Chapter 513 The New Chief Secretary Was Late and Left Early
On the third floor, in a private room by the window.
Wei Shaoqi, with his thick skin, pretended nothing was wrong, concealed his embarrassment, and continued to laugh:
"Miss Qin is joking. Everyone has their own expertise. There are few people in the army of this dynasty who know more about military affairs than General Qin."
"His Majesty and the officials of the Council of State trust General Qin, which is why they feel comfortable entrusting him with this important task."
“A general like General Qin is a rare talent, and not everyone can compare to him. Ouyang Lianghan is far from being one of them.”
Qin Ying remained noncommittal and asked directly:
"Wei Shaoqi, is this the opportunity you told me about a few days ago that would benefit the Great Zhou Dynasty? It's about getting the court to halt the Xunyang Grottoes project and relocate the Buddha statue to Xingzifang?"
Wei Shaoqi said calmly:
"That's right. The reason I invited Miss Qin here today is to discuss this matter. I heard that Ouyang Lianghan previously invited your Qin family to donate a sum of money to the Xunyang Grottoes, as a way to share His Majesty's burdens."
"But right now, it looks like the Xunyang Grottoes are about to be put on hold, and we don't know when they can be repaired again. I, Governor Wang, and Lin Cheng, the Right Supervisor of Construction in Jiangnan, all feel apologetic and worried about this."
"However, Miss Qin, don't worry. Please wait a moment. I'll introduce you to Lin Cheng, the Right Supervisor of the Jiangnan Construction Bureau. He is a young and outstanding man who is no less than Ouyang Lianghan, and may even be better.
"The brilliant plan to move the Donglin Buddha to Xingzifang and relieve His Majesty's burden was first proposed by Brother Lin, and it was highly praised by my father and uncle."
"He is also very concerned about the Qin family's losses at the Xunyang Grottoes, and yesterday he proposed a small solution to me..."
"The gist of it is that the returns that the investment in Xunyang Grottoes could bring to the Qin family can now be brought by the Xingzifang statues, whether it is being listed at the top of the list of congratulatory letters submitted by Jiangzhou after the completion of the Buddha statue, or the real financial gains."
"Especially the latter, the returns will be several times that of Xunyang Grottoes. As long as the Qin family follows Brother Lin's plan, they won't actually need to invest much... Hmm, now, with Brother Lin's advice and assistance, let's acquire some low-priced land in Xingzifang..."
Wei Shaoqi patiently guided him, appealing to his sense of "profit" and explaining the path to "benefit."
Outside the window, the unexpected incident at Xunyang Ferry seemed to have temporarily come to an end.
Qin Ying had turned around at some point, stared at Wei Shaoqi for a while, and asked:
"Benefit the Great Zhou Dynasty? Benefit the country and its people? I don't see it."
Wei Shaoqi's eyes darted around, and he immediately said with a confident tone:
"Miss Qin, this Prefect Ouyang is very famous and a popular figure in the ladies' circles of Luoyang. It's understandable that you have a good first impression of him. But some things are not as simple as they seem on the surface."
"The so-called benefit to the country and the people has a priority order. The country should benefit first, then the people. If there is no country, what use is benefiting the people? They will still suffer from war and strife."
“Ouyang Lianghan is indeed good at doing things that benefit the people, but that doesn’t mean His Majesty and the ministers of the Council of State are wrong. His Majesty and the ministers of the Council of State are standing at a higher level, taking overall control and having a strategic vision… The same goes for the Xingzifang statues. They are being considered from the perspective of the interests of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Isn’t this something that benefits the Great Zhou Dynasty?”
Qin Ying frowned slightly as she looked at Wei Shaoqi, who was spouting off a string of eloquent phrases.
The latter wore a serious expression, but inwardly gave a thumbs-up to his future brother-in-law who had given him the idea.
Fortunately, Lin Cheng was clever and knew Qin Xiaoniangzi's straightforward and righteous nature, so he provided her with a lot of talking points beforehand...
