Chapter 233 Authority
When Lord Ding woke up early in the morning, he felt refreshed and energetic. He patted his concubine's waist with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to make a new set of clothes? Go and tell my wife later, and she will pick out a nice one."
When the concubine heard this, she took Master Ding's arm and said coquettishly, "Thank you, Master, for caring about me."
Lord Ding laughed heartily, then stood up and went to the yamen.
Outsiders had no idea how angry Mrs. Ding was and how chaotic the Ding family was because of Lord Ding's casual remark. All they saw was Lord Ding walking into the Ministry of Revenue with high spirits and vigor, like a dead tree coming back to life in spring.
After sitting down, Lord Ding first brewed himself a pot of fine tea and savored the wonderful flavor of the new tea before calling out, "Come here."
The clerk hurried in to do the job.
Lord Ding coughed and cleared his throat before asking, "Is there anything going on at the Ministry of Revenue today?"
The clerk glanced furtively at Mr. Ding and replied in a low voice, "I haven't heard anything about it yet."
Lord Ding frowned and asked unhappily, "Minister Xu is unwell and on sick leave, and Lord Su is away on the expedition with Prince Xi. Don't you think there's anything else I need to take charge of?"
These words were a bit sad. When Minister Xu was in power, Lord Ding always obeyed his orders. He thought that when Minister Xu abdicated, it would be his chance to make a comeback.
Who would have thought that after waiting for so many years, a Su Fengzhang would suddenly appear and snatch the power of the Ministry of Revenue from him. Lord Ding was filled with indignation, but this was tacitly approved by Minister Xu. The emperor and Prince Cheng were behind Su Fengzhang. Lord Ding had the intention but not the courage to do so, so he could only continue to be his mascot, the Left Vice Minister.
Now that Su Fengzhang is gone and Minister Xu is in poor health, Lord Ding sees that his chance has come.
Listening to Master Ding's suggestive words, the clerk replied with a bitter face, "What do you mean, Master?"
Lord Ding was very dissatisfied, thinking that this petty official was not very smart and was becoming increasingly stupid. "No matter what the matter is, in such a large Ministry of Revenue, is there no place that needs my guidance?"
The clerk replied stiffly, "Sir, all the documents that require your approval are already here."
Lord Ding frowned. These were just trivial matters in front of him, which he had been handling before. Naturally, these were not what he was referring to.
"That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm saying is...did Lord Su leave any unfinished business? He left in such a hurry, so I guess he didn't manage to make proper arrangements, did he?"
Su Fengzhang walked very fast. Lord Ding judged Su Fengzhang based on his own experience and felt that Su Fengzhang would definitely not be able to explain everything clearly.
The clerk's scalp tingled when he heard this, and he could only say, "Sir, I'm just an errand boy. How can I know about Sir Su's affairs? How about I go and ask those officials outside?"
Lord Ding thought about it and realized that it was true. He thought that if the clerks below could know anything, he would have to ask the officials working in the Ministry of Revenue.
"Okay, go and invite Master Zhang in."
The clerk ran away in a flash. Lord Zhang was originally a subordinate of Lord Ding. Before Su Fengzhang came, he was on the same side as Lord Ding.
Soon, a pot-bellied Mr. Zhang walked in and bowed.
Lord Ding politely called out, "You're welcome, Lord Zhang, come here and do it."
Lord Zhang sat down respectfully and asked, "What are Lord Ding's instructions?"
Lord Ding laughed heartily and asked, "Lord Su left in a hurry, and I'm worried he'll leave a mess that you won't be able to handle. So I thought of asking, is there anything I can do to help?"
Lord Zhang was a shrewd man, and he understood immediately after hearing this. However, after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Your Excellency, although Lord Su left in a hurry, he did establish the rules. We, the subordinates, just need to follow them."
Lord Ding frowned and said unhappily, "Old Zhang, we've known each other for many years, and you're still trying to trick me like this?"
Zhang Dadi said bitterly, "Master Ding, I didn't lie. You don't know Master Su's habits. He always sorts out everything clearly before doing anything. Even if he leaves, his subordinates can only do things according to the method he left behind."
Lord Ding had also heard about this, but he said in disbelief, "Old Zhang, although Lord Su left behind the rules, who among those who can work in the Ministry of Revenue is not slippery? Are you willing to obey his orders?"
Zhang lowered his voice and warned, "Sir, it's not that we are willing to obey his orders, but the rules written by this person are so interconnected. Unless you can find a way to silence everyone, when he comes back and takes stock, he will know who is responsible. We are all officials, so who is willing to take responsibility?"
Another thing is that Su Fengzhang seems rigorous, but he is actually smooth. While doing things according to the rules, he turns a blind eye to some people. As long as they don't make mistakes while on duty, they can still get benefits. This is also one of the reasons why officials of the Ministry of Revenue are willing to do things according to the rules.
Upon hearing this, Lord Ding became even more furious and angrily cursed, "He's gone, what's there to be afraid of?"
