Chang'an Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.
Yan Xiwen, Ning Yuchun and Qin Mowen sat opposite Fu Xiaoguan.
Fu Xiaoguan brewed a pot of tea and looked up and said, "Tomorrow we will hold a grand court meeting to officially promulgate the rural revitalization plan as a national policy."
"The relevant departments of the six ministries must all have dedicated personnel to handle this matter, and responsibility must be assigned to the individuals."
"The other thing I want to talk about is water conservancy..."
He poured a cup of tea for the three of them and said, "Daxia's water conservancy facilities are still not perfect. The management of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers is also a long-term task. Human lives are at stake. We must not be careless!"
"If the Ministry of Industry's Water Conservancy Bureau is short on staff, they can recruit some people with experience in river management. Those with real abilities should be promoted as exceptions, while those who are in office but do nothing should be dismissed outright. Keeping them around will only create a major hidden danger!"
"Talent selection for each department is done through both university graduates and the general public. Although university graduates may lack experience, they are more active in thinking and innovative. Only with basic training can they become the pillars of Daxia!"
"What is Daxia lacking now?"
Fu Xiaoguan looked at the three people and said, "Daxia is not short of money. Daxia now has a healthy business structure, has opened up many commercial channels, and has a large reserve of gold that can be converted into currency at any time."
"Daxia is still short of talent!"
“Talent from all walks of life.”
"So cultivating talents is also one of the key points of your work."
“…”
This was a small meeting that was commonplace in Daxia. Almost all of Daxia's policies and guidelines were formulated in the imperial study, through consultation between the emperor and his several ministers.
These negotiated terms will eventually be submitted to the cabinet, and will only be implemented nationwide after further review by the cabinet.
This process corrected the drawbacks of the emperor or a prime minister making arbitrary decisions, and adopted the principle of combining the strengths of all parties and the minority obeying the majority, making Daxia's policy more accurate and complete.
"Your Majesty, Xiwen and I met with some businessmen a few days ago and listened to their opinions..." Ning Yuchun paused and looked at Fu Xiaoguan. "In various places, especially in remote areas, officials at the county and even prefecture levels still abuse their power for personal gain, use their influence to oppress others, and act recklessly without taking action."
"I've roughly checked the backgrounds of these ministers. Almost all of them held office when Daxia was first established. At that time, Daxia was short of manpower, so the selection of talent was much more ruthless."
"They are still learning from the old sacred teachings. I'm afraid they haven't fully grasped Your Majesty's new policies, or perhaps they're unwilling to do so!"
"So, I think, taking advantage of the implementation of the national policy of rural revitalization, we should visit those impoverished areas. Your Majesty, it's not you who should go, but us!"
Fu Xiaoguan was stunned for a moment, "I'll go over this matter, and you three will take charge of the overall situation in the court."
Yan Xiwen was the first to deny it. "You can't go! If you go, who can trust you? Huo Huaijin will definitely have to bring the garrison troops to escort you. The momentum... If those officials have connections in the court, everyone will know about you the moment you leave. What can you do secretly?"
"So the three of us discussed it. Prime Minister Ning will go north, Prime Minister Qin will go west, and I will go south. We will split into three groups and set out at the same time. We will take three or five guards with us, disguise ourselves as merchants, and follow Sima Tao and his caravan to those remote areas. Only in this way can we find out the situation down there and catch those who are just sitting there doing nothing but eating their fill!"
Fu Xiaoguan refused to do this. With the three prime ministers running away, all the affairs in the court would definitely fall on his head, which was not an easy job.
"Then I'll go east! Let's split into four groups!"
"...Your Majesty, can you please calm down? As long as you leave Chang'an, no matter which direction you go, the news will leak out. Isn't it better for you to stay in Chang'an City?" Qin Mowen advised earnestly.
What can Fu Xiaoguan do?
He can't force his way with these ministers!
"Okay, when are you planning to leave?"
"The Sima Tao family's caravan will depart tomorrow, heading south, towards the Yueshan Road."
"A caravan from Wang Qiyue's family will depart in two days, heading towards the northwest of Beijing, which was once the Yuzhou and Shuzhou of the Yu Dynasty."
"Also, the Yu Xingjian family's caravan will depart in a few days, heading southeast to Qiongzhou and other places on the Jingdong Road."
"This journey will take roughly half a year. There's a saying that a general on the march may not obey the emperor's orders. Now we're going to assess the people's sentiments, and we must ask for your approval, Your Majesty!"
Yan Xiwen added cautiously, "Once we verify the local officials, we will immediately detain them and send them back to the capital for trial by the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, this imperial edict is the basis for us to exercise our special powers."
"In addition, we also ask Your Majesty to send spies from the Censorate or the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to investigate secretly to prevent any officials from being wrongly accused, and to avoid missing out on any important individuals!"
Fu Xiaoguan nodded. "This is a serious matter. You must proceed with caution. Don't underestimate the collusion of various local forces, lest they become desperate and harm you."
"Well, I'll ask Huo Huaijin to mobilize a few good men from the garrison to protect you. You also have to bring guns just in case."
"Your Majesty, thank you, your Majesty!"
"Go ahead. I'll be waiting for your news in Beijing."
After the three of them left, Fu Xiaoguan stood up and walked to the door of the imperial study. He looked at the chrysanthemums that were about to wither, thought for a moment, and then instructed Liu Jin, "Go and invite Huo Huaijin."
"I obey your order!"
Liu Jin bowed and retreated. Fu Xiaoguan, with his hands behind his back, had just stepped out of the imperial study room, but then he pulled his foot back - Ji Yungui, the head of the Tianji Pavilion, came hurriedly.
"emperor!"
"Sit inside."
The king and his minister sat opposite each other. Ji Yungui took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Fu Xiaoguan.
"The whereabouts of Princess Yu Shurong have been confirmed."
"Where is she?"
"She went to Peacock Country!"
Fu Xiaoguan was stunned and unfolded the paper in his hand. What was written on the paper was not Yu Shurong's whereabouts, but a series of accounts!
"This is what the Tianji Pavilion found out she took away. If converted into gold, it would be worth roughly one million taels!"
"The most special items are 1,000 Mauser rifles and 80,000 rounds of ammunition. These guns and ammunition were siphoned out from the 1st Division of the 3rd Marine Army three years ago."
Fu Xiaoguan frowned. At that time, the commander of the Third Navy Army was He Sandao... It was impossible that He Sandao did this.
The First Division of the Third Navy Army, he thought of someone, Master Qi!
When he and Ning Siyan went to Xiaye City, something almost went wrong. This person was Qi Changhao, the commander of the 1st Division of the 3rd Navy Army.
"So she planned this all along?"
"I believe she did plan this all along!"
"The withered cicada is in the Peacock Kingdom?"
"Yes, now it seems that Kuchan is very likely her son."
Fu Xiaoguan was silent for a moment. He thought of Ku Chan, the young man who was enlightened after hearing a "Bodhi Gāthā". He built several temples in Chi Le River, and then he returned to Jang Geum Castle and stayed in the White Horse Temple for some time.
So now that you have gone to the Peacock Kingdom, do you want to become a Buddha right away?
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