Qin Ying was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly:
"There's no need to say too much to me. Grandfather is in charge of all the family matters. I will tell Grandfather about Young Master Wei and Lin Cheng's plan when I get back. As for Lin Cheng, I won't wait for him. I have other things to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
Wei Shaoqi was initially delighted, then quickly caught up and asked:
"Where is Miss Qin going? Is she going hunting out of the city? I happen to have nothing to do today, why don't we go together..."
Qin Ying, without turning her head, left with a single sentence:
"I'm used to being alone, so please don't come to the autumn hunt from now on, Young Master Wei."
“…??” Wei Shaoqi.
Not long after, after seeing Qin Ying off.
Wei Shaoqi returned to the private room, frowning deeply, still unable to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Why did you suddenly become so cold?
Did he say something wrong?
"Forget it, it doesn't matter if this little wench is capricious. What matters is the Qin family. It's an arranged marriage, and if Old Master Qin agrees, she has no choice but to marry him, hmph..."
Wei Shaoqi turned around and went to another private room next door, where he found Wei Anhui waiting.
Having learned from the previous experience, this time Wei Shaoqi placed two female guards next to his cousin to prevent some fool from walking into the private room for tea again.
Wei Shaoqi and Wei Anhui went downstairs together, boarded the carriage, and returned to their residence in Xiushuifang.
On the way, Wei Shaoqi casually asked:
"Lin Cheng didn't come?"
Wei Anhui seemed a little distracted and shook her head:
"without."
"He must be busy. Brother Lin guessed correctly. This Ouyang Lianghan is really as stubborn as a rock in a latrine. He dared to defy the imperial edict in public, saying that he would rather die than obey the edict."
Wei Shaoqi sneered:
"Some things, if you don't weigh them, they're nothing; but if you do, they're a ton of kilograms. This time, he'll be lucky to escape with his life, he'll be skinned alive..."
Wei Anhui came to her senses and asked in a low voice, "Third Brother, why did he dare to disobey the imperial edict in public? Isn't that a capital offense?"
"Who knows? They're just stupid."
Wei Shaoqi asked again with suspicion, "You just saw it at the window?"
"Um."
Wei Anhui nodded:
“I remember him, this Prefect Ouyang. He was with Young Master Li last time, when we set up the soup kitchen together. Young Master Li told me that Prefect Ouyang was his good friend and one of the people he admired most in his life. They say birds of a feather flock together, and the people around Young Master Li are indeed extraordinary.”
Wei Shaoqi's forehead vein throbbed: "You still bring him up!"
Wei Anhui immediately shut up.
Wei Shaoqi said to Wei Anhui in a very serious tone:
"Seventh Sister, this Ouyang Lianghan just publicly slandered my father, who is your uncle, not to mention Lin Cheng was also slandered by him. Are you still feeling sorry for him?"
Wei Anhui was quiet for a moment, then suddenly said:
"But he seems to be a good official."
Wei Shaoqi said sternly, "How do you know? Don't be fooled by appearances!"
Wei Anhui suddenly pointed to the street outside and said:
"Because of this."
Wei Shaoqi turned around and saw that the carriage had stopped at some point.
Outside the window, the street where the Supervisory Commission is located is packed with people, all of whom are residents of Xunyang.
Wei Shaoqi's eyelids twitched. ...
It was evening.
The Control Yuan Street Office finally managed to evacuate the people.
An old eunuch with gray hair walked out of the gate with a displeased expression, still holding an imperial edict that no one had taken.
Even the two words that person had just calmly uttered still lingered in his ears.
"A forged imperial edict."
The old eunuch quickly went to Xunyang Ferry to board the ship.
The eunuch from Luoyang who delivered the imperial edict came and went in a hurry.
...
A few days later.
Luoyang, Shangyang Palace, a certain palace.
An elderly woman in a dragon robe sat high up, seemingly resting with her eyes closed.
"A forged imperial edict?"
"Yes, this boy publicly revealed a forged imperial edict."
The elegantly dressed court lady with a mole on the corner of her mouth held a stack of memorials and spoke methodically.
The old woman in the dragon robe, with her eyes closed, smiled.
He raised one of his index fingers, which was adorned with a jade ring, on the armrest of the dragon throne.
What are other people saying?