Lord Zhang said, "Although Lord Su has left, Prince Cheng is still in the capital, and His Majesty is also keeping an eye on him."
Lord Ding choked and hinted, "Old Zhang, I heard that Lord Su has come up with several ways to make money. They are all good ways to make thousands of gold every day. Are you willing to do that?"
Master Zhang sighed and said helplessly, "I dare to think about it, but I really don't have the courage."
Just as he said, the rules set by Su Fengzhang are linked one after another. Unless he can bribe everyone, it is only a matter of time before the news leaks out. You have to know that this matter involves not only the Ministry of Revenue, but also the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War.
Furthermore, the performance bonus set by Lord Su is also very good. He can at least get a considerable share. In comparison, the risk involved is not something Lord Zhang is willing to bear.
Lord Ding was quite angry after hearing this and cursed, "You are such a coward! As long as I can intervene, won't we have the final say on the Ministry of Revenue's affairs?"
Master Zhang said with a bitter face, "Master Ding, I'd like you to come, but how can you intervene? I can't just ask you to do the errands and miscellaneous work."
Lord Ding was so angry at this that he fell backwards and said angrily: "Can't I take charge of the overall situation?"
Lord Zhang hesitated to speak, and finally asked timidly, "Lord Ding, why don't you ask Minister Xu for his opinion? If he supports it, it would be natural for you to take charge of the overall situation."
Lord Ding was so angry that he cursed, "If Minister Xu was willing to support me, I wouldn't need you anymore. Get out of here, get out of here, get out of here..."
After driving the people away, Lord Ding was still furious and called other people in one by one to talk. But what surprised him was that so many officials from the Ministry of Revenue, from top to bottom, had become cowards.
Lord Ding found it unbelievable. Su Fengzhang had only been in the Ministry of Revenue for a year at most. He himself had been in the Ministry of Revenue for almost ten years, but he couldn't say that he had won over everyone.
But now, Su Fengzhang is no longer in the capital, and these slick-talking officials in the Ministry of Revenue are defending and supporting him one by one, which really makes Lord Ding dumbfounded.
What Lord Ding had never thought of was that not all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue were loyal to Su Fengzhang from top to bottom, but the rules and regulations set by Su Fengzhang were too strict, so that they could not find a loophole for a while.
When Su Fengzhang has the support of the emperor and Prince Cheng, and Minister Xu obviously will not go against him, and they can get benefits and promotions by doing things according to the rules, it would be strange that this group of people would go against him for a position of Left Vice Minister.
After all, it was not that Su Fengzhang won over everyone with his personal charm, but that he temporarily locked them up with benefits.
Lord Ding was full of resentment. He hated Su Fengzhang and blamed Minister Xu for being old and confused. He did not believe that he wanted to hand over the power of the Ministry of Revenue to Su Fengzhang, but he could not see why he was in this situation.
During the march, Prince Xi occasionally had the same thoughts as Lord Ding, especially after he and Su Fengzhang worked together to get rid of those people who were just sitting there doing nothing.
Seeing Su Fengzhang smiling and greeting the brave generals again, the two of them were like brothers, and Prince Xi couldn't help but ask, "Lord Su, when did you become so familiar with them?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and explained, "I am in charge of food and military supplies, so it is natural that I am familiar with the generals."
Prince T of Xi County raised an eyebrow and asked, "There are so many troublemakers in this army, but I didn't expect them to become so easy to talk to in front of Lord Su. I still need to ask you for more advice on this matter."
Su Fengzhang smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, you are the commander of an army, so you must be dignified. If you are as pleasant as I am, it will be difficult to convince the people. I am different, so there is no need to consider this."
Prince Xi couldn't help but look at him a few more times, and suddenly smiled and said, "Master Su is absolutely right. We should do our job well. The two of us can cooperate well with each other."
However, he has been greatly enlightened these days. The last time they went to Yunzhou together, he knew that Su Fengzhang was a good rider. However, at that time, as an accompanying civil servant, he still appeared in a gentle and refined manner.
But this time, Su Fengzhang insisted on riding with the soldiers. He took off his official clothes and put on tight clothes. At first glance, he looked more like a military general. It was said that he usually ate and lived with those soldiers.
Prince Xi had seen Su Fengzhang drinking and chatting with those people, and his posture was completely different from the number one scholar in his memory.
It has to be said that with Su Fengzhang around, Prince Xi was much less worried when leading the army. He only had to take care of his own affairs, and everything else was prepared by others. It was much better than the last time.
Not only Prince Xi felt so, several generals under his command also said so, and their words and deeds expressed their admiration and praise for Su Fengzhang. You know, military generals usually don't like military supervisors, so this is really rare.
Thinking of this, Prince Xi patted Su Fengzhang on the shoulder and said with a smile: "When we get to Yunzhou, I will have to rely on you, Lord Su, to take care of us. I would like to thank you in advance."
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