The heavy rain in Shandong was a serious matter, and the relief of the disaster naturally warranted rewards for those who had contributed. The next morning at court, His Majesty rewarded Prince Zhi and the Eighth Prince, and the Fourth Prince also received a reward, but it was not as conspicuous as those for Prince Zhi and the Eighth Prince.
Prince Zhi had been granted the title of Prince for many years, and the next step up would be Prince of the First Rank. However, it seemed that His Majesty had no intention of doing so for the time being. In addition to the usual rewards, he personally selected a Grand Secretary to tutor Prince Hongyu.
He also instructed that when Prince Hongyu turned three, he would be allowed to study in the Imperial Study.
Historically, imperial grandsons who wanted to enter the Imperial Study were usually five or six years old, which shows how much His Majesty valued this.
In the Fourth Prince's household, the eldest son, the Second Prince, will turn five next April, but since His Majesty has not given any instructions, the Fourth Prince naturally does not dare to speak rashly.
After all, Prince Hongsheng from the Third Prince's residence will be five years old this September. When the Third Prince heard his father's words at the morning court, he didn't know whether to be jealous or sarcastic.
My eldest brother, Prince Hongyu, spends half the month being cared for by the imperial physician. He looks so sickly. I don't know what Father Emperor values so much.
Eighth Prince had already been promoted from Beizi to Beile for doing a good job at Guangshan Treasury. Seventh Prince was only Beile before him. Looking around, it seemed that Father Emperor had no intention of making Eighth Prince a Prince anytime soon.
After hearing Liang Jiugong, who was seated at the head of the table, recount a series of rewards, Third Master gradually felt at ease.
Fourth Master stood beside Third Master, seemingly sensing something, and remained completely silent.
Something seems off in the court today. There seem to be more officials absent due to illness than usual, especially from the Ministry of Personnel and... the Ministry of Works.
While the six ministries were not exactly intertwined, they would usually inform each other of any rumors or gossip. However, the Fourth Prince did not receive any information from the Ministry of Revenue, nor did he receive any information from the Minister or Vice Minister of Revenue.
The Fourth Prince paid no heed to the string of rewards offered. He keenly sensed something: with rewards come punishments, and all the rewards were meaningless.
The Fourth Prince was lost in thought when the words "Prince Lian" suddenly came to his ears.
What? What Prince Lian?
Well, now it wasn't just the Fourth Prince who came to his senses; the entire court erupted in chaos.
Eighth Prince? His background speaks for itself... Although he usually does his job well, such as managing the Guangshan Treasury, Prince Yu praised him before his death. He is also quite capable in his duties at the Imperial Household Department. I heard that he is also very hardworking in this disaster relief effort.
But what about granting the Eighth Prince the title of Prince of the County?
Immediately, a court official stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is probably inappropriate... The Eighth Prince is too young..."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince turned around and glanced back, vaguely remembering that it belonged to the faction of Prince Zhi.
But using youth as an excuse? What youth? The imperial grandsons are the ones who are truly young. The marriages are settled, the residences are acquired, and they've already accomplished quite a few tasks. Compared to the old man, they are indeed young.
The emperor at the head of the table seemed to snort coldly, but he didn't speak directly. He waited a while to see how many people would object.
The excitement of today's morning court session has only just begun.
His Majesty didn't sleep a wink last night. Now, listening to the court officials bickering, he felt only annoyance. He turned to look at his sons, but none of them were quiet either.
His Majesty was even more agitated. After the court officials below had argued until their mouths were dry and their faces were red, he raised his hand slightly.
The courtiers below immediately fell silent.
"My mind is made up. Where is Marhan?" The Emperor raised his hand, clearly not wanting to listen to the arguing of the crowd below any longer, and suddenly pointed to someone.
Marhan was recently transferred from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Personnel, but he was moved from Minister of War to Vice Minister of Personnel.
It looks like he's been demoted, but the Ministry of War has been recuperating for the past two years. Malhan served as Minister of War for two or three years but didn't achieve anything. Now he's working in the Ministry of Personnel, but as soon as he took office, he was given a big task.
He himself naturally wanted to make a name for himself.
Marhan stepped forward: "Your subject Marhan... This year, Shandong suffered from severe rains. In particular, in Shouguang, Anqiu, Boshan and other places under Qingzhou Prefecture, disaster victims besieged the cities. Countless bridges and river embankments collapsed. The Ministry of Works sent people to investigate, and the inside of the bridges had already been completely eaten away by ants... Furthermore, officials and merchants in Yanzhou Prefecture and Jining Prefecture, Jining, Jinxiang and other places colluded to smuggle and misrepresent the amount of disaster relief grain collected by the Ministry of Revenue..."
Marhan spoke for a long time, mentioning dozens of officials and several imperial merchants. Coupled with the staggering number of them, no one in the court dared to utter a sound.
Fourth Master stood among them, listening carefully. He also knew that Li Chenjiao's father was not involved in these matters. Jiaozhou is located by the sea, and although there were natural disasters, the local people were all good swimmers, so there were very few casualties.
This punishment has nothing to do with Li Chenjiao's father.
However, since the disaster relief efforts in Jiaozhou have been effective this time, and the annual triennial campaign will be held after the end of the year, it is likely that Li Chenjiao's father will be promoted.
Their family had no background, so although Li Chenjiao's father had good political achievements every year, he did not manage to get a good job in the capital.
However, even if he has been trained, he has already gained enough experience and is waiting to go to the Ministry of Personnel next spring.
But Marhan hasn't stopped yet.
Fourth Master had already gotten some information, and now, listening to Marhan's report, he was secretly worried for Marhan.
The job in the Ministry of Personnel has always been the easiest to offend people.
After Malhan finally finished speaking, the court was silent for a while, and soon a circle of court officials knelt in the hall.
"minister……"
For a time, the imperial court was as lively as a marketplace.
The Third Master, standing beside the Fourth Master, shook his head: "Mercenary! They're ruining the country and its people! A bunch of corrupt officials!"
The Emperor didn't react much, simply pointing his hand slightly in the air: "Where is the Minister of Works?"
Liang Jiugong said from the side, "Your Majesty, the Minister of Works caught a cold last night."
The Emperor smiled upon hearing this: "How old is he? He still has no sense of propriety in the summer... Well, since he is sick, let him stay home to recuperate."
The implication was that the Minister of Works would not be allowed to serve for the time being.
The commotion below subsided a little, and the Emperor glanced down, seemingly looking at no one in particular: "Investigate."
Marhan bowed and said, "Yes! Your subject obeys!"
The morning court session finally ended, but everyone was stunned by a series of news reports.
When Fourth Master came out, there were many people surrounding Eighth Master, saying various words of congratulations. When Eighth Master saw Fourth Master from afar, he smiled and cupped his hands in greeting as before.
Fourth Master raised his hand in response, and Su Peisheng had already come forward to greet him: "Master?"
"Go back to the manor yourself, pick out some calligraphy copybooks, and then get a carriage ready. Have someone from the Ministry of Revenue apologize on my behalf, because I need to go see the seventh prince."
Fourth Master was not in a good mood at the moment.
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