“The Prince of Wei said that this was a decision made by His Majesty and many ministers in the imperial council. Ouyang Lianghan disobeyed it and should be executed according to the law. Not to mention, refusing the imperial decree in public is extremely serious and damages the dignity of His Majesty and the court. He suggested that his entire family be executed as a warning to others.”
"His Highness Prince Liang did not express any opinion, but only reported one thing... He went out today and heard many scholars and citizens discussing it on the streets of Luoyang. Now the matter is being spread everywhere in the court and among the people. Ouyang Lianghan has even been given a new name, something like 'Yang Lianghan who refuses to obey imperial edicts to the death.' He has quite a reputation for it."
"His Highness Prince Xiang said that Ouyang Lianghan is an upright official and a pillar of integrity recognized by scholars in both the north and south. Killing him would damage His Majesty's wisdom and must not be done."
"Lord Shen said that Lin Cheng should be killed, for he is a traitor to the country and persecutes virtuous people."
The old woman asked without lifting her eyelids:
"Where is Guo Lao? Where is Chang Le?"
Princess Chang Le said that this boy has a precedent for being cunning and likes to show off. Your Majesty must not let him succeed again. The more you pay attention to him, the more famous he will become. He might even want to be recorded in history.
"The Master then submitted a memorial stating that Your Majesty has three strategies. The best strategy is to make Ouyang Lianghan completely convinced and shout Your Majesty's name. The middle strategy is to teach him a lesson without interfering with Your Majesty's affairs, allowing him to continue to serve the country loyally. As for the worst strategy, it is to completely eliminate any obstacles, but there may be some hidden costs later... The Master said that all three strategies are acceptable, and Your Majesty can choose any one of them."
The old woman in the dragon robe waved her hand, seemingly very experienced:
"Let's skip the best and worst strategies and just talk about the elder statesman's middle strategy."
"Release him from his post, transfer him, and send him to the front lines."
Empress Wei Zhao suddenly sighed:
"They're all cunning and scheming, huh."
Lingzhen hesitated and said, "Rongzhen also submitted a memorial."
"What did she say?"
"Rongzhen said that she is the inspector of Xunyang Grottoes, not the inspector of Xingzifang Statues, and asked Your Majesty to find someone else."
Empress Wei Zhao seemed to chuckle lightly:
"You never give me a moment's peace."
Lingzhen observed the old woman in the dragon robe and found that the emperor did not seem displeased. A hint of envy appeared in her eyes.
Empress Wei Zhao turned her gaze and asked:
"Lingzhen, what do you think is the best way to handle this?"
Lingzhen was silent for a moment, then lowered her eyes and said:
“Those who disobey the Emperor’s decree can be kicked out. Such insignificant people do not affect the Emperor’s arrangements. However, we can let them stay in Xunyang. Watching the Donglin Buddha, which does not meet our expectations, be successfully completed and stand for a hundred years is the greatest punishment for those who have a backbone.”
...
"Brother Lianghan, come, let's drink and be merry today, and worry about tomorrow tomorrow."
"Brother Huaimin, don't talk nonsense, I'm not worried."
"You're not worried? If you weren't worried, would you be coming over to drink with me these next couple of days?"
"I just feel like I understand your mindset a little now."
What kind of mentality?
"The mentality that it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death."
"Brother Lianghan, you're judging people by a narrow eye, you're underestimating them."
"So, Brother Huaimin, what's your mindset?"
"It reflects Tao Yuanming's contented state of mind after resigning from his official post."
“But you were demoted, while he resigned voluntarily.”
"Pretty much, pretty much the same."
"I'm still curious about how you were demoted to Jiangzhou in the first place."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Huaimin remained silent for a moment, took a sip of wine, and said wistfully:
"That happened a long time ago. I've been serving as a temporary official in Jiangzhou for years, so the details are a bit hazy. Well, I was reported because I wrote some poems that criticized the Great Zhou Dynasty."
"No wonder. You're quite bold."
"Why bring it up again? Come on, let's drink."
Yuan Huaimin smiled and said:
"Brother Lianghan, cheer up. Life is full of disappointments. You should learn from my mindset. When you're at a low point, as you say, it's okay to slack off for a while. And how can that be called giving up on yourself?"
