Chapter 352 353. Farewell
Everyone present could hear the sarcasm in Cao Xiangqian's words. Xu Zhiwen sneered, "What exactly is going on? We'll have to wait and see. I hope you won't use your status as a big shot as an excuse in the end."
It was the first time that Gu Wenheng saw these high-ranking officials confronting each other up close. However, Lord Xu from the Imperial Observatory was setting traps for others everywhere he spoke, just waiting to see the fun.
Cao Xiangqian said confidently, "Today I will show you how a rough guy manages the Ministry of War. However, if your other departments lose to our Ministry of War, you may not be able to save face at that time."
This statement offended the people from other departments present, and they were all ready to find fault in the tent.
As the account books were flipped open, the sound of abacus clacking could be heard throughout the courtyard of the Ministry of War.
Gu Wenheng and He Nan sat quietly in a corner, flipping through the account book page by page, at a speed one or two times faster than others.
Gu Wenheng, in particular, was able to devote his attention to simply figuring out where the Ministry of War's biggest expenditure came from in a year, and also to pay attention to the annual price fluctuations.
Cao Xiangqian walked up to Gu Wenheng and saw him flipping through an account book. He asked curiously, "Is mental arithmetic easy to learn?"
Gu Wenheng, "As long as you master the skills, you can learn very quickly."
Cao Xiangqian looked at the young eunuch who was sitting in the back reviewing the account book, his eyes flickered, "This guy must be very smart, how can he learn?"
Gu Wenheng, "It depends on how stupid they are. For those who can't even count clearly, they will definitely not be able to learn."
Cao Xiangqian, "People are not stupid, they just can't read books and learn articles."
Gu Wenheng answered him distractedly while calculating, "You also need to be able to read. You can ask those eunuchs for details. They didn't learn it for long."
Cao Xiangqian looked at the other party who could chat with him and turn the pages at the same time, "Can this calculation distract you? Don't miss it when the time comes."
Gu Wenheng, "That's because Lord Cao, your account book is well kept. The numbers I calculated can be verified, which naturally saves me a lot of worry."
If he couldn't handle this little interference, he would probably lose his title as the little prince of mental arithmetic. He was just following an outsider, so he shouldn't explain too much, otherwise it would be endless.
Cao Xiangqian moved to another table to look at other people's abacus.
Watching him pull out one piece after another, and then looking back to see that Gu Wenheng had finished reading the first book and had already reached out for the second one, he could not help licking his lips. He wondered if the boys in his family could learn this skill, so that they would not be neither good at literature nor at martial arts.
Xu Zhiwen also noticed the speed of Gu Wenheng's side. He said something about grandstanding and started staring at his officials, hoping that they would find flaws so that he could laugh at the old guy named Cao.
As a result, by nightfall, so many people only found a few typos. The entire account was clean and transparent, and even the annual price increases were marked.
"How is it? Is my account acceptable?" Cao Xiangqian smiled smugly at several officials who came to watch the fun, although he was a rough man and would not play tricks like these literati.
Not only does his subordinates check the accounts several times every month, but he himself also keeps a vigilant eye on them for several days.
"Hmph, who knows if anyone missed it?" Xu Zhiwen even looked at Gu Wenheng and He Nan on purpose, trying not to make his intentions too obvious.
"I don't like what you said. It seems that they have overlooked something. Is there something wrong with the people sent by His Majesty?
This has been verified twice on the spot. If you don't believe it, go down and do the math yourself." Cao Xiangqian snorted, "You should start worrying about your own account now! When that day comes, I will definitely be there in person. I hope you will have the same good luck as me."
Xu Zhiwen turned his head away. The entire Imperial Observatory had been working overtime these days and had already conducted a self-inspection. All the problems had been corrected. However, after seeing two consecutive rounds of audits today, he was actually a little unsure.
Cao Xiangqian was in a good mood. Seeing that all the account books had been put into the warehouse, he was not stingy and went to the restaurant to book a few tables. He rewarded everyone with money out of his own pocket.
He was happy to pay this money. Once he got the upper hand, he didn't believe that the other companies would be more stingy than him. He would have to join in the fun in the next few days.
However, starting tomorrow, Cao Xiangqian will know that all his plans have failed. The accounts of the other departments are not as clean as his, and problems have been found in them to some extent.
These people were all terrified and had no intention of treating anyone to food and drinks.
However, after this round of audits, the officials in the court could be said to have a new understanding of Gu Wenheng.
Because he was the one who discovered most of the problems here, no matter how covert they were, they could not escape his eyes.
When he got home after finishing his work, Gu Wenheng whispered to Jin Qianqian, "I might be left alone this time."
Jin Qianqian noticed that his eyes had become increasingly serious in the past few days. Although she didn't ask much, as news came back one after another, she was mentally prepared.
“Being a lone minister is actually quite good, at least you won’t be involved in factions.
Don’t think that the emperor is still a teenager now, but in the past ten years, a new generation of princes has grown up. If you don’t want to be involved in these disputes, you should just be a loyal minister.”
Although this will make it much more difficult in the officialdom in the future, at least I won't have to get involved in so many right and wrongs.
Gu Wenheng, "That's the only way I can think of it."
If a problem is discovered, then accountability will certainly be required. However, there are too many people involved this time, and even Cao Xiangqian, who wanted to watch the show, tried his best to stay in the Ministry of War.
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Cheng'en Marquis Mansion
Zhou Shixiong hurried to the border again without waiting for the marriage to be granted.
"Wen Heng, if you have any problems in the future, just write to me and tell me. My brothers, Zhou Shixiong, are not just anyone who can be bullied at will."
Although he was a military general, he always had his own channels to get news from the capital.
Ever since the audit a few days ago, those who were reprimanded seemed to be taking their anger out on Gu Wenheng, the one who found the problem.
Although no action has been taken now, he knows the nature of these literati and they might be up to something bad.
"Brother Zhou, don't worry. I will definitely ask you for help if I need anything. Don't think I'm annoying you when the time comes." Gu Wenheng knew his concerns. "I plan to wait until the next time I'm assigned abroad, and then I'll try to leave Beijing."
Gu Wenheng knew that these people would at most make things difficult for him in official circles, but he did not dare to go too far.
But he was also tired of these weird things, and it would be more comfortable for him to be a local official.
"Your idea is good. If you really need help, you can send a letter to my house and the housekeeper will know what to do."
Zhou Shixiong had already instructed the housekeeper in the mansion that even if Gu Wenheng did not come to him himself, if there were real difficulties, they should go directly to the palace to find the queen.
(End of this chapter)
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