this. She was about to leave quietly, but she saw Liu Yu striding out of the flower hall. She then pulled Jianjia down and hid in the shadows.
Watching Liu Yu walk away in the direction of the study, Yu Jiao just stood up and heard Cui Mubai's voice coming from the flower hall. He had a smile on his face, "Zhan Xing, why didn't I see you talking to the third sister today? I met the third sister in the backyard this afternoon. She cares about you very much. Knowing that you are not being promoted, she is very worried."
Yu Qizhe's expression changed slightly, a hint of hostility flashed in his eyes, and then he turned warm and a little cold again, "It's great to be able to work in the Hanlin Academy. Third sister is young and doesn't understand these things. Cui Shidu should not mention these things to her in the future, so as not to make her worry about me."
"Zhan Xing is right." The two walked to the outside of the flower hall and stood still. Cui Mubai said with a smile, "Zhan Xing is seventeen this year? You are so young, even if you spend three to five years in the Hanlin Academy, you will only be twenty years old. So if you calculate it this way, it won't hurt to wait for a few years. I think my father-in-law also thinks so."
He sighed softly, "It's just that life is short. Five years can wear out a person's ambitions. In this officialdom, it's really not easy to climb up. Take Zhang Shijiang for example. He has been in the Hanlin Academy for eleven years. I remember that he was admitted to the Hanlin Academy as the runner-up in the imperial examination the year the emperor ascended the throne. He only saved enough money to buy a house in the inner city the year before last. Not only did he empty his family's savings, but he also borrowed some money from his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy, and only paid it back this year."
He asked casually, "Where does Zhan Xing live? Has he settled down in the capital?"
Yu Qizhe looked calm and shook his head. "I haven't bought a house yet. When I came to Shengjing to take the exam, I rented a small courtyard in Kanjing Hutong. I've gotten used to living there."
"Kanjing Hutong? It's not close. Wouldn't it take an hour for Zhan Xing to report to the Imperial Academy every day?" Cui Mubai patted his shoulder and said with emotion, "Although our Imperial Academy is noble, the annual salary is really not much, and there are no ways to make money. If you don't have enough family wealth to manage things, and no one to help you, you will be like Zhang Shijiang."
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