Ouyang Rong nodded seriously and asked, "You think that since I took the initiative to invite you for drinks this time, you'll have a reason to be late tomorrow morning, right? And it would be best if I were late with you."
"..."
Yuan Huaimin laughed awkwardly, "Haha, Brother Lianghan is so clever, he figured it out."
Ouyang Rong said sternly, "Don't even think about it. I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. I have to be on duty on time tomorrow, so don't be late."
"Okay, okay..."
Yuan Huaimin readily agreed, pouring wine into his mouth as he laughed and said:
“With such dedication, Chief Secretary Ouyang, it’s no wonder you’re the Chief Secretary and I’m the Military Advisor. You deserve your high rank.”
Ouyang Rong tilted his head back and took a sip, nodding in agreement: "With your flattery skills, even a mere Jiangzhou Sima is a waste of your talent."
Yuan Huaimin said in a serious tone, "That only applies to Ouyang Changshi. I actually look down on the others from the bottom of my heart."
Ouyang Rong waved his hand, smiling but saying nothing.
The two of them got thoroughly drunk under the moonlight...
The next day, early in the morning.
When Ouyang Rong sobered up, he glanced at the tightly closed door and knocked repeatedly without getting a response.
He pursed his lips and went to the Jiangzhou Hall on time for his shift.
Upon arriving at the main hall, he encountered his junior sister and Li Dalang. The two had been following him closely recently, seemingly out of fear that he might act impulsively again.
After seeing off Li Dalang, Ouyang Rong had just sat down and hadn't even warmed his seat when a commotion suddenly erupted at the door.
"The envoy from Luoyang has arrived!" a minor official rushed in to report.
Ouyang Rong raised his head. He, who had refused to obey the imperial edict, had finally received a new imperial decree from Luoyang.
At the entrance to the main hall, the newly appointed eunuch unfurled the imperial edict and, before the silent crowd, shrieked as he proclaimed its decree…
The statues in Xingzifang will continue to be created, and other changes will remain unchanged.
Ouyang Lianghan, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, was convicted of a crime for his remarks and demoted to the position of Prefect of Jiangzhou.
Inside the main hall, Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.
I used to laugh at Yuan Huaimin for not being able to get his blue robe wet with tears, but now I've become the Jiangzhou Sima myself.
The Empress kicked him away because he wasn't cooperating with the statue-making, but she didn't completely strip him of his title; he remained in Jiangzhou.
Perhaps it was because of his relationship with the Prince of Xunyang's mansion.
Xie Lingjiang, Li Dalang, and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.
It's good that he wasn't imprisoned and sentenced to death; there's still a chance. He certainly faced the charge of "refusing to obey the imperial edict even unto death," but he wasn't invincible; it was just a warning.
The only unfortunate thing is that the entire matter of the Xingzifang statue project has now fallen into Lin Cheng's hands, with him serving as the Right Supervisor of Jiangnan Construction, in charge of the statue project.
With the Empress's decree, Li Xian, as the supervisor of the construction project in Jiangnan, had no way to control him.
Ouyang Rong stood up, preparing to leave.
"Wait, if Chief Secretary Ouyang has been dismissed, then who will take over as Chief Secretary? Will he be parachuted in or will the position remain vacant?"
Yan Liulang and the other officials were puzzled, but before they could react, the eunuch delivering the decree coldly announced it again:
"The Emperor decrees: Yuan Huaimin, the former Sima of Jiangzhou, is hereby transferred to be the Chief Administrator of Jiangzhou, acting as the Chief Administrator, and assisting the Right Envoy Lin Cheng in the construction of the Xingzifang statue in Jiangnan. This is the imperial decree."
The eunuch urged, "New Chief Secretary, please receive the decree immediately. Where is he?"
Everyone was taken aback and turned to look at a certain seat in the main hall.
Ouyang Rong, who was originally preparing to leave calmly, stopped and turned back expressionlessly.
One of the seats in the main hall was empty.
The new chief secretary...
He was late and left early.
(End of this chapter)
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