Chapter 257 The Many Faces of Reborn Ministers (Part 2) ...
But Qin Liusong knew his limits because of his many years of experience with rebirth.
Zhang Ting, the newly appointed Director of the Salt and Tea Department of the Ministry of Revenue, was unsure of his position. He returned to the new emperor's former residence, intending to consult He Santie. Before taking office, He Santie was already renowned for his refined manners, even admired by the retired emperor. Now, he too had been assigned to the Ministry of Personnel as a Director. If there was anything he was unsure about, consulting him would surely provide clarity.
Huang Quanyun, the newly appointed Deputy Secretary of the Court of Judicial Review, also hurriedly followed. He was completely clueless and wanted to hear what Lord He had to say.
Comparing his early experiences in his previous life, He Santie was extremely satisfied. The lord he had actively sought to retain was capable and possessed supernatural abilities, and had thus ascended the throne, making him an extremely popular confidant. His Majesty understood his intentions, knowing he wanted to accomplish something great, not just give him a sinecure related to calligraphy and painting. What was there to lament about the future?
With such immense satisfaction, He Santie was all smiles all day long, like a kind old man, and he didn't hesitate to give pointers to a few headless juniors.
"His Majesty has been meticulously crafting salt and tea since before he ascended the throne. Doctor Zhang, you know the proper boundaries, don't you?" He Santie pointed out in a sarcastic tone.
Zhang Ting recalled his past life as a merchant and the months-long stalemate between the new emperor and the powerful families before his ascension to the throne, and a realization dawned on him. He was not a fool; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to catch up so quickly through his arduous studies and become a trusted confidant of the new emperor.
Zhang Ting lowered his brows and said, "Leave the supervision of this matter to me. His Majesty's decree prohibiting the smuggling of salt and tea and strictly cracking down on trade has not yet been lifted."
Since the new emperor values salt and tea so much, he happens to be well-versed in the thoughts and intentions of those merchants, big and small. He'll definitely keep a close eye on them for the new emperor in the future!
He San Tie nodded in satisfaction.
Song Gu, who had personally taken care of tidying up the radar upon returning home today, listened in on the proceedings, smiling without saying a word: "..."
Zhang Ting had developed a habit of being overly observant of people's expressions during his youth, and he didn't miss even the subtle changes in the expression on Steward Song's face. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting and asked very humbly, "What advice does Steward Song have?"
Song Gu was slightly taken aback, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. He had originally intended to listen without speaking, but since Zhang Ting had noticed, Song Gu, out of consideration for their past relationship, still offered a word of advice: "Pay close attention to Yangzhou in the future. There is a Lord Xie there who is quite capable and has long had an understanding with us."
Zhang Ting looked like he understood but not quite, his brows furrowing. He waited until he got back to investigate before replying, "Yes."
Song lowered his eyes and said nothing more.
Salt has always been a sensitive topic. As the person who knew the most about the new emperor, he knew that when the new emperor was still a prince, he had been mining large quantities of smuggled salt in Lingnan and selling it to Jiangnan through caravans. He also used this as leverage to help Xie Zhongyun, the salt inspector, to manipulate things in Yangzhou and bring down the real smuggling salt merchants.
It's just that this is a very sensitive topic, so Song Gu usually avoids it altogether.
This year, the new emperor's decree banned the private salt trade, effectively eliminating the official buying and selling system. This significantly increased the pressure on Lord Xie in Jiangnan. Their Prince Rui's private salt caravan was rendered useless and remained unresolved. Only now, combining the decree assigning Zhang Ting to the Salt and Tea Bureau with what he knew from his previous life, did Song Gu understand much of the new emperor's thinking—
The new emperor probably wants to bring the salt mines in Lingnan into the open! The entire Dingguo will be his, and he won't have to do things secretly anymore.
It's likely that Zhang Ting and Lord Xie will work together to firmly control the salt and tea trade... Song Gu knows that in his previous life, obtaining salt was no longer a burden for most ordinary people. This series of preparations is probably the new emperor's method to suppress salt prices and make it accessible to millions of households...
He Santie's brows were full of caution, and he listened to Song Gu's words with great humility, then asked in return, "Lord Song is indeed wise. May I ask what guidance Lord Song has for me?"
He wasn't angry about losing face. He Santie knew he was just someone who had been reborn and had some later insights; the truly intelligent person was Song Gu.
Song Gu tried to decline a few times but couldn't get away. Looking at He Santie, who was earnestly seeking advice, he had no choice but to say a few words: "Lord He is a junior official in the Ministry of Personnel. After a period of honing his skills, he will surely be promoted—you must remain calm and not disappoint the new emperor's good intentions."
He Santie gladly accepted his blessing, but it was something he had already figured out, so he wasn't surprised.
What's next? His next step will probably be a promotion to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Ministers who rise to high positions sometimes follow certain conventions. For example, the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is an unspoken agreement before being given a prominent role. He Santie had already realized the new emperor's method of grooming him: the new emperor was eager to use his confidants, but he couldn't rush things, so he placed them in key positions. After a year or two, they would all become high-ranking officials.
That was when they were in power.
He Santie pondered over Xiao Song's words again, and suddenly understood their meaning, truly remembering the advice:
The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for personnel changes and is the easiest place for infighting to arise. If the new emperor wants to place him in the Ministry of Personnel so that he can report any slight disturbance, then he must stay put and absolutely not be dismissed!
"I will remember this," He Santie said gratefully.
Since everyone had a share, Song Gu turned to Brother Huang Lan and said frankly, "Lord Huang is good in every way, but it's time to change his name. His Majesty doesn't say anything about it, and we can't say much either. But the name we use in daily address might not be enough to prevent future troubles in the Office of Transmission."
"Brother Huang Lan" is an affectionate term used exclusively by His Majesty and his group, reflecting their mutual affection. His real name is Huang Quanyun, a name that even Song Gu hesitated to say after hearing it, and he usually relies on everyone to call him by his courtesy name.
When Song was in Liuzhou, he subtly learned that this was the generational ranking of the Huang family, specifically the "Yun" generation, which had the water radical. He might not care about others, but to use the character "Quan" (泉) was truly inconsiderate.
If a more superstitious examiner had been chosen, he might have been dismissed in the last imperial examination. Luckily, a new emperor came along.
Now he's going to take up a post in the Ministry of Justice, a place where memorials from all over the country are received and sent, and where the six ministries exchange information—a complex and turbulent vortex. Just his name alone will surely attract criticism; it's better to make plans early.
Huang Lan also said with distress, "Our Huang family is a large and prosperous clan in this area, but as for me... never mind, I will go and ask His Majesty to bestow a name upon me tomorrow."
He was also clever enough to know that the only way to stop this gossip before it even started was for His Majesty to cut it off in advance.
After the four of them talked for a while, they looked at each other and gained some understanding of their new identities, and also knew where to focus their efforts from now on.
Apart from Song Gu, who remained in charge of all internal and external affairs of the nine departments of the imperial palace, the other three present were respectively assigned to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Transmission.
One is in charge of crucial funds, the other has the power to appoint officials, and the other, though seemingly insignificant, is capable of handling all memorials, large and small, without deceiving the new emperor. There will be no repeat of the mistakes made during the reign of Emperor Hongren.
Their future is bright; as long as they don't make mistakes, they will steadily rise through the ranks.
As Song Gu watched them leave the Prince's residence with high hopes, he said with satisfaction as he saw them off, "With you all here, His Majesty can always rest assured."
...
"...With them here, I can finally rest easy for the time being!"
In the side hall of Zichen Palace, Qi Chengming casually tossed aside the list of official changes that had finally been arranged, and collapsed onto the soft couch with a sigh of relief.
He didn't care about his image, lying flat on the couch looking like a large, gray cat that had flowed down.
Eunuch Cheng alertly blocked the officials who wanted to see him from outside the door. Eunuch De swiftly rushed over and closed the not-so-soundproof wooden window, then silently picked up the sheet from the ground and put it back. Only then did he lower his eyelids—imitating how he had seen Zhao Fuman before, he stood by the wall and pretended to be deaf and blind with a calm expression.
"Don't imitate that kind of grotesque behavior." Qi Chengming beckoned him over unhappily. It was too tragic to become emperor and have no one to listen to him. Besides, Xiao Dezi was still young. What was a handsome young eunuch doing imitating an old, senile person?
Qi Chengming struggled to get off the couch a couple of times, feeling aches and pains all over his body, so he simply stopped moving and lay there lazily talking—or rather, he couldn't help but want to show off to someone:
"...I spent several days thinking about this list! At that time, I didn't want to discuss it with anyone; it was much more painful to come up with it on my own."
Qi Chengming didn't need Xiao Dezi to respond; the young man listened quietly, and he spoke freely.
Now he has promoted those officials in the court who deserved promotion and dismissed those who deserved dismissal. After a series of promotions and demotions, the new structure of his reign is beginning to take shape.
Of the four Grand Secretaries who accompanied him in handling affairs, two were his men: one was a watchdog, and the other was a loyal minister. If there were truly important matters to discuss, they wouldn't all work together to completely overturn his will.
Among the six parts...
The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Rites were both Grand Secretaries. Perhaps they weren't entirely his men, but they were capable of getting things done, and that was enough. The Minister of War, Lord Liu, had always followed in Qi Chengming's footsteps.
We have control over these three departments.
Qi Chengming then went on to place his trusted confidants in the remaining Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Works.
Mu Fanshi of the Ministry of Works is a high-ranking official whom Qi Chengming is observing and preparing to replace. The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is someone who pledged allegiance to him before he ascended the throne. He Santie is in the Ministry of Personnel. Huang Lan is in the Office of Transmission. Mr. Qin is in the Hanlin Academy. The Director of the Imperial Observatory is the Director. The newly appointed Jinshi, Ma Qian, is now a Censor, his mouthpiece in the court…
Qi Chengming was very happy with the sense of control he had been feeling stifled for so long, finally able to extend his reach into the court and infiltrate everywhere.
Xiao Dezi hesitated for a moment before leaning over to massage his prince's shoulders. After struggling with the question for a long time, he couldn't help but ask a completely unrelated question:
"Your Majesty, shouldn't we hold a talent selection?"
Back in the palace, he had only ever seen the ladies-in-waiting and attentive to His Majesty. But their Highness was only served by a rough fellow like him, who didn't even know anything about massage—wasn't that a bit too unfair?
"There's no need for the selection of concubines, but the wedding..." Qi Chengming was silent for a while, then leaned close to Xiao Dezi's ear and whispered something. Seeing him nod repeatedly, he said seriously, "After the matter of the late Empress is over, you can go and hint to Elder Mu."
"Yes!" Now fully embodying the spirit of 'highly respected and virtuous,' Eunuch De puffed out his chest and smiled with a particularly mischievous grin.
The next day, during the morning court session...
When Qi Chengming brought up the old issue of deposing the late empress again, the opposition became much weaker.
After he dismissed a large number of officials and placed so many of his confidants in the court, those who could still stand up to him were either die-hard loyalists of the retired emperor or stubborn old men who revered Confucianism.
Qi Chengming watched as they rubbed their hands together, ready to give this group a good beating.
But things are slightly different today.
A large army that had been leading troops in battle far and wide finally returned, and the leading general came to court with his deputy general.
Qi Chengming then interrupted the meeting and, following the instructions given by the retired emperor before his abdication, prepared to write an imperial edict to reward the meritorious officials.
"Your Majesty, the credit for these achievements was actually made by my deputy general, Yang Shou. I dare not take credit for it!" The general said these earth-shattering words, and then suddenly declined, making way for the young man behind him with a complicated expression.
He looked up at the throne.
Yang Shou: "…………"
Yang Shou never expected this.
He had only been fighting on the front lines for a few years when, before he could even return to the capital to support his cousin, his cousin had already ascended the throne...
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Author's Note: I've ascended the throne!
On the surface
The new ruler (calm and composed) (strategizing and planning) (making every reborn subject unable to eat and filled with unease).
Behind the scenes
Qi Chengming, with no regard for his image, sprawled out like a pancake on the couch, uttering complaining howls.
...
Throughout the entire process, the image of the new emperor was built on the quick eyes and hands of the eunuch De Gonggong—his merits and fame were kept hidden